Politics & Government

UPDATED: Superior Court Deadline Just Over One Week Away

Appellant Kevin MacDonald did not comment on whether or not he has filed to take his appeal to the next level.

Updated at 3:20 p.m.: Board of Selectmen chairman Mike Newhouse confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that as of today, no appeal to Superior Court has been filed with just over one week remaining until the deadline.

Newhouse said the town is continuing its efforts to prepare the project to be ready to continue as soon as possible in the event that no appeal is filed.

"Based on the fact that no appeal to Superior Court has been filed as of this date, the Town is moving forward with plans for the construction of the new high school," said Newhouse. "Specifically, in accordance with the Final Order of Conditions issued by DEP, the Construction Manager has scheduled a pre-construction meeting with Mass DEP for early December, and the Town’s design team is preparing the invitation to bid. 'One hundred percent' construction documents are expected to be released in early December, and the anticipated bid date is January 18, 2013."

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Original Story: One way or another, Wilmington residents will soon know whether the high school project will face further delays within the next week.

Department of Environmental Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell issued his ruling to officially dismiss both appeals on November 14. From the day he ruled, the appealing parties had 30 days to make a final filing.

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As of Wednesday, there is just over one week left in that filing period, but it is unclear whether the group has moved to take the project to Superior Court.

"That's not something I'm going to comment on at this time," said Kevin MacDonald, the spokesman for one of the appeals.

Based on past comments, it is a distinct possibility that the appeals will be taken to the next level.

Jeffrey Baker, the attorney for abutter Gerry O'Reilly, said "that's why we have Superior Court" in October when read a paragraph summarizing the report that claims the petitioners failed to raise factual issues in their appeal.

MacDonald has also said on multiple occassions that the project will likely be seen through until the end.

Check back with Wilmington Patch for more details on the high school appeals as they become available. For up to the minute updates, be sure to follow Wilmington Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for our breaking news alerts and daily newsletter.


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