The Select Board received a short update on the Senior Center building project Tuesday night. The COA Director shared the update, with a building committee member and the DPW Director joining her at the meeting table.
Here are a few points:
Project Numbers. The COA Director shared the working budget for the project. The project estimate was $15.1 million at Special Town Meeting, when residents approved the financing.
She shared that at this point, the total estimated project cost is $15.7 million, which is up about $565,000. But the building committee and the consultants have identified savings of $305,000 through the Design Development plan process and $150,000 in utility connection costs.
“At this stage of the project, there are still a lot of moving parts,” the COA Director said. “Some things are going up and some things are going down. These are by no means final numbers.”
Senior Center Plans. The Design Development plans are now complete (though there were no actual building plans shown as part of this presentation). The Construction Documents are being developed. In June, the building committee expects to have 60 percent complete Construction Documents and the next cost estimate.
Planning Board. The project is expected to go before the Planning Board for a site plan approval, according to the meeting discussion.
Grants. The COA Director shared a list of grant opportunities, some of which the town has submitted applications for. Others are being reviewed.
Fundraising. The Friends of the Ayer Senior Center has pledged to raise $375,000. So far, the group has raised $78,500, the COA Director said. She said the group has been gearing up, but has not started active public fundraising yet.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The Senior Center project went to last Fall’s Special Town Meeting with two potential scenarios. The town had hoped to obtain $1.3 million in Community Development Block Grants to help finance the project. However, there was change at the federal level and the town is now seeking a $950,000 grant, according to this discussion.
The Special Town Meeting article asked voters in part to allow borrowing up to $11.55 million, in case a CDBG grant doesn’t get approved.
Watch
You can watch this presentation on the APAC meeting video, starting at 54:20 min. The presentation was less than 15 minutes. The COA Director noted the building committee would meet on Thursday (March 19th) and there would be a more detailed presentation on the costs there.