Congratulations to the Town Center Sewer Action Group and the Board of Selectmen! Overwhelming support at Town Meeting and at the polls didn’t just happen; it was the result of painstaking and detailed effort to identify and address concerns and needs, balancing interests of all stakeholders. Harvard was fortunate to have had such dedicated and capable leaders, in both elected and appointed positions, to finally make a town center sewer system a reality.

The Financial (or Fiscal) Impact Analysis Team is also to be congratulated and thanked for its thorough report, identifying revenue enhancement rather than cost savings as the long-term key to resolving Harvard’s structural deficit. When the Board of Selectmen appoints and charges the new Economic Development Analysis Team (EDAT) approved by Town Meeting, it would be well-advised to heed the feedback heard at Town Meeting, and to expand EDAT’s charter to include regional opportunities, specifically Devens. To limit the focus to Ayer Road only, or even Ayer Road and the town center, would be to miss significant opportunity. Fully developing the Ayer Road commercial district will undoubtedly require substantial capital investment; tapping into MassDevelopment’s capital capacity could be a major “success criterion.”

It could make sense to delegate Harvard’s participation in regional development discussions to EDAT, rather than limiting such discussions to the Joint Boards of Selectmen. It could also make sense to encourage other Devens-related towns, especially Ayer, to form teams similar to EDAT, and to have those teams work together to produce a regional economic development plan. The lesson of Town Meeting is, when plans are fully developed, taking into account all interests and expertise, voters support recommendations. Half-baked plans, and plans that ignore stakeholder groups or expert opinion, are sent back to the drawing board.