Finance Committee reviews $3.75 million HVAC plan

Finance Committee · Meeting of January 27, 2026

ACTON — The Acton Finance Committee reviewed a $3.75 million Town Hall HVAC overhaul and left a $29 million DPW facility plan without a vote. Deputy Town Manager Tom Beach presented the HVAC plan, which swaps aging gas boilers and a chiller for electric air source heat pumps, with a $1 million state grant lowering the net cost to $2.75 million; the project goes to Town Meeting on May 4. Facilities Manager Dan O'Brient said "once that system is shut down and drained for the season, we can no longer provide heat." On the DPW project, member Fred argued the town could meet "almost all the goals" of the DPW Building Committee's $29 million plan for $15 million to $20 million by right-sizing vehicle storage.

Member Steve said he still has not received a long-range town fiscal forecast he requested roughly a year ago, and would not support any DPW spending without it.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of January 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.