Barrington council candidates focus on middle school bond
Candidates also weigh in on affordable housing
What started as a cordial discussion grew more divided once candidates for the town council seats turned their focus toward the proposed $68.4 million bond for a new middle school.
Republican Peter Dennehy was the first to mention the bond. The first time candidate for the council said his priority would be to reign in spending, especially with the multi-million bond looming on the horizon.
Independent Ann Strong said the bond was the pressing issue facing council candidates and held the potential of "decimating" the municipal budget. She the municipal budget is already very lean.
Democrat Steven Boyajian agreed that the middle school bond was the top issue facing council candidates. He said he supports the bond but needs to look into numerous areas for potential cost savings.
Fellow Democrat Kate Weymouth said the town needs a new middle school, adding that the current building "is a dog." Ms. Weymouth also said that the ultimate decision needs to be made by taxpayers.
That did not sit well with Republican candidate Geoff Grove. The longtime member of the appropriations committee said that all five current members of the council and all five members of appropriations spoke out against such an expensive bond, "but the majority (of the current council) voted for it and that's a mistake," he said.
The topic of the bond circled back to Mr. Dennehy, who said he did not support the middle school bond. He said the interest alone on the $68.4 million bond would cost $20 million. Mr. Dennehy also criticized the process followed by school officials and members of the school building committee. He said an affordable budget should have been established first.
"This whole process was flawed," he said. "It should be re-done."
Mr. Boyajian and Mr. Grove traded barbs on a few occasions, including on whether the bond should be up for a referendum vote. Mr. Boyajian said Barrington is an informed community and has the right to vote on such a topic, but Mr. Grove said the council should not have passed the buck to the residents. He said the current council should have sent the request back to the school committee and asked for a more affordable proposal.
Later in the debate, Mr. Boyajian suggested that savings could be realized by sharing services and equipment — he specifically mentioned stump grinders — with neighboring communities.
Mr. Grove replied: "Sharing stump grinders will not come close to the deficit" created by the proposed $68.4 million bond.
When asked what his top priority was, Mr. Boyajian said to "make every dollar we spend count." He called for the town to refinance higher interest bonds to realize some savings.
Mr. Grove was again ready to reply: "The measures pointed out for savings won't come close" to what is needed to pay for the bond. He also said that the cuts necessary to balance the budget if the bond is passed would result in "a lot of pain and suffering."
Other topics
• Business friendly: Council candidates offered some ideas for how the town could become more business friendly. Mr. Dennehy said officials should examine the zoning code for possible changes. Ms. Weymouth said the town council has already spearheaded a number of improvements, including the upcoming streetscape work. Ms. Strong said the sign ordinance is problematic for businesses, and Mr. Grove and Mr. Boyajian said business owners face too much red tape in town. Melissa Horne, a Democrat, said council members need to shop at local businesses and speak to the owners to see what more can be done to help them.
• Affordable housing: Ms. Horne said the existing Affordable Housing Act takes a "one size fits all" approach to housing and ignores the great disparity among different towns. Ms. Weymouth said the town needs to deal with the law and advocated that changes be made at the state level. Mr. Grove said it was the job of the town council to push back against the act, while Mr. Dennehy said there are 160 homes in town that are already priced under $250,000 — "They are affordable, but not affordable for purposes of the act," he said. Mr. Boyajian said the town is already built out, but needs to follow the plan to convert individual homes each year or else "developers will run roughshod" over the town.
