by Frank Schroth

Town Meeting resolved the remaining 7 articles on the fall warrant with surprisingly little fuss. Articles 12 and 13 received the lion’s share of attention from town meeting members. They were hinged in that taken together they unshackled the town owned portion of the Hendries property from a article passed in 2007 Town Meeting and allow the Board of Selectmen (BoS) to sell that property to someone other thanCarrick Realty Trust. Carrick Realty owns the adjacent portion of the parcel. As Town Counsel John Flynn noted, “It’s a little complicated.”

Denis Keohane, Chair of the Board of Selectmen, said the that the Board of Selectmen were “working [their] tails off to get a deal” with Jerry Connelly. Mr. Connelly is a principal of Carrick Realty Trust. Mr. Keohane said that working with Mr. Connelly was “frustrating” and that “just when we have an agreement .  .  . the next day it is off.” He said that because they were unable to sell the land “our hands are tied and he [Mr. Connelly] is using this against us.” The article from 2007 restricts the sale of the Town owned property to Carrick Realty. Though it does not name them, Carrick Realty is only entity that can satisfy the requirements as stipulated in the 2007 article (please see Warrant Committee’s comment.)

Mr. Keohane also said “We want to sell this to Jerry Connelly” and that he thought Mr. Connelly would do a good job with the building. He closed saying, “I am pleading with you to give us power here.”

During the ensuing discussion several Town Meeting members spoke. Gene Irwin said he saw the situation differently. He said the town “bought a pig in a poke” did not believe there would be any other bidders because they would not want to take on all the associated liabilities that came with the building. He argued that a mixed use building would earn the town $300K in taxes and that the delays had already cost the town a significant amount in lost revenue. He also asked for Town Counsel to give an opinion on whether the town could legally sell the land to Mr. Connelly for his bid price of $1,000. Mr. Keohane in his comments was unclear whether the town did not want to sell because it was legally prohibited from doing so or whether the BoS simply felt it was a bad deal. Town Counsel Flynn’s response was, “It’s complicated.” It might be legal but, according to Flynn, it is also likely to be challenged if the sale goes through at $239,000 less than the requested minimum bid.

TMM Peter Mullin also spoke in support of passing the articles, saying that it was important to give the selectmen “the flexibility they need.” He questioned whether there would be legal challenges to accepting the low bid and said it was “in everyone’s interest” to put it out for bid again without the encumbrance and see what occurs.

Ted Hays, Chair of the Warrant Committee, said the committee recommended passing the articles. He acknowledged and shares the “pain” that comes with this dragging on, however, what happens “should happen because it is the best solution available not the only solution.”

The articles passed.

Article 14 which was submitted by the Selectmen at the recommendation of the Town Study Committee requested that an alternate member be put on the Planning Board. The issue stemmed form concerns regarding the number of special permits that the board was hearing. To grant a special permit requires a vote of 4 members of the board. Should a member be recused or absent from more than one session of a hearing for a special permit they cannot vote. There were two hearings recently where the ability to get 4 votes was at risk. One was due to recusal (Mr Whiteside from Fandry property hearing) and one to a change in board composition (Mr Jackson stepping off the board and Mr Kelly’s being elected during hearing on Hendries). Chair Whiteside said that the board was “unenthusiastic”about the article. He said the recommendation came down without the opportunity to meet the Town Government Study Committee. The report of the committee was released in April. Rick Neely, Chair of the Town Government Study Committee spoke. He said that there was understandable concern regarding whether the alternate is appointed or elected. However, the committee did research the issue and there are other towns that have alternate planning board members (e.g. Wellesley).  Because the committee had not been able to meet with members of the Planning Board in the intervening ~4 months, he agreed with the recommendation to refer the article back for further study.

The balance of articles passed. They were:

• Article 9 — this article was a “housekeeping” article that replaces “Building Commissioner” for “Inspector of Buildings” and a few other semantic changes
• Article 10 – – discharges the School Building Committee after 15 years of incredible service and fantastic results. The committee received a standing ovation in appreciation for their remarkable achievement on behalf of the school children of Milton and the community at large.
• Article 11 — this article allows the town to pursue a liquor license for Mr. Chan’s restaurant
• Article 15 — this article will permit town to compensate the Town Treasurer $1,000 pending successful completion of coursework and certification form the Massachusetts Collectors and Treasurers Association.