MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead Select Board discussed the potential impact of noncompliance with Chapter 3A, voted on Tuesday, on town projects, as funds issued by current and pending state grants are now uncertain.
“It’s not just about the money,” said Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer. “It’s about the benefits, for the community, of the projects that this money is for. That’s the real impact on the community.”
As residents rejected the zoning districts detailed by 3A by a margin of 345 votes on Tuesday, the town faces a $1.28 million loss in state grants and is at risk of losing $345,792 in existing grants.
Kezer listed a number of projects and services that will likely be impacted by the loss of funds, including but not limited to the shipyard resilience improvement plan, the community bike rack installations, and the fiber “loop,” to reach all municipal facilities, even those in the neck of the town.
Another $3 million in pending state grant applications is also at risk. Efforts to secure funding are a priority, the Board emphasized.
Meanwhile, Kezer urged the Town to push forward with project investments, despite funding uncertainties, to remain seated on the “conveyor belt” of projects until funding.
“It takes years for projects to move along the conveyor belt before it actually gets funded,” he said. “Given our status of noncompliance, the question is whether they are going to take us off the conveyor belt.”
If not, he questioned further, would the town projects continue to ride until “hopefully” reaching compliance by the time they enter the “funding stream?”
Instead of looking only at state funding, Board Member M.C. Moses Grader suggested the Town should also assess its debt capacity “to get these projects going.
“We have a list of project investments that the town really needs,” he said. “So, I think on the investment side, we have to keep our focus, keep pushing forward, regardless of the funding side.”
“We are going to do every effort we can to hold on to the money we can,” Kezer said, as the Town is still updating, in continuous communication with state agencies, any other grants that may be affected.
