PAYING ATTENTION!
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Fix It
NOW!
published 05/01/02
-Tom Duggan
Five years
ago, then State Representative Paul Iannuccillo started a
grassroots movement to save the Veterans Memorial
Stadium. Iannuccillo's slogan was "FIX IT NOW!"
He even secured a million-dollar state grant to renovate
the stadium, but Mayor Patricia Dowling lost the grant
because she didn't fill out the proper paperwork on time
to receive the state funds.
Now the School Committee, under the direction of
Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy has tried to pull a fast
one by including the stadium as part of the multi million
dollar Lawrence High School Construction project. Without
council approval, the school construction committee tried
to secure a back room deal with the state to demolish the
7,000 seat stadium and build a 3,000+ seat steal
structure at almost twice the cost of renovating the
existing concrete stands.
It's time that the rhetoric and campaign dishonesty
stops. We have seen this over and over for the past 30
years. Promises by every candidate for every office that
the renovation of the stadium would be a top priority
have gone unfulfilled. And when each of those elections
were over the public looked the other way while our
elected officials plotted to tear it down.
Had it not been for the watchful eye of City Councilor
Michael Sweeney last week, the School Committee and
Superintendent Laboy would have gotten away with pulling
another fast one on the public. Sweeney placed the issue
on the council agenda which prompted a unanimous vote of
the council stating that no plan to remove or replace the
stadium structure would be approved by the council.
Councilor Gil Frechette reminded the public of the lies
that were told to them when the Weatherbee school project
came before them saying, "The reason we are having
this discussion tonight is because I don't think the
School Committee, the Superintendent or the Mayor does
what the council tells them to do. It seems like there's
a hidden agenda here."
Frechette said that the council was mislead last year
when they were told that they would have input and final
say over any changes in the Weatherbee school. When the
council put stipulations on that construction project
(like preserving the historical copula) the Mayor and the
Superintendent ignored those stipulations.
Though the council took a unanimous vote to preserve the
stadium Councilor Frechette warned the public that this
vote means absolutely nothing if there is no follow up
later on. Sweeney said that the council should refuse to
approve any bond for the new high school unless there is
language in the bond proposal prohibiting the demolition
or removal of the stadium.
It certainly seems like the council has averted a
disaster thanks to the tireless work of Jonas Sundza, Lee
Balcolm and a number of others on the historical
commission who have refused to let the stadium issue go
the way of the Weatherbee school. But why are we here?
Why has it taken so long? Who is to blame?
These questions are really not important. What is
important, is making sure the stadium is fixed now and
that we have advocates for the public making sure the
School Committee and Superintendent Laboy do not pull
another fast one over on us.
We owe it to the veterans who fought for our freedom to
make sure this historic structure is preserved in their
memory. In order to do that, however, we have to mindful
and watchful that Superintendent Laboy and his pals in
the construction industry do not run all over us with
back room deals and special favors that result in tearing
don the stadium when nobody is looking.
That's what happened with the historical structure of the
Weatherbee School earlier this year. Let's learn from
that debacle and make sure the stadium survives the term
of the superintendent. Let's fix the stadium now! That's
the only way to ensure it gets done.