By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
11/26/09
Selectmen voted last week to hold a Special Town Meeting on Feb. 22. Although a Feb. 8 date was originally planned, there was apparently a scheduling conflict in reserving the space for the several nights Selectmen feel will be needed. “The more we thought about it, the more we think we’re going to have to go four or five nights,” Selectmen Chairman John Shields said. Selectmen voted a Dec. 3 deadline for warrant articles. According to Town Administrator Kevin Mearn, there could be as many as six articles included. The most discussed to this point are articles to make further budget cuts and another to potentially rezone Temple Shalom’s property for a commercial development project.
The Planning Board did not reach a vote on the Temple article last week. The board meets again Dec. 3, and Mearn said it is possible it could take a vote and present the article to Selectmen the same night. He said he has been told by Planning Board Chairman Peter Jackson that the board will meet the deadline for the Temple article. (See related story on Page 1).
Meanwhile, Selectmen again discussed last week the likelihood that more operational cuts will be required in the fiscal year. In the wake of the governor’s announcing millions in state cuts, Milton was handed a second financial blow in the year. The first required $331,000 in cuts, which Town Meeting in October approved.
The second equals an additional $240,000 in state reductions to the town. Although no plan has yet been announced to reconcile the cuts, the Warrant Committee has asked Selectmen to consider recommending that departments hold back spending. The holdback would cover not just the current deficit but also reflect anticipation of still another cut in fiscal year 2010. The committee bases its assumption on the thinking that the town will receive roughly the same $900,000 or so in cuts this year as it did last.
However, Shields was skeptical about asking for additional holdbacks. He said he has heard from numerous state officials, including Rep. Walter Timilty, that the latest round of cuts may be the last in the fiscal year.
“Timilty didn’t seem to think there’d be any more cuts. You have to deal with it when you get it,” Shields said.
Mearn agreed, saying, “I don’t think $900,000 is the number.
“It’s hard to tell [departments] to [hold back spending] when those cuts aren’t there in front of you,” he added.
Meanwhile, the board discussed other articles that may be on the warrant, including a potential agreement to consolidate school and town maintenance functions and a bonding plan for the wind turbine project.
Mearn said the Consolidated Facilities Exploratory Committee and the Wind Energy Committee both feel they may be ready with proposals for Town Meeting. Annual Town Meeting in May authorized school and town officials to negotiate a plan to create a shared facilities department, which would merge building and ground maintenance duties under a new department head. Under one scenario, the facilities manager would report both to Mearn and School Superintendent Mary Gormley.
Annual Town Meeting also approved a zoning plan for up to two wind turbines at the old landfill site near the Granite Links Golf Course. The two-turbine scenario was recently reduced to one when it was found the two structures would be too close together to achieve duel savings.
Another article could create a new bylaw for blasting. The town currently has no such language for blasting, where ledges and other obstructions are involved. According to Mearn, the bylaw would be necessary if the Temple redevelopment plan is approved. The site contains a significant ledge that could be blasted as part of construction. Mearn said there are currently state guidelines for blasting but the town has no way to enforce a uniform code for such practices.
Mearn said there may also be an update to Town Meeting on the Library Trustees’ plans for the East Milton Library branch, which was closed this year due to budget cuts.