Another Proud Moment .....

The Cape Cod Times is reporting that the Town has been forced to evacuate the Assessing Department from the lower level of the Town Hall Annex to the Jan Sebastian Bldg (aka "The Annex Annex") due to continual flooding.

On the bright side, the Fire Department now has some place to park their new fireboat, the USS Overkill --- if only they had enough people to drive it over to the Annex during the next high tide!

In a related story, a resident of the Service Road area has complained to Selectmen that he would have liked to have some input on the subject before the water was pumped from the Assessor's office.  He had already complained to the Cape Cod Commission -- who responded, "Where's Sandwich?"

Finally, In yet another related story, Sandwich Girl Scouts will be shaking their coffee cans in front of Stop & Shop this weekend -- in order to raise funds to buy dry socks for Assessing Department employees.

Welcome to Calcutta? Pimpin' the kids? (by Anonymous)

This topic was addressed  by an anonymous contributor in this space almost three years ago, but I thought it was worth posting an update (from a different, equally anonymous contributor).

During a visit to the local grocery store this weekend, I couldn't help but notice a young girl accosting exiting customers with a coffee can looking for donations of some sort.

I was curious what deadly disease or major natural or man-made disaster would motivate a mother and child to stake-out a piece of sidewalk on a very humid 90 degree day during the Fourth of July weekend.

Cheerleading.

Seriously, they were collecting money for cheerleading.  

Granted, it could have been one of any number of sports teams that routinely beg at doorways around Town -- but today, on this very hot holiday weekend somebody thought it would be a good idea to accost shoppers to pay for their kid's hobby.

What lesson is this teaching the kid?  If you want something, just head to the local Stop & Shop with your coffee can and a cute outfit?  

What about the concept of paying your own way or earning something for yourself?  Why should you expect anybody to pay for your kid's entertainment?  I raised my kids already (and paid for their activities) -- and while I don't mind paying for a school system I no longer use, I am annoyed that people expect me to contribute to THEIR kid's entertainment.

I know...  nobody was twisting my arm to contribute.  And, Yes, I could certainly have just smiled and/or ignored them.  

I'm thinking about getting my own coffee can.  I wonder if my 27 year old would wear a big pink bow and go with me?

Now What?

At a recent School Committee meeting a very vocal anti-pipeline person got up to speak-out against the proposed gas transmission line.

Later, during the same meeting, the same person put on his very vocal pro-pool person hat to speak in favor of getting the pool open as soon as possible.

The Superintendent, as usual, handled the situation very smoothly and said the problem was being reviewed and that they were also looking at improving energy efficiency, and possibly installing a gas heating system in the pool area.

Uh oh.

Now What?

Does he support the Superintendent's potential renovation plans which could certainly increase natural gas usage at the High School?  Or does he standby the "Gas is Bad - We're all going to be incinerated"  mantra?

Granted a 20" gas transmission line is not the same as increasing the gas flow on the feeder line to the School Pool --- but the gas in the feeder line probably made most its trip across the Country along a 20" transmission line --- which must have gone by the end of somebody's street!

So,  is the issue still just safety?

Oh look ..... something shiny!

It doesn't take much to derail local attention.  Nobody seemed concerned when approval was received several years ago to dig up the Service Road and plant a 20" gas line in the middle of it.  Nobody seemed concerned when the new gas line crossed under Route 6 and meandered to a terminal point on Route 130.  Nobody even seemed very concerned when the gas company ran some very loud and colorful tests last summer that made the intersection of Routes 6 and 130 look like the Entrance to Hell -- or at least Northern New Jersey.

But, when the Gas Company agreed to cooperate with a local government request and file plans and paperwork to move the gas line off the roadway and into the wooded buffer zone between Route 6 & The Service Road -- that's when some locals became concerned that the proposed gas line relocation would "improve their view" of Route 6. 

Unfortunately, the period to complain about aesthetics had passed -- because (not surprisingly) nobody had been paying attention.

So the new battle cry became the Fear of Incineration!

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration reports there were a total of 42 fatalities from gas transmission pipelines between 1993 and 2012.(See their report here).

But, the U.S. Census reports that almost 34,000 people were killed in traffic accidents IN 2009 ALONE.  (see their report here).

Why aren't they calling for the elimination of motor vehicles or the closing of Route 6 ?

We have seen Selectmen's meetings and, most recently, a School Committee meeting unabashedly  hijacked by a small group of hysterical residents convinced that their impending incineration is inevitable,  It was made even worse at a recent School Committee meeting when residents assured Committee members that they could be responsible for entire school bus loads of little children being incinerated on contact and that hundreds of other kids could be burned alive as they walked to school or waited for their bus.

Their solution?  Put the line near somebody else's house!  

Dewey Ave. Back from The (Almost) Dead ..... Again .... (By Bob Guerin)

This week’s Sandwich Broadsider includes an article about the Sand Hill School aka Dewey Ave.

Avid readers of this blog know that Dewey Ave was declared surplus property by a former School Committee several years ago and the building was returned to the Town in an effort to consolidate school operations, save day-to-day operating costs as well as avoid costly capital repairs and improvements. 

It was hoped that the Dewey Ave building could be quickly sold to a private developer, moneys collected would be invested in much needed capital repairs to other town-owned properties and Dewey Ave would be returned to the active and paying property tax rolls.

This week’s Sandwich Broadsider reports that eager and well-meaning do-gooders are angling for tax payer funded Dewey Ave development planning and tax payer funded repairs and finally a public private partnership for ongoing building operations perhaps as an "Arts Center" – meaning: taxpayer funded operations (that’s the public in public-private partnerships). 

Dewey Ave is a lot like Count Dracula. Dead, decrepit, ugly and a huge burden inflicting misery on all the local residents but still it lives. What’s its magic? Like Dracula himself, its old and it seems that in Sandwich being old makes all the difference. 

White Elephant One has arrived!    Still no word on funding for operating costs and the local share of maintenance and training.  Will it effect response times if the crew from Station One is following the Coast Guard Boats around instead of operating on dry land?    (see related story )

A Study in Contrasts / Time to Stand Up !

Whitey Bulger was arrested on June 23, 2011 and will be going on trial for 19 murders next week, 713 days later.

Mary Ellen Johnson's filed a lawsuit on November 4, 2010 and it will remain unresolved for 944 days by the time Whitey heads in for jury selection next week.

The cases obviously have nothing in common.    But -- so much for speedy due process!

Both the State Appeals Court and the State's Supreme Judicial Court have ruled the District Court judge made an obvious error in dismissing the case and that Dr. Johnson's contract was never invalidated --- yet the Town is apparently still unwilling to resolve the case.

Instead of working to negotiate a reasonable settlement, the Town has allowed their insurance company's attorneys to drive the financial bus by wasting months of very expensive legal time filing inaccurate motions, and deposing former School Committee members for several hours each about topics that have had absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand.

This isn't fact-finding, this is retaliation.

Yes, I know, the Town has litigation insurance.  The attorney is working for the insurance carrier -- not the Town,  Does anyone seriously think that the insurance company will not recover the fortune they are paying out in legal fees by jacking up the Town's premiums?  Does anyone  think the eventual pay-out will get any smaller by delaying it? Even if the lawsuit outlives Dr. Johnson (who looks damn healthy!), I have no doubt her counsel will continue the suit on behalf of her estate -- if for no other reason than to recover the fees he's built up responding to the Insurance attorney!

So what's the point?

Regardless of posting process, constructive notice, or de minimus standards, the State Appeals Court, and later the State Supreme Judicial Court made it very clear that this stopped being an Open Meeting Law case 21 days after the contract was approved by one School Committee and not properly cancelled by a subsequent Committee.  It's now a straight-forward contract case.

Like so many other issues in this Town, somebody needs to be willing to stand up, and do what needs to be done -- regardless of whether or not the decision is a popular one.

Dr. Canfield has done a good job at doing the right thing -- he's tackled the Community School, The Pool, The Lunch Ladies, and the Athletic Director issues and he has made it clear he will soon be resolving the school facilities usage issue.  All tough issues -- but issues that needed to be resolved.  Unfortunately, given the budgetary restrictions, and the magnitude of the dollars involved in this case, its unlikely he can do much to help this situation --- except maybe to extol the virtues of stepping up and doing The Right Thing --- and sharing his bottle of aspirin.

The 2010-2011 School Committee may have made this mess, but its going to be up to the 2013-2014  Board of Selectmen to clean it up.

There are no Free Lunches !

U.S. Coast Guard boats stationed at Sandwich Marina

I need to start this with my standard disclaimer that I am not questioning the performance of the Fire Department.   I am questioning the inability of our local leaders to ask  more "Big Picture" questions -- and then listen carefully to the answers.

My family and I have had many occasions to utilize the services of the Fire Dept. over the past decade and we have always been pleased and thankful for their rapid response and professional service.  (I can still remember a night during our first winter here when a 911 call brought Police, Fire, EMS and a snow plow to our home in a high speed parade of revolving lights.  I can also remember a morning when an SFD dispatcher "talked down" terrified parents waiting for an ambulance after one of the kids collapsed on the kitchen floor.)

I certainly recognize and appreciate the service provided by our local police and fire departments.  I also appreciate the importance of response time and the  fact that I live moments from Station 3.

I have never questioned the need for a new Public Safety Building.  I have no arguments over the proposed location.  I do have concerns over the originally-proposed $30 million cost.  I also have concerns that the "public outreach" appeared to be far more of a marketing campaign than a "listening tour".  I am annoyed that the Town meeting presentation seemed to assume voters were stupid -- Question:  Do the Chief's have private bathrooms?  Answer:  The Building has the minimum number of bathrooms allowed by the Building Code.  For God's sake -- just say "Yes" and move on!  Who cares?  Just answer the damn question!

I am also shocked/amused that the newest Selectman (who was also a member of the PSC Committee) could claim to be "surprised" by the public sentiment she heard at Town meeting.  

 But enough about the damn building.  

In the Fall of 2011, it was announced that Sandwich had been given a Homeland Security grant to purchase a new 40' Fire/Rescue boat.  The Feds would be kicking in almost $1 million for the boat and initial training and maintenance -- although the Town would be responsible for matching those initial maintenance and training funds and then picking up all future operating costs.

To date, there has been no public discussion as to how the Town will fund its share of  training and maintenance, or the cost of ongoing staffing for the boat -- which would presumably be docked at the Sandwich Marina (where it would likely take space that could be used by a paying customer who may have been on the waiting list for years.).

There has also been no discussion of any actual public safety need for the boat.  The U.S. Coast Guard, the Sandwich Harbormaster, and The Massachusetts Environmental Police, all have boats stationed at the Sandwich Marina.  The Army Corps of Engineers will also soon be upgrading to four new high speed patrol boats operating in the canal.  There are also usually 1-2 tugboats in the canal equipped with water cannons.

If we can't staff our existing stations, and are forced to frequently rely on surrounding towns for mutual aid, can we really afford to spend the time and money to properly  train and equip firefighters to race across Town (From QMH and Cotuit?) to jump in a boat to follow the Coast Guard out to bring in the annual stupid kid on an inflatable raft, or the very occasional boat fire?  

It seems other local governments are having similar concerns about the costly strings attached to "free" boats:

Council Uneasy About Purchase of New Fire Boat -- The purchase of a new fire boat with grant money left some councilors uneasy.

Fireboat costs cause Port to pause -- Commission agrees it would be an asset, but members fear operational costs

New fire boat coming to the rescue? Vancouver City Council will decide Monday whether to accept $2.6M grant for vessel

Mystic Fire Department Receives New Fireboat

Since I doubt anybody will be willing to step up and kill this boondoogle -- lets start a contest to name it!

Potential names:

Albatross One
The White Elephant
Deferred Maintenance One
The Overide
More Mutual Aid
The Gilded Lilly
Overboard
Oversight
Over-the-Hill
Striper Rescue One


SEE RELATED POST

Thank you!

Graduation ceremonies for the Sandwich Police Department Youth Academy Class of 2013 were held at Town Hall last night.  This continues to be a terrific program for many reasons  -- public relations, career information, character-building, etc.

Thank you to Chief  Wack, Lt. Nurse, Sgt Bound, Sgt Lawrence, Officer O'Brien and all of the other folks who continue to offer this program.  Thank you also to the John & Ethel Thorne Foundation for funding it.

As the father of two graduates over the past several years, I can readily attest to the enthusiasm these kids have shown towards the program.  I hope all involved know how much their efforts are appreciated!

Damn !

This week's Disingenuous Moron Awards go to Nancy Crossman and Marie Kangas for refusing to vote to extend Dr. Canfield's contract -- despite giving him an excellent  evaluation. They claim they wanted to leave the decision for the "new" Committee to decide.

Sure, that makes sense ... work with somebody for two years, give him an excellent job review .... and then let somebody else decide whether or not to give him a new contract.

Are they really that F'n stupid?

Of course they are.

In reality, this latest charade is only a very lame attempt to support their arguments from three years ago when they complained about the outgoing Committee doing its job by evaluating the Superintendent's job performance and renewing her contract.  -- regardless of the fact that good business practice would be for compensation to be based on performance and despite the fact that The Mass. Association of School Committees has made it clear that the outgoing Committee is obligated to handle the evaluation and related contract renewal.

But, its not the MASC that's bogged down in a very expensive lawsuit.

Enough!  Please cast a single ballot today for Sean Rausch.  It's time to return one of these idiots to their village!