MOORE.col.05-20-2005.. . . . . .42

Hed

A new board,
Old problems


By BOB MOORE

One week after a town official thrashed the Board of Selectmen to a
faretheewell in Public Participation, the board smothered the
free-swinging preamble to board meetings.

No connection really.  P.P. was virtually dead, mangled by the
Rizoli-Buck faction's repeated attacks on "illegal immigrants."
Little else got a chance to be heard in this open forum designed to
let those with a local problem bring it to the board. A sort of
reminder that maybe something might need "fixin."

>From now on, the chairman's no is final. The board doesn't want any
more hammer attacks. If the problem is not locally "fixable," move
on!

Well, there is a connection. When David Keniry, nuisance code
enforcer, hit selectmen on May 12, he was merciless. I thought of a
"caning" as I watched.  They didn't know the law; he did.  They'd
hurt his reputation when they'd turned a Precinct 10 activist's
complaint about his manner and his finding over to town counsel for a
finding.

It went on for 20 minutes. At that point Charlie Sisitsky turned the
tables.  "I resent that you tried to lecture us" when what the board
did was simply searching for an opinion on legal points raised and
left the rest to Keniry and the complainant. They respected Keniry
but they acted as they should.

Keniry was not reassured; he'd been hurt. And finally, Chair Katie
Murphy and Vice Chair John Stasik thought "it should never have
happened". They apologized. I mention this because it may give us
some idea of how the members see their function.

UNITY - Handling the "immigrant barrage," they had been uncertain,
letting the chairman take the brunt. But in setting the rules for the
future - they did not differ on giving the chairman the power to rule
what is irrelevant and move on. And they also want those who want to
speak in Public Participation to say in advance what the subject
is. It remains to be seen how well this works out.

They are unified when it comes to their goals. Remember, the aim
these days is to find what the board wants so it can be definite in
what it wants from the town manager.

They spent nearly 25 minutes Thursday reviewing their goals and how
they hope to phrase them in directing the town's business. Though
they moved "back and forth" on just how they'd do this, they are
united in advancing Downtown Revitalization, pushing transportation
to the end that Framingham needs to remain a core.

They are united on taking steps to advance a housing program, with an
emphasis on affordable housing. They want to concentrate on moving
toward a town master plan that reflects advances in these goals.

How to handle the growing concerns of neighborhoods which find
"invasions" of "non-profits" on their mind.

The recent approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow the
Wayside school and homes for "problem youths" on Lockland Avenue was
met with angry reaction in that residential neighborhood.

But it has also sparked fear in other residential areas. The Board of
Selectmen was itself "invaded" by homeowners in Precinct 11 with the
report that SMOC is purchasing the nursing home at 517 Winter
St. Residents from Ardmore Road lined up Thursday to protest this
projected "invasion" by SMOC.

Part of their argument is the advance of "non-profits" in
Framingham. Of course, both SMOC and the nursing home are in the
non-profit category. But residents also fear just what use SMOC would
put its purchase to, if the sale is validated. Some cite the problems
with SMOC's Wet Shelter. Some think SMOC could switch its
headquarters to Winter St.

Only a week ago, selectmen were confronted with the purchase of a
vacant building on Vernon Street to house eight persons recovering
from mental ailments.  The building is next to a nursery. The
Advocates, a human services agency, paid $2 million for the house and
sought the board's support in its quest for a federal grant. It got
their support.

But, selectmen wanted to know if Advocates had made its project known
in the neighborhood, only to be told that in such projects, they do
not have to do that. In that connection, selectmen pointed to the
adjacent nursery.

Sisitsky suggested to Advocates and repeated to neighborhood
protesters along Winter Street that a meeting with selectmen might be
wise. This had not come up before but points to what the board may
have to encounter. It may be a new board, feeling its way, but the
problems are old - and unsolved.

_____________________________________________________
You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.com or at
1-508-620-1449,