Letter To The Editor: Setting The Record Straight On The Pine Hill Road Project

Because of the public criticism by some of our town leaders, I would like to publically set the record straight regarding the activity that followed the Town Meeting vote on the road at Pine Hill.

Neither the proposal to reconsider the vote on the second night, nor the “Citizen’s Petition” to call a special Town Meeting in the event that the ballot question passed, were products of the Pine Hill Access Road Committee. Both initiatives came from other citizens. 

The first was short-lived because a local by-law prohibited reconsideration on the second night, but the proposal did engender among citizens a great deal of activity, and sparked a new interest in finding a way to open the discussion again.  

Since I had heard so much confusion, outrage, frustration and disbelief that the vote had missed the required 2/3 majority at Town Meeting, and that the road was a no- brainer, that it would easily pass with the support of the town leadership, I gave serious consideration to the suggested “Citizen’s Petition” and decided that it made sense to participate and help promote it, as a “citizen.”

The petition was a way to assure that all citizens were heard and their ballot votes were counted, without additional expense to the taxpayers.

Both a fall Town Meeting and an Annual Town Meeting, as suggested by members of both Advisory and the Board of Selectmen, require repeating the bidding process, which costs money and risks losing the excellent price of the recent returns.

A successful vote at either of those meetings would also require the expense of running another election for the ballot question.

The petition process eliminated all those negatives, as the contractor had reluctantly agreed to hold his price. It also eliminated the necessity of another committee expending months revisiting the same issues, but did provide for the public hearings and the vetting of the project before the voters.

It is unfortunate that those in leadership did not help educate the public, but rather chose to work to make the question fail, not on the merit of the project, but rather on their objection to this process, which is provided for by law.

I would like to thank all the people who worked so hard to collect the over 270 signatures in 6 short days and participated in getting the information out to so many.

It was a rather amazing exercise in civics for all. It is a shame that some turned it into a political football rather than appreciating a sincere effort to get a serious safety issue addressed sooner rather than later.

I especially want to thank the Pine Hill Access Road Committee for the year of dedication to studying options, and building consensus, in an attempt to correct the safety issues which continue to exist at the site of our largest town-owned facility – a facility which also houses a very large number of our children day in and day out.

It is my sincere hope that those who worked to make the recommended solution fail, will now direct their efforts to remedying those clearly identified safety issues.

Frank Hess

Sherborn