 Hello, my name is Paul Backelman. I'm the Town Manager of Amherst. Thank you for taking the time to watch this video. I also thank Amherst Media for helping us produce it. The town has a clear, demonstrated need to make significant investments in four of our major facilities, our elementary schools, the Jones Library, the fire station, which also houses our emergency medical services, and the public works facility. This is the beginning of a process to engage all members of the community to learn more about the need, the options, and the decisions the town council will be asked to make. I emphasize that this is the beginning of the process. It starts by listening to you, and those listening are the town council, but also the school committee, library trustees, and town library and school staff. We hope to better understand your values and the questions you would like to have answered. In the next 15 minutes or so, you will hear from our staff leadership as they outline the services they provide, the condition of their facilities, and the challenges they face with their respective buildings. We will start with Superintendent of Schools Mike Morris, followed by Library Director Sharon Sherry, Fire Chief Tim Nelson, and Public Works Superintendent Gilford Mooring. I will conclude with a few comments about the financing of these investments. Let's start with Mike Morris. Welcome to the Amherst Public Schools. Two of our three elementary schools, Wildwood and Fort River, educate over two-thirds of the kindergarten through grade six students attending the Amherst Elementary District. In addition to these 712 students at these schools, well over 100 staff members work in these buildings to support our educational mission. Both buildings were constructed almost 50 years ago, and unlike Crocker Farm, which was renovated in 2002, neither Fort River nor Wildwood have had a major renovation since they were built. In addition to the classroom spaces, the schools require gymnasiums, cafeterias, art rooms, music rooms, instrumental music rooms, and libraries to support our broad educational goals. Spaces are also required to educate students with special needs, including those in specialized programs, those students who are acquiring English, and students receiving other intervention services such as Title I. All of our schools proudly serve as community centers in the town of Amherst. We are pleased to support LSEC programming, which allows for athletic activities for both children and adults to be enjoyed by many in our community. The buildings also serve as voting centers for the town. Additionally, Fort River acts as the host site for the wonderful and popular League of Women Voters Book Fair each summer. Unfortunately, Fort River and Wildwood buildings are in very poor condition at this time. Their deteriorating condition has been confirmed by two major architectural studies completed in the past four years, as well as the low rating they received in recent reviews by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Many of the mechanical systems are at or beyond their expected lifespan. For instance, the cooling system at Wildwood broke last fall, resulting in extremely hot conditions for the first month of school. While that was fixed, the cooling system at Fort River is likely to fail soon, and for that reason, we have rented a portable chiller this year in order to be prepared for that eventuality, and will continue to do so into the future. At both Fort River and Wildwood, the heating systems operate inconsistently, and the HVAC system was not built with a dehumidifying feature, which creates constant moisture issues in the schools. Fort River's decaying roof has multiple spots that leak when it rains heavily or when snow melts. Our stop-gap measure of constructing built-in drains from the ceiling tiles to the floor in those areas will not solve this issue, and fixing it will be quite costly. There are significant issues also related to school safety and accessibility. For instance, the front entrances in both buildings are almost 100 feet from the main entrance, meaning visitors have access to students in classrooms before they check in in the main office. Neither building has fire sprinklers to protect students and staff in case of a fire, as would be constructed in a current building. Last year, the District Commission in Accessibility audit that highlighted dozens of areas of each school that do not meet the current Americans with Disability Accessibility Code. The educational environment is also compromised by the building's design. The buildings were built based on an open classroom concept, meaning most classrooms do not have permanent full walls resulting in routine noise and distractions for our students and adults. Many classrooms also do not have a sufficient source of natural light, which research indicates has an impact on student achievement and student learning. While the district has completed projects over time in an effort to ameliorate some of the challenges at Wildwood and Fort River, the reality is that many of the issues that both buildings face cannot be fixed without a major building project, whether it be new construction or major renovation. We need to solve these issues that our wonderful students and outstanding teachers and staff can have an educational environment that matches their firm dedication to learning. The Jones Library was built in 1928 based on the founder's vision that the library should attract all residents so they could experience the values and culture at the heart of Amherst. Since its inception, the library's programming, services, and collections have reflected the interests and needs of the town, including spaces such as an art gallery, an archive, and public meeting rooms. With over 800 patrons a day, the library is a unique town institution because it seeks to serve the entire community. Someone researching an original Emily Dickinson poem may have no idea that some patrons only access to computers and Wi-Fi exists at the library. Another patron coming to storytime with their child may not realize that 2,500 residents annually are learning to speak English and are gaining citizenship at the library. Each time our community's needs have grown and changed, the library has physically expanded to meet those needs. As was the case in the 1960s, 70s, and again in the 90s, we are at a critical moment where our ability to meet the needs of patrons is being impaired by our current facilities which are in disrepair with growing safety concerns, inefficient, out of step with current environmental concerns, not fully accessible, and lacking the space to provide necessary services and programs. The library strives to create a welcoming atmosphere for our patrons. We work hard to not show our flaws, but the wear and tear on a building that sees over 270,000 visitors a year is immense. The unfortunate reality of our building is that much work is needed on the roof and all our major systems, such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire alarms. They are all at the end of life, meaning they break down frequently, are difficult to service, and parts are becoming obsolete. In addition to our systems, the 1990s addition was created before owners' project managers were used and unfortunately was poorly designed from the start, creating water seepage and leaking for the last 30 years that impacts not just the addition, but also the 1928 portion of the building. A building consultant from the Massachusetts Board of Library commissioners labeled the Jones as being the most dysfunctional library in the state. The building is a warren of nooks, crannies, and hidden stacks and stairwells that present safety concerns, accessibility issues, and not enough space to meet demand. While longtime residents and patrons know just where to find their favorite book, English language learners and people who are new to town have expressed how difficult it is to find their way around. Patrons who want to find a book in nonfiction have expressed not feeling safe in the stacks, as no one can see them downstairs. Families who arrive to participate in programming often leave because there's no room. Teens who should be learning the value of the library and how to become informed citizens are currently without their own space and do not have access to the full scope of books and resources that would be made available in a larger, dedicated space. The Jones has invested in short-term improvements and redesigned available spaces where possible, but these do not address the larger systemic challenges. We have a unique opportunity to take advantage of a state grant to fund a major renovation restoration for roughly the same cost to taxpayers as the necessary repair work. A renovation and expansion will allow the Jones to introduce a smarter design that maximizes safety, accessibility, and efficiency while making bold steps towards a fully sustainable building and providing the programming and services that are essential to the resiliency and vibrancy of our community. Welcome to your fire department. We provide fire and rescue services, emergency medical services, EMS, hazardous materials response, emergency management, technical rescue, disaster operations, and management. In addition, we provide the town and schools with fire prevention, education and safety services and review plans for new and renovated buildings. The fire department works with Amherst College, Hampshire College, and UMass on emergency response, safety education and emergency management. We also collaborate with and support other town departments and provide emergency medical services to the towns of Shootsbury, Leverett, and Pelham. We do all of this with 46 highly trained professional firefighter paramedics. We are committed to this community because we are part of this community. There are a few professions where the people you serve trust you to come into their home, place of business or school, at any time of the day or night to make them or a situation better through EMS or a fire rescue. We teach your children how to be fire safe. We inspect your home or business to ensure your family and customers are safe. We are there when you need us 24-7-365. The fire department's central station, Head Cold Quarters, was built in 1929. The first study on its usefulness as a fire station was done in 1947. It concluded that the building was inadequate for the needs of the fire department. 72 years later and 90 years after the building opened, we are still operating out of this building. The building was constructed purely as a fire station with no consideration for emergency medical services, which now accounts for the lion's share of our runs. The apparatus bays aren't sufficient for the needs of a modern progressive fire department. The types of trucks we need literally cannot fit through the door. Storage space for fire EMS equipment is virtually non-existent, meaning we have to use every nook and cranny to store our equipment. The emergency services world is highly technical, demanding intellectually and constantly changing. There are no areas for firefighters to train or study to stay up with the new developments in medicine and firefighting technology. The building has served us well to a point, but over the last 45 years, it has been nearly impossible to maintain it in a livable condition. The building is not energy efficient in terms of heating and cooling. Our heating system is antiquated and interior air quality is below accepted standards. The building has one full bathroom for all firefighters stationed here. We have no gender-specific locker rooms, bathrooms, and the building is not ADA compliant. Firefighters are exposed to dangerous contaminants, environmental, and biological. We do not have a decontamination area for equipment, clothing, or personnel. What we have for personal decontamination are two common bathrooms and a work sink in the rear of the station. Nationally accepted standards call for a separate decontamination area separate from living spaces in the station, apparatus areas separate from living spaces, and firefighting gear storage that is separate from living spaces. We have none of that. Because the station was built before the dangers of exposure to contaminants was known, retrofitting the station to stop cross-contamination is not an option. Our living spaces are constantly exposed. You sometimes hear a fire station referred to as a firehouse. And with good reason, our building is occupied 24 hours a day every day of the year. Firefighters live in this building. Firefighters work and train in this building. Replacement with a new fire headquarters has to be a top priority. Welcome to the Amherst Department of Public Works. The DPW is a multidisciplinary department of over 60 employees that maintain streets, sidewalks, traffic signals, town-owned street lights, street trees, parks, pools, commons, the town cemeteries. We do winter operations. We maintain the parking lots and equipment. We maintain street signage and the multiple municipal solid waste and recycling facilities. The DPW ensures that every resident on town water has an ample supply of high quality water delivered to them every day. The DPW handles all waste water from the town and provides environmentally approved treatment. We employ highly trained engineering staff, maintain a consolidated vehicle maintenance group and provide administrative support to all operational groups and other town departments. The engineering staff develop, design and oversee several projects as well as supervise outside consultants, contractors in the design and construction of other work for the DPW. Our administrative team processes many requests, questions and also pays multiple millions of dollars of bills and payroll. The DPW provides support to other town and school departments as needed. The DPW is responsible for several federal, state permits for the town. These include such things as the Water Management Act permit, the solid waste facility permit, the air quality permits issued by DEP, the wastewater discharge permit for the wastewater treatment facility and the MS4 stormwater permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and DEP. As capable, we host many statewide and regional training programs at our facilities. Several staff are recognized leaders serving on statewide boards and industry groups such as the Mass Tree Warden Association, the Massachusetts Water Works Association and the New England Interstate Water and Pollution Control Commission. The DPW is especially proud to have participated in many studies and pilot projects sponsored by EPA, DEP and other state agencies often in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts. The DPW has many facilities and structures that fall into our sphere of responsibility. There are wells, pump stations, comfort stations, water treatment and wastewater treatment facilities. They range from very small to tens of thousands of square feet and usually have one purpose. The one facility that supports the entire DPW is the DPW Barn or office. This building is located on South Pleasant Street and it is the repurposed new trolley barn built in 1915. Over the last 100 years while there have been additions and minor repairs to this facility there has never been an overhaul or significant upgrade. The employees who work out of this facility are subject to a work environment that is not acceptable to ensure the safety and well-being of our dedicated workforce. The building does not meet the VA accessibility requirements. The female restroom and locker facilities are located on the second floor with only stair access. The building lacks important life and safety code systems that are standard in current buildings. There is no sprinkler system, no fire alarms, no carbon monoxide alarms and the ventilation system does not provide adequate, required air exchanges in the shop and equipment storage areas. The buildings often enter the office space from these areas. The walls are quite literally crumbling. There are structural damage to the exterior and interior of our masonry walls. A section of the building sub-roof has fallen into the building. This leaves only the exterior membrane in place to protect against the elements. The roof has several leaks that allow water into the building during rainstorms and snow-melt events. The building is in complex life and is in need of a much deferred overhaul. A new facility would create a safe, efficient work environment that would consolidate all operations under one roof that doesn't leak. We would be able to restore our most expensive vehicles under the cover to extend their useful life. We would provide our employees with the kind of facility they deserve to work in and return to after conducting their difficult, sometimes hazardous work at all hours of the day and night. I hope you found the information provided by our department heads informative. They each have summarized the important work they do and described the deficiencies and needs of their buildings. These investments will require a sizable commitment of funds. So the question is, can the town afford to do them and what will it cost? First, we are well prepared to move forward with all four of these capital investments. We have built up our reserves, increased our commitment to capital in our annual budget, decreased our outstanding debt, and have achieved a very good bond rating which influences the interest we pay on our debt. Let's go through this in slightly more detail. In the past 10 years, the town has been managing its resources to build up reserves for when we take on the investments. By reserves, I mean our stabilization fund and free cash. These, in rough terms, are like our savings account and checking account. We have droopled it from around $4 million to over $16 million in the current year. We, as a town, have been very disciplined about budgeting carefully and putting money aside year by year. We always want to retain some reserves and the town's adopted financial policies state that we should have at least 5% of our general fund held as reserves. We are now at nearly 20% of the general fund in reserves. During the same period, the town has not taken on significant new debt. As a result, our debt service represented by the maroon part of the bar is rolling down. This means more funds are available for other capital investments or new debt service. At the same time, the town has made a concerted effort to elbow out room in the budget for capital expenditures and debt payments. That is represented by the gray bar. These two factors mean that the town has the capacity and ability to take on new debt and to pay it off but it won't be enough for all four facilities. An important note, we must continue to address our other capital needs like new ambulances, police cars, roads and sidewalks and repairs to town buildings from these same funds. The financial challenge we face is significant. We don't have firm numbers for most of the projects but early estimates are that over $100 million will be needed to pay for all four investments. Yes, that is a lot of money. However, there are state grants available for two of the projects, the library and the schools, and these projects should not move forward without state funding. There are no state grants available for fire stations or DPW facilities. You may ask what if we choose not to move forward on one or more of these buildings? If we don't build new or renovated facilities, we will definitely have to commit significant funds to the existing buildings just to be able to continue to use them. Things like replacing leaky roofs, upgrading and ventilation systems, increasing accessibility and making required safety and code upgrades. So the alternative isn't build a building or do nothing. It's build a building or pay for improvements to the existing buildings. Our early estimates are that these prices are very similar. One key element of a financial plan is to ask the voters for a debt exclusion override. A debt exclusion override is where the voters at the ballot box choose to tax themselves more to pay off the debt for a specific project. Depending on projected costs, it may even require two debt exclusions to address all of our needs. The town council will decide to place an override on the ballot, but the voters will decide if they are willing to pay for the override. So what's next? There are some key dates coming up. On December 11th, we anticipate that the Massachusetts School Building Authority will tell us if we have been accepted into their grant program. In July of next year, we expect to be awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to assist in the renovations and addition to the Jones Library. During the same timeframe, the town council will be identifying a location for the DPW, which we need because we know that the current DPW site is the best location for a new FHIR EMS facility. With that location identified, the town can move forward with schematic design, which will give us good estimates for the cost of those two facilities. It's a lot of information, I know. But again, we are at the beginning stages, and the town council is eager to hear from you about your values and the types of questions you want them to explore as we work through the next months. We will assemble all information on the town's website, which is amherstma.gov.com Again, we thank you for taking the time to watch this. We thank Amherst Media for helping to put this production together, and we look forward to an open, robust discussion about the decisions that will shape our community and our town for decades to come.