Capital Program Committee presents $166.5 million recommendations; Select Board endorses report

The Capital Program Committee (CapCom) presented its 2026 capital recommendations to the Select Board on Jan. 22. Jill (CapCom chair) reported that the committee reviewed 60 requests totaling $274.8 million and recommended 53 projects totaling approximately $166.5 million. The committee highlighted three debt-exclusion proposals: a Department of Public Works facility estimated at about $84 million, town employee housing at about $14 million (25 bedrooms), and a Tom Nevers bike path estimated at $6.8 million.

Jill told the board that excluding the debt-exclusion items, the committee’s remaining recommended capital totals about $64 million — roughly $16 million less than last year once large, ballot-required projects are removed — and praised department heads and finance staff for long-term planning. She described the committee’s scoring methodology, which aggregates individual member rankings and uses a standard-deviation filter to focus discussion.

Board members asked for access to the committee’s prioritization methodology; Jill and committee members agreed to share the scoring approach and to meet with board members who want a walkthrough. The Select Board moved, seconded and unanimously voted to endorse the CapCom report and send it forward for the budget and warrant process.

Finance Director Brian Turbot and Assistant Finance Director Sue Carmel were credited for assistance to the committee. The board thanked CapCom members for the extensive review and noted that several large projects will require debt-exclusion ballot action.