3 December, 2012
All three articles, the Elmwood School Roof replacement, the Elm Street Sewer Extension and the Grove Street-Main Street Parcel Acquisition were approved by voters at Hopkinton’s November 2012 Special Town Meeting.
Article 1: Elmwood Roof
Board of Selectman Chairman Ben Palleiko began the presentation by summarizing the results of the report by the Permanent Building Committee (PBC) that provided a comprehensive evaluation of the state of Hopkinton’s town buildings. Palleiko explained the different conclusions reached by the PBC and outlined the major recommendations, of which repairing the Elmwood roof was a priority that needed to be addressed in the short term. Following that, Palleiko talked about how the required maintenance, both for the Elmwood roof, and for the other town buildings, would be financed and/or paid for.
The details of the Elmwood roof project were presented by Superintendent Dr. Steven Hiersche. The Elmwood School roof is in poor condition with cracking, puddling and lifting. The existing roof, with a 20 year warranty, was installed in 1989 and is now 24 years old. Leaks in the roof have been repaired over the last three summers for a total cost of $33,000, but the problem persists, causing damage to internal rooms, the possibility of flooding and mold, and puts electrical equipment at risk. In order to make repairs to the roof without disrupting classroom instruction, the repair work must be done over the summer, and in order to meet that timeline, bids for construction must go out as soon as possible.
Discussion of this article focused not on the need for the roof, but on how it was being paid for. Resident Ken Weismantel proposed an amendment that called for the $1.1 million to be paid out of the town’s excess levy capacity, rather than by the 10-year debt exclusion recommended by the Board of Selectmen, but the amendment failed 44 to 71.
Sustainable Green Committee member Frank D’Urso proposed an amendment that would include solar panels, but was told that the article as written did not preclude his suggestion and Scott Aghababian, representing the School Committee said that the committee would neither preclude nor advocoate for the solar panels and that they just wanted to get the roof fixed.
In the end, even though debate and discussion lasted over an hour, the vote to approve the Elmwood School Roof passed unanimously. NOTE: The Elmwood Roof Project now goes to the ballot -- Special Election is Monday, December 3.
The remaining articles, the Elm Street Sewer Extension and the Grove Street-Main Street Parcel Acquisition, passed with a clear majority after minimal discussion.
