Viewers of the last Selectmen’s meeting may not have received the decision they had all been waiting for: whether Annmarie Fagan would be one of the two finalists regarding the selection of a new Town Administrator; but the Selectmen did discuss several issues and there was quite a crowd on hand to voice their concerns regarding them. And there were the Girl Scouts.
Due to a broadcasting glitch at town hall the last two Selectmen’s meetings have taken place at the MATV studios housed in the Pierce Middle School. The studio was pretty much filled to capacity as residents, girl scouts, and their parents waited for the meeting to start. The Selectmen were huddled in executive session and the crowd, especially the scouts, were getting antsy. “Don’t they realize these kids have homework!” The selectmen eventually came into open session but it did little to calm an undertow of agitation.
The Girl Scout Troop was up first to the relief of their parents and the girls were polished, professional and to the point. They were there to request permission for a walk that would benefit the Milton Animal Shelter. It would also earn them a Bronze Award. It is a two mile walk they estimate will take ~1.5 hours. One of their members handed out their business cards. They asked if there were any questions. There really weren’t. Suffice to say a motion was made and passed to allow them their walk pending permission of the Chief of Police. They bid the Selectmen a firm Thank you! and off they went. Any one running for public office might also have breathed a sigh of relief that none of these girls has taken out nomination papers – yet.
The room went from SRO to slightly packed. During Citizens Speak several residents spoke on a range of issues. Betsy Buchbinder, a resident of Fuller Village, who was joined by Deborah Felton, Executive Director of Fuller Village, presented the Selectmen with a petition opposing the proposed development of a 40B apartment complex on Brush Hill Road across from Fuller. The petition has 300 signatures. Ms. Buchbinder’s principal, though not only concern, was traffic. She noted that she had presented a petition 5 years ago related the Brush Hill Road traffic situation. The addition of the apartment complex will not help. She said it the traffic was congested on a recently evening that it took her 21 minutes to drive to the Suffolk Grill for dinner. The restaurant is around the corner on Route 138. She also highlighted the environmental impact that the development would have on Fowl Meadow. Chairman Hurley said that the developer would need to provide strategies for mitigating the traffic in order to receive a permit. He said the developers could not create a traffic situation that was worse than what already exists.
They were followed by several residents opposing the FAA’s proposed additional flight path 33L. Ms. Virginia Corcoran spoke first and said that the increase in flights would affect not only the residents under the flight path but a large number of people who attend and or participate in the organizations and facilities she characterized as the Historic Milton Educational and Recreational Corridor. Ms. Corcoran said there were “59 spots that all residents and some non-residents enjoy.” Included are Curry College, Milton High, Delphi Academy, Fontbonne, the Blue Hills, and Kelly Field.he concluded that the addition of 33l would be “devastating.”
Cindy Christiansen, a professional statistician, said that the report on the flight impacts was “bad science” and the DNL (Day – night sound level) was a”flawed metric.” She said the data were all from 1 noise monitor at Cunningham Park. She argued that more analysis was needed and that a sound decision could not be made on a flawed study. Sheryl Fleitman presented the Selectmen with their second petition of the evening. This one opposing hte flight plan has 500 signatures. She suggested that the selectmen unite with officials from Randolph, Canton, and Dedham. Member Sweeney endorsed that idea and said he had recently been in contact with Randolph officials. Hurley was not so enthusiastic. “It is hard for the three of us to do something, never mind three towns.” The topic of the flight path would come up again later in the evening.
Claire Keating asked why the week end hours at the Ulin Rink had been reduced by 50%. Lastly, Andrea Doherty spoke about concerns regarding the transportation yard on Granite Avenue. There is a possibility that the town might acquire the parcel. One of the possibilities floated for the site is a hotel. Ms. Doherty said that would be “detrimental” and “only bring trouble.” This topic would also be addressed later in the session.
It was a good time for State Senator Joyce to appear. And he did. He has been working to acquire the land on behalf of the town as it would be a “wonderful asset” that could bring much needed revenue. However, he said, “I want to be very clear. . . I do not support any re-use of the yard that is not supported by the neighborhood.” He respectfully suggested that the Board of Selectmen appoint a committee comprised of citizens that would study if the yard should be acquired and for what use. The selectmen agreed and made a motion to appoint a 7 person committee that would include at least 2 residents of Cortland Circle. Joyce said that committee might last anywhere from 6 months to two years. He added that having the town take control of the property would give it much more control over what happens there. He reminded everyone that there had been an opportunity years ago to acquire the entire 11 acre site for free. The current proposal is for 6 acres and there will be a cost. At least one member of the audience thanked the Senator as he left.
A separate post will report on the update on the Ulin Rink from Richard Sullivan of Curry College, the letter to the FAA from the Seletmen and other topics.