Millis school project to receive $68.2M MSBA reimbursement; committee approves $3,500 mailer

Jeff (presenter) told the Town of Millis School Building Committee and Permanent Building Committee on Oct. 15 that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is expected to reimburse $68,200,000 toward a $125,000,000 school project, producing an effective reimbursement rate of 54.6%.

"You've approved a $125,000,000 project, and the state is going to give you $68,200,000, which ends up being an effective reimbursement rate of 54.6%," Jeff said. He added the rate reflects scope changes that removed ineligible items such as athletic fields and an enlarged gym.

The reimbursement figure means the remainder of project costs would fall to local taxpayers if voters approve the funding. The committee emphasized the project still requires two separate local approvals: a two-thirds vote at town meeting to approve the project and a majority vote on the town ballot to fund it, language the committee placed on the project website and a planned mailer.

Committee members and staff confirmed public outreach steps. Jeff said a public forum the night before drew 44 members of the public and that slides and a recording were posted to the project website. He said the website now includes the two-vote requirement and that a second public forum was scheduled roughly two weeks after the first; the flyer text included a Nov. 10 town meeting vote on project approval and a Dec. 8 ballot vote on funding.

Committee members discussed what information could be published in town materials without being construed as advocacy. Diane and others said they had removed wording such as "support" and "recommend" from the mailer and were running the final text by the campaign finance office and the ethics commission for review.

On outreach logistics, the committee reviewed printing and mailing quotes. The town has 3,835 street addresses; including post office boxes raises the total to about 4,100 addresses. Staff reported four vendor quotes in the packet and recommended using Allegra for a higher-quality and slightly cheaper product; the committee discussed using either an EDDM (every door direct mail) drop or a personalized mailer.

After discussion of the flyer layout, text and return address, a committee member moved to approve a not-to-exceed budget for mailers. The motion to approve a not-to-exceed $3,500 for printing and mailing of an informational postcard was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The meeting also covered follow-up items Jeff said staff would complete, including responses to MSBA and DESE questions on special-education program details and to a detailed draw-review comment set the team recently received.

The committee said it would continue scheduling public forums (including a hybrid forum at the high school) and updating the website with fact-based items such as early-voting procedures, renderings and a brief summary of "why" the project is needed so residents who have not followed the process can find background information.

Notes: the MSBA number and reimbursement rate were stated in the meeting; specific tax-impact calculations were not provided. DESE and MSBA reviews remain open and staff said they were preparing formal responses.