Shovel Shop plan gets support from selectmen

Click to read the article from the Easton Journal today.

I would not support any plan that included bonding by the Town. We are going to need to address the many capital budget items the Town is facing, sooner rather than later, and any bond issuance to fund this CPA project will necessarily limit the town's ability to raise funds for those capital projects. We also cannot discount the possibility that Beacon will not repay the loan to the town. If you read the GLC report (available here; thanks Burt for hosting), the number of conditions that have to be met before the town is repaid is rather lengthy, and given the complexity of the proposed financing plan, presents a very real risk to CPA funds returning to the Town.

I agree that the site needs to be preserved. The CPC has the money it needs to fund the Town's portion contribution to the project in cash. The CPC Board will need to determine if spending the $7.5m is a worthy project in light of the fact that it may threaten the purchase of their priority parcels. Either way, I don't think the CPC ought to be putting the Town in debt to help Beacon finance their development, and I certainly would not vote to support such a plan.