Responding publicly to the Waltham City Council’s recent rejection of her request for additional funds to purchase the Stigmatine property on Lexington Street as the site for a new high school, Mayor Jeannette McCarthy last week issued a written statement to the News Tribune, explaining her reasons for the latest request.

Watham Tribune Coverage: Get caught up here on our coverage of the high school project

During the meeting of Sept. 11, city councilors voted 8-to-7 to rule her request out of order because it was substantially the same as a previous request that had failed. McCarthy’s new proposal had asked councilors to approve a bond appropriation of $7.4 million to add to the $18 million the council previously approved to negotiate the sale of the land at 554 Lexington St., owned by the Stigmatine Fathers & Brothers, a Catholic organization.

While negotiations between the city and the Stigmatine representatives had been seemingly productive at the time of the $18 million vote, they have since broken down, with the Stigmatines refusing to sell to the city for any price. Councilors voted 12-3 against the attempt to forcibly take the 46 acres by eminent domain in May, and in June, voted down negotiating the price of the land. In August the council ruled out of order a request from the School Committee to get at least 25 of the 46 acres.

The council drew criticism for its decision not to allow the mayor to argue her case at the Sept. 11 meeting.

In her written statement to the News Tribune, McCarthy argued in favor of continuing to pursue the site, stating the purchase was necessary to "provide for the needs of 5,663 students, to protect the interests of Waltham taxpayers, to protect neighborhoods from over-development, to try to unite the City Council with the School Committee, the School Building Committee, the superintendent and the mayor, and to try and restore the city’s bargaining power."

Best location for students

The Stigmatine site would best provide for the needs of Waltham’s multicultural student body because of its location, according to the mayor. "A centrally-located high school is needed for educational, social and economic reasons," McCarthy said.

In response to suggestions the Fernald site at 200 Trapelo Road be considered as a possible home for a new high school, McCarthy wrote that a councilor advised the school administration and School Committee members that there was a commitment of $100 million to clean up the contaminated Fernald site.

"I am not aware of any discussion of $100 million at a public meeting of the City Council," she wrote. "An additional $100 million would likely require a Proposition 2 ½ override. That doesn’t even consider the rest of the city’s needs, like public safety and public works or the operating budget."

She argued cleanup of the site would take years, and, "Time is of the essence for the high school."

Not for sale?

McCarthy expressed doubt that the Stigmatine site was truly "not for sale."

"At least back to July 14, 2015, the Stigmatine Fathers had two site development plans from a private developer," she wrote. "On Jan. 4, 2016, after hearing from constituents that the Stigmatine land was being sold, I went up to the Stigmatine office with a letter expressing interest in the land. I was advised by the person sitting at the desk that 30 acres is currently in process of being permitted but she would make sure that the (president of the Stigmatine Fathers Inc./Springfield Priest) would get my letter."

She added, "Acquisition of the Stigmatine land has been in the city’s Open Space Plan since 1994."

Bargaining position compromised

The mayor stated the councilors have compromised the city’s bargaining position by dealing "directly with private parties including Stigmatine priests, Stigmatine followers, individual real estate people and the Stigmatine attorney."

"There is no hope for agreement because the Stigmatine attorney knows that these councilors are in his corner," she said.

"Politicians have every right to disagree and vote accordingly, but they have no right to negatively impact the City’s overall interests or the public schoolchildren’s interests by interfering with long-established legal processes involving real estate," she concluded.

The School Committee, school building committee, superintendent, and mayor all consider the Stigmatine land as the preferred site for a new high school. The City Council has expressed support for Veterans Field on Forest Street and the Fernald site. While the option of building at the current high school site, 617 Lexington St., is still an option, school officials say it would cause too much commotion for students during construction and would not allow the school district to build the full campus model they are hoping to construct.