Planning Board member appointed
At Planning Board Chairman Mary Essary’s request, the selectmen voted to appoint associate Peter Brooks of Orchard Hill to fill the vacancy left when Bill Ashe resigned. Brooks will serve until the town election in April and has agreed to run to complete the remaining year of Ashe’s term, according to Essary.
Development at Ayer Road 40B will lag
During MHOC’s update of two 40B projects, townspeople inquired about the status of the planned 8,000-square-foot commercial space at the Village at Harvard on Ayer Road. Selectman Lucy Wallace explained that the developer will “build to suit” once a tenant is identified. This approach, she said, is likely to attract a “class A tenant,” thereby making the “highest and best use” of the former Toreku Tractor site. Keith Cheveralls of Quarry Lane asked the selectmen why they thought Donelan’s and CVS, who reportedly were interested in the space, “walked away,” but no one answered. Cheveralls also asked the selectmen how they felt about the residences being built ahead of the commercial space. Selectmen Scott Kimball noted, “We kicked four businesses out of there for this, so we must fill it.”
Residents urge Selectmen to approach legislators for 40B relief
Members of the recently formed Ad Hoc Committee of Citizens for Responsible Development, Mort Miller of Westcott Road and Tony Marolda of Jacob Gates Road, attended the selectmen’s meeting to discuss a request they sent to the selectmen dated January 19. The letter, signed by 12 Harvard residents, urged them to encourage Senator Pam Resor and Representative Jamie Eldridge “in their efforts for legislative relief from Chapter 40B.” Marolda interjected that a model developed by David Peterson of Jacob Gates Road indicates it would be cheaper for Harvard to build its own affordable housing.
Miller and Marolda said that Eldridge told them that letters from boards of selectmen in his district calling for 40B changes will help him gain support for it in the legislature. They also drafted a letter to Resor and Eldridge from the board and will work with Selectman Bill Marinelli to fine-tune it for review at the next selectmen’s meeting. Chairman Randy Dean thanked Miller and Marolda for “prodding us.”
Nonresident users of town ambulance will soon be billed
Calling it a “win-win for the town” Selectman Bob Eubank told his colleagues that the members of the town’s ambulance service have agreed to bill nonresidents for their services. Eubank said he hopes procedures will be in place and the plan implemented by the end of March. According to Eubank, the members agreed to the plan based on two conditions being met: the first was that this not be “part one of a two-step process” that will lead to billing Harvard residents for their services; the second was getting clarification of where the fees charged would go.
Regarding the first condition, Eubank said “not at this stage of the game,” although the selectmen agreed that they could not speak for future boards. Last Wednesday, Eubank told the Press that fees are expected to contribute to the expenses of the ambulance service. Eubank also said that the policy would not apply to a guest staying in the home of a Harvard resident.
Kudos for DPW
Selectman Scott Kimball complimented DPW staff and Director Richard Nota on their performance when it snowed last week. Noting it was a “real change,” he said, “Every inch of road in Harvard was cleared.”
Selectmen agree: Devens Committee is full member of JBOS
Noting that the Joint Boards of Selectmen (JBOS) has no legal authority, Eubank and Wallace went along with the interpretation of the board’s vote last December that would give members of the Devens Committee, made up of members elected by Devens residents, “stakeholder” status on the JBOS. Marinelli, Kimball, and Dean told Eubank and Wallace that, after the first JBOS meeting in January, where they questioned the Devens Committee’s role on the JBOS, Harvard is already being seen as exclusionary. Eubank protested, saying, “we got tagged with that because it was convenient.” He and Wallace asserted that there was “no intent of excluding” and that they want Devens residents to participate in the process.
