Natick Finance Committee backs $300,000 Lilja heat pump study

Finance Committee · Meeting of September 8, 2026

Natick Finance Committee unanimously backs $300,000 Lilja HVAC study and a new low-income solar fund. The committee voted 14-0-0 to recommend a $300,000 feasibility study for a heat pump conversion at Lilja Elementary, funded through a $150,000 state Climate Leaders grant, $100,000 from a town energy revolving fund and $50,000 in new growth, with Superintendent Melissa Spash citing 58 HVAC work orders in five years. It then voted 15-0-0 to recommend establishing a revolving fund for a low-income community shared solar program, expected to generate about $300,000 annually from three Blue Wave solar projects in Granville and save roughly 700 eligible Natick households about $400 a year.

"This is an opportunity for us to take money from somebody else and distribute it to low-income families within the town of Natick," said member David Coffey. The committee also heard, without voting, Town Moderator Jeff Alderson's draft bylaw codifying Town Meeting's consent-agenda procedure, including a seven-member threshold to pull an article for debate, and approved minutes from its September 3 meeting, 14-0-1.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,958 words

Source: the Finance Committee meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.