by Brian Keaney

The Finance Committee has recommended indefinite postponement of a $4.3 million proposal to upgrade the High School athletic facilities.  Reasons were varied, but the 6-3 vote followed a discussion in which some said it was too expensive, and others said it should go through the usual capital improvements process.

Committee member Sue Carney said that in the past she has voted “for every damn debt exclusion that has come down the pike,” but that she would not be supporting this project. 

“Joe Q. Citizen is looking at an article that says in the middle of this financial dilemma that we are in, $4.3 million for a track,” Carney said.  “There are people who will look at this sand say, ‘are they crazy?’”

There is an “absolute need” for the upgraded facilities, according to Committee member Derek Moulton, and he said he would probably vote for it should it reach the ballot box.  However, he said as a Finance Committee member he did not feel the cost estimates were specific enough for him to recommend it to Town Meeting.

“There’s a lot of round numbers,” Moulton said of the estimate, “and I question how accurate these things are.”

Selectman Mike Butler, who headed a committee several years ago to look at the athletic facilities and is a leading proponent of the renovations today, was at the meeting but left before this discussion.  There was no one else present to give a more detailed accounting.

Committee member John Heffernan said he also struggled with some of the numbers, particularly the amount being held in reserves for contingency, but felt that the project was too important.

“It was a beautiful field when I played on it,” Heffernan said.  “It was really something that was to be proud of.  When I went up to the field to take a look at it I was really disappointed in how it looked.”

Several members commented that the architects had previously said that this project could be completed in the course of a summer.  If that were the case, then proponents could be sent back to firm up their numbers and return to Town Meeting in the spring, members said.

To do so would require a separate special election, as the funding source specified is a debt exclusion.  A special election would cost between $15,000 and $20,000 to hold.

Walpole High School should be looked to as an example, according to Committee member Laura Timmons.  They are redoing their facilities in phases, and privately fundraised a portion of them.

Doing the athletic facilities at the same time as the nearby Avery School project is being undertaken should save the Town about $80,000, proponents say.  School Building/ Rehabilitation Committee chairman Andy Lawlor also told the Finance Committee last week that it made “all the sense in the world” to do the two projects together as they will necessarily impact each other.

The $4.3 million estimate is likely high, Butler told the Committee last week.  It will cost the average homeowner $29 a year if it is approved.  Over the 16 year life of the bond it totals $466.  The wording of the article specifies that the athletic facilities upgrade can not happen unless the new Avery School is also built.  The Finance Committe unanimously reccomended the approval of the Avery School last night as well.

Committee member Bill McKinney didn’t take a position on the merits of the athletic proposal, but said he felt it would be more appropriate for it to go through the regular capital process.  “It should compete with other projects with other projects in town that are worthy,” he said.

Heffernan, Chairman David Martin, and Mark Driscoll voted in favor of the proposal.  The remaining six members voted to indefinitely postpone the article.

“I’m an old jock and I’d love to see this go through,” Podolski said, “but at this particular time I just think it is too rich for our budget.”