On 18 December 2025 the absolutely clueless, delusional Sterling Finance Committee met and discussed the 15 December 2025 Sterling D.P.W. Facilities Committee’s so-called ‘Charette’ ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charette )—the 2 hour and 15 minute discussion during which commission-hungry Weston & Sampson Engineering parasites presented various plans for a somewhat less expensive Sterling D.P.W. ‘Garage Mahal’ after their absolutely outrageous $33 Million, 37,000 square foot ‘Garage Mahal’ proposal was shellacked by Sterling Special Town Meeting voters on 13 November 2025, 373 to 183. You can watch and listen to that Finance Committee clownfest here between 1:09:41 and about 1:21:00—
Representatives of Vertex, the commission-hungry parasites selected to be project managers for the Sterling D.P.W. ‘Garage Mahal,’ were also present at the “Charette.”
Mark Gauthier, Finance Committee cipher-liaison to the Sterling D.P.W./D.P.W. Facilities Committee, was also present.
That ‘Charette’ was not filmed or recorded and no ‘minutes’ of it were made or kept so there is nothing of it for Sterling taxpayers to review. Yeah, another Sterling Town Government exercise in hiding the ball.
It is interesting to note that a Vertex parasite, Steve Therrien (sp?), present at the ‘Charette,’ appears to have been the only rational and realistic being present. After witnessing the 13 November 2025 Special Town Meeting ‘Garage Mahal’ shellacking he opined that the new Sterling D.P.W. facility must be MUCH SMALLER. He’s ABSOLUTELY correct.
Other than Therrien, apparently everyone else present at the ‘Charette’ was delusional, thinking that Sterling voters/taxpayers may vote for a $25 Million ‘Garage Mahal Lite.’ THEY’RE ABSOLUTELY WRONG.
The Finance Committee’s Gauthier reported that the Weston & Sampson commission-hungry parasites were focused on reducing ‘office space’ costs because the office spaces had the highest per-square-foot costs. WELL, THAT’S A START, ASSHOLES, BUT THE STERLING D.P.W. DOESN’T NEED 20,000 SQUARE FEET –JUST UNDER HALF AN ACRE– OF ‘TUBE RADIANT HEATED’ GARAGE SPACE TO KEEP ITS PAMPERED VEHICLES OUT OF THE WEATHER. THOSE VEHICLES ARE MADE TO BE PARKED OUTDOORS, JUST LIKE ALL THE OIL COMPANY DELIVERY TRUCKS AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY TRUCKS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE REGION.
Gauthier also let slip that at the ‘Charette’ he mentioned that an unnamed Finance Committee member thought that Sterling taxpayers/voters would swallow a $16 Million ‘Garage Mahal Lite’. I’D LIKE TO KNOW THE IDENTITY OF THAT MISGUIDED FINANCE COMMITTEE ASSHOLE ATTEMPTING TO SUBVERT THE INTERESTS OF STERLING’S TAXPAYERS.
NO, STERLING TAXPAYERS WILL NOT VOTE FOR A $16 MILLION ‘GARAGE MAHAL LITE’ EITHER BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE TOWN OF BERLIN GOT A NEW 13,000 TO 14,000 SQUARE FOOT D.P.W. FACILITY FOR $4.1 MILLION IN 2018. APPARENTLY THE TOWN OF BERLIN ACCOMPLISHED THAT FEAT WITHOUT WESTON & SAMPSON OR VERTEX COMMISSION-HUNGRY PARASITES BEING IN THE PICTURE. QUELLE SURPRISE!
When you watch the 18 December 2025 Sterling Finance Committee meeting you can see that Gauthier is a go-along blob exhibiting all the signs of what’s called “Regulatory Capture.” “Regulatory Capture” happens when a government regulatory body is captured by an entity that it is supposed to regulate.
The following is from the Sterling Finance Committee’s webpage:
Sterling Finance Committee Guiding Principles
- Minimize year over year tax levy changes.
- Treat all departments, committees and individuals consistently and respectfully.
- As a guideline, maintain the Capital Fund at a level equal to the total annual capital asset depreciation or greater.
- As a guideline, items considered for the Capital Fund should have a useful life of greater than 5 years and a cost of $25K or more.
- As a guideline, items considered for bonding should have a useful life greater than 10 years and a cost of $100K or more.
- Maintain a 3-year planning horizon.
- Focus on the fiscal aspects of all Town issues and remain neutral to the “politics” of issues.
- Maintain a strong fiscal discipline and continue to emphasize the importance of healthy reserves.
- Make decisions that will serve to maintain and increase the taxpayers’ and voters’ trust and respect, paving the way for confidence in future Finance Committee decisions.
(Vision and Mission Statement Adopted December 1, 2022)
When it comes to the proposed new D.P.W. Facility it is clear that Gauthier, and the entire Finance Committee for that matter, has/have disregarded Finance Committee ‘Guiding Principles’ numbered 7 through 9, especially 9. He and they obviously don’t give a rat’s ass about the taxpayer outrage exhibited at the 13 November 2025 Special Town Meeting.
Since the EXORBITANT UTTER ASSHOLES constituting Sterling Town Government don’t have the mental acuity to spell out what the Sterling D.P.W. NEEDS in a new facility, I will:
a. Two (2) repair bays with truck lifts;
b. A truck wash bay;
c. Waiting room for visitors/taxpayers;
d. Kitchenette for D.P.W. employees;
e. Break room for D.P.W. employees;
f. Conference room;
g. Office space;
h. Bathrooms;
i. Oil-fired furnace with ducts to heat all spaces.
NOTE TO THE STERLING D.P.W.: YOU CAN PARK YOUR F#CKING VEHICLES OUTDOORS UNDER OPEN-SIDED ROOFED CARPORTS/TRUCKPORTS JUST LIKE THE ASHBURNHAM AND WEST BOYLSTON POLICE DEPARTMENTS DO.
We Sterling voters/taxpayers will be happy with a new D.P.W. building like the one the Town of Berlin got for $4.1 Million in 2018.
SEE:
And yes, we’ll take Pezzuco Construction–https://pezzcon.com/ –in place of those commission-hungry parasites Weston & Sampson and Vertex every day of the week.
It should be noted that during the 18 December 2025 Sterling Finance Committee Meeting, Chair Joe King said that the D.P.W. Facility proposal was one “pebble on the beach” competing with other “pebbles on the beach” for funding. WELL, NOT EXACTLY, JOE: THE D.P.W. Facility is a HUGE F#CKING BOULDER ON THE BEACH TO STERLING PROPERTY TAXPAYERS, SO GET THAT POINT THROUGH YOUR SKULL.
There will be another D.P.W. Facilities Committee meeting on 12 January 2026.
Stay tuned.
J.G.
STERLING, MASSACHUSETTS, OVERWATCH 