Officials to wait for report before repairing certain buildings – The Landmark

At the March 27 selectmens meeting, Town Administrator Nina Nazarian suggested removing from the FY18 budget cycle several known capital building projects until a feasibility study is done.

That includes proposed projects at the Princeton Center [fire alarms], Bagg Hall, including determining whether the northwest corner of the building is actually settling, partial repointing of the bricks on some sections of the building, exterior door repairs, window replacement, some roof repair at the Princeton Center building, and roof repair at the public safety building, and an exhaust system for the fire department.

Nazarian is suggesting that $35,000 be added to the $65,000 voters approved at last years annual town meeting earmarked for a Bagg Hall feasibility study, for a total of $100,000. The board of selectmen heard a proposal to complete a building plan for long term improvements for the needs of the departments, said Nazarian. The board of selectmen will prioritize the building plan and work with the advisory committee, she added. Selectmen voted to place the request for the $35,000 on the town meeting warrant. The building study group suggested that money be put into the infrastructure stabilization fund toward future work.

Nazarian said she didnt think it was practical to put pieces of things into that fund and discussed with Phil Connors, building maintenance supervisor, for the best understanding of how long things will last. If we were to start in two years, what would we not do now? she asked. There are tough decisions that need to be made, but were trying to balance this and move forward as a community.

Nazarian suggested that the Sheriffs Community Service Department may be able to do exterior painting of the town hall annex, thus saving approximately $10,000. Officials will ask whether Monty Tech students could work on the roof and trim at the town hall annex, possibly saving $25,000.

Nazarian said the window issue at Bagg Hall is related to the windows on the second floor. The windows on the first floor arent the problem, she said.

Select board chairman Stan Moss suggested removing the $20,000 from the warrant that was earmarked for IT improvements at the library. Lets wait for the IT audit, he said.

Requests for a dump truck for the highway, roof repairs at the library, field drainage and fencing for the softball field and vault restoration continue to be considered for the warrant.

The town counsel budget is expected to increase from $20,000 to $45,200 due to the use of special counsel for the cable franchise issue. Were asking for an additional $10,000 for the snow and ice budget, said Nazarian. This years overage of approximately $55,000 is partially due to the kind of snow, more icy, and limited staffing, requiring the hiring of outside contractors, she added.

Road advisory committee member Bill Holder asked whether funds from the infrastructure stabilization account could be used to help pay costs for the bridge replacement of East Princeton Road.

Dont even think about it, said Moss.

The town is slated to receive a $500,000 grant toward the work, but that leaves a gap of approximately $500,000 to pay for the work.

I recall that if you got the grant money you were going to put off some other road projects to pay for the bridge work, said Nazarian.

Bridges have a life of 75 years, said Holder. We could fund it for a longer period of time rather than take it from the operating budget.

Most towns dont fund much beyond their Chapter 90 funds, said Moss. Weve spent $2 million since 2008 and spent nothing on buildings, he added.

Road reconstruction is listed as an operational expense and the suggestion was made to put it on the warrant as a special article, separate from the highway department operating budget.

The road committee is resistant to that, said Moss.

I would encourage you to keep the $350,000 in the budget, said Holder.

I didnt mean to stir up a hornets nest, said Holder. There just may be a more productive way of borrowing.

Nazarian is recommending an increase in hours [25 to 30] and salary [$36,541 $43,620] for the town accountant. Since shes been here she has demonstrated substantial performance, learned municipal law and has a CPA, said Nazarian. She has increased responsibilities and according to the audit report we need to make improvements.

The change in general government expense has increased by 50 percent since 2015 and this year shows a 42 percent increase, said advisory committee member George Handy. We always talk about sustainability, he said.

The total increase in the FY18 budget is $448,000, said Moss. That would mean 85 cents on the tax rate or an increase of $200 on the average tax for a four percent increase, he added. Available free cash is $610,444.27.

Advisory committee members had several questions regarding increases in the proposed FY 18 budget and Nazarian said she welcomed further analysis and discussion regarding the budget.

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Officials to wait for report before repairing certain buildings - The Landmark