SOMERS — School officials have reported a preliminary estimate of $10.5 million for an upgrade to the elementary school’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system and are heeding advice by the Board of Finance to clarify the proposed project’s scope so residents will understand its necessity and possible impact on taxes.
Superintendent Sam Galloway and school business manager Stephanie Levin attended a Board of Finance meeting on Tuesday where they said the project has been isolated to just the elementary school, which they hope to put before voters in the November election.
The town plans to seek state funding for the proposed project through the HVAC Indoor Air Quality Grants Program for Public Schools, a program established by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration through the state Department of Administrative Services.
Somers, along with a number of other districts across the state, did not receive grant funds for HVAC projects during the first round of applications. State officials say they plan to launch a process in the coming months for districts to apply for school air quality improvement grants again, while lawmakers recently approved $300 million more in funding for the program.
It’s essential that the town have community support before seeking grant funds, Board of Finance members and finance officials said at the meeting. Therefore, they said that the school administration needs to explain to residents what the project will entail and why it’s necessary.
The state won’t give communities a guarantee on grants until they have local support, Chief Financial Officer Brian Wissinger said. He pointed out that Ellington, which received $6.7 million in grant funds for HVAC work at three schools, held a referendum on bonding the projects well before submitting its application to the state, with 75% of voters in support.
“No one will think the town is serious about this without a referendum,” Assistant Treasurer Michael Marinaccio said. “If you want to get into the game, you need an appropriation on the table that will pass.”
He said the town plans to have two questions on the ballot asking voters if they would approve going to bond for the HVAC project as well as a proposed new community/senior center.
The two projects combined could come to a cost of at least $20 million, Marinaccio said, but that does not mean the town would be bonding that amount.
“If we pursue the various funding opportunities out there, that $20 million could lower itself to $8 million to bond,” he said, adding the town has estimates on the cost for the two projects but won’t know the true cost until going out to bid.
Somers will hold a special town meeting before the November election where officials will present information on the proposed senior/community center and HVAC project. Board of Finance members advised Galloway to have sufficient information by then to present to residents.
They suggested explaining that the elementary school, which was formerly the town’s high school, has attributes a community couldn’t get today in a new building and that construction schedules could be flexible, with one project possibly starting before the other.
Board of Finance member Ralph Williams said the best way to allay a lot of residents’ concerns about how projects would impact the tax rate is by providing predictability. He advised showing how figures will stay constant for the projects even under a “highball” figure.
“The default fear is that the mill rate will go up for the life of these projects,” said Marinaccio. “Our debt service (on other, older projects) will be going down like a ski slope in Switzerland.”
Marinaccio said he can’t imagine the tax rate would go up more than three-quarters of a mill.
