The Seekonk Select Board approved $8.9 million in bond anticipation notes to pay for three items, including the South End Fire Station, the Department of Public Works (DPW) facility, and the purchase of the Firefly property at 320 Fall River Avenue.
“This is not new money,” Board chair Michelle Hines said Wednesday.
The three projects were voted on at last November’s town meeting. $6.97 million is for the Firefly property. $425,000 is for the South End Fire Station and $1.5 million is for the DPW. Those two projects will not be going forward right now, but the town still needs to pay the loans and interest to the lending company – BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC., which Hines said offered the best premiums.
The Select Board has not indicated what will be done with the former Firefly property.
Hines thanked Town Administrator Shawn Cadime and the Finance department for securing a double A credit score for Seekonk. The town’s financial reputation allowed the town “to pay for (the projects) at the lowest rate possible.”
The new DPW was to have been located on Town-owned land at 351 Fall River Avenue. The proposed design was for a 61, 815 square-foot building. Residents said the $40 million cost was too high and declined to approve a tax increase to pay for it.
Board member Gary Sagar proposed keeping the current facility at 871 Taunton Avenue and combining it with a property located at 911 Taunton Avenue. The tax increase for the average home would be $106.88 a year, according to Sagar. All the work could be done “in house” by one company. No Office of the Project Manager (OPM) would be necessary.
Sagar said the total cost of the new project would be $16 million.
At the board’s March 26 meeting, Hines noted more information was needed about the DPW project before it could be placed on a warrant.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here