Towns to fight for programs cut by Patrick

State money for an athletic field in Milford, economic development in Needham, and to control invasive species in Lincoln was vetoed by Governor Deval L. Patrick this week, part of the $122.5 million in spending he slashed from the state budget.

The cuts, which included 260 earmarks from towns across the state, accounted for more than triple the amount Patrick vetoed last year. Funding for projects may be restored if the Legislature overrides a veto, which requires a two-thirds majority in both houses.

"Cuts were made Commonwealth-wide and no single cut was an easy decision," said Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for Patrick. "But, given the challenging fiscal situation we see ourselves in, tough decisions had to be made."

Speaking about Patrick's decision to veto $25,000 for invasive aquatic weed control in Lincoln, Democratic Senator Susan Fargo, whose district includes Lincoln, said, "We will try and get these reinstated by means of an override. I think [Patrick] just went through and cut a lot of earmarks whether they were important services or frills."

Lincoln Conservation Director Tom Gumbart said he was "very disappointed" to see Patrick veto the invasive species control funding, which the town wanted to use to fight water chestnuts on the Sudbury River.

"We were hoping to use this to leverage other grants," Gumbart said. "Now there's work that we are going to have to seek alternative funding for."

Gumbart said the Sudbury River work could benefit from funds for Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, cleanup of the Nyanza Superfund site in Ashland, and the town of Concord, through which the Sudbury River also flows. The conservation department has received money from these sources in the past, Gumbart said.

Michael Bresciani, Milford's director of Parks and Recreation, was disappointed to learn that Patrick cut $100,000 that would have been used to install a backstop and regrade Fino Field, a multipurpose athletic facility.

"We think [the renovations are] a good thing that will benefit a lot of people," Bresciani said. "Hopefully, it will come back to the table through an override."

Since the entire project was to be paid with the state money, the department does not have any other funding sources, Bresciani said.

Medfield lost $100,000 out of $175,000 earmarked to help the town build a new park and recreation building with environmentally friendly technologies. However, the building was not approved at Town Meeting, putting the project in doubt before the vetoes were handed down.

In Weston, officials were pleased to see a $300,000 transportation grant to draft plans to redesign the heavily traveled Wellesley Street and South Avenue intersection cut in half, rather than eliminated, Town Manager Donna VanderClock said.

"We're happy to get anything we can from the state government," VanderClock said. "My assumption was it would be completely wiped out, so I was happy to see we got half."

Patrick also vetoed $100,000 in economic development funding for downtown Needham and $175,000 for the Needham Heights neighborhood, which town officials were hoping to use to design traffic signals, sidewalks, lighting, and other infrastructure improvements.

The governor did leave $50,000 in the budget for triage counseling at Needham's middle school.

"We seem to have done OK in the healthcare area, but not in the economic development area, which I think is critical," said state Representative Lida Harkins, a Democrat from Needham. Harkins is also pushing for the Legislature to override some of the vetoes.

Marlborough's community development corporation lost $25,000, and Marlborough 2010, a state-chartered economic development corporation, lost $75,000.

"I'm not at all happy with the vetoes," said state Senator Pamela Resor, a Democrat from Acton who represents Marlborough. "I think [those organizations are] looking at ways of not only enhancing development, but creating an identity for Marlborough."

Marlborough 2010 officials had hoped to use the state funding to boost the downtown's appeal to tourists and business travelers. The vetoes are especially hard because, with a weak economy, businesses are less willing to donate or sponsor events, executive director John Riordan said.

"It's incumbent on us to make a strong case to the House and Senate leadership [for an override], which we've already started working on," Riordan said. "I think this is just part of the process."