What Exactly are Those Selectmen Doing to This Town?

So you want to know which direction this town is headed.  All you have to do is look back on especially the last couple of years to see where we once were, and then clearly see where we are, and the best part of all: See where we are going! 

Let’s start with a trip down Main Street. 

Redstone Plaza has never looked better, with an upgraded façade and new businesses that are keeping the parking lot full. Think Loui Loui, delivering a unique dining experience that offers up fresh, authentic Louisiana seafood. Are you tired of going to Saugus on a Sunday night to get supplies for your kids’ science project that is due in the morning? Redstone’s got you covered! Michael’s is right next door.

Redstone Liquors moved from the back lot and opened up a beautiful new store that draws people from all over New England, boasting a killer selection of craft beer & over 400 whiskeys, as well as their classroom tastings and events.  Salons by JC (which actually surprised me!) offers local small businesses a place to be successful, along with a customer-comfortable setting while they enjoy a personalized spa experience.

Right next to RedStone at 125 Main Street there are two new exciting restaurants. Java Grind & Grill has an amazing breakfast and lunch, served with a smile and a story. And you can no longer complain that there is no place to watch the game because Local 438 Sports Bar and Grille just opened up out back with over 25 TV’s, and some interesting and delicious pub food in a casual and inviting atmosphere.

Existing businesses are reinvesting in their property. China Moon is temporarily closed for renovations (the website says otherwise, so definitely call for specific operating hours), Rapid Liquors just completed a major expansion and renovation. Stoneham Ford upgraded both of their buildings.

Main Street has never looked better after Mike’s Landscaping adopted the island, performing the installation and maintenance for free, showing the occupants of the 35,000+ cars that travel past it daily that Stoneham takes pride in its appearance.

Just up the street, Gaetano’s had a major renovation. Goodyear Tire replaced a tired (pun intended!) old building with a new modern, friendly service facility.  Walk down to the Square where the buildings are now full. Fusion Taste opened with a bang and has been full nightly ever since. The Heritage building saw a major renovation and added Kushala Sip, a fantastic coffee shop with a cool industrial interior that offers live music and a comfortable spot to read a book or meet up with friends over a latte, in either one of the Blues Clues chairs inside or out front in the patio overlooking the common. Melissa’s at 407 Main reinvented her Main Street Bistro with an upscale renovation by opening up the bar area, while keeping a quiet restaurant side and adding acoustic music on Friday nights. Next door, 411 Main Street is now a stunning four story mixed-use building with luxury apartments that offer gorgeous views of downtown.

Stoneham continued to show a willingness to work with the local businesses and think outside the box, armed with a plan aimed to encourage community development when we negotiated a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) plan with C & S Capital Property.  370-380 Main Street is already torn down and will be replaced with a modern building designed to look like it’s always been there.  This building will house two stories of high end apartments on top of a new restaurant, complete with outdoor seating on one side and a new storefront on the other.

We also invested in the downtown by appropriation from town meeting to fund a $30,000 facade program. If a business wants to update the exterior of their building, they can submit a plan to the town planner and if approved, a percentage of the project will be paid this program.  If you want to see how effective this can be, take a look at Oro Salon at 8 Franklin Street.

We have been increasing services.

Understanding the need to attract young families over the past two years, we have added a much-needed town planner, as well as reintroduced a Rec. Department, and increased public safety by adding five police officers. The Fire Department has been operating with 35 men since 2004 we have been proactive by continuing to add firefighters, having sworn in nine new firefighters since 2015. The net addition is four for a total of 39 men, which adds one full firefighter per shift.  The historically “one man departments” are starting to see an increase in their workforce. Additionally, last month we added a Community Addiction Coordinator.

Community Building.

The Stoneham Farmers Market runs on Thursdays for 18 weeks from June to October. Every week the market offers live music, free community tables, plus activities for the kids and adults. This is all alongside offering the freshest, locally farmed produce, meat, poultry, fish, bread & dairy products. At the end of each market our vendors donate leftover food to our local food pantry. It’s a great way to get outside and enjoy the fresh air while meeting old friends and making new ones.

Last year we worked with local business who paid to build an outdoor skating rink on the Common.  We also had 5,000 people come from as far away as Maine and Yarmouth to see all that Stoneham has to offer at the first annual North Shore Food Truck Festival in Stoneham Sq. The Halloween Trick or Treat Stroll through the Square, one of the greatest events in town, has been enhanced with the Jack O’ Lantern walk and pumpkin carving.  Neighborhood groups have started up to help participate and create new events. Just last month that group was able to stage a movie night on the Common.

Planning and grants.

Last year we received three grants through the Compact Communities. The first one was for an open space plan, the first step in opening the door to many other grants. Another one for budget transparency, and a third that is a competiveness grant to help brand the town and attract new businesses and families to Stoneham.  Additionally, we also received a DHCD (Department of Housing and Community Development) grant as well as a Transportation & Mobility grant.

We just sponsored an article for town meeting to create a housing plan that includes applying for grants via the Compact Communities to help make it a reality. Over the next couple of months after the open space grant is complete, the BOS will continue on our scheduled plan by voting between applying for The Green Communities or The Complete Streets Grants. In the meantime, we have been investing in infrastructure by adding sidewalks and addressing our street lights. In addition to getting mitigation from developers, most recently the developer involved with planned 42 Pleasant Street development has agreed to replace the sidewalks on Williams Street from Pleasant to Main Street. We also got negotiated the largest to date mitigation package in Massachusetts for an electronic billboard that will, for all intents and purposes, be located in Woburn while collecting $100,000 per year over the next 60 years. We then negotiated an additional $100,000 for this year for minor changes in the contract language.

We worked hard to get the town out in record numbers to overwhelmingly support receiving $5 million  from the state for a new Bike Path on the old railroad right of way.

Partnering with state assets.

When the Stone Zoo was faced with accreditation issues that could have derailed funding and essentially put the zoo out of business, we rallied a grass roots effort and by using this blog, we obtained hundreds of signatures from around the world to give to our representatives (Day & Lewis), who were able to convince Secretary Ash on just how important the zoo was to the community.

Understanding that the MBTA bus drives by the zoo all day, but does not stop there, the BOS appropriated mitigation money from the Fallon Rd. Project to install a bus destination and convince the MBTA to stop at that location.

We are giving citizens a voice with SeeClickFix and the ability to provide feedback on town services by completing a customer satisfactory survey. We are also adding transparency with the soon-to-be launched Clear Gov, and we are working towards online permitting.

“There is a lot of concern about costs and spending.”

Sometime you have to spend money to make money, as well as weed out where the waste is and create improvements. Over the last three years we have seen free cash continue to grow from $781,512 in FY ’14 to $1,111,078 in FY ’15. This year we actually had over $1.4 million, however because of a timing issue, an $800,000 payment for the middle school was made, but the reimbursement received from the MSBA came in FY 2017. That is not bad news, as this money will be available for free cash next year.

In my time on the BOS we have seen steady growth and positive change over the past several years. When you are talking years, it’s very easy to forget where we started, especially as “topics of the day” can often overshadow the overarching positives. While we all may not agree as a community (or even as a board) on certain issues at times, we can all certainly say we have the same goal of achieving what’s best for Stoneham. I am proud of the successes we’ve seen, and it is so satisfying to travel around town and see how far we’ve come.

And I can happily say it’s only going to keep getting better!

 

Rec Department: Why This Adds to and Enhances Our Community

I’m pleased to announce that a Recreation Director has accepted the position to start Stoneham’s Recreation Department! Within the next few weeks our director will be taking the helm, setting up his office in the basement of Town Hall, meeting with residents and establishing programs! This is exciting for many, many reasons.

Unfortunately, Stoneham is presently the only community in this area not to have a Recreation Department. People pay taxes at a similar rate as surrounding towns, so it is reasonable to expect similar services.  Having equal or better amenities is important to our local economy so that we continue to attract people who want to live and invest in our community, and we attract businesses that are a compatible fit to our local culture. Homebuyers and businesses alike investigate all amenities and services a community has to offer before making a long-term decision to invest. If Stoneham can’t offer what surrounding communities do, can you guess what communities will be better able to support, retain and even increase property values all while attracting business that ease the tax burden from homeowners? In addition to all of the traditional benefits a Recreation Department provides, it will also support our local economy and support our goal of attracting businesses that will be a good fit for Stoneham.

Stoneham has been very fortunate to have fantastic resources in recreation, like the Boys & Girls Club, the YMCA, well established youth sport organizations, and a successful school sports program. In no way is the Recreation Department designed to take ANY business away from these resources, nor does it intend to duplicate programs. All of these organizations are valued and appreciated for what they bring to our community, and thus they will be continually supported. The Recreation Director will be sitting down with each organization to become familiar with their offerings, avoid duplication and have a better understanding of services in order to cross promote! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Recreation Director could establish programs that create more use of some of the valuable amenities like the Stone Zoo and DCR properties? These resources currently go underutilized in an organized fashion. None of our youth sports programs, school programs, Boys & Girls Club or YMCA will lose anything they currently enjoy. Eventually the goal is to incorporate Adult Education Classes as well.

Let’s keep the money in Stoneham! Currently so many Stoneham residents spend thousands of dollars participating in the Recreation Departments of surrounding towns- especially because the under seven years old and adult demographics aren’t truly addressed. That’s thousands of dollars that The Town of Stoneham misses out on. By sending our residents to surrounding communities for programming, we are essentially funding their municipal resources and inevitably encouraging spending as you pass through another town. The model other communities use is to create a revolving account where all of the program fees reside. At the end of the year anything over the defined money in the revolving account is returned to the town and reinvested. It typically takes three years to self-fund a Recreation Department. Setting aside the first few years of the Recreation Department funding helps build a foundation. This is also a great way to continue to build community, create stronger community bonds within our town and show people from other communities all of what Stoneham has to offer, instead of the other way around.

Saving the best news for last, the Recreation Department will be funded for the first three years by an impact agreement the BOS negotiated. At our last Special Town Meeting in October, the town voted overwhelmingly to set aside $50K as seed money to restart a Recreation Department. Shortly thereafter, the town was approached by PGG Outdoor LLC to host a billboard overlooking the highway. Instead of rubber stamping this approval, the BOS negotiated the highest impact fee agreement to ever be agreed upon in our area. We then negotiated an additional $100K to be received in the first year in return for promising not to put a sign in front of the sign. The impact of the billboard is to the community as a whole, so it makes sense to take the first year fee and give back to the community. The funding of the Recreation Department does not impact any other department or public services, as the money is not coming from our budget. The Recreation Department will provide opportunities to all residents, ranging from the very young to adults.

Back on the Bus, Ya’ll: Stoneham MBTA Progress!

Some very exciting news out of the office of State Rep Michael Day for the commuters of Stoneham:

STONEHAM TO SEE EXTENDED HOURS OF OPERATION ON 132 BUS ROUTE

State Representative Michael S. Day announced today that additional transportation options will soon be coming to Stoneham. The MBTA 132 bus route, currently the only bus route servicing downtown Stoneham, will extend its hours of operation to 11:00pm. The bus now ceases operations at 7:00pm, making it particularly difficult for commuters who either work late or irregular hours to utilize public transportation. The current situation also negatively impacts local businesses such as Stoneham Theater and various downtown restaurants whose employees and patrons must commute by car because there are no other transportation options out of the town square after 7:00pm.

“This is great news for our residents and our businesses,” said Representative Day. “This change will make commuting into and out of Stoneham easier for our residents, our workers and our visitors, and I am very happy to make this announcement. I thank the MBTA, and particularly General Manager Frank DePaola, for listening and responding to our community’s concerns.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the Stoneham Transportation Forum, hosted by Representative Day and the Stoneham Transportation Advisory Committee and featuring MBTA General Manger Frank DePaola. During the Forum, Representative Day and other members of the community voiced the need for extended hours on the 132 route in addition to proposing more overall MBTA service in Stoneham.

“The 132 bus is Stoneham’s only public transportation option for potential patrons and employees trying to access Stoneham Theatre. With the old schedule ending before our evening productions even began, we lost a valuable opportunity to draw more people and artists and staff to the Town of Stoneham for live professional theatre,” said Stoneham Theatre Managing Director Debra Rafson. “Now, anyone who wants to experience our fantastic line-up of shows will be able to take public transportation both here and back.”

The new transit schedule will go into effect in March 2016, which is the next time the MBTA is allowed to alter driver schedules to accommodate for the extension to an 11:00pm service. “This is a very encouraging and welcome development,” continued Day, “but the extended hours will only remain in effect as long as there is a demonstrable need and ridership. I hope we can show that we value these improvements by spreading the word about the increased services and by taking advantage of the additional buses on the 132 route.”

Representative Day has been working closely with MBTA, State Senator Jason Lewis and the Stoneham Transportation Advisory Committee to bring these additional services to Stoneham.

“I applaud this announcement of extended hours for the 132 bus route, which is great news for Stoneham,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “This will allow commuters more flexibility in planning their workdays, and will bring a new and diverse group of residents and visitors to Stoneham. I thank Representative Day and the Stoneham Transportation Advisory Committee for their hard work and leadership on this important issue.”

“We are grateful for the earnestness of General Manager DePaola and Representative Day in working to secure Stoneham’s transportation future,” said Rachel Meredith Warren, speaking on behalf of the Stoneham Transportation Advisory Committee. “We know that extending the 132 service is key to both a prosperous local economy and a thriving community. Our entire town, but in particular our commuters, senior citizens and veterans, clamored for this change for years and won a big victory today.”
The extension of service will not only benefit current residents and commuters, but may help attract a new and younger population of residents and visitors to Stoneham. According to a recent poll by the Urban Land Institute Boston/New England and the MassINC Polling Group, 80% of young professionals in the Greater Boston area rank access to public transit as “very important” in their calculation of choosing where to live, with 78% of respondents stating that a workplace located near public transportation was also very important to them.

“On behalf of the Stoneham Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors we are very happy to hear that the 132 bus service will be extended through the evening hours,” said Chris Senna of C&S Capital Properties and Vice President of the Chamber. “This bus service is extremely important for our businesses’ customers and employees and critical to the vibrancy of our downtown community. We are grateful for the efforts of our State Representative Michael Day, the committee work of our new Stoneham Transportation Action Committee, and for the assistance of MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola with Stoneham’s public transportation needs.”
“This is a terrific first step,” said Representative Day, “and I will continue to work with all of our stakeholders in an effort to bring even more public transportation options to Stoneham.”

To learn more about Stoneham’s transportation concerns, the Stoneham Transportation Forum hosted by Day can be viewed on-demand at StonehamTV’s website (http://stonehamtv.org/ondemand). Those with questions about this and other service improvements are encouraged to reach out to Day atMichael.Day@mahouse.gov or by phone at 617.722.2582.

This is the first step in a list of transportation improvement needs that the Stoneham Square Action Plan Advisory Committee (SSAPAC) included in its overall plan. Additionally, the Stoneham Town Planner, Erin Wortman has done an amazing job of moving many of these tasks forward, and this extended bus schedule will be a great boost to the success of these enhancements!

A big “thanks” to Mike Day, BOS Chairman Tom Boussy, Selectwoman Ann Marie O’Neill, Selectwoman Caroline Colarusso, and State Senator Jason Lewis for actively and vocally advocating for the MBTA improvements to the Town of Stoneham. The short list of public transportation improvements that Stoneham needs as recommended by the Stoneham Transportation Advisory Committee
Bus Opportunities includes:

1. Fix 132 Online Schedule to reflect
current location of bus stops in Stoneham.
2. Add a Stop at the Stone Zoo on
the 132.
3. Extend 132 Service to 11pm on Thurs,
Fri and Sat.
4. Add 132 Buses during peak commutes
and on weekends.
5. Shift Existing 354 Route from exiting
I-93 at Exit 36 to Exit 34, allowing the bus to run
along Rt 28 and Montvale Avenue. Add an express
stop on Montvale Avenue.
6. Add a Stop at the Stone Zoo on the 99.
7. Extend 99 Route along South Border Road
to 300 unit, Fallon Road housing development.
8. Add a 131 Loop to serve Stoneham.
9. Include 131 Stops at Stoneham High School
and Senior Center.

Let’s keep the progress coming!

Important Meeting on May 18, 2015: Eversource Transmission Line

What: Important meeting / open house
When: Monday night 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Where: Town hall banquet room.
WHY: Eversource Woburn through Stoneham to Wakefield Transmission Line.

This is a big deal!

How big is this project? To give you an idea, Eversource is building an 8.5 mile underground 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line connecting substations in Woburn to Wakefield, with 1.8 miles of the project located in Stoneham. The estimated cost is $175 million. The trench needed for the wire is five ft. deep by five ft. wide.

The trench will need to be much deeper to get under existing public utilities. The estimated time line is two years, but will likely be much longer. This wire is so big that certain routes were deemed impossible because the transmission wire couldn’t make a left-hand turn down the street. The wire comes in 1800’ spools so every 1800’ ft. there will need to be a connection station that is best described as burying a school bus under the street with two manhole covers located on the street above. Right now the route goes up Montvale Ave., left onto Main, down Main and up either Elm or Broadway, and on to Wakefield.

Our only real option is to enter into a host community agreement and have some say over where the route goes and what we want in the form of mitigation money. If we deny them a grant of location, they will appeal the decision and receive a grant of location from the Energy Facilities Siting Board. If that happens then we have no say in route or mitigation. This project that runs east-west through town and will also coincide with the MWRA project, which runs north-south through town.

Please come out and provide imput on the route and what you would like in mitigation.

Special Town Meeting Tonight- A Little Too Special

Quite frankly, I’m not happy that we’re returning for a Special Town Meeting tonight. Following Annual Town Meeting, I expressed my feelings and demanded better answers than just “oopsies” on the Articles we are returning for at the May 13, 2014 Board of Selectmen meeting. These were unanswered by Town Administrator Dave Ragucci- literally. He just sat there while Bill Solomon exasperatedly repeated his prior explanation.

The next day I found out that my demand for accountability was more than justified. Why do I mention this? Because it’s for scenarios like this that our Town seems to have difficultly following State laws and regulations – and somehow there are no ramifications for it!

But alas, here we are, so let’s see what we’re dealing with. The following attachments are from this week’s issue of The Stoneham Independent:

Stoneham Independent Page 1
Stoneham Independent Page 2
Stoneham Independent Page 3

Stoneham resident Tara Lawler wrote an email that I feel well-summarizes why we should vote “no” on both articles tonight, so I’m sharing it here:

From: Tara
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 1:48 PM
To: My Stoneham Neighbors
Subject: Special Town Hall Meeting June 19th

When I read about yet another special meeting on June 19th for the lease extension on the Greenway/Bike Path I thought to myself maybe let the businesses have until October 15, 2014. But then I further read and researched – back in 2009 the businesses had leased Town-owned property that would expire on June 30, 2014. Five year notice is quite sufficient in my opinion. And who’s to say come October 15th they would not yet again ask for more time, since there doesn’t seem to be an exit strategy in place? The stated intent of the abutters is to occupy the RR ROW on a permanent basis. They have declined an opportunity to discuss the matter at this time.

This project has been in the making for over twenty five years, and my guess is that the businesses thought this day would never come. There are two businesses asking to extend the June 30th lease until October 15th. One of the businesses at Montvale Plaza wants the extension to help with their parking situation. Their employee parking is on the Greenway/Bike Path. Solution: park across the street at the medical office since social events are on weekends or evenings when the doctors’ offices are closed. Or use the building on the current parking lot that MP bought a few years back to expand their parking lot.

It is not that I am trying to go against businesses in town or make it difficult for them to operate, but in fact quite the opposite. I see a risk to losing $5.5 MILLION dollars if the 49 foot width is not cleared. This Greenway/Bike Path will link three communities together. My hope is to improve business in town, free advertising along the route, stay for lunch in town, or grab a coffee, etc. The abutters were asked about the impact on their businesses at a Bike Path Committee meeting. Both parties indicated that it would require extra effort to move but that it was possible.

As we all know, 40B is a hot topic in town – well did you know that every bit of land, such as the RR ROW, that is subtracted from the ‘denominator’ of the ‘acreage’ calculation moves us closer to satisfying the state requirements for low income housing?? Yes: every bit of land ***such as the RR ROW*** that is subtracted from the ‘denominator’ of the ‘acreage’ calculation moves us closer to satisfying the state requirements for low income housing. MAPC calculations excluded from the denominator the railroad ROW and counted the ROW as land that is owned by a governmental agency. The ROW land has been correctly subtracted from the denominator and this is in the Town’s best interest in calculating the 1.5% standard. It is possible that a lease of the land for a non-governmental purpose could negatively impact the above; the ROW land would therefore not be subtracted from the denominator thus increasing the burden on the numerator.

And another note, anything less than the 49 feet for the Path will just look like a sidewalk; which we have plenty of those in town. Let’s allow our community to actually ENJOY Stoneham instead of having to “walk the lake” in Wakefield!

Please attend the Special Town Meeting on June 19th at 7 pm and vote NO on extending the leases.

~Tara

Added Details: Potential Land Swap of Stoneham Oaks and Weiss Farm.

In addition to the letter that I sent out last week, there has been a lot of talk regarding the potential land swap between the Stoneham Oaks and Weiss Farm. First, I’d like to clear up a couple of concerns:

1- There has not been, and going forward will not be, any discussion about the Stoneham Arena. This is absolutely NOT a part of any potential deal.

2- Unicorn Golf Course is not part of any discussion.

3- Corcoran was also told that there will be no access from William Street and they did not have any issues with it.

4- At this time we are just feeling each other out to see if there is interest from both sides. At no time was there discussion on land value, and we did not offer a one-for-one swap.

I felt that it was in the best interest of the Town to be totally transparent about the meeting and to give residents time to think about the idea, as well as allow them time to have input on whether the swap should be pursued. If this swap is agreed to be a good idea, the intent is to give everybody an opportunity to help craft and shape the scale and scope of the Oaks.

Attached to this post is the letter that I had sent out.

Update on Weiss Farm

Countdown to Town Meeting: Articles in Depth Part 3

In continuing our series that examines the Warrant Articles that are on the May 5, 2014 Town Meeting agenda, Chairman Tom Boussy and I are focusing on Article 2 in today’s post. Article 2 is a proposal to remove the residential overlay at Fallon Road. Article 2 does two things: 1) sends a message to potential investors everywhere that Stoneham is a place to be avoided, and 2) highlights the need for a Town Planner. The following is the back story which will allow you to better understand why this is so.

Before doing so, let’s take a moment to understand the difference between Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting and how Warrant Articles are introduced for voting. In Stoneham we have an Annual Town Meeting every May. Warrant Articles are submitted for consideration by any citizen of Stoneham whereby they must be accompanied by 10 signatures and be submitted within the window of time defined by the Board of Selectmen. A Special Town Meeting is called when a citizen submits Warrant Articles for consideration outside of the defined window for submission, and they must be accompanied by 200 signatures. For convenience, the Special Town Meeting is held on the same night as the Annual Town Meeting. Within the Annual Town Meeting in May will have a Special Town Meeting that has 4 Warrant Articles for consideration of the voters.

Article 2, written and submitted by Paul Maisano, proposes the removal of the residential overlay at Fallon Road. It is important to remember that the residential overlay was unanimously voted on by the citizens of Stoneham at the October 2012 Special Town Meeting.

What is the residential overlay? Essentially it “overlays” a second zoning on top of an already existing zoning. In this case, it is adding a residential zoning on top of an existing light industrial zoning and together they exist as one. As a result of the overlay vote in October 2012, a developer made a substantial investment to the town to get started on a project. Now the rug may be pulled out from under them.

The Fallon Road land has been a point of contention for many years. The owner of this property – The Richmond Company – proposed the erection of a Home Depot on that site. Richmond owns the property and, as a private owner, is entitled to do with their property what they please as long the plan fits into existing zoning and bylaws. Because neither the Home Depot nor apartments that would have been part of the project were properly zoned, the owner had to bring an overlay proposal before the voters of Stoneham. At that time, the citizens of Stoneham, especially the residents who live in the area were vehemently opposed to Home Depot and the project was stopped.

After it was clear that the residents of Stoneham did not have the appetite for a Home Depot, The Richmond Company brought an alternative idea forward for the property – a 290 unit apartment building. The proposal was brought to the Special Town Meeting in October 2012, which required the residential overlay, and it was overwhelmingly granted.

As we already mentioned, after the overlay was approved, The Richmond Company made a significant investment on this project. The company handed a check to our Town for $90,000. Stoneham has spent this money on road repairs. Further, Richmond has pledged mitigation money to Stoneham for a total of $1.8 Million. The money is to be used for things such as resurfacing sidewalks along Fallon Road, a new pumping station, and new traffic signals on the corner of Maple and Fallon in addition to cash.

It is not farfetched to imagine that a great amount of additional time and money has already been invested by Richmond. If this overlay were reversed, what kind of message will that send to any investor looking to do business with Stoneham? It will send a message to other potential investors that this is how Stoneham does business: the Town will give you a green light to go ahead with a project, but the Town may change its mind in a couple of years after you have spent time, resources and real money. What company in their right mind would want to do business with Stoneham if we take this action? This is not a good message at all. In addition, if Article 2 passes at Town Meeting, there is a high probability that the town will be met with a justifiable lawsuit where Richmond would probably look to retrieve the money they already paid and compensation for other time and resources already committed to the project.

If we could turn back the hands of time when this building project was first considered, and if we had a Town Planner in our employ, most likely the Planner would have explored the beneficial potential of adding a Chapter 40B component. Unfortunately we cannot turn back time, but the project in the works by Richmond will provide $500K to Stoneham as soon as the building permits are granted. A portion of these funds will be committed to fund a Town Planner for the next 3 years. We believe a Town Planner is a critical piece of the puzzle for the vision and controlled advancement of Stoneham’s future.

Do we think that the development project on Fallon Road are excellent plans for Stoneham? No. However, the citizens of Stoneham voted an approval and we must respect the democratic process. More than likely the reason the article went through in the first place was that it was a more palatable plan than having a Home Depot bring more cars and trucks through Stoneham. The next proposal could have been even more displeasing. Therefore, to the voters of Stoneham, the apartment complex proposal seemed the best alternative at the time.

The lengthy and contentious history of the Fallon Road property is a clear example of why Stoneham is in dire need of a Town Planner.

The Continuing Evolution of Stoneham

It’s incredible how fast time flies- especially when progress is being made! It feels like just yesterday that I made the decision to run for the vacated Stoneham Selectman seat this past June. I was excited about the work I wanted to do for my fellow community members, and was even more energized when I was voted in. Fast forward eight months later and rather than make promises and hope for the best, I’m able to share the positive accomplishments I’ve achieved on behalf of Stoneham as I ask for your vote once again on April 1st, 2014. This time I’m seeking a full three-year term to continue the great progress I’ve successfully worked with the community on:

Greenway/Bikeway- I reignited the project which is scheduled to break ground next year, infusing Stoneham with the better part of 5.5M.

Stoneham’s Public Islands- I brought attention to the fact that upkeep of Stoneham’s islands had been neglected for over two years, and immediately began an initiative to beautify highly visible locations to put Stoneham’s best face forward. (Recently RFPs went out to local landscapers and sponsors are being considered. By spring we will have a town to be proud of!)

General Interests- I successfully fought the issuance of beer and wine licenses to local gas stations. Additionally, I encouraged my fellow board members to take a closer look at our tobacco by-laws, especially because many local stores were selling products that blatantly encouraged our youth to begin smoking, plus some stores had drug paraphernalia proudly on display. Thanks to these efforts, the stores will be unable to offer such products in a couple of months.

Stoneham’s Drug and Alcohol Coalition- I became very active with the coalition to further help prevent and combat drug/alcohol addiction.

Communication- I improved communications between town departments and residents. As a result, Stoneham will soon introduce a web-based/smart phone tool that we can use to report an issue, receive acknowledgement, and follow progress through to completion.

Weiss Farm- A BIG issue of concern for just about everyone living in Stoneham. I have spent many hours working on strategies to fight the housing development proposed by Corcoran Development that is way too big for Franklin Street. Much of my input was used in the letter to MassHousing and as part of the foundation for our argument against the project. To better communicate with residents on the efforts, a web page was developed. We are able see periodic updates from our 40B attorney and submit comments on behalf of the project.

Local Businesses- I lobbied for an Economic Developer desperately needed by Stoneham. While working on these important issues, I met with local business owners and developers to hear the challenges they face in attracting business to Stoneham that would bring in much needed revenue while being a good fit for our community.

Revitalizing Downtown- Stoneham needs funds to restore basic services our town has lost over the last 10 years or so. I’ve made it loud and clear that we taxpayers just cannot pay more. We must focus on revitalizing our downtown area, filling empty store fronts and buildings to bring in much needed revenue. We need to aggressively pursue grant money and other financial opportunities that will put Stoneham back on solid financial footing. We need to continue to work with our legislators to fight for more state funding, as we are clearly not receiving our fair share. I believe the town needs to be more fiscally transparent to taxpayers. The budget process is confusing and taxpayers do not have a clear view of where their money goes.

This is a summary of things I’ve done in nearly eight months. If I’m able to continue my work for three full years, we’ll be the type of town surrounding areas aspire to be like!

So, again, please vote Ann Marie O’Neill for Stoneham Selectman on April 1st. Absentee ballots are available if you will not be around for the election.

Thank you,

Ann Marie O’Neill, Stoneham Selectwoman

Are You On Facebook? So Are We!

We have a growing group on Facebook that is home to some great dialogue about Stoneham. It’s refreshing to see how involved our citizens are, and as you will see, we’ve been responding to all concerns raised by residents who post in there:

Ann Marie O’Neill, Stoneham Selectman Facebook Group

Our town leaders cannot operate in silos and we are always looking for ways to engage with our community. Afterall, our roles as Selectman are partnerships with each and every resident of Stoneham. Thank you for being involved!

Keeping Up with Weiss Farm – Just a Click Away!

Staying informed is everything- especially when it comes to projects that could drastically impacting our community. I worked with the Stoneham website administrators to create a special section of the town homepage that features regularly updated, crucial information and developments surrounding Weiss Farm.

Stoneham’s web site is http://www.stoneham-ma.gov/. On the main menu bar, top screen, far right is a new link titled “Weiss Farm.” When you click that link you will find an accumulation of all Weiss Farm information. Many citizens have written very compelling letters detailing all of the reasons this project is too big for Franklin Street. There is direction on the main page of where these letters can be directed and deadlines for comments.

I hope you have an opportunity to review the web site and perhaps submit a comment to the BOS and MassHousing. Pass the word.

September 2014- Board of Selectmen votes “yes” on legal counsel regarding Weiss Farm, courtesy of Stoneham Patch