In a tie vote, the Board of Selectmen failed to confirm the appointment of Willie Wickman to the Devens Economic Analysis Team (DEAT) Tuesday night, rejecting the recommendation of DEAT Chairman Victor Normand.
The vote was 2-2, with selectmen Tim Clark and Marie Sobalvarro voting in favor of the appointment and Ron Ricci and Chairman Peter Warren, after seeming to struggle with the decision, voting against. Selectman Bill Johnson was absent on family business.
The DEAT was created last spring to construct an estimate of the revenues and costs of operating Devens as a standalone municipality and to present relevant financial data to selectmen. Two-thirds of Devens lies within the historical boundaries of Harvard, and for years Harvard residents have wrestled with the question of what to do once MassDevelopment, the current governing body of the former military base, ends its oversight. The issue is contentious, and DEAT has struggled to find volunteers to fill its seven open slots in a manner that would be perceived, in the words of selectman Ricci, as “fair and balanced.”
Clark and Sobalvarro had no questions for Wickman when she took her seat in front of the BOS meeting table, but Ricci and Warren did. Asked to state her qualifications, Wickman said she would bring an expertise in educational affairs to the DEAT, having served 11 years as a member of the School Committee and, helping to negotiate two school contracts with Devens.
Ricci, who is the BOS liaison to the School Committee, asked whether she had its endorsement. Wickman replied that she had not asked for it. Ricci also pressed Wickman on whether she would favor building a future Harvard school at Devens. Wickman said she thought the town should keep that option open by seeking a right of first refusal for one of the remaining Devens parcels, but she added that she would be guided by the data DEAT collects.
Warren asked if she had any “strong opinions” about what should happen at Devens.
“I really don’t,” she said. “I think we need to get more information. I don’t know what the right answer is.”
“Do you have any other issues besides financial ones?” pressed Warren.
“I’m not sure what you’re asking me,” answered Wickman.
“Housing? Maintenance of the property,” asked Warren. “I think there are more issues than just the financial ones.”
Sobalvarro interjected, “That’s not the mission of the committee.”
“It’s very hard to get volunteers in this town,” said Sobalvarro after the vote. “It takes a lot to show up at a meeting and answer questions. I hope this action doesn’t deter anyone. We have an awful lot of vacancies to fill.”
Asked by Wickman why he had voted against her appointment, Ricci said he thought the educational component of the Devens analysis was important and that it was important to have the buy-in of the School Committee. Clark noted that the board had asked the School Committee to recommend a candidate, although the DEAT charter does not require it. “Many moons have passed” since the request was made, said Clark. The School Committee hasn’t responded, “so what does that mean to you?” asked Clark.
“It means we have not done our job to push on the School Committee to get a recommendation,” said Warren.
“I’m at a bit of a loss,” said Clark. The BOS wants someone with educational expertise on the DEAT, he said, and “here we have a qualified candidate before us.”
“Has this issue been on the School Committee agenda?” asked Clark. Ricci said no, which prompted Clark to ask, “Have you asked for it to be added?”
“Yes,” said Ricci. But “they’ve had a lot on their plate.”
“If they don’t have a candidate,” said Warren, “then I would move ahead with Willie [Wickman]. I know she is knowledgeable. But I want them to be part of the process.”
A candidate for the second open DEAT seat was not present at the Tuesday night meeting, so her confirmation hearing was postponed.
