Volunteers needed in Needham

May 18, 2008

Needham
Town officials are looking for one volunteer to serve on the Board of Health and one to serve on the Housing Authority until next April's regular town election. Those wishing to serve must be registered Needham voters and submit a letter of interest and a resume to the town manager's office. Applications may be e-mailed to Sandy Cincotta at scincotta@town.needham.ma.us. Applications are due by Friday. - Laura Colarusso

HIKE FOR HABITAT - Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston is hosting a hike-a-thon on the weekend of June 7-8 at Blue Hill Reservation in Milton. Proceeds will benefit the Newton Habitat Project. The organization needs at least $200,000 to complete the two homes it is building in the city. The first project, at 76 Webster Park, is under construction. Registration costs $25 per hiker. Registration forms are available online at habitatboston.org, or can be requested by calling 617-423-2223. - Rachana Rathi

DRIVE-THROUGH REQUEST - Town Council president Clyde L. Younger wants to bring the first fast-food drive-through restaurant to Watertown. The Planning Board is to consider a request tomorrow evening by Arsin Kozelian, owner of the former Settles Glass Co. property at 347 Main St., to change a zoning ordinance to allow drive-through food operations in some business and industrial districts by special permit. If approved by the board, the matter would be taken up by the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Town Council, he said. Younger owns six Burger King franchises in Massachusetts, including one on Boylston Street near Fenway Park and one at Logan Airport. Since the proposed change would require the Town Council's approval, Younger said, he would recuse himself from any discussions by the panel to avoid a conflict of interest. Younger noted that while a prior request for a drive-through window at a Dunkin' Donuts was strongly opposed by neighbors and police, he believes there is wide support for this proposal. The issue could be on the Town Council's docket for its May 27 meeting. - Christina Pazzanese

INJUNCTION DENIED - A Middlesex Superior Court judge has denied a bid by a Mt. Auburn Street property owner to halt renovations to the former Coolidge School. Francis N. Mastroianni, a principal with Trilogy Mt. Auburn LLC, had asked the court on May 9 to issue a preliminary injunction to stop renovations on the vacant school building while he pursued a lawsuit challenging the special permit and variance issued to the project's developer last year. But Judge Herman Smith Jr. said there was "no irreparable harm" being done to Trilogy by the work on the adjacent property, noting that it is being done with the town's permission. Mastroianni's lawsuit says that the Mitchell Properties LLC project does not provide adequate parking, in violation of the town's zoning ordinance, and that Watertown zoning officials had selectively enforced the ordinance because of the town's financial interest in the project. The town owns the site, and collects lease income and property taxes from Mitchell Properties, which is converting the building into age-restricted apartments.

- Christina Pazzanese

JUMPING INTO SCHOOL POOL - The School Committee is revisiting the idea of having a swimming pool built as part of the new high school. In earlier discussions, the committee had agreed that the school's swim team had adequate alternatives for finding pool time elsewhere, such as at nearby Babson College. But at its regular meeting on Tuesday, the committee agreed to appoint a member to work with other town officials to investigate the possibility of a private fund-raising effort to support the construction of a pool when the new school is built. - Lisa Keen

DPW DESIGN FEES OK'D - Voters approved $950,000 in design fees for a new Department of Public Works facility at Monday night's Town Meeting. The expenditure, which passed 271 to 33, permits further development of the proposed 42,000-square-foot site that will put all of the town's public works operations under one roof, and all 111 town-owned vehicles in one site. Voters turned down a previous request for design fees last fall amid concerns that the proposed facility would be too costly. Designers then reduced its size by 23 percent and the total estimated cost by 11 percent. Voters will next have to approve construction costs for the facility, expected to be between $15 million and $16 million, said Bob Hoffman, director of operations for the DPW. That vote is anticipated for May 2009. - Manny Veiga

TAVERN RESTORATION ADVANCES - On Wednesday, voters approved $750,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to cover architectural costs for the restoration of the Josiah Smith Tavern and the Old Library building. The Tavern will be converted into a restaurant, and the Old Library will house a new Town History Center and Archives and the Women's Community League. - Manny Veiga

SCHOOLS HAVE SOME CASH IN KITTY - Not only does the override eliminate the need to cut roughly 40 full-time positions, but as of the third quarter of the fiscal year, the town's school district has a surplus of roughly $500,000, according to Peter Rowe, deputy superintendent for finance. The money is the result of lower-than-expected spending, he said, based on the large number of teachers who retired last year and were replaced by younger, lower-paid teachers; a cut in special education services of about $250,000, partly because there are seven fewer out-of-district student placements; and this year's renegotiated employee health insurance costs. Enrollment in the town's insurance plan, which in recent years had risen sharply, grew by a more moderate 18 students this year, he said. - Andreae Downs

GET READY TO MOVE - The town is making it hard for anyone to have an excuse for not exercising today. At 12:30 p.m., with police leading the way, residents can bicycle a 5-mile loop at Brookline Bikes Beacon. Then, townsfolk can gather at Amory Park for the annual Fitness Fair put on by Brookline on the Move. People of all ages can try out classes in dance, Pilates, and martial arts; participate in fitness races for children; play Frisbee golf; and sample healthy food. Details are available at BrooklineBikes.org for the bicycle parade, and at brooklineonthemove.com for the fitness fair. - Andreae Downs

KIDS' STUFF AT DPW - If "Bob the Builder" is big on your TV screen, you may want to bring your child down to the Department of Public Works yard on Tuesday, when all the equipment, from street sweepers to front-end loaders, is open for child inspection. Also on tap: operating the remote-control robot that explores sewer and drain pipes for leaks, measuring stuff with a pedometer, planting flowers, and recycling things with humorist Jack Golden. There's will also be take-home recycled art. - Andreae Downs

BELATED INVESTMENT RETURNS - The town is slated to receive $2.1 million in a settlement reached recently between UBS Financial Services and state Attorney General Martha Coakley. The payment is part of a settlement for auction-rate securities that UBS purchased on behalf of municipalities across the state that proved to carry more risk than the company had told its clients, the attorney general's office determined. In announcing the $37 million total settlement on May 7, Coakley said she is still investigating UBS's marketing of the securities, but the money refunded to its clients, which included 17 communities and the Mass. Turnpike Authority, would help cover expenses pending its results. - John Dyer

CITY GETS BOOST - Several local banks and the organization Marlborough 2010 have established a $700,000 development loan fund, which the city hopes will boost the downtown and French Hill neighborhoods, according to a news release from Marlborough 2010. "In an environment where there is a daily drumbeat of negative news about lending and credit availability, this is a remarkable commitment by the participating financial institutions to provide much needed gap financing for challenging but important projects that will enhance the commercial vitality of the city," John Riordan, 2010's executive director, said in the release. Banks that have committed to the loan fund are Sovereign Bank, St. Mary's Credit Union, Middlesex Savings Bank, Marlborough Savings Bank, Avidia Bank, and Marlborough Co-Operative Bank. - Lisa Kocian

SPENDING EXTRA REVENUES - Town Meeting voters last week appropriated the proceeds from Proposition 2 1/2 overrides that were approved by voters in the May 5 town election. A permanent annual override of $180,000 will fund additional fire and emergency medical services staffing, while a one-time override of $400,000 will pay for a firetruck. Town Meeting voters also approved spending $150,000 for an ambulance and $605,000 for computerized controls for the town's sewer system. The expenses will be covered by existing funds and borrowing and did not require tax increases, officials said. - Calvin Hennick

SPECIAL SESSION ON TUESDAY - The warrant for Special Town Meeting on Tuesday includes requests to consider a state program for exempting low-income senior citizens from some property tax increases, and seek Beacon Hill's permission to invite bids for leasing or selling the former Eliot Elementary School property. The original meeting was planned for April 29, but had to be canceled after it was learned that a public notice hadn't been posted at least 28 days in advance, as required by law. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at a new location, Kennedy Middle School on Mill Street, according to a notice on the town's website, natickma.gov.

- Michele Morgan Bolton

BUDGET, OVERRIDE APPROVED - Town Meeting voters last week approved a $28.7 million budget for the 2009 fiscal year, which begins July 1, plus an additional $414,910 contingent on a successful Proposition 2 1/2 override vote. The override was expected to be significantly higher, but officials trimmed $300,000 in road improvements from the request. Hathaway said the town would have to rely on its $285,000 allotment in state highway funds for next year. Hathaway said a special election for the override vote would take place next month. If passed, it would add about $120 to the average home's annual property tax bill. - Calvin Hennick

FOR THE CHILDREN (NOT) - The Westborough Teachers Association and Superintendent Anne Towle have yet to reach an agreement on a contract for next school year, but on one point they concur: Their dispute is affecting the quality of education in the district. In a May 7 announcement on behalf of the union, teacher Kathy Farley said the long-running negotiations were "negatively impacting the climate in each of the town's six schools." Towle recently made the same point, saying that teachers walking picket lines in the morning and other labor actions were affecting children adversely. The two sides are waiting for state arbiters to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the labor dispute. In the meantime, Farley said, teachers have been meeting with groups of parents to discuss their side of the issues behind the stalemate.

- John Dyer

APARTMENT COMPLEX A NO-GO - Representatives from Fairfield Residential LLC, a national company with an office in Framingham, have told Town Administrator Jack McFeeley that the company no longer plans to build a 200-unit apartment complex on South Street. Town officials had expressed concerns about the Chapter 40B project, saying it would add children to the school system and create additional traffic. - Calvin Hennick