Debate over whether to add a town planner to Harvard’s professional staff moved to the Selectmen this week, in an argument that lasted more than an hour, exhausting participants as well as observers, and ending only when Town Administrator Tim Bragan reminded everyone that the board’s own policy required a 4-1 vote to extend a meeting beyond 10 p.m., the clock at the rear of the meeting room by then reading 10:20 p.m.
The argument erupted as the board considered the warrant article that had been submitted by the Planning Board “to establish the position of Town Planner” in the coming fiscal year. The article was the tenth in a list of 43, and the Selectmen got no further that evening.
Tim Clark said the Planning Board would be better served by hiring consultants as needed to help with specific tasks, such as writing the Master Plan, which Town Meeting approved last year.
“I support the Planning Board’s request for professional help,” said Clark. “But couldn’t the board achieve the same results if they were given more money in their line item budget for professional services?” That way, he said, the town would save the cost of benefits.
“Planning has become so specialized,” Clark told the Press after the meeting. “Planning for roads is different from planning for affordable housing, which is different from writing a master plan.”
Bill Johnson, long an advocate for a full-time planner, argued that with a permanent position, the town would gain a return on investment that went beyond the dollar amount spent. With consultants, he said, there was always a large up-front investment in time spent educating each hire to the needs of the town.
He noted that the Finance Committee had voted to appropriate $40,000 toward the first-year salary of a part-time planner and was willing to increase the amount to $60,000 next fiscal year.
Johnson also read a letter signed by twelve current and former leaders of town committees that urged the Selectmen to include the article in the warrant “so that the voters may decide.” Among the signers were the chairs of the Finance Committeee, Economic Development Committee, Devens Economic Development Committee, Parks and Recreation Committee, and the Conservation Commission, all of whom signed the letter as “individuals,” according to Johnson.
Although previous reporting by the Press may have implied otherwise (see Correction, page 2), neither of Harvard’s other land-use boards has signed on to the proposal. The Conservation Commission has never voted on the matter, though Chairman Paul Willard is on record as favoring it.
ZBA: Concerned about financial commitment
Tuesday, just before the Selectmen convened for their evening meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals sent a letter stating that its three members had concluded that “there would be no benefit to this Board by having a Planner,” and that they were “concerned about the financial commitment associated with such a position.”
Seemingly in agreement with Clark’s position, the ZBA agreed that professional guidance “is always helpful” in reviewing the seven to nine applications it receives each year, “but can that not be obtained through consulting engineers…on a case by case basis?” the board asked.
“As a community,” the letter continues, “Harvard has clearly established zoning to make this an ‘exclusive,’ sleepy community. Are the citizens of Harvard changing their minds to such a degree that we now need a full-time planner to coordinate significant commercial development?”
Selectmen Clark and Johnson were the principal protagonists in the Tuesday night argument.
Johnson: Let Town Meeting decide
Selectman Ron Ricci objected that “not one time…before” had Clark ever voiced his objections to the article. Selectwoman Marie Sobalvarro worried about where the money was coming from. And Chairwoman Lucy Wallace opined that the right time to hire a planner is “when you have a plan,” a task in which the Planning Board has made no progress this year.
“What we’re voting on [as a Board],” said Johnson, “is bringing this before the town for a vote.”
Whether the Selectmen agree to include the article in the warrant will be decided Thursday morning as they continue their discussion at 9 a.m. in Town Hall.
