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Photo by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell. This stream, pictured in January 2021 with ice, is one of a number of bodies of water that a visitor may encounter at Hale Education.
6-22-2023 12:20am
OPINION: Answers Needed on Hale's $10 Million Conservation Restriction Proposal
Darlene Cancell
Editor
In the following opinion piece by Professor Peter Ittig, residents are presented with six issues to explore while considering the proposed conservation restriction which is being negotiated between Hale Education (Hale Education or Hale) and the Town of Westwood.
Westwood Minute takes no position on the opinion articles that it publishes on behalf of members of the community, but seeks accurate and thoughtful commentary on topics that matter to our community, from a variety of differing viewpoints. Feel free to reply with your reaction in the comment space below this article, or submit another perspective to WestwoodInAMinute@gmail.com.
By Professor Peter T. Ittig
This $10 million override proposal from Hale Education Inc. to the Town of Westwood in exchange for a conservation restriction will increase our taxes and may or may not be a good deal for Westwood taxpayers, but it should be explored further. Note that Hale Education Inc. is a private organization, not a public entity. They own the Hale Reservation, but it is exempt from property taxes. A major motivation for the proposal appears to be that they have been having long-term financial problems that may or may not be resolved by the proposed grants from Westwood and Dover.
The financial problems were discussed during the Hale presentation on July 22, 2019, when they proposed the sale of a conservation restriction to the Westwood Select Board. You may see that discussion on the Westwood Media site. Comments made by John Sharry on behalf of Hale included:
Hale “has never been more stretched in terms of resources”.
“We’re a hand-to-mouth operation.”
“With an endowment of only $1 million, we’re one dam breach away from difficulty from a financial standpoint.”
“The Board is concerned about its (financial) vulnerability.”
Financial statements available from the IRS and the state show that the endowment balance at the end of 2019 was actually only $597,136 and debt (secured mortgages & notes) was $817,408 at that time. In 2020 (latest reported by IRS) the endowment balance was a bit better at $652,575 but debt had risen to $854,389. The endowment was very small for an organization that spends $3 to 4 million per year (about $2 million on salaries alone) and the endowment was exceeded by debt. Revenues minus expenses were negative in 2017 & 2018, and only slightly positive in 2020 at $133k (latest reported by IRS). The year 2019 was a relatively good year with a net of $887k. Note: Revenues minus expenses is profit (loss if negative) in a business or surplus (deficit) in a non-profit like Hale. In either case a negative result is a problem.
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Hale reports that their Board of Directors recently considered selling off some land to raise cash and that it was only receipt of funds from “the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program spared it” from doing this. Hale further reports that “if municipal funds do not materialize, our Board of Directors may be forced to sell a portion of Hale’s land…”.
“Hale is committed to raising $46MM to 1) support program and facility improvements, 2) create financial stability, and 3) protect the land, if possible.”
There are some important questions and options that should be explored before the override goes to the voters:
1. To what extent would the proposed conservation restriction duplicate existing restrictions on land use as may exist elsewhere including the Hale charter, deed restrictions, donor restrictions, wetland restrictions and Westwood zoning rules?
2. How serious are the financial problems of Hale Education Inc. now and how urgent are they?
3. What would happen if the Hale organization fails despite the proposed grants? Which existing or proposed restrictions would survive a sale or bankruptcy? Note that if the Town were to allow some of the property to be developed, the Town would receive property taxes on that development and would have substantial control through zoning rules. Certain kinds of development might help to alleviate the relatively high property tax rates in Westwood. Residential development would present different issues and much of the land is currently zoned as residential.
4. Has the Town tried to negotiate a better deal? One possible improvement would be to provide Westwood residents with better access to the Hale Reservation, including parking privileges, as a condition of the proposed $10 million grant. Perhaps a parking decal could be offered to any Westwood resident who requests one as a condition of the grant. This would make the proposal much more attractive to the Westwood voters. Currently, access is granted to those paying fees. [$120 per year for parking decals or $10 for a day pass. Beach day passes are $20 per person, $25 per person in the summer.] Another possible adjustment that was mentioned at Select Board meetings is that of extending Town DPW activities into Hale land.
5. There may be other alternatives to preserve the land that might be explored. For example, the property might be deeded to the Town and leased back to the Trustees for a nominal amount. The Town has used this mechanism previously.
6. Negotiations should be coordinated with the Town of Dover as they have received a similar $10 million proposal from Hale Education Inc.
Also see,
https://westwoodminute.town.news/g/westwood-ma/n/164424/hale
https://hale1918.org/cr
https://hale1918.org/explore/visit/
Professor Ittig was a member of the of the Westwood Finance & Warrant Commission from 2019 to 2022. Thanks to Professor Ittig for contributing his opinion to Westwood Minute.
