Selectmen grilled leaders of the West Concord Task Force about the soon-to-be-formed committee’s purpose, scope and time frame Monday while reviewing a list of potential committee members who have submitted green cards.
Resident Joanne Loynd, who led a campaign to update the town’s master plan and was involved with the “West Concord — A Call to Action” plan on which this task force is based, said the task force would “address immediate concerns in the village center.”
Asked by Chairman Greg Howes about the frequent use of “collaborate” in the task force’s charge, Loynd said, “The reason we used the word ‘collaborate … is because we want to take advantage of the town boards. We don’t want to need to recreate work the Planning Board is doing.”
She said the task force would identify issues and see if boards, committees or departments with expertise and knowledge in those areas could listen to concerns and take actions to remedy them.
Selectman Jeff Wieand asked the “fundamental question” about the task force facilitators’ understanding of the scope, because the written charge refers to West Concord, West Concord Village and West Concord Center.
Loynd said the most immediate issues are in the village, which she considers to be synonymous with West Concord center. “Most of it will be in the village, but it will take us outside the village,” she said.
Howes asked if the three major themes — zoning, traffic and the pond — are “coming from a broad spectrum of people.”
“Absolutely,” said Loynd. “We’ll also include issues that can fall further down the list.”
Communicating with residents is another goal of the task force, according to Loynd, who said, “There’s so much happening right now, I see this as a perfect opportunity to allay some of the concerns” that a mistake is going to happen.
In response to Selectman Virginia “Dinny” McIntyre’s statement that there have been numerous similar groups formed to study West Concord, resident Dorrie Kehoe said, “What I hope is going to make this unique is that it will provide results” and specific recommendations that can be put to Town Meeting.
Toby Kramer added, “A lot of what we came up with was to study things more. That’s what this group has to do. It has to take it to the next step so things get implemented.”
Selectman Stanly Black asked whether the one-year time frame was reasonable, saying that changing zoning bylaws takes longer than hanging baskets from light poles.
Black said he believes most of the changes residents of West Concord were concerned about would have been impossible because of the town’s maxed-out sewage system. One of the main goals of the task force should be “addressing the mistrust” in town government by focusing on improving the lines of communication, Black said.
Said Kehoe, “I hope this is not just a feel-good operation — what a pity that would be.”
Selectmen will focus on finalizing the West Concord Task Force’s charge and comment on potential members at their meeting June 23.
