As the last item on their Tuesday, May 21, agenda, Select Board members voted 4-0 to support extending the lease on Bromfield House as a residence for two Afghan refugee families for another five years. (Board member Don Ludwig was absent.) Any final decision on extending the lease, however, is up to the Worcester County Probate and Family Court.
Before their vote, the Select Board members went into a brief executive session to discuss legal strategy relating to the lease with Town Counsel Mark Lanza. The town of Harvard filed a petition with the court April 5, asking to be allowed to extend the lease for some period. The Trustees of the Bromfield School counter-filed May 6, raising objections to the extension. The trustees are empowered to carry out the will of Margaret Bromfield Blanchard, who originally gave the property for educational purposes.
During a public comment period before the vote Tuesday, several residents spoke ardently in support of extending the lease. Jason Cole cited the overwhelming vote (166-30) at Town Meeting in April for a warrant article that called for a five-year extension. Cole urged the Select Board to support the five-year extension, pointing out that asking for a one-year extension could just lead to repeated trips to the court and further legal expenses.
