Intended Walmart project causes Saugus riff

SAUGUS – A war of words has erupted between Town Manager Andrew Bisignani and Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian after the news last week that Walmart intends to build a new store on Route 1.Bisignani took issue with Manoogian’s comments in an earlier story in The Daily Item about the project. In the story, Manoogian voiced concerns about any possible deal with the building fee to get developers to redo the pumping station at the site.”I really hope the town does not low-ball the construction value to mitigate construction on the water line,” said Manoogian in the earlier story.In a letter to the Daily Item, Bisignani said these comments were “offensive and cast a bad light on all town officials, both elected and appointed.”Bisignani also said that in his eight and half years as town manager, he has never offered any special deals to developers, whether it be improvements to water, sewer, road upgrades or landscaping.”Never was any special consideration given to a contractor or developer in the form of a reduced permit fee for whatever reason,” said Bisignani. “If Mr. Manoogian has valid information indicating so, please let him come forward.”Manoogian pointed to the town offering free water, trash removal and health insurance as part of the lease for Kasabuski Rink in 2008. But these concessions were made public and approved 5-0 by the Board of Selectmen.”The process for assessing a value to a project for the purpose of establishing a permit fee is very academic and transparent,” said Bisignani. “The building inspector ? is governed by specific standards and that information is very public. Mr. Manoogian’s suggestion that the administration would manipulate or compromise that process is unfair and without merit.”Town Moderator Bob Long also commented in the letter, saying “Manoogian’s remarks are a slap in the face to all elected and appointed officials in Saugus and create an atmosphere of mistrust.”In May, the Finance Committee voted to refer article No. 6 in the annual Town Meeting warrant, a proposal to construct a $618,000 sewage pumping station on Route 1, back to the Board of Selectmen.At the time, Manoogian opposed the article, saying he didn’t think the town should have to pay for a new pumping station.Now that Walmart is taking over the site, they would be responsible for it, and that is where Manoogian took issue.”The bottom line here is (Bisignani) wanted the town to be on the hook for the pump station,” said Manoogian. “Town meeting said, ‘No,’ and now we’re finding out Walmart is going to do it. Is he granting any concessions? These processes are public. It’s a reasonable question to ask. Are we putting anything on the table? I want to make sure, as a Town Meeting member, that we’re not doing something on the other end for (Walmart).”Bisignani said Tuesday Walmart developers are still in the planning stages of the project and no definitive price or plans have been offered. The design and permitting process is expected to take three to six months.Selectman Scott Crabtree said the land can’t be developed without improving the pumping station and that a previous developer was in the process of clearing the property in order to sell it off to another developer.”You can’t develop the land without improving the sewer,” Crabtree said Tuesday. “So they made the land more attractive for another developer like Walmart.”Chris Buchanan, Walmart’s Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, said in an email that developers are aware of the current need for upgraded utilities at the site, but no decisions have been made on how that will be handled.”At this time no formal commitments to those infrastructure needs have been made by Walmart or WS Development,” said Buchanan. “But we do anticipate that this mitigation will be discussed with the Town in the upcoming permitting process and we acknowledge that it would be reasonable for our project to inherit the requirements of the previously permitted development.”Bisign