It's 'yes' for LHS at Town Meeting; June 8 ballot makes decision final

Date: 6/1/2010

May 31, 2010

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW -- By a margin of 10 to 1, residents approved the Longmeadow High School building project at the Special Town Meeting on May 25.

A two-thirds vote was required to approve the project. The final numbers were 2,132 for, 211 against.

Voters filled the high school gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium to the brink -- an additional 400 were seated in the Business Technology Center at the other end of the school.

The single warrant article for the meeting read in part "that the town appropriate the sum of . . . $78,452,888 for the costs associated with the construction of a 185,000 square foot addition to the Longmeadow High School located at 95 Grassy Gutter Road, and the renovation of the 1971 wing of the existing Longmeadow High School; provided that the renovation of the existing 1971 wing shall not be eligible for reimbursement by the MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Authority], which school facility shall have an anticipated useful life as an educational facility for the instruction of school children for at least 50 years."

The MSBA will be reimbursing the town $34 million for the new construction.

Resident Mary Rogeness made a motion early in the meeting to amend the article to have it be considered an emergency measure for the preservation, peace, health or safety of the town under the provisions laid out in the town's charter. Rebecca Townsend, who helped create the charter, explained that this motion would ensure that the decision of the Town Meeting would stand that it could not be challenged -- and that the final vote on the project would be the debt exclusion referendum on the June 8 ballot.

The amendment was approved.

The debt exclusion vote must pass on June 8 for the project to move forward.

Mark Barowsky, chair of the Finance Committee, then took the microphone to state that six members of the committee voted in favor of the project, with one member abstaining.

"It's financially feasible for the town," Barowsky stated. He added that because of this project and other necessary capital projects that need to be done, renovation of the the town's two middle schools which has been discussed for a while -- "would not be doable until 2020 or even 2025."

Barowsky noted with the cost of the high school project and projected override votes in 2012 and 2018, residents could see their taxes increase by up to 43 percent, if not more.

Select Board member Paul Santaniello spoke in favor of the project at the meeting with the caveat that a positive vote "is not a victory but just the beginning."

He added that the town would be coming back to voters to support water and sewer, Department of Public Works and middle school maintenance and upgrades in the future.

Roger Wojcik, founder of Citizens for a Better Longmeadow, a group opposed to the proposed project, said he believed taxes could increase up to 100 percent if other capital projects are approved. He warned, "If the school passes on June 8 there is no turning back."

The average homeowner will see an increase of $455 a year in property taxes over the 25-year life of the bond for the high school project.

After a little more than an hour of debate, the vote was called by Moderator Michael Kallock.

"The town of Longmeadow has voted," Christine Swanson, co-chair of the School Building Committee and a member of the School Committee, said following the meeting. "They're investing in the future of our residents."

She added that she was incredibly pleased with voter turnout and hopes that the same numbers come out on June 8 for the referendum. If approved there, the school project "will be ready to rock," according to Swanson.

School Building Committee Co-Chair Robert Barkett, also a member of the Select Board, said he was "extraordinarily proud of the town" for voting yes.

"This is just the first step toward addressing our infrastructure needs," he said.

And Superintendent E. Jahn Hart, who will be retiring come the end of the fiscal year, said of the school project, "The time is right, the time is now, and it's the right thing to do. I was thrilled with the overwhelming vote at the Town Meeting."