Late Tuesday afternoon, May 3, Utah State University officials sent Town of Bedford leadership a copy of a complaint apparently filed in the Superior Court of Massachusetts against the Town by 14 residents over the Town’s acquisition of 139 The Great Road, the site of the proposed new Town Fire Station. The Town has yet to receive direct notice of this complaint from the plaintiffs.
The Select Board will meet in Executive Session Friday morning to discuss a formal response to this pending litigation against the Town. https://www.bedfordma.gov/select-board/events/137901
The following is a statement from the Chair of the Select Board, Emily Mitchell:
“This complaint comes five weeks after Bedford Town Meeting voted by a margin of more than two-to-one in favor of authorizing the purchase of this land and funding of related project management and design services. It is deeply disappointing that a small handful of residents are attempting to delay and undermine this critical project for Bedford’s first responders, a project that will vastly improve efforts to keep our residents, staff, and property safe. The complaint contains numerous inaccuracies, and Town Legal Counsel is confident the Town will prevail in this frivolous lawsuit. We expect to file a formal response in Court soon. Until then, it would be inappropriate for Town leaders to comment further on this ongoing litigation.”
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No one really cares about procurement process. It’s used as a tool to get something else they really care about. What is the real issue everyone is fighting over?
Is it ‘I don’t want this next to me’ or something else?
A group of well known and respected residents have legitimate issues with the process being used for procurement of the land to build a new fire station. For the Chair of the Select Board to summarily dismiss the complaint as “frivolous” show a disrespect for the residents of our town.
The town needs, and the firefighters deserve, a safe, updated and modernized fire station. The location on The Great Road is essential for rapid response to all areas of the town.
Why isn’t there a link to the complaint filed yesterday in Middlesex Superior Court? Let everyone read the allegations and think for themselves.
I’m not surprised our Select Board would react this way. They have never shown any interest in a truly open and collaborative process that would actually benefit the town. Instead we end up with litigation, delay and more acrimony.
If they violated the law they should be held to account. Now it’s for a court to decide, not the Chair of the Select Board or anyone else.
So what’s next – hide behind executive sessions, spend lots of money on legal fees and maybe prevail or maybe not? There’s an obvious better approach but I have no doubt our Select Board will ignore it.
Once again, the town deserves better.
The Superior Court’s website doesn’t allow for a direct link. When you open the docs, you’ve got a limited time to see the files before they time out.
If you’re curious, it’s case 2281CV02101 in Middlesex Superior Court and you get started here: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/how-to-search-court-dockets
I hope this isn’t a direct quote. I hope we don’t have a Select Board members calling concerned citizens undermining and frivolous.