I hold regular monthly office hours at The Center on the first Friday of every month from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. I will be there this coming Friday.
Residents are welcome to stop by to talk about any town matters. Residents can also see the Council on Aging in action, a vibrant organization with lots going on.
I can also be reached via my cell phone, 508-359-9190, my blog about Medfield matters https://medfield02052.wordpress.com/, or email.
Comments Off on Selectman office hours Friday 9-10AM
Posted in On being a selectman
Selectmen now have an annual calendar, but so far (tonight will be our second meeting since adopting it) we are having trouble addressing the items on our calendar. So far we have had to push more than half the annual calendar items over to our pending list, to get carried forward to get addressed at future meetings.
Comments Off on On being a selectman
Posted in On being a selectman
I am being interviewed on Medfield TV on 6/18 by Jack Peterson and Theresa Knapp of Patch, and Jack asked me to bring along topics to discuss, so I updated the list of goals and objectives I prepared for the Board of Selectmen last September:
2013 Goals and Objectives for the Medfield Town Administrator and the Board of Selectmen
By Osler L. Peterson, Selectman
June 3, 2013
1. Institutional good governance systems, such as
a. Thorough planning,
b. Government transparency, and
c. Complete reporting to the residents
2. Have the Board of Advisors (former selectmen) conduct a zero based review of our town government systems to determine whether we are using best practices and have the right systems. Consider partnering with an educational institution to get interns for this task.
a. Establish expectations, policies, and procedures for all town boards and departments.
b. Evaluate staffing levels and positions.
i. Consider hiring a Finance Director.
3. Get written five year plans from the Town Administrator and department heads.
4. Have Town Administrator use annual calendar for the Board of Selectmen.
5. Hold a Board of Selectmen joint meeting annually with each town board and commission to review our shared purposes and goals.
6. Report to town on DPW’s road and sidewalk repair plans and funding.
7. Work with Water and Sewer Commission on its master plan.
8. Study the possible purchase and/or control of the development of the Medfield State Hospital site
9. Oversee the process of dealing with the clean up and reuse of the Medfield State Hospital site.
10. Complete bylaw review, especially for issues related to the Medfield State Hospital site.
11. Work with planning board for new economic growth; Town’s master plan and downtown zoning.
12. Work on strategy for maintenance and renovation of all town buildings and a strategy to build a new DPW Garage, Public Safety, and Community Center.
13. Examine opportunities for additional revenue streams, such as:
a. Housing can be the “business” of Medfield (e.g. – Old Medfield Square)
b. Power purchase agreements for PV power
c. Selling Medfield bottled water
14. Identify opportunities for regionalization of services, such as:
a. Dispatch for public safety
b. Board of Health
15. Target completion of union negotiations before contracts expire.
16. Create a three-year financial forecast of the town, working with the Warrant Committee and the School Committee.
17. Implement succession planning for key municipal positions.
18. Installation of solar PV arrays on town owned land.
19. Become a Green Community.
20. Solve Veterans Service Officer position issues.
21. Perform an analysis of overtime use.
22. Maintain town’s fiscal status.
23. Determine whether our recycling rates can be improved, and our trash costs thereby reduced
Comments Off on Selectman goals & objectives
Posted in Budgets, Buildings, Charter & Bylaw Review, Development, Employees, Medfield State Hospital, Medfield TV, On being a selectman, Planning, Recycling & Solid Waste, Safety Committee, Town Services, Veterans, Water & Sewer
Letter received containing two pins and wonderful sentiment –
Town of Medfield
Office of Veterans Services
Ron Griffin Veteran Service Officer
459 Main Street
Medfield, Massachusetts 02052
May 13,2013
Dear Mark, Pete and Richard
The Town of Medfield is the beneficiary of your dedication, guidance, devotion and patience. Each of its citizens I feel is very grateful, even though they may not always display that sentiment.
When I became the Towns Veteran Service Officer I was given a Medfield pin. I wear that pin proudly. I know you will as well.
Included is an American Flag pin as well. Service to our country, state and community is not accomplished solely by our defenders and protectors. I try to recognize that to each our town’s volunteers who give of their time so that others may enjoy a better qualify of life. Each of you fits that definition.
Personally, I want to thank you for all that you have done for this Town. Each of you inspire me to become a better citizen.
Ron Griffin
Comments Off on BoS recognition
Posted in On being a selectman
Today’s items –
Comments Off on On being a selectman
Posted in Budgets, Marijuana, MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Medfield State Hospital, On being a selectman
I am holding my regular monthly selectman office hours this coming Friday (first Friday of the month) from 9 – 10 AM at The Center on Ice House Road. Please feel free to stop by to talk about town issues. No appointment is needed.
Comments Off on Selectman office hours this Friday
Posted in On being a selectman
Busy week with lots of time demands –
Comments Off on On being a selectman
Posted in Affordable housing / 40B, Development, Downtown, Energy Committee, Medfield State Hospital, On being a selectman, Planning, Schools
Long call this afternoon from Mike Sullivan, Mark Cerel, and Ken Feeney to
Comments Off on On being a selectman
Posted in On being a selectman
Patch just published an article about this blog.
Comments Off on Patch on this blog
Posted in On being a selectman
Five hours of meetings in last 24 hours – two hours at the Board of Selectmen last night and almost three hours this morning with the Building Committee. On top of three hours Monday evening (Building Committee and Energy Committee). It feels like a long week already.
Last night at the Board of Selectmen meeting I was ready to vote no on the liquor license for Medfield Commons, until the Mr. Carrigg, the owner, agreed to move all the liquor back to the area he had originally told us it would be kept the first time we gave liquor license years ago. That will make it look more like a convenience store that sells beer and wine, rather than the liquor store it appeared to have become.
The Building Committee is doing a commendable job of planning the construction of the needed new DPW garage and the planning for a new public safety building. The architects doing the master plan for the Dale Street Campus made it sound this morning that the Dale Street School will most likely not be economically able to be anything other than a facility for Medfield Park & Recreation Commission, which would mean tearing down the Pfaff Center (reportedly its too far gone). The state via the MSBA will probably not pay to have the town rehab to Dale Street School, and rehabbing it into a public safety building would probably exceed the 30% of building value threshold that triggers seismic and other codes that would make it uneconomic. The architect’s final opinions and report are yet to come, but it was sounding like it will probably be cheaper to build a new school or public safety building, than to rehab and re-purpose the Dale Street School for those uses. Re-purposing for Medfield Park & Recreation Commission would not need to be as extensive and therefore could be dome more economically.
Comments Off on On being a selectman
Posted in Buildings, On being a selectman, Select Board matters
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.
 | Lester Cohen on Town’s Buildings Require… |
 | Select Board member… on Black Out at Budget Works… |
| Lester Cohen on Black Out at Budget Works… |
 | The Sullivans on Thank you Linda Thompson! |
 | cherryblossomcasuall… on Roundabouts both safer & b… |
Medfield02052's Blog 