By Dot Bergin
For Margot Fleischman, the job of being a Bedford Selectman is serious, satisfying, and ceremonial. Speaking at the recent pole capping event, Fleischman said she will wear her tricorn hat “with great pride as a symbol of our cherished tradition of remembering and acknowledging – through reenactment and education – the sacrifices that past Bedford residents made to secure our freedom.” You can read her remarks here: https://bit.ly/2pLJ4zt
Fleischman is now in her second term as a Bedford Selectman. She’s also the Selectman member of the Community Preservation Committee, the Energy Task Force, the Transportation Advisory Committee, and the Fawn Lake Committee. She acknowledges the help of her husband Bill, over the years, in making it possible for her to be such an active participant in town government!
Recently, The Citizen sat down for a chat with Margot, covering a range of town topics.
Citizen: How did you first become involved in town government?
MF: My husband Bill and I moved to Bedford in October 2003, with our two very young children. We chose where we would live based on sidewalks and public transportation so I could walk to places with my kids. Since I was often pushing a stroller, I became interested in sidewalks and my first foray into town government was to volunteer for the (then) Sidewalk Committee, which has now been folded into the Transportation Advisory Committee. I think that’s often the way newcomers dip their toe into town affairs: you have a particular interest and want to see something accomplished. In 2007 I was elected to the Planning Board, where I served for five years, including a term as chair in 2008, and I was the board’s designee to the Community Preservation Committee. Then in 2012 I ran for Selectman and was reelected in 2015. This is my second term as Chair.
Citizen: You mention Community Preservation and I know it’s a major interest of yours. Are you concerned about the recent news that the state is greatly reducing its “match” to local CPfunds?
MF: Bedford was very fortunate to sign on with the new Community Preservation legislation in 2000; for some years, we received 100 percent in matching funds to the property tax surcharge we vote each year at Town Meeting. That “match” has now declined and may be only 20 percent this year but that’s understandable, as more communities apply for the money. Bedford has benefited tremendously from having that 100 percent match for so many years. We’ve done so many great things for the town with this money: renovating the Old Town Hall was our first big project. We reclaimed a derelict building in the middle of town-in the historic district-and turned it into a handsome, multi-use structure we can all be proud of. Renovating historic properties provides construction jobs, an economic benefit. We’ve also used our CP funds for recreation, affordable housing, and preserving land for open space. Now that Boston and other cities and towns are applying for CP funds, it’s understandable that the match will shrink. The “pie” is only so big and the underlying funding mechanism hasn’t changed since the CP law first went into effect. Currently, there’s legislation at the State House to amend the way the Community Preservation Act is supported, which is through a $20 fee assessed on certain real estate transactions at the Registry of Deeds. Our State Representative Ken Gordon is co-sponsoring a bill (H 2615 and S 1504) that would raise the Registry of Deeds filing fees, and I’ve sent my personal letter of support
Citizen: You must think of the Coast Guard Housing on Pine Hill Road as one of your (or our) premier accomplishments.
MF: I’m quite thrilled. My expectation always was that those units would be inhabited, not be vacant, as they were for so many years. I’m heartened that the developer chosen by the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust has financing and a business plan in place. The choice to preserve some of the units, in my mind, will help ensure that the affordability level will be more appropriate. You know the units are very small. The developer is going to do extensive rehabilitation to the interior but they will never be multi-story. The new units [to be built] will be attached, some duplexes, and some single units. I’m interested to see It if there is an opportunity to find out if, in additional to the affordable component, what could be done to designate some senior housing. I don’t think you need to have a fully deed-restricted housing development in order to make the units attractive to seniors, with first floor master bedrooms, [with] everything fully accessible, [incorporating] universal design, and energy saving features.
Citizen: How much influence do you think the town will have, now that the property has been sold to a developer? [Note: papers were passed on April 20 and the property is officially in the hands of the developer, TRA.]
MF: Although the developer has a preliminary plan, it needs to go through the permitting and zoning process; zoning may need to be changed. Our Planning Director is working now on how to write zoning so we (the Town) will get what we want. My objectives were that those units be inhabited; I think it’s terrific that they will be on the tax rolls (remember, as Federal property they were not taxable); that it is a small-scale development, that it’s near public transportation, near the bike path, and could provide a very nice down-sizing opportunity for seniors, in a small, modest neighborhood. What worries me about the tear-downs is that we had a stock of modest homes – not necessarily affordable or income-restricted-but small. Now even the “small units” – such as the recent cottages, as someone mentioned at Town Meeting, are big and cost $700,000. [With the Coast Guard housing] we will have four affordable units of the 29 and there might be an opportunity to add affordable units or negotiate other ways to meet our goal of increasing and preserving housing diversity in town. That’s my concern. If we skew too much to the very large, very expensive homes we leave out a whole segment of people we want to keep in our community. We want ours to be a community where people of different economic levels can live, and we need to consider the folks who want to stay in the community and downsize.
Citizen: Are there ways that the Town (the Selectmen, the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals) can do anything about the escalating cost of housing?
MF: I’m intrigued by different communities’ approaches to this. I’d be interested to see what we could do with neighborhood preservation zoning, to keep some of the smaller sized housing from being torn down. Think of Anthony-Hunt-Hamilton: that [neighborhood] is an adorable part of the community. Those small neighborhoods have intrinsic value. Maybe we can look at ways to do some affordable housing buy-downs, using CP funds, so that if someone wanted to sell their house, we could preserve it and convert it to an affordable unit. Also, there is the idea of smaller units and rental units. If what you’re looking for is housing, does it have to be ownership? Maybe we can add new housing stock that won’t overburden our schools. There are a lot of moving parts to this but we’re not helpless! [What we do] is not going to change the underlying reality of the situation that Bedford is a very desirable place to live but part of our affordable housing “thought” could be ways to build in higher income affordability levels. We have combinations of different programs – where there is affordability at different incomes: very low income housing, more moderate, and workforce, which might be housing where someone like a teacher could qualify. We are talking about providing opportunities for our public servants to live in our community. I think it would be a shame if Bedford became a town for only the affluent. When we were house hunting, I liked the fact that Bedford was a kind of ‘normal’ place, with different kinds of people in town. And that’s part of our civic identity as well; there’s a community spirit and a sense of togetherness around being a town.
Citizen: What goals do you have for yourself as Selectman?
MF: In terms of my goals for this year, as Chair, I feel there are opportunities to work on how our capital needs are being met. Maybe there are some slightly different expectations from folks new to town as to whether we have sidewalks or bike trails, and I think we’ve done a lot in that direction with the Pedestrian + Bicycle Master Plan (https://www.bedfordma.gov/sites/bedfordma/files/u133/bedford_bicycle_pedestrian_plan.pdf) but there are lots of projects we have on paper. Take our Great Road Master Plan: I’d d love to see us move forward aggressively with planning it out and addressing the Willson Park conundrum. That’s where we’ve put a marker down and said we will try to move ahead with the Master Plan but we need to carve this out as its own project and deal with the complexities. Willson Park has a bunch of knotty problems: there’s the volume of traffic, the lack of bike and pedestrian accommodation, the fact that it’s used for our Pole Capping, and is in the Historic District. It will require some focused attention but we all realize it’s kind of a lynchpin of the Great Road Plan. When we did the Great Road Master Plan in 2011, we were offered a couple of options and in the end there was no consensus. We are working with our consultant who will start this spring trying to come up with some options, getting consensus from all the stakeholders. I’d love to see us make progress on the things we say we’re going to do. My hope this year is to move the ball forward on the projects that people are really keen to see us undertake. The beauty of Town Meeting and town-based government is it requires a lot of buy-in and transparency, and opportunities for people to weigh in. But on the flip side, things do take more time. You need patience and a certain amount of humility, not to make promises that can’t be kept. I’m willing to work hard to promote the values, the projects, the initiatives that have the support of the town. I feel I’m in it for the long game. Many things are being planned but the transformation of a community may take 20 years. We need to be visionary.
Citizen: On other issues in which you are active, we know you’re a dedicated supporter of Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ). Have you seen this used successfully in Bedford?
MF: Yes, I have. The cases are all confidential of course. I don’t know any of the individual cases but I do know some of the circumstances —currently I am President of the C4RJ board. Our Police chief Bob Bongiorno is very supportive of the program; it was he who got us involved. He was in Concord when the program started nearly 20 years ago. Our police use C4RJ to respond to incidents of vandalism, petty theft, shoplifting – any situation in which they think it would be a good fit.
Citizen: Some of your supporters have suggested that you would be an excellent candidate for a state or federal office, if an appropriate opportunity should arise. What ‘s your reaction to that idea?
MF: Depending on the timing and the position, I wouldn’t rule anything out but whatever I’d do I’d want it to give me the opportunity to make an impact on real people’s lives. That’s what I love about public service. I love being a Selectman! Right now I’m focused 100 percent on that. There is something so satisfying about how tangible some of the outcomes are. I remember the second time I presented the article for the reconstruction of School Way – (it didn’t pass the first time but it did the second.) Now I feel so good about this every time I pass through that area. Nothing can hold a candle to being in Town government when you get something done! The confidence people have in local government is really precious, that they have trust and feel it is working for them. That’s really important. And when I look at people’s involvement, I feel Bedford is a “DIY” town. We have a small professional staff and most of the things we do, we roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. If you have an idea, join a committee and see what you can do! It may not magically happen but there is so much more opportunity to have an impact at the local level. The government is just us, deciding what needs to be done. I studied anthropology so how groups of people organize themselves really does interest me. This particular form of democratic organization is fabulous and people should be excited about it. Reclaiming the idea of public service is an honorable thing to do! [ Here Margot gave a nod to The Citizen, for its work in promoting civic engagement.] I wouldn’t do this work if I didn’t think the people involved in it had their hearts in the right place.
Note: this interview has been condensed and edited.
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