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Town Manager John Manjurati previews May town meeting, outlines $3.75M HVAC plan and other warrant items
Summary
Town Manager John Manjurati told residents at a Driver with John forum that the May town meeting will include about 40 warrant articles including a $3.75 million Town Hall HVAC replacement (backed by a $1 million grant and solar revenue offsets), a pared-down DPW building proposal, CPA recommendations and zoning tweaks to ease small-scale commercial growth.
Town Manager John Manjurati previewed a packed May town meeting and described major warrant items, saying town staff will ask voters to approve a $3,750,000 replacement of the Town Hall heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.
"We're gonna be gutting the entire, mechanical system because it's failing and moldy and, not operating," Manjurati said, adding the town received a $1,000,000 grant and plans to use solar revenue to reduce the local debt burden.
Why it matters: The HVAC project is one of several high-dollar items that will appear early in the warrant; Manjurati said the town expects about 40 articles and that heavy financial items are scheduled the first night so voters are not kept late. If approved, the HVAC work would be financed over 25 years with an estimated annual debt payment of roughly $230,000; Manjurati said net-metering and an energy-efficiency fund would cover about $120,000 of that, leaving an approximate $100,000 annual impact on the town budget.
Manjurati also outlined plans for a pared-down Department of Public Works facility to focus on core services while keeping the existing building in service for now, and said a cost estimate for the DPW project will go to the Select Board in April and appear on the warrant as Article 7 if advanced.
Community Preservation Committee (CPC) recommendations will appear as Article 10, Manjurati said, noting that CPA funds can be used for historic preservation, open space, community housing and recreation; he cautioned CPC faces competing demands (for example, previous bell-tower and gutter projects) that could limit support for Town Hall HVAC despite potential eligibility.
Other warrant items he highlighted include zoning amendments to ease small commercial expansions and changes to the rules for nonconforming lots so modest additions would not trigger a board appeal. Manjurati said the town uses outside funding sources—ARPA, CARES, grants and a federal earmark—for many projects and not relies solely on general-property tax dollars.
The manager encouraged participation: town meeting is planned for May 4 (with May 5 as a backup), and Acton TV will broadcast the sessions for residents who cannot attend in person. He said remote participation is limited to residents with qualifying medical reasons.
Next steps: The Select Board and the finance committee will review estimates and recommendations in April; final decisions on each article require voter approval at town meeting.
