Braintree Town Council Approves $16.5 Million Capital Plan

BRAINTREE, MA — The town council voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend a $16.5 million capital plan for fiscal year 2019.

The proposed plan includes money to repair roads, water lines, sewer lines, and new vehicles and other equipment for town departments.

"This is the largest capital plan put forward in the last five years," Mayor Joseph Sullivan told the council.

One item included in the capital plan is $2.7 million for road repairs, with $1.7 million of that coming from the state. Councilman Thomas Bowes told Patch the that every year, the town makes a list of roads in need of repair. The road list can be found on the town's website. Town council also approved a $3 million allocation for repairs and improvements to the water mains under those roads.

"After the town identifies roads that will get the work done, they will then review the roads with the older water mains," Bowes said. "If they need to be replaced, then the town does the water main first then completes the road work."

Other allocations approved under the new capital plan include $92,000 for a town-wide radio system, $188,000 for a fire brush truck, $100,000 for a new sidewalk plow, $200,000 for school technology upgrades, and $1.2 million for financial software for town departments.

Town council vice president Charles Kokoros asked about how quickly the software would be implemented and stressed that training for the new software will be important.

The capital plan implements the new financial system in phases, according to the town council's Ways and Means committee. The new payroll system would begin on Jan. 1, 2020, but the new accounting software won't be used until July 1, 2020, so that there isn't a switch in accounting methods in the middle of a fiscal year.

One thing the plan does not include is the fire department's request for a new fire headquarters, which would cost $13 million. At-Large Town Councilor Shannon Hume asked Sullivan if he's still exploring the possibility of a new fire station. She also asked if him if a location just hasn't been found yet.

Sullivan said the department has $1.3 million available for renovations and that Fire Chief James O'Brien assembled a team to develop a renovation plan. He told Hume a site still need to be found.

"We have to find the right site...," Sullivan said. "Quite frankly, we have to make the right selection."

Sullivan said he hopes to have several site options by the end of the year.