Sand Mill Road Bridge Repair Project Going Out to Bid
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town plans to put the Sand Mill Road Bridge repair project out to bid after the Conservation Commission's final review on Nov. 4.
Town Administrator Mark Webber said last week that the plans are almost bid ready and the board must decide if it wants to put out the project out to bid this fall or in the spring.
The bridge on the back road has been closed for more than a year because of structural issues, forcing residents and school buses to take up to a four-mile detour.
Webber said there are pros and cons for each. In general, contractors try to finish up projects this time of year and do not look for new ones but the town could benefit if it allows an open start time.
"You might get better bids if you structure it so you keep the finish date the same but you just don't put in a start date," Webber said. "So it would be the same if they started today or in the spring."
Selectwoman Carol Francesconi added that if this winter is mild, then the project could start early.
Selectman Robert Ciskowski recommended seeing what mandates the Conservation Commission could put on the project first. These mandates could potentially change the bids.
"I would say let's proceed and go out to bid as soon as we can, but I think the Conservation Commission stuff might affect the bidding if there has to be a lot of mitigation practices," he said. "It could change the bid."
Department of Public Works Director Peter LeFebvre said the town could not go out to bid until after this date anyway so it should not be a concern.
Webber said he would tell the engineer the town is ready to proceed.
"I'll call him back and tell him 'chop chop lets go,' " Webber said. "You started the course you may as well stay with it."
In other business, Webber said he held a conference call with the Adams town administrator, Adams-Cheshire Regional School District administration and the Department of Education to discuss the relative wealth formula that determines how much each town pays in the school district's foundation budget.
Webber said the formula is determined by a town's ability to pay and its relative wealth. Because Cheshire is more wealthy than Adams, the state expects Cheshire to pay more per student.
There were initial concerns that this amount would keep increasing, however, Webber said Cheshire is 1 percent off its maximum funding shift. Currently, Cheshire is at 49 percent. The maximum is 50 percent.
Webber said the town should not expect to see any more than a 1 percent increase in this funding formula.
"That 50 percent has not moved for the past eight years so it's not like we have to keep chasing a moving target," he said.
He did say the state has accelerated the funding shift over the past few years to get Cheshire at its target amount.
He said Adams is also within 1 percent. Currently, it pays 31 percent and is expected to hit 32 percent.
Francesconi questioned the formula and felt the state could always increase the percentage if they wanted. She added that Cheshire really is not a wealthy community.
"I don’t feel wealthier," she said. "I’m amazed. We don’t have enough money to fix our roads or do the things we want to do but we are wealthy."
The selectmen also agreed to advertise for a new DPW director in December. Current director LeFebvre plans to retire in April.
Tags: ACRSD_budget, bridge project,
