Advisory backs $175,000 NHERI feasibility study and supports $4.5M roof article pending language

Southborough's Advisory Committee on Feb. 4 recommended that town meeting approve a $175,000 feasibility study for NHERI, and it gave conditional support to a borrowing motion for a roof replacement while seeking clearer language on ADA exposure.

The advisory vote on Article 1 — described by staff as a feasibility study to produce two options (a comprehensive renovation or a narrower set of repairs to extend useful life by roughly 15 years) — passed unanimously after members required amended language making clear that a $15,000,000 planning target is inclusive of the roof if the roof cost is appropriated. Committee members emphasized they wanted the feasibility contract to produce both options for town voters to consider.

Advisory also took up Article 4, the borrowing request for a 30‑year roof and associated work. Members debated whether to separate roof funding from potential ADA compliance costs, which could be triggered if the roof project increases the building's assessed value above the 30% threshold that obliges ADA upgrades. Advisory polled in favor of a $4.5 million not‑to‑exceed number for the roof and then approved support for Article 4 on a unanimous roll call, subject to final wording that clarifies how ADA costs will be handled and whether they are included in the roof figure.

Committee members noted several procedural and transparency points: the consultants should explain at town meeting what the $175,000 study will and will not cover; the warrant language should clarify whether the $15 million figure is a target or a hard cap; and the summary provided to voters should state how ADA and other code-driven costs would be treated if discovered during work or after permit-stage assessments.

Next steps: advisory will request clarified article language from the Select Board and school committee before publication of the warrant and will attach phase/cost estimates to the feasibility summary so town meeting voters see likely expenditures and contingencies.