FREEPORT – Repairs to Wardtown Road will account for a large chunk of the proposed $2.6 million capital budget for next year, and town officials are fielding concerns that the addition of shoulders along the road would infringe on people’s property.

The Town Council will confer for a final time with department heads and adopt a five-year capital budget plan on Tuesday, April 15. Department heads made initial presentations to the council on April 1. The council will vote on the 2014-2015 capital, operating and tax-increment budgets on June 17.

“The five-year capital plan is the starting point for the 2015 capital budget,” Town Manager Peter Joseph said last week. “We take the first part of that five-year plan and use it as a model for the first year.”

Repairs to Wardtown Road (Route 125) would begin with a $500,000 investment from the town, matched by the state. The town has the choice of adding 3- or 4-foot shoulders, which would add $300,000 and $475,000, respectively, to the price.

The town’s Active Living Task Force has recommended 4-foot shoulders to allow residents to walk and bike along the road safely. Property owners, however, are concerned the new shoulders would dig into their property, and they expressed those concerns at a Town Council meeting April 1.

“I guess the big elephant in the room is to pave or not to pave the shoulders,” Council Chairman James Hendricks said.

The town’s engineer, Al Presgraves, said that he would consult with abutters to come up with a design. Workers will place draining beneath the pavement in places where encroachment of their property is a concern, Presgraves said.

Councilor Andrew Wellen noted that the shoulders are town land, but property owners are accustomed to using it for lawn or landscaping space. Wellen than asked about the 4-foot option, and Presgraves responded that the cost would be more per foot.

Other proposed capital improvements:

Police, fire and rescue: $350,000 for two new squad cars, one ambulance, bullet-proof vests and better radio reception in South Freeport.

Public works: The proposed budget is $45,000 for a 1-ton plow and $95,000 to repave the public safety building area.

Solid waste: The swap shop roof will be replaced at a cost of $12,000. The town could opt to close the landfill now at a cost of $150,000 or wait until next year. When the landfill is capped, it might reduce run-off pollution, but the town would need to pay $17,000 per year to dispose of materials that go into the landfill.

Field work: The town wants to invest $138,000 in stormwater and parking improvements at Pownal Road Field to comply with its environmental permit. Presgraves said that the Ponwal Road Field had to be brought up to current stormwater standards with a new permit, so the town decided to put in a parking lot at the same time.

Town properties: $223,000 is proposed for computer upgrades, brickwork at the police station and library, energy-efficient lighting, improving the public safety camera system, and replacing cable television equipment.

Historic preservation: The Town Council is considering $16,000 for electronic archiving of Freeport’s historic assets.

Other proposals: $50,000 in Dennison Avenue drainage improvements; $45,000 for paving the train station parking lot; and $11,000 to install a railroad safety fence at Memorial Park. Hilton Garden Inn has said it will help with the cost of the fence.

Joseph said that a new fire truck, which would be part of the 2016 capital budget, would cost around $750,000. Because of the cost, councilors wanted information on the request early, Joseph said.

Fire Chief Darrel Fournier said during the April 1 meeting that the town is getting a “tremendous bang” for its fire protection dollars. Fournier said that a new fire truck would be needed in the near future. The quality of the foam, sprayed on a fire to cool it and shield the fire from oxygen, is a problem with the oldest engine, Fournier said, and the price of fire apparatus increases from 3 to 5 percent each year.

Wellen asked if is might be wise to purchase a used engine, which the fire department in Durham plans to do. Fournier answered that the town did that a few years back, and it proved to be a “maintenance nightmare.”

“It’s wise to have emergency equipment that is up to speed with the latest technology,” Fournier said. “We got burned big-time in this community and it cost us a lot more in the long run than what we were going to save.”

A CLOSER LOOK

Upcoming dates for Freeport Town Council budget deliberations. All meetings are at the Town Hall, with the possible exception of June 17, which is to be determined:

April 15, adoption of five-year capital program, 6:30 p.m.

May 6, town manager presents operating, capital and tax-increment financing budget, 6:30 p.m.

May 14, department heads public Q&A sessions, 5 p.m.

May 15, department heads public Q&A sessions, 7:30 a.m.

May 20, Town Council workshop on operating, capital and TIF budgets, 6:30 p.m.

June 3, budget public hearing, 6:30 p.m.

June 17, adoption of capital, TIF and operating budgets, 6:30 p.m.