Pay raises for town employees, improvements to Menemsha Harbor and a change in the land agreement tied to the Squibnocket Beach project are all on the docket when Chilmark voters convene for a special town meeting Monday evening.

The Nov. 27 meeting is at the Chilmark Community Center. The opening gavel for the 16-article warrant is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Longtime moderator Everett Poole will preside.

“I encourage everyone to attend all town meetings,” said executive secretary Tim Carroll. “It’s the purest form of New England democracy.”

First on the warrant is the land rights agreement at Squibnocket. Voters have already approved a 99-year lease for public access to an additional 1,250-foot stretch of beach west of the public beach.

Selectman Jim Malkin said the lease includes a right of way for Squibnocket Farm homeowners to travel over the parcels that include the beach, but the homeowners were concerned about the 99-year term of the lease. They offered the town perpetual rights to the beach, in exchange for a perpetual right of way.

“What article one says to the town, is for the money that you’ve already paid, the $200,000, do you want to have a 99-year lease or do you want to own that beach in perpetuity,” Mr. Malkin said.

He said the change in the land agreement is a good deal for the town, but he expects there could be opposition, given the controversy over the Squibnocket Beach project to build a raised causeway to Squibnocket Farm.

“I would not be surprised if some of the opponents of the project attempted to confuse the issue and conflate it with the issue of the causeway project,” Mr. Malkin said. “It has nothing to do with that.”

In another article related to the Squibnocket project, voters will decide whether to spend additional funds on restoration of the beach, and construction of a new parking lot.

The article asks for $100,000 from Community Preservation Act funds, in addition to $343,000 already appropriated.

Selectmen awarded a contract last week to John Keene Excavation for the work.

Also on the warrant is a new compensation and classification study which, if adopted, would raise the salary of some town employees.

The human resources committee has been working on the study, which compares salaries with similar towns, for more than a year.

“It started because four employees

went to the selectmen and said it’s time that it be done,” said Jane Greene, chairman of the committee. “The selectmen agreed and we went forward. Our bylaws require that we look to see if we’re in line with the other towns on the Island. It’s a very important issue for the town, and it’s something that the employees feel strongly about and it’s time we moved forward.”

If the compensation and classification study is accepted by voters, they will be asked in a separate article to appropriate $130,000 to fund the salary and benefit increases.

Improvements to the Menemsha Harbor electrical system are expected to draw debate.

The town will ask voters to approve $350,000 to replace the main electrical system for the commercial fishing bulkhead at Dutcher Dock, and the feed lines to the transient yacht dock.

“This is to upgrade and replace the cables which are from 1988,” said Mr. Carroll. “Because there is a change in the code, we can’t just replace the wires. Our system in 1988 was built to code and maintained to code, but the new electrical wiring code as of January of this year is going to require anything new to have quite a bit more.”

The town will also ask voters to appropriate $126,000 to replace 42 pilings around Menemsha Basin.

Voters will also decide whether to spend $7,500 to pay for revaluation of properties, $10,000 for removal of dead or dangerous trees fro town roadways, and $25,000 for road improvements in Menemsha, as well as improvements to the Menemsha shuttle lot, and an additional $15,000 to expand the lot.

There are 998 registered voters in Chilmark. A quorum of 25 voters is required for the special town meeting.