[MassHistPres] the Meditech controversy

[Electa Tritsch]

Dennis -
Thanks for giving us a heads-up about the CommonWealth article on MHC/
Meditech/ Freetown. It was fascinating and raises a number of issues
that have been brewing for a long time. While you are clearly right
about the article's one-sidedness, I found the slant instructive, as I
tend to hear only the preservationist's concerns and I know how
understaffed, underbudgeted, overworked and swamped in paper MHC is.
 
The proposed (threatened?) legislation to restrict the Commission's
aegis is predictably short-sighted. On the other hand, I would be hugely
supportive of some form of government action that would triple the
community outreach capacity of MHC (thank you Chris Skelly) including
timely interaction with industrial developers such as Meditech and an
emphasis on preservation problem-solving.
 
As to the site in question. if I am right about the photo in
CommonWealth's article, the view is of Watuppa Pond, likely in the
vicinity of one of the Bay State's few post-1676 Indian reservations -
an area rife (as they say) with pre- and post-contact archaeological
potential but extremely short on survey and planning, which
unquestionably deserves careful handling by all concerned.
 
Electa Kane Tritsch
Director, Oakfield Research
233 Heaths Bridge Rd
Concord MA 01742
978-371-2128
 <http://www.oakfieldresearch.com/> www.oakfieldresearch.com

-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Dennis De Witt
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 6:38 PM
To: MHC MHC listserve
Subject: [MassHistPres] the Meditech controversy
 
There is an extraordinarily long article in the current on-line version
of CommonWealth Magazine which uses the Meditech controversy to air
every possible complaint of the development community about the MHC
impact review process.  Needless to say no comments were gathered from
the advocates and defenders of those historic neighborhoods, buildings,
and archaeological sites where potential development effects have been
mitigated.  The article is far too long to quote in full but those
interested can find the whole thing at: 
http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/News-and-Features/Features/2012/Wint
er/003-Historical-roadblock.aspx
Curiously, pared down by about 50%(!) the remaining parts of the article
treating the specific Meditech issue are somewhat more balanced.  It
makes it clear that the dispute is, at this point, immediately
resolvable and thus, whatever went before, is now being artificially
sustained.  But left unresolved the issue may be a convenient tool to
attempt to force thru a piece of legislation greatly favored by
development interests.  The full one-sided, article also feels like part
of such a plan.
Dennis De Witt
Brookline
 
Peace summits are preceded by battles. And as far as Beacon Hill turf
battles go, the one that necessitated the November sit-down inside
Secretary of State William Galvin's offices was a doozy. The spat
featured months of political gamesmanship and strident accusations.
Among the highlights: State Sen. Michael Rodrigues threatening to
legislatively gut one of Galvin's agencies; one of Galvin's top deputies
curtly declining to answer any and all inquiries from Fall River-area
legislators; and Ken Fiola, director of Fall River's economic
development office, calling Galvin's employees liars in the Boston
Globe.
The blow-up centered around an office park development on the
Freetown-Fall River border, and which hurdles that the park's developer,
the Westwood-based medical software firm Medi-tech, should or shouldn't
have to clear before getting Galvin's blessing to break ground. Local
and state officials strongly backed the proposed 186,000-square-foot
office building, which would have brought 800 new technology sector jobs
to a region struggling with the highest unemployment rate in the state.
The project passed its state environmental review in August, but it
couldn't proceed without the say-so of the Massachusetts Historical
Com-mission, which answers to Galvin. Frus-tration with the commission
escalated into an increasingly heated war of words, culminating in the
State House peace summit. 
The two sides spent an hour and a half talking inside Galvin's
wood-paneled offices on the third floor of the State House. They all
made happy sounds when they emerged. "It went very well," says Rep.
Patricia Had-dad, the powerful legislator brokering the talks. "There
were some good exchanges." Looking back at the meeting, Galvin says he
expected that the standoff with Medi-tech would be resolved within days.

Yet no resolution came. Instead, Fiola fired off a letter to the state's
economic development secretary a week after the summit, saying the
office project was dead, and Medi-tech was likely to expand out of state
unless the Legisla-ture passed a law exempting the Freetown office
development from Galvin's oversight. It was a bitter end to a project
that had been touted as a game-changer for the economically depressed
Fall River region just months before.
. . .  it's unclear whether Mass. Historical des-erves all the blame for
the Meditech fiasco. Common-Wealth reviewed hundreds of pages of
government documents related to the deal as well as email correspondence
bet-ween most of the major players and found ambiguity on both sides.
Meditech's abrupt decision to walk away from the deal remains
unexplained. The firm's refusal to comment, except through a Fall River
city official, is bizarre.
Haddad is stumped. "Both sides very much think they've done everything
the other side wants them to do, and we can't find the words to bring
them to the same place," she says. "The gap isn't that wide, but it's
deeply held. For somebody who talks for a living, I'm at a loss."
. . . Mass. Historical doesn't have a formal veto over development
projects. The agency can only convene what it calls a consultation
process-a series of meetings aimed at avoiding or mitigating negative
effects on historic properties. In practice, though, this review has a
hard edge to it. State agencies aren't allowed to issue any permits
until Mass. Historical has completed its consultation, so a disagreement
with Mass. Historical can put a development project on hold
indefinitely. It's rare that a dispute with Mass. Historical buries a
development project altogether. But development professionals in the
private and public sectors routinely complain about projects getting
stuck in the agency's bureaucracy.
. . . Last April, James Karam shot an email to Patrick's chief of staff,
Mo Cowan. Karam told Cowan the software firm Meditech, which has a large
presence around the Route 128 belt, was in the early stages of securing
permits for a major expansion on industrially zoned land along the
Taunton River in Freeport just outside Fall River. It would be the
company's second facility in the South Coast. Karam hoped that someone
in Patrick's office would place a call to the company, thanking them for
their in-state expansion and offering to help steer them through the
permitting process.
By July, Karam was emailing Cowan for a different reason. Meditech was
cruising through its state environmental review, but had run into a
roadblock at Mass. Histor-ical. Meditech's CEO had "a tough situation on
his hand with Mass. Historical and Sec. Galvin," Karam wrote.
"Unfortunately they move at their own speed and by their own rules."
Shortly after, Patrick emailed Bialecki. "Greg," the governor wrote,
"Can you help get this expansion project in Fall River back on track?" 
. . .  without Mass. Historical's approval, Medi-tech couldn't get the
state permits it needed to begin work on its office building. On the
same day that it completed its MEPA review, Meditech's vice chairman,
Lawrence Polimeno, called the governor's office and said the standoff
with Mass. Historical would force Meditech's expansion out of state,
according to an email summarizing the discussion. Despite that call, the
governor's office issued a press release trumpeting the expansion; two
days later, Meditech issued its own press release, saying it was
abandoning the project.. . . . 
. . .  Fiola, the Fall River economic development director, says
Meditech is scouting for a new home out of state, but the company has
given him until the start of the construction season to try to solve the
Mass. Historical standoff. "It's working in our favor that it's winter
and they can't build right now," he says. 
The 140-acre Meditech property is tucked off Route 24 in Freetown near a
huge Stop & Shop distribution facility. Dirt bikers ride the trails
winding through the land, which offers spectacular views of the Taunton
River. Old, abandoned stone walls and two tiny cemeteries from the 1800s
are in the area, overgrown with vegetation. 
The standoff between Meditech and Mass. Historical originally centered
on how much digging Meditech had to do before Mass. Historical would let
the office building construction begin. Meditech's Freetown site was an
active Wampanoag gathering place for thousands of years. Mass. Historic
believes Meditech's construction crews would likely un-earth Wampanoag
gathering place, including unmarked graves. 
That's as much as the two sides agree on, though. When Meditech publicly
abandoned the project in September, the company said Mass. Historical
wanted it to excavate and sift through 21 acres of land looking for
Wampanoag artifacts-a prohibitively expensive exercise. Fiola maintains
this was an oral instruction from the historical commission. "How do you
expect anyone to invest $65 million without having that in writing?"
Fiola asks. He alleges Mass. Historical went into hiding, dodging
Meditech's calls from June until October, when state Sen. Michael
Rodrigues filed a bill to drastically reduce the agency's reach. 
Galvin counters that there's "no factual basis" for the claim that Mass.
Historical ordered Meditech to dig up 21 acres worth of land. "Acreage
was never the big issue," he insists, accusing Meditech's backers of
"spewing misinformation." 
Incredibly, there's nothing in the public record that confirms either
side's claim. A June letter from Mass. Historical speaks obliquely about
"additional locational testing," while an August letter references
"topsoil stripping for limited portions of the project construction
impact area." In late October, Rodrigues and several other Fall River
area legislators asked Simon to put the extent of the required work in
writing. Galvin's office rebuffed this inquiry. In a November letter to
Bialecki, Galvin says Mass. Historical recommended excavating and
sifting "less than one acre." That letter was the first time a hard
excavation number appears in any public record created by Galvin or
Mass. Historical. But Meditech's frequent complaints about Mass.
Historical don't specifically mention the 21-acre demand, either. That
detail only began circulating after the company pulled the plug on the
Freetown project. Galvin now says the absence of any mention of the
21-acre excavation demand while the project was still alive is "pretty
persuasive" evidence that it wasn't a real demand. 
It's not clear whether Mass. Historical has retreated from an
unreasonable demand, or whether the demand never existed. What is clear
is that both sides now agree that the scope of the digging for Wampanoag
artifacts on the Meditech site would be quick and limited, and would
cost $97,000. Everybody at the November meeting in Galvin's office
agreed to this. Fiola, acting on Meditech's behalf, committed to
applying for a Mass. Historical excavation permit within two days. 
Instead, however, Meditech's archaeological consultant emailed Mass.
Historical, saying Meditech had instructed the firm "not to send the
proposal until further notice." The reversal surprised several meeting
attendees, who thought they were trying to sort out a spat over
excavation acreage. They're now dealing with a turf war. 
According to Fiola, who has been acting as Meditech's proxy in
negotiations with Galvin, Meditech has now dug in. "Mass. Historical's
behavior to date has been disingenuous and untruthful, and Meditech
didn't feel comfortable moving forward with them," he says. Meditech's
own archaeological consultant believes there are Wampanoag artifacts on
the Freetown parcel, but the company is insisting that because its site
isn't on the State Register, Mass. Historical has no oversight. The
company, Fiola says, is awaiting the passage of legislation that would
strictly limit Mass. Historical's authority to State Register
properties. Rodrigues, author of this legislation and a previously
outspoken Meditech backer, did not return several calls for comment. Nor
did Meditech executives. . . .
 
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