LYNNFIELD — A special election will take place today from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to decide on two ballot questions concerning the approval of major projects that were approved in a November Town Hall.
All precincts will be voting at Lynnfield High School, 275 Essex Street.
These projects are the large-scale renovation of the Lynnfield Public Library that will be appropriated $18.3 million for completion and the 10-year roadway improvement program that will be appropriated $12.85 million.
A special town meeting held on Nov. 13 saw these two issues narrowly get the two-thirds affirmative vote it needed to move onto today’s election.
The library renovation project netted 305 yes votes to 89 no votes, a victory that came after public discussion that featured many residents voicing their support for the library while the Finance Committee explained its reasoning behind not recommending.
“A library is essential to any community. It’s not just a want but a serious, a very serious need,” said resident Jonna Casey, an assistant principal and project director for Boston Public Schools during the town meeting.
Along with fixing many longstanding maintenance issues, the renovation project would modernize the building with new features like a dedicated teen room and multiple study spaces.
For the roadway repair and maintenance project, an even tighter vote count of 194 votes in the affirmative to 95 votes in the negative, just a two-vote margin of victory, allowed the proposal to move forward.
Director of Public Works John Scenna presented the details of what the decade long initiative would look like, as well as the significant amount of studying done on the current state of Lynnfield roads.
According to the research done by Beta Engineering, the town is currently ranked near the bottom in terms of roadway conditions.
“If we’re able to increase our roadway program to a level of $2 million dollars a year for a period of 10 years … our roadway ranking will go from the bottom of what Beta sees in communities to the top of the range where Beta sees in communities,” Scenna outlined.
This project would request a 10-Year Capital Debt Exclusion Borrowing equal to $1,285,000 per year for 10 years, which would result in a tax increase equal to $258 for the average assessed home in Lynnfield over the coming decade.
“You can’t get to a library or to a school if you can’t drive down (a road) or your kids can’t ride a bike down a sidewalk,” resident Steve Grasso argued, spurring applause from the crowd in attendance at the town meeting in November.
Now, Lynnfield residents can show whether these important town improvements are worth the hefty price tag they come with.
