GREENE – Residents piled into the Greene Central School Saturday for what Town Manager Charles Noonan called a “heavy hitting agenda” for their annual town meeting.
With hot issues, such as allocating money to revamp and expand the local library, and whether to make some subdivision roads the town’s responsibility, it was no wonder that selectmen had to bring in extra seating from the fire station.
What started out as one resident yelling, “Why do we need books when we have computers?” soon turned into a lengthy discussion and a strong statement by one kindergarten teacher that the community does need books and a library, if simply for the sake of the children and elderly alone.
The articles pertaining to the Julia Adams Morse Memorial Library were adopted. This will allow the expansion committee to use the money raised by the town, as well as donations and grants to expand the library by more than half its current size. According to the description passed out to residents, the project will take approximately a year and cost an estimated $215,607, most of which has been raised in recent years.
Residents also voted in favor of the 5 percent discount on real estate and personal property taxes, when paid in full 30 days before the tax commitment is passed.
The voters also needed to decide what should be done about the 1975 town grader and a much-needed new highway truck.
Acting Road Commissioner and Fire Chief Bruce Tufts said he was surprised and very satisfied with the result. Voters decided to replace the grader and to purchase a new John Deere. The town is to put 50 percent down and then, with the remaining payment, develop a five-year lease plan to reduce the annual payment. Town voters also asked the town manager to determine a way to dispose of the old grader to ensure the municipality would receive as much money as possible.
Voters also decided to allow the board to allocate up to $90,000 to buy a new highway truck. Tufts said the vehicle is just too old and that it was time for a replacement. Many residents spoke of how money should not be an issue when dealing with the safety of the town’s roads and the machinery that town employees are operating.
“Now we have something we can work with,” Tufts said. “A grader and a new truck in the same year, I would have never guessed it, but I am very happy.”
Voters decided that the town could appropriate funding from the capital reserve account for making repairs and improvements to the public works garage for up to $30,000. That is designed to address an ongoing drainage problem.
“Overall, I think everything went rather smooth,” Selectman Chairman Ron Grant said. “The turnout was great, and I think most were pleased.”
Comments are no longer available on this story