Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 20, 2024 Saugus honors mary Dunlop and William boomhower with “person of the year Awards” A Founders Day Salute By Mark E. Vogler A fter becoming a registered nurse in 1967, Mary Dunlop led a long and distinguished career helping people. About 40 years ago, while still working in the hospital, she found another WIN | FROM PAGE 1 tion for Saugus. It would be a ‘forever’ economic development opportunity for Saugus and it would not further harm our environment,” Serino said. “WIN’s proposal is to continue to dump toxic ash into the landfill that is harmful to our environment and the town would be left with a 100-foot high toxic ash landfill with no development opportunities and no ‘forever’ economic benefits for the Town of Saugus,” he said. way to help people – as a volunteer at the Saugus Senior Center, something she continues to do at age 78. About the time that Dunlop embarked on her nursing career, William Boomhower began his first of three tours of duty in Vietnam as a tank comIn his 11-page report, Serino notes that WIN Waste submitted plans to the Saugus Planning Board to subdivide its 235 acre landfill into 12 commercial lots in 2003, and 10 commercial lots in 2017. At that time, an engineering company representing WIN Waste said several potential uses of the property included an industrial park and a solar farm. Serino noted that WIN converting its ash landfill into a solar farm would generate about $1.2 million a year in potential tax revenue. But Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net mander in the U.S. Army. He served with valor during his three years of military service, receiving two Purple Hearts after being wounded in combat. More than 50 years after his military service, Boomhower, now 76, continues to quietly serve fellow veterans who the town could generate even more tax revenue from the ash landfill if the landfill were developed for commercial use – up to $5.7 million in potential property tax revenue – according to Serino, who did the analysis using examples of potential development at each of the 10 commercial lots that encompass the ash landfill. This year’s Annual Town Meeting crea t ed the five-member committee to identify timeframes for final closure, post closure, maintenance and monitoring and economic reuse possibilities after closure of the landfill. WIN Waste Innovations was invited to participate in the meetings as a non-committee member. But the company has refused the invitation, taking the position that the town should not be telling a private company what to do with its property. WIN also prefers expansion of its ash landfill once it reaches its capacity – an option that the last two Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) commissioners have said would not be allowed under need help. He often appears with his bugle at military ceremonies in Saugus, playing taps. He’s a frequent volunteer at various veteran events. Last Saturday, Dunlop and Boomhower sat together on a makeshift stage set up near the front steps of Saugus Town the current state environmental regulations. “They [WIN officials] feel we have no authority over what they do with their land,” Committee Chair Peter Manoogian told members at this week’s meeting. But Manoogian – the Precinct 10 Town Meeting member who authored the article creating the committee – stressed that it was important for the committee to act as a fact-finding body to provide the town with important information related to the ash landfill and potential alternative uses of the landfill once the state has established a specific deadline for its closure. Serino’s presentation about possible reuse of the ash landfill impressed Manoogian and other committee members. “That’s a tremendous amount of work you put into that,” Manoogian said. “I just want to remind everyone that Mike was the chairman of the Board of Assessors and he had specialized training from the state to use the processes of assessment to put this together,” he said. “It’s quite compelling, and even if Hall, where they were honored at the 43rd Annual Founders Day with the 2024 “Person of the Year Awards.” “She has truly dedicated her life to serving others in the community and to makSALUTE | SEE PAGE 3 you’re off by a large factor, it’s still a lot more money that was offered in that host community proposal that three selectmen accepted. … And even if it came down to $2.5-million, it’s twice as much as what was proposed [by the Host Community Agreement]. WIN continues to support a nonbinding Host Community Agreement (HCA), which selectmen supported a year ago on a 3-2 vote as a precautionary measure in case the state weakens environmental regulations related to the landfill. That HCA has no legal basis under state law and under the Town of Saugus Charter. Furthermore, any HCA would have to be negotiated by the town manager and wouldn’t take effect unless the state allowed the company to expand its ash landfill. If the state loosened the regulations at the ash landfill, the Board of Health would have authority to conduct site modification hearings to ultimately decide whether and how expansion of the ash landfill would proceed. Saugus would receive $20 For Advertising with RESULTS, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-233-4446 or info@advocatenews.net
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