Politics & Government

Sherborn Selectmen Consider Two Options to Bring in Revenue to Town

A new development on Maple St., selling Woodhaven, and repairing damaged roadways were all on the agenda.

Sherborn selectmen discussed the transfer station roadway repair proposal, the possibility selling Woodhaven, and the possibility of a new development in town on Thursday night, July 25.

The revenue development committee presented two different plans for a revenue increase for the town. One of those proposals is a development at 90 Maple St.

“It would be a 46-townhouse community,” John Edgar explained. “Visually, this development would be like Sherborn, it would respect and maintain the country atmosphere and have minimal tree removal.”

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Edgar noted the land the development would be built on is 70 acres, but only 25 of that would go to the development of housing. Edgar said the development would bring in $400,000 in property taxes to the town instead of the $12,000 the town currently receives. Pulte Homes would be constructing the development after purchasing the land from a Sherborn resident.

DeRensis questioned how this would change the Sherborn community by asking, “How many of these developments can we have in the community before the characteristic of the community changes?”

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Edgar said the committee would not support a project that would result in drastic change to the area the property would be built on. The selectmen said they needed to review the intensive report the committee provided before they made anymore decisions.

George Morrill of the revenue development committee then brought forth two options in regards to Woodhaven, a senior housing facility in Sherborn. Morrill said either trying to bring in revenue with the existing building or selling it are the only options, with the latter being the better choice.

“We recommend we pursue selling Woodhaven. The town could use $1.4 million. There’s things you can use that money for smartly, to build revenue gross for the town,” he said. “The property would be run better by real estate professions, not just a town-run facility.”

George Shea, from Woodhaven, advised selectmen to reconsider the proposal of selling Woodhaven. “We now have a waiting list because money was plowed back into the facility. Before, there were five vacancies.” Shea advised against allowing Woodhaven to be sold into the private sector because they have a profit line to make. 

“With a nonprofit, you don’t have that,” he said. 

Kitty Sturgis, also from Woodhaven, spoke of the community currently living in the facility. “We have a very vibrant community of men and women down there. Yes, the money would be great to have in our pockets,” she said, “But do we want to continue to pledge to provide housing for our seniors?”

Also on the agenda was the consideration of a plan to improve the roadway by the transfer station. 

Town administrator David Williams said a paved overlay was approved to fix the damaged roadway at the transfer station. Williams suggested using another $25,000 to completely reconstruct the roadway and to have a proper drainage system installed. The total cost of Williams' suggestion, he said, is $75,000 in roadway repairs.

“It would be a longer lasting product if it was draining properly,” Williams said.

Selectman Paul DeRensis countered Williams’ proposal, saying, “good is the enemy of perfect, perfect is the enemy of good."

"I’m scared, there are some underlying issues here," he said.

DeRensis said with so many different projects the town is working on, sometimes it might be more prudent to go with the “good,” in this case, going ahead and putting a paved overlay on the rough roadway at the transfer station.

DeRensis said he wanted a plan in place to get the project done before Labor Day, and Chair Peter Caruso said the selectmen would be prepared to make a decision on what to do to improve the road at the transfer station in two weeks.

Town administrator David Williams said a paved overlay was approved to fix the damaged roadway at the transfer station. Williams suggested using another $25,000 to completely reconstruct the roadway and to have a proper drainage system installed. The total cost of Williams' suggestion, he said, is $75,000 in roadway repairs.

“It would be a longer lasting product if it was draining properly,” Williams said.


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