~ The Advocate Asks ~

Town Meeting Member Robert A. Palleschi shares his views on what makes Precinct 7 special and the top issues facing the people he represents

  Editor’s Note: For this week’s column, we sat down with Town Meeting Member Robert A. Palleschi and asked him what makes Precinct 7 so special and what he sees as the top issues in the Saugus neighborhoods he represents. Palleschi is a Lynn native and a 1963 graduate of St. Mary’s High School. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (1977) from Northeastern University. In 1964, he went to work for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, starting out as a grade 4 clerk and retiring 48 years later as deputy director of operations and finance. He and his wife Ellen (Erekson) have been married since 1969. She is also a Lynn native and graduated in 1964. They have been Saugus residents for 44 years.

  Soon after moving to Saugus, Palleschi got involved in local government. He served for 36 years on the Finance Committee, including 12 years as chair. In 2015, he served as temporary town manager for six months. Then-Gov. Charlie Baker appointed him to the Saugus Housing Authority five years ago. He has served for eight years on the advisory committee of Greater Lynn Senior Services. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Element Care (PACE). He is currently completing his third two-year term on Saugus Town Meeting. Palleschi belongs to a number of social organizations, including the Saugus Lions Club and the Knights of Columbus, and he is a social member of the American Legion.

  Palleschi plans to attend the seventh in a series of “Saugus Over Coffee” forums set for 6:30 p.m. Monday (July 10) in the Community Room of the Saugus Public Library. He is interested in meeting residents of Precinct 7 and encourages them to attend the forum, which is cosponsored by The Saugus Advocate and the Saugus Public Library. All citizens of Saugus – whether residents of Precinct 7 or not – are welcome to come down to the library and talk with Precinct 7 Town Meeting members informally over coffee or to ask them questions during the forum, which will be broadcast later on Saugus TV.

  Highlights of this week’s interview follow:

  Q: What brought you to Saugus?

  A: While looking to buy a house, we exhausted everything we could afford in Lynn. I picked up the phone and called the building inspector in Saugus – Joe Landry. I was able to find out about a house in Indian Valley. Somebody’s financing fell through. It was somebody who had connections with organized crime and had to get out of town. I was able to renegotiate the price and we’ve lived there ever since.

  Q: How did you get involved in local government?

  A: We moved to town in 1977. Charlie Aftosmes was the chair of the Finance Committee. As soon as we moved, he told my wife he wanted to get me on the Finance Committee. I got on in 1979. They were closing schools during Proposition 2 ½.

  Q: Bob, what is your biggest accomplishment in local government that you are most proud of?

  A: The one I’m very most proud of is when a former manager allocated zero money for the library budget, and I took to the Town Meeting floor and I made a quote like “When did I move to a Third World Country that we don’t have a library?” I said it was unconscionable and we had to find the money to keep the library open, at least a minimum, so we could maintain the programs.

  Q: And that sort of turned the tide?

  A: It did actually. I think a lot of people in the local government respected that I said that. We had so many people come over and support the library after I said that.

  Q: And you were Finance Committee chair at that time?

  A: Yes. That started a wave. People came to see the way and that they needed the tools that the library provided. I felt very good about that, like it was a public service. So, you can’t close the library.

  Q: What makes Precinct 7 special as far as features, history and landmarks? Tell me a little bit about Precinct 7.

  A: Precinct 7, as you know, is in North Saugus, primarily Central and Walnut Streets going into Wakefield, and so it’s very residential; it’s a very quiet, residential neighborhood. It’s a very active precinct. People are very, very interested in what goes on in the town. People take very good care of their property. That’s one thing I’m very proud of. People in my area, everything is always taken care of.

  Q: How long does the geography stretch in the precinct?

  A: It goes all the way down into Wakefield and into Lynnfield. It goes down toward the Iron Works, but not that far. Walnut and Central and Walnut and Water are your principal intersections. It’s primarily residential. The commercial business is primarily on Route 1.

  Q: Are there any landmarks to heroes or Precinct 7 residents who did significant things? Saugus founding fathers?

  A: Well, Precinct 7 has the founding father plaque – Adam Hawkes – and one of his descendants, Tim Hawkes, is a former Town Meeting member. That’s probably the most historic part of the precinct.

  Q: And Tim’s roots go back about 12 generations to Adam Hawkes, one of the first European settlers in Saugus in the 1630s.

  A: Right, and they all lived in Precinct 7. And that’s probably the most notable thing in the precinct – a marker for the founder.

  Q: Do you have any pressing projects or issues for Precinct 7? In your mind, what are the top challenges and issues for Precinct 7?

  A: Being on the Finance Committee, my concern would be finding the money for all of the important projects that you want to do. I think the roads in my precinct are in pretty good shape. They do a good job of plowing the roads in my area. And public safety is very timely. They do a great job. I think the town financially and operationally is in pretty good shape. You can thank not just the management, but the legislative body for working with the manager.

  Q: Any pressing projects that you would like to see in Precinct 7?

  A: Not just Precinct 7, but townwide.

  Q: But what about Precinct 7?

  A: It’s mostly residential. I think I share the same feeling that many people do. I think the proliferation of apartments is very detrimental to the town overall. The traffic, of course, everybody complains about.

  Q: So, those are major concerns for your neighborhood?

  A: Yes, I would say so.

  Q: So, what are residents talking about in your precinct?

  A: I don’t want to sound derogatory, but they’re not involved. By and large, there’s not a great deal of interest in town affairs. I don’t want to call it apathy, but it is apathy. They live here, they pay their taxes and they want to get the services they pay for. Actually, most people are very content. I’ll get a phone call now and then, but not really on serious issues.

  Q: So, you don’t really get a lot of contact from people who raise issues.

  A: Not really. I get maybe five a year. We had a water issue that the DPW looked [into] and didn’t think it was a problem. And I think the DPW is responsible and does a good job. People call them and they get things done. I think Brendan O’Regan does a very good job.

  Q: What are some of the major businesses that people talk about in Precinct 7?

  A: I think the business that people talk about the most is Amazon Fresh. And it hasn’t worked out. I think people are really disgusted with the whole thing. They think it’s a waste of a resource that people would want to have. When the Big Y was there, everybody used it.

  Q: Are they even in business now?

  A: They moved to Peabody.

  Q: Any other landmarks besides the Adam Hawkes marker?

  A: There is a marker at Central and Walnut [Streets]. It’s right at the lights – for Carol Ann McCarthy. That’s been there for over 30 years. She was a Town Meeting member. It’s right at the lights on the hill.

  Q: She was a longtime Town Meeting member?

  A: Yes. She was a very active Town Meeting member and unfortunately contracted cancer and died.

  Q: Do you expect a big turnout on July 10 (Monday) when we have the next “Saugus Over Coffee?”

  A: I have no idea, to be honest with you. But I wouldn’t think so, given the apathy in the precinct. But I wish there would be a bigger crowd.

  Q: Anything else that you would like to share your views on?

  A: One thing I wish we could fix is the relationship between the Schools and the Town. I believe the School Department should come under the manager, like they do in Boston [where the Mayor is the chair of the School Committee].

  Q: In the time I’ve been here, the School Department and Town really haven’t been that collaborative when it comes to budget items.

  A: Oh, it’s been awful. And I’ve been a part of that; I’ve had to mediate and arbitrate.

I remember when we had a superintendent and he came up with a budget, as they always do, that we couldn’t fund, and he started to cry, and he got up and left the room. And I said to the manager, “You have to come up with at least 100 grand.” And he said “Okay.”

But that’s not how it should be done. There should be a negotiation without the town vs. the school. We used to say, “It’s all one town.” But nobody ever really believed it.