Swampscott police place several articles on warrant

SWAMPSCOTT – When Town Meeting gets underway on May 4, Town Meeting members have a number of articles related to the police department to tackle.The draft warrant includes 30 articles, which run the gamut from routine committee reports to appropriating money to develop site plans and architectural drawings for a new police station. Many of the articles on the warrant address public safety, bylaw changes and funding for the police department.One article asks Town Meeting to approve entering into a 10-year intergovernmental agency agreement for public safety dispatch. Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said the Executive Office of Public Safety recently announced the grant for the proposed facility, which would be located on property at Middleton Jail. The proposed facility is expected to be up and running as of July 1, 2010. The initial start up costs for the facility would be paid for by the grant and participating municipalities would be charged on a per capita chargeback on the Cherry Sheet for annual operating costs. Maylor said the desk at the police department is currently manned by one patrolman and one officer 24 hours a day seven days a week. He said the regional dispatch would allow the department to take one officer from the desk and put him back on the street.Another article, which was submitted by Police Chief Ronald Madigan, if passed would allow civil penalties for using marijuana in public.Article 5, also submitted by Madigan, asks the town to amend its general bylaws to allow for the registration and enforcement of alarm systems, which Madigan said is designed to cut down on the number of false alarms in town by requiring alarms to be properly maintained.Article 7, again submitted by Madigan, asks Town Meeting to give police officers the power to enforce the general bylaws of the town. The existing bylaw only allows for enforcement by the Board of Selectmen or a designee of the selectmen. The fines associated with violations of the town bylaws would not change. If adopted, the article would allow the police to provide non-criminal enforcement of the bylaws.Madigan said he submitted the article because of the proposed marijuana and nuisance false alarm bylaws, which will be tackled at Town Meeting.”It would allow us to enforce those bylaws through a non-criminal process,” Madigan said. He added the proposed bylaw is generic enough that it could allow enforcement of other town bylaws including leash laws and noise.The police department also asked for $860,000 to construct new holding cells, $27,000 for lead abatement and an additional $60,000 for two new police cruisers. The Capital Improvements Committee (CAP) is recommending against funding the $947,000 in requests to upgrade the police station. Instead CAP submitted its own warrant article requesting $450,000 to develop site plans and design a new police station. The article to fund the design of the police station must also pass by a two thirds majority because it is a borrowing article.Another article submitted by CAP asks Town Meeting to appropriate $30,000 for bullet proof vests. The CAP article requires a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting to pass because it is a borrowing article.CAP also submitted an article asking Town Meeting to create a Police Station Building Committee, which would consist of Madigan, three individuals appointed by the selectmen and three members, who would be appointed by the town moderator.