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April 26, 2007

Pollard's view

Methuen, MA – Former mayor Sharon M. Pollard today announced that she has accepted the findings of the State Ethics Commission and has paid a $4,000 civil penalty for directing $200,000 to the Methuen Festival of Trees, Inc. to carry out its mission of historic preservation throughout Methuen.



“I am pleased that this matter has finally come to a conclusion,” said Pollard. “Clearly, it was never my intention for these funds to be used for any purpose other than the preservation and restoration of Methuen’s historic public property.” “Given the Festival’s unique commitment to historic preservation, it seemed logical for the City to partner with these dedicated volunteers to accomplish these important projects,” she added. “The Commission apparently disagreed.”



While accepting the Commission’s determination that a conflict of interest existed, Pollard underscored that, “At no point did I – nor any member of my family – nor any Board member of the Festival of Trees – ever personally benefit from the funds that were given to the Festival for municipal preservation projects.” The basis of the Commission’s finding of a conflict was that Pollard served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Festival of Trees at the time of the decision.



The Methuen Festival of Trees returned the entire $200,000 once the appropriateness of the funding was questioned. In fact, since the Festival had already spent approximately $42,000 on preservation work on city-owned property, Methuen actually received the full $200,000 plus an additional $42,000 worth of preservation work.



Pollard concluded saying, “This situation proves the old expression – no good deed goes unpunished!”









Sharon M. Pollard served as Mayor of the City of Methuen from January 2000 through December of 2005 when local term limits prevented her from seeking a fourth term.



The Methuen Festival of Trees, Inc. (www.methuenfestivaloftrees.com) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the richness of Methuen’s history by providing funding to preserve the heritage and monuments that make Methuen so unique. To date, the Festival has spent over $600,000 on Methuen historic preservation projects.

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