Acton Town Manager John Mangiaratti held his latest “Java with John” program at the Senior Center on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. In less than an hour, he shared his list of Acton’s top 10 accomplishments from Fiscal 2024, asked six key people who work for the Town to make brief remarks, provided an update on the plethora of construction projects underway across the community, and answered questions from seniors.
Did the Town Manager spill the beans during Java with John? Well, this colloquial expression means Mangiaratti disclosed a secret or revealed something prematurely. And he may or may not have done that. But the seniors who attended the event learned several things that they didn’t already know about what’s happening in town. So, I’ve highlighted those nuggets of news in this article.
Acton’s top 10 accomplishments from Fiscal 2024
Let’s start with the Town Manager’s list of Acton’s top 10 accomplishments from Fiscal 2024. He explained, “We had an annual staff retreat at NARA Park in September, and one of the things that we typically talk about is the accomplishments of all the departments.” He added, “This year, I did a top 10 list just to kind of remember a few things.”
Mangiaratti said, “Number one was surviving the microburst which happened during the staff retreat last year. We had 150 people at NARA Park and the fire chief texted me and said something’s coming; you need to get everybody out of there.” He added, “That was a crazy event. And it only really happened here in Acton. So, for the next month, our DPW guys were out there chopping trees and taking care of it…Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.”
The Town Manager said, “Number two was forming a 250 Committee. Acton had a very important role in our country’s history and the Select Board established a committee to advance programs and events and create some hype and remembrance for our role in the 250th anniversary that’s coming up.”
Three, Mangiaratti said, “We opened the Gardner Field playground, although it’s still under construction. We opened it anyway because it was playable, and the kids love it.”
Four, the Town Manager said, “We opened a new bridge at NARA Park. That bridge was original. If you’ve ever walked across it, you know it was in rough shape. And now it’s made out of Trex and it’s going to last forever.”
Five, Mangiaratti said, “We hadthe biggest Town Meeting in the history of our town and I think the history of the world…We had 2,579 people in one building.” He added, “We have such a dynamic operations team and town clerk’s office and information technology group that we were able to execute a four-room town meeting simultaneously. Acton TV was able to come together with us and make it happen.” And he may or may not have spilled a bean when he disclosed, “I’m going to try to get it in the Guinness Book of World Records.”
Six, the Town Manager said, “The School District opened the Acton-Boxborough Resource Center. This is a culmination of work in the community and the school district and from people in this building like Laura Ducharme and others to try to find ways to connect with families that need resources.” He added, “It’s worked out really well and it’s been a nice collaboration with community members, nonprofits, the United Way, of course, and the Town.”
Seven, Mangiaratti said, “We made a major change to our health insurance program. That’s important because the way we were doing health insurance was not sustainable and it was costing us and taxpayers more than it should have. And it was set up to be very expensive going forward.” He added, “We had to get all the unions, and all the people involved, to all agree in a very short timeline. So, it was a big accomplishment to do that change.”
Eight, the Town Manager said, “Our Police Department received re-accreditation. I mentioned that as a big goal because police departments across the state – particularly lately – are getting a lot of bad press. And it’s important that people understand how professional our Police Department is.”
Nine, Mangiaratti said, “I wanted to highlight that the library held a concert at Town Hall, which was the first they had.” He added, “They brought a performer and a bunch of kids into the Town Hall and had a big concert.”
Ten, the Town Manager said, “We brought back the 4th of July fireworks and had a record turnout. I think we had nearly 15,000 people at NARA Park.” He added, “Everyone had a really nice time and we’re excited to do it again next year.”
Following his top 10 list, Mangiaratti may or may not have spilled another bean when he asked seniors to attend the October 1 “Colonial Books and Brews” event, which was organized by the Acton 250 Committee in partnership with the Acton Memorial Library. He revealed that attendees could “try the beer that has been brewed on behalf of the Town of Acton…It’s called Isaac Davis brown ale.”
Brief remarks by six key people who work for the Town
The Town Manager then introduced half-a-dozen people who work for Acton.
The first was Jim Cogan, Chief of Police, who may or may not have spilled yet another bean when he revealed “a new piece of equipment” that he was wearing that morning, which all the Town’s police officers have been wearing since September 1, 2024.
Chief of Police Jim Cogan joins Town Manager John Mangiaratti at Java with John at the Senior Center. Photo: Greg Jarboe
Cogan said, “We rolled out a body-worn camera program so that we can document our work as well as be transparent in showing people what we do.” He added, “There’ll be a video actually. We got together with Marc Duci from Acton TV yesterday and filmed a video explaining how these work, how they attach to our uniforms, and what we use them for. So, look for that video coming up on Acton TV in the next month or so.”
Mangiaratti then introduced:
- Sharon Mercurio, Director of the Council on Aging.
- Thomas Begin, the Assistant Town Manager.
- Maria Palacio, Director of the Acton Libraries.
- Wanjiku Gachugi, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
- Penelope Funaiole, Director of Health and Family Services.
Each person gave brief remarks. If anyone spilled the beans, then I didn’t notice. But I was pouring myself a second cup of coffee, so I might have missed something.
Update on construction projects around town
Next, the Town Manager provided quick updates on the plethora of construction projects that are currently underway around the town. Since there seems to be more than you can shake a stick at, I will highlight a handful of the more important ones.
In the town center on Main Street, Mangiaratti said, “We have a historic preservation project going on. We’re restoring the Isaac Davis Monument. And if you looked at it two weeks ago and you look at it today, it’s totally different. They power blasted it and got 100 years’ worth of dust off of it and it looks brand new.” He added, “So, it’s going to be looking perfect as we start to celebrate the 250th.”
Going farther south on Main Street, the Town Manager said, “We have the Kennedy Landscaping building, which is going to be the site of the McManus Manor. It is going to be forty-one units of affordable housing for seniors. It’ll be run by the Housing Authority, and they just received their financing from the state.” He added, “They’re getting to the end of that process so they’re hoping to start construction in the next few months. So, that’s pretty exciting.”
Then, he got to Kelley’s Corner. Mangiaratti said, “All the utility poles are finally being moved. It took a long time to get the utility company to get to the site and that’s been part of the delay.” He added, “It’s going to be another year before it’s supposed to be finished in the fall of ‘25…. I’d call it 14 months or more of construction. And in that next year, it’s going to really start to show things.”
Farther down Main Street, the Town Manager said, “Stop and Shop is also waiting on the utility company to connect their power. Otherwise, I believe they’re almost ready. So, as soon as that comes together, that place will open. They’re supposed to have a retail type of amenity on each corner of the new building…So, it won’t just be a grocery store.” He added, “We’re all working to make sure that the McDonald’s turns into something nice, too, once all that work is completed.”
Finally, on Route 62, Mangiaratti provided an update on the Powder Mill Project. He said, “Across from Wendy’s, they demolished the old industrial buildings there on site and they’re building 230 apartments…They want to pour foundations next week. They want to get started. They’re just finishing a couple permanent approvals.” He added, “So, that’s a huge new resource for people that want to move here or people that want to downsize or people that want a nice, new apartment.”
The Town Manager then fielded questions from seniors.
If you want more details about what was said during the 52-minute long event, then watch “Java with John – September 27th, 2024” on ActonTV’s YouTube channel. Who knows, you might discover some additional news nuggets that I’ve missed.
Greg Jarboe is the Council on Aging beat reporter for the Acton Exchange. He is also a member of the Acton Finance Committee.