This year, Town Meeting will be asked in Articles 31-35 to take action relative to certain town buildings and to transfer the control and maintenance of the Gerry School Playground, now known as Elm Street Park, from the Select Board to the Recreation and Park Commission.
Before addressing the articles, it is important to note that, should the town approve Articles 33 and 34 which pertain to roof and related repairs to certain town buildings, the cost to taxpayers associated with such repairs will not result in an increase in existing real estate taxes, according to Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin. That’s because the 25-year high school construction debt service is coming off the tax rolls in FY26, and the amount of annual tax payments associated with this earlier debt exclusion override is greater than will be the combined annual tax payments for these new projects.
Article 31
This article seeks to change the use of the Coffin School building and grounds from school purposes to general municipal purposes and to transfer the care, custody and control of the school to the Select Board, which will then decide whether to reuse or sell the property. When school property is no longer to be used for educational purposes, the Marblehead School Committee has historically transferred oversight and control of that property to the Select Board, including with the Roads, Story and Bell schools.
The Coffin School, built in 1948, was closed in 2021 after the completion and opening of the Brown Elementary School. Since that time, the vacant building has been deteriorating significantly, even as the town has paid to maintain it. Interim Superintendent John Robidoux has said, “For the schools to maintain the building doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s not cost-effective. It makes fiscal sense for us to get rid of it.” The Current has advocated for this result since the fall of 2023 and see no reason to change our position now. Vote yes on Article 31.
Article 32
This article seeks to transfer the care, custody and control of the former Gerry School Playground, now known as Elm Street Park, from the Select Board to the Recreation and Park Commission. Prior to the closing and subsequent sale of the Gerry School, this playground was part of the school. After its closure, the use and control of the property was transferred to the Select Board who then effectuated the sale of the property. The town has maintained control of the park area, however, and this article simply seeks to transfer the care and maintenance of the park to Rec and Park, which maintains most of our open spaces. The Select Board is sponsoring this article, and we support its adoption.
Articles 33, 34 and 35
Articles 33 and 34 call upon the town to authorize major infrastructure projects — at the Mary Alley Building and Marblehead High — subject to debt exclusion overrides. Meanwhile, Article 35 seeks authorization to use previously voted funds to supplement the total cost of such projects and to use some of such funds to perform needed work on the Franklin Street fire station.
Article 33 calls for the appropriation of sufficient funds to pay the costs of design, construction, repair, furnishing and equipping of the Mary Alley Building. According to Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin, this work will include repairs of its leaking roof, replacement of aging HVAC systems and repairs to two bathrooms and various railings to make the building ADA compliant.
While final figures are still being determined, Benjamin anticipates that between $5.5 and $5.575 million in new funds will be required, depending on whether the town qualifies for an ADA grant to partially cover the bathroom and railing costs. These new funds will be supplemented by $480,000 that was approved by 2022 Town Meeting but not spent. Benjamin anticipates a 20-year debt service for this project with the cost to owners of median valued homes of $49 per year.
Town employees who work in this building need to rely on space heaters in the winter and window air conditioners in the summer to provide sufficient heat and air conditioning in their offices, according to Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer. Clearly, this project needs to go forward.
Article 34 calls for the appropriation of sufficient funds to pay additional costs of a new roof and for the installation of new rooftop HVAC units at MHS. While the total estimated cost for this project is just under $14 million, the town is seeking to apply $5.36 million from funds authorized by Town Meeting in 2022 toward this amount, leaving a balance of $8.61 million. Benjamin said that she anticipates a 20-year debt service for this project and she estimates that the cost to owners of median valued homes to be $68 per year.
It has long been reported that our high school students have been dealing with leaks in the roof and the potential for mold in the building. This is unacceptable. Funds to repair the roof were approved in 2022, but the work was never performed.
In recent years, there has been much turmoil within the School Department and it appears that the MHS roof repairs never received priority status. Moreover, it was not known in 2022 that the rooftop HVAC system was in need of replacement because — incredibly — project manager Left Field (perhaps aptly named) had not gone on the roof before giving its estimate, according to School Committee member Sarah Fox.
We have consistently advocated for transparency within all of our town departments, boards and committees, and the problems associated with the original allocation of funds for the high school roof repairs and subsequent failures to follow through to complete the work illustrate too clearly how much more effort needs to be focused on keeping the public fully and timely informed about town affairs.
Still, this project, too, needs to get done.
Article 35 calls for the amendment to the vote taken on Article 11(c) at Town Meeting in 2022 to enable the unspent funds to supplement and offset the costs of the projects contemplated under Articles 33 and 34.
Article 35 would also allow approximately $130,598 of such 2022 funds to be used to make necessary repairs to the roof, gutters and windows at the Franklin Street fire station.
The Article 11 funds were borrowed in 2022. and the debt service associated with such funds is already part of our annual real estate tax bills.
If the Article 33 and 34 debt exclusion overrides are passed at Town Meeting and subsequently approved by voters in June, the combined increase in real estate taxes for owners of median valued homes will be $117 per year. However, owners of median valued homes have been paying $253 per year for the construction of Marblehead High School, a cost that is coming to an end. Timing new capital projects to begin when old projects end is good financial practice.
We need to take care of our infrastructure and passage of Articles 33, 34 and 35 address critical problems at three important structures in town. We urge you to vote yes on Articles 33, 34 and 35, and we urge our town leaders to adopt a more open and transparent capital planning process as they protect our vital infrastructure moving forward.
The Current Editorial Board
The members of the Current’seditorial board are Bob Peck, chairman of the Current; Virginia Buckingham, president of the Current's board of directors; board member Brian Birke, Current editorial staff member Kris Olson, and Joseph P. Kahn, a retired Boston Globe journalist.
