Sudbury boards review $5.1 million capital plan with $2.35 million pool renovation

SUDBURY — February 12, 2024 — Sudbury advances $5.1M capital plan headlined by $2.35M pool renovation. The Select Board, Finance Committee and Capital Improvement Advisory Committee met jointly February 12 to review Town Manager Andy Sheehan's FY25 capital package: $713,697 in the manager's operating capital budget plus warrant articles including a $2.35 million in-levy debt authorization to renovate the 1987 Atkinson Pool (solar-ready roof, dehumidification unit, boiler and mechanical replacement, tile re-grouting), $625,000 for two Old Sudbury Road culvert replacements, $600,000 in CPA funds for Bruce Freeman Rail Trail Phase 3 design, and roughly $560,000 for two DPW swap-body trucks and a pickup. Finance Director Dennis Cohan told members projected in-levy capital capacity of about $1.7 million per year would be partly consumed by pool debt service. Finance Committee member Dan Carty pressed Sheehan on the absence of the numerical prioritization scoring called for in Select Board financial policies; Sheehan said prior scoring drew "mixed reviews" and defended a leadership-team process he has "used in the past" successfully. DPW Director Dan Nason said the town's pavement condition index has fallen into the 70s.