To the Editor,
I ran the numbers on those folks who identified themselves in last week’s edition of The Cricket as proudly displaying those green signs saying: VOTE YES TO MBTA MANDATE on their personal or investment property lawns. The results are interesting:
* None of these 61 individuals appears to live in any of the targeted neighborhoods that may soon see parking garages along with a two, three or four-story apartment building that will be constructed “by right” across their street.
*. Over half of these folks are over 55 years of age, while one third of this Green Group are over 70 years old. Sadly… since 2021, once that COVID shot mandate was issued, the Office of Social Security now tells us that the average lifespan of US males has fallen from 76.04 in 2019 to 74.12 in 2023. In this same time period, women’s life expectancy dropped from 80.99 down to 79.78; the largest drop in US life expectancy in a century. Whom or what, pray tell, is this over-70 group trying to protect?
Meanwhile … NONE of the 61 individuals in the GO GREEN group are in their twenties or thirties. Is it possible that the few young families who are able to live in Manchester today would like to see Manchester remain a community of 4,000 people … instead of 8,000 once those 70+ folks are gone?
If any of the members of the GO GREEN group is worried that their taxes will increase if we “just say no to this housing mandate,” it is important to realize that Manchester has one of the lowest tax rates in Essex County ($9.35/thousand). It is also important to realize that our tax rate was decreased by 10.35% this past year. Meanwhile …Wenham residents currently face a $15.66 tax rate, while Hamilton rings in at $15.11/thousand and Essex is now at $13.32.
Finally, an important question: How much money has Manchester received from the state in the past few years from the four grant categories, included in the MBTA law, that will be denied us in the future if the majority of town meeting members vote NO on this forced housing mandate? Here are the figures:
#1: A $100k grant to study the idea of decommissioning our waste water plant and building housing on the site (behind town hall by the railroad tracks). The study said the plan was not feasible.
#2: A $500k grant to dredge our harbor that required the town to pay half of the cost (500k) for the 1-million-dollar project. Happily, if Manchester agrees to become a Federal Navigation Port (FNP) again, any future dredging will be done by the Army Corp of Engineers … at no cost to the town!
#3: A recent $3.5 million grant to extend town water and sewer out to the new Cell Signaling Technology (CST) facility. But… did you know that CST executives agreed to cover this $3.5 million cost, until our town administrator volunteered to apply for this state grant to cover the cost!
In closing, I want to encourage each person in the current GO GREEN group to reconsider their stance. Since some individuals in this group are pillars within our local Quaker Meeting and Congregational Church, I would ask you to remember (Matthew 7:12). Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and Mark 12:30-31, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Please remember that those of us who live in the now-MBTA targeted/UNSAFE neighborhoods and pay the same tax rate as you, deserve the same protection as you who reside in the SAFE neighborhoods of Manchester by the Sea.
Susan Wadia-Ells
Manchester
