DiNardo: Selectmen need to support Crabtree

SAUGUS – Town Meeting member Al DiNardo of Precinct 4 has watched for two years as Town Manager Scott Crabtree has been pounced on time and again by the Board of Selectmen, and now he wants it to end.Calling for the selectmen to “get behind this administration,” DiNardo explained that the Town Charter’s requirement of four votes to appoint a town manager had to be changed to three votes just to get Crabtree into office.He said that process alone took six months.”What’s wrong with the Board of Selectmen?” he asked. “Unless they have some sort of smoking gun that they want to tell us about, everything points to personal and political.”DiNardo explained that Crabtree has taken the town in a new and better direction despite constant flak from the selectmen.”Saugus has come a long way under this administration,” he said.Now the town is in a position to build a new high school and bolster economic development on Route 1 rather than allow more retail stores to move in.”The state is making a mint off retail and we’re not getting a nickel for it,” said DiNardo.He added that the previous nine years under former Town Manager Andrew Bisignani cannot be compared to what Crabtree has done for the town during the past two years.”What did we get for nine years?” asked DiNardo, referring to the Bisignani administration.”With Mr. Crabtree we’re dealing with the truth.”Fellow Town Meeting member Sean Maltais of Precinct 6 explained that there has been ongoing friction between Crabtree and Selectman Stephen Castinetti going back to when they served on the board together.Despite repeated attempts to seek a response, selectmen, including Castinetti, declined to comment.”They didn’t see eye to eye then,” said Maltais.He said that since taking office, Crabtree has earned the respect of residents and Town Meeting members.”One night at Town Meeting, we passed every article without Scott even having to go to the podium,” said Maltais. “Scott lives here, there’s really no reason not to support Scott.”He said that without Crabtree, the selectmen would allow the Hilltop Steak House property to “become another car dealership” when it could accommodate something similar to MarketStreet Lynnfield.Maltais added that the selectmen are never open about what they want for the town.”They’ve been in office a year, and they haven’t done anything,” he said.