Selectmen to close on Verizon property

By Ruth M. Lyon

Turley Publications Reporter

EAST BROOKFIELD - Selectman Leo Fayard said Monday that the closing agreement on the Verizon purchase will be signed on or by Thursday; once it’s official, the town will immediately address any immediate repair/renovations to be done, and plan for the grand opening, he said.

Once the board announced a plan to seek funding for a period of five years rather than ten as originally contemplated, local banks evinced an interest in funding. The town reached an agreement with Spencer Savings Bank to borrow $550,000 for five years at a rate of 3.46 percent. That rate, Fayard said Monday, is lower than the board had anticipated would be available. We’re very happy to be dealing with a local bank,” he remarked. The shorter term will result in a $90,000 savings in interest over the ten year plan.

Highway department workers are already working to clear the present highway barn and grounds of any disposable items, and planning for the move. Once the move has taken place, the present highway barn will be razed, possibly salvaging some parts; other space at the town-owned Stevens Road location currently under use may be rearranged and streamlined, the board agreed.

Fayard remarked that two other major school debts, the elementary school and Knox trail, will be paid off within three years. Those two combined amount to payments of about $85,000, per year, he said. Thus, the town will be in a relatively debt-free financial position, he observed, within a few years’ time.

Remarking on the town’s present fiscal condition, he said that the town’s budget deficit appears to be “less than anticipated,” and that the town has not had to cut any jobs, despite the faltering economy.

The fate of David Prouty High School is currently under scrutiny, with a feasibility study question on Wednesday night’s (May 12) town meeting agenda. Article 22: to see if the town will vote to disapprove the debt authorization for $630,000 for the purpose of conducting a feasibility study for the potential repair or replacement of the David Prouty High School, voted by the Regional School District Committee on April 13.