Oak Bluffs voters on Tuesday will decide whether to commit the town to an ambitious plan to radically overhaul the town waterfront and whether to adopt a new policy of paying all town employees based on a uniform pay scale.
Voters will consider 17 warrant articles at the special town meeting at 7 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs School. Moderator David Richardson will preside over the session.
Almost $300,000 worth of expenditures from the town’s free cash account will be considered, including two articles requesting $112,200 for separate engineering studies of the waterfront area from North Bluff to Farm Pond.
The conservation commission wants $65,000 for a survey to examine erosion and structural decay at the town beach. Among other things, the commission wants to learn more about the jetty at Inkwell Beach and whether it is slowly starving the beach of sand.
And the community development committee will ask for $46,000 for an engineering study to make land side improvements along the beach that would include new railings, signs, plantings, bike racks, lifeguard stands, swim floats and wheelchair access.
The study would be the first step in an ambitious plan to overhaul and restore the town waterfront at an estimated cost of $2.7 million. The improvements were outlined in a 35-page report released last month by a committee charged with developing a plan to revitalize the town beach.
If the engineering survey is approved, the community development committee plans to seek state and federal funding to offset the overall cost. The conservation commission will also seek state and federal funds if their request for an engineering study is approved.
Another article requests almost $7,000 for salary increases for two nonunion employees; the request grew out of a recent compensation and classification study ordered by the town. A separate article asks voters to accept the findings of the study for the purpose of budgeting next year; a plan to adopt the new salary guidelines will then go to voters at the annual town meeting in April.
The town affordable housing committee wants $176,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to convert the old library on Pennacook avenue into a building that would house a pharmacy and two affordable rental units.
Other articles include:
• A request by the town personnel board to expand membership from three to five.
• A request to transfer $44,000 from free cash for improvements to the sailing camp main building.
• A request to transfer $34,700 from the ambulance reserve fund to buy a new four-wheel-drive police vehicle.
• A request to transfer $20,000 from free cash to install heat and insulation to the public bathrooms on Kennebec avenue so they can remain open in the winter.
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