Is the “ceremonial big check for $2 million” presented by the Plymouth Foundation at the February 11 Select Board meeting a sleight of hand? Is it really just reimbursement for the almost $2 million the taxpayers have already paid to the Foundation for “services”? Since 2014, the town has paid the Foundation $1.8 million – $125,000 annually – to support the Foundation’s activities. The Foundation’s primary mission is to locate land for commercial development, according to a quote in Invest Plymouth. At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Select Board increased the annual payment to $152,298. This will bring the total paid to the Foundation $2 million soon. So, in the end, the $2 million “ceremonial check” is simply reimbursing the taxpayers for ongoing payments to the Foundation since 2014.
The Select Board vaguely alluded to a “memorandum of understanding” between the town and the Foundation. It did not disclose that it was voting to increase the $125,00 annual payment to $152,298, or what they were actually voting on.
The Foundation claims it is a nonprofit charity. It has $2.3 million in its checkbook (before the sale of 71 Hedges Pond Road). Does the Foundation need taxpayer money? Why don’t other nonprofits in town get annual donations from the Select Board to support their activities? Veterans, arts, youth programs, conservation groups – all perform a service for the town. Yet the Plymouth Foundation gets special treatment.
The $2 million payment to the town came from the sale to a sand mine operator of what was once town conservation land at 71 Hedges Pond Road. With the help of the town Planning Department – whose department head is on the Foundation board – the Foundation “located” 34 acres at 71 Hedges Pond Road for commercial development. Records show the Planning Department funneled the land through Town Meeting and into the hands of the Foundation for $1. The land is slated for sand mining under the claim of another vague “unified complex” of commercial buildings. What about the four-year-old “unified complex” that is an ongoing sand and gravel mine on Route 3? Why don’t they build that one before destroying another 34 acres under the pretense of generating tax revenue? EJ Pontiff, the Duxbury-based developer of 71 Hedges Pond Road dangles hockey rinks to entice the public. More smoke and mirrors?
– Meg Sheehan