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Sudbury committee previews FY24–25 capital season; flags Fairbank acoustics, pool repairs and ADA work
Summary
Town staff reviewed the status of multiple capital projects — HVAC at Hanes, Curtis Middle School AV and lighting, Fairbank acoustical fixes, Atkinson Pool repairs and an ADA transition plan — and outlined design, bidding and funding steps ahead of the January warrant deadline.
The Town of Sudbury's capital and facilities lead, Sarah Dran, told the committee on March 11 that a slate of projects across schools and municipal buildings will shape the coming capital season and that several items require further design or additional funding before they can be presented at town meeting.
Dran said the Hanes HVAC project has completed design and equipment has been ordered; installation is expected next summer when school is out. "All the equipment has been ordered, and the project's expected to occur next summer when school's not in session," she said, adding that negotiated pricing will be held to match prior appropriations despite schedule changes.
The Curtis Middle School audio‑visual replacement was presented as largely complete for audio and assisted‑listening systems, supported by a MOD (Massachusetts Office on Disability) grant. Dran said the AV work used a roughly $160,000 budgetary estimate supplemented by a $62,647 MOD award and that the lighting portion of the project still requires final design and electrical construction documents. She warned vendors’ schedules and increasing market prices mean some installations may slip to summer unless contracts and electrical designs are completed promptly.
Fairbank Community Center is finished and has its certificate of occupancy, Dran said, but she flagged an unresolved acoustical problem in portions of the building where walls do not rise to the roof deck and sound transmits across offices. That condition will be addressed through acoustical corrections and use of contingency funds; Dran said the estimated range for needed corrective work is being refined. "We have a corrective action for that, which is gonna come out of the contingency," she said.
Atkinson Pool remains a high‑priority and technically complex item: Dran said design is complete and bids will be advertised; the town must balance destratification and dehumidification upgrades, tile and dive‑deck repairs and tight construction windows to minimize program disruption. She told the committee that an extended shutdown (roughly mid‑August through mid‑November in the construction year) may be needed for interior work and that some add‑on features would require additional design and funding.
The committee also heard status reports on a range of other projects: completion of the town's new work‑order and capital‑predictor software (to support a 20‑year capital plan and barcoded maintenance workflows); a stalled salt‑shed vinyl cover that requires an engineer's drawing and a vendor able to fabricate the unusual cover; and procurement for a fire department storage building, where design selection and cost estimates will determine whether the current article balance is sufficient.
On accessibility, Dran reviewed the ADA transition plan and progress: the town has addressed 73 of approximately 672 identified barriers and has about 20 active barrier remediation projects. She emphasized the remaining items include larger structural fixes (entrance regrading, water valves, counter heights) that require design work and significant funds, and that earlier assumptions of a five‑year completion horizon may need adjustment.
Committee members raised repeated questions about differences between early estimate figures presented at town meeting and later final quotes, citing examples where final bids exceeded rough orders of magnitude. Dran acknowledged the gaps and promised corrected, itemized figures for the committee to review before articles are finalized for the January submission deadline.
The committee agreed to block Monday evenings in February for ongoing capital review meetings and to reconvene after town‑meeting article lists are finalized (the committee noted Jan. 31 as the usual article‑finalization point). A motion to adjourn carried on a roll‑call vote at the meeting's close.
Next steps: staff will circulate corrected cost reconciliations and detailed design estimates where pending, prepare necessary electrical and design documents for time‑sensitive bids, and return with targeted updates on Atkinson Pool, Fairbank acoustical corrective costings and any projected article shortfalls for the fire storage building and DPW salt‑shed cover.
