Friday, Dec. 15, was election day in Devens, the deadline for casting ballots in this year’s mail-in election to fill two open seats on the Devens Committee and two on the Devens Educational Advisory Committee.
None of the four seats was contested. As reported by MassDevelopment in the Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 issues of the Devens Weekly Newsletter, Laura Scott and Ralph Fehlberg, husband and wife, were elected to three-year terms on the five-member Devens Committee. Jesse Lowe and write-in candidate Fahima Shaik were elected to two-year terms on the seven-member DEAC.
When the Devens Committee gathered Jan. 3 for its first meeting of the year, members elected Scott to replace longtime chair Tracy Clark. Clark had let it be known he did not wish to serve another term as chair. But for the first time in anyone’s memory, two candidates stepped up to fill the position: First Scott, who was nominated by Fehlberg and seconded by Clark, and then outgoing Vice Chair Michael Alves, who nominated himself and was seconded by Cindy Carter.
During a brief question-and-answer session, the two candidates stated their reasons for running. Scott, who was recently promoted to assistant director of the Concord Municipal Light Plant, said that while she was new to the Devens community, having recently moved to Elm Street from Harvard, she was no stranger to boards. In addition to her position in Concord, Scott is a member of the board of the Public Utility Risk Management Association of Massachusetts. She said she hoped the committee could serve as a sounding board for Devens residents, “a way for people to communicate how they feel and what they think about the big issues.”
Alves, who is in his second year as a committee member, said that his Emerson Green neighbors had asked him to run in 2022 to speak on their behalf and ensure their concerns were heard. He said that when he had asked them what they thought of his performance over the past year, “residents told me that they felt like the meetings were better attended; they felt like there were things happening. There was more responsiveness. They told me I was doing a good job.”
Jim Geller of Chance Street asked the two candidates what role they thought the committee should play in discussions about the future governance of Devens. Scott said the issue should be elevated to the highest level of the committee’s strategic planning. “It is something I think is very important for the Devens residents to weigh in on.” When it comes to voting, she added, “We don’t have a lot of weight, but let’s use whatever voting power we have to let people know what we want.”
Alves said he was interested in hearing what residents thought. “MassDevelopment is doing a great job; the [Devens Enterprise Commission] is doing a great job.” In attending meetings of the Devens Jurisdiction Framework Committee, he had found members of the Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley delegations to be “good people,” he said. “I don’t blame them for wanting to get back a piece of Devens that was theirs previously.” But, he continued, determination of final disposition will take time, “because MassDevelopment is not done and they’re not in a rush.” Residents need to get organized, Alves said, “and be prepared to put our voice out there.”
When it came time for a vote, committee members elected Scott, 4-1, to chair the group for the coming year. Cindy Carter was elected vice chair and Ralph Fehlberg secretary.
According to a MassDevelopment spokesperson, a total of 96 ballots were cast in this year’s Devens elections, identical to the number cast in 2022. However, because the number of residents who registered to vote increased from 218 to 233, turnout dipped slightly to 41% from last year’s impressive 44%. (See table for individual vote tallies.)
MassDevelopment agreed to create the Devens Committee in a 1994 memo of understanding signed by the agency and the select boards of the towns of Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley to represent the residents of Devens and their concerns. “It is the intent of the parties that said concerns of residents of Devens be addressed through the Devens Committee,” the memo says, and not the Boards of Selectmen of the three towns. The committee meets with MassDevelopment officials on the first Monday of every month to discuss issues of concern to residents and to hear reports of the agency’s work.
The DEAC advises MassDevelopment on the education of children who live in Devens, and includes representatives of the school districts of Harvard and Ayer Shirley as well as a representative of MassDevelopment. The committee was established by Chapter 498, the act passed by the Legislature in 1994 that created the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone.
The mail-in ballots for this year’s elections were counted by Karen Davis, MassDevelopment executive assistant for Devens operations, and MassDevelopment staff, a task that would be done by an elected or appointed town clerk in any other Massachusetts municipality.
