Wrapping Up the Week

Not much new today, but a quick wrapup of a fairly interesting week:

--Kindergarten goes full-day in '06-'07. Undoubtedly good news for Fitchburg and the little leaders of the future.

--Route 12 moves forward, slowly. Although there appears to be some questions as to how much this will actually do in the end. Want the scoop? Go to MA Roads. They have far more information than we'd ever give you on this one.

--House uncaps lottery aid, just like Romney did. It appears Fitchburg is in line for about $2 million in state aid for next year, but it's likely to go far. Everyone put their expansion plans away for now.

--Save Fitchburg has a great big poll experiment underway. Please play with us. Scroll down or click here.

House Uncaps Lottery Aid

Much ado today over the news that the House budget, due out in the next week or two, will uncap lottery aid.

This follows Gov. Mitt Romney's budget, which also eliminates the cap on aid. It doesn't effect the bottom line because we're talking max numbers here, so Fitchburg is still looking at $10.2 million, definitely a nice upgrade.

Two thoughts:

First, while this is heavily reported news (and got the traditional across-the-top treatment in the Sentinel), it's not really surprising. By uncapping the aid, Romney left no room for the Legislature to add. And cutting aid at this point would have led to massive municipal revolt. So really, not huge news.

Second, what does this mean for long-term increases? The last few years of lottery aid is hard to follow, with decreases and caps and all that. But from 2001 to 2002, lottery aid went up only 3 percent. It was just 1.5 percent from 2000 to 2001. During the boom years, however, aid skyrocketed. 14, 13 and 11 percent in the years from1997 to 2000. So, if there's no cap and aid will stay maxed out, what happens when lottery revenues "slump" and 1 percent increases? Obviously there will be good years, but how do local officials whine about local aid in the future with no cap -- and how do they plan for years when fewer Keno games are played?

Route 12 Moves Forward

The Sentinel reported yesterday that the Route 12 project continues to move forward, and work should begin early next year.

With a "Fitchburg Connector" to Route 2 a pipe dream, expanding Route 12 is a vital piece of the city's effort to rebuilding downtown. It's been a controversial plan for those who live on the road, but it's unquestionably a necessary part of the downtown puzzle.

All the needed property should be bought by the middle of this year, and construction should start next year. When finished, it will make downtown a little closer to the highway. Hopefully by then, people will have a good reason to travel down the expanded road to the center of Fitchburg.

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Don't forget to add your voice to our little poll project. You can flip down below or click here to get to the questions. I know some folks have already asked for more questions in the future. We'll see what turnout and interest is like over the next week or so, and go from there. Chances are we'll have some kind of long-term polling plan, however, whether it's a question of the week or regular, larger, polls like this one.

Let's Go Polling

So, here it is. A 10-question, highly unscientific, poll with questions related to Fitchburg government.

The polls will stay open for a week, and then we'll compile the results. If you have an answer that you don't see listed, feel free to send them via the comments link at the bottom of the post, or by e-mail.

If you have a question that isn't on here, either keep it in mind or let us know. If this works out OK, we'll do it again soon.

With that said, happy polling. Here we go.


UPDATE (4/5/2006): VOTING ENDED TODAY. WE'LL HAVE A WRAP UP SOON. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING, AND WE'LL DO IT AGAIN SOON.

Kids Win, Sentinel Loses

The School Committee last approved the plan to create full-day kindergarten for every child in Fitchburg last night. This a big step forward for public education in Fitchburg.

The Sentinel, however, isn't so happy. We noted last week our view that the Sentinel was opposed to the plan, and that opposition was leaking into the news pages (standard declaration: Save Fitchburg used to write for the Sentinel). Our latest example: The lede to today's story.

The city's two kindergarten schools, South Fitchburg and Goodrich Kindergarten,
will close in June to pay for a larger full-day kindergarten program.

There's something to be said for news judgement and writing the news in a compelling fashion, but in today's case the Sentinel is either taking the approval poorly, or trying to drum up controversy.

Yes, two schools builidings close "to pay" not just for a "larger" program, but "to pay" for a program that gives every child in Fitchburg the best possible educational opportunity. The short term shuffling of classrooms (which won't harm class size) lead to the long-term guarantee of better schooling for hundreds of kids a year. Why is this a problem? It'll be different next year, but five years from now, no one will even remember it.

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We're still finalizing our poll questions and finding a (hopefully) nice and dependable poll system. Perhaps tomorrow.

Let's Get Interactive

You spin through the comments section on this space, and you come to a few conclusions:

--Commenters are pretty disillusioned with all of Fitchburg government, particularly the mayor.
--They want something new and different.
--Faced with same-old, they're pretty turned off.

Many posters have talked about finding a mayor that hasn't been in politics before. Someone who is untainted by the general stain that all local politicians are touched with, for better or worse. It's a classic case of the the grass being greener on the other (untouched) side.

However, like in cards and life, we play the hand we're dealt. And there's plenty of room to say that the general public isn't so turned off (see Jay Cruz losing a council race to Annie DiMartino).

All this has led us down Curiosity Road, and we're thinking, "What are people thinking, based on the realistic options."

So, we're planning on putting together the most unscientific poll imaginable. In the next day or so, we're going to post 10 questions (or so), with multiple-choice answers. Our goal is to let it sit up for a week (or so), allow people to chime in, and compile results and analysis. Again, this will be completely unscientific, but hopefully interesting.

I Want to See Me, Staring Right Back at Me

We switch gears last night and went from being mouthy at the keyboard to being mouthy on TV, with an appearance on Ralph Romano's "Politically Speaking." It was our second stop by the show, and we had as much fun as we did the first time.

There was some talk on landlords, full-day kindergarten, and electoral politics both local and statewide. If you missed it, it's likely to rerun next Thursday at 7 p.m. on Channel 8.

On the print side, the Boston Globe has a A1 feature on state Sen. Robert Antonioni and his battle with depression. Antonioni first discussed his battles in 2003 in the Sentinel (a story written by Mrs. Save Fitchburg). Antonioni's story is a powerful one and he's shown a great deal of courage -- particularly for a public official -- to discuss this openly. It's a must-read, particularly the first story, which has a few nuggets that Globe doesn't have.

Least Suprising News Ever

City Councilor Stephen DiNatale made it "official" yesterday, he's running for state rep. It's been a foregone conclusion for months that DiNatale is in.

In his announcement, DiNatale focused on uncapping lottery aid -- a move that would free up more funding for cities and towns -- and getting the commuter rail ride from Fitchburg to Boston down to an hour (we've written a lot on this lately and will take a pass on it for now). DiNatale also threw a bone to the city's seniors, certainly an important voting bloc, but the story doesn't mention any real initiatives, just a caring.

DiNatale appears to be the 800-pound gorilla in this race, and the guy to beat from all appearances. Former Mayor Mary Whitney appears in, and former Ward 2 Councilor David LeBlanc is also running. DiNatale is only "official" candidate, and tellingly he's the only one who has set up a campaign fundraising account, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Throw in the fact that he was top vote-getter in the at-large council race last year, and DiNatale has the early lead.

In fact, it may be that DiNatale's strength is scaring off some other candidates. Mayor Dan Mylott took a pass, and why aren't more councilors or those who ran for council last year taking a pass? It's essentially a free swing, no one loses their office if they lose the race. There's a lot of time and effort involved, but it's interesting the field isn't bigger. Also significantly, there's no one on the Republican side in the race.

All this conversation makes for a great self-serving segue. Save Fitchburg will be on "Politically Speaking," hosted by Ralph Romano (speaking of Republicans...). It's 7 p.m. tonight on Channel 8. DiNatale, the rep race, and much more are on the menu.

The Landlords Strike Back

And they strike back with force and anger.

At last night's City Council meeting, landlords in Fitchburg showed up in big numbers to rail against a proposed increase in inspection and oversight of rental properties in the city.

Not surprisingly, landlords and their association are going to take a long look at this, and in the end decide it's a bad idea. No one is a big fan of increased regulation in their livelihood.

However, it's a narrow-minded view in this case. These proposed regulations would only increase city inspections and generate a small $30 fee. It gives the city a tool to fight one of its biggest problems -- absentee landlords.

Landlords with strong properties have nothing to fear through a city inspection. The $30 fee is tiny, but if landlords are that strapped, they can pass it along to the renter (like every other business when facing increased costs). Over the course of a year, that's $2.50 a month.

We're willing to guess the landlords in City Hall last night were the kind that takes care of their property, are mindful of who their tenants are, and have the city's best interest at heart (for the most part). The landlords who need oversight probably didn't even know there was a discussion going on.

Those who did show up let their displeasure known, with one calling Fitchburg a "dump city." And this guy was criticizing the city's "negative" attitudes. Huh.

Additionally, Police Chief Edward Cronin got involved.

Apparently, some people were caught off guard by Cronin's resistence last night. He was considered supportive until last night. Really, though, Cronin has little voice in this discussion. This mostly a building inspectors situation. Cronin's butting in is a little strange, and probably inappropriate. It's unlikely he'd want the building inspector setting up patrol schedules.

Considering the prevalent view that Fitchburg has a serious crime problem -- surely part of the "dump city" comment made last night -- Cronin should spend more time straightening his own house before dealing with others. Cronin's department certainly plays a role in this larger discussion, but not on this legislation.

While there may be some debate regarding the finer points of the measure -- and we still have those privacy questions in the back of our mind -- this is a proposal that is overwhelmingly beneficial to the city in the long run. To get some control over absentee landlords is an absolute must. Hopefully, the council can look past the orchestrated show of force last night and do the right thing.

Set the TiVo

Media alert: Save Fitchburg will be on Ralph Romano's "Politically Speaking" tomorrow night, 7 p.m., on FATV (Channel 8). If nothing else, it will prove once and for all that Save Fitchburg has no future in the stripping business (see recent comments if that one loses you).

We'll likely be talking about the state rep "race," absentee landlords, and maybe some good governor's race action.

Our advice: Set the TiVo to "highest" quality, and of course, "Keep until I delete."

When 'Intense' Means 'Probably'

The Sentinel covers last night's School Committee meeting regarding full-day kindergarten, and for fans of the plan (like us), the news is promising.

It appears there is general concensus for full-day kindergarten for everyone, but some concerns over how to go about. The school system is in line for $1.1 million in state aid, but that doesn't kick in until the 2007-08 school year, so some changes are in order for '06-'07, including some school closings and room changes.

Now, on to a little media criticism (and our standard disclaimer that we used to work for the Sentinel's parent company). The headline to the story reads "Kindergarten plan sparks intense debate." The second paragraph in the story notes the public hearing "highlighted many ambivalent opinions," and offers nary a quote or paraphrase of strong resistence to the plan.

For some reason, the Sentinel's headlines and some of the copy has been pretty slanted against the proposal. We've endorsed this idea, and still think full-day kindergarten is an important educational priority -- especially in an urban community like Fitchburg. The School Committee votes on it next week, and we hope the outcome is positive.

From Fitchburg to Boston

MA Roads has a post on a Telegram package from March 12 about taking the train from Fitchburg to Boston. One reporter drove, the other took the train. Somehow we missed this, so the first lesson is read MA Roads more often.

We couldn't find viable links so here's a summary: One reporter hopped on the train, the other drove from the station. They met at North Station. Train time: 1:35. Drive time: 1:41. Driver hit traffic, train guy had a nice, easy commute in. Train is cheap, parking is expensive. Our comments:

That time is a little skewed. It doesn't take into account driving to the train station, or walking or subway ride to the office. Unless you work right near North Station, there's added time in there. Somehow, the train got to North Station a few minutes early. We can safely report that doesn't happen very often.

The train rider said there were plenty of seats on the train. He was on the 7:20 train, which isn't really a good rush-hour train. Take the express at 6:40, and you won't be in your own seat after South Action a large majority of time. Coming home is ridiculous, with people often standing. Comfort is a necessity on the train.

The driver didn't take any shortcuts. There are a few we use that even if they don't shave off more than a minute or two, at least give us the illusion of moving faster than sitting in traffic. We would have avoided the big rotary backup, and may have skipped Fresh Pond in all probability.

We've been driving to the city a bit more lately, mostly because we value the 15-20 minutes in saved time over the $5 or so we save by taking the train (we pay $14 to park, the same as parking and train tickets. Gas is the extra cost). The train definitely is less stressful, but it is a lot longer.

The stories note a proposal to cut 20 minutes off the ride, which would cost $300 million. $15 million per minute is a lot. We're no experts on this, but schedule changes (like moving the afternoon express to after 5 p.m., for example), would have to help. What about eliminating some stops on some trips? Does every train need to stop in Shirley, for example (maybe, but why not ask)?

The stories also note projected long-term improvements to the Concord rotary and Crosby's corner. For driver, that would be nice, and would tip the scales strongly in driving's favor.

This is a big issue for Fitchburg, which put a lot of faith in the parking garage and considers the commuter rail a big part of the entire city's future. As MA Roads noted, the stories were sort of slanted to the train, but the current reality is that hopping in the car is a bit faster, at the end of the day (literally and figuratively), that's what is important to most commuters.

What's Good Growth?

As we mentioned earlier, we spent a few days in Southwest Florida over the weekend. Wow.

Everywhere you look, homes are being built. 700-unit developments go up in under a year, and square miles are being devoured at blinding speed. Thousands of homes are being built at a time, with no slowdown expected.

It has come at a price. There appears to be very little middle ground in the area. It's either a $400,000 condo or $600,000 home on a golf course, or a trailer park. Additionally, infrastructure hasn't been able to keep up, and traffic is major bitch.

It got us thinking, however, about the difference between there are here. Down there, a 700-unit development is a small player. Here, 70 homes set off alarms, draw out major opposition, and leave officials wringing their hands worried about how such a "large" development would play.

Certainly, there are issues here that aren't really in play in Southwest Florida. A large development would draw families, while Florida draws retirees. Families have kids in school, use more services, so on.

However, there has to be a middle ground. Early in Save Fitchburg's history, City Councilor Dean Tran made a strong argument for housing, and said Fitchburg may have lost its opportunity. Considering the housing situation in Massachusetts, it may not be ever too late. Why can't Fitchburg find more spots for 200, maybe even 300 unit, developments? Why can't it take the lead in the region on housing?

Yes, there are issues in terms of services and infrastructure, but the zoning process currently squeezes all sorts of mitigation from developers. These homes are usually priced above the median, which generates more tax income for the community. Bridal Cross Estates on Rollstone is a good example of the kind of development Fitchburg should pursue more in the future.

Bringing more people into the community -- and creating more housing that will benefit the whole region -- should be a priority. There's a middle ground between the permissive development theories of Southwest Florida and the no-way knee-jerk reaction of New England. Fitchburg should find and make the city a housing-friendly community in the future.

More on Landlords

Mayor Dan Mylott jumps on the train to get permits for all housing units, according to today's Sentinel. Additionally, the story says 22 percent of multi-unit buildings are owned by people who don't live in Fitchburg.

Someone wanted to see the resolution. Here's our copy:

TO THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FITCHBURG


Ladies and
Gentlemen:


The undersigned Petition your Honorable Body
to





require the registration
and inspection of all residential rental property within the City of Fitchburg.
The purpose of this ordinance is to insure that residential units are properly
maintained, to require landlords to comply with the City's Housing Code and to
protect the lives and the property of City residents.

Effective
01/01/2007.
First time registration for each unit: $30
Change of
ownership: see ‘First time registration’.
Inspection fee:
$30
Certificates of Occupancy: $10
Change in tenancy: $5
If
any fee is not paid within thirty (30) days of its due date, a late fee
surcharge of Thirty Dollars ($30.00) will be assessed.
No occupancy permit
should a unit fail inspection.
No occupancy permit should a unit have
outstanding Municipal bills.
No fee if the owner of the property is a Senior
Citizen who resides in a unit of the property and rents the remaining
unit.
Violation of ordinance shall result in additional fines, liens and/or
criminal charges.

Overseeing the Landlords

We're back after at trip to Southwest Florida (more on that in a later post), but for now we're applauding Councilor Dean Tran's plan unveiled at last night's City Council meeting that would create new oversight on landlords.

Essentially, the plan would demand landlords file a permit for each unit ($30) and then update the permit everytime there was a change in tenant.

Tran has said he's already heard complaints from landlords' associations, which are trying to protect their members. While we have a few concerns, we overall think this is a good idea.

In many cases, problems in the city are housed in apartments where landlords rent units they are never at and they don't care what happens. In some cases, the city has no idea where people (you know, the bad guys) live in the city because they rent.

This gives the city a database of renters and with some inspection demands included puts some oversight on landlords.

Generally, we think the good landlords have nothing to worry about and the bad ones now have some hand-holding. We also think $30 is a pittance and finances are not an argument in this debate. We do have some privacy concerns. Let's say, for example, the cops are looking for Bad Guy X, and the database tells them where the bad guy lives and they arrest him. We don't have a big problem with that. But the database gives the city a list of every renter, bad guy or not. What will the city do with that list? Will the city begin some policy of reviewing tenants?

Those questions need to be answered, but this information is for the most part a valuable tool for Fitchburg, and we think Tran is on the right track.

The story behind the story

According to the Sentinel, former Mayor Mary Whitney is in the hunt for state rep. She has pulled nomination papers, but as of yesterday had yet to open a campaign account. If she's serious, she needs to start raising some money, stat. Whitney says she's not ready to announce yet, so part of us wonders if she'll actually go through it. Either way, she's certainly very interested.

Story behind the story: Stephen DiNatale, who is in the race, says in the story he'll do what he what he always does in campaigns, shaking hands and meeting people. That's nice retail politics, but offers nothing in terms of vision, plans and what he brings to the table. Certainly, there's the possibility the Sentinel left that out of the story, but it's more likely that's the best DiNatale could come up with. We understand that a big part of local politics is being seen, but we'd rather that speak for itself and DiNatale talk about the great things he's going to do in office. There's some talk in the comments section here about DiNatale being a little light in the substance category, and this story doesn't cure those concerns.

The Sentinel also checks in with a story on the problems with the snow budget, and how the city is close to going over the budgeted cost. This doesn't really concern us too much. Communities usually blow through their budgets, and often cover it the next year. It happens, and generally isn't a sign of fiscal mismangement. If anything, we're a little perturbed that our street and those nearby haven't been taken care of better this winter. The 3-4-5 inch snow falls this year have been unplowed usually, creating quite a mess. That said, the city has done an excellent job on the big storms. Perhaps some plowing cost-cutting?

The story behind the story: Jody Joseph blasts Mayor Dan Mylott, saying the mayor is "mortgaging" the city's budget, and "I think we're running into financial disaster." Tough words, and if we didn't know any better, perhaps the words of a guy who has higher office in mind in 2007. Is that nothing but speculation? Absolutely. Something worth watching? Absolutely.

Also, Mylott admits to learning from last year's budget creation, and is optimistic about next year. Interesting that Mylott sort of admits defeat on how the '06 budget was handled. He'll need a good '07 if he wants to solidify his standing for next year.

Mayor vs. Manager

We touched on this issue last month, but after another flood of comments on it, we figure it's time to get a more in-depth on it.

What's better for Fitchburg? The current mayor-council form of government, or would the city be better served by a city manager?

Much of this discussion is based on current affairs. There is a strong feeling Fitchburg is being underserved by the present mayor. That leads to the obvious discussion of making a change in form of government. This discussion probably wouldn't happen if Fitcbburg was thriving. But it's not, and hasn't been for a while, hence the discussion.

Certainly, a strong mayor brings to the table astute political skills, the ability to think big, create support, and make things happen. A mayor is accountable directly to the people every two years, creating a strong incentive to be consistently good. Also, a mayor lives in the community, and likely has for a long time.

A city manager brings a different skill set. While a mayor is politics first and policy second, a city manager flip-flops that. A manager is just that, a manager. It's someone who understands government and to work it efficiently.

A manager doesn't necessarily live in the community. Managers who don't are motivated by doing a good job, not by civic duty like a mayor. Finally, managers for a city like Fitchburg would hard pressed to take the job at less than $90,000, and $100,000 isn't out of the question. You could make the argument that a well-skilled, experienced manager would be worth the cost, but that's a lot more expensive than the current mayor's salary (which may or may not need a bump itself, depending on your point of view).

Certainly, right now Fitchburg could use a strong manager who can efficiently run government. But in the long run, does Fitchburg need a mayor or a manager? Why can't the city find a mayor is a strong manager (that's ground well covered here, but probably needs more coverage as time goes on).

Making such a drastic change is difficult. There's a required charter review and a lengthy approval process that includes the City Council and the voters. While our knee-jerk reaction is to change the charter, we think a decision made now would be clouded by the current political atmosphere.

That said, we're open to change, if its for the good of the city. We think the city should create a review committee to look at making the change and create a report that outlines how city government would be changed, and the pros and cons to changing. It's a long-term effort -- years in the making -- but it's worth the time and energy to make sure Fitchburg is running as well as it should.

Museums, Schools, Cheap Houses for Families

Why, it must be Fitchburg.

At least according to a "community profile" in last Sunday's Boston Globe, which touts the diversity of Fitchburg.

The reporter talked to Mayor Dan Mylott, who talks up Fitchburg, but also disturbingly alludes to "struggles." He does finish off with a nice pitch for families looking for cheaper real estate than you can around Boston or the 495 belt.

Certainly, this is something Fitchburg has going for it. Not only are houses generally cheaper, but the market seems to still be fairly strong in the area. From what we've seen, housing prices are still moving upward, and even if it's only moderate growth, that's better than most of the Boston area and the state.

The problem is, it's a tough commute from Fitchburg to Boston every day. We know as well as anyone. Fitchburg can never move closer to Boston (although rapid train service would help create the illusion of moving closer), but it can -- and should -- position itself as a strong, family-friendly community and then make sure that view sticks.

More on Mylott

The Sentinel version of Mylott's no-run announcement is interesting on a couple of levels.

First, Mylott says he would have tried to stay on as mayor and worked as a state rep. We've written about this in the past, and simply found it to be a very, very, very (add as many more "verys" as you feel appropriate, we'd say at least two) bad idea. The fact that was his plan is disturbing. That he talked himself out of it is of some consolation. That there was no middle ground -- being rep but not mayor -- is also disturbing.

Second, the Sentinel continues the bizarre business of absolutely burying Fitchburg political news on its website (now standard disclosure: we used to report for the Sentinel). Today's story was not on the front page, which instead featured big stories like how locals feel about Manny Ramierez. Ugh.

Finally, right now we're looking at DiNatale, Whitney and Koeck as candidates for state rep. If you flip through the comments sections here and in other spots, there seems to be little excitement around this group. DiNatale certainly has his supporters, and Whitney and Koeck have city-wide organizations they can dust off. Is there anyone else? Names, please.

Mylott Out

As anticipated in the last week or so, Mayor Dan Mylott announced yesterday he isn't running for state representative this fall. For many folks, this news will be greeted with a shrug, a muttered "good," or perhaps worse.

However, in the grand scheme of things, having Mylott sucks out some of the political energy. Whatever else you want to say about Mylott, he's been able to win the Mayor's Office and keep it, and he would have been a name-brand candidate this fall.

It'll be interesting to see if Mylott's stand-down brings out more candidates -- Mylott himself said he expects some names in the next week or so -- and it will be interesting to see who the Republicans come up with.

Mylott is quoted in the story as saying he wants to continue to work on the "challenges" facing the city, but the story doesn't talk about re-election in 2007. We'll leave the challenge business alone for now.

The Luck of the Draw

Not to turn into an education blog suddenly, but a followup to yesterday's full-day kindergarten post:

The Sentinel went to the first parents' meeting regarding the issue yesterday, and the turnout appeared to mostly parents who want full-day kindergarten for their kids.

A point we forgot to make yesterday (and made today) is the fact that right now whether or not your child gets full-day or half-day kindergarten is merely by chance. Anyone who wants full-day enters a lottery, and there are way more entrants than slots for full-day kindergarten.

While it is the fairest option to decide who gets in and who doesn't, it's still very unfair (and one of the big reasons we don't like charter schools, but that's a whole other discussion that we don't want to get into right now). If the kid down the street gets in full-time, and your kid gets in half-time, suddenly the kid down the street is receiving twice the vital education of your kid, only because of sheer luck.

Perhaps the biggest task our community has is educating our children, and every child should get the opportunity to use the full resources available. To bounce some kids to half-time merely by bad luck is an affront to that principal, and it's an issue that should be eliminated.

Granted, some parents only want half-day kindergarten, and if that's their decision there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But some parents want full-day, and to be denied by lottery is a lousy fate.

It appears as if the school system is taking a long-term, thoughtful and open view on this. Hopefully it works out and the days of kids being stuck with lesser educational opportunities will be gone in the future.