Board of Selectmen

Virginia McIntyre, Chair
Anne D. Shapiro
Philip H. Benincasa
Margaret B. Briggs
Gregory P Howes

Projects

The Board followed closely and expressed its strong concerns over negotiations between MassPort and Crosspoint Development to establish a new fixed base operation at Hanscom Field for jet aviation, which negotiations ultimately failed in September. The Board conducted numerous hearings to receive citizen input on the proposed sale of the Strawberry Hill Road parcel, and, in conjunction with the task force appointed after Town Meeting, evaluated and selected the best proposal to meet Town goals in the ultimate sale. Safety improvements to two of the level commuter rail crossings were completed in June, enabling the Town to continue its "quiet zone" free of routine sounding of train horns, and the Board extends its thanks to Town Engineer Jim Shuris, who was instrumental in the success of this project. The Board granted an easement over the newly acquired Burke land on Old Bedford Road to the Concord Housing Trust to afford access to three units of affordable housing at a neighboring parcel. In November, the Board was pleased to finalize agreements with the Archdiocese of Boston and Swedenborgian Church necessary to transfer ownership of the former Our Lady Help of Christians Church, an important and historic structure in the center of West Concord. In addition to its oversight of many other ongoing projects, the Board experimented in the sphere of meeting dynamics and changed the configuration of the large table in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, so that instead of sitting as a court en banc facing the audience, the Selectmen are now able to look at each other and converse more naturally, which all agree has improved the quality of communication and deliberation.