Funding for design work on a new fire station and EMS building, and improvements in Menemsha harbor are set to come before Chilmark voters at a special town meeting Monday night.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Chilmark Community Center. There are 18 articles on the warrant, many of them small funding requests. A quorum of 25 voters is needed. Longtime moderator Everett Poole will preside.
The largest request is for $440,000 to pay for hiring an architect and an owner’s project manager (OPM) to design and oversee construction of a new fire station at 3 Menemsha Cross Road and new tri-town EMS building at 399 Middle Road.
The two emergency buildings will both will be designed by the same architect, overseen by the same OPM and built by the same general contractor in order to save time and money, town administrator Timothy Carroll said.
The town bought the land for a new public safety building this fall with $900,000 approved by voters at the annual town meeting last spring. Voters also approved $200,000 to hire an architect for the design. If voters approve, the $440,000 will be added to funds already appropriated.
The spending also hinges on exempting it from the provisions of Proposition 2 1/2, the state-mandated tax cap. That question will come before voters at a special election on Dec. 4.
Town officials are hoping to have architect renderings completed by April, 2020 in order to request funds for the construction of the two buildings, Mr. Carroll said.
Selectmen in West Tisbury and Aquinnah are supporting a plan to share construction and operatings costs for the new building.
Also Monday, voters will also be asked to approve a total of $119,000 for work in the Menemsha harbor. The bulk of the funds, $80,0000, are for dredging off the Dutcher dock and northeast corner of the transient yacht dock in addition to restructuring dredging permits. Harbor master Ryan Rossi said there are currently six different permits that he hopes to consolidate into a single comprehensive harbor permit.
Other funding would go toward repair and replacement of the freshwater lines on the transient yacht dock and west dock, renovating the harbor master shed and installing three new moorings in the outside mooring field.
Voters will be asked to spend $200,000 for paving town roads. The money would come from highway stabilization funds and an additional $200,000 will come from state aid, if approved.
Mr. Carroll said parts of the Menemsha side of North Road and parts of Basin Road are priorities for paving.
Voters will also be asked to approve:
• $48,673 for a new police cruiser;
• $14,500 to renovate the police station building;
• $16,400 for fire department equipment and training for the new fire chief;
• $30,000 for an HVAC system and $6,000 for a backup generator at the community center.
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