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NSH Ballot Questions - Letter of Complaint
August 24, 2004
Government Bureau
Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Gregory Sullivan
Inspector General
State of Massachusetts
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Housing and Urban Development
Office of the Inspector General
10 Causeway Street
Boston, MA 02222
Massachusetts State Ethics Commission
Room 619
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
Dear Friends,
I am the treasurer of the Committee on NSH Ballot Questions. Last fall more than 2,000 Northampton people signed our petitions that put two questions on the Northampton municipal ballot related to the development now underway on the grounds of the Northampton State Hospital. An opposing group, the Committee for Jobs and Housing on Hospital Hill, campaigned in opposition to us. 65% of their money, four checks totaling $1400, came in at the last minute from the Northampton Development Corporation (NDC) members and their families. On behalf of the Committee on NSH Ballot Questions, I wish to bring to your attention numerous irregularities that are now occurring in the disposition and development of the former Northampton State Hospital.
We hope this enclosed study will speak for itself. The project is heavily subsidized by the taxpayers of the State of Massachusetts. The State has financed access roads, site remediation, construction of affordable housing, and bankrolled the expensive lengthly approval process that prefaced the project being permitted. The first project is now in the construction phase. The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and the principals in the project never made a good faith effort to preserve architecturally significant buildings on the site. They are taking no steps to safeguard the public interest in terms of making sure that property disposition are being done in accordance to law. There is no public bidding on brokerage contracts, and no timely notification given to builders and realtors. Insiders are benefiting, windfall profits are being made, and conflict of interest laws are being violated with impunity. In 1995 the Massachusetts Ethics Commission ruled that members of the CAC were special state employees and subject to the state’s conflict of interest laws.
Members of the CAC were asked to resign from the committee, since they represented institutions or corporations that expected to benefit from disposition of the property. Some people, such as Attorney Edward Etheredge, Clerk of the NDC, said that he had no connection to anyone that had plans to develop State Hospital property, and was allowed to stay on the CAC. Now Attorney Etheredge is local counsel for MassDevelopment, and represents the principals in the Ice Pond development. Patrick Goggins, local realtor and former president of the Northampton City Council, left the CAC, and then comes back to act as broker for Community Builders, and key beneficiary of brokerage fees. Smith College, also asked to leave the CAC, stayed involved through the NDC, and state land was deeded to the College at below-market prices. This year the NDC after asserting that it planned no role for itself with the project, threw significant money into a referendum drive when a “no” vote might have threatened state and private funding.
We urge the state of Massachusetts to take action to make sure that (a) all brokerage arrangements and building contracts are put out to bid, (b) real efforts be undertaken to preserve priceless historic buildings on the campus, and (C) enforcement action is taken to assure that people and institutions covered in the 1995 Massachusetts Ethics Commission ruling are not involved with any LLC organized to develop the Northampton State Hospital property.
The Northampton Development Corporation ( NDC ) was organized as a tax-exempt foundation and derives significant benefits from our tax laws. It has, by its own admission in its 990PFs , been inactive and conducted no activity in pursuant to its tax-exempt purposes since 1998. Some of its principals and their clients derive direct benefits from the State Hospital project. MassDevelopment is a quasi-state agency and is paying the clerk of the corporation to act as counsel. The referendum drive, by opening the possibility that the project would only develop phase 1 of this project, threatened his income.
In general, no organization may qualify under section 501© (3) if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation. It seems to us that the principals of the Northampton Development Corporation did not act in furtherance of its tax-exempt purposes with the donations they made to the 2003 public referendum.
Thank you very much.
Michael A. Kirby
Treasurer, Committee on NSH Ballot Questions
michaelakirby@aol.com