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Articles 40 and 41 were indefinitely postponed during Sudbury’s 2025 Annual Town Meeting. The articles would have funded the replacement of the Josiah Haynes and General John Nixon elementary school roofs.
The indefinite postponements were necessary because the Town was still waiting on estimates through the process required by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). If completed through the MSBA “Accelerated Repair” program, the Town could be reimbursed 31% or more of the total project costs.
Without the formal estimates, Town Meeting would have been voting to appropriate funds based on a ballpark estimate of the roof replacements, which wasn’t necessary because the MSBA process allowed for the town to appropriate the funding at a later date, with formal estimates in-hand.
On Tuesday, June 24, the Select Board was informed that the Town had just received the estimates from the MSBA, and one of the roof projects came in well above the ballpark estimates that were referenced in the town meeting warrant articles earlier this year.
Sudbury’s Finance Director and Assistant Town Manager, Victor Garofalo, explained that staff had not yet had time to go through the estimates in detail, but it appeared as though the estimates included replacement of HVAC equipment in addition to replacing/repairing the roofs. That may have contributed to the higher-than-expected estimates.
The Select Board had a few questions for Garofalo, but primarily discussed ramifications for the timing of a Fall Town Meeting or Special Town Meeting later this fall. It appeared certain that Sudbury was heading for a second Town Meeting this year, but it was unclear if it would be a Fall Town Meeting that follows a pre-determined process, or if it would be a Special Town Meeting, which the Select Board can call at any time.
Staff was poised to review the estimates in detail and provide further guidance at an upcoming Select Board meeting. While the estimate will require further review to understand costs and scope, the reimbursement provided by the MSBA may prove difficult to pass up now that the projects have made it to this point in the MSBA process. However, the MSBA will still have to approve the projects at a late October board meeting if the Town follows the timeline outlined by Garofalo.
There may be further discussion about the two elementary school roofs and the timing of a Fall Town Meeting in upcoming Sudbury Public Schools School Committee meetings, as well as upcoming Select Board meetings. Interested readers can track meeting agendas from the Town Calendar to stay up-to-date.
