CONWAY — Residents will be asked to consider a nearly $6.57 million budget and land easements for flood control of the South River at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting.
The meeting will be held in the Conway Grammar School gymnasium at 1 p.m. Masks are optional and they will be available, along with wipes, hand sanitizer and rapid tests upon check in.
The nearly $6.57 million operating budget that is proposed for fiscal year 2023 is $229,155, or 3.49%, higher than the current year’s budget. Notable increases include a $71,093 bump for elementary school operations, which Selectboard member Phil Kantor explained is due to a new contract with the schools’ unions and “reflects the increase in labor costs.”
Residents will note that the Transfer Station budget and wages have increased by $135,048 and $43,260, respectively, while the Board of Health’s budget and wages have decreased by $146,567 and $41,410. Town Administrator Veronique Blanchard said this is because the Board of Health transferred management of the Transfer Station to the Selectboard and her a few months ago.
Article 28 would authorize the Selectboard to acquire a permanent easement on the property at 69 Main St. At last year’s Town Meeting, voters authorized the town to acquire that lot and two unnumbered parcels on Shelburne Falls Road for the purpose of undertaking flood mitigation measures on the South River.
The town had tied its Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant to the acquisition of 69 Main St., but in the months following the meeting, the town was unable to acquire the property, which also voided the town’s grant, according to Blanchard. This year, the town is instead seeking an easement on the back end of the property, which will allow it to conduct the work needed to mitigate flooding in downtown Conway.
“Basically, we gave it our best effort to purchase from the owner and because that fell through, the town didn’t have the match for the MVP grant,” she said. “This time the grant is not tied to that.”
In addition, Article 29 asks voters to appropriate $63,850 from the Community Preservation Fund for costs and expenses for land acquisition, rights of way, easements and other costs for the two unnumbered parcels along Shelburne Falls Road as well as 69 Main St. Blanchard said these funds will also act as this year’s MVP grant match.
Losing last year’s grant, Blanchard said, “put us back in trying to get things done.”
Also included in Article 29 is a $42,388 request from the Historical Society for renovations to the Archibald MacLeish Stone House on Pine Hill Road. Archibald MacLeish was an American poet and writer, who won three Pulitzer Prizes and also served as the ninth Librarian of Congress, while spending much of his life in Conway.
Other articles on the warrant include:
■Amending the town’s Floodplain District to comply with federal insurance standards.
■Appropriating $100,000 to the town’s Fire Truck Stabilization Fund, which will go toward purchasing a new rescue pumper in 2028.
■Authorizing the town to request special legislation to allow Police Chief Ken Ouimette and Police Officer Randall Williams to serve past age 65.
■Appropriating $21,600 for emergency pagers for the ambulance and Fire Department.
■Appropriating $7,400 for two portable speed radar detectors for the Police Department.
The full 35-article warrant can be viewed at bit.ly/3z9aFkf.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081