East Bridgewater Approves $120,000 for School Repair Study
Town Meeting votes on landfill fence, animal control budget, and school feasibility study
EAST BRIDGEWATER - January 13 - East Bridgewater residents voted to approve $120,000 for a feasibility study to replace the roof, doors, and windows at Gordon W. Mitchell School during a special town meeting on Jan. 13. The project could qualify for a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
The meeting, held at the Junior/Senior High School, also saw approval for additional funding to replace the fence around the Bridge Street landfill and an increase in the animal control budget.
School Committee chair Gordon McKinnon presented the motion for the feasibility study, which passed with a vote of 23-4. The study will cover potential replacement of the roof, doors, and windows at the Gordon W. Mitchell School.
"The roof is 27 years old, 28 years old, multiple leaks, doors that need replaced, and there's a number of windows that are inoperable," McKinnon explained.
The $120,000 appropriation will cover the cost of the feasibility study and the Owner's Project Manager (OPM). Town Administrator Charlie Seelig emphasized the importance of following MSBA protocols to secure potential reimbursement.
"If we want to be reimbursed for the work that we're doing on the roof and the windows and possibly the doors, they're requiring us to, in fact, have the feasibility study and the schematic work done through their program," Seelig said.
He added that while the town could choose to fund the entire project independently, it would mean forfeiting potential MSBA reimbursement, which would be "far, far more expensive than $120,000."
The meeting also addressed other town matters. Residents approved a transfer of $60,000 from the undesignated fund balance to replace the fence around the Bridge Street landfill. This allocation brings the total project cost to $210,000, following a previous $150,000 appropriation at the May 2024 Annual Town Meeting.
Additionally, the town voted to transfer $6,600 from the undesignated fund balance to supplement the fiscal year 2025 budget for Animal Control and Animal Inspection Services. Select Board chair David Sheedy explained this transfer was necessary "to bring the account up to date for the fiscal year 2025."
Both the landfill fence replacement and the animal control budget increase received unanimous support from the Finance Committee and Capital Committee.
The school feasibility study required a two-thirds majority vote due to its nature as a borrowing authorization.
One resident raised concerns about the necessity of the feasibility study for the school repairs, questioning whether the MSBA required such a study for what he considered straightforward replacements. However, town officials maintained that following MSBA protocols was crucial for securing potential grant funding.
The special town meeting adjourned following the approval of all three articles on the warrant. The entire Special Town Meeting lasted about 15 minutes.