So let me get this straight . . . Not only did Ms Silva not do her job as per the law but ALSO T/A Andrews hired his Lawrence lackey while knowing he was not (NEVER) certified as per the law and State Regulations ?

What I also want to know is when the leadership of Wareham is going to step in and INSIST on accountability from the management they hired to do a job that he is clearly NOT qualified to do ???
Just another embarrassment.

I say boot the both of them back to Lawrence and hire ANYONE qualified to do the job !

bobo:

As per terms of his hiring (and as approved by the state), Burke has until this fall to become state certified as a building inspector. If Burke fails to do so, he’s out of a job.

OH I CANT WAIT TO THIS FALL TO BRING THIS STATEMENT OUT AFTER BURKE FAILS TO GET HIS CERTIFICATION. 1. HE CANNOT GET HIS CERTIFICATION 2. HE WILL NOT BE OUT OF A JOB AS LONG AS ANDREWS IS THE ADMINISTRATOR. IM SURE ANDREWS WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE A NEW POSITION FOR HIS OLD BUDDY ONCE HE FAILS TO GET THE CERTIFICATION. OH BOBO DONT TRY TO DELETE THIS STATEMENT. THE ARTICLE IS SAVED TO DISK


bump

It seems that the clerk did NOT do her job from this letter according to MGL c143 s3.......


The clerk of each city and town shall annually, not later than April first, transmit to the board in writing the name and official address of each inspector of buildings or building commissioner and each local inspector in such city or town.



RUMOR has it there is another letter concerning the building inspector and his LACK of credentials to get "certified" by the state again this is just word of mouth at this point and hopefully that letter surfaces....

Don't get me started on this guy!  How about the mess going on in Swifts Beach? Did you read about that? A residential home for mental patients and drug addicts in a cluster development full of young children. Whoa Nelly!!

Glad to have you back, Peaches....

I'll be waiting for him to be well enough to register and log in here as the "Big fish"!!

You have been an inspiration to a lot of people, Michelle. You are a testament to those who want to serve their families.

Best wishes to you and your family. Please give Jeff our best wishes...

Very well said, Inside...

Great BOS meeting last night, Huh? Lets Recap the meeting...

Yep, after removing Lynne Road from the official BOS agenda thereby forcing our citizens to make their last minute case through citizen’s participation, Walter Cruz is finally worried about the People? Now he wants to insure that the right thing happens.
Better late than never, but not much better….

Let me tell you how Andrews notified Cruz. It was not the TA doing his job in a timely manner, as Cruz would hope you believe and which he might actually believe himself.

The Citizens from Lynne Road’s first course was to get themselves put on the BOS agenda and petition their elected officials for help. When Cruz saw it he asked Andrews what Lynne Road was about. Andrews told Cruz it was a group home matter that the town had no discretion in. He quoted CMR this and Dover amendment that and then told Cruz that there had already been a meeting with the representatives from the Lynne Road Homeowners association, the Swifts Beach association, two people from the Fellowship, a state agency rep, Myles and himself and it was all settled and the residents were satisfied and Cruz scratched Lynne Road from the BOS agenda.

When the problem would not go away, Andrews scheduled the meetings on the 20th and 27th. Funny how citizens of this town were put off by the TA for more than a month after asking to have access to the BOS. Yes Ellen, this is why people need to be able to speak directly to our selectmen and have them intercede on our behalf. Asking the TA if he’s doing his job and simply washing your hands of matters is like giving the keys to the jail to the inmates.

Why are our citizens doing research and discovery when, as Chairman Cruz claims, “the Town is on the case”? Shouldn’t police reports and CMR regulations, etc. all be information compiled and presented to the board by our TA, Mark Andrews and his staff? It was clear last night from Town Counsel’s seeming lack of urgency that the BOS is asleep at the switch.

The people presented their case last night, but no one asked a few pointed questions, like:

How many of these facilities does the BOS think Wareham can host?
What is the Town’s policy on the entire group home matter and if you don’t have one when do you think you might?
What are the budgetary impacts on services and infrastructure from 1, 5 10, 20 or more of these facilities?
What are we doing about the subject in general, not just Lynne Road
Why is Mark Andrews taking off Mondays and Fridays?
Why did Andrews schedule both meetings for Lynne Road on Mondays knowing he would not attend?
How long after Andrews read the blogs and Facebook last night did he develop whatever ailment kept him from the BOS meeting?
Would each of you like one of these facilities beside your homes and what would you have done to stop one from being beside your home?

Andrews would like nothing more than to keep dealing with these facilities as though each one was a stand-alone issue. This is a systemic issue, which goes to the fiber and culture of our community.

Oh by the way, Walter, as we legally have no one in Wareham who can issue an OC (occupancy permit) and all the OCs and inspections signed by Myles Burke for the past year are illegal because Myles Burke is uncertified and cannot be certified, Jeff White, the owner and builder of the facility at 7 Lynne Road can and will simply ask a state building inspector to issue the OC and there is little or nothing you can do about it unless the Zoning Board of Appeals should issue a cease and desist immediately.

Andrews and Myles either are liars or are incompetent. No other choice. Either they collectively do not understand the laws of the Commonwealth, or they do and are playing us. In neither case they should both be gone.

In every town contacted and in every instance every building inspector tells every TA who immediately informs the BOS of the impending facility or any other matter which might have other than normal consequences for a community so the BOS can act. Not here. Why?

It’s amazing to me that after Jennifer Petersen made it clear that 7 Lynne Road does not fall under the zoning exemptions afforded the Division of Mental Retardation which Burke and Andrews have been applying, (told you so) everyone got stuck on fire evacuation inspections. What Jennifer said was that this facility is not exempt from local by-laws, zoning regs, ordinances or restrictive covenants.

The real Issue:

Town counsel seemed right on top of everything though, right? At least we have that going for us. Know why he could not give one single straight answer, because he knows the TA and BOS have truly screwed the pooch on this one. You see there will be a lawsuit no matter how this goes now. Why? Because the town has known for a year that Burke had no legal authority to do the job Andrews gave him, yet knowing that, we left him in place and from that day forward we bought into all the liability from any actions he took.

We knew Burke did not meet the minimum standards to even take the test for accreditation. We knew he lost his appeal of the state commission’s decision. When Burke was offered a time period to get a College degree and meet other requirements by the commission, Andrews flipped them off and went to Pacheco instead and tried to have a special act passed lowering the standard for Burke. Needless to say this pissed off those in the state. We knew that the State sent us a letter telling us to basically get rid of Burke and still we kept him in his position. So what Town counsel understands is that if the facility is occupied because the town was late to the fight the case will be made and successfully that it was because Burke applied the wrong CMR standards. That he even reduced his opinions to writing is historically factual and that we acted or did not act based on his findings is also factual. Therefore, if the facility opens the homeowners will sue the town for the losses in value to their homes and damages to their lives because the Town did not act responsibly, on the contrary the town acted intentionally to allow an illegal situation to continue. To further evidence this foolishness, Walter asked Burke for comment in his official capacity last night. What capacity? When he did so he was adding to the Town’s liability in not only Lynne Road but in every other issue which will arise from Burke’s actions over the past year.

On the reverse side, should we determine now that the home should not have been permitted had the right standards been applied and no OC is issued, White will sue the Town rightfully claiming that had the proper standard been applied he would not have bought the house or invested in the improvements and therefore the Town will be liable for his losses. Lets recap: in one suit the town buys every house on Lynne Road or at least covers the loss of value to every home in the area because it acted with negligence and indifference. (what $10,000,000+ or on the other they buy Whites house for $600,000 and also cover his loss of profit and ongoing income.)

So clearly, Town Counsel could not say any of that in public so he did his best and sounded either duplicitous or stupid, which he is not. He’s just unlucky enough to be working for us..

This is what happens when we let people with hubris and ego but no real skills run our lives.

The TA absolutely must go!! The only reason I see either Andrews or Burke pushing this mental ward is because they have been paid off. Plain and simple, why the hell else would you bring this to your town? DW White has deep pockets and has made an ass load of money on this deal! He will be leasing the house for 5 years to Fellowship Health Resources for I would guess at least $2500 per month if not more! Time for a vote of NO CONFIDENCE!

How do we start a vote of No Confidence? First he hires that nitwit Burke for $81K, then he allows this stealth project of a respite house for crack heads and mental patients with no input from Town Counsel? Sounds like his pockets get bigger every time he leaves the room! Just sayin'

Agreed Harry!

I Have Heard From Maney People Espacially Vendors Who Deal With Andrews Say He Does Not Know What He Is Doing ,notice Also We Have No Town Acct,what Is Happening With No Town Acct., Our Town Finances Were Screwed Up When We Had A Town Acct., What Are They When We Have No One.

No worries my friends, Andrews has pissed of the wrong bunch of mothers. His days are numbered, we have vowed to see him gone!

To be honest, I told Bill a few weeks ago he ought to pull the plug. I am glad he didn't...

Not to be a "debbie-downer", but how long have people on this website been pointing out the cold hard facts about Andrews?   Nothing has happened to him yet.

Just a few things Andrews has done since he has been hired as TA:

1.  Hired an unqualified accountant
2.  Fired an unqualified accountant
3.  Hired an unqualified Building Inspector
4.  Hired the unqualified Building Inspectors unqualified girlfriend for a job that was never posted
5.  Griswold-where to begin on this one?
6.  Avoided answering our questions

How long has this town known that Burke was not certified?  The BS story of waiting until Oct is just that BS.  The guy is going out signing off on papers and isn't qualified.  The Town was aware of it. 

Let's not forget MAS once again didn't do her job.  But don't worry, she only answers to herself! 

I'm sure the list could go on and on, and you are more than welcome to add on to this list, but this guy is nothing more than a slimy salesman, a weasal.  But don't worry, because he keeps us updated with his "Hello, Senator"...

Just an Opinion
In all fairness to the BOS, being a selectman can only be a thankless and difficult job at best. Sometimes, just like the saying, “God hears all prayers and sometimes the answer is no,” selectman can seldom please everyone. They are often faced with winners and losers or those pleased and those upset by their actions. I don’t think anyone begrudges them for this as long as they acted correctly and fairly and without an obvious or agenda driven partiality to one outcome over the other. There are almost always people on both sides of an issue and Lynne Road is not different.

What the BOS seems to be missing is that on one side of the Lynne Road issue they have a single profit-driven non-resident individual willing to increase our costs of police, fire, emergency services, lower our property values and endanger our people for money. On the other side we have several hundred, soon to be perhaps several thousand pissed off voters focused on the safety of their children and the people they feel responsible, the BOS, Andrews and Burke. Do the math.

I would offer the BOS that in this case, regardless of the overlying issue and it’s complexity, in its simplest form we have an outsider looking to do something in Wareham which will, not might be harmful to their citizens and the BOS is missing that point regardless of any other consideration.

Wareham’s Town Counsel will most likely find that the “Dover Amendment” applies to Lynn Road. What a surprise.

The Dover Amendment is the common name for Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 40A, Section 3. This law exempts agricultural, religious, and educational corporations from certain zoning restrictions . It allows a structure that provides certain services to ignore local zoning laws and build the facility it needs to provide those services. The Dover Amendment allows many developers to build facilities that are substantially larger than zoning laws would ordinarily allow or which would be considered inappropriate, by some, for the neighborhood.
Considered by many to be overly broad, the exemption granted by the Dover Amendment has been narrowed somewhat by recent court decisions. While a corporation must merely be nonprofit and legally able to engage in educational activities to be considered a "nonprofit educational corporation," the actual use of a particular facility must have education as the “PRIMARY OR DOMINANT PURPOSE" to qualify for Dover protection. See Whitinsville Retirement Society, Inc. v. Northbridge, 394 Mass. 757, 760 (1985).

See Kurz v. Board of Appeals of N. Reading, 341 Mass. 110 , 113 (1960). Merely an "element of education," however, provided not by a formal program or trained professionals, but only informally gleaned from the interplay among residents of the nursing home community, is not within the meaning of "educational purpose" pursuant to G. L. c. 40A, Section 3. [Note 2] Such an interpretation of the words "educational purpose" is not within the plain meaning of G. L. c. 40A, Section 3. See Bronstein v. Prudential Ins. Co., 390 Mass. 701 , 704 (1984); Commonwealth v. Vickey, 381 Mass. 762 , 767 (1980). We conclude that there was error in the judge's determination that the purpose of the nursing home was "educational." [Note 3]

Therefore, while I might teach my wife how to make coffee in our non-profit office, I would be hard pressed to argue that activity constitutes an educational facility or primary business. 

So why then might the Town’s Counsel find that treating drug-dependant and potentially dangerous crazy people in a  “transient treatment” facility constitutes an educational use when more and more rulings are generally requiring that the use be primarily educational and not merely a consequence of residential or treatment based housing? Well, in a jury trial , a directed verdict is an order from the presiding judge to the jury to return a particular verdict . Typically, the judge orders a directed verdict after finding that no reasonable jury could reach a decision to the contrary. After a directed verdict, there is no longer any need for the jury to decide the case .

In Wareham we have a long history of  BOS “Directed Opinions”.

A directed opinion is where the BOS tells, not asks, the Town’s attorney to formulate, find, fabricate or otherwise render an opinion which is intended to provide cover for something they, or some other agent of the town has already done or wants to do.

Wareham has a long history of losing law suits in the face of legal opinions allowing or supporting its conduct. As an example, in this year’s annual Town Meeting, Town Counsel was asked for an opinion on an article. He gave the opinion, which determined the outcome of the vote. Unfortunately, shortly after the meeting was over counsel discovered that his opinion was wrong and now we have a problem. The problem is that the article needs to be re-voted, but because of the past vote a new vote may not be allowable for the same article.

Anyone remember the BOS action and their legal opinion allowing the firing of police Lt. Don Bliss? How’d that workout for us? Didn’t we just pay him several hundred thousand dollars because our attorneys were mis-mis-mis-mistaken on that one? How about when the BOS got a legal opinion allowing them to take a million dollar plus home on Swifts Beach by eminent domain at Town meeting for $400,000.00. As I recall we lost that suit and paid the woman 1.2 +/-million for our arrogance. Folks, legal opinions requested by people with agendas are self-deluding at best and seldom reflective of the actual outcome of a future lawsuit.

The reason we might see a Dover Amendment finding is because Town Counsel is facing the sure and certain knowledge that there will be litigation. Either the Town will be sued by the residents or by the builder at Lynne Road. Avoiding the litigation will be the driving impetus in a finding? We will most likely get an opinion that the Town acted believing that the Dover amendment applied and then they’ve basically put the burden back on the residents to protect the town through civil action and the BOS will have also insured that there will be no court ruling on the Dover Amendment one way or the other. (Safe at third!)

The BOS is praying that the Homeowners are successful in arguing the HOA restrictive covenants and therefore pulling the hook from their collective mouths. However, the boot in Andrews’s ass should stay firmly planted until he is flying over the nearest town line. 

Sadly, by an opinion as I suspect it will come, the Town will now insure that anyone who wants to build these facilities can now come to town and build as many as they want. This opinion would insure Wareham will be a target.

Virtually every town everywhere has challenged the Dover Amendment when in doubt or there was any chance to do so. While the law is ambiguous and overly broad, most Town’s fight the Dover Amendment at any time a reasonable argument against it can be made. They do so for two reasons, one, the town may prevail in court and two, because many proponents of these facilities will not or cannot bear the cost in money or time fighting a Town. Opponents will often simply move on or negotiate with the community something that works for all.

Let me suggest what we will accomplish if the BOS, in order to protect itself from the actions of Burke and Andrews, gets this decision from Town Counsel they want, that is that in any future circumstance, which is even remotely similar, they may not ever again argue against the Dover Amendment applying. If the do they will be sued for discrimination or some form of unfair application or practice. If they do fight the Dover Amendment’s authority in order to stop a future facility and prevail they will make the case for damages suffered by those at Lynne Road who claimed it did not apply to 7 Lynne Road.

The BOS should just fight the fight for your safety and security now. I believe the residents of Lynne Road will prevail on their Homeowners Covenants, but what about you? If you merely live on a street somewhere in Wareham, and not in a subdivision, the BOS will insure that they cannot, in the future, fight these facilities and that the Jeff White’s of the world will simply look for homes in neighborhoods not protected by protective covenants. That unfortunately will open up 95% of the homes in the town of Wareham folks. Yes, one of these facilities is coming to a house near you very soon.

Providing housing and treatment for a drug-addicted mentally-ill and possibly criminal clientele rises to the level of a teaching facility like prisons are not prisons; they are really centers for higher learning where the chronically criminally inclined can interact with more capable mentors and thereby raise their skill levels from mere ASS (Associate Scumbag Status) to a full and well rounded PHD in Criminal Diversity.

Win or lose, the BOS has always been willing to pour unlimited amounts of our money down any rat hole they can find if it’s for legal fees for their fight. Why not now in our defense? If Lynne Road goes live, this will be their fight for a very long time to come.
Clearly, we have support on the board, but not enough.

By the way, I’ll bet there is about to be more to this story for the BOS. Do the right thing while you can still argue it was your idea.

More Than Meets the Eye....
There is a lot more to the Don Bliss story than you might have read recently in the news papers and I suspect Town counsel will soon be earning his keep. To suggest Wareham’s behavior has been merely egregious in this matter would be an understatement. Interest is accruing at $500+ per week, plus there may be additional 5 to 6 figure damages and penalties for the Town as well because we will not pay him or tell him why. Andrews is ignoring him.

To date, despite a direct BOS order that Mark Andrews pay Don Bliss in May, Andrews has not paid Lt. Don Bliss. A recap: we wrongfully fired Don Bliss, we did lose the lawsuit and the BOS did make a decision to not appeal the ruling because finally, this BOS accepts that the past BOS/Town acted badly in the Bliss case; so why have we not paid him?

As with Don Bliss, Lynne Road and virtually every case we’ve lost over the years, we had legal advice before we acted. Or perhaps the BOS got one of those “Directed Opinions” after they fired Don. I’m certain we had counsel at every stage of the legal process. Yet we now not only seem unable to abide by a legal ruling from the court, but the BOS is completely incapable of ordering Mark Andrews to do anything whatsoever and what’s worse is that they are perhaps the only people in town who don’t know it.

It’s got to be that friggen Stockholm Syndrome. That’s the one where you fall in love with your kidnapper. Where is counsel now? Evidently merely losing the case was not enough for us. No, we want to get sued again. Don Bliss is the only officer in town who has not been issued a permanent car to drive, as befits his rank. So now are we punishing him for winning his wrongful termination case by using discriminatory and retaliatory employment practices against him. By the way, Don won because he was right and the BOS was wrong. The fact that a court may rule to take every car from everyone until Don Bliss gets one too is about a week away. FYI BOS, he probably should not be assigned the worst car in the fleet now either folks.

Everyone should be outraged by Andrews conduct in this matter, but the more important issue, yet perhaps less noticeable than that we are willingly in contempt, indifferent, ignorant and arrogant is that we also apparently committed perjury in our testimony before the court. It’s either that or the money was there at one time and Andrews has emptied another fund without consent.

We have virtually destroyed Don Bliss’s life. His family struggles every day to make ends meet and hold a life together after we ripped it apart. The personal and financial strain on his family was supposed to end when the BOS lost, but it continues. WHY?

According to testimony from Mr. Sanguinet (past acting town administrator and then assistant TA under Andrews) testified the settlement money, ($250,000 or so) was in escrow and ready for paying a judgment in case Wareham lost. So why has Don Bliss not been paid? After all, Sanguinet testified we had the money. Testimony, that’s the one that begins with you raising your hand and swearing to tell the truth. Maybe we should begin every BOS meeting with that one. Or was the money there when Sanguinet said it was and perhaps someone spent it for something else and did not feel obligated to tell anyone?

There are only four reasons for Don Bliss not being paid if the money was truly in escrow, as sworn to by Sanguinet: stupidity, incompetence, revenge or perhaps Mark Andrews has spent the money to cover ½ million + in unbudgeted overtime expense or to hide some other financial benchmark he missed. Maybe Andrews is waiting for the new fiscal year to begin next week so he can grab $250,000 and begin 2012 in the red so to continue the new financial shell game “Wareham, You’re Busted”. Maybe he now even has BOS approval.

Didn’t we just work for days at town meeting to pass a Balanced Budget for 2012? Keep in mind what I wrote about the Healthcare Trust Fund. Good Luck! If this is Andrews’ plan, a biblical financial shortfall will occur next year when hopefully, Andrews is merely a bad memory for Wareham. My guess is we are already short $750,000 to 1.4 million for 2012 and it has not begun yet.

If Andrews did indeed raid the fund set aside to pay Don Bliss and he spent that money he should be terminated for cause on the spot.

Back to Lynne Road, Chairman Cruz stated, promised and assured those citizens at last Tuesday’s BOS meeting that the Town would be forthcoming with information and assistance within two days and I understood that to mean any documents that the folks on Lynne Road might need to fight their battle would be immediately forthcoming, as all present understood that time was of the essence. Didn’t you all hear that too?

Well isn’t it strange that Myles Burke not only keeps public records locked in his office, which is I believe is against the law, but he has also refused to furnish Lynne Road residents copies of public information about their own homes. He has forced residents of Lynne Road to file “Public Information Requests” and assured them that it would take some time to pull the records together. The records they seek are the information cards which the building department uses (or is supposed to use) every day and which are immediately accessible to anyone in the building department, providing of course Myles Burke is at work that day and that his office is unlocked. This is how Chairman Cruz intended to keep his promises? Or maybe Burke and Andrews don’t really give a rat’s behind what Cruz wants?

If I were Burke I wouldn’t want to give up the cards either, particularly if they showed that there were in fact restrictive covenants on them and therefore the building permit for the 7 Lynne Road should not have been issued without HOA approval. Or I were Myles, I wouldn’t give them up until I’d made new ones. Maybe the cards do or did show the correct information and because Burke had them locked up in his office the day the permit was pulled the inspector never saw the correct info.

Beneficiary: The concept of a "beneficiary" will also frequently figure in contracts other than insurance policies. A third-party beneficiary of a contract is a person whom the parties intend to benefit from its provisions but who is not a party to the contract.

Also, food for thought, our Town Counsel made an argument Tuesday evening that only the beneficiary of the HOA covenants could bring an action to stop 7 Lynne Road. This is often referred to as “standing” or the right to act. Which meant he was putting the burden back on 40 odd citizens to protect the entire Town. He may have been selectively correct in his opinion. Yes ,the Lynne Road residents/HOA may be the beneficiary of the HOA covenants, however, as the Planning board made the HOA a condition of approval of the cluster subdivision, I’ll bet a compelling argument could be made that the Town is also a third party beneficiary thereto and therefore obligated to enforce them.

TUESDAY NIGHT WILL BE INTERESTING. A Game.

Well now that Andy Williams is gone, Mark Andrews can bring another of his cronies to town to be our building inspector. I’m pretty sure he’ll be looking for someone who also has the necessary credentials to sign Certificates of Occupancy. My guess is he pays the guy $60,000 a year to do the building inspector's and Head of Inspectional services job and Myles Burke can keep his $80,000+ “Hey, I’m watching the lifeguards” job. Keep watching it’s going to get better. Anyone want to set the over/under on Andrews?

I hear the state folk are on the way. Maybe we get the DOR too.