Town Meeting did not muster the two-thirds majority needed to fund an assessment of municipal buildings.
Alan P. WishartGRANBY – At Town Meeting on Monday, Granby voters approved the Police Department’s request for $29,000 for a new four-wheel-drive vehicle.
That’s no surprise. The old four-wheel vehicle the police have been using is shot.
The surprise is that Granby Police Chief Alan Wishart had to fight hard for the funding, returning to the podium over and over again to convince voters that, as the only 24/7 emergency response agency in town, his department needs the vehicle.
It’s a sign of the times. Voters have been thinking twice about spending in this economy. State aid has dropped precipitously. John J. Libera, chair of the Finance Committee, reminded voters that the landfill in Granby, a source of more than $1 million in annual revenue, will close in December.
“We have to change the way we do business,” said Libera.
He asked why the police need six vehicles. Why they weren’t shopping for a used four-wheel-drive vehicle instead of a new one. Why Police and Fire Departments can’t share a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
He told voters that if this motion passed, they should vote down the request for a new police cruiser.
More expenses are on the horizon, said Granby Highway Superintendent David Desrosiers. He was asking for $20,000 to help bring a stormwater discharge system up to standards mandated by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
The sum was just “a tip of the iceberg,” Desrosiers warned, adding that it will cost the town much more to comply with 55 pages of new regulations, including anti-pollution measures. Are the benefits worth the cost? Desrosiers doubts it. “But we have a gun to our head,” he said.
He got his $20,000. The police got their new cruiser, their four-wheel-drive vehicle and a back-up repeater they can use in case of malfunction.
The ambulance fund got $15,900 for an Auto Pulse CPR Unit and the Fire Department got $130,000 for a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.
West Street Elementary School was allotted money for a new roof. The Senior Center got funding for an elevator, which will make the second floor of its building ADA-compliant and thus available for town use.
The town also voted to use $292,800 to create a municipal solid waste disposal enterprise fund, which will identify the total costs of trash disposal and help determine how to fund it. “The town must come up with a waste disposal program that is self-sustaining,” said Selectboard member Mary McDowell.
Unfortunately, Town Meeting did not muster the two-thirds majority needed to fund an assessment of municipal buildings.
Such an assessment might have finally settled the question of what the town should do with some of its historic but deteriorating buildings, a subject that has been hotly debated.