Special town meeting (STM) info

 A Special Town Meeting has been called for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct  7  at the High School.

Three Articles will be presented for your consideration and vote.

While Articles 2 & 3 request your approval of appropriations and expenditures,  Article 1 authorizes the Selectmen to request our State legislators to file a bill transferring 2 former Medfield State Hospital properties to the Town at no or nominal cost.

Because the outcome of the vote for each of these Articles will affect Medfield’s future, I urge you to attend this meeting..

Because of your past interest and support for our extensive efforts to ensure cleanup of the environmental problems at the Hospital, to safeguard the aquifer of our main Town well, and to provide safe recreational opportunities for current and future Medfield residents,  I am sending this e-mail to request your approval of Article  1.

Article 1- Background

After 4 years of Town and resident protests and 1 year in formal Mediation with the State, agreement was finally reached in June for an adequate and appropriate DCAMM cleanup of the historic landfill alongside and in the Charles River at the Hospital.

In addition to removing contaminated fill from the aquifer, restoration of the riverbank and wetlands to historic conditions, construction of a canoe/kayak launch area, and creation of a promontory and scenic overlook, DCAMM also agreed to transfer the Hospital’s old Tubular Well-field (29 acres) and the Hospital Water Tower & land (6 acres) to the Town at no or nominal cost.

The Well-field: While not currently active, the well-field will provide the Town with a significant reserve for future needs.  Under prior Hospital property disposition legislation, the transfer could have required the Town to provide 28.8 million gallons of free water per year, in perpetuity, to any Development at the Hospital.  At todays’ rates this could have been approximately $150 thousand a year— forever!  The new proposed legislation gives the Town ownership of the Well-field with the sole condition that it can be used only in the Town’s public water supply system.

The Water Tower & Land:   The Water Tower and its land have always been part of the Hospital property and subject to sale by the State.  (The urgent need for the Town to design a replacement for the 80-year old Tower is the subject of Article 2).  Under prior property disposition legislation, while the Tower and its land would have passed to the Town after Developer sale, it was with  the condition it must be used to provide water to the Development.  The new proposed legislation gives the Town ownership of the Tower and land  with the only condition  that it must be used in the Town’s public water supply system.

Here is a map showing the locations of the 2 properties to be transferred from DCAMM to the Town:

Before Legislation can be filed with the Mass House & Senate to enable DCAMM to make this transfer, Medfield must first approve it.

Please forward this e-mail to anyone you feel may be interested, and please vote in favor of Article 1  at the Oct 7 Special Town Meeting  .

Thanks,

Bill