The Town of Acton moved forward in the public discussion about a replacement Department of Public Works facility, with town staff presenting a $43 million project estimate and a timeline that could begin construction about a year after a favorable vote and finish in an expedited multi-year schedule.

Town Manager John Manduray and the DPW Building Committee described operational and safety shortfalls at the current Forest Road site, including vehicle-storage constraints, lack of proper vehicle exhaust controls, inadequate locker rooms and insufficient training and meeting spaces. Manduray said the existing building requires "extensive and expensive structural upgrades" and that renovation would not meet operational needs.

The proposed project would move and realign vehicle operations to reduce neighborhood impacts on Forest Road; included features are indoor vehicle washing with containment to reduce runoff, code-compliant locker rooms, larger vehicle bays and room for training and mechanics work. The committee is pursuing federal and state incentives and tax rebates to reduce cost and suggested value engineering could also lower the price. "There are options to reduce the costs in addition to value engineering," Manduray said.

The meeting exposed a sharp disagreement between the Select Board and the Finance Committee about timing, scope and affordability. Finance Committee members repeatedly said they preferred an operating increase limit of 3% and are "unanimously against the DPW building at this size and scope" in its current form. FINCOM members asked for more targeted scope cuts and said they are not opposed to addressing needs but want a smaller, more focused project plan.

Finance Committee Chair (committee member speaking at the meeting) asked for a moderated dialog involving both bodies. "I would like to request that the Finance Committee and the Select Board get together and have a potentially moderated discussion because I can tell you we all are talking about completely different things here," she said, urging a single forum to reconcile differing priorities.

The town scheduled public engagement events tied to the project. Manduray announced an open house at the DPW facility on Jan. 25 (10 a.m.–noon) and a DPW Building Committee public meeting on Jan. 29; an additional community meeting at the Senior Center is planned for Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. The town’s DPW project webpage (actonma.gov/dpwfacility) includes design documents and a project timeline.

Key financial context and considerations presented:

- Current cost estimate: $43,000,000 (as presented). The manager said the estimate excludes potential value-engineering reductions and assumes federal incentives might be obtained.
- Proposed funding: debt-exclusion ballot question (under Prop 2½) to exempt the borrowing cost from levy limits where voters must approve a debt-exclusion at the ballot and/or town meeting.
- Cost escalation risk: staff warned that delay could increase cost substantially (staff cited an estimated 27% escalation if the project were deferred five years).

Concerns raised by Finance Committee and select board members included whether every piece of equipment needs to be stored indoors, the size of covered vehicle wash facilities, and whether staged renovation or a smaller additive project would meet needs at lower cost. Select Board members urged continued value engineering and noted some residents’ environmental concerns about runoff and noise were addressed in the proposed design. The DPW Building Committee said they will continue refining designs, evaluate rebate programs and publish updated cost estimates.

Ending

With wide disagreement over the current scope and cost, both boards agreed to continue the conversation. Officials encouraged residents to attend the planned open house and public meetings in late January, where design details, cost options and benefit analyses will be explained; the DPW Building Committee will continue value engineering and publish updates before any debt-exclusion ballot question is finalized.