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Dick Heaton, a consultant who has worked with the town on a number of housing developments including the Westfield proposal, admitted during an interview with the Observer on Wednesday that he knowingly made a false statement to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding the Cromessett Landing Comprehensive Permit.

     Heaton had been working with the ZBA regarding issues with Cromesett Landing. According to Heaton, MassHousing conducted an audit of the 40B project that showed the developers artificially lowered the price of four units to lower the profit margin below 20 percent. That, according to Heaton, deprived the town of between $100,000 and $350,000 by allowing the project to be classified as a 40B.
    In a written statement to Mary Scarsciotti and Ken Ferreira of the ZBA dated Aug. 23, 2010, Heaton claimed that he had reviewed this information with the Board of Selectman chairman, who in turn approved an agreement that Heaton would receive one-third of any money collected from the developer.
    After current BOS Chairman Jane Donahue denied ever signing such an agreement, Heaton then claimed the agreement had been made with former chairman Bruce Sauvageau. As evidence he presented the ZBA an Agreement for Services between the Town of Wareham and H&H Associates Consulting Services, dated Oct. 29, 2009.
    That contract, however, was not signed. Sauvageau strongly denied making any agreement with Heaton.
    “I don’t recall us even having a conversation about it,” Sauvageau said.
    Heaton sent a letter to Donahue and Town Administrator Mark Andrews on Tuesday, acknowledging that there is no existing contract between his company and the town.
    “I naively assumed that there was an agreement in place,” Heaton told the Observer on Wednesday. “Once it was pointed out to me that there wasn’t, I retracted my statement.”
    When asked why he would claim in writing that Sauvageau reviewed and agreed to the contract when he did not, Heaton replied “I screwed up. I was working with the ZBA on a contingency basis. I recognized that the ZBA did not have the legal authority to commit the town to such a contract so I figured once I was able to recover the money for the town the Board of Selectmen would approve the offer. I was prepared to work pro bono if the selectmen did not approve it.”
     Heaton stood to earn between $30,000 and $100,000 if he recovered all the money from Cromesett Landing. The ZBA approved allowing Heaton to begin recovering the money from Cromsett Landing. No funds have be recovered as of yet.
     Heaton has been working pro bono as an advisor on the Westfield proposal for the past few months. On Monday The Westfield Study Committee approved the language for a citizen’s petition article that could bring a senior affordable-housing project to the town-owned Westfield project.
    Heaton said his actions regarding Cromesett Landing had nothing to do with Westfield. His role as an advisor to the Westfield Study Committee officially ended this week.
    “I know some people will try to discredit Westfield because of this,” he said. “I have not been asked, nor do I plan to attend, Town Meeting this fall. I have never perceived myself as having a pivotal role in the Westfield project. I take full responsibility for my mistake regarding Cromesett Landing.”
    Donahue, who serves as chairman of both the Board of Selectmen and the Westfield Study Committee, called it "an unfortunate situation" when contacted by phone Wednesday night.
"Mr. Heaton has indicated his willingness to step away from Westfield," Donahue said. "That should have no bearing on the project itself. He was serving in an advisory role. The merits of Westfield speak for themselves."
    When asked why the topic wasn't brought up for discussion during Tuesday night's selectman meeting, Donahue said she hadn't seen Heaton's retraction because she is on vacation from work this week and has been out-of-town. She only returned to Wareham on Tuesday to attend the selectmen meeting.
    "The issue wasn't placed on the agenda because we were all still trying to figure out what was going on," she said. "I knew I was going to be away on vacation and thought the matter needed more investigation before a public discussion."
    Donahue said she had asked Heaton to serve as an advisor to the Westfield Study Committee in July and that he agreed to do so with the mutual understanding that he would not be financially compensated for his effort.
    "His role in the committee was simply to provide information if members had questions," Donahue said. "I think he had both a personal and professional committment to see the Westfield project through. I know he believes strongly in the merits of Westfield, as do many other people."
    Sauvageau, a current columnist for the Observer who was one of the biggest proponents of Westfield while he served as a selectman, said the town should have no further dealings with Heaton in any capacity.
    “Westfield is more than just a housing development,” he said. “It’s about the integrity of the Town of Wareham. Heaton’s actions will hurt the perception of Wareham, and that’s the real tragedy here.”
    Selectman Brenda Eckstrom agreed.

"Westfield was a great project when it was first introduced five years ago (Heaton's involvement with Westfield began in 2009; he'd worked with the ZBA on other matters previously). It's only been enhanced by the idea of preserving open space and getting some responsiblity for the maintenance of the fields," she said. "Regardless of a consultant's poor judgment in a financial matter that has nothing to do with Westfield, that should not mitigate the value of Westfield. Mr. Heaton's expertise in housing has been a valuable asset but he's not the only one out there with knowledge in affordable housing. I would hope Mr. Heaton would make the responsible decision to step away from the Westfield project on his own so as to not undermine the value of this positive project for the community."

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