Lynnfield Town Meeting takes up sports complex proposal

LYNNFIELD – Lynnfield residents will voice their opinion on a 24-article warrant at the annual Town Meeting tonight that includes measures to allocate money to start work on an athletic fields complex and approve the budget for the next fiscal year.Town Administrator William Gustus said the budget for the next spending cycle, which starts on July 1, is the first in five years that does not result in town service cutbacks.Through additional revenue and a balance of the requests from each department, Gustus said the fiscal year 2013 budget features the restoration of the full-time assessor position and the library?s assistant director position, three additional police patrolmen by next spring and increased hours and funding to the senior center.?It was actually a good budget, an enjoyable one to work on, because for the first time in a number of years, I didn?t have to use the ?no? word as often as I have in the previous few years,” he said.Gustus said he can?t say with certainty how the new budget will be approved, but that he sees no reason Town Meeting would strike it down.?[The taxpayers] value their services and they?ve never shirked their responsibility to pay for them,” he said.The final article on the Town Meeting Warrant is a request to transfer $100,000 from the sale of real estate funds to pay for the planning and development of an athletic fields complex that could also host other recreational sites, such as a walking trail or a dog park. Gustus said for about eight years there has been the same number of fields for youth sports but a rise in participants.?This provides us with an opportunity to alleviate the overcrowding and the scheduling conflicts that can become fierce between these groups,” he said.The initial price tag to start the project will “certainly generate some discussion,” Gustus said.?Every time you propose to spend $100,000 for preliminary planning and feasibility or engineering, people are going to scratch their heads. This is a significant sum of money. This will be their first chance to weigh in if this is something they want or they don?t want,” he said.The warrant also has seven articles that carried over from the October town meeting, which did not reach quorum and was not rescheduled.Monday?s Town Meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Lynnfield Middle School, 505 Main St. The meeting warrant can be found on the town?s website, town.lynnfield.ma.us.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].