Select Board October 2 Meeting Recap: Board Votes on Fall 2023 Town Meeting Articles
The Select Board met on October 2 at Brewster Town Hall to review and vote on Fall 2023 Town Meeting warrant articles. Select Board members discussed proposed amendments to the Private Road Betterment Bylaw, Community Preservation Act funding recommendations, Capital and Special Project funding needs, payment of prior year unpaid bills, and a transfer from the Cable Fund.
Conor Kenny, Town Project Manager, summarized proposed revisions to the current private road betterment bylaw. “Conversations with Town Counsel have confirmed that the current Private Road Betterment Bylaw is in need of several revisions – certain provisions are conflicting or ambiguous,” he noted. Mr. Kenny further explained that the proposed changes to the language in this bylaw have been drafted by Town Management in conjunction with Town Counsel, the Planning Department, the Department of Public Works, and the Assessing Department. “These departments were all consulted through the redrafting process as the bylaw in its current iteration involves all the departments,” said Mr. Kenny. Notable changes in this revised draft include clearly stating the definition of a private road, removing the Planning Board’s duplicative role in reviewing project costs, and specifying the extent to which the Department of Public Works can conduct minor maintenance activity on private roads.
The Select Board also heard from the Community Preservation Committee Chair, Faythe Ellis. Ms. Ellis explained that the CPC is proposing to appropriate $255,000 to fund the Brewster Affordable Housing Trust’s Affordable (BAHT’s) Buydown Program. Ms. Ellis noted that “BAHT will manage the Buydown Program which may provide up to $50,000 of grant assistance to first-time affordable homebuyers purchasing a home in Brewster”. Ms. Ellis also stated that the CPC is recommending the appropriation of $507,500 to the development of affordable housing units at Spring Rock Village on Millstone Road. $500,000 of the award will be used for construction costs of the project, and the remaining $7,500 will be used to pay CPC legal and administrative expenses related to the award.
Town Manager Peter Lombardi, Assistant Town Manager Donna Kalinick, and Finance Director Mimi Bernardo then provided an overview of the capital and special projects on the Fall Town Meeting warrant. The grand total for all proposed fall capital and special projects is $5,877,000. These projects include development of a Town-wide pond management plan, new windows and doors at the Captain’s Golf Course clubhouse, and funding to move forward with the Millstone Road Improvement Project. The Select Board indicated that the Millstone Road funding request should be a standalone article on the Town Meeting warrant. A link to all of the other proposed capital and special projects can be found here.
Mr. Lombardi then briefly summarized the Town’s outstanding obligations, explaining that there were four unpaid bills from the previous fiscal year, totaling $8,475.96. These bills are from the Golf Department, Fire Department, and Department of Public Works.
Finally, Ms. Bernardo explained the Cable Fund Transfer article. A standalone article at Spring Town Meeting authorizes the transfer of funds from the cable receipts reserve for appropriation account to the general fund to cover the costs of professional media services and the purchase of equipment. Ms. Bernardo explained that, after reviewing the current balance in the receipt reserve account, she determined that it would be financially prudent to transfer an additional amount of $75,000 to cover anticipated expenses through the end of this fiscal year. The Town collects approximately $400,000/year through a 10-year license agreement with Comcast to be used for delivering local cable access programming.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend all of these articles on the upcoming Fall Town Meeting warrant. The Special Town Meeting will be held on Monday November 13, 2023, at 6pm at the Stony Brook Elementary School.