Both state Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, and Rep. Karyn Polito, R-Shrewsbury, said they were blindsided by the administration's move to sell the Glavin land. “This is completely inconsistent with what I expected to happen, based on my last meeting with the governor,” Polito told The Worcester Telegram. “The language suddenly appeared in the budget.” She said Patrick had personally promised both her and Moore that the administration would undertake a cost-benefit analysis before taking further steps to close the Glavin Center.
That sounds awfully like Patrick's unkept, personal promise to undertake a cost-benefit analysis before closing Fernald.
The budget section states that a key reason for selling the Glavin land is to garner non-tax revenues for the state. The irony is that even from the point of view of the bottom line, it doesn't make sense over the long term to do that. Yes, the state will collect a lot of money from those sales. But those are one-time revenues. They will do nothing to solve the state's structural budget problems. In fact, relying on one-time revenues to balance the budget will only make those structural problems worse over the long run.
Unless you were forced by dire circumstances, would you sell your car in order to pay your mortgage for a year? What do you sell the following year, when you no longer have a car? The state's circumstances are not that dire. We don't need to sell off our state land in order to live for one more year.
I have questioned whether there was much difference between Deval Patrick and Mitt Romney. We now know the answer – it’s a dime’s worth. Both have tried to place property on the surplus life without appropriate process, and while doing so, putting the vulnerable and fragile people at risk.
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p>But at least we know what this guy is made of now. Slice through the fancy speechs and words dripping with symbolism…and you get just another politician:
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p>Well, Representative Polito, we know what the Governor’s word is worth. “Together we can” hoodwink the masses into believing in and voting for just another politician.
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p>I heard Grace Ross is running……
I’m not. Its obvious this Governor places no value on the vulnerable citizens who call Glavin home. Alternative accommodations do yet exist for the first group of people sacrificed for this policy, Fernald residents, and plans are in action to close Glavin and sacrific the next group.
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p>This just confirms my belief that the “feasibility study” was a sham, a diversion, while they went about their plan. It must be…we don’t even have the results and the Governor is facilitating the sale of this land already. Does anyone question what the results will say?
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p>As I posted elsewhere, the policy is ridiculous. The perfect demonstration of ineptness at its finest. Every step in this policy has been mishandled.
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p>The first and most obvious….refusing to discuss a compromise that would have instantly given the state 90% of what the land they wanted at the height of its value. Who walks away from a deal like that. Who sells it after the value has plummeted. Who would spend countless taxpayer dollars in lengthy legal battles to get that 10%. Who didn’t know the real estate bubble would eventually burst, take the bird in the hand while you can, do they have clue.
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p>In the case of Fernald, did the Governor really think that the guardians, who have a long history (decades)of fighting for the rights of their family members, were just going to walk away without a fight?
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p>With unemployment hovering at 10% with no end sight, do they really believe forcing the workforces of these centers to the unemployment lines the right thing to do?
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p>With what I’ve read about this Governor’s approval ratings, you’d think he cease the opportunity to improve them just a bit. Admit you were wrong, work out a compromise, take the 90% of the various pies and become an instant hero to the guardians–prove you care, the workers–they get to keep their jobs, and taxpayers who now know assets are being maximized by the sale of what is not needed and expenditures are be made wisely as a reduced facility is more efficient and economical to operate. Is this a “no-brainer” or is me?
You’re absolutely right-it’s starting to look like disability services in this state, for the mentally retarded anyway, are a sham and a hoax. It also looks like Patrick has an agenda that he wants to fast-track before January 12th (Patrick’s last day.)
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p>Not only is this not the right time to be selling the land upon which disabled persons live, but if that were to happen what is the plan for the proceeds generated? Would those funds be used to provide badly-needed services for the disabled, or would they disappear?
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p>How can the state claim economic instability and at the same time commit $9M for a footbridge to serve Gillette Stadium?
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p>Boston Herald, December 5, 2009, p. 18:
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p>Wouldn’t that 9M pay for about 9 group homes-or family support for thousands? In addition to openly defying the law and all measure of common sense, this administration is beginning to appear incompetent.
I learned today that this state that is closing facilities for the developmentally disabled because “they can no longer afford to operate them” just:
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p>UMass took on:
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p>An unaccredited law school that will cost a couple of hundred million to become accredited, the hiring of a couple of hundred people to the state payroll, and produce more lawyers who can’t find jobs.
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p>Purchased the bankrupt Bayside Expo Center that costs who knows how much to operate or how many more people will join the state payroll. If they went backrupt, I have to assume there is significant deferred maintenance.
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p>The Tsongas Arena which has continually operated in the red, has thousand of dollars in deferred maintenace and is obviously costly to operate since it has always operated in the red.
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p>But they can’t afford to operate facilities for the disabled.
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p>It never ends!!!!!
As the other DDS facilities are closed, I think we’re going to see a major expansion of the Wrentham Center, starting with the renovations to the Hefron Buildings.