To the editor:
My name is Patrick Carsell, and I am a candidate for the Dalton Select Board in Monday’s February 3 Special Election. For over 30 years, I have lived in Dalton with my wife Laurel and our two children, running a dental practice in town. In my retirement, I recently determined that now is the right time for me to give back to the community that has supported me for so long.
In preparing for this campaign, I have spent a lot of time listening to residents’ concerns, using the information gathered to form solutions that I hope to implement when elected. Throughout these conversations, the integrity of town infrastructure has been a primary issue, particularly with respect to roads and sidewalks, as well as the fire station and police station.
In researching the issue of a new police station, I am the only candidate to publicly ask the Select Board to look closely at the experience of Melrose, Mass., a city awarded $3 million in federal funding to support the construction of a new net-zero police station, an energy-efficient and cost-saving LEED-certified building.
Though I respect the recommendation of the citizens committee that recently called for building a wing onto an old church to create a new police station, I urged the board to take a closer look at building an energy-efficient station on a lot that the town already owns. In my experience, rehabbing older buildings often results in excessive costs and time-consuming snags as builders attempt to meet modern building standards.
If elected, I intend to continue the conversations I have begun with residents, promising to remain accessible to all. I also commit to working with state and federal officials to secure funding for projects and to respect the recommendations of Dalton’s Climate Plan as we work toward maintaining the beauty and affordability of our town.
I will end by humbly requesting the vote of Dalton residents this Monday when I plan on meeting them when the polls open at 11 a.m.
Patrick Carsell
Dalton
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