Home Care In Dudley, MA

DUDLEY, Mass. - The Town of Dudley is facing a significant deficit in its budget for next fiscal year, and the town’s fire chief said it’s already having a dangerous impact on public safety.

What You Need To Know

Dudley’s FY24 budget was approved on May 22, but rising costs within the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District have created an $867,000 gap between projected costs and the budget voters agreed to.

Selectman John Marsi said it’s a dire situation, and the town has a math problem on its hands.

“The school district, with their current assessment being a double-digit increase and with the additional $867,000 dollars the school committee sent back to us, that’s a 17% increase over the last three years,” Marsi said. “On the town side, we have a 2.49% increase over the last several years as well, so you can see it’s out of balance there.”

Marsi said town leaders are trying to find a balance to satisfy the needs of the school district and public safety, but after two override votes accounting for the bumped up school budget failed, fire chief Dean Kochanowski said trouble is already on the doorstep.

“The additional cuts meant I lost two full-time firefighters, approximately 30 call members, and that left me with two men a shift, me and a deputy,” Kochanowski said. “Basically, I can get one ambulance on the road or a two-man engine company, which is extremely unsafe. I won’t send any of my men into a burning building with two guys.”

Meanwhile, superintendent Stephen Lamarche said the school district is only asking for level service next fiscal year, which means ensuring students have the same experience they did last school year.

The only issue is, inflation has ballooned fixed costs by $3.6 million.

“I think moving forward, not only this year but future years as well, the cost of providing public education for students has increased just like everything else,” Lamarche said. “Right now we’re in a tough spot, we do not want to compromise services for experience with our students.”

Marsi said this hasn’t been a sudden financial struggle. Ten years ago, the town went to the Massachusetts Legislature for help paying the school budget using state funding through the Chapter 70 Program, but their request never made it past committee.

Now, the Board of Selectmen will have to figure out some way to find balance, with more urgency than ever.

“The Board of Selectmen on Monday will hear all the rest of the information and then decide what to do next, whether that’s another form of an override, whether it’s cuts, or some blend of the two,” Marsi said. “So that’s what we’re really focused on. This is not a good place to be.”

Correspondent

DUDLEY – The town is about to notify more than 2,300 water system users that their water contains chemicals called PFAS6 at levels deemed unsafe to drink.

Dudley is not the first water supplier mandated to send such a notice and won’t be the last as the state Department of Environmental Protection preps for a wave of similar occurrences statewide before the year is out.

The DEP changed its public drinking water regulations for six chemicals in October by lowering the maximum allowable amount from 70 parts per trillion to 20 ppt.

According to DEP records, among the public water systems that have already been found to be serving water above the 20 ppt standard are the Aquarion Water Co. in Millbury, the Hudson Water Supply and the Princeton Town Campus.

These six Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS6, are synthetic chemicals found in consumer products, such as cookware, pizza boxes, stain repellents and firefighting foam.

According to the DEP, some people who consume PFAS6 above 20 ppt may experience adverse effects on the liver, blood, immune system, thyroid, and fetal development. PFAS6 consumption could also elevate the risk of certain cancers.

Pregnant or nursing women, infants and people diagnosed as immunocompromised are considered a “sensitive subgroup.” These people are at greater risk and are advised by the DEP not to drink or cook with the water.

The DEP says people not in the sensitive group may continue to use the water because the risks are applicable to a lifetime of consumption. In most situations, the DEP says, the water can be safely used for washing foods, brushing teeth and bathing.

With the stricter standards, the DEP is mandating 1,629 public water suppliers across the state to begin testing for PFAS and if necessary, upgrade their systems to meet the new standards.

For suppliers that service more than 50,000 properties, mandatory testing had to begin by Jan. 1. Those that serve more than 10,000 by April 1, and those with less than 10,000 users, must start testing by Oct. 1.

If the average amount of PFAS found over three consecutive months exceeds 20 ppt, that town or water supplier is deemed in violation and must give the DEP a plan for remediation within 30 days.

The Dudley water department proactively tested a year in advance of its requirement to prepare for upcoming regulation changes ahead of infrastructure updates.

“I have to commend the town for getting out in front of this,” DEP Regional Director Mary Jude Pigsley told a group of town officials on a March 30 remote meeting. In doing so, she said, the town received a nearly $200,000 state grant to offset costs. That grant money, she said, has since dried up.

How the PFAS came to be in Dudley’s drinking water system is unknown.

Last week, one of two water sources in town, known as Well 3, was deemed in violation when its average three-month test came in at 21.7 ppt.

“You’re serving water that’s not protective of the public health,” Pigsley said.

The DEP ordered the town to notify its 2,361 uses of the violation and possible risks. This includes Shepherd Hill Regional High School, Dudley Elementary School and Mason Road School. The letter is expected to mail next week.

School Superintendent Steven M. Lamarche said Wednesday the schools moved to cooking with bottled water when the possible violation was made known in January.

“We also offer bottled water for anyone who is classified as a sensitive subgroup, and if anyone else asks for bottled water they can have it as well,” he said.

Pigsley has been working with the Dudley water department and its consulting engineering firm, Tighe & Bond, to develop short- and long-term plans to reduce the amount of contaminate reaching users.

At the meeting, Pigsley said of the town’s remediation plan, “I think it’s a good plan. I think it’s going to work. The bad part of it is it’s going to cost money; you don’t have a choice though.”

Scott Zajkowski, Water-Sewer Commission chair, said Monday, “We are bound to follow the letter of the regulation, our No. 1 priority is to provide adequate and clean water to everyone in town.”

The temporary fix, he said, is to blend water from Well 3 with that of Well 6 before sending it into the system, thereby diluting the PFAS level. This $1 million project, approved at the June town meeting, is complete and is expected to be operational in two weeks.

By the fall, Zajkowski said, temporary filtration will begin at this well site. The permanent solution of installing systemwide filtration to remove the contaminate is expected to be a $11.5 million project, which will take several years to complete.

The town has been approved for a low-interest state loan of $11.5 million, with some possible principal forgiveness. Selectmen and town meeting must approve the borrowing by June 30. If the town doesn’t apply for the loan by that deadline, it must reapply next year. By that time, one official noted, the town will be competing for money with all the other towns and public water systems that are just now starting to test.

Most common water filtration devices do not remove PFAS, nor does boiling water. The DEP lists bottled water sources that are PFAS-free at www.mass.gov/doc/bottled-water-tested-for-pfas.

The owners of the land gave the city advance notice of their intent to sell the property.

NEWTON, MA — The City of Newton is issuing an Expression of Interest request for those who may be interested in partnering with the city to develop almost 15 acres of land between Dudley and Brandeis Roads adjacent to Newton South High School.

According to Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, the owners of the land gave the city advance notice of their intent to sell the property and offered the city an opportunity to buy the property for $24 million.

The property consists of three parcels, including an approximately one-acre parcel with a home at 85 Dudley Road, a 13-acre parcel of vacant land between Dudley and Brandeis Roads, and a parcel with a residence at 132 Brandeis Road.

The majority of the site is zoned for single family residence, which could permit the site to be subdivided into approximately twenty single family house lots of 25,000 sq. ft.

"We are exploring the potential for the City to be a part of a joint development proposal for this property,” Fuller said in a community update. "This approach, which has been used successfully here in Newton and elsewhere, may provide us with an opportunity to achieve both some of the City’s desired outcomes for the property and at the same time partner with a developer to submit a competitive acquisition offer.”

Find out what's happening in Newtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The City’s interests, as detailed in the EOI request, prioritizes a development plan which preserves significant open space, includes the provision of affordable housing in excess of the City’s requirements and reserves a portion of the property for future school or City recreation facility needs,” she added.

Responses to the EOI are due by Dec. 1, 2022. More information on the property offering and the City’s EOI can be found on the City’s project’s webpage here.

Anyone with questions about the city’s Expression of Interest request may join the community information meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 6-7:00 p.m. The zoom link for the meeting is available here.

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The town of Dudley is facing a budget crunch. Voters have twice elected not to pass tax overrides to account for a raised school budget, leaving the town scrambling to find the money elsewhere.

The town has scheduled a special Town Meeting for July 24 to vote on a new, balanced budget. A third override vote is set for August 17, described by the town as a “menu-style” vote on which town services to fund.

Spectrum News 1 spoke with Board of Selectmen Chair Kerry Cyganiewicz Sr., who explains what the next several weeks will look like.

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The town passed a budget in May, but voters failed to pass a proposition to override. What happened there, where does the town stand now and how did we get to this point?

“We had passed an override in 2018. The school district benefited from that, as well as the town. At the time, that was projected to last about three years and we all know what happened three years later – the pandemic. In 2021, we didn't feel it was proper to ask again for another override during the pandemic, so what we did was we used ARPA funds to patch things up until now, and that money ran out.

“COVID money isn’t coming anymore, so we went back to the voters, and they voted no. In April they voted no, and again in June, and the [school] district took another vote following the last failed override meeting, and that increased their budget by $901,000 over Fiscal Year 23. The municipal side of the budget should have already been reduced by 10% when the override failed. We’re out of balance by $901,000, and that’s what this override that we have coming up [on August 17] will be looking to fill.”

That meeting that you have on July 24, is that what you're asking voters to take a look at?

“Yes, legally the town is required to have a balanced budget. If additional money voted by the school committee is not part of that assessment, meaning that the July 24 special Town Meeting voters reject the balanced budget, the district has the option, and they almost certainly will call something called the ‘super meeting,’ where Dudley and Charlton voters will decide on the school assessment number.

“If that happens, it’s likely that the additional $901,000 will easily pass. That money needs to come from somewhere, and it would come from the town side of the budget, and that would have a further crushing effect on public safety, public health and critical services that are already being funded at a dangerously low level as a result of the two failed override votes.”

There is a special election on August 17. Does that depend on what happens at the July 24 meeting, or will that election happen no matter what?

“What will happen [on August 17] is that the voters will decide the level of services they wish to pay for because of the cuts that we’ll have to impose on the budget. The additional amount voted for the school assessment, simply stated without exaggerating, will be dramatic. It will have a severe impact if it doesn’t pass.”

Can you explain what happens if you can’t get more funding? You’re already seeing impacts, what would happen if nothing does pass?

“We’ll have cuts across the board. To give you an example, the highway department is being funded mostly through the town’s stabilization account, which is our savings account. This will be depleted in Fiscal Year 24. We’d like the residents to strongly consider funding the highway and the rest of the departments to provide adequate levels of service during this time.

“If the override passes on the special election in August, our new tax rate will be $11.84, which is significantly lower than any town around us and it's among the lowest in the county and the state.”

Voters have been rejecting this, what are you hearing in terms of why this keeps happening from voters or residents who live in the town?

“Well, a lot of people purchased homes in Dudley because of the great school system. It’s a safe community and we have a low tax rate, and at this time, they seem to be valuing the low tax rate.”

Boston-based nonprofit Creative Cultural Arts Inc. hosts the Dudley Jazz Fest July 22 at Mary Hannon Playground in Dorchester. From noon to 6 p.m., live jazz will be performed by local artists, including Beacon Bop from UMass Boston, Pat Loomis, the Fred Woodard Collective, James Kamal Jones Other Tongues, and Ron Mahdi & Rightly Guided featuring Nadia Washington.

Jazz guitarist Fred Woodard is a Berklee College of Music alumnus and the leader of his namesake trio. He organizes the Dudley Jazz Fest every year and is the founder of Creative Cultural Arts Inc., the nonprofit that has been hosting the festival since 2016. The organization aims to support musicians through performance opportunities and share jazz with Boston communities.

In the early days of the Dudley Jazz Fest, Woodard said he would have to search for musicians to perform. In the festival’s seventh year, Woodard said musicians from California, New York, and Montreal requested to play this year. Still, Woodard said he centered the lineup on local artists. “I really want to focus more on the Boston-based musicians,” said Woodard, “because Boston has a pretty strong jazz scene.”

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Woodard’s goal for the festival is to increase Roxbury and Dorchester’s exposure to jazz and live music in general. “Jazz … it’s not accessible,” said Woodard. He explained that while there are many jazz musicians in the city, they’re not usually performing for free. Woodard said he hopes to bring jazz to the people who might not have the budget to purchase a ticket to a jazz club or lounge.

But Woodard said he’s not fond of the term “underserved” when talking about the neighborhoods of Roxbury and Dorchester. “I prefer to call them communities that need the arts,” he said. “I’m doing my part to contribute to that need.”

When he founded Creative Cultural Arts Inc. in 2007, Woodard started his initiative with a small concert series called Jazz in the Hood at the Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library. Since then, the nonprofit has organized free concerts and workshops for the residents of Roxbury and Dorchester.

“Jazz has to be presented in a way so that the general public can relate to it,” said Woodard.

DUDLEY JAZZ FEST

July 22, noon-6 p.m. Free. 613 Dudley St., Dorchester. creativeculturalarts.org