By Melanie Petrucci, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury’s Annual Town Meeting approved a capital budget of just over $1 million. The proposal was scaled down in scope due to the fiscal climate.
Town Manager Dan Morgado explained the process of elimination.
“Each year various departments submit a five-year capital budget and we study those projects for the upcoming fiscal period and evaluate them and I make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee as to which number of projects should be continued…”
The capital budget includes cemetery road paving, resurfacing the Dean Park tennis courts, paving at Spring Street School, and interior painting and brick window sills for the high school.
Additionally, it also provides funding for Fire Department vehicle replacement and refurbishing, parks vehicle and parks facilities master plan, three marked and one unmarked police cruisers, an energy-efficient utility van, and two pickup trucks with utility and plows for the water department.
Town Meeting reconvened May 17 with a Special Town Meeting to decide five articles that did not originally make it onto the Town Warrant. Articles 3 and 5 were of particular interest.
Article 3 was approved and would allow the town to accept $980,915 dollars in Chapter 90 local transportation aid for the Highway Department for road maintenance.
Article 5, also approved, will enable Shrewsbury’s Farmer’s Market to relocate to The Senior Center, municipal offices and Police Station complex. The move is necessary because Ward Hill is not accessible to all, particularly strollers and wheelchairs.
Details are still being worked out. The primary concern is to not infringe on town business taking place at this site. Planning is still in progress.
Town Manager Dan Morgado said he does not want the market to lose the momentum that it has built since its creation.
Several members expressed concern over the move but Melisa Hollenback, founder of the Shrewsbury Farmer’s Market, assured the meeting attendees that the market was insured and regulated and will work cooperatively to resolve any issues.
