By: Philippe Thibault – 8-26
Benjamin Franklin was a well travelled and wise man. In his time, he knew there were only two things that were certain: death and taxes. Then again, I do not believe he traveled as far north as Dracut although I am sure he was aware of the town through Joseph Bradley Varnum. Back then another certainty was Dracut taking responsibility for what needed to be done.
We see this in Dracut’s response sending forty percent of the population to serve in the War for Independence. Dracut had a major export in pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary days, leadership. Has community individualism transgressed from self-reliance to selfishness?
Today, leadership appears to come from the rear, “leading from behind” as it is commonly referred. A political wet finger in the air to determine what side of the fence to gravitate towards. The astute among us understands how tenuous a position this really is and when anyone fans the flames of outrage the ship is staring at the shoals. Dracut Middies are adrift and rudderless.
The trouble is between the State and the municipality. The last two controversies have involved the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Communities law and the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MBTA Communities law requires update to local zoning for communities to permit multi-family zoning by right.
The MSBA has offered a grant to Dracut for the construction of a new school to replace both the James A Campbell School in the Kenwood district and the Greenmont Ave School in the Dracut Center district. Oddly, the Board of Selectmen has been playing both sides of this divisive coin.
For the MBTA Communities Law, a zoning change that has gone to the voters at town meeting twice and failed twice, is scheduled to go to town meeting in November for a third time. Under the guise of the potential loss of grant funding that will have an impact on Dracut and varies town projects and funding. A definitive dollar value has been elusive but would be approximately $2M to $3M per year from various state granting authorities.
The votes have been strong against compliance, with the sentiment that the state is overreaching their authority on zoning. Dracut is only single-family homes by right; two-family and multi-family housing require special permits from the Planning Board. This in part has led to a housing inventory shortage and price escalation in Dracut.
The MSBA offered a grant for a new school. The community voted against a debt exclusion by a margin of 1501 to 1400. The School Committee has asked the MSBA to extend their grant offer while Dracut tries to understand the ramifications of the vote and provide additional information to the citizens. The Board of Selectmen are now steadfast that “no means no” (Please re-read the previous paragraph for ironic effect). There is no singular “no” vote and the reasoning run a gamut from too cheap to raise taxes to not liking the design, to not understanding the project needs, to a vitriolic hatred of School Committee members and school administration. The result of the vote is clear, but not the reason.
The outcome of such a decision could be understood as leaving the Campbell and Greenmont Schools fallow and doing nothing at all, also known as benign neglect. Or did the no vote mean to undertake only needed repairs and code upgrades as required?
Or did the vote display confusion in understanding all the points and ramifications? The answer is yes to all questions. Not letting the project progress with an extension only appeases one small segment of those who voted no and abandons the rest.
Dracut’s struggle with these two questions highlights a larger more pressing question. If state grants are so vital to the financial wellbeing of the community, what is the community doing to increase its own economic development?
MBTA looks for Dracut to invest in zoning that will permit reasoned residential development. I say reasoned because the MBTA Law requires towns to institute its own zoning criteria based on the law’s guidelines.
The state wants the town to instill its character in the zoning requirements. The MSBA asks Dracut to make an investment in their educational system, and in return the state will provide a grant of $83M for the project.
Growth of the tax base would appear to be the only salvation for the budget. Where will future economic investment come from? There is no one shaking the trees in Dracut to see what fruit falls. The zoning bylaws with negligible changes harken back to the Reagan-Bush era. Even then the zoning bylaws did not address economic development but rather hindered it.
An article at Town Metting to decrease the lot size required from thirty thousand square feet to twenty-nine thousand square feet was soundly defeated. Less than the size of an average home’s first floor was villainized as turning Dracut into a city.
A move that screams at developers, entrepreneurs, and business owners, “move along, there is nothing to see here”. I’m not sure when Dracut became the victim, but it is not flattering. Our forefathers would be appalled. This leaves a final question for Dracut’s economics: if Dracut is not willing to invest in itself, who would be willing? ◊