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| At least THIS Nut House has a functional septic system and ample parking !! |
I just want to be sure I have got this right.
The police and fire headquarters buildings are located in a flood plain and are slowly sinking into a marsh. The firefighters who we depend on to save us from the most dire circumstances (including our own stupidity) are forced to sleep in a leaky, mouse-infested, building with serious ventilation issues. The folks in East Sandwich have to wait an unimaginable amount of time for help because we have essentially created a Fire Department storage garage in their neighborhood -- shiny trucks ... but nobody to drive them or squirt the hose!
Nobody wanted to fix the leaky school roofs that drip water and mold on several hundred kids.
Nobody wanted to fix the code violations at the old bank branch which now serves as the Town Hall Annex. Ironically -- if that building was a privately-owned commercial property (OR owned by the School Department!!) The Powers That Be probaby would have issued a citation and shut that building down by now.
But ... somebody thought it was a good idea to spend $3+ million renovating Town Hall.
Despite the fact that the renovated building has room for even fewer employees than the unrenovated building.
Despite the fact that building has no parking spaces and minimal septic system capacity. A great place to meet -- unless you want to park your car or flush the toilet!
Despite the fact that the Town already owns 4 large schools with auditoriums, chairs, restrooms, parking, handicapped access, etc. all of which are generally available most evenings.
Despite the fact that the renovated building has far less storage than the original -- this now requires that the Town Office portfolio be expanded to include the Dewey Ave Building, part of the Wing School Basement, part of the Oakcrest Lodge, and a cabin in the woods at Oakcrest cove. Not exactly the consolidation of space associated with cost savings efforts!!
Despite the fact that the renovated building no longer has a vault, which generally excludes a potential use by the Town Clerk's office.
If I got that right, who were the winners in this shell game?
Not the Town employees who need to wander from building to building to do their jobs.
Not the Board of Selectmen who should be embarrassed to hold their meetings in a $3 million auditorium with an audience of 5 people.
Certainly not the taxpayers.
Maybe the Recreation Department which managed to acquire at least some of the Oakcrest space for their own offices? Yahoo!!, more town office space!!
Maybe the Council on Aging? Did they acquire the old Rec Dept space? (This may be the second expansion for the COA since the Sandwich Housing Authority donated their Community Room to the Meals on Wheels and Meal Site programs after those programs were evicted from the Human Services Building.)
Probably the only winner was the local Hysterical Preservation crowd. They must assume they will get control of the Building once the economy begins to improve and taxpayers realize that it would be far more cost efficient to consolidate the multitude of scattered town office buildings into a single location, sell-off the excess properties, and build a real Police-Fire station -- rather than to continue (not) maintaining the current portfolio of inadequate rapidly decaying buildings.
Given our complete lack of a commercial taxbase, the fact that we will likely be losing a major taxpayer once the Power Plant goes dark, and given the fact that there is minimal liklihood of developing any sort of realistic commercial taxbase given what little suitable commercial land remains, I find it hard to be that enthusiastic about the refinished floors and newly stenciled ceilings at Town Hall.
I can't help wondering if we'll look up at those beautiful ceilings, or down at that lovely floor, next year when we vote to eliminate the jobs of police officers, firefighters, or teachers.
36 comments:
What's worse is that our "ever-competent" FinCOM seems more pre-occupied with their assault on Sandwich Schools than anything you mentioned above. How many of these committee members have kids in our schools? The current chair of FinCom, Mr. Diedering, has always targeted the schools for his abusive ravings. No wonder, Bud has seemed to be taking some rather obvious shots at the schools, it deflects from this ongoing shell game. Nut house is an understatement.
"Let them eat cake!"
Is a renovated town hall more important than a leaky roof at an elemetary school?
Is a renovated town hall more important than a leaky roof, rodent infested, asbestos laden (more than floor tiles), horrific air quality, falling into a marsh flood plain fire station which is a medical facility?
Is a renovated town hall more important than a still rotten Town Hall Annex?
Is a renovated town hall more important than making the golf course clubhouse ADA compliant even after the town repeatedly admits the upgrade is neccesary?
Is a renovated town hall more important than a disgraceful running track at the high school?
Someone stated in an ealier post....shall I go on?
Perhaps you have forgotten that we, the voters, agreed to renovate the Town Hall. That is, if you voted that year.
julie
Bob - Remember there's crazy and then there's Sandwich Crazy.
Not only does your blog entry highlight the idiocy of the towns’ building and improvement process BUT you’ve skipped right past the fact that every town labor contract gives every employee an average annual wage increase of 5.5% and has for years! This in a town whose tax revenues increase just less than 3.5%.
The town is 2% in the hole at the starting line EVERY YEAR and you never, ever hear the Finance Committee or the Selectmen of the School Committee discuss this.
We’re on the Titanic and rather than patch the hole this crew of simpletons chooses simply to ask taxpayers to buy more wet vacs.
Bob,
I agree with you completely. I recall that there were some minimal additional costs to the town during the renovation (moving, utilities, etc). So, now that we cannot fit all employees in the town hall, we have essentially opened an additional town office at Oak Crest Cove and will assume the cost of those utilities, etc going forward. Gee, you would think that this is information that could have been presented when people voted on the town hall. They MUST have known that all former town hall employees could not go back into that building. I guess they didn't want to mention this...
Anon 5:50am:
I agree with you that the FinCom appears to be very anti-school right now. They should focus on doing their homework and preparing for their meetings. Ah, but it is much easier to just make off-the-cuff negative comments about the schools and, as an added bonus, it is so well received by our Town Manager.
Julie,
You are absolutely right. The voters (who showed up) decided to rebuild Town hall and the voters (who showed up) decided not to fix the police/fire/school buildings and the voters (who showed up) decided to elect some folks who have absolutely no concept of what their responsibilities are.
Are you sensing the recurring theme? If people don't show up to vote, this is what happens.
The problem with FinCom is that they are appointed by a single individual and have no accountability. There are no qualifications and there is almost never a full committee present. They wander in and out of meetings with little preparation or background info. They spend no time with any of the operating departments -- they take whatever the Town Manager spoon feeds them and then complain because the Schools won't deliver their data to them in an IV drip.
They have certain members who have such obvious personal agendas that you could turn the sound off on the broadcast and still guess what they're saying.
I think they should split up the FinCom appointing authority between the Town Moderator and the Boards -- just to create some balance.
At least there needs to be some public discussion about WHO theses fincom people are and what their professional backgrounds are.
Agenda driven small town politics is responsible for what Bob points out as a "curious use of resources and prioritizing." Those in the CPA and others will argue that Community Preservation Funding is a pot of money with specific uses. That it covered the town hall restoration, and that it would not have happened any other way. Which is true.
That kind of thinking drove the time and effort to make the restoration happen NOW. Funding drives a lot in government. And don't forget how easy it is to spend someone else's money, espcially the government's. In committees with no real accountability to the big picture, this will happen over and over again.
That is why it is up to leadership of the Town Manager and BOS to keep the big picture in mind. But the BOS changes every year and there are agendas there to that drive accomplishment for individual selectmen through their view of what matters.
This is the way things are. Now we have have a wonderful building to be proud of and that is a plus.
Bob's point is, was that a good use of our town resources. Was it a good use of our staff dollars for all these months? Did it destract from comprehensive plannning for use and maintenance of our town buildings? Are committee's outside Town Manager and town department, and the BOS driving our comprehensive planning? Good question.
Our government is fragmented. It may need to change. The BOS is ultimately responsible for keeping things in line, but it changes every year. It appears that our government is at times overwhelmed by the challenges of the way our 1/2 professional, !/2 volunteer government runs.
Strong personalities push agenda's. So now it is done and it is time to get back to work looking at the rest of the town's needs.
Hopefully we can move on now to the important issues you point out Bob.
Next time we review the Charter perhaps we will look seriously at how our government is organized. Is it efficient, effective, or is it organized in a way that makes it harder to plan and decide on how we use our resources?
I am seriously considering eliminating anonymous posts -- especially those that attempt to explain my opinions!
My point was that CPA funds ARE tax dollars. and those tax dollars were used to restore an obsolete building instead of for a useful purpose.
Community Preservation Funds -- particularly now that the state contribution is declining ARE our money. We need to discuss whether it is more important that OUR money is used to restore obsolete buildings or actually aid the public good.
I am not proud of Town Hall -- I think it is an embarrassment and a monument to the fact that not enough people were paying attention.
Sandwich is not Williamsburg.
I think the volunteer half of our government needs to go away. We need to elect/hire professional managers to run the Town like the $60 Million entity that it is.
Bob, The Truth Maker would add that the time has come for the citizens of Sandwich to reduce the 3 percent tax for the CPA. We will continue to have more financial needs for historical buildings.][They just keep finding more every day] It is time to readjust the number to one that places more energy on what the town really needs to get done. They could divert one percent toward all needed building repairs for example. Stop taking on, more projects where we go into long term loans. Accrue the money until it can be used to pay itself on any project. We as a town can find a much better way to utilize this money should the percentage get changed, along with a philosophical change as to how and why do we need this complete 3% tax at this point during our finacial crisis as a town.
I for one would like to see CPA moneys spent to refurbish the offices at Dewey Avenue. This would be in keeping with the very wise, forward looking town meeting vote to keep that treasure from our historic past!
Once rebuilt, I would like to see the Community School staff occupy the new space and continue their important public service mission. This would, once and for all, get them away from the prying eyes of the schools.
Also, I'd like to see some CPA recreation moneys be used to refurbish the pool. This is a great town asset that brings pure joy to so many and doesn't get nearly the financial support it should.
Bob,
Do I hear you say that we need to eliminate some or all of the the percentage of our tax dollars that goes to Community Preservation Funding? That is the only way we can use that funding source for things other than what is within the guidlines of the Community Preservation Act.
"The prying eyes of the School" Did you mean to say "the supervision of those legally responsible for its operation" ?
That is the most clueless comment I have seen here yet -- maybe Simmons just posted it that comment for amusement purposes?
Unless you plan to flood the basement of Dewey Ave, it's unlikely it will help the pool program -- just add more overhead to an already-top-heavy program. But ... if you don't pay overhead ....
Maybe the pool should get a little more support from the people who actually use it! You don't pay for my hobbies --- why should I pay for yours?
Linell,
That sounds like a fine idea.
I suspect "Devoted Swimmer" is just jerking your chain!
I agree Bob that a huge part of what makes things fly or not is who shows up to vote at Town Meeting or for an election. What is equally important is appropriate and accurate information being presented to the citizens.
For example the first time we voted on Town Hall we had one number, which I suspect was a so called soft number. That lead to an increase in approriation and another vote. The project was underway when the second vote was taken. We need to give people the whole story and not sugar coat it so they can make an informed decision.
What were the ancilary costs to the Town Hall restoration not covered in CPA funding? I'm not sure we will ever know that when you take into consideration staff dollars spent on a project that like most took longer than we excpected.
Let's inform our citizens. Data driven decisions are only as good as the data provided.
The way we do town business needs to change. The Charter Review due next year can help if people get involved. For example how Fin Com is selected is a Charter issue.
Hell yeah - I am serious.
Town Meeting voted for the CPA.
Town Meeting voted to save Dewey Avenue.
Town Meeting voted to repair Town Hall.
Why is it you folks just keep complaining?
Everything is going "swimmingly."
Maybe its all of you who are wrong?
Save Dewey Ave and lets refurbish the pool!
The Truth Maker would ask what is so historical about the old Dewey Ave buiding? It has served many town functions Local American Legion Post, School Building to name a couple.
The Clark Haddad American legion has its own post on !30, where they sponcer the Clark Haddad baseball Team. Clark and Haddad have a plank on the board walk. They also have a rather large granite stone in the Center of Town that also reminds every one of the sacrifices they made. Both passing away during Boot Camp as they were being trained to go over sees in defence of our country.
Oh the once Red school house has been fitted with a plague denoting this use, but Sandwich has another School House with more history sitting down on 130
The historical committee will soon have other useless old buildings[Like the old bank] being classified as historical which will help to keep the wheels turning on how we can spend more money CPA money.
The time has come to redirect the funding percentage to projects our community need today.
Like a new Police and Fire building in the center of Sandwich. I ask why not ?
Was the Agilent purchased by the town for 3.6 million dollars in 2003 to develop a recreational campus or was it bought to serve as the FOURTH satellite town hall functionary? Please help me remember what we were told.
The Truth Maker would respond in regards to the Agilent. It was bought to prevent it from being developed and for future town operational center.
Like the Police and Fire departments
devoted swimmer - yes Town Meeting voted down the option to investigate what should/could be done with Dewey Ave. In my opinion, the longer it sits there, the less value it has. Not that it has much value now. As it stands now it would cost LOTS to bring it up to a useable building. It should go. We, the tax payers of Sandwich do not have the money to fix or maintain these old building. Old or historic doesn't necessarily mean useful.
Julie
(bob - I have no clue as to how I can post other than anonymous, otherwise I would)
It amazes me that town voters can stand there with a straight face and call that rotting building on Dewey a tribute to Clark and Haddad. It is an embarrassment to the men that gave their lives, to the town, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to the people who live in that neighborhood to watch that building rot into the ground. Sell the land and use the money to give our fire fighters and police officers buildings that are safe for them to be in!
I agree with Mr. Simmons completely! Time to consolidate and sell off town owned properties. At town meeting folks kept saying there has not been a new town building since 1972. How about the barn behind the DPW or the offices at Jan Sebastian, I believe both were built or acquired after 1972. If the "Hysterical Society" is so proud of the town hall renovations, why don't they buy it from the town? As for the Charter, if possible, it's time to really consider desolving town meeting. That approximately 200 people keep making the decisions for 20,000, is antiquated. It's a ratio completely out of wack with reality. Either that or every registered voter start showing up for town meeting. Now that would be fun!
At town meeting the Dewey Ave property came up for a vote relative to selling it. However, no mention was made of using a historic restriction in the sales process so as to maintain the historic nature of the property. I think it could be sold with such a restriction. It is worth a try in my opinion.
The Truth Maker would add that the final desicions as to what actually gets passed By Town meeting, forget that the Board Of Selectman still have the final say, as to if in fact, it gets done.
Look up the law as outlined in the town charter.
It would be nice if Sandwich could find another way to take the responsiabilty of Town meeting to another level of trust.
The way it stands now, any group that supports any article, has a more then 75 percent chance of seeing it passed by town meeting.
The checks and balance comes from the people in a general vote. However some town meeting articles do not not need to be brought before the people for a vote, that is where the Board of selectmen get to rule.
This form of town meeting has resulted in many of our present problems that we all face as a town.
Stacking the meeting is like stacking a deck of cards and in the end the cheaters do win, but at what price.
We need a process in place that any article of finacial ramifications to our town ,if passed at town meeting, be placed on a ballot vote for every one to have a say, as to if it actually gets passed or is defeated.
Now that would place the checks and balance on every one that pays taxes and take away the groups who will find a way to stack the vote at town meeting that attempt to spin what is good for us, but they do not tell the honest story at town meeting.
Changes are needed all over and how we look at and carry our desicions out, over the next few years, will determine how we as a town really survive,
We have the means to make good changes, but we lack the will to do so.
Let's build a second library!
To those who know a lot more than me...Is it possible to either eliminate town meeting or do something like the Truth Maker suggests - anything that is passed at town meeting has to then be put up to an actual vote?
It seems to me that the only people who can actually attend a town meeting are retired (and don't seem to care about educating the next generation) - speaking as a stay at home mom with two young children and a husband who travels regularly.
or two
To eliminate Town Meeting would require we change our form of local Government. That would be a charter change. The town is due for a Charter Review in 2011. At any time a Charter Change may be brought to the voters through a citizens petition or a warrant article. We have only had a formal town charter for almost 10 years. The next layer of organization for how the town is run locally are our by-laws. By-law changes can be accomplished at any time through the by-law addition or change process.
All of what we do locally must adhere to Mass. General Law. Changes to our Charter must then be approved through the state legislative process.
Off the top of my head I do not think a ballot vote on all financial items is possible. There are stipulations for what the BOS needs Town Meeting approval on in terms of a financial decision that follow Mass. General Law. But I will check into it.
At this point, leadership is the key thing. We have only had part time Selectman for around 23-25 years. Someone born and raised in town but who left and came back, mentioned something to me recently I thought interesting. When did the 5 member School Committee become 7 members and when did the small Finance Committee become 9 members? Interesting.
It's not rocket science -- adopt a Strong Manager/Town Council form of government (like Barnstable) and move on.
The problem is we continually end up with the same hacks because professional managers are too busy working to volunteer. The ones who volunteer all day are around because they are otherwise unemployable in the private sector -- pleasant but few commercially viable skills!
"Devoted Swimmer" illustrates exactly what is wrong with Town Meeting -- a few ill-informed short-sighted folks show up and vote their personal agendas ... and look where we end up!
Yes, it certainly is Democracy -- but the TM crowd hardly represents a cross-section of taxpayers. And, browbeat them all you want -- it's just not possible for many people to attend a meeting from 7-11 on a weekday night -- especially when most of the speakers say the same thing and most of the votes are unanimous.
I like the idea of flooding the Dewey Ave basement to provide a new pool.
Who should we name THAT ONE after?
Just for laughs, the new library should be named after the School Committee member least likely to have read a book this year.
Because, as she told us .... she "gut nuthin'"
I work 12+ hours a day and still manage to make town meeting. I submit atleast one parent could make a town meeting if they wanted too
Though I get all the points about Town Meeting...who attends, people's shoulds, it could be stacked, not enough attend, it is antiquated...there still seems to be an issue about leadership. The decisions we are being asked to make represent some essential decisions that need to be ratified by Town Meeting each year, but they also represent what priorities the leadership of Town Government want Town Meeting to tackle.
All the activity of Town Business has a price tag, staff being chief among them. What we are working on as a Town will lead us to a more sustanable future we hope and perhaps a more professional government organization hopfully. The process and organization of Town Government is an issue. It has been talked about here.
Who shows up at Town Meeting is one piece of it. What business the town is undertaking at amy given Town Meeting is another piece of hopfully moving us toward a better future. Then of course you have the advocate voice. How vetted an issue is and what good information comes to the citizens both in preparation of Town Meeting and at Town Meeting itself is another piece of it.
I've only been here one decade but it seems to me that many of the things people are frustrated by represent poor process as much as anything else. In politics the agenda seems to be everything. Push push is the traditional method alot of people us in trying to acheive their political agendas. Frankly I see a more pragmatic approach amoung government professionals. It is up to leadership to keep the town on the path of progress and that to me means a better governmental process as much as anything.
It can look like we are doing something when really we are wasting our tax dollars governing projects or the work of committees that aren't really committed to the big picture, but just their interpretaion of it. It is up to our leaders to never loose sight of the big picture and the reality of governance.
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