Committee refers $270,000 insurance request tied to Old Everett High School and other items to full council

The Everett City Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 5 read an order to appropriate $270,000 from the general fund to cover increased insurance costs tied to multiple city facilities and projects and voted to refer the request to the full City Council.

Clerk read item 3, an order by Robert Van Kemp seeking $270,000 for general liability and related insurance needs. The city solicitor, Colleen Mejia, said the city’s insurer dropped the Old Everett High School because it required repairs, forcing the city to secure an interim policy that increased the insurance budget. "Our insurer dropped the building because it needed too many repairs," Mejia said.

Committee members heard line‑item amounts from officials: the interim policy carries a monthly cost of about $33,727.66 through the fiscal year (which officials estimated to total roughly $168,000 for the period), docking insurance for a newly acquired fireboat was cited at $9,581 and the boat’s hull insurance at about $12,000. The solicitor also referenced an approximate $43,000 annual insurance cost for Pope John and a pollution insurance premium of about $8,079 required by the MBTA for a bike‑path reconstruction project.

Committee members asked whether the $270,000 request included repair costs; officials said the item before the committee covered insurance only and that repair estimates and bids would be presented to council at a subsequent meeting. Officials said repair work would be phased to minimize disruption and that final construction estimates would be available when the OPM and architect finish their review.

The committee moved and approved a favorable referral to the full City Council, where final appropriation decisions will be made.