Nothing from Nothing.
By Jim Conley • Oct 15th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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What do you get when you divide zero by zero? Nothing.
So it’s more than a small curiosity that the Brookline Selectman will take up an item at tomorrow night’s meeting to create an “Economic Development Division in the Department of Planning and Community Development.”
Here I am thinking that the hundreds of thousands spent on an economic development function, one that has little to show for its efforts except distributing $3 thousand for snowflakes to a local merchant, playing a role in trying to cripple the local farmer’s market and wildly exaggerating the tax revenue from a medical office building in Brookline Village, could be better used for a World Language program in the schools.
Archie has a view that he’s added to his World of Brookline Zoning series. And he points out that the Town’s recent deal with Children’s Hospital at the B2 parcel may be creative, or it may be creatively destructive. My money’s on the latter.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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The referenced matter before the BOS tomorrow may result in a turf war at Town Hall. Does Jeff Levine’s Department of Planning and Community Development have an edifice complex what with EDAB and EDD taking credit for constructive and financial creativity? Would Cathy Cagle report to Jeff rather than to EDAB? If so, might Cathy be a tad loyal to EDAB Chair Bob Sperber and his minions? Whom would EDAB report to? Would this move result in economies, synergism, less cronyism? What is a developer to do for upzoning if Jeff’s fiefdom, rather than EDAB, is in control? Jeff runs a legitimate Town “Department.” Perhaps the problem with EDD is the word “Department,” which some may think would put EDD on a par with the Town’s legitimate “Departments.” “What’s in a name?” In this Town, quite a bit.
Perhaps the matter should be referred to a committee.