Wakefield Town Council Notes -- September 16 and September 23, 2024

The Town Council had two brief meetings over the past two weeks. Here's what we covered in each of them:

• Last Monday, September 16, the Town Council approved $97.5 million of general obligation bonds, and a $1.9 million bond anticipation note. The $97.5 million includes $83 million for the high school building project, $2.5 million for Wakefield's strategic road repair program, and refunding of the remaining $12 million in debt from the Galvin Middle School project. The net interest cost of 3.6% on these bonds will generate more than $40 million of savings relative to the rates anticipated when the high school project was approved, as well as nearly $1.4 million of interest savings from the Galvin project. The $1.9 million bond anticipation note represents short-term borrowing to continue covering the cost of the contaminated site off Butler Avenue that the Town anticipates selling next year once clean-up is complete.

• This Monday, September 23, we approved the routine transfer of $1 million from the General Fund to the Debt Service Capital Needs account to support the completion of planned capital projects for the current fiscal year. We also authorized the Town Council Chair to sign regulatory agreements related to the building project at the head of Lake Quannapowitt, and approved three business license changes.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, October 7 at 7:00 PM. As always, residents and members of the public are welcome to join us in-studio at Wakefield Community Access TV, or virtually on Zoom.