by Frank Schroth

The recent weather is fraying nerves and creating some stress. Some of that erupted at Citizens Speak last Wednesday night when Town Meeting Member Sheryl Fleitman presented a series of complaints about snow clearing operations in the area of Essex and Crown streets. She said the DPW director was “vindictive” and “untrustworthy” at which point Chair Conlon cut her off and said personal attacks would not be allowed.

Ms. Fleitman stated that Lynch had been unresponsive to numerous communications, cited several issues vehicles had with navigating the streets, and characterized the situation as “deplorable”. She also read a letter from Mr. Lynch in which he acknowledged the streets were not great but that he had driven through them and found then “safe” and “passable.” He also stated that he understood her frustration but that any lack of attention to her street was due to a more dire need elsewhere in town. At a previous session, Mr. Lynch had explained that National Guard and out of state crews would be deployed on a triage basis starting with main thoroughfares, then secondary roads, and eventually ending with private ways. At the session on Wednesday, Mr. Lynch said that the arterial roads were clear. He is estimating that snow removal costs for this past snow season could exceed $700,000. He estimates that $671K has been spent to date. Some of that amount may be reimbursable from FEMA. Lynch also thanked his crew and said that while there were some displeased with the situation, many residents had gone out of their way to express their gratitude and drop off care packages.

Katie Conlon, Chair of the Selectmen, was the first of the selectmen to thank Mr. Lynch and is crew for their efforts over the last several weeks.

Other residents who spoke during Citizens Speak included:

• Former Selectman Bob Sweeney, who expressed his concerns that Pulte, the developer with a proposal pending to build homes on the Governor Stoughton Farm, was not abiding by the signed P&S. According to Mr. Sweeney, Pulte has reduced the buffer between the development and abutting homes from 100′ as required by P&S to 30′. The Board met later that night in executive session as Governor Stoughton Trustees to discuss Pulte.
• Milton Youth Hockey board members Kevin Keating and Bill Bennett, who both questioned the possible rate increase for the Ulin rink and the timing of the increase. Mr. Keating noted that as the primary user of the rink Milton Youth Hockey should have a seat at the table when issues of the rink were discussed. He said that they were unaware of increase being discussed by Selectmen until informed by Selectman Keohane. He said that raising the rates would have a detrimental impact on the program. Mr. Bennett questioned why Curry College chose this time to increase the rates. At this point, Selectman Hurley interrupted and forcefully voiced that “Curry had nothing to do with it . . .[and that they] were tired of being trashed.” The issue of the Ulin rink rate increase came up later in the session.
• Richard Shea raised concerns he has with granting access to H&W Apartments through the DPW yard for soil testing. H&W Apartments is a proposed 40B development at 711 Randolph Avenue. In a letter outlining concerns with the development, town officials identified storm water issues. The testing to be done is to address those concerns. Mr. Shea noted that the DPW yard is owned by the taxpayers and “they should be involved.” He also expressed disappointment with the selectmen’s decision not to appeal the ruling by DHCD. He argued that an appeal would give a private attorney time to look into the matter, that it could be pulled at any time if they chose not to pursue it, and that it would not cost the taxpayers anything. Lastly, he questioned why the vote on whether to appeal was made in executive session. He felt that it was important for the public to understand how members voted and why they voted the way they did.

The selectmen discussed the issue of granting access to the developer through the DPW yard later in the session. The developer is asking for the access so as not to cause undue disturbance to wetlands. Chair Conlon was in favor of it as it was being requested to address an issue that they had raised. She wanted to emphasize that this would not be a permanent easement (or an easement at all) but rather permission for a short term to address a specific issue. DPW Director Lynch said it would not have any impact on his operations. Member Keohane disagreed with granting access. He said developers had built in costs for this type of access and the board should require them to go in through the property. The developer would be required to rectify any disturbance. He also felt strongly that by granting access, it gave the impression that the selectmen endorsed the proposal. Conlon disagreed with that. Hurley suggested adding language that stated that the granting of permission to use the DPW did not indicate approval or endorsement of the proposal. Hurley said he was not sure what the town had to gain by denying the request and noted that any costs incurred by the developer would be less money the developer might use to mitigate impacts of the development. “Every dollar you force them to spend is a dollar you will not get later for mitigation,” he said. The board voted 2-1 to grant access with Conlon and Hurley in favor and Keohane opposed.

The board also discussed the potential rate increase for the Ulin Rink with Planning Director Bill Clark. As of January 6, the DCR has permitted rinks to increase fees byo $25 an hour for prime time. Clark noted that several rinks have already done this. He said Milton has the lowest rates of other rinks in area. Hurley again said that the rate increase was not coming from Curry College, which is managing the rink for the town. He estimated that adjusting the rate would increase revenue by about $13,000 for the remainder of the season. The board voted to defer any rate increase until the start of the next skating season. There is a question about whether or not the agreement between the DCR and the town will be extended. Regardless of who operates the rink (DCR or town) the rate will increase from $175 to $200 for non-profits and from $200 to $225 for private groups.