By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — The town’s voters will have another opportunity to fund the Chestnut Street bridge repairs and a new ladder truck for the Fire Department through two separate debt exclusion override questions.
Both questions will be included on the November 5 election ballot, which is called the State Biennial Election, and this year happens to also include the presidential election.
In order to meet the deadline for the inclusion of both ballot questions on the November 5 ballot, the Select Board had to vote to send a letter to the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth, Bill Galvin, by last Wednesday, August 7, specifying the wording of these “yes” or “no” questions. That letter was hand-delivered Galvin’s office by Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto a day early, on August 6.
The questions to appear on the ballot are as follows:
• Shall the Town of North Reading be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to reconstruct the Chestnut Street bridge over the Ipswich River?
Yes or No
• Shall the Town of North Reading be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to purchase a ladder truck for the Fire Department?
Yes or No
Election savings
According to Gilleberto, by having the override questions on a state ballot the town will save both the expense of printing its own ballots for a special election and holding its own special election while the voters will be spared an additional trip to the polls this fall. There are two more elections prior to the end of the year: the State Primary on Sept. 3 and the State Biennial on Nov. 5. The town also has to pay its own postage when municipal ballots are mailed to voters, but not state ballots. According to Town Clerk Susan Duplin, nearly 4,000 voters checked the box to have all ballots in the current year mailed to their homes. “The average cost of an election can be anywhere between $12, 000 to $15,000,” Duplin told the Transcript. “The cost of postage per ballot for the June 18, 2024 Special Election was 88 cents. Postage increased on July 14, so now the cost to mail a ballot is 97 cents.”
The cost of the June 18, 2024 Special Election was a little higher than average at $21,343.77. It also included a week of early voting and mailing out of ballots.
Similar to the June 18 override election, a debt exclusion override vote is a two-step process. Voters who attend October Town Meeting will be debating the merits of whether either override vote should go forward. If one, the other or both pass at Town Meeting, then it also must pass at the ballot box.
Extra meeting held
The Select Board held a virtual special meeting late Friday afternoon, August 2, to decide whether to put either question on the ballot.
Both the bridge and the ladder truck were part of the Prop. 2 1/2 general override question that failed June 18 at the ballot box after passing at Town Meeting June 10. During the many meetings and budget workshops held leading up to June Town Meeting, town officials stated that should the override fail the town would need to consider a possible debt exclusion override for these two expenses as well as a third expense: the replacement of the Burroughs Road bridge.
Gilleberto told the board that since there remains a possibility that the state may approve the town’s request to replace the culverts at Burroughs Road as opposed to a complete bridge design — such as the one that has been required by the state for Chestnut Street — there remains a possibility that the $600,000 approved by the voters at last fall’s Town Meeting could cover that expense.
After reviewing the engineering reports, Select Board member Nick Masse suggested that repairing the Burroughs Road bridge should be prioritized over Chestnut Street because Chestnut Street could remain closed as there is alternate access, but losing Burroughs Road would really hinder the Martins Pond neighborhood, as well as access for police and fire apparatus.
Select Board member Rich Wallner, who resides in the Martins Pond neighborhood, said he was not as concerned about Burroughs Road at this point because it has not be shut down by the state whereas access over the Chestnut Street bridge has been cut off by the state for more than a year. Martins Pond residents have emergency access to Rte. 125 (which is gated when not in use).
Select Board Chairman Vincenzo Stuto said the lengthy closure of the Chestnut Street bridge has posed difficulties for that side of town, noting that it takes about 20 minutes to travel from Heav’nly Donuts, at Rte. 28, to Nan’s Cafe, at Park Street East and Washington Street, and access to the fields next to Moynihan’s as well as Moynihan’s itself is difficult and the residents of Central Street on both sides have been impacted.
Gilleberto explained that the two bridge repair projects are simply at different stages of development and approval at the state level. Gilleberto stressed that he did not want anyone to get the impression that town officials are not as concerned about the state of the Burroughs Road bridge as they are about the Chestnut Street bridge.
The T.A. said when a sinkhole was found at the Burroughs Road bridge, the town sought state approval to do just that. However, after those plans were filed and reviewed by the state the town was told that a more extensive review was necessary because this culvert is located at the headway to Martins Brook. The town is still awaiting word on that approval.
A worst case scenario would be a requirement for a full bridge rather than culvert replacement. If that were the case the cost estimate would be similar to Chestnut Street — $4 to $4.5 million, Gilleberto said.
If for any reason the Burroughs Road bridge was shut down by the state and access to the neighborhood was limited to the emergency access off Rte. 125 then there would need to be an emergency response plan put in place by the town’s public safety officials to service that neighborhood for the duration of such a closure, including the possibility of stationing a piece of fire apparatus on that side of town, the T.A. said.
Stuto asked Finance Director Laurianne Galvin what the impact of passing either override would be on the tax rate. She said the Chestnut Street bridge would add “8 cents per thousand” dollar of valuation and ladder truck would add “4 cents.” Stuto also estimated that the town could probably expect to see favorable interest rates for about the next year from its Pulte assets before those tables turn when it may be more beneficial to consider using some of that balance toward expenses.
It was also noted that some old debt would be coming off the town’s books soon which would have the effect of easing each taxpayer’s tax burden from debt, so instead of about $120 of their taxes going to debt, it may come down to about $90, but the exact amount remains to reconciled.
Masse also asked whether a new ladder truck could fit into the existing fire station and if it would be possible to have the cost of ladder truck rolled into the cost of building a new fire station, with the caveat that it would be explained to voters that the extra funds would be covering the cost of that truck.
Gilleberto explained it takes a couple of years for a ladder truck to be custom built and part of that process includes having firefighters on the team that designs it and would determine where and how the apparatus in the station would fit. The town’s current ladder truck is simply aging out after about 17 years and needs to be replaced.
All of these questions will be able to be debated at upcoming meetings and at October Town Meeting, commented Select Board member Stephen O’Leary, who noted that the purpose of this current meeting was “just to approve a letter that we would bring to the Secretary of State’s office” to get the questions on the ballot. O’Leary added that a two-thirds majority would be required for approval, or at least four of the five board members. The vote was 4-1 in favor, with Masse opposed.
