Fire Fran Price.
By Jim Conley • Apr 15th, 2008 • Email This Post to a Friend •
Print This Post
• Email this author
If it were up to me, more than a few period would be relieved of their town hall positions because of the St. Aidan’s debacle. But at the top of my list would be the town’s housing director, Fran “The Snitch” Price.
On March 25th Price sent an “update” by e-mail to neighbors of the project that said, in part:
“As with virtually all buildings built prior to 1950, these buildings most likely contain lead-based paint. In addition, as with many old buildings, they contained some asbestos. A 2002 study identified all observable asbestos in the former church, rectory and garages. In 2004, all observable, accessible asbestos was removed in preparation for beginning construction on the model unit in the former church structure. No asbestos removal work has taken place since December 2004.”
What’s wrong with that? Well, it implies that all asbestos and lead had been taken out of the buildings slated for demolition; and that there was a small amount of asbestos left to clean up. But the town knew at the time that some 7,500 square feet of material that would require removal (as had been reported to the Massachusetts DEP).
Now all of this would be inconsequential were it not for the fact that the Archdiocese was on an aggressive schedule for abatement and demolition. At a public meeting held on April 1st, the contractor for the Archdiocese indicated that they would complete demolition of the rectory in two days or less.
At this writing, abatement of asbestos has not been completed (though 7 workdays have been consumed). Why? It appears that the DEP and other interested parties have been closely monitoring the process to ensure that it’s being done properly. Proper abatement takes time.
But as a matter of the binary, that also means that this contractor and developer, with the help of a town employee, were going to rush through the job — with scant regard to the public health risk. That’s why Price’s e-mail is cause for dismissal — it was instrumental to convincing people that the demolition could be administered quickly.
Sure, I’m willing to bet someone on the Archdiocese’s payroll wrote the missive. But she sent it.
I don’t imagine that Price will ever be fired, though. To draw the ire of the Brookline Selectmen, you’d have to do something egregious, like slow down a developer’s project. Dusting residents with lead and asbestos, that’s no big deal.
In fact, soon the selectmen are likely to say that Price, “runs the best housing department in all the Commonwealth.”
It’s how they roll.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
Email this author | All posts by Jim Conley
This idea would also free up money that could be used to hire language teachers and music teachers for the school kids.
Maybe the reason the town never fires anybody, regardless of how incompetent, is that doing so would force onto the balance sheet and into the operating budget the town’s unfunded pension obligations. The appropriate accounting would expose the town’s poor financial controls and past years’ fiscal irresponsibility. Better to dip the bureaucrats in formaldehyde and prop them up at their desks than invite the wrath of bankers and voters. Also explains their ghoulish disregard for the living.