Williamstown Looking at Ways to Authorize McCann Tech Building Bond
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town manager Monday told the Select Board that it may need to call a special town meeting to approve a $17 million bond for the roof and window replacement project at McCann Technical School.
The town would be on the hook for about 25 percent, or about $1.8 million, of the local contribution to that project — after a 64 percent contribution from the Massachusetts School Building Authority — according to figures presented by the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District in March.
Robert Menicocci at Monday's Select Board meeting said the request from the regional school district for bonding authority "landed on my desk today."
And although Town Hall was generally aware of the project, Menicocci indicated that he was not aware the request would come this soon.
"Their project and their solution is pretty far down the road, which is a little bit of a surprise to us," Menicocci said. "We had done a lot of work previously with the Fin Comm subcommittee around getting a full debt burden picture, and, to be honest, while we talked a little bit about McCann, we didn't focus a great deal of energy on them. And we were caught a little bit by surprise of, 'Oh, wait, there's going to be a little bit of financial liability coming our way on that.'
"We were aware there were some building conditions. We weren't aware they had gone through the work to get that all lined up and ready to execute. There are some lessons there in terms of communication."
In March, McCann Tech Superintendent James Brosnan told the town's Finance Committee that the district expected to bring the request to authorize the project to the nine member municipalities "in the fall."
Those nine communities share the cost of capital projects at McCann based on their population and the equalized value of property in each municipality. Williamstown's share would be 24.76 percent according to a chart reviewed by the Fin Comm. The communities in the district would have a range of burden from 27.65 percent for North Adams down to a half percent for Monroe.
Also at that March Finance Committee meeting, Brosnan said the district was expecting the MSBA to contribute 64 percent of the cost of the project, which would leave 36 percent, to be funded by the member towns.
He had estimated about $6.12 million of the bond but the final amount to be borne by the member towns is higher at $7.4 million, according to the figures released by the MSBA last month; that would make make Williamstown's share about $1.83 million.
Although the state authority ultimately does contribute its share, the district's member communities would be asked to authorize McCann to bond the full cost of the project.
Sitting next to the town's finance director, Brosnan told the Fin Comm that he expected McCann Tech's project to be approved by the MSBA Board at its August meeting, as it subsequently was on Aug. 27.
"Some time, I'll estimate in the fall, we'll be looking for authorization of the communities to borrow," Brosnan said. "But I can't come out with a date and a time until I have the number. I won't know the number until August, and we'll move as quickly as we can."
Brosnan in March said once the nine member communities approve the bond, the district can get the project out to bid with the hope of completion in the summer of 2026.
Menicocci told the Select Board on Monday that he was looking into how the town could grant that authorization, including options that could avoid a special town meeting.
"We've got to do a little bit of checking on what the rest of the process is like," he said. "A lot of times, there's a default provision where, if we don't immediately assemble a town meeting for folks to weigh in, it defaults to it just being accepted."
Select Board Chair Stephanie Boyd asked whether the decision would need to be made before the annual town meeting in May.
"Absolutely," Menicocci said. "We have to call a special town meeting very quickly to have public discussion should that be the will and desire."
In other business on Monday, the Select Board:
• Approved an alcohol license for The Coffee Shop Williamstown at 10 Water St. Peter MacGillvray told the board the business plans to be open with beer and wine service until 6 p.m. to start and will adjust its hours later. The local approval sends the new license application to Boston for final approval.
• OK'd a conservation restriction on 38 acres of a residential lot of Hancock Road. Tommy Richey of the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation presented the request for the CR, which will be managed by the non-profit.
• Approved the town's Hazard Mitigation Plan, endorsed the Conservation Commission's Open Space and Recreation Plan and discussed progress on implementation of the comprehensive plan the Planning Board approved in 2023.
• Learned that the town secured a Green Communities grant to enable the acquisition of two electric vehicles to add to the town's fleet.
• And formally ratified the contract extension through June 30, 2028, it negotiated with Menicocci in the spring. He will make a base salary of $171,076 in the first year of the deal.
Tags: bonding, McCann, school project,
