And I would recommend you do it all at once. I'll probably buried I will be buried in Pine Hill, so it will affect me. Thank you. Um, I don't see anyone else lined up to speak. Oh, yes, we do have someone. Uh Jane, not sure if I should say anything, but I just wanted to comment on Mike's point here and that when we originally went out and are actually the cemetery commission met and we discussed seriously the situation with the drain drainage and roads at Pineh Hill Cemetery. The original issues were how to go about it and we would did go to the town administrator and we asked lots of questions in order to go through determine what the approach would be and what the appropriate approach would be. We began with CM and D and found that their recommendation was to hire an engineer.
So they really weren't anxious to provide any assist direct assistance. We did hire an engineer, in fact a reputable engineering firm that has worked for the town and their recommendation was um over $410,000. And in addition to that, there was money recommended, a separate set of money recommended for a project manager, an on-site manager to ensure that the work was being done on time, properly, etc. The cemetery commission presented to the advisory committee and capital budget. capital budget approved the 410. Uh the advisory committee uh had some issues with the new section of the cemetery because our original proposal was comprehensive for the entire cemetery. The reduced amount reflects the estimated cost from the engineer to pave the roads in the new section of the cemetery. Thank you, Jean. If there is no other comment, we will proceed to the vote on the amended motion.
Yes, there was a suggestion that this should be bonded. That's exactly the motion before you is to borrow the money, spread the cost over an extended period of time so that people who are using the cemetery, that's probably the wrong word. Uh people who um will benefit from this in the future will be paying for it over an extended period of time. It's also a ballot question that we put on the ballot. So, it has to pass both here tonight and then it's going to go before all the voters of the town to vote at the ballot box. So, if you vote yes here, you're essentially setting up the question for the voters to decide at the ballot box. And my final point is that we as a community need to provide for a decent burial place. This is the place we do provide. And as you saw from the pictures, there is a lot of deterioration, a lot of erosion, a lot of deferred maintenance that hadn't been done for many years.
This will allow us to bring this facility up to where it should be out of respect for those who are there and out of respect for those who may come to be there in the future. I would urge your support of this article. Now, I think we're going to proceed to the vote. Thank you. Um, of the amended main motion. This is a borrowing. It does require a twothirds vote for passage. All those in favor of the amended motion, please say I. I. Those opposed, nay. Nay. I declare that it passes by twothirds. We're on to line seven. The trustees of the Shervin Library repair of the library roof. Madam moderator. Yes, Mrs. Avaronian. I move that $190,750 be transferred from free cash in the treasury for the repair of the library roof and that set appropriation be expended by June 30, 2022 with unexpended funds as of June 30, 2022 being returned to the general fund.
Second. It's been moved and seconded. We have a presentation from the library. Good evening. I'm Mary Moore. I'm chair of the library trustees. I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to happier even to report that the project has in fact begun. So that's really good news. Um, thank you to everybody uh in Sherburn who has supported this project. It's been a very long process and the end is in sight. We're going to have a wonderfully renovated and expanded library to benefit all Sherburn residents for years to come. Before we get there, we're here once more to ask for your support. The library board of trustees is requesting funds for additional roof work that was not anticipated in the original project that we brought before you in at town meeting in 2015. we have a chance to get it done right and get it done now and we think it's the right thing to do.
So, I've asked Mark Brown who's on our library building committee to just share a few highlights of what we're asking and uh hope you support us. Thank you. Thank you, Mary. So, uh, our committee recommends that, uh, the town have the tile roof on the existing library building reconstructed as part of the current library renovation and expansion project. Um, this is the this slide shows you the uh, scope of the work. Um before you can get to putting in the new code compliant insulation, uh step one is to remove what is there and that is remove and salvage the existing roof tiles, the failed underllayment and one inch of insulation board. Uh the current underllayment dates from the original construction back in 1971. So it's 46 years old. It's embrittleled, leaking, and it's pasted its service life. Next comes uh the new code compliant installation.
It's going to be an R of 27 to 28. Um that's compared with the existing R value of R3. So this is a big energy conservation improvement for the for the library. Then there's a new waterproofing underllayment and then reinstall the existing roof tiles which still have another 40 to 50 years of life in them. Now the cost advantage to doing this work u is obviously pretty compelling. The cost to do it now is 190,750 compared with uh an estimate of 500 over 500,000 uh in 2022. So the question is you know why the big difference? Why is there such a big difference in the cost now and then? And there are three reasons. Uh first of all, in order to uh tie the new roof of the addition into the existing roof requires a lot of work on that roof to the tune of $120,000.
And that's work that basically is going to be thrown away in five years when the roof has got to be replaced anyway. So $120,000 of what I consider wasted money. That's reason one. Reason two, uh if the roof is replaced as a standalone project uh down the road, um a design professional is going to be needed to create a bid package to provide bid phase assistance and construction phase assistance. And that's at a cost of about 50,000. And this is all work that we own under the current contract with the existing architect if it's done now. So that's another saving of $50,000. And then reason number three is construction es escalation. Uh we're anticipating construction costs to escalate at about 6% a year. You compound that over six years and it's over 40%. So that's a big number. Now you might ask why is this work an ad alternate?
Uh why was it not included in the base bid? And the reason is is at the time that the project budget was uh established uh back in 2010 and 2011 uh there were no known problems with the roof. It was not until fall of 2015 that u uh a lot of roof leaks developed. We brought in a roof expert who uh said that we could limp along with the existing roof for four or five years, but then it would definitely have to be replaced in 5 years anyway. So, because the pricing turned out to be so favorable, um you know, we accepted the ad alternate to remove and replace the roof now and we're asking the town to fund this major major capital improvement at a very favorable price.
I'll take any questions. Thank you for your presentation. Madam moderator, I have some There's a question in the rear. Yes. George Sheay, 19 Deerfield Road, Shervin, Massachusetts. Uh, I'm going to lay a little bit of a factual foundation for the questions that I'm about to ask. Is that permissible? George, could you speak up a little bit, please? I'm going to lay try to lay a foundation, factual foundation for the questions that I'm would ask ultimately. Is that appropriate? Sure, if you can do it in two minutes. The question is going to out be outside the two minutes. Um, number one, the presentation with the library committee and when we were first considering this uh at a a advisory committee meeting was that it wasn't going to cost a town any money. It wasn't a money issue to be to be exact is the for the quote.
The uh during the presentation after that, it was noted that part of the reason we should go with the new library edition was that the roof was in disrepair and the cost of fixing the roof was high and it would be better to do it all at once. Expansion and the roof. I noted in the 2016 town report that the town voted $100,000 or a million. Was it a million to supplement what the library had raised and what the state had given us. That was after it seems to me the presentation indicated that there was a problem with the roof. Now I don't question the amount of money that it's going to take to do this. What I do question is the process of coming to us peacemeal. First it was no money. The roof could be not could be fixed within the money. Then it was we need a hundred million or a million dollars and now we need a quarter of a million dollars.
When will this camel nose under the tent stop? I urge you tonight to vote for the amount of money being requested. Notwithstanding the fact that the capital advisory committee capital Thank you, George. Now I'll ask the question. When will it stop? What precautions are the is the library taking to avoid these predictable expenses? Is is that rhetorical or would you like Oh, that's a question. Okay. Mary, would you like to respond or Mr. Brown. There really was nothing predictable about the replacement of the tile roof at the time of the project. Could you speak up, sir, please? On. Hello. Okay. There was really nothing predictable about the u replacement of the existing tile roof until fall of 2015 when a series of roof leaks developed. So, I'm just not I'm not sure why what the basis for your stating that it's predictable. Well, it seems to me if you found the problem in 2015 and we gave you a a million dollars in 2016, it should have been in that money that was requested in 2016.
Well, the the project uh scope was still under development in 2015 2016. So, I'll let the group I'll let the group evaluate that response, but I don't think it's an appropriate response. Okay. Um, next. Thank you, George. Pass the amount requested. That's very easy to do. James Murphy, 44 Bear Hill Road. I'm one of the library trustees. Uh the library that was given to the town for nothing was in 1971 and before that in 1914. When we came to the town with this project, we estimated that the town's contribution would have to be $2.5 million. And because of the fundraising and the hard work and the grants that we received, we were able to reduce it in the April 2015 town meeting to $1 million. In the fall, in September, October or November of 2015, which was after the vote for the $1 million, it came to our attention that the roof was leaking.
Of course, there was money in the original 2015 budget to connect the old roof to the new roof, but there was no money for this particular circumstance. Luckily, we have had people like Mark Brown at our library building committee and others who have identified a way to save money. And not only have they identified a proper cost of 190,750, they have also been able to do identify other grants that we will be also eligible to receive to further reduce the cost to the town. The library has done a great job. The library has not been asking the town a lot. The library has been giving a lot. The library invites you into its living room every day. and we urge your support for this particular capital item. I don't see anyone else waiting in line. So, let's proceed to the vote. This is a simple majority for passage.
All those in favor, please say I. I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes unanimously. And we're moving on to article 11. Madam moderator, Miss Kentoski, I move that $158,025 be transferred from free cash in the treasury for the purpose of paying the town's allocable share of the costs of various items of major equipment and building improvements, including the payment of all costs incidental and related thereto for the Dover Sherburn Regional School District pursuant to an intergovernment mental agreement with the Dover Sherburn Regional School District and the town of Dover to provide fund funding for such items. Second. It's been moved and seconded.
Is there any discussion? If not, we'll proceed to the vote. This is a simple majority for passage. All those in favor, please say I. I. Those no nay. Mo motion passes unanimously and we'll move on to article 12 free cash for tax relief. Madam moderator, Mr. Lehey, I move that the town vote to transfer from free cash $160,000 and authorize the assessors to use said sum in fixing the tax rate. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any debate? The people that are in the back are in the process of coming and going. Not speaking. Okay. All those in favor, please say I. I. Those opposed, nay. Motion passes. It was required a simple majority. Article 13, quarterly tax payments. Madam moderator. Yes, Mr. Williams. I move that the town vote to accept the provisions of general laws chapter 59 section 57C for the purpose of establishing quarterly tax payments and that the change to quarterly payments become effective on July 1st 2018.
Second. It's been moved and seconded. Um I believe we are going to have uh two presentations. I'm not sure that either one of them requires the screen. No, I think mine has a slide. Okay. Uh Mr. Marl and the advisory committee is going to speak on behalf of the proponents and then Nancy did I there's Nancy she's going to speak afterward against the motion. Um article 13 is uh an article to switch from semiannual to quarterly taxes as 80% of other commun municipalities in Massachusetts have already done. This would allow the cash flow of the town to be smooth with four payments a year rather than two. Um, through an analysis that I went through with the town treasur, it provides a 70 to 80% increase in cash balances at the beginning of the fiscal year when many departments expend significant funds appropriated at town meeting and halfway through the fiscal year, which is February, when snow and ice expenditures are likely the greatest.
Um, under a quarterly tax payment system, city or town substantially reduces, if not eliminates costly short-term borrowing in anticipation of tax revenue and generally increases investment income, according to the department of revenue. Uh, in Sherburn, fortunately, as we've talked about with with our cash position, it's not crit critical to do right now as we have strong cash balances. But this is an opportunity, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, to be proactive. So we have we don't develop a cash need down the road after with the potential developments we have in the pipeline and that this is an opportunity to change now before it becomes a problem. Uh the artic the motion uh proposes a roll out in July of 2018 to coincide with the collector's delayed roll out of the software program the remaining finance departments are implementing in 2017. This gives the collector plenty of time to work out any kinks with switching to this program.
um one one item that uh it doesn't make more work for the collector in the billing cycle because it still is two mailings per year. It's just multiple coupons. Um just some other further research that I found. According to the 2006 American Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau, 74% of Sherburn households have a mortgage. Majority of mortgage banks require tax escrows which are paid monthly by you along with your mortgage payment. In addition, when buying a house, you may be required to fund the escrow with up to six months in taxes on semiannual as opposed to three with quarterly. So why let the banks hold your money for six months rather than having the town receive the benefit of the funds for three extra months twice per year? Thank you, dancing. First of all, thanks to the uh authors of the minority report.
They were right on. No one is saying that we will never have to go quarterly tax billing, but we are very fortunate that our finance team works hard to get everything in place so our tax rate can be set and bills mailed on time and that our taxpayers pay their taxes in a timely manner. Quarterly billing is a solution to a problem that we do not have. It was created for cities and towns who didn't get bills out and could not meet their obligations, thus were forced to borrow in anticipation of tax revenue year after year. We have no such history. And that is the big litmus test of if and when there is a need for quarterlies. That and whether or not the cost of borrowing is so high that should something drastically change in a year, it would be detrimental to our town's financial health to have to borrow.