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Swampscott leaders preview FY27 capital plan, flag middle school renovation, DPW yard and sewer work
Summary
At a joint Select Board–Capital Improvement Committee session, town staff outlined proposed FY27 capital projects including a possible major Swampscott Middle School renovation or phased systems upgrades, DPW yard design, sewer rehab tied to a $3.5 million SRF loan, and school security and HVAC work. No formal votes were taken; key funding windows and town-meeting timing were highlighted.
At a joint meeting of the Select Board and the Capital Improvement Committee, Swampscott officials on Monday reviewed proposed FY27 capital requests and sketched timelines for major projects including a potential Swampscott Middle School renovation, a DPW yard replacement, and sewer and water infrastructure work.
Katie Phelan, Select Board chair, opened the session as a preview of the town’s five-year capital plan and said the Capital Improvement Committee would prepare a recommendation that would later come back through public process and formal votes by the Select Board and town meeting.
Max, the town presenter for facilities projects, ran through school and municipal requests. On the school side he described a set of work that includes Swampscott Middle School (SMS) window replacement (design funds already appropriated), mechanical/electrical/plumbing projects across the high school and middle school, districtwide security upgrades and an SHS HVAC study. On the town side he highlighted the DPW yard design already funded at $200,000, an ongoing library front-entry renovation (about $800,000), and a suite of other building envelope and accessibility projects.
Max said the SMS represents the single largest facility challenge. He urged the town to consider submitting a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in the January–March window, noting that MSBA’s core program can reimburse roughly 40–50% of the cost for major renovation projects. “The middle school is at an inflection point … we have many major systems in very poor shape,” Max told the group, and added that comprehensive work on HVAC and electrical systems could run into the tens of millions of dollars.
Committee members pressed for scenarios that show trade-offs between committing to a major renovation and pursuing a systems-only approach. One practical timeline spelled out in the meeting: window construction would require an appropriation at the May town meeting and, given lead times and procurement, is likely to be scheduled for summer 2027 if approved.
Infrastructure priorities included sewer work tied to an SRF loan application. Gino, speaking on public-works projects, said the town is carrying a multi-year sewer-rehabilitation program and is pursuing a $3.5 million State Revolving Fund loan for current IDD (discharge detection and elimination) work. “We’re only going to go forward with this if we get the SRF loan,” he said, adding the town has previously spent several million dollars on related sewer improvements.
Gino also discussed water-meter replacement (an estimated $3 million project), water-main work using MWRA interest-free allocations, and the force-main that carries wastewater to Lynn — a two-and-a-half-mile critical pipeline the town should evaluate for vulnerability. He described the DPW garage and yard as “in the poorest condition” among town facilities and identified FY28 as a reasonable horizon for moving toward a new-construction solution if the town decides to proceed.
Other items raised included: solar canopy feasibility at the elementary or high school sites (Max said a fully designed canopy has been held up by National Grid distribution constraints and that the town has asked National Grid to restart a study); track and turf-replacement planning for Upper Jackson (vendor ballpark cited about $1 million); seawall repairs at Eiseman’s Beach; lift-station pump replacements (estimated $120,000–$150,000 per pump); and equipment replacement such as a combined sewer-vacuum truck.
Members repeatedly asked for a consolidated asset-management schedule listing useful life, replacement costs and timing. Nick and other members urged staff to produce scenario-level analyses that show how committing to one large project would affect the ability to do others. Max and staff said they would prepare financial analysis, debt-service implications and scenarios as a next step.
The meeting did not adopt any capital appropriations; presenters framed the session as information gathering and asked committees and residents to submit follow-up ideas. The board tabled the last agenda item for a subsequent meeting and adjourned without formal votes on the projects discussed.
