Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 21, 2020 SESSION | FROM PAGE 1 THEY’LL BE LISTENING: The Board of Selectmen invited residents to address them at a special forum set for Tuesday (Feb. 25) from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the second floor auditorium of Saugus Town Hall. (Saugus Advocate file photo by Mark E. Vogler) be a pulley in Breakheart that people could ski there. Everyone’s voice counts and everyone has ideas. Who knows, you may have an idea that will change the future of Saugus,” she said. Riley initially conceived the idea session as a public workshop to discuss various goals for the town. But selectmen decided that it would be better to shift the focus of the meeting to citizens’ goals rather than board members’ goals and objectives. That discussion will be the subject of a future workshop. With the selectmen set for their citizen input session next Tuesday, The Saugus Advocate decided to pose this question to each of the board members: What would be your top suggestions to the Board of Selectmen if you were addressing the board as an individual? So, if you have a couple of good ideas you would like to share, please do. Here are the responses we received from each of the members. Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano First of all, I am looking forward to sitting with the residents to hear their concerns for the future of Saugus. As far as the topics I want to deal with, first and foremost will be the west side fire station. This has been talked about for years and yet always slips through the cracks. It will not slip through any longer. The committee being formed through the Board of Health that I will be serving on to deal with all issues Wheelabrator will start meeting in March. As we have seen in recent weeks we do not have the support of the DEP. And the committees and Alliances that have been formed with the sole purpose of trying to shut the plant down obviously do not work. I think the right people at the table having discussions of substance will be able to accomplish great things for Saugus and our surrounding communities, without sacrificing safety. I would like to resolve the Caddy Farm development issue, which in my opinion can be done with a simple meeting. From what I’ve seen since my return to the Board is the Town likes to put things off.... that’s not how I operate and that’s not how things get done. The moratorium on development also needs to be addressed and the rezoning of Rt. 1 needs to be straightened out. The new Police Chief should be in place no later than May 1st, as well as a full time Animal Control Officer. A tool to evaluate the Town Manager must also be put forth so we can begin that process before the years end. Everyone needs to know what their strengths and weaknesses are and ways to correct them. In the short term this Board is working well together and well with the Town Manager. We will continue to do so, and deliver what’s in the best interest for residents of Saugus. Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley My top suggestions: providing transparency and accountability in government. I feel this is doable without any additional cost. A West side fire station is priority; safety should always be first. We need to implement a working Master Plan when it’s presented as well as a capital improvement plan with priorities and a schedule. Also, there are several job openings that still need to be filled. I feel that the townspeople are being shortchanged without having professional people in positions that are of valued importance which need people in them now. Two critical positions are an Economic Development Director, and a Director of Public Health. Lastly, to somehow address the increased nitrogen oxide emissions at Wheelabrator. Selectman Jeffrey Cicolini If I were to choose the two top priority items that I see, they would be 1) the completion of the master plan as so many decisions hinge on the results including the repurposing of the soon to be vacant schools, a potential west side fire station as well as the potential need to once again rezone portions of route 1 and other areas to reduce the amount of new residential development applications and attract/encourage commercial and office building developments that put less of a strain on public safety and our schools and 2) the filling of the positions that are vacant in town (permanent police chief, procurement director, HR director, economic development director to name a few). This will alleviate the burden on the Town Manager and the current employees who are forced to do more due to lack of personnel. Now, if priority weren’t a factor then selfishly I would say 1) a dog park and 2) a community center for folks of all ages to gather for concerts and recreational activities. Selectman Debra Panetta Back a few years ago, the BOS had goals of 1/ increasing the Bond rating which saved millions of dollars of taxpayers money (which included putting money into stabilization), 2/ supporting the new Middle/ High school., and 3/ revitalizing the parks, playgrounds, and recreational facilities in Saugus. We succeeded in all three of these goals. When I first got elected to the Board in 2011, Saugus’ finances were poor. There were discussions on closing the library, Youth and Recreation Center, and the Senior Center. The Essex Street Fire Station kept closing due to lack of funds. We don’t have these issues any longer due to strong financial management. It is important that we maintain our excellent bond rating of a AA+, and continue taking measures to improve this rating to a AAA (the highest rating by Standard & Poor’s). The completion of the townwide master plan is my top priority. With all the new development in Saugus, especially along Route 1, it is imperative that we have a strategy that deals with the future growth of our town while protecting our neighborhoods and environmental resources. This plan will be the framework for making informed decisions which will include goals and policies for future land use, including housing, recreation, commercial development, transportation, and open space. I would like to see us continue to hire qualified people for each department. For example, we need a full-time Board of Health Director, especially with all the restaurants in Town and dealing with the Wheelabrator issues. We need another qualified individual in the Economic Development Department, especially with all the proposed development and to assist with the master plan. I would also like to have open discussions with the public on what they would like to see done with the schools that will soon be going off-line. The School Committee has already given Ballard back to the town. Some initial ideas include adding additional affordable and/ or veteran’s housing, building a community center and adding a dog park and/or skateboard park. There are numerous possibilities. We also need to continue our investments in public safety. We added new police officers to the budget to deal with the traffic issues in town. There have been discussions on a West Side Fire Station for many years, so I know this is something that the public would like the Town to pursue. Ultimately, it is up to the voters. I would also like to see efforts made to mitigate the flooding in certain parts of Saugus. This was one of the top concerns at the Saugus Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Workshop that was held in January. Selectman Michael Serino I do have some short-term goals and suggestions regarding what I would like to see over the next couple of years. However, I think it would be more appropriate for the public to weigh in first before I comment on mine at the meeting.
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