10 Takeaways from the Nov. 21 Select Board Meeting

Finegold, Robertson discuss housing production; residential/commercial tax shift stays at 1.66

The Select Board met last night without member Mark Kratman. Chair Todd Johnson opened the meeting with a moment of silence for Tewksbury’s former state senator, Sue Tucker, who passed away Monday at age 79.

“I knew Senator Tucker personally, and she always represented our interests with class and a lot of professionalism,” said Johnson.

Attorney Elizabeth Pisano appeared for the new Hilton Garden Inn at 4 Highwood Drive. The nearly 150,000 square foot hotel features a number of meeting spaces, a pool and entertainment. Last month the board granted a common victualler license. The request tonight was for an entertainment license for amplified live and recorded music and dancing Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Member Jayne Wellman asked for clarification on whether there would be amplification outdoors; Pisano said no, internal only. There may be music in the lobby bar area; she will follow up. The license was approved unanimously. 

Note that the Carnation visited the new Hilton this evening. Here are some photos. The space looks great, and the lobby restaurant and bar are close to opening, according to staff.

Next, Senator Barry Finegold and Rep. Dave Robertson joined the board to provide insights on the recent housing bond bill and MBTA Communities law. Rep. Vanna Howard had a conflict, while Rep. Tram Nguyen is under the weather

Johnson called out a Boston Globe article that said the Healey Administration estimates that Massachusetts is 200,000 housing units short and is looking to “dramatically” increase the state’s housing stock via a combination of the MBTA Communities Act, allowing accessory dwelling units and creating an advisory council to better use state-owned land to create more housing.

“That obviously caught my attention,” said Johnson, referencing the concern that the town could see dense housing built in an MBTA Community zone and then have Tewksbury State Hospital land be designated for housing as well. 

Finegold said “basically the universal theme across eastern Massachusetts” is that people who’ve grown up in communities can no longer afford to live there. 

“Unfortunately as a state we have not done a great job of production,” he said. “We have a housing crisis. And we cannot subsidize our way out.”

On average in Greater Boston, it costs about $600,00 to build a subsidized unit, said Finegold, who commended Tewksbury for being “where it should be” on 40B.

“I don’t think Tewksbury should carry the weight for the rest of the state,” he said. While the delegation has a great working relationship with Gov. Maura Healey, he said that the Senate also has ideas of laws that could be changed to encourage production.

Robertson put a personal face on the problem. Since he graduated in 2012, the cost of housing has about doubled.

“You elected me to be the face of this town to the state, but I can’t afford to live here,” said Robertson. “Fair needs to be fair. We can’t upend the community simply for one generation or preserve it over the concerns of others.”

He said he has approached Rep. James Arciero, chair of the Joint Committee on Housing, to reiterate that Tewksbury should not face “double jeopardy” should the State Hospital land be designated for housing and raised the possibility of asking for relief from the MBTA zoning in exchange for working with the state to develop some units at the Tewksbury State Hospital. 

For the record, Johnson clarified that none of Tewksbury’s reps are among the four legislators who voted “no” on the MBTA law and asked them to explain their reasoning.

Finegold said Eastern Massachusetts is one of only two areas of the country where rents have not come down, and it’s hurting competitiveness — an area he has insight into as chair of the Economic Development Committee.

“My job is to help grow business in Massachusetts,” said Finegold. “I talk to CEOs every day. I ask them, hey, what can we do to help your business? What can we do to make you more competitive? What do you need? Housing, housing, housing, housing. That’s all they want to talk about. Their workers do not want to stay in Massachusetts.”

Unless new units come online, he said, we are not going to be competitive as a state because we are going to continue to lose population.

Robertson explained that housing is a major contributor to inflation, and the free market isn’t creating new units fast enough to stabilize costs. He also pointed out that increased housing density is a great way to reduce taxes and that one- or two-bedroom condos will allow older residents to downsize and young people to stay in the communities where they grew up. 

Vice-chair James Mackey asked whether there is discussion of a potential carveout for towns that are at 10% affordable; that’s still up in the air, according to Finegold.

“I do think it matters that Tewksbury has done the right thing, when other communities haven’t,” said Finegold. 

Mackey brought up traffic, and Finegold agreed that work needs to be done on local roads, regardless of housing given that traffic volumes are not going down.

Wellman thanked the delegation for the work they do on behalf of the town, particularly $250,000 recently returned for first responders, and the frequency with which they come to events in town. She also called out Robertson’s work on behalf of South St. residents affected by the unpermitted contractor yard.

She suggested legislation or rulemaking that provides greater credits on community development grants for towns that designate vacant, not just buildable, land. An example would be funding to upgrade intersections.

She also cautioned not to allow the sense of urgency for more housing to overwhelm the need for good municipal planning. 

“Let’s be aggressive but smart,” she said. “Let’s have NMCOG at the table, let’s have CTI at the table … Tewksbury’s doing our part, but I want us not to be pressured to chase one solution.”

As to ignoring or challenging the MBTA Communities act, Robertson said he sees other towns poised to waste tax dollars on an indefensible legal position.

Finegold said he would be meeting with the State Hospital board soon and would bring up the idea of a long-term master plan.

Mackey closed the conversation by asking whether there’s a possibility of taxing investment residential properties at a higher rate.

“We’re actually getting ready to do our tax classification,” said Mackey. “As Ms. Wellman said, there’s a whole lot of investment properties, not just the big condo complexes and apartment buildings. It may be worth taking a look at being able to tax those differently. If it’s being operated as a business, we should be able to tax it as a business.”

The takeaway was that the town would like to see movement on that matter as well as updates on plans for the State Hospital and the ongoing budget process.

Next, the annual tax rate classification hearing, led by Joanne Foley, the town’s chief assessor

The residential/commercial tax shift will stay steady at 1.66. That puts the Tewksbury FY24 residential tax rate at $13.39 per $1,000 of value versus $25.24 for commercial/industrial properties, an $11.85 savings for residents. 

Foley reports that for FY24, the average single-family home is valued at $602,548, up from $553,132 in FY23, a jump of 8.9%. Condos now average $443,094, up 11.4%. The average residential tax bill will be $8,068, with debt exclusions accounting for $846 of that. Homeowners can expect an average hike of $269, while the average residential condo bill will increase $324. 

Foley said the number of sales has declined, likely due to higher interest rates. But while numbers are down, values are up.

Wellman asked how the various available exemptions are communicated to low-income seniors, disabled veterans and other eligible households. Foley said the Senior Center is a big help in letting eligible residents know what’s available. For FY24, the veterans exemption was raised by $200, for example, and there are 200 such exemptions approved. 

Here is Foley’s presentation.

“If you own a home today, you’re a happy camper, in the sense that your house is worth a lot more than it was a year ago, or two years ago or three years ago,” said Johnson. “The headline tomorrow will be that we potentially voted to increase your taxes. That’s almost a guarantee. But the reality is, the article should be a lot deeper. It should be speaking about all of the things that you get for those dollars that you pay.”

Those things include ambulances, public safety, teachers, trash pickup, the Senior Center and Library, sidewalks, water delivery and many other services. There’s a push to revive the recreation department, for example. 

“We’ve lived through times when those things were not always possible,” said Johnson. “Now they are, and the community actually is asking for more services. And that comes with a cost.”

The board again voted no on a residential exemption, but they did previously ask Finegold and Robertson to explore taxing investment residential properties, such as large apartment complexes, at the commercial property rate.

The Senior Center has received a $5,000 donation from Virginia Stowell in memory of her husband, Robert Stowell, who was a frequent visitor to the center. The board voted to accept with gratitude and asked the Town Manager to send a letter of thanks.

Maya Sachdev was named the newest student designee to the Tewksbury Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, joining Kimsan Nguyen, who was already seated.

In committee reports, member Patrick Holland sent out a thank you to Veterans Service Officer Lisa Downey on an excellent Veterans Day ceremony. Holland also commended Wellman for doing an incredible job of representing the board and wished the community a happy Thanksgiving.

Mackey sent best wishes to Kratman, who was unable to attend the meeting.

Wellman also extended her gratitude to Ms. Downey for her work with veterans and making the ceremony meaningful on such an important day. 

She recently sat on a sustainability panel in Lowell and found that Tewksbury has already done much of that work, such as installing EV charging stations around town and buying into solar to lower costs.

“I just want to commend the town manager and staff for having their eye on the sustainability ball for a while now,” she said.

The Open Space and Recreation Committee’s Winter Tree Walk launches the day after Thanksgiving and runs through New Year’s Day at the Chandler Well Fields, Pinnacle St. Trails and Rogers Park. There are at least five trees at each area decorated by local nonprofit groups.

Finally, Wellman read into the record a statement from the TDEIAC on a letter sent by a former resident to Rep. Tram Nguyen: 

“The committee finds that the language in the letter to be repugnant and in no way reflective of the civil discourse we are accustomed to in Tewksbury. We condemn this letter and its hateful rhetoric. As a community, Tewksbury seeks to be welcoming and inclusive to all our members, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religion, gender identity, ability, economic or housing status.”

Johnson announced that the Tewksbury Police Department received a $37,000 grant. He commended TPD for accomplishing that in what was a  competitive process.

“I also want to thank Ms. Wellman for subbing in at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month for me when I was under the weather,” said Johnson. “As Mr. Holland mentioned, you did a tremendous job on short notice.”

The Select Board will meet next week for annual license renewals. The agenda will also include further discussion on the MBTA Community site process. The multi-board housing discussion will be picked up after Jan. 1.