Citizen’s request:
The Harvard Board of Selectmen include a warrant article within the upcoming 2010 Annual Town Meeting warrant to create an Economic Development Assessment Team that would update and improve our understandings of the Devens fiscal picture, and its impact on Harvard. The warrant article might read as follows:
Resolution: To see if the Town will vote to direct the Board of Selectmen to appoint a Devens Economic Analysis Team (DEAT) no later than June 30, 2010.~ The DEAT will analyze the current state of Devens finances as they relate to Harvard, and prepare their findings in a report on or before the 2011 Annual Town Meeting.
Background:
The 2009 Harvard Town Meeting directed the Board of Selectmen to appoint EDAT to prepare a commercial and industrial strategy for the town that would reduce our heavy reliance on residential property taxes and increase commercial property tax revenues.~ The focus of EDAT’s work was to determine a development strategy to maximize revenue from Ayer Road, while including an effort to study Devens and determine if its land base and consequent commercial industrial development could contribute towards Harvard’s desire to reduce reliance on property taxes.~ To do both, was perhaps a bridge too far.
It is likely that a sound, thorough study of commercial development within Harvard’s boundaries cannot be limited to the Ayer Road Commercial district. For the Town to complete such a study, a thorough examination and analysis of plans, development possibilities, and financial potentials at Devens is necessary to complete the picture.~
Report Scope and Foundation:
This report would use current financial data to update Harvard’s last financial analysis done in December 2003 by the Devens Focus Group, which analyzed the financial impact of Harvard resuming governance at Devens.~ At a minimum, the new data would include the “Devens Parcel Analysis Data of 2008”, the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission’s ~“Devens Economic Assessment” report of 2010, and ongoing agreements between Harvard Public Schools and Mass Development.~ The DEAT will report progress to the Board of Selectmen on a regular basis, and issue a final report to the town no later than the Annual Town Meeting of 2011. Such report will include, but not necessarily be limited to:
- An independent analysis of the current state of Devens finances.
- Determine if commercial and industrial development at Devens can benefit Harvard and the region.
- Analysis of financial implications of current commercial tax policies at Devens and clarify impact of any potential changes.
- Examine future financial impacts related to the continuance or termination of current educational agreements in place between Harvard and Mass Development for the education of students in the DREZ.
- Define regional opportunities to import or export municipal services between the DREZ and the host communities.
- Identify all financial implications of any proposed changes to the Devens Reuse Plan, zoning, or bylaws, that may affect the future development within the DREZ.
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