MOOREcol.06-09-05 . . . . . .44 Hed Does Downtown Move Uptown ? By BOB MOORE If you live around Winter Street in Precinct 11 you just know social agencies do move in and change a neighborhood. But that's elsewhere. Downtown maybe. But not here in this well-kept neighborhood of fine homes and scores of school children.. Well, it's about to happen and about 100 residents are up in arms. They've been told, "It's the law" and be prepared to live with it. That makes them upset even more. At 517 Winter St SMOC plans to quarter 15 homeless mothers who are trying to recover from drug addition. . . . with their families of school age children who will attend local schools. South Middlesex Opportunity Council has been vague about its intentions but indirectly let on that it will relocate and expand Sage House from Downtown where it is located at 69 Clinton St. It's worth knowing that for some months, Smoc had been intending to locate such a facility in the back streets of Worcester. According to published reports, it had been vague about one or two locations. Finally, support for the move died out. State Sen. Harriette Chandler pulled back financial backing, saying the city needed to be assured that "an organization looking to move into the community will work in a full, open and transparent fashion." Just what terms SMOC intends to work under here are not yet certain. They have not been stated. It might seek to operate under the 40A system which would allow it to bypass local ordinances. What is certain is that if it succeeds in settling on Winter street, it will not be paying taxes. It would be replacing the nursing home which was tax-paying. Neighbors are incensed that bypassing payment of taxes does not rule out the question of taxes. Only in a different manner : local taxpayers will foot the bill for "517 children." One of the local objections is that SMOC's move from Downtown is just another case of service agencies taking over in Framingham. One study finds that more than 100 [and still counting] cases of non-taxpaying agency operations are here. Compared to Waltham, there only 21 listed at the Waltham website. Comparing the populations : Framingham, 68,000 ; Waltham, 57,000. If so, that means that in Waltham, has one non-payer for every 2,700 persons; Framingham, one for every 670 persons. We are getting a heavy share of the load. Wayside, Advocates and SMOC are most evident. One hope of the neighbors is that a court case might well find that SMOC's Winter street facility does not meet zoning requirements. A lot depends on whether it attempts to claim it qualifies for the Dover Amendment. One of the area parents worry is the fact that entry to 517 is not on Winter street, but in the heart of the neighboring street at Ardmore Road where two school bus pickup sites are located. These are considerations that rank high in a neighborhood. Under Smoc this location would be termed a shelter. There are two kinds of shelters : dry and wet. A dry shelter indicates occupants are easily dealt with. A "wet shelter" is one in which occupants are potentially a problem in the neighborhood. The "wet shelter" on Irving Street was frequently a problem in the neighborhood, depending on how well the occupants were supervised. One of the questions raised at the one meeting before selectmen was the status of the women trying to work out of their drug addiction. Careful follow up by employees was questioned. "Overflowing" into neighbors' parties or home sites is another problem cited by the objectors. Almost certainly, more hearings with selectmen will be sought. There is no indication of how far the board will follow this situation. Or how much SMOC will be open and clear about its intentions. As in Framingham and Worcester, it is not readily forthcoming. If SMOC gets approval, there is room for getting a healthy PILOT : Payment in Lieu of Taxes. Keep tuned. This could be a case of . . . . . ___________________________________________ You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.com or at 1-508-620-1449. To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@syslang.net with body unsubscribe frambors (the subject is ignored). Please read the Frequently Asked Questions maintained online at http://frambors.syslang.net/faq/about.html before posting or replying.