’Tis the season for the Capital Planning and Investment Committee to hear what items are on each town department’s wish list of major projects or purchases for the coming fiscal year. The committee’s annual review process began at its Oct. 20 meeting with three requests from the Police Department that totaled $320,000 and two from the facilities manager that added up to $265,000. The bulk of the requests are for the Public Safety Building.
The Police Department is asking for $100,000 to repair and pave the parking lot and driveway of the Public Safety Building, $50,000 to replace the building’s roof, and $170,000 to install solar panels on the roof. Police Chief James Babu told the committee the parking lot has not been repaved since it was installed in 2002, and it has drainage and icing issues, as does the driveway from the upper to the lower parking lot. The pavement needs to be stripped and the entire area repaved, he said. But he said it’s not a safety hazard and could be put off for one more year.
As for the roof, Babu said there is nothing currently wrong with it; replacing it would be part of a solar panel installation project. He said the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which offers a 30% tax credit to residents who install solar panels, contains a provision that allows nontaxable entities, such as towns, to receive a direct reimbursement instead of tax credits, making solar panel installation more attractive.
However, the roof is 20 years old, and its lifespan is only 25 years. Removing solar panels to replace the roof would be expensive, Babu said, and solar companies will not install panels on roofs near the end of their life. That’s why he is asking for funding for both projects simultaneously. Committee Chair Nate Finch asked Babu to get more information on the federal reimbursement. The committee also asked if Babu had considered a metal roof. He said he had investigated an aluminum roofing system, which would be more energy efficient than asphalt shingles and would have a 50-year life span. Babu said he would get a quote for the aluminum system.
Facilities manager Jeff Hayes requested $150,000 to upgrade the Public Safety Building’s elevator, which was installed in 2002 when the building was constructed. He said the manufacturer, Otis Elevator Company, told the town a few years ago that the model was obsolete and parts were no longer being made for it. When the state inspected it this year, Hayes said, there were some electronic issues that needed to be fixed. Repairs were made but upgrading the electronics now would “get ahead of” any future difficulties obtaining parts. Hayes said the upgrade would extend the life of the elevator another 20 years. The structural components aren’t that old, he added, and he estimated a new elevator would likely cost on the order of $750,000.
Hayes is also asking for $115,000 to paint the exteriors of the Public Safety Building, Town Hall, and the library trim. Finch asked why painting these buildings isn’t part of the annual facilities maintenance budget; Hayes answered that it’s expensive to paint buildings as large as these because they require lifts. The cost to paint all three would be higher than this year’s maintenance budget, which is only $100,000.
The committee makes no recommendations at these request-review meetings; those will come later, after every department has been heard from. Each request will then be rated, and the committee will present its recommendations to the Select Board, which has the ultimate say on which capital purchases or projects are presented to Town Meeting in the spring. The next CPIC meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3, when the committee will consider requests from the Department of Public Works, the Council on Aging, and the town administrator.
