By Nick Kotsopoulos
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Aug. 31, 2015 at 1:40 PM
Updated Aug 31, 2015 at 4:16 PM
City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. is asking the City Council to adopt a $7 million loan order, to fund building improvement projects at four public schools - Flagg Street, Francis J. McGrath, Grafton Street and Jacob Hiatt Magnet.
The School Committee earlier this year recommended to the City Council those four schools for inclusion to the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s accelerated repair program.
Mr. Augustus said the loan order would position the city to submit its application for the MSBA accelerated repair program.
He said the grant program requires the city to authorize the full amount of the estimated project costs so the city can proceed with the bidding and awarding of contracts.
The city is then reimbursed at a rate of 78.95 percent of the eligible project costs.
The projects involve: Flagg Street, window and door replacements, $2.73 million; McGrath, window/door replacements, $586,500; Grafton Street, window/door/boiler replacements, $2.4 million and Jacob Hiatt Magnet, window/door replacements, $1.27 million.
Cheaper than 50 million, especially when the building does make the school.
posted by Jeff Bennett
So can Templeton upgrade the existing elementary school buildings to meet new building codes?
ReplyDeleteYes, Templeton can upgrade the existing elementary school buildings BUT Templeton would have to foot the entire cost on its own. Our buildings are too old to qualify for the Mass School Building Authority's accelerated repair program.
The school buildings in Worcester are not as old or in need of such extensive repairs as the schools in Templeton.
However, if current projected costs for Templeton's elementary school project - Templeton's share 25 - 26 million that Templeton will be responsible for, then it might be worth thinking about how much renovation could be done splitting 25 million between two schools to bring them up to code. All of the 25 million would be on the taxpayers with no MSBA funds and no MSBA BS.
Just a thought.
When will the records and contracts be publicly available to reconcile the $1,050,000 that has been voted thus far by the taxpayers - at town meeting and ballot. How much of the $1,050,000 is left to get this proposal before the voters. Have contracts for this project been signed that exceed $1,050,000?
As far as a bond rating goes...if all goes as planned the audits will be done by spring and the town's bond rating restored shortly thereafter. Keywords here - IF ALL GOES AS PLANNED ...what happens if something comes up and the bond rating is not restored? What happens then?
Can the wording of the capital debt exclusion include a contingency so that the elementary school vote depends on the restoration of the town's bond rating?
We live in interesting times. Global financial markets are making corrections. Will these market fluctuations impact Templeton? Time will tell.