THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 23, 2023 Page 9 Police warn town residents to beware of home improvement scams P olice and town officials are warning residents to beware home improvement scams involving contractors who are unlicensed and work for fake companies. “Home improvement scams seem to be a regional problem that’s been going on for a few months across the state and throughout the region,” Saugus Police Sgt. Detective Frank Morello said this week. “The work that is being LETTER | FROM PAGE 4 football field. New fields will be built upon the footprint of the current school once it’s demolished. No one will say how they intend to use the current football field. SBC and project documentation show multiple references to a “Future Hockey Rink” presented and discussed in the months leading up to the SBC’s vote to approve the Hilltop Building Site (C.3) in December 2020. The future rink was clearly a factor in the site selection, as evidenced by the Final Evaluation of Alternatives prepared by PMA and submitted to the MSBA. It stated “The district gains additional athletic fields with this option [C.3] and maintains the potential of reserving the current football field/ track for future development as a hockey rink.” Again, when MSBA reviewers asked for justification for the high site costs related to the hilltop location, the project team responded “The new football field and track is replacing the existing field and track that is … being reserved for future recreational development (outside of this Project)” By locating the school on the forested hilltop, 12 towns will pay to address the ledge and build a road. Stephen Maio, town administrator and David DiBarri, NEMT superintendent, can now get the rink and road they have wanted for years using new school funding. Developers can affordably build whatever “facility” they want on the current football field. The SBC members have not acknowledged that there are better, safer site options for the new school. Residents have spoken of concerns about the safety and access to the new school, the 1100 ft system of stairs and ramps. The SBC responded that there will be liability insurance. Citizens redone is substandard and involves contractors working for fake companies. People can easily be duped into spending a lot of money,” he said. A handful of Saugus residents, most of them elderly, have been caught up in the scams, according to Police Sgt. Detective Morello. “These people don’t pull permits and are able to work under the radar Building Inspector Dan Kelly said. “They’re hiring immigrants quested an environmental review by the state. Since the SBC denies there are future plans to build a rink, the building plan does not trigger an environmental review. A new energy park is planned for the article 97 land abutting the school site that will leverage solar power generated from the school rooftop to benefit Wakefield customers. The Energy Park is described as part of the school project when the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department wants voters to approve the use of the public land. It is described as not part of the school when they’re trying to avoid environmental review, which they have done. There is no scrutiny or oversight. The SBC reports back to themselves while determining what is allowed to exist and spending hundreds of millions of public funds. There is a conflict of interest law, requiring all municipal employees to act in the public interest. The NEMT SBC has a responsibility for all 12 towns, yes? I do not see stewardship, responsibility, or ethics. The school site had been decided without a word about the location on the ballot to fund the school in January 2022, see the Reading Post article “Why-didnt-the-public-know-about-theplan-to-build-the-new-voke”. There is something called a Right to Honest Services. It is about transparency, deception and a breach of a fiduciary duty. Why is new school funding being used for this long desired rink and road? The NEMT project team claims that the school property is private land. It is public land which is why the public will pay all costs. The loss of this forest will be ours too. There has been extensive outreach to Massachusetts’s state-level legislative leaders. Many representatives that claim to prioritize the to do the work. It’s important that people check credentials and physically see a permit, have a conversation with them and make sure they have insurance. If you don’t have home improvement contractors properly insured, they can’t pull permits,” Kelly said. “I have heard about at least four cases in this area and they seem to prey on the elderly,” he said. Kelly said he’s aware of a Saugus woman who started environment support blasting away this core forest and wetland habitat. The safety issues posed by the ramp design and lack of sidewalks within the campus cannot be remedied. Students will lose access to the baseball, football and practice fields while the hill is blasted and dewatered and rock is crushed for months behind the existing school. Voters were told this site option was the least disruptive. Wakefield’s beautiful native forest will turn into a rock quarry with a parking lot. Maintenance for this school site will always cost more. That cost will not be for a better school. It will be for a facility and road that Wakefield and NEMT have sought for years. There are better, safer, less expensive and less destructive site options. Please share this information and contact your town. New school site plan pics: tiwith deck repairs and “the repairs snowballed into all kinds of unnecessary work.” “Any time somebody is going to invest large amounts of money in home improvements, make sure you know all about the person you are going to hire to find out if they are legitimate and licensed. People can always call us at Town Hall,” he said. “In the Town of Saugus, if anybody is going to solicit homeowners for business, they have to wear a badge nyurl.com/NEMTSchoolSitePics All citations for this letter: tinyurl.com/WakefieldRinkCitations This letter can be shared: tinyurl.com/WakefieldRinkLetterV2 If you agree or disagree, have that is issued by the Police Department. It has their photo on it, and the Police do a background check. If people come soliciting and they don’t wear a badge, they should be reported,” Kelly said. “We have people involved in scams who are unqualified, unlicensed and uninsured,” he said. “So, before you hire someone to do a home improvement project, make sure they are qualified.,” he said. questions or advice please write to whyshouldwepay01880@ gmail.com No taxpayer dollars were spent bringing you this information. Karen Johnson Malden Resident JOHN MACKEY & ASSOCIATES ~ Attorneys at Law ~ * PERSONAL INJURY * REAL ESTATE * FAMILY LAW * PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY * LANDLORD/TENANT DISPUTES 14 Norwood Street Everett, MA 02149 Phone: (617) 387-4900 Fax: (617) 381-1755 WWW.JMACKEYLAW.COM J& • Reliable Mowing Service • Spring & Fall Cleanups • Mulch & Edging • Sod or Seed Lawns • Shrub Planting & Trimming • Water & Sewer Repairs Joe Pierotti, Jr. S LANDSCAPE & MASONRY CO. 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