Weymouth Council Approves $5M Road Bond and $928,000 Adams School Transfer

WEYMOUTH -- April 1, 2024, Weymouth Town Council unanimously approved $5 million in road borrowing and a $928,005 school residual transfer at its April 1 meeting. The road measure, the latest installment of Mayor Robert Hedlund's "Pave the Way" program, targets roughly a dozen streets this construction season including Middle Street, Pleasant Street, Bell Road, and a full subdivision cluster off Summer Street, with DPW Director Kenan Connell noting the town completes 25 to 30 roads per season, what he called the most aggressive paving schedule on the South Shore. The Adams School transfer pulls funds from a completed boiler project's residual account to cover escalating renovation costs at 89 Middle Street, a project that has grown from a $3 million estimate in 2019 to more than $5.7 million across four active contracts, driven largely by plumbing code requirements and a 50 percent construction cost spike over five years. Superintendent Robert Wargo said the renovated building will allow the oversubscribed Johnson early education program to relocate from North Weymouth and expand, with an opening target of fall 2024. The council also referred a $750,000 free cash request for a new fire engine and a Board of Assessors alternate appointment to the Budget Management Committee.