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(June 2002) The
"Ballfields Project" is without question the most poorly
planned, secretly-managed project in our town's history. The ongoing
saga of this public embarrassment has done the impossible: it has
made the bulldozing of Larry Slot's house seem mild by comparison.
Sadly, though, this is all too typical of the way things get done
around here: Vote it in first and let the details take care of
themselves later.
Let's quickly recall the history of this fiasco. We passed up a
chance to have ballfields built at no charge away from the
traffic-clogged Kingston Center, in exchange for the contractor
having the right to remove gravel. Instead, we committed $1.8
million of taxpayer funds to locate 11 fields on Pottle Street,
assuring ourselves of an even greater traffic mess through our
center and major tie-ups going over the T crossing – and the town
still is dealing with the issue of gravel removal. It's just that we
paid bigtime instead of getting paid.
Then came the property dispute. Sharon and Glenn Davis of Pottle
Street produced papers showing that Sharon's father, the late Tony
Bettencourt, had purchased the land that a barn sat on, adjacent to
where the ballfields will go. The town thought that it owned the
land; the Davises contend otherwise. The ownership of the barn would
not have held up the project; what it meant was that, should the
town not own the property, the project would include 10 instead of
11 fields.
Yet, days after the dispute became public, the barn went up in
flames at the hands of arsonists.
The torching of the Davis' barn is an act of terrorism, just as
surely as if someone flew a plane into the side of the building.
This act has repercussions not only for the Davis family but the
entire town. Since no one has come forth to claim responsibility for
the act, we can only make guesses as to who did it. As to
"why," that's another interesting question. Was it merely
a random act of stupidity? Or was it a threat intended as a message
of some sort? If so, by whom and to whom?
The state fire marshall's office has posted a $5,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest of the arsonist. Our selectmen
have floated the idea of getting taxpayers to ante up $15,000 more
to increase the size of the reward. It's a well-intentioned gesture,
but in the end it's not likely to accomplish anything. If $5,000
won't flush out a "snitch," neither will another $15,000.
However, using some funds to help the Davis family is a great idea.
But there's a better use for the money than pumping up the size of
the reward. Using the funds to help a neighbor may be just the way
to begin fixing this mess and allowing the project to proceed
without such a large cloud of controversy.
Here's my two cents on the subject.
First, let's acknowledge that the Davis family owns the land.
There's enough evidence from the 1975 documents to show that the
land was purchased by the Bettencourts. The 27-year old documents
show Tony Bettencourt as having paid $4,000 for the land, and the
town making reference to the same. Rather than running up the clock
with a $120 per hour special counsel to research the land issue, why
not simply verify that the documents are accurate and consider it a
closed chapter. It wouldn't take too many hours of counsel's
research to cost taxpayers more money than the town made from the
sale of the land 27 years ago.
Back to the $15,000. Instead of increasing the reward, why not put
it toward helping the Davis family rebuild their barn, if that is
what they want to do? It would be a far better use of funds to help
a neighbor than to put it into a reward or spending money on fees to
research and possibly litigate this into the Stone Age. Let's do the
right thing and move on. And let's be neighborly.
When the barn and land issues have been resolved, then the project
can go forward once again. Then, as the investors or stakeholders in
this project (and that includes every taxpayer in this community),
we must demand accountability on every step going forward. The
ballfields committee should issue regular, timely status reports.
Maybe the first one could answer these questions:
1. What is
the status of the negotiations between the town and the Hilltop
Athletic Association over the permission to use the road?
2. What will it cost the taxpayers to construct the road to
the ballfields?
3. How much money has been expended to date on this
project?
4. What steps have been taken for traffic control and
traffic flow off Evergreen and Summer Streets when the ballfields
are operational?
5. What is the projected cost to maintain these fields once
they are operational? Initially, there was talk that they would be
maintained by volunteers.
6. Are any financial 'surprises' being planned for the next
town meeting?
Just saying "it's
for the kids" and implying "if you're not with us, you're
against us" doesn't excuse the lack of specifics that has
defined this project since its beginning. People who ask questions
aren't necessarily out to torpedo the project; they just want some
assurances that their investment is being wisely spent. Many
townspeople, myself included, would have preferred that this project
be funded privately rather than through the taxpayers. Yet, no
matter where we stand on the issue of how it's financed, everyone
can see that the project is potentially a large asset for the
town…if it is managed and developed properly.
What started out as a solid idea and a project with great potential
has turned into a nightmare. It may not be too late to turn this
around, but it will require our collectively holding the ballfield
committee's feet to the fire to make sure things are done the right
way, and that people are kept informed. The committee needs to be
both accountable (and might I add "grateful") to the
taxpayers who have made this project possible in the first place. |
