Who Needs a Neighborhood Association ?

By Pam Dorsey

Where we were

In June of 1997 we distributed an open letter announcing the formation of the Pine Tree Brook Neighborhood Association. In it we mentioned the remarkably rich concentration of town amenities that are within walking distance of our homes: the Town Hall and Gazebo, Tucker, Glover, and St. Mary of the Hills elementary schools, Pierce Middle School and Milton High School, a convenience store and a food market with deli and butcher shop, Ulin skating rink, the Central Fire Station, the Main Library, three houses of worship, Kelly Field with tennis, softball and baseball facility, Donovan and Lamb little league fields, the Pierce athletic complex with football, soccer, baseball and softball fields and basketball and tennis courts, Brooks Field with lighted field with running track, and acres of passive recreation space along Pine Tree Brook and in the Gile woods.

We also expressed our concern that in the blossoming 1997 real estate market, homes in our neighborhood were being assessed, priced and sold for far less than those in other neighborhoods in Milton.

Besides encouraging awareness of the wealth of our neighborhood’s natural and civic resources and bringing attention to the de-valuation of our properties by the real estate market, we also hoped to address the issues of property maintenance, communication between neighbors, police presence during peak foot and auto traffic times, town responsibility for improving the overgrown brook, and flooding.

Where we are

Our neighborhood is becoming an even more resource-rich part of town than it was in 1997. The new Senior Center has opened and is a flourishing, invigorating resource right behind Town Hall. Within the next few years we will see new and upgraded schools. Nowhere else in Milton are there more community services, resources and facilities located within walking distance than right here in the Pine Tree Brook Neighborhood.

We are still working on the issue of the disparity between property values here and elsewhere in town. The gulf seems to be closing, but it still exists. In 1997 we could hardly have predicted the present day mushrooming of real estate values town-wide; and we are disappointed that a 3-bedroom cape on Audubon Road is still priced lower than the same one on Governors Road.

With our input, and through cooperation with other like-minded individuals in Milton, we now have a Residential Use By-Law on the books. It is now illegal to keep junk, trash, or other unsightly materials in yards or driveways. Sponsor Dick Russell has worked extensively with the building inspector and police department to make sure unregistered and abandoned cars are removed. He has also worked with the police to ensure peace, tranquility, and the speed limit on our streets during commuting time and when Pierce lets out.

There has been plenty of press during the last year about the brook. In fact, because of the PTBNA, the Pine Tree Brook is probably now one of the most well-known bodies of water around. The town’s failure to maintain the brook and its many important functions is no longer a forgotten issue; government officials from town hall to the statehouse have been “schooled” by Dick Russell and other PTBNA members including wetlands consultant Tom Palmer. The Milton Times and Patriot Ledger have run feature articles about the brook, its “Sponge Heads”, and the progress made towards returning it to a viable and valuable waterway. Some may say that too much progress has been made - that too much has been cut back during the early phases of the clean-up. For more information, contact Town Engineer Paul Kanter 696-5826.

Our neighborhood association has also worked on the collateral flooding and sewer back-up issues. Dick has worked with countless government officials at local and national levels. Thanks in no small part to his continuous efforts to keep this issue in the forefront for funding and attention, we now have a new, fully-functioning sewage pumping station that should help alleviate backups in the neighborhood.

Maybe they would have done all this work anyway, but consider:

For 25 years they neglected the brook and allowed it to become choked with overgrowth, increasing flooding in our neighborhood - after we became an unavoidable voice, progress began to correct it. For years, sewer backups were reported but not remedied - after we made it clear this issue would not go away, we finally got relief. Coincidence?

Where we're going

There is strength in numbers. The Pine Tree Brook Neighborhood Association has become well known in town; we have a voice, a loud, persistent voice. It’s there, representing and defending the interests of our neighborhood to town, state, and national officials.

The future will bring change. With our input, the school building project, and the high school complex in particular could be a wonderful, property value-raising asset to our neighborhood. The PTBNA has been in the past, and can be in the future the loud, persistent voice that helps ensure that our neighborhood is enhanced, and not diminished, by this project.

There is something else that a neighborhood association can do for us - a connection to each other. In this hurry up, tightly wound, impersonal world, neighbors really do make the difference. Future PTBNA newsletters will include a new feature - “News & Views”, sort of a modern technology version of the party line, the old country store front porch, the church social hour. It’ll have information provided by our neighbors about our neighbors, a way to find out about the news and opinions from the human resources in our corner of the world.

So while you’re completing the PTBNA membership form, take a minute to jot down something about yourself, a family member or neighbor that you’d like your other neighbors to know - a kindness performed - a kindness needed - a reason to celebrate - a reason for compassion - an introduction to new neighbors - a goodbye to ones you’ll miss

“News & Views “ will become a regular feature of the PTBNA’s newsletters, which we hope to produce at regular intervals. We’ll need your input to fill up that column, and the rest will continue to be filled with updates on issues we care about. Please don’t forget that you can also also send info like this to Dick Russell at: dickrussell@ptbna.org He’ll make sure it gets posted.

As usual, my thanks to Dick, the “Keeper of the Lane” for us all, Pam Dorsey