AMHERST — Amherst Town Council is committing $1.6 million toward the replacement of the entirety of the roof at the Amherst Regional Middle School, spending that will reduce the amount of money proposed for resurfacing and repairing town roads and sidewalks.
In a 12-1 vote Monday, with Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke opposed, councilors approved redirecting money from free cash to ensure the roof over the middle school auditorium is included in this summer’s $9.83 million construction project.
While all councilors agreed it would be more cost effective, and the deteriorating ceiling inside the auditorium is indicative of the problems with the roof, Hanneke suggested waiting two weeks, allowing officials to get a better sense of what the actual cost will be, and possibly to reduce this appropriation.
But other councilors expressed an urgency in appropriating the money, worried that not doing so might affect the bidding environment for contractors.
“I don’t think inserting risk into it is worth it,” said District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen.
District 3 Councilor George Ryan said he understands roads need to be a priority, as well, but they are not an emergent situation, adding that improving their condition has been a long-time need.
“It’s been a history of diddling around,” Ryan said.
The vote comes after Town Manager Paul Bockelman presented a $4.3 million financial order from free cash that would have increased fiscal year 2027 road spending to $6.44 million, with $1.19 million from state Chapter 90 road funding, $550,000 from the five-year capital plan and $400,000 from other sources. The Finance Committee then recommended redirecting the $1.6 million to the middle school roof.
Bockelman said the decision leaves a gap in road funding, though the exact impact on the number of projects or miles to be resurfaced remains unclear.
The Department of Public Works will have a presentation on its roadwork plan at the Town Council on April 2, basing this on the use of the Pavement Condition Index, outlining which roads will be done.
There has already been planning underway to improve roads, including a $65,000 capital request for a second hot box that would allow DPW workers to fill twice as many potholes, and piloting other strategies, such as contracting with a private firm to focus on potholes. Bockelman wrote in a memo that Northampton entered into this type of contract last year and found it largely successful.
The DPW also has plans to reduce the amount of salt used during winter storms by incorporating more sand into the mix, and to use a different form of pretreatment.
Should the bids for the roof come in lower, there is no way to immediately redirect that toward roads. Finance Director Sean Mangano told councilors that they couldn’t add a contingency as part of their vote.
Councilors suggested that the town needs to find new revenues so all needs can be met.
District 1 Councilor Jill Brevik cautioned that the decision feels like part of what happens when various needs are pitted against each other, part of a larger issue with limited revenues.
“What I’m thinking is where else can we look,” Brevik said, suggesting that both the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Amherst College have resources that the town doesn’t.
District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub said the majority of drivers on town roads are affiliated with the colleges, and there is no way to square funding without their help.
District 2 Councilor Amber Cano-Martin said the frustration she heard on the campaign trail last year from voters is that with high taxes residents pay they expect good roads, and there are questions about committing money to a project like the Jones Library, meaning more than $15 million is otherwise unavailable.
Schoen suggested coming up with an option to collect excise taxes on those who live in town during the school year, but whose vehicles are registered elsewhere.