Whether last night's decision turns into an opportunity lost or not will in many ways be determined by the what happens next scenario in that area. What happens next in that area will also in many way be dependent upon what the town wants to happen in that area.
The town still retains some significant controls over not only the land that was not purchased, but over other vacant land. Zoning ladies and gentlemen is indeed an extremely valuable development tool.
One thing we do know with a fair degree of probability is that there will be a solar farm on the parcel passed up. To that end one has to ask why that is so abhorrent to some. It was [planned well in advance of the push to attempt to buy. The application was vetted. The objections at the time were what?
Not for me to answer. Was not me objecting.
The biggest shame in all of this is the nagging feeling we simply were not getting all the information. There were statements made over the whole process that the careful listener could pick up on the hints. The way things went, the numerous executive sessions, the different attempted sales pitches, the original wording of the article, and more ...
Unfortunately the concept of simply trust me, I know what I am doing is not a winning one anymore.
But ... trust me when I say, the allure of extra bucks, promised big bucks, was hard to pass up.
Anyway ...
No one should forget that there will be a point in time when we as a community will in fact need to address the needs of public safety. That point is not here. That point is not on the immediate radar. That point may be a whole lot farther down the road than even I envision.
What is now a big blip on the radar is the Town Administrator. The re-vote by Town Meeting required under the act occurred without discussion or comment last night.
The most interesting tidbit coming out of the interpretation of the act is seemingly the interpretation of the following (and last) provision:
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon its acceptance by the town of Fairhaven by a vote at the town meeting.
Now that seems pretty clear to me.
Read the first paragraph of section now:
SECTION 1. The executive powers of the town of Fairhaven shall be vested in the board of selectmen, who shall have all the powers given to boards of selectmen by the General Laws, except for those executive powers granted to the town administrator.
If one passes an act that takes effect immediately, and the act provides as it does above, and also provides for the investiture of specific powers and duties in the town administrator, well it should not take a rocket scientist to figure out what needs to be done to get this one out into space.
It will be interesting to see what happens if some act or deed to be performed by the town administrator isn't performed by the town administrator and what the ramification will be.
The most interesting tidbit I heard last night before and again after the meeting is somehow the act doesn't go into effect until the board of selectmen vote on putting it into effect. Interesting theory really.
Anyway ... ours is not to reason why, is it? I mean who could have foreseen the benefit of putting a date specific for it to start after passage, right?
I am sure there is some solid legal basis, a statute, some case law, an AG opinion perhaps, which provides a foundation for the theory.
So we have a Town Administrator now, kind of, sort of.
Be safe.
Do you think that the fact that Mr. Osuch, Mr. Roth and the three members of the Board of Selectman proposed and/or strongly supported the land purchase and Town Meeting quickly and easily said "NO" suggests that those top town officials are pretty much out of touch with what the residents and voters want?
ReplyDeleteBeing fair to those you mention. believe it or not, it is within their function to explore such things. Being honest about the proposal, as I stated in past blogs there was in fact merit to it. Where there is perhaps a disconnect is trying to get from point "A" to point "C" there seems to be this tendency to skip over point "B" which consists of the residents/voters. Or worse, miscalculate the concerns of the voters.
DeleteI did mean that disconnect at "B." You have not only brought up concerns yourself, but you have also written about "word on the street." You used that phrase at Town Meeting, too. Surely the idea of dissatisfaction with the plan should have set in. Was anyone besides the people onstage sitting to the moderator's left, our right, surprised by that vote?
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