Kathy Fagan is one busy woman. She is the mother of two, who is actively involved with Cradle to Crayons, a non-profit that equips homeless and in-need children with the basic essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn and valued, and is a current member of the Milton Board of Selectmen. And she is running for re-election. It makes for a busy day.
“People try to pigeonhole me – if I approve one thing they assume I will approve another.”
Given the opportunity to reflect upon her first term, Fagan makes several observations. First she notes, “Communication is critical, as much and as often as possible.” She has also learned that “Politics make strange bedfellows” but that it is possible to “find common ground if you work hard enough at it.”
She has also learned that people tend to make assumptions about her. They shouldn’t. “People try to pigeonhole me – if I approve one thing they assume I will approve another”. But Fagan has come to learn that town issues don’t really lend themselves to a party line. “I research everything and get as many opinions as possible.”
“People would not recognize this town if that override had not passed.”
Another key lesson learned, according to Fagan is that it is critical that the community come together to invest in the community. She notes that, “We want a residential neighborhood but there is a cost to living in a residential community.” To ensure that we “have to invest. People would not recognize this town if that override [the most recent] had not passed.” We are living “right on the knife’s edge with a small cash reserve and very low opportunity for commercial growth.”
Fagan believes progress in her first term has been substantial. The library reopened this year, a project Fagan became involved in early on as Library Trustee.The turbine project is also moving forward. But she echoes another incumbent, Glenn Pavlicek, when pointing to a key accomplishment. “We have appointed good people,” referring to appointments made to the chiefs of police and fire as well as a new head of DPW. They are “people with really good skill sets and have a history [with the town] . . . they know what has worked and not and have a range of perspectives.”
She remains confident that Milton has “remained a strong community despite all the challenges and fiscal crisis.”
“The pain in the room was palpable.”
While the confidence is there and the sense of pride is real; Fagan admits that opportunities slip by and certain dimensions of the job are just very, very hard.
She wishes there could have been a different outcome to the Temple Shalom issue. Given more time, ongoing discussion and communication may have brought about a result that everyone could have bought into.
Some responsibilities come with the job and they are not easy. The hardest of all was the Revelus service. The pain in the room was palpable . . . the police, the school administration, the students and the family.”
Two issues that have come up in the last year and will confront the board going forward are the Ulin rink and the Stoughton land trust. As with all issues Fagan advocates learning as much as possible, obtaining points of view, and evaluating any possible course of action with an eye towards “how will it affect the quality of life? What controls are in place to manage it going forward? And is it going to solve a problem or create a new one?”
One problem Fagan does want to solve is additional strain on municipal services which is why she is opposed to high density development. She stood in support the Temple Shalom development in part because of the control that the town would have over that.
“The choice of what to watch is always hotly debated.”
So how does Fagan unwind from all of this? She spends time with her family.
A favorite activity is family movie night. The clan gets in their pjs, grab some blankets and pop corn and sit down together to watch a show. But. . . and here’s a big surprise – Fagan says, “the choice is always hotly debated.”