The newly reconstituted capital planning committee unanimously voted on Wednesday to recommend two important infrastructure projects for the city assembly, and placed the conditions for a vote on May 5 of $ 14.4 million in proposed debt excludes.
The 8: 0 votes support Article 33, which applies for $ 5.75 million for renovation work for Mary Alley Municipal Building, and in Article 34, which requested $ 8.61 million for the replacement of roof and HLK systems on the Marblehead High School.
The city administrator Thatcher Kezer, who headed the meeting, explained that both projects discuss the critical infrastructure needs in buildings with aging, failed systems.
“The end result is, even if (city assembly) both projects were a net reduction in the tax invoices,” said Kezer and found that the city's 25-year-old building debt came from the city in the 2026 financial year.
According to financial forecasts, which were presented at the meeting, the combined annual tax payments for both projects in the next 15 to 20 years would be around 117 USD per year, the expiring high school debt paid much less than the $ 253 dollars.
The Mary Alley project focuses on replacing the 70-year heating system of the municipal building and the antiquated cooling units. The construction commissioner Stephen Cummings described deteriorating conditions in the entire structure.
“The heating system has maintenance, but the entire heating system is around 70 years old in its entirety,” said Cummings. “There is no longer a single (cooling) unit that works properly.”
The project would replace the existing system with a variable refrigerant flow system, which eliminates fossil fuels and improves energy efficiency.
Logan Casey, the city's sustainability coordinator, emphasized the environmental advantages of the proposed upgrade.
“From the beginning we made sure that this network -free goal, the carbon -free goal, was viewed as part of what the city assembly passed in 2018,” said Casey. “In view of the fact that this is a whole intestine of the building, we enter a brand new system, but this is a great opportunity to take fossil fuel -free alternatives into account.”
Casey estimated that the new system would reduce energy consumption by 30 to 40 percent compared to the current fossil fuel system, and found that government subsidies and discounts could compensate for parts of the costs.
The high school project would deal with a roof-mounted HLK units that no longer use the refrigerants. Michael Pfifferling, deputy superintendent for finance and operations for Marblehead Public Schools, described units that were held together “with Bubble Gum and Band-Aids and Glebband”.
“The idea was to redesign the entire roof system,” said Pfifferling. “It made absolutely no sense to replace the roof material financially or mechanically without carrying out the HLK equipment at the same time.”
An alternative, potentially cheaper solution using liquid roof material was recently created and is tested. However, school officials recommended that the financing request be made complete. If the cheaper approach turns out to be sensible, Pfiprling said that the city would simply not borrow the full authorized amount.
During the consultation, David Harris, member of the capital planning committee, expressed concerns about the provision of larger project recommendations, but ultimately supported both suggestions.
“After working with Amy (Mchugh, DPW Commissioner) and her department, you are probably one of the best examples in the city that have a capital plan and you have five and ten-year outlines for what you want to achieve,” said Harris. “I hope this will become one of the results of this committee when it comes to facilities.”
The projects are now going to the city assembly on May 5, where they need the majority of the two -thirds. If the selection is selected, the selection of debts for the June voting list must be correct, where you need a simple approval of the majority.
At the meeting of the committee was the first meeting of the restored capital planning group, which includes three residents and city department heads with considerable roles in capital projects.
“After officially putting this committee into operation, we will be much more time more efficient for projects,” said Kezer.
The members of the committee expressed hope that the group would develop long -distance plans for city buildings, similar to the school department by improving the school building.
