by Brian Keaney

What and when to build, and how to pay for them, kept the Building, Planning and Construction Committee busy last night.  BPCC Chairman Rob Naser said it was a “fair criticism” of his board that they did not have a written plan in place that prioritizes future building projects.

Committee members discussed the model used by the Town of Arlington to select and fund their capital improvements.  Town Administrator Bill Keegan told the BPCC that in some respects, such as the percentage of the budget spent on capital projects, Dedham was already ahead of Arlington. 

Keegan also noted that there was a much more streamlined process in Arlington than in Dedham. He said that the several committees that are involved in constructing a building in Dedham, including the BPCC, the Capital Expenditures Committee, and the Finance Committee at a minimum, could sometimes hamper the process.

“One of the difficulties of this committee,” Naser said, “is that we can make recommendations, and we have, but getting a consensus is a very difficult task.” 

Naser appointed a subcommittee of himself, Carmen DelloIacono, and Jack Donovan to look into putting together a written building and maintenance plan.  Jack Nackley said the plan would help when asking voters to support debt exclusions.

“One of the reasons the Senior Center went down in flames is that no one had any idea what was coming up after that,” Nackley said.  “I think if we can set up a plan so they can see what’s in the pipeline, they might feel a little better voting for something.”

Library Trustee Bob Desmond also appeared before the Board seeking support for a new library, or the expansion of the Endicott branch into the main library. He told the committee that it was already difficult to operate two buildings after having lost two positions, and could be impossible if they have any further staff cuts.  He reiterated the point this morning on myDedham.org.

“When I say I’m going to close the Endicott branch library, there could be chaos,” said Desmond.

The BPCC wanted to see a plan from the Library Trustees on how they proposed to renovate or restructure the Library system before they made any commitments.   

“That is something we could sink our teeth into,” Naser said.

Keegan told the BPCC that he was in the process of putting together the capital plan for the next fiscal year but added, “from a budgetary standpoint, it’s looking pretty dire.  It’s not looking good at all.”  He added that the Town had submitted a $95 million request to the state for funding in President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus package.

The request includes 13 separate projects including a new Avery School, development of the SMA property, road construction and the Senior Center.  Keegan said this was the biggest request of any town that he knew of.  The closest he was aware of was Canton, who requested “an almost identical” package but for $78 million.