Just wondering why Mr Gay did not give an answer to the question about the new athletic complex? Is he for it or against it? The other 3 candidates gave definate answers. With the water/sewer bills and the property taxes we are paying this is not the time for an athletic complex. I have 3 boys ages 3, 4 & 14 and I know they would get use from a athletic complex but we simply can't afford it right now. My support is with Robert Marcin. He is an honest man that can help this town.

Mr. Gay, please don't turn this into a charter discussion. If people are against this and want to defeat it, they can do it without town meeting at the ballot box. Chances are, if it does make it to town meeting, it will pass. This question isnt about town meeting. Where do YOU stand on the issue at hand?

Mr. Marcin and Mr. Miano each have 3 votes from this house and, I hope, the votes of everyone who is against this tax increase.

Melissa, I agree with your question to Selectman Gay, but out of curiousity, why would you state that this can be voted on without affecting the voting of a Selectman but state in your next post that you are voting for your choices in Selectmen due to their position in this issue?

I tried to comment earlier but could not get through electronically. I am disappointed that Mr. Gay did not answer the question, but rather danced around it, as did Mr. Miano in a different kind of way. Mr. Gay was going to receive my first vote, however that is now going to Mr. Marcin. Mr Wilson and Mr. Miano are true to their commitment to sports, however they could receive some negative fallout from the article in today's Lowell Sun where abutters to the high school expressed their feelings that they were deceived by the committee behind the proposed athletic complex. I commend Mr. Cutelis and his building committee for apparently coming in under budget. that excess should be returned to tax payers, if possible in some form of reduction in water bills or whatever. I do commend the candidates who openly expressed their opinions on these issues. Being on a fixed income as are many at the center, an override or debt exclusion is not a popular idea. But the candidates who state their positions help the voters in making an informed decision.

We need honesty and change on the Board of Selectman. Mr Marcin has my vote and my 2nd vote would go to Mr Miano. I'd also like to make the record clear although my last name and Mr Miano's last name are the same we are not related.

David Gay lost a chance at my vote by completely avoiding answering the question. I cannot support Mr. Wilson either, as he would like to take away my vote and then approve spending on things we can ill afford.

Mr. Anderson, I appreciate your perspective. I’ve known Scott for over 25 years and I can tell you, he isn’t looking to take away anyone’s vote. The interesting thing is, for those people that say that, he would be taking away his own vote as well if that were true. He is a very active member of this community.

All of the major issues in town, i.e. New elementary schools, sewer project, athletic complex etc…will go to a ballot. The town will decide. Less than 2% of registered voters are able to come to Town Meeting but an average of 30% of voters participate in the ballot vote. As a resident, I would prefer to have 30% or 6,000 of my neighbors deciding on the future of Tewksbury versus the 75-90 residents that I see at Town Meetings.

A few of the candidates for Selectman are big supporters of Open Town Meeting but it would have been great to see them actually attend Annual Town Meetings or Special Town Meetings as they are looking to take a leadership role in this town. I'm sure they are facing some of the same challenges that most of our residents are in getting to those meetings.

Jim

it is a debt exclusion, not a 2 1/2 override

I agree most of the residents who are going to vote NO but I am going to
vote YES for the following reason.

1. We do not have a HS Tennis court. It would be disappointing we are building a 21st century
HS and cant afford to put one there.
2. Try taking your kid to play Tennis on town courts on any summer evening.
You are right next to 30 - 40 Basket ball playing teenage kids. Its very noisy and occasional nasty words flying around.
I stopped going there and now go to the surrounding town's courts... feel like an asylum seeker to the other towns... in shame.
3. Tewksbury population is growing. Three courts at the recreation center is not enough.
4. If we were to do this later, we would need lot more money since we already have 'boots on the ground'.

I also agree with residents who wants to raise education standard in Tewksbury.
I, and I hope parents who supports this athletic complex, are with you when you a have plan for our schools.
I don't mind paying another 30 or 40 $ a year for that purpose in addition to
20$/year that its going to cost this field.... and no I am not a rich person, I would just skip eating-out one
lunch a YEAR for our town.
--BK

You wouldn't mind paying an extra 30-40 dollars a year? I will mind paying an extra 30-40 dollars a year. I am tired of paying more and more every year. Give us a break will ya.. I have 3 kids in Tewksbury Schools. I would love a complex for them but it comes done to money and WE don't have money.

I grew up in this town. I have lived here my entire life. I lived here when we had one traffic light on Main St. It was not always this expensive to live here.

I just got my town water bill. $415.00 6 months before that it was $385.00. I don't have town sewerage. Not because I don't want town sewer it's because I can't afford to hook up. I pay $4900.00 in property tax. Then you got excise tax. Basically I pay the town about $6000.00 a year to live here. Not to mention if I have a birthday party at my house or a big holiday I need to pay Allied Waste $5.00 for a little orange sticker to put on my extra trash bag. Are you kidding me? We need change and we need it now. Lets get some fresh faces on the board. Let someone else have a try as Selectman.

I am not going to get into a battle with you. I am very aware how we got into this debt. I am 36yrs old and I was born and raised in town. I along with many others feel that we need some fresh faces on this board. I am not quite sure who you are but I am willing to bet you are 1 of 2 people trying to be re-elected to the Board of Selectman. If you feel you have all the anwsers please let me know how you can alleviate my taxes.

R. Miano, I assume you're related to Ken Miano, who I believe is ironically running for Selectman this year. Right?

Does David Gay use this website? If so maybe he can chime in here and let us know how he feels about this Athletic Complex.

That actually would not be fair, since citizens have critiqued the responses already. The best advice that I could give to David Gay is to stand by the original response (or lack thereof) that he gave. I also will vote for Mr. Marcin. Right now I am not sure that I will be casting a second vote. A debt exclusion is a serious issue and a selectman has to stand up and be counted as to where he or she stands. At least Mr Wilson has done that, but I have issues with his stance on this matter as with others that have come before the board.

I too was hoping to vote for Mr Gay but I too will not give my vote someone who could not even answer a direct question when asked. It looks like Mr. Marcin and Mr. Miano will be getting 2 votes here. I understand of all the pressure on these men by various groups but to know that in these tough, tough economic times to show even a little fiscal restraint is refreshing.

STOP throwing away our money. The students do not need a state of the art sports complex. Sports is for fun and a bit of exercise and in some cases teamwork. No upgraded complex is needed for this.

Perhaps the town can sell some assets if it wants to raise funds, maybe we should sell our Livingston Fields, or that football stadium next to the Ryan School.

I will be voting for Mr. Gay on April 14th. Selectman Gay has a proven record that fiscal responsibility is a high priority based on his hard work to bring in much needed businesses to our community. So far you are the only candidate that has substance and a solid background. Good luck Mr. Gay, you are the frontrunner as far as this household is concerned.

Needs come before wants. How can ANYONE lobby to be so irresponsible as to take out a greater loan than needed for something that "would be nice to have"??

Supporters can keep repeating that the entire project (including the complex) will "still come in less than the original projection", but THIS household would like to reduce the cost of that loan as much as possible.

How dare supporters ask for extra money for something that is a "want" when the Town is going to have to ask for money for things that are "needs"?

How can any public official support a measure that puts the taxpayers in a position where they have no choice but to say no to more money for schools and a fire station because they were forced to pay for an athletic complex and are completely tapped out?

I would much rather see the South St firehouse open then a new athletic complex.

Hey just the facts,
When exactly was the master sewer plan approved? I moved here in 1996 and I admit that I may not have "paid attention until it was too late" now I am stuck paying for it. Now I pay attention and I dont want to pay for the field of dreams.

Way to dance around the question David. Typical

Mellisa, Personally when I vote I want someone who has been interested in the process enough to be involved, especially if I am voting them into the role of selectman , essentially "president" of our town. Both these candidates may well have been but I just wanted to clarify. Heck they may have even served on boards or commitees but I can't find any info on either of them,where they stand on issues besides those discussed here etc.. Do either of them have a website? I believe in educating myself about candidates before I vote

I have four general questions / comments.

Learning: do people who are against the complex understand that athletics is a valuable part of the learning process? I know the town is facing some serious issues in regards to the recent MCAS results in math. Many students learn via athletics that are difficult to teach in the classroom.

Investing in Tewksbury: how do we expect to attract developers to redevelop abandon properties in town if we are unwilling to invest money into improving the town? Many posters have commented about the desire to attract new businesses and make Tewksbury a more livable place. If I was a developer, I would have serious hesitation in redeveloping any properties if this fails to pass.

School bullying: most studies show that school athletes are more likely to bully other students since they are considered to be the cool crowd. How do the supporters of the facility plan to address bullying issues that result from the culture of school sports? I sense that spending additional money on a school athletic facility while failing to spend money on other activities is sending a bad massage.

Financing: has this group considered building a scaled down version of the project or building certain aspects of the project over a period of time? A good analogy is a major home improvement project. Many individuals have to make decisions on what to include or implement over time due to finances. The proposal seems like an all or nothing approach.

Jake P, I agree with you 100%. All too often people vote uninformed. I've only started paying attention in the last 5 years or so and I've learned so much. I encourage everyone to do their due diligence to be informed voters. Candidates should make it easy to do that.

Chris, My comments:
Learning - If it isn't approved, athletics would still progress. The new HS has a new field.
Investing - I doubt any developer would look at a new athletic field and say I won't build in that town if they don't build it. I would suspect a developer would look at it and say "the town is under water and they want to add a pool" and decide not to build.
Bullying - Again whether it is built or not, athletics will remain and go on.
Financing - I agree!

Hey Jake P, I just wanted to share the websites I found, since you were asking.

http://www.electkenmiano.com/

http://tewksbury.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-statement-from-robert-marcin

BOTTOM LINE: No new taxes. I can not pay more taxes. If anyone out there wants to pay my taxes, then I will vote for this new athletic complex. Any takes??????

If anyone still thinks we should fund athletic fields check Tewksbury MCAS scores. Now, I do not like MCAS, nor believe in them, but they are what we have to go by, and they show that are schools are failing.
http://www.boston.com/news/special/education/mcas/scores11/results/tewksbury.htm

BK , You are out of line !! You think in order to fund this Complex through 2 1/2 is the way to go ? YOU as well as the rest of the town boards have their priorities so out touch it is sickening ! WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY !!!! This household will be voting NO on the sports complex .

Thanks Mellisa I'll read them I wonder why the candidates themselves are not on here answering these questions again thanks

With all this good weather you would think our H.S. teams are doing what they need to do to kick off their 2012 spring season. I know the boys Lax team still has a flooded field at the Wynn. They are unable to scrimmage for their Jamboree this Saturday. If new field was installed, it wouldn't be a problem. A few of the boys twisted ankles today in the mud at one end of the field. Ask the trainer.

Girls youth softball had indoor tryouts last Sunday in the gym at the High School because the fields where still unplayable and were not allowed on them even though it was a 75 degree day with sun shining bright with little rain. If there was an all purpose field at the High School, the girls would have been able to conduct tryouts outside during that sunny day on the field. Parents sat on the sideline of the gym watching and dodging balls as they were trying to do hitting tryouts.

Yesterday's Lowell Sun had pictures of the Westford Track team utilizing their all purpose field for drills and stretching.

It would be nice to see enough facilities for a boys tennis team to form. Currently not enough for boys and girls at Livingston. With 5 added tennis courts that would help both the girls and the boys teams to grow and compete on campus just like all of the other MVC schools.

For the record, I am in favor of the athletic complex but I am against the article on the ballot question. The ballot question is set up as an all or nothing approach. I truly believe the committee backing this question needs to reexamine the scope of the project. I understand and agree with individuals who are concerned about the continuous asking of additional tax money for small projects.

With that said, the desire to revitalize abandon properties in town is tied to Tewksbury showing the willingness to place additional investments in the town. The vote for the new high school was based more on necessity rather than the need to improve the town. Many people forget an article to repair the old high school failed only seven years ago. Corporations hire planners who examine town demographics before deciding locations to build. Although I doubt a specific vote against the athletic complex is going to have a huge impact, the long term trend is against making investments to improve the town the livability of the town. I understand the need for the town to operate in a fiscally responsible manner.

I am hoping that individuals from both sides can sit down and figure out a compromise that would include private and public money along with phased development. Tewksbury truly lacks recreational facilities and any common areas for residents to enjoy for leisure purposes. However, the all or nothing approach of the article makes supporting these efforts challenging.

It's unfortunate that FOTAC didn't stop at requesting a lacross field and tennis court. They might have gotten the support they needed. Asking for all the extra bells and whistles has put the whole project under intense scrutiny, and tennis and lacross will lose in the end.

we have to be conservative as a town on this one and put our vote where our mouths are am surprised to see no support for a plan-;less complex but support for plan-less candidates it is inconsistent the selectmen did their job procedurally their opinion on this doesn't really matter they don't owe us divine guidance asking them to make a call goes against the exact open town meeting you all are calling for keeping

What strikes me is the inconsistencies in the planning processes for both the athletic complex and the town charter revision. It seems as if the proposals keep changing, or additions are made at the last minute. Mr. Dick and Mr Wilson, who seem to be in the forefront of these issues, have not instilled any sense of confidence in their leadership abilities- at least to me. My perception of a town leader is one who looks at the entire picture and how their decisions would impact the population of the town. I just get the sense that these two gentlemen are pushing their own agenda.

Brian (or anyone else with this info) - I was just looking on the website and could only find a drawing/layout of the current plan in one of the presentations. Is there a layout anywhere of the proposed complex? Where would the tennis courts go (do they require removal of anything like parking?)? Will the tennis courts also be lighted? How close are they to the abutters?

I saw one presentation up there that provides a long-term cost comparison, but had to hunt around for it. While I am VERY skeptical about assumptions made for potential future revenue, other numbers are useful for both sides to see.

One last question - It is my understanding that Strong field currently is not for public use (please correct me if I'm wrong). Does that change at all under the new plan? What will that field be used for if football games move to the new field? ...only high school football practice? I'm assuming that the area inside the track would be for the soccer team practice in the fall.

Thats why Wilson will not get my vote . He is in it for himself and doesn't not care about the greater good of this town .

jo....didn't you hear? Time and again we've been told (at least with the charter, but I think it can "apply" to the athletic complex as well)...."people are focusing too much on the "process" and how we got here when it's all about the final product." This type of thinking never made ANY sense to me. If you can find fault with/don't trust the PROCESS/PROCEDURE and the manner in which things were done how can one NOT be skeptical about the so-called finished product?

BM, I have to disagree. I don't agree with Scott on many issues, past and present, but I never question his heart and desire to make this town a better place to live. He loves this town and he loves sports. He is raising a family here and wants them to be proud of the town they grew up in. I find we usually agree on the end result but disagree on what path is best to get there. I don't know if I will vote for Scott this time around but it will be because of issues not because of his lack of love for the town! For anyone to question that is crazy! Separate the personal from the issue at hand.

Bob and BM,
you both make good points. I can not vote for scotty this time either, but I would stop short of saying that he cares only about his own agenda I believe he is into town politics for the right reasons but I do think he may have lost some perspective somewhere along the way.

Thanks for the info, Brian. ...and I meant Doucette when I said Strong field.