All Hands on Deck! Towns Ready for upcoming ATMs and STMs
It was a final Town Meeting run-though Monday noon for Plympton Selectmen as they met with Town Coordinator Dale Pleau, Town Counsel Ilana M. Quirk, Town Clerk Tara Morrison, Town Moderator John Traynor, Jr., and several board representatives and department heads to rehearse the upcoming Annual Town Meeting on Wednesday, May 13, at 7 p.m. and Special Town Meeting within the Town Meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Dennett Elementary School, located at 80 Crescent Street.
This review allowed town boards to become familiar with all the warrant articles and to have town counsel available to answer any questions still to be resolved.
In addition to the wages for town employees and contractual obligations for fire, police, and school employees, road maintenance and repair, some of the items which Plympton voters will be asked include:
The consideration of several new by-laws regarding solar energy installations. These by-laws are the work of the Solar By-Law Review Committee and the Planning Board.
Creating a cable television public access enterprise fund, to accept fees paid to the Town by cable television licensees or any other funds received by the town for any cable-related services and to authorize Selectmen to enter into a grant agreement for the expenditure of those funds.
Plympton voters will also vote to:
• See if four parcels of town-owned land on Maple Street should be sold and the proceeds put into the Capital Stabilization Account.
• Rescind their vote at the 2013 Town Meeting approving the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to establish a Silver Lake Stabilization Fund.
• Employ an Engineering Project Consultant to review plans, proposals and final bids for construction of public safety facilities.
• Consider the quarterly payment of real estate taxes, rather than the semi-annual tax payments now in use.
There are 25 Annual Town Meeting articles to be considered on Wednesday, May 13, at the Dennett Elementary School, at 7 p.m.
On Tuesday evening, a similar meeting was held in Halifax, where Selectmen met with Town Administrator Charlie Seelig, Town Counsel Lawrence Mayo, Town Clerk Barbara Gaynor, Town Moderator John Bruno, and Town Accountant Sandra Nolan.
Halifax will hold its Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting within Town Meeting on Monday, May 11, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Halifax Elementary School, located at 464 Plymouth Street.
There are several items to consider in addition to the wages for town employees and contractual obligations for fire, police, school employees, and road maintenance and repair.
Halifax voters will also be asked to approve:
• The sum of $142,000 to fund a public access studio and programming for FY16 and to establish a separate line item for this purpose.
• Water tower repair, repaint, and renovation . Color swatches anyone?
• A $335 licensing fee for playing copyrighted music on town property, either live or recorded, and to establish an annual line item for such.
• Two new marked police patrol vehicles for $80,000.
• Two new computers and a scanner for the library, and a staff laptop computer for the Children’s Librarian.
• Computer equipment for the Elementary School.
• An emergency telephone for the Town Hall elevator.
• A new recycling truck and associated recepticles.
In non-money items, Halifax will also be asked to:
• Adopt a Right to Farm by-law to support agriculture as an integral part of the character of the Town of Halifax.
• Form an Agricultural Commission to support farming and help resolve farming disputes.
• Amend the Code of the Town of Halifax, Floodplain District.
• Prohibit the use of e-cigarettes and like devices in town buildings and property wherever the use of tobacco products is prohibited.
Warrants for both Halifax and Plympton are available online or at clerks’ offices. They were also mailed to each voter.