Elsewhere throughout town, there are 4 multi-families for sale (up 3 from last month), 12 condos (down 1), 6 mobile homes (same), 1 business opportunity (The newsstand/coffee shop at the T-station…could be a good deal if you have the capital to wait), 30 land parcels (+2), 5 commercial/industrial (-1), and 8 rentals (+2). Kingston is on the brink of mega-changes and the undulations of the housing market will reflect that.

UP SCALE: Amid all the hoopla leading up to Town Meeting, it was overlooked that the Selectmen accepted a $55,000 "gift" from Mary O’Donnell of an old truck scale that has resided at the sandpit for some time. Somehow the deal came down when Water Commissioner Fred Svenson hand delivered a hand written scrap of paper, undated, to the Selectmen’s Office. The note offered up the scale to the town who quickly voted to accept the "gift’. If you watched the meeting, it was clear that Selectman Chair Mark Beaton did not want to identify the gift giver… that is until Paul Gal-lagher said he felt funny about this gift coming with two weeks of a town meeting that would be dealing with the woman’s property. "Now the cat’s out of the bag" said Beaton as near as we got the words, visibly not happy that Paul had slowed the process. In the end, they all voted for this unusual gift. We got a big piece of equipment that we now have to move…and to where…and for what. Well, we like to do our homework so we called Highway Super Paul Basler to find out its use to us. Paul did not know how old it was, who manufactured it, its tonnage capacity. He said it was broached to him by Svenson who indicated that it worked that last time it was used. Basler didn’t know when it was last used. So what about need? Paul said the Fire Department can use it to weight their vehicles. Lord know why that is necessary since we would know by the manufacturer the weight of an empty truck or a filled truck. We’ll have to check with the chief on that one. Paul said that we could weigh trucks for demolition material disposal. Drive in, weigh it full, come around again and weigh the truck empty and know the weight of the debris. Sound good to you? Our own thoughts are, where will the manpower come from to accomplish this, who will calibrate it, where would this operation be located, what shape is it in (we hear it’s made of a lot of wooden parts), can it tolerate a move(s), and what will maintenance cost. We hope the town didn’t further embarrass itself with this move. We’ll learn more. And about the timing that Paul Gallagher was concerned about…nobody cares, welcome to Tombstone.

PINE SCENT: We caught a tape of a recent ConsCom meeting in which Pine DuBois really placed the Commission in an uncomfortable position. When it comes to people appearing before the Conservation Commission, Pine has been known to slow down the process to an agonizing crawl. As a matter of fact, Pine appeared earlier at the same meeting in order to slow down a small sub-division. Later in the evening when she was seeking some green lights on activities she had already begun over at the Heritage/Ecology/Jones River/et al building on Landing Road…she wanted to short circuit the process in order to accommodate plans already made. It was quite clear that DuBois didn’t want to have to wait for the normal process. So, it’s OK for Pine to slow down others, but the same rules don’t apply in the alternative. There is no question that she enjoys the friendship of many who serve on the Commission, but there were not going to allow Pine to "dis" them and run around the rules. It angered several members of the ConsCom and the Enforcement Officer who had laws and consistency to uphold. The fact that someone they respect was putting them in a compromising position was disturbing. The Commission consists of individuals who are dedicated to the cause, the fact that they publicly held the line that Pine was attempting to cross is to their credit. A final thought on Pine: We certainly acknowledge her drive, her tenacity and her long-term commitment to the environment, but, she must also realize that the rules apply to her as well. When we start to pick and choose we have lost our way.

ALL ABOARD! Remember the hoopla over forming a "task force" to study the re-use of the capped town landfill for more ball fields? You haven’t heard anything more about it since it was created on August 14. Surely they didn’t want to begin too soon since the answers to their questions may have been available prior to the Special Town Meeting. As a matter of fact, the urgency of starting this group becomes somewhat amusing considering the fact that two of the nine positions haven’t stopped into the Clerk’s Office to be sworn in. Planning Board Chair Tom Bouchard fought for the right to be his Board’s representative, was given the nod…and never followed up. Paul Basler must do the same. Now that Town Meeting is over we think we may see a sense of rejuvenation from the two who would join forces with Ken Moalli, Peter Cobb, Joe Casna, Paul Gallagher, John Rose III, Andy Davis and John Reardon. Maintain your enthusiasm and make sure you get all the money you need from Lloyd Geisinger to conduct a thorough engineering and environmental study. No chintzing out now.

VERNAL POOL: You can’t take those vernal pools lightly. Isn’t it a vernal pool that became the big hurdle to the development of a senior center on town-owned land behind town hall? So why are we talking about vernal pools? Well, we were eavesdropping on a conversation between a couple of green folks who seemed to be talking about the slip ramp concept that would take traffic outside of the 40-R development to Route 3 South. We drew closer and they were talking about there being a vernal pool and other wetland issues involved that were within 100’ of the conceptual plans. Those ConsCom folks will be tested on this one…they’re pro 40-R but sticklers on wetlands, a most interesting dlNobody ever told us about this. What’s good for the goose should be good for the pander, no? We got a bead on where this is vernal pool is located and report back next month.

DO IT! How long will it take for the Legislature to approve the "Home Rule" petition for a new ramp to Route 3? People in the know say, real quick. They suggest that Speaker of the Senate Terry Murray will pick up the phone to Mass Highway and tell them to "make it happen!" Murray, a Plymouth resident, is, in our humble opinion, doing this deal more so for Plymouth then Kingston. If the truth be known, Murray’s hand has been on this issue for some time, you can take that to the bank. This deal went all the way to Beacon Hill.

WHERE TO? We noticed that there is one less business on Route 3-A. The computer store called Tech In A Box is gone from the Persy’s property. You remember, those black on yellow banners…even the Volkswagen buggies were painted the same color. Adios

DECISION PLEASE: Still no decision on the L. Knife motion for Summary Judgment in the matter of the Planning Board. The case was heard in Plymouth on August 16 and still no decision. We know the town will lose the case, so what is the court waiting for? The judge probably entered his decision a few weeks after it was heard, gave it to some court secretary for typing and it’s been sitting for review for a month. Why rush the bad news.