Finance Committee votes $20K for 2012 town Master Plan

by Joe Hutchinson
 

Kara Minar, Chairman of Harvard's Planning Board, at this week's Finance Committee meeting, requested  $50,000 to begin work on the town's Master Plan. The committee, however, disagreed  about how much should be spent on what they referred to as "seed money," although all agreed that ultimately the plan could cost over $100K. Minar said that, in a recent  conversation with Judi Barrett, the professional planner who managed Harvard's planning process in 2002, Barrett said that the Harvard 2002 Master Plan cost $116K and that it was underfunded. Finance Committee member George McKenna made a motion to fund $20K and said "I would try to dictate to the marketplace what we were willing to pay," adding "I don't see the need to pay $100,000 or $116,000 just because some other community appropriated that money."  Member Collyn Bradley said she was inclined "more in the range of $20K," as well. After several attempts to fund the plan at a higher amount, the board voted to recommend $20K for the plan from the General Stabilization Fund.