At its June 29 meeting, the Finance Committee reviewed the projects included in the Capital Budget for FY21.
Their review comes as the latest update in the town’s push to defer projects from the Capital Budget which may be deemed less urgent in the economic wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At their June 24 meeting, the Select Board similarly reviewed the projects, electing to discuss every Capital Budget item, in addition, to extensively reviewing a list of proposed deferrals proposed by Town Manager Sarah Stanton.
Ultimately, the Board decided to defer six projects in addition to the Police Station Renovation, Fire Station Land Acquisition, and HVAC Replacement at the Library, which they had previously elected to defer.
The six additional deferrals agreed upon by the Select Board at their last meeting were Floor Scrubber Replacement for schools, the 108 Carlisle Site Buildout, Exterior Door Vestibule Replacement and Fire Alarm System Replacement at the Library, and Vehicle Replacements for Code Enforcement and the DPW.
The Finance Committee agreed with the Select Board, deciding that these six additional projects should be indefinitely deferred. These deferrals would result in a decrease in the FY21 Capital Budget of $233,416. This is in addition to the $16,500,000 decrease in the budget from the deferral of the Police Station Renovation, Fire Station Land Acquisition, and HVAC Replacement at the Library, resulting in a total of $16,733,416.
Stanton noted that the decision to defer all of these projects was not an easy one. “This is not a staff wish list,” she explained, “but rather an identified list of needs based on Select Board goals and priorities, ongoing maintenance, and necessary updates for life and safety.” This was the Finance Committee’s final meeting before Annual Town Meeting on July 11.
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