History of Dedham, Massachusetts, 2000–present

History of Dedham
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The history of Dedham, Massachusetts from 2000 to present begins at the third millennium and continues to the present day. Notable events include several large commercial and residential developments, the Town's 375th anniversary, municipal building projects, and changes to the Charter.

Development

Major developments in Dedham include the Jewish Rashi School, a $30 million building on the 162-acre campus of Hebrew SeniorLife's NewBridge on the Charles in the fall of 2010.^[1] The 82,000-square-foot LEED-certified school opened in the fall of 2010 with 300 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and room to grow the population.^[1] The first of the 700^[1] residents of NewBridge on the Charles moved in on June 1, 2010.^[2]

After Legacy Place, a shopping mall with 80 stores, restaurants, and a 15-screen movie theater opened, businesses in Dedham Square suffered.^[3] Legacy Place opened in 2009, with the first movie being shown to the public on August 27, 2009.^[4] The first film was Inglourious Basterds, and the first film was Shutter Island, a movie partially filmed in Dedham.^[4]

There are police substations at NewBridge and at Legacy Place.^[2]

Municipal building projects

Town Meeting created a School Building/ Rehabilitation Committee (SBRC) in 2000.^[5] In 2006 the new Dedham Middle School was opened next door to the existing Dedham Middle School, which previously served as Dedham High School from 1915 to 1959.^[6] The 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) Certified Green School cost $22,353,209.^[7]

In 2012 a new 61,000 square feet (5,700 m²) Avery Elementary School was opened at a cost of $19,285,949.^[8] Like, the Middle School, it was designed by the firm of Dore and Whittier.^[8] In 2015 the SBRC was considering where to build a new Early Childhood Education Center.^[9]

Town Meeting rejected a $40 million proposal in November 2014 to buy a 490,000 square feet (46,000 m²) portion of the former Rust Craft Greeting Card building at 100 Rustcraft Road for use as a Town Hall, Senior Center, and Police Station.^[10]^[11] The Town had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in due diligence when Town Meeting rejected the plan.^[11]

At the 2014 Annual Town Meeting it was voted instead to purchase the 33,000 square feet (3,100 m²)^[11] Ames Schoolhouse for $5.85 million and renovate it to be used as a Town Hall and Senior Center.^[12] An additional $1 million was appropriated to relocate the tenants of the schoolhouse,^[11] which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.^[13] The price to renovate the building ballooned from $10.6 million to $14.1 million after a more thorough inspection of the building was conducted.^[14]^{[nb 1]}

After most of the Town's administrative offices move into the Ames Schoolhouse, the Police Department is expected to renovate the old Town Hall for their use at a cost of $9.5 million.^[11] Town Meeting Representatives and other supporters of a Senior Center, a building discussed and debated for more than 30 years,^[11] "wooed and applauded loudly,"^[15] and were dancing in the aisles after the article passed.^[16]

Government

Charter changes

In March 2012 the Board of Selectmen created a Charter Advisory Committee to review the Town's governing document and to recommend changes.^[17] The committee consisted of Thomas R. Polito, Jr., Joseph Pascarella, Kevin Mawe, Jay Donahue, Brian Keaney, Cherylann Sheehan, and Camille Zahka,^[18] and met more than 25 times before presenting their findings to the Selectmen in August 2013.^[17]

The Selectmen sent the recommendations on to Town Meeting, who presented them to Town Meeting. The Town Meeting approved all but one, calling for term limits. At the 2014 Town Election, voters approved five of the six amendments, with the only exception being an increase in the term of the Town Clerk from three to five years.^[19]

Selectmen elections

2015

One seat for a full three year term available.

SELECTMEN 3yr^[20]	Pct.1	Pct.2	Pct.3	Pct.4	Pct.5	Pct.6	Pct.7	TOTAL	TOTAL
Blanks	149	136	90	109	134	140	167	925	35.81%
JAMES A. MACDONALD	220	267	157	198	275	272	254	1,643	63.61%
Write-ins	3	1	0	1	3	5	2	15	0.58%
TOTAL	372	404	247	308	412	417	423	2,583

A separate election was called for when Carmen Dello Iacono stepped down as Selectman to becoming the Town's electrical inspector.

SELECTMEN 1yr^[20]	Pct.1	Pct.2	Pct.3	Pct.4	Pct.5	Pct.6	Pct.7	TOTAL	TOTAL
Blanks	14	7	15	8	17	17	10	88	3.41%
STEPHEN M. BILAFER	210	89	66	104	114	171	157	911	35.27%
BRENDAN KEOGH	146	308	166	193	278	227	255	1,573	60.90%
Write-ins	2	0	0	3	3	2	1	11	0.43%
TOTAL	372	404	247	308	412	417	423	2,583