At its Oct. 7 meeting, the Harvard Select Board voted unanimously to appoint Alice Miles and Nicholas Roose to the town’s Historical Commission, and Erin McBee to the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.
Introducing the two Historical Commission candidates, Commission Chair Pam Marston praised them as “my two fantastic volunteers,” noting that Miles and Roose both “have a very large interest in taking care of their districts.” Marston added, “Alice is a resident of Shaker Village, and Nick is the new caretaker of one of Harvard’s premier vintage homes.”
When invited to speak, Alice Miles thanked the board and described her connection to the Shaker Village historic district. “Even though my house is not an historic home … I do actually fall within the district and have been on some calls with the Historic Commission before,” she said. “I walk my dog every day past all the historic buildings, and I feel like they’re such a part of this community and this town that drew us here, the preservation of all the historic structures.”
Miles, a Coldwell Banker Realtor with 15 years of experience, emphasized her professional and personal interest in preservation. “I’ve been in many, many historic homes. … I definitely have a lot of knowledge in terms of what it takes to maintain them and preserve them in the right way,” she explained. “I just have a personal interest in historic [preservation] always.”
Nicholas Roose introduced himself as a recent arrival to Harvard. “My family and I just moved to Still River Road about a month ago,” he said, explaining that they were drawn by “the historic, rural kind of character” of the town. “I’ve always been a history buff. I studied history, grew up in a historic house, and previously volunteered on the Medford Historical District Commission.”
Roose noted that he hopes to bring a collaborative, strategic perspective to his new role. “I work in strategy and operations, transformation-type work; and I think those skills—collaboration and balancing different viewpoints—can translate well to this type of work,” he said.
The Select Board unanimously approved both appointments, commending Marston’s recruitment efforts. “One of our priorities has been to encourage and recruit people who have not served on other committees in town to get involved,” board member Eve Wittenberg said. “So thank you for doing that as well.”
The Select Board thanked both candidates for “stepping up.” Vice Chair SusanMary Redinger said, “It’s such a great thing to have all of that expertise and passion represented, and thank you for volunteering.”
Later in the meeting, the board appointed Erin McBee, an attorney and a former Select Board and Planning Board member, to the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust. “Erin doesn’t require much introduction,” said Julie Doucet, executive assistant to the town administrator. She highlighted that the MAHT had recently expanded its membership to seven permanent members. “Erin will be member number six as a permanent member,” she said.
The motion to appoint McBee passed unanimously. “It’s great to have one additional person,” Doucet added, noting the town continues to seek additional volunteers for both permanent and associate roles on the trust.
With these appointments, Harvard strengthens two of its most vital boards, one dedicated to preserving the town’s historic fabric, and the other focused on shaping its housing future.
Michael Burns is a student reporter at Fitchburg State.
