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A Special Town Meeting will be held at Saugus Town Hall Monday night, at 7:30 p.m.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — A Special Town Meeting, as requested by Town Manager Scott Crabtree, will begin Monday night at 7:30.
The Annual Town Meeting will be pushed to the following Monday, May 8. Unfinished businesses will be taken up a week following the meeting. The process can continue until June 30, said Crabtree.
The purpose of the Special Town Meeting is to be able to close the meeting and allocate funds sooner, rather than waiting for the Annual to close, Crabtree said.
Members will first take up six articles, all submitted by Crabtree.
“These articles that I’m asking for sort of stay in line with what our priorities are,” said Crabtree. “We’re continuing to take action to build the town’s financial health and stability, improvements for our infrastructure.”
The first asks for money to be transferred into the stabilization fund.
He is also requesting funds for repairing and maintaining the parks and playgrounds, and additional funds for the design, construction and repair of town parks and playgrounds. The sixth article is requesting money to make capital improvements to the town’s Lincoln Avenue pumping station.
The pumping station, which Crabtree said has not seen major improvements in more than a decade, is in need of repairs and upgrades. He said the existing station is worth about $100 million but is in need of a new bypass. He called the issue a time sensitive priority.
Also included in the Special Town Meeting is a request for cash to purchase Chromebooks for public schools.
The School Committee submitted a request for $82,000 for the one-time purchase of the laptops, which are necessary to comply with statewide computer-based testing, such as MCAS. The article will be taken up during the Annual meeting.
Earlier this month, Crabtree said he included the article because he was confused about whether the School Department had already requested the money.
“It’s kind of hard when you don’t have a conversation with the Town Manager,” he said. “I also have heard discussions that they may have money within their budget to pay for the Chromebooks. They haven’t identified a source of funding.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte