The Plymouth Select Board met on Monday to reconsider funding sources for the potential purchase of the 25-acre Chiltonville property.
If approved, the town could use the site for a new police station and fire station headquarters. Special Town Meeting will consider the $3.75 million purchase, which was used as a former Entergy Training Center.
At the June 7th meeting, the Board voted unanimously to use $1.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the purchase. On Monday, they reversed course, and would borrow the funds, instead of using the ARPA funds.
“If you want to tact in a different direction and move away from ARPA funds, and go to straight up borrowing, I don’t have a problem with that,” said Board member John Mahoney.
“Certainly the last thing you want to do is bond $1.4 million dollars over 20 years, that’s a complete waste. There’s no doubt in my mind if Town Meeting approves this, we can certainly avoid that.”
Finance Director Lynne Barrett says the town would consider long-term borrowing, but could switch to a short-term note if properties were sold before a future Town Meeting.
“I agree with John,” said Board member Charlie Bletzer. “As I said before, we’d borrow, we’re able to use the ARPA funds for other projects that we want to get done. Then we sell some parcels of land and pay off that debt. I think that’s the smart way to go, I’m all for that.”
Town Manager Derek Brindisi told the Board about projects that Plymouth was considering.
This included $2 million for regionalized dispatch infrastructure, $1 million for the Veterans Park, $500,000 for the Jenny Pond Dam, $300,000 for Memorial Hall design work, and $300,000 for the Allerton Street Park.
Brindisi discussed which projects would be removed if ARPA funds were used.
“It’s hard to say which ones we would take off of here,” he said. “But if I looked at it, I would probably say the two parks would probably be the ones that would have to come off.”
The Board voted unanimously to support funding the purchase with $1.4 million in borrowing, $2.2 million from Free Cash, and $78,591 from Premium Debt Funds.
The Plymouth Town Meeting takes place on June 21st.
