NEARIE finance subcommittee approves invoices, schedules public sessions on $108 million school financing

The NEARIE Building Committee finance subcommittee for the Town of Southborough approved two vendor invoices and set two public meetings to present updated financing figures for the proposed school project, which committee members said is estimated at about $108 million.

The presentation meetings are scheduled as a Zoom session Monday night at 8 p.m. and an in-person meeting at Trottier at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 5. Andrew, a member of the NEARIE finance subcommittee, said the presentations will focus “solely on the cost of the project and on the town’s six-year budget forecast.”

The committee voted to approve a Skanska invoice for $40,020 and an AeroStreet invoice for $87,500. Both motions passed on roll-call votes. The group also discussed a $350 auto-renewal website charge (Kinsta) that appeared on the town credit card; committee members said they will obtain the missing invoice and include it in next month’s package.

Nut graf: Committee members said the upcoming sessions are intended to show residents the final cost estimate, updated debt-service impacts and how projected grant reimbursements would reduce the town’s borrowing need. Brian, the staff member updating the town forecast, will add a year to the projection and run debt amortizations both over 30 years and over 40 years — the latter reflecting a proposed Municipal Empowerment Act that would allow longer school debt terms.

Committee discussion centered on three potential funding legs: a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) grant, utility incentives (Mass Save), and federal incentives tied to the Inflation Reduction Act. Jim Burrows, a committee member, summarized the MSBA position: “Basically, they get a yearly grant … once we sign a project scope and budget, they are committing those funds to this project.” He added that MSBA cash flow is planned annually and that MSBA pays up to a maximum facilities grant, with reimbursements affected by change orders and actual expenditures.

On the Mass Save and federal incentives, the subcommittee noted timing and documentation constraints. A staff member said Mass Save payments are issued after building verification and operation; federal incentives tied to the Inflation Reduction Act generally require equipment placed in service and substantial documentation before payment. The committee noted federal funds often arrive later in the project cycle.

Members said they currently expect roughly $33 million from the MSBA, per earlier project communications, and emphasized the risk that projects delayed long enough could lose relative priority as other large projects come into the MSBA pipeline. “If this project were to fail and we were to have to start all over … we may be shutting ourselves out of state money completely,” one committee member said.

The committee also confirmed there is about $2,300 remaining in a $950,000 warrant article used for feasibility work; members said reimbursed MSBA funds received into the project account would reduce the town’s borrowing need rather than go to general free cash. Andrew told members he will prepare PowerPoint slides over the weekend and circulate them for review so they can be posted before Monday night’s Zoom.

Votes at a glance: the subcommittee approved (1) the minutes of the Feb. 28 meeting (motion passed on roll call), (2) Skanska invoice #1323833-000-15 for $40,020 (approved), and (3) AeroStreet invoice for $87,500 (approved). A motion to adjourn passed on a roll call vote.

The subcommittee said the March 2 conference call/Zoom with the MSBA should confirm the final MSBA grant amount; members planned to use that figure in the financial presentation to residents. The committee adjourned following the scheduled items.