A Bad Deal
Mary Krumsiek, Chairperson of the Millbury Board of Selectmen and Sean Hendricks, Millbury Town Manager, are on the records as clearly stating to call what has transpired between the Selectmen, Town Manager, and Steven F. Venincasa and James Venincasa (under the entity name of SJV Investments, LLC), a “negotiation” would not be an accurate description as the developers would not negotiate on much of anything the Town of Millbury had requested.
“If you make it clear that you’re willing to take a deal no matter what, you’re going to get a bad deal.”
The Town of Millbury entering into a Chapter 40B Local Program Initiative (LIP) agreement with SJV Investments, LLC, is the very definition of a bad deal for all residents in Millbury.
Steven F. Venincasa and James Venincasa have maintained their position of not mitigating public safety problems previously identified during the now denied proposed 46-condominium unit project (i.e., Rice Road, the Providence & Worcester Railroad crossing, and the intersections on both ends of Rice Road). How can anyone think that increasing the number of units by 4.17 times without addressing known public safety problems is in the public’s best interests? It is not. It is in Steven F. Venincasa and James Venincasa’s financial interests. Allowing this proposed Chapter 40B project to proceed will with high probability significantly increase risks of harm to the public, which would be an abject failure of the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager’s fiduciary obligations.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) entering into a Chapter 40B LIP agreement, the municipality is endorsing the project, indicating that they want the proposed project to be built, and the chief executive will be required to sign the official application and a letter of support, in order for the SJV Investments, LLC to receive a Project Eligibility Letter (PEL), which is required to start the permitting process.
When an official from DHCD was asked if town officials are against the proposed Chapter 40 project, should they enter into a Chapter 40B LIP agreement with the developer? The answer was a very direct “No, they should not”.
Let’s hope that Mary Krumsiek, Chairperson of the Board of Selectmen, as the person authorized by the Board of Selectmen to enter into a Chapter 40B LIP agreement, does her own due diligence and does not execute the proposed Chapter 40B LIP agreement.
At least four out of the five members of the Millbury Board of Selectmen have publicly stated that they are against this proposed Chapter 40B project, so why would anyone consider entering into a legal agreement for a proposed project that they don’t support? Doing so, simply defies logic.