Transparency

It's important to be transparent in an elected position. What does this mean? It means that elected officials should be an open book and willing to share their opinions and ideas. As residents, it's important to keep your elected officials focused on the issues that are in the best interests of the voters. Do you attend board meetings, watch them on BCAT or read about them in the paper? Do you know how your elected officials vote on important matters? As this Board of Selectman election is ramping up, it's great to hear from the residents who keep current on the issues in the town. For those who may not be as up to date, you don't even need a tv or a newspaper.

Board of Selectman meeting minutes are posted here: http://burlington.org/selectmen.htm

Town meeting information, including attendance records, are posted here: http://burlington.org/TMgov.htm#A

Kudos to the folks who keep the Burlington.org site current with this information.

Jan 26th Town Meeting

The Jan 26th Town Meeting only took one night. 20 articles appeared on the warrant. Article 3, which passed with a large majority, proposed spending $20k for a recreation planner to help with the layout of the former Wildwood school site in the event the Selectman feel this is the best use of the property. Three years ago when town meeting agreed it was time to raze that building, the members voted for the property to be of a municipal use. As you know, there was some talk of selling this pristine property by some members of the Board of Selectman. My kids were involved in Burlington sports programs in the 80s and 90s and there was always a shortage of playing fields. Also, when the Wildwood building and grounds were deemed unsafe, the neighborhood kids also lost a tot lot. If using the site for recreation purposes moves forward we will perhaps see a tot lot, small basketball court, little league fields and one or two small size soccer fields. A cemetery was also considered for the site. In talking to the DPW, we were told we have enough space for about 8 years .

Article 8 had to do with a new public safety building. Specifically, the article is for a home rule petition that would allow the town to seek out land and assistance in constructing the building from the
private sector. Not only would this article need to be passed by town meeting but the state legislator would need to approve as well. This would be a first for Burlington. A new building would eliminate the outdated fire station at the corner of Terrace Hall Ave and Middlesex Turnpike. The town would then enter into a long-term lease agreement with the private developer, which means the town would not have to bond money for the land or building. There is still a lot of work in this document, even if it passed by the legislator. I certainly agree a new building will be needed but would like this particular approach as a last resort. I have done some research and am finding commercial space that has been vacant for a while. I see some bargains on land in the West Burlington area. It's also important to factor in that the town of Burlington can bond money at a very low interest rate. Town meeting supported this article mainly because there is no financial exposure to the town right now. This building is a few years off, at best.

If you have any questions, email me or give me a call.

April 4th 2009 Election has a Candidate

Yesterday, I spoke with both the Burlington Daily Times and the Burlington Union to announce my intent to run for one of the two open Selectman seats in the April 4th 2009 election. In my first bid for Selectman last year, I came up short by 22 votes. I won 5 of the 6 Burlington precincts with more votes. I look forward to Burlington residents’ support this year. As always, please call or email me anytime with questions.

Sewage out of control

What you see here is overflow from the Terrace Hall sewer pumping station. This gets chlorinated…..sometimes and then gets pumped into our aquifer. The overflow is a result of heavy rains and sewer demands from our toilets, sinks, sump pumps, and water that goes down the sewer system. This is why some of us think we have enough development for now. What do you think?

Commerical Density

An interesting article I want to share with you. Please read
this blog about more commerical density in the town of Burlington.

Tis The Season

The holidays are upon us as is the pressure of how much to spend and who to buy for. To me this is the most insignificant part of the holiday season. The time spent with family and friends is my first priority. As a senior member of the community (not in age…yet), and as a small business owner this is my third recession. My advice is don’t feel pressured to spend money just to satisfy someone else. Also don’t dwell on all the bad news. Worrying will only make you weak and sick. While the news reports on issues such as 8% unemployment keep in mind 92% of us are working. The stock market is for those who are the gamblers. For decades the money in CD's as well as money markets, or just savings accounts have been a safe haven. I think many of us got caught up in the greed, and also in trying to speed up the retirement process. I think we should concentrate on working as being part of the balance of our lives as long as we can. We have all heard 80% of the bad you worry about happening only really happens 20% of the time. This does hold true for me. Good luck to all and have a Happy Holidays.

Town Meeting Talk

The September Town Meeting ended Oct 1.

We extended the session to accommodate a special town meeting on
A school feasibility study as requested by the MSBA.This is part of an
on going effort to get the necessary funding for the new Memorial
School project.The School Committee has been pursuing this to get a
commitment from the state to go forward with our Memorial school
project so we may receive a 50% reimbursement.

Town Meeting supported one last effort to reconstruct the Grandview
Farm Complex. Request for Proposals (RFPs) will go out to bid soon in
hope that we may finally complete the renovation within our
budget.This has been on going since we received the property from
Ruping Builders Inc. as part of the famous or infamous three way land swap.

An effort by Patriot Partners to acquire the Landlocked parcel
wasdefused by the voting down of two warrant articles as well
as a Motion to continue talks on municipal owned properties by
Land-use. Patriot Partners has a deadline to meet by way of an
option on the property that will expire May 2010. The Selectmen,
as well as Town Meeting, Do not feel the need to be pressured by
this deadline.Right now, the property is not for sale because it
is not in the best interest of the community. Why would we sell a
valuable piece of land with only one bidder at the table? Currently,
we have approx 4 million square feet of retail and office space that
has been permitted to go forward. We must allow these projects to
be built out and occupied before we move forward with additional
projects, such as the Landlocked parcel. At some time in the future,
the selectmen will want to open up some Talks with Town Meeting,
as well as the taxpayers, to hammer out some Ideas on what to do or
not what to do with this 247 acre parcel/forest. As I said at Town
Meeting, this land has survived two recessions and can also survive
a possible third.

The other land issue we are discussing is the Boston-owned property
located at the Northeastern campus, near Blanchard and Muller roads.
The property is owned by the city of Boston and is 219 acres. All but
45 acres of this land are located in Burlington. This land has been in
a trust by Mary Cummings to be forever used as recreational land.
Town Meeting supported the trust of Mary Cummings via an open
space Article by Paul Raymond to be attached to the property as an
extra layer ofprotection. Preserving open space has been a key issue
in manycommunities, especially with developers having opposing views.

As always, feel free to call or email me about these or any issues in the town.