Sea Camps, Department Projects Lead Special Town Meeting Warrant

BREWSTER – Allocating funds are of top priority for the fall special town meeting on Nov. 18. Out of 11 articles, six determine how monies will be distributed for an array of different projects, departments and community funds, including several related to the Sea Camps properties. 

The largest expenditure would fund the implementation of the Sea Camps comprehensive plans, which were approved by residents this past spring. Article 6 identifies $11.4 million in excluded debt for both parcels. 

The funding would help complete the $21 million covering all phases at the Pond Property and phases one and two at the Bay Property. Assistant Town Manager Donna Kalinick said the remaining $9 million is coming from other sources, such as state grants and community preservation applications, in hopes of minimizing the debt costs to taxpayers. 

At a warrant review session last Thursday, Town Manager Peter Lombardi broke down that number for homeowners, calculating around an average $75 annual property tax increase that will last until the project is completed. 

Article 4 seeks to appropriate $720,543 in free cash to cover short-term debt from the purchase of the Sea Camps pond property.

Free cash is the community’s unrestricted available funds after the close of the previous fiscal year, meaning the revenue collected was more than budgeted and expenditures were less than anticipated.

Article 7 seeks to amend the town’s zoning bylaws for the Bay Property Overlay District, adding verbiage that acknowledges a framework for the implementation phase and creates guidelines for the project moving forward. 

“The current zoning in place is primarily for single-family residential and simply wouldn’t allow for the activities or programs that residents favored over the multiyear planning process,” said Town Planner Jon Idman. It also reworks the zoning map to incorporate the Bay Property Overlay District. 

Free cash is also a proposed funding source for a number of department-related projects, services and items. A combination of free cash and retained earnings will cover just under $4.2 million in resources for the Elementary School, natural resources, assessors, department of public works, police and fire departments. 

Kalinick noted that the water and golf departments use enterprise funds, so they will be paying for updates with their own earned capital.

Benches and electrical work at Drummer Boy Park, plumbing upgrades and a new scissor lift at town hall, tech upgrades and supplemental maintenance at several town buildings and equipment at the Sea Camps Bay Property, as well as a community center needs assessment, round out Article 3. 

“The majority of our capital is typically done in the fall,” said Kalinick, which is why fund appropriation takes up a significant portion of the warrant.

The community preservation committee is recommending the town appropriate $150,000 to fund a rental assistance program through the Brewster Affordable Housing Trust. 

“Currently, the program is assisting 20 households who have been paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent,” said Sarah Robinson, chair of the CPC. The group is also recommending funds to digitize existing records and continue to restore, preserve and repair tombstones. 

The warrant also calls for $116,000 in free cash for the Brewster Elementary School special education stabilization fund. According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, this fund “can be used in future years for unanticipated or unbudgeted costs of special education, out of district tuition, transportation and recovery high school tuition.”

Last November the town turned down proposed short-term rental regulations, with voters urging officials to conduct a deeper study on the measures. Lombardi and the select board developed a short-term rental taskforce aimed at “evaluating the impacts of short-term rentals on the health, safety, and quality of life of our residents, on the local economy, and on year-round housing availability in our community.” Article 11 seeks to accept an initial report on the task force organization. 

The fall warrant also includes acceptance of an option to hire a municipal hearing officer to oversee appeals of housing and sanitary violation notices. The town employs an officer already, but needs a vote to adopt a state law authorizing the position. 

Article 9, related to Sunday morning liquor sales at restaurants, will be indefinitely postponed. Lombardi said that the select board plans to adopt the law at one of its December meetings. 

Check-in for the special town meeting begins at 5 p.m. with a start time of 6 p.m. at Stony Brook Elementary School. Warrants are available at town hall or online for review before town meeting.