By Adam Swift
Monday night, the Firehouse Building Committee held its second-to-last meeting before the $38.5-million debt exclusion vote for a new fire station at the site of the old middle school on Saturday, April 5.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 5 for the special election. In addition to the debt exclusion vote for the new fire station, there will also be two Proposition 2-½ override questions for the schools; one seeks $3.5 million to close the projected budget gap for Fiscal Year 2026, and the second would earmark $1.4 million for an educational stabilization fund.
During Monday night’s meeting, Council President Jim Letterie addressed some of the financial questions he has heard regarding the $38.5 million debt exclusion to build the new fire station.
“We’ve had a few people asking questions about the amount, the $38.5 million, and what would happen if it exceeds the amount,” said Letterie. “On the last (four) debt exclusions we’ve had, at the Fort Banks, the ATC, the middle/high school, and the Miller Field project, they all came in under budget. We try to be very conservative and do estimates along with our finance team.”
If for some reason the project cost went over by a small amount, Letterie said it would be absorbed into the town’s operating budget.
If there were truly unforeseen circumstances and the cost the project ballooned even more, he said, there could be a need for an additional override to cover that cost.
“We absolutely do not expect it,” said Letterie. “In this $38.5 million, we are assuming a 16 percent escalation in cost because we know we are not going to build it April 6, we are going to build it sometime in 2026, that is when the building is going to actually take place. So we are already anticipating a 16 percent contingency for that; we also have another 10 percent contingency for any items that might be over, whatever it happens to be.”
Letterie said he has also heard questions about the future of the middle school gymnasium. He said the gym and the ice rink will remain on the property, while the middle school and the auditorium will be torn down to make way for the new middle school.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. Voters from Precincts 1,2,3,5, and 6 vote at the old middle school, while voters from Precinct 4 vote at O’Connell Hall on Golden Drive.