Peabody City Council Unanimously Authorizes $1.2 Million Bond for School Roofs

PEABODY -- June 11, 2026, Peabody's City Council unanimously authorized $1.2 million in borrowing for school roof replacements and approved four fund transfers totaling more than $758,000 at its June 11 session. The bond order, introduced jointly by Councilor Gamache and Councilor Peach and carried 10-0, will fund new roofs at South School and West School; a prior bond order covering the same buildings is in the process of being formally rescinded through the state municipal finance office. The council also approved a $296,525 transfer to match state and federal grants for cybersecurity upgrades at two water treatment plants and required dam repairs at Spring Pond and Winona, leveraging $511,500 in total project funding, along with $221,000 for bike path easements from Lieutenant Ross Park to the Route 1 bridge, and $150,000 in free cash for equipment on two fire pumpers due in August. In a move flagged as urgent, Councilor Manning-Martin won referral of the city's subsidized housing inventory report, which shows Peabody at 10.56 percent, to the Industrial and Community Development Committee, warning that projected unit losses through 2027 could push the city to roughly 10.3 percent, dangerously close to the 10 percent Chapter 40B threshold.