Selectmen vote for Aug. 16 Special Town Meeting
Published on July 25th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - The town's Board of Selectmen this week scheduled a Special Town Meeting for Monday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m in order to balance the FY'08 budget.
The Selectmen, who initially offered no explanation as to why a special assembly was necessary, authorized the gathering without discussion after a 4-0 vote this Tuesday (Selectman John DePinto was absent).
"We are going to open up the warrant today and close it at 7:25 p.m. on July 31. That's next Tuesday," said Selectmen Chair George Seibold.
It has been the past practice of the Selectmen to cite the reasons for calling Special Town Meetings, absent the October meetings that have become an annual occurrence in Stoneham.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Selectmen Paul Rotondi explained that the Town Meeting is being convened amend the FY'08 budget, which is out of balance by $3 million.
The week after June's special election, when the Selectmen implemented a $200 trash fee, Town Counsel Bill Solomon had opined that the Selectmen could wait until October to alter the FY'08 spending plan.
According to Solomon, because citizens at May's Town Meeting passed a budget that included $3 million in extra funding - which was then hoped to be raised through a tax override - the town could use any funding from the trash fee or any other revenue sources without citizen approval.
In October, the FY'08 budget could then be reduced to reflect the difference between those new revenues and the $3 million in extra funding that was approved last spring, the town attorney opined.
"That was our original plan, but the state wants us to do it earlier," said Rotondi, when asked why the Selectmen had decided to amend the budget before the fall Special Town Meeting.
Since the override failed, as much as $2.1 million in revenues have been tapped. The majority of those funds will come from the trash fee, which will raise an estimated $1.8 million.
Another $300,000 in state aid, as well as a predicted $400,000 in health insurance savings, will also likely be factored into the budget. Town officials are expecting money from the state in the form of a pothole grant, but the exact amount to be received is still undetermined.
Home Depot crying poor
Weeks after the project gained the unanimous support of the Selectmen, the developers of a proposed Fallon Road Home Depot are reportedly contending that they can't afford to foot the bill for roadway improvements in the area.
According to Town Administrator David Ragucci, he recently met with representatives from Gov. Deval Patrick's office and Stoneham's State House delegation in order to lobby for state funding for the mitigation work.
"Home Depot feels as if the project is too expensive for them to move forward on at this point," the Town Administrator explained. "They're looking for some help from the state to correct the off-site issues that exist and that have existed within the town for some time."
Ragucci is expecting to hear back from state officials before the Labor Day holiday.
The Richmond Company, which wants to erect at 133,000 square foot Home Depot at a 16.2 acre Fallon Road property that once housed the headquarters of A.W. Chesterton, purchased the South Stoneham site along the Winchester line for $7.4 million.
During special permit deliberations on the Planning Board level, the Wilmington-based proponents consented to a large number of traffic mitigation measures, including the installation of a cul-de-sac along Park Street near Mosley Park, a slip ramp from Park Street onto I-93 north, and improvements to various surrounding intersections.
BRMC decision pending
According to Ragucci, in addition to receiving a response regarding Home Depot's request, he also hopes to receive a final decision from state officials regarding the stalled Langwood Commons project.
During the same meeting with state officials, the Town Administrator stressed that the developers, Burlington's Gutierrez Company and Colorado-based Simpson Housing, LP, were losing patience with the state.
The two firms are hoping to receive state approval to move forward with a planned mixed-use affordable housing and commercial office space redevelopment of the former Boston Regional Medical Center, located near Spot Pond.
"The folks at the BRMC are getting quite impatient after seven years. I can't blame them," said Ragucci. "They've spoken to me about the possibility of suing the state and I've informed the state that the developers are at their breaking point."
"The state has informed me that they will give an answer one way or the other. It might not be good news, but at least the town will have an answer," the Town Administrator added.
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