Published in the January 31, 2018 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — It’s the end of an era.
Conservation Administrator Betty Adelson is retiring this week after 30 years of service to the town. Adelson’s last day on the job is Wednesday, Jan. 31.
“I definitely have mixed feelings,” said Adelson in an interview with the Villager. “I will miss the interaction with Town Hall friends and residents who come in as well as the challenges of the job. At the same time, I am looking forward to spending time with my family and friends and our new adventures, which will hopefully include traveling.”
Adelson has worked for the Conservation Commission for the past 30 years, which began in February 1988. After moving to town in 1985, Adelson said her family was undertaking a project that required a wetlands permit.
BETTY ADELSON
“Shortly after we received our permit, I saw an ad in the paper for a part-time, seven-hour per week secretary position for the Conservation Commission,” said Adelson. “That seven-hour a week job turned into what it is today. We quickly learned that seven hours was not enough adequate time to have two meetings per month, be in the office to talk with residents, process permits, and do legal ads and minutes.”
While Adelson’s role with the Conservation Commission continued to evolve over her 30-year tenure, the last 23 of which have been conservation administrator, she said it has always been enjoyable.
“At first it was the flexibility, which afforded me time to be with my children as well as the close proximity to home,” said Adelson. “As an at-home mom who formerly worked, it was nice to be able to jump back into something. But I got more and more hours every year because I just couldn’t get everything done in the short amount of time they allocated for the job.”
In her role as conservation administrator, Adelson said, “Every day is different.”
“You don’t know when someone is going to walk in the door with a large project,” said Adelson. “You are sort of on the cutting edge because usually the first opportunity people have to present a project, they are looking at the resource areas because a lot of the land that people are using now have a lot of wetland resources whether it’s rivers, streams, wetlands or floodplains. I enjoy going out on site visits because it requires us to get out of the office and go check people’s property. I like interacting with people.”
Adelson said one of her proudest accomplishments was helping craft the Lynnfield Environmental Bylaw with the assistance of the ConCom and former chairwoman Denise Young in 2005.
“It had failed twice at prior Town Meetings,” said Adelson. “We knew we needed to get some kind of bylaw for a lot of the large open areas, most notably the three golf courses in town. We came up with this bylaw that eliminated single-family existing lots but captured when people take a couple of lots and create a new lot, a subdivision or any commercial property. MarketStreet is an example of that. We ended up passing that in 2005. The challenge that night was after we did our presentation, a local engineer challenged the quorum. We did not have a quorum, so we came back that Thursday night. We called everyone we could think of. We ended up getting a quorum at that meeting and passed it.”
Adelson also helped craft a number of the ConCom’s rules and regulations such as establishing the 25-foot no disturb and 50-foot no build requirements.
“We had MarketStreet pull back from the meadow,” said Adelson. “And that will be true for anything else that comes down the pike.”
Another highlight from Adelson’s career was her appearance on WCVB Channel 5’s “Chronicle” a couple of years ago.
“I was on for about two minutes,” Adelson joked. “The rest of it ended up on the cutting floor. They wanted to focus on weird things in Massachusetts and the skull rock in the Bow Ridge Conservation area was weird to them. That is all they wanted to talk about.”
Adelson has a number of post retirement plans in the works.
“We have some family events this spring, which I am really excited about,” said Adelson. “That involves some traveling for a wedding. I am also going to have a new grandchild soon. I have friends who moved out of the area, and we have friends who are all across the country. I would love to see some of the national parks and I would really love to see the Grand Canyon.”
Adelson will continue volunteering in town as well.
“I am president of the Flower Workshop of Lynnfield, and our civic charge is planting and pruning the perennials we purchase through fundraising at the library,” said Adelson. “We helped put in the sprinkler system along with the Friends of the Lynnfield Library and a local landscaper. I am also in Townscape and the Historical Society.”
Adelson also plans on requesting the Board of Selectmen to appoint her to the Open Space and Recreation Committee. The committee is in the process of updating the town’s Open Space and Recreation plan. After the state accepts the town’s Open Space and Recreation plan, Adelson hopes to create a task force that will be used to accomplish the plan’s goals.
“A revision doesn’t need as much work as the initial plan, but there are a lot of different facets where you need to check on things,” said Adelson. “My goal is to get the plan finished and the task force started.”
Adelson thanked a number of people for their support over her 30 years working in town government, particularly her husband Jack and three children.
“Jack is very supportive,” said Adelson. “He has been a volunteer his whole life with me as well and he knows that is how the town operates. You need good, dedicated volunteers to help move the town forward. I want to thank my children for their love and understanding.”
Adelson said she “thoroughly enjoyed working with a variety of dedicated volunteers, especially the ConCom members and my subcommittees who gave unselfishly of their time and energy.” She thanked “the many wonderful people whom I worked with over the years at Town Hall, many of whom I consider good friends.”
“I walk away from this job with the satisfaction that I have done a good job in meeting all the challenges of my position,” said Adelson. “I have met a lot of nice people and have enjoyed working for the town. It’s been a good ride, but I am looking forward to spending time with my family and friends.”
Interim Town Administrator Bob Curtin thanked Adelson for her 30 years of service to Lynnfield.
“When Betty Adelson started, she was a part-time clerk and she, basically on her own, worked to become one of the most respected conservation administrators in the region,” said Curtin. “She professionalized the position and that is why when we went out this time, we needed to fill it with someone who had professional credentials because she set that high standard. If you show up at Town Hall during off hours, one of the people you will most likely run into is Betty. She does whatever needs to be done whether it’s on the clock or off the clock. She will be missed.”
