Nearly a year after deferring a decision on a proposal for a $3.7 million renovation of the Hildreth House as a senior center, the town’s Capital Planning and Investment Committee (CPIC) has given its top ranking to a $1.33 million proposal to undertake just the first phase of the project.
With little discussion at its December 18 meeting, the committee ranked a total of 12 proposed projects totaling $2.6 million. The rankings resulted from a point-based assessment done by each member of the committee, based on a predetermined set of criteria. Those criteria include such things as whether the project improves safety, whether the projected cost has been substantiated, and the project’s expected useful life.
A second proposed project that also received a high ranking was a scaled-down version of an earlier plan to renovate and upgrade the science labs at the Bromfield School. The original improvements were slated to cost $1.9 million, but the revised plan seeks $315,000, primarily for safety-related upgrades to the air-exchange equipment in the science labs. The committee gave the reduced science lab project its fourth-highest rating among the dozen projects.
Ten projects meet threshold
Of the projects rated, 10 of them, totaling $2.5 million, scored more than 70 points each, an unofficial threshold for recommending individual projects for funding. Two projects—a proposed upgrade to the town water distribution system and the construction of dugouts and other improvements for school baseball and softball fields—each received fewer than 55 points, making it questionable whether the CPIC will recommend those projects for funding.
Debbie Ricci, chairwoman of the CPIC, said she thought the baseball dugouts could be financed by funds from the Community Preservation Committee and that the water filtration upgrade could be funded as a small warrant article in the town’s omnibus budget.
The capital committee has yet to take formal votes on whether to recommend individual projects for inclusion in the list of projects for voters to consider at Annual Town Meeting in the spring. Nor has the committee yet decided how each approved project might be funded. But the committee’s policy has been to finance the largest projects through debt, with smaller projects funded either through capital exclusions or the committee’s own Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
Ultimately, the capital committee votes whether to recommend individual projects to the Finance Committee, which in turn, makes its recommendations. Historically, the Finance Committee has accepted the CPIC’s recommendations.
Funding sources vary
The following is a list of the projects rated Thursday by the capital committee, along with the total points garnered by each project and a preliminary assessment of the possible source of funding for each project:
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Hildreth House, $1.33 million. The project received 101 points, well above the average point total of 82.8. The project is likely to be financed through excluded debt, meaning it will require a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting, followed by a vote at town elections to exclude debt service payments from the Proposition 2½ tax levy limits.
There was some discussion about providing a portion of the funding from the Capital Stabilization Fund, which itself is funded through the town’s “free cash.” Free cash is the surplus of town revenues over expenses from the previous fiscal year. - New fire department tanker truck, $350,000. The project received 98 points. There was preliminary discussion about funding the truck via a 10-year bond issue. The new vehicle would replace the current 25-year-old tanker truck, which has broken and leaking valves and failed its annual pump test.
- New police department radios, $85,000. The project received 95 points. The radios would likely be funded from the Capital Stabilization Fund. The new radios would allow the police to communicate directly with the fire department.
- Science labs renovations, $315,000 (92 points). The committee discussed paying for this project via a capital exclusion, which involves a one-year increase in property taxes without issuing debt. A vote to exclude that tax increase from the Proposition 2½ limit would be needed at Town Meeting and at the ballot box.
- New classroom telephones for the elementary, middle, and high schools, $100,000 (87 points). The project would likely be funded from the capital fund. While capital committee member Ken Swanton raised a question about the need for the project, Patty Wenger, who is also a member of the School Committee, maintained that the phones are needed in case of emergencies and would be equipped with intercoms.
- A new fueling system for DPW vehicles, $30,000 (86 points). Information was not immediately available about this project.
- Replacing the boat docks at the pond, $18,000 (86 points). The project would likely be funded from the capital fund.
- New dump truck and plow for the DPW, $175,000 (85 points). The committee discussed funding this truck through a 10-year bond issue.
- Renovations to bathrooms in the elementary school, $30,000 (85 points). The money would likely come from the capital fund.
- Upgrades to town roads by the DPW, $40,000 (75 points). The roadwork would likely be funded from the capital fund. Ricci has questioned why the cost for the work does not match the $15,000 projected in the DPW’s five-year plan.
