At a public meeting in Harvard on June 16, Victor Normand of MassDevelopment will present a summary of the land use, ownership, and future plans for Devens. I attended a preliminary presentation several weeks ago and was impressed with the detail of the information. Since then, I have received a copy and had an opportunity to review it.
The Board of Selectmen requested the information some time ago. Selectman Tim Clark, one of the co-authors of the request, said at a recent selectmen’s meeting, “It (the MassDevelopment report) doesn’t answer every question, but comes close.”
I can’t disagree more.
Board Chairman Leo Blair is more on target. He said that the information is very incomplete from a financial point of view and can mislead citizens into having a false impression of what it would mean to “take back” Harvard’s part of Devens. Blair suggested waiting to get the full financial picture before having a public presentation, which I agree would be a more prudent approach.
A sophisticated, professional financial analysis by an objective third party (e.g., a large accounting firm or specialized consulting firm) is needed before the town can even begin to understand the pros and cons of “taking back” any part of Devens.
What really counts in making a good financial decision for the town is cash flow. The MassDevelopment information allows tax revenue assumptions to be made. To estimate cash flow, however, also requires a thorough understanding of the expenses and capital investments that would be associated with having administrative responsibility for the Devens properties, along with the timing and uncertainty of those expenses and investments.
Until we have this information, citizens can indeed be misled, and that would be unfortunate.
Anthony J. Marolda
Jacob Gates Road
