HOLDEN — The flooding caused by busy beavers off Quinapoxet Street, combined with a collapsed culvert under the road, will keep the road closed likely until the end of January, Town Manager Peter Lukes said.
“It’s been a long process,” Lukes told selectmen at their Dec. 11 meeting, with the need to exterminate the beavers, remove their dams and then determine that the culvert had collapsed.
The town has bid and now contracted for the work, while Tannery Brook keeps flowing even if it has to flow over the road.
“We’re waiting for the giant pipes to build the culvert and a final permit,” Lukes said.
He said he anticipated work starting shortly, estimating about 30 days before it is completed.
“By the end of January, we should have it open once again,” he said.
School budget
The Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen are working together on the budget that most affects the town’s spending, the school budget. They plan to send a letter to the school district on the town positions as discussion and planning start for the budget voters will face in the spring.
Paul Challenger, chair of the Finance Committee, told selectmen that the district had issues it was working on, having used most of its savings in the past year’s budget.
“New staff have been patching things up,” he said of the fiscal discoveries.
“They are caught up on their audits and filing with the state,” Challenger said, “but they used available cash to fill holes they found.”
Selectman Anthony Renzoni said he was concerned about the schools’ request next year starting higher since the budget used nonrecurring tax revenue.
With suggestions there would have to be a conversation about an override before the town reaches its tax levy limit, Challenger noted that the town had gone 35 years without passing a Proposition 2½ override.
“I’m appreciative of the transparency from the district,” Selectman Geri Herlihy said of the new administration.
Chairman Stephanie Mulroy praised the efforts to keep the lines of communication open and transparency in the process.
“The School Committee traditionally starts their process in January,” member Stephen Curran, a former school board member, said. “The sooner they hear (from town) the better.”
Light department report
The board approved the budget for the Holden Municipal Light Department at $16.7 million, with a capital budget of $3.4 million. The department is funded by ratepayers, not taxes.
The board also approved the light department joining a services cooperative.
HMLD highlights for the year include:
Two major storms in January and February cost $150,683, with outside crews and mutual aid helping to restore power;
Purchased all new flags and poles for Memorial Day;
New lights and bows to redo wreaths for the holidays;
Signed a battery storage contract, which should be in operation in October 2024;
The Bullard Street project and Chaffins substation project were fully completed; and
Holden now has 106 solar accounts.
