BURLINGTON UNION

Thursday, April 5, 2001

GUEST COLUMN

The greater the obstacle, the greater the glory in overcoming it.-Moliere  My intention with this column is to establish some humanity in the reasoning behind the Land Swap and the reasons we should unite with people who have worked so hard to accomplish something others have only dream about.  First, let me take you back about 9 years ago at a meeting before the Board of Selectmen,  where as a spokesman for the Council on Aging, I was given the opportunity to talk about our senior population and the need for alternative housing.  Sometimes, when you watch these meetings or when you walk away after a presentation, you have the feeling your discussion fell on deaf ears.  The memories of that meeting were very clear as I sat before Bob Marrano, Chairman,  Gary Gianino, Joe Impemba, George Judge and Dick Wilde.  Little did we realize then, that this group did pay attention.  Of course the COA Board would keep hammering the fact our seniors needed alternatives to remain in Burlington.  Our seniors or as I’d rather call them “the young at heart folks” have given so much to this community.  They are our past with their history, their generosity and their sacrifices; they are our future with their wisdom, their willingness to continue giving and their love of a town where they want to live out their lives.  They are us.  Finally after all this time and work by people like Gary Gianino, Al Fay, George Judge, Bob Mercier and others, a dream will become a reality.  Lets take the politics out of this creation and think primarily of the people who will benefit.  Seniors are the priority for affordable housing, not politics, not developers and especially not those who have always seen the glass as half empty rather than half full.  There will be over 80 apartments for Burlington Seniors.  How many times have I heard the words, we have to sell our home and there is no place to go. So seniors head north for New Hampshire leaving friends, family and their social life behind.  Devastation!  Some can remain in Burlington but there are too many who are do not have this luxury.  They’re on fixed incomes, some too high for subsidized housing and many if they were eligible can’t make it on the list.  The state controls the subsidized housing and the housing is not exclusively for seniors, and it is it not exclusively for Burlington residents.  We have no control over this type housing.  But finally, with some creative thinking which even the Boston Globe called a WIN/WIN SITUATION the land swap will give the Town of Burlington the right to rent these apartments to Burlington Senior residents with NO CONTROL BY THE STATE. The apartments will be built exactly like the apartments available to those who will pay the higher rents.  This negotiation has taken two years with people who have been key in these discussions such as Gary Gianino, Al Fay, George Judge, Bob Mercier, and Larry Rittenberg. They have sacrificed a great deal of time away from their own families to make this transaction a reality.  One of the first things they did was to set up a committee a long time ago to assure they were marching to the beat of the community.  On the committee were neighbors from Grandview Farm and Mountain Road, town meeting members, people from various boards such as the Board of Health, Land Use, Ways and Means, Conservation,  and Senior Housing.   As the representative for Senior Housing, I was very much involved and attuned to each step of the process.  So my good folks there was no back room politics-just a bunch of people trying to accomplish what is best for the people of this town.  Now our officials are making themselves available for 12 more meetings to discuss this transaction and explain in detail what will happen with this project.  The first meeting already took place on March 28 and will be shown on BCAT.  Do yourselves a favor listen to the discussions realizing there will always be the naysayers but don’t let them make the decision for the town.  Listen to the benefits and the alternatives if we do not get this project approved through town meeting.  One of the other benefits is the money we will get each year which will give the town the opportunity to buy more property so we can take control of our community and also the benefit of tax payments to the town.  Let’s take control of our own destiny and keep our housing decisions in Burlington hands, not the State.--Arlene A. DiRocco