Finance Committee Defers $350,000 Senior Center Vote, Schedules Special Meeting

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — April 16, 2026 — Manchester-by-the-Sea Finance Committee defers Senior Center design vote, schedules April 23 special meeting. The committee, meeting without Chair Sarah Creighton and acting under Andy Oldman, declined to issue a recommendation on Article 6 — a $350,000 appropriation from the Parks and Recreation Revolving Fund for Senior Center design services at the town-purchased Masonic Hall — after members said they lacked sufficient information about project scope, leadership, and fundraising progress. Member Gar Morse said he was "not in the position to recommend that we spend $350,000 because I really don't know what it is that that money is going to go for," while John Croft added he was "uncomfortable with all these things we're being asked to jump through." The committee heard separately from CBIZ CPAs director Rebecca Gamsby that the town received a clean, unmodified audit opinion for fiscal year 2025, with a general fund balance of $8.7 million, a net OPEB liability reduced to $1.5 million, and $8.6 million in authorized but unissued debt for harbor, water, and wastewater projects. Financial Director Andrea Mainville flagged several budget lines — IT licensing, legal fees, Town Hall electricity, and property insurance — as likely to require reserve fund transfers before the June 30 fiscal year end.