DICK DALTON BOB GILLON
LYNNFIELD — Two candidates are running for one seat on the Select Board during the Town Election on April 12.
The two candidates running for a three-year term are Select Board Chairman Dick Dalton and Lynnfield Historical Society Treasurer Bob Gillon.
Voters in all four precincts will cast their ballots at Lynnfield High School from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on April 12.
The Villager asked the two candidates to answer four questions. Following are their responses.
Why do you want to serve on the Select Board?
Dick Dalton: I would first like to thank the citizens of Lynnfield for allowing me to serve as a Select Board member over the past six years. I seek re-election because I believe each of us can make a difference in our community through public service, volunteerism, involvement in youth activities, civic organizations or at our house of worship. For over 30 years, I have served this town in a variety of volunteer roles. This has allowed me to see and understand the issues facing our town from multiple perspectives. Additionally, it has given me the insight into issues that come before the Select Board that involve other boards and commissions in our town. It has been home to my wife and I, my children and now my grandchildren. As an individual and as a family, we are totally invested in Lynnfield.
I am proud of what I have accomplished over the past six years. By any standard, Lynnfield is a thriving and desirable community with rising property values, exceptional public schools and a quality of life that is second to none. The Select Board has built a strong management team, working together with exceptional employees, and volunteer boards and commissions that have led our town through uncertain and challenging times. We are stronger than ever! We must always look to the future for there is so much work yet to be done. I am not a “one-trick pony” running for office because I am spurred on by a single self-serving issue or controversy.
I have the experience, knowledge, temperament and commitment to listen to all, work with all and advance our town in a civil and inclusive way. And by the way, I genuinely enjoy the challenge of serving on the Select Board.
Bob Gillon: I have been asked why I decided to seek the election to the Lynnfield Select Board. I could answer with the typical clichés:
1.) Transparency
2.) Accountability
3.) Change
4.) Etc.
However, the number one reason I am seeking this position is to shake up the current board. The current structure of the Select Board no longer serves the voters. The size of the town along with the sizeable budget begs for changes to the composition of the Select Board.
I have asked several nearby town Select Board members how they manage their meetings, and it was not uncommon that most boards conduct an open period for citizens to ask questions of the board members. Many also have a period where they read and respond publicly to correspondence they receive from citizens. The Lynnfield Select Board seldom allows such opportunities.
What do you believe are the most important issues facing the Select Board?
Gillon: I believe that a five-member Select Board is warranted as a more effective way to manage the town affairs. According to the Massachusetts Municipality Association (MMA) Census of 2020, towns with populations between 1,000 -15,000 (Lynnfield=13,000), 77 percent (33/43) have five-member select boards.
A 2017 survey conducted by the town of Milton reflected several benefits from a three- to five-member change.
• Better distribution of selectmen workload: A larger number of selectmen allows for greater opportunity to assign executive-level work (long-term planning, policy development, oversight of implementation of policies, programs, initiatives and organization structure changes). This should also allow for more work to be completed and faster decision-making in a shorter amount of time.
• Better selectmen accessibility for residents: Should allow for residents to have greater success in reaching a selectman more quickly with issues of concern or feedback on pending matters.
• Greater efficiency/opportunity for offline discussions between selectmen: The resolution of many of the executive-level decisions that selectmen are asked to make requires significant analysis and discussion. Allowing some of this analysis and discussion to be completed and discussed by two selectmen between meetings could produce more efficient and effective decision-making and increase the likelihood of more quickly achieving consensus.
• More flexibility/opportunity for selectmen subcommittees: A larger number of selectmen would allow for the organization of two-person subcommittees. Such subcommittees could work in between regular selectmen meetings to organize, delegate and complete required work.
• Ease of operation on difficult/controversial issues: Bringing a larger number of selectmen perspectives to bear on difficult or controversial issues increases the likelihood that at least three members could agree and successfully address such issues.
• Broader diversity of views/skillsets: Increasing the number of selectmen also increases the likelihood that there would be a greater number of perspectives on any given issue.
An expanded Select Board broadens resident representation and adds two additional perspectives and allows for more diversity. Lynnfield is all about diversity.
Dalton: I believe that the three most important issues facing our town are:
1.) Advancing the recommendations of the Strategic Planning Committee: When I last served as chairman of the Select Board, I recognized that the town had to better position itself to be prepared for the challenges and opportunities that would present themselves to us. Thus, the Strategic Planning Committee was formed. It was a volunteer citizen committee that spent a great deal of time developing a long-term capital plan to identify, rank and cost out the long-term capital needs of our town.
That plan has resulted in the elementary schools’ expansion project, planning a public safety building project, protection and improvement of our water supply, formation of a new Library Building Committee, and energy efficient upgrades in all town facilities to improve the environment and save money. There is no substitute for planning, and we must continually revisit the plan and adjust to an ever-changing landscape.
2.) Maintaining the strong financial position of the town: Last week, the Select Board advanced the fiscal year 2023 operating budget that was conservative in spending, invested in our stabilization funds for our future and met the needs of town departments with significant investment in education, sidewalk and road repair, and critical equipment for our first responders. Maintaining the strong financial position of the town requires a Select Board to act in a manner that balances the needs and wants of the community as well as considering not only the short-term but the long-term as well. All too often, elected officials “kick the can down the road” rather than addressing a thorny issue head on. I was instrumental in modifying our budgeting process so that it complies with best practices. Once again this year, the town underwent a peer review by a national association and was recognized for its efforts. To have the affairs of the town effectively managed; it takes a competent and resolute team with disciplined leadership. That is what we have put in place and continue to improve upon.
3.) Focusing on “livability” issues that make Lynnfield a wonderful place to live: My focus has been and will be on what I call “quality of life issues.” Neighborhood speeding, responsible development, preservation of open space, cleanliness, preservation of our historic places and the continuous support of our elderly and veterans. Working with Police Chief Nick Secatore, we have installed solar and portable speed devices throughout the town. We purchased and protected Richardson Green, and passed a Tree Protection Bylaw. We have made significant upgrades to our historic Town Common, and the Pope-Richard Lynnfield Historical Centre. And during, COVID, we mobilized to protect our seniors not only from the virus, but from isolation and getting them the help they need and deserve.
Though we may be true townies born and raised here or residents who have moved here from places near and far, we all have one common concern: Preserving the character of the town.
How will your professional experience benefit the Select Board with overseeing the town’s operating budget? What skills do you possess that will help the town during the budget process?
Dalton: My years of managing the day-to-day operations of a company with a budget many times the size of Lynnfield’s, with operations on the East Coast from New Hampshire down to Florida and employing 3,500 employees, provided me with a wealth of budgeting experience. That experience allows me to be an impactful contributor to the development of a fiscally responsible and sustainable budget for the town.
I have managed operating budgets during some exceptionally good years and through recessionary years. Budgets are far more complex than an accountant or layperson merely fitting the total spending into some pre-determined cap. Judgment plays a vital role in the makings of a good budget. Determining what is a need versus a want; whether there is a better way to approach how we deliver critical services to our residents; whether we are adequately investing in our most important asset – human capital; and whether decisions that we are making with respect to the budget before us will prove to be sustainable in the years to come. I have just not participated in the budget process in the private sector; I have been the architect of those budgets.
Gillon: My 35 plus years in corporate finance and budgeting has provided me a solid base to review and understand over-all financial needs of business organizations. Town government needs to be managed in the same manner and not to be thought of as having an endless source of revenue.
What is your opinion of the public safety buildings/Town Hall project?
Gillon: I understand town voters are to be asked to approve a warrant item at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting in May to build/upgrade a new fire and police facility, and bring Town Hall offices in compliance with American with Disabilities Act code requirements. While this is a big undertaking, Town Administrator Rob Dolan has prepared a video, available on the town website, that speaks to the project.
While there is no proposed cost data, the project is long overdue. As Mr. Dolan explains it, the 20-year-old school renovation debt exclusion is rolling off the budget rolls. In other words, the mortgage has been paid off. Residents would be forgoing a reduction in taxes and just renewing a new debt exclusion to fund the new facility. With the current inflation costs that we are all presently experiencing, many residents may be looking for some relief in their monthly/annual expenses. Depending on the timing of the end of the current debt exclusion and when the renewal is to begin, over the next two to three years, there may an opportunity to see some tax reduction for a short period. That would need to be clearly explained during the warrant presentation.
Dalton: I am strongly in favor of the town going forward this project. I would suspect that most people in town are unaware of the shortcomings of our public safety buildings and Town Hall.
Let’s start with the Town Hall component of this project. The renovation of Town Hall is limited in scope and quite simple. It is completely unacceptable that Lynnfield Town Hall is not handicapped accessible and ADA compliant. Every citizen deserves access to their Town Hall, and accessibility upgrades and an elevator will solve that current problem.
By far the largest component of the proposed plan addresses long overdue physical changes to both the police and fire stations. Our first responders have dedicated their professional lives to the care and protection of each of us, our children, our parents and our property. We have an obligation to provide them with the tools and facilities to allow them to do their jobs. There aren’t any female bathrooms, locker areas, showers and facilities for women police officers and firefighters in the current stations. This is completely unacceptable. With no space and a flawed design, our police officers must bring prisoners up two separate flights of stairs to be processed. This conflicts with accepted best practices and puts our officers at unnecessary risk.
Our firefighter turnout gear, with carcinogens from chemicals and fire and blood and fluids from a medical call, do not have proper separate dirty and clean storage due to a lack of space and poor design. That is unacceptable and unsafe.
Under the existing conditions, we are not protecting the well-being and safety of our first responders. The entire cost of the project will not have an adverse effect on the real estate taxes that we all pay. That is due to a sizable amount of debt being paid down in the next few years. That elimination of that debt will offset the new debt service associated with the public safety/Town Hall project. Lastly, John Scenna will manage it. He has managed the school building expansion project that is on time and well under budget. I am highly confident that he can have the same results with this project.
In closing, it has been my privilege to serve on the Select Board for the past six years. With your support, I will return for a three-year term.