Friday, August 24, 2012
Fall Town Meeting will have the opportunity to drop water rates from and increase of 7.8 percent to 7.43 percent.
The Milton Board of Selectmen have approved a 7.8 percent increase in water bills, which after the October 22 Town Meeting, could be lowered slightly to a 7.43 percent increase. The increase in water rates and a 5.35 percent in sewer rates are for Fiscal Year 2013, which began on July 1, 2012. The increased rates, set by the MWRA (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority), have increased steadily in recent years. Besides the water and sewer enterprises, the assessment also goes toward the authority’s debt service. At the fall Town Meeting, a Warrant Article will ask for a lower appropriation for the MWRA, passing on the savings to water and sewer users. “Basically, it allows Town Meeting to vote for a smaller appropriation,” said Chair Tom …
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The recently signed Transportation Bond Bill will fund infrastructure improvement projects in Milton, including East Milton Square and the Blue Hills Parkway, Brush Hill Road and Truman Parkway area.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Governor Deval Patrick has signed H.4371, the Transportation Bond Bill, to authorize numerous transportation and infrastructure improvement projects across the Commonwealth, including multiple projects for Milton. The Massachusetts Senate and House passed the report of the conference committee, which Senator Brian A. Joyce served on, in late July. Most notably, the bill authorizes the town to make much needed parking, traffic and aesthetic improvements to the overpass spawning Route 93 in East Milton, and authorizes $1 million in state funds to pay for the improvements. The changes have been long sought by East Milton business owners and by the Milton Chamber of Commerce. Joyce’s legislation would require the improvements to the deck …
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Milton Board of Selectmen recently discussed the handling of Town Administrator Kevin Mearn's contract and considered options to find his replacement.
The Milton Board of Selectmen are moving forward on selecting a new Town Administrator after a 2-1 vote to remove Kevin Mearn in a public meeting on July 30. Before the Selectmen discussed the options for a search committee at their meeting on August 9, Chair Tom Hurley brought up the manner of Mearn’s dismissal. Hurley, the lone vote in favor of renewing the five-year Town Administrator’s contract, read a statement on the situation. Hurley’s fellow members of the board, Denis Keohane and Bob Sweeney voted not to renew Mearn’s contract, citing communication issues with several individuals including Police Chief Richard Wells Jr. in a closed-door meeting on July 18. The 2-1 vote for Mearn’s removal was repeated on August 2, after Mearn …
42.25332
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Town of Milton
525 Canton Ave, Milton, MA
/articles/selectmen-revisit-town-administrator-s-dismissal-discuss-search-committee
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Friday, August 3, 2012
The Milton Board of Selectmen voted 2-1 Thursday to end Town Administrator Kevin Mearn's tenure immediately following the meeting, supporting a vote Monday not to renew is contract.
As of just after 3 p.m. Thursday, August 2, Kevin Mearn is not longer serving as Milton Town Administrator. Though the Board of Selectmen voted publicly on Monday not to renew his contract, Mearn has been working at Town Hall the past three days. “Despite the vote [on Monday] he was back in his office on Tuesday,” said Selectman Bob Sweeney following the short meeting. Thursday’s afternoon meeting at the Council on Aging was scheduled as soon as possible as it was posted Tuesday to allow the 48 hours of notice required by the commonwealth’s open meeting law. In a written motion made by Sweeney, Mearn’s employment with the Town of Milton was expired following the vote. As with the original vote not to renew Mearn’s contract, his termination…
42.25435
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Milton Council on Aging
10 Walnut St, Milton, MA
/articles/kevin-mearn-officially-out-as-milton-town-administrator
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Thursday, August 2, 2012
Tell us your feelings on the current constitution of Milton Town Hall.
Turnover is inevitable in all facets of life; people retire, chose to move on or an entity decides to go in a different direction. Thus is the case in Milton town government as well. With the Board of Selectmen’s recent decision not to renew Town Administrator Kevin Mearn’s contract, Town Hall is on the verge of new faces in several key roles all at once. The three members of the Board of Selectmen are all in their first terms, while the recent election welcomed a new Town Clerk for the first time in 36 years. The Town Administrator post, which is the only of the five mentioned above that is appointed rather than elected, has seen its own turnover in the past decade after John Cronin held the position for 34 years, ending in 2002. Mearn …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Board of Selectmen held a public vote to renew Town Administrator Kevin Mearn's contract on Monday. The Selectmen voted to oust Mearn in a vote of 2-1.
After 39 years as a town employee, including 15 years as Police Chief and five years in his most recent position, Kevin Mearn is no longer the Milton Town Administrator. Mearn’s one-year contract was not renewed in a Board of Selectmen executive session on July 18. Despite a large show of community support for Mearn, including a petition with 165 signatures, the Selectmen reaffirmed the decision Monday night in a meeting at the Council on Aging. Like the closed-door vote, Chair Tom Hurley was the only vote to keep Mearn. Bob Sweeney and Denis Keohane voted not to renegotiate the contract, which expired on June 30. “I think what we’re doing is regretful,” Hurley said. Throughout the meeting, which included over 30 minutes of comment from …
42.25435
-71.08137
Milton Council on Aging
10 Walnut St, Milton, MA
/articles/despite-community-support-town-administrator-s-contract-not-renewed
232271
/locations/7520027
Sunday, July 29, 2012
A piece of legislation, which recently passed the Massachusetts Senate, would provide $1 million in state funding for East Milton Square parking and $2.7 million for improvements to Blue Hills Parkway and Brush Hill Road.
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Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Massachusetts Senate passed legislation written by Senator Brian A. Joyce that authorizes the town to make much needed parking, traffic and aesthetic improvements to the Route 93 overpass in East Milton, along with $1 million in state funds to pay for the improvements. The changes have been long sought by East Milton business owners and by the Milton Chamber of Commerce. Joyce’s legislation would require that the improvements to the deck, named for former Representative M. Joseph Manning, result in not less than 40 percent open, recreational, or green space. Additional provisions of the bill that were authored by Senator Joyce that will benefit Milton include allowing the state to transfer all or some of the state highway yard on …
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
A rundown of what's open and closed today.
The United States recognizes Independence Day each July 4th. Here's a rundown of what's open/closed: All municipal, state and federal offices and facilities will be closed. This includes summer school, Milton Town Hall, the Milton Public Library, the Milton Council on Aging and all post offices. All MBTA buses and trains will running on a reduced weekend/holiday schedule. Liquor stores: Open at the owner's discretion. Retail and convenience stores: Open at the owner's discretion. Restaurants and bars: Most will be open, but call ahead. It's up to the owner. Happy Fourth of July!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A 10-person advisory committee is being assembled to assist the Milton Planning Board with the town's Comprehensive Master Plan.
The Milton Planning Board is currently seeking five Milton residents to round out the 10-person Master Plan Committee (MPC). The committee will serve as an informal advisory group for the Planning Board during the updating process for the town’s Comprehensive Master Plan. The members will serve one-year terms until the Master Plan is approved by Town Meeting or the Planning Board decides to dissolve the committee. According to the Master Plan Committee Charge, located on townofmilton.org, “Each of the following entities shall choose from its membership one member of the MPC: the Planning Board, the Milton Board of Selectmen, the Milton School Committee, the Milton Warrant Committee and the Milton Chamber of Commerce.” The Planning Board …
Monday, June 11, 2012
Milton's 350th Anniversary Big Event Weekend concluded Sunday as families gathered at Town Hall for a town-wide picnic.
Milton residents gathered on the Town Green on Sunday for an afternoon of music, magic and more. The Town-Wide Picnic on June 10 was just part of the town’s 350th Anniversary Celebration. Hayrides, a full schedule of family-friendly entertainers and food highlighted the picnic, which took place in front of Town Hall from noon to 3 p.m. Milton 350th Anniversary Committee Chair Lynda-Lee Sheridan called the event, “three hours of fun,” in the days leading up to the picnic. The Bay State Stompers; Dixieland Band and Jedlie’s Totally Interactive Magic Circus took turns wowing the crowd on stage in the Baron Hugo Gazebo.
42.25332
-71.07946
Town of Milton
525 Canton Ave, Milton, MA
/articles/milton-350th-anniversary-celebration-includes-town-wide-picnic
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Caroline deBourbon
8:28 am on Friday, August 3, 2012
...Only to watch a new, different "old boy network" reign. The only difference is that this new network has the potential, with their inexperience, to develop all over the place. There are lots of pockets in Milton just waiting to be filled. more ›