Town Meeting members OK capital plan, veto new cemetery backhoe

SAUGUS – Town Meeting members voted in favor of the town?s developing capital plan during several articles at Special Town Meeting, which included denying the Cemetery Commission new equipment.Members started the evening off by voting unanimously to add $1 million from this year?s record-high free cash into the town?s stabilization fund.Town Manager Scott Crabtree brought an expert to present the process of bond rating to support his efforts in a stronger stabilization fund, which he said he hopes to build up to hold between $4 million and $8 million. “The most important thing now is increasing our rating to allow savings long-term, whether we build a new high school or do something with the cemetery or whatnot,” said Crabtree.Voting members also swiftly approved the town embarking in a program with the University of Massachusetts Collins Center to make a five-year capital plan, costing about $30,000. The plan would take inventory of town and school buildings as well as property and equipment.It was an impending capital plan that led to the failure of Article 8, which would have allowed for $108,000 to go to the Cemetery Commission for a backhoe. Commission Chairman Dennis Gould said the backhoe had been an item on the cemetery budget for the last 11 years and that the machine was “leaking hydraulic fluid on the graves.”Crabtree said while he agreed the machine needs to be replaced, he recommended to voting members to wait until there was a plan in place to purchase or lease a large amount of equipment at a discount. He added that besides purchases made in the renovation of Belmonte Middle School, many departments had “dire needs.”?Everyone is trying to get somewhere quickly,” said Crabtree. “I?m confident in a few months we?ll have the information for better prices and make a better use of funds to make a town-wide equipment purchase.”Though some decisions were made quickly at Monday?s meeting, Town Meeting members took an hour and a half to deliberate before approving the Historic Mills District Zoning Overlay Plan, which would amend zoning language to incorporate set zoning rules for the mill district to encourage developers to renovate and preserve the buildings.Though some spoke in favor of the zoning language change, former Town Moderator Bob Long feared voting members would be “giving up their rights” to put the set power of zoning in the hands of the Planning Board. Board Chairman Peter Rossetti echoed the same sentiment.The two were no match for others who shared the thought of Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian, who spoke at length of the plan that he called a “slam dunk” in its incorporation of encouraging developers to preserve the mills and allow for mixed residential and business uses. The vote passed with a heavy majority, 35-3.Member Bob Costin said he was surprised at the length of the discussion. “I thought it was a no-brainer,” he said after the meeting.