Group Mulls Future of Building Projects

Projects have a better chance to succeed when the need is clearly explained. And board members need to work together to set priorities that make sense for town residents.

Those were two sentiments shared by several officials last night during a joint meeting with various town boards to set priorities for future building projects in town.

No clear consensus was reached, nor was it necessarily expected to, officials said.

The meeting, held last night at was the first in a potential series of meetings to ensure that board members are on the same page about the projects the town could face in the next 10 to 15 years.

Projects the town could be looking at in next 10 to 15 years and their estimated cost are:

A renovated library, $12 million

An upgraded municipal center, $4.4 million

A new public works building, $11 million

Road work, $15 million

Wastewater plant, $30 million (the cost to be paid by users)

Town Administrator Timothy McInerney, who led the meeting along with Assistant Town Administrator Kevin Mizikar, said board members have to agree in order to convince voters.

“If we don’t all agree, we’re stuck in the mud,’’ he said.

In fiscal 13, taxpayers will pay $2.07 of the tax rate toward paying off debt for existing projects, including the new high school, the police and fire stations and the elementary school.

That figure will drop each year after that as debt is paid off.

Some discussion ensued about whether voters could live with this $2.07. If so, some said, future projects could be fit into the timeline so that the debt service would remain about $2.07 of the tax rate.

Others argued that figure was too high. The overwhelming vote against the renovated library “sent a clear message: Slow down,’’ selectman John Carlson said. If the $2.07 figure does not drop, “someone’s going to get their head handed to them,’’ he said.

Selectman Brook Padgett said the problem the town has faced is having “one project after another’’ with no breathing room for taxpayers. Spacing out projects could help alleviate this, he said.

Finding alternatives to new building projects, such as a modern trailer to augment or replace the current DPW facilities, was one possibility mentioned.

McInerney asked school officials how they were able to get the high school building to pass in a town that seems reluctant in recent years to pass projects with a smaller price tag.

School Committee chairman Kathleen Halloran said that getting a project passed comes down to explaining the need so that the community agrees and supports it.

“It’s really all about understanding the need,’’ she said.

Richard McCarthy, chairman of the Grafton High School Building Committee, agreed.

“Each project has to stand on its own merits,’’ he said. Voters are far less likely to support something, he said, “if you don’t show the need on the Town Meeting stage.’’

One factor that has changed in the last few years, Finance Committee member Don Davison said, is the weak economy, which has made people worry about their jobs and financial futures.

Because of the financial uncertainty, “people are more concerned about themselves and not as much with everyone else’s perceived need,’’ he said. But as the economy improves, projects may have more success, he said.