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Sudbury ESC approves up to $10,000 for consultant to finish climate vulnerability assessment
Summary
The Energy & Sustainability Committee voted 4–1 to release up to $10,000 from the Solar Revolving Fund to help Weston & Sampson incorporate higher-resolution flood data into Sudbury’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, contingent on a formal contract amendment.
The Town of Sudbury Energy & Sustainability Committee voted 4–1 on June 16 to recommend releasing up to $10,000 from the Solar Revolving Fund to support a contract amendment for Weston & Sampson to complete the town’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment.
The amendment requested by the consultant would extend the project through October and add $15,000: $10,000 to incorporate higher-resolution raster flood data purchased from BSC Group and $5,000 for additional project management and coordination. Mary K. Farris moved the funding motion and Olga Faktorovich Allen seconded; the motion passed with Olga Faktorovich Allen, Mary K. Farris, Venk Gopal and Joe Martino voting aye and John Keklak voting no.
John Keklak opposed funding the full request, saying the town should not automatically bear the cost of data problems and that the consultant should have understood deliverable requirements. "If the data was unusable or incomplete, the additional cost should not automatically fall on the town," Keklak said. Eric Simms, the town’s sustainability coordinator, said Weston & Sampson had expected properly formatted vector files but received files that could not be mapped and that the problem stemmed from BSC Group's delivery and formatting.
Committee members sought a compromise that limited town support to the technical work required to integrate the BSC raster data. The committee also asked Weston & Sampson for an itemized breakdown of the additional costs, including task-level descriptions, estimated person-hours, and documentation that links the requested amount to the specific data issues encountered. Eric Simms was assigned to inform the consultant of the committee’s decision.
Context and next steps: the committee previously purchased lower-cost vector data for $6,250; BSC later provided higher-resolution raster files quoted at $12,000. Sandra Duran, the Combined Facilities Director, noted the original Weston & Sampson contract totaled $59,970 and described the $15,000 request as substantial. The committee’s $10,000 recommendation is contingent on a formal town contract amendment and follows a request for more detailed cost documentation from the consultant.
