By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – A third-party attorney retained by Mayor Arthur Vigeant to validate the use of Ward Park for a new Senior Center has said the move to do so is legal. Opponents challenging the Ward Park location had also hired an attorney to look into the matter and said the city's approach was not legal, and that it would be necessary to gain approval of the state legislature before going forward.
In a communication to the City Council presented during its April 22 meetings, the mayor states:? “Although I have remained confident in the legal opinion issued by City Solicitor Don Rider in August 2012, I saw fit to engage a third party attorney specializing in land use matters to act as an ombudsman for the city in the interest of transparency and good public policy.”
The communication further states, “Our community has been spinning its wheels for several years examining site after site for a suitable Senior Center location. While universal agreement may never be achieved on which site is best, the question of the legality of utilizing a portion of Ward Park for these purposes is now, in my estimation, put to rest.”
Councilors accepted the mayor's communication, without discussion, and moved to place it on file.