Letter to Editor: Vote YES to Rezone MSH

Letter to the Editor

To the Citizens of Medfield,

On Tuesday evening, December 2, 2014, I was honored to be a member of the Board of Selectmen that signed the Disposition Agreement on behalf of the Town of Medfield. This agreement formally transferred the title of the property from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Town of Medfield.

I experienced a range of emotions sitting there that night. I felt nervous that the Town had taken on quite a challenge with the property. I felt tremendous joy that the Town, and not the State, now had control of the State Hospital property. Most importantly, I felt tremendous pride in all of the hard work that the members of the various state hospital committees, residents, and Town staff had put in to accomplish quite a remarkable achievement. We had pushed and prodded the State to clean up the property. We had also convinced the State that the better plan for the land was to let the Town decide what should be done with the property, and not a state agency.

I can remember turning to Town Administrator Mike Sullivan, and sharing our doubts, our fears, but also our pride in the Town as well as our confidence that this was the right thing to do, and that while it may be a messy process for a while, we will get to the right solution for the reuse of the land. Mike reminded me that while things sometimes take longer than people think, the Town through its volunteer committees has accomplished remarkable things over the years.

The Citizens of the Town of Medfield have accomplished amazing things over many generations. That is why we have such a beautiful place to call our home. I have no doubt that we are moving in the right direction towards the reuse of the hospital land.

I ask you to have faith in this process, and the courage to move forward. The citizens of Medfield are up to the challenge of shepherding the transformation of this land into a magical place to live, work, and play.

I ask you to come to Special Town Meeting at the High School on Monday, November 18th , and vote YES to move forward with the re-zoning of the property as we take the next step towards revitalizing the property, and making it a place that we can all be proud of for generations to come.

Mark Fisher, 3 Kenney Road

Former Selectmen