Newton Mayor Setti Warren prioritizes Angier

Following through on a campaign promise, Mayor Setti Warren was scheduled Monday night to present the Board of Aldermen with a 5-year Capital Improvement Plan – which incorporates an in-depth 5-year financial forecast, and one that puts the Angier and Carr schools and Fire Station 3 at the top of the list.

Using a financial forecast and a live database, Warren said city officials spent the last several months assessing all of Newton’s infrastructure needs to come to their conclusions.

In a special meeting with the Newton TAB on Nov. 4, Warren said officials planned to explain their findings at the aldermen meeting on Nov. 7 – after the TAB’s deadline.

“This will allow the city to make investments in areas like maintenance, that will save the city millions of dollars over the course of years and not let our infrastructure go into disrepair,” Warren said.

The city signed a contract with Kleinfelder SEA, a Cambridge-based capital facilities company, in July.

Since then, Chief Operating Officer Robert Rooney said officials have been combing through every component of every building and roadway, using the database to rate the risk and failure of every capital project.

Rooney said a steering committee, composed of officials, department heads and a citizen representative, evaluated each department’s capital priorities. He said health and safety played a big role in evaluations.

“We found urgent things that need to be fixed right away -- that’s huge. Those urgent things are all about health and safety. At Gath Pool – the electrical system is old and the components of the switches and everything are not in the best shape, and it’s in the same location where they do some of the chemical handling,” Rooney said. “This identified as a need to really fix it now before someone gets hurt. That is really what’s driving some of our needs, even in [fiscal year] 2012.”

He said the city identified some older capital needs and found ways to actually save money, like upgrading pipes to keep from investing in a new hydraulic system.

Rooney said they also identified a need for increased funding for internet technology [IT].

“IT has no network backbone for connecting all buildings. Right now everyone operates on their own. We’re looking into hiring a [Chief Information Officer]. If you don’t have a strong backbone network, you’re not going anywhere,” Rooney said.

He said the committee considered the impact, necessity, savings, paybacks and department vision for each capital request to rate 376 projects – which total $240 million.

He said the database is always changing, and can help guide department heads.

“The biggest thing about this whole budget is now we have an asset database, [we can] see what the ratings are and flag the things that need to be improved. It’ll help us going forward. It redesigns how we manage funds on a monthly basis,” Rooney said, adding that the database will show how projects are progressing.

Residents will be able to view the database as well, Rooney said.

Among the list of priorities, Warren said the city needs to invest in either a renovation or a replacement for the 90-year-old Angier School in Waban.

While the city intends to work with the Massachusetts School Building Administration to determine funding, officials estimate the project will carry a $30 million price tag.

Warren said the city also needs to renovate or replace Fire Station 3 in Newton Centre – estimated at $5.7 million.

“We know, in order to complete both of those projects, they go beyond the money we had dedicated in our operating budget,” Warren said.

Needs for the Carr School, which has poor plumbing and needs immediate repair, include design, construction and sprinkler costs. The project is estimated to run about $5.2 million. Carr would be used to hold students while other schools are undergoing renovation.

Other projects, like a new main entrance for the Bigelow School, a storm drain repair at Webster and Crescent streets and additional classrooms and cafeteria space at the Day School are also high on the to-do list.

Warren said the city is exploring ways to fund the improvements.

“There are alternative funding sources that will certainly be examined, like a debt exclusion override. There’s been some discussion of bringing on additional revenue for pay as you throw, and we’ll monitor the economic growth and economic development within the next year and see where we are,” Warren said. “I look forward to having those discussions with the board.”

Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemiuex said the city is working with the board on the Chestnut Hill Square project – which is projected to generate $1.3 million a year in new property taxes, and said collective bargaining agreements will save the city millions of dollars.

Warren said he will assemble a working group, comprising a project manager, community members, aldermen and school committee members, to set a timeline in place, work with the state and produce quarterly updates to the public.

He hopes to present the community with a firm project proposal by this time next year.

“We want to make sure residents understand how we prioritize these projects, understand our database and how we came to the conclusions we did,” Warren said. “We’re going to spend a tremendous amount of work getting resident input, and we’ll go back out, myself and the team, in January to do two sessions for the public.”