The Capital Projects Study Group is slated to present a proposed bonding package to the Board of Finance tonight.
Recently the Board of Selectmen, by a vote of 4 to 1, and the Board of Education, through unanimous consent (with one person absent), voted to pass along the group’s recommendation to bring a bonding package to voters during the November elections. Bonding is essentially the town's way of borrowing money by selling municipal bonds and paying the funds back with interest over time. It is generally used to pay for larger projects towns can't afford in regular budgets.
As first selectman Richard Barlow cautioned residents at a recent meeting, the approval of the selectmen and the school board does not obligate the finance board to go along with the plan.
The four projects endorsed by the study group are as follows.
- $7.5 million for “pavement management,” including major projects on several town roads and the Canton High School and Cherry Brook Primary School parking lots.
- $2.2 million for major roof repairs and partial replacement at the community center and all three schools.
- $7 million for a new highway garage, including construction and property acquisition.
- $1.2 million toward a $2.2 million track and multi-use synthetic field at Canton High School. ($1 million to be raised through other means).
The Board of Finance meets at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center located at 40 Dyer Avenue. See the full agenda here.
