Town Manager Maryanne Crawford appeared before the Planning Board on November 10 to let the board know about the changes she was submitting to the TownCouncil regarding the ordinance governing capital improvements. Per the ordinance, the capital improvement program is the town’s plan for long- and short-range physical development, linking the town’s comprehensive plan and fiscal plan to physical development. Capital improvement projects include acquisition of land, construction of new buildings or facilities, major improvements, renovations, or extensions of existing buildings beyond normal maintenance, and purchases of majoritems or pieces of equipment.One proposed change is to raise the cost threshold for a capital improvement project from $10,000 to $25,000. Items under this threshold can be financed by the town without going through the capital budget process. Planning Board Chair Margie Comings asked Crawford how she arrived at the $25,000 number, agreeing that $10,000 was too low, but that $25,000 might be too high. Crawford responded that she had seen the cap as high as $50,000 in other places, but thought that number to be too high as well, so she settled on $25,000.Member Chris Willi pointed out that not many capital budget items actually fall below the proposed
