Selectmen's Letter of Support

Prior to the appeals board meeting on September 2, the board of selectmen voted unanimously to send the appeals board a letter supporting the proposed regional solid waste trash transfer station. In part, the letter states that "The fact that this project is in the best interest of the town's long term fiscal and environmental welfare was also demonstrated at several public hearings." Click on the image to download or read a copy of the letter.

Residents Take Concom to Task

Residents opposed to the permitting of the proposed regional solid waste trash transfer station planned for Holbrook expressed their skepticism of the review process Monday night at the Holbrook Conservation Commission hearing.
Although the meeting did not proceed because the commission published an incorrect notice (the commission's notice said the hearing was for a single-family home, not a regional trash transfer station), residents took the opportunity to tell the commission that the review process seemed tilted toward TLA-Holbrook, the proponent of the project. At least one resident called on the commission chairman Brinsley Fuller to step down as chairman because his position on the board of selectmen is a conflict.
Watch the video, which includes residents' questions and the commission chairman's statements regarding his conflict.

Mr. Fuller, Time to Step Aside

Brinsley Fuller, chairman of the Holbrook Conservation Commission, must step down as chairman during the hearings on the proposed regional solid waste trash transfer station.
As a member of the board of selectmen, Mr. Fuller has voted on the record to support the transfer station. How can he objectively review and vote on the project if he has already pledged his support for the trash transfer station?
He can simply step down during the review process, but based on his comments Monday night, it appears unlikely. Mr. Fuller told people Monday night that he did not vote on the issue.
Let's go to the tape of the September 1, 2009 of the board of selectmen and the vote to support the transfer station. Mr. Fuller is the selectman in the light blue shirt, and yes, he does raise his hand.

Concom Botches Notification

Monday's Holbrook Conservation Commission's hearing on the proposed regional solid waste trash transfer station was postponed until October because of an inaccurate conservation commission's meeting notice. Instead of stating that the hearing was to discuss a trash transfer station, the meeting notice stated the hearing was to approve plans for a single-family home. No one, including the applicant, bothered to check the legal notice before the meeting and the conservation commission chairman Brinsley Fuller said he did not see the notice until Monday night.
A similar problem occurred when TLA-Holbrook appeared before the zoning board of appeals.
Click here to read the advertisement.
The hearing notice is probably the easiest part of the application process, yet TLA-Holbrook continues to screw it up. It makes you wonder what other details have been missed. Obviously, town boards and committees do not review any of the information they receive.

Voice of Ignorance

Many residents of Braintree and Randolph have a hard time understanding how the town of Holbrook could vote for a regional solid waste trash transfer station. The residents of Braintree and Randolph also hope that the voters of Holbrook will rethink their position and realize how bad a transfer station would be for their property values and way of life.
The Holbrook Sun provides an opportunity for residents to voice their concerns and it carries their comments in the Sound Off section. Recently, a Holbrook resident commented that the transfer station would have serious impact on property values.
"I have lived in Holbrook for over 15 years and am faced now with the prospect of decreasing property values and hundreds of huge trash trucks backing up traffic in front of my home on Union Street along with their noise, air pollution, and potentially unsafe trash contents. Would any of the folks supporting the transfer station still support it if they lived close to it?"
The response from one of the supporters was "Speaking for the Town Residents who do not live within close proximity to the proposed transfer station. We are in favor of it. As a cash strapped town, we must move forward to generate as much revenue for to town as possible. As we have very limited resources, we must embrace this once in a lifetime chance. If you are so concerned about property values, I would suggest that you put your house on the market now, to avoid the rush."
How can you argue with that type of ignorance?

Transfer Station Before Concom

A 7 PM hearing before the Holbrook Conservation Commission is scheduled for Monday, September 14 at Holbrook Town Hall. The transfer station requires numerous approvals from the conservation commission. For those of you who missed the hearing before the appeals board, you'll get a chance to see Holbrook's "environmentalists" review the project. Set your expectations on low, the concom's failure to grasp local bylaws and the state wetlands protection act is legendary.

Defying Logic: HELP's Traffic Comments

We love hearing and reading about TLA-Holbrook's attorney William Merrigan and his bold accusations. According to Mr. Merrigan, the civic group is using outright lies to get people to sign our petition. Mr. Merrigan, you should listen to your truth bending.

Here's an excerpt from a recent Holbrook Sun: "Merrigan said that HELP’s facility would be 'actually taking trucks off the road' because the trash is to be hauled out on railcars.
'“Unlike Braintree or Randolph, Holbrook is not situated on a main highway,”' he said. '“So, yes, that means trucks needing to access Holbrook have to use roads that run through Randolph and Braintree, but what the opposition fails to point out is that by using the existing rail service to transport baled waste out in covered rail cars per day, we’re actually taking trucks off the road. Waste by rail is greener and more efficient than trucking out.”'

What Mr. Merrigan fails to point out is truck traffic heading to the facility and then leaving the facility will be an increase over the current traffic conditions. In addition, people will have to endure additional rail traffic generated by the site.

Big Surprise: ZBA Approves Variances

The Holbrook Zoning Board of Appeals showed Wednesday night why TLA-Holbrook chose to build a regional trash transfer station in Holbrook. Holbrook was chosen because its regulatory boards do not understand what they are doing or care about the well being of their town or any other community.
The board did not allow anyone with a meaningful question to ask it and when someone did ask something significant, the board allowed TLA-Holbrook's attorney, William Merrigan, to avoid the answer. At points it seemed as if the applicant's attorney was a member of the appeals board. When things did not go his way and a rational person asked a question, he whined and complained that it wasn't relevant. The appeals board responded with a nod and "Mr. Merrigan is right."
The appeals board also ducked the tough questions by stating over and over "That question is better left to the planning board" or "That question is better left to the conservation commission."
Apparently, that was supposed to comfort everyone who is opposed to the project. When you compare the compentency of the zoning board to the planning board, the conservation commission, and the board of health, the zoning board seems like a group of Rhodes Scholars. If you were depressed after Wednesday night's farce, you'll be out on the ledge after attending a planning board, board of health, or conservation commission hearing.
The only real highlight of the evening was when one resident asked another if TLA-Holbrook's Jack Walsh was going to eat all the trash that was brought to the transfer station?