by Frank Schroth

Katie Conlon, Chair of the Board of Selectmen, provided an update regarding the Hendries building at Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Conlon had attended a meeting with Senator Joyce, Planning Board Chair Alex Whiteside, and Jerry Connelly, a principal of Carrick Realty to explore reviving the proposal to have Carrick develop a mixed used building at the Hendries site.

Ms. Conlon’s summary was consistent with a similar update Mr. Whiteside had provided the Planning Board (see related post here). The town would exchange their ownership portion of the property (the parking lot and structure above it) in exchange for Carrick taking responsibility for demolition of the entire structure. The Connellys are currently pursuing a 40B development for their portion of the site and have received a letter of eligibility (see related post here). Such an exchange would require legislative approval because the transaction would not go through the typical public procurement process. Conlon and Whiteside said Senator Joyce is willing to pursue that.

It is not known what level of interest the Connellys have in the proposal. The level of interest from the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board is equally unknown. The Board of Selectmen is continuing to “weigh the pros and cons” and will be resuming a discussion of the property in executive session on July 7th. They had also met in executive session in advance of Tuesday’s regular meeting to discuss proposal. Town Administrator Fagan said that the current demolition plan is on track. The town signed an agreement with the Connellys for demolition of the building (see related post here).

When board members were asked by Ms. Conlon if there was anything to add, Member Hurley commented on resident feedback received during Citizen Speak which was “on opposite sides of the fence . . . similar to what we are batting around.”

Mr. Hurley was referring to comments made by residents earlier in the session. Peter Mullin, a Town Meeting Member from Precinct 2, voiced his support for legislation that would enable the property transfer in exchange for the demolition of the entire building. He noted that the cost of demolition was estimated at $250,000 and that recent appraisals for the property were ~$200,000. He further noted that the only parties that ever expressed any interest in the parcel have been the Connellys. It would be “a net plus for the town if this went through.” Mullin noted that the board “can see what happens with the Planning Board . . . this is one of the first steps and I urge the [Selectmen] to adopt the special legislation.”

Peter Jackson, another Town Meeting Member from Precinct 2 and former member of the Planning Board, opposed adopting the legislation. “I do not believe rushing into the legislation is in the town’s interest.” He went to say that he does “not fear the results of a 40B” and that the biggest loss would be that of commercial space. He argued for allowing the current process as directed by the existing agreement for joint demolition to work itself through and then reconsider the options after that phase was complete. “I think you should go slow,” he concluded.

Margaret Donovan, a resident with a long standing interest in the development, also advocated demolishing the building first and also expressed concerns about what could become “a nightmare of a parking situation.”

The Selectmen are expected to take up the matter at their next meeting and after they have had the opportunity to discuss further in executive session.

Other matters discussed at the meeting included but were not limited to:

• approval of two grants from the Copeland Foundation. The Foundation has provided a $25,000 grant to the Council on Aging to fund van transportation costs. They also granted $15,000 to continue funding of the D.A.R.E summer camp program managed by the Milton Police Department.
• a recommendation by the Town Administrator (TA) to form a committee to evaluate the airplane impacts (noise, health, etc). The committee would be jointly fomred by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Health and be composed of a member from the Board of Health, a member from Board of Selectmen, Health Director, Asst Town Administrator, CAC rep, alternate CAC rep, and a resident of the town
• the TA also reported that a meeting had taken place with Mass Highway regarding the East Milton deck parking project to ensure they were comfortable with what is being done. The goal is to have a public hearing on the project by the end of July.