Public Safety, Searles Chapel Get Top CIP Classification

The members of the Capital Improvement Plan sub-committee ran through 21 future projects from various departments on Sept. 12, determining that current needs for public safety and Searles School & Chapel repairs deserve top billing.

Mobile communication replacements for the police department, breathing apparatus replacement for the fire department and Searles repairs all received a classification of "1" from all seven members of the sub-committee.

Each year, the sub-committee classifies projects on a 1-6 scale, with "1" falling under the category of urgent, or a project that can't be delayed.

Sub-committee Chairman Rob Gustafson explained the reason for his classification of the $100,958 CIP request from Searles.

"The repairs concern me more as far as the urgency," he said. "Expansion would be nice, but it's the repairs. I like to make sure that we keep our capital assets in good repair so they don't cust us more down the road."

Other sub-committee members explained that the mobile communication CIP request is something they feel is very urgent.

"This is very closely tied to health and safety," Ruth-Ellen Post said.

Another project that received strong classification from the sub-committee was the school district's $1 million request for the addition of capacity at the middle school level.

The request, according to school board representative to the sub-committee Stephanie Wimmer, is essentially two-thirds of the entire CIP.

Gustafson said that when it comes time to deal with the money planning, $1 million could go lower. Wimmer added that architectural and engineering fees for a new school would be put out to bid.

"If (the cost) is less it would be less," she said.

Selectman representative to the sub-committee Bruce Breton said this could be the right year to fit the school request within the CIP threshold.

"This might be the right time because we don't have an exuberant amount of requests for money this year," he said.

For the most part, projects requested for 2013 received the highest classification priority from the seven sub-committee members. Those classifications lowered to 3-5 for requests that are years down the road.

The CIP is a planning mechanism that stretches out nearly a decade. This year, project requests reach as far as 2020.

A new $250,000 recreational field at Spruce Pond, which was turned away by voters on the March ballot, was also given low classification by much of the sub-committee, with an average score of "3" from the seven members.

A score of "3" indicates that a project is desirable, and is needed within four to six years.

The sub-committee did not rank the 21 projects, as that will be done at a future meeting.

When the CIP plan is put together, Gustafson said that the one thing that is required is for all of the CIP allocation be spent for 2013.

Below are the scores for all 21 projects from each sub-committee member:

Project Classifications by Department

Rob Gustufson (RG), Stephanie Wimmer (SW), Carolyn Webber (CW), Neelima Gogumalla (NG), Bruce Breton (BB), Jennifer Simmons (JS) and Ruth-Ellen Post (RP).

1: Urgent (Cannot be delayed, needed immediately for health and safety needs).

2: Necessary (Needed within 1-3 years to maintain basic level and quality community services).

3: Desirable (Needed within 4-6 years to improve quality and level of service).

4: Deferrable (Can be placed on hold until after the 6-year period, but supports community development goals).

5: Premature (Needs more research, planning and coordination).

6: Inconsistent (Contrary to land us planning or community development).