Barking dogs, medicinal marijuana, and affordable housing were just a few of the things selectmen voted to place on the spring Town Meeting warrant when they met Saturday.

The Board of Selectmen met with the Finance Committee to vote on articles to be placed on the spring Town Meeting warrant, but without enough members present for a quorum the Finance Committee was unable to vote.

Members of the FinCom stayed to participate in a discussion of the articles, and the two bodies agreed to reconvene at an as yet undetermined date.

The Town Meeting warrant will officially close on March 12.

A vote for favorable action means the board supports putting the article on the warrant for citizens at Town Meeting to vote on.

Dog by-laws

A by-law addressing penalties for dangerous dogs was approved by the board following some debate.

Speaking as the clerk of the dog by-law study committee, selectman Peter Teitelbaum said "The purpose of this law is to expedite the process of dealing with dangerous dogs."

He added that "it creates a steeper fine schedule," than the minimum state regulations which the town currently follows.

Selectman Cara Winslow took issue with the article.

"We're putting government in between what really amounts to a civil dispute," said Winslow.

"This reasonably defines what the state law fails to," said Teitelbaum.

Under the proposed by-law a dog left outside that is howling and barking between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. would be considered a nuisance.

Teitelbaum emphasized that the by-law is not intended to penalize people who briefly let their dogs out for a late night bathroom break. Rather it would target negligent dog owners.

"If you leave your dog out all night you're disturbing people," said Teitelbaum.

The board ultimately voted to place the article on the warrant with Winslow voting against it.

Medical marijuana dispensaries

Medical marijuana was up for discussion, and the board voted to place a zoning by-law on the warrant that will place a one year moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in Wareham.

Massachusetts voters supported a ballot measure legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana in Massachusetts last fall.

"We don't know what we're going to have on our hands once [the state Department of Public Health] regulations come out," said Town Attorney Richard Bowen.  "This gives us a year's grace to figure it out."

Affordable housing, historical preservation, and recreation

The board voted favorable action on a number of Community Preservation Committee (CPC) articles, including housekeeping articles like their budget.

Community Preservation Act funds are collected through a 3 percent property tax, and may be put toward affordable housing, recreation, and historical preservation projects.

A $50,000 proposal for rehabbing the Cranberry Manor Apartments at 2220 Cranberry Highway was approved by the board for the warrant.

Finance Committee Chair Donna Bronk expressed concern that the Wareham Housing authority had not filed for any grants to make improvements to senior housing in Wareham  including Agawam Village.

"They have a ridiculous need for funding," said Bronk. "The seniors really need someone advocating for them."

According to CPC member Sandy  Slavin, the Housing Authority received $50,000 to support a past grant request, but they didn't use it so the money was returned to the general balance.

"We can't do hammer to nail projects," said Slavin, "but we would be able to provide seed money for a grant request."

A $30,000 warrant article for a "comprehensive conditions evaluation" of town playgrounds, and for creating passive recreation sites at Bryant Farm and the Ahearn and Westgate properties was approved by the board.

Passive recreation includes activities like biking and kayaking.

The article is supported by the Municipal Maintenance Department and Director of Municipal Maintenance Mark Gifford was on hand to discuss the need for the study.

"Our playgrounds are in deplorable condition. We need to do a study and do something or we need to close them," said Gifford."Someone's going to get hurt."

Winslow said she has seen the playground in Shangri la littered with beer bottles, used condoms, and hypodermic needles.

(Click here for a past Wareham Week article about the condition of playgrounds in Wareham).

According to Slavin, the absence of a comprehensive study has impeded at least one project.

"We had a grant request from a Shangri la group that we couldn't act on because this [study] hadn't been done."

Other proposals that will appear on the warrant include $7,000 for Bryant Farm, and $98,000 for the Tremont Nail Factory's  yearly debt service payments.

A request for $100,000 to restore the 112-year-old chimney at British Landing Condominiums was voted down.

Municipal Maintenance

An article from the Municipal Maintenance Department  requesting $88,000 to replace their gas pumps was placed on the warrant.

According to Gifford, the current fuel system is about 20-years-old and the company that makes the parts for it is no longer in business.

"Once it breaks down I can't fix it," said Gifford. "We would go to a gas station just like you would."

The new system he's hoping to purchase, should voters approve the article at Town Meeting, would monitor how much fuel is used by each person fueling up.

Another article the board voted favorable action on is an article requesting $35,000 to keep the beaches clean during the summer, which would include maintaining port-o-potties and dumpsters.

A Municipal Maintenance article requesting $25,000 for line painting was also approved by the board to be placed on the warrant.

Parking on Onset pier

The Harbormaster's Department submitted an article that would address parking needs in Onset.

Harbormaster Garry Buckminster is proposing moving $18,000 from the waterways account to purchase two parking kiosks to be placed on the Onset pier.

Buckminster said the kiosks would eliminate the need to have staff monitoring the parking lot.

"You have to be very careful how you use those funds," said selectman Alan Slavin.

The board decided to hold off on voting on the article for now.

"I think I want to hear from Mr. Sullivan on this," said Selectmen Chair Steve Holmes.

Tax break for new hotel

A vote on a Tax Increment Financing agreement (TIF) between the LaFrance Hospitality Group and the town of Wareham was also put on hold until a draft plan is written up.

The TIF agreement would provide the company with tax breaks that would lower the cost of doing business.

"We're in the process of finalizing the assessment of the building," said Community and Economic Development (CEDA) Director Salvador Pina. "Our plan is to meet again next week," and to have a draft soon.

According to LaFrance, the 50,000-square-foot hotel would be four stories tall and have 90 rooms. There would be an adjacent 300-seat function hall.

The developers say 50 permanent full-time and part-time jobs would be created, in addition to 30-40 temporary construction jobs.