Candidates face off on Springfield issues

They disagreed on the rejected North Springfield biomass plant, agreed on the proposed $10.7 million town budget and agreed on whether the town needed a development director.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140228/NEWS02/702289901

Springfield Select Board candidates make their pitch to voters Thursday night at a forum. From left: Selectman Kristi Morris, George McNaughton, moderator Ernest “Puggy” Lamphere and Selectman Mike Knoras. Photo: Len Emery PhotoPublished February 28, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Candidates face off on Springfield issues By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — They disagreed on the rejected North Springfield biomass plant, agreed on the proposed $10.7 million town budget and agreed on whether the town needed a development director. The three candidates for two seats on the Springfield Select Board tackled the main issues facing the town during a forum Thursday night sponsored by the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce. Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris and Selectman Michael Knoras are challenged by George McNaughton, who previously served on the Springfield School Board. Morris and McNaughton both said they supported the failed biomass plant, and Morris said he was the only member of the five-member board who took a public stand. McNaughton, acknowledging that he would “anger some friends,” said he agreed with Morris about the North Springfield Sustainable Energy Plant, but he faulted the board for not being more active about the project, which was rejected by state regulators two weeks ago. Morris said economic development projects of that size were few and far between, and “people aren’t lining up at the interstate” to bring economic development to town. Yes, the biomass proposal had drawbacks, Morris said. McNaughton said he hoped the North Springfield residents who had banded together to fight the plant would now turn their sights on renovating the old North School. He said there was talk about turning the first floor of the school, which is now owned by a community group, into a commercial kitchen that could be rented out by small local food firms. Knoras said he hadn’t taken a stand on the biomass plant because he didn’t know enough about it, and the town was depending on state regulators to evaluate the project. All three candidates said they supported the proposed $10.7 million town budget, with Knoras saying he disagreed only with a line item in the budget. He was referring to his earlier opposition to including $30,000 in funding for the Springfield Regional Development Corp., and $20,000 for Springfield On The Move in the budget, rather than let voters decide the issue via a special article at town meeting. Forum moderator Ernest “Puggy” Lamphere, host of SAPA-TV’s public-affairs program “Puggy’s Corner,” asked the candidates more than a dozen questions in the 90-minute forum at Town Hall. About two dozen people attended the session, which was being recorded by SAPA-TV. Lamphere asked whether any of them felt the town needed a full-time development director, and all of them said “no” — but for different reasons. McNaughton said he felt the town already had a development director — the town manager. He said the town manager should be key in getting new business to town. “I really feel that’s the town manager’s responsibility,” he said. Morris said a full-time economic development director would cost the town $75,000 a year, and he said he didn’t feel the town could afford it. There are already two organizations working to bring business and keep business in town, he said, referring to Springfield Regional Development Corp. and Springfield On The Move, the downtown group. Knoras said he wanted to appoint an economic development commission, made up of community members and business leaders, to work on bringing more business to town. “Let’s work on this,” Knoras said. McNaughton said he was running because he felt the town needed to be “shaken up,” and he said communication needed to improve between the Select Board, its neighborhoods and even the School Board. “I will bring a fresh perspective,” said McNaughton, a lawyer in town. “The status quo is not working.” A question about crime focused on the multiple arrests made in Springfield in the past several years involving illegal drugs, including the highly publicized Operation Precision Valley in June, which netted about three dozen drug dealers. “I think the board has done something,” said Morris, noting the town worked to help set up community meetings. He said he has attended meetings all over the state to learn about the opiate-addiction problem. McNaughton said the town needed to “drive the problem underground,” and he blamed a lot of the problem on the fact that Springfield now hosts the state’s maximum-security prison. McNaughton said that the Department of Corrections “plays word games with us” and regularly releases former prisoners into Springfield, regardless of their hometown status. Under the town’s agreement with the state about hosting the prison, only Springfield residents were to be released back into Springfield communities. The Department of Corrections “has a zillion different words” for the word “release,” he said. Knoras praised the work of the Springfield Police Department for making many drug and gun arrests in town, but said the problem lay with the courts and the criminal justice system in general. The Legislature legalizes small amounts of marijuana and legalizes medical marijuana dispensaries, and the growing of hemp, he said. “What do you expect?” 2014TopNewStories