Published in the June 21, 2018 edition

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — We have a deal!

On June 13, Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law the 99-year intermunicipal agreement between North Reading and Andover that guarantees the town access to a potable water supply through 2117.

House bill 4552 sponsored by Rep. Bradley Jones Jr. and his counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Bruce Tarr, was passed by the House on June 6 and the Senate on June 7. The very slight language change made to the bill during its review at the state level was deemed “insignificant” by the North Reading Board of Selectmen and the bill with the edited language was approved unanimously at a special meeting last Thursday morning, June 14.

During Monday night’s Selectmen’s meeting, Andover’s Board of Selectmen sent word that they, too, had also unanimously signed off on the change, thus bringing the year-long negotiation process to an amicable conclusion.

“This is a monumental day for us,” Selectman Steve O’Leary said. “From an economic standpoint, we’re close to 30% of (Andover’s water) revenue so they certainly had some incentive to offer what they did. But for us, for North Reading, this board has made a good, strong effort to take a hard stand but also a good economic stand… For Andover, while we may not have appreciated so much their timing, the 11th hour opportunity, they understood their responsibility and the decision they made in 2013 and 2014 cost this community almost $1 million. They will pay us back. They’re offering us an opportunity whereby the town of North Reading, as a customer, will not pay more than 95% of their lowest tiered rate” for the next 99 years.”

Additionally, the nearly $1M will be paid back in the form of monthly credits to the Water Enterprise until it is paid off.

But O’Leary explained that the deal also works in favor of the Andover ratepayers because the revenue they derive from selling their water to North Reading enables them to invest in their own capital projects to maintain and improve their water system at an affordable rate.

O’Leary offered thanks to the efforts made by Rep. Brad Jones in getting this bill “ushered through the legislative process in such a timely fashion, adding, “This was a monumental task and he got it done. He does a great job representing us.”

O’Leary also thanked Senator Bruce Tarr for getting it through the Senate the next day and onto the Governor’s desk at the busiest time of the year at the State House, and gave kudos to Gov. Charlie Baker for his support as well.

Selectman Bob Mauceri added, “I will say as a team there were times when we could have walked out. There was frustration. We should all be proud. … I really thank the three members of the board who weren’t part of the negotiations for sticking with us…and getting something that will work for North Reading. As Steve said, it’s a win-win for both North Reading and Andover.”

Selectmen Chairman Michael Prisco said it is important to remember that “at least none of the board members sitting here will ever have to address this again; 99 years is a long way away, none of us will be here then, but the people that come after us should take comfort in that.”

“This is a big deal for us,” Prisco added, “but I do not want us to lose sight of August 2014 when we were left with no options; we were done. That letter, when that came in from Andover, was a real kick in the pants, right in the gut… And I want to thank MWRA and Reading for coming to our aid. We owe it to them. But in the end, like you said, Mr. O’Leary, we had to look at this from a fiduciary responsible perspective and both opportunities met all the requirements on each end, but it did come down to price.”

Referring to the upcoming water rate public hearing (see related story), Prisco said, “Tonight is a perfect example” of why he voted for this decision. “This is a $17M net savings for us when we are all said and done — that we know of. Even though the MWRA is a wonderful water source and Reading was a wonderful community to work with there were still a tremendous amount of unknowns going down that path that would have had a negative effect here. Our ratepayers on water side haven’t had it easy.”

“I want to thank Andover for unanimously supporting it as well because it would have been a massive increase on their ratepayers and they deserve better, so I am glad calmer heads prevailed,” the chairman concluded.