The BOS policy of supplying advanced written notice of content for agenda (which has been very much a subject of debate) has now served to protect Haarde from answering a simple question. Is this policy not under scrutiny or am I mistaken. In any event, it would have been nice to hear uninterrupted conversation and fewer accusations being thrown about. It is a good sign that O'Brien stayed true to existing policy, and it goes to show how that policy can be employed.

Yes, it would appear that Northwoods has been studied extensively by elected and appointed Town officials for more than a decade. From Mr. Kablack's comments, he doesn't believe something is studied, unless the Town pays a third party professional a large fee to study it. So he came to BOS simply to complain that there was no study, ignoring that the BOS, ZBA, building inspector and others have studied this matter extensively, simply becuase we didn't pay someone to study it.

my observation is similar to yours Mike. Mr. Kablack interprets a studied as something commissioned. I believe Mr. Haarde's comments were in the context that with 3 selectmen, there were several projects in town going nowhere despite immense town and committee resources studying them. With 5 selectmen, there would be more attention paid to move these projects forward.

Kirsten, I normally would agree with you but on this one, I think Mr. Haarde is correct. I won't go into Mr. O'Brien as I openly admit I believe he is an enormous part of our problem in Sudbury politics and culture and not part of the solution.

I think this whole diatribe was unnecessary. Mr Kablack had no purpose to this request to "update" other than to engage Selectman Haarde. Northwoods has been discussed over and over and over again. The legal fees are a huge part of the viability of this development and it is disconcerting how much the condo fees have risen because of them. Mr Kablack should have answered the question, and/or surmised it would have been brought up. Other citizens cannot get on the BOS agenda but Mr Kablack seems to have been given rock star status in coming before the board with an erroneous update.

Mr. Kablack was way out of line on. He claims he was updating yet he was grandstanding instead. Mr. Obrien was good at shutting down the conversation but it does make you wonder how he was even allowed to be on the agenda.

Sudbury can do much better than this.

After watching this clip again, clearly Mr. Kablack is being rancorous in asserting that he is unaware of the town studying the Northwoods matter. He is in fact slamming the BOS, the ZBA, the Town Planner, The Building Inspector and any other town official who has studied the Northwoods development in order to make decisions about Northwoods. Is he seriously contending these people made decisions without studying the matter? No. His sole purpose was to try and make one of the Selectman look bad. This from a person who wrote a letter to the Patch complaining about the special Town Meeting being rancoruous. Kudos for Selectman O'Brien spotting the specious nature of Kablack's remarks and, based on O'Brien's comments, their lack of relevance to the actual purpose of the stated agenda item. Who reqeusted the agenda item? If it was Mr. Kablack, then it was done under false pretenses. If he requested the agend item, he should have identified it as "Discussion of Northwoods Studies."

Agree... why are studies needed for everything this town does. Rely on the expertise of the BOS, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, etc. Save the studies and money for necessary studies (like MSBA requires one when a new school is built)

Larry had every right to shut down this pointless waste of the Board's time. I can't be certain of studies that Bob may have referred to, but I believe the three most studied - and coincidentally, most stagnant projects in town are the Maloney/Gravel Pit property (next to , but NOT Northwoods), the Rail Trail and the Police Station.

NorthWoods is mired in litigation, which is not being helped by the BOS undercutting Town Bylaws and the Planning Board in the developers' request to change it Use. The Rail Trail awaits reply form Town staff regarding a Concept Plan, originally requested by the BOS last year- after proceeding with the project was just ratified by the Town. And as for the Police Station - it was moth-balled (again) what, 2 years ago? and I don't know that it's come up much since.

If anything, this was a glaring endorsement for 1) a time limited public comment section of each BOS meeting, 2) a need for control of the discussion and adequate time for members to prepare for inquiry, and 3) to add 2 more members tot he BOS so we can get thing moving and more importantly, DONE in Town, rather than have studies and requests collect dust on desks and shelves for too long.

all good points Eric

I am the owner who just gave up his Northwood condo through foreclosure. I did not want to continue to pay for Mark Kablack's retirement plan through condo fees. To answer Selectman Haarde's question that Kablack evaded in this "update", according to the Northwood accounts the Northwood condo association of 24 units paid $520,000 to lawyers from 2005 through 2011, not counting approximately $60,000 paid by their insurance company in 2007. There has probably been another $50,000 to $100,000 spent so far in 2012. Most of this money went to Kablack as lead attorney, with smaller portions to Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks for litigation, and to Anderson / Aquino for bankruptcy support.

@Mike Hullinger ... after looking over my raw footage of the meeting, Kablack introduces himself as the attorney for Northwood Condominium Trust.

Welcome to the intricacies of the Northwood/Kablack Saga!
BTW You forgot to mention that Kablack also represents the new developer.
I'm not a lawyer and I never played one on TV so I don't understand how you can be a lawyer representing both parties to a contract.

he represents the new developer and he still holds his position as director, executive committee, and chairs the public policy committee of the home builders association of massachusetts. He is their former general counsel.

And don't forget his wife is the town planner responsible for endorsement and negotiation of building permits.

this guy wears alot of hats and debates himself often.