MONTAGUE — Funding for unanticipated Hillcrest Elementary School flooring costs, budgeting for the design and construction of the Colle Opera House’s roof, and creation of an opioid settlement stabilization fund highlight Thursday’s 17-article Special Town Meeting warrant.
The meeting will be held at the Turners Falls High School auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
The Gill-Montague Regional School District’s request, outlined in warrant Article 13, is a $56,000 appropriation that would come from the district’s stabilization fund to cover unexpected floor replacement costs at Hillcrest Elementary School.
The flooring project, which was “intended to remediate and abate any compromised asbestos-containing tile,” received an appropriation of $295,000 during March’s Special Town Meeting, according to background written to accompany Thursday’s meeting warrant. After commencing, the project “hit a huge snag,” as summarized at a School Committee meeting on Sept. 6. While 12,150 feet of the floor’s main traffic area was replaced over the summer, “project costs escalated when it was learned that the subfloor would have to be removed before laying down the new floor as it would not adhere to the surface left following abatement,” according to the warrant background.
The added cost of the subfloor removal and leveling work pushed the project over budget. The project has come out to just under $309,000. Covering these extra expenses required spending money that was initially allotted for carpet installation. The $14,000 difference from March’s $295,000 appropriation, combined with $40,000 needed for carpeting and necessary contingencies, accounts for Thursday’s $56,000 funding request.
Article 14 requests a $22,000 appropriation that “would fund design, procurement and construction oversight services for replacement of the roof at the town-owned Colle building,” according to the warrant background.
According to the narrative, the current roof, which dates back to 2002, “is near the end of its useful life.”
“(Department of Public Works) staff recently repaired one leak that was attributable to deteriorated flashing and seams,” the warrant background reads. “Replacement of the roof membrane is the best long-term solution and will allow the town to install proper insulation and address any issues that may be present with the roof deck.”
The project would be designed as a joint project with the already funded Shea Theater Arts Center lower roof replacement project. Each project will pay for itself via different sources, with Colle building work funded through the Colle Reserve Fund. This fund, which has a balance of $423,190, is supported through building lease revenue, the warrant background details.
A follow-up warrant article will be submitted for the next Special Town Meeting in the winter, with the design generating an updated opinion of probable cost for the project, should Thursday’s article pass. The cost estimate from January 2021 was between $114,000 and $130,000. An updated opinion would better position the town to bid and implement the two roof replacement projects together in spring 2023. According to the warrant background, this approach would reduce design and construction costs.
With the state looking to distribute $61,272 to Montague from 2022 through 2038 as part of a $26 billion settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers, the town plans to establish a stabilization fund.
The settlement, announced by state Attorney General Maura Healey on July 21, 2021, set Massachusetts up to receive more than $500 million, according to a statement from Healey’s office. The agreement was made with Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen — the nation’s largest drug distributors — and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids. The agreement, according to Healey’s office, would resolve investigations and litigation over the companies’ roles in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.
According to the warrant background, recent developments suggest “the payment schedule may be accelerated to some extent.”
“Due to the difficulty of tracking and making proper appropriations if the revenue remains in the general fund, the town proposes to create a new special purpose stabilization fund and allocate all opioid settlement revenues to that new fund,” the warrant background explains.
Other articles involve appropriating money to implement collective bargaining agreements with the New England Police Benevolent Association, National Association of Government Employees, and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America; increasing the annual salary of the treasurer/tax collector to $75,009 and increasing the annual salary of the town clerk to $78,423; and appropriating $12,000 for engineering services associated with the closure of the burn dump on Sandy Lane.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.