ADAMS, Mass. — Town officials are weighing the financial costs of the $17 million McCann Technical School project that will add an estimated 18 cents to the tax rate in its highest year. 

 

The Board of Selectmen set a date of Oct. 28 for a special town meeting; the warrant will close on Sept. 24; a special election for a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion will take place Tuesday, Nov. 4.

 

The debt exclusion override will depend on whether town officials believe the annual debt payment cannot be absorbed by the budget. 

 

Finance Director Ashley Satko is strongly recommending against including the amount — estimated at $146,000 in fiscal 2028 — in the operating budget. 

 

"I'm going to tell you that is not possible based off of our levy limit," she told the Selectmen on Wednesday. "We wouldn't be able to function the town properly."

 

The town's levy limit, not counting new growth, is about $350,000 now, she said, and the first payment would eat up 42 percent of that. 

 

"We've already level funded many years where I couldn't see us shorting ourselves and not being able to run the town just to try to add it to the budget, and then wonder what happens for the following year," Satko said. "Because this is not just one year. We'll have to keep thinking of it every single year."

 

The first payment would be interest only of $56,222; fiscal 2028 would be the highest payment, which would then decrease over the life of the loan to $97,217 in fiscal 2042. This is based on a bond rate of 3.75 percent. 

 

The vocational school was approved for the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Accelerated Repair program in August for a major overhaul of its 30-year-old roof and 60-year-old single-pane windows, and update the 1964 school to fully comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

 

"This is designed by the Mass School Building to take an excellent facility that needs some changing — emphasis on roofs and glass. We fit the bill perfectly. We met all of the criteria," said Northern Berkshire Vocational School District Superintendent James Brosnan. 

 

The roof was last done in 1997 and the glass is all original, much of it is wall to ceiling. He did note that the roof will be "solar ready" and the new windows will make building more energy efficient.

 

Brosnan pointed out the school has rarely come to its nine member towns for help in the past 31 years.  

 

"We have made equipment purchases and facility improvements of over $20 million dollar; $5 1/2 million of that were Skills Capital Grants," he said. "We use other sources of grants, other opportunities. As you recall, our new HVAC building was built with a state grant of some $3.1 million."

 

The MSBA will cover 64 percent of reimbursable costs for the project, leaving the towns to pick up $7.4 million plus bond interest for a total of $9.6 million. Adams share is 18.97 percent for a total of $1,827,203. North Adams will be the largest at $2,663,266, or 27.65 percent, and Monroe the smallest at $49,124, or 0.51 percent.

 

Brosnan was confident that the project could be brought in under budget — the engineer picked by the MSBA, Gale Associates, worked on the school's construction, the district has made significant efforts to prepare for the project, and students will be taking up some of the ADA work.

 

The superintendent said it took a little bit for the MSBA to understand that the school is the students' laboratory.

 

"If we have to mitigate door sizes, if we have to pour new concrete blocks, if we have to put up signage, we have students whose major it is and what we're trying to teach is that subject," he said. "They're going to graduate in June, they're going to be working next year. They're going to find the same problem on the same job someplace else. Might as well get the experience here."

 

The renovations have to be done, Brosnan said, as the roof has been sporting leaks and the glass has become a safety hazard. The floor-to-ceiling glass will be replaced with insulated panels on the bottom and glass tops.

 

"The steel [frame] has rotted out, it leaks and it's cracked, the glass is loose, and it also poses — never mind that it's not an energy saver — does pose a hazard and it's dangerous because it's single pane, it wracks," he said. "So we have a building with over 500 students walking through it every day. So the precaution is, take a deep breath, make sure everything is safe but at some point we've got to get this out to make sure it's a safe area."

 

The school year started early to allow for early release to accommodate the work. Brosnan hoped the roofing could start as early as April or May and have the interior work begin once the students are out for the summer. 

 

The Selectmen were positive on the project — Selectman Joseph Nowak said, "it's well overdue" — but concerned over how to meet the cost. 

 

Town Clerk Haley Meczywor laid out the timeline for votes: the town has 60 days from the Sept. 5 notification to set a special town meeting and 90 days from the town meeting to hold an election. She estimated the cost for the election at about $6,000. 

 

If the town does not hold a vote within the 60 days, it will be considered approved; the district requires two-thirds, or a total of six, member towns to approve the borrowing. 

 

The Finance Committee plans to meet prior to the special town meeting to review the proposal and make a recommendation.