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.