ROCKPORT — The Board of Selectmen is recommending that voters support all but one of the 14 articles set to appear on the warrant at Monday's fall Town Meeting.
The only article selectmen are not recommending is Article H, which asks voters for money to fund collective bargaining agreements with the town's Police and Public Works unions, and it's only because those agreements have not yet been reached.
"We recommended approval of all articles except for Article H," said Selectman Sandy Jacques, Wednesday. "There will be no motion (on Article H) made because new contracts have not been finalized."
Officials are asking fall Town Meeting voters for money to prepare the former Granite Savings Bank building, located adjacent to Town Hall on Broadway, for use, at least in the short term, as additional office space for town employees.
Appearing as Article J on the warrant, the town is seeking $35,000 to purchase partitions and other materials to convert the bank building into conference rooms and meeting space and to bring its restroom facilities into compliance with American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance.
Not all the articles recommended by the board garnered unanimous support.
Plans originally called for town employees to move into the bank building to both relieve overcrowding and allow for renovations at Town Hall. However, those plans changed recently at the request of the Building Study and Capital Improvement Planning committees and others who urged selectmen to take a step back and take a more comprehensive look at the area.
In an effort to do just that, officials placed Article K on the warrant, which asks voters to approve $60,000 for a conceptual design, which would include looking at how best to utilize Town Hall, the bank building, the parking lot linking those buildings, and the fire station across the street.
However, Selectwoman Ellen Canavan voted against recommending the article on Tuesday night.
"While I'm not opposed to a study, I think they've done it backwards, I think they should've studied this before they bought the bank building," Canavan said Wednesday.
Canavan said when residents consider other important needs of the town — such as the new $780,000 fire truck and design plans for repairs to the Long Beach seawall, which will appear under articles C and L, respectively — and then looks at the town's limited funding resources, it becomes clear that the money for a $60,000 study could do more to provide the town with important, safety-related capital improvements.
"(Hurricane) Earl didn't hit us, but it's still fresh in our memory and there's a lot of people living behind that seawall," Canavan said. "I try to keep an eye on the money, sometimes I focus on the process, but frequently it's the money."
Overall, however, Canavan was happy to recommend the remaining warrant proposals.
"I didn't see anything too contentious or surprising or outlandishly expensive," she said.
According to Jacques, the Department of Public Works is seeking $100,000 to finance a design plan and construction documents for the repair and restoration of the deteriorating seawall.
Public Works Director Joe Parisi has said the goal of the proposed work to the seawall is to alleviate some of the hazards found in recent studies of the structure, which was originally built in the 1930s and hasn't been significantly renovated since the mid-1950s.
Fall Town Meeting will also consider several Community Preservation Committee-funded projects including money for the Town Owned Art Committee, which will work with the CPC toward the historic restoration and preservation of the town owned art collection; Action, Inc.; and the Gloucester Housing Authority.
Under Article C, voters will be asked to allow the town to borrow the money needed to purchase a new ladder truck. The truck comes with a slightly more hefty price tag because it will have to be custom built to fit into the department's Central Station on Broadway.
In addition to the fire truck, Article C proposes spending $39,500 on a highway pickup truck and $24,335 on a 4-by-4 truck for use by the DPW.
While original plans had called for the DPW trucks to be purchased through taxation, Finance Committee officials have warned the money may not be there to do so. Instead, officials are looking at the merits of borrowing money to cover those costs, Jacques said.
Fall Town Meeting begins at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13, in the John E. Lane Auditorium at Rockport High School.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
Authorities: Houston Found Underwater in Tub
Arm Wrestler Not Guilty Plea in Wife's Death
Raw Video: Houston Body Flown From L.A. to N.J.
First Person: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Obama's New Budget: The Winners and Losers
Gregoire: Marriage Equality Is Right for Wash.
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
Police: Houston Found Under Water, Unconscious
Sandusky Can See Grandkids, Have Local Jury
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
