To the editor:

After three years of an extensive public process, the time has come to move forward on 25 Watson, the former monastery. Three years ago, FTM voters relied upon the stated purposes of the purchase: senior housing, some affordable housing, and maintaining some green space. The current plan endorsed by the Planning Board and a 4-1 majority of the Town Council, meets all those objectives, and makes fiscal sense.

Many Barrington seniors live in homes that no longer meet their physical or budgetary needs. If passed at this Wednesday’s Financial Town Meeting, this balanced plan would create twelve new senior cottages on 1.56 acres of the 7-acre property, including five affordable cottages with matching exterior features. All will be age restricted to 55+, reducing the fiscal impact upon our schools. All will have sustainable features including all-electric construction and a conduit for the installation of solar panels.

The Watson FTM vote will apply to the entire property and should therefore be evaluated in its entirety. Town officials have a fiduciary responsibility to all residents. To that end, the plan includes the sale of six single family lots at market rates. These sales will fund demolition and asbestos remediation of the 1950s era monastery building which cannot be economically converted to housing and recover some of the purchase price for taxpayers. It will also end the spending of over $300,000 annually in carrying and maintenance costs. The six houses and twelve cottages will yield tax revenue in perpetuity, as we face school construction expenses and the possible passage of an athletic field bond (also to be voted on at Wednesday’s FTM).

Although Watson was never intended to be exclusively open space, some public green space was promised from the beginning. As such, the plan includes a two-acre public park on the picturesque south end of the property. That space will be maintained by the town and open all residents. It will include a few daytime parking spaces and be accessible to all Barrington residents.

To guarantee that the plan voted on at the FTM is permanent, the town will jointly apply with the developer for a comprehensive permit for the entire seven-acre property, which is only possible because the development meets the 25% affordable threshold. Deed restrictions will prohibit lot further subdivision or merger of the single-family lots.

The compromise on the table would be a win for those who support senior housing, affordable housing, the climate, public open space, reasonable housing density, and fiscal responsibility. I thank everyone for engaging and hope that you will vote yes.

Carl Kustell

Barrington

Carl Kustell is Barrington Town Council President.