The following resolution was passed overwhelmingly by the Burlington town meeting this past Wednesday night. It is significant in that it might mark a turning point in the town's attitude toward the City of Boston regarding its trusteeship of the Cummings property and the Friends of Mary Cummings Park's complaint regarding that trusteeship.

It needn't have arrived at town meeting had the board of selectmen taken a leadership role. Instead the board passed on any support of the complaint under the guise of town counsel opining that the town could be subject to legal liability if the board supported the complaint. This stance is of course nonsense and was completely debunked during the meeting. No amount of obfuscation on the subject by counsel on Wednesday could give the selectmen cover.

The leadership of the board wanted a reason to ignore the issue and continue with a 25 year old failed policy of appeasing Boston and they looked to counsel to provide that cover with a verbal opinion. The fact the selectmen remained silent during the discussion Wednesday further demonstrated their complete lack of understanding of the subject matter.

The matter now rests in the hands of Attorney General Coakley and that fact represents both the problem and the potential solution, since this is only a complaint by the Friends of Mary Cummings to the AG, it is not litigation in front of the courts

Under her authority as AG, she can order an investigation into Boston's behaviour under the public charities division, however she can also choose to completely ignore the complaint. Considering the severity of the items in the complaint you would think this impossible but guess again. Every attorney general of the commonwealth aspires to be the governor. I imagine Coakley has the same ambitions as her predecessors. There are clearly more votes to be had in Boston than in Burlington or Woburn. Attorney General Coakley's response to this problem will speak a great deal about her politics or her integrity.



Attorney General Martha Coakley
Massachusetts’s Attorney General Office
One Ashburton Place
Boston, Mass. 02108
Public Charities Division


Attorney General Coakley,

The following is a resolution of the Burlington Town Meeting in support of the complaint filed by the Friends of Mary Cummings Park.


Where as; Mary P.C. Cummings left the property known as Babylon Hill “To hold and keep the same forever open as a public pleasure ground, and to maintain and care for the same in a suitable manner in accordance with that purpose.”

Where as: Mrs. Cummings left substantial assets for the purposes of meeting the terms of her bequest.

Where as: Mrs. Cummings left a successor in the event that “said City of Boston shall decline or fail to accept said real estate in Woburn and Burlington for the purposes aforesaid,”

Where as: The City of Boston has spent trust assets for the purposes of protecting commercial development rights, appraisals and attorney’s fees outside of the specific instructions of the trust.

Where as: The City of Boston has received specific legal advice on how to position the trust property as unable to meet the wishes of the donor.

Where as: The City of Boston has taken specific action to prevent access to the park.

Now comes the Burlington Town Meeting to request that you look favorably upon the complaint of the Friends of Mary Cummings Park under authority granted to you in MGL c12 Paragraph 8H, to investigate thoroughly how this trust is being managed under the terms of the donor’s bequest.