By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
12/10/09
With the Gov. Stoughton Trust Land Committee wrapping up its work, Selectmen are ready to take on the issue of the Town Farm. Beginning in January, the board will begin including discussions of the property on their agenda. They also plan to hold a public hearing, likely in March. Planning for the Feb. 22 Special Town Meeting, which is expected to generate lengthy debate over the budget and potential rezoning of Temple Shalom, has consumed much of Selectmen’s time recently. However, accepting the Gov. Stoughton committee’s final report last week, the board was fully committed to debating the property.
“Yes, it’s going to take time. But I think it’s time for the Selectmen to step up to the plate,” Selectmen Chairman John Shields said.
Selectmen appointed the seven-member Gov. Stoughton committee nearly two years ago. Since that time, the committee has held meetings, heard the views of numerous residents and taken advice of local experts while working to put together a comprehensive report recommending ways the town can best utilize the 34-acre parcel off Canton Avenue.
In his 1701 will, Colonial Gov. William Stoughton gifted his wooded lot to the town and named the Selectmen as trustees, with the understanding that it be used to benefit the poor of Milton. A trust was established to serve the town’s indigent.
Once an actual working poor farm, Town Farm property contains buildings that have also been used historically to raise rent for the trust. Those structures, which date back to the 1800s, now sit in disrepair, including the building that houses the town’s animal shelter.
There is common agreement across town that the Town Farm has been underutilized. However, there are opposing views on whether a housing development at the site – one way to raise funds for the trust – would fit with the governor’s original wishes.
Selectman Kathy Fagan said regardless of where opinions differ, the growth of interest in the property has made many wiser to the problems of the needy.
“People have become aware that there really are people in need,” she said.
In its report to Selectmen, the Gov. Stoughton committee recommends a preservation of the current buildings on the farm by way of an endowment fund. The committee’s goal is to reach a $5 million endowment, where capital improvements can be made at the farm and money raised for the trust.
They recommend three options: private donations, bonding or some type of housing development, which they do not specify. The report states that “given the posture of many neighbors,” development of the property would be the most “controversial.”
At the Selectmen’s meeting, Shields said he agrees an endowment is the right way to go.
“It’s a fantastic start. This gives us a focus, and that is, an endowment,” he said.
Shields also expressed his desire to have Selectmen hold a public hearing before moving forward.
“In my 10 years as a selectman, I don’t think we’ve held a public hearing as a Board of Selectmen on the Gov. Stoughton property,” he said.
Fagan said she wants to hear from all sides.
“I think having more people come forward with ideas can only help the process,” she said. “This is not the end point of information gathering.”
During the Citizen Speak portion of the meeting, Whittier Road resident Mike Kelly said Selectmen shouldn’t accept the Gov. Stoughton committee’s final report until the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office rules as to whether the committee breeched the Open Meeting Law. An official at the DA’s office is investigating a complaint from resident John Hajjar that the committee violated that law by discussing matters outside its purview during closed-door sessions. Committee members have denied the claim.
Selectman Marion McEttrick said accepting the report doesn’t preclude the board from later judging it based on the DA’s finding.
“I’m not sure why we wouldn’t be able to accept a report from a committee we appointed and say, ‘Thank you very much,’” she said.
The Selectmen plan to discuss the Town Farm at their Jan. 7 meeting.