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Committee debates school feasibility studies and the costs of electrification
Summary
Finance committee reviewed two proposed school feasibility studies (Addison and Hardy). Staff said the Hardy feasibility study (~$380,003.85) is reimbursable at roughly 44% by MSBA; members pressed for clearer parallel estimates of like‑for‑like gas replacements versus electrification costs before committing to studies and future borrowing.
The Finance Committee spent a long portion of the meeting on school feasibility studies and the town’s broader electrification planning.
Staff said one feasibility line (discussed as an Addison effort) was being budgeted within the capital plan (a $2.5 million figure was cited in the presentation context), and that the Hardy School feasibility study cost in the warrant is about $380,003.85, with an expected MSBA reimbursement around 44 percent. "MSBA would cover 44% of the feasibility study for Hardy," staff told the committee.
Committee members repeatedly asked for clearer comparative figures: how much would it cost to replace the Hardy School systems in kind (natural‑gas boiler and rooftop units) versus doing full electrification (heat pumps or geothermal), and whether waiting for major renovations would change the town’s ability to access grant funding. Staff explained Hardy’s heating system is a central plant (boilers, pumps and piping feeding rooftop units) so replacement is more complex than a rooftop unit swap, which helps explain study estimates that ranged into the multi‑million dollar totals for full electrification.
Staff said the feasibility work must evaluate several alternatives — in‑kind replacement, air‑source heat pumps, geothermal, site alternatives and potential MSBA program eligibility — and that MSBA policy typically reimburses feasibility expenses if the project moves forward. Members asked for a short, parallel estimate prepared by DPW or facilities showing a like‑for‑like gas replacement cost so the committee could compare deltas and the grant‑dependent argument for accelerating electrification.
Staff said the feasibility study timeline would likely place invitation into feasibility in early 2027 for the Ottoson (middle school) and that an ultimate construction appropriation could be years after that; members noted timing risks relative to banding/borrowing windows and the town’s capital plan.
