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Tamworth CIP report flags $2.4M in recommended 2025 projects; fire truck and school HVAC costs highlighted
Summary
The town's CIP committee presented a recommended total of about $2.41 million for 2025, noting a $600,000 fire truck funded from capital reserves, ongoing school HVAC upgrades, and a $5,500 engineering line for the Green Hill Tower; the committee said last‑minute ARPA allocations affected its totals.
Kathy Hatchet, chair of the CIP committee, presented the committee's final report on capital needs and a recommended 2025 program totaling about $2,412,840.
Hatchet explained how small changes in line items change summary charts and said several numbers were modified late in the process, which she described as disruptive to the committee's work. The report lists a $600,000 fire truck purchase shown as coming from capital reserve funds; Hatchet told board members the committee based its request on what the fire chief reported as needed for a 2024 contract and 2025 purchase.
Hatchet also said the committee learned shortly before its final meeting that approximately $124,000 in leftover ARPA funds were to be given to the fire department; that disclosure altered the committee's calculations. The committee chair urged better information flow from the town administrator in future cycles so CIP numbers are stable and complete when the committee meets.
Other budget items discussed included an estimated $2,412,840 program total, a $5,500 one‑time engineering assessment for the Green Hill Tower that has been put out to bid, and a multi‑year school HVAC upgrade costing roughly a half‑million dollars that will continue through 2029 and sit within the school budget (a separate entity from the town operating budget).
Board members discussed thresholds for capital projects (the committee uses a $5,000 threshold to place items in the CIP) and whether that level is still appropriate. Hatchet said most CIP line items are well above that threshold and that the figure does not often change which projects appear in the report.
Next steps: the CIP recommendations will inform the board's budget deliberations; the board discussed timing and said having the town administrator involved earlier in the CIP process would reduce late changes.
