The year 2007 saw Harvard grappling with many issues, some of which have lingered on for a year or more.
The Devens question is still open. Harvard selectmen are in agreement that it should not become its own town. But familiar questions remain unanswered: what does Harvard stand to lose—or gain—by proposed disposition scenarios?
Drawn-out teacher contract negotiations finally reached a conclusion, with the teachers getting what they considered to be a fair shake in shouldering more of the financial burden for their health care costs, but leaving many people looking back at what was lost during “work to rule.”
Solutions to support a revitalized town center are still up for discussion, with the fate of the old library, the General Store, and the expansion of town center churches hanging in the balance. It all seems to hinge on a sewer system.
The efforts of many people over a number of years culminated in the fulfillment of a dream in April, when the new library opened, with much fanfare. The proponents who said, “If you build it, they will come” have been proven right. The library is now seeking more staff to help support increased patronage, particularly to monitor after-school usage.
The year 2007 also saw a surge in citizen activism. Like a wave slowly building, citizens began responding to pressures threatening the sustainability of the town’s character, and organized to find ways to fight back. They made their voices heard on a number of issues.
Pressures from education funding
In a Jan. 5 “My Two Cents” column in the Press, resident Bruce Leicher called for citizens to become involved in challenging how education is funded. Leicher noted that a growing number of citizens in Harvard and across the state believe that “excessive reliance on real estate tax funding has made education funding in our schools unsustainable.” He went on to point out that “Towns seem headed for a choice between taxing farmers and seniors out of their farms and homes, and reducing the level of services and teachers in the schools.” Picking up on this thread, a group of citizens formed SOS Harvard (“Save Our Schools”) to provide information about the schools’ fiscal crisis and to lobby at the state level for reforms in education funding. In the spring 100 Harvard residents participated in a rally at the State House to lobby for more state aid to schools.
Concerns about the amount of money spent on education sparked a controversy fueled by news of questionable payments from special education funds to Paul Wormser, a former School Committee member. A dozen residents filed a citizens’ petition in February, asking that the town conduct an independent audit of special education spending. The question made it onto the warrant at the Annual Town Meeting but was passed over in favor of an article inspired by the town’s Special Education Task Force, calling for essentially the same thing. The attention drawn to the subject by citizen involvement resulted in a favorable vote at Town Meeting to authorize a $25,000 expenditure on an independent audit. Unfortunately, the wheels of progress sometimes turn slowly, and this item has yet to be put to bed. The committee appointed to coordinate and oversee the audit got only one taker on the RFP it sent out looking for consultants to conduct the audit, and has gone back to the drawing board to solicit more responses.
Residents involved in the stormy debate around the aforementioned special education payments called into question the ethics of the school superintendent in authorizing the payments and the judgment of the School Committee in giving the superintendent a positive performance appraisal and prematurely extending his employment contract. Individuals claimed they had filed ethics complaints against the superintendent, and the town learned that the Worcester County district attorney was conducting a criminal investigation into Wormser’s failure to disclose a conflict of interest in receiving the payments.
Frustrated by what they perceived as inaction on these issues by the School Committee, citizens once again took action, and filed a petition to put an article on the warrant at Special Town Meeting calling for the censure of the committee. After a long and contentious debate on the issue, the censure passed at a well-attended STM in October. The DA’s office concluded its investigation with no findings. We learned that the state Ethics Commission will “neither confirm nor deny” the existence of any investigation, and that the outcome of an investigation is not disclosed unless there are specific findings. The long-term effect of the censure of the School Committee has yet to be seen.
Pressures from town finances
A group of citizens initiated a petition presented on the March Annual Town Meeting warrant, calling for reform in how the Finance Committee is formed. At present members are appointed by the town moderator, and there is no limit to the number of years they can serve. The petition proposed opening Finance Committee positions for election and implementing term limits. Town Meeting approved the formation of a committee to study the subject—how other towns do it, and the implications of making changes to the process. The study group is still looking at the question, with a goal of presenting a recommendation at the next ATM.
Pressures from developers
Throughout the year residents kept close tabs on the 40B developments proposed on Ayer and Littleton roads and at the Shaker Hills golf course. Many voiced concerns with parking, traffic, and other effects of crowding together a large number of dwellings in a small area. The Board of Selectmen appointed an ad hoc group to monitor the Shaker Hills project “to make sure the project is in keeping with the goals and tenets of Chapter 40B, … the Harvard Affordable Housing Plan, and the Harvard Master Plan,” as stated by selectwoman Lucy Wallace. Several residents called into question the town’s association with Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corp. (MHOC), developer of the proposed Ayer Road project. A group of Harvard residents joined citizens around the state to gather signatures on a petition to repeal the Chapter 40B law, believing that there are better ways to achieve affordable housing without the threats to town character brought about by developers being able to bypass local zoning laws in exchange for providing affordable units. Although more than 70,000 signatures were gathered and were certified by the towns and cities from which they came, only 34,000 survived the stringent review by the secretary of state’s office. The motion needed 66,000 to be on the ballot. It would not be surprising to see Chapter 40B remain a contentious issue in 2008.
Pressures from the environment
Residents also organized to fight bigger threats to the community—climate change and fossil fuel depletion. In January Madigan Lane resident John Sweeney asked the Planning Board to look into allowing wind energy systems in Harvard. Later, when Steve Nigzus applied for a permit to install a wind turbine at his Madigan Lane farm, the Planning Board appointed a task force to examine the need for a town bylaw addressing wind systems. After much research on the topic, the group held a public forum in December to provide the public with information about wind systems and to gather residents’ input on the subject. Another forum is planned for this month, with a goal of gathering community feedback to help inform the crafting of a bylaw allowing wind energy systems in Harvard. Such a bylaw would be put before ATM for a vote in March.
Also in January Fruitlands Museum played host to climate activists from Harvard and 10 surrounding communities and representatives from Mass. Climate Action Network (MCAN) who came together to discuss ways to increase climate awareness and initiatives in their towns.
In May, Harvard Local teamed up with Groton Local to organize a “Winds for Change” rally on the town Common. The two groups, grass-roots organizations concerned with community responses to environmental challenges, saw nearly 400 people attend the event, creating nearly 2,000 messages to be presented to Congressional representatives, urging governmental action on climate change.
Inspired by a desire to help create a sustainable food system locally, a small group of citizens organized the Harvard Farmers’ Market, which opened Labor Day weekend in front of the elementary school, and enjoyed a successful run through the end of October. The group’s mantra is “grow local, sell local, eat local.”
Coincidence, or a sign of something deeper?
While 2007 saw a flurry of citizen involvement in a number of causes, it also saw something more troubling: a rash of resignations. Mark Hardy and Jeff Shaw left the School Committee; Randy Dean and Bill Marinelli resigned from the Board of Selectmen; George McKenna stepped down as Town Auditor; Cindy Russo resigned from the Finance Committee. McKenna resigned after his credentials and professional integrity were called into question by the School Committee, he said, after a management report he developed for the town identified incidents of theft and questionable spending in the school department. Shaw resigned on the heels of the School Committee’s censure. Marinelli cited job pressures. Dean alluded to disagreement with the town’s financial direction. Although not giving a specific reason for his resignation, Hardy voiced concern over the “frailty” of the school system’s finances, and concern “that we can’t afford the school system that we want.” Russo said that, after many years of serving the town, it was just time for her to move on.
Were these unrelated, isolated incidents? That will be a question for 2008 to answer.
