The Town Election will take place Tuesday, May 9, at the Bromfield School cafeteria, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Registered voters will be asked to cast ballots for town officers and for three questions; Question 2 has been withdrawn. All questions require a majority vote to pass.
In addition to voting on the ballot questions, residents will be asked to select a town moderator, and to fill positions on the Select Board, School Committee, and Warner Free Lecture and Harvard Public Library trusts. The races for moderator, School Committee, and Warner Free Lecture Trust are the only contested races.
Question 1 – Permanent water connection with Devens
Amount: $4.85 million
Source: Excluded debt
Tax impact: Average of $150 per year
Question 1 asks voters to approve borrowing $4.85 million to install a connection to the Devens water system from Depot Road, making Devens the source of town water. The measure passed at Special Town Meeting in February.
The town water system serves about 100 clients in the town center, including the schools and other municipal buildings. The current source of the supply is two wells on Pond Road, which have problems. A coliform contamination in 2021 closed one of the wells and forced the town to install a chlorination system. That system is complete, and the second well will soon be back online, according to Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart.
he wells have also been testing positive for PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) since 2020. While PFAS levels are currently below the state’s current maximum contaminant level of 20 ppt (parts per trillion) for the sum of six substances, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a maximum level of 4 ppt for each of two substances, PFOA and PFOS. The most recent test on the two town wells showed PFOA and PFOS levels of 4.72 and 4.38, respectively, in one of the wells.
The positive aspects of connecting to Devens water cited by proponents include the size of its water system, which would provide increased fire protection for the town, and the fact that its water is already being treated for PFAS. Any future water treatments required by the state or federal government would be the responsibility of MassDevelopment to implement.
In addition, residents who live on Depot Road could connect to the water system, as could the DPW. The town’s two existing wells would be maintained as an emergency backup system, as long as their PFAS levels remained below state limits.
The cost of the connection would be about $150 per year for taxpayers living in an average-priced home ($675,529 in 2022). The town has already been approved for a $4.85 million loan at 2% interest to construct the water connection, which would run the length of Depot Road from near the Devens line to Ayer Road. Loan forgiveness for at least a portion of the amount is likely, according to Mary Danielson of Tighe and Bond, the engineering firm that would design the connection system. Design money would come from a grant from One Stop Growth and American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Town Administrator Tim Bragan has told the Finance and the Capital Planning and Investment committees that if Question 1 fails, the town would have to build a $1.8 million PFAS treatment plant next to the town wells. (See “Consider This: Vote ‘yes’ on Question on 1”)
Question 2 – Department of Public Works heavy-duty truck debt exclusion—withdrawn
This question has been withdrawn. At Annual Town Meeting last week, voters agreed to pay for the $240,000 truck from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund in order to save about $66,000 in interest payments over what would have been a 10-year loan. The question will still be on the ballot, but votes cast for or against will have no impact.
Question 3 – Community Preservation Fund—change surcharge
Tax impact: Average of $175 per year
Question 3 asks voters to approve an increase in the Community Preservation Act property tax surcharge from its current 1.1% to 3%. Its passage would also provide residents with three previously unavailable exemptions: no tax on the first $100,000 of the assessed value of residential, commercial, or industrial property in town; or on any property owned and occupied by a person who qualifies for low income housing; or low or moderate income senior housing, as defined in the act.
The CPA surtax collected by the town each year is deposited in its Community Preservation Fund, where it’s matched by money from the state’s Community Preservation Trust Fund. Money in the CPF can be used only to support historic preservation, open space and recreation, and local affordable housing.
A benefit of adopting a 3% surtax, the maximum allowed by the CPA, is that Harvard would qualify for additional state matches that typically follow the initial annual distribution. In fiscal 2022, Harvard received a state match of 43.8%. Neighboring Ayer, which raised its surtax to 3% in 2020, received a 72.8% state match last fiscal year.
Proponents note that requests for CPA funding this year exceeded $900,000, but the Community Preservation Committee, which manages the Community Preservation Fund, had only $348,000 available. A higher surcharge would substantially increase the amount collected each year and draw higher matches from the state, raising money for projects that would otherwise have to be paid for entirely by property taxes.
The measure has the strong backing of boards and sports organizations seeking additional playing fields for the town’s many youth and adult teams, including a new sports complex. Grants, however, are made at the discretion of the nine-member Community Preservation Committee.
An organized opposition has yet to appear. A Special Town Meeting in February approved the increase 153-114. At that meeting voters expressed opposition to raising taxes and to spending more money on athletic fields when the town can’t adequately maintain the fields it has.
Question 3 is recommended by the Select Board and has the backing of the Open Space Committee, Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, and the member organizations of the Harvard Athletic Association. (See “Consider this: Vote ‘yes’ on Question 3” )
“Yes to Ballot Question #3” is an advocacy group campaigning for its passage. Town Clerk Lynn Kelley says no group opposed to Question 3 has registered with her office.
The Finance Committee, Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Historical Commission have taken no position. The CPC does not support the measure, having voted 5-2 early this year against the increase.
If passed, this amendment of the town’s existing CPA legislation would take effect July 1, 2023, the start of fiscal 2024. The additional funds would not be available for distribution until fiscal 2025.
Question 4 – Charter amendment to change moderator’s term of office
The town’s moderator is responsible for presiding over Town Meeting and for appointing members of the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee. It is an elected position with a term of one year, as specified in the Harvard Charter. Last spring, Town Moderator Bill Barton requested a warrant article asking voters to amend the charter to increase the moderator’s term to three years to bring it in line with other elected positions in town. The 2022 Annual Town Meeting approved the article by the necessary two-thirds margin. The state’s attorney general has approved the amendment, and it now requires a majority vote in the 2023 election. If approved, the moderator’s new term would take effect for the 2024 election.
Proponents of increasing the moderator’s term reason that it takes time for the moderator to gain the necessary experience to run Town Meeting smoothly, and a three-year term would provide that experience.
Opponents say it would give the moderator too much power over the composition of the Finance Committee and CPIC. The moderator appoints the seven voting members of the Finance Committee for staggered three-year terms, and the two associate nonvoting members for terms of one year. The moderator also appoints the two citizen-at-large members of the five voting members of the capital committee. The other three voting members represent the Select Board, the School Committee, and the Finance Committee.
