over-rides in Bridgewater
October 3, 2006
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Joseph Gillis Jr.
You can do something!
Since a number of people have inquired about the history on voting, and if the current proposal is just another example of Bridgewater or B-R asking repeatedly about more money, I have assembled the following chronology:
3/11/02, Bridgewater Special Town Meeting Article 14, $76.5M for new Regional High School (pass 430-219)
3/28/02, Enterprise story on Rep. Flynn not supporting $76.5M, but that he would support $71.5M. B-R School Comm. is reported to support a $71.5M project. Future B-R High stories all speak of the project in terms of $71.5M.
4/27/02, Enterprise story of vote defeated in Bridgewater (3610-1769).
* Note - Town Meeting in both Raynham and Bridgewater approve $76.5M, but the ballot does not specify a dollar value. While "understood" that the project would be put together for $71.5M, voter approval would have been to authorize up to $76.5M.
3/18/03, Bridgewater Special Town Meeting Article 1, $25M Williams and $1.7M for Bridgewater Elem passes
5/5/03, Bridgewater Special Town Meeting Artice 16, $6M for current High School repairs passes
5/5/03, Bridgewater Town Meeting Article 29, $69.1M for new Regional High School passes
6/14/03, Bridgewater special ballot, all three questions pass
6/30/03, Bridgewater Special Town Meeting Article 5, $3.5M for Pawlowski farm land for school passes
* Note - in between the 3/18/03 Special Town Meeting vote for $25M for Williams and the 6/14/03 special ballot, the discussion became one of a $6M rehab project for Williams. This was because at that time, it did not appear that Williams would qualify for SBA reimbursement at the full $25M, but that it would as a $6M rehab project. So, even though the talk was of the Williams being a $6M project, the actual votes allowed for spending of $25M. Then, when SBA changed its mind and stated that Williams would be considered as a $25M proect, the votes were already in place. In other words, the votes allowed for spending $25M, so no further votes were needed.
So, going into Thursday's Special Town Meeting in Bridgewater, to answer the questions about coming back again and again to gain funding for $71M... it is hard to say definitively if this is a second attempt. March 2002 authorized $76.5M. The ballot did not specify a dollar value although some may have understood that the question would authorize $71.5M, others could argue that the question was for $76.5M. Either way, the April 2002 ballot question was three and a half years ago. If some believe that the request for $1.9M added to the previously (June 2003) approved $69.1M is 'a second attempt at the same funding', there may be a grain of truth to it. However, even if one takes that opinion, three and a half years does not appear to be excessive.
