This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Capital Planning Tries to Prioritize Needs of the Town

The High School feasibility study, as well as the potential for a new fire truck are some of the items that town needs to try and fund.

Fall is slowly approaching, and for the Capital Planning Committee it will bring some tough decisions. Last Wednesday night the committee met at Town Hall to begin the process of determining where resources will be best spent.

During a difficult economic time in which many families have been forced to carefully examine their own budgets, the crunch is also being felt in town governments such as Winchester's.

It's the Capital Planning Committee's responsibility to closely scrutinize each potential project and every request.

Find out what's happening in Winchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Wednesday night the committee examined a long list of proposed items and began to judge their individual merit.

There appeared to be a general consensus when it came to the condition of the Town Hall auditorium.

Find out what's happening in Winchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It needs plaster work," Betsy Cregger said. "Some areas have been totally demolished. It's pretty unsightly."

When it came to the fire station though the committee wanted to determine whether the request for a new SUV was a real need. Chairman Richard Kazanjian pointed out that the Ford Explorer that the fire department owns now has 55,000 miles and might be serviceable.

Instead the committee is considering the possibility of replacing one of the two fire trucks operated by the department, one of which is now 15-years-old.

The Town Hall auditorium and the needs of the fire department are just two examples of how the committee is digging into the details of each proposal.

Aside though from such smaller line-by-line items, there are larger projects such as water mitigation and the renovation of school buildings that will require considerable funding.

They could potentially cost the town millions and how they are handled is crucial in determining how much of the cost will fall back on Winchester.

"We need to provide funding for the high school feasibility study," Sarah Girotti said.  "If we don't then we could lose $17 million in state funding."

This is one of the real challenges before the committee. They must not only determine the most important needs of the town, but they must also balance what projects are eligible for outside funding or operating overrides.

The Board of Selectmen is pushing the committee to present their recommendations. But Richard Kazanjian wants to be sure that they have all the facts before they do it.

"We don't have all of our analysis done yet," Kazanjian said. "We will get our subcommittee report, and then once we do we'll take our first straw vote."

That vote can be expected in two weeks when the committee next meets on Aug. 25. Kazanjian has asked the members to individually rank the projects by then so that they can have a good, open discussion on the merit of each item.

"I don't want niceties," Kazanjian said.  "I want argument."

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?