Select Board Opens Warrant For Special Town Meeting, Includes Sea Camps Funding And Petition Articles

BREWSTER – After voters failed to approve the Sea Camps comprehensive plan funding last fall, the select board is moving forward with a new funding package that follows the updated re-phasing schedule. 

Along with the Sea Camps funding, capital requests and a new citizens’ petition will be on the warrant for voters this November. The fall special town meeting will take place on Monday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Stony Brook Elementary gym. 

In August, updates to the implementation of the Sea Camps comprehensive plan cut the estimated costs nearly in half, from $15.6 million to $7.5 million. 

The funding article would implement infrastructure and amenity improvements, general maintenance and construction of the existing buildings on the bay property. 

Just over $1.5 million for the bay property will need to be approved at town meeting to start implementation of the comprehensive plan. This includes utility engineering for water service, demolition costs, tennis court design, plantings and maintenance to existing structures. Mass Audubon will also be funding the nature center design in this phase. 

Around $920,000 will come from free cash, which is certified at $3.75 million this year. A $150,000 grant will cover removal design and engineering costs. Mass Audubon will contribute a total of $453,600 and the Brewster Conservation Trust will cover $50,000. 

Funding for the pond property sits at $430,000, including a 20 percent contingency. The request will ask for $150,000 from free cash as well as approval of the Brewster Conservation Trust’s $280,000 contribution. 

Town Manager Peter Lombardi said no additional debt will be issued in the near future for these requests. 

 Karen Fry of the Brewster Pollinators went before the select board on Sept. 8 with a citizens’ petition which requests a non-bonding resolution declaring Brewster a pollinator-friendly community. 

 The idea behind the designation is more aspirational than formative, she said, explaining that she based the petition on one approved in Orleans. 

 The goal would be to support initiatives that promote a pollinator-friendly town, such as planting more native plants on town-owned properties, curbing the use of pesticides and reducing the amount of town-owned property that is regularly mowed. 

 “We’d love to have a pollinator pathway along Route 6A,” she said. 

 A pollinator pathway is defined as a pesticide-free corridor of native plants that provide nutrition and habitat for pollinating insects and birds. 

 Fry also said that if the town can set an example, she hopes private residences will adopt the practices as well. 

 Lombardi noted that it is a bit more complicated for Brewster since the town owns a 36-hole golf course. According to Lombardi, Colin Walsh, the golf superintendent at the Captains Golf Course, is actively working with Mass Audubon to secure a pollinator-friendly golf course designation. 

 Currently, the department of public works and recreation department are in charge of maintaining recreation areas, including fields. Lombardi said he cannot without a doubt say pesticides are not used to varying degrees.

 Because the petition is a non-binding resolution, Fry said she is just looking for buy-in from the community and that she’s OK with “baby steps.” 

 The select board unanimously voted in favor of supporting the petition. 

 Outstanding obligations, other capital and special project expenditures and Community Preservation Act funding will also be on the warrant. 

 Voters will have a chance to submit their votes on the Vesper Pond Road betterment debt paydown and Rocky Hill Road drainage easement.

 There will be two articles requesting the creation of new funds, one for a Crosby Mansion stabilization fund and the other for a short-term rental revolving fund. 

 An article updating the zoning bylaw to include accessory dwelling units will also be on the warrant. 

The articles are currently anticipated, but changes can occur as the warrant has not closed.