DENNIS – The Dennis Capital Outlay Committee is recommending $3.5 million in capital spending at the spring town meeting.
In the fall, department managers submitted roughly $6 million in proposed purchases to be made at the meeting and since October, the committee has been reviewing more than 50 proposals, ranking each request and making draft lists of recommendations.
Town administration reviewed the draft, and purchase recommendations were voted on recently.
The committee endorsed recommendations to upgrade the police department, which included replacing ballistics vests and other safety related items for police officers, and replacing the department’s phone system and some of the computer hardware.
“Police expenditures, ballistic vest replacement, officer safety equipment, this pretty much speaks for itself,” said Outlay Committee Chairman William Savicki.
The upgrades would cost $150,150.
The committee also endorsed recommendations to upgrade the fire department.
The upgrades total $375,000 and include $205,000 to lease a new fire pumper to replace a nearly 30 year old vehicle, $145,000 to replace the frame on another pumper engine, and $25,000 to replace defibrillators used by town EMS services.
The Outlay Committee recommended purchasing a $65,000 surf rake for town beaches to replace the old surf rake that Public Works Director David Johansen said had reached the end of its usable life.
“We don’t have a surf rake, so they expenditure for a new surf rake is a necessity,” said Savicki.
Finance Committee Chairman James Plath said the beach rake will be needed before the start of the fiscal year July 1st, and that the town should consider purchasing the rake via an emergency transfer from the town’s reserve fund.
Also recommended was $250,000 to lease a new ambulance, $45,000 to replace containers in the sanitation department, $40,000 to replace garage doors and repair an HVAC unit at the DPW, a $60,000 harbor truck for the town fleet, $149,00 to fund the second part of the town’s technology plan, and $16,500 to replace shellfish upweller.
A $118,000 share of an energy management system for the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District made the recommendation list, however Plath said he wanted to see more numbers and information on the proposal.
Additional expenses include bulkhead repair at Glendon Road Beach and paving beach parking lots, leases for new golf equipment, and improvements at Sesuit Harbor.
The funding sources for the recommendations include $2.3 million in local tax revenue, and over $1 million in dedicated funds such as the golf improvement fund, waterways maintenance, ambulance receipts, and beach improvement fund.
Roughly $2.4 million in request were deferred, including proposals for generators for the senior center, and Highland Golf Course.
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