Category Archives: Town Meeting

The Medfield Press made me make my letter to the editor shorter to comply with its maximum length rules, and I think it really is true what they say, when you spend more time to make something shorter you do make it better.  So here are 443 words instead of 595 on why the town should buy the Medfield State Hospital  –

To the editor:

Medfield is on the cusp of one of the most momentous decisions in its history, whether to buy the former Medfield State Hospital site.  Given that in my role a selectman I have gone to literally many scores of meetings about the MSH for over ten years, I thought that people might like to know what I learned and what I concluded.  In sum, short money, total control, getting what we want, and avoiding really high costs means buy it.

First the choice is all about the town rather than the state or others controlling the development that is going to happen there, as development will happen regardless.  A development we did not pick may cost us many times more than what we will pay to buy and own.

Second, the $3.1m. price is not high, especially if compared to the likely costs for generations if we do not control the ultimate development.  The terms are attractive, as the state will finance the purchase, with the interest baked, in over ten years, so  we pay $310,000 per year

Town control get us the uses and development the town needs and wants.  There is so much open space and recreational lands that will remain forever, so those uses continue in spades.  The town’s  actual development will be of the already built up areas and is yet to be determined, but for me it should be a mixed use development, mainly residential, with small amounts of retail and commercial space.  The housing should be attached and densely sited units for one or two person households, empty nesters, or older residents.  Importantly, this is the sort of housing that the town now generally lacks, but also it is housing that can make money for the town.

The time is right to make the deal now, as no one can predict whether the next Governor come January 2015 will continue to sell to the town – in the past the state refused us the purchase option.

The town’s ownership costs going forward should be manageable.  The lands the town is buying are already environmentally cleansed.  The asbestos and lead paint in the buildings will be removed when buildings are demolished, and the town’s developers will likely demolition the buildings.  Per DCAMM, who does similar demolitions all the time, the developers can do the demolitions at about $6 per sq. ft., all in, whereas prevailing wages mean the town would have to pay $11-14 per sq. ft.  There are about 600,000 sq. ft. of buildings at the site.  Long term, worst case ownership scenarios are way cheaper than developments we do not chose.

Osler L. Peterson

The Town of Medfield is at the cusp of one of its most momentous decisions ever, whether to buy the former Medfield State Hospital site.  Given that in my role a selectman I have gone to literally scores of meetings about the MSH over twelve years, I thought that I should share what I learned and what I have concluded.

First I conclude that the town absolutely should buy the MSH site.  Buying is all about the town controlling the choices, rather than the state or others choosing the development that will happen in our town, since development will happen there whether we buy it or do not.

Second, the $3.1m. price is not too high, especially if compared to the possible costs for municipal services to the site’s residents for generations if the town does not control the ultimate development.  The state will finance the $3.1m. price, with the interest baked in, over ten years, so that we pay $310,000 per year

Town control gets us the type of uses and development the town both needs and wants.  There is so much open space and recreational lands in that area that will remain in state control, that those uses will continue to be available in spades – town development will only be on the areas that are already built upon.  While any town development will be decided upon by residents later, in my mind it should be a mixed use development, mainly residential, with small amounts of retail and commercial space, with the housing being small attached units for one or two person households, empty nesters, or older residents looking to down size.  Importantly, this is the sort of housing that the town generally lacks, but also, more importantly, it is housing that can make money for the town, because such housing will not require expensive town services.

The time is right to make this deal, as no one can predict whether the new Governor who takes over in January 2015 will continue to let the town buy the site.  In the past the town has been refused the purchase option.

After purchase, the town’s cost to own the property until redevelopment occurs should not be too high.  I suggest doing without the 24/7 security the state employed, in favor of limiting access to the site by physical barriers, install monitoring cameras, and having the Medfield Police do limited patrols.  Beyond that I would have our DPW keep the buildings sealed up.  The lands the town is buying have already been environmentally cleansed.  The only remaining hazard issues on those lands are the asbestos and lead paint in the buildings, and those will be removed when the buildings are demolished.  Ideally the town will let the town selected developers demolition the buildings.  DCAMM, who contracts for similar demolitions all the time, says developers pay $6 per sq. ft. to do demolitions, all in, whereas prevailing wages mean the town would pay $11-14 per sq. ft.  There remain about 600,000 sq. ft. of buildings at the site.

Lastly, the development gives the town the opportunity to both get the development it most desires, but also perhaps to make some money.  The state’s partnership model has the state getting a 30-50% share of any resale.  The site will be improved by the state’s river clean up and the new park area to be built on the adjoining state lands.

In sum, for short money we gain control and we get what the town wants, with an outside chance to make some money.

Osler L. Peterson, Selectman

The State Hospital Advisory Committee held an informational meeting about the Medfield State Hospital purchase decision last night.  About fifty residents attended the two hour long session at the Blake Middle School auditorium, to hear SHAC chair Steve Nolan and committee member Gil Rodgers explain the purchase status and issues.  the time was about equally divided between the presentation and a questions and answer period.

Medfield.TV had me in last week to talk about the Medfield State Hospital purchase decision with Jack Petersen and Josh Perry, Editor of the Hometown Weekly.

Below is the link to that video, as well as an earlier interview by Jack Petersen of Selectman Richard DeSorgher and Bill Massaro about the Medfield State Hospital issues.

NB – the special town meeting (STM) is 3/10, not 3/4 as I misstated near the beginning.

Medfield.TV ‏@MedfieldTV Feb 22

Selectman’s Update: Pete Peterson (2/14): http://youtu.be/KuC8NP88HZc?a  via @YouTube

John Thompson and Richard DeSorgher will lead a site walk of the Medfield State Hospital property at 11 AM on 3/8/14 to give interested residents a look at the property that the town will be asked to buy at the special town meeting (STM) on 3/10/14.

The town’s consultant for the State Hospital Advisory Committee’s visioning session has put together the first draft of he calls a “shared concept plan” for the re-use and re-development plans for the Medfield State Hospital site developed by the participants at the recent visioning session.  At that visioning session, the 100+ participants broke into groups of ten or fewer, and as small groups articulated our own visions for the reuse of the site.  The consultant then took all the ten or more groups’ responses and synthesized those into his version of a consensus plan for the ultimate uses of the site, based on the input from the 100+ participants. That consultant’s plan is attached.  20140216-shared concept plan

The SHAC has yet to review this plan to make sure t conforms with their sense of what was decided.

The town residents will have the ultimate say on how the site is re-developed, and there needs to be much more work done to come to any final conclusions about what the developments should include.  With that caveat in mind, it is interesting to see the general agreement upon many of the uses.

The State Hospital Advisory Committee (SHAC) has prepared a flyer to provide residents with information and the basic data for the 3/10/14 special town meeting (STM) on the proposed purchase from the state for $3.1 m of the 134 acres at the former Medfield State Hospital site. 20140216-draft town meeting handout 02-16-14 Greater information can be found at the SHAC website www.mshvision.net, and will also be presented prior to and at the STM.

The SHAC members will be voting at the next SHAC meeting on 2/2714 on whether to support recommending the purchase of the former Medfield State Hospital site to the Board of Selectmen.  While the SHAC members appear to be split on whether to purchase the land, this observer guesses that the committee will vote at least two to one in favor of purchasing the land.

The town residents would also have to vote by at least a two to one margin at the special town meeting (STM) to purchase the land as well for the deal to proceed.

These are the warrant articles for the 3/10/14 special town meeting (STM) and the ballot question on whether to purchase the former Medfield State Hospital site.

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Norfolk, SS.
TOWN OF MEDFIELD
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
WARRANT FOR MARCH 10,2014
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING

To the Constables of the Town of Medfield in said County, greetings:

In the name of the Commonwealth, you are directed to notify and warn the Inhabitants of the Town of Medfield, qualified to vote in elections and in Town affairs, to meet at the Amos Clark Kingsbury High School Gymnasium, located on South Street in said Medfield, on Monday the tenth day of March, A.D., 2014 at 7:30 o’clock P.M., then and there to act on the following articles:
Article 1. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised and to authorize the Treasurer/Collector with the approval of the Board of Selectmen to borrow in accordance with the provisions of G.L. Chapter 44, Section 7, clause (3), or any other enabling statute, for the purposes of purchasing or otherwise acquiring a portion of the Medfield State Hospital property, so-called, and to authorize the Selectmen to enter into an agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to accomplish said purchase, provided that said borrowing shall be contingent upon the passage of a debt exclusion override in accordance with the provisions of G.L. Chapter 59, Section 21 C, Paragraph (k) or any special enabling legislation governing such debt exclusion override, or do or act anything in relation thereto.
(Board of Selectmen)

Article 2. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised, for the purposes of maintaining and/or securing the land and building of the former Medfield State Hospital property, so-called, or do or act anything in relation thereto.
(Board of Selectmen)

Article 3. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to petition the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for special legislation to authorize the purchase of all or a portion of land and buildings at the former Medfield State Hospital, shown on the Town of Medfield Board of Assessors’ Maps as Lot 001, Map 71 and Lot 004, Map 63, further shown as Parcels A and B on a Plan entitled Location of Land Parcels Medfield State Hospital Medfield, Massachusetts provided by The Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), legislation to include such terms, conditions, and language as the Board of Selectmen determines to be in the best interest of the Town of Medfield, or do or act anything in relation thereto.
(Board of Selectmen)

And you are directed to serve this Warrant by posting an attested copy thereof, in the usual place for posting warrants in said Medfield, fourteen days at least before the time of holding said Town Meeting.

Hereof fail not and make due return of this Warrant with your doings thereon, unto the Town Clerk at the time and place ofthe Town Meeting aforesaid. Given unto our hands this __ _
day of February, Two-Thousand and Fourteen.
Mark L. Fisher, Chairman S/ ________________ _
Osler L. Peterson S/ ____________________ _
Richard P. DeSorgher S/ ________________ _
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
By virtue of this Warrant, I have notified and warned the Inhabitants of the Town of Medfield, qualified to vote in elections and at town meetings, by posting attested copies of the same at five
public places, fourteen days before the date of the town meeting, as within directed.
Constable: S/ _________ _
Date: February __ , 2014
A TRUE COPY ATTEST:
Carol A. Mayer, CMC, CMMC S/ ________ _
Town Clerk

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PROPOSITION 2 1/2 DEBT EXCLUSION QUESTION
Shall the Town of Medfield be allowed to exempt from the provIsions of proposition two and one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the. bond issued in order to purchase from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts all or a portion of the former Medfield State Hospital site and buildings thereon, identified on the Board of Assessors’ Maps as Lot 001, Map 71 and Lot 004, Map 63, further shown as Parcels A and B on a Plan entitled Location of Land Parcels Medfield State Hospital Medfield. Massachusetts provided by The Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), consisting of approximately 134 acres.

YES __ NO _