LAKEVILLE — Voters in Lakeville will head to Town Meeting to decide on issues including capital improvements, a feasibility study for possible Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School renovations or expansion, and a request from citizens to establish provisions to recall elected officials.

Fifteen issues are slated to be decided at the meeting, which will take place at Apponequet Regional High School, 100 Howland Road, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 8. An additional three articles will be discussed at the Special Town Meeting immediately before the Town Meeting.

The proposed recall measure would require 300 voters to sign a petition initiating the recall. At the Select Board meeting on Monday, April 24, the Finance Committee recommended against approving the recall petition. 

“We believe as a committee that with the way the article is written, a recall could be initiated for any reason,” said Finance Committee Chair Christopher Plonka. “The scope is not defined and any recall would cost money so there’s a budget impact, so we recommended against the article as written.”

The Finance Committee made no recommendation on a citizens’ petition to amend the zoning bylaws to allow up to 7,000 square feet of storage or wholesale distribution space by special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. 

The Planning Board recommended against approval because it could “open up Pandora’s Box for mini warehouses in our limited business zoning,” according to Planning Board Chair Mark Knox, who added that “there’s not a great standard for protecting the town” in the petition.

Supporters have said this change would benefit small businesses by accommodating their potential need for added storage space. 

Voters will decide on whether to extend the town moderator’s term to three years instead of one year. The Finance Committee made no recommendation.

Residents will vote on whether or not to allow the town’s general and zoning bylaws to be accessed electronically. The Finance Committee made no recommendation.

The decision on whether to fund a feasibility study for possible renovation or reconstruction of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School will be put in front of voters. The total cost of the study to the school’s contributing towns is slated to be $500,000, and the cost Lakeville will cover is estimated to be around $160,000, to be paid over a five-year period. The Finance Committee recommended approval.

Voters will decide on whether to approve around $900,000 in capital improvements mostly using free cash, which is money left over from previous years’ budgets. 

The expenses to be voted on include around $375,000 for road improvements, $175,000 for a fire truck lease payment, $165,000 for Department of Public Works equipment, $120,000 for police car replacements, $41,000 for security improvements in town buildings, and $25,000 for improvements to the Ted Williams Camp skate park. 

The skate park improvements will be funded using money from the Parks Department’s retained earnings, which is leftover cash available to spend. The Finance Committee recommended approval.

The Finance Committee recommended approval of a measure that would allow the town to allocate money received from the state’s Water Pollution Abatement Trust to fund residential projects that reduce pollution.

Voters will decide whether to approve a total allocation of around $250,000 to the Community Preservation Committee, which is the required minimum to allocate on an annual basis and would enable it to start working on projects this year. The Finance Committee recommended approval. 

Residents will vote on whether or not to authorize the Tax Collector to charge $20 for each written demand issued for overdue tax payments. The current charge is $15 and has not been increased since 2007. The Finance Committee recommended approval.

Special Town Meeting will kick off the evening, where voters will decide on paying unpaid bills from last year, approving funds for supplies that were authorized in previous Town Meetings, and reallocating $28,000 previously authorized for tennis court repairs which were completed with Covid relief money. The Finance Committee recommended approval on all three items.

The town will seek approval from voters on this year’s budget and salaries, allocating cash to operate the Parks Department and the Transfer Station this year, adding money into the town’s stabilization fund and post-employment benefits trust, which is used to fund retiree benefits. The Finance Committee recommended approval of all these items.