ATHOL — Athol’s Selectboard, at its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 15, approved a pair of proposed debt exclusions for voters to consider at the Annual Town Election. The funds, totaling $3.2 million, would be used to repair the Pinedale and Fryeville bridges and the Crescent Street foot bridge, and to purchase a new pumper truck for the Fire Department. If the debt exclusions are approved at the polls, voters will need to endorse them again at the Annual Town Meeting.
Town Manager Shaun Suhoski asked the board for approval, even though the town’s Capital Programs Committee hasn’t decided whether to recommend the spending.
“They haven’t taken their final votes yet,” said Suhoski, “but if we wait, we’ll miss the opportunity to get on the annual election ballot with these questions. That’s why I’m bringing them forward to you now for consideration.
“Any debt exclusion has to be approved at the ballot box and at the Town Meeting, and within 45 days of each other. So, that’s why we’re here tonight with these questions. We’re not spending money tonight, but we’re asking the board to consider asking the voters whether these are priorities.”
Public Works Director Dick Kilhart explained that the weight limit on the Pinedale Bridge, which is co-owned by the towns of Athol and Orange, was reduced in recent years to three tons. The bridge spans Tully River.
“That basically means — and we’ve discussed this at this meeting before — that’s little more than a pickup and a trailer that can legally go over that bridge,” Kilhart explained. “Now, I know there are vehicles that go over it, and the police have done enforcement. The ‘truck team’ has been out here from the State Police. But that bridge will continue to deteriorate to a point where you’ll end up putting Jersey barriers in front of it and no one will go across. And to go around that detour, if Athol were to assist Orange for a medical emergency just over the Tully River, it’s a long way around.”
Kilhart then moved on to the second bridge in need of repair, which also spans the Tully.
“That leads to a second joint-owned bridge,” he said. “Our side, Logan Avenue, comes together at Fryeville Avenue. Mount Tully Kennels is on that road in Orange. Silver Lake, Royalston Road are to the Athol side.
“That bridge, ironically, was increased in weight capacity when the Pinedale bridge was reduced in capacity. You’d have to ask MassDOT (Department of Transportation) how they were able to do that because that Fryeville Bridge, for as long as I can personally remember, has been in poor shape.
“We’ve been asked, at Shaun’s request, to provide some data and review the costs associated with repair, replacement of that structure as well.”
The third piece of the Public Works’ debt exclusion would include a project near downtown Athol.
“It would be what they call the ‘Secret Bridge’ here in Athol,” he continued, “which is a town-owned bridge which people don’t realize is there. It’s next to the most recently completed Crescent Street Bridge next to Starrett. It goes over the pedestrian tunnel at Starrett and over their sluiceway.
“It’s not a complete bridge replacement. The piece that’s actually in the roadway scored relatively decent. But the piece where you see the orange barrels over the sidewalk and the drainage structures are not very good. Should a vehicle go off that side of the road, it could potentially go through the sidewalk. It’s safe for pedestrians, but not safe should traffic travel along that side.”
Kilhart told the board that the Pinedale project is “shovel ready,” with engineering completed and a state review of the project also done. He added that Orange has already set aside funding to cover its share of the project.
“If the funding were put in place at this Annual Town Meeting, that project would go to bid next fall, more than likely,” he said. “The other two bridges — we have preliminary design to be able to generate cost estimates.”
The town will be seeking a total of about $2.5 million for the three bridge projects.
Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera then presented his pitch to the board for a new frontline pumper.
“This,” he began, “is to replace a now-24, going on 25-year-old pumper, which we are currently using. The pumper is not NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) compliant.”
The NFPA guidelines, said Guarnera, are essentially the ‘bible’ of the fire services.
“It states — and it’s a large machine — in (the guidelines) it states that after 25 years, at that age, after 25 years it should not even be on the road, never mind using it as an emergency vehicle.
“The condition is deplorable. It’s rotted, it’s rusted. The valves leak, the tank leaks. The structural integrity is not very good. And the increasing repair costs are just going to get worse.”
Guarnera said the new pumper recently added to the department’s fleet cost $605,000, which was covered by a grant. The estimate he has received for the purchase of a similar vehicle has jumped to $725,000, if it were to be purchased this year. In 2023, the cost could hit more than $800,000.
“By the time we get to 2025,” he said, “it’s going to be over a million dollars for a piece of apparatus.”
Responding to a question from board member Mitch Grosky, Suhoski said he was unable at this point to say what impact the debt exclusions would have on the tax rate. He explained the town is looking at paying for the pumper over either a five- or 10-year period, while the bridge work would be funded over 20 years.
“There will be plenty of time before the election to get all of that information out to the public,” he said.
Each proposed debt exclusion was unanimously endorsed by the board.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com