North Reading to Hold Special Town Meeting and Election in March

North Reading will hold a Special Town Meeting March 18 and a Special Election March 22, both for the school building project. The selectmen voted in favor of the meeting and election Monday night.

The public will be able to vote for or against an override for the school building project at the Special Town Meeting and Special Election in March. If they vote against an override, the SSBC will have to work with the existing budget.

The construction documents are scheduled to be 90 percent complete in February and a new budget estimate should be available Feb. 25. The final Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) is expected by March 11, according to Superintendent Kathleen Willis. Once the SSBC has that figure, they will know how much more than the original budget of 107.7 million they will have to ask for at Special Town Meeting.

Residents are encouraged to attend meetings that the SSBC is hosting to provide information about the project and how it got to this point. The first of three meetings was held Tuesday night. Please check in with us Thursday at 6 a.m. for details if you were not able to make it. The next two meetings are scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 14.

Selectmen Chairman Sean Delaney strongly suggested that residents attend the meetings in order to get factual information about the project. Selectman Joe Foti concurred and stated that it was important for residents to go to the meetings before voting.