Selectman Candidates Discuss MarketStreet With Residents

About 70 people turned out at the Old Meeting House on Thursday night to hear candidates for selectman talk primarily about issues involving the MarketStreet Lynnfield project - and especially the proposed cinema that has been in the news this spring.

With just four days before the April 8th town election, candidates Bob MacKendrick, Tom Terranova and Tom Kennedy answered questions from the group as well as from Dave Balise, a former finance committee member who acted as a moderator for the two-hour discussion. Candidate Phil Crawford was unable to attend.

The event was a followup to the candidate night that took place at the Lynnfield High School auditorium a couple of weeks ago. Thursday night's forum started with Kennedy inquiring about getting to meet some of the abutting residents who have expressed their strong opposition to the proposed cinema at MarketStreet Lynnfield and the other candidates joined in from there. National Development indicated earlier this year it would seek voter approval for a cinema at this fall's town meeting, after initially setting out for approval this spring.

The candidates, running in this spring's two selectman's races, found a fair amount of common ground in their opposition to the cinema proposal. "I don't think it is a good plan, I thought it was badly presented," said MacKendrick, adding that "I don't like spot zoning." Kennedy suggested forgetting about the cinema until MarketStreet actually gets up and running and its true impacts can actually be measured.

"We can't afford to make a mistake with MarketStreet," said Terranova, adding that "I am totally against (the cinema)." He also repeated an assertion from candidates night that the state is not convinced MarketStreet even has the authority to bring a cinema to Lynnfield right now. "You can get 10 people to sign almost anything," said MacKendrick, referring to the number of signatures required to get an article onto the town warrant. "That's a long way from passing anything," he added.

Cinema Ties in to Traffic Concerns

Another issue that came up several times during the evening was traffic at MarketStreet, especially pertaining to the cinema. One idea floated by Terranova was reaching out to neighboring Wakefield in the traffic area. "There are two ways in an two ways out (of MarketStreet)," said Terranova. "We need to share this burden of MarketStreet." MacKendrick estimated that about 30% of the MarketStreet traffic would use the Wakefield side to enter, with the rest coming in via Walnut Street in Lynnfield.

Residents expressed their concerns about the potential for crime and its spillover effects into nearby neighborhoods - while the candidates reiterated some of their positions from the previous forum regarding what they would do with new revenues from MarketStreet as well as from the meals tax.

Kennedy cited the schools and the town's athletic field needs as top priorities while Terranova highlighted his concerns about the town's long-term financial health based on debt and spending trends.

"This has been tearing us apart as a community," said MacKendrick in regard to the cinema proposal.

More From The Candidates

After the forum, MacKendrick told Lynnfield Patch that the divisions he has spoken of recently in town are "kind of going back to the old days - they were the bad old days." The select board chair also indicated that he had suggested to National Development that they not come back at all this fall with a cinema proposal.

Otherwise, said MacKendrick, the town has a number of very important issues that must be addressed - new building needs such as a public safety complex were among the things discussed earlier - but for now, MarketStreet issues and the cinema debate have been "the 900 pound gorilla in the corner" for the current town election season.

MacKendrick is running for re-election to a three-year term against Terranova.

After the forum, Terranova told Lynnfield Patch that "I think the people in Lynnfield feel betrayed by the selectmen," and that "it's time for some change at the selectman level so we can get some fresh ideas." Nationwide, he said that more business people have been getting involved with local government, bringing valuable problem solving skills with them.

"I hope that if I'm lucky enough to be elected I can use my professional skills to better the town of Lynnfield," said Terranova.

Editor's Note: On Thursday, this website also ran interviews with Tom Kennedy and Phil Crawford, both of whom are running for the one year left on the seat formerly held by the late Al Merritt.