[MassHistPres] the Meditech controversy

[Joseph Larson]

The legislation filed as a result of the MediTech controversy, if passed,
would cripple our on-going efforts to get the UMass Amherst campus to make
timely compliance with the existing requirements to file with MHC before
making a final selection of a new building site that directly impacts
historic resources. I don't know what we can do on this issue except say
that we fully oppose the legislation.

 

 

Joseph S. Larson, Ph.D. '56 G58

Corresponding Secretary

Preserve UMass

27 Arnold Road

Pelham, Massachusetts 01002-9757

413-256-8256

 

 

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Electa Tritsch
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 10:53 AM
To: 'Dennis De Witt'; 'MHC MHC listserve'
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] the Meditech controversy

 

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/Winter/0
03-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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