01/15/2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Minutes

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Meeting Minutes Capital Improvement Program Committee Meeting January 15, 2025 Curry explained that the Office 365 transition plan is already in motion and funds were appropriated in FY25, Office 2013 was at end of life in 2021. It still works for documents and spreadsheets, but is no longer viable to use for cybersecurity reasons. Office 365 is a subscription service versus the traditional platform used in the past. The advantage is that it is always up-to-date, patched and secure. The downside is that it is subscription based, so it will be an annual recurring cost of$36,563. The first year will be slightly higher because the licenses themselves need to be purchased and there is an added cost of$5,254 for the enhanced security package. Office 365 also comes with artificial intelligence (AI) called Copilot. A Cloud subscription program includes a lot of features that would normally have to be purchased separately. Curry explained that replacement of all Town computers is a project that is also already in motion. Windows 10 operating system is at end of life and,in order to be compliant,75 computers will be replaced in FY25 and 75 computers are proposed to be replaced in FY26 with Dell Optiplex desktops. Monitors will be replaced on an as-needed basis. Curry explained that the most important of the capital requests is for the Town's firewall replacement, which is the device on the perimeter of our network that protects the Town from internet attacks. The current firewall is at end of life. The proposed firewall has two units, one that will be housed at Town Hall, and one that will be housed at our co-location, Open Cape. This gives us high availability if service drops, and makes our network more secure. The firewall would be a Palo Alto model and the cost would be $30,000 for the two devices, plus an additional $10,000 for the premium ongoing support. Curry secured a $25,000 grant with Mass Tech Collaborative which will offset these costs. There was a question from Ms. Lopes about whether the ongoing subscription cost for Office 365 should be added to the 5-year outlook. Mr. Collins stated that he had a legal opinion from Counsel that any expenditure of$25,000 or more go through Capital. Ms. Thayer stated that, historically, once an item becomes an annual operating cost, MUNIS for example, it has not been part of Capital. Mr. Collins stated that he would research the matter further and, if necessary, ensure the process is corrected moving fo rwa rd. POLICE DEPARTMENT presenter: Karol Grato,Administrative Assistant [9 Police Vehicles $367,000 ... ........... ....... Grato explained that this request is for the purpose of making final payments on the last of the leased vehicles and to replace three vehicles. The Department has moved away from leasing and has shifted to outright purchases to stabilize expenses. High use vehicles get replaced every three years, while administrative and non-line vehicles are replaced every six years. Mr. Collins explained that non-line vehicles that are still in decent shape after six years are repurposed for use by other Town departments. SCHOOL DEPARTMENT presenters: David Thompson, Interim Superintendent; Hope Hanscom, Assistant Superintendent; Ashley Lopes, Director of Finance; Sean Moroney,Technology Director Chromebook Leases $50,000 -Wireless Upgrades $30,000 ...... ............................. ....... ........... ........Firewall Replacement $50,485 7�25'000_d Food Service Equipment Upgrades