Revised Marblehead projects take center stage at finance meet

MARBLEHEAD – Some taxpayers are already drawing battle lines over two of this year’s debt exclusion override articles: revised plans for a $25.8 million Glover School and a $15.1 million landfill cap and transfer station.That was made clear during discussion of the articles in this year’s Town Warrant at this week’s Finance Committee meeting.Proposals for a $28.8 million Glover School and a $22 million landfill and transfer station project were approved at Town Meeting last year but failed to win approval in a 10-question June debt override election.Debt exclusion overrides will also be needed this year to fund Articles 33, 34 and 35 – soil testing and clean-up connected with the former town landfill – and Article 28, which would make the Old Town House handicapped-accessible.Jack Buba, who led last year’s anti-override group, “Not Now, We’re in a Recession,” spoke on both major projects on behalf of a group he called Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility.He commended the sponsors of both projects for the reductions they had made, then reminded the Finance Committee of last year’s voting results and called on them to show “leadership.””The Finance Committee represents the citizens of the town,” Buba said. “We can’t afford all of them. Which one is an emergency? If they’re all an emergency how is this group representing the will of the people?”Director of Public Health Wayne Attridge reminded the committee earlier that the town is under a state order to cap the landfill and could face as much as $625,000 in fines in the first year if the plan is rejected.