This is the week to STAY AWAKE if you care about the next round of school buildings. Tomorrow (July 15) the Board of Aldermen and School Committee meet jointly to review the Angier School renderings and floor plans. Have a look. What do you think?
Prior to that, the Board will vote on initial design funds for Zervas.
And if you were wondering about Riverside, well, it comes up Tuesday. Along with a School Committee meeting –but so far, no sign of the promised agenda, although they will be meeting in the cafeteria of Newton North–presumably because it’s better air conditioned than the Ed. Center?
Otherwise, if you care about City Finances, the Friday Packet this week is chock-a-block with expense reports for current projects, a principal payment for NNHS, and more.
Hardly a sleepy summer week here in the Garden City….
FYI, Deirdre Fernandes had an article in the Globe today about how climbing rates for municipal bonds are impacting building state and municipal projects.
Why does the administration need $1 million for the design of Zervas and half a million dollars for a salt shed? These costs appear highly exaggerated.
Greg, Deidre Fernandes got a promotion and is now covering the business section for the Globe.
I remembered at the Ward 7 override meeting in March, Rob Gifford and his wife Claire Sokoloff were in the audience. I find the run up in bond rates interesting because Rob Gifford was going on about how we should borrow now because interest rates were low. It’s also a good thing that I turned bearish on the TLT (Long-Dated Treasury Bond ETF) recently because the rising interest rates have had a severely negative impact on the value of long-dated bonds.
Colleen, I will be analyzing and evaluating the costs of Newton’s school building projects over the next month.
Check that, Deirdre Fernandes.
The B of A passed the motion to bond for the $1 million. The vote was 19-1. The Board had very little to say in opposition.
I shall look forward to any information that Joshua can find out about the details of this feasibility study.
I placed the bond authorization for the Zervas feasibility study on second call last night because at least four of us–including me–abstained on voting for it in committee because of concerns about bonding the study instead of just paying for it and I felt more discussion was needed (despite the heat in the chamber). My specific concern is about rising bond rates. Ald. Gentile, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that the option to bond gives the administration flexibility and assured us that the administration would come back before committing to bonding the $1 million study. By 2014, when a decision whether to bond will be made, incurring additional debt service costs by bonding the Zervas study may not be the best solution, so hopefully whoever is Mayor will be willing to reconsider. I know I would. 😉
For those who are interested, a summary of the scope of the Zervas feasibility study and a caomparison to the costs for the Angier feasibility study can be found here.
Ted Hess-Mahan — The concern on rising rates is between today and the issue date, correct? (Meaning, there is no future year exposure) Where would the funds come from if not from bonding? If there a capital reserve fund or would this need to wait until the FY15 budget?
As a follow-up, do you happen to know with municipal accounting if a feasibility study cost is amortized over the life of the building or if it is a current-year cost?
There was concern expressed about some elements of the facade like the concrete block proposed for the gym and the metal casing around the library windows. Several members felt that aesthetic quality and neighborhood compatibility might be being sacrificed for relatively minor cost savings.
Alderman Albright wanted more information on historic elements of the existing school possibly being echoed in the new one. I pointed out that the school sign in the sketches was virtually unreadable and suggested greater contrast between the letters and the background in the future design.
Aldermen Kalis and Johnson wanted more specifics on the issues raised at previous meetings and the design team’s responses.
Most agreed that the temperature in the Chamber was unbearable.
Alderman Brian Yates