The Devens Joint Boards of Selectmen (JBOS) invited two former chairmen, Leo Blair of Harvard and Enrico Capucci of Shirley, to share their experience and insights on the governance of Devens at the Jan. 20 meeting of the board. Blair took the lead, talking about “mistaken premises” held by JBOS members during the time he worked with them.
Blair said the first mistaken premise was that “this is a big deal, it’s complicated, it’s hard.” Thinking that “MassDevelopment is a player, other than as a development partner, has skewed everything that has happened. They work for you,” he admonished.
The second mistaken premise, he said, was that “the state of Massachusetts and MassDevelopment know how to run a town.” He added, “The idea that MassDevelopment has to be involved in the day-to-day management of the DREZ (Devens Regional Enterprise Zone) is a silly notion.” Blair pointed out that the towns have the essential skills and knowledge to manage the geographic area that comprises the DREZ.
The third mistaken premise, he continued, was that “the situation at Devens will get better as time goes on. The idea that this [the governance of Devens] would be better 10 years from now is silly. I have the strong feeling that you should take control of this and fire MassDevelopment,” he concluded. “You should let MassDevelopment continue to do the development, but you should run the town,” he said, asserting that the towns could “do this job for at least $2 million less than MassDevelopment.” Blair referenced the state police contract as an example, saying, “The $1.3 million state police budget to police a population of 300 people is a crazy idea and if it came up in your own town, you’d reject it.”
Capucci agreed with Blair, saying, “Leo is on the money.” He added, “We never held MassDevelopment accountable. We should have demanded, not asked, that they come to the table.”
Harvard selectwoman Marie Sobalvarro also agreed with Blair, suggesting that the JBOS “pretend that it’s 2027 and that we had five years to get this done. Create a five-year plan with a roadmap to make this an overlay district.”
Harvard Selectman Bill Johnson offered what he characterized as a contrary view, saying, “We need a good understanding of what we’re signing up for … what do we do when costs exceed the revenues.”
