Waltham High School Project Gets Neighborhood Liaison

WALTHAM, MA — Mayor Jeannette McCarthy has appointed former candidate for city council Bill Hanley as the neighborhood liaison for the high school project.

He ran for office in November, ultimately losing a tight race to City Councilor Caren Dunn. Shortly after that he reached out to a number of people in the city letting them know he was looking for other ways to stay involved in the city. Hanley said he heard rumblings that the mayor was looking for volunteers to help liaison with neighbors about upcoming meetings and communication, so he volunteered. He'd been keeping up to date on the project; reading as much as he could find, going to most of the meetings anyway, it seemed like a match.

About a month later, McCarthy called him up and interviewed him for the role and later offered him the unpaid position.

Although he's not a direct abutter, and none of his children will be going to the school, his house is 900 ft from the site, he said.

Right now Hanley said his role is to report back to community members what's happening on the project. He's started a Facebook group and he's planning to set up a website shortly.

As demolition and site work starts in August, and the construction and site prep begins, the role will transform to to help people get resources from the project and the city- like how to take advantage of the free pre-blast inspections before time runs out on that.

During pre-blast inspections, inspectors will come in and take pictures of drywall, in areas near the blasting and document what your home looks like beforehand and document it.

"That will be really important," said Hanley. "As site construction progresses, they'll be able to get insurance claims if anything goes wrong. Hopefully there's no need, but those protections are important."

Hanley, who has been pro-project from the beginning readily admits the entire city will be impacted by the construction during the next four years, especially the closest neighbors.

Although he's been for the project, he said, he recognizes that not everyone in the neighborhood has been.

"No matter where it was built there's was always going to be some neighborhood impact," he said. "I don't think any level of government should impact someone's property or family and this project is doing both and it upsets a lot of people and I can't ever dispute that."

Hanley said he wants to help his neighbors figure out the best way to protect their properties and limit that impact.

"It's abundantly clear this project has polarized the city, but most important, people, especially people who live in an area that could be impacted by blasting, people really need to make sure those inspections are done and they have their documentation. That really is my number one priority."

He plans to post alerts about when the blasting will happen, when trucks will be coming in and out of the area.

He'll attend the SBC meetings, raise questions and concerns that he gets from people in the community and act as an advocate for his neighbors and their property.

"It's still being all hashed out, but communication and information sharing are the big tasks right now," said Hanley.

According to the Facebook Group the next SBC meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. June 22

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, calendar item or opinion piece.