In its usual short order, Greenville Town Meeting voters approved all but one article, with no substantive amendments, on its warrant in just under an hour on Saturday.
Among items approved, the town agreed to move forward with two projects to improve Town Hall. One was to approve an insurance payment to finish the repairs of the downstairs meeting room, damaged this fall by flooding, and the other to begin a more extensive project to eventually open the upper floor of the building. Voters approved using $5,000 of the Town Hall Capital reserve to match grant funds to do planning work that will eventually make the upper floor handicapped accessible and also do structural work to make it safe for use again.
They also approved funding for another eventual Town Hall project, to set aside $30,000 from the unexpended fund balance for the eventual replacement of the Town Hall boiler.
Voters had little to say on the majority of articles, but did raise some questions related to articles funding water department projects, perhaps influenced by the increase in water rates this year, which rose $1 per 1,000 gallons. However, voters approved all the water department articles, including $150,000 to remove sludge from one of the water treatment plant lagoons.
Those in attendance Saturday were also unanimously in agreement on updating the town’s dog ordinance. The town’s current ordinance is based on the state’s leash law in 1973, when the town adopted it. Greenville voters supported doing away with the town’s individual leash law, and implementing the state RSA, both with unanimous votes.
The only article that didn’t gain support on Saturday was a petition article to support calling upon state and federal legislators to support a carbon fee and dividend. Some residents said the article shouldn’t be a matter for Town Meeting, and that individuals who supported the measure should do so on their own. Though it received mixed support, the article failed by voice vote.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.