by Marty Green ·
Friday, November 29, 2024
At its Nov. 21 meeting, the Capital Planning and Investment Committee considered requests totaling $662,000 from the schools. But less than a quarter of that amount was for new projects. Almost 80% was either for the continuation of an ongoing project (redoing the Bromfield School floors) or for requests that had not been funded in past years (new auditorium seats, new lockers).
Laying new flooring in Bromfield’s hallways and common areas has been underway with CPIC funds for the past three years. If approved, the $130,000 requested for fiscal 2026 will replace the flooring in about half the classrooms, according to the project description. After that, one more year of work should finish the job in fiscal 2027. The new flooring has a life expectancy of 20 years and does not need waxing.
The other two sizable requests were replacing the seats in Cronin Auditorium ($183,000) and replacing most of the hallway lockers ($210,000). CPIC has considered both projects before.
Last year, the schools proposed a smaller project that would have involved repairing and reupholstering the Cronin seats. But CPIC did not approve that project, nor would the upgrades have addressed the issues raised by the 2023 report from the Commission on Disabilities. To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 697-seat auditorium needs at least eight designated wheelchair spaces and also some aisle seats with removable or folding armrests. Moreover, a number of the seats are broken, creating a safety hazard. Therefore, the fiscal 2026 proposal is to remove and replace all the seats.
The proposal to replace Bromfield’s aging lockers was also familiar to CPIC members, as it has been a yearly request since 2022. Not surprisingly, the expected cost has risen year by year. About 350 of the Bromfield student lockers are 20 to 40 years old. (The school request says the typical lifespan of a locker is 20-25 years.) Problems include rust, missing shelves, and generally poor condition.
The request that drew the most comment from CPIC members was also the smallest—$22,000 to correct drainage issues by the cable studio. According to the request, water has been collecting at the studio doorway, at the back of the Bromfield School. Despite efforts to block the water with sandbags, it has seeped into the studio and caused mold problems.
When CPIC Chair Nate Finch read water was seeping in, he said, “That’s really all I need to know!” But committee member Mike Derse questioned whether the request met the committee’s standards for a capital request; he said it seemed more like a landscaping or maintenance issue.
Superintendent Linda Dwight said the problem is not an expense covered by the omnibus budget, and the schools do not have funds to cover it. The request comes jointly from the schools and from Robert Curran and Brittany Blaney of the Harvard Media Cooperative.
Charles Oliver, the Select Board’s representative on CPIC, suggested fixing the drainage issue might be a good use for some of the town’s money left from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). But Finance Director Jared Mullane responded that the Select Board had allocated nearly all that money in a vote at its Nov. 19 meeting.
Given the threat of mold and water damage, Finch strongly supported taking action quickly. Derse said Town Administrator Dan Nason should be consulted and the problem should be addressed sooner than next July—the date when a fiscal 2026 capital allocation would become available. Dwight said she and the school facilities manager would consult with Nason.
The schools also made several other small capital requests. Among those was $44,000 to mitigate sound problems in two classrooms where the heating and ventilation ducts are exposed and create a noisy environment that can interfere with learning. Sound-absorbing panels on the ceiling and walls are the proposed solution.
Another request was for $38,000 to replace four exterior doors. The doors are hard to close securely, creating a safety issue, and—even when closed—there are gaps that waste heating and cooling energy.
Finally, the schools asked for up to $35,000 for athletic equipment and field improvements. The proposal specified equipment including scoring tables, benches, and pitching machines for baseball and softball. Dwight explained the goal is to bring the fields up to the quality that is expected when the town hosts games.
CPIC members made no decisions on the projects at this meeting; that will come after they hear from all departments and decide how to prioritize all the requests.