Battle of Irrelevance

The Broadsider has an amusing story this week about the local Hysterical Commission being concerned about the addition of a sign saying some hacks from Sandwich, England got together recently with some of our home-grown hacks and decided to declare the namesake towns "Twin Cities".   Yawn ...

Next week, I hear some folks from Subway will be in-town asking to be declared the "official Sandwch Shop(pe) of Sandwich" --- an honor that I assume will also come with a sign.  At least we something in common with Subway ---- since sub shops (or "shoppes" in "The Village") are one of the few growth industries in town.

The following week, there is a group from Forestdale scheduled to visit Town Hall to request to be designated "The P.A. Landers Cultural District".  That seems fair since at least Landers is still in business and pays way more in local taxes than the Glass Company ever did!  (BTW, I assume all those trucks and loaders parked off Rte. 130 are registered in Sandwich -- and not still paying excise and personal property taxes to Plymouth or Hanover instead?   Maybe somebody should check that?)

I find it amusing that in a town where a $70 million budget passes without a single question, a town where the roads and public safety building are falling apart -- yet votes to spend $1 million to fix a swimming pool that nobody will admit to having any idea what the operating costs are --- yet they get excited about 1 more stupid sign.

Of course it's a stupid sign!  People want to know where the bathrooms are, and how to get to (any other Town's) beaches.  Nobody cares about the egghead mini-districts, cultural districts, or signs commemorating coincidental name similarities.  Those are all amusing hobbies for people with too much time on their hands or those who feel a need to justify their existence --- but otherwise -- who cares? 

The only thing more amusing than listening to these dopes argue for their irrelevant pet projects is when an equally irrelevant group wants to argue about it. It's too bad somebody has to win the argument!

The School Department announced that buses will be delayed along the Service Road this morning  ...

A Modest Proposal ...

Now that we have managed to compress the discussion period for the entire $70 million budget into less time than it takes most folks to order their coffee, its time to start working on speeding up the rest of the meeting.

Hell, if it takes 2 minutes to approve $70 million, why do we need to waste hours on arguing about the Special Interest du jour ...?

Retribution can be a Bitch !

A group of Barnstable oyster farmers recently rented a giant crane in
 an unsuccessful attempt to steal Joe's Lobster Mart

WTF ?

This potato was unable to attend Town Meeting tonight -- but if it had, it would
 have asked the same number of questions that those approving the budget asked.

I turned on Town Meeting this evening (The Daily Show & Colbert were both repeats).  I thought I was watching a speed reading demonstration -- the articles were passing as quick as they could be read, and re-read, and then re-read one more time.

The over $70 million dollar annual budget was passed in seconds --- with absolutely no comment or question from the audience --- not even a stupid one!  Other towns take multiple nights to discuss and approve what Sandwich can knock off in minutes!

Does anybody really think Town Meeting is still relevant to the operation of the Town?  It's a numbers game  -- out of 15,000 voters, maybe 250 will show up.  If you want something bad enough (pool, astro-turf, the ability to chase away illegal aliens) all you need is 125 warm bodies.

Yeah, I know... it's Democracy!

Which brings us to the Giant Potato above.  

The Magic Valley Times News (which is apparently in Idaho)  is reporting that a Dr. Richard Canfield was named one of two finalists for the Blaine County School Superintendent's job -- but didn't get the job.  What a coincidence, Sandwich has a Superintendent of the same name.  Wait a minute -- I recognize that face! According to the local papers, Canfield and his wife love the Blaine County area and have been vacationing there for years.  That sounds vaguely familiar... that's what he said about Cape Cod a couple of years ago -- usually in the same paragraph with the phrases "last job" and "going to retire here".

Here we go again.  A new Superintendent comes to Town, turns the system inside out -- and then either gets driven out of the District or flees before the locals can gather their pitch forks & torches!

Well, at least we still have a strong, experienced, School Committee -- except for those three folks who walked in off the street unopposed and two others who have been described as the special interest devotee and the un-medicated third grader.  Damn.

Well, at least we are getting a new astro-turf field!  (Because it would be disrespectful to veterans and 9/11 victims if we didn't spend pennies a day to prevent 400 kids from getting grass stains.  Or something like that.)

Gimme a break.

Consultant to the Committee on Consultants Who Hire Other Consultants

So far, the best reason I have heard to build a new Library is that Town Hall needs a bigger building in which to store their collection of Consultants' reports. (I hope they save a special place for the Consultant who thought it was a good idea to spend $3.5 million to renovate Town Hall and reduce the amount of space usable by Town employees!) The latest farce is the employment of a consultant to determine how residents feel about building additional recreational facilities.

It's no secret that the Town needs more space -- the constant beating the fields take is second only to the constant beating the School Department takes for their poor condition.  The reality is, if the schools are spending money on fields (or pools), they aren't spending money on academics.  It's that simple.

If an outside group wants to use a school field they need to pay for their share of the maintenance.  It's an old argument that that taxpayers shouldn't be expected to fund private group use of public facilities out of the school budget  -- especially if these non-profits manage to find ways to pay some of their "volunteers".  If a group decides some of its people deserve to be paid -- than they should damn well be paying for the use of taxpayer-funded facilities.

For more details -- see the Mass Attorney General's Office online database of non-profit organization tax filings at:  www.charities.ago.state.ma.us, 

Just for old-time's sake, I looked up one particular group that has always benefited greatly from the use of school-funded facilities -- and -- sure enough, the nastiest,  most foul-tempered little troll who constantly fought against any usage fess was ... wait for it ... the highest paid "volunteer" listed on any of the tax returns. When asked about her group's ability to pay, the Troll had sneered. "I'm not showing you our tax returns!"  She was too stupid to realize they were already available online.

But that's an old argument -- and we have already seen that few really give enough of a damn to speak-out on the issue.  This "new study" will show two distinct groups:  (1) People who want more facilities and (2) Everybody else who won't show-up.   

At the risk of sounding cynical, I suspect there may be a "solution" all ready to go -- just waiting for a consulting "study" to justify it!  And, I suspect the consultant is not going to be the only one making a grab for my tax dollars in this deal!

So let's not pretend.

Grab Your Flux Capacitor ..... We're Going Back to the Future !! (By Bob Guerin)

Good news!

Town Hall has decided to begin a conversation with resident taxpayers about recreation space, fields and Sandwich Hollows. Most folks in town consider this a dialog that’s long overdue.

At least 10 and perhaps 15 years ago, the Sandwich Hollows Golf Advisory Board, of which I was a member, brought a detailed plan to the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager that showed exactly how 25 to 30 acres of Hollows’ land could be cleared, leveled and used for recreational fields. Our plan included detailed parcel maps and identified resources willing to clear and level the land at no charge. We had imagined that Little League, Sandwich Youth Soccer, Sandwich Lacrosse and Pop Warner would use and maintain the lands at little to no cost to the town, just as they do other fields today.

Amazingly, this is almost exactly the same Hollows’ land use idea that Town Hall has just announced that it is now willing to explore with the help of a paid consultant.

When I recently asked a Selectman why it’s taken almost 15 years for the Board of Selectmen and our Town Manager to act on what was once a no cost proposal I was told: “we had other priorities.”   

Knowing that the Sandwich Hollows’ land use project was once a no cost / low cost project, I am eagerly awaiting the cost estimates for this new recreation proposal. I’ll bet it’s not going to be cheap.  

I hope the new recreation project is at least as good as the free 30 acres of recreational fields that the Sandwich Hollows Golf Committee proposed building almost 15 years ago.

Could it be a coincidence that there were reports of an odd-looking

 DeLorean  tooling around Sandwich Hollows recently?

 It was obviously one of the Consultants trying to go back in time

 to find a way to charge for the same answer that was obtained

free in a dozen years ago!!

 

Time to take The Wing on "The Ride"

Like many animal owners, over the past twenty-something years,  there have been numerous occasions when Dad and the aged & ailing dog/cat/rabbit/guinea pig go out for That Ride --- the ride from which only Dad returns.

Well,  I think its time to take The Wing on The Ride....

Somebody recently asked my thoughts on the plans to reconfigure the three K-8's.  

 

I just don't have a horse in this race.  Next year, I will have three kids at three different high schools, and (hopefully) a fourth teaching school someplace.  No more K-8's.

 

I've never claimed to be a professional educator, or an expert in child development (just ask my kids!)  But, from a management perspective, it makes sense to me to consolidate like operations whenever possible --- to allow the greatest sharing of resources and talent and to ensure maximum consistency of results.

 

But ...  I've been told that kids can't be treated like widgets. 

 

If there is a sound educational argument to be made to structure in one fashion or another, I could be swayed.  BUT, if the argument is based on ill-informed hysterical shrieking or rambling dissertations by folks with no professional background or experience in the subject (other than the ability to mix sperm and egg), I tend to change the channel and watch American Idol!

 

From a Big Picture perspective, the Wing has to go.  While I suspect the engineering / consulting reports are exaggerated, there's no disputing it's a grossly inefficient facility that is costly to maintain.

 

I always argued that we may need those school seats at some point, but given the increased number of seats at Pope John Paul II and Sturgis, the growth in School Choice options, and the generally changing age demographic in this area, that's probably unlikely.  Any substantial student growth I the future would likely impact an expanded Upper Cape Tech, or more cost-effective modular additions to the Forestdale or Oakridge.

 

That being said, I am still leery of adding yet another piece of useless real estate to the Town's portfolio.  In a professional environment, I would be promoting an effort to consolidate Town services in a single location and then liquidating the remaining properties to outside buyers -- buyers with money, not the friendly folks looking to help themselves to public property for their own benefit -- or those that confuse "historic" with "old".

 

What has (not) happened to the Dewey Avenue building is a disgrace.

 

As I have little confidence that the Town could ever actually coordinate or finance a renovation/consolidation effort, I would strongly support subdividing the parcel, turning the fields over to the Recreation Department and selling the building to a private developer for renovation into apartments, and/or an assisted living facility.   Sale proceeds could be used to fund some of the deferred maintenance efforts around town.

 

Or, we could hire another consultant.

 

The best argument I've heard for a new Library building is that we need more space to store our Consultants' Reports !!

When I am called to duty, God,
wherever flames may rage,
give me strength to save a life,
whatever be its age.
Help me embrace a little child
before it is too late,
or save an older person from
the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert,
and hear the weakest shout,
quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling,
to give the best in me,
to guard my friend and neighbor,
and protect his property.
And if according to Your will
I must answer death's call,
bless with your protecting hand,
my family one and all.

 

The Fireman's Prayer

Budget Numbers Don't Add Up (By Bob Guerin)

The standard School Committee and Selectman discussion of Dr. Canfield’s budget continues to suggest $1 million of savings will soon be realized by the schools.

It is just about impossible, though, to find any evidence and documentation supporting these numbers in any published budget materials. How much money is Dr. Canfield spending this year? How does that compare to what the schools spent last year, or expects to spend next year?

Perhaps the reason for this oversight and research failure by our elected officials is because the real numbers don't match up with the storyline. For example, in the current year, the schools are expected to spend 30,819,859. With all the savings being talked about, plus the past decade of declining enrollments, a reasonable person might assume that spending next year will be down a bit. But it's not. In fact, the Superintendents’ budget calls for spending $32,006,580 in 2015. That's $1,186,721 more than this year. It's not a one-year aberration either. Spending increases are projected for the following year (2016) by Dr. Canfield albeit he suggests a significantly smaller increase than this year’s requested increase.

It's hard to rationalize that the school's budget is about to realize significant savings while also reading reports published by the schools showing spending going in the opposite direction. . . .

The basic problem is simple Dr. Canfield and our elected officials have tortured the English language by suggesting that if spending grows less than expected, it should be called a spending cut or savings. Outside of city hall, nobody talks like that. This is more than just a theoretical discussion about transparency and budgeting. The failure of our school administration, school committee and selectmen to provide real numbers presents a false image to taxpayers about the state of our municipal budgets. Spending is not being cut but going up.