This from the town DPW’s consultant –
“Larusso canceled the scheduled paving for the 12th because they got delayed on their last job by the rain on last Friday. They wanted to go today but [we] were worried about rain so we have been put on their schedule for the 19th.”
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Posted in DPW
Attorneys have inquired of Town of Medfield officials about their clients’ plans to open a marijuana cultivation facility at 99 West Street. From the attorney’s email to the town official –
“As of now their plan is to put a cultivation center only at that location.
“There would be no signage and the outside of the building would look almost identical to its existing face. Our clients are well funded Mass. residents that run multi-million dollar private equity firms.”
Posted in Business, Development, Marijuana
Michelle Garcia (l.) and Angie Firmalino (r.) are warning women about problems with the birth control implant Essure.The 2013 Justice Served Awards honor each of these nominees for their commitment to a safer, more just America. Tell us which story moves you the most (see our nominating criteria below), and we’ll enter you into a drawing for a free subscription to Consumer Reports.
Michelle Garcia and Angie Firmalino have never met in person, but together they are warning thousands of women about complications associated with Essure. Billed as effective, permanent and surgery-free birth control, the Essure procedure involves blocking the fallopian tubes with inserts that look like tiny metal coils. One of Michelle’s coils broke and pierced her abdomen, requiring surgery to remove the coil and both damaged fallopian tubes. After suffering sharp stabbing pains, heavy bleeding, fevers, fatigue and depression for two years, Angie also had the coils removed only to discover that a piece broke off during surgery and remains lodged in her uterus.
Since starting a Facebook page and website called Essure Problems to warn friends and families about the product, Angie has heard from hundreds of other women who have also suffered complications from Essure. Meanwhile, Michelle is working with the American Association for Justice to protest a Supreme Court decision that exempts the manufacturers of FDA-approved medical devices like Essure from legal responsibility for injuries caused by their products. Read more about Michelle, Angie and the latest news about women struggling with Essure.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper talks energy drinks with Wendy Crossland.In 2012, 14-year-old Anais Fournier drank two 24-ounce cans of Monster energy drink within 24 hours, went into cardiac arrest and died. The cause of death listed on her autopsy report was “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity“ in the presence of a heart condition. The caffeine Anais consumed is equivalent to 14 cans of Coca-Cola and is almost five times the recommended daily limit for children.
Thus began an odyssey for Wendy Crossland (Anais’ mom) that culminated recently with congressional hearings on the safety of energy drinks such as Monster, 5-Hour Energy, Red Bull, Rockstar and others. The revved-up sodas have been cited for a twofold increase in emergency room visits from 2007 to 2011 and reports of at least 18 deaths to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Several lawmakers and the American Medical Association are now calling for a ban on the marketing of energy drinks to children under 18. Meanwhile, Monster claims that its products are safe and were not the cause of Anais’ death. Read more about Wendy’s journey.
Aaron Holm started Wiggle Your Toes to help fellow amputees.Aaron Holm was helping a coworker change a flat tire in 2007 when a car crashed into his, causing a chain reaction that pinned him between two vehicles. He lost both of his legs above the knee. Friends and family rushed to his side, and within hours a plan was in place that would help Aaron achieve a remarkable recovery.
One night before a difficult surgery, Aaron mentioned in his blog that he, like many amputees, still had sensation from his missing limbs. So he asked everyone to “wiggle your toes for me.” The phrase struck a chord with his supporters and inspired the name of the foundation Aaron started to help others regain a full life after losing a limb. Wiggle Your Toes replicates Aaron’s recovery plan with consultation on a full range of services for amputees and their family, from legal protection to transportation to prosthetics. Read more about Aaron and his foundation.
Casey Feldman courtesy of the Casey Feldman Foundation.It took just a few seconds for a driver to reach for a drink and take his eyes off the road. In that moment, 21-year-old Casey Feldman was struck and killed while crossing a street in a crosswalk on her way to work. Distracted driving has become a national epidemic, killing more than 3,000 people in 2011 and injuring another 387,000.
Refusing to allow Casey to become just another statistic, her parents Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson founded End Distracted Driving (EndDD) to prevent more senseless deaths and injuries from distracted driving. Since its inception, EndDD has tirelessly advocated for an end to distracted driving through original, groundbreaking research and by enlisting trial lawyers to spread the message to thousands of teens across the nation. Read more about Casey and EndDD.
The Justice Served Awards celebrate the stories of injured people and their families who decide to make a difference in protecting the health, safety and legal rights of others. Once a year, we ask our readers to read these remarkable stories and tell us which one touches them most and why. Winners are chosen based on their efforts to:
– See more at: http://letamericaknow.com/view_feature_ysk.php?memberid=21441&orderid=449&issueid=1309#sthash.pkfIY0le.dpuf
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Posted in Legal
This email this AM from NSTAR’s new community representative to the Town of Medfield, in response to Richard DeSorgher’s recent list of “frustrations” sent to NSTAR – progress to be made –
8/12/2013 10:09AM
Re: fw: Frustration with NSTAR
Lopes, Jack
Selectman Osler L. Peterson
===========================================================
Mr. Peterson,
As a follow up to your email in regards to the 8 issues as stipulated in the email below, I met with our Walpole Service Center and below is the follow up from NSTAR:
1) A Walpole supervisor stopped by the Medfield Highway Garage and spoke with a Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kennedy stated that they were not ready for NSTAR, they first must do some site work in order for the NSTAR truck to have access to the site, this morning we received a call from Mr. Kennedy that the site is now ready for NSTAR and we have committed a truck to be on site this Wednesday.
2) NSTAR Walpole Service Center would like to have the pole number or street address for the location of the pole that was installed through a drainage pipe on Eastmont Rd.
3) NSTAR Walpole Service Center will be on site today to remove the double pole at the Robert McCarthy Blacksmith Shop Historical Monument.
4) I will work with the Walpole Service Center regarding the double poles once I receive the priority list from the Town of Medfield.
5) I will check with our Vegetation Management Group to see what can be done regarding the tree trimming on the NSTAR’s Transmission Right of Way on Route 27, and how we can better communicate with the town in regards to future tree trimming.
6) In regards to the pole on Fairview Rd, NSTAR will bring out some
gravel, either today or tomorrow and fill the hole at the base of the pole.
7) The coils of wire on Clark Rd. and Elm St. are either Verizon or
Comcast, they do not belong to NSTAR.
8) The plastic box at Phillip St. and Fairview Rd. is a termination box
that belongs to Verizon.
Thank you, please let me know if you have any questions.
Jack Lopes, CEM
Community Relations & Economic Development Specialist
Northeast Utilities
One NSTAR Way – Walpole
Westwood, MA 02090
Telephone: 508-660-5251
Fax: 508-660-5240
http://www.nu.com
From: “Osler L. Peterson”
To: Jack Lopes/NUS@NU,
Cc: Michael Sullivan, Kristine Trierweiler
Date: 08/08/2013 11:52 AM
Subject: fw: Frustration with NSTAR
Mr. Lopes,
Thank you for meeting with the Medfield town administrators and your follow up email to their assistant. I am one of the other Medfield selectmen, and look forward to meeting you. However, I am writing because I wanted to assure you that it is not just one of the selectmen who has been frustrated with the issues Richard DeSorgher detailed so well, it is all of the selectmen. So, thank you in advance for seeking to resolve these matters as soon as possible.
Also, despite our frustrations at times, please know that we are greatly appreciative of many things related to NSTAR, most especially the relationships with and past assistance from both Barry Salvucci and Penni Conner to the town.
Thank you for your courtesies and assistance with resolving these current matters. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Pete
Osler L. Peterson, Attorney at Law
PETERSON | Law
580 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02458
66 North St, PO Box 358, Medfield, MA 02052
T – 617.969.1500
T – 617.969.1501 (direct)
M – 508-359-9190
F – 617.663.6008
osler.peterson@verizon.net
http://mysite.verizon.net/osler.peterson/
Medfield Information at: Facebook, https://medfield02052.wordpress.com/ &
—– Original Message —–
From: Jack Lopes
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 9:49 AM
To:
Subject: Frustration with NSTAR
Good morning Mr. DeSorgher:
First I would like to apologize for the frustration that with have been
getting from NSTAR, as of Monday, August 12th, I will be the new Community Relations Specialist for the Town of Medfield, I have started to looking into the items listed below, I met with Mike Sullivan and Kristine Trierweiler yesterday afternoon and our priority is to get item 1 resolved ASAP, I will be meeting with the Manager of our Walpole Service Center later today to get a time table for this, the other item regarding the 200+ double poles I have asked Kristine to get me a priority list so that we can address those first, the other items on the list will be patrolled by an NSTAR supervisor today and tomorrow and I should have a list by Monday.
again, I apologize for the frustration that NSTAR has caused you and the Town of Medfield and look forward to work with you and the town.
Thank you.
Jack Lopes, CEM
Account Executive
Northeast Utilities
One NSTAR Way – SUMSW340
Westwood, MA 02090-9230
Telephone: 781-441-8236
Fax: 781-441-3194
http://www.nu.com
Frustration with NSTAR
At last nights Selectman’s meeting, I expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation Medfield has been receiving from NSTAR. It took place during a hearing we held concerning the request by NSTAR to place an additional electrical pole in the North Street sidewalk to service Statbucks. While the NSTAR representative at the meeting was not the culprit of my frustration, I felt I had to begin somewhere in trying to get through to NSTAR, as the normal means of communications have fallen on deaf ears to date. The following were my points of frustration:
1. NSTAR is holding up a $10 million dollar public works project, the new Medfield Highway Garage, with their refusal to remove one live electric pole—Two months have now gone by since the town ’s first request and constant requests via telephone calls and e-mails since then. The Town has already had to spend extra money by having an engineer redesign a new route for the water and sewer lines, as originally they were to go near the existing pole. The drainage, however, can’t be moved and is currently being held up. All the drainage, manholes, etc on the north side of the complex can not be connected to the retention pond close to Route 27 because the pole is in the way. The highway department is afraid to run the drainage next to the live pole as it is in sandy soil and they fear the pole will collapse when they dig next to it. They asked, as a
compromise, since NSTAR won’t schedule the removal of the pole, will they at least send a truck for one hour to hold the pole upright so the DPW can dig the drainage past the pole to connect it to the retention pond. Still no action from NSTAR. We have been lucky to date that it has been dry.
Rain will cause flooding and disruption on the north site of the site as
the water will have no where to go—The existing gasoline/diesel tank on site that holds all the fuel for all our town vehicles needs to be moved.
It can’t become operational until the NSTAR pole is moved. This is costing the taxpayer of Medfield extra money as all our highway vehicles now have to go to Randy’s Irving Station and pay a higher gas and diesel price —I think Medfield deserves a rebate off our town electric bills for the extra costs NSTAR is causing us to spend.
2. There is an NSTAR pole on Eastmont Road that they put through the town drainage pipe, causing flooding and water in the street during heavy rains. The road and drainage is on a hill, resulting in rain water rushing down the drainage system and hitting the pole that is blocking the pipe.
For three years our highway department has been after NSTAR to remove the pole from of the drainage pipe— Said one town highway official “they just wear you down, you keep after them, they don’t respond, you get tired of getting after them, they wear you out and they win, as nothing gets done and the problem remains.â€
3. The Robert McCarthy Blacksmith Shop Historical Monument on Janes Avenue was dedicated in 2011 on the site of Robert McCarthy’s old blacksmith shop. It commemorates not only Mr. McCarthy but memorializes the history of blacksmithing in Medfield. Smack in the middle of the site are ugly double telephone poles owned by NSTAR. NSTAR was asked to remove the unused pole that is strapped to the one in use. This request was put in well before the dedication.- Selectman Pete Peterson personally called NSTAR letting them know the importance of the memorial site. To date,
despite additional requests, nothing has been done. I asked the NSTAR official when that double pole will be removed from the memorial site?
4. I have now counted almost 200 double poles along Medfield streets—(and have not completed every street yet) My question to NSTAR was how do you justify breaking the law, as that is exactly what NSTAR is doing, breaking the law: State law, Chapter 164, Section 34B requires double poles to be removed within 90 days because they are unsightly and pose a safety hazard. The law, however, applies no penalty, so NSTAR flaunts the law and the double poles add up in the communities. Bills to place a $1,000 fine
per pole have been defeated in the state legislature to date. My question to NSTAR was when will you comply with the law and remove all the double poles from Medfield?
5. High tension wires run through Medfield and cross Rt. 27 just past the Gary Dive area of town. Without the common decency of notifying the town, large swaths of trees were cut down in and along an expanded area of the existing high tension lines. I fully understand the reasons why you don’t want high growing trees to get near high tension lines. My question was why was Medfield not notified about the cutting? Brush and low growing trees used to shield the view of the hi-tension lines from Rt. 27. That brush and tree growth that was along RT 27 was also cut down, leaving the now unsightly view of a barren wasteland. The brush and trees were not that tall but at least they shielded the unsightly view. My question was when will the brush/tree growth that was cut down along RT 27 be replaced with planting new low growing brush/trees. It was interesting that the brush and trees were kept along Hartford Street in Dover. For some reason the brush shield was kept for Dover but cut it down in Medfield.
6. The pole on Fairview Road(pole #101-2) has a hole in the ground next to a double pole that now goes under the street. I fear it is about to cause a sink hole as rain water continues to travel into the now expanding hole. My question was when will that be fixed?
7. There are coils of wires hanging from NSTAR poles and laying on the sidewalks and ground. While not live wires, I still fear this is a danger to kids. I have numerous examples including poles on Clark Road and Elm Street. My question was when will they be removed or raised to a higher level on the pole?
8. There is a plastic transformer of some sort lying on the ground that has been there since Tropical Storm Sandy on Philip Street @ Fairview Road. I am not sure what that is, but it should not be lying on the ground for kids to get into. My question was when will that be removed or returned to its original location high up on the pole?
I believe our only recourse, as we are getting no respect or cooperation from NSTAR, is to ask the commissioners of public utilities to come to a selectmen’s meeting so we can voice Medfield’s concerns to the only agency that has control over the utilities. The Department of Public Utilities are made up of: Ann G. Berwick, chair, Jolette A, Westbrook and David W. Cash.
Selectman work this week –
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Posted in On being a selectman, Select Board matters
The weather permitting, North Street paving will begin on Monday at 6AM.
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Posted in DPW
The Supreme Judicial Court said today in Golchin v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company that after a motor vehicle accident the injured party can collect under the auto policy’s MedPay coverage, despite that Blue Cross/Blue Shield had already paid for the medical expenses that underlay the claim against the MedPay coverage.
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Posted in Legal
* By 2020, mental and substance use disorders will surpass all physical diseases as a major cause of disability worldwide
— presentation: “Current and Future Directions for Prevention in Higher Education”, SAMHSA, CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute, July 22, 2013. Richard Lucey, Jr., Special Assistant to the Director, SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
* Marijuana Use Disorder is on the rise – one in six adolescents who have ever used it experiences marijuana dependency or addiction.
— Anthony, D.C., Warner, L.A., Kessler, R.C. (1994). Comparative epidemiology of dependance on tabacco, alcohol, controlled substances, and inhalants: Basic findings from the National Comorbidity Survey. Experiential and Clinical Psycho-pharmacology, 2. 244.
* Surveys of drug-treament centers now find that more youth are in treatment for marijuana abuse or dependence than for the use of alcohol and all other drugs combined.
— SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies. (2009) Treatment episode data set (TEDS): 2009 discharges from substance abuse treatment services, DASIS.
This discussion, of a recent Supreme Judicial Court case discussing when a municipal fee is permitted, versus when such a fee crosses the line to become an impermissible tax, is from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services regular email updates to municipal officials on issues of interest.
Under the SJC’s earlier Emerson College decision, it is an impermissible tax for towns to charge new users large fees to “buy into” the town’s existing municipal services, such as for sewer hook up and/or for other municipal services the town has already paid to build out (e.g. – schools, library, public safety, and the rest).
Sewer Connection Fees Upheld
James Crowley, Esq., Bureau of Municipal Finance Law
In Denver Street LLC v. Town of Saugus, 462 Mass. 651 (2012), the Supreme Judicial Court rendered an important decision on whether a charge imposed on new sewer users for access to the town’s sewer system was a lawful fee or an impermissible tax. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decisions of the Superior Court and the Appeals Court which found the charge to be an unlawful tax.
For many years the Town of Saugus had experienced a deteriorating sewer system. There were inflow and infiltration problems due to rain storms which caused sanitary sewer overflow. There was also contamination of the wetlands which posed a health risk. In response to the threat to residential property, the town had installed a bypass pump which discharged raw sewage into the Saugus River. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigated, and in 2005 the town entered into an administrative consent order (ACO) with DEP. The town was fined $25,000 and required to pay any fines that would be imposed for violation of the consent order. Under the terms of the consent order, the town was required to implement a strategic plan to identify and eliminate sources of inflow and infiltration. There was also a moratorium on new connections to the sewer system. Saugus then instituted a ten year, $27 million plan to overhaul the sewer system.
There was not a total bar on development in the town. Under the consent order, the town was allowed to establish a “sewer bank” whereby, as repairs were made to the sewer system, the capacity generated by those repairs would be calculated, and this amount would become available for new connections. Hence, there was a formula under the consent order to determine the ratio of gallons of inflow and infiltration that had to be reduced to permit one gallon of new flow into the system. There was a trade-off, if you will, between gallons removed from the system and gallons allowed. The town initially agreed with DEP on a ten-to-one ratio on reduction and used a $3 per gallon charge.
When the developers in the case at hand sought to build new residences, they were told to pay a connection charge to allow them access to the sewer system. The developers had to pay $670,460 under the formula to gain immediate access. Alternatively, they could wait until all repairs had been made and, at that time, connect to the sewer system. The wait could last years. Reluctantly, the developers paid the charge and filed suit in Superior Court in 2005 alleging the charge was an illegal tax. The town lost in the Superior Court and in the Appeals Court. Faced with the prospect of refunding over one million dollars (the initial $670,460 charge together with 12% interest), the town decided to appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court.
In its analysis of the Saugus charge, the Supreme Judicial Court relied on the 1984 decision of Emerson College v. City of Boston, 391 Mass. 415 (1984). In Emerson, the Supreme Judicial Court had invalidated the City of Boston’s augmented fire service fee for large buildings because the fire service fee constituted an illegal tax. In Emerson, the Supreme Judicial Court held that labeling the charge as a fee was not determinative and then established a three part test to distinguish a legitimate fee from an improper tax. The three Emerson tests are as follows:
First, a fee must be charged in exchange for a particular governmental service which benefits the party paying the fee in a manner not shared by other members of society.
Second, a fee must be voluntary. The party paying the fee must have the choice of not using the governmental service and thereby avoiding the charge.
Third, a fee is collected not to raise revenue but to compensate the governmental entity providing the services for its expenses.
The Supreme Judicial Court disagreed with the lower courts on the first test, namely, the particularized benefit test. In the Court’s view, the developers paying the charge had received a particularized benefit which was accelerated access to the sewer system. The Court emphasized the importance of the consent order and the strategic plan to repair the sewer system. Distinguishing the case at hand from an earlier Appeals Court decision which had invalidated a sewer connection fee, Berry v. Town of Danvers, 34 Mass. App. 507 (1993) which was discussed in the November 1993 issue of City & Town, the Court in the Saugus case rejected the notion that any particularized benefit received by a limited group must be weighed against any benefit to the general public. According to the Court, once it has been determined that a particularized benefit has been received, the first Emerson test has been satisfied.
The Court did not address the second Emerson test, the voluntariness test, since both parties agreed the payment was made by choice.
The Court then held that the third Emerson test had been satisfied since the amount paid by the developers was used to compensate the town for some of the money paid to repair the sewer system, and the ten-to-one gallons removed/gallons allowed ratio imposed on the developers was reasonable.
Consequently, the Town of Saugus prevailed and was allowed to keep the money received from the developers.
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Posted in Development, Legal
Non-stop busy first Friday of the month office hours at 9:00 AM this morning at The Center.
I talked so long that I missed the Tai Chi class at 10:00.
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Posted in Uncategorized
Medfield Select Board member
I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
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