The $80.6 million town budget, funding for a proposed maritime center, construction of a park pavilion, and the replacement of the middle school roof are among the things Town Meeting members will be asked to approve when the meeting convenes on Tuesday, June 7.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Dartmouth Middle School auditorium. Town Meeting is the town's legislative body—390 men and women elected from Dartmouth's nine precincts to conduct town business ranging from approval of the budget to amending bylaws and everything in between.

The full Town Meeting warrant is available here. Here’s a look at some of the issues on the agenda:

Next year's budget

The $80.6 million fiscal year 2017 budget, which begins July 1, covers the operating needs of the general government. (The town's fire districts have their own operating budgets, approved at each district's respective annual meeting.)

The proposed budget represents a nearly four percent increase over last year. Increases include a stipend for the Director of Development, funding in the Town Clerk's budget for software maintenance, adding a mechanic to the Public Works Department’s central vehicle maintenance program, and filling the town's Deputy Harbormaster position (which is partly funded by the Shellfish budget).

Also included are funds for replacing windows and siding at the Senior Center and for rehabilitating the Rock O’Dundee Road culverts.

Waterfront recreational center

Voters will be asked to approve the $765,000 purchase of 4 Water Street in Padanaram to create a $1.7 million recreational park and public boating facility, as well as the use of $466,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for the project.

A grant from the Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council would cover $1 million of the estimated project cost. Community Preservation Act monies are raised through a 1½ percent property tax surcharge.

Officials have discussed housing offices for the Harbormaster and Parks and Recreation Department at the site, offering kayaking and paddle-boarding opportunities, administering programs for new boaters, building accessible docks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and offering places for transient boaters to tie up.

The Select Board was split 3-2 in its May decision to allow Town Administrator David Cressman to post the town's intent to purchase the property in the state's Central Register—a requirement of state procurement law, which started a 30-day clock in which Cressman could negotiate a purchase-and-sale agreement.

Ultimately, Town Meeting members have the final say in whether the project moves forward.

Cressman and the supporting members on the Select Board say they see the project as an opportunity for economic development and for the town to increase public access to the waterfront.

The Board of Parks and Recreation is also in support of the project. Members have said the department could operate a satellite office at the property and offer beach stickers on the weekends to residents who are unable to get to Town Hall during the week.

Members of the town's Waterways Management Commission, however, have argued that the water is too rough in the area for recreational programs, especially for new boaters, and have suggested the town provide waterway access and recreational programming elsewhere.

Supporters of the project have expressed concern that substantial changes to the proposal the town wrote in asking for grant funding—such as a change in location—would prompt the state to pass on the project and thus cause the town to lose the grant.

Additionally, the Waterways Management Commission, which oversees the harbormaster, expressed concerns about costs it would be asked to pay for maintenance and improvements to the property—costs members said would fall on the backs of boaters who may not want, need, or use the services offered at the site.

Apponagansett Park

Last year, the Parks and Recreation Department took over management of the Gulf Hill Dairy Ice Cream Bucket and put the summer’s profits into renovating the space and menu for summer 2016.

This year, to further efforts to use the stand as a source of income for the Parks Department, the Parks Department and the Community Preservation Committee are proposing using $270,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to build a handicap-accessible pavilion adjacent to the Bucket. The pavilion would be used as a shaded table area for visitors.

Another item on the Town Meeting agenda requests that voters approve the transfer of the Apponagansett Park property from the Select Board to the Parks and Recreation Department. As the Parks Department currently manages the property, the town officially would transfer the care, custody, management, and control of that land. The property would also be designated as public parkland, recreation, and open space.

Replace roof at Dartmouth Middle School

Dartmouth Middle School is in need of a roof overhaul. School business administrator James Kiely said the 123,000 square-foot roof was installed in sections as the building was expanded, and that parts of the roof are about 50 years old. The replacement would cost about $4.25 million.

The town has previously earmarked $750,000 in funding for the project. The town plans to apply for a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) grant, which could potentially cover 51 percent of the remaining $3.5 million.

The town would cover the remaining $2 million via borrowing, which Town Meeting members will be asked to approve.

As part of the MSBA grant application, the entire cost of the project must be accounted for and approved in a Town Meeting article. Without the MSBA grant, the roof will take multiple years to replace and could delay funding for the town's other project needs.

OK the sale of Old Southworth Library

The Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT) currently leases the Old Southworth Library at 404 Elm Street from the town for its offices, and has since 1987. However, the trust will be moving mid-summer to a new center at 318 Chase Road.

Town Meeting members will be asked to approve the sale of the property, though it's not currently clear if the town will indeed put it up for sale. The Select Board can decide to lease it to someone else, repurpose the facility for other town boards or commissions, or sell it. A sale could include a deed restriction to protect the façade of the historical building.