Category Archives: Planning

SHAC surveys town on MSH

Posted on October 25, 2013 | Comments Off on SHAC surveys town on MSH

The State Hospital Advisory Committee (SHAC) has been tasked by the Board of Selectmen to look at the town’s possible purchase of the Medfield State Hospital property.  As part of that process, the SHAC’s Visioning Subcommittee has created a Reuse Survey to query town residents about their opinions for the Medfield State Hospital site.

The electronic version of the survey can be accessed through the State Hospital Advisory Committee’s website, www.mshvision.net or directly at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/MSHSurvey1

Hard copies of the survey will also be available at

  • the Town House (the Planning Office),
  • the Medfield Memorial Library, and
  • The Center.

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Posted in Medfield State Hospital, Planning

Special town meeting 10/7

Posted on September 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Special town meeting 10/7

Medfield is having a special town meeting (STM) on 10/7 at 7:30 PM at the MHS gym, to discuss three articles.

  1. whether to accept for free the transfer from the state of 5-6 acres at the Medfield State Hospital site on which to locate a new water tower and the existing Medfield State Hospital tubular well fields (located across the railroad tracks, off Colonial Drive).  The water tower land includes and surrounds the old existing water tower, which water tower is too low compared to the other Mt. Nebo water tower and too old to warrant repairing.  This land transfer is part of the mediated resolution of the Medfield State Hospital environmental clean up dispute that was successfully mediated over the past year by a town committee with DCAMM, to a win-win solution.
  2. appropriating monies to plan the new water tower.
  3. whether to exercise the town’s right of first refusal to buy the 30 acre Kenny land that stretches between Phillips and Foundary Streets.  The Kenny land has been paying lower property taxes as Massachusetts General Laws c. 61  forest land, in exchange for which the town gets a right of first refusal when the land comes out of the forest designation, which is now happening.  There is a purchase and sale agreement for $1.4 m. from about 18 months ago and now the buyers have an approved subdivision for 7 house lots.  The owners recently gave the town the required notice, which triggered the town’s 120 days to effect the purchase of the property, if it chooses to do so.  The special town meeting (STM) was already happening to seek to pass the water tower and well fields articles, which are needed to move forward with the required home rule petition legislation in the legislature, so the Kenny land question is fortuitously being included in that special town meeting (STM) as well.

Last day to register to vote at the special town meeting (STM) is 9/27, and last day to register to vote in the election is 10/1.

Both topics are on the agenda for the Board of Selectmen meeting next Tuesday, 9/24/13.

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Posted in Medfield State Hospital, Open space, Permitting, Planning, Select Board matters, Town Meeting, Water & Sewer

Pavement magangement plan

Posted on August 1, 2013 | Comments Off on Pavement magangement plan

The Massachusetts Municipal Association is a wonderful source of information on both what other towns are doing and what are the best practices.  This summer’s issue of the MMA’s Municipal Advocate ran an article by an engineer from Faye, Spofford & Thorndike, on best practices for maintaining road surfaces, and stating that having a “pavement management plan” for the roads ensures, long term, both the best planning and the cheapest road costs.  See the article via the link below for all the details.

Basically a pavement management plan involves

  • doing an initial  survey to get the data on all your road surfaces conditions,
  • rating all road surfaces.
  • projecting expected repair cost, and
  • using that data to make policy decisions about annual needs/repairs, and spending levels.

Since we do not have a pavement management plan, I will be asking that we implement one.  This is the sort of discipline that we need to undertake if we are to get a good understanding of what we should be doing each year. Without that catalog of data of the existing conditions, our annual road maintenance decisions are at best, educated guesses.

The Water and Sewer Commission recently implemented a sophisticated business planning model developed for them by board member Willis Peligian, that analyzes the data and based upon the variables.  It is an impressive business planning tool that accounts for all the variables, and can then aid the W&S Department in its planning by showing expected outcomes of different choices.  The model clearly showed the W&S Department (and all of us who saw it demonstrated) that a 25% rate hike was needed this year to maintain the required reserves. Interestingly, the recent Globe article had our water rates listed as second lowest out of about the 15-20 towns in their article.

Our road maintenance needs a similar disciplined approach to plan future work, both to properly prioritize that work, but more importantly, to save the town money.  It is clear from the experts that incremental spending on road maintenance decreases road repair costs long term, and we need to be planning for the long term.

Click here to see the MMA article

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Posted in DPW, Planning

Selectman goals & objectives

Posted on June 3, 2013 | Comments Off on Selectman goals & objectives

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

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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

On being a selectman

Posted on March 29, 2013 | Comments Off on On being a selectman

Busy week with lots of time demands –

  • Saturday – excellent 3 hour session put together by Bob McDonald, Chief Operator of the Waste Water Treatment Plant on installing alternative energy around town, including a solar PV array at the Waste Water Treatment Plant.
  • Superintendent finalists – lunch Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with the three finalists.  I was glad that one selectman was able to attend, and that I now have great confidence in the person who will be leading our schools.
  • Energy Committee Tuesday evening to discuss the Saturday Waste Water Treatment Plant program, and future inititives.
  • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) explanation at Medfield High School Wednesday evening.
  • Downtown Study Committee last night to hear about the cost to bury utility lines in the downtown.  Comcast representative estimated the costs at $100,000 – 125,000/1,000′ for Comcast, slightly more for Verizon, and a lot more, $1m./1,000′, for NSTAR.
  • Medfield State Hospital Development Committee last night too, to mainly discuss demolition costs of the buildings, town control of site by purchasing it, and how to respond to DCAM’s letter offering to sell the Medfield State Hospital site to the town on vague terms.  A follow up discussion with DCAM is required to clarify the DCAM terms.   Bill Massaro’s rough estimates to demolish all the building at the Medfield State Hospital were $2.3 m. if done without complying with prevailing wage laws, but $7.3 m. if prevailing wages had to be paid (I.e. – if it were done by the town).

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Posted in Affordable housing / 40B, Development, Downtown, Energy Committee, Medfield State Hospital, On being a selectman, Planning, Schools

Zoning suggestion for Marijuana clinics

Posted on January 30, 2013 | Comments Off on Zoning suggestion for Marijuana clinics

Memorandum

To:                   Members of the Planning Board

From:               Sarah Raposa, Town Planner

Date:                January 18, 2013

Re:                   Medical Marijuana Dispensary Zoning

For your consideration:

To amend the Zoning Bylaw for the purpose of regulating the locations of medicinal marijuana facilities to create a new section “5.4.4.10.a” after section 5.4.4.10 so that it reads as follows:

  Use

A

R-E

R-T

R-S

R-U

B

B-I

I-E
5.4.4.10.a Medical marijuana treatment center (as defined by MGL)

NO

NO

NO

NO

NO

NO

NO

SP

Summary –

The intent of this bylaw amendment is to address possible adverse public health and safety consequences related to the passage of  Question 3 on the November 6, 2012 State Referendum. It is the purpose of this amendment to minimize any potential adverse impacts on the quality of life in the Town.  It is the intent of this bylaw amendment to establish specific zoning standards and regulations for medical marijuana centers (treatment and dispensing facilities), medical marijuana infused products, medical marijuana paraphernalia, etc;

To provide for the limited establishment of Medical Marijuana Treatment and Dispensing Facilities in appropriate places and under strict conditions in acknowledgment of the passage of Initiative Petition 11-11 (Question #3 on the November, 2012 state ballot);

To minimize the adverse impacts of Medical Marijuana Treatment and Dispensing Facilities on adjacent properties, residential neighborhoods, schools and other places where children congregate, local historic districts, and other land uses potentially incompatible with said  Facilities;

To regulate the siting, design, placement, safety, monitoring, modification, and removal of Medical Marijuana Treatment and Dispensing Facilities; and

To limit the overall number of Medical Marijuana Treatment and Dispensing Facilities in the Town to what is essential to serve the public necessity.

* The Board of Selectmen have requested a joint meeting to discuss this proposal.

Is February 5 available to the Planning Board?

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Posted in Planning, Zoning

Business of Medfield is homes

Posted on January 7, 2013 | 2 comments

Yesterday, on my way to Shaw’s for the weekly groceries, I made what was for me a long postponed first visit to an open house at Olde Medfield Square, and learned several surprising things.

20130107-Olde Medfield Square-picture

  • it is comprised of 42 customized and all different condo units of 2-3,000 sq. ft. each, on a total of under 7 acres, each selling for upwards of $1 m.
  • 2 school children total live in the 25-27 homes that have been sold – one of whom just moved in and the other will graduate come June (so, basically, one school child)
  • property taxes to the town will run $600,000+ per year, making it a major revenue generator, profit center for Medfield
  • no architect was used, instead Ralph Costello, the developer, Sharon Bartelloni, his Marketing Director, and their staff just work out each unit on their own, saving about $25,000 per unit per Ralph
  • they have copyrighted each design, so they can easily replicate the homes
  • they have had requests form municipal officials in other towns, asking them to replicate the whole project in their towns
  • original plans to construct four large five unit buildings along Rte. 27 were altered when they learned people preferred the detached, but closely situated units
  • this density is allowed, as of right, in our RU zone in the downtown.
  • I really like the look from having the garages in the rear
  • while the units are close together, one can see that the fenestration is planned mainly on only one side of each unit, so that adjoining units  do not have the feel of looking into one another’s homes

Lessons for Medfield:  The business of Medfield can be providing the housing that draws people to town, as it is not just the schools that draw people to town.  Given Medfeld’s distance from major highways, it will always be a hard sell to get large businesses and retail to locate in Medfield, so we cannot count on expanding our tax base in reliance on those fronts.  Therefore, the town will be better served in the long run if it actively promotes more of the type of housing, such as Olde Medfield Square, that requires few municipal services.  Such projects will balance our existing single family housing stock which attracts the high numbers of school children.

Ten years ago, as a new selectman attending a seminar on municipal issues sponsored by the Attorney General, I heard the former town planner for Lexington say that his studies in Lexington discovered that it averaged 1.5 school children per single family detached house, but only 0.15 school children per unit in attached housing.  He recommended to us was building housing to increase our tax base, but the “right” type of housing.

The Olde Medfield Square example shows us that it it not just attached units that have fewer school children, it is also the densely packed detached units without yards large enough for a swing set.  In addition to having dramatic curb appeal and providing a different housing option, these homes are a real fiscal win for the town.

2 Comments

Posted in Budgets, Development, Downtown, Planning, Town Services, Zoning

On being a selectman

Posted on December 12, 2012 | Comments Off on On being a selectman

I met this morning with four people from the state’s Cultural District group, who came to do a site visit, and perhaps six Medfield residents who have been pushing to create the Medfield Cultural District.  Library Director Deborah Kelsey has been the prime over.

The Board of Selectmen have not been involved at all, except to approve it moving forward, so I mainly sat and listened.  I did share that I knew it was a good idea, especially as I listened to the ideas that were discussed, but that I cannot to date see the practical benefits.  Joint marketing was named as one benefit.

I had to go to work after our meeting at the TownHouse, so I missed the tour, and the group discussion at the Library with about eighteen listed attendees, with a lunch.

I can see the Cultural District as becoming a destination for visitors, if we can parlay the critical mass of really old colonial era structures that we have in town.  I sure hope that the Clark Tavern gets reused for some commercial enterprise like a restaurant or a B&B that allows it to be open to the public.

I met the new planning director on Monday evening, and I was wishing that she had been able to attend.  She does not start work until 12/19.

 

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Posted in Cultural, Downtown, History, Planning

Town’s Sandy planning underway

Posted on October 26, 2012 | Comments Off on Town’s Sandy planning underway

Email yesterday afternoon from Mike Sullivan –

FYI, Will forward additional information as received. Meeting tomorrow with Chiefs, Ken and Bob Maguire at 12;30 p.m. to get latest update from Taunton NOAA meteorologist and to plan for storm. Started cleaning culverts and lowering boards on dams today and getting equipment ready for use. Talked to NSTAR and they are bringing in additional crews for power restoration and clean-up. Mike

From: “Mannion, James A (CDA)”
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 4:53 PM
Subject: Situational Awareness Statement #4

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

Hurricane Sandy Situational Awareness Statement (SAS) #4

Date:  October 25, 2012

Time:  4:30 PM

Situation:

Hurricane Sandy, currently a Category 2 hurricane, is located in the Bahamas and is projected to move northward off the eastern Florida coast tomorrow into Saturday. It remains too early to determine Sandy’s precise track for early next week, but the probability of Sandy going out to sea is now very low. Current computer models are showing an increasing degree of confidence that Sandy will impact northeastern United States as a strong tropical storm, with a current projected landfall between Monday night and Tuesday morning. It is important to note that Massachusetts is still well within the margin of error for the predicted track.

 

National Weather Service now has a high degree of confidence that New England will experience significant impacts from Sandy regardless of the location of the landfall.  With landfall south of New England, Massachusetts is still likely to sustain significant impacts from this storm including damaging winds, associated power outages, and freshwater and coastal flooding.

 

A landfall in New England will bring a 3 to 5 foot storm surge to south- and east-facing coasts of Massachusetts. These storm surge totals are in additional to normal tide levels (although we are not expected to see astronomically high tides during this event). A landfall in New England will bring even greater impacts to the region, with Massachusetts potentially experiencing a historic degree of freshwater and coastal flooding, wind damage, and associated power outages.

 

Potential impacts of Sandy include:

 

High Seas: Sandy is predicted to cause unusually high seas (25 feet or greater) off the coast of New England beginning Sunday and peaking Monday and Tuesday. Seas will be dangerous and potentially life-threatening, even for large vessels.  Winds are expected to be at least gale to storm force occasional hurricane force gusts.

 

Winds: Damaging winds and associated widespread power outages lasting as long as a week are likely if Sandy makes landfall across Massachusetts. Wind damage will be exacerbated in southern New England as most trees still have foliage at this time of year. If Sandy makes landfall in or tracks near southern New England, isolated wind gusts of up to Category 2 hurricane strength (96-110mph) are possible.

 

Coastal Flooding: Both east- and south-facing coasts in southern New England have a high risk of minor to moderate coastal flooding beginning Sunday afternoon and lasting through Tuesday.  Moderate to major coastal flooding (up to 3 to 5 feet of storm surge) and significant beach erosion is possible if Sandy makes landfall in southern New England.

 

Rain/Flooding: While it is still too soon to determine where the heaviest rain focus will be, confidence is rising that southern New England will see potentially flooding rainfall from Sandy.  In a worst-case scenario, southern New England could receive as much as 7.5 to 8.5 inches of sustained rainfall, with pockets of 8.5+ inches.

 

The latest 5-day forecast map from the National Hurricane Center is included below.

 

State Actions:

MEMA is actively monitoring the storm and initiating preparedness activities. This afternoon, MEMA held a coordination meeting with state agencies. Tomorrow, MEMA will start holding daily coordination calls with local public safety officials and conducting pre-incident planning with select Emergency Support Functions.  MEMA will continue to monitor Sandy’s progress and issue additional SASs at least daily until the threat to New England has passed.

 

MEMA’s Activation Status: MEMA is currently at Level IV (Steady State).

 

Information for Local Officials:

MEMA encourages local officials to monitor Sandy’s progress and predicted track closely and undertake preparedness activities such as:

 

  • Reviewing emergency plans and procedures
  • Assessing areas that may be subject to flooding and developing plans for communicating with, and potentially evacuating people in these areas
  • Updating emergency contact lists
  • Testing communications and warning systems
  • Reviewing emergency contracts and available resource inventories
  • Testing generators and ensuring emergency fuel supplies for them
  • Assessing local emergency shelter readiness and capacity.

 

MEMA also strongly urges local officials to review their Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) inundation maps to pre-identify areas particularly at risk from storm surge flooding.  SLOSH maps and other hurricane preparedness resources can be found on MEMA’s website at http://www.mass.gov/eopss/home-sec-emerg-resp/plan-prep/natural-hazards/hurricanes/.  Please note that you will need to have Google Earth installed on your computer to access the online SLOSH maps that are available through MEMA’s website.

 

Hurricane Preparedness Tips for the General Public:

  • Stay informed by monitoring the storm via the media.
  • Be sure to have a well-stocked Family Disaster Kit in the event you lose power or are isolated for a number of days.
  • Clear clogged rain gutters. This storm brings the potential for torrential rain. Providing clear drainage will help prevent misdirected flooding.
  • Secure outdoor items such as lawn furniture, trash barrels, hanging plants, toys and awnings that can be broken or picked up by strong winds and potentially become a projectile.
  • Elevate articles in your basement that could be damaged from even minor flooding.
  • Keep your vehicles fully fuelled.
  • Have a certain amount of cash available.  If power is lost, ATMs may not be working.

 

Ping4alerts!:

MEMA encourages smartphone users to download the free ping4alerts! app. This app is available free of charge for iPhone and Android phones and receives severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service and emergency information from MEMA based on the user’s location.  Learn more at http://www.mass.gov/mema/mobileapp.

 

Online Resources:

For additional information and resources, visit:

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency at www.mass.gov/mema (Hurricane preparedness tips and other preparedness information are available through the “Hurricane” link on MEMA’s homepage).

MEMA’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MassachusettsEMA

MEMA Twitter: @MassEMA

Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov

National Hurricane Center website at www.nhc.noaa.gov

National Weather Service/Taunton at www.weather.gov/boston

National Weather Service/Albany, NY at www.weather.gov/albany

Mass211 at www.mass211.org

 

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Posted in Planning, Safety, Town Services

Town planner

Posted on October 17, 2012 | Comments Off on Town planner

Exceptional town employee Norma Cronin, Senior Secretarial Administrator to, but really the heart, sole, and glue of both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals is retiring.  The town has opted to try to replace her (we who have worked with her know she cannot be replaced) with a town planner.  See here the town planner ad posted in the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s monthly magazine The Bulletin.

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Posted in Employees, Planning, Zoning