Tuesday, March 7, Halifax voters will convene at the Halifax Elementary School, 464 Plymouth St., Multi-Purpose room, at 7:30 p.m. for the purpose of conducting a Special Town Meeting. The warrant, which includes eight articles, two that cover funding for repairs and renovations to the Halifax Elementary School, zoning changes for commercial indoor or outdoor amusements, PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement for a Solar Energy installation on Summit Street, collective bargaining, and a nonbinding vote to voice the approval or disapproval of the townspeople of Halifax regarding the sale of Silver Lake School District Land to the Town of Kingston, among others.
Saturday, March 11, a special town election will be held to approve two questions for repairs to the Halifax Elementary School. Voting will take place in the Multi-Purpose Room at the Halifax Elementary School, 464 Plymouth St., from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If the school repair project or projects are approved both at Town Meeting and at the Special Election, work can be done during the summer months when school is not in session.
The first of the two articles asks for $7,262,124 for repairs to the roof of the Elementary School, windows, doors, siding, and tree work, as well as the architectural and engineering support that the project would need. Halifax will receive approximately $3,472,607 from the SBA (School Building Authority) toward the project. The remaining sum will be funded through a 20-year bond that will add .4946 to the tax rate, or about $147.25 to the tax on a median valued house. This will decrease each year as the debt is paid, and by year 20, will be -0- and no longer included in the tax rate. In order to do this, the amount needs to be exempted from the so-called Proposition 2 ½.
The second school repair article asks for $687,876 to work on the fire suppression system (sprinkler system) and security system. The Finance Committee will make its recommendations at Town Meeting.
The HES roof was last replaced in 1993-94, 23 years ago.
Absentee ballots are available at the Town Clerk’s office for those not able to vote in person. For details on how to vote by absentee ballot, call the Town Clerk at 7981-293-7970.
The complete Special Town Meeting warrant follows:
ARTICLE 1:
To see if the Town will vote to appropriate, borrow or transfer from available funds, $7,262,124 to be expended under the direction of the Halifax School Building Committee for repairs and renovations to the Halifax Elementary School, located at 464 Plymouth Street, including but not limited to the roof, windows, doors, siding, and trees, including but not limited to any architectural, engineering, and administrative work associated with this project; which proposed repair project would materially extend the useful life of the school and preserve an asset that otherwise is capable of supporting the required educational program and for which the Town has applied for a school construction grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”). The Town acknowledges that the MSBA’s grant program is a non-entitlement, discretionary program based on need, as determined by the MSBA, and if the MSBA’s Board of Directors votes to invite the Town to collaborate with the MSBA on this proposed repair project, any project costs the Town incurs in excess of any grant that may be approved by and received from the MSBA shall be the sole responsibility of the Town.
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 2: Proposed by the Board of Selectmen
To see if the Town will vote to appropriate, borrow or transfer from available funds, $687,876 to be expended under the direction of the Halifax School Building Committee for repairs and renovations to the Halifax Elementary School, located at 464 Plymouth Street, including but not limited to the fire suppression system and security system, including but not limited to any architectural, engineering, and administrative work associated with this project.
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 3: To see if the Town will vote to amend Chapter 167-7(C) (Schedule of Use Regulations) by changing to the following from:
Commercial indoor or outdoor amusements, recreation places, or places of assembly, excluding outdoor movie theatres [See § 167-7D(6)], adult clubs, adult mini motion- picture theatres and adult motion-picture theatres Agricultural-Residential Business Industrial Industrial-2 Conservancy
(AR) (B) (I) (I-2) (C) N Y SP N SP
(6) Commercial indoor or outdoor amusements or recreation places, permitted in the B District and allowable by special permit from the Board of Appeals in the I and C Districts. This excludes outdoor movie theatres. It requires that the building be so insulated and maintained as to confine any noise to the premises and that it be located at least one hundred (100) feet from a residential district.
To:
Commercial indoor or outdoor amusements, recreation places, or places of assembly, excluding outdoor movie theatres [See § 167-7D(6)], adult clubs, adult mini motion- picture theatres and adult motion-picture theatres
Agricultural-Residential Business Industrial Industrial-2 Conservancy (AR) (B) (I) (I-2) (C)
SP Y SP N SP
(6) Commercial indoor or outdoor amusements or recreation places, permitted in the B District and allowable by special permit from the Board of Selectmen in the AR, I and C Districts. This excludes outdoor movie theatres. It requires that the building be so insulated and maintained as to confine any noise to the premises and that it be located at least one hundred (100) feet from a residential district.
And to amend Chapter 167-12 (Density regulations for specific uses) from:
D. Commercial indoor or outdoor amusements, recreation places or places of assembly must be located at least one hundred (100) feet from a residential district.
To
D. Buildings for commercial indoor or outdoor amusements, recreation places or places of assembly must be located at least one hundred (100) feet from a residential district. and to take any other action relative thereto.
Proposed by the Board of Selectmen
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 4 To see if the Town will vote to provide the authority for the Board of Selectmen (or their designee, The Board of Assessors) to negotiate a proposed Solar Energy PILOT Agreement between the Town of Halifax and SunConnect MA12 LLC on behalf of the Town and to take any other action relative thereto.
Proposed by the Board of Assessors
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 5 To see if the Town will vote to approve the Agreement for Payment in Lieu of Taxes for Real and Personal Property (the “PILOT Agreement”) as approved by the Board of Selectmen on February 28, 2017 among and by the Town of Halifax and the solar energy generation company SunConnect MA12 LLC as such PILOT Agreement was negotiated by the Board of Assessors on behalf of the Board of Selectmen and to take any other action relative thereto.
Proposed by the Board of Assessors
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 6 To see if the Town will vote to request that the Board of Selectmen notify the Silver Lake Regional School Committee that the Town of Halifax recommends approval or disapproval of the proposed sale of land owned by the Silver Lake Regional School District to the Town of Kingston for a police station in the Town of Kingston and to take any other action relative thereto.
Proposed by the Board of Selectmen
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 7 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds a sum of money to fund the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement for Fiscal Year 2017 between IAFF, Local 3159 (Firefighters) and the Town of Halifax, including a provision that the Town pay the difference in pay between the pay received by an employee in military service and the amount that the employee would receive working for the Town or take any action thereon to take any other action relative thereto.
Proposed by the Board of Selectmen
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
ARTICLE 8 To see if the Town will vote to accept Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 41, Section 110A allowing Town departments to remain closed on Saturdays or take any action thereon to take any other action relative thereto.
Proposed by the Town Clerk
Finance Committee Recommendation at Town Meeting
Special Election March 11
And on Saturday, March 11, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to meet at the Halifax Elementary School:
QUESTION 1
Shall the Town of Halifax be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bonds issued to pay for the costs of repairs and renovations to the Halifax Elementary School, including but not limited to the roof, windows, doors, siding, and trees, including but not limited to any architectural, engineering, and administrative work associated with this project?
QUESTION 2
Shall the Town of Halifax be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bonds issued to pay for the costs of repairs and renovations to the Halifax Elementary School, including but not limited to the fire suppression system and security system, including but not limited to any architectural, engineering, and administrative work associated with this project?
___ Yes ___ No