CONWAY — A Fire Department vehicle and a wood chipper for the Highway Department, along with a provision for recalling elected officials, top this weekend’s Special Town Meeting warrant.
The meeting will be held at Conway Grammar School, 24 Fournier Road, on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 10 a.m. The 11-article warrant features a $50,000 appropriation to put toward a used vehicle for the Fire Department, $92,000 for a Highway Department wood chipper, as well as several housekeeping articles to pay off outstanding bills and to ensure police officers are paid for covering work details.
Selectboard Chair Philip Kantor said the Fire Department is seeking a used pickup truck that can be outfitted with new equipment to serve as the department’s towing vehicle for its rescue boat, as well as Chief Bob Baker’s administrative vehicle that he will use to conduct chimney and property inspections.
“There are several used ones on the lot. … A number of them are gently used,” Kantor said, noting that the available vehicles only have 20,000 to 30,000 miles on them. “This includes the $8,000 to do the uplift, which is installing the required lights and whatnot to make it a fire vehicle.”
A used vehicle, he added, would be more likely to gain Town Meeting support over a new, full-price truck, while also ensuring the Fire Department has functioning equipment in case of an emergency.
“We only use it a couple times a year,” Kantor said of the rescue boat. “It’s the Fire Department, you can’t have broken-down equipment.”
Regarding the wood chipper purchase, Kantor said it’s a step toward the Highway Department ensuring no debris is left behind when the department cuts a tree down or if it falls over. Alongside the $92,000 wood chipper is also a $7,000 chip box. If approved, Kantor said supply chain issues may mean the town will not receive the equipment for more than a year.
Article 1 asks residents to create a Capital Stabilization Fund for Frontier Regional School, through which money could only be spent with approval from two-thirds of the Frontier School Committee. Kantor, who also serves on the School Committee, said this fund is something the school may have had in the past, but never used. Passage of this article — which must also be approved by the Frontier school district’s other member towns at future Town Meetings — would create the fund, but would not put money into it.
By establishing the Capital Stabilization Fund, Kantor said the school will be able to work more efficiently because it will have a pool of money that is specifically dedicated to capital improvements.
“This is one of those things that every other school does,” Kantor explained, adding that Conway accounts for 16% of Frontier’s budget. “I’m hopeful that this passes so it makes the governance of our school easier.”
To close out the meeting with Article 11, residents will be asked to give their approval on a special legislative request to implement a recall process for Conway’s town officials. Kantor said recall bylaws are only allowed in communities governed as cities, such as Greenfield, or under town charters, like Amherst.
“Right now, if you’re an elected official, there’s no way to get rid of you if you thumb your nose at the voters,” Kanttor said, adding that this recall process is not being proposed for a specific reason, but just to ensure there is more accountability among elected officials. “It’s just one of those good governance things.”
Other articles include:
■Articles 6 and 7 request residents’ approval to appropriate $970 and $920 to pay outstanding bills for removing logs as a result of storm damage and for landfill monitoring, respectively.
■Article 8 asks residents to create a special revenue fund to pay police officers for performing outside details, while Article 9 asks to appropriate $10,000 for the fund.
To view the full Special Town Meeting warrant, visit bit.ly/3VxAe6O.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.