by Frank Schroth

The bulk of last Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen was spent in discussion of the Swift Hat Shop, a rundown red clapboard building near the corner of Adams and Wharf streets in MIlton Village. There is keen interest in its preservation as it is the oldest commercial building in MIlton. The selectmen had gone on a site walk with members of the Planning Board, Parks and Recreation, and the Historical Commission the previous week. Tuesday the selectmen compared notes.

The building is owned by Mike Roberts who has taken out a demolition order for the structure. However, the Historical Commission has voiced concerns over the building’s preservation and Mr. Roberts has agreed to pay for the costs of moving the structure down Wharf Street onto town land.

Whether that is feasible or not is currently unclear. Member Hurley noted that the building is in better shape than he thought. Member Keohane stated that the building was definitely salvageable and should be removed, remodeled and saved. But Chair Conlon noted there are a lot of moving parts in this. “What we have right now is enthusiasm and interest,” she said. However, there are significant open questions that include but are not limited to:

Where will the building be moved to and who has jurisdiction and ownership of the land? The assumption is that the Park Department has control of the parcel the building would be moved onto, the previous site of the Suffolk Resolves House. It needs to be confirmed that the town owns the land and that it is under the Park & Rec’s jurisdiction. While the Parks Commissioners are expected to be in general support of the notion of the building’s preservation they have not formally taken up the matter nor taken any votes on it.

How would the move be financed? Mr. Roberts said in n open session of the Historical Commission that he would pay for the move but there is no formal agreement in place. Member Hurley said it was important to pin down what Mr. Robert’s offer is and his timeline. He noted that Mr. Roberts could tear it down  and asked how “soon he wanted to move on this thing.”

Who will manage and how will the renovation and remodeling be financed? While the building may be structurally sound it is in serious need of repair. It was stated that the Historical Commission recognizes there are costs and they may be met with grants and private donations

What use would the building be put to? The zoning is a little confusing also. Though the property is believed to be under the control of the Parks Department, it is zoned as commercial. Ideas floated for use include a tourism office, a wine bar/cafe, and a home for the Milton Crew team. Any commercial use would have to be put out for public bid. Conlon said that ideally the use would generate some revenue for the town.

The selectmen are taking two steps: 1) there will be a meeting of vested parties (Mr. Roberts and representation from Parks, BoS, and Historical Commission) to help address and resolve some of the “realm of issues” such as jurisdiction, respective goals etc and 2) introduce two articles at fall town meeting. One will allow for the transfer of the land from Parks & Rec to the Selectmen and another that will allow for acceptance of the gift of the building from Roberts to the town.

Other business included but was not limited to:

• A statement from Chair Conlon that there was no news that could be discussed regarding Hendries negotiation to develop a mixed use development other than that they were continuing to hold discussions with the developer. The board met in executive session earlier in the meeting. The item will be on the agenda for their meeting on 9/10.
• A quarterly update from Town Planner Bill Clark who reviewed the status of a number of issues and developments. These included but were not limited to:
  • the construction of 5 homes at Boyle Estate
  • the construction of 4 new homes at location of Milton Womans Club,
  • the imminent completion of 30 new apartments at Milton Hill 
  • Mass Highway will be holding the next meeting on East Milton parking development which in addition to parking will include a re-tooled park and improvements for pedestrians and bicycles. That meeting is expected late this month or early October. The goal is for work to begin at start of next construction season.
  • an offer from a MIT professor and a group of international students to attend the next town meeting to watch how planning articles are presented, discussed, and voted on.
• A discussion of the Ulin rink – Clark and Hurley both spoke on this. Clark said that rates are unsustainable if the rink is to be financially viable. He said rates had not been increased since 2006. Milton youth organizations get first preference on selection of hours. Hurley said their goal is to secure a 25 year lease for the rink from the DCR.
• There was a brief update from Member Hurley on pending home rule petitions for liquor licenses for two operations in East Milton. One for Mr Chan’s has been engrossed by the senate and is expected to be engrossed by the House this week. It should go before the governor shortly. The second one, which is for a restaurant at site of the former East Milton movie theater, was engrossed by the House at the end of July and is stuck in the Senate. According to Hurley, Senator Joyce is going to make inquiries with the Senate President to determine status and see if it can be moved along more quickly.