LETTER: Vote 'No' On Question 1

To the Editor:

I am currently a junior at St. John’s Prep in Danvers and a future taxpayer.  I am urging my fellow citizens to vote “no” on ballot question one on April 14.

Like most people, I want what is best for my peers at Tewksbury Memorial High School. Quite frankly, this new athletic complex is not only costly, but an unnecessary bill for the taxpayers of this town.  As of June 30, 2011, the Tewksbury town debt was $151 million with an additional $61 million in interest.  Additionally, the already high cost of living is on the rise: gas and food prices have reached all-time heights along with the ever-increasing tax burden.

Granted, the high school project is supposed to come in under budget, but why not use the extra money to pay back the debt accumulated in the building of the school? Not to mention, the shelf life of a turf field is about seven years.  When that seven years is up, a new turf field has to be put in.  In reality, this complex is only a blackhole for hard earned tax dollars.  Turf fields have so much “damageability,” that the restrictions that have to be put in place just keep it in tact will not make this complex one for the “community.”

In closing, the hard-working taxpaying people of this town have had to foot the bill one too many times.  Whether it be a Senior Center, a Town Sewerage Fiasco, or even a brand new high school, this town just wants to keep on spending.  It needs to stop, so we can start alleviating this immense debt that will eventually be levied onto my generation. 

Finish Strong means finishing wrong.

Alec DiFruscia