Tom’s Statement on Fernald Center Campus

As many residents know, the City purchased the Fernald Center campus,
which consists of more than 190 acres of land this past December. This was
a significant investment for our city costing $3.7 million and I feel a
significant opportunity as well if handled under the proper leadership.

First, the City of Waltham gaining control of this key parcel of land was
absolutely critical and as state representative I am proud to have
successfully completed this task along with the state delegation, city
officials and Waltham advocates.

Second, I have proudly collaborated with the Fernald Working Group and see
public input as a central aspect of this land reuse
project. Waltham’s success will also be measured on our ability to
develop and execute a thoughtful plan that includes open communication
with residents and an opportunity for dialogue and input.

Specific to this project, in my opinion, it is irresponsible for the city
to move forward without a thought out, long term reuse plan including a
costs and benefits analysis and capital improvement plan. Residents
deserve to know what the options are and how much they will cost, and then
have an opportunity to guide the future use of the property.

Making knee jerk decisions to demolish buildings without any idea of the
costs or goals for the property reuse is absolutely the wrong strategy.
Instead, I recommend hiring an independent consultant to assess the
various options, complete a cost/benefit analysis and budget, and hold a
series of meetings to gather public input. In fact, Councillor Vizard and
I authored a City Council Resolution last year that called for this action
to take place.  The Resolution passed unanimously and was forwarded to the
mayor.

I will not support spending taxpayer dollars to take actions on this site
without a comprehensive reuse plan and budget. Under a Stanley
administration, I will take these steps on all projects that come before
the city.