The Price Our Community Pays to Have Earl Johnson in Office.
If you are a regular reader of the Holland Blog you will know about the Johnson Landgate scandal. Those back-lots without legal frontage for Earl’s three sons were not good enough; Earl’s warped mind — according to a former town official — fantasized about “obtaining” prime lake-front property for his three sons without paying for it. It was in early 2002 when Earl Johnson, sitting on the Planning Board, refused to sign an ANR plan (Approval Not Required) plan to further divide my already subdivided five plus acre peninsula.I don’t know if he was already on Oxycontin (also known as “hillbilly heroin”) back then, but he certainly asked inappropriate questions and didn’t do his job.
Signing an ANR plan commands a ministerial act on the part of the Planning Board members if each created lot shown on such a plan has the required frontage and acerage.
Despite the legal mandate, Earl Johnson refused to sign the ANR plan and suggested during the meeting that took place on May 7, 2002, “why don’t you donate the property to the town so you don’t have to pay taxes any-longer?”
The former town official I mentioned earlier is certain that sooner or later the three lots would have ended up in the possession of the Johnson family, the same way the 12.41 acre parcel owned by the town of Holland ended up in the possession of the Johnson’s, if I would have followed his “advice.”
Informed people know that Earl Johnson didn't get his way, I filed a lawsuit instead. Six years later the matter was decided in my favor by the Massachusetts Court of Appeals after the trio Johnson, Wettlaufer, and Petersen, wasted — according to their own account — more than $100,000, on a frivolous defense against my legitimate complaint, see Southbridge Evening News, February 4, 2009. The matter, supported with pdf files of court documents, was published here on the Holland Blog in the piece with the title, Planning Board of Holland denied resident right to divide his property.
Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story for the taxpayers of Holland. Because of Earl Johnson’s actions, our community will lose, just on this one blunder perpetrated by Earl Johnson, $21,870.00 every year and will do so indefinitely, even after he is gone!
To be continued...
December 19, 2010, Peter Frei
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Just one of Earl Johnson’s corrupt actions will cost the community $21,870 every year, indefinitely!
I’m sure the reader is aware of the fact that municipalities struggle to make ends meet. For the current fiscal year (FY2011), the price of education is $11,172.00 per pupil here in Holland, while the average single family tax bill is $2,850.00, (FY2011).
State wide, the average is 0.8 pupils per single family house — 67% of all tax revenue and aid from the state (cherry sheet) goes towards the cost of education this year, (FY2011)!
It becomes clear that somehow the numbers don’t add up; everybody knows that we only have marginal tax revenue stemming from businesses; 96.4% of all taxes are shouldered by the residential class.
How is it possible that the average tax-bill per household is only $2,850.00, and every pupil costs on average $11,172.00, while the town does not get any taxes worth mentioning from businesses?
The reason is that the average number of pupils per household here in Holland is way below the state average...
But, why is that??
The Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs for Holland is Hamilton Reservoir. Most homes around the lake are second homes or homes of retirees. According to the 2008 DOR report, “Sixty percent of town parcels are second homes.”
Picture below:
Imagine you would own one of the 30 plus homes along the shoreline west of the peninsula and you would enjoy a prestine view to the shoreline of my peninsula. Would you like to see all the trees disappear? Would you like to have your view destroyed? These people have a view as they would be living in a remote location up in Maine. I wonder if they send "thank you" letters to the Johnsons. I also wonder how the change will affect the value of their homes??
There is more than one way to skin a cat or kill the “Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs;” Earl Johnson’s way was his failure to sign my Approval Not Required ( ANR plan) plan back in 2002, which would have created three lots on my peninsula.
This one act by Earl Johnson will cost the community $21,870.00 every year, and this indefinitely!
It is fair to assume that the three lots would have sold during the real estate boom of the years 2006/2007 and the new owners would have built homes on the lots. It is also fair to assume that buyers would have built homes for $300,000 to $400,000 on lots they would have paid up to $250,000.
The combined value of $1,500,000 for the three properties would bring the town $21,870 tax revenues every year. While there is no guarantee that these homes would be second homes or homes occupied by retirees, it is likely that they would be.
Covering the Feud between James Wettlaufer, Earl and Brian Johnson and James LaMountain, I learned a few things, here are two of them:
- As long as any of the corrupt individuals are in office, they will never stop denying me my rights to sell/develop the lots on the peninsula even so this would be in the best interest of the community.
- I have a constitutional right to farm my land and to shelter my peninsula pursuant to Chapter 61A from property taxes levied against my property by taxing it as farm land.
I do believe that the economic recovery so many wait for will never happen and that our country will gradually or maybe even abrupt experience a decline in our standard of living. I also do believe that it will increasingly be difficult to buy safe, affordable, and healthy food. I predict nationwide food shortages within the next five years.
Interestingly, without Earl Johnson’s denial of my rights to further divide my already subdivided peninsula and to sell the lots, I would not be able to farm my land. I had already signed an agreement to sell a one acre parcel contingent on the Planning Board’s endorsement of my ANR plan. In order to farm land, you need to have five contiguous acres of land which I would not have any longer would I have sold one acre.
In addition to the loss of the $21,870 in tax revenue on the three additional properties mentioned above, the taxes on my property will drop to less then $3,000!
As the reader may suspects, the town’s “leaders,” James Wettlaufer and Earl Johnson and others, will most likely attempt to prevent this by filing or provoking lawsuits necessary to exercise my Constitutional Rights to farm my land, and will do so at the expense of the taxpayer.
The Holland Blog reported about the hideous Wettlaufer/Grossi plan to build a truck-stop right next to Hamilton Reservoir. The taxes the town could expect from the truck-stop would be approximately what the town is going to loose because of just this one corrupt action by Earl Johnson. (Not everybody has a blog and has an opportunity to inform the community about Earl Johnson’s corrupt actions. I'm sure I'm just the tip of the iceberg!)
People of Holland, keep electing these geniuses if you like the way things go in our town!
January 10, 2011, Peter Frei
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Read also:
Former Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly scolded Holland selectboard for by-law change restricting farm activities.
Earl Johnson resigned, the D.D.111 Scandal.
Department of Revenue officials visit town again.