LYNNFIELD – Select Board Chair Dick Dalton said that dealing with the MBTA Communities Act will be one of the most important things that the Board will work on next.
Lynnfield is one of 177 cities and towns that are considered “MBTA Communities” as the town is adjacent to the town of Wakefield, which has MBTA rail service. At the meeting, it was discussed that the town, which has limited sewer infrastructure and water availability, would have to create a district for a minimum of 750 multi-family housing units.
“Communities that fail to do so could lose eligibility for certain state grants, including MassWorks and infrastructure grants,” the meeting notes read.
Dalton, who is the newly-elected chair to the Select Board, said at a recent meeting that being designated as one of the MBTA Communities calls for them to make plans for affordable housing, which will take a lot of work, meetings, and “a lot of good thinking.”
“So if you’ve read about this in the paper, or especially the town of Milton, it’s been a very divisive issue,” Dalton said. “We have to have a plan to submit to the state if we’re gonna stay in compliance with the law by the end of the calendar year.”
Dalton said that they have already established a working group and will collaborate again with the Planning and Zoning Boards and the Conservation Commission.
“We’re gonna try to bring a number of people with certain expertise to the table so that we can come out with a plan that we can submit to the state that will put us in compliance,” Dalton said. “But on the other hand, we’ll protect the character of the town. That’s why I think it’s so important because if not handled correctly, this could have a really negative impact on the town.”
Dalton also mentioned other issues of importance, such as handling library renovations.
“The existing building is in dire need of just basic repairs, upgrades, and also making it ADA compliant which it isn’t at this point,” Dalton said.
Dalton also added that he would like to explore re-imagining how the Lynnfield Senior Center space can be used in collaboration with the Recreation Commission, to be less burdened in occupancy costs and to come up with a plan where the building can be utilized as plans to expand recreation programs for all ages come up.
“If you consider the amount of time the Senior Center, the facility itself is used, it’s really a building that has a lot of potential…it’s vacant for a good part of the day,” Dalton said.
Dalton also said he would like the board to be better at communicating with constituents.
“What I’d like to see this coming year is a real attempt at getting together a social media program,” Dalton said. “We’ve talked about it in the past and it just never really came to fruition.”
Dalton said that he expects there to be a lot more public forums this year.
“We are going to be dealing with some difficult issues that will really require the voters to be well-informed to make some very important decisions,” Dalton said.
