Chilmark voters will weigh in on whether to fund a new Center for Living building for Island seniors at their annual town meeting tonight.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center, which also is the subject of funding requests this year. Longtime moderator Everett Poole will preside. There are 37 articles on the warrant.

Voters will face an $8.9 million budget, up about 2.5 per cent from last year.

The Center for Living request requires the approval of all six Island towns. Voters in Tisbury, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and West Tisbury all backed the initiative at annual town meetings last week.

Another Islandwide request to fund a new administration building for the school superintendent has not fared as well. Tisbury and Edgartown approved the request but West Tisbury turned it down. Oak Bluffs takes up the measure at a special town meeting April 30. But without West Tisbury, the future of the project is now in doubt.

At their meeting this week the Chilmark selectmen had their own doubts, questioning the need for the new building, especially in light of the need for repairs at Island schools. The project would require a bond of up to $3.9 million, to be paid off by all six towns using a formula based on total population and property valuation. The finance committee is not recommending the article.

Echoing some of the concerns in West Tisbury, selectman Warren Doty argued that the needs of the Island schools should come first. He added that school administrators had not formally presented the ideas for the new building to the selectmen. “They just said: We have the authority to borrow the money, we are going to do it,” he said.

Other school spending requests this year include $33,390 in community preservation funds to contribute to a new high school running track estimated to cost $300,000; and $12,733 for a school resource officer as mandated by the state, subject to appropriation. The officer would be assigned by the chief of police and the school superintendent, and work part time at the Chilmark School.

The state mandate is part of a bill to reduce gun violence passed last year.

The Center for Living article, which has been a topic of debate and discussion across the Island this year, would authorize the county commission to take out a bond of up to $1.6 million to buy and renovate the former Vineyard Nursing Association building in Vineyard Haven. The Edgartown National Bank, which owns the building, has offered it to the county for $1.4 million. The Chilmark finance committee recommends the article.

If the project goes through, the county plans to rent a portion of the 7,500-square-foot building to offset maintenance costs. Selectman Jonathan Mayhew suggested this week that the school superintendent building problem could be solved by renting part of the Center for Living.

Chilmark voters also will be asked Monday to approve $40,000 for the initial design phase for a building that would replace the Menemsha Crossroad fire station. A committee last year identified the center of town as the best location for housing the fire department, along with the Tri-Town Ambulance service and possibly the police department. About 13,000 square feet would be needed for all three services.

The selectmen hope to buy the former Santander Bank property at Beetlebung Corner for a public safety facility, but those negotiations are still in progress.

Other property acquisitions are in the works, but may not require a vote at the town meeting. The selectmen have been negotiating this year with landowners whose property is needed for a project to restore Squibnocket Beach. Two articles on the town meeting warrant seek authorization to buy or take the two parcels by eminent domain. But the selectmen said they hope to finalize the deals before Monday and withdraw the articles. Both properties are valued at $142,800. Voters approved similar action at a special town meeting in February. “We just didn’t know whether we were going to be able to negotiate a deed or not,” Mr. Doty said Tuesday.

A total of $73,000 would fund repairs to the Chilmark Community Center, including a reshingled roof and sidewalls and a new front entrance and vestibule. “That’s been in the works for many years and we are finally getting around to it,” selectman Bill Rossi said Tuesday. Voters have already approved a new front entrance, but a newer plan calls for a smaller vestibule that will be contained within the building.

Other requests on the warrant this year include:

• $266,000 to support various stabilization funds, including $100,000 for a highway repair fund.

• $49,000 in police department requests, including $37,000 for a new vehicle.

• $30,000 for an underground water tank for firefighting in the Nab’s Corner neighborhood.

• $10,000 for a walkway from the Comfort Station on Basin Road to Menemsha Beach.

A proposed housing bylaw amendment could benefit seniors by allowing for accessory apartments in town. The apartments would be limited to immediate family members or caregivers, or could be rented as affordable housing. In response to two informational meetings this month, the housing committee plans to amend the article on the town meeting floor to including a shorter review period for the bylaw itself, and other clarifications.

The annual town election is Wednesday. There are no contested races this year, but there are two Proposition 2 /12 override questions: one for the Center for Living and another for the superintendent’s building. Selectman Bill Rossi and finance committee members Bruce Golden and Susan Murphy are among those up for reelection.

Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.