WHITMAN – A decision on how to proceed with the timing and logistics of a special Town Meeting and ballot question on the Whitman Middle School project has been delayed to Tuesday, March 21, so Town Clerk Dawn Varley can attend a Select Board meeting to answer some lingering questions on how the board might proceed.
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter, at the Select Board’s Tuesday, March 7, meeting reported that delaying the Town Meeting and election for the project would add three months to the schedule and .5 percent monthly to the cost.
“Our last meeting was basically a brain-storming session of what this board felt … we needed to question a bit and find some solutions, and I don’t think, at any point any decisions were made,” Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said, noting that Carter had researched the issue of timing the special Town Meeting and ballot initiative for the project. “Whether or not we get a date this evening – I think we definitely should by the next meeting.”
Carter said she met with Project Manager John Bates to discuss the timeline and the difference waiting to hold the ballot question to the March Presidential Primary Election might make.
“The WMS project is a massive project,” she said. It would be the largest municipal building project to date in Whitman, with an estimated borrowing cost to the town of about $72 million. The added .5 percent monthy cost from a delay could come to and additional $1,530,000.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $127 million, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority funding about $55 million.
While a portion of the $1.5 million escalation cost would also be partially reimbursed by MSBA, the town would still have to pay more than $800,000 the cost of delay.
Carter said that waiting until the Presidential Primary vote would ensure the question that would be seen by the most voters.
“I think we’ve all seen that per the last major single-ballot vote we had was on the marijuana issue that fell on a holiday time – we did not have an extensive turnout for that,” LaMattina said.
The WMS Town Meeting was initially scheduled around Thanksgiving with a ballot question soon after.
“I personally would hate to see a borrowing and funding vote, that would be historical for this town, fall with minimum turnout,” he said.
“It makes all kinds of sense to try to attract the greatest number of people because it is an expensive item and it is such an important item for the parents of the town,” Select Board member Dr. Carl Kowalski agreed.
Select Board member Justin Evans, who had initially suggested tying the ballot question to the Presidential Primary date, said the $800,000 impact of such a delay is “a little hard for me to swallow,” however.
“I agree we should try to get as high turnout as possible, but to do so and really raise the cost of the project on the taxpayers – I don’t know if that’s the right move for this board,” Evans said.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci, maintained that it is more important to give the most people possible a chance to voice their opinion and vote.
“My feeling is this project has been out there for a couple of years now, and to be able to move forward as quickly as possible, is not irresponsible,” he said, agreeing with LaMattina that holding a vote or Town Meeting during the holidays is not a good idea.
“You’re trying to fight a Thanksgiving turkey, Santa Claus, etc.,” he said.
But he suggested a January 2024 special Town Meeting followed by a ballot initiative in February would bring out people interested in the project, good and bad.
“If it can be earlier for the ballot vote, that’s fine, too,” Small said.
Building Committee member John Galvin asked for clarification on the necessary timeline for voting on the project, noting that an Oct. 26 MSBA meeting is being looked to for its final vote, but said there is no reason the Select Board has to wait for that date.
“That [MSBA] meeting is more or less a ceremonial approval to move forward to the vote,” he said, suggesting that the Town Meeting could be as early as Oct. 30.
Galvin also asked what the required time span is between Town Meeting and a ballot initiative.
Former Town Administrator Frank Lynam said 35 days are required between the two votes. While the annual Town Meeting and elections are set in the by-law.
“They are considered one event,” he said. “The meeting and the election comprise one event, and that’s why there isn’t a further expanse of time between the two,” he said. Otherwise, the Town Clerk must be given 35 days to present the ballot.
“There is no negotiating that,” Lynam said.
LaMattina noted that the building committee is also working on a deadline. They have 980 days to get it on a ballot from the time MSBA invites a community into the process.
The Whitman project already has had to file an extention because the Building Committee had to seek an RFS for the OPM twice. A January special Town Meeting, meanwhile, would require a primary day ballot anyway.
Another wrinkle, as Galvin brought to the board’s attention that only the list of candidates for president are included on a Presidential Primary ballot.
“You would need a second ballot at that election,” he said.
“I see that as an issue,” Salvucci said.
Evans suggested asking the Town Clerk’s office about whether or not they can even process two ballots simultaneously. Carter said the town consulted the Secretary of the Commonwealth said including a second ballot is not a problem at all.
Evans said a high early vote, which is used in Presidential primaries and general elections also presents a separate problem.
“I think for the turnout, it’s worthwhile and, for logistical, I’d think the timeline is going to be there anyway,” Evans said.
“You may want to think about that before you take a vote, because that will be a separatee cost,” Galvin said.
Thanks, Frank!
Before the meeting got down to business, Kowalski thanked Lynam for serving as interim town administrator,
“We have had the good fortune of having our former town administrator serve as the interim town administrator and as an assistant to Mary Beth in this transition period,” Kowalski said. “On behalf of the board, even though they don’t know I’m doing this, I’d like to thank Frank for doing so. As we all know, Frank was a town administrator for a very long time – a lot of good things happened while he was.”
He ticked off accomplishments such as a comparatively low tax rate, a new police station, improvements to the Town Hall and fire station and a new high school among them.
“But this interim period has been a tricky one and Frank jumped into it,” he said. “He didn’t have to. He was home with his grandchildren, and I just wanted to say thank you [to] him.”
Then Kowalski, leaning on his noted sense of humor, presented Lynam with a gift of cookies made by Leslie Diorio, bearing the “town seal” – an illustration of the marine animal balancing a ball bearing the official town seal, on its nose.
“One of the more interesting things we had happen during [Frank’s] tenure, was the cookie fiasco,” Kowalski said.
The design referenced an incident earlier in the year, when she had made cookies with the official Town Seal as refreshments for a joint Select Board/Finance Committee, which led to a complaint filed by the Keeper of the Seal for misuse of the official seal. A second cookie design featured the words, “Thanks for leading our circus.”
“You’ve done a great service to the town,” LaMattina said about Lynam.
Carter also thanked him “You stepped in, and I know you didn’t think you’d be here this long, it did take us a bit, but I think the wait was worth it and I think things worked out great for the town and I personally wanted to thank you.”
“And I really want to thank you,” Carter added. “I’ll never be a Frank Lynam, but I’ll do my best.”