Weymouth Mayor Kay suddenly having meetings
18 Feb 2013
Mayor Kay has recently scheduled public meetings to explain her decisions concerning the former Naval Air Sation South Weymouth. Unfortunately for the Weymouth taxpayers an open microphone will not be allowed lest someone ask a question her experts are unable to answer. I have always found that true experts are capable of answering off the cuff or spontaneous questions. They know the information they are an expert on and can readily answer anyone’s questions. That is why they are claimed to be an expert on a certain subject.
Mayor Kay plans on having three nights of meetings; each night has a different subject matter. Night one explains the history of the redevelopment of NAS South Weymouth and the documents. I am an expert on this subject matter and have the documents to back up my statement.
The next two nights are dedicated to the contracts she signed, without the public’s knowledge, for water, sewer, police and fire services. Where was the Weymouth Town Council when these contracts were signed? Aren’t they supposed to be approving these before she signs? In any event they were signed before any one knew. So much for transparent government. It looks like it is an opaque goverment in Weymouth where residents do not have an outlet to voice their concerns. Where freely asking a question is not allowed. Writing a question on a piece of paper does not guarantee the question will be asked. This is a form of control and it is the worst kind of control; the kind of control where she will tell you what she wants you to know and not necessarily what you want to know. It is a way of tell you what to think because you are really unable to speak freely and gather you own information by asking your own questions at an public informational meeting. This is also a way of keeping the politicians staus quo. By controlling all outlets of information, they control the town.
This is an outright abuse of the power of her office. Why after all these years does she suddenly decide to explain why she quietly signed contracts 5 years ago. Those in the other two towns are boxed in by what she did. Everyone would like to pay per call to police and fire. Instead the we pay for all the overhead and maintenance that Southfield resident don’t pay for when they pay per call. Southfield residents don’t pay real estate taxes to the town of Weymouth and then they whine about not feeling welcomed. Did they expect the actual Weymouth taxpayer to think this was a great deal for them? Did they expect a parade when they moved into Southfield?
Do they think Rockland taxpayers are going to think this a great deal as well? I don’think so. There is more land in the Rockland section of the base than there is in the Weymouth section of the Base(65 acres on the Weymouth side is actually Coast Guard land).
Well Mayor Kay your interference has caused quite a mess with the redevelopment of the former Base. Had you not signed the water and sewer contracts, SSTTDC/LNR would have gone to the MWRA or Taunton desalination a lot sooner. Five years ago SSTTDC/ LNR told the Secretary of Environmental Affairs they were planning on using the MWRA.
Now LNR is being sold and SSTTDC is still looking for a stable water supply. Do you really think Rockland is going to open that parkway and take the traffic and not get the road improvements to handle the increase in traffic generated from this project? I don’t think so! 99.9% of that entire prkway is in the Rockland section of the former NAS South Weymouth. A few feet are in the Weymouth section.
Everyone who would like to see how Weymouth’s water supply is depleted, please go to www.arawh.org and look at the pictures. If you want to see pictures of raw sewerage going into a public water supply, go to that website.
If you want to speak freely and ask any question without having to write it down first, go to the ARAWH meeting on March 6 at the Tufts Library on Broad St. Weymouth Landing at 6:30 p.m. Experts will be there to answer you questions or just discuss the project with you.
Mary Parsons, Executive Director ARAWH
Co-author of “NO COST” to the town
Feb 28, 2013 @ 23:31:47
Well Weymouth mayor Kay held her meetings this week. The first meeting held on Monday 25,2013 was to be a history of the former NAS South Weymouth and its redevelopment. I always thought the history of something, anything was a factual account of what took place in the past. At least that is what I was taught in the Weymouth school system. Apparently times have changed even when giving a brief history, at least when it comes to Weymouth.
To start with Weymouth state representative, Ron Mariano, claimed the legislature wrote the enabling legislation that governs the redevelopment of the former NAS South Weymouth. The legislature and Ron Mariano never wrote a word. It was written by the NASPC legislative sub-committee and citizens who attended that sub committee( I know – I was one of them). I know, I submitted comments and some were used. I am the co-author of “no Cost” to the towns for fire, police, municipal sevices etc.
It was then sent to the three towns for a vote. I have a copy of that vote and it states, ” To petition the great and general court of the commonwealth of Massachusetts to enact legislation creating the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corporation as defined in documents available for public inspection” etc.
Mariano stated 3/4 of NAS South Weymouth is in Weymouth. Not true. less than half is in Weymouth. After you subtract 65 acres of Coast Guard property you have even less land than Rockland.
Next Jim Clark stated air use was voted out in 1997. Air use was voted out on October 29, 1996. He said sometime in the 1950′s Union St. was closed for runway expansion. The closure of Union St. Rockland and the building of VFW Drive (to replace Union St. in Rockland) was completed in 1960. The entire section of Union Street on NAS South Weymouth was in Rockland – not Weymouth.
During a break in the meeting I was told by a Weymouth SSTTDC director the history was just an over view. Well, even an over view should be factual. Of course no one was allowed to make any statements or correct the mis-information. The mayor was the one who held these meetings to put to rest mis- information and instead gave more mis-information.
The mayor did say that Southfield is not a town. I hope Mr. Eric Miller of Southfield understands that, but I doubt it. I understand he was asked to join the panel of experts on the night of the third meeting. It is a shame that acutal taxpaying residents of Weymouth were never asked to join the panel of experts.
Mary A. Parsons