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2021-1 STM APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE I NOVEMBER 2021 work came in substantially above the appropriation. Instead of seeking supplemental funding,the Depart- ment of Recreation and Community Programs has concluded that installing a new,pre-cast concrete build- ing would be more cost-effective than renovating the existing bathhouse. This modification would bring the project within the previously appropriated budget, so no new funds are needed. The Committee recommends approval by a vote of(8-0). Article 7 Appropriate for Westview Cemetery Building Construction Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $770,000 Tax Levy Approve(8-0) This article requests a supplemental appropriation for the construction of a new office and equipment maintenance building on the Westview Cemetery grounds, including the costs of demolition,architectural, and engineering services, original equipment, furnishings, landscaping, paving and other site and traffic improvements incidental or related to such construction.Westview Cemetery is the Town's active cemetery with an average of two hundred burials per year. History At the 2015 Annual Town Meeting, $35,000 was appropriated to hire an architect to assess the current building, and to determine if the existing building can be renovated and expanded, or if a new building is needed. The assessment was performed by TBA Architects Inc., and at the 2017 Annual Town Meeting, $270,000 was appropriated to develop designs for the renovation of the existing building or for construction of a new building. At the 2018 Annual Town Meeting an article to appropriate construction funds was indefinitely postponed in order to consider citizen requests for the inclusion of a crematory facility as part of the new building. The Ad-hoc Crematory Study Committee (CSC) was appointed by the Board of Se- lectmen in fall 2018. The committee made a recommendation, subsequently accepted by the Board of Se- lectmen, that required the design of the new Westview Cemetery building to be able to accommodate the addition of a crematory at a future date. At the 2020 Annual Town Meeting, $3,290,000 was appropriated for construction of the building with the new design. Current status Town staff vetted the design of the building with the Permanent Building Committee and subsequently issued a bid package in June 2021.Five bids were received,and all are substantially above the appropriated funding. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted supply chains and also worker availability resulting in higher costs of construction. Based on these bids, a supplemental appropriation of$770,000 is requested bringing the total budget for this project to$4,060,000. If the appropriation is approved,a new bid package will be issued in early 2022. Financing Plan The Westview Cemetery building is expected to cost approximately $4.06 million with a 20-year bond duration for any debt.The current request for supplemental appropriation of$770,000 will be cash financed from the projected surplus new growth, as indicated in the introduction. The originally budgeted construc- tion cost of$3,290,000 will be debt-financed with a level-payment amortization schedule at an assumed interest rate of 4%. The debt service would be funded in part using fee revenue from the General Fund and the Sale of Cemetery Lots Fund. The latter had a fund balance of$681,236 at the end of FY2021 and receives ongoing revenue from sales of cemetery lots and burials. This funding model anticipates the need for supplements from the tax levy to cover debt service from FY2028 through FY2043. The total tax levy 9