Voters Approve All Four Overrides
Local voters approved all four overrides in Thursday's Special Town Election.
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Marblehead residents who made their way to the polls Thursday approved all four overrides on the Special Town Election ballot - meaning the Old Town House will soon be universally accessible; the Fire Department will get their new quint ladder truck; water and sewer officials can move forward with a proposed three-year drainage project; and Marblehead will acquire some new waterfront property.
Here's what you need to know about the overrides:
Question 1: The $4.9 million Drainage Project approved by town voters Thursday is scheduled to begin next year and is aimed at preventing the kind of damage that occurred during flash-flooding in October.
Although FEMA funding may lower the overall cost of the project, those planning the drain work wrote up the proposal assuming Marblehead won't receive any help from the state.
Planned Work Areas:
FY13: Atlantic Avenue; Washington at Atlantic; Spring and Essex.
FY14: Pleasant Street; School Street; Sewall Street; Bessom and Pleasant.
FY15: Garfield Street; Evans Road; Sewall to Pleasant.
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Question 2: The Marblehead Fire Department's request for a new $1.2 million quint ladder truck was granted by town voters Thursday.
The apparatus, which will be equipped with a 100-foot aerial ladder, will cost $1.1 million. The additional $150,000 will go toward training and making sure it pulls into the station with brand new equipment.
Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said he hopes to trade in Engine 3, a 1987 Mack Pumper and move the department's 1997 quint into reserve status.
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Question 3: The $675,000 project to make the Old Town House universally accessible calls for the installation of a three-story elevator and two handicapped bathrooms.
At Town Meeting last month, Selectman Judy Jacobi said she was "thrilled" to announce that the town's Historical Commission had agreed to donate $65,000 toward the project.
Also pitching in for the project is Columbia Pictures, which Jacobi said made a $30,000 donation to the project after filming scenes there earlier this month.
After factoring in those two donations, the overall cost of the project is now $580,168. The cost to a median Marblehead homeowner will be $12.27 a year for the next five years.
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Question 4: The town can now move forward with the purchase of the recently rehabilitated Chadwick Lead Mills property, paving the way for a new waterfront recreation spot in Marblehead.
The 5-acre site, located off of Lafayette Street near the Salem/Marblehead line, will be purchased for approximately $1.6 million. The land acquisition is a collaborative purchase between Marblehead and Salem - with Marblehead paying $1.5 million of the total cost.
Although it would be deemed conservation land and would be maintained by the Marblehead Conservancy, the proposal allows for "passive recreation."
The purchase would cost the median single-family household in Marblehead about $10.57 a year over 20 years.
The site is expected to be an open waterfront meadow with a small attached parking lot.
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Here are the unofficial results, posted Thursday tonight at Abbot Hall:
Question 1 - Drainage Project:
| Precinct | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | TOTAL |
| Yes | 464 | 494 | 351 | 360 | 311 | 414 | 2,394 |
| No | 189 | 180 | 163 | 184 | 153 | 198 | 1,067 |
Question 2 - Quint Ladder Truck:
| Precinct | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | TOTAL |
| Yes | 353 | 373 | 284 | 271 | 275 | 349 | 1,905 |
| No | 297 | 296 | 231 | 263 | 191 | 264 | 1,542 |
Question 3 - Old Town House Renovations:
| Precinct | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | TOTAL |
| Yes | 435 | 402 | 280 | 296 | 243 | 334 | 1,990 |
| No | 221 | 269 | 237 | 247 | 222 | 279 | 1,475 |
Question 4 - Lead Mills Purchase:
| Precinct | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 | TOTAL |
| Yes | 422 | 437 | 342 | 336 | 303 | 423 | 2,263 |
| No | 236 | 234 | 177 | 207 | 162 | 200 | 1,216 |
Do you have a question about the election results? Send them to Marblehead Patch.
In This article
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Abbot Hall, Town of Marblehead
188 Washington St, Marblehead, MA -
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Town of Marblehead - Fire Dept
1 Ocean Ave, Marblehead, MA
Samuel Rothafel
11:53 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
3500 voters out of how many registered?
More than astounding.
John Arnold
7:34 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
On election day we received a prerecorded phone message from Jack Buba claiming that the town had the funds for the override projects and that overrides were not necessary. Is that correct or not? It seems a rather strong claim to be made at the last moment.
Lucky Pierre
8:43 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
millions..millions! MILLIONS!!! when will this insanity end?!!!
Bob Harvey
9:30 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
I guess the third time is the charm for the Old Town House. What did people not understand about no means no. And now buying the old Lead Mills land is a double loss. Not only do we have to pay for it, but we lose tax revenue for any project that may have gone there. Enough is enough!
Dave Johnston
9:54 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
I guess my question would be what do people not understand about the democratic process? It was put to a popular vote and passed. Sorry.
Sheri Shattuck
12:00 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
I love a democracy! Aren't we all lucky to have a voice! Our founding fathers would be very proud!
Mark McSnark
12:32 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
$8 million is not a lot of money
Samuel Rothafel
12:47 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
Its to be expected. Just look at the country. The Zombies who voted for Obama have not a clue as to the economics here and abroad. Spend Spend Spend--other peoples money--- debt debt debt. Support crony capitalism. F@#K the rest of us working to make a go of things. Well the goose is fleeced and will start fighting back. Just wait and see.
John Buba
1:06 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
John Arnold
If you look in the opinion section of Patch (and the Reporter) you will find a letter from a week ago by me explaining exactly how the town has money (savings) and did not need an override.
No one in the town administration disputed this fact – NO ONE - and they had plenty of opportunity.
They have the savings, but want to spend it on other stuff and as long as people keep passing overrides they will continue this process.
The town spends all the tax money on regular things and only pays for borrowing with overrides. They wait until the item is in crisis mode then demand an override because they failed to properly maintain the item in the first place.
Look at the examples:
• Drains that are terrible – this did not happen just last year
• A town dump that fell apart
• Schools that are falling down (Abbott Hall is way older and it is fine because the selectmen make sure that “their house” is maintained.)
• An old town house in disrepair
The goal is to break the Neglect -> Crisis -> Override -> Neglect cycle. The only way is to stop giving in to overrides.
A no vote was to stop the funding mechanism not to stop the projects.
Contact me as marbleheadcfr@gmail.com
DJ
11:18 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I completely agree, this cycle needs to be stopped. It's a pattern repeated continually in town (and BTW, across the state, besides). Managers of town departments don't ever maintain anything properly (look at virtually any school, park, etc.), and then wait until something is totally decrepit and declare it a crisis. How about we have someone paint, caulk, and repair the little bit of wood on the Lower Bell school, cut the invasive weeds ruining the chain link fences at Seaside and Village, paint the rusty, deteriorating sign posts and playground equipment all over town, etc.? We should definitely consider privatizing these functions. The public sector has clearly and consistently demonstrated a failure to plan and an unwillingness to address wear items promptly. This needs immediate improvement.