Town Meeting to discuss costly projects, an override
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Northborough - Requests to borrow more than $6 million to build a new Senior Center and to raise taxes to pay for an environmental cleanup that could cost as much as $1.5 million are among the 52 warrant articles town residents will be asked to weigh in on at Northborough's Continued from front page annual Town Meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday April 28, in the auditorium at Algonquin Regional High School.

Article 20 seeks permission to appropriate $6.055 million to be used for the construction, furnishing and equipping of the new Senior Center, which would be located at 119 Bearfoot Road, formerly 119 Colburn St.

The allocation would also include funding any costs associated with the building of the new Senior Center, including design services.

The article proposes that the sum be raised by borrowing within the provision of Massachusetts General Laws and approved by the Board of Selectmen.

Should the article receive the favorable vote necessary at Town Meeting, it would still have to receive a majority vote at the annual Town Election, Monday May 12.

The warrant article about the environmental remediation is No. 21, and pertains to a contaminated parcel that used to be the firing range and skeet-shooting area of the Northborough Fish & Game Club.

The town received estimates on the remediation needed for the site and expects the cost to be about $1.5 million. Town Administrator Barry Brenner was quick to point out that this item is being presented in a way that the town will approve a cost of up to $1.5 million. If the cost of the job ends up being $1 million, Brenner explained, then that's all the town would borrow.

"It's written so we can take a loan and acquire bonds up to $1.5 million," Brenner said. "If less is needed, as is our hope, less will be borrowed."

Selectman Chair Bill Pantazis will present this item at Town Meeting and the message he wants to get through to those at Town Meeting and to those voting on it in the May 12 election, is that doing this work is not really an option.

"It's not something we want to do," Pantazis said. "It's something that we're being required to do. Once you find that you have an area on town land that needs remediation, you must do the cleanup within a certain number of years or face state fines and penalties. That window of time we have to complete this cleanup is 2009. We have to get it done by then, and if we're going to, we have to approve this article at Town Meeting."

Also on the agenda is a Proposition 2-1/2 override request for $316,047, for the Northborough K-8 grade schools budget.