Osler ”Pete” Peterson
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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Recent Comments
Colleen Sullivan on Where in Medfield? Select Board member… on Annual town meeting (ATM)… Dan Richter on Annual town meeting (ATM)… Lester Cohen on Annual town meeting (ATM)… EILEEN DESORGHER on Town election Monday – P…
Monthly Archives: November 2021
REMINDER – tomorrow from 5-6PM – join Congressman Jake Auchincloss for a Medfield focused virtual meeting
Medfield virtual meeting with Congressman Jake Auchincloss
Dear friends,
It is my pleasure to invite you to attend a virtual Medfield Roundtable with U.S. Congressman Jake Auchincloss on Tuesday, November 30th from 5:00-6:00 pm.
The Roundtable with the Congressman will provide an opportunity for local community leaders and stakeholders to receive an update about the American Rescue Plan and the pending Federal infrastructure legislation packages and how they can benefit Medfield. The Congressman will share a brief overview of his first several months in office and then will open most of the session for Q & A from participants.
Jake wants to hear what is on the mind of Medfield residents, so please plan on joining us for this unique opportunity to become inform about his work in Washington D.C.
Please let us know if you plan to attend.
The Zoom information is provided below.
Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://ushr.zoomgov.com/j/1612238912?pwd=U2QzUXk0MzVOWENmUmhkTE1BZlF2dz09
Meeting ID: 161 223 8912
Passcode: 160945
Comments Off on REMINDER – tomorrow from 5-6PM – join Congressman Jake Auchincloss for a Medfield focused virtual meeting
Posted in Events, Federal Government, Information
Norfolk Hunt Club at the former Medfield State Hospital this morning – one of our Thanksgiving traditions
Past memories include seeing Chris Hajjar out ahead all by herself as the “fox” laying the scent (while she said her turkey cooked at home), Steve Browne swiftly cantering or galloping by on a really large black horse on the access road to the McCarthy Park ball fields, and seeing lots of riders on many sized steads all having lots of fun.
Posted in Animals, Events, Norfolk Hunt Club
Eagle Scouts Karl Ericson, Antonio King & Jan Passas
Troop 89 held an Eagle Scout Court of Honor yesterday for Karl Ericson, Tito King, and Jani Passas (left to right) at the UCC. Lots of accomplishments of the scouts and their families were celebrated. Great event.
Medfield virtual meeting with Congressman Jake Auchincloss, 5-6PM on 11/30
Comments Off on Medfield virtual meeting with Congressman Jake Auchincloss, 5-6PM on 11/30
Posted in Events, Federal Government, People
Select Board 11/16/2021
To join online, use this link:
a. https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/81577342022?pwd=ZTV3VU1EMnRBOHJINGh6
SS9wV3dvdz09
b. Enter Password: 060672
- To join through a conference call, dial 929-436-2866 or 312-626-6799 or 253-215-8782
or 301-715-8592 or 346-248-7799 or 669-900-6833
a. Enter the Webinar ID: 815 7734 2022
b. Enter the password: 060672
The packet with meeting materials for this meeting will be uploaded at this link:
https://www.town.medfield.net/DocumentCenter/View/5545/BOS-Meeting-Packet-November-16
-2021
Comments Off on Select Board 11/16/2021
Posted in Uncategorized
MEDFLD turns out for election
Voting was heavy when I was there at 8:30AM.
Nice to see that MEDFLD turned out to vote –
Vehicle was still next to me when I left, so I am guessing a poll worker.
Comments Off on MEDFLD turns out for election
Posted in Elections
Why I support the Wheelock site
How I came to favor Wheelock
Twenty years ago as a newly elected select board member I was uncertain when the schools, under Superintendent Bob Maguire, announced that the town needed to renovate three schools at a cost of $56m. I knew nothing about building schools or any other municipal buildings, so I attended about two dozen meetings over the course of the next year, held by the then School Building Committee under the leadership of its Chair, Tim Bonfatti. That resulted in my learning a lot and ultimately supporting the town renovating the Memorial School, the Medfield High School and the Blake Middle School.
After that year of SBC meetings I learned that schools are expensive and why municipal buildings are about one-third more expensive to build than private construction (required statutory safeguards due to past transgressions). I learned why past decisions limit alternatives (the current Blake Middle School, then the MHS, could not be renovated to house the number of MHS students we had because ten years earlier a renovation had installed 8′ wide hallways and state regulations required 10′ wide hallways for schools with the number of students we had). And I learned that no one wants to have their taxes increased, and that some will opt to not agree to any higher taxes no matter the need.
About two years ago I began to attend the current School Building Committee meetings, because I knew Select Board members would need to vote on the issues. I was often one of only a dozen residents at those meetings. Like everyone in town, I already knew the Dale Street School needed fixing or replacing. Twenty years earlier I had not participated in the MSBA part of the process, but this time I watched that MSBA process occur, and was impressed at the detailed steps the town was mandated to take. I also learned that the current School Building Committee Chair, Mike Quinlan, was in many ways a clone of Tim Bonfatti, as both were knowledgeable building professionals, both calmly ran fact based meeting despite some contention, and both seemed to have a total command of the endless details of the projects.
When the decision on school siting got to the Select Board in September 2020, I had an opinion that favored Wheelock from listening to the consultants to the School Building Committee at their meetings. At our joint Select Board and School Building Committee meeting, that opinion was only reinforced as I heard why the School Building Committee members unanimously favored Wheelock.
This is why I ultimately favor the Wheelock site, in the order of importance to me:
• the building professionals opined that the Dale site is too tight/small, and if we built there they said we would get a “compromised” school
• there are educational synergies from having grades 2 – 5 on one campus
• the cost of building at the two sites are similar enough, compared to the total costs, as to not be dispositive
• building a grade 2-5 campus creates additional future use flexibility
• there is no danger to the town wells from building at Wheelock, and the planned Wheelock pavement improvements actually increase protection of our wells
• there is lots of open space around Wheelock
• neighborhood traffic issues will be addressed
• I see opportunities in a vacated Dale Street building, not just costs
I thought that the Warrant Committee did a remarkable and complete analysis of the details of the decision for our town, and the Warrant Committee endorsed the Wheelock site choice by a near unanimous 8-1 vote.
In sum, the town had the benefit of in depth analysis of the proposed new school and its siting decision by an impressive group of individual residents who serve on both our School Building Committee and on our Warrant Committee, and nearly all endorsed the Wheelock site. Additionally, all of the School Committee and Select Board members endorse the Wheelock site.
At the special town meeting a week ago, I found it disappointing that such a small percentage of our residents attended. However, if the election ballot tomorrow on 11/15 indicates enough support for the override, which I interpret as a surrogate for proceeding with the school at the Wheelock site, and where the statutory structure allows Select Boards to call for an additional special town meetings to consider the question anew, I would favor giving residents another chance to show up at another special town meeting. My gut tells me that more than two-thirds of our residents do want our new school at Wheelock.