Two Questions

As the discussion of  "Saving" the pool picks up steam, I have two questions:

1) If the $980,000 is spent to repair the pool, what will it cost to operate the pool on an annual basis going forward.  (Total costs -- staffing, benefits, utilities, maintenance -- and a capital maintenance reserve so this doesn't happen again.)

2) How will those operating costs be covered?  (Will it be coming 100% out of the School's operating budget or is there an expected municipal contribution for "public" use?  How much is expected to be recovered from user fees?)

Speaking of maintenance, while SHS looks good in the daylight with the "Blue Knight" flags hanging from the lamp posts -- it was hard to see them (or anything else) at night since most of the bulbs had burned out.  If we had to pay somebody with a bucket truck to hang the damn flags, couldn't we have raised the bucket a foot higher and replaced some of the burned out bulbs?  It would seem to be safer than having kids come out of the school at 9:00 to almost total darkness.

I guess the accreditation committee wasn't  meeting after dark.

Revisionist History 101

I'm not going to waste a lot of  time refuting Judy Koening's weekly serving of inane drivel -- but I would think by now John Paradise and the owners of paper should be damn embarrased to have their names on the same page as hers.  Granted, she is a "columnist" not a "reporter" but that shouldn't free her completely from at least a minimal obligation for accuracy.

The following linked documents may provide a little more complete (and CERTAINLY more accurate) history of the Community School situation:

Minutes of June 21, 2006 School Committee Meeting - Discussion of Community School's FY 2007 Budget raising issues about cost allocations and budgeting methods.

Town FY 2006 Audit Management Letter -- Points out that expenditures are not being approved by School Committee as required by law and that program revenue and expenses are not being properly monitored.

Memo from (then) School Committee member to (then) Community School Director outlining concerns about the program and a proposed action plan.

June 2008 Memo re: need for Community School Restructuring - Why Community School restructuring was necessary.

Minutes of July 30, 2008 School Committee Meeting - Discussion with CS Director about potential changes to CS Program

October 2008 Letter to the Editor from (then) School Committee Member responding to (then) Community School Director's public comments about the reorganization of the Community School.

January 2010 Memo re: status of Community School Reorganization

2009 Community School Audit Report - This was the first financial statement audit of the Community School ordered by the School Committee.  It showed a loss of $180,000 for the year ended June 30, 2009 -- BEFORE the program was restructured and the School Committee began actual oversight.  This report also points out that programs should be self-supporting, Invoices were still being paid and lease obligations were still being incurred without School Committee approval.  Auditors were unable to complete the  audit on Balance Sheet because CS Cash account could not be reconciled to Town Treasurer's records.  No subsequent audit or follow-up examinations have been done (as of March, 2013).

Summary of Community School Financials - FY 2008, 2009 & (Dec) 2010 shows consistent losses (Note these were in-house financials prepared on the cash basis -- revenue is not matched with corresponding costs. (Example -- Summer Camp shows positive income in March-June when prepayments come in; but a loss in July-August when related expenses are paid.  Because July-August is a subsequent fiscal year, these are even more distortive when reviewed on an annual basis.)

If I was to add one paragraph to this morning's Cape Cod Times article, it would be:

Simmons laughed heartily when told of Linehan's comment.  "It's obvious she still has absolutely no grasp of the issues at hand.  Not only were members of the committee and their attorney warned they were making a serious mistake by not seeking a judge's ruling, as an elected official,  Linehan should have actually read the regulations before taking reckless action that will cost the town well in excess of $300,000.  I would also point out that the lawsuit was over her vote to illegally void a contract -- not a questionable meeting posting.

The Times article also pointed out that at least Marshall, Kangas & Crossman were smart enough to shut up. How's that saying go?   "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"?

Speaking of quotes, I hope Selectmen Pierce was mis-quoted when he said he was "disappointed" by the ruling.  Maybe he meant he was "disappointed" that somebody's professional career was destroyed by four vindictive idiots?  Or, maybe he was "disappointed" that hundreds of thousands of taxpayers dollars were wasted for absolutely no reason?   Yesterday really would have been a good day for Jim not to have answered his phone.

It's interesting to note that this case has now been heard by six Judges in three courts.  The only one that ruled in the Town's favor was the first one -- a former Bristol County prosecutor who had been a judge for less than a month.  That judge's actions were then effectively stomped on by the State Appeals Court, and then kicked to the curb by the State's Supreme Judicial Court before being returned to the Superior Court for disposition.

Here's a few highlights from the Justice Muse's very detailed ruling:

--  Even if notice of the April 30th meeting was not filed with the Town Clerk forty-eight hours in advance, there was sufficient public notice of the meeting's continuation and that any violation of the letter of the law was strictly "de minimis" and had no impact on the intent of the law. 

-- The Town waived any statutory right of appeal because no interested party brought an appeal within the twenty-one day period.  (Where have I Heard THAT before?)

--The court recognized that the behavior of Marshall, Crossman, Kangas and Linehan was "petty and demeaning" but not to the level tortious interference.  (Not surprising, since being elected does not bestow any  knowledge, professionalism, or magical power -- frequently it just means the winner stood in the rain longer at the dump, ran a damn fine bake sale, or had absolutely no competition for the seat!!)

Seriously?

A "Save The Sandwich Pool" group started on Facebook today -- and already somebody from Osterville wants to know if they can vote to increase the taxes of Sandwich residents to repair the pool for their own use!  

Now What?

The Town of Sandwich just took another kick to the groin this week.

Two hundred pound windowsills began falling from a 15 year old school building necessitating $500,000 in repair work.  Engineering report says $500,000 to fix -- including sealing windows.  I guess we found out what happens when you wait 15 years to re-seal a window that needed to be re-done every 5 years!

While you're at it, can you throw another $150,000 on the tab for some school reno work?

The $30,000 re-grouting which had been discussed and delayed for several years finally shut-down the pool last year  when the water drained out of the pool during a power outage.  (Don't ask about the emergency generator!)   The engineer came back with a report stating that, in addition to re-grouting to stop the leak, the pool also required a new HVAC system.  But, no problem -- nothing that $980,000 won't fix. 

And then Justice Muse issued a ruling that echoed exactly what many people have been saying 

WTF?

Well, it must be Pulitzer season.

The Emptyprize -- the local rag of record if you want to see who got arrested this week, see a local sports picture, house-break a puppy, or wrap a fish, has admitted to taking a brave editorial stand.  They will no longer publish letters questioning Global Warming -- which they (The Emptyprize) have now deemed to be proven fact.

Thank God.

Because you know what a tremendous influence a letter on Global Warming has on the local "news" audience!   Those letters usually serve as good indicators that somebody's homework assignment was to write a Letter to the Editor -- or that somebody has no job and absolutely nothing significant with which to fill their day.

Now that they have got that Global Warming crisis under control, maybe they could do something about Judy Koenig's delusions ?

A Coincidence? I think not.

The Times had two interesting items this morning.

First it talked about yet another Town-owned building that has fallen into such disrepair that the occupants have moved out, and the presumed buyer has decided they could not afford the cost of the required renovation & repair work needed to restore the property to its proper function.  The fact that the property is in the Historic District, and is subject to various preservation restrictions further complicated the process.

The interesting part of the story is that the property was actually acquired by the Town through eminent domain in 1973.   The Town thought it was "in the Public Good" to acquire the property, but apparently not to prevent it from turning into a pile of mulch on the shores of Shawme Pond.  It was unusually brave of the Town to finally admit they couldn't afford to maintain it and attempt to sell it in 2011 -- but at that point the damage had been done.  And, even then, The Usual Suspects got up to argue WHY the Town needed to keep the falling down building.  

It's too bad the Usual Suspects hadn't made an effort to generate some real revenue for the Town over the past few decades.  It doesn't take an advanced economics degree to realize the Town has almost no commercial tax base, leaving the vast majority of the tax burden to fall on homeowners.

You Don't Need To Be Carnac to see this lob coming ....

The Cape Cod Times is reporting this AM that the engineers are proposing two options to repair the infamous SHS Swimming Pool -- one for $662,000 and a second for $856,000. But .... these are only their base prices.  They also proposed a few add-ons which could certainly drive the price up further.

AND .... that still doesn't fix the leak.  Getting some water to stay in the pool is estimated to cost another $35,000.

Gee ... the pool needs grouting and some major mechanical work.  Where have I heard  that before?

What happened to the now famous battle cry:   "In 1974 ... blah ...blah ... community access ... blah blah ...The Pool makes money ... blah blah ... I have a sore knee ... blah blah ...why can't strangers pay $50 to walk naked with high school kids ... blah blah ...we'll have a fundraiser ...blah blah ... you're a Bastard ... blah blah ..." ?

Well, many of those folks have gone home to Marstons Mills, Cotuit and Bourne; others are probably busy trying to figure out how to resolve a certain lawsuit that could surpass the cost of rebuilding the pool (or almost as much as the SS Overkill, our new Fireboat).  

The School Committee is sitting quietly (possibly even lying down?) and allowing the Superintendent to take this issue to Town Hall and the Voters.  Not exactly a Profile in Courage move -- but who wants to be associated with a million dollar pool Override -- especially at the same time voters are being asked to fund $500K for falling window sills?  No wonder the Teachers Contract was settled so quietly -- the new SEA President is obviously brighter than her predecessor when it comes to interpreting public sentiment!