REIN IN THE CPA SURTAX

I was delighted to see Alan Seferian is trying to rein in the rampant overspending and mismanagement of CPA funding by reducing the surtax to a very reasonable 1% via Article 17 at the annual Town Meeting. With the largess provided by the 3% surtax, the CPC and Conservation Commission have squandered most of the CPA funds.   

According to the USDA 2007 Census (the latest available), Massachusetts has among the most expensive farmland in the nation at some $12,313 per acre.

But wait - the Busa farm parcel, soon to be socialized into a town-supported toy farm for the benefit of a tiny minority of shareowners, was bought by the CPC at an astounding $517,000 per acre, the price of regular residential land.

Next, the Conservation Commission bought the Cotton farm for $3.8 million (a truly staggering $900,000 per acre). If you've not been there, it can charitably be described as the verandah for a swamp. It provides no recreation area and the only benefit is to the owners of the adjoining property who are now guarded from development forever.  

Finally, the Conservation Commission is waging a battle with dog owners at Willard's and is extending its campaign to ban legal dog walking in all Conservation areas. The Commission wants to hire its own police force to impose its own brand of leash law designed for its abutter buddies.

Instead of $1000 designer garbage cans (reminiscent of deposed CEO John Thain’s office decorations at Merrill Lynch)  the Commission needs to place about 2 more ordinary trash barrels in the middle of Willard's Woods and arrange for their pickup.   

Tell your town meeting members to vote for Article 17 - put some brakes on runaway "preservation."