May Town Meeting Concludes

Town meeting came to an end May 18th after three sessions.The three bid warrant articles passed. One such article was for new, automated water meters for a total cost of $3 million. approximately 8,000 meters residential and commercial meters are in our town. Of these, 1000 are fairly new and only need a new tamper proof part added to the top of the meter. This will allow the meters to be read from the DPW office.

$9 million was approved to upgrade the sewer pumping system and force main that carries sewage. This 7,500 feet of sewer pipe is 50 years old. I'm happy this passes, as I feel it was a top priority for the town. Unlike a broken water pipe, you simply cannot turn of the sewer flow in the event of a rupture.

Last, $2 million dollars was budgeted for new bleachers, new bathrooms, and a new turf surface at BHS Varsity Field.

I just opened my pool and I'm looking forward to the summer.

May Town Meeting

This is the last week before the May Town Meeting. There will be a Ways and Means meeting both Monday and Wednesday night this week. On Tuesday from 7:00-10PM, there is a trade show at the Kelly Murray wing where all all TM Members as well as voters have the opportunity to ask questions on the May warrant articles.Town Meeting will meet May 11th at 7:30PM in the BHS auditorium. Town meetings are open to residents
of Burlington so even if you aren't a TM member, you can attend if you live in the town.

As we enter into the budget process at this next town meeting, it’s a time to question all your elected officials about how they are managing your money, myself included. IAs President Bill Clinton once said, “Politics is a Contact Sport, you can’t complain about being attacked.” In the NBA, guys Like Yao Ming get hacked by the other team and they still go take their free throws like a professional.

Tonight's Board of Selectmen Meeting

Here is the agenda for tonight's Board of Selectmen meeting. You can see the meetings live on BCAT or attend in person at the town hall (2nd floor). This is the last Selectmen meeting before the May11th Town Meeting and we will be reviewing the Town Meeting warrant around 8:25pm. You can review the warrant online.

The Grand Deal

The renovation of the Grandview has started and I’d like to provide some clarity on how this came to be. A recent article could lead one to believe the Gutierrez Company has committed $1.5 million dollars to the renovation. The $1.5 million dollars was their payment to the town of Burlington as a result of the 2001 landswap that was negotiated by the members of the Board of Selectmen at that time. The final deal was approved by Town Meeting. I was a Town Meeting member at the time. The Gutierrez Company gave Ruping Builders 11 acres of property at the end of Wall Street, where approximately 176 apartments were constructed. The Guiterrez Company also gave 6.4 acres of unbuildable wetlands to the Town of Burlington to be used as a buffer zone for the apartments that Ruping Builders was to build. The apartments were a mixture of market value rental units (that help the town keep its required 10% of affordable housing) and senior affordable units. The Gutierrez Company received 14.6 acres of prime commercial property located on Wheeler Rd from the town of Burlington. The current estimated value of that property is approximately $7 million dollars.

Since the Grandview work has begun, we will now start to receive $75,000 per year (for 20 years) from the Gutierrez Company, which will eventually total $1.5 million. These payments will cover the town’s bond payment that we borrowed to renovate the Grandview Farm. What did the town of Burlington get in this deal? The town of Burlington received two houses on South Bedford Street, which have an estimated value of $300,000 each, from the Gutierrez Company. Ruping Builders gave the town the entire Grandview Farm site, which included the land behind the farm (where the Burlington senior condos were built) and 4 house lots on Sleeper Drive. The town sold one double lot for $400,000, which went to jump-start the renovation work. When the market improves, we will sell one of the other lots plus the two house lots on South Bedford Street. This money will be used to complete the interior restoration of the Grandview Farm.

The reason why the town entered into this deal was to prevent 150 units of affordable housing over looking the common. Instead, we got 42 senior condos restricted to Burlington residents. And that, my friends, is a summary of the famous 3-way land swap.

First Board of Selectmen meeting

My first Board of Selectmen meeting will be at 7pm on Monday, April 13th, at the Town Hall. The meetings will all be live on BCAT. The first order of business will be the reorganization of the board and selecting the chairman.

The agenda for the upcoming meetings will include discussing and voting on articles for the May Town Meeting. There are a host of warrant articles that will be considered by the board. The warrant articles cover both town and school items. We will also be discussing a 10-year capital plan for all town improvements. It's important to keep up with building maintenance and perform infrastructure improvements. The final warrant will first go to Ways and Means for their approval or disapproval then go onto Town Meeting. Last year at this time, I was acting as a Ways and Means and a Town Meeting member so I fully understand the process.

I will use this blog to give an overview of all the BOS meetings since I know people are busy and cannot watch all of them on BCAT.

Thank you!

I would like to thank all my supporters for coming out to vote on Saturday. It took us two years to convince the voters that a change is what our town needs. I will continue to update this blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will not disappoint you.

Official Burlington Election Results

The home stretch

We are in the home stretch of the Board of Selectmen race. This is the last week of the campaigning, door knocking, and sign holding. On Saturday, April 4th, the voters of Burlington will have a chance to reshape our town government. My opponents have not had to run an actual campaign in many years. Last year, I lost by 22 votes against a strong incumbent. This defeat gave new meaning to the phrase, “Every vote counts.”

This year, let’s make a statement that status quo isn’t how we want our elected leaders to operate. I hope we have a high voter turnout and with full representation from voters of all ages. I will passionately serve this town and always base my decisions on the best interests of the community. I ask you for your vote of confidence to elect me as your new Selectman for the town of Burlington this Saturday.