The debate over the competing articles on the fate of the town’s municipal buildings perpetuates the myth that town volunteer committees come to conclusions that should automatically be endorsed by the town’s elected bodies and Town Meeting. It is a process I watched as a Planning Board member and selectman over 12 years.
These committees are populated with members having a single point of focus. Their meetings often evolve into ones of “true believers” in which a set of constraints evolve that marginalize those with alternative viewpoints. Those voices soon disappear. The result is the illusion of consensus, the treatment of the resulting report as sacred text, and the accompanying villainization of those who dare to question its scripture.
Selectmen Bill Johnson and Ron Ricci have borne the brunt of this villainization in questioning the report of the Municipal Buildings Committee. The Municipal Capital Committee and Finance Committee have refused to endorse the MBC’s recommendations. They deserve our support.
The MBC’s agenda calls for a significant expansion of Town Hall, predicated on a nostalgic quest to revive the meeting hall and stage. Those critical of the MBC report see addressing Town Hall functionality, and not the grand vision of recreating it as it was 100 years ago, as most important.
Much now needs to be invested in the old library. The common sense solution would be to renovate the old library to support many public functions, including expanded senior services, while retaining Hildreth House as the primary focal point for seniors. But the MBC has invoked a series of marginal constraints to preclude that outcome in favor of a significant expansion of Hildreth House.
To vote for Article 17 is to endorse a flawed vision from the MBC with a price tag they estimate at $9 million. But the history of all three major town building projects in the last 15 years has been one of cost increases ranging from a factor of two to a factor of four over estimates done at this same stage of design.
Article 18 addresses the town’s true needs and will lead to an affordable result.
Bill Marinelli
Stow Road
