By Richard DeSorgher
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
His name first appeared on a Medfield ballot for moderator in 2003 when he was top vote-getter of all those running for the different town positions in that year’s election; he would remain the top vote-getter in 16 of the next 20 elections, running unopposed for moderator each time. He gave 20 years of service to the town without pay, guiding town meeting members through 729 articles. He appointed Warrant Committee members who oversaw the town’s finances, he was a beacon of integrity, fairness, civic mindedness, and a cheerleader for the town’s history. He is, of course, Scott McDermott.
During those 20 years, action at town meeting under Moderator McDermott’s guidance and direction greatly impacted, changed, improved, and sustained the town. In addition, he guided the town meeting through the difficult period of the Covid Pandemic, holding outdoor town meetings at Medfield High School’s Calvin Fisher Memorial Field. He added features to town meeting such as moments of silence for those town officials and civic-minded citizens who died during the previous year and honored and recognized worthy town citizens by having them lead the town meeting body in the Pledge to the Flag.
Under Moderator McDermott’s 2003-2023 years, the town paid all its bills, educated its children, funded departments, accepted town streets as public ways, made bylaw zoning changes, continued the design and construction on new sewer lines into a number of streets, provided perpetual care at Vine Lake Cemetery, funded revolving accounts, fixed salaries for elected officials and town employees, approved capital expenditures, made repairs to the town wells, provided for new police, fire and DPW vehicles, funded employee health insurance, replaced water mains and so many other town services that keeps Medfield running and functioning well.
The following is a look back at just a fraction of the many changes brought about by town meeting over the past 20 years of Moderator McDermott’s leadership: In his first year as moderator, town meeting appropriated $50,000 for the purpose of developing a groundwater recharge program for the Medfield wastewater Treatment Plant and authorized the selectmen to enter into a ground lease with private developers for any portion of the town-owned industrial land off West Mill Street (which was eventually leased to the Kingsbury Club in 2005). Town meeting voted unanimously, together with the towns of Dover and Sherborn, to communicate to the Governor and the state legislature its support for conveying all or a portion of the remaining open land at the Medfield State Hospital complex to the Department of Environmental Management to create a new Medfield State Park to preserve the land in its natural state and to make it available to the residents of Massachusetts for recreational use.
In 2004 town meeting voted to amend the town bylaw to expand the John Metcalf Historic District along West Main Street, appropriated $2 million for the purpose of designing, constructing, furnishing, and equipping a Senior Center on Town owned land off West Mill Street and $125,000 to construct a road to the new Center (now Ice House Road).
In 2006 voters at town meeting voted $100,000 for the purpose of designing, and preparing preliminary plans for a new Public Works Garage. They also voted to authorize the Solid Waste Committee to study the possible lease of town land adjacent to the transfer station for the development and operation of a solid waste rail haul transfer station: motion carried 350 to 344, a hand recount had the motion fail 350-356, a paper ballot recount motion carried 403-370 (recommendation failed at a later town meeting and a rail haul transfer station never came about).
In 2007 Moderator McDermott appointed the Medfield War Memorial Committee to recommend a suitable memorial to those Medfield residents who served in World War I after a severe lightning storm destroyed the WWI Memorial flagpole in Baxter Park and voted the sum of $125,000 for the purpose of replacing the High School track and or bleachers and or press box at Calvin Fisher Memorial Field.
In 2008 Medfield voted $3 million for the purpose of purchasing 36 acres of for open space and water supply protection on land located on School and Wight Streets between North and Harding Streets and $100,000 for the purpose of preparing preliminary study for a new police/fire station.
In 2009 town meeting voted $400,000 to make repairs to the Waste Water Treatment Plant. In 2010 it voted $10 million in addition to funds already appropriated for the purpose of constructing, equipping, furnishing and landscaping a new public works building to be constructed on the site of the current Public Works Building off North Meadows Road (passed at town meeting but was defeated at the polls- later passed at both town meeting and at the polls in 2013).
At the 2011 town meeting it was voted to transfer a parcel of town land off Green Street to the Lowell Mason Foundation for the purpose of historical preservation and music education (Lowell Mason house).
In 2012 town meeting voted to name the intersection of Claypit Road and Causeway Street the Robert E. Naughton Civic Square in memory of the late Robert Naughton who was a highly decorated, beloved and dedicated Medfield police officer.
In 2014 Medfield voted $3,100,000 for the purpose of purchasing a portion of the Medfield Sate Hospital from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in 2015 voted $18,750,000 for construction, equipping, furnishing and landscaping a public safety building at the corner of North and Dale Streets.
In 2016 those at town meeting expended $1,700,000 for the purpose of reconstructing the multi-purpose field and track at Medfield High School and in 2018 voted to authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter a lease with the MBTA for the purpose of providing a route for development of a rail trail.
The 2020 Town Meeting was held outside on Calvin Fisher Memorial Field and in 2021 town meeting voted to recommend that the Medfield School Committee and School Building Committee amend its proposal to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to keep Dale Street School at its current site for grades 4-5.
The town meeting in 2022 saw voters change the name “Board of Selectmen” to” Select Board” and voted to convey to Trinity Acquisitions, LLC portions of the property known as the Medfield State Hospital and approve a sewer extension to provide sewer service to the project.
A lot of time, effort and behind the scenes work by town officials over the past 20 years kept Medfield running smoothly and in no small part due to the man behind the podium running town meeting, Scott McDermott; who is clearly another piece of the many parts that makes Medfield, Medfield. Thank you, Moderator McDermott, for all you have done!
