For Stoneham's Leaders, A Night To Share Ideas, Goals

If Stoneham residents tuned in to watch Wednesday night's Tri-Board Meeting at Town Hall a few might have been disappointed. Isn't this the town where politics is considered a full contact sport? Shouldn't a meeting that brought together the Select Board, School Committee, and the Finance and Advisory Board have at least a couple spirited arguments and ultimately a designated survivor?

But with Erin Wortman leading things off, the meeting was a display of town government at its best, a polite and determined discussion of what works in Stoneham and how its leaders hope to make their town better.

Before Wortman arrived in Stoneham 3 1/2 years ago, the town had gone 13 years without having a Director of Planning and Community Development. The Swansea native had been a city planner in Woburn for more than eight years before needing a new challenge and finding it one town over.

Wortman began the meeting with a presentation and update on the work she's been doing. It started with transportation. From Complete Streets, to an eight-town North Suburban Mobility Study, to work on a vision of what Stoneham Square could become, Wortman held court, combining facts with humor and throwing in a dash of government 101. For those watching at home, she was good TV, a fact made more important by the absence of a single Stoneham resident looking on in the Banquet Hall.

Wortman then moved on to the town's open space and recreation plan which is awaiting state approval and the Housing Production Plan. In her hour-long presentation she talked about energy use, Stoneham's Green Community Designation, and something called Tax Increment Financing (TIF). If acronyms give you a headache, think of it as the reason behind the town's new restaurant The Stones and the new building it's a part of in Stoneham Square.

Her update gave residents a closer look at what the town is doing as well as what it wants to do and she said it will be available on the town website within days.

Next up was Town Administrator Thomas Younger. Approaching two years on the job, Younger focused on town revenues and the budget. He spoke on everything from fees to commercial and industrial growth in town. He said that while the storage facility that's replacing Montvale Plaza will bring in more taxes, he wondered if there was a missed opportunity to work with the businesses in that retail development to come up with something better. He also spoke about improvements to the town website including online water and sewer abatement and the overall need to make it easier for people to pay.

His discussion gave way to what Caroline Colarusso called improved "customer service." It was in the interest of all in the room to do a better job finding out what residents want. Whether surveys, social media, or something else, how could the town improve communication with its residents to provide better service(s). School Superintendent John Macero said parents appreciated surveys that asked how they felt. How best to handle the logistics of a survey was also discussed.

Macero was last on the agenda with a discussion of joint services. He pointed to Reading as a model of what a town can do by consolidating its facility department. IT, human resources, and business management were also discussed as potential consolidated or joint services.

"I think this was a good conversation," said Select Board Chair Anthony Wilson. With all in agreement, it will happen again in the fall.

Photo of Erin Wortman's presentation by Bob Holmes