GRANBY — Annual Town Meeting will be on Monday, May 13 at 7 p.m. inside the East Meadow Elementary School and this year’s Town Meeting is planned to stretch into June with an additional date.
The first article meeting attendees will vote on is to set the town to vote for articles 2-23 that night and reconvene on Monday, June 10, to consider articles 24-32. Following that vote, the remaining articles listed will be completed the second night set.
When looking at articles to be voted on during the May 13 portion of this year’s Town Meeting, a handful stand out for what town meeting members can look forward to making a decision on.
Article 3 will see if town meeting members to approve $87,072 for purchase of a pick up truck with plow for the Public Buildings Department. Article 8 looks to use $70,000 for the purpose of funding the paving of the Public Library parking lot.
The Granby Police Department is tied to some articles as in Article 9, as they seek $92,174 for the purpose of funding the replacement battery backup unit within the department.
“That is supposed to keep the equipment operating from the time you lose power, to the time when the generator outside kicks in to supply power,” explained Town Administrator Chris Martin at the Selectboard’s April 22 meeting.
Martin added he and Fire Chief O’Grady have begun discussions for a future alternative for this issue as the batteries typically only last five years.
In article 10 they seek $69,794 from Town Meeting members to purchase a marked cruiser for the department, while in article 11 the ask is for $67,526 for an unmarked vehicle. Martin added this was a yearly ask as the department uses the purchase pattern to maintain a steady fleet of vehicles, and retire the oldest one with a new purchase.
Another police-related item is article 12, which will see if the town will appropriate $70,340 to replace security cameras and servers at the department.
Article 14 is the largest dollar amount ask in this year’s warrant as Town Meeting members will vote to fund the purchase of a fire engine for the Granby Fire Department for $1.3 million.
“That is to replace engine number 2, and the problem is this has a five year wait to be delivered. According to national NFPA standards, the second response vehicle needs to be replaced every 20 years and they’re replacing a 2007, so by the time they get it, it will be 20 years old,” Martin explained.
Article 16 will see town meeting members vote to use $275,000 to purchase a dump truck for the Highway Department. The final article of note from the first portion of this year’s Town Meeting is Article 17, which will see if $162,750 will be utilized to fund paving at the West Street cemetery.
These articles and more will be voted on during the May 13 Town Meeting. Articles 24-32 will be voted on when Town Meeting returns on June 10. The full draft warrant for this year’s Town Meeting can be found at granby-ma.gov.
