Granby Votes to Transfer $1 Million for West Street Renovation Over Budget

GRANBY — January 27, 2026 — Granby special town meeting approves $1 million transfer to rescue over-budget West Street renovation. Residents voted by majority card vote January 27 to transfer $1,008,000 from the municipal building stabilization fund, bringing the total West Street School renovation budget to $6,694,639 against an original estimate of $5,686,639. Select Board Chair Bale opened the meeting with a frank admission that his June promise to hold the project to $5.6 million "was not correct," citing bids that came in with a low of $4,765,000 from 10 general contractors. Owner's project manager Neil Joyce of Construction Monitoring Services told residents the contract must be signed by February 11 or the bids expire. Bale warned that rejecting both articles would forfeit $1.88 million in federally obligated ARPA funds, a figure confirmed by town counsel Brian O'Brien. The Finance Committee, represented by member Bob Gorman, backed the larger article as "better in the long term." A companion article for $788,000 — which excluded the town administrator's office fit-out — was voted down unanimously once the larger transfer passed, leaving the stabilization fund with roughly $200,000 in reserve.