The will of a citizen and the efficacy of town government
Published on January 12th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - Wetland pollution has long been a controversial issue in town...
In the 1970s one of many reported violations of the Wetlands Protection Act occurred on Franklin Street. Illegal dumping on 150 and 152 Franklin St. during a three year period from 1973 through 1975 changed the contour of the land and has led to perennial flooding of John DeGeorge's 148 Franklin St. home.
DeGeorge wants the town to fix his problem because, he said, the town did not act responsibly to stop the known, harmful and illegal actions of other citizens.
Town officials are wary of spending public money for a private project.
"I don't even know if we can do this," Town Administrator Jeff Nutting said at the Jan. 4 selectmen's meeting.
DeGeorge said citizens should not have to beg town government to keep them from harm.
"I think the people will understand that what I'm asking is fair," he said.
DeGeorge said he has no disputes with current neighbors and no personal ill will toward past or present town officials.
"The system failed; town officials made mistakes. Fine. Now I just want them to make things right," he said.
DeGeorge also said he has no interest in suing the town. He views his problem as a struggle for the ideal of a caring town government.
"I remember when someone's house would burn down and people would come together to help, not all these lawsuits," DeGeorge said.
The fact is that DeGeorge may have no legal standing to sue. It would be hard to show how the town specifically harmed him. Also, the failure to prevent the harmful filling happened many years ago, and the statute of limitations on bringing a claim may have expired.
But a paper trail does present a strong case if only for "a moral obligation" as Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello put it at the Jan. 4 selectmen's meeting.
An April 9, 1973, letter from then Chairman of the Conservation Commission, Norman Norton, to John Sullivan notes filling of Johnson's 152 Franklin St. property and requests a site visit because "it appears you may be in violation of this (Wetlands Protection) act."
A March 19, 1975, letter from then Acting Chairperson of the Conservation Commission Linda Szabo to Sullivan states, "We feel you might be in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act... We request that all further altering of the premises cease until the necessary forms have been completed, as required under this law, and all necessary steps followed."
An April 3, 1975, letter read: "... if the Notice of Intent and all required plans and forms are not filed on or before May 16, we intend that any and all fill be removed..."
Also on April 3, 1975, the Conservation Commission identified 150 Franklin St. as "subject to the (Wetlands Protection) Act." Sullivan's daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. W. Johnson owned the property at the time.
In the minutes of an April 29, 1975, selectmen's meeting a letter from a Mr. Dimmick identified more dumping of fill on Sullivan's property on April 11.
Nothing was ever done to stop the filling of the property, and neither Sullivan nor Johnson were fined. The order of conditions was not enforced, and the statute of limitations on the order expired.
"The Conservation Commission had two years to bring an action in the Courts of the Commonwealth for non-compliance...This your commission did not do..." former Town Counsel Tom Leahy wrote in a Sept. 11, 1979, letter to then Conservation Commission member David Adamson.
Leahy refers to the town's position as "unenviable."
"If we did anything wrong we will take responsibility," Selectmen Chairman Al Conti said in a December 1999 meeting.
At the Jan. 4, 2000, meeting Town Counsel Bill Solomon, Nutting and Conti would not acknowledge any responsibility.
The selectmen did vote unanimously to include plans for a drainage system which could remediate DeGeorge's drainage problems on the plans for the state funded Franklin Street Reconstruction Project.
However, there is no time table for this project, and the selectmen have yet to commit to funding the extra drainage work for DeGeorge, which would not fall under state funding.
"I have waited a quarter century for this. I'm starting to get upset," DeGeorge joked.
But seriously, DeGeorge said his ordeal has made him question the efficacy of town government as it exists in Stoneham.
At the Jan. 11, 2000, selectmen's meeting during a public hearing on the entire Franklin Street project, the board decided to include DeGeorge's drainage system on the plans which Mass Highway will review.
This is not, however, a commitment to fund the work, which might not begin for more than a decade due to the backlog of state projects.
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