Medfield Town Administrator Weighs in on State Hospital, Friendly's and CVS

Want to know what Medfield’s Town Administrator Michael Sullivan thinks about the project or the ?

How about what potential businesses he’s hearing could move to town to occupy the ? Or how the town will spend the $88,651 returned in local aid?

So do we, and we recently sat down with Sullivan to go over several of these topics:

Sullivan’s Take on the Status of the Medfield State Hospital

As a result of the news Medfield received in October that the for remediation work at the former Medfield State Hospital site, Sullivan said the town is currently in the “what’s next?” phase of the project.

“I think [the town, DCAM and MassDEP] need to get together and [find] a reasonable cost-efficient solution that addresses the potential contamination,” Sullivan said. “That’s what I’m looking for. I’m not looking for every last element to be removed from the site. … “I don’t think it’s the worst stuff in the world.”

Sullivan added DCAM withdrawing its application at the end of October with the Army Corps of Engineers was “almost a foregone conclusion” because of the deadline the state agency was facing.

“They weren’t going to be able to meet [the deadline],” Sullivan said. “I think the thing now is what’s going to happen from now until spring that’s going to make the situation different.”

For more on the proposed remediation work and the status of the former Medfield State Hospital site, read the following Medfield Patch articles:

When asked what he would like to ultimately see done with the 200 acres of land that make-up the state hospital property, Sullivan said he supported the plan the Medfield Board of Selectmen and DCAM negotiated “a couple years ago” – a development of 440 housing units that would be built to create more diversity in housing options for residents, especially the elderly and to meet the town’s requirement for 40B, which is a Massachusetts state law that helps address the shortage of affordable housing in the state by providing developments in a town that have at least 20 to 25 percent of its units listed at an affordable price for low and moderate-income buyers.

“I thought it was a good plan, the 440 housing units,” Sullivan said. “I think it addresses the need for options for seniors who want to stay in town but don’t want the responsibility of taking care of a house. It gives some housing options for people. It helps address the 40b concern.”

Now eight years into the project and still not having a definitive answer of what the town will do with the property has made Sullivan a “little frustrated” with the lack of cooperation of people in town who oppose any kind of reuse for the property.

“There’s room up there, you got 200 acres,” Sullivan said. “I get a little frustrated with people that don’t want to do anything up there because something is going to be done up there and the longer you wait the worst condition those buildings are. … We are eight years into it. I think if some people have their way, we will be 100 years into it before anything is resolved. If anyone is frustrated, I would say it would probably be DCAM.”

Log on to Medfield Patch Wednesday morning (Nov. 9) to read more on Sullivan’s take regarding the status of the former Medfield State Hospital.

Medfield to Use $88K Reimbursement in State Aid as One-Time Revenue Source

Sullivan said the will be used as a one-time revenue source to help set the town’s tax rate.

“There’s three ways you can treat [the refund],” Sullivan said. “You can treat it as a one-time revenue source or you can appropriate it and spend it on something else, but that’s not likely for us. [Appropriating is] going to be done in cities where they have city councils or towns like Franklin. The third option is let it close to free cash. We haven’t set the tax rate [yet, so] we’ll probably treat it as a one-time revenue source and use it for setting the tax rate.”

Sullivan Says CVS Expansion Will Be ‘Good for the Town’

Sullivan said from what he saw of the proposed on Main Street that the plan “looks pretty good,” but he shared .

“I’m a little concerned about the traffic because you’re going to have cars going in from Main Street, you’re going to have cars backing out from either direction and there’s an opportunity for collision,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan did like the proposal to close one of the two driveways on North Meadows Road and is in favor of the physical improvements expected to be made to the site – making the building and area more attractive.

“Overall, I think it will be a good thing for the town,” Sullivan said. “I think their plan for the parking in the back is good because you go down there now and no one seems to know what to do. My only real concern is the driveway in. They will have a traffic engineer take a look at that and they may lose a few more parking spaces to address it. I’m glad to see they are going to clean it up.”

Sullivan admitted he was curious if the CVS expansion in neighboring Millis would lead to the Medfield store’s closing, but the proposed expansion so a commitment to keep the pharmacy business in town.

“I’m glad to see it staying,” Sullivan said.

The Vacancy at Friendly’s

Sullivan said he has heard countless rumors around town of after the chain ice cream shop and family restaurant filed for bankruptcy and closed several of its locations, including the one on Main Street in Medfield. None of these rumors currently have any credibility, as the location is currently involved in bankruptcy court proceedings but the possibilities are both intriguing and amusing.

“I’ve heard of everything,” Sullivan said in reference to rumors of what will replace Friendly’s. “The two biggest [rumors] I’ve heard are Panera Bread and Walgreens. … Somebody said the other day, ‘well you know now that Friendly’s is open there will be a Walgreens there. Wherever there’s a CVS, there seems to be a Wallgreens.”

Sullivan said he talked to Town Counsel Mark Cerel about the Friendly’s location and he explained it would likely take some time to fill the vacant property.

“I did talk to Town Counsel [Mark Cerel] recently and he said whatever goes in there has to be approved by the bankruptcy court,” Sullivan said. “If they are filing for bankruptcy, you can’t just plop a business in there. They still have equipment in there the Bankruptcy Court has to authorize the disposition of and then we don’t know when the lease expires. It’s not as easy [putting a new business] there. It’s in the bankruptcy proceedings so it might take longer than people think.”

Addressing Another Rumor in Town

A rumor had been circulating throughout town that the grocery chain, Wholefoods, was coming to Medfield. Sullivan admitted he heard that same rumor, but did not offer any validity to the idea.

“I don’t know where [Wholefoods] would come,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we have much [space] in downtown for that … or imagine the parking for that.”

Other Town News:

Sullivan said the Mobil gas station on North Street next to is currently for sale.

“I don’t know what will happen there,” Sullivan said. “The town tried to buy that one time before I came, which was about 40 years ago and lost by two or three votes. There’s been people that have wanted to put convenience stores there a few years ago. They’ve been talking about putting beer and wine in. Of course, there’s a convenience store and a liquor store right across the street. I don’t think we have anymore full-package store licenses anyways. We have beer and wine but no more full-package stores. It’s kind of silly to have two convenience stores and two package stores next to each other.”

The is also facing an issue with DCAM regarding the route of its Thanksgiving Day Hunt.

“Norfolk Hunt Club in town does a Thanksgiving Day Hunt, where they ride around through the fields with the hounds. The hounds chase the scent of a fox and the horses chase the hounds. One of the places they ride through is the state hospital and DCAM to this point is not letting them ride through the hospital. They said it was too dangerous. I think [the Hunt Club has] been doing it for 100 years or so, and they don’t go anywhere near where the work is being done, it’s all on the other side. Representative Denise Garlick is trying to set up a meeting on site with DCAM and the Hunt Club to see if they can set up some kind of agreement.”