Each week, the Abington News is asking the three candidates for the Board of Selectmen a question to help voters better understand them as candidates. Election Day is Saturday, April 29.
Candidate responses are published as submitted, in the order they were received, and were not edited.
This week’s question: What are the Top 5 key priorities you’ll focus on over the next three years as a member of the Board of Selectmen?
In case you missed it, here’s the question from Week 1
KEVIN DONOVAN
1) Work towards the construction of a new Fire Headquarters and DPW Facility. The current estimates for the construction of this project is estimated at $ 58.3 million dollars. This current Fire Headquarters on Bedford Street was built in 1964 and the sub station on Rockland Street was built in 1973. Both facilities are outdated and in dire need of replacement to accommodate the future as well as advanced technology relating to carbon emissions from the fire trucks. The Highway Barn was built in the 1940’s. It is crucial that the Town address these needed capital improvements. The appropriation for this project will be requested at a special town meeting in the Fall of 2023 and will require a 2/3rds vote and if approved a debt exclusion election will be held within 45 days of town meeting. Only then would the project be approved if the voters vote in the affirmative. If a bond were issued the current cost would be $ 1.36 per thousand dollars of valuation on current assessed real estate values. By the time the bond will be issued Abington will be paying off over $ 550,000 in previously approved capital expenditures and will be saving another $ 2.4 million when the Plymouth County Retirement Assessment is fully funded. This will show a cost savings of close to $ 3 Million to augment this project which would have an annual cost on the bond of roughly $ 3.8 Million.
2) Restructure town debt in order to save crucial funds. When I was on the Board of Directors of the Southfield Redevelopment Authority I was the driving force to refinance the Land Assessment Bond the Authority had issued in 2010. After six months worth of work we were able to refinance the bond and realized a savings of $ 4.2 Million that accrued at the bond closing. These funds were put into escrow to be utilized in the future for Infrastructure Improvements at the former NAS-South Weymouth. It is worth reviewing the Town’s Debt Schedule to ascertain if a similar program could be implemented to realize savings.
3) Perform a full energy audit on all town buildings, replacing old, inefficient infrastructure and equipment through a financing plan based on our savings, not up front expenditures.
4) Continue working towards the development of the Abington land at the former Naval Air Station. Now that the Southfield Redevelopment Authority has appointed a qualified development team to serve as Master Developer who’s principals have developed the Pine Hills in Plymouth and Westwood Station in Westwood, it makes sense to seriously consider its proposal for flex zoning to allow development based on what the construction market will dictate. Abington could stand to gain substantial yearly revenues with limited strain on tax dollars depending on the Plan.
5) Work toward assisting the Water Commissioners and Sewer Commissioners to address the water supply issue and sewer capacity issue. Currently Abington is maxed out for water consumption and if we are going to try and induce commercial properties an additional source of water is going to have to be realized. Additionally the North Abington portion of town is serviced by the Rockland Sewer Plant which is in dire need of upgrades.
ALEX BEZANSON
Going forward in the next three years I want to continue moving Abington forward. We have made great strides with this current Board of Selectmen.
My top 5 priorities are as follows
- Continue to seek Grants to save the taxpayer money.
- Seek Commercial development along Rt 18
- Develop a Town Forest
- Develop recreation area along vacant land on Gliniewicz Way. (We have received a commitment from the Boston Bruins Foundation of $50,000 for a street hockey rink)
- Develop more senior-affordable housing
As always if residents have concerns, questions or comments please reach out to me at Alexbezanson@yahoo.com or 781-953-1236
SUZANNE DJUSBERG
I would encourage our Selectmen Board/Town manager to hire a Town Planner. I believe Abington still has room to grow and needs proper guidance and a common-sense approach to make sure future development benefits the town and its citizens. A Town Planner with much input from the Board of Selectmen may help Abington make clear and concise decisions regarding the growth and future of our town. It is essential to maintain, grow and encourage the right businesses for our community. This, along with proper and well-planned use of open
space and well-planned development will make new growth in Abington less disruptive to the town and hopefully increase the tax base so we, in the worst case, keep our taxes from rising and in the best case, reduce our property taxes. I believe the Board of Selectmen should be liaisons to all the department heads in town and be involved in supporting and adding guidance to the town’s departments.
I would promote education for our community regarding commuter rail trains. I believe we should strive to meet with the MBTA and come up with a solution to reduce the number of incidents that have happened in our town over the years. We have had more incidents than any other town and I would like to know why and help find a solution.
The Fire department is finalizing its plans to build a new Fire/DPW department, and it is a move I fully support although I feel with proper planning, this could have been done originally when the police station was built. I would like to see if the basketball courts can still be housed near the police station. Living near the basketball courts I have had the pleasure of witnessing how used the basketball courts are. Youths come from all over because they feel safe in the shadow of the police station, and it makes the town seem alive.
I am very passionate about keeping open space in our town. Our natural resources are being threatened by over-development. The is a fine balance between keeping our open space and well-planned development. I will strive to keep that balance.
As a member of the Park and Recreation board, I have learned that having programs for both our young and old is extremely important for the character of the town. Expanding programs for our kids so they can have the opportunity to try and participate can change a young generation’s perspective on self-worth and team building. They learn respect for not only their teammates but the adults who train, referee, and support them. The Beaver Brook camp is a great program for our younger generation, and I believe in maintaining the Island Grove Pond
and all the programs that go with it. If anything, I think those programs can be expanded. We need to continue to care for the pond, which is one of the jewels of Abington, by properly treating it to get rid of the invasive species making it unusable and taking care of all the structures in the park. This and the other programs need to be part of our budget in Abington’s future as those are the things that help make us a community.
My focus will be encouraging businesses that benefit the residents of Abington. We have two abandoned school buildings in town that need to be properly utilized. I would support an expansion of senior housing at one or both locations. I would like this to be true senior housing which is subsidized by the state of Massachusetts and not “affordable housing” which many use to get their projects approved.
I have been a department head for the Council on Aging for the last 13 years in Abington before retiring this year and I have worked with every department and department head to expand programs for the benefit of this town. I have helped seniors, and people in need, and ran the youth lacrosse program for 10 years. I have lived in Abington for over 30 years and have a passion for this town. My decisions will always be in the best interest of the future of Abington.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me s.djust@yahoo.com.
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