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Here it is….the end of August, and the Triangle Park in Cordaville is still a mess. I know they installed water lines back in the late spring, but it still looks awful. And by the way….the new Port A Potty on the site is no improvement to our neighborhood either. (I think it’s for a contractor, but nobody is working) It sure would be nice to see the project completed before another winter arrives and sets things back again.
What is with this triangle anyway? Every time it rains stone dust from the walkways washes out into the street. I tried to walk the park and there are so many trees, most very low, it was nearly impossible. The metal structures appear to be indicitive of an urban area NOT Southboro. The bell is a nice touch. I drive by several times a day and I have never seen anybody use the park . When the article came up for discussion at the Town Meeting, regarding the spending of additional funds for the park, the discussion was “moved”, by a selectman, proir to proper debate. This money could have been put to better use. Now we are stuck maintaining all those beds and shrubs.
I keep wondering what is going on with that park as well. It’s been partially completed for ages now, and it seems to be getting worse rather than better, the ‘grass’ is mostly just weeds, the piles of dirt and stone dust just sit there, and there is an old abandoned coffee table on one of the paths as well. I think we would have been better served with just a field that is mowed regularly and a few benches. Would have been cheaper, and something much more achievable.
I look down the end of my street every day and see that mess. And those rusty metal “sculptures” sure haven’t achieved the patina I imagined. I feel bad for the new tenants in the yellow office building on the opposite corner. Imagine taking your daughter to be fitted for her wedding gown and looking out at what looks like the town dump.
I agree with everyone on this. Is that a rusted ship’s hull sunken there on the triangle? Whatever it is, it is unsightly, and unfortunately it’s not meeting the character of the town. Stone walls would make it look nice.
I believe we have spent well into the 6 figures on this site with more to come. This has been funded from the CPA but somewhere between 50% and 70% has come out of our property taxes.
I voted in favor of the CPA when the matching rate was quite generous. Since then it has fallen into the 30% range. I think that after we pay off the Chestnut Hill Bond Town Meeting should debate whether we want to continue with the program in light of the very different matching assumptions that are currently in place vs when we authorized the 1% property tax increase.
In stead of criticizing the MBTA Triangle project, throwing your unfounded thoughts and un-welcomed opinions around – why don’t you get educated on the facts?
If you truly cared and were interested in the project then you would have made an effort to attend Monday night’s meeting where our BOS Chair, and DPW Superintendent sat with the committee to speak of the issues surrounding the progress of the project, the obstacles the project has had since inception and what the plan is for completion.
Have any of you even bothered to take a look at the plans of the project, to see how the plan came to be, the phases (and time line) of the project and just how beautiful the park will be when it’s completed? I bet you haven’t, instead you point fingers and make assumptions and think as a tax payer you have the right to knock down the work of countless hours (and years) of planning by town volunteers.
I don’t think you’d be so quick to pass judgment if the shoe was on the other foot – instead you express disapproval of a project you apparently know little of.
If you’re really so concerned and so dissatisfied, please by all means help yourself to pulling some weeds – get involved, be a team player instead of sitting on the sidelines judging the efforts of others who do really care.
See you all at the next meeting?
It must be nice to have a seat on that committee – stone dust and other landscaping materials are sitting right there, completely ignored, and ripe for the taking. But who would do such a thing?
Whether one is educated on the facts or not is really beside the point. It is an eye sore to top all eye sores, and to learn that it cost 6 figures would be laughable except it is our money. If the rusted old battleship metal was supposed to look like something other than rusted old battleship metal, then whomever came up with that idea sold the town a bill of goods. The now defunct Fore River Shipyard in Quincy is more attractive than this triangle. And, who is going to ever walk or sit in that park anyway? And, how can anyone call it a “park”; I see no swing set, no ball field, no where to play frisbee, nor anything that even remotely resembles a park. What would attract you to that location, other than if you had a passion to recycle old metal after an unsuccessful journey to the transfer station’s reclycle area?
Rusted metal bulkheads from old navy ships: $200
Tree Saplings: $25
Stone dust: $20
Weeds: $2
MBTA Triangle Committee: Priceless
Another example of tremendous waste and no oversight. I’d rather have an overgrown median w/o rusted USS bulkheads and allocate the money for teachers than the so-called “art” depicted. Even the most radical Renaissance artist would likely look away at this with bleeding eyes.
Agree, I do not have the facts. But what facts do I need lest my eyes deceive?
Martha, excellent blog. You really said it in a most clever way! Al, what you said about the finances of the triangle committee is interesting. Also, materials that we paid for from the triangle were delivered to a triangle committee member’s private property for their personal use. The town was made aware of this, and they had town vehicles and town workers remove the material from the private property. Bottom line the town and CPA- paid- for- materials were again costing us to remove them from that yard. The committee member was benefiting from the materials. I believe there’s a conflict of interest with the member remaining on the committee. I’m sure there are dedicated volunteers on the committee. Unfortunately, one bad apple reflect on the whole bunch.
What are the facts here? Did some committee in town spend over $100,000 on that mess by the train station? I always wondered what that was when I drove by,… now I’m just shaking my head. Our State/country is literally going broke and we spent $100,000 on what?
You can read more about the history of the project and overall design vision here: https://mysouthborough.com/2009/10/21/construction-on-cordaville-park-is-underway/
This year we appropriated another $42,360 from CPA funds for this activity. About 70% of the funds now flowing into the CPA account come from our property taxes.
I think it is important to note that while we were appropriating these funds we were also reducing our headcount in our K-8 Schools, cutting funds for youth at risk, and trimming services for seniors. I am not sure this speaks well about our sense of priorities.
That whole area is a complete insult to the town of Southborough. That is the entrance to our town and it is an embarrasement. And at the other end of town is the St. Marks hayfield. What is going on? I was told that St Mark’s doesn’t want Heritage Day being held there and that is why it is not being mowed. Any thoughts on these embarrasing items?
Why is this more of an entrance to the town than Rt 9, Rt 30, the North End of 85, Cordaville Road, Northborough Road or Oak Hill Road? Does the intersection of each of these roads with our neighboring towns deserve a similar structure? I am a bit embarrassed that we have spend something on the order of $150k on this when we are cutting staff but that is just my sense of priorities.
As for St Marks, it is private property and they can do as they wish. We use the property for Heritage Day only by their grace. My Alma Mater is doing something similar to save money and reduce greenhouse emissions.
I definitely agree. That triangle is a complete eyesore! Before they started this “redecoration”, they had it looking neat and inviting. Now, the weeds are taking over and the rusty hulks of metal are ugly and out of place. You don’t even see the bell because it is outshone by the other stuff. I drive by it at least twice a day and cannot – for the life of me – figure out what it is trying to represent. Those $$$$$ could have been well spent elsewhere.
If the town wishes to rethink our priorities we can certainly do so, stripping away funding for all “non-essential” municipal projects and funneling all of our money into the schools or wherever we like. This project was funded by the CPA – The Community Preservation Act. The CPA was enacted by the enthusiastic approval of a vast majority of town taxpayers when it was instituted years ago. Every year, the majority of town taxpayers have vote a percentage of their taxes to be specifically used for CPA projects, regardless of other needs or economic pressures This rules out the funding being used for anything else. It IS a statement of the town’s priorities whether certain people like it or not. It is a very strong statement. To do away with the CPA, it essentially has to be “undone.” Mr. Hamilton speaks frequently and loudly about his objections to CPA and many CPA projects. If he really wishes to reverse the CPA, then he needs to gain support for a town warrant article to do so and see it approved at town meeting – period. He has gone on about it for years, why haven’t we seen a warrant article asking for the repeal of the CPA? He has a bigger ax to grind and he uses community efforts like this project to do so. It is in very bad taste and immensely disrespectful to the residents who volunteer their time for the benefit of the town.
Regarding this particular project, it satisfies all the requirements of the CPA. It was supported and funded at every turn by the BOS, CPC, and the majority of taxpaying residents. The committee did everything they were supposed to do to create something beautiful for the town, and then some, with a degree of commitment one rarely sees anymore. They are more discouraged that you can imagine by the delays that have taken place and the loss of the positive momentum they built last year. Yes, it looks horrible right now and the committee knows that. If they could do anything to change it, they would and they are. It will be finished this year and it will look beautiful, even more so when it comes into its maturity in 3-5 years.
Don’t you think these individuals deserve a modicum of respect, support and patience on the part of our town’s residents? If you don’t like the steel panels, you don’t like them, but could you possibly wait until the plantings are in place before you make a final judgment? Maybe a bit of restraint from sarcastic comments and rude innuendo could be managed? As for the accusations of criminal behavior, I won’t even go there. Complaints were made, accusations were investigated, no wrong doing whatsoever was found. Further ridiculous ranting by irrational individuals should be ignored. When they rise to slander, legal action should be taken.
Please try to remember that we are a community.
For the record, I have not opposed all the CPA projects. I supported purchase of the conservation easement on the Beals Property, the town clerks document preservation project, the affordable housing initiatives, and other CPA projects.
I have been a critic of some of the projects including this one and the 6 figure window replacement for the Arts Center. I think that view is consistent with my view on some of these town buildings in general.
My point about the CPA is somewhat more nuanced than your portrayal. When we authorized this fund the circumstances were quite different. We received dollar for dollar matching. Now we receive about 30 cents on the dollar. I think that this is a big enough change in circumstance to ask Town Meeting if we still want to participate. My suspicion is that the answer will be yes but I think the question should be asked.
I did in fact suggest a warrant article to ask the question last year. I was convinced by other members of the Advisory Committee that as long as we had to pay the Chestnut Hill bond and we were using the majority of the CPA money for that purpose that it was not fiscally prudent to repeal the CPA. That is the only reason why I have not gathered the 10 signatures required. Rest assured that when the Chestnut Hill Bond is paid off I will ask the question of Town Meeting if the matching percentage remains at the current levels.
Also, just for the record, it would be fine with me if we repealed the CPA and the town kept the 1% tax in the General Fund. As for my comments being in bad taste and disrespectful, it is called free speech. I respect the efforts of all the volunteers in our community but that respect for the effort does not translate into automatic support and adulation for the object of the effort. I continue to believe that a number of these projects are a waste of taxpayer money and I will continue to say so.
I too struggle with the amount of money spent on this when there are other important and unmet needs in town. I still can’t get my arms around the $4 million plus we spent on the Beals farm development rights. Nice property and it’t great to walk and drive through but my goodness that’s a tremendous amount of money for a town that sends home lists of supplies for parents to provide at the start of school each year.
To be fair though, it’s not as if this project was a secret. Plans were presented and the funding was approved at TM (with less than 200 people present to vote on it).
There seems to be a history of people not paying attention and then being surprised by what they haven’t paid attention to being implemented (master plan by the ZAC, triangle park, main street, etc.). I can understand some of that being a function of people being busy with their own lives but also wonder if how information is communicated by the town is still relevant. How useful is a poster at the Spa or town hall when many of us barely see our homes in the daylight because of work schedules?
Would someone that attended the meeting on Monday share with the rest of us the timeline for completion of the triangle park project? Is that too much to ask?
“???” I apologize for the delayed response.
To answer your question, it is not too much to ask and I appreciate the respectful way in which you have expressed your concern about this project.
Regarding scheduling:
The contractor was back on site as of Thursday. They are anticipating a duration of 7-10 days to complete the hardscape. Please be advised that, in the construction world, 7-10 days often becomes 3 weeks, sometimes more, and is dependent on the weather.
Plants will be delivered on September 15, according to DPW Superintendent Karen Galligan. Ms. Galligan’s maintenance contractor will then complete planting and clean-up.
At Monday’s meeting, BOS chair Bonny Phaneuf requested a projected completion date and Karen Galligan stated that October 15 was realistic.
An update will be made at the September 7, BOS meeting. See the town web site for the time.
I hope this has been helpful.
As to Megan’s blog, I’m glad someone came forward with that. I’m a neighbor of the triangle area, and I noticed that going on, as well. It was easier for me to not get involved. I go to Fitzgerald’s store almost daily. I didn’t say anything, but I wish I had. It’s hard to believe someone would take advantage of a good volunteer project like that.
Several of you have commented on the use of materials. I’ll see if I can get more info so we can (hopefully) put this one to bed.
Accusations of stealing were made last fall, were thoroughly investigated by the Southborough Police Department and the neighbor/committee member in question was completely cleared of all wrongdoing.
I sincerely appreciate that you are going to try to get more information about the use of materials at the triangle project. If it helps, you can fact-check that triangle materials were picked up from a triangle committee member’s yard. So that you are not misled by others, DPW Mgr. Karen Galligan or Town Administrator Jean Kitchen can confirm that town trucks were sent to do this on or about Nov. 20, 2009. My source has also given to the Selectmen pictures of stonedust sitting in that yard, as well as pictures that show it being delivered by the construction crew from a new pile that they weren’t done using at the triangle. It would be helpful if Ms. Vargas would explain in detail how materials from the project ended up on a committee’s person’s property. I share this info (and my source has a lot more) not to overburden you, but to prove to you that I’m not “ridiculous” or “ranting”, as Ms. Vargas said, but I am honest and rational.
This is my understanding of the situation and if I am wrong in any part, I welcome clarification by the Police Department, which knows the details better than I:
Last year, at the end of Phase I, Mountain View Landscaping was undertaking clean-up of the site. The site manager was no longer on site and delegated the clean-up work to a young man who worked under him. There was an excess of stone dust and a load of “trash fill” that the young man thought he was responsible for disposing of. The trash fill was supposed to be trucked to a disposal site and the stone dust was supposed to remain until next year. The young man thought that both were going to require disposal.
One morning the husband of the neighboring family was leaving for work and was approached by the young man. The young man said that he had noticed that the husband was doing some re-grading at the back of his property and explained that it would be a big help and “save the project money” if the husband would take the “trash fill” and use it, basically bury it, in his back yard. Thinking he was helping the project and the town, he said yes and left for work. The wife, the member of the committee, was already at work and was not home.
So Mountain View proceeded to dump the trash fill on the neighbors’ front lawn and drop a small quantity of stone dust on a small parking area at the back of the property while both neighbors were at work. Some decomposed granite was already in the parking area and was the neighbor’s material for work he was doing on his property. Both parties involved thought they were doing the right thing and helping the project. When the wife (and member of the committee) returned home from work, she immediately contacted the town and asked for the trash fill to be removed. I believe that, by this time, a complaint call had been made to town administrator Jean Kitchen. I was notified soon after. The trash fill and stone dust were picked up by the DPW. The next time I was updated, I was informed that the complainant was accusing the neighbor and her husband of using Mountain View equipment to dig holes on their property and stealing plants from the Triangle, both of which were untrue, along with the accusations of “stealing” the materials described above. At no time did the neighbor use Mountain View’s equipment or labor on their property. When interviewed, Mountain View confirmed this. The neighbor did have a rented Bobcat on his (their) property simultaneous to the Triangle work being done, but it was rented at his own cost. I was asked to perform an inventory of the project plants and none were missing. I was asked to go to the police station to be interviewed by the Sergeant who was performing the investigation and I did so.
It is my understanding that Mountain View was contacted and the young man was reprimanded for his part in the misunderstanding. He confirmed that he had approached the neighbor about the materials. The trash fill was essentially worthless and the stone dust, if it did remain on the neighbors’ property was worth very little.
In short, this was a misunderstanding by the young man working for Mountain View as to what he was to do with the materials, and a misunderstanding that led the neighbor to believe he was doing the project and the town a favor by actually saving them money that would have been required for removal and disposal. That is all. No harm was done to the project or to the town of Southborough
To put things in perspective, but not to excuse a potential minor error in judgment, prior to the installation of an irrigation system this year, all the watering that look place on the Triangle was done by myself and the neighbor in question, utilizing a hose hooked up to her home’s water supply. This was done not just once or twice but for a period of three years. And, truth be told, she did more of the watering than I. Three large evergreen trees and a large number of smaller shrubs were planted last fall by four committee members and a few volunteers, including this neighbor and her husband, saving the project and the town over $1200.00. These “donations” were above and beyond the hundreds of hours of volunteer time that she has put into this project.
Those are the facts as I understand them.
Now here is my personal opinion on the subject. It is the complainant in this case who has “stolen” from the town by wasting taxpayer money in his relentless abuse of our police department’s time regarding this issue. It is irrational to suppose that these people have sacrificed continuously over the past 8 years in order to “steal” less than $75.00 worth of building materials at the end of the project. Our police department has done all they can to investigate the matter thoroughly and no wrongdoing was found. That should have been the end of it – last year.
Unfortunately, there will always be those who choose to find fault with those who choose to do good. The saying “no good deed ever goes unpunished” has become a well-worn idiom for a reason. All we can hope for, for our community, is that some community members continue to want to do good, even in the face of attacks like this one. Ask yourself, what will become of our community if those who stay home and do nothing but criticize and find fault in others, deter those who actually pitch in and get the jobs done?
I apologize for the length of this reply, but hope that this clarifies any lingering questions. I will not speak out on this topic again.
For the record, I never used the words “ridiculous” or “ranting” in my previous comments. You have confused me with another poster.
This is just silly. What are we doing spending hundreds of thousands of dollars (regardless of where the money comes from) on these NON-ESSENTIAL projects? Just because we made a decision two or three years ago doesn’t mean we can’t change our minds? The economy has changed, hasn’t it? Clear the crap out of the triangle, plant some grass and pay a student to mow it.
Let’s start thinking more strategically and use our resources more wisely.
Just Silly –
I’m with you! I’ve completely had it with the way our government (Fed + State + Local) spends our money. $150,000 on this little plot of land?? Are you freaking kidding me? Just plant some grass, a few shrubs and a couple of park benches and be done with it. For that size of a “park” you shouldn’t be spending more than $10,000.
My source has authorized me to publish this letter to the BOS, in response to the Triangle Committee Chairperson, Ms. Vargas’ post. There are pictures available that show Ms. Vargas downplayed the amount of material deposited on the committee member’s private property. Please note, this only became a police matter due to the vandalism with intent to injure. In fairness to my source and so that the people of Southborough hear both sides, I hope this will be posted. Southborough, MA 01772
Phone ________ FAX #________ April 28, 2010
Board of Selectmen
17 Common St.
Southborough, MA 01772
Dear Selectmen:
I am writing concerning the Triangle Committee and possible conflicts with town funding and procedures used by them. I phoned Vera Kolias 11/12/09, as a concerned citizen, that materials from the triangle construction site were being transferred to ___Cordaville Rd., the residence of ________. I asked Ms. Kolias if the committee allowed CPA funded project material to be deposited on private property. Her reply to me was that ________ suggested their property could be used to put material that “wouldn’t fit” on the triangle. I indicated to Ms. Kolias that that made no sense, because there was plenty of room on the triangle for material. Her answer to that was, “We didn’t want to damage any more of the triangle than we had to.” My response was that usually a contract made with a vendor would include making sure that the property that was damaged was brought back to standard condition. (It’s alright to damage _______’s front yard, but not the triangle, which was already in upheaval?) _______ agreed, via the committee, to storing excess triangle material on his property. Unfortunately, that morphed into his using the material that was supposed to be stored there. In other words,_______ duped the committee into believing that he was doing them a favor, when actually he was using the materials to his own advantage.
In the same conversation, I told Ms. Kolias that in the weeks prior, I had observed materials from the triangle being used by _______ on his property. I was aware that I couldn’t prove anything based on my suspicions, so I began to watch more closely what was going on. On 11/12/09, I took pictures of the Mountain View employees and equipment actually delivering loads of stone dust from the triangle to ________’s driveway. A couple days before that, I had personally observed a very large amount of stone dust being delivered to the triangle by a 16-wheeler. That indicates to me that the contractor had substantially over-ordered stone dust, and before the job was completed at the triangle, Mountain View was delivering stone dust to ______’s yard. What kind of deal did _______ have with Mountain View? I also mentioned that I had pictures of loam on ________’s front yard that was also from the triangle. Ms. Kolias said it was worthless material, but why was it obviously useful to _______? (I would have liked it, and I’m sure others in town would have valued it.) According to Metrowest Daily News, the Mountain View contractor had requested and received extra money for (ledge?) work that he did not anticipate. Did Mountain View reimburse the town for the “extra site material” that he gave away, stole, or sold?
At some point in the conversation, Ms. Kolias was getting agitated, because I was indicating that there was collusion between the contractor, Mr. _______, and a member of the committee, namely _________. I questioned whether other townspeople also had the benefit of having those materials to use in their yards. Ms. Kolias was making excuses for ________ and for her allowing that situation to occur. I felt (and still do) that ______ and/or Mountain View was stealing or at least, taking advantage of the situation. This whole state of affairs, without proper oversight, allowed for a conduit for materials to go without question from the triangle to _______’s property–since the committee allowed the triangle materials to be put on _______’s land. The irony is that ________, himself being a landscaper by trade, made a dramatic increase in plantings in his yard at the very same time the triangle project was in progress. _______ also increasing the size of his new patio with the same types of materials (stone dust, loam, trees, and various plantings) is quite a coincidence, wouldn’t you say???
I asked Ms. Kolias not to use my name, to treat me as a whistle-blower (for fear of reprisal). I gave my name to her, and would give it to the police, if necessary, so she wouldn’t think I was an anonymous caller. I said that I was trying to resolve it within the committee, if possible, without contacting the police, and I gave her that opportunity. Ms. Kolias said she would call me back, because the person that had to answer some of the questions was not available.
Unfortunately, before Ms. Kolias got back to me, we had an incident of vandalism with intent to injure at my residence just two days later on Nov. 14, 2009, just the type of thing I was trying to avoid by giving my name. (I found out later that ________saw me taking pictures of the triangle material in her driveway.) We had to contact the police, because of the vandalism, and in doing so, had to inform them of who we suspected ( _____) and why. (For more information, please check Police report # _______.)
On Nov.16, 2009, Ms. Kitchen, from the town office, called to tell me that it was improper for Mountain View to have delivered town materials to any private property. She said she would schedule the DPW to pick up the loam from _______’s yard. I asked who was going to be charged for that work, ______ or the contractor, since they were the responsible parties. (I didn’t get an answer, so I assume the town had to pay again.) Just for reference, it took several hours, two large dump trucks, a front end loader, and at least three Southborough town employees to remove the loam from ______’s yard. Ms. Kitchen indicated to me that they had had other materials stolen from the triangle, she believed it to be some slate. Out of all the officials I talked to in this whole ordeal, Ms. Kitchen seemed to be the only one who understood the ramifications, and tried to rectify it in some way.
We both felt that the police investigation was not commensurate with the seriousness of our allegation. With town employees’ credibility at stake, which may have had ramifications as to how the case was conducted, we are left wondering whether the process was thorough and nonbiased. As far as the police report, it was at best, disappointing. The report found no criminal act. In our opinion, that was possibly because of the casual approach taken by the police. It took 4 days after the incident at our residence, before we sat down to talk with a detective about the theft and vandalism with intent to injure, and that was at our urging, not the police. In a potential larceny case, as this was, the physical evidence wasn’t checked out in a prompt manner, in spite of our request that the police look at the materials from the Triangle Project on ______’s land on the night of the vandalism. For a week, no official from the police department even observed the materials in question, during which time much of it had already been manipulated or removed. (For example, I observed _______ disguising a pile of loam by throwing branches, an old stump, and other refuse from his yard onto the pile, in my opinion, to make the good pile look worthless.) With lack of investigative urgency, it took 3 and one half months from November 12, 2009 to March 4, 2010 for the police to interview _______, the primary suspect! Certainly, this was plenty of time for ______ and Mountain View to get their stories straight.
I believe that a committee in this town, operating with CPA funds, considers themselves above reproach. Their ignorance of the CPA rules does not give the town liaison and Triangle Project committee chairperson the right to cover up the fact that it is improper, unprofessional, and in violation of the CPA practices to allow any material to go to a private individual. The only committee member that I had concerns about was _______. The other members, as far as I know, had no involvement with this accusation, and should be commended for volunteering.
In summary, please “connect the dots” of the following points:
CPA materials were delivered to and used by _______ on his private property.
Other material (slate) was said to be stolen from the triangle, according to Ms. Kitchen. Is this just a coincidence?
A questionable decision was made in permitting CPA funded project material to be delivered to private property.
_________, being on the committee, had influence on the decision-making process. She also received materials for her own advantage, which is a conflict of interest.
My residence was vandalized with intent to injure just 2 days after I gave my name and information. Yet another coincidence?
Several weeks prior to 11/12, ________ was moving loam that was from the triangle, placing it around his property.
For what was a potential larceny, it took far too much time to even start the investigation.
If ________ was innocent, why did he resist even talking by phone to the police for 3 and one half months?
_______deceived the Triangle Committee by indicating he’d store overages on his land, ended up using them, and hence put the committee into a position of trying to defend themselves.
I feel as though everyone was covering for each other. Mountain View was covering for _______. The committee chairperson and liaison were covering for the contractor and _______. Or were they all really covering for themselves, because by permitting this to happen, they were not doing the right thing with taxpayer money. I’m still not sure if any of them believe they did anything inappropriate. With everyone covering for everyone else, the police eventually found no criminal activity. That does not mean there was no wrongdoing. Who in the town is responsible for CPA funded committees?
I know that you are as concerned as I am about keeping Southborough’s good name and reputation. Something like this would be exploited in the newspapers to an extent that would benefit no one. I hope that in the future you make sufficient changes, so this type of thing doesn’t happen again. I’d appreciate knowing any comments or questions you may have. Also, kindly acknowledge that you have received this.
Sincerely,
_____________________
CC: Salvatore M. Giorlandino
Bonnie J. Phaneuf William J. Boland
Jean Kitchen, Town Administrator
*Please see photos that are enclosed with Mr. Giorlandino’s letter
Who the heck is Megan Dodge, and since when is the Town supposed to take the words of private citizens conducting their own investigations? Sounds like someone has way too much time on their hand. A comic right out of Mad Magazine…..Spy vs Spy. Oh yeah….more redactions than the investigation of the Southborough 8.
Something smells fishy here! It may sound like everyone involved had good intentions; but once you remove materials from a public buiding site and transport it to a private residence – it’s STEALING! Why was there so much unused material to begin with? Who miscalculated and and ordered too much? The Triangle Park project is a mess – in more ways than one. I’ve heard more complaints of the rusting metal panels and messy landscaping than any other project in the area. I know the Committee worked hard on this project – but maybe the Town of Southborough should have spent a little money to hire a PROFESSIONAL to manage this project.