2020 in review: Grafton gets weird, and we can’t blame COVID-19 for this
Let’s face it: 2020 was a weird year in Grafton, with or without the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was the period where nearly every Select Board meeting included shouting matches. A lot of people went missing from the Municipal Center (remember when we had a town administrator?). We thought an override of Proposition 2 1/2 would be the most difficult thing that schools would face in 2020, and a lot of adults were unhappy when Grafton High School eliminated its Indian mascot and replaced it with a Gator.
We return now to 2020:
10. Transit village — It took six months and quite a bit of interest, but 8 Pine St., an overgrown Grafton State Hospital property acquired through a sales partnership in the state, is set to become The Village at Grafton Woods, a complex featuring 306 residential units — 77 of them affordable — and 11,340 square feet of retail space, plus additional parking for the MBTA Commuter Rail station right across the street. The project isn’t expected to be complete until 2023, but it’s one of several mixed-use developments in the works for Grafton, including the “Grafton Gateway” on the former DPW property on Upton Street.
9. Black Lives Matter — The death of George Floyd on May 25 as a Minneapolis police officer ignored his plea of “I can’t breathe” and kneeled upon his neck created a storm of protests across the country — including Grafton, population 18,883, 4.9 percent black. A pair of well-attended protests in June were greeted with both cheers and jeers as students described their experiences and standouts continued throughout the rest of the year.
8. Goodbye Grafton Indians, hello Grafton Gators — Grafton High School had already quietly removed its Indian logo from team uniforms but this was the year it became official: Grafton is no longer a town with an Indian mascot. Students were troubled by the racial implications, a Change.org petition launched, and members of Nipmuc Nation called on Grafton — and all Massachusetts towns with Native American mascots — to put away the inappropriate feathered headdresses and adopt new mascots. GHS students took a vote: Grafton is now the Gators.
7. Super Park returns from the dead — The original Super Park, torn down in 2010 to make way for the new Grafton High School, was a wooden structure created as a community project. Attempts to build a replacement were unsuccessful for years, so it was surprising when Select Board Chair Jennifer Thomas in January announced a Recreation Department effort to create a new accessible one behind the Grafton Public Library extension. It was considerably expanded in scope, with future phases that included a splash pad and boardwalked nature paths. Super Park failed at spring Town Meeting, but it lives on, somewhat, with a Recreation Department move to make all town playgrounds accessible.
6. Proposition 2 1/2 override passes — The warning that an override would be needed to continue funding Grafton schools came in December 2019, with Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings warning that he would be forced to cut 40 positions in the next five years and considerably cut athletics. The number varied, but it finally settled on $4 million, including additional funds for the Fire Department, on the ballot for the spring Town Election, where it narrowly passed.
5. Ray Mead’s retirement doesn’t last long — For what was supposed to be his final performance as Grafton’s 20-year town moderator, Mead organized a socially distanced and pandemic friendly outdoor Town Meeting on the Grafton High School football field. Mead then retired, content to offer assistance to newly elected moderator Dan Concaugh. But after some challenges to committee appointments and his short-lived decision to hold fall Town Meeting inside, Concaugh unexpectedly resigned, just days before an outdoor Halloween Town Meeting. Mead was tapped to once again lead the town (not on Halloween, due to the first snowstorm of the season, because it’s 2020), and also managed to announce the confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s election to the crowd. We’ll be seeing Mead again in May, with a new moderator choice scheduled for the next Town Election.
4. Mickey Gauthier’s retirement also doesn’t last long — Fire Chief Mickey Gauthier submitted a letter for early retirement in July, expressing frustration with the lack of communication about the town’s hiring of his successor, who would be the town’s first full-time chief. He met with the Select Board to discuss his concerns and ultimately opted to stay, lobbying for the fire department to be run by a “strong” chief to attract better candidates.
3. The case of the missing ballots — 202 uncounted ballots were found in the Town Clerk’s vault a week after the June Town Election. Town Clerk Kandy Lavallee immediately reported the find and called for an investigation; the additional votes, luckily, did not change the election results. A delayed audit cast no blame, acknowledging similar errors in other communities.
2. Select Board dramas — For the first half of 2020, the Select Board was, in a word, dysfunctional. Raised voices were not uncommon, particularly between Chair Jennifer Thomas and members Ed Prisby and Donna Stock. Prisby exchanged heated words with former Selectman Brook Padgett when he attempted to block Padgett’s candidacy for the Community Preservation Committee. Thomas dismissed an Affordable Housing Trust applicant for being unable to represent the town in a “positive manner.” June’s election brought about a change: both Stock and Thomas were voted out, replaced by former Finance Committee members Mathew Often and Colleen Roy by an overwhelming margin. But the drama wasn’t over quite yet.
1. Who is running Grafton? — On the last day of July, Town Administrator Tim McInerney stepped down after coming to an agreement with the Select Board. The separation agreement included $147,500 in severance pay, equal to a full year’s salary, in accordance with the contract he negotiated with the Select Board in the spring. In addition, he received $20,664.32, the balance of his 252 hours of untaken vacation leave. Assistant Town Administrator Rebecca Meekins left the office in September, taking a similar position in Northborough. Meanwhile, Town Accountant Anita Patel moved upstairs in the Municipal Center to become the new director of finance for the school department and Town Clerk Kandy Lavallee was sidelined for the all-important presidential election due to a medical leave. As of this writing, Temporary Town Administrator Carter Terenzini is attempting get a town budget ready without key officials. But there’s hope for new leadership in 2021 — the Select Board will announce finalists for town administrator Tuesday night and set a schedule for interviews.
