Douglas building committee unanimously recommends state facilities director for appointment

DOUGLAS -- December 17, 2025, Douglas building committee endorses a $35 million state facilities director for a vacancy on the panel. The Building and Facilities Construction Committee voted unanimously December 17 to recommend Douglas resident John Begaglio, Director of Facilities for the Massachusetts Army National Guard, overseeing 3.5 million square feet and 165 employees statewide, for appointment by the Select Board. Chair Shirley Mazzynski called him "more like an OPM" and said the town has struggled for years to designate an in-house owner's project manager for capital projects, with outside firms running up bills she described as "a million bucks for a $10 million" job. Town Administrator Matt Wojcik said ethics rules require a legal opinion from counsel before a committee member could formally serve as OPM, since the committee participates in OPM selection. In other business, Wojcik reported that a contractor holding a signed agreement to repair heat pumps at the Douglas Public Library claims it cannot obtain replacement parts, a situation he called "a little bit of a crisis" with frozen-pipe implications for winter.