Patrick Jones for Swampscott Board of Selectmen

To the editor:

Long and short-term capital improvement and financial planning. Revenue growth. For far too long certain members of our Board of Selectmen have talked about these concepts without the town seeing action or concrete results. Our Board of Selectmen needs people of action willing to see promises through to completion. If you join me in voting for Patrick Jones on April 26th, I am more than confident Swampscott will be another step closer to real and meaningful results from a solid Board of Selectmen.

You may ask, “How can you be so sure? What has Patrick Jones done that warrants such a bold statement?” Plenty - right here in Swampscott and in his profession as an architect. Pat has developed a keen understanding of how our town government operates, pushing for positive change and real results. He was appointed to the Zoning By-Law Review Committee, served as a member of the Planning Board, chaired the Police Station Building Committee, and is an integral member of AllBlue Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving Swampscott’s athletic fields, athletic buildings, and other amenities. As the chairman of the Police Station Building Committee, his leadership allowed the police station to be built under budget, even in the face of significant yet unwarranted disputes manufactured by the general contractor. These disputes were later settled amicably and our new police station is a great town asset. In this way, Pat’s leadership skills are what we need: he brings major projects to completion, within an approved budget, despite distractions, and with positive results. Don't just ask me; the Swampscott Reporter recently endorsed Patrick Jones for Selectman in its April 21, 2016 edition.

Our Board of Selectmen needs a leader like Pat to ensure Swampscott’s long and short term plans make sense economically and developmentally. For years – and I mean years – we have been promised a detailed and comprehensive capital improvement plan (“CIP”). The current chairperson spoke loudly and often about personally spearheading the development of a detailed CIP, one that would take into consideration information from each committee and town department. Most of the remaining selectmen supported her approach notwithstanding the lack of a real deadline. Yet here we are another year later. Where is that comprehensive CIP?

The goal of a CIP is to create a logical, data-driven, comprehensive, integrated and transparent capital investment strategy that addresses infrastructure needs, reflects community values, supports town operations, programs and services, and exemplifies financial and environmental best practices. A CIP should encompass all town capital assets, including buildings, roads, sewer infrastructure, water infrastructure, storm drainage infrastructure, parks and playgrounds, motorized vehicles and equipment, and information technology. Our Board of Selectmen, with the advice of the finance committee and capital improvements committee, could have adopted such a CIP in a very short period of time. Instead, we appear no closer to a comprehensive CIP now than we were last year at election time.

Pat believes leadership includes an emphasis on a thorough CIP. He understands that we now have a number of additional informative tools to assist us: the draft Master Plan, the Regionalization Committee’s expert findings, among others. Various committees have drafted findings and recommendations, identified needs for our schools, infrastructure, town facilities, and town services, but it appears that no one has been able to consolidate this information into a comprehensive CIP. Pat knows that if we don’t do a better job defining and planning for these budgetary issues, we will have a very difficult time maintaining facilities and services that are acceptable to Swampscott residents now and in the future. These facts scream out for change.

Pat Jones can and will facilitate that change. He also knows that if we want to continue to improve the quality of life in Swampscott, we will need to look for ways to grow our revenue base. This can happen, according to Pat’s understanding, by repurposing/redeveloping under-utilized land or buildings, as well as revising zoning regulations to encourage smart growth while emphasizing our community’s values, history and tradition as a seaside town. Addressing the current town-owned surplus properties is a start. Pat will provide us the leadership and work with others to envision and explore additional opportunities.

There is a clear contrast between the leadership Pat will bring to the Board and the leadership the incumbent candidate has brought. The latter is on record that three terms as a selectman is appropriate: three years learning local government, three years identifying initiatives and pushing to get things done, and three years seeing them through. Pat doesn’t need nine years. He has extensive experience in town government. He will not need “startup time” to get to work. Professionally as an architect, he faces these very same issues every day. He addresses planning, budgets, design, and long term financial projections. I believe Pat can and will provide the qualities and experience we have longed for from the position of selectman. Please join me in voting for Pat on Tuesday, April 26th.

Christian J. Urbano

Former Chairman, Athletic Field Study Committee

Town Meeting Member, Precinct 4

Elmwood Road