On
December 18th, the MMA (Massachusetts Municipal Association)
released a report
on the need to increase Chapter 90 funding. Citing a $362 million funding gap,
MMA is calling for an increase of $100 million to fund the state’s Chapter 90
program.
Chapter
90 was created in 1973 and funded with a portion of the gas tax. Chapter 90
funding has not kept pace with the increased costs for road construction. The
gas tax revenue has been adversely affected by increase in hybrid and
fuel-efficient vehicles.
Cities
and towns are notified in the spring of their Chapter 90 allotment for the
coming year. It is a requirement that all cities and towns be notified by
April. So far, so good. Too good to be true? Yup. Notification is not the same thing as release of the Chapter 90 money. There have been years when Chapter
90 money has not been released until July or August…halfway through the
construction season.
STIP Projects – aka “TIP
List”
TIP
projects are projects like the Baldwinville Rd. reconstruction project. Chapter
90 money was used to fund the engineering and design costs for Baldwinville Rd.
The STIP program is a combination of state
and federal monies to fund the road improvements.
STIP
projects are programmed through the regional planning commissions; in
Templeton’s case -the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission .
More information can be found at the Mass
DOT website .
So what does this mean for
Templeton?
We
have limited Chapter 90 funds, which are controlled by the BOS and administered
by the Highway superintendent. The BOS must vote to expend any and all Chapter
90 money. Chapter 90 money can be expended to fund the engineering and the
design costs for projects like the Baldwinville Rd. project, which is then
funded by the STIP program for construction. Chapter 90 money can be expended
by a vote by the BOS to fix local roads …like the roads in East Templeton….over
the vociferous objections of the water department.
The
BOS can vote to do a neighborhood project like Back Bay in Baldwinville, which
is funded by CDBG Block grants. The town uses Chapter 90 money to leverage a
larger grant. Pros – fix water, drainage problems in an older neighborhood that
qualifies by income. Cons- concentrate limited Chapter 90 money in one area of
town…neglecting the road improvement needs of other areas in town.
Bad Roads
Raise
your hand, if you feel you live on the worst road in Templeton. Wow. Ok. It
looks as if ALL of you feel you live on the worst road in town. How can that
be? I guess all of the roads in town are in pretty bad shape. You can put your
hands down now.
One
caveat – Chapter 90 money can NOT,
as in NOT, be spent on unaccepted
roads, easements, right of ways, and/or driveways. No way, no how!
My
litmus test for lousy roads is: did traversing that road just shake a filling
loose? Our family vehicles are vintage. I am not familiar with vehicles that
have suspension or are aligned. Using the loose filling test, the worst roads
in Templeton are (in no particular order): Otter River Rd, Orchard Lane,
Royalston Rd., Barre Rd has lost its crown (no pun intended), and South Rd.
Royalston
Rd. is problematic for a number of reasons. Royalston Rd traverses the back of
the Templeton Development Center(TDC). It is a county road and the state, in
its infinite wisdom gave control of that road to the town of Templeton with the
dissolution of county government. County government by any other name –
regionalization; but I digress. The uncertain future of the TDC makes it
difficult to figure out how to proceed to fix Royalston Rd. If rumors are true,
and a prison is sited at TDC, wouldn’t it be better to have the state fix that
road? It would take about 6 years of Chapter 90 money, at the current
allocation to fix Royalston Rd. The
other option is to place Royalston Rd. on the TIP list – a 10-year process.
Orchard
Lane, Schoolhouse Rd in ET are doable projects with Chapter 90 money. Otter
River Rd. would need to be done in phases with Chapter 90 money.
All
of the above scenarios assume the town is solvent and not in receivership.
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
Please, do not put Bud Chase in charge of any big projects.
ReplyDeletePlease please please do not put Virginia Wilder in charge of anything...especially road projects. Potholes have higher IQs
ReplyDeletePlease Please do not put Dana B, Jerry Skelton, Carol S, Bubba Columbas, Dennis OB, Scappy or VW in charge of anything, we would like to keep the shirts on our backs. Other words we can't afford anymore DEBT.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the conversations are like when VW, Dennis O'Brien and Bob Columbus get together. Probably lots of nodding heads and grunting. O'Brien has that dumbass smirk all the time too. I'm serious though, I wonder what it's like to hear these people exchange thoughts. Dana isn't really part of that group, but seeing him and Columbus try to cover John Driscoll's ass at LW was worth the price of admission.
ReplyDeleteIts about time we start running the town like a multi million dollar bussiness .because if you STOP and think about it,thats what it is . The first thing we need to do is stop letting BUD CHASE tell us were we are going to spend OUR money . This man has proven time and again that he has very little construction knowledge ,yet we let him run amuck spending OUR money where he feels fit . Its time that his list of priority streets for fixing are put in order by his bosses ,with the help of public input . Example - look at the newest roads in town with all the cracks getting bigger every day . Why would you not put cracksealer in them before there gone completely ? ANSWER Bad management at the highway .
ReplyDeleteSorry Dude, but you cannot deflect negative attention away from the light dept and onto the highway dept. Its not gonna fly here. Bud has brought up fixing the roads time and time again to the BOS. If you went to the meetings or watched them on tv you'd know that. He does the best he can with the direction and money he gets. Your attempt at manipulating our attention is lame. Try again.
DeleteHello danabobscrappvirjerrytodd when is the next whipping of the highway guys scheduled. I guess we better wait till they finish cleaning up after water breaks eh?.. then before they get an atta boy kick em a few times. That should make you feel better.
DeleteYou can blame the people at the water department for not replacing the infrastructure when they should before a big paving project. Just you wait, Baldwinville Road is going to be beautiful for about a month before the water mains start erupting left and right. It doesn't matter who is in chrage if you are paving over faulty aging water lines you're going to have roads that are patched up and cracked to hell.
ReplyDeleteWow your so busy tonight A person. why not get to the real point and let us know who you are! It will make you feel better, I can answer all the missinformation you post here and will be glad to do in private with you! I can say this about the most of the posted info or opinions are false!
ReplyDeleteI can not comment as to highway issues I'm involved with ,but can say that nobody wanted all infrastructure done more than Bud. The facts are the facts and he who knows them can share them all at the correct time!
Don't be to quick to start the bus and drive if you don't know the facts!
The state pulled the plug after we spent alot on engeneering for baldwinville road and now it's just pave or nothing! Water lines alone are a million a mile. Want a school or water lines. Ask about our Debt we have now and try to borrow more? We need the town to get on a track that has some control over the complete checkbook and include the light and water into the debt discussion!
If you owe more than your worth,loans are not the answer. The former gs team has been warned and warned by other selectmen about the debt and budget problems on the horizon but chose to belittle them and brush them off! You and I let him do just that! Thats part of the reason I've got involved and will stay involved. As long as we sit idle and only bitch it will get worse, Sorry Templeton I/WE have been sleeping and just woke up! I hope others will too, and support the efforts by the C4T group and get to vote to change things we/you need changed.If your troubled by the cracks in the roads, think about the cracks in the foundation of Templeton,The checkbook! We need full control of it by the selectboard and soon!
The petition to abolish the light and water commissioners will do just that!
Run it like a business is the one true thing here thats for sure!
Shareholder
Dave Smart
I was wondering if those millions of dollars Kopelman and Paige and Erving Paper Mills allegedly swindled the town out of (twenty five million and counting) will have any effect on our bottom line? Sure glad we shoved it up the Sewer Commissioners ass when we had a chance to at town meeting in 2007 by not listening to the only town reps who actually read the documents surrounding the case. Hope the State Attorney General's office does the right thing and holds these two corporations accountable.
DeleteYou sound bitter Baldwin. I am sure that our State officials will look into this matter and hold these two companies accountable. We just need to have some faith in our elected State officials who are looking out for our best interests. Merry Christmas everyone!!
DeleteBaldwin has a right to be bitter. Having faith in our elected officials got us into this mess in the first place. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So – Squeak on Baldwin! Persistence is the key. The greedy were well prepared when they screwed the town but we are catching up to them. The washing machine is loaded and starting the first cycle. Too bad for the gang that the dryer is located in a cell, but that is where they put it themselves. Hope they enjoy what could be their last “free” Christmas!
DeleteI dont know were you all think your going with this light and water seperation crap , but I do know you will NEVER get it done ! The management at light and water do more in a week than the rest of you do in a year for this town .
ReplyDeleteDana, be prepared to defend yourself and the management at Town Meeting. Kiss your stipend and reign of stupidity goodbye.
ReplyDeleteI think I am right, if not correct me, but one of the things we eliminated from the budget lasst MAY was crack filling money. Looking back, I think that was a mistake. There is a large section of South Road that has a huge crack right down the middle. Once the water gets in there and freezes, that will be the end of that section of rd. that should have lasted a lot longer. As far as the rest of the stuff that has been commented on, lets put it this way, we will do what we have to to keep out town afloat. There is not going to be any question of if or how we do it. There are going to be huge changes to every department, like it or not. The gravy train has run off the track, and the result will be changes to the water and light because they are as much a part of this town as everyone else. Party time is over, yes we are all to blame in one way or the other, but there is no way most of us would have ever thought we would be conned, by the people we trusted! That is pretty dam sad, and it will never happen again. I think you should get off Buds back. He is doing as much as he can with a limited budget. Not every dept. has the money to spend like the Light Dept. That could change, time will tell. His department would be golden if we had decent funding. It does not look like that will change any time soon. Bev
DeleteAs we found out at the last town meeting the article 8 passed without any problem! Who would think that when the laws are broken that it's ok? The law breakers!
ReplyDeleteThey would not get up and defend it,just shows what their made of,anonymous 918 if you can tell me one thing that you speek of,I will counter with the laws they are still in violation of!
Your move!
Do you dare air it out?
D P W
ReplyDeleteWhere is the money if your sooo good?
ReplyDeleteboy's club pentions for sure
2nd highest in the state?
Jail HIM
FACTS are FACTS
hee hee hee
918 i agree with you. These people think they kniw whats happening but they really dont. If the good guus in the line get their pension taken away cause some idiot is jeleous then si be it it! I agree though, that there is enough bright idividuals in this town that it wint happen! Preach in morons!
ReplyDeleteI just watched the Monday BOS meeting on youtube. Dennis O'Brien is unbelievable. Kirk asked: "Dennis, do you know that for sure, or are you just guessing," which is a polite way of saying you sound like you don't know what the hell your'e talking about. And I love how Scrappy asks questions of the fire chief, because he actually thinks its something he knows about. Way to go Scraps
ReplyDeleteI know,have the light and water meetings at the town hall and put it on tv to show all the town people what up!
ReplyDeleteLets hear about the recloser for the 5th time,the web site ? stop counting, at least they post on town web site! would like for the town to hear answers to budget questions!
How much they spent to find out if they legally had to share documents and the budget info thats public info!
What about the letters from the selectman's office that never got signed, julie has very good question and they should be answered! When do we get the letters signed and sent? We will get more deliberately obtuse answers.
Why no gansett windturbine audit yet?
probably can get the meeting room for no charge, free camera man!
Yes 11:00P.M. Having the meetings at Light and Water televised would be a wonderful idea. I think you would have to tie these guys to the chairs to get them to do that. Ok Anonymous 10:29, you think you are so smart, who would you put in office? The fools that put us in the mess we are in now?? Who would have more brains than Julie, or more determination than Jeff. What is wrong with giving Julie the answers she is looking for? Oh yes, the answers may be really bad, thats why. I think the Light and Water meeting was no real meeting at all. I think that was for "SHOW". Do I think they would let us have any indication of what is really going on, not on your life. The real meeting was held when we were not in the room. Remember the first meeting we went to on Bridge Street? Driscoll was shocked to see us there, the meeting was over in a heart beat. So was the next one we went to, that one they went into executive session, as soon as the meeting started. Keep digging your heels in, and trying to stop the community from knowing the truth. Hide the facts about the turbine, and all of those things and more, will come back to bite you big time. It will come out in the wash. Bev
DeleteThere is a difference between clamoring for more money to fix roads and having the ability to accomplish that task. Bud screws up everything he touches. He's not a planner, shoots from the hip, and makes poor decisions. If you want people to pass an overide, get a new highway super, one that people believe can actually accomplish something.
ReplyDeleteSo you think that Bud screws up everything he touches, not a planner, shoots from the hip, and makes poor decisions? How about some examples you, A-1:01. can share?
DeleteConvince me, the way Pauly's blog has conviced me that Gerry's gang planned to ruin the town, shot the town in the hip and made selfish decisions.
Ok #1 how much money did it REALLY cost the town when the highway did the work at the senior center .LABOR,FUEL MACHINE TIME ,INSURANCE COST ,ETC. DONT FORGET TO ADD THE DAMAGE TO THE RENTED {BORROWED} machine . #2 how much money do you think we are really saving by the purchase of a screening plant once again dont forget to add up all the other expences . IF YOU CAN ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS WITH REAL NUMBERS then i have a lot more to ask you .
DeleteHey Anonymous 5:08
DeletePut your questions in writing and ask the BOS for a report. Maybe the selectmen will get back to you when they get the report on the water breaks that happened in JULY from the MFIC
A - 1;01/5:08-
Delete#1 - You ask how much money did it really cost the town when the highway did the work at the senior center. Well I don’t know – please inform us and maybe you can convince someone of your point. Yelling will convince no one.
#2 - You ask how much money do I think we are really saving by the purchase of a screening plant. Once again I don’t know – please inform us and maybe you can convince someone of your point. Yelling will convince no one.
Also you have yet to convince me that Bud screws up everything he touches, is not a planner, shoots from the hip, and makes poor decisions. Please use facts that the uninformed can understand to make your case. Yelling will convince no one.
Hey anonymous 5:08 you just have sour grapes because the people voted for a senior center and not 252 Baldwinville Rd
DeleteA 11:34 I have not been in favor of the 252 project from the start . and in case you are wondering i am a senior myself and have been for some time . It dosnt mean i cant have a opinion of my own ,and still ask questions . or is that not allowed ?
DeleteAsking questions is certainly allowed, however if you are the same “A-1:01/5:08” from above you still have not answered your own questions that you led us to believe that you had answers to and I am still waiting to be convinced by you. Everyone is also allowed opinions, but are those opinions supported by facts or are those opinions just conjecture?
DeleteA 3;46 lets clear the air . 5;08 was a question not a statement supported by facts .I was wondering if anyone had the answer . Do you know ?
DeleteMaybe we need leaders at the Selectmen post instead of people trying to screw the town every chance they get or cover for "Dear Friends". Our employees take their cues from their elected officials these officials need to place their town first not their own agendas.
ReplyDeletewell anonymous,Ibelieve I didjust what you suggest. Any electedofficial whomakes over 5000 dollars per year was / is eligible to partake in worcester retirement system. I campaigned against paying us and worked to get rid of elected pay. Too bad we had to waste over a year to open the books on Templeton. Light & water can be rearranged, it is up to townmeeting. Unfortunately, that also may take another year to complete, as we have to wait on Beacon hill. All the Highway department needs is direction from the select board. In the past, the board was quick to give remarks about Bud but short on direction. Almost like they used him as a whipping boy to deflect from other issues from time to time. I recall the selectboard telling bud they wanted more accountability of the department, then there was talk about tomuch micromanagement from select board. There was lack of follow up on what little direction was given. Perhaps now with a more functioning advisory board, the select board will actually comeup with a plan and give direction and ensure it is followed. One needs to look at the debt that water is carrying then come up with a way to begin to fix ailing infrastructure. It is apparent we will not be able to count on chapter 90 monies. Look for the subject of a mileage tax or fee to surface in the commonwealth. Vermont is already looking at it because of shortages in the funds needed to maintain or build new roads and bridges. Yes folks a tax on the number ofmiles you drive. Can't keep the funds available through gas tax because of declining saleof gallonage. Of course here in massachusetts, expect to see talk of raising gas tax as well. Statehouse news has an article about a rep in troubleover ballot tampering. A short time ago some officials in masshighway were/are in trouble with scamming taxpayers. Highway director out of district 3 in Worcester. Templeton is not alone in being less than open and honest. One thing is for sure, before anything is fixed such as roads, water etc, we have to decide on a funding source. Are people willing to pay more for better roads and water lines? Management, cuts and budgets will only take us so far. We cannot borrow our way out as we are already way above our debt limit, thank you past officials. One thing is for sure, it the infrastructure problems are not dealt with,Baldwinville road will probably not be worth what was spent on it already. My thoughts and opinions.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of the size of the room and how close we were to over capacity last time. What if we invite them to selectman's office meeting room and tell them the customers are more and more every time.We only needed 2 more last meeting! If the boys don't play nice/nice we show them the control of the customers!
ReplyDeleteselectmans meetings were a proof of how the voter can help the situations.
Lets say they won't be compliant for meetings after spending ?$ on the new building there!
What no room big enough for the meetings? Explain the 181,000 for office equipment and furniture, Selectman's office only got 1000. per desk. Maybe the e.t. school would be a good place for their offices and the selectman can move into the light bld! "Sure"do a little bootstraping and we can save them the 50,000 for rent!
Lets vote on it!
This crap about bud is only deflection and the problems were hatched at the light dept!
It's in black and white and posted here on pauly's blog!
Thanks Julie and Jeff! Were on the right path!
The "right" to vote!
Shareholder
Dave Smart
kirt you sly dog! did'nt get to bid on it?
ReplyDeletelabor time insurance fuel are all costs that were being incurred no matter where highway was working. If a private contractor had done the work, taxpayers would have paid the bill on top of the labor insurance etc expenses of the highway department. Taxpayers pay for highway no matter what they are doing. A screening plant can always be resold. It was used to screen quite a bit of loam and some of it was used by the cemetary & parks for work on the common, saving taxpayers from buying it. I happen to believe the way to save money on snow & ice is to get away from using sand & salt and just use plain salt and liquid cal. It costs more but you use less if you know how and you do not spend money on fuel and wear & tear on roads hauling sand, mixing sand with salt, spreading it which it has zero deicing qualities, you have to sweep it up in spring and dig it out of drain basins. a time consuming and fuel using concern when the highway could be doing needed maintenance on trucks like washing them several times and getting them ready for summer work. This will be a conversion process that I believe will save money in the long run. So, anonymous, you have questions, we have answers, nice try though. Sort of like Gerald skelton telling folks the new town hall was going to be cheaper when in fact their numbers showed it was going to cost $50,000.00 more per year than what we have now and that was just based on payments, what if something happened at the "new" building. Plus that $96,000.00 was going to come out of the present budget because of how money was going to be borrowed, a real formula for disaster. NEXT!
ReplyDeleteThe highway should not be doing projects of that scope! They should be fixing our roads and thats it! I pay too much tax to be driving on crappy roads. Why cant this town do anything right? Duct tape fixes are a norm around here and it is pathetic! Jeff start doing your job rather than blabbering on about this and that. JF JB and crew are all show and no go! You talk what you think is a good game but never pull the trigger! The highway dept in this town is a disgrace and it starts at the top! A town of our caliber should be alot better off than we currently aee and i blame the current leaders for it!
DeleteA12/23 8:03 - Read Jeff Bennett's explaination below for some of your answers. Please also remember that the tax rate in Templeton has been artificially low ever since Prop 2 ½ was passed. Your taxes are not as high as they should be, plain and simple. This is one fo the reasons why we are in so much trouble now. The Echo hill gang wanted to get all this new stuff without raising the tax rate above the normal 2 ½ percent. So they put us in extreme debt instead. Who knows if this was intentional but it is what happened. It sure seems like they were trying to make themselves look good and pad their pay and retirement without care for the long term consequences to the town as a whole. So blaming JF, JB and crew is just plain incorrect.
Deletekirk?
ReplyDeleteWhat 's with the kirk? That's Bennett .
ReplyDeleteWhat the Hell did i do now ? MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !
ReplyDeleteKirk - you did what's best for KIRK, as ALWAYS. Merry Christmas you self-serving public servant.
ReplyDeleteCare to explain ? Starting with your name YOU COWARD
DeleteKirk, you got blamed for what I wrote, thanks. Anytime i can make you look good and I always sign my name. At least you write Merry Christmas and not that happy holidays crap. It is Christmas! get over it. My Christmas wish is simple; no pay for selectmen or anyother elected officials, public service equals volunteering. A stocking stuffer for all. I guess the world did not end after all which means taxes have to be paid, damn it!!.
ReplyDeleteWow! Merry Christmas! Pay your taxes Bennett or your name gets posted to the website. I just hope we get the tax bills out before the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 5:57, what the hell, have you been drinking? If you want to beat up on Kirk, have the guts to sign your name. I guess some people are never happy unless they are starting crap. Kirk, look on the bright side, if he is picking on you, he is leaving some one else alone! Merry Christmas Bev.
DeleteI am a senior citizen, working off my tax bill, thank you. Seriously though, with the economic climate, employees ned pay and taxpayers need as much a break as we can give them, although we really can't afford to do either right now which is why, one reason anyway, that I wish any pay and i will continue to push for no pay for elected officials. I only wish we could convince the light commissioners to think that way. Last year, some officials balked at no pay, but I did not see many people resign so we can have elected people without paying them. I hope taxpayers show up at town meeting this May and pay attention to thier budget. First question for any candidate is, "how do you feel on pay for this position?" Taxpayers may wish to look at last years selectmen meeting before town meeting when there was discussion on budget and selectmen pay. I believe it was under the 2 different warrant articles, one without an override and one with override. With override, there was salary amount for selectmen and when question was brought up, it was revealed that only a couple of selectmen were looking for pay. If one watches dvd and I will try to pinpoint which meeting it was, you can see selectmen backpeddling, at least that is how it looked to me. Ah, Ms Farrell, no taxes here in Afghanistan. Make sure you do your online training or no soup for you!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, Ah last I checked, I and Julie Farrell did pull the trigger (bad analogy considering things by the way) I believe we voted to let carol skelton go and after last years town meeting fiasco, I believe history shows we did the right thing. See I have actual paper work to back up what I say. Please check the records on how the water department got in the financial hole they are in, I believe the name gerald skelton was in charge back then. I believe the record shows carol skelton was town coordinator and her husband was a seectmen, chairman even and he signed off on pay increases for his wife, I have the paper records to prove that. I believe you can find a paid article in the gardner news, written and paid for by me, Jeff Bennett that some say cost gerald skelton the election in 2010. So from 2004 to 2010 and 2011, there was a skelton in town hall and I recall it was always "a balanced budget with no layoffs and not tax increase, so how did the town end up millions of dollars, long and short term in debt above the debt limit? Who cost taxpayers 14 thousand dollars to fire someone who then turned around and came back to work for the town? Julie Farrell was not a selectmen and I fought very hard against that action. Who pushed for and was there to insist, push for and vote for no pay for elected officials? Jeff Bennett thats who! On whos watch did the "reman a cruiser" take place on? You know, the move that saved taxpaers around ten thousand dollars or more. ( I will have to check the vote and warrant for exact number) I can go on and on but it even you anonymous should get the point. As for the highway dept, Gerald Skelton was there when they almost did not reappoint bud chase as higway director, it is outlined in the gardner news and it even has gerald skelton quoted as saying there was an agreement, in essence a meeting of selectmen before the meeting to discuss that item. You should have been at the advisory meetings where it was evident that noone on the board knew what the hell they were doing except the bidding of a few selectmen and town coordinator. I know, I was sitting there watching eyes and heads nodding then listened to the votes and the proff is on paper. Want me to continue? If it was not for bob columbus virginia wilder pat mullins and all of the people who took part in the whole recall process, from the people who took out the petition to all who signed it, Templeton would not have wasted over a year doing nothing. Why we are looking at paper work, perhaps since you are so well informed, perhaps you can expalin how over 200 grand was spent from the elementary school feasibility study was spent with nothing to show for it? Wh was on that committee? Who were selectmen? What name signed a contract with SBS obligating the town for almost a million dollars when only 550 thousand was voted for it. The same gentleman who signed off on pay increases for his wife. There is more but duty calls, I will write a blog on this later
ReplyDeleteJeff - a Merry Christmas to you. Thank you for your service.
ReplyDelete