Published in the April 25, 2018 edition

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — Voters will decide the fate of the proposed Sagamore Spring Golf Club redevelopment project during Town Meeting on Monday, April 30.

Town Meeting will commence at 7 p.m. in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium. Town Meeting will feature electronic check-in and electronic voting just like October Town Meeting. A quorum of 175 voters is needed in order to conduct the town’s business.

Atty. Ted Regnante, a Pocahontas Way resident, submitted four warrant articles as part of the proposed Sagamore Spring Golf Club redevelopment project, which are Articles 19 to 22. The Fairways Edge at Sagamore project entails building 154 attached over-55 condominiums on 105 acres along the popular course’s eastern side.

Developer Ron Bonvie, the owner of Mashpee-based Bonvie Homes, has proposed the Fairways Edge project. The over-55 condo complex would be built under guidelines established by the Lynnfield Elderly Housing Bylaw. The golf holes would remain in their existing location, but the maintenance building would be relocated to the back nine.

Article 19 seeks to amend the Lynnfield Zoning Map to rezone a 105,680-acre portion of the golf course from Residence D to Elderly Housing. Article 20 would amend the Zoning Bylaw by allowing a private golf course, clubhouse and maintenance building in an Elderly Housing District.

Article 21 would increase the maximum number of units within an Elderly Housing District from 136 to 154. Article 22 would allow a residential sewage treatment system be constructed in a Groundwater Protection District subject to the Zoning Board of Appeals approving a special permit.

The selectmen voted to recommend the four Sagamore redevelopment articles to Town Meeting on Monday.

If Town Meeting votes to reject the Fairways Edge project, Hayes Engineering President Peter Ogren said 82 single-family homes could be built on the golf course.

Another local attorney, Jay Kimball, submitted Article 23, which pertains to the proposed Wills Brook Village development which will not go forward at this spring’s Town Meeting. The selectmen approved developer Angus Bruce’s request that Article 23 be referred to the Planning Board for further study during the board’s meeting on Monday (see separate story). Article 23 will still be appearing on the Town Meeting warrant.

The Planning Board will continue discussing the various zoning articles during its meeting on Wednesday, April 25, beginning at 7 p.m. in the H. Joseph Maney Meeting Room.

Additional warrant articles

In addition to the five elderly housing articles, there will be 19 other articles appearing on the warrant.

Article 1 will ask voters to approve the annual town report. Article 2 will choose three field drivers, a pound keeper and three wood measurers. Article 3 will set the pay rate for members of the Board of Selectmen and Board of Assessors.

Article 4 pertains to transferring funds from the fiscal year 2018 budget, totaling $431,450. Article 5 seeks to allocate funds in order to pay overdue bills from a prior fiscal year, equaling $36,972.91. Article 6 pertains to paying owed wages from a prior fiscal year to a dispatcher in order to resolve a contract issue regarding the application of EMT stipends to overtime wages, totaling $2,486.

“We are all on the same page,” said Assistant to the Administration Bob Curtin during a recent Board of Selectmen meeting. “It’s a small amount of money, relatively, because it only affected one dispatcher, but everyone agrees the dispatcher is owed the back wages. Since it’s from a prior fiscal year and involves wages, it requires its own warrant article.”

Voters will be asked to approve the town’s FY’19 operating budget, totaling $54,778,362, under Article 7.

Article 8 is the proposed FY’19 capital budget, totaling 1,753,731. The Finance Committee recently approved a capital budget that is $40,000 higher than the capital budget recommended by Town Administrator Rob Dolan. The Finance Committee voted to increase the capital budget by $40,000 in order to make repairs to the Lynnfield Public Library’s basement as well as replace damaged books in the wake of a recent septic problem caused by a person clogging a toilet. The selectmen will continue discussing the capital request during the board’s meeting before Town Meeting.

Article 9 seeks to allocate $200,000 to the Stabilization Fund. Article 10 will request voters to appropriate $100,000 to the Capital Facilities Stabilization Fund.

Curtin said Article 11 will ask voters to approve a new bylaw for existing revolving funds, which will “only set the maximum amounts for expenditure.”

“These are for the various departments that take in money for user fees and are able to spend them without Town Meeting appropriation,” said Curtin. “Changes in state legislation allows the town to adopt a bylaw.”

Article 12 will request voters to approve the maximum expenditures for revolving funds. Article 13 pertains to approving the EMS Enterprise Fund budget, totaling $758,857.

“It’s a 1.2 percent increase,” said Curtin.

Article 14 will ask voters to approve the Golf Enterprise Fund budget, totaling $950,000.

“Its level funded from last year,” said Curtin.

The selectmen voted to indefinitely postpone Article 15, which sought to allocate $8,630 in order to pay for architect fees for the proposed King Rail Golf Reserve clubhouse project. The selectmen decided to pay the funds owed to the architect from Article 4.

“I advised the architect that no further work should be done without my authority,” said Dolan.

The Planning Board submitted Articles 16, 17 and 18. Articles 15 and 16 pertain to banning recreational marijuana dispensaries and a moratorium on pot shop establishments.

While the town voted to ban recreational marijuana shops at last April’s Town Meeting, the language was not included in the recodified Zoning Bylaw approved at the October 2017 Town Meeting. Article 15 will ask voters to support a permanent ban on recreational marijuana establishments. Article 16 will implement a temporary moratorium in the event the Attorney General’s Office rejects the permanent ban.

Article 18 will ask voters to approve a new zoning map.

“It’s still in the works,” said Planning Board Chairman Brian Charville at a recent selectmen’s meeting.