By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
1/14/10
The committee working to consolidate town and school building maintenance duties wants a written agreement ready for approval at Annual Town Meeting. But town officials still have questions, and those reviewing the plan admit many details still need to be worked out. “We have much work to do before we expect any of the board members to give their final blessing to the specifics of what we hope to do,” Anthony Cichello, chair of the Consolidated Facilities Exploratory Committee, wrote in an e-mail to Town Administrator Kevin Mearn and School Superintendent Mary Gormley. “We do not yet have all of the specifics. We will be working those out in the coming months and be meeting with the boards to ensure that all of their questions are answered and they are satisfied with the details of our plan well in advance of Town Meeting.”
An agreement, which both Mearn and Gormley would have to sign, would allow the town to explore hiring a facilities manager to oversee maintenance functions of buildings and grounds. Annual Town Meeting last year authorized town and school officials to begin negotiating the idea.
A final agreement requires Annual Town Meeting approval, and must also be voted on by the Selectmen and the School Committee.
“We have an outline of what we need to get done, now we have to get down to doing it,” Cichello said, addressing Selectmen at their Jan. 7 meeting.
Officials have expressed interest in a consolidated facilities plan for several reasons. They have said it has potential to make best use of building-maintenance dollars, often one of the first items cut from budgets. They also said having an expert facilities director could benefit the town through the long-term preservation of the newer municipal buildings, including the new schools.
“It’s for the future … It’s why we’re doing this,” Selectmen Chair John Shields said during the meeting. “We’ve seen what happens when we try to do it the other way. It was a disaster.”
Prior to the opening of the new schools, the condition of the buildings was an issue with state building review officials. Milton High School was placed on state probation, largely due to its physical state.
Shields said the plan could also bring “significant savings” to the town.
Selectman Kathy Fagan said the goal of a newly formed facilities department will be to pool maintenance money from current departments and “use it most effectively.”
Cichello used words like “ad hoc” and “horse trading” to describe how department heads currently struggle to “get done the things that need to get done” with limited general maintenance dollars.
Selectman Marion McEttrick said she is “all for trying” to implement a consolidation plan but it requires a “big plan being laid out,” adding, “It’s a complex issue. It involves a lot of posturing. Many of the operational changes are going to require the unions,” she said.
The Personnel Board would also have to approve the facilities manager position, McEttrick said.
Selectmen plan to open and close the Annual Town Meeting warrant at their Jan. 20 meeting. The plan is to include in the warrant an article for consolidated facilities, but it is unclear whether a written agreement can be ready for Town Meeting to consider.