Since someone in Town hall really hates this blog, here's to it:

Article IV – Advisory Committee
Section 1. There shall be an Advisory Committee consisting of seven legal voters of the town who shall be appointed by the Moderator as hereinafter provided. No elective or appointive town officer or town employee shall be eligible to serve on said committee, except that a representative from the Advisory Committee shall be entitled to serve as a member of the Capital Planning Committee and the Insurance Committee. Amended 5-13-03 & 5-11-11

The above is from Templeton General by-laws, and there in lies the problem, seems like the Massachusetts General laws now say something different:

MGL, chapter 32B, section 3:

Said committee shall consist of eight members as follows: seven persons to be duly elected or appointed to membership on such committee by organizations of the employees affected, and one person who shall be a retiree of a governmental unit who shall be duly appointed to membership on said committee by the appropriate public authority. 

I was going to serve on insurance committee until a "discussion" came up as to how I was appointed to the insurance committee, hey, some people in Town Hall do not like me, but hey, who cares. During this "discussion" it was noted that the law said something else which contradicts the Town by-law so the Advisory Committee requested an article for the special town meeting in October to have 3 words removed from that by-law section. That would make the by law follow state law. Seems simple and logical, until it reaches the selectmen, who, voted to not place this item on the warrant. They stated they wished to wait until they bring in a consultant, for a fee, to have all the by-laws looked at and changed, eliminated so as to be compliant with current law. I agree with the concept, but why wait to remove 3 words which does what they say they wish to do. 

from my personal opinion: "Perhaps they do not like Advisory Committee bringing something up that may derail their school project. Since the Town would be getting very close, if not passing, what is the allowable debt limit for the Town, and to allow the Town to get word on the condition of it's fiance, it does not seem to be a bad thing to do, to put the brakes on the project. The Town will be able to go into 47 million dollar debt later. So the beat goes on and it seems that this board of selectmen still has advisory Committee on its target deck and wants to go around it and not follow Town by-laws, they still feel like they are the superior board." You can make the call as to how you see it.

posted by Jeff Bennett

Since Templeton is going to be looking for more debt to replace a sewer pumping station, I hope they are looking into this:

Sewer Rate Relief Fund - FY2017

The Division of Local Services has released Bulletin 2016-04B: Sewer Rate Relief Fund - FY2017. It can be found by clicking here.

The Sewer Rate Relief Fund operates under the provisions of Chapter 29 Section 2Z of the General Laws. The Fund was created in 1993 to mitigate escalating costs of sewer service in the Commonwealth. Awards were based on "eligible debt service" and were calculated at up to 20% of debt service. For FY2017, $1.1 million has been appropriated. Applications must be returned by Friday, October 28th, 2016 to the address noted in the bulletin.

posted by Jeff Bennett

My hope is for the next special Town meeting, we do not hear "the sound of silence"


posted by Jeff Bennett

Looking back at a meeting and election, November 9, 2015, special town meeting for school - 356 voters present with 236 yes votes (2/3 majority) and at the special election in December 8, 2015 - there were 1405 voters with 806 yes votes and 597 no votes. At the annual election in May 2016, there were 685 voters! Annual town meeting in May 2016 there were 65 voters??? Those numbers seem to indicate there was more interest and concern about the school than the next three years of Templeton. That being said, I still believe Templeton voters deserve an opportunity to state again how they feel via a vote, especially with the latest financial information available. I still am of the belief that some, if not all of this information was hidden or overlooked in order for a positive school vote. That is my personal opinion! I am still waiting on a new 2015 annual town report that contains a report from the Town treasurer and Town accountant. I am also still thinking of the financial presentation by the selectmen to the Town meeting, the 2017 budget, so called.


posted by Jeff Bennett

This is an interesting item found on the website of MSBA, under projects for Narragansett regional district. It has the appearance that the district paid for repairs to Phillipston elementary school or at least it looks as thought the district received a reimbursement from MSBA. This is something to look into because it raises the question as to why the district did not do the same thing for Templeton elementary schools. Per the regional agreement, any amount over $5,000.00 in costs puts the repair or work solely on the Town.



school name           MSBA ID            project      Phase         total           rate         MSBA         Total    
                                                            type                            cost                            paid             MSBA

Phillipston Memorial

201107200003G

Green Repair

Final Audit Approved

$161,232

59.84 %

$78,095

$81,401

This is worth some phone calls.

posted by Jeff Bennett

from the site of MSBA: for your informational purpose.

MSBA Board Approves $22.9M Grant for New Templeton Center Elementary School

November 18, 2015

State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts School Building Authority  (MSBA), and MSBA Chief Executive Officer Maureen Valente today announced that the MSBA Board of Directors voted to approve a grant of up to $22.9 million for the new Templeton Center Elementary School. One of the next steps is for the District and the MSBA to enter into a Project Funding Agreement, which will detail the project’s scope and budget, along with the conditions under which the District will receive its MSBA grant.

“Upon completion, the new school in Templeton will provide a 21^st century learning environment for area students,” Treasurer Goldberg said. “Our goal is to create the best space to deliver the district’s educational commitments and goals.”
 
The new 92,735 square-foot school will be built based on a design enrollment of 580 students in Kindergarten through grade 5. The MSBA will contribute 63.11% of eligible costs toward the project, for a total grant of up to $22,928,897. The current school was built in 1942 and suffers from deficiencies in major building systems including mechanical, electrical, plumbing and windows.
 
“The new Templeton Center Elementary School will replace an aging building with a modern learning facility,” stated Chief Executive Officer Valente. “Students will soon have a beautiful new space which will undoubtedly enhance and improve their ability to excel in the classroom.”
 
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,650 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $11.7 billion in reimbursements for school construction projects.

The grant is up to, which means no more than and does not really mean 22.9 million, it means no more than. It is also 63.11% of eligible costs, not 63.11% of the total cost of the project. Big difference there.

posted by Jeff Bennett

On Wednesday evening, September 21, 2016, the Advisory Committee took up a motion for discussion. It was about the school and whether we should recommend or propose to Town meeting to rescind the prior Town meeting vote of November, 9, 2015. Speaking for myself, it was from a financial perspective. You would have to ask the other members about their reason or vote. If this question were to make it to Town meeting floor, there would be two options; vote yes to rescind that vote and that would put into motion things to stop that project. A no vote, if in the majority would effectively be a second yes vote for the project, then we could all watch the school be built at the location of Templeton Center. The Advisory Committee did not start any petition. Any citizen is able and free to make such a move and that is our democratic process. If the information given at the first meeting, on November 9, 2015 was correct, proper and not a used car sales pitch, there should be no worry about a second yes vote happening. There is an opening for one member on the Advisory Committee. All you need do is show up at a meeting and inquire. The committee can appoint it's own members when there is an opening 30 days after Town meeting.

It is up to the selectmen to place or not, items on the warrant for a town meeting. The original school vote happened on a special town meeting so there should be no issue for having a second vote on a special town meeting. So before there is a big uproar on this topic, we should wait to see what the selectmen choose to do. That is the first step in the process.


posted by Jeff Bennett