Bedford Minuteman
November 14 2002

Crowds too big; meeting cleared

By Barbara Forster / Correspondent

Too much of a good thing ended a public hearing about Hanscom Air Field even before it began.

Approximately 450 people crowded into Bedford Town Hall on Thursday, Nov. 7, ready to discuss an environmental study Massport has prepared about Hanscom.

While the turnout was impressive, the sight of people sitting on the floor, standing two and three deep along the walls and filling the aisles was too much for the Bedford Fire Department. Stating that the room was "grossly overcrowded," Lt. Michael Bauman of the Bedford Fire Department gave meeting organizers two choices: Either half the crowd had to leave or the meeting would have to be canceled.

Another 200 or more people walked through the front doors but never made it into the auditorium and scores of cars were turned away as they drove in.

The hearing was held by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. When Jay Wickersham, director of the MEPA office, announced the situation, the crowd responded with a loud round of applause. But as the crowd became boisterous while waiting for a decision, Wickersham's reaction was swift. "If people don¹t keep their tempers down, we will have to reschedule," he said.

After about 20 minutes discussion among the various concerned parties, Selectman Gary Clayton of Concord suggested a two-part hearing. If people left, the meeting would go forward but be continued at a later date so that those not at part one would have an opportunity to present their comments to MEPA. The idea was shot down.

"We're all leaving" was the response to Kay Tiffany's suggestion that those leaving the meeting voluntarily leave e-mail addresses so they could be notified about the new meeting date. Tiffany is a representative of Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area's Irreplaceable Resources, a grassroots activist organization.

Eventually the meeting was adjourned in favor of a site that could accommodate such a large or larger crowd. The meeting will be on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at Bedford High School.

The public comment period will be extended to later in the month, too.

The study, officially known as the Environmental Status and Planning Report, is designed to present an overview of current environmental conditions at the field and use the information to determine policies and programs. As a state agency, Massport is required to periodically submit a report for public review on the environmental impacts of its operations and resulting mitigations.

"We've never had this many out for a meeting before," said Richard Canale of Lexington, co-chairman of the Environmental Sub-Committee that reviewed the study on behalf of the Hanscom communities. "It speaks volumes as to what is in the ESPR that people would come trudging out on such a cold night."

Nevertheless, Canale admitted having mixed emotions about rescheduling the meeting.

"It was the best of no good alternatives," he said.

"This (turnout) shows how strongly the community feels about these issues," Lexington Selectman Peter Enrich said. "What this does is put a big highlight over the comments we make."

"People had their say tonight," added Anna Winter, president of Save Our Heritage. "They did not want to leave."

Although Wickersham admitted that postponing a public hearing was unusual, the size of the audience, he said, wasn't.

"Airport projects tend to draw very large crowds," he said.

State Rep. Jay Kaufman, D-Lexington, echoed Wickersham's thoughts.

"I wasn't surprised by the size of the crowd," Kaufman said. "This issue has touched and continues to touch raw nerves."

"I see this as just a glitch," added Wickersham. "People simply miscalculated how many would attend."

About 250 people attended a public hearing on the issue in the same place last year.

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