Things We Missed

We got all caught up in election season, and missed a couple of interesting stories. By way of catching up, here we go...

Mayor Dan Mylott announced the city will hold off on buying police cruisers, which saves about $175,000. We weren't the biggest fans of this budget priority, and got the sense that it was on thin ice from the beginning. Apparently, that was the case, as the cars were the first casualty of this year's budget "situation."

Mylott seems to think optimistically that this will fill in the city's budget hole. That would be good news. There was a line in the story from the chief where he notes the cars get rundown after a few years. Not sure what he means by a few years, but hopefully it's more than three or four. In any case, we submit that if the old cars start breaking down, the department puts more walking officers downtown. Just a suggestion.

While the police budget took a hit, the city approved a $600,000 loan for roofs on school buildings. This is one of those things that has to be done, no matter the circumstance. It's a long-term problem that created this short-term solution. Hopefully when better days come, the city can have a set-aside for capital improvements and maintenance, and a rainy day fund to cover costs like this. It might be a while...

Peter Bovenzi snapped up 150 acres (including a 90-some acre pond) for $200,000 along Route 31 on the Fitchburg-Westminster line. Bovenzi has no concrete plans for the land, but expect development at some point.

Obviously, this is on the western fringe of Fitchburg, and further proof that a latter-day western migration is happening from Boston. Fitchburg needs to continue to position itself as the end of the line, and not lose ground to Gardner and other communities even further west.