Life after MassDevelopment
Despite the objections of board member Lucy Wallace, the selectmen agreed this week to pursue discussions with the Joint Boards of Selectmen(JBOS) about alternative ways of administering Devens. There is a general consensus that MassDevelopment, the state agency that has managed Devens since the 1990s, is wrapping up its development plan and preparing to move on. Wallace and other board members have been frustrated by a lack of productive communication among the three towns that comprise JBOS—Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley—and between JBOS and MassDevelopment. Wallace agreed that the towns should be working together, but argued that their focus should not be on discussing a new and temporary management plan, but instead on the final disposition of Devens—whether the land will revert to the three towns or be incorporated in a new town.
But board member Leo Blair countered that he doesn’t consider this an “interim solution.” Blair believes that the towns will never willingly agree to relinquish land that was theirs before Fort Devens was created, but that “you might get people to agree on a collaborative approach.” Such an approach might be to establish some sort of overlay district at Devens, he said, and Wallace agreed.
The board also agreed to invite MassDevelopment’s George Ramirez to a future meeting to discuss ongoing issues.
