Our View: Regional projects still must prove themselves

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February 7, 2012

The Salem News Tue Feb 07, 2012, 04:34 AM EST

There were heartening developments on two projects of significant regional import last week.

One was the appointment of Thomas Dubas as director of the new regional 911 dispatch center in Middleton. The second was the report from a key member of the team planning a new regional vocational school that the facility should be built on time for the amount budgeted.

Both projects have had their share of critics, so it's essential that costs be kept under control and the results are what taxpayers expect. Success could spawn more such regional endeavors here on the North Shore; failure would give skeptics ammunition to argue that the best services are those delivered on a single-city or single-town basis.

If Dubas' name is familiar, it's because he has served as a consultant to those communities — Beverly, Wenham, Topsfield, Middleton, Essex and Amesbury — that have committed to having the regional center handle their emergency dispatch functions. The service will operate out of a facility on the grounds of the county correctional facility in Middleton, and Dubas will report to Sheriff Frank G. Cousins and a committee representing member communities.

Dubas, who will be paid between $95,000 and $115,000 a year, was among 65 people who applied for the job and four finalists interviewed by the search committee.

A former detective and police chief, his credentials appear first-rate. The challenge is to show that a regional dispatch center can be operated efficiently and at less cost than would be the case if each of the member cities and towns maintained their own facilities.

There are many more area cities and towns with a stake in the new Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical High School, scheduled to open in September 2014 on the grounds of what is now the Essex Aggie campus off Route 62 in Danvers. With a construction budget of $133.77 million and expected enrollment of 1,440 students, the facility represents a major investment by the member communities in the education of their children.

Leonard Bonfanti was appointed by his brother, the former mayor of Peabody, to keep a close eye on the bottom line on behalf of that city's taxpayers. So far, he told reporter Jesse Roman last week, "The overall picture is looking very good."

That's an encouraging assessment, but as with the regional dispatch center, pressure must be maintained to keep costs within reasonable limits.

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