On Tuesday evening the select board voted to sell the Simes House in Manomet. The reaction to this decision has been swift, visceral, and misguided. Candidates running for this years’ seats on the select board are posturing themselves as advocates for the taxpayers of Plymouth calling for investigations and accountability from the board regarding the money spent on the Simes House and opinions on what should or should not happen with the property. As someone with intimate knowledge of the Simes House and the saga that has plagued the town for fifteen years, I say, “Good riddance to the albatross around the town’s neck.”
The fact is this: the town got what it paid for when it decided to invest in the Simes House, using CPC money to do so; and not only the Simes House but also, Pilgrim Hall, The Oak Street School, a homeless shelter being built in The Plymouth Industrial Park, and an investment the Town made in the Redbrook Development in South Plymouth. Each of these projects has CPC money attached to them, and each was ushered through the process by current select board member William Keohan and the former Chair of the CPC. Each of these projects saw massive overspending with no oversight and little or nothing to show for the millions of taxpayer dollars spent.
Focusing on The Simes House, in 2022, the then-select board appointed me to a task force to determine how to solve the Simes House problem in Manomet. The Simes House had been operated by a group of citizens whose task was to turn it into a revenue generating property for the town, this group failed in its task. At that time the select board was comprised of Richard Quintal, John Mahoney, Charles Bletzer, Harry Helm, and Betty Cavacco. The lease held on the Simes House was set to expire. Recognizing the failure of the group running the Simes House, the board did not renew the lease, opting instead for the task force and recommendations. Our task was to analyze the property and recommend to the board what should be done with it. Because of his involvement with the CPC, the fact that he ushered the Simes House through the CPC process, that he was the de facto property manager, and his alleged intimate knowledge of the space, Mr. Keohan sat on the committee as an ex officio member. The task force toured the building, conducted weekly meetings at the space, surveyed the entire community (specifically Manomet), and eventually presented the select board with three recommendations. This was a process that, initially, should have taken six weeks; it took nearly six months to complete. It should be noted that during this process Mr. Keohan was asked to produce construction records and receipts justifying the approximate four million dollars spent on this structure; he never produced the requested documentation. Mr. Keohan provided multiple reasons and excuses as to why the requested documents were not being produced, frustrating the task force until we eventually proceeded without them. The question remains: Where, exactly did the money disappear to? Only Mr. Keohan can answer that question, and he has yet to do so. Suffice it to say that the reckless overspending that occurred under Mr. Keohan’s watch while on the CPC on several projects is, blessedly, over.
When the task force completed its work, we made three recommendations to the Selectboard on December 4, 2022: 1. Sell the building outright and recoup the financial loss (the town never would, as the property’s assessed value at the time was far below $4 million dollars sent to renovate the structure) 2. Issue and RFP with the intent that a nonprofit would take over the building, and 3. Continue to maintain the building and find a municipal use for it. The selectboard at the time voted to issue an RFP hoping that a nonprofit would take over the space.
No one wanted the building.
Because the building has CPC money attached to it, there are restrictions on the building stating what the building can and cannot be used for. Community Preservation Action/Commission money can only be used for historical preservation, open space use, and affordable housing. The Simes House has all three restrictions attached to it; these restrictions exist in perpetuity. These restrictions made changes to the space virtually impossible.
No one wanted the building.
The RFP was virtually ignored. When the town decided to use CPC money on this building; the town got what it paid for; a building with so many restrictions on it that it is virtually unusable, a building that cost more than it is worth; and needed to be maintained at the taxpayers’ expense, and a loss of tax revenue. The political indignation being demonstrated by some of the candidates for election is misplaced. The questions that need to be asked are not being asked or answered. Now select board member William Keohan continues to block any progress that needs to be made to rectify the problem, repeating his actions of four years ago. Not every building needs to be historically preserved, nor should it be when these buildings fall into disrepair due to lack of maintenance. This was the case with the Simes House when the town first took it over in 2011. Sadly, the town will take a loss on this building.
When the RFP failed in 2022, the select board later decided to sell the building. Time after time attempts to find a nonprofit; or any buyer, to take over the building failed. Finally, ultimately, deciding to sell the building is the only choice left to the administration. There are members of the select board that are being wrongfully criticized for this decision, these members of the board were not on the board when the task force made its recommendations. That criticism is misplaced.
The reality is this: The Simes House project has been a failure. Mismanaged from the beginning, attempts to turn the building into a historical site, with open space and only two affordable units and generate revenue was simply a weight too heavy to lift. Restrictions because of CPC money make future use of the building next to impossible. While questions remain unanswered, the selectboard made the right decision on Tuesday to finally and permanently rid the town of this building.
Robert A. Zupperoli
– Zupperoli is Town Meeting member representing Precinct 1