The Town House will receive an upgrade next year, after voters approved a $1 million bond for second-floor improvements, roof replacement and improved access for people with disabilities.
With a ballot vote of 122-8, residents in favor of the bond were easily within the two-thirds majority needed to pass the article.
Resident Kath Allen questioned whether it would be possible to do the renovation over the course of two years, to ease the cost.
Town Administrator Rodney Bartlett replied that the town hopes to use a $250,000 grant from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program to cover a portion of the work, and that doing the work all at once is important both for receiving that grant and for economies of construction.
As it turns out, that would be the most contentious issue that the voters took up during the town’s third and final Town Meeting session on Wednesday night, with all other items passing either unanimously or with only one or two dissenters.
A lease for a tractor to sand and plow the sidewalks was another item that required two-thirds of the vote, and in a hand count, voters approved it 104-0. The vote raises $30,000 for the first payment on a lease purchase of the $110,000 vehicle.
Voters were also unanimous in their support – in a 110-0 hand count – to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatuses for the fire department, and to raise $60,000 for the first payment of a $270,000 lease-to-purchase.
The new equipment will have updated safety features, explained Fire Chief Ed Walker, including a thermal imaging sensor in the face mask and new alarm systems that give earlier indications of low air. It will also replace air bottles that are at the end of their life cycle.
“We’ve done it again,” said Moderator Phil Runyon after voters flashed their hand ballots in unanimous approval of the first year’s payment of a new police cruiser, raising half of a $32,806 purchase price. Unlike the other leases on the ballot this year, this vote did not lock the public into the entire payment cycle, and the town will have to approve the other half of the cost of the lease next year if they want to continue to use the vehicle.
The only other article that got any “no” votes at all – and it was less than a handful – was a proposal to allow the Recreation Department and Select Board to start a hearing process to put in place some regulations and fees for non-residents to use the Marshall-Thomas Recreation Facility at Cunningham Pond. Currently, it’s only open to Peterborough residents. The action at Wednesday’s meeting didn’t give automatic approval to non-residents using the area, but allow the Select Board and Recreation Committee to hold some public hearings for the purpose of doing so eventually.
Allen questioned whether opening up Cunningham Pond to non-residential use might create parking issues, saying that there are already times that parking becomes clogged.
Bartlett said that since the renovation of Adams Pool several years ago, the use of the pond has dropped dramatically. Permits for the pond use have dropped to about 780 from previous numbers of 1,200-1,500. While the town is likely to take a phased approach to incorporating non-resident passes, letting in a limited number in the first year, the Recreation Department is confident that the increased numbers won’t create an untenable situation.
“I’ve been in favor of this for years, ever since I was a resident of Temple and wanted a place to swim,” commented resident Ivy Vann. “Think of the poor people in Temple.”