Fragola, Mavrides, Pisani Vie For Wrentham Planning Board Seat

Three candidates — John Fragola, Glen Pisani and Michael Mavrides — are seeking two seats on the Wrentham Planning Board in the election this Monday.

Fragola, a local real estate attorney, said he's been interested in seeking the office for some time.

"I feel like Wrentham needs to progress forward," he said. "We need people to step up."

He said he feels he'd be a moderating presence on the board.

"There are two sides to every story," he said. "Obviously, every town needs to find that delicate balance between tax revenue and rural values."

"We need a development plan that allows development in the right places," he added.

He said, in his capacity as an attorney, he's often called upon to shift through jargon and bring arguing parties together.

"I feel as though I have a knack for seeing both sides and finding the common ground," he said.

Mavrides, who is on the Conservation Commission, said he wanted to improve inter-board communications.

"We ran into some things we wouldn't have run into if there were a roundtable of boards," he said. "I'm for having the boards work together — I don't think that's been happening in the past."

He said the three boards that approve development in the town — the Planning Board, the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission — should coordinate their efforts. The current system, he said, is confusing to those who wish to get projects approved.

Mavrides said he felt the Planning Board was pushing development in town.

"I'm for planned, orderly growth for Wrentham," he said. "I'm not against growth according to our bylaws."

Mavrides said development is possible with the current set of bylaws.

"We have projects approved but, with the economy, nothing's been done with them," he said.

Pisani could not be reached for comment on this story.