Speeding in Unionville down, but one resident still not satisfied

EAST MARLBOROUGH » Only rarely does East Marlborough conduct its official business outside the bounds of old- world politeness, but Monday night was one of those times.

An evidently long- simmering squabble boiled over into awkward public view at the supervisors’ regular monthly meeting Monday as Unionville resident John Greenwood rose during the public comment period to complain that a supervisor had “ver-

bally assaulted” him at a meeting two weeks before.

Greenwood asked if the other supervisors thought it was acceptable for the supervisor, whom he did not at first name, to stand up and start “yelling and screaming and pointing a finger at me” after Greenwood had asked a question and made a suggestion.

Supervisor John Sarro, who heads the safety committee of which Greenwood is also a member, said he was the supervisor in question. But he immediately challenged Greenwood’s view of the exchange.

“You’ve been verbally abusing me for four years now,” Sarro said. “Every safety meeting it’s the same thing, with you yelling at me.”

“The problem is you’re not happy with the answers we give you regarding traffic in Unionville,” Sarro said.

Greenwood has regularly for years complained at township meetings about safety concerns over speeding vehicles on Route 82 in Unionville, and about building damage and noise from the passage of trucks there.

For their part, the supervisors say they have made progress in addressing the situation, despite the practical limitations they have in controlling traffic movement. Sarro said Monday night their actions had reduced the percentage of speeding vehicles in the village considerably.

“We’ve taken it from 28 percent to 8 percent,” Sarro told Greenwood, “and you’re still not happy about it.”

Richard Hannum, chairman of the supervisors, said he wouldn’t comment on the meeting because he wasn’t there, but he was proud of the way the supervisors were consistently respectful to all the township’s residents. Hannum said he believed in Sarro’s leadership on the safety committee and looks to him for guidance on solutions to safety problems.

Hannum went on to say the committee didn’t seem to make progress when a “particular issue” was addressed, and that it might make sense to consider restructuring the committee going forward.

In other business, the supervisors gave preliminary approval to a proposed Quick Lane service center and separate retail store on a 2.7- acre tract on the north side of Route 1 between Orchard and Pennock avenues.

The supervisors also gave combined preliminary and final approval ( the two- step process can be waived) for a Citadel Bank to be built on the south side of Route 1, between Walgreens and the tributary of the Red Clay Creek that runs under the highway. The 2.1acre lease area was originally to be the site of a TD Bank. After some discussion of various questions, the supervisors granted most of the waivers requested by developer Doug White for Northridge, a 54- unit development proposed for a 22.6- acre parcel on Gale Lane, east of North Walnut Road.