In August 2012, Tagg Romney fought hard to block Hospice from building a residential-style Hospice facility with 16 - 20 private rooms on 5.5 acres at 108 Woodfill Road near Tagg's 8000 square foot, $3.5 Million dollar private home in Belmont, Massachusetts.
You see, the City decided to sell the 108 Woodfill Road property needed the revenue so on August 1, 2012 they issued a Notice that the 5.5 acres were for sale and Bids for the property must be submitted before October 15, 2012 (76 days overall).
The video below is of a meeting with City officials on August 15, 2012 where Tagg Romney admitted that his main reason for blocking Hospice is because he, personally, wants to buy that same land and develop it so he can make lots of money.
TAGG: Absolutely, I've been wanting the whole time ... the whole time this has been there ... I've been wishing the Town would put it back out to bid so that I - I - or someone else could build homes there.
With no statistics and with no economic analysis Tagg sort of 'threatened' the City officials by saying that if a Hospice facility went in, and if he and the neighbors
"felt" their property value had decreased they would seek "Property Tax relief." In other words, if Tagg "
felt" his property value went down he would demand the City lose revenue by insisting the City cut Tagg's property tax.
TAGG: “I certainly would not have built my house there if I thought there was a possibility of a hospice going there. I think that the value of all our homes will decrease dramatically - um - I know that we would all -- we would all do our best to have Property Tax relief if we felt like our homes were less valuable than they had been a few weeks before.”
Tagg Romney admits he is blocking Hospice because he wants to buy the 108 Woodfill Road Property so he can develop it and profit millions from it. To me, the video highlights that in order to get his way:
1) Tagg uses bullying tactics,
TAGG: "we would all do our best to have Property Tax relief if we felt like our homes were less valuable than they had been a few weeks before.”
2) Tagg whines that it's easier for the big Corporate Hospice group to pull a Bid together in 76 days than it is for little ole Tagg:
TAGG: "I just think if we're trying to get this done in 3 weeks ... there is not going to be enough time for someone other than a hospital whose got a staff of people on board to - to go through that process."
It's been said the Romney's do not like to "play by the rules." Well, I think we are witnessing Tagg Romney
not wanting to play by the rules.
Romney's do not like to play by the rules:
1) Tagg wants to eliminate Hospice from the Bidding process because they can probably out Bid Tagg
- so in the video, the City are heard changing the original rules and saying that moving forward, zoning will not permit anything but single family dwellings on that property.
2) Tagg wants an extension on the Bidding so he can get to it after he is done with his dad's campaign.
- so in the video, the City are heard changing the original rules and extend the Oct 15 deadline to ??? some future date yet to be determined.
That's right, after Tagg whined that Hospice could act quicker with a Bid because they have a staff who can do it the City officials in the room extended the Bid date saying, "there's no rush for Bids." And, the City officials restricted the property so that no Hospice facility could be built - ever.
Ahhh the luxury one has in controlling City officials when one is a millionaire.
Here is map of Tagg's neighborhood. Notice his neighborhood has its own Mormon Temple, that the Romney's supported being built in 2005 with no 'fears' of property values decreasing. Tagg's neighborhood is very nice with its own private school for boys and a country club.
I'd like to add here that I have seen plenty of beautiful convalescent homes in million dollar neighborhoods and I don't think the neighbor's property values decreased.
My point is, churches, convalescent homes, Temples, schools, Synagogues, do not equal reduction in property values in neighborhoods.
It appears to me, the reason Tagg blocked Hospice from building a residential facility near his house was because he, Tagg, wants to buy that same property, as a developer, make a lot of money off the property and used the 'property value decrease' as a ruse to get his way.
The Boston Globe reported:
Tagg speaks, the Selectmen act. They pretty much killed the proposal on the spot, saying they would restrict bids to those who planned to build only houses on the property.
The Boston Globe highlighted Romney's hypocrisy here:
But there was another controversial proposal on Belmont Hill not all that long ago, and the Romneys played a far different role. When Mormon church leaders announced plans to build a 94,000-square-foot Temple on Belmont Hill, residents packed hearings, swamped newspapers with letters, and filed court challenges. Mitt Romney spoke on behalf of the plan, then told the Globe at the time of the August 2000 opening, “It feels great to have a Temple closer to home.”
The Globe concluded:
So when it was a Mormon temple on Belmont Hill, one Romney backed the plan. When it’s a hospice on Belmont Hill, another Romney opposed it.
Compassionate conservatism may really be dying. Someone should let it know not to look for hospice care in Belmont.