HOLDEN – At the general election Nov. 8, town voters decided to fund a project to expand recreational facilities from fields to trails.
The tally followed voting at the town meeting in October that approved spending for the planned Dawson area recreational expansion by the needed two-thirds majority.
But it was up to voters who turned out for the Nov. 8 election to give final approval for the the debt exclusion that would provide the funds.
With 9,262 voters participating in the vote, the measure passed with 5,222 in support and 3,644 opposed.
The vote allows the town to move forward with an estimated $5 million borrowing on the $7.7 million project.
It would expand the existing recreation facilities, adding athletic fields and other infrastructure and upgrading existing facilities, including the playground.
The debt exclusion allows for borrowing above Proposition
2 [ h limitations for a limited time; when the project loan is paid off, the extra taxes would go away.
The project would cost the average household, with a home valued at $380,000, about $38 a year, Town Manager Peter Lukes told the 518 voters at the special town meeting before they OK’d the appropriation part of the process.
Actual figures could change, with the tax impact shifting from year to year based on the remaining balance.
Use of other funds, such as ARPA money, could further reduce the price tag for taxpayers.
The project also builds in the use of nontaxpayer funds, including projected revenue from rental of fields and other sources, to trim the impact.
