Town Hall alternatives

August 31, 2008

The Board of Selectmen is expected to pick a Town Hall renovation project on Sept. 15, according to Needham officials. The board had already decided to use the historic auditorium in Town Hall as office space, but Town Meeting told the selectmen to look at whether restoring the hall would be feasible. After gathering input from the community, the architects working on the project devised another plan that would restore the auditorium as well as provide enough office space for Town Hall employees. Though the board will choose which plan Needham will pursue, Town Meeting will have the final say over whether the project is funded.

- Laura Colarusso

MONEY FOR FIREFIGHTERS - Mayor David Cohen's request to allocate $6.1 million in retroactive salary pay for firefighters is slated to reach the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday. The request will likely be sent to the board's Finance and Public Safety and Transportation committees before the full board reviews it. An Aug. 6 binding arbitration ruling from the Joint Labor-Management Committee awarded five years of retroactive salary raises to Newton firefighters, covering the period the two sides were locked in a contentious contract battle. The money will come from the city's wage reserve account, which is funded each year based on the city's outstanding contracts, said city spokesman Jeremy Solomon. The account has $7.3 million, Solomon said. "As is typical in an arbitrator's decision, there are no absolute winners and losers," Cohen wrote in a memo to the board last week. "Both sides in this dispute gained some of what we wanted and both sides failed to gain some of what we wanted. . . . it is now time for us to move forward." The ruling also set aside a request for random drug testing, gave firefighters additional money for education, and eliminated a controversial clause requiring them to present a doctor's note each time they missed work because they or a family member took ill. Firefighters' requests for a yearly training stipend and additional pay step were not granted. The contract is valid until June, requiring both sides to begin collective bargaining again in January. Tom Lopez, spokesman for the firefighters union, has declined to comment until the board appropriates money.

- Rachana Rathi

SUICIDE PREVENTION BILL PASSES - The state House of Representatives last week passed a suicide prevention bill sponsored by state Representative Peter Koutoujian, a Waltham Democrat. The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, would establish a special commission to "analyze issues surrounding suicide and explore how state government can work together through prevention and public policy initiatives to prevent suicides from occurring," according to an announcement by Koutoujian, who is cochairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health. Suicide claims more lives in the state annually than homicide and HIV/AIDS combined, Koutoujian stated. - Lisa Kocian

UNION HOLDS PROTEST - Town officials say construction of the new $15 million police station remains on track even after about two dozen protestors showed up to picket at the old Browne School on Main Street last week. Members of Local 1421 of the Laborers' International Union of North America marched on three days next to a giant inflatable rat to express anger that Kidder Building and Wrecking Inc., the company knocking down the school, hired nonunion workers from New Hampshire, said Jacob Hay, a union spokesman. The union feels municipal projects ought to be done using Massachusetts workers. "It should be local contractors with local labor," he said. Councilor John Lawn, who heads the police station building committee, said the protest was "a complete surprise" and noted general contractor P. J. Stella Construction hired Kidder, not the town. Police were on hand to direct traffic, and the marchers were not disruptive, said Lawn. The demolition should be complete later this week, said Phyllis Marshall, the town's treasurer/collector. - Christina Pazzanese

CANDIDATES DEBATE - With the Sept. 16 Democratic primary looming, the four candidates vying for former state representative Rachel Kaprielian's vacant 29th Middlesex District seat will meet for two debates in the coming weeks. The Watertown Democratic Town Committee will host a forum on Sept. 8 at Brigham House from 7 to 9 p.m. moderated by committee member Dolores Mitchell. A second event will take place on Sept. 9 at 11:30 a.m. at Perkins School for the Blind. In addition to the debate, Town Clerk John Flynn will discuss the write-in and sticker format being used for this primary. Watertown Town Councilors Stephen Corbett and Jonathan Hecht, local attorney Julia Fahey and businessman Joshua Weisbuch are competing in a write-in/sticker contest after Kaprielian stepped down unexpectedly to become the state's Registrar of Motor Vehicles in May, long after the deadline to get new names on state ballots. The candidate who garners the most votes in the September primary will see their name on the Nov. 4 election ballot. - Christina Pazzanese

INSURANCE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS - The town's Council on Aging will host two free seminars for older residents or caregivers with questions about whether their health insurance coverage is appropriate and how to navigate the Medicare open enrollment period, which runs from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31. A representative from SHINE, a counseling service for elderly and the disabled, will be on hand on Sept. 9 from 10 to 11 a.m. to discuss Medicare plan options, supplementary programs, and other benefits to help seniors choose their insurance prior to the enrollment period. On Sept. 12, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will sponsor a talk at the center about health coverage needs and options for adults approaching retirement and those now on Medicare. Topics include COBRA coverage, direct-pay health plan choices before Medicare, Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans, and the Medicare Prescription Drug plan. The talks are open to anyone regardless of insurance coverage. To reserve a seat at either event, call the council office at 781-893-0154.

- Christina Pazzanese

TORAH DEDICATION, RABBI INSTALLATION - Temple Sha'arei Shalom will hold a Torah dedication service Friday at 7 p.m. in Montenegro Square in Ashland Center. The Torah, a gift from Temple Torah of Boynton Beach, Fla., will be marched from the square into the temple at 118 Main St. (in the Federated Church building). At 7:30 p.m., there will be an installation ceremony to welcome Rabbi Sonia Saltzman. For more information, call 508-231-4700 or e-mail info@ shaareishalom-ashland.org. - Rachel Lebeaux

SCHOOL DAYS: THE EXTENDED VERSION - Brookline public school students may have had more difficulty than usual slipping back into their routines on the first day of classes on Thursday. That's because the school day has been extended by 20 minutes, thanks to the $6.2 million property-tax increase approved in May. High school scheduling, particularly around science labs, has been made easier by the change, while core subjects in lower grades have been allotted additional time, according to Superintendent William H. Lupini. "It's not just a matter of tacking X number of minutes to each period," Lupini said. "There are some real substantial program advantages that have been achieved as a result of this." He said the town has also appointed a world languages coordinator, who will work with teachers to establish a world languages curriculum, which will be restored in all eight K-8 schools in January through the revenue from the tax increase. Dawn Carney, who was chosen for the post, has been a teacher for more than 15 years, most recently in the Wellesley and Lincoln public school systems. - Richard Thompson

CALLING ALL LOCAL HISTORIANS - The National Park Service will host a round-table discussion at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain next Sunday as part of an effort to craft a new management and programming plan for the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline. Dubbed "The Olmsteds: Brookline, Boston and Beyond," the discussion will include a presentation by panelists on the significance of the site, once the home, offices, and grounds of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. There also will be an opportunity for public comment. The historic site is closed to visitors until 2010 as construction crews update its fire-suppression, museum-climate, and drainage systems. For more information, call 617-566-1689.

- Richard Thompson

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR SEARCH - Following Town Administrator Jodi Ross's departure for a new job, the Board of Selectmen has formed a nine-member committee that will oversee the process of finding her replacement, according to the town website. The announcement on townofbolton.com said that the panel has two members from the community, Panny Gerken and Robert Minardi, and the remainder are town officials: Police Chief Vincent Alfano; Moderator James Anker; the town secretary, Linda Day; business manager Brian Lynch; Treasurer Donna Madden; Advisory Committee member David Lindsay; and Selectman Stanley Wysocki. Ross left last month to become Westford's town manager. Selectmen said they expect to select a new town administrator by the end of the year. - Matt Gunderson

SEARCHING FOR CELL TOWER SITE - The town's Zoning Board of Appeals has granted a monthlong extension to a cellphone company, T-Mobile USA Inc., to seek alternative locations for a 100-foot communications tower it wants to build in St. George's Cemetery, said Eugene Kennedy, the board's administrator. The company says it needs to place the tower in the Cherry Street graveyard, owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, to address a coverage gap in the neighborhood, but the plan has drawn protests from residents who consider the siting inappropriate. The hearing is to resume at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 in the Blumer Community Room in the Memorial Building, 150 Concord St. Call 508-532-5456 for more information.

- Tanya Perez-Brennan

WATER PASSES NEW TEST - Recent tests of the town's water supply found no traces of E. coli, following up on results last month that detected coliform bacteria, said Anthony Marques, Department of Public Works director. Last month, officials found traces of total coliform, which are not dangerous but often indicate the presence of E. coli, which can make humans ill, officials said. Under state law, said Marques, the department had to announce the initial test results and conduct the additional tests. The last time officials found E. coli in Hudson's water was five years ago, he said. There is no indication the water was ever harmful to drink, he said. - John Dyer

E. COLI FOUND - Samples of the E. coli bacteria have been found in the public drinking water supply. The town's Water and Sewer Department learned Aug. 18 that one out of 15 routine samples collected Aug. 13 at the Highland Street water tank showed the presence of total coliform bacteria, which indicates that the water could be contaminated with human or animal waste. Follow-up samples in the tank and the surrounding vicinity indicated low levels of coliform bacteria, and one sample also showed the presence of E. coli bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, and headaches. The town is chlorinating and flushing out the distribution system to get rid of the bacteria, and is collecting samples for several rounds of testing. The Highland Street tank will remain closed in the interim. - Rachel Lebeaux

ALGONQUIN GRAND OPENING - A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house will be held for the new Algonquin Regional High School on Thursday, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., according to a statement by the Northborough-Southborough Regional School District. Guided tours and a showcase of student work are part of the festivities. The school on Bartlett Street in Northborough has 1,400 students enrolled this fall, and can hold a total of 1,600. - John Dyer

WEST NILE FOUND - Town officials announced last week that the state Department of Public Health has reported finding the West Nile virus in mosquitoes collected from Wayland. The virus is most commonly transmitted to people by infected mosquitoes, with seniors being the most at risk for serious side effects from the virus. The town urges residents to drain standing water, use screens on doors and windows, and report and avoid contact with dead birds, as these may be a further sign of its presence in town. For more information, call the Department of Public Health at 866-MASS-WNV. - John M. Guilfoil