MONTAGUE — Articles pertaining to airport funding, a culvert replacement and the Police Department’s participation in Civil Service will be up for votes at Thursday’s Special Town Meeting.

The meeting will be held at Turners Falls High School starting at 6:30 p.m.

Topping the list of articles are two related to the Turners Falls Municipal Airport, with Article 9 requesting voters appropriate $152,261 to meet a revenue shortfall caused by what Town Administrator Steve Ellis called a “development stumbling block.” The article is proposed to be funded by $128,000 from free cash and $24,261 from the Real Estate Sales Account.

“The budget was built with a dependence on a solar contract that ultimately ran into a development stumbling block in the form of the requirements for interconnection, [which] were much more substantial than had been anticipated,” Ellis explained.

The airport is pursuing a solar array on the property that would have provided at least $151,962 in solar lease revenue. However, the proposed interconnection cost from Eversource was estimated at $16 million, which is “far more than the solar company had planned and far more than past interconnection agreements in the town,” according to a Special Town Meeting information sheet on the town website.

Article 10 requests residents appropriate $152,315 from the Capital Stabilization Account to repair pavement, parking lots, utility connections and loading docks. Currently, the airport’s pavement condition is rated 26 out of 100. Any score below 40 is considered to be out of compliance with Federal Aviation Administration standards.

The total cost of the project is approximately $3 million and the $152,315 represents the town’s 5% share of the project, while the rest is expected to be funded through state and federal money.

Other big-ticket articles to be considered Thursday include appropriating $222,880 from the Capital Stabilization Fund to replace a culvert on South Ferry Road. The old 25-inch asbestos pipe, which is undersized and has a history of localized flooding issues, will be replaced by a 8-foot-by-5-foot concrete box culvert.

The project will be undertaken by the Department of Public Works. Ellis said the department wanted this article on the Special Town Meeting warrant, rather than May’s Annual Town Meeting so as to get the supplies and complete the construction this summer.

Also put forward by the DPW is Article 12, which seeks $90,000 from the Capital Stabilization Fund for the purchase of a skid steer, which the town has traditionally borrowed from the airport for numerous projects around town, including maintenance of the recently capped burn dump.

“Beyond that, it has applications to the increasing number of road and sidewalk improvement projects the DPW is undertaking under its own staff,” Ellis explained, mentioning that the DPW is trying to accomplish more road and sidewalk projects in-house, which is more cost-efficient and gives the town more control over the timing of projects.

Beyond the financial articles, opting out of the Civil Service program will be considered in Article 4. The town is requesting residents opt out of the state program because Ellis said it “restricts the pool of applicants.”

Civil Service is the state’s merit-based hiring system for filling public safety positions, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Per Civil Service law, appointing authorities must select qualified applicants from Civil Service lists.

The town initially submitted a special legislative request to the state, but Ellis said it has “basically paused any special legislation request” relating to Civil Service. Upon further review of town records, Ellis said town staff determined Montague joined the program at its 1932 Town Meeting, which means a Town Meeting vote could opt out of Civil Service.

The full Special Town Meeting warrant, as well as background on articles, can be found at bit.ly/3wQFyuF.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.