Real Estate Information Archive

The soon to be media center, with walls of glass everywhere....

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Walking through the site today it’s hard to think that just a short time ago we were there for the ground-breaking! Yet in what seems like just a few short months, the new Sherwood Middle School has grown from the ground up like a volcano, easily dwarfing the existing school that it shares the site with. Today I had the privilege of going on a guided tour, courtesy of the great folks at Gilbane, and it was an amazing sight indeed. The first thing that struck me was just how neat and clean the site is. I’m used to constructions sites with things all over the place, but that certainly isn’t the case here. Everything had a place to be, and that’s just where it was, and the care being taken throughout the building was nothing short of inspiring, from the protective bumpers strategic placed to protect the doors from dents, to the wiring throughout that looked more like a rocket ship than a building, it was clear that these guys are doing a great job.

Soon the stage in the Gymatorium will be filled with kids performing!

Better still, of course, was to see the progress of the project itself, which is just flying towards an early completion, and is still millions of dollars under budget. I visited the property after most of the crew had gone home, so it was a pretty quiet place, but I’m told that even in the middle of the day they really only have about 50 workers on site, handling all aspects of the building. More than that, they said, and people just get in each others way.

Here are a few photos, which I’ll try to updated over the next few months as we steam towards a grand opening early next year.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Shrewsbury, now in its eighth year, is about to reach a fund-raising milestone, and you can help make it happen.

The community event has raised almost $500,000 during its history, and will surpass that amount at this year’s Relay, scheduled for May 11-12 at Oak Middle School.
Relay For Life is a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs of your American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather to take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times.

For more information or to become involved in Relay For Life of Shrewsbury, contact the American Cancer Society’s Susan Matano at 508.270.4639, or susan.matano@cancer.org.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; by helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – To some, last nights brief presentation on fees may have seemed less significant in the scope of the larger picture of the budget public hearing, yet it certainly does have the potential to impact just as many students and families in Shrewsbury. Business manager Liam Hurley presented last night, at the request of Shrewsbury School Committee chairman John Samia, an overview of the potential increases in transportation and sports fees that could be explored in order to help in raising some additional funds to help close the budget gap.

The information he put together was wonderfully comprehensive, and included spreadsheets which laid out just what the potential impact would be, using a broad array of different methods and different levels of increase. It also included an analysis of how Shrewsbury compares with other communities in what we charge for various services. No decision was made last night, nor any discussion held, as the School Committee actually won’t take these matters up for formal talks until the next scheduled meeting.

For athletics, the committee was shown a chart that of all the surrounding communities, Shrewsbury already was charging one of the highest athletic fees. Still, it was pointed out, the revenue from various sources including fees, gate receipts etc., do not cover the full cost of operating the program, leaving a shortfall of approximately $76,000.

Currently, Shrewsbury charges $290 per athlete, per sport, with an annual family cap of $875. Free/Reduced lunch students pay $25 per sport, with a $75 family cap. All sports are charged the same fee, regardless of the cost of running that particular sport, although some sports cost much more to operate.

I typically am one who rally’s against extra fees in the schools, as they seem to me to create issues of inequity in the system, but there actually were some interesting ideas and options proposed so I’m keeping an open mind for the moment. Here were just a few of the ideas presented.

Option 1 – Leave the current fee at $290 and all of the other parameters as they are.

Option 2 – Keep the $290, but remove the family cap. Each person pays for the sport or sports that each child chooses to take part in.

Option 3 – Increase the fees by 5, 10, 20 dollars and keep everything else the same.

Option 4 – Charge more that $25 for free and reduced students to participate, or perhaps charge one level for free lunch students, and a higher level for reduced lunch students.

Option 5 – Increase the fee for boys hockey and boys/girls swimming by adding a $190 facilities fee. These two sports are the most costly due to facility rental.

Option 6 – Leave fees the same, but eliminate transportation to sporting events that are within a certain radius, so save on bus fees.

Option 7 – Mix and match any of the different items above in any combinations.

We saw some projections from Mr. Hurley on what the revenue would be under a wide array of different possible combinations, but of course there’s always a tremendous amount of uncertainty associated with such things. As his reported accurately indicated, raising the fee only generates X additional dollars if the same number of people sign up and pay. Many, for example, might react to the removal of the family cap by just not letting their three kids each sign up for three sports each year, and so it could ultimately cost as much more revenue as it planned to generate. Same thing with raising fees for certain sports. Perhaps a family might decide that swimming is fun at $290 but at $480 they’re not interested, and thus the added revenue doesn’t materialize. I give Mr Hurley quite a bit of credit on this one for making sure that his presentation repeatedly cited that level of uncertainty rather than claiming them as hard and fast figures.

Where will we go from here? That remains to be seen at the next meeting. Personally, I have mixed feelings on all of these issues so I’d love to hear how others feel. Hopefully people will reach out and express their feelings between now and then by emailing the schoolcommittee@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – It wasn’t exactly a packed house tonight, but what it lacked in bodies it more than made up for in passion. We probably had about 150 people turn out for the Shrewsbury School Department Budget hearing this evening, and over 20 people took the time to speak out with their thoughts on the current budget crisis facing the school department. It’s not easy for many people to stand up in an auditorium, on television, and speak their mind, and I know I personally salute everyone who did.

As you may recall, when last we spoke about the budget, Dr. Sawyer had presented a set of austerity measures designed to partially close the remaining budget gap which was close to $3 Million, between the town managers recommendation for FY13 and the funds required for a level service program. These measures called for the elimination of over 30 teaching and administrative positions, which all agree will be a huge impact on the district – with class sizes swelling up close to 30 in many schools. Even with those severe measures, we still have a gap of an additional $800K+ to deal with, which could easily result in an additional 17 positions before the budget is finally balanced.

Tonights audience was primarily made up of parents and teachers, so it was, as many of the speakers pointed out, preaching to the choir. Speaker after speaker talked about how critical class size is, and how important it was to do all we can to not have to jam more students into classes by reducing staff. They spoke of how Shrewsbury’s fantastic school system is what brought many of them to our community, and the implications to all of us of being labeled as a town with undesirable schools. We heard about how our children truly are our future, and perhaps one of my favorites of the night, an 8th grader at Oak who said that the students coming after him deserved the same opportunities that he’s had this year. Honestly, I don’t think there was one speaker tonight that I didn’t agree with, but then that’s why we were all there, and why we all care so deeply about this subject. What we didn’t hear much of tonight were alternative ideas to making cuts, probably because there really are very few things that haven’t been considered. In the end, there are only X dollars to go around, and so the question isn’t whether to make cuts or not, but rather which cuts to make. Each and every one of them hurts, and each is going to be wildly unpopular – but what are the other options?

One universal theme this evening was palpable in the audience, and that was the fact that our town needs to finally speak up, get an override on the ballot and give the residents the opportunity to vote on it. Many spoke of how woefully under-taxed we have been here in Shrewsbury, and specifically cited that this was a revenue issue, not a spending issue. Until the revenue issue is solved once and for all, the problem just isn’t going to go away. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen in time to make a difference for this years budget. It’s hard to imagine that any of the members of the Board of Selectmen who were present tonight didn’t get the message loud and clear that the town has finally reached a tipping point. Yet at the same time, no override is going to be presented and approved in time to have an impact on this years crisis, and so inevitably, for this year, cuts are going to happen – the question being where.

We did hear a few neat ideas today. Lorraine Daignault, Paton PTO President spoke about the formation of a private endowment to supplement the school budget, and was kind enough to provide us with some great case studies from other towns. I really liked that idea and think it would dovetail with the School Committee’s goal of fundraising a few million dollars from various donors. We had a special education teacher from another district come up with the idea of bringing in an outside consultant to look at our special education budget, which currently makes up over 20% of our total expenditures. That sounded pretty interesting to me because you never know what an outside set of eyes will see differently. Let’s see… I kind of liked Gayle’s idea of furloughing all the schoolchildren one day a week and letting them roam the streets at large, until the residents who keep voting against funding the school change their mind!! I think even my kids would vote for that one! Probably wouldn’t take long before the cost of properly funding our schools seemed like a bargain….

In the end, I think the underlying message was loud and clear. When you have a budget deficit, in any company or organization, there really aren’t a whole lot of ways to solve it. You can either bring in more money, or reduce spending. If anyone knows of another way, I’m all ears. Bringing in more money means an override. Spending less means getting rid of positions by increasing class size, raising fees, folks working for less money, or eliminating entire programs. Speaking for myself I don’t like any of those options either.

Oh kudos to Melissa Pride-Fahs, the mom who said she was going to single handedly write a check out of her own pocket for ten times her fair share, raising her own taxes, as she put it, and help fund the schools themselves. A very Warren Buffett-like thing to do indeed. The more I think about it the more I think that it’s a heck of a gauntlet to toss down, and I think many may very well accept that challenge and just write a check out to help us invest in our children. Perhaps a company will step in and agree to match any private donations to the school that people want to make. After all, as PTO President Christa Duprey reminded us, it truly does take a village.

The next weeks will be critical ones for us, so please stay tuned, and feel free to chime in with any ideas that you might have.

SHREWSBURY — Professor Michael Sandel, author of the New York Times bestseller, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? will pose this question at a lecture on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:00 pm at Saint John’s High School, 378 Main St., Shrewsbury, Mass. This event is sponsored by the high school’s Abdella Center for Ethics, and is free and open to the public.

Professor Sandel, a moral and political philosopher, has taught at Harvard University since 1980. His book Justice is actually an outgrowth of his “Justice” course – the single most popular course at Harvard for the past 30 years. In the over twenty years of teaching “Justice” Sandel has demonstrated his unique teaching skill which is highly engaging and interactive with his audience. Tom Friedman of the New York Times has called him “…one of the most sought-after lecturers in the world,” and the Washington Post “perhaps the most prominent college professor in America.” Mr. Sandel has been featured on PBS with Charlie Rose, the BBC, The Colbert Report, and a variety of other venues.

Mr. Sandel’s remarks will prove highly relevant in this election season, as he seeks “an infrastructure for civic renewal” and ways to bring a tensely divided and bipartisan population together, “into the common spaces of democratic citizenship.”

Saint John’s established the Abdella Center for Ethics in 2003 in memory and honor of George F. Abdella by his son, the Hon. Charles A. Abdella ’60. The annual lecture series complements the “whole person” education in Saint John’s academics and extra-curricular activities by highlighting the central role that ethical questions play in all aspects of modern life.

Founded in Worcester in 1898, Saint John’s High School has been educating young men in grades 9-12 under the guidance and sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers for well over a century. The mission of the Xaverian Brothers and Saint John’s has always been one of service to God, namely through service to our fellow man. Saint John’s curriculum is college preparatory and the school has gained a strong reputation for academic excellence. In addition to intellectual pursuits, however, Saint John’s is committed and dedication to the development of the “whole person”: spiritual, moral-ethical, social, intellectual, physical, creative and aesthetic. The all-boys school currently enrolls about 1,000 in four grades. For more information, visit www.stjohnshigh.org.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – With all the talk over the last few weeks about the issues with the School Budget, there has been a pretty wide spread call to once again look to the Board of Selectmen to allow the residents of Shrewsbury to have a vote on a potential tax override. This would not just be a stop gap measure to fix the proverbial hole in the dam, but rather to take our school district, and our town as a whole to the next level. The vision of what a different place Shrewsbury might be if we were to do that, has been haunting me for a while.

Along those lines, I posed to myself this weekend the following thoughts and questions, not about the process or prospect, but rather about the structure it would take and the net result it would have on all of us.

How much money would is take?

The answer to this depends on what level you would want to take it to. There are many different checkpoints that one could stop at, and that decision would be up to our town leaders and management.

For about $5.6 million, we could merely shore up the original deficit in our school department budget, bringing us back from having to eliminate 30+ positions, to the “level service” budget of last year – a budget that we all might agree is woefully inadequate in just about every sense of the word.

At the other extreme, one might ask just what our community would look like with a $15 million dollar override? Well, we would start with that $5.6 Million to bring the schools to level-service from the current fiscal year. Then let’s set aside another 3/4 million to do away with “pay as you throw” trash bags, and another 1/4 million to add a half dozen positions in our fire and police departments. For another $1.4 million we could beef up our capital expenditures, purchase some needed vehicles for our various departments, and even get the salt shed we need at the municipal garage. An added $1 million will help with staffing up some of our town departments. No longer will we find closed windows at town hall, no more groveling for donations to keep the library open on the weekends – it would just be open.

What about the extra $6 million? Well that would bring our schools up to the next level for the 21′st century. If it were up to me, $2.0 million would go right to technology, with the purchase of thousands of 1:1 computing devices, both iPads and MacBooks, which would outfit our students, and included in that would be advanced training for our teaching staff on the use of technology in the classroom. This is nothing novel, but rather has been done in districts across the nation. That leaves us with $4 million left to spend. $1.5 million of it could be used to get rid of bus fees, activity fees, athletic fees, and admission to all of Shrewsbury’s sporting events would be free. Clubs at Shrewsbury High School would not have to collect money from their members to pay for the bus to events, and even supplies could be requisitioned from a building specific fund.

The last $2.0 million would go to adding 35 staff members across the district, bringing down class sizes, and most importantly increasing the amount of offerings at the high school level. Just imagine, we would have 20 students in a class instead of 29! We could have not only an advanced math program at Sherwood and Oak, but an advanced science, english, and social studies program as well. At the high school, students could take as many electives as they wanted, multiple sciences, multiple languages, and “studies” would be a thing of the past. We would still have $1/2 Million left, and that could go to building our relationship for dual enrollment with universities in our area, which would allow our schools to free up some staff, and our students to take an unlimited amount of course offerings at the college level, while still in high school, as they do in many other districts. The potential for this is amazing, and will not only turn our students into the kind of applicants that colleges strive to attract, but moreover save parents potentially thousands of dollars in college tuition down the road, by having their students graduate high school with a year of college credits under their belt.

Of course, neither of those two extremes are the only possibilities. Any combination of them would be possible. The key is that by having a broad brush, and not focusing only on one issue. there would be something in it for everyone to get behind in rallying for the cause.

How much would it cost?

This is one that I actually research a while ago, so I have the figures. According to Town Manager Dan Morgado, based on the 2012 tax assessments, every $5 million in the override would cost $390.42 to the average homeowner, with an average valuation of $372,559. This means that our “dream override” package would cost the average homeowner about $1170. Since property taxes are tax deductible, unlike fees, this $1170 would probably only have a real “net cost” of $800 or so, depending on their tax bracket.

To some, that may seem like an awful lot of money, and it is – but when you really look at it closely, it’s a huge winner, pretty much for everyone in town. After all, many of us with kids in school are already spending $1200 just on athletic and activity fees, or $600 on school buses, or both. Add in that I’ll get my trash for free and my only question is where do I sign up?

For those without kids in school, I’m sure they’ll be asking themselves why in the world they would support such a thing, but when you look at the benefits to the community it really and truly would be a winner. Just think what property values would do in a community that rallied in such a way. As a Realtor in Shrewsbury for over 25 years, I can state without reservation that a town without fees, with world class schools, fantastic town services and parks, etc. would make Shrewsbury one of the most sought after communities in Worcester County. A difference in your property value of just 1%….really only 1 little teeny percent….would mean an extra $3500 more in value to the average homeowner. Would it happen? I actually think 1% is low. My guess is that it could be closer to 3 or 4% or more in the long term.

I grew up in an area where we were overtaxed, and the community overspent, to the point where many couldn’t even afford to live in our town anymore. Here in Shrewsbury, however, we have been woefully under taxing ourselves for far too long, and the time has really come to decide if we are willing to make the investment. It may be a battle, but if we do it right, and have something in it for everyone, it’s something that can be done. Every battle requires a host of different people, and right now what this one needs is someone to carry the flag that the rest of us can rally behind. Who will that person be? Only the next few weeks will tell. It would need to be someone not just with courage, but with charm, and that special ability to really build a true consensus with the countless diverse interests that make Shrewsbury the special place that it is today.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts - On December 31st, 2011 at 9:43 pm Officer John Pitro of the Shrewsbury Police conducted a motor vehicle stop at #537 Hartford Turnpike (Rt.20 & CJ Trucking). Officer Pitro had stopped the  motor vehicle for several motor vehicle infractions and as he approached the 1999 Ford Taurus on foot the vehicle fled. Officer Pitro returned to his cruiser and pursued the vehicle Rt. 20 Eastbound and eventually the suspect vehicle crashed at #759 Hartford Turnpike (Rt.20 & South St.). The 2 occupants of the suspect vehicle then fled on foot. Officer Pitro and Detective Timothy Finacom chased the suspects and at one point saw one suspect toss a handgun from his person. The 2 Officers apprehended one of the suspects in the woods and identified him as Akeem L. Rose, 5 Jaques Ave.,Worcester, Ma. 27 years old. Also in the suspect motor vehicle another handgun was found. Shrewsbury Police continued to search for the other suspect for several hours along with assistance of K-9 Buzzy with handler Officer Chad Chysna. The second suspect did elude police.

The scene from the second of three major collisions of the night

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – What started out to be a night of last minute holiday preparations for many turned into a night with not one, but three major, head on,  traffic accidents, all across a 1 mile stretch of Main Street.   As was reported yesterday, the first event occurred at approximately 5PM on Main Street in front of Rite Aid Pharmacy, when a car moving eastbound on Main crossed the center line into the opposing lane, striking another car head on.  No serious injuries were reported.   The second accident occurred at 6PM, on Main Street at the intersection with Summer Street, when a Jeep Cherokee being driven eastbound crossed the center line, striking a minivan and destroying both vehicles, and sending both drivers to the hospital.

The third accident proved to be the most horrific of the three, and occurred at approximately 9PM, also on Main Street, near Dean Park.   According to the official Police Press release, at 8:54PM, Shrewsbury Police, Fire, EMS responded to the area of 761 Main Street for a head on motor vehicle crash that resulted in the death of one of the Operators.

At this holiday time, and all times of the year, everyone please be safe on the roads.   It’s getting darker earlier and everyone is often in a rush to get places, but we need to all remember that safety comes first, and that it’s not always just about what you’re doing, but what others around you are doing as well.

I know we all send our deepest condolences to the family of Ms. Fedoseev.  Information on arrangements will be provided as soon as they are made available

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – It was the most destructive and disruptive, weather related phenomenon to hit central Massachusetts since the tornado of 1953.  A storm that caught many of us here in Shrewsbury completely off guard.  There had been weather forecasts saying we would likely be getting some freezing rain that night, and even a few weather folks that speculated about ice damage – but few could have imagined over 2 billion dollars worth of destruction, with people out of power in Worcester county for up to 3 weeks, as crews from around New England came in to repair downed power lines.

The morning of December 12th was nothing short of surreal.   While the ice was certainly pretty to look at, the destruction was evident just by looking out our window at the trees lying scattered about.  What struck me most, however, was that cracking sound – almost like gunshots – that seemed to be coming from everyone around, as trees – burdened by the weight of the ice, broke in half from the load.   Driving through some of the harder hit areas of town that morning, it was unbelievable.   Road’s like Colton Lane were virtually impassible, as neighbors armed with chain saws helped each other out trying to clear the roads for emergency vehicles.  In Worcester, the National Guard was mobilized with Humvee’s to try and get through the streets, and for over a week, they worked to free some neighborhoods from the grip of the frozen mess.

Most of Shrewsbury was back online within a day or so, thanks to our friends at SELCO, but just north of us in Holden, Sterling, and Boylston it would be weeks without power and without heat for many residents.  This years Halloween storm was described by many as having been worse in it’s widespread power outages, and it clearly was – yet we didn’t see the actual property destruction that the ice storm brought.

Now three years later, it certainly could happen again – but are we more well prepared?  I would guess that there are hundreds of more homes in town with generators than there were three years ago, and if you don’t already have one, I sure recommend it.   In fact, Home Depot in Shrewsbury was virtually sold out of them just the other day, and was expecting another shipment.  Why not just pick one up, and have it handy in case emergency should strike?   Better still, have a small transfer switch installed on your circuit breaker box so that in the event of a power failure you can just plug the generator in and run your house normally.  It will be the best $500 you’re likely to spend to ensure your families safety and security in times of emergency.

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – This was one of the events that I look forward to all year – the visit of Santa Clause to the center of Shrewsbury.  Brought here by our friends at Heald and Chiampa, Santa arrived in style.  The reindeer had wisely stayed away today, (probably afraid of some of the elves), and so Santa came to town courtesy of the Shrewsbury Fire Department, and arrived to a waiting crowd of over 100 well wishers.   The frigid temps didn’t dampen the spirit, as kids lined up all around the Sumner house for their opportunity to take their spot on Santa’s  lap.  Several brought along their lists, and took the time to tell Santa they’d been nice all year!  Gifts went out to all the kids in attendance, and our hosts for the day provided everyone with a warm fire, fresh munchkins, and hot cocoa a plenty.

This has truly become an amazing tradition here in Shrewsbury, and I know we all send out our thanks to John, Jim and Dave for always being kind enough to roll out the red carpet for the kids.

Of course, for me, I got just the present I wanted, which was the chance to take pics of my favorite elf, back again from last year – a year older, and just as adorable!   Here are some fun photos for you to enjoy!