Finance Committee recommends reallocating ARPA money and funding an OPM for Westborough community center

The Westborough Advisory Finance Committee on June 17 recommended the select board rescind two prior ARPA allocations for Youth & Family Services and to reallocate $45,000 in ARPA funds to hire an owner’s project manager (OPM) for the town’s new community center.

Finance staff said the ARPA account balance (including interest) has been reconciled and that two youth‑oriented projects on the ARPA list total about $148,005.75 and $177,007.50; staff proposed releasing those amounts back to the available balance so the funds could be used for other priorities. Committee member McMahon moved the rescission recommendation; the motion carried unanimously on the record.

Separately, the committee recommended the select board approve $45,000 in ARPA funding to pay an OPM to manage the community center project through community engagement, schematic design and cost estimating. Finance staff said the town’s procurement rules require an OPM for projects expected to exceed $1,500,000 and that bringing an OPM on early helps with cost estimating and alignment with future architect work. “So that gets us to town meeting … through schematic design and cost estimation,” staff said.

Committee members discussed timing and next steps: staff have awarded an OPM contract to CHA following an RFQ and planned to open architect bids shortly. The committee recommended the select board take the formal steps to rescind the two YFS ARPA awards and approve the OPM allocation; those are recommendations and will require select‑board action to take effect.

The Finance Committee also noted the ARPA money must be obligated by the fiscal deadline and that some previously allocated projects (for example, a dog‑park match) remain under review. The committee will forward its recommendations to the select board as the next step.