ESSEX — Selectmen on Monday will consider the financial implications of 11 proposed articles before voting to finalize the warrant for a special Town Meeting set for Nov. 9.
Among the articles to be considered are those proposing the town's membership in an expanding North Shore Regional Vocational School District, funding to hire and retain planning consultants for the northern and southern Conomo Point subdivisions, and the purchase of a new police cruiser.
Selectmen called for the special Town Meeting and opened the warrant at its Sept. 28 meeting.
Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki said yesterday the corresponding dollar amounts for each warrant article are "still being finalized."
Members of the Finance Committee are expected to meet with selectmen at the library on Monday at 7 p.m. to discuss the potential costs, Zubricki added.
A "yes" vote to retain membership in the vocational school district this year would also put the town on the hook to finance its portion of the district's proposed new school.
An additional cost is being applied to all communities opting to retain membership in the district this year to pay each city or town's share for constructing a proposed new $130 million regionalized vocational technical school that would essentially merge North Shore Technical High School with Essex Agricultural and Technical School while incorporating the Peabody vo-tech program as well. The merged new school is pegged for the Essex Aggie campus in the Hathorne section of Danvers.
If approved as planned, 16 communities of North Shore Technical High School and Peabody would foot the $31.2 million municipal share of the project. The state has set aside roughly $100 million.
Zubricki said he was unsure yesterday how much Essex would be required to pay to cover its share of the new school building project, but said a vote on the appropriation would come at another time.
However, outgoing North Shore Tech Superintendent Amelia O'Malley conceded to the Times in an earlier interview that the language in the warrant article being proposed to many member communities is "a little vague."
"I think it should be made perfectly clear that a 'yes' vote will commit them to ... their per capita share of the $31 million," O'Malley said.
For the merger to be completed, it must be approved by a critical mass of communities representing 75 percent of North Shore Technical High's enrollment in October 2004. That means large communities such as Danvers, Salem, Beverly and Gloucester are keys to approval.
So far, Danvers and Rockport town meetings have unanimously approved the project. Combined, these towns represent about 18 percent of the enrollment needed. Essex's nine students represent roughly 2 percent of the district's enrollment.
Other articles to be considered by selectmen Monday include matching grants for the purchase of a new Council on Aging van, shifting a yet-to-be-determined sum of money into the town's stabilization fund, and increasing the Fire Department's budget to allow for additional training.
"The town has a chance to provide some matching funds to go toward a grant SeniorCare has been working on that would bring in a new Council on Aging van," Zubricki said.
According to Anne Springer, director of public relations at the Gloucester-based nonprofit SeniorCare, the grant is offered through the state's Executive Office of Transportation as part of its Mobility Assistance Program.
The program aims to provide money to public agencies and nonprofit groups to help them purchase vehicles to transport the elderly or individuals with disabilities.
Springer said the state usually pays 80 percent of the cost while the balance is covered by the community.
An article asking the town to purchase a new generator for the Senior Center could also make its way onto the final draft of the warrant.
"It would give the facility the ability to operate in absence of electric power," Zubricki said. "It could serve as a haven in the winter or even in the summer during a prolonged power outage."
Yet another article proposes adding money to the town clerk's salary for the remainder of the fiscal year (from January to June 30, 2010) to allow a newly appointed clerk to work alongside Town Clerk Sally Soucy until she retires in May.
The special Town Meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in Essex Elementary School on Story Street.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
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