Selectboard

Request for Price Quotes: Porter Memorial Library Site Improvements

The Select Board of the Town of Blandford invites price quotes for construction of a patio at the Porter Memorial Library located at 87 Main Street, Blandford, MA 01008. The written scope of work will be available from the time of this notice until the due date specified below. The Select Board will be the awarding and contracting authority and reserves the right to reject any and all proposals if it is deemed in the best interests of the Town to do so.

Price quotations are to be submitted no later than 5:00 PM, Thursday, August 31, 2023 at the Town Offices, 1 Russell Stage Road, Blandford, MA, 01008. Submission procedure is available in the below materials.

• Porter Memorial Library Site Improvements
• Prevailing Wage Rates

August 11, 2023 in Invitation to Bid, Library, Selectboard

Special Town Meeting – June 29, 2023

A Special Town Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 29 at 7:00 PM at Blandford Town Hall. The agenda for the meeting includes just two items: The water treatment plant’s ongoing Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) project and the FY24 budget for the Hampden County Retirement Board assessment.

Article 1: In March 2023, a Special Town Meeting authorized borrowing a little under $900,000 to undertake construction of an upgraded SCADA system at the Long Pond Water Treatment Plant. This project, in development since 2020, would address concerns with disinfection byproducts and other issues identified by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The cost of the project would be borne by Town water users and financed by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). Projects included in the CWSRF would need to be under contract by June 30 with slight extensions and 13% loan forgiveness possible.

Construction bids came back higher than anticipated in late May necessitating authorization of the additional funding of about $280,000 at a Special Town Meeting. The Town’s consultant, Wright-Pierce, has identified some additional potential savings to bring project costs back in line.

Article 2: This corrects a clerical error in which the Town under appropriated by a little over $4,000 the amount needed to pay the Hampden County Retirement Assessment. By making this correction, the Town can pay the full assessment prior to July 31, locking in about $1,500 in savings for prompt payment.

• Review the Warrant here.

June 16, 2023 in Finance, Meetings, Selectboard, Special Town Meetings

Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 Operating and Capital Budget Recommendations

The budget process started in October with distribution of capital request forms to Town departments. In January, departments received instructions on submitting Fiscal Year 2024 operating budget requests and before the conclusion of February, all departments had met with the Finance Committee. At the outset of March, the Finance Committee reviewed a compiled list of FY24 budget requests, made minor recommendations and asked for clarification on a number of items. Further meetings resulted in the below budget proposal.

• FY24 Operating and Capital Budget Recommendations – Preliminary
• FY24 Estimated Revenue Report
• FY24 Expense Report
• FY24 Broadband Budget Report
• FY24 Water Department Budget Report
• FY24 Chart of Benefits

To be updated prior to Annual Town Meeting with latest revenue projections.

May 23, 2023 in Community, Finance Committee, Selectboard, Town Meetings