Politics & Government
Peterson: Selectmen Show Interest in Forming Town Advisory Committee
Editor's note: The following commentary is the opinion of selectman Osler "Pete" Peterson, which was published on his blog, "Medfield 02052."
I have learned as a selectman that I acquire lots of specialized knowledge on how town governments budget and operate in Massachusetts.
As a result, I got to thinking that it might make sense for the town of Medfield to tap into that specialized knowledge that is shared by its former selectmen, all of whom have gone through a similar process of being educated about how to run a town in Massachusetts.
So, I began to ask our former selectmen, when I came across them, if they would be willing to serve the town as part of an ad hoc advisory committee, and they have indicated that they would.
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I could imagine such an advisory body opining on such current topics as:
- The future of the (to purchase or not to purchase);
- How the town should deal with the affordable housing issues, land acquisitions;
- How to deal with the financial budgetary pinch that is unique to Medfield.
My colleagues voted at our meeting of the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night to constitute the advisory committee I suggested to act as an ad hoc group of advisors to the town administration.
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Now we just need a good name for the advisors.
Suggested members that are currently living in town, we have:
- Ed Beard,
- Richard DeSorgher
- Harry Pritoni
- John Harney
- Paul Rhuda
I believe that they have all agreed to serve. Mr. Judge was also a selectman in some town on the Cape and may have the same knowledge base.
Mike Sullivan wants to ask them to look at whether to have the town lease out the last/third lot at the town's 30 acres on Ice House Road. There is an individual who wants to lease it to build a Four Kicks sort of indoor sports facility. The town could lease it as we did to the Kingsbury Club.
Let me know if you have a good name for either these advisors and/or for the committee that we just constituted Tuesday night to examine the purchase of the site of the former Medfield State Hospital.
Mike [Sullivan] and I have been looking for a good acronym for the Medfield State Hospital committee. Mike did not like my suggestion of State Hospital Use/Purchase Study (SHUPS) committee.
