PETERSHAM – In addition to filling a vacancy on the Selectboard, Petersham voters will be asked to decide on a pair of Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusions at next Monday’s special election.
Each of the borrowing requests was overwhelmingly approved at the June 1 Annual Town Meeting. The first of the two articles passed sought $600,000 for the purchase of a new tanker truck for the Fire Department, and the other to borrow $74,500 for a new truck for the Highway Department.
Richard Cavanaugh, chair of the town’s Advisory Finance Committee, said it is unclear how long the term of each loan is likely to be.
“That’s a question the treasurer (Dana Robinson) will eventually be able to answer,” Cavanaugh said. “He’ll go out and try to find the best rates and figure out how long the terms will be. The decision at the town meeting was to go ahead and seek the funding through loans for the two trucks.”
Because the term of the loan is not yet known, Cavanaugh said the impact of the borrowing on the town’s property tax bills is still to be determined.
“The way the tax rates are set, it won’t be set until November – October, November – when the final numbers get recorded at the end of the fiscal year,” he said. “But the need is there, we can afford it, and the object is to keep taxes as low as possible. That’s always the goal.”
Cavanaugh noted the article seeking funding for the tanker had originally asked for $800,000, but that Fire Chief Robert Legare was able to find something that would run closer to $650,000. Monday’s vote will be to get the authority from the town to borrow the money.
Town Administrative Assistant Sherry Berube said that because the amount approved at the ATM was for $600,000, “If they end up finding something that costs more than that, they’ll have to come up with the difference somewhere else.”
At June’s Town Meeting, Legare explained that the tanker his department had first hoped to purchase was too large to fit the bay doors at the fire station. The 2,500-gallon tanker truck being replaced, according to the chief, is 37 years old. He told the voters in June, “It’s kind of sad to see this truck go, but after 37 years of responding to calls, things start breaking down. It’s get up and go has kind of gone. It really is time for this truck to go.”
“It’s an older truck and it really does need to be replaced,” said Cavanaugh. “It’s not able pump water and the intake, which pumps water from a pond water supply, doesn’t work. It’s been pretty clear for the last number of years that we need to get a replacement.”
The vehicle being purchased for the Highway Department, Cavanaugh explained, is a pickup truck that can be used by Superintendent Greg Waid for transportation and smaller projects. It can also be fitted with a plow.
“We’ve been pushing both of these purchases off,” he said. “But now that we’re finishing off some of these other loans that we had we’re in a better position to take on new loans.”
In addition to the two debt exclusions, voters will also choose between Michael Shamgochian and Patric Gillespie to fill a vacancy on the town’s Selectboard. The winner will serve until the town election in April 2027, when voters will elect someone for a three-year term on the board.
Polls for the Aug. 24 special election will be open at Town Hall, 1 South Main St., from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.