Corrected and updated Jan. 10, 2020. See editor’s note below.
Harvard’s capital planning committee gave tepid approval Monday to construction of an addition to Hildreth House, the most expensive fiscal 2021 project on its list, while rejecting plans to replace the leaky roof and gutters of the iconic old library building. A third project to replace the deteriorating Bromfield middle school ramp and add outdoor bathrooms and stairs passed unanimously.
The three proposals were the most expensive of the requests evaluated by the five-member Capital Planning and Investment Committee last week. After less than two hours of deliberation, the committee recommended 15, delayed one, and rejected two. The original $1.1 million request for a new middle school ramp was split to allow the town to vote on the new ramp and outdoor public bathrooms separately, and to provide separate sources of funding for each as well. (See table below.)
Hildreth House Phase 2
The vote to recommend Hildreth House Phase 2—a long-planned addition to accommodate the needs of a growing senior population—was a narrow 3-2 victory for proponents, and somewhat unexpected. The project received the lowest score, 47, on the committee’s project rating sheet. Its estimated cost is $4.3 million, the highest of any project proposed this year. Newly prepared debt projections shown to the Select Board by capital committee Chair John Seeley Tuesday night reveal that if the bill came due in fiscal 2025, the first year of debt service payments would add approximately $167 to the tax bill of a median-priced, $563,100 Harvard home.
Committee members Nate Finch, Alice von Loesecke, and SusanMary Redinger supported the request; Seeley and member-at-large Teresa Jardon did not. Seeley and Jardon questioned the need for additional space and the additional burden on taxpayers. Von Loesecke argued that the project was more than a senior center, having been designed for wider use as a community center, a view that Council on Aging Director Debbie Thompson and board Co-Chair Beth Williams have both endorsed. The vote was complicated by an expectation that the Select Board will propose adding an enclosed connector between Hildreth House and the proposed separate addition and a sprinkler system at Hildreth House, which would be required if the two buildings were connected. Von Loesecke said Tuesday night that the proposal will likely be presented to the capital committee at its Feb. 10 meeting. If approved, the connector and fire suppression system would add an estimated $500,000 to the total cost and would be presented as a separate article at Town Meeting.
Old library roof
The vote to replace the old library roof and gutters was also divided, but this time opponents prevailed, 3-2. The request was for an additional $921,360 to replace the old library’s slate roof as recommended by the Permanent Building Committee, an expenditure that would increase the total cost of the project to $1.3 million. For a second time, Redinger was the swing voter, joining Seeley and Jardon to oppose the request. Finch and von Loesecke argued that the final decision should be left to Town Meeting. The Finance Committee has yet to make its own recommendation, and the Select Board can ultimately decide to place the expenditure on the spring Town Meeting warrant even if the capital and finance committees recommend against it. Moreover, the debt projections shown to the Select Board by Seeley Tuesday night include a placeholder for the project, suggesting that officials think the town might ultimately approve it. That spreadsheet assumes a start to construction in July, with the debt bill coming due in fiscal 2022 and adding $45 to the taxes on a median-priced house.
Debt, taxpayer impact
If Town Meeting approves the committee’s entire list this spring, the total cost to the town will be approximately $6.3 million, which includes the additional $300,000 the committee voted last year to contribute from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund toward payment of principal and interest on the new elementary school due in fiscal 2021.
The capital committee recommends using money from the capital fund to pay for all but two of next year’s projects but wants the town to pay for both the Hildreth House addition and new ramp with borrowed money. With debt service (principal and interest) on the new school coming due next fiscal year, timing will be an issue. Select Board meeting attendees got a preview Tuesday night of what might be in the cards.
The forecast distributed by Seeley assumes the Hildreth House addition and school ramp will be approved at spring town meeting, and that final design, followed by construction, will begin July 2020 and will require one and one-half to three years to complete. In an email to the Press, von Loesecke said that before final debt is put in place, the Hildreth House addition and ramp would be paid for, as needed, with short term, interest-only notes at very low rates.” Once construction is complete, the town will issue a municipal bond to pay for both projects. Principal and interest payments for the ramp would begin in fiscal 2024, and those for Hildreth House in fiscal 2025.
These and other matters, including whether to set a debt limit for the town, were to be discussed at this week’s Finance Committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday night in upper Town Hall.
The next step is for FinCom to listen to the advice of the capital committee Wednesday night and then for members to offer their own.
Editor’s note: This story was updated Jan. 10 to reflect new information about the anticipated timing of design, construction, and debt payments for the Hildreth House addition and new school ramp. Town officials deny they have considered delaying either project. The forecast of future debt payments distributed this week assumes spring town meeting approves both.
