Chilmark will hold a special town meeting later this month to potentially take steps toward building a new, two-classroom preschool.
The Chilmark Select Board voted 2-0 on Tuesday to approve a single-article special town meeting warrant. Board member Marie Larsen was absent from the meeting.
The single article asks residents to consider voting to approve and authorize a 30-year lease of less than 3,000 square feet of town-owned land behind the current Chilmark School. Chilmark town administrator Tim Carroll did point out that there could be amendments to the warrant article, because town counsel still needed to review it.
The special town meeting will be held at the Chilmark Community Center on Monday, Jan. 22, at 7 pm.
Growing enrollment numbers — both at Chilmark School and at the private Chilmark Preschool — have led the up-Island region to look for ways to deal with a lack of space, including the possibility of using Tisbury School’s modular classrooms after the down-Island school’s construction is completed.
Chilmark has issued a request for proposals for a 30-year lease between the town and a successful bidder, for a portion of land to construct and operate a nonprofit, private preschool of approximately 2,500 square feet, with two classrooms. Carroll said the only proposal that came through was from the Friends of the Chilmark Preschool, a nonprofit organization.
Carroll said several individuals reviewed the proposal, including town officials, a representative from the superintendent’s office, and an Up-Island Regional School Committee member.
The building design and proposal was deemed “highly advantageous” by the group reviewing the proposal, Carroll said. However, there were some concerns that needed to be addressed, like parking for teachers, drop-off of students, emergency vehicle access, and line of sight to the playground for student supervision. The layout of the school’s playground could also see a change.
One issue under consideration is connecting the new school to the Chilmark School’s existing septic system and leaching field. The question has been referred to the Chilmark board of health. Carroll said the town didn’t want the school district to cover costs, or have Chilmark School be disrupted by the connection.
The board voted 2-0 to move forward with the next steps for the project. The board employed the rule of necessity to allow board member Jim Malkin to vote since, according to Carroll, he had a possible conflict of interest. The rules of necessity permits otherwise disqualified board members to participate in a meeting when action needs to be taken and is “legally necessary,” according to a State Ethics Commission advisory. With Larsen out, the board needed two votes to pass the motion. The advisory does state this rule is allowed under “very limited circumstances,” and should be a last resort.
“There’s a potential issue, since my daughter is involved with this preschool committee as an advisor,” Malkin said, although he underscored that he was not in a conflict of interest since the project would bring him any financial or personal gain.
The RFP would also need to be approved by the school committee. Carroll said they have invited the board to attend the select board’s Jan. 10 meeting.
