Mattapoisett Finance Committee
By Marilou Newell
Chairman of the Old Rochester Regional (ORR) School Committee Cary Humphrey wanted the Mattapoisett Capital Planning and Finance Committees to understand the difference between the prior “T.U.R.F.” project and the current proposal, as a member of a committee comprised of school committee members, school facilities staff, and several members of the former T.U.R.F. non-profit group.
This committee, Humphrey said on April 25, has taken the original athletic field proposal – one that the Tri-towns had felt was too costly – and refined it to what they believe are the most needed repairs, namely the football field, the track, and some lighting and sound renovations in the auditorium.
Humphrey was flanked by ORR District Business Administrator Paul Kitchen; ORR School District member Tina Rood; school facility personnel; and representatives from Kaestle Boos Associates, the architectural firm engaged for design and estimating.
The meeting was called to specifically give the interested parties the opportunity to explain in greater detail the redefined regional high school improvement project and the financial impact to the taxpayers.
Humphrey said that the original T.U.R.F. proposal came in around $5 million, but the newer proposal was estimated at $2 million and focused only on those areas identified as safety concerns. Calling the ORR high school auditorium the “most used building in town,” he said the lighting was in woeful condition, as was the soundboard. Of the football field and track, he said that other schools didn’t want their students using those facilities due to concerns over player safety.
The plan is to resurface the track and install an artificial turf playing field. Presently, the athletic field was deemed by Humphrey as “more dirt then grass.”
Finance Committee member Colby Rottler wanted more information on the material being selected for the field, saying that dust, which the children might inhale, could have health consequences later in life.
“Everything is toxic,” said Rottler. “It’s a matter of what is less toxic.”
The artificial materials were described as natural polished wooden pearls spread over a shock-absorbing pad. It was further described as having a 15-year lifespan and requires grooming every three weeks for about two hours. A special machine employed in the grooming process was included in the cost estimates.
But the bigger issue for the Town’s two financial committees was not the need – that fact is recognized by all – but how the Town would fund a borrowing scheme for it, especially in light of plans to build a new fire station.
Finance Committee Chairman Pat Donoghue said, “My primary concern is, how much money are we going to have to put up each year?”
Superintendent Doug White said via a 15-year bond.
“Our portion would be $800,000*, spread over 15 years,” said Gagne.
“Is the note going to last longer than the life of the field?” Donoghue asked, continuing, “We have a capital project we’ve put off for years – the fire station. We don’t have a choice, so I’m trying to prioritize where this fits in. Does it meet the same necessity as some of these other things?” She also said that another priority for the town was local school improvements.
“We don’t have the money in the levy right now,” said Gagne. “If it’s voted at Town Meeting, it will have to be a debt exclusion.”
“We would not be here today if it weren’t a very big need,” Humphrey stated.
“We’ll look into what other regional school systems have done,” Gagne said, adding that Mattapoisett has a stabilization fund and that, possibly, there might be a way for the school district to develop something similar that could be used for large scale projects. “There really should be some ability to plan,” Gagne said.
Gagne was asked to study the financials and to return with a detailed breakdown. No vote was taken regarding the proposed project.
In other business, Mattapoisett Highway Superintendent Barry Denham meet with the Capital Planning and the Finance Committees to shed clearer light on his department’s needs.
Regarding repairs and improvements to the Highway Department building located on Mendell Road, Denham’s documents showed $217,020 remaining from previous town meeting appropriations against an estimated cost for $436,400 in renovations, a shortfall of $219,380.
On the matter of bridge repairs on Acushnet Road, for which the town has a grant for $500,000, Denham listed another $76,000 on-hand. The project total is estimated at $1.2 million. Denham projected, if the town secured another $230,000 from Chapter 90 funding in 2021, that would still leave $164,000 required to complete the project.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for May 2 at 5:00 pm at the Town Hall.
*On April 29, Gagne updated the amount to $909,000 during a subsequent Finance Committee meeting.
Money makes the world go round, but how it is spent takes a voting majority. As Mattapoisett prepares for the Annual Town Meeting on May 13, the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is now in overdrive, meeting twice in one week to iron out lingering questions prior to making its final warrant recommendations on May 2.
On April 29, after having met with Old Rochester Regional (ORR) proponents of the athletic field/auditorium upgrade project four days earlier, Finance Committee Chairman Pat Donoghue said she visited ORR that day and walked the entire length of the track. While finding some repairs needed, the scope, in her estimation, was not as dire as what had been reported to the committee by the group proposing $2.5 million in repairs to the football field, tracks, and the auditorium.
“It’s not that bad,” she told the committee.
One track, she said, would need extensive repairs, while another only needed resurfacing.
Town Administrator Michael Gagne said that after taking a deeper dive into the ORRHS proposal, he found that Mattapoisett’s share spread over 15 years would be $909,000. He also wondered aloud if the $50,000 requested to replace lighting with LED lamps in the auditorium was allowed under the terms and conditions imposed by the Department of Revenue. He said he would be following up to ensure the bonding request was in line with regulations.
On that theme, Donoghue said, “I’m hearing that the artificial turf lasts only 10 or 15 years, and there is maintenance. … You don’t want debt when you have ongoing maintenance.” She said she believed that 20 percent of the track needed work. Of the proposal before them, she said, “I’m not comfortable.”
When asked if the ORR School Committee had a capital planning process, Gagne said that they did, but in the absence of a Stabilization Fund, they didn’t have money to spend. He also said that if it isn’t possible for the town to bond the proposed project with a 15-year note, numbers would have to be recast at 10 years and he was unsure what impact that would have on taxpayers.
In other business, Gagne said that a new agreement with Old Colony Regional Technical High School (OCRTHS) was in hand and that legal counsel was reviewing it. He said there is a new formula applied to municipalities sending students to OCRTHS. Whereas previously the same fee structure was applied to all participating towns, the structure was now based on enrollment.
Regarding the ballooning other post-employment benefits known as OPEB, Gagne said, “It’s a little alarming.”
According to Gagne, between 2015 and 2017 there was a $2.5-million increase in the Town’s OPEB liability. The town has been setting aside the sum of $435,000 from the budget for the past several years, but now, Gagne said, “We may have to increase that to keep pace with the retirements.”
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for May 2 at 5:00 pm in the Town Hall.
Mattapoisett Finance Committee
By Marilou Newell