What you need to know for June Town Meeting
Town Meeting members on June 6 will be asked to weigh in on the town’s $83.2 million budget, to approve funds for a new police station and library, and decide whether to restore a historic animal pound and whether to construct baseball fields.
Officials are seeking voter approval for a $83,263,173 budget for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1. Funding will pull nearly $57.7 million from the tax levy; $600,000 from new developments; and $560,528 from debt exclusions — temporary increases on property taxes which are earmarked for certain projects and initiatives.
Additionally, the Department of Public Works is seeking to use $1,000,000 in borrowed funds and another $500,000 in existing departmental funds to correct a state drinking water violation. [More details.]
Voters will also be asked to decide whether the police department should continue to use the state civil service exam in its hiring practices. [More details.]
Town Meeting is the town's legislative body — 390 men and women elected from Dartmouth's nine precincts to conduct town business ranging from how the town spends money to how it enforces bylaws. It begins at 9 a.m. in the Dartmouth Middle School auditorium. Here’s a recap of what’s on tap.
ANIMAL POUND
The Historical Commission is seeking $10,200 in Community Preservation funding to restore an animal pound on Russells Mills Road that was bought by the town in the 1830s. At the time, the poundkeeper would house and feed strays until owners claimed the animals, explained commission member Judy Lund.
The poundkeeper’s home currently sits on private property adjacent to the pound. Large trees have started grown in the pound’s center, and now threaten the stone walls. They need to be removed, and the pound’s gate needs to be restored, Lund said.
“It’s one of the few pounds in southern New England where the poundkeeper’s house is next door, and it’s the only town pound that remains in Dartmouth,” said Lund. “It’s a contributing factor to the National Register District. [Russells Mills Village is] recognized as an important relic to the history of the area.”
Lund said that the Community Preservation Committee must set a designated amount aside for historical projects. She said $10,200 is the maximum amount the committee can spend, but it hopes save the pound on a smaller budget.
With the $785,000 demolition of Gidley School near completion and the police department hopeful to begin constructing a new station headquarters on site following Town Meeting, the two Little League fields at the back of the Tucker Road property have been inaccessible. The loss has been detrimental to the Dartmouth Youth Activities Association, which uses the lots to service its approximately 700 baseball players.
“With our tee-ball league, we have no place for the kids to practice. We have to hold tee-ball practice on Sundays,” said DYAA President Jim Vieira, explaining that Little League, Pony League, and Junior League games occupy Crapo Field during the week. He said many of the tee-ball practices have been rained out or cancelled due to league events like Opening Day.
Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a $100,000 expenditure to go toward the construction of two tee-ball fields and one Little League field at the back of the Crapo Field lot on Russells Mills Road. The monies would go toward regrading and fencing, but Vieira will still depend on volunteers, donations, and discounted contracting to finish the work, which was originally valued at $500,000 because state wage regulations were put into the equation.
Vieira said the nonprofit doesn’t have the money to install fields itself because registration costs cover referees, equipment, and custodian costs.
POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS
On April 4, voters in the town’s annual election approved a temporary tax increase to fund the $13.4 million police station proposed for Tucker Road. Now, town officials need Town Meeting’s blessing to move forward.
The station, which will replace the Gidley School, is needed for space, security, improved efficiency, and future growth, according to officials. The police department was moved into modular units in 2014, after bacteria in the water system at its Russells Mills headquarters made an officer sick.
The 21,800 square-foot proposal would include a meeting room that will be accessible to the public; a sally port, which would allow for safe and secure prisoner transport; 3,900 square feet of unused space for future expansion; and work spaces that can be reconfigured for more personnel.
Chief Bob Szala said he’d like to start building as soon as he gets the Town Meeting go ahead, and that residents could see a grand opening by May 2019.
Dartmouth Police officials are also seeking $140,547 to replace cruisers and another $250,000 to upgrade radio communications.
Every year, the department asks for four new cruisers, with partial funding approved at Town Meeting in the spring and fall, explained acting Chief Brian Levesque. The $54,000 cars are fully equipped to include lights, sirens, cages, first aid and fire extinguishers, radar guns, tint, and graphics, said Levesque.
The newer cruisers are used 24 hours a day, seven days each week for the first few years, and it is not uncommon to put 30,000 miles on those frontline cars in the first year, said Levesque. Then, the cruisers are transitioned into a secondary vehicle, which means they are used for patrol, but not every day he said. During a cruiser’s final years, it will be turned into an administrative vehicle, used by detectives, at schools, for trainings, or for details, said Levesque. He said the department uses each car for eight to 10 years.
He said the department does seek cost reductions by reusing equipment from older vehicles when possible.
The proposed radio communication updates would improve communications at the northern end of town, as well as prep for the station relocation, said Levesque.
The $250,000 proposal would be the first phase in a three-phase upgrade process, he said. It includes constructing new towers at higher altitudes to better coverage issues in North Dartmouth. It also includes replacing the copper wire, landline system with a microwave antenna system, which would improve radio communications, said Levesque.
Down the line, the department will seek additional funding to install communication system upgrades for the new station. Levesque said this work will most likely be scheduled for 2019. The third phase of work will include a hardware upgrade for transmitters, receivers, and possibly portable radios. By 2020, that equipment will be more than 14 years old, he said. Levesque said the total project cost has not yet been calculated.
LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION
In advance of a state project to realign Tucker Road right through the existing North Dartmouth Library, town officials are seeking continued funding for a new library building in 2018.
The new North Dartmouth Library is planned for 211 Cross Road. It will feature a new 14,000-square foot building with children’s and adult wings, a circulation desk located in the center of the building, and a 100-seat multi-purpose room that can still be accessed even after library hours.
Town officials have comprised a three-year plan to $10.2 million library by setting aside $1,700,000 each year. They also hope to secure a $4.88 million state grant.
Voters approved the $700,000 in funding for the project at Town Meeting in October. Officials will ask voters to approve another $1,000,000 for the building at the June meeting.
While town officials hoped to begin construction by 2019, Town Administrator David Cressman said it will not start without the state grant. Officials will find out this summer if the town has been awarded.
The $1.2 million overhaul of Padanaram’s sidewalks is already underway, with the Department of Public Works wrapping up drainage improvements and road elevations to accommodate sidewalks last week. The overall goal is to make Padanaram Village both handicap accessible and pedestrian friendly, officials said.
Through the Padanaram Sidewalk Improvement project, a section of Water Street — between Bridge Street and Seaward Lane — will become a northbound, one-way road, easing traffic through the residential area, and allowing for a sidewalk and five parking spaces. Additionally, sidewalks will be installed along Elm Street (between School and Prospect streets) and along Bridge Street. The plan also includes many bump-outs around corners to increase visibility at intersections.
The DPW is seeking $300,000 from the town for the project. Funding also includes $300,000 from its Chapter 90 roadway maintenance from the state; $200,000 from its budgeted roadway maintenance account; and the department has applied for $400,000 in state funding via the Complete Streets program. DPW Director David Hickox said he will know if the town has received the grant by July. He added that if it’s not in the full requested amount, he will pull more from the Chapter 90 and budgeted roadway maintenance accounts.
Over the summer, the department will work with Eversource to align existing utility poles with planned sidewalks, as well as replace older structures. After Labor Day, DPW will start putting in the sidewalks, with the goal of completing them by spring 2018. This plan limits inconvenience to neighboring businesses and takes advantage of the decreased traffic, said Hickox.
Although recreational marijuana was legalized in November, state and town governments are still finalizing laws regulating the new industry. Until the laws are clear, the town Planning Board cannot appropriate zoning for such businesses, explained board member Lorri-Ann Miller.
In response, the Planning Board has proposed an 18-month moratorium on the recreational marijuana industry. Miller said the temporary moratorium is not unusual. Municipalities throughout the state have voted in 12- to 18-month delays, she said.
Miller added that the town has to create zoning the industry, that the town cannot ban it, because of its legalization.
SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY
For at least seven years, the Dartmouth Public Schools has requested $200,000 yearly from the town for technology improvements, according to School Business Administrator James Kiely. The money has helped the schools upgrade from 10-year-old laptops to “good, quality equipment,” said Kiely.
However, the school is still dependent on such funding to upgrade hardware and infrastructure, and continue buying Chromebooks, which are used for testing, said Kiely.
“We’re able to share and move Chromebook carts from classroom to classroom. It’s important that we get more of those to be able to test students in a more expedient manner,” said Kiely.
He said the high school has stationary computer labs, which also need updating.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ROOF
Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve the use of a state grant and appropriate the remaining $1,645,000 needed to repair the middle school roof.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has committed $2,996,583 to the $5,894,699 project, said Kiely. Town Meeting voters approved $4.25 million for the project last spring.
Dartmouth officials 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.
Officials originally hoped to start replacing the school's 37 different roof systems over the summer, but that will be rescheduled for next summer pending Town Meeting approval, said Kiely.
The MSBA assigned both project manager Atlantic Construction Services and designer CSS Architects, Inc. to the project last October. Dartmouth was one of 20 school districts to receive state funding. MSBA awarded up to $54,303,504 for 35 different repair projects statewide.
In other business:
Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve the $33,000 cost for removing asbestos at the Dartmouth Community Television location on Russells Mills Road.
Town officials are also seeking approval to spend $125,000 for energy efficiency improvements. Town Administrator David Cressman said the monies would mainly go toward upgrading the heating system in Town Hall. He said retrofitting the lights at the Council on Aging is also a top priority.
