Voters at a special town meeting in Aquinnah next week will decide whether to move forward on projects at Aquinnah Circle and Philbin Beach, along with improvements and repairs at the town hall campus.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the Aquinnah Old Town Hall. Moderator Michael Hebert will preside over the session. There are 10 articles on the warrant.
Long-term efforts to bury the power lines at Aquinnah Circle will finally come to a vote, with the community preservation committee asking voters to approve $21,000, or about 15 per cent of the cost. Earlier this fall, the utility company Eversource offered to bury all but one of the lines for $135,000, much less than what the town had expected to pay. The town would also seek state funding and private donations as needed for the project. Another $6,500 in CPC funding would support a study of Aquinnah Circle by students and faculty at the Conway School of Landscape Design this winter. The team would conduct a public planning process focused on long- and short-term concerns at the circle. Town officials and residents have discussed pathways, bus access and other features that could improve the area.
A total of $30,000, split between free cash and CPC funding, would help pay for the installation of a new boardwalk over the dunes at Philbin Beach, as recommended by the town’s beach access committee this fall. Private donations would also contribute to the cost.
In the town center, $30,000 from the capital improvement stabilization account would pay for repairs and improvements to the police department building, and $15,000 from the building and grounds stabilization account would be used to redesign and enhance several office spaces in the town hall. Both articles are recommended by the town campus planning committee, and would require a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
Other spending requests include: • $2,500 to fund additional work related to a midterm examination of property assessment.
• $3,700 and $5,000 for a new computer server and a new copy machine at the town hall.
• $5,000 in CPC funds to contribute to the mortgage of the Vanderhoop Homestead at Aquinnah Circle.
• $59,475 to replace the amount withdrawn from the general stabilization account in January to balance the town budget. A two-thirds majority vote is required.
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