On Dec 29, 2020, at 10:48 PM, Heath Connects <heathconnects@gmail.com> wrote:
Thank you to those who showed support tonight, it continues to have a positive effect. There was only 1 public comment and it was civil. That said, the show of support was especially needed due to an apparently malignant email sent to the Select Board. Brian strongly expressed his offense and was supported by both Robyn and Gloria. I have seen one of this type of email and it makes me wonder why our Select Board keeps working for us in the face of this type of communication. Here are my personal notes from the meeting: · The railings are up for the Sawyer Hall stairs, they just need time to set before use. · COVID Safety for Sawyer Hall was discussed at length and beyond (for those who hung in there): § Work was done to finalize list of essential employees § There was discussion of the difficulty to get people to comply to COVID safety rules in Sawyer Hall. § Robyn pointed out that these are government mandated COVID safety rules, and Gloria offered to call two persons not complying. § There was a looong brain storming discussion about how to make the second floor town offices COVID safe with the following being implemented: § Town committee and employee mail slots will be moved to the office counter, § The town office door on the second floor will be locked. § People will be required to call ahead for items to be picked up. § Bathrooms will be locked. § More signage to be put up. · Brian indicated that the safest location for the town offices would be Jacobs Road, due to the space, ventilation, the staggered use, accessibility, the ability to keep the doors locked (unlike Sawyer Hall where they must stay open for the PO). Robyn appeared to agree but was willing to try measures at Sawyer Hall first, but that failing, a decision needed to be made. Gloria was unable to see the possibility that Jacobs Road would be safer. · Post Office Congestion § If the Post Office continues as a problem, then perhaps there would be a need to start ticketing. This would be a cost to the town for police duty § Brian feels we should discuss safety practices with other Post Offices. Gloria offered to visit Charlemont and Colrain lobbies. There was talk of putting boxes outside. There is a concern that any change might cost us the Post Office.
Apparently, there was a very abusive email thread included in the email for review. It cast a pall over the end of the meeting with all Select Board members commenting. Fortunately, it was offset by a very positive contribution from Bob Viarengo. Let's look forward to a new year where we all work together for the common good the way Heathans used to. Pat McGahan on behalf of Heath Connects pmcgahan75@gmail.com HeathConnects.org
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On Dec 17, 2020, at 5:40 PM, Heath Connects <heathconnects@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Folks, It was wonderful to see so many of your faces at the Select Board meeting and I am certain that it kept the public comment period more civil than it would have been otherwise. Some items to come out of the meeting:
Thank you again for your emails to the Select Board and your presence at the Select Board meeting which made a big difference in the tone of the public comment period. Published: 9/14/2020 3:05:44 PM In response to the Sept 4 article in the Recorder that quoted our Town Coordinator/Clerk Hilma Sumner as saying “Everyone is excited and encouraged” about moving the police and fire offices to the former school building, at least half of the citizens of Heath are not excited or encouraged by this move, as proven by the last town election for Select Board. There is a small group in town who selfishly feel that they do not have enough space in our Heath Center buildings. The pandemic is not a valid excuse to move to a larger space at the expense of our fiscal health. We are not happy that we will no longer have a police presence in the most populated area of town, Heath Center. We are not happy that the Select Board has started an incremental move of town offices to 18 Jacobs Road after pledging at Town Meeting not to move the offices without a town vote. We are not happy that money is being spent on this large, remote, and expensive building when the Select Board has not done a proper analysis of the financial implications of keeping this building. We are not happy that a town employee is publicly stating her opinion in a news article about this situation, rather than the Select Board who are making these poor decisions. This is yet another example of our dysfunctional leadership in Heath. The Select Board needs to be more inclusive and transparent in their decision-making. The new chair has made some small positive steps in this direction, but this move of the police and fire offices continues to undermine our trust in their leadership. The Select Board needs to listen to all the citizens of Heath, not just the few with their own selfish agenda. Bob Dane Heath Times change
Published: 6/15/2020 2:30:59 PM In its June 8 editorial page, the Recorder has again shown a lack of balance in covering Heath’s affairs, days before an election. Half the page is devoted to a “My Turn” by Lisa Stowe about Heath Center and a letter from Bob Gruen that in effect questions the integrity of our Selectboard Chair Brian DeVriese, with respect to his position on using the former Heath School. Both directly or by implication see retaining ownership of the former school as threatening the future of Heath Center. Both are significantly flawed. Lisa’s reminiscences are touching, but most of the events she fondly remembers no longer exist. Her memories can continue no matter what changes may occur in the usage of our town buildings. My memory of Bob’s question about selling the school was that the “use” he referred to was a permanent use, such as moving the town offices to the school building. The Selectboard agreed to inform the Town Meeting before any permanent move, but, under two town counsel opinions, Town approval is not legally required. Given the complexity of selling a public building, it would be irresponsible to bar temporary uses and thereby deprive the town of potential revenue in the meantime. I am unaware that the town offices have “slowly but surely moved,” as Bob asserts. Selectboard offices? Nope. Town coordinator? Nope. Town clerk? Nope. Tax collector? Nope. Finance Committee? Nope. Assessors? Board of Health? Planning Board? Nope, nope, and nope. Brian’s statement that “the Selectboard has not proposed moving all the municipal offices out of the Center” is accurate, and the “lack of openness” Bob Gruen asserts is a canard. Times change. The illustration accompanying the Stowe article includes a view of Bob’s house. Which used to be a general store. Sometimes change improves. Donald C. Freeman Heath By MARY BYRNE
Staff Writer Published: 6/14/2020 4:55:51 AM Related stories HEATH — Selectboard member Brian DeVriese was re-elected on Friday after a close race between candidates in the annual town election. DeVriese received 164 votes compared to challenger Bob Bourke’s 157 votes. The election took place Friday afternoon at the former elementary school at 18 Jacobs Road. According to Town Clerk Hilma Sumner, 321 ballots were cast, 190 of which were early voting ballots. In the race for a seat on the Finance Committee, William Emmet was elected with 170 votes. He was challenged by Kathryn Inman, who was running for re-election. She received 147 votes. Emmet was also elected to the role of constable, replacing Bourke, who was running for re-election this year. Write-in candidate Emily Cross was re-elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Library Trustees. The remaining positions on the ballot and winners are: ■Moderator — Eric Sumner ■Assessor, three-year term — Heather Hathwell ■Assessor, two-year term — Heidi Griswold ■Planning Board member — Robert Viarengo Reach Mary Byrne at 413-772-0261, ext. 263 or mbyrne@recorder.com. My Turn: Heath School building and the town election By PATRICIA McGAHAN Published: 5/29/2020 9:03:03 AMFor me, the outcome of Heath’s Selectboard election will affect a major issue facing our town: whether we (1) maintain ownership of and use the former school building to solve current and long term needs of Heath’s taxpayers, or (2) sell the building to ensure that the town center remains unchanged regardless of the long-term negative taxpayer impact. The two candidates are Brian DeVriese, current Selectboard chair, and Bob Bourke. Brian works hard on behalf of all Heath residents and taxpayers and has done so selflessly for 21 years. He sees the school property as a long-term solution to our space, safety and fiscal needs. Bob Bourke is a long-time community volunteer in a number of capacities. He was a strong supporter of the sale to Carnegie Arch for a marijuana facility and is an advocate for selling the school property and preserving the Center as it is today. The town was convinced in 2017 that we needed a $4,000,000 safety complex to house the Fire, Police Departments, and the Emergency Operations Center. The taxpayer cost was estimated at $1,350,000, given the contract signed by Gov. Deval Patrick for $2,000,000. With this promise, the town purchased a lot on Bray Road and paid for an architectural design for the building. When the contract was rescinded by Gov. Baker, the town was left with an unworkable architectural plan and an unused lot on Bray Road. Now we have the opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of a safety complex construction by using the school property. By erecting a garage for the safety vehicles and providing space for Fire, Police and EOC needs within the former school building, there is no need for site clearing, no bringing in utilities, no need to build office space or sanitary facilities. This plan offers the lowest cost solution to providing our first responders with the safety complex we desperately need. It also enables the Highway Department to utilize the extra space in the town garage for the vehicles currently stored outside and vulnerable to winter storms and reduced life span. Using the school and selling Bray Road relieves us of the added burden of principal and interest on that property. There are significant costs to maintaining two 100-plus-year-old buildings as opposed to the 25-year-old former school building. Those costs do not include the additional funds needed to make Sawyer Hall and Community Hall ADA-compliant, energy efficient, and up to code. Neither center building can accommodate our Annual Town Meeting. Rather than spend many thousands of dollars on these old buildings, we already have the solution in a building we own outright that has adequate space for mixed municipal, educational and recreational use with the added bonus of producing income ($7,300 this year and would have been more had corona virus not caused the building to close). The claim that the school uses too much energy ignores the fact that we can reduce energy costs by using Green Communities grants for all our buildings. The school property also provides the most suitable location for a solar energy array to meet all our municipal energy needs. Selling the school property assessed at $4,000,000 at a giveaway price might bring our tax rate down for a year, maybe two, but in the long run it would cost us dearly. It seems to defy common sense to sell the town’s newest building and most valuable asset at a loss, with no resources or revenue to solve our current and long-term future needs. All this just to preserve the Center as it is rather than look for progressive ways to bring it to life. Patricia McGahan is a Heath resident and taxpayer. Brian DeVriese, Select Board Candidate
Dear Heath Voter, As you know I am running for re-election to the Select Board. In view of some recent signs and communications I would like to take a moment to dispel some misunderstandings. Closing the School Closing the building will not decrease our taxes and it is misleading to imply that it will. Last year the town voted by a majority not to move forward on the sale of the former elementary school. Unless or until there is a 2/3 vote to sell or otherwise dispose of it, the town has a responsibility to maintain it. Whether we use the building as we have in the past year, or leave it empty, the cost of heating and maintaining it have been shown to be about the same. Meanwhile, the cost of vacant building insurance is projected to be $24,000. Closing the building simply means denying ourselves the ability to use the building we own and pay for. It means getting no value from the money we are spending and allowing a $4million dollar asset to deteriorate. It precludes getting any rental income from the building to offset costs and could prevent us from having important options for conducting town business in a time of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing. Keep in mind that the Finance Committee estimates the cost of operating the building at $56,000. Because of money we have from the Mohawk settlement, the Select Board is projecting $15,000 for the school maintenance budget line item. This is about 0.6% of the town's total FY2021 budget. Saving the Center In the last year I have used my architectural skills to help the Historical Commission go after grant money to pay for a restoration project on the Old Town Hall. Over the years I have assisted the Historical Commission, the Historical Society and the Town of Heath with many projects to preserve, develop and maintain the buildings in Heath Center. I believe Heath Center has historical and cultural value that we need to work to preserve and develop. If I am re-elected I will continue to work to maintain the Center and keep it as a vital hub of community life. Using the School Building to Heath’s Advantage In the last year, I have also used my architectural skills to help the Heath Firefighters develop a plan for using a portion of the school building as a Safety Complex. This plan will allow us to go after the $1 million dollars in the Governor’s Capital Budget designated for Heath for this purpose. If approved it will help us replace the school roof and provide our First Responders with accessible, safe and healthy space at minimal or no cost to Heath taxpayers. In addition, I supported long term rentals of the school building that brought in $10,000 in rental income. I believe the former school building offers us opportunities to generate revenue through long term leases and rentals AND provide much needed space for our essential services. If I am re-elected I will continue to work to maximize the benefits to the town of owning the school building while minimizing its costs. The Heart of the Community As much as we treasure them both, neither the center nor the former school building is the heart of our community. The people are the heart of the community. A town divided cannot stand. We need to find ways to work together to preserve our history, meet our challenges and take advantage of our opportunities now and into the future. We have to be honest about the challenges and opportunities we face and find ways to meet them together. There are many challenges and opportunities facing us right now. If I am re-elected I will continue to work to help the town
Brian DeVriese Published: 9/14/2019 3:49:18 PM
While there is much to dispute in Bob Dane’s “My Turn” (Aug. 31) about the fate of Heath’s school building, my larger concern is with the Recorder’s editorial decisions. For several reasons, this screed should not have been published. First, balance. It isn’t Bob Dane’s “Turn.” This is his second bite of the apple, with no reply from the other side — and, although readers whose sole information source is the Recorder would never know, there is another side. Second, the headline, “Heath’s autocracy.” Headlines shape a reader’s initial sense of a story; they must be immediately inferable from the text. Dane nowhere alleges that Heath is a victim of one-person rule, the definition of “autocracy.” Even for an opinion piece, the headline editorializes flagrantly. Third, incomplete facts. Dane asserts that of the seven volunteers for appointment to a facilities assessment committee, only two were chosen by the Selectboard. He omits the fact that one of the unchosen five was Dane himself. Fourth, empty accusations. Dane asserts “there is still certainly a conflict of interest evident in [Selectboard chair Brian DeVriese and his wife’s] behavior.” He offers no evidence. Dane asserts that the new publication “Heath Town Talk” makes unsubstantiated claims. He offers no evidence. Dane asserts that moving Heath’s offices to the school building is “contrary to the wishes of the majority of Heath citizens.” He offers no evidence. But there is evidence — absent from Dane’s “My Turn” — that the majority of Heath voters did not want to sell the school building: two democratic votes. Many years ago I was a reporter and copy editor for the Providence Journal. That experience tells me that the Recorder did not serve its readership well in covering the controversy over the proposed — and twice rejected — sale of Heath School. We deserve and expect better. Donald C. Freeman Heath By BOB DANE
Published: 9/2/2019 6:50:12 AM Our tiny town of Heath is being torn apart. The Heath Selectboard is acting in a way that is irresponsible, short-sighted, and detrimental to our community. They are not listening to a large group of citizens who do not agree with their agenda. Our tax rate is going to go through the roof next year. They need to responsibly address our situation and act based on what is best for the entire community. There is no longer any transparency in our town government. The Selectboard has repeatedly refused to respond to questions and concerns brought up by citizens. The chair Brian DeVries has often acted on his own volition, making decisions without consulting the other board members. The Selectboard needs to look at the bigger picture, not put a band-aid on a gushing wound. There are many conflicts of interest within this board. Two spouses of Selectboard members led the opposition to sell the former school. The chair of the Selectboard designed the building. He and his wife have a strong emotional attachment to the building. They signed a conflict-of-interest disclosure, but there is still certainly a conflict of interest evident in their behavior. This conflict is having a negative impact on the fiscal and emotional health of the whole town. A proposal to lease one of the classrooms in the building has been brought forward by residents Larry and Rebecca Sampson for their home preschool coop. The Selectboard chair is forging ahead with this rental without assessing what the impact will be on the operating costs of the building. No studies have been done regarding the regulatory implications of having preschoolers in the building. The Finance Committee diligently researched and presented spreadsheets with actual costs of operation. The Selectboard repeatedly discounts the Finance Committee’s figures in favor of their own unsubstantiated ones. The Finance Committee is comprised of knowledgeable, dedicated, faithful and impartial citizens. The rent that the Sampsons have proposed will not cover the increased costs of their presence in the building. In fact their presence will incur increased operating costs that the town will have to cover. The town is being asked to subsidize a private endeavor. Larry has a serious conflict of interest in this situation. He is on the committee that oversees and leases the building he is proposing to rent. He would be in effect the landlord and the tenant. This is ethically and fiscally irresponsible and unacceptable. The Seletboard procrastinated for months on setting up a facilities assessment committee, tasked with looking at all the town properties and reporting on their conditions, usage, repair and operation costs. At their last meeting they finally appointed the committee. Seven people, many highly qualified, volunteered for this committee. Only two of them were chosen. The other three were solicited and chosen by the chair of the Selectboard, apparently based on their desire to keep the former school rather than their ability to accurately assess our needs. These actions and inactions of the Selectboard indicate an ulterior agenda of moving the town offices to the former school. This would decimate the town center and is contrary to the wishes of the majority of Heath citizens. Two weeks ago at the Selectboard meeting I spoke expressing my dismay at their actions regarding the facilities assessment committee. When I was done I was the object of a rude and derogatory comment from an individual in the audience attacking my character. Have things fallen so low that we are reduced to juvenile name calling in our public meetings? I was questioning the actions of the Selectboard, not attacking their character. The actions of the Selectboard, and misinformation in the new publication “Heath Town Talk” only serve to drive us further apart. “Heath Town Talk” was purportedly created as a forum to disseminate and discuss information pertinent to the community in the hope of bringing us together. In fact it uses unsubstantiated figures, distortions, and misinformation to disparage the Finance Committee and advance their one-sided minority agenda. Life in Heath has not always been like this. In the past we have worked together civilly to overcome our differences and move on. At the last Annual Town Meeting, the Selectboard told the town that nothing would be done with the building until the entire situation was thoroughly studied. Please do not break your promise to our town. Do the right thing! Bob Dane is a resident of Heath.
By GRACE BIRD Staff Writer Published: 8/20/2019 5:27:06 PM Related stories HEATH — Residents Larry and Rebecca Sampson have applied to start a homeschooling cooperative in one classroom of the former Heath Elementary School, with plans to later open a branch of the Waldorf School, a global alternative educational organization. Selectboard Chairman Brian DeVriese said the board approved a motion last week to enter into negotiations with the Sampsons. The vote was split: DeVriese and Robyn Provost-Carlson were in favor, while Gloria Cronin Fisher abstained. The board is set to review the application in two weeks, he said. The Sampsons hope the “art-intensive” school will draw students to the town and fill a void left by the closure of Heath Elementary about two years ago, Larry said. “It would be a positive representation of the town,” he said. The pair have two children, ages 5 and 2, Larry said. Their eldest is currently homeschooled and would attend the cooperative, and eventually Waldorf School, if they open. Larry said he and Rebecca’s idea, which was initially proposed last July, received “some pushback” from board members at the time, and when the couple returned, the marijuana cultivation company Carnegie Arch LLC had offered to buy the school. However, after the town voted against permitting the Selectboard to sell the school in March and May this year, the Sampsons decided to try again. DeVriese said he is in favor of considering the application, noting that having a homeschooling cooperative occupy only one classroom “doesn’t preclude other things from happening” in the former school. And eventually, he said he hopes the whole building will be utilized in some way, though he was skeptical a buyer would come forward given the lack of interest earlier in the year. “It’s going to take a lot of marketing work,” DeVriese said. “It’s going to take some time for people to realize the building’s available.” The application has received some resistance from town officials. The Finance Committee is opposed to the Sampsons’ application, Chairman Ned Wolf said, because it believes it will “make it harder to lease the entire building.” The committee has also recommended that Heath seek another buyer for the building. Wolf said an application to lease the entire former school may cover annual maintenance costs, totaling $71,788 from May 2018 to April of this year, up roughly $18,000 from the year before. In addition, the roof is leaking and its repair is expected to cost several thousand dollars. Former Planning Board member Bob Dane is also opposed to the Sampsons’ application, calling the idea “totally financially irresponsible.” “Whatever he pays is only going to end up costing us money,” Dane said. “The taxpayers will end up subsidizing Larry and Rebecca’s personal endeavor.” Former Selectwoman Sheila Litchfield said she disagrees with the current board’s decision to enter into negotiations on the application. She explained that the Selectboard does not yet have enough information about the financial implications of keeping, selling or demolishing the school. And she added that if the cooperative opens, it may require town funds to run if part of the building needs to be heated or if the lease precludes other applications from going ahead. “To me, it’s very premature because you don’t have the data to know,” Litchfield said. The town has formed a building use and a facilities committee to determine what should happen to the former school after the town twice opposed its sale to Carnegie Arch earlier this year. Current Facilities Committee members include Bill Gran, Gary Singley, Sue Lively, Will Emmet and Jim Cerone. Dane said several residents were unfairly denied a place on this committee, including himself, Litchfield and Betsy Kovacs. Litchfield said she understood the decision as she believes the Selectboard appointed residents who are deemed objective. However, she added that having residents who are familiar with the issue would be helpful. “This is a real critical issue and there’s not a lot of time for people who are not familiar with it,” she said. DeVriese explained the decision, saying the Selectboard “chose the people that were the most appropriate” to join the committees. Of Dane, he said “it’s not that he wasn’t allowed to join, it’s that we chose others.” Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280. |
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