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Vol. 3, No. 27 - FREE - www.advocatenews.net Lynnfield@advocatenews.net 978-777-6397 Friday, July 7, 2017
Annual 5K Road Race kicks off July 4th festivities By Melanie Higgins
J
ust like the muskets that began the revolutionary war, so the starting gun signaled the beginning of the Lynnfield Athletic Association (LAA) 5k Road Race and the 4th of July in Lynnfield last Tuesday. More than 200 people gathered at Town Hall early Tuesday morning to kick off the 4th of July, which spans two days of celebrations this year. The annual race brings together Lynnfielders from all stripes to celebrate the birth of our nation more than 300 years ago. “It was a beautiful day for a race and we had a good turnout considering the mid-week
holiday,” said LAA spokeswoman Andrea Bracconier in an email to the Advocate. “It’s always a fun family event. It’s so much fun to see many familiar faces of runners who come back year after year.” Bracconier reported that 258 people between the ages of six and 72 ran and finished the race that day. Shawn Wallace was the male winner, finishing the race in 16:00 minutes. Julia Hincman-Francavi won the female category, coming in at 20:01 minutes. In its 50th year, the road race began as a simple 4th of July tradition. Eventually LAA, a
RACE | SEE PAGE 11
THREE GENERATIONS: Sal Giugliano is ready to run in the Lynnfield Athletic Association’s Annual 5k Road Race with a showing of support from his son, Steven and grandson, Sal. (Advocate photo by Melanie Higgins)
FIXED RATE
Town has a new planning tool
NO POINTS
Spreadsheet for Capital Facilities part of wider push to plan for future
MORTGAGES
3. 4. 333% 173% 3. 4. 15 YEAR
250% RATE
30 YEAR
125RATE %
APR*
APR*
Mortgage Department 617.381.3615 or 617.381.3616 419 Broadway • Everett 771 Salem Street • Lynnfield
For more rates visit our website at everettbank.com **Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is effective June 30, 2017 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 $7.03 per $1,000 borrowed. Monthly principal and interest payment for 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage is $4.85 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
By Melanie Higgins
T
he selectmen unveiled a new tool at their meeting last Monday that they touted as instrumental to informing citizens and officials alike the impacts of any potential new Capital Facilities plans. Presented by the Abrahams Group, the tool is an Excel spreadsheet with formulas that can give a detailed description of what impact any potential new Capital Facilities will have, including on tax rates, debt service, and bonds. Capital facilities include various areas such as public safety, the library, the DPW, and more. “The big thing it does is give us a tool for planning, which the town has not been famous for in the past,” Town Administrator Jim Boudreau said. “From a planning standpoint, it’s fantastic, and it will help us plan out our capital in advance.” The new tool is distinct from the town’s accounting software, which tracks money going in and out.This tool will show what impact any future or current projects will have. The spreadsheet details potential new capital facilities project costs and the impact
those projects will have on various factors, such as available money left in the budget or impact on taxes. Boudreau said that the spreadsheet is not currently available online to the public because of its size, but will be sometime in the form of a PDF in the near future. An example of the spreadsheet’s usefulness, the proposed new library (whose success is hinging on pending state funding) is serving as a placeholder to show users what effects can be expected. While the grant should provide the bulk of the costs, the town would potentially still be on the hook for an amount. The new tool shows exactly what that impact would be in terms of taxes, debt, and other factors. The town should hear back on the status of the grant later this month. “It’s so nice to be able to show, publicly, [...] what the town is going to look like if we’re going to do the library, when the debt is falling off, when we can bring on new debt without it having a big impact on taxes. That’s a big question everybody in town has. It’s not easy to give [this
PLANNING TOOL | SEE PAGE 6