VOTERS at Monday’s Town Meeting will be asked to appropriate about $300,000 to fund schematic plans to overhaul and modernize the town’s mid-1960s-era Fire Station to meet 21st century needs. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By Maureen Doherty
NORTH READING — It would not be an understatement to say that the October Town Meeting warrant is a light one, with just 14 warrant articles for the voters to act upon.
It would, however, be a mistake to assume a light warrant means nothing of importance is taking place Monday night in the gymnasium at North Reading High School when Town Moderator John Murphy raps the gavel at 7 p.m.
It should also be noted that none of the articles at the October Town Meeting pertain to the town’s wastewater system planning and financial assessment. That will be the subject of a stand-alone Special Town Meeting in late November or early December and multiple workshops and public meetings will be scheduled by the town’s DPW and Select Board between now and then to inform the public on the status of that project, its costs and how the betterment assessments would work.
[As of press time Wednesday it was possible that the first such workshop meeting could be held as early as next Wednesday, Oct. 5. All meetings, whether workshops or public informational hearings will be subject to the Open Meeting Law and agendas will be posted 48 hours in advance on the calendar page of the town website at northreadingma.gov.]
The final three
The most interesting October Town Meeting warrant articles to most residents would likely be the last three. The action voters take on these articles will determine the direction the town will take in maintaining, improving and/or replacing its municipal facilities in the coming years as well as determining the locations of wetlands on specific parcels of town-owned land previously identified as potentially suitable for affordable housing.
The pandemic has overshadowed the work undertaken by the Facilities Master Plan Committee (FMPC) and that body of volunteers is recommending that the town appropriate approximately $300,000 for schematic designs for immediate improvements to the town’s Fire Station under Article 13.
For those who have not been inside this building in the 30-plus years, the last time it could be considered “state of the art” was during the era of that popular early 70s show “Emergency!” Some of the younger voters will only be familiar with this show through MeTV reruns. Built in the mid-1960s, it is clearly showing its age. The station is quite undersized for the size and number of today’s apparatus not to mention the advances made in the past nearly 60 years in consideration of firefighters’ health when they return from fires, accidents, or hazmat incidents and need to decontaminate their equipment and themselves. Their only shower room is upstairs and their dormitory provides no privacy and no facilities for female firefighters. Since there is only one shower room, if upgrades are not made prior to hiring the first female firefighters in the town’s history, the shower room would be off-limits to the opposite sex when one or the other is using it.
The building also has inadequate space for vehicle repairs. A piece of equipment is now being stored in the DPW barn to create a space for a makeshift repair bay on the apparatus floor. Most of the apparatus has mere inches to spare between them when being backed into the garage.
Both the Select Board and the Finance Committee have voted to recommend passage of Article 13 at prior public meetings.
Similarly, the FMPC is the sponsor of Article 12 which seeks a sum of money needed to complete the town’s Facilities Master Plan that was originally appropriated by Town Meeting in 2017. The sum being requested was not stated in the warrant. The informational public hearing on the 14 warrant articles was held last night, Wednesday, Sept. 28, after press time, due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday on Monday evening. Both the Select Board and the Finance Committee are recommending passage of Article 12.
The Facilities Master Plan will be used to evaluate the status of all the other municipal buildings, including how best to keep them repaired and updated, and also to determine whether an intergenerational center could be built or should be built, and where it would be located to suit the town’s needs. The FMPC has also created an online survey through Survey Monkey to assess the priorities of the townspeople in relation to its municipal buildings. The survey seeks answers as to whether the town’s existing facilities are adequately meeting the townspeople’s needs today and whether they will continue to meet their needs in the future. The deadline to respond to the survey is Saturday, Oct. 15. It can be found at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/NRCommunityCenter
Article 14 is co-sponsored by the Select Board and the Community Planning Commission and supported by both boards. The FinCom will make its recommendation at Town Meeting. Article 14 seeks funds necessary to delineate the location of wetlands on four town-owned properties under consideration for development as affordable housing to increase the town’s housing stock in this area. The funds would be specific to the four properties that are among those previously identified by the town for inclusion in its Affordable Housing Overlay District that was approved by voters at a prior Town Meeting. If the funds are appropriated they would be limited for use to delineate the wetlands on 44-46 Oakdale Road, 7 Saint Theresa St. and 57 Haverhill St.
The remaining October Town Meeting warrant articles are as follows:
• ARTICLE 1: Hear and Act on Reports of Town Officers and Committees
• ARTICLE 2: Prior Year Bills
• ARTICLE 3: Appropriate Money to Stabilization Fund
• ARTICLE 4: Appropriate Money to Capital Improvement Stabilization Fund
• ARTICLE 5: Appropriate Money to Solid Waste Stabilization Fund
• ARTICLE 6: Appropriate Money to Participating Funding Arrangement Fund
• ARTICLE 7: Amend FY2023 Operating Budget
• ARTICLE 8: Rescind Authorization to Borrow
• ARTICLE 9: Amend FY2023 Capital Budget
• ARTICLE 10: Appropriate Money for Legal Expenses – Secondary School Building Litigation
• ARTICLE 11: Appropriate Money for Legal Expenses – 20 Elm Street Litigation.
Remember to bring your printed copy of the warrant to Town Meeting. If you did not get a copy mailed to you, limited copies will be available upon check-in. It can also be downloaded from the town’s website at https://www.northreadingma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3591/f/uploads/october_2022_printer_warrant.pdf
