Each week, Abington News is asking the four residents running for the Select Board a question to help voters better understand them as candidates. Election Day is Saturday, Sept. 21.
This week’s question was:
What 3-5 areas will you particularly focus on while a member of the Abington Select Board? And why those areas?
Responses are provided in the order they were received.
WILLIAM CORMIER
Another strong question for the finale. 3-5 areas is a shortlist for sure but this is why I’ve already committed to running again in April because if my bid is successful Saturday , we should be looking beyond April and at the next few years at least. I will give my top areas of concerns that fall under the perview of the Board of Selectmen and not other elected boards such as water or schools.
1)Fire Department Manpower- we continue to see calls for service increase yearly and are constantly recalling off duty firefighters to fill station or respond to calls. This occurs multiple times on some days. I requested this information from Chief Glynn so I could look into addressing this issue. The numbers I got were concerning and certainly proves the need for more firefighters. In 1990 the FD was running a 5 man shift and did 1,793 calls for service that year, in 2023 the department responded to a staggering 3,682 calls with a 6 man shift! We’ve more than doubled the call volume with one more person per shift !!
My goal would be to work with Chief Glynn and firefighters to increase manpower to a safe level cover not only multiple responses but also make sure they are responding to calls with adequate staffing to keep them safe as well. I’d like to see an increase on each shift to make sure we aren’t taking a piece of apparatus out of service to man a second ambulance for a second medical call etc….. let’s get the staffing in place that we need to keep Abington safe. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the level of critical calls have also increased and fire prevention (inspections) account for another 964 events that don’t fall under calls for service. This definitely needs to be looked into.
2)Senior/Affordable Housing- Abington continues to see a long waiting list for our seniors to receive affordable housing and I see this is a major problem. This in my opinion cannot go without immediate attention. The vast majority of our seniors are living on restricted incomes and are doing everything they can to make sure they get basic needs and these folks deserve to know they will have a safe and affordable home without worrying about Maintenance,taxes,or what bills or meds get paid for.
As a former member of Rockland Housing Partnership Committee I understand the needs. I will reach out to our housing authority, senior center director, and the affordable housing committee and work together to set goals and priorities that ensure we start addressing the housing crisis instead of just talking about it.
3)DPW- We all see the constant complaining about the conditions of the roads,snow and ice removal,mowing of parks/fields, or time lines for projects. I meet with DPW director John Stome and asked him for information regarding this situation. Again the number of employees and the work load is proportional inadequate. The budget also doesn’t allow for paving,sidewalks, or other infrastructure needs. Most people think that their excise taxes go directly to find roads but that isn’t factual at all. Manpower at DPW is down by roughly 9 employees. Similar to the fire department they have a constantly increasing work load.
Again the fix won’t be easy but this certainly needs some attention now , not in the future. I will work with Director Stone, Town Manager, and finance committee to try and get not only a bigger budget that is sufficient but also to make sure we start adding to there staffing level sooner than later. We can’t even think about capital improvements or proper infrastructure maintenance without providing proper funding.
4) Union Point/AirBase development- over the years we have seen failure upon failure from developers at the former base. I know our representatives on the redevelopment authority aren’t to blame but as a leader I will look for more updates from our appointed representative on the authority and also work with him to try and find solutions to move forward with development plans and make sure we have infrastructure in place to handle the growth. Making sure our public safety, schools,DPW, or other resources are not overwhelmed. We need to look into affordable housing options for seniors and families and think this would be a good opportunity for Abington to capitalize on. However we cannot create a larger burden on already stressed services.
5 )Grants/Funding to reduce tax burden –
If elected Saturday I will start aggressively looking for grants and/or federal and state fundings for not only future projects but also monies for capital improvements and community projects. We need to find ways to repair ,build,grow and maintain without constantly raising taxes. If we continue to increase taxes we are not only adding a burden on residents but also deterring people from wanting to come here. Obviously we aren’t going to find funding for everything but we need to start being a bit more realistic and fiscally responsible.
Again the list goes well beyond what I stated above but this is a start. I know water is a big concern but it’s out of the perview of Selectmen and has its own elected body and charter. Also the PD issue has been addressed by the current board and hopefully any concerns will be resolved in short order.
AMANDA ZOMPETTI
As we head into the final stretch of this Special Election, here are the issues/areas I hope to focus on if elected.
The first item that pops into my head is SPACE. Whether it be recreation, open space, conservation or what have you. Maintaining and holding onto what we have left of open land I think is crucial for our future. This obviously contends with our need for housing as well. But as we deal with water and sewer concerns, traffic upon traffic and more, I think focusing on managing our remaining open space is key.
Next is that big thing in the back of all our minds: WATER. The water department has done a fantastic job with updating our filtration systems, and acquiring grants to handle the PFAS. But water supply and water contamination is a constant concern here in town. And it’s not just at the treatment plant and water source level. The supply system consisting of older pipeworks, those on well systems, and others are needs we need to address. Never mind adding in the future planning of less snowy winters, leading to consistent droughts in the spring and summer.
Another concern that popped up at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting and is a constant discussion topic at Board of Health meetings, TRASH. Trash and recycling costs have gone up across the board. There are more restrictions, less dump facilities, and more tonnage coming and going from our town. How do we manage this without putting the burden on the residents? Is there a feasible solution? How are other communities handling it? This is definitely a top priority as the cost could come up quicker than we’d like.
And as always, I would love to find more ways to get the word out to residents about town happenings. How do we increase attendance at Town meetings, town elections and other events?
Thank you to Rick Collins and Abington News for providing this amazing opportunity for us candidates to share our thoughts with voters. If you have not already done so, please vote!! The Special Town Election is Saturday, September 21st 8am-4pm at the Beaver Brook Elementary School.
ABIGAIL GENDREAU
These are the things I will focus the most on in no particular order:
Our trash collection is a big issue due to the fact it is such a large portion of the town’s budget. Trash used to be more expensive to collect than recycling, however in recent years recycling has become the more expensive portion. The reason for this is because there is no place to put the recycling, which is causing the collection places to be pickier about how they will accept our recyclables. The solution is less simple than getting a new trash company because the companies are all offering similar contracts, due to this being a widespread problem. By educating the townspeople with more information about the trash and recycling regulations and explaining the proper way to dispose of trash and recycling, I believe this will help, because residents will put things in trash rather than in the recycling bins if they are in fact trash. When people understand the budget implications and the bigger picture, they will be more willing to change the way they are utilizing the trash system.
I’d like to help give people a better understanding of the infrastructure of the water system and what the town is doing to clean up the PFAS in the drinking water. We have seen an increase in our water bills because we have paid for the system to remove the PFAS. It was particularly important to get this system and start the process of making the town’s water cleaner. It is also important to note Abington is not the only town who has needed to purchase a system like this. This is another area where more education will help. Explaining to people why their bill went up and what these chemicals are and how they ended up in the water supply will help people to understand more of what is happening in town and will be great for transparency.
Another form of infrastructure that needs attention is our roads. We get Chapter 90 money from the state, for road and bridge repairs. However, this is not enough to maintain all the roads in town. Especially, when we have harsh New England winters. Our Highway Department does a great job stretching every dollar they receive and prioritizing the roads that are in the worst condition. Other towns in the area are able to dedicate a budget line item for their roads. Abington hasn’t been able to do this. I would love to see us investigate ways of dedicating money toward fixing and maintaining more roads in town. An option would be to make a commitment of a percentage of our Free Cash to this like we do with the Stabilization Fund.
I am happy to see the newly released plan for Center School, however I would like to see more done in terms of senior housing in town. We have many senior citizens who have been in Abington for years and I would hate to see them have to leave town because there is not an affordable place for them to live. Along with building new housing options for these seniors to move to, we should be looking at additional services to assist them with being able to afford to live in their current homes if they wish to. We already have the option for seniors to apply for tax abatements, however, exploring additional programs that may benefit their housing needs would be a priority for me.
The last issue I would like to focus on is buildings in town that have been vacant for an extended period of time. When buildings like these are sitting for years, the town runs out of things they can do to move the process along. We may need to investigate by-laws to prevent this from happening and create a timeline to see progress being made, by the owners of the properties, to ensure that our town maintains its appeal to perspective businesses and or residents that may want to come to Abington. Perhaps we could collaborate with the owners of these vacant buildings to get a better understanding of why they are just left vacant.
MATTHEW LYNCH
My three main areas of focus are MBTA Housing, rebalancing the town’s budget to encourage economic growth, and finding ways to provide financial relief for our residents.
The MBTA Housing mandate imposed by the state of Massachusetts is something the Town of Abington must oppose. This program requires our town to permit contractors to build large low-income housing projects within a half-mile of MBTA stations. While this may seem beneficial at first glance, the potential harm to our community outweighs any advantages.
A look at the MBTA housing already built in Hanson highlights these concerns. Although the housing opened just a couple of years ago, it is already deteriorating. Reviews of the property reveal the extent of the damage, and the increase in crime rates in Hanson since the housing was constructed is alarming. For example, not long after the housing was built a friend of mine had his truck stolen and later found it stripped of parts in the parking lot of the housing project. Other towns, such as Milton, Winthrop, and Medway, are actively resisting this overreach by the state government. Abington must join them to protect our community from a similar fate.
We also need to thoroughly examine our budget to understand why the town is facing such economic challenges. Every dollar must be accounted for, and we should cut any wasteful spending. I plan to take a meticulous approach to this. Additionally, we must encourage new businesses to start up in Abington. I want to identify the reasons why businesses are not launching here, attract new ones, retain existing businesses, and determine what is necessary to help them thrive. This will benefit our residents by creating new job opportunities and generating additional revenue to foster a more prosperous future. We have ample land available for residential and commercial development around the old naval air station, and we shouldn’t let it go to waste.
The past few years have been challenging for everyone, particularly for our senior citizens. Many have been isolated due to COVID, and the recession has made it difficult for them to rely on retirement savings. With about 11% of our population over the age of 65, it’s crucial that we support our seniors. I propose a town policy to eliminate the automotive excise tax, which goes to the town’s general fund, for seniors over 65 who have lived in Abington for at least 10 years. Given that the average excise tax in Massachusetts is around $372, eliminating it for seniors could provide them with the financial breathing room they desperately need. This is just one of many potential solutions, but small changes like this could make a significant difference for our residents.
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