Voters at the Monday, Oct. 28 Fall Town Meeting will meet at the Wareham High School auditorium at 7 p.m. to consider spending Community Preservation funds for five projects and conduct routine town business.

A potentially controversial effort to seek state designation as a "seasonal community" is on the agenda as well as an amendment to the town's zoning bylaws to allow accessory dwelling units in accordance with the recently passed Affordable Homes Act.

But officials have recommended voters pass over these items. That means no action would be taken at the meeting but they could be voted on again at a later date.

All of the town's registered voters are eligible to attend, participate and vote.

For the five community preservation projects, voters will be asked to approve the allocation of money from the community preservation funds, which are collected through a surtax on property values over $100,000.

The community preservation requests include:

Lopes Playground reconstruction: The current wooden structure at the Onset playground would be replaced by a new, more accessible playground and walking path.

To help cover the $750,000 bill on the Town Meeting agenda, the town received a state grant of $100,000 for construction of a new accessible walkway around the playground.

This is a reimbursement grant and Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside explained, “We have to spend the money up front and then we show the state we've spent the money, what we've spent it on and then we get the money back."

Concern over the safety of the structure rose this past summer after a wooden bridge on the playground broke.

Town Hall windows: Town Hall, an historic building dating back to 1939, needs window restoration because many of the windows are the originals from 1939. Voters will decide whether to spend $80,000 to allow the town to bring in a private contractor to evaluate the conditions of the windows.

Community Preservation Committee Chair Patrick Lester explained the windows are in need of "tightening" for heating and cooling purposes, he said. These renovations would save money over the long term, he said.

East Wareham Elementary School exterior work: The South Shore Community Action Council purchased the East Wareham Elementary School in 2022 and is asking for $400,000 to renovate the building's exterior in a way that preserves its historic appearance. The council purchased the school to play host to its Head Start Pre-K program.

Such repairs would include replacing the existing shingles with fresh white cedar shingles.

Damien's Food Pantry Community Gardens: Damien's Food Pantry is looking for $33,800 to expand its existing community garden with the installation of 20 new raised beds, a new irrigation line and permanent fencing around the entire community garden. The pantry supports families in need.

Weweantic River Corridor: As part of a larger land conservation project, the Buzzards Bay Coalition is seeking $375,000 from the Community Preservation Fund to help purchase over 200 acres of land in Wareham.

The coalition is looking to preserve the land and demonstrate to "other granting organizations" that the coalition is supported by its local communities, and that Wareham’s contribution would help the coalition secure more funding.

Also on the agenda are a number of routine financial items including the town's capital plan and budget transfers for municipal programs.