About 50 people took the opportunity Monday night to hear from nine candidates for public office in Harvard’s upcoming Town Election. Jointly sponsored by the Harvard League of Women Voters and the Harvard Press, the Candidates Night took place in Volunteers Hall at the library. To assure impartiality, the moderator for the discussion was a League member from Sudbury, Nancy Grumback.
By far the largest part of the evening was spent on a question-and-answer session for the three candidates running for two places on the Board of Selectmen. Candidates Kara Minar, Ed Moussouris, and Ken Swanton fielded questions on major projects that will impact town finances, local housing issues, the Charter Commission’s recommendations for changes in town government, and the future of Devens.
Selectmen candidates, from left, Kara Minar, Ed Moussouris, and Ken Swanton take questions from the audience. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz).
All three candidates agreed that Harvard will face significant financial decisions during the three-year term they seek. Among the major decisions are whether to move forward with the next phase of work on Hildreth House as the senior center while also dealing with repairs and renovations at the elementary school, the old library, and the school administration building, Bromfield House.
In Swanton’s view, the top priority is deciding how to handle the elementary school renovation. “It could be our largest project ever,” he said, with a price tag somewhere between $15 million and $50 million. People are drawn to Harvard by two things, Swanton said, the beauty and the schools. But he also expressed concern about keeping property taxes affordable, saying that taxes now top $10,000 for most houses. As for the senior center, Swanton said he hoped money for further expansion could be generated by selling land to a developer for senior housing on the Hildreth House property.
Minar advocated looking at the school project as a long-term investment and suggested it was important to “get away from the idea of competing demographics—seniors against schoolchildren.” She noted that a recent survey of seniors showed that most want to remain in town. Their presence, she said, contributes to the economic stability of the town by helping to keep the school population fairly level while still bearing part of the cost of education. She noted that the average property tax bill in Harvard is several thousand dollars lower than the cost of educating one student in the Harvard schools. When houses change hands, she pointed out, the likely purchasers are younger families with children.
Moussouris emphasized the high reputation of Harvard’s schools, while saying he liked to work with all age groups. “They are two different spectrums,” he said of the needs of the schools and the senior center. He acknowledged that, if elected, he would have a learning curve on town finances. “But I’m a quick learner,” he said, “… and I swing for home runs when I need to.”
Charter Commission proposal
All three candidates expressed some reservations about the Charter Commission’s proposal to convert many town boards from elected to appointed positions, under the jurisdiction of the Board of Selectmen. But all three also agreed that they would wait for the commission’s final report before reaching any firm conclusions.
With regard to the commission’s suggested changes, Moussouris said, “This is ultimately something the people are going to decide. … We have to see what the people are choosing.”
Swanton compared the commission’s work to “an annual check-up from a doctor”—a chance to look at the overall condition of town government. And he said he likes the term “Select Board” as a replacement for “Board of Selectmen,” given that two incumbents are women.
Devens
In looking at decisions to be made about the future of Devens, Minar said that property tax revenue from Devens would likely be $1 million a year after all the state-granted tax exemptions expire. Harvard’s biggest single source of property tax revenue right now, she said, is Dunkin’ Donuts at $60,000 a year. She noted that Devens is already part of the Harvard school community and said other institutions such as the Council on Aging and the library could also be a way of connecting with Devens.
Moussouris said he had met Devens families through the schools, and closer ties could be positive for both Devens and Harvard. “We’re already pretty much halfway there, with the children growing up together,” he said, but noted there were both pros and cons to resuming jurisdiction. “I think of it as this little Vatican City that could be on its own,” he commented.
“Devens is a journey,” Swanton said. “It’s a long process.” He acknowledged that the schools are already financially “quite dependent” on the contract with MassDevelopment that pays for each Devens student in the Harvard schools. And he said he was doubtful that the state would make Devens “a tiny little new town.”
Minar and Swanton agreed that zoning was the one area in which Harvard now had some control over Devens. “We should be careful what they put there that we might get,” Swanton concluded.
Housing diversity and planning
The candidates’ discussion on housing centered on the needs of senior residents who would like to downsize and stay in town. The related issues of affordable housing and the possible need for a full-time planner also figured into the conversation.
Moussouris noted that, as a firefighter paramedic in Hopedale, he sees the problems elderly residents have in multi-floor dwellings. He said he hoped the proposed senior housing on the Hildreth property might prove a model for the future. He added that the state firefighters association has programs aimed at helping the elderly in their homes.
Swanton, too, pointed to the proposed 20 units of Hildreth housing, noting that the selectmen had appointed a committee to guide the project. Another promising development of single-floor units, he said, was in the works on Ayer Road, near the town line. But he said he was unsure about adding a full-time planner because of the cost.
Approximately 50 people watched the debate live. From left: Leslie Neville, Shannon Malloy, Jennifer Finch, and Rudy Minar.
Harvard is making some progress toward the state-mandated goal of 10 percent affordable housing, Minar said. But she was doubtful about the long-term wisdom of adding housing on Ayer Road when one of the town’s goals is to increase commercial development there to diversify the tax base. She agreed the town needs expanded services for seniors. For example, she said, the Council on Aging is still trying to get another van.
On the question of a planner, Minar said a full-time person might not be needed now but perhaps would be necessary in the future if Harvard resumes jurisdiction over Devens. She noted that the current part-time planner has been very successful in acquiring grants for the town, offsetting much of the cost of his contract.
Both affordable housing and the need for a planner came up again in later questions from audience members Paul Green and Joe Hutchinson.
Green listed a series affordable housing efforts that had failed and asked the candidates how they would increase the affordable housing stock in town. Swanton suggested that the best solution was to have such housing “very distributed,” with affordable units as rental rooms in owner-occupied houses. Moussouris said finding the right location was the key. And Minar said that, despite its problems in this area, Harvard is doing better than some neighboring towns.
Hutchinson said planners in other towns work with developers as well as with local boards, helping to provide leadership and bridge diverse interests; he asked if Harvard could benefit by giving its planner a broader role. Minar pointed out that, to the contrary, Harvard is apparently cutting back on its use of a planner, because the fiscal 2018 budget reduces the amount for the planner’s contract from $60,000 to $40,000. For that amount, she said, the town might hire a new college graduate, but not an experienced town planner.
The forum ended with handshakes among the candidates.
