By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
2/18/10
Although the four-article warrant may seem slim, appearances can be deceiving. The Special Town Meeting set to begin Monday, Feb. 22, contains one article in the warrant virtually certain to garner controversy and considerable debate: the rezoning of Temple Shalom’s property. One article speaks to the budget crisis currently facing the town while another looks to wind energy as a means of future savings. The debate over the future of the Temple will come to a head in an article asking Town Meeting to approve a zoning plan for a pharmacy-based commercial development along Route 138 near Mattapan. The zoning, which last year’s Annual Town Meeting returned to the Planning Board for further study, is proposed because Temple members say their current facility is too large to maintain. The new development would include a 13,000-square-foot CVS Pharmacy and a 10,000-square-foot grocery store, in addition to a downsized Temple.
The issue of whether to allow the zoning in a residential neighborhood has caused great division during meetings since May, from residents who say the Temple is a valued member of the community and from those who say the development is unfit for the dense residential area.
It is expected that the Special Town Meeting will again spark divisions along those lines.
“It’s going to go on at least one night,” Selectman Chair John Shields said of the debate over the Temple, which has already consumed over a year of public meetings.
“Everyone who is a Town Meeting member can get up there and speak. There may be new perspectives brought out that haven’t been heard yet. A lot will depend on how the moderator wants to handle the debate.”
The Planning Board and the Warrant Committee have voted to recommend the zoning change, although neither vote was unanimous. Selectmen have yet to take a vote.
Shields, who has expressed opposition to the commercial zoning in a residential zone because he says it goes against town tradition, said he would prefer to see the article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant.
“I would prefer we return to the tradition of [discussing] zoning at Annual Town Meeting,” he said. “[But] we promised [the Temple] this Town Meeting.”
Another article, proposing cuts to department budgets, has caused division between top officials, who have different views on the approach that the town should take. The Warrant Committee’s original recommendation was to cut $700,000 from operating budgets, a portion of which would make up a current revenue shortfall of around $240,000 and the remainder of which reflects the amount that the committee felt the town would be further cut in state aid.
However, at its Feb. 8 meeting, the Warrant Committee voted to change its recommendation. The article now proposes reducing budgets by just the $240,000 of the current deficit. Committee Chair Tom Hurley said the new number reflects current thinking that no further cuts will be forthcoming from the state in the fiscal year.
“We made the decision because it was becoming apparent that, barring a monumental collapse of the state’s revenues, there will probably be no further [state aid] cuts in FY 10,” Hurley said in an e-mail.
There will be a presentation laying out how the proposed cuts would impact services within different departments. Both Shields and Hurley said they hope a strategy can be agreed upon prior to the Town Meeting.
“I am keeping discussion of this article on every meeting agenda that we have up until Town Meeting. I do plan to reach out … to see if the Selectmen would like to have one more meeting on this issue,” said Hurley.
“It’s going to be a group effort,” said Shields. “We have to be really, really careful with the town’s money. We’re trying to guide the town through this difficult time, and the way not to do that is be at each other’s throats. The solution is to have responsible people sit down and come to some decision.”
A third article asks Town Meeting to authorize a borrowing plan for the construction of a wind turbine on a town-owned parcel adjacent to the Granite Links Golf Club.
Installation costs are expected to be roughly $6.2 million, which would be paid out through a 20-year bond combined with a portion of savings achieved through the wind technology. The town recently received a $399,000 state grant to mitigate some of that cost.
Even with the costs, officials have said they expect the turbine to bring back immediate results – around $150,000 in energy savings to the town in the first year and $800,000 annually once the costs are fully paid for.
Zoning accepted by last year’s Annual Town Meeting allows the turbine to reach as high as 480 feet, as measured at the top of the blades.
Richard Kleiman, chair of the town’s Wind Energy Committee, said the prospect of wind energy has excited the town.
“It’s been well supported. We’ve had largely positive comments,” he said.
“I think we’re going to be able to show [Town Meeting] that this is a win-win for the town,” said Shields.
Shields said he expects there to be opposition from representatives from the golf course, where the turbine would be most visible.
(See advertisement on Page 17
of our February 18, 2010 edition.)
Finally, there is an article proposing a new bylaw for blasting for the town. It would establish requirements similar to state guidelines currently in place for destroying rock ledge. Anyone seeking to blast would first need a permit from the Committee on Blasting, which would be made up of the town fire chief, engineer and building inspector. In some instances, pre-blasting survey data and the posting of a bond would also be required.
Special Town Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Milton High School, 25 Gile Road. Other dates for Town Meeting are Tuesday, Feb. 23, and Thursday, Feb. 25. If necessary, it will continue into the first week of March.