by Frank Schroth

At last week’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen Animal League President and attorney Marion McEttrick appeared to propose the idea of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the town and league that would serve as a non-binding agreement that outlines the terms of operation for the shelter, roles and responsibilities. The Animal League, a local non-profit organization, has been struggling for years to identify a property and construct a new shelter. They have asked Ms. McEttrick to assist in developing a strategy to resolve the issue of a new shelter.

Ms. McEttrick explained that the purpose of the MOU was a step in helping the town and league move forward and could be helpful in identifying and resolving “any differences in approach.”

McEttrick suggested that the League submit a draft of the MOU to the Selectmen or their designee to iterate and edit as necessary with a goal of voting on something, ideally, by the next meeting of the board. She was present at this meeting to ask if they would take a vote on entering into an MOU.

Ms. Palmer explained that the League had been hopeful not to go into another winter season with the current facility as it is in disrepair and inadequate to their needs. While they would like to stay where they are on Governor Stoughton Lane that is not a practical option for a couple of reasons. There are open ended questions regarding the parcel owned by the town and regardless of their resolution the League would need to pay rent or purchase a portion of the parcel for the shelter. The most advantageous option at the moment is town owned land off of Randolph Avenue.

Member Keohane said he had been speaking with Tom O’Connell of Granite Links just that morning and relayed that Mr. O’Connell requested that they be engaged before the concept move to far along. Keohane cautioned about getting entangled in a legal issue with a party that has deep financial pockets. Granite Links opposed the construction of a wind turbine and largely won that argument in arbitration.

Ms. McEttrick stated that it was unlikely there would be any adverse impacts to the golf course given the distance from the course and the engineering of the building (e.g. soundproofing etc).

The board voted to enter into the development of an MOU.

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The board also met with Chief Wells who spoke on the fireworks issue and discussed some recent recommendations from the Traffic Commission. There were several recommendations. Perhaps most interesting is a concept the Chief asked the Board to consider which is creating a small parking lot behind the old East Milton Library. The building is currently being rented to the Milton Art Center. It would provide needed parking relief in the vicinity of the post office and Jackrabbit Design. The lot would provide ~14 space and cost ~ $60K. No immediate action was requested or taken.