Monson/Palmer edition year in review: stories that shaped the regionDate: 12/26/2023 With the end of 2023 rapidly approaching, Reminder Publishing took a look back at some of the major storylines that helped shape the Monson/Palmer editions of The Reminder’s coverage area over the past year.
What do you feel made the year memorable for the region? Let us know by sending a letter to the editor to cmaza@thereminder.com.
Palmer searches for town manager, superintendent
At a special meeting on April 5, the School Committee selected Matthew Francis as the new superintendent, completing a months-long search.
Along with help from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and a search committee, the School Committee unanimously approved Francis as the new superintendent out of four finalists. Francis came from the Chicopee school system, where he served as assistant superintendent for instruction and accountability.
The committee started the search for a new superintendent after previous Superintendent Patricia Gardner resigned in October 2022. The resignation came after the School Committee opted to table discussion on a new contract in August 2022. The committee had cited concerns regarding clear communication and school culture in a recent performance evaluation and Vice Chair Sandra Noonan called a previous staff survey an “eye opener,” citing “lack of support around discipline issues, and not feeling valued and respected.” Gardner being a finalist for other superintendent positions while employed by the district was also considered a concern.
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Francis said, “From what I’ve gathered, Palmer Public Schools have gone through a rough patch. I think they are looking for some stability and I’m excited to bring that to the district.”
The Town Council is currently in the beginning statges of the search process for a new town manager as well after Ryan McNutt abruptly and surprisingly resigned from his position in October. The town did not announce a reason for McNutt’s departure, with the Town Council only stating it was a “personal matter.”
The Town Council was initially scheduled to meet with McNutt on Oct. 18 for a working meeting, but that meeting was canceled. In its place, an Oct. 18 executive session agenda was posted on Oct. 16 and amended on Oct. 17. The first item on the executive session agenda was “to discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual.”
The second item was “to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel,” specifying McNutt as that personnel member.
After finalizing the separation agreement, the Town Council agreed to pay McNutt just over $70,000 at the time of his resignation with $55,050.38 from 4 ½ months of pay and $15,174.70 from accrued vacation time.
At its Nov. 16 meeting, the Town Council voted to hire Robert Reed as the interim town manager. Since 1984, Reed has held several positions as a full-time town administrator as well as a town executive and administrative assistant, according to his resume available online. After retiring in 2014, he has worked as an interim town manager for Southbridge and Upton. He also worked as an interim town administrator for Princeton, Rutland, Hopedale, Sturbridge and Northborough.
The council also unanimously voted to hire Community Paradigm Associates as the town’s consultant for its search for McNutt’s full-time replacement. The council had also interviewed the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management before selecting Community Paradigm Associates, with which it had worked during its previous town manager search.
Monson approves fire station renovation
Monson residents gave the OK for the town to move forward with a Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion for the cost of $6.6 million for a renovation project for the Fire Department.
The fire station, built in 1978, has extensive damage due to water infiltration and was deemed not adequate to support the needs of the staff that works 24 hours shifts, seven days a week.
The project, once completed, will address several priorities established by the building committee and the department members. Some of the most notable are decontamination, living quarters, showers and bay congestion/quantity to name a few. The station estimates that when completed, this renovation will serve the fire department for at least 30-35 years or longer depending on the needs of the town.
Fire Chief Brian Harris stated, “The department is very happy that the dept exclusion passed and the project is being funded. This is a big step for both our department and the town as a whole.”
He continued, “The project has been being worked on since October of 2019 as an assessment to see what the fire station needed to be repaired and make it usable for today’s use and future needs. When the department was built, we were a 100% volunteer fire department. Today, we have 10 full time employees and 20 on-call employees.”
Gobi leaves state Senate, Durant elected
Anne Gobi announced on May 22 that she would join the Healey-Driscoll administration as the new director of rural affairs in the Executive Office of Economic Development, leaving vacant her seat in the state Senate representing the Worcester and Hampden District, which consists of 20 towns, including Ware and Hardwick.
Gobi officially resigned from the Senate on June 4 and assumed her new position on June 5.
Gobi’s new role was created by Gov. Maura Healey to address the needs of rural communities. She is intended to serve as an advocate and ombudsman — a service offering the public the ability to present and have addressed their complaints and concerns with the intent of improving quality of life — to communities that often do not have adequate representation in the Legislature.
With Gobi’s departure, the state conducted a special election. Republican candidate Peter Durant, a resident of Spencer, was declared the winner on Nov. 15 over Democratic candidate Jonathan Zlotnik, the state representative for the Second Worcester District. Durant, who previously was the state representative for the Sixth Worcester District, which covered parts of Charlton, Dudley, Southbridge and Spencer, won the Republican primary against Bruce Chester of Gardner on Oct. 10 by a margin of 60.5% to 39.3%.
Addressing his priorities, Durant described to Reminder Publishing the state’s need for “good education” and said he intended to ensure schools had proper resources by addressing budget concerns. He also highlighted his goal to minimize “wasteful spending.”
In addition, Durant’s campaign website stated that his intent to focus on public safety, government transparency, reducing tax burdens and supporting the economy.
Passenger rail project chugs forward
In September, Gov. Maura Healey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) announced a $108 million federal grant for East-West Rail, a project designed to connect Boston to Western Massachusetts and beyond through high-speed rail.
The complete rail project from Boston to Pittsfield is expected to cost about $2 billion. Neal said Healey is invested in finishing the project, which will include a high-speed rail line to Pittsfield, where it will connect to New York, and the creation of a working train station at stops where there is none, such as Palmer.
On Nov. 20, Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt visited Palmer’s historic Union Station, now the Steaming Tender restaurant, to discuss what is now referred to as the Compass Rail project, a unified east-west and north-south rail plan connecting New Haven, Connecticut, to Greenfield and points north, and Albany to Boston with Springfield serving as the central hub. The Compass Rail plan includes planning and design for a Palmer station, which would serve a planned inland route from New Haven to Boston via Springfield and Boston to Albany corridor travel.
State Sen. Jacob Oliveira (D-Ludlow), state Rep. Todd Smola (R-Warren) and state Sen.-elect Peter Durant (R-Spencer) also attended the event and expressed support for the project. Oliveira discussed the importance of including Palmer in the Compass Rail project and highlighted the recent $12.5 million given to support the stations at Palmer and Pittsfield while Smola admitted that the project had “dragged along for many years” but said he hoped to help “in any way we can.”
Monson House of Art preserved
The Monson House of Art was spared the wrecking ball after the Select Board rescinded a vacancy and demolition order at the Oct. 10 meeting. The focus has now shifted to restoration and securing a long-term lease.
In September, the board voted 3-0 to force the Monson Arts Council to vacate the 200 Main St. headquarters in the coming months. Monson firefighters would have occupied the space until renovations on the firehouse were complete, followed by demolition.
After public outcry and time to mull their decision, the board sought to save the Monson House of Art. Town and Fire Department officials had argued that razing the structure was necessary to improve access for emergency vehicles.
Town Administrator Jennifer Wolowicz’s Sept. 30 email flipped the conversation, stating that solid community feedback opposed demolition and that a solution was needed to save the historic structure.
In support of the new initiative, Wolowicz announced a fundraising campaign had already secured thousands of dollars from donors. The Select Board also announced the formation of a subcommittee focused on preservation and long-term sustainability for the Monson House of Art. The board appointed Warren to the newly formed subcommittee.
Ware hires Lovato as school superintendent
Michael P. Lovato received unanimous approval from the School Committee to become the new superintendent of Ware Public Schools on Jan. 18.
The selection followed three days of interviews on Jan. 11-13, The three finalists were William E. Collins, a previous superintendent of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District in Parishville, NY, and past principal of William E. Norris Elementary School in Southampton; Robert J. Gerardi Jr., current superintendent of the New Shoreham School Department on Block Island; and Lovato, who was serving as assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in the Chelsea Public Schools.
The search was made necessary by the School Committee’s 2022 decision not to renew Dr. Marlene DiLeo’s contract, which expired at the end of the 2022-23 school year. DiLeo told Reminder Publishing she was informed the contract would not be renewed when she became a finalist for the Wachusett Regional School District. DiLeo had spend 15 year as part of Ware Public Schools, including nine as superintendent.
Lovato told the School Committee in subsequent discussions that in preparation for the role, he sent a clear message to building administrators that the district will set measurable targets and stress accountability. Lovato said that in education there are often too many goals or initiatives imposed on classrooms and school communities and his intent is to simplify instructional goal-setting.
He also said he planned to review all documents, procedures and modes of communication approved or established by the previous administration to determine if they need revision.
Lovato grew up in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He was in the New Mexico Army National Guard and worked with the correctional facility. Lovato was recruited to teach through athletics and for over 20 years he’s been in the education field. In addition to his time in Chelsea, he served as the director of special education in the Lowell Public Schools, superintendent in Questa Independent Schools in Questa, New Mexico, associate superintendent in Las Vegas City Schools in Las Vegas, New Mexico, a turnaround principal for the Santa Fe Public Schools in Santa Fe, New Mexico, director of special education for the state of New Mexico for just over a year.
Lovato also holds an administrator certification from University of New Mexico, a master of arts in special education from New Mexico Highlands University, certification as an educational diagnostician from Texas Tech University, a bachelor of arts in criminology from the University of New Mexico, and an associate in arts in applied science from Dona Ana Community College.
Investigation cites Monson Select Board member’s ‘unprofessional’ behavior
In response to a complaint leveled by Town Administrator Jennifer Wolowicz, Safety and Respect at Work LLC conducted a Select Board-contracted investigation that determined then-Select Board Vice Chair Mary Hull “engaged in unprofessional conduct” toward Wolowicz.
In her initial complaint that led to the investigation, Wolowicz alleged Hull had engaged in a pattern of public and personal attacks against her since February 2021.
The findings included “multiple ‘low and unfair’ performance rating scores within her performance review” and “disparaging remarks about her performance” and false claims regarding the number of complaints regarding Wolowicz’s performance, which Hull allegedly said was “hundreds of people.” The report noted that several statements made by town employees and residents reflected concerns with Wolowicz’s leadership and communication style, but determined Hull based negative reviews on these statements and intentionally excluded positive or neutral statements.
The investigation also found that Hull violated the town’s code of conduct policy with statements and actions made toward Wolowicz during April 2022 meetings, and during the May 9, 2022, Town Meeting. According to the report, during Select Board meetings, Hull referred to Wolowicz as “sneaky,” “irresponsible” and “rude,” and made misleading or non-credible statements about the employee morale. At the Town Meeting, Hull, then the clerk of the Select Board, was asked to remove herself from the meeting, after calling Wolowicz a “piece of s***” after Hull presented a citizens petition. Town Moderator Peter Matrow cited this as a violation of the Select Board’s policy and the policy of the annual/special Town Meeting.
Hull lost her bid for reelection in a three-candidate race during the June 13 election. Peter Warren defeated Hull and fellow challenger Anthony Allard. Warren finished with 621 votes, followed by Allard with 404 and Hull with 274.
Hardwick residents reject horse track proposal
For most of 2022, the proposal of a potential agritourism facility at 228 Barre Rd. in Hardwick dominated most conversations and meetings in town, but it wasn’t until 2023 that the matter was finally settled. With strong support from each side, the Select Board decided to bring the matter to a special election on Jan. 7, which ultimately led to the proposal failing.
The Great Meadowbrook Farm concept, proposed by Commonwealth Equine and Agricultural Center LLC, would have been a place to breed, train and race thoroughbred horses on 359 acres of Agricultural Preservation Restriction land. The petitioners had a purchase and sales agreement contingent on the proposal’s passage.
The official results were 313 people voting yes, 831 voting no, along with four blank ballots returned.
Quaboag Regional School
District welcomes familiar new leadership
Quaboag Regional Middle High School Principal Stephen Duff was selected as the Quaboag Regional School District’s new superintendent and announced the appointment on Jan. 30.
Contract negotiations between the committee and Duff had been ongoing during November and December.
Committee members indicated they selected ”the perfect internal candidate” over outside applicants.
Duff had been with the district for 10 years, spending half that time at Warren Community Elementary before moving up to Quaboag Middle High School.
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