From the fate of the Decas school to social consumption of marijuana, voting residents of Wareham will soon weigh in at this year’s Fall Town Meeting. 

The meeting will be held at the Wareham Elementary School, 63 Minot Ave, on Monday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

Here’s a look at what will be discussed that night: 

The vacant Decas School building  - The Decas School Steering Committee will present their recommendation to voters as to how to use the vacant Decas school building. 

This follows the Select Board’s vote to shuffle town departments between the Multi-Service Center, Town Hall and thenow-vacant Decas school building.

In this plan, proposed by Town Administrator Derek Sullivan, Town Hall services would move to the Decas school building, the Police Department would reside in what is now Town Hall, and the Multi-Service Center would serve as a community center. 

This conflicts with The Decas School Steering Committee’s plans to repurpose the Decas school building into a community center. 

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Jon Dallmeyer, Clerk of the Decas School Steering Committee, presented the Committee’s findings. The 106-page report said that the costs of running the community center could be subsidized by renting out space for community organizations to use.

“Architecturally the building is sound, there are no major concerns,” Dallmeyer said. 

“It’s clear that people put a lot of work into this information and we appreciate that,” said Board of Selectmen Chair Judith Whiteside. 

The Board motioned for no action on the article. 

“This is a citizen’s article,” Tricia Wurts said. 

Despite the decision of Town Meeting voters, “the only person who is in charge of all the real estate in the town is Town Administrator,” explained Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside. 

“Following the plan we have endorsed, the Multi-service Center will be available for all community use, which is exactly what it was designed for,” she added. 

While the town will be able to hear the proposal of the committee, giving voters the opportunity to weigh in, Sullivan’s alternative plan has already been approved by the Select Board. 

Social consumption establishments - The town will hear a vote to extend Wareham’s 2019 moratorium on marijuana social consumption establishments, which ended in 2020. 

The state has not released guidance on how to zone, license and regulate “social consumption establishments.” 

The Wareham Select Board voted to recommend extending the moratorium. According to Select Board member Alan Slavin, this will allow the town to “issue licenses in a proper manner” when state guidance is released. 

Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Plan - Town Administrator Derek Sullivan presented the Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Plan which would require the town to  take out a $450,000 loan and use $325,000 of free cash. 

The plan calls for the purchase of seven new police vehicles, two new vehicles for the Department of Inspectional Services, and the upgrade and installation of over 600 new LED street lights.

School repairs -  If voters approve, the town will allocate $1,500,000 for replacing a portion of the Wareham Middle School roof. 

A separate article, calls for the town to allocate funds “under the direction of the School Building Committee” for replacing boilers and pumps at Wareham High School. 

Building new housing - An amendment will allow the construction of single and two-family housing on vacant lots, provided voters approve. The houses built on these lots must conform to all zoning laws.

Redevelopment Authority - A motion to rescind Article 17, which was approved at the 2021 Fall Town Meeting, would make the Wareham Redevelopment Authority an appointed authority. 

Article 17 changed the WRA from an appointed authority to an elected one. 

Since the 2021 Fall Town Meeting, Article 17 has not been approved by the state legislature, said Wareham Town Planner Ken Buckland, meaning that the WRA is currently still an appointed authority. 

According to Buckland, rescinding Article 17 would keep the Redevelopment Authority an appointed authority. 

Sign zoning -  If this bylaw is approved, businesses would not be allowed to have a sign that takes up more than “25% of their total glass area.” 

Select Board member Alan Slavin said that he suggested this article after bearing witness to a robbery, where police had trouble intervening due to their inability to see in the business’s window.