Sudbury Select Board approves $100,000 in ARPA funds for school HVAC controls

SUDBURY -- August 27, 2024, Sudbury Select Board allocates $100,000 in ARPA funds to close gap on $1.2 million school HVAC retrofit. The board voted unanimously Aug. 27 to fund upgraded digital controls for the Curtis Middle School and Haynes Elementary rooftop-unit retrofit, after Combined Facilities Director Sandra Duran said the contractor would not hold the $989,500 base bid past the following week. The $223,450 controls add-alternate is being financed by $100,000 ARPA, $80,000 from a town facilities account, and roughly $43,000 from a school building-use fund. Member Charles Russo conditioned the vote on project savings being returned first to ARPA, saying he didn't like being "painted into corners and forced into decisions." Separately, the board appointed Safa Khan to the DEI Commission, ratified Harry Hoffman as a Conservation Commission associate member, and signed an Overdose Awareness Day proclamation citing 2,125 fatal overdoses statewide this year.