IN TOTAL SUPPORT

I am in total support of the recent unanimous decision of the Conservation Commission ( Con Com ) to deny the permit that would allow for the destruction of property known as the NEMT Forest.

It took a lot courage for each member of the committee to make that decision. Their decision was based on the facts, evidence and science rather than on a political footing. This unprecedented decision will go down in the History of Wakefield as a moment when our wetlands were given priority over political pressure and profit. This does not mean that the Con Com has succumbed to political pressure in the past, but no project of this size and cost has been rejected for not having the mitigation program in place to protect the environment.

The Con Com would not have been put in that position if our Town Administrator, Stephen Maio, who as a Northeast Metro Tech Building Committee member, had not voted in favor of building on the forested hilltop site instead of the existing developed area known as the C-2 where the baseball and football fields are presently located.

In a recent post on Save the Forest Build the Voke Facebook page, a supporter said they talked with Steve Maio in passing about a month ago about their opposition to the site and as he walked away he said “ it’s a done deal, don’t worry, its going to be great.”

Mr. Maio, how can 6 months of noisy site preparation, which would include months of blasting, the destruction of 15 acres of tree removal resulting in the devastating loss of 609,000 sq. ft. of tree canopy, weeks of dusty ear piercing rock crushing, the removal of hundreds of truckloads of soil, the destruction of an Wakefield’s only CORE Forested Habitat, the potential of increased ground and stormwater and the probability of increased residential flooding along with chemical pollution actually make this better. None of this will be great for me and the other Wakefield residents who live in the area .The only thing that would improve this situation would be to build the new vocational school on one of the alternative sites on vocational school land.

Through the Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA), I have obtained documents and files for a proposal in 2018 where the Town of Wakefield acting through the Board of Selectman and the Northeast Regional Vocational High School Committee to invite qualified developers into leases to essentially cut down 14.8 acres of Town of Wakefield undeveloped forest area which have not only protective wetlands but have areas of natural heritage and endangered species adjacent to the NEMT forest. All to build a hockey rink. All communications regarding this proposal should be sent to Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio. Is this what you consider being a good steward to the environment is.

If you really are a good steward of town property and our environment, acting in the best interest of Wakefield, then you along with Superintendent David DiBarri and the entire Northeast School Building Committee need to change the building site and build on the already developed and less environmental destructive hillside area. Now is the time to call an audible and save the taxpayers of Wakefield and sending communities millions of dollars in site prep cost and have that savings go to the students instead being wasted on site preparation and forest destruction.
I also call out each member of our Town Council to respond to this request. Let the voters in Wakefield know where you stand. Do not hide as just an “ Advisory Board” as some have stated. You are our elected leaders, you each vote and make decisions on our behalf for all residents as to the future of Wakefield. It is a simple question to each of you directly, Do you or do you not support the development and destruction of Wakefield’s only Core Forested habitat forest? As leaders of our town, do each of you have the courage to answer this question publicly? Its quite simple, your answer is either Yes or No. Let your constituents know where you stand.

I await your responses. I would be happy to meet with you during a Town Council meeting to hear your views and discuss the solution to these enormous yet unnecessary problems.

Kindly reach out to me, if you or any resident of Wakefield is interested in viewing the FOIA public documents I have mentioned above and you can decide for yourself.

Bob Brooks, Abutter to the hilltop project