Salem Observer : Salem, bridges

Bridge replacement bond tops lists of issues in Salem

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:38:00 GMT

Residents will have their first chance to debate a $2.4 million bond for the replacement of the bridges on Lawrence and Cluff Crossing roads at the town’s first deliberative session at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, in the high school.

If voters pass the bond in March in its current state, selectmen hope to receive an 80 percent reimbursement on the cost of the work from the state’s Municipally Managed Bridge Aid Program, though the financial aid for the bridges may not be available until 2014 and 2015, according to Town Engineer Robert Puff.

The two projects have also been presented to the Local Government Center as part of a list of “shovel-ready” projects that could be funded through President Barack Obama’s proposed $818 million economic stimulus package.

Town Manager Jonathan Sistare believes that if the federal aid trickles down into New Hampshire, both projects might jump up on the state’s list and the financial reimbursement may be available sooner. Both have been on the state’s list of structurally deficient or unsound bridges since 2007.

Weight restrictions are currently in place on both bridges – a maximum of 10 tons of the Cluff Crossing bridge and 13 tons on the Lawrence Road bridge – forcing the town’s heavy fire apparatus to avoid the structures except during an emergency.

The town is also asking residents to approve a $32.9 million operating budget, down from the $37 million appropriated last year, for the ensuing fiscal year. Combined with the appropriation for bridge reconstruction, the town is looking to appropriate just over $35.3 million next year. Set off by $17.3 million in revenue from fees and permits, the cost to taxpayers will be $17.9 million.

Salem Selectmen to put $2.4 million bridge work article before voters

Salem Editor — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:27:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectmen are asking voters to approve the replacement of two town bridges in March after adding the multimillion- dollar bond article to the Town Meeting warrant on Monday, Jan. 12.

On the state’s municipal red list since late 2007, the Lawrence Road Bridge spanning the Spicket River and the Cluff Crossing Road Bridge over Policy Brook could be replaced at a cost of $2,394,000 if voters approve the bond article in March.

Each bridge is eligible for up to 80 percent reimbursement from the state through the Department of Transportation’s municipal aid program, according to Robert Puff, town engineer.

Selectmen said both bridges had also been included on the town’s list of “shovel-ready” projects as the state prepares for a possible financial infusion from President-elect Obama’s proposed $775 billion economic stimulus package.

“The (stimulus package) is a trump card that we don’t know,” said Selectman Everett McBride. “I think there is going to be money available.”

While the state’s reimbursement funds would not become available until 2014 for the Lawrence Road Bridge and 2015 for the Cluff Crossing Bridge, Town Manager Jonathan Sistare urged selectmen to move ahead as quickly as possible.

According to Sistare, were federal funds from the economic stimulus package to come to New Hampshire, both of the projects might jump up on the state’s list, resulting in a full 80 percent reimbursement with a shorter wait then currently anticipated.

Though several selectmen indicated that they agreed with Town Finance Director Jane Savastano’s recommendation to ask voters for a 10- year bond vs. a 20-year bond, the board opted to hold off on making a final decision at the Jan. 12 meeting.

Designs for both replacement bridges have already been completed. According to Puff, the proposed Lawrence Road Bridge would raise the structure’s elevation and widen it to the approximate limits of the natural river bank, allowing floodwaters to pass under rather than over the roadway as occurred during the 2006 Mother’s Day floods.

Weight restrictions are currently enforced on both bridges – a maximum of 13 tons for the Lawrence Road Bridge and 10 tons for the Cluff Crossing Road Bridge – since state engineers have rated the structures deficient.

This past summer, public safety officials called on selectmen to tackle the problem after fire apparatus were restricted from using the bridges during emergencies. School officials have had to reroute buses around the bridges, as well.

Salem bridges too far gone

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:03:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Selectmen held off on making a decision to petition for a special town meeting in the fall that would allow them to move toward rebuilding two bridges on the state’s red list.

During the Monday, June 23, meeting, selectmen discussed a possible special vote, which would allow the board to contract with an engineering firm to design replacements for the Lawrence Road and the Cluff Crossing bridges.

A seven-month window from a potential special meeting to the annual meeting would allow town officials to present a hard cost estimate to Salem residents at Town Meeting in March. Fire officials had asked the town to take action to repair the two bridges because weight limits for them could affect the response times of emergency vehicles if the bridges deteriorate further.

According to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare, the board would need to petition Superior Court to go set up a special town meeting. He estimated that from the date of the selectmen vote to go ahead with the petition, it could take up to two months until the vote could be held.

Sistare estimated the cost of a special meeting at a couple of hundred dollars.

Holding a special meeting in the fall would allow the town to move up the construction of two new bridges by a full year, according to Sistare.

“This is the only possibility to move this forward and get the town bridges built in 2009 rather than 2010,” he told the board.

Director of Engineering Robert Puff estimated the cost of contracting two new bridge designs to range from $200,000 to $225,000. Puff told selectmen that in a best-case scenario, the engineering firm could have a plan ready in six months. Variables like relocating utilities, such as power lines, could prolong the process, Puff said.

Were an article to pass through the annual Town Meeting in March, Puff said construction on the two bridges could begin within a short time, depending on the level of water run off in the spring.

Selectman Michael Lyons proposed creating a bridge fund using state funding to repair the two weight-restricted bridges as well as other municipal bridges declared structurally deficient or obsolete in the future.

“The board’s intention is to set up a bridge fund, much like we have for roads, with selectmen as agents to expend. We haven’t done that yet because they’re aren’t any funds,” he told fellow selectmen at the Monday, July. “In a sense we’re so far behind on our bridge reconstruction we need to jump start our ability to access the trust fund, even though it doesn’t exist yet.”

According to Lyons, the town could use funds to leverage against an equal amount of expected funding from the state to expedite the building of the two new bridges.

Currently there are five municipal bridges on the state’s red list in Salem. Both the Lawrence Road bridge and the Cluff Crossing Road bridge have had weight limitations placed upon them, restricting access by heavier town vehicles.

According to DOT officials,Lawrence Road has been on the red list since the state began tracking the condition of municipal bridges in 1996. A 1995 study initially recommended that the bridge be given a weight limit. Despite some damage suffered during more recent flooding events, the posted weight restriction remains accurate.

Cluff Crossing was added to the list in 2007, when state inspectors first recommended a weight limit be placed on the structure.

Last month the school district began rerouting buses around the Lawrence Road bridge and fire apparatus, like the 32-ton ladder truck located at the Fire Department’s South Salem station on Lawrence Road, were only recently granted emergency access to those bridges by the board.

Police began actively enforcing the weight limits on both bridges last week.

“I think this is the way to go,” Lyons said. “I think we’ve done our best to address it in the short term. We need to fix it in the long term as soon as possible.”

With only four out of five selectmen in attendance, the board opted wait on any decision until the next full board meeting in July.

Citizen articles nixed in Salem

Salem Editor — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:58:00 GMT

BY JIM DEVINE

SALEM -- Selectmen have voted against supporting a pair of citizen petition projects to repair a bridge and a road at a price of nearly $600,000.

Residents of Ball Avenue pressed selectmen at their Monday, Feb. 11, meeting to support paving and drainage work on their street, saying the project has been on the town’s road work schedule for many years.

“It’s been quite a while, so it’s due,” said Philip Cammarata of 21 Ball Ave. “Overdue.”

Cammarata, a 13-year-resident of the street, said he was reluctant to petition for the $167,900 project but the road’s “deplorable” shape warranted attention. “It looks like it hasn’t been paved in 40 years,” Cammarata said.

Before unanimously voting not to support the petition, selectmen told Cammarata and other residents that the Ball Avenue work is scheduled for 2009. Cammarata was happy to hear the road had been pushed up in the schedule but said he would still like to see voters approve the petition in March.

“I’d like to see it pass this year, but I’m satisfied they moved it up to 2009,” he said.

Selectmen also voted against recommending a $430,000 petition project presented by Dianne Paquette of 58 Pelham Road to repair the culvert at Pelham Road and Commercial Drive.

The culvert, which was part of a $3.8 million town-wide bridge repair bond article that failed to garner support last year, has contributed to flooding on neighboring properties, Paquette said.

“Our properties, because of the bridge, become catch basins as water sits there for days,” she said. Since the Mother’s Day flood of 2006, Paquette said, the town has been better about clearing debris from the small culvert but a permanent solution is needed.

While selectmen Patrick Hargreaves and Arthur Barnes supported the project, other officials were reluctant to see the culvert expanded, which may cause a rush of water further down the waterways in town. Without a hydrology study of the town’s waterways, Selectman Michael Lyons said he didn’t want to rely on “instinct” while solving the problem.

Paquette, however, said the project’s need was intuitive and that it shouldn’t have to wait since there’s no guarantee of a water study in coming years.

“I just need to know how many floods I need to be prepared for,” Paquette said. “I’m sure you are thinking a year may not be a long time, but we just look at it as three or four more floods we have to endure.”

Though Paquette’s plan would enlarge the culvert to bridge specifications to qualify it for state aid, there was no confirmation that the town would be reimbursed for the project.

“It isn’t a bridge now so it’s not going to qualify,” Selectman Everett McBride said.

Selectmen voted against recommending the article, 3-2, with selectmen Patrick Hargreaves and Arthur Barnes voting in the minority.

Lyons, residents look for another bridge solution

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:10:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

A recount of a failed $3.8 million bridge repair warrant article yielded no changes despite the hopes of some concerned Salem residents.

Though the recount did not change the outcome of the original vote, Selectman Michael Lyons said he intends to present a bridge repair plan to his board in an upcoming meeting. Lyons said his plan would be to set money aside to repair one bridge yearly.

The warrant article would have given $3 million to repair four town bridges and the roads leading to them. Another $800,000 would have gone toward a hydrology study to assess flooding issues near the bridges.

Had the article passed, officials would have given the money to repair bridges on Haverhill Road, Pelham Road, North Main Street and Emerson Way.

Despite the urgings of selectmen and some residents at the town’s deliberative session and other meetings leading up to Salem’s election, the article fell just short of capturing the needed two-thirds majority to pass.

Initially, the article received 2,070 favorable votes on March 13. At the recount, it received 2,063 votes in favor but needed 2,093 to pass.

Lyons said he didn’t expect the recount to overturn the original vote since Salem’s recounts typically haven’t changed anything.

Still, he said he’s been thinking about his new proposal since the article failed.

“I’m concerned about our infrastructure,” he said. “The bridges have to get done because they don’t last forever, and we have to have some kind of plan.”

Rather than bring another bond proposal before voters next year, Lyons said he’s optimistic a one-bridge-per-year proposal wouldn’t burden taxpayers as much.

Lyons said he’s not sure what the cost might be to repair a single bridge, but he hopes to plan it out with the rest of the board.

“I’m only 20 percent of the board,” he said. “This is just one man’s idea, and I’m open to modifications.

It’s just getting the ball rolling, and I probably haven’t thought everything through.”

Should voters approve a yearly bridge repair program, Lyons said there is the potential that Salem could receive up to 80 percent reimbursement from the state. This money would likely take several years to reach Salem though, he said.

Though Lyons is hopeful of getting his proposal moving, residents of the Haigh Avenue area who suffered heavy flooding during last May’s floods said they were upset the recount didn’t change anything.

“It’s disappointing, but I’m glad we did (the recount),” said Marcia Corbett, a resident who gathered enough signatures to initiate the recount. “Some of these bridges are in dire need and I don’t know how Salem is going to go forward.”

The hydrology study attached to the article would also have helped address Salem’s water flow problems, she said.

Still, she and other residents are continuing to look into the issue. Currently, Corbett is working with Dennis Burke, another resident who believes the Methuen Falls Dam is somewhat responsible for Salem’s flooding problems.

Burke and other residents may file a complaint with the state about the dam.

Bridge repairs, water to North Main fail

Salem Editor — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 18:55:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

After a somewhat controversial Town Meeting season, Salem voters have voted down all three of the town’s large bond articles which needed a two-thirds majority vote to pass.

A $3,856,000 article, which would have funded repairs on four bridges along with the roads leading up to them, failed by only 23 votes, gaining 2,070 of the needed 2,093. The article would have addressed the North Main Street, Haverhill Road, Emerson Way, and Pelham Road bridges.

An $800,000 hydrology study which would have been used to conduct a hydrology study of the area to determine flooding impacts on the various areas, was the most controversial aspect of the plan.

Though touted by officials as a necessary part of the overall bridge program, some residents said the studies were unnecessary and would end up going unused.

Resident Robert Campbell made a push to remove the studies from the article at the town’s deliberative session on Feb. 10 but didn’t gather enough support from the room.

Campbell cited similar studies which were conducted more than 20 years ago which were never used by town officials.

Selectmen Chairman Michael Lyons said he understands the concern over the past studies not being used but that wouldn’t have been the case this time.

Over the past few months, Lyons and other officials have advocated for the studies, calling them an integral part of the article. In light of the severe flooding which hit Salem last May, it would be irresponsible to move forward without the studies, Lyons said.

While the results were announced, Lyons sat in the back of the room with a disappointed look on his face.
“I’m really discouraged about the bridge bond,” he said later. “They need to get done, and now we’ll have to go back and look at them again.”

Both Lyons and selectman Everett McBride said they weren’t sure how the board will proceed now, but some type of repair proposal will have to be discussed.

“The 66 percent was a tough sell,” McBride said.

Another $1,410,000 article which would have funded running municipal water lines to areas of North Salem, only captured 1,795 of the necessary 2,075 votes needed to pass.

The project would have extended water lines up North Main Street and make improvements to nearby roads at the same time while bringing water to hundreds of residents.

The idea had been discussed for in past years by former selectmen, but Lyons said no board had ever put it forward to the ballot. Prior to the vote, he said he was proud to be one of the town officials involved in bringing water to the area.

Now that the article has been defeated, Lyons said it is unlikely residents in North Salem will see water any time soon.

“By not getting the two-thirds, the voters are telling us they don’t want to have water in North Salem,” he said.

The last of the town bond articles, a $2 million article which would have helped to fund the purchase and conservation of 84.6 acres of land in North Salem known as the Duston Farm, failed to acquire the two-thirds majority. It received 1,729 yes votes and 1,324 no votes.

The article was added to the ballot after George Jones, chairman of the conservation commission, submitted a citizen’s petition to selectmen.

Jones made an effort to add the article because he wanted to protect the property which contains several old buildings and a variety of wildlife.

Still, voters did not approve the money likely because of ambiguity about the purchase from the current owners.

The property is owned by the Whiteneck family who have already sold a portion of the lot to housing developers.

Though Jones had been communicating with the Whitenecks, a price had not been agreed upon.

Bob Whiteneck, who helps manage the property, said in January that his family would not sell it for below market value. Two million dollars would not be enough, he said.

Though the conservation commission had about $500,000 to contribute to the purchase, Jones was not able to persuade enough voters.

Approved by voters was the town’s $31,825,994 operating budget by a vote of 2,040 to 1,056.

Out of a host of 16 zoning articles, 11 passed, including one which will make the zoning board an elected rather than appointed body in the future.

Also approved were a series of articles asking to give pay raises to employees of the town including, fire, police, clerical, public works, and department heads.