‘Millionaires tax’ spending plan includes $350K for Acton projects

The town and two local organizations are starting the summer with a financial windfall thanks to earmarks in a $1.56 billion state spending plan. 

A $175,000 grant for a Acton-Carlisle High School bathroom building tops the list.

“A lot of credit goes to town officials,” state Sen. Michael Barrett said after securing money for the bathrooms, pedestrian upgrades, and the non-profit MassEnergize. 

“They made the case that these funds are needed,” he said in a news release.

Other funding will help with projects at The Robbins House museum.

The newly signed supplemental budget spends money mostly from Massachusetts’ Fair Share Amendment — also known as the “Millionaires Tax” — and includes provisions to help cover snow and ice removal costs from this year’s harsh winter. It also routes millions toward the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and larger education initiatives. 

The package comes as legislators debate the state’s fiscal 2027 budget.

It also follows twin state awards in May that gave Acton nearly $700,000 for a culvert construction project at Spencer Brook and free design services for a traffic signal upgrade at Main and Church Streets in West Acton.

Here’s a roundup of the latest hyperlocal earmarks:

Amenities building 

The $175,000 payment will cut the cost to Acton and Carlisle for bathrooms at CCHS’ Memorial Field.

This spring, voters at both municipalities’ Town Meetings approved using money from their respective Community Preservation Act funds to underwrite their shares of the $1.85 million amenities building. 

Officials hope to complete the project in spring 2027.

The state earmark could help cover costs if construction proposals come in more expensive than expected, schools spokesperson Tom Lucey told The Acton Bridge. If bids arrive on budget, the payment will reduce the amount of CPA money each town pays. 

The CPA combines property tax surcharges with state matching contributions. Towns can use the money only for certain recreation, historic preservation, housing, and open space projects.

Lowell Road safety

Acton is getting $55,000 for safety installations — possibly including flashing beacons — at Lowell Road and the Reformatory Branch Trail, Deputy Town Manager Megan Zammuto told The Bridge. 

Crews will add new curb ramps, crosswalks, other pavement markings, and additional pedestrian warning signs, Zammuto said.

Officials reviewed other possible trail and pedestrian projects, Zammuto told The Bridge, and this “emerged as the strongest candidate.”

Officials are tackling a larger overhaul of town roads and plan to address the Reformatory Branch crossing when they repave that stretch of Lowell Road this year, Town Engineer Steve Dookran said.

The Lowell Road intersection is roughly two miles from the Reformatory Branch Trail crossing in Bedford where a driver struck and killed Concordian Tamar Vishlitzky in 2024.

Climate education

A $100,000 payout will help MassEnergize bring its Youth Climate Solutions Challenge back for a second year, co-founder and Acton resident Brad Hubbard-Nelson told The Bridge. 

The challenge invites high school students to develop campaigns to address climate issues and offers grants for each group’s project. CCHS students recently participated in a push to adopt induction cooktops.

MassEnergize used a previous earmark to launch the program in 10 schools. Its next iteration will run in 20 schools, Hubbard-Nelson said.

“We were really happy with the outcomes,” he said.

Non-profit leaders are seeking additional funding to expand even more to southeastern and western Massachusetts, Hubbard-Nelson said.

Students in the CCHS Sunrise Club “are already brainstorming ideas for the next school year,” Lucey said. 

Robbins House upgrades

A $20,000 earmark for The Robbins House is one of the organization’s biggest grants in recent years, Executive Director Jen Turner said. 

Museum leaders will use some of the money to update their technology and launch an online exhibit about activist Ellen Garrison, Turner said. The exhibit will cover Garrison’s work during Reconstruction and aims to broaden the Robbins House’s reach to people across the country.

This is a “really exciting project that will really expand Ellen Garrison’s story beyond Acton,” Turner told The Bridge.

The earmark will also fund new interpretive signs in The Robbins House. 

Turner thanked state Reps. Simon Cataldo and Carmine Gentile for their support, saying it helped fund things museum leaders have “wanted to do for a while.”