After more than two years of analysis, research and negotiation, the town of Milton is on the cusp of one of the most significant and large-scale changes to town departments to occur in years.

This week the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen are likely to vote on the Memorandum of Agreement between the schools and town regarding the formation of a new Consolidated Facilities Department that will put existing maintenance and custodian functions currently managed by individual departments (e.g. Police, Schools, COA, etc.) under one roof. The measure is expected to pass.

It hasn’t been easy and not all town departments are expected to participate initially. The Parks Department and the Cemetary have been dragging their heels. These departments, however, are tasked more with grounds keeping than building maintenance and it is the latter that is the chief concern. Milton has no formal capital planning process. One of the goals of this department is to establish such a plan. Another important goal is to make as efficient use as possible of available resources.

The schools, which make up approximately 80% of the town’s inventory of buildings, are relatively new. The operative word being “relatively.” Glover is at least 8 years old. It is also important to note that not all the school structures are entirely new. Portions of the building at Collicott / Cunningham are much older.

Given that the School department is the largest stakeholder, it is not surprising that school officials have been somewhat cautious in embracing this initiative. There are a variety of issues ranging from a fierce devotion to Charlie Winchester, the man who piloted the school rebuilding effort, to the nettlesome contract issues that will need to be resolved over time that gave them pause. In the end the merits of the initiative appear to have prevailed.

The old Yogi adage goes “It isn’t over til it’s over.” The votes have not yet been cast; but it appears that the town is about to begin implementing a major change that, if it goes as planned, will result in applying dedicated attention to of one of the town’s most critical assets, it’s buildings. Assuming the MOA is approved, the Consolidated Facilities Committee will open a search for a director with the hope of having someone on board by the end of the year. Town Meeting voted last spring to allocate start-up funds to the project.

Once it does, the Consolidated Facilities Committee, chaired by Tony Cichello, will open a search for a director for the new department.