Reelected!

Thank you to everyone who supported the campaign! I was reelected tonight 900-812! Congrats to the Mary Chaffee and Annie Sherwood who I campaigned together with often and who were reelected to the Board of Health. And congrats to Marie Enochty and Claire Gradone for winning the school committee race. Good news about the Eddy School and Middle School roof projects, though I am sick about the failure of the Fire House project by 66 votes. Back to the drawing board - I think we need a new fire house and we need to find another approach that the town will get behind. Back to work!

Election Day tomorrow

We had a long and productive Board of Selectmen meeting tonight discussing plans for the FY16 budget, 6A paving, 6A zoning, the Library/Baptist Church connection, renewable energy, public safety dispatch, etc. And we started with a very sentimental recognition of George Pettengill, 18-yr chair of the human resources committee. One last note for Election Day:

Dear Supporters -

Tomorrow/Tuesday is Election Day! I just want to remind you that the polls will be open at the Brewster Baptist Church from 7am to 8pm, and I hope you will vote for me for the Board of Selectmen. I would also urge your support for the three Debt Exclusion questions on the ballot (Eddy School Roof, Fire House, and Middle School Roof). And I would also ask you to support the two incumbents, Mary Chaffee and Annie Sherwood, for the Board of Health, and Claire Gradone and Marie Enochty for the School Committee. These are all people I know well as dedicated and selfless volunteers.

Please talk to/call/text/email your friends and neighbors to remind them to vote.

See you at the polls! John

Last Sunday of the Campaign

A busy day of campaigning. Spent the morning at the transfer station which is always fun - my fourth standout of the campaign. And I spent some time this afternoon walking the neighborhood (Old Long Pond, Rt 137, Twinturn, and McGuerty) reminding everyone about the election on Tuesday. It's almost here!

Cape Codder Endorsement/Ad

I am thrilled to report that the Cape Codder endorsed me today. I couldn't find it posted online - so here it is in a photo:

Our campaign ad also ran today - I am proud of the partial list of supporters from whom I was able to get forms for the ad, and I am gratified by the many citizens supporting my campaign.

In addition, there was a nice article about the Candidates Forum. On the homestretch!

Council on Aging

Some catching up to do on a busy week. On Thursday I got a chance to stop by the Council on Aging, talking with the Brewster Men's Coffee Club and the Computer User Group. One point we discussed was the necessity of planning for the long-term needs of the CoA. Five years ago, it looked like this problem was solved with the proposed move to the Eddy School, but that didn't work out, and we haven't come up with an alternative. One gentleman was a little upset at the way the new firehouse configuration plan was presented at town meeting - he felt that saying that some of the new space could also be used by the CoA was throwing some crumbs to the CoA and not addressing their long-term needs. I understand the need to focus on one major project at a time, but I shared with them my hope that we will consider providing for the possibility of a future annex on this site to meet the CoA's needs and build on the campus concept - perhaps conceived of as a Community Center. I hope a future CoA building project gets added to the Capital Plan this year, along with one for the Natural Resources Department - these are I think the two upgrades we need to make after the fire house.

Candidates Forum

Prepared Statements for the Brewster Candidates Forum - May 8, 2014

Opening Statement

I am running for reelection to the Brewster Board of Selectmen to continue the progress we have made over the last three years. I’d like to summarize five main areas.

First, we have succeeded in improving the long-term planning of the town. • We have created a five year budget outlook to guide our planning.
• We have revised the Capital Plan by-law to included its presentation to town meeting.
• We reconstituted the Building and Needs Assessment Committee to address the condition of our town facilities.
• We have also initiated a Government Study committee to review the structure of our town government with our long-term needs in mind.

Second, we have improved the budget process. In addition to the five-year outlook,
• We have revised the process to begin with a joint presentation to the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee.
• We have better cooperation between the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee during the budget review.
• We have adopted electronic budget documents that are available to the public online.

Third, we have improved public access to the town government process - its transparency.
• Meeting packets and FYI items are now posted online.
• Future agenda items are now openly discussed each week.
• Many public forums have been held on issues - especially by the Building and Needs Assessment Committee.

Fourth, we have made progress on town environmental issues.
• The Comprehensive Water Planning Committee has done great work on wastewater issues.
• We have continued town solar development, especially on the landfill.
• We have implemented Pay As You Throw increasing recycling and reducing solid waste.
• We have continued to acquire open space to protect water quality and preserve the rural character of the town

Fifth, we have made progress on improving the business climate.
• Cooperation between businesses and the town has improved, for example on the development of a Special Events process.
• There has also been more cooperative process reviewing by-laws, as seen in the sign by-law that just passed at town meeting.
• Also we have begun reviewing the state’s plans to reconstruct Route 6A to try to improve the business conditions in downtown Brewster.

Many of these projects are ongoing, There is much more work to be done, and this is what I’d like to see happen over the next three years.
• Complete the renovation of the Stony Brook and Eddy schools.
• Bring the fire house project to a successful conclusion.
• Develop the campus concept at the Council on Aging, planning for a possible future annex.
• Address the long term needs of the Natural Resources Department.
• Work on long-term revenue sources for the town.
• Complete the pavement management study and adopt a long-term approach to our roads.
• Continue efforts to expand affordable housing.
• Work on creating better pedestrian and bike accommodations in downtown Brewster.
• Develop a long-term beach management plan.
• Adopt a plan to improve the water quality of our ponds.
• Continue pursuing alternative energy and preserving open space.
• Complete the Comprehensive Water Planning process.
• Complete the Government Study process.

Right now, I believe we are fortunate to have a very effective Board of Selectmen working on these issues. I wish to continue with the board and further our work in these areas. This is why I am running for re-election.

Closing Statement

Thanks again to Steve Liebowitz and the Brewster Democrats for this debate, and thanks to all of you here and at home for being engaged in this year’s campaign.

As I said earlier, I believe that Brewster is making progress in many important ways. And I am running for reelection to keep Brewster moving forward.

I want to conclude by picking up on a theme from the Brewster Goes Green event last week - Brewster is a special town. I know of no place that has a stronger community spirit, or that is as positively engaged together in our town’s progress. As Rich Eldred wrote in his town meeting article this week - “What an agreeable town Brewster is.” I couldn't agree more.

This week’s town meeting I think was an affirmation of the approach that we as a Board of Selectmen and as a town have taken these last few years. The articles, budgets, major projects that we brought forward have been developed in a public and thorough manner, such that the town was willing to support these efforts.

Finally, I want to thank the citizens of the town for their support over the last three years. The progress we have made would not be possible without the efforts of the many dedicated staff and volunteers that serve the town, and the engagement of all of you who attend, participate, and vote. I am hopeful that we will see the same support at the election on May 20, and I ask for your vote for re-election. Thank you.

Town Meeting

Thank you Brewster! Last night was a very successful town meeting as we tackled 49 articles and got it all done in one night! We had excellent discussions on many issues, and we are gratified by the strong support we received for the important town projects we brought forward, for example the Eddy School roof. I think the longest discussion of the night was about the fire station. I appreciate the many questions asked by citizens as we move forward with this critical project, but as I said last night, this is a project that has been planned for many years, timed to go to bond after most of our current debt is retired, and one whose cost is only likely to go up if we delay. Congrats to Chief Moran, Ralph Ingegneri, Bob Miller, all the BNAC, and Ben deRuyter for their efforts on this. Also to the School Committee, Charlie Sumner and town staff for all their work on the budget and capital articles in a very challenging year. And to the Planning Board for passing all their articles. And I enjoyed co-presenting the human services funding article with Herb Montgomery, as we gave recognition to Bill King and George Pettengill. Preparations for the next town meeting start now! See JP's pictures here.

Brewster In Bloom Sunday

We got lucky again with a beautiful day for the parade. The Board rode together to promote Bike Brewster - Pat's idea. Got a very positive reception, but I want to share one comment that I overheard - "Bike Brewster, yeah and get hit by a semi." I agree with this concern, and the Board is taking steps to try to address this - putting signs on 6A to direct people to the bike path (thanks Chief Koch, Jack Clarke, and all the Bikeways Committee for making this happen), and working with the State and the Cape Cod Commission to try to get some shoulders added (and new sidewalks) when the state repaves 6A sometime in 2015. I hope to take this up again at our May 19 meeting. Thanks to the Chamber as always for a nice parade. The rain showers held off until later, and provided a rainbow to cap off a great weekend.

Brewster in Bloom Saturday

Our day started with the Bloom 5k organized expertly as always by our Recreation Dept. It was the first 5k I've run together with my 11 yr old! Went from there to the open house at the Fire Station. Well done as always - I hope that this event will soon be in a new home! Then to the Nauset Youth Alliance event at Drummer Boy. What a gorgeous day, spring has finally arrived.

Brewster In Bloom Friday

Brewster In Bloom weekend! Had a great time at the Ice Cream Social at the COA with the kids. Then my 2nd grader came with me to the Brewster Band concert. A big 20th Anniversary celebration. Tributes to founder Leah Belliveau and all who have been part of this institution. Ben, who once played sax in the band, read the proclamation for Leah, and I read the one for the band - the pic is of me handing it to Steve Stranger and John New. Highlight of the night was the solo by founding director Bruce Abbott. Thanks to Bill Pomeroy for the photo.

Brewster Goes Green

I had a nice time last night at the Brewster Goes Green event. We discussed a lot of the progress that Brewster has made on environmental issues - protecting open space, reducing solid waste, generating solar electricity, water quality, etc. More work to do - completing our comprehensive water quality process, work on improving the condition of our ponds, look at more possible solar developments. Thanks to all who attended, and to Chris Powicki and Paul Gasek for organizing the event!

Eddy School Roof Update

I’m writing to share with you some important news that the board discussed at our meeting last night. The bids for the Eddy School roof project (new roof, fire alarm equipment, and heating and ventilation) came back roughly 50% higher than the estimate in our January 2014 feasibility study. Therefore, we will ask the citizens to authorize approximately $3.3 million instead of $2.3 million for this project. While this is very concerning, we remain committed to seeing this project through to completion.

After our discussion, we understand that there are several reasons that the bid price was higher than our original estimate.

First, the diligent work of our Building and Needs Assessment Committee resulted in several changes to the scope of the project. The most expensive of these is the replacement of the controller unit for the HVAC system. It was determined that the current unit is antiquated, far less efficient than a new unit, and potentially unreliable compared to a new unit. We also included the replacement of old sidewall above the roof eaves so that we don’t risk damage to the new roof carrying out this work only a few years from now. In addition, we opted to extend the manufacturer’s warranty from 20 years to 30 years. These additional items approached $300,000.

Second, the HVAC units themselves are approximately $450,000 more expensive than estimated. This is likely due to the final specifications, challenging construction logistics, and bid climate.

Finally, the total reflects an evolving public construction environment. Fewer contractors are pursuing a surge in municipal projects, so prices for projects are rising as a result.

While the bottom line was much higher than expected, the bids we received were competitive and very comparable. One positive is that the low bidder is a contractor with whom we’ve worked very successfully in the past.

Despite this unfortunate news, we believe that we must go forward with this project. The Eddy School is an important town asset that we need to protect and maintain. The significant leaks and the dysfunctional HVAC and fire alarm systems must be addressed. We are spending between $50,000 and $100,000 each year to maintain broken systems without getting satisfactory results. We need to move forward and get this project done. The condition of the school will only deteriorate further should we ignore this need. Delaying the project will likely cost town even more money.

In order for this project to go forward, the town must vote in favor of appropriating the construction monies ($3.3 million) by a two-thirds vote at town meeting and by a majority vote at the town election. We will temporarily borrow these funds, at a reduced interest rate, for a few years before going to permanent financing, and we may pay off some of the capital during the temporary note in order to reduce the amount we have to borrow over the long term.

I hope you this explanation helps you better understand the situation we face with this project as we go to town meeting and election. And I hope you will support it. Thank you!

Beautify Brewster

Spent the morning with the McGees and two of their grandchildren picking up trash along the rail trail. Our big score was this sign that someone tossed in the ditch. Thanks to Ryan Burch for organizing this great annual event - over 100 volunteers and more than a ton of trash - and only a little rain.

Signs are up!

Thanks to Peter Johnson and others, our signs are going up around town today, even as I am in Michigan for the week. They are the recycled signs from three years ago with new date stickers. We also ordered the new campaign flyers - see photo here. More soon!

Cape Codder Profile

Happy Easter! The Cape Codder ran a nice profile piece this week. Check it out here.

The Fish Are In The Run

Sunday, we got our first day of herring watching for this year. The fish were thick in the lower pool but not pushing up the ladder yet. We also got to admire the new accessible path on the Mill site - great job by Dana Condit and his volunteers.

Brewster Thanks Americorps! What an amazing number of All-Access projects completed this week by Americorps volunteers in Brewster! This photo is of Sen. Wolf visiting the new platform at the Quivett Marsh Vista. Projects were also completed at Linnell Landing, the COA building, Paine's Creek, Long Pond Landing, the Community Garden, Mant's Landing, and more. Thanks also to the Brewster volunteers that worked as project foremen - David Karam on this one. Check them out!