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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 16, 2023 Page 13 Tameira Klempa-Brown received a gift from Head Coach Guillermo Sepulveda. ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 Post Office? Is that part of your precinct? A: Yes, the Saugus Post Office is in Precinct 6. Q: What other landmarks in Precinct 6? A: I don’t know about other landmarks. I guess the building that was owned by the Surabians is kind of a landmark. Then you have Saint Margaret Church. Q: Are there any other historical buildings in Precinct 6? A: I wouldn’t call them historical. But there are buildings that I see and look at that in my mind are nostalgic. These are just buildings that you remember. We had a bakery there. These are people that mattered to us – people like Jim Howard. We always picked our TVs there. The Square itself is historic. Q: In your mind, what are some of the pressing issues facing Precinct 6? Issues that Precinct 6 residents are talking about or issues that you have identified in Precinct 6? Issues that are Precinct 6-specific? A: I would like to see traffic throughout the precinct – and throughout the town, for that matter – given a higher priority. You see trucks that roll through Cliftondale and they go pretty darn quick. There is supposed to be a 20 miles per hour speed limit here, but it’s never enforced. People have forgotten about it. Q: And from my observations over the years, a lot of people don’t even know how to drive in the rotary. They really have no clue. A: Right. That’s [the rotary] an antique, right there. Q: It’s amazing: Every time I come down here, people just don’t realize that the cars in the rotary have the right of way. They don’t seem to understand that. A: Yes. That’s it exactly. People come down Essex Street, in front of my house [on School Jennifer Tran received the Coaches’ Award from Coach Guillermo Sepulveda. Abrianna Perry received a gift from Head Coach Guillermo Sepulveda. THE SAUGUS POST OFFICE is a major financial asset in the heart of the Cliftondale Square area of Precinct 6. It’s Saugus’ only post office. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) Street] and along Lincoln Avenue and Central Street. And there’s no excuse for them driving as fast as they do. They come down School Street, and School Street is kind of a crossover, and they’re in a hurry to get to Lynn or some other place. And they go down there fast. I’ve argued for a speed limit for 25 unless it’s already posted. Almost every town around us has that – a lot of streets where the speed limits aren’t posted. Q: As I recall, back several years ago, you were the leader of that group, Citizens for a Safer Saugus. A: Yes, that was a few years ago, and I still want to work on that. There are some issues that I would like to revisit. It seems that with COVID, everything has been tossed aside, and I think we need to get back to work on that. Traffic safety, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists, is an important issue – not just in Precinct 6 – throughout town. I think this town needs to invest in some speed limit signs for the smaller streets that are unmarked. Q: As you go through your travels as a Town Meeting member representing Precinct 6, what’s the biggest issue or complaint that you receive in the course of a week, from citizens and residents? A: It’s sad, but I don’t hear a lot from citizens. And in the rezoning of the Cliftondale area, I actually heard from the most amount of people that I have ever heard from. The largest group of people called me, and they were overwhelmingly opposed to it, and they were residents of this area. So, I listened to that. I don’t know. I guess the problem of being a Town Meeting member is that you don’t always have the guidance from the citizens. I look to hear from citizens who have an opinion on an issue. Unfortunately, I think, most people are complacent about what they want in this town. We need people who are going to speak up – people that are going to get active. Town Meeting has a lot of older people that will be stepping aside, and I would like to see some younger people with some good ideas come forward. Q: I’m sure you have some views on how to proceed with the revitalization of Cliftondale. Would you like to share them? A: Well, I think the first thing is that more attention has to be paid to Cliftondale. Cliftondale seems to be the forgotten stepchild of Saugus. Cliftondale has got potential, but we need to do it in a well-thought-out manner. I know people want to see change up here, but it’s not something that you just want to rush into and then have to correct your mistakes afterward. You want to do it right the first time. Q: Don’t you think there’s a lot of progress that’s been made over the last couple of years? George’s Barber Shop – run by four generations of a family – is a landmark business rooted in Precinct 6. The current building was built in the mid-1950s. The original George’s was based in another building near the Post Office. (Saugus Advocate file photo by Mark E. Vogler) A: It’s been stagnant, I think. There’s a lot of people who want change and want to see things, but the problem is that it’s not an area that retailers want to move into as a rule. It’s got limited parking. We’ve tried to do something about that. We’ve purchased land that we’re going to make parking a little more available. But retailers don’t move in just for parking. They don’t move in because there’s no activity in the Square. Founders Day seems to be primarily down in Saugus Center. There needs to be some kind of thing down here. I’d almost like to say that Cliftondale should be considered a shopping area, but there’s no shops in it right now. Q: Do you remember the days of the elephant in Cliftondale? A: No. Q: When there was a festival down in Cliftondale and they had elephant rides. Peter Rossetti [Precinct 6 Town Meeting member and a longtime Cliftondale businessman] used to talk about when Cliftondale Square was closed down and they had an elephant in the parking lot. A: Oh, really? That’s right. I think I’ve heard him talk about that. Yeah, that gets me thinking about Cliftondale in the past. Mr. Allen owned the hardware store that my brother [George] eventually bought. At one point, there was a five and ten cent store in the Square. And when you were a kid, that’s where you shopped for Christmas presents and stuff. And they had everything. The modern day replacement of that would be the Dollar Store, the Five or Under Stores. I’d like to see that. Then again, they don’t come here, because they don’t have the parking. I don’t know if the answer is to have some kind of incentive to bring them into the town. I’d like to borrow some good ideas from Jeanie Bartolo [Precinct 6 Town Meeting member]. I like the idea of putting planters and flowers in the Square, along with some benches and trash barrels out there to make visitors feel welcome. Another idea that I like – maybe we should close off Cliftondale one day and hold a car show to draw people to the Square. It’s just something different to do. Q: Anything else that you would like to share about what you see as the future to Precinct 6? A: I don’t know what the future is going to bring, and that’s a little scary. Q: Do you think there’s too much apathy in town? A: Yes. I think that a lot of people in this town are getting to be more temporary residents – this ASKS | SEE PAGE 22

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