Last week Select Board Chair Richard Quintal, speaking “as a private citizen,” wrongly labeled the not-for-profit organization Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA) as being a party in a lawsuit against the town despite having a “sweetheart deal” on a town owned building. Along the way, he managed to drag in the name of candidate for the Planning Board Frank Mand as vice president of SEMPBA, who in fact also had nothing to do with the suit. For the record, the organization bringing the suit was the Community Land and Water Coalition which has its own building and mailing address located elsewhere. Furthermore, while SEMPBA’s president joined the suit as a private citizen. SEMPBA as an organization has not endorsed the lawsuit, was not party to its development and no other member of its board of directors, including Mr. Mand, signed onto that action. SEMPBA and its officers, including Mr. Mand, are not any more responsible for the actions of their president as a private citizen than are Plymouth’s Select Board for the actions of its chair when he speaks out incorrectly and falsely as a private citizen.
As for a “sweetheart deal,” it is the town, not SEMPBA, that got the sweetheart deal. When the town bought the Center Hill property with CPA money and put it into conservation, the building on the property was in disrepair. The town couldn’t find anyone to take a lease. The building was sitting unoccupied and risked becoming another Simes House disaster. Consideration was being given to tearing the building down. It was then that the town approached SEMPBA’s President Sharl Heller and asked the organization to take over the property, in as-in in condition. The town would not (as most landlords do) be responsible for repairs or maintenance.
Since taking over the property, SEMPBA, which is a non-for profit charitable 501©3 organization, has been paying the town rent, income it would not have otherwise had. In addition, in the relatively short time they have been in the building, SEMPBA has invested over $100,000 in improvements. In just the last two years, through grants, donations and the group’s own money, they have spent over $87,000 and considerable sweat equity on the property. This has included two new highly efficient heating and cooling systems (heat pumps), the old systems having become obsolete and even dangerous; repaired, painted and improved the large farmers porch and deck which was unsafe; installed new windows; new lighting inside and out and built a lab downstairs for research and educational processes. They also have built a wonderful multimedia-ready classroom. More improvements are planned and SEMPBA maintains the property, saving the town the expense of having to do so. SEMPBA has opened the building to the public and other organizations for various educational public service events. It also has run several environmental research projects, some funded by both federal and state government agencies, to the benefit of the town. Some of these were water studies designed to preserve our single source aquifer.
Overall, SEMPBA, as a not-for-profit, has been able to raise tens of thousands of dollars to turn a deteriorating white elephant of a building into a gem while providing wonderful benefits to our town. As someone who has sat on the board of multiple nonprofits and was president of two, I can tell you that this is the sort of thing a good organization and a good president of a nonprofit does.
I strongly believe Mr. Quintal needs to address the harm done to SEMPBA and its Vice President Frank Mand’s reputations. As citizens of Plymouth, we expect better from our public officials. Trust in government institutions is at an all-time low. When public officials make accusations and fail to fact check themselves, they undermine their ability to govern and deservedly so. Mr. Quintal has acknowledged that he was “confused” when he made his false and damaging claims but has refused to apologize. He should have known whether he was correct or not before saying anything at all and especially before voicing such potentially impactfully misrepresentations of facts. We were all taught as children to own our errors and make amends to those we hurt and that we will be respected for doing so. Mr. Quintal should do the right and frankly honorable thing. It can only help.
– Kenneth Stone