Voters to go to the ballot Tuesday
Ashburnham voters to see questions on buildings, roads, school's budget
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

A proposed floor plan was created as part of the feasibility study that determined the VMS Building could be used as a senior center. On Tuesday, voters will see a ballot question asking for one-year tax increase of 12 cents per $1,000 a formal building design. COURTESY PHOTO

Ashburnham voters will face four funding question in a ballot election on Tuesday, June 17, and voters in Westminster will only face one question in their Tuesday election.

Voters in both towns will see questions asking for an increase to fund the school district's operating budget. The School Committee is asking voters to approve a total of $295,150, which would be an increase of $174,565 in Ashburnham and $120,549 in Westminster.

"It is a very reasonable and modest way to restore some of the things that would have to be cut last year," said David Christianson, the chairman of the regional School Committee.

The tax impact for Ashburnham is 26 cents per $1,000, which is about $64 on the average home of $246,341. In Westminster, the tax impact is 10 cents per $1,000, which is $30 on the average house that is valued at $300,000.

"The School Committee has debated and discussed this budget for months," said Ashburnham- Westminster Regional Superintendent of Schools Michael Zapantis.

The committee members voted unanimously to only try once for an override this year, as opposed to in years past when an override failed the committee voted to request another override.

"This thing is going to happen once. We're not going to come back and ask for $100,000," Zapantis said.

If the override is passed, then athletic fees will remain at $100 instead of increasing to $170. The district will add some staff positions back to the roster, including teachers, secretaries and custodians.

Some of the money in the override will go to re-implementing part of the curriculum renewal cycle, which is an organized process of reviewing the materials, the course of studies and assessment process in subject matters.

"We are trying to shore up some of the curriculum holes," Zapantis said.

Zapantis said this should help students to score better on the MCAS exams as well as be better prepared in the MCAS focus subjects in general.

Briggs' feasibility study

"We're very much at the end of the useful life of the Briggs building, we have to do something," Christianson said.

Voters in Ashburnham will also be asked to approve a $400,000 debt exclusion for conducting a feasibility study for a potential John R. Briggs Elementary School renovation or rebuilding project.

"We are not sure what the feasibility study is going to show," said Zapantis.

The feasibility study includes hiring an owner's project manager, an architect for the design process, as well as reviews of the existing property and building.

"We'll have somebody on board immediately to help design the (request for proposal) for the feasibility study, so we have exactly what we wanted in the bid specifications," Zapantis said.

The town's share of the $400,000 cost is $185,880 because the state is reimbursing the town at least 53.53 percent. Zapantis said the $400,000 potential cost is coming from a formula determined by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, and he expects the cost of the project to be less.

The reimbursement might be able to be increased as well by scoring more points with the MSBA. The MSBA is adding points for a variety of reasons, including the use of green energy.

"The building committee is looking at a lot of different options," Zapantis said.

The feasibility study is the first step in the MSBA's building process. The school district was one of the few schools that was picked to progress to this stage of the process.

"The feasibility study is the first step to get the state to pay for at least 53 percent of it," he said. "Time is of the essence. It is a much-needed project whether we renovate or rebuild."

The one-year impact on the tax rate is 28 cents per $1,000, which is a one-time payment of $68.99. If the cost is less then the town will not need to borrow that much money and the tax impact will less.

The voters in Ashburnham hold the sole responsibility in funding the district's portion of the cost of building or renovating the structure. This is because according to the regional agreement each town retains sole ownership of the elementary school buildings and property.

"(The reimbursement) is very much the same reason that people look to support the VMS building. We are trying to get some of the state and federal money back here," Christianson said.

A senior center design

The second question on the ballot in Ashburnham is a request based on a citizen's petition at the Annual Town Meeting requesting $80,000 for design documents to be created for a senior center in the VMS Building.

The tax impact of 12 cents per $1,000 of valuation would last only one year. The impact is just over $30 on the average home.

The proposed space includes an artsand crafts room, an exercise and aerobics room, office space, as well as couple of meeting rooms and a multi-purpose area. In the schematic sketch there are also computer stations, a main hall (in the former gym), and the kitchen area remains.

Not included in the first phase is the expense of interior painting or the repair work, as a way to keep costs down, said the COA officials at a public meeting held before the town meeting. The exterior renovation also includes space for a covered porch, but that is not included in the first stage.

Another design review process will take place again when the final plans are drawn up, which will include meetings with a building committee, public meetings, and a final layout of the proposed area.

The design documents will allow the town to apply for a $1 million Community Development Block Grant for a portion of the renovation of the building.

A Community Development Block Grant would allow the town to spend $800,000 on construction and the remaining money would cover grant administration and an outreach program, which is mandated by the grant.

Repairing the roads

The other major question on Ashburnham's ballot is a $7.5 million debt exclusion that would allow Department of Public Works Director Don Ouellette to implement a 10-year road improvement plan.

The tax impact will vary of the course of the 20-year loan, but will allow each of the public roads in town to be repaired through this plan.

Ouellette said the costs to the project will be seen on the tax rate but it will decrease the amount of money most people will have to put into repairing their roads. He said the plan is the right balance of contract work and in-house work, which will allow the voters to get the most for the their money.

He has said that the plan will also allow a good schedule so the roads can continue to be maintained over the years.

The polls are open on Tuesday, June 17, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in both Ashburnham and Westminster. The polls are located at John R. Briggs Elementary School on Williams Road in Ashburnham and at Westminster Elementary School in Westminster, respectively.