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Selectmen approve amended capital items: two police cruisers kept, HVAC and other supplements advanced
Summary
At the Sept. 26 meeting, Acushnet selectmen approved an amended FY2025 capital article that keeps funding for two police cruisers, adds HVAC and fire‑alarm supplements, and discusses a contested pump‑station repair charge; the board referenced roughly $190,000 in free‑cash capital requests.
The Acushnet Board of Selectmen on Sept. 26 reviewed a large amended capital article covering multiple departments and approved the changes discussed by staff.
Finance staff explained that vendors returned higher bids for an HVAC project, driving a $9,000 supplemental request to cover replacement work across five units in the council‑on‑aging building. The board also approved up to $7,000 for a fire‑alarm upgrade in a town building and an additional $4,000 for a DPW street‑sweeper purchase.
The most substantive debate centered on police‑vehicle purchases. Members discussed whether to buy one or two cruisers now and whether an unmarked cruiser could wait. Mr. Kelly (finance) confirmed outfitted cruisers cost roughly $85,000 each; the board decided to keep two cruisers in the article and remove one unmarked cruiser request.
A separate exchange covered a small pump‑station repair request. A selectman argued the pump stations are school‑owned and should be the school department’s responsibility, given the school’s retained earnings; others pressed that the town should not use the sewer enterprise fund to pay repairs for stations serving the schools.
The board moved to approve Article 3 as amended (staff described the free‑cash ask as about $190,000 in the discussion). Members emphasized monitoring procurement practices and funding sources, noting approximately $1.9 million in available free cash and the potential use of solar capital funds to reduce immediate free‑cash draws.
The motion to approve the capital article carried by voice vote; a formal tally was not recorded in the transcript.
