Boards recommend $250K for Senior/Community Center design, down from $350K request
Joint Select Board, Finance Committee, and Planning Board meeting recommends amended Article 6. The boards reduced the Senior/Community Center design appropriation from $350,000 to $250,000 and embedded contractual checkpoints at 30 percent and 75 percent design completion targeting August 31 and
Select Board · Meeting of April 23, 2026
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA — Joint Select Board, Finance Committee, and Planning Board meeting recommends amended Article 6. The boards reduced the Senior/Community Center design appropriation from $350,000 to $250,000 and embedded contractual checkpoints at 30 percent and 75 percent design completion targeting August 31 and November 15, 2026, requiring Select Board and Finance Committee approval before authorizing construction documents. Finance Committee Chair Sarah Mellish and Town Administrator Antonio Barletta negotiated the compromise after Finance Committee members expressed concerns about process, cost escalation from $2.5 million–$3 million to $6 million–$7 million, and the condominium arrangement with the Masons, who retain one-third of the building.
Both bodies voted unanimously for the $250,000 figure with structured oversight.
In the full story:
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Source: the Select Board meeting of April 23, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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