Sudbury Select Board backs $959,000 Atkinson Pool repair, opposes reserve-fund swap

SUDBURY -- May 5, 2025, Sudbury Select Board endorses $959,000 Atkinson Pool repair and opposes a citizen budget amendment on the eve of Town Meeting. The board voted unanimously to back Article 34 after Town Manager Andy Sherman raised the contingency from 12 to 17 percent, adding roughly $100,000 to the earlier figure; Sherman said his confidence was "a little better" than the 75 percent he had cited the prior week. Chair Janie Dretler said a "dribs and drabs approach would be a mistake" on a two-thirds borrowing vote. The board also voted unanimously to oppose an amendment to Article 3 that would cut the reserve fund from $300,000 to $100,000 to boost the vocational education line by $200,000. Member Lisa Kouchakdjian, the board's vocational-education liaison, said the obstacle is seat availability, not money: "Either a slot's open or it's not." Sherman put fiscal 2026 in-levy debt service at just over $710,000 against $5.3 million in total outstanding debt.