Let’s Go Patriots!
LYN NF IELD
ADVOCATE
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PERMIT # 167 WOBURN, MA
Vol. 4, No. 5 - FREE - www.advocatenews.net Lynnfield@advocatenews.net 978-777-6397 Friday, February 2, 2018
Selectmen hear proposal for active-adult housing at Sagamore By Christopher Roberson
T
he Board of Selectmen recently listened to the proposal for a two-story, 154-unit active-adult housing complex on the eastern side of the Sagamore Spring Golf Club. During the Jan. 29 meeting, Attorney Theodore Regnante, counsel for developer Ronald Bonvie, said that in addition to gaining approval from the necessary boards and commissions, three articles will need to pass at Town Meeting before the project can move forward. The primary article will request a zoning change from residential to elderly housing. Should the project come
to fruition, Regnante said, each unit would be between 2,400 and 3,000 square feet and would sell in the range of $700,000 to $900,000. “The units will be in keeping with the character of the neighborhood,” he said. In addition, the complex, which is known as the Fairways Edge at Sagamore Spring, is expected to produce $1.6 million-plus in new growth revenue. Peter Ogren, president of Hayes Engineering, said that in addition to being a gated 55plus community, the complex will offer amenities such as a fitness center, lounge, game FAIRWAYS EDGE AT SAGAMORE SPRING: A rendering of the proposed active-adult housing complex at Sagamore Spring Golf Club. If approved, the two-story building would have 154 units and would generate $1,689,000-plus in new growth revenue. (Photo Courtesy of Bonvie Homes)
SELECTMEN | SEE PAGE 13
FIXED RATE
MORTGAGES NO POINTS
15 YEAR
30 YEAR
3. 4. 959% 424% 3. 4. 875%
RATE
APR*
375% RATE APR*
Mortgage Department 617.381.3615 or 617.381.3616 419 Broadway • Everett
For more rates visit our website at everettbank.com
**Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is effective January 26, 2018 and is subject to change. All Rates and APR’s are calculated based on a $250,000 loan for an owner occupied single family dwelling with 20% down payment. Rates are also based on Loan to Value and Credit Scores. The monthly principal and interest payment for 15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage is $7.33 per $1,000 borrowed. Monthly principal and interest payment for 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage is $4.99 per $1,000 borrowed. These payments do not include taxes and insurance. Your payment may be greater if the loan is secured by a first lien. Loans subject to credit approval. NMLS #443050
may be greater if the loan is secured by a first lien.
$24.8M needed to fund schools in fiscal year 2019 By Christopher Roberson
D
uring her Jan. 29 budget presentation to the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen, Superintendent of Schools Jane Tremblay said the district needs $24,850,140 for fiscal year 2019. Within that figure, $21,619,621 is for salaries, $1,739,509 is for Special Education and $1,491,008 is for other expenses. Tremblay said another $250,000 has been set aside for capital expenditures. This budget request represents an increase of 4.5 percent over last year. Tremblay said the preliminary number that came out of the Central Office in August 2017 called for a 6.4 percent increase. However, after speaking with then-Town Administrator James Boudreau, it became clear that elevating the budget by 6.4 percent would not be possible. Therefore, Tremblay said she and her team went back and made a series of proposed reductions to arrive at the current budget figure. On the elementary level, those cuts would include a reduction in hours that tutors are available. Tutor hours would also be rolled back at the middle school, and the media center aide position would be eliminated. The high school would lose its guidance clerk, media center aide and nurse’s aide. Other potential reductions would affect department op-
erating budgets, substitute teachers, non-instructional staff and support staff. Although there is a need for a school adjustment counselor, financial constraints prevented that position from even making it into the budget. Board of Selectmen Chairman Christopher Barrett asked if it would still be possible to have an adjustment counselor who could be compensated through parents’ health insurance. His suggestion did not sit well with Special Services Director Kara Mauro. “I don’t believe that’s something we could rely on,” she said. School Committee Member Jamie Hayman said it is a shame that additional opportunities for the district rely on funding that is not there right now. “I think our hands are tied at 4.5 percent,” he said. Tremblay said any additional losses would directly impact the classroom. “Any more reductions is most likely teachers,” she said. “This is the most painful part of the work, it’s the hardest part of our job.” Parents were notified in midJanuary that the Preschool Extended Day program would be ending, not because of a funding shortage but because of space restrictions at Summer Street Elementary School. Tremblay also said there has been a spike in the cost of special education as well
SCHOOLS | SEE PAGE 14