Selectmen appoint EDAT members
Economic Development Analysis Team (EDAT) Chairman Bill Johnson nominated five people to serve on the team, and the BOS accepted them. In addition to Johnson, they are Michelle Catalina, Carrie Fraser, Rick Maiore, Brian Smith, and Elaine Lazarus.
The article to establish the team, which was passed at last May’s Town Meeting, directs the group “to analyze the town’s opportunities to reduce its reliance on residential property tax revenue and increase its commercial property tax revenue by encouraging managed and desirable development.”
The board asked Johnson to focus on Ayer Road and the infrastructure necessary to support development, including opportunities to link to facilities at Devens. Selectwoman Lucy Wallace also urged the group to develop a draft charter for review by the BOS as soon as possible. The first EDAT public hearing to solicit ideas from town residents is scheduled for Sept. 19.
Town center sewer system study on track
Chris Ashley, chairman of the Town Center Sewer Building Committee, told the BOS Tuesday evening that preliminary engineering studies for the low-pressure sewer system approved for the town center at Town Meeting this spring is near completion, and a report is expected shortly. Ashley said the engineering study is necessary to make the case to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that Harvard is deserving of a share of DEP’s revolving fund to provide a low-interest loan for the project. As part of the study, Town Administrator Tim Bragan and Ashley have been assembling public records that show the difficulty town center residents have had complying with Title V septic system requirements by using traditional solutions. Ashley said he expects to submit the application for funds to DEP on Sept. 9 and that a decision will be announced in early January 2010. If funds are approved, Ashley said, construction of the sewer could begin in the summer of 2010.
Ashley also introduced Ken Harrod, a Harvard town center resident who helped guide construction of the town center water system 20 years ago, as his nominee for one of the two remaining positions on his nine-member committee. The BOS approved the nomination.
Housing Production Plan must be updated
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace reported that she received confirmation from the Department of Housing and Community Development that the housing production plan, last submitted in 2004, must be updated by January 2010, and that ongoing monitoring of performance against planned targets would be annual to determine protection from new 40B projects.
