WOOLWICH

As Woolwich residents prepare for Town Meeting on May 13, articles 18 and 30 of the town warrant are sure to spark some debate next Wednesday.

Article 30 currently proposes the adoption of Pay As You Throw, a program designed to encourage towns to recycle more and cut down on unnecessary waste bills.

Community members who attended the public presentation on the program last week learned that Woolwich residents would be required to purchase special 15-gallon and 30-gallon trash bags, priced at $1 and $2, to dispose of their garbage if the town were to adopt the PAYT program.

This program will not affect curbside trash or recycling pickup, and the money acquired from bag sales will be used to reduce the cost of tip- ping fees, the price the town pays per ton of non-recyclable waste, which is currently contracted at $88 per ton.

The town of Woolwich is predicted to gain $90,000 in the first year of the program through $62,000 in bag sales and $28,000 in disposal savings.

On Monday night, the Woolwich Board of Selectmen decided against including a one-year provision for the PAYT program in the town warrant.

“If it does pass at Town Meeting and it doesn’t turn out to be a good fit for the town of Woolwich, we can always go back the next year and do away with it,” said Chairman David King. “But if it does say one year, it would force ourselves to re-vote on it next year.”

He added that the warrant could be amended at Town Meeting to include the one-year provision if voters were so inclined.

Another important item on the warrant is article 18a, which involves moving the approval of the Patten Free Library budget request to a June secret ballot, instead of voting on it at Town Meeting.

According to article 18a of the warrant, if voters do not approve to move the budget to June, the library funding request will be voted on as usual at Town Meeting, reflected in article 18b.

As the library budget reflectsa3percentincrease from $49,203 last year to $50,688, residents have expressed concern over the library’s request, especially in light of financial cuts that were made to the town’s Fire and EMS budgets this year.

The Patten Free Library bylaws also require each town to match the budget contribution of the city of Bath, which is on a per capita basis. If the town were to propose a lesser amount than what was requested by the library, the library would no longer offer its services.

The town of Phippsburg decided not to fund the library’s $35,493 budget in 2012 for similar reasons.

Although the library’s funding packet for the 2014 year shows that there are 1,101 active card holders in the town of Woolwich, some residents are still not convinced that the town needs to continue to pay the library for their services.

By moving the budget vote to June, more community members will have the opportunity to vote on the budget, rather than just at Town Meeting.

Residents are encouraged to come prepared to share their thoughts at Town Meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 at Woolwich Central School at 6 p.m.

Woolwich watch

ARTICLE 30 currently proposes the adoption of Pay As You Throw, a program designed to encourage towns to recycle more and cut down on unnecessary waste bills.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT ITEM on the warrant is article 18a, which involves moving the approval of the Patten Free Library budget request to a June secret ballot, instead of voting on it at Town Meeting.

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