Ware voters approve $300,000 school chiller after rare reconsideration reversal

Town Meeting · Meeting of March 8, 2026

Ware Special Town Meeting approves $300,000 school chiller in rare reversal of a failed vote. The March 2 meeting at Ware High School Auditorium initially rejected the stabilization fund transfer 53 to 29, short of the required two-thirds majority, before voter Brian Winslow, Greenwich Road, argued that the project vendor had held its bid price through town meeting and would not extend further — forcing a rebid and higher costs if the article failed again. A motion to reconsider passed 65 to 24, and on the second vote the article cleared two-thirds 54 to 18.

The chiller will serve the auditorium, library, offices, cafeteria, and kitchen at Ware Junior Senior High School but will not extend air conditioning to individual classrooms. Voters also approved eight other articles totaling more than $541,000 in additional stabilization fund transfers, including $82,500 for Grenville Park road restoration and $200,000 for fire hydrant repairs covering 34 completed replacements with as many as 50 more still needed.

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Source: the Town Meeting meeting of March 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.