CONWAY — Annual Town Meeting voters will weigh in on the purchase of a new fire truck and Highway Department vehicles, along with changes to the town’s bylaws concerning the townwide winter parking ban, driveways, dwelling units and the Finance Committee.
The meeting, to handle 25 warrant articles, will be held on Saturday, June 6, starting at 10 a.m. at Conway Grammar School.
New vehicles
In Article 7, residents will consider using $150,000 from the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund to replace the current fire truck that is nearing the end of its 30-year life expectancy. The $150,000 would cover the difference between the $850,000 price tag and a $700,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) earmark.
“Yes, we’re replacing it a few years early, but it is because we were given $700,000 to do so,” Fire Chief Christopher Herrmann explained at the Pre-Town Meeting Potluck on May 26.
Article 10 asks voters to consider using $100,000 of free cash to buy a new pickup truck for the Highway Department.
At the potluck, Selectboard member Chris Waldo explained that the “shot” hydraulic system of the current pickup truck has rendered it “basically unusable.”
Article 11 proposes purchasing another vehicle for the Highway Department, specifically using $230,000 from free cash to replace the bucket loader.
According to Waldo, rust and issues with the emissions system of the current loader necessitated a replacement.
Bylaw changes
Article 23 proposes adding public parking lots to the townwide winter parking ban.
The change, submitted by the Conway Police Department, would expand the ban on street parking and parking on public roadways from Nov. 1 to April 1 between 12 and 7 a.m. to also include public parking lots. The bylaw would require that vehicles parked on public roadways and public parking lots during daylight hours be removed in the event of “inclement” weather or a “stated snow emergency.”
Article 25, meanwhile, outlines the Planning Board’s suggested changes to a bylaw regulating driveways. While the current bylaw requires a minimum 20-foot curb cut and a maximum slope of 8% within the first 20 feet of a private driveway, the proposed new bylaw would require a maximum 8% slope within the first 25 feet of the driveway and would clarify that the rest of the driveway must stretch at least 10 feet wide.
According to Planning Board member Jeff Lacy, the existing bylaw requires “an unnecessarily unattractive” 20-foot-by-20-foot start to a private driveway before it can narrow.
Referring to the change, he added, “It makes for a more attractive driveway.”
The revised bylaw would also amend the definition of a common driveway from one that provides access to “three or more building lots” to one that provides access to “two or more building lots,” and therefore expands the current common driveway regulations — including a legal agreement between the building owners concerning maintenance — to driveways that fall under this new definition.
“Sharing starts with the second owner; it doesn’t start with the third owner. And all the difficulties and problems with shared driveways can occur with just two owners,” Lacy said before listing possible disputes like determining who pays for the maintenance and plowing of the driveway. “They say good fences make good neighbors. Well, good legal agreements make good common driveways.”
Another change would allow owners of common driveways with access to two building lots to seek waivers for the bylaw’s common driveway construction standards.
“This gives you flexibility if you have a unique situation,” Lacy explained.
Article 24, another Planning Board proposal, introduces a new definition for “dwelling units” that would exclude recreational vehicles, trailers and other structures “not permanently affixed to the ground.”
According to Lacy, the new definition provides “clarity” to questions that arose regarding whether the town considers these wheeled structures to be dwelling units.
For Article 22, voters will also consider a bylaw formally establishing the Finance Committee’s current operations.
“We’ve cleaned up the language and we’ve just added more clarification around the responsibilities of the Finance Committee,” Finance Committee member John Craine told listeners at the Pre-Town Meeting Potluck. “It’s not a change in what the committee does or the scope of what we do.”
To view the full Town Meeting warrant, visit tinyurl.com/7s2vcsbz.
