About activism and timing
Never underestimate what a group of concerned citizens can accomplish together, and last night’s city council meeting proved it on two counts: One was the presentation of a $100,000 check to the city by the Friends of Shedd Park: Kudos to this group of dedicated residents who worked tirelessly to raise funds over the last two years for improvements to the city’s largest green space. The other accomplishment was getting the council’s attention regarding school building maintenance. As a member of the School Committee’s Facilities Subcommittee for the last three years, I can tell you the school department has been beating the drum on this issue for longer than that and with limited success. It was just recently that a group of parents from the Reilly School got fed up with the “deplorable conditions” at the building (including the leaking roof, faulty plumbing and heating problems) and began writing, emailing, and calling councilors for something to be done. Last night’s action, prompted by a motion by Councilor Elliott, was to have the city manager prepare a report on the maintenance needs of city buildings (including schools) and develop a plan to address those needs by priority. I’m not naïve enough to believe it was only because of the spirited actions of some parents that the city finally paid attention to this issue; my colleagues and I have made too many pleas in the past about building maintenance—whether it was lack of heat at the high school or badly leaking roofs—to think a few letters and calls alone turned the tide: timing has also been key. With a new administration that sees the wisdom of taking care of our buildings rather than maintenance by crisis (which inevitably costs more), the actual development of a plan to tackle this issue seems likely. That said, in case they never put that plan into action, I suggest parents be ready, pens and phones in hand, to spring into action again if needed.