By Steve Landwehr
STAFF WRITER
October 17, 2008 05:29 am IPSWICH — Voters will face decisions about everything from train whistles to toxic materials when Special Town Meeting swings into action Monday night. As usual, the annual fall get-together is studded with proposed changes in zoning bylaws, and a couple of them have a familiar ring. Here's a look at the agenda. Article 1 asks permission to pay unpaid bills that are left over from the previous fiscal year. Since the money would come from free cash, there would be no impact on the tax rate. Article 2 would significantly increase the town's snow and ice budget, among other things. The account has historically been underfunded, resulting in scrambling at the end of the year to move money from other departments to cover the deficit. The article would also allow $50,000 to be spent on so-called wayfaring signs, from the welcome sign at the town's boundaries to signs pointing the way to Crane Beach and other attractions. Minimal tax impact is projected. Article 3 is a boilerplate, annual transfer to the school budget of the Medicaid funds paid to the town. No tax impact. Article 4 is another routine matter, accepting money the state grants each year for road repairs and maintenance. No financial impact. Article 5 is a citizen's petition asking the selectmen to not grant private rights to parcels of town-owned clam flats for the purpose of aquaculture, or raising clams. Expect a recommendation to indefinitely postpone. No effect on tax rate. Article 6 will be the first townwide vote on the future of a train whistle ban. If the MBTA trains are to be kept silent on their way through town, improvements need to be made to the Topsfield Road crossing. This article asks for $68,700 to pay for designing the improvements. Initial tax impact is minimal, but could be considerable once the actual cost of the improvements is known. Article 7 asks for $70,000 to be spent on the town's 375th birthday bash next year. Money would come from free cash, no tax impact. Article 8 would create a stormwater bylaw, as required by the federal government. This action was indefinitely postponed a year ago, and the Stormwater Management Bylaw Advisory Committee has been working since then to answer questions that were raised. The system this bylaw would create would be paid for through fees charged to developers. The only cost would be for training staff. Minimal financial impact. Article 9 would amend an existing bylaw governing storage and use of hazardous materials. It's felt the present incarnation is impractical, and therefore unenforced. No tax increase. Article 10 would create a Green Space Preservation Development District that would allow some limited types of commercial development in three residentially zoned properties along High Street and Paradise Road. The purpose is to attract low-impact development that wouldn't have sufficient space available in the existing commercial zones. Could have positive effect on tax rate for homeowners in the long run by increasing the commercial tax base. Article 11 would give a 50 percent rebate on the building permit for commercial and multifamily developments that incorporate certain environmental improvements. No likely tax impact. Article 12 is a slew of miscellaneous minor changes in zoning bylaws. No cost. Article 13 accepts or disposes of various parcels of town-owned land. The town will be out $11.99 a year in lost taxes when all is said and done. Article 14 would approve a Tax Increment Financing agreement with Mercury Brewing, which is looking to relocate from its headquarters on Hayward Street to the old Soffron Brothers clam plant on Soffron Lane. In exchange for a number of town enhancements paid for by Mercury, the company would get state and local tax breaks. No tax increase, but the town will miss out on about $47,000 in taxes the company won't pay over the course of six years. Article 15 would create a fund to begin saving money to pay town employees' health insurance costs after they retire. There won't be any impact this year, but this one is going to be around for a long time. A 2007 study found the town will eventually have a $22 million obligation to its retirees, and there's no money in the bank for it. It's expected to take 30 to 40 years to fully fund the account. Article 16 asks for $160,000 to replace a bunch of aging, gas-guzzling vehicles with more efficient ones. There's money budgeted for this already, so taxes won't go up. Article 17 would spend $52,500 for a new dump truck for the Board of Cemetery and Parks, which would also be used as a snowplow in the winter. The board has accrued enough money from the sale of cemetery lots to pay for this, no tax increase. Article 18 is the one you wait for every year, a pro forma provision to reconsider any actions that would leave the town in violation of the limits of Proposition 21âÑ2. Town Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the Performing Arts Center, 134 High St. A quorum of 200 voters must be on hand if Town Moderator Jim Grimes is to gavel the meeting to order on time.
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