BoS recognition

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

On being a selectman

Today’s items -

• Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) leadership and group meeting this morning, for almost two hours – good progress being made to get this nascent substance abuse prevention effort solidly based and moving, while still awaiting possible $625,000 grant funding.  See www.MedfieldCares.org
• email from Mike with report from the legislature on the new DPH regulations on medical marijuana
• email from Mike re the tuition at the Aggie School not covering OPED expenses, and to the Norfolk Count’s administrator supporting Brookline’s memo that Aggie tuition should go up.
• an opportunity for a dinner with the family this evening (if Kristen did not have swim practice), as the Medfield State Hospital Reuse Committee meeting this evening will not happen as it did not get posted the required 48 hours ahead

Selectman office hours this Friday

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.

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).

On being a selectman

Long call this afternoon from Mike Sullivan, Mark Cerel, and Ken Feeney to

• report of storm response – Ken had been up 25 hours straight, and said his men had been up even longer (big thanks to the DPW); both Chiefs looked all night in Noon Hill during the storm by snowmobile and snowshoes for a missing person (big thanks to both Chiefs); fire hydrant sheared off on Hillcrest, causing  waterto  stream down street, and which had to be repaired during the storm; plow hit a pole in front of police and fire stations, severing the fiber optic cable to police and fire stations, causing loss of phones; and I suggested creating a way for residents to get messages to the DPW about issues that arise during such storms (I was called about a street that did not get plowed until  Sunday morning) – maybe something as simple as the police collect the calls, and DPW call the police to collect those messages.
• annual town meeting (ATM) warrant articles, such as  for regulating placement of collection bins, and others.

Patch on this blog

Patch just published an article about this blog.

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.

On being a selectman

Office hours – last Friday

I was at The Center last Friday from 9-10 AM for my monthly office hours.  Senator Timilty’s aide, Patrick Shield stopped by to check in – they may stop by in the future as well.  Several residents also stopped by to discuss various town issues.

Representative Winslow has asked permission to share the office hours, but was not there – he is reportedly busy deciding whether to run for the Senate, now that Scott Brown is out of the race.

Telephone call this morning

Telephone call this morning from Mike Sullivan about things we need to be doing to get ready for town meeting, and an hour long far reaching discussion.  Also, an email from and to an Energy Committee member about how to proceed on some timely issues.

Office hours this Friday 9-10

I hold monthly office hours from 9-10 AM the first Friday of every month at The Center.   Stop by to discuss any town matters, and to have coffee.  Representative Daniel Winslow asked permission to share my office hours at times, and so may be there as well.

On being a selectman

I reviewed the schedule for the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s annual meeting, and planned out my program.  I am especially looking forward to hearing from NPR’s Mara Liasson.

Long telephone conversations this afternoon with Mike Sullivan about things related to the Board of Selectmen meeting this evening and with Bill Kingsbury about Medfield Fire Department issues.  I had called Mike because I thought that there was an issue that would derail discussions this evening, but he was already aware of it.  We got to catch up on and discuss a raft of issues the town will be facing in coming months.

Mike agreed to follow up with his town manager’s group about my interest in the recent Sudbury action to cap real estate tax bills for their seniors at 10% of income.  I think it behooves the town to spend monies to keep seniors in town, since when they move we will pay more to educate the children who will move in.  Likewise we want the Council on Aging to be as vibrant as possible for the same reason.  Years ago I had discussions with Roberta Lynch about trying to make the continuing education offerings more robust, as I had seen that as the carrot at Lasell Village that made seniors want to live there.  Similarly, to increase our tax base, build more Olde Medfield Square type housing -  2 school children in 27 single family homes.