Also at Special Town Meeting: Home sale, meals tax vote

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October 1, 2009

By Bethany Bray

Town Meeting voters will decide whether they support a plan to sell and move a 154-year-old home at 16 Pearson St., clearing the property to make way for a municipal parking lot.

Warrant article 4, which would allow selectmen to sell the Pearson Street home but not the land it sits on, is one of eight articles that will go before residents at an Oct. 7 Special Town Meeting.

In June, selectmen voted to deem town-owned lots at 16 and 18 Pearson St. as "surplus," or no longer needed for municipal purposes, setting in motion plans to clear the properties for a parking lot for the public safety center and library patrons.

Town Meeting approval is the last step needed to sell the historic home at 16 Pearson St. to a buyer who would agree to move it, preferably within Andover, said Assistant Town Manager Steve Bucuzzo.

"It's cost avoidance because we don't have to spend to destroy the building and have it hauled away," said Bucuzzo. "It's providing a better solution. If we put the bid out and there's no takers, we've done our due diligence, and could end up demolishing it next summer."

The home at 16 Pearson St. was built in 1855 by two local railroad workers with the last names Hardy and Cole. It has sat empty, along with 18 Pearson St., since Town Meeting voters gave approval to buy the properties in 2007.

Because No. 18 does not have the historical significance of No. 16, it will probably be demolished, said Bucuzzo.

Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski has said several people have expressed interest in purchasing the home at 16 Pearson St. In situations like this, where the buyer is absorbing the cost of moving a building, the purchase price can be very low, even $1, said Bucuzzo.

If passed at next week's Town Meeting, Bucuzzo said bidding for 16 Pearson St. will open in November or December, with a goal of having the building removed or demolished next summer.

WHAT'S ON THE WARRANT

Article 1: Request by Town Manager to change writing on bronze tablet in honor of William Madison Wood at Wood Park in Shawsheen Square.

Article 2: Request by Planning Director to amend bylaws governing private property on Main Street sidewalks, allowing privately owned flower pots, planters and urns.

Article 3: Request by Planning Director to amend bylaws governing outdoor dining to require that all furniture must be secured during the hours it is not in use.

Article 4: Request by Town Manager to sell home at 16 Pearson St.

Article 5: Request by resident John Zipeto to adopt a .75 percent local meals excise tax. The increase, which was narrowly defeated about five weeks ago, at the Aug. 31 Special Town Meeting, would equate to an extra 75 cents on a $100 restaurant tab. Zipeto says the idea would bring in new revenue and diversify from the town's reliance on property tax income.

Article 6: Request by School Committee to amend the appropriation to this year's Capital Projects Fund. Reducing technology expenses approved at May Town Meeting as part of the Capital Projects Fund is being discussed by the School Committee as a way to help balance the budget. On Tuesday Sept. 29, School Committee Chairwoman Debra Silberstein said nothing had been decided, but delaying the purchase of laptop computers or leasing technology equipment instead of purchasing has been discussed.

"If the School Committee decides this is an area we want to contribute to reduce the deficit, a motion would be made at Town Meeting to reduce the Capital Projects Fund by whatever amount we decide," said Silberstein.

The committee could make a motion to withdraw the warrant article, she said.

Article 7: Request by Town Manager to balance this year's operating budget. The budget must be balanced before the town's property tax rate can be set.

Article 8: Request by Town Manager to transfer $400,000 appropriated this year for water main construction and reconstruction to water reserves. Andover's water department is operated like a business, and its enterprise fund, or reserves, is kept separate from the town's operating budget. In May, Town Meeting voters authorized the transfer of $500,000 from the water enterprise fund to be used to construct or repair water mains in town.

Article 8 asks for $400,000 of this money to instead be put into the water reserves. If approved, the measure would leave $100,000 for the water main repairs and construction.

"The money is for new construction or repairs, but there is no current water main emergency. It's an ongoing project," said Finance and Budget Director Anthony Torrisi.

The $400,000 is needed because the water reserve account has a zero balance. The "industry standard," said Torrisi, is to keep 20 percent of annual costs in reserves, which would be $1.5 million - a far cry from zero.

The reserves have been drawn down over several years for capital projects and to keep the water rate stable, he said. The rainy summer also led to less water being used and, therefore, less income.

To read the full warrant, go to www.andoverma.gov and click on "October 7th Special Town Meeting Warrant" under the "News, Events & Notices" box. The Finance Committee report, which includes further details, the full warrant and a letter from the Finance Committee, was mailed to every Andover home this week.