Funding for a new recreation center, a potential ban on gas-powered leaf blowers and planning for a sewage system in the Ocean Heights neighborhood will all be put before Edgartown voters at town meeting next week.

The annual and special town meetings begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 at the Old Whaling Church, with town poet laureate Steve Ewing moderating. The quorum is 211 people.

Combined, the warrants include 97 articles that range from large spending requests to event limitations. The proposed budget is $49.7 million, a 6.8 per cent increase over last year.

Despite the hefty agenda, town administrator James Hagerty is optimistic that the meeting will run only one night.

“I don’t expect the night to be as long as it was last April,” Mr. Hagerty said.

Proposed leaf blower bans are on most town warrants. — Ray Ewing

The special town meeting contains 10 articles relating to various spending requests, including $10,000 to hire a consultant to advise the town on its efforts to create municipal housing at the former Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank headquarters on Upper Main street, which the town acquired last year.

On the annual town meeting warrant, the largest spending request is to appropriate $4 million from free cash to overhaul the Robinson Road recreation area behind the Edgartown School. Last month, the Parks Department presented plans for new playgrounds, multi-use fields, an office building with bathrooms and courts for pickleball, tennis, basketball and shuffleboard.

Despite the large price tag, Mr. Hagerty said it would not result in a tax increase.

“It’s cash on hand . . .” Mr. Hagerty said. “It won’t increase the tax rate.”

Voters will also determine whether or not to regulate leaf blowers. The Vineyard Conservation Society worked with nearly every Island town to draft the bylaws in an effort to reduce noise and harmful emissions.

In Edgartown, the bylaw would only allow leaf blowers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, though it would ban commercial use on Sundays. It would also restrict leaf blowers powered by gas to the fall and spring seasons, and ban their use entirely by May 31, 2028.

A citizen’s petition submitted by Edgartown real estate broker Jim Joyce calls for the ban of commercial gas powered leaf blowers starting July 1, 2025.

Preliminary designs for phase one of a potential sewage system for the Ocean Heights neighborhood comes with a $2 million price tag, which would be appropriated from free cash. The dense neighborhood off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road currently relies on individual septic tanks which are contributing to high levels of nitrogen runoff in Sengekontacket Pond.

Mr. Hagerty said the total cost for implementing a new sewage system could reach $100 million and the town will request additional funds throughout a 20-year period.

Article 15 asks voters to allocate $300,000 to install a new elevator in the Old Whaling Church.

Beach nourishment at South Beach and Norton Point continues to be an issue, and voters will be asked to approve $100,000 for the effort. Last year the town approved $1.1 million to restore the South Beach area.

“You can see some of those areas have degraded and the intent is [that] we have money on-hand if we need to use it immediately,” Mr. Hagerty said.

Article 61 asks for $185,000 to fund short-term rental inspections, which are required starting July 1 per state building code.

Article 30 offers a veterans tax exemption based on recent state legislation.

The town is looking to increase fines for building infractions from $50 to $300 in article 62, which Mr Hagerty said would make zoning bylaws consistent.

“Fifty dollars doesn’t really have a tangible effect,” Mr. Hagerty said. “We want to increase this at the request of the building inspector.”

Voters will also be tasked with deciding the fate of pesticide use on Cape Pogue. Since 1989, town bylaws have prohibited their use, but with growing concerns about invasive species, conservationists on the DCPC committee have said pesticides are at times the only option to stop the spread.

An amendment to the bylaw would ultimately go in front of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

Also on Chappaquiddick, the town is asking to allocate $27,400 in free cash for consulting on repairs to the Dike Bridge. The cost will be split in half between the town and the Trustees of Reservations, which owns part of the bridge.

Mr. Hagerty said the town investigated the bridge two years ago and an engineering firm hired by the town found significant decay. Repairs were estimated at $4.3 million. Mr. Hagerty said the Trustees requested an additional study.

“This is a more in-depth, actual engineering survey,” Mr. Hagerty said. “Ours was kind of a proposal on the periphery for the work.”

Moderator Steve Ewing is gearing up for his fourth year presiding over the town floor. He said voters should show up because each person is a vital part of the community’s narrative.

“It’s a small community and your voice is definitely heard...” Mr. Ewing said. “We’re so fortunate to have this opportunity. Some people would give their eye teeth for the ability to shape the way their community functions.”

The Edgartown annual town meeting takes place April 8 at the Old Whaling Church, beginning at 7 p.m. The full warrant is available on the town’s website.