How Did Sarah Do?
Sarah has kept every single promise she's made to voters for over 28 years. The last three years were no exception:
| Promise Made in 2021 | Promise Kept |
|---|---|
| See through the completion of the Plymouth Street water line project for homes affected by the North Carver landfill pollution | ✔ |
| Update the Open Space & Recreation Plan and conduct a new scientific survey of Carver residents so town will continue to be eligible for state grant money to purchase properties as they become available | ✔ |
| Begin 2022 Master Plan update so town will continue to be eligible to receive state grant money1 | ✔ |
| Look into upgrades of internet speed and capacity for town buildings to support increased demands | ✔ |
| Attempt to upgrade Town Hall meeting room infrastructure for better communication with residents | ✔ |
| Continue the work the Carver Trail and Conservation Stewards committee has begun to make Carver's conservation land more accessible to the public and to engage the public in trail and conservation land maintenance | ✔ |
| Work with Emergency Management department heads to plan the update of the Town's Hazard Mitigation Plan to continue to be eligable for state grant funding to lessen the impact of natural hazards (flooding, drought, wildfires, ...) on the town’s residents | ✔ |
| Complete negotiation and sale of conservation land to Mass Fish and Game she began in 2020 | ✔ |
| Continue to be available and responsive to the concerns of all residents | ✔ |
1. Worked with the Town Planner to schedule and allocate resources for the update. The Open Space and Recreation Plan and the Housing Production Plan were more urgent and were scheduled for completion prior to the Master Plan update.
Of course she did!
- Wrote a successful grant application to buy equipment for walking trail clearing and maintenance by the Carver Trails and Conservation Stewards.
- Continued the toddler story hour at the Carver Library as she has for 27 years.
- Gave the speech in 2023 on behalf of the Veterans' Services department at the boy scouts veterans breakfast.
- Served on the Solar and Solar Battery Energy Storage Committee on updates and changes to Solar and Battery Storage bylaws.
- Finalized the transfer, with the state Department of Fish and Game, to the Town of Carver and Wenham Shores neighborhood residents to protect the Wenham Shores Recreation Area beach and Picnic Isle from development. Working with Fish and Game on a conservation restriction on the two parcels for use by the public for outdoor recreation, conservation, and habitat protection in perpetuity and prevent any future sale of those parcels.
- Wrote Town Meeting article to transfer several public beaches and other conservation properties to the Conservation Commission to protect those parcels for residents' use in perpetuity.
- Member of working group to update the Town's Housing Production Plan.
- Served terms as Chair and Vice Chair of the Select Board.
- Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) core team member to update HMP plan.
- Wrote Town Meeting warrant article to allow Town to go out to bid on afforable housing on Green Street with preference given to veterans.
- Continued to represent Carver as a member of the Board of Directors on the South Shore Community Action Council that supports food distribution, early childhood education, financial literacy, and energy conservation programs
- Encouraged Select Board to purchase property on South Main Street for affordable housing.
- Finally (!) got signs put up at Town Hall advising residents that there are surveillance/security cameras in use.
- Pushed for installation of the new "wave" mechanism for Town Hall doors to make them more handicapped-accessible and convenient.
- Successfully pushed for prioritization of Carver Library HVAC project.
- Conferred with Senator Pacheco's office to get state signage for King Richard's Faire (KRF) to mitigate traffic issues.
- Made sure agreement beween the Town and King Richard's Faire (KRF) required that KRF use Town of Carver school busses to cut down on traffic and that KRF pay for their use.
- Worked with Town Administrator to increase current Conservation Agent's hours.
- Working to restore Town employees health benefits to the originally-promised 75%/25% to prevent impending loss of our experienced management and non-management employees.
- Organized Toddler Story Hour Town Hall trick or treat and Fire Station visits to introduce children and their parents and caregivers to their Town officials and local government. The children had fun too!
- Worked to get an additional full-time Veterans' Agent for the Town.
- Voted against a proposed 336 rental-unit "friendly" 40B at Edaville that came to the Select Board for approval.
- Balanced budget without cutting services.
- Voted to keep tax split at current level to avoid raising taxes on residents.
- With the rest of the Select Board, voted to distribute ARPA funds to renovate the COA kitchen facilities, upgrade Town Hall conference rooms with modern technology, upgrade Fire Department computers, provide emergency medical equipment to our emergency departments, provide public safety ballistic protection and record management technology to our Police Department, modernization of our Emergency Operations Center, and more.
- Brought civility back to the Select Board.