Easton joint committee prioritizes HKMS internet rewiring and boiler, approves $65,000 DRIP funds for floors

At a May 12 special meeting, the Town of Easton’s Board of Finance–Board of Education joint School Facilities committee recommended prioritizing two school infrastructure projects: a $190,000 internet rewiring and a $25,305 boiler replacement at HKMS. The committee also voted to use approximately $65,000 in state DRIP emergency-maintenance funds to replace the café and nurse’s office floors at HKMS.

Chairman Art Laske opened the meeting at 6:02 p.m. and reviewed the committee’s priorities, naming internet rewiring and the HKMS boiler as the top items. Michael D’Agostino, the district’s director of facilities and operations, described DRIP funds as state emergency-maintenance monies and said the amount available to the district would be about $65,000 and must be allocated within the program’s timing constraints.

Member Ed Nagy outlined other facility needs, saying fixing pavement at SSES would cost about $30,000 in paving materials and another $30,000 to fill cracks, and that remediation of a flooding manhole would run roughly $10,000. Nagy said the Department of Public Works has commitments this summer that likely push those pavement and manhole repairs to summer 2027. The committee noted several smaller projects — including door replacement and downspout/gutter remediation — that could be completed this year because they are less costly.

Alicia Young moved that the committee recommend prioritizing the HKMS internet rewiring and the HKMS boiler replacement; Kristi Sogofsky seconded. The motion passed 6–0. Separately, Young moved to recommend using DRIP funds to replace the café and nurse’s office floors; Colin Cote seconded and that motion passed 6–0.

The committee did not set a date for its next meeting. The session adjourned at 6:58 p.m.