In less than three weeks, voters will have a chance to weigh in on the selectmen’s plans for repairing Town Hall and temporarily relocating its offices to an Ayer Road building.
The article is one of seven approved unanimously by the Board of Selectmen at their Tuesday, Oct. 7, meeting and will be taken up when a Special Town Meeting is called to order in Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.
Other articles on the STM warrant authorize the town to:
- Pay two bills remaining from fiscal 2014, which ended in June
- Remove the $157,500 cost of a new ambulance from the operating budget and reduce taxes accordingly
- Appropriate funds to pay for new collective bargaining agreements with the Department of Public Works and other town departments
- Amend the personnel bylaws to “codify” the role of assistant town administrator, and clean up various other provisions
- Appropriate money to refurbish the fire department’s pumper truck
- Distribute free cash remaining from fiscal 2014 to the town’s stabilization and capital investment funds as specified by Harvard’s bylaws.
But the main event of the evening will clearly be the article asking for authorization to proceed with the current plan for repairing Town Hall. The wording of what is currently Article 4 in the warrant emerged from an hour-long debate earlier in the evening (see story, page 1). Though the final wording has yet to be vetted by town counsel, and posted at the town website, the draft wording asks if “the town will hear a report of the Board of Selectmen on the Town Hall building project and vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to proceed with the project and to lease space to relocate the town offices during construction.”
The selectmen already have the authority they need to proceed without a Town Meeting vote, Tim Bragan told the selectmen Tuesday night. But there was a shared sense that it was time to put the question to Harvard voters. “I’m asking Town Meeting to double down and say yes, go ahead,” said Selectman Leo Blair. The article was approved unanimously.
The complete warrant will be posted at the town website this week.
