Lebeaux Stays For Now

Yesterday, Selectman John Lebeaux was formally hired by the Town of Princeton to be their Town Administrator.

Princeton Selectmen and Lebeaux agreed to a three-year contract paying $85k annually.

Lebeaux, like his predecessor in Princeton, will continue being a Selectman for a different town. In fact, he attended a Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen meeting last night. There is no known legal requirement that he step down because conflict of interest laws do not apply.

Declaration of Independence Read By Local League

The Shrewsbury League of Women Voters has produced a video reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Members of the League took turns reading portions of the document. Newly-elected League President Robin Snyder, joined Rep. Karyn Polito, Board of Selectmen Chair Moira Miller, School Committee Chair Erin Canzano, and over a dozen of their fellow LWV members at the recording studios of Shrewsbury Media Connection.

It is now showing on two SELCO channels: Channel 28: Public Access and Channel 30: Government Access.

It can also be viewed at You Tube, and it is embedded here:

Does Lebeaux Want To Stay?

Selectman John Lebeaux, just hired to be the Town Administrator in Princeton, has brought the possibility of a conflict of interest to the forefront. He might actually want to run one town as Town Administrator and remain in Shrewsbury running the town as one of the powerful selectmen at Town Hall.

In an interview recently published in at the Shrewsbury Chronicle, Lebeaux said he didn't have to resign; that he could keep both jobs at once.

Does he have a conflict running two different towns? Don't the towns compete for resources? For business development? For attention from Beacon Hill?

Should he resign? What would you do?

An Interim Selectman

Should the Selectmen conduct a public process to appoint a successor to John Lebeaux? I think it doesn't (and shouldn't) matter. Unlike (or at least more than) any other position in Town government, the selectmen are politicians, not administrators. There are no qualifications and no way to gauge who would be the best at the job. It's a political position.

As an interesting twist, however, it is possible that the selectmen would appoint a person who promises only to serve until their successor is elected in May 2010, ten months from now. Just a thought.

Another thought: I wonder how Jim Kane feels about this appointment. He went through months of hard and expensive campaigning only to have someone appointed in a quick and cost-free process.

Lebeaux Leaving

Well now we know.

In executive session last night, the Princeton Board of Selectmen reached an agreement with our Selectman, John Lebeaux, to hire him as their new Town Administrator. The job begins Wednesday, July 1.

He'll likely resign from the Shrewsbury Board of Selectman this week or perhaps next Monday, June 29. That should give the remaining four selectmen plenty of time to appoint a successor who would serve the remainder of Lebeaux's term through May 2010.

Lebeaux Likely To Leave

In an update to an earlier story this week, Princeton Selectmen have now voted to begin negotiating with our own Selectman, John Lebeaux, in consideration of hiring him to be their Town Administrator.

They unanimously preferred him over the other finalists.

Lebeaux and the Princeton Selectmen will attempt to agree on a contract. If unsuccessful, Princeton will consider one of the other finalists instead of Leabeaux.

Shrewsbury Event Raises $9,000 for Public Schools

The “Celebration in the Garden” Host Committee is pleased to announce that $9,000 was raised for the Shrewsbury Public Schools at the Celebration in the Garden Party held Saturday, June 13th at the “Fallon House”, home of Heather and Jason Logrippo, in Shrewsbury. These funds will be used to help fill the gaps left by cuts to textbook and instructional material budgets.

Mark Adler, Hannah Kane, Steve Levine, Heather Logrippo, Beth McCollum, Debra Page Mooney and Melanie Petrucci wish to thank all that have contributed to the evening’s success. These include event sponsors George and Olivia Cadette, owners of local Dunkin Donuts, and Renaissance Wine and Spirits who generously provided the beer and wine tasting, Danielson Flowers, Shrewsbury Federal Credit Union, Polito Development Corp., Mercer Home Solutions, Central One Federal Credit Union, Mackintire Ins., Alison and Richard Ricker and James and Paula Buonomo. The committee is also grateful to all who contributed to the silent auction.

(Photo, from left to right: School Committee member Mark Murray with Selectmen Moe DePalo, Moira Miller, John Lebeaux and Jim Kane. Photo credit: Steve Levine)

Special acknowledgment goes to Dale Shadbegian, owner of Goodfellas Construction who announced at the gathering a new $2,500 scholarship to be awarded to a graduating Shrewsbury Public Schools senior next May. According to Mr. Shadbegian, “There have been many homeowners and businesses who believed in Goodfellas Construction, and gave us a chance. We’re excited to be able to believe in someone else and give them a chance.” He had also donated Goodfellas for a day to the silent auction.

The evening was in high gear when Shrewsbury School Committee member Mark Murray took the stage as Master of Ceremonies. The highlight was the auctioning of four out of the five Shrewsbury Selectmen (Moira Miller-BOS Chair, Jim Kane, Moe DePalo and John Lebeaux) for their labor. George Cadette “bought” them for 2 hours of their time working the counter at his Maple Ave. Dunkin Donuts. Date/Time TBA. Rep. Karyn Polito donated a pair of Red Sox tickets that was also a part of the live auction.

Approximately 130 attendees enjoyed hors D’oeuvres catered by Peppers Fine Foods. Notables in attendance included State Representative Karyn Polito and her husband Steven Rodolakis, School Superintendent Dr. Anthony Bent (who is retiring at the end of this month), incoming Superintendent Dr. Joseph Sawyer and newly appointed Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Jay Cummings and their wives. School Committee member Sandy Fryc, and new Town Moderator, Chris Mehne were also in attendance with their spouses.

Ranking Top 1,500 Public High Schools

Newsweek has released its 2009 list of the top 1500 public high schools in the United States. There were 26 Massachusetts High Schools that made the list.

The top three in Massachusetts were these charter schools:

Sturgis Charter Public School, Hyannis
MATCH Charter School, Boston
Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, Malden

They were followed by:

Boston Latin, Boston
Weston High School, Weston

Unfortunately, Shrewsbury High School did not make the list.

John Vedder

Lebeaux Looks to Leave

Long-time selectman, John Lebeaux, is one of five finalists for the job of Town Administrator in Princeton. The Town Administrator is like a Town Manager, except on a somewhat smaller scale. I presume Lebeaux would resign from the Board of Selectmen if he took the job in Princeton. All the negotiations are going on in executive session, and they hope to hire the new guy by July 1.

Governor Coming To Town (pt. 2)

As I wrote last week, Governor Deval Patrick will be coming to Shrewsbury. I've just learned about where he will be holding the meeting.

This is the Governor's second annual town hall-style meeting tour. The Governor will meet and greet at the Dean Park Bandstand at 6:30 pm on July 8th. If it rains, everything moves to Shrewsbury High School.

Keep reading ShrewsBuried for updates!

Letter: Let's Discuss Term Limits

To the Editor:—

Let me throw open a question without taking sides and without making up my mind.

Did anyone notice the editorial footnote in the Sunday Telegram where it pointed out that Representative Karen Polito had put forth a bill to limit elected officials to 12 years of service?

Like me, did anyone ask themselves how come when Ben tried to open the subject at the last town meeting is was immediately discounted as a bad idea? The only argument that was heard was the voters have the ability to remove an official at every election. But is that really the problem.

I know I voted against it, but was it a bad idea or was it just the way Ben presented it? Granted the article was poorly written and poorly defended by Ben, but was it really such a bad idea? How long does industry allow their senior management and middle management to stay in one position? If you look at the statistics CEO rarely serve more than 9 years. The term of middle management is even shorter.

Boards of Directors are not a mean spirited group. It is just business. Those changes are made because a person gets stale and can no longer bring fresh ideas to the table. They burn out. They adopt the attitude that the job is mine. You are there for me, not I am here to service you.

Do you remember Digital Equipment Company? Ken Olson was the nicest person you ever would want to be with. He was technically smart and well traveled and could tell fascinating stories and was a great teacher. He is credited with conceived the concept of the mini computer but he was unable to see the evolution to the desktop computer. I know many of his staff kept on telling him that was the wave of the future but he was too comfortable in his job.

Do you remember Polaroid? Dr Land was another genius that refused to look beyond his invention and did not see the advance of digital technology. These were great men with wonderful personalities and were people who you would like to spend your free time with. They just stayed too long in their position.

Lets look at our elected and appointed officials. Lets look at this as not as a personality contest. Lets look at it as purely business.

When was the last time you heard a unique or creative idea come from one of the long-standing officials? When was the last time you observed one of the long-standing officials suggest change from their office? How often have you heard as a response “that is the way we always do it”? This is not an attack on John or Moe or anyone presently on the board or on an appointed committee. Personally I think John is a very dedicated guy. I do not think for one moment he has knowingly done anything but his very best for the town. I also know I personally could not dedicate the number of hours he has given to be an elected official. I think Moe is just as dedicated and if I knew him better I am sure I would enjoy his company.

Do you know some of the members of the Planning Board are well into their second decade on the board? I am sure there are others in town that would like to serve. No one should own a seat on a board just because they were once appointed.

Can we bounce this one around to see what should we do? What can we do?

— Everett "Chick" Joseph.

Governor Coming To Town

On Wednesday, July 8th, Governor Deval Patrick will be hosting a "Town Hall Meeting" in Shrewsbury at 6:30pm.

The specific location is still being worked out.  But the Town Manager has said it will not be at Town Hall.

The meeting is open to the public, giving residents a chance to talk directly to Governor Patrick about issues they care about most.

Correction: I'd posted the wrong date earlier. The corrected date is included above.

Poll: Who's To Blame?

A new poll!

Whose fault is our Town's shrinking budget? Who's to blame?

Check out the new poll (under the sponsor in the right column →).

You have until the end of the 2009 Fiscal Year to vote. Have your say. Add your comments here as well.

Toe Maa Toe

Many Shrewsburians will find themselves with more sun in their yards this year, thanks to that ice storm and those cool looking but nasty beetles.  This extra sun and possible lack of trees can be good or bad, depending on your lot and whether you are a pits or lemonade kind of person.  The benefits:  you now get enough sun to start a vegetable garden or a solar system on your home.  The negatives: you get more sun beating down on your house increasing your home cooling needs and you get to see more of the neighbor’s ugly house.

When I ordered my vegetable seeds from Pine Tree Seeds of Maine, I was told they have had their busiest year ever and they had to hire even more workers, and my order would still be delayed.  I like to start my seedlings at home; it helps me anticipate the coming of spring.  My cats and kids love my seedlings, actually a little too much.  If you are thinking of a first garden or pots, I would suggest that  you get a move on.

Home gardens are even more popular than last year, the New York Times has called them Recession Gardens  Even the high end cooking webpage for Conde Nast, called Epicurious is getting in on the homegrown edge, check it out the photos are lovely and they have recipes to boot.

You don’t have to rip up the lawn to have vegetable plants; there are many varieties of vegetables which can be grown in pots.  Bush green beans, cherry tomatoes, swiss chard, low growing peas, lettuce, peppers and determinate tomatoes (they stop growing at a certain height) are vegetables I have grown successfully in pots.  Growing in pots requires careful attention to the watering needs of the plant, they dry out quickly.

For your first garden stick with easy vegetables such as peas, beans, lettuce, radish, onions, beets, herbs  and of course tomatoes.    And if you want to have a raised bed but don’t want to dig up your sod, look into Lasagna gardening. Mrs. Obama should have looked into this, but then it isn’t a big a photo opportunity.  I wonder if she called Dig Safe.

Come on give it a try, start small and easy and add more each year.  If I can do it you can do it (seriously those Idiots Guides were written for people like me).  Supposedly engaging your kids in gardening will make them more likely to try new vegetables, yeah right, but at least they learn how our vegetables grow.  Gardening with young children does take patience every year my pepper plants get mixed up and I never know if it will be a jalapeno, Anaheim, bell, or Ancho and this year my 4 year old dumped radish seeds all over the bed I had just planted with green beans, beets, and collard greens.  I guess my garden will look radishing.

A few years ago my new neighbors were very excited when they first moved in about having a garden, the visiting grandparents from India, said the gardens are special gifts and spent the whole summer checking several times a day on the plants.  I loved watching them, it renewed my joy in my own garden and reminded me not everyone takes food for granted.  Nothing beats harvesting your own salad for dinner, minutes before you eat it, you don’t have to worry about e coli or salmonella just maybe a lady bug or two.

I know we love to argue on this blog, so which tomatoes are the best?  My favorite is called Bradywine, an Amish Heirloom, I have gotten several people hooked on this big beauty.

 

Move To End Motions To End

Town Meeting Member Chick Joseph has been irked by all the motions to end debate at Town Meeting. The motions require a majority vote to pass; and, if passed, then debate on the question ends regardless of how many questions and bona fide good points are yet to be expressed. In a recent article in the T&G, fellow TMM Bob Lutz was lauded for his bringing the motion to end debate.

This past week, Joseph sent a letter to the Selectmen and Town Moderator expressing his desire to change the way we end debate. He also requested that a single edition of procedure rules be formally adopted. Multiple editions of Cushing’s Manual of Parliamentary Procedure were published before it went out-of-print decades ago. It's not clear to Joseph (or to me, for that matter) which edition we should use.

I share Joseph's frustration about the way Town Meeting abuses the motion to end debate. But I don't know if his proposed solution would be the right way to go.

He sent me the email to the BOS, and allowed me to reproduce it here. I've got my own responses, but let's see what you all have to say first.

Letter from Everett "Chick" Joseph":—

I am requesting the Board of Selectmen assist me in sponsoring a change to the Town of Shrewsbury By-laws. Specifically Article 2 Section 11 that deals with the conduct of the town meeting. I am asking that this amendment be reviewed by town council and if deemed lawful, it be included in the warrant at the next town meeting.

All too often some town meeting members choose to end debate once their position is stated without realizing how many more people still wish to be heard on the subject under consideration. The Town Meeting Representatives are facing the moderator and can only see the number of hands being raised that are in front of them.

Twelve people scattered over the large auditorium having their hands raised asking to be heard would only be visible to the moderator.

This change would provide the moderator with guidelines by which he could more fairly conduct the meeting.

Background

Article 2 section 11 of the Town of Shrewsbury By-laws states “The Moderator shall be governed in his rulings by the provisions of this article. In matters not provided for, herein or otherwise provided by law, the procedure shall be as outlined in Cushing's Manual, so far as applicable.”

At no time is the revision of Cushing’s Manual specified nor is a specific reference cited with respect to ending debate. It is left to the reader to determine how to end debate. The original volumes of Cushing’s Manual (of Parliamentary Procedure) dates back to the mid 1800s. The copy that is in the possession of the moderator is dated 1912. The copy archived in the Library of Congress, Luther S. Cushing. (LC No.:47006745) is dated 1925. The by-law does not reference any specific revision.

The legislative body (Town Meeting Representatives) has the option of changing the way Cushing’s Manual is interpreted. The legislative body can redefine the guidelines the moderator shall use to end debate on any warrant article under discussion by amending the wording of Article 2 section 11 of the Town of Shrewsbury’s By-Laws.

Proposed Amendment to the Town By-Law

I move to amend Article 2 Section 11 of the Town of Shrewsbury By-Law and insert a new sentence at the end of Article 2 Section 11.

" When interpreting the procedure outlined in Cushing’s Manual regarding a motion to end debate. The moderator shall rule the motion out of order if twelve (12) or more voting members have indicated they would like to be heard on the article under consideration."

Justification

The Town meeting consists of approximately 240 elected representatives from nine (9) precincts. Twelve representatives equate to 5% of the voting body. Those representatives are speaking for approximately 1600 residents. They deserve to be heard.

Chick and I both welcome your comments.