WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — All you need to know going into Tuesday's annual town meeting: Come early, plan to stay late and read up.

 

There will be plenty to talk about when the town's voters gather at Williamstown Elementary School, and if last Tuesday's Town Election is any indication, there will be plenty of people there to do the talking.

 

With four contested races on the ballot, the election drew nearly twice as many voters as turned out for the town's elections in 2015.

 

Three of the races decided last Tuesday are tied directly to — and arguably were driven by — issues that will be decided this Tuesday.

 

Town Clerk Mary Kennedy is encouraging voters to get to the elementary school early to ensure that everyone receives their voter card before Town Moderator Adam Filson is expected to call the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

 

Registration is set to open at 6:15. Child care is available at the Youth Center beginning at 6:30 by registering here.

 

Between now and then, there is plenty of reading material about what figure to be the most contentious issues on the agenda: the elementary school budget and the proposed zoning bylaw to create a Waubeeka Overlay District that would allow a hotel on the property of Waubeeka Golf Links.

 

You can follow the links provided by the "tags" at the end of this story to read about the many board and committee meetings that led up to Tuesday's meeting. And, on the Waubeeka issue, you can — and should — familiarize yourself with dueling amendments to the citizen's petition article that appears on the warrant.

 

Here are seven things you will want to know going into Tuesday night:

 

1. General government expenses are up 2.38 percent.

 

The town's $7.23 million budget is up by about the same amount it has increased for several years, and the town's Finance Committee, which pores over the budget line by line, found nothing out of the ordinary, sending the budget with a unanimous recommendation.

 

2. High schools are a different matter.

 

The assessment from Mount Greylock Regional School is up 29 percent from fiscal 2016, but that increase is mostly due to the first capital assessment to help pay for the school's addition/renovation project, which the town overwhelmingly endorsed on March 1.

 

The town's other secondary school, McCann Tech, delivered an assessment that is 15.7 percent higher than FY16, but that is because Mount Greylock's share of the vocational school's enrollment is significantly higher: 3 percent this year versus 2.5 percent last year. And while the percentage hike is big, the assessment is only going up by $32,357.

 

3. The elementary school budget could bring the night's first protracted discussion.

 

As this story is written over the weekend, it is not entirely clear what school budget the town will be asked to pass. The Finance Committee already has approved one number, seeking $6.08 million from the town, about 6.3 percent more than last year.

 

But last week, the School Committee passed a revised spending plan that seeks $6.14 million town appropriations, and it is scheduled to have that budget reviewed by the Finance Committee on Monday, less than 24 hours before town meeting.

 

While proposed spending is up, the elementary school is trimming programs and staff from FY16. The budget increase stems from a spike in health insurance cost and a desire by the district to get out of the habit of relying on School Choice revenue to fund operational expenses.

 

The big debate this winter and spring has been over the decision to scale back the K-6 school's Side-By-Side pre-kindergarten program — eliminating a full-day option for the program, which educates special education pupils free of charge alongside typically developing children, whose families pay tuition.

 

The administration argues that the needs of the SPED children Side-By-Side is designed to serve can be met with two half-day sessions, but it added a third half-day session to help include more of the "general education" pupils.

 

Advocates of full-day Side-By-Side argue that some children require a full-day program and that tuition revenue from the full-day section can help make Side-By-Side financially viable.

 

The town Tuesday will have a straight up and down vote on the budget, but it will not have the option of telling the school district what to do with its money. The school, like the town, presents an omnibus budget to voters. That means town meeting has a binary decision — yes or no — about whether to approve the budget.

 

If the budget fails, the School Committee would go back to the drawing board and, at some point in the near future, ask for a special town meeting to approve its budget.

 

4. The dog park is out.

 

The most contentious issue before the Community Preservation Committee this winter was taken off its plate when the applicants seeking Community Preservation Act funds to build a dog park in South Williamstown withdrew their application.

 

The committee did send six projects to town meeting for its approval. They range in cost from $75,000 to help the Affordable Housing Trust continue its Mortgage Assistance Program to $6,346 to help the Gale Hose Company — the Williamstown Fire District's benevolent organization — restore the J.B. Gale Number 2 Hose Cart.

 

5. The Planning Board talked about more than just golf courses this year.

 

The Planning Board, which was fractured and fractious when it came to the Waubeeka Overlay District, has unanimously recommended several zoning by-law amendments to town meeting.

 

One is an administrative matter that cleans up language in the bylaw to accurately reflect the personnel designations at Town Hall.

 

Two — Articles 31 and 32 — aim to make it easier to do business in Williamstown. Article 31 simplifies the regulation of office space by striking the phrase "any generally recognized profession," a frequent stumbling block for the Zoning Board of Appeals. Article 32 would encourage low-impact home-based businesses.

 

Another would allow bicycle shops as "general retail." The town's current zoning treats bike shops like car dealerships.

 

6. Waubeeka is not the only one looking to build a hotel.

 

While not nearly as contentious as the proposal in South Williamstown, Williams College's proposal to replace the Williams Inn with a new hotel at the bottom of Spring Street could draw some objections from the floor on Tuesday.

 

Spring Street merchants have generally commented favorably on the plan, which the college thinks will bring vitality to the Village Business District. Some have complained in meetings that the increased traffic on the street is not worth the risk.

 

The Planning Board before the 2015 annual town meeting did the heavy lifting on creating a plan to expand the VBD to accommodate the new Williams Inn before the college asked the town to delay a vote pending further study. The college renewed its request this year, and both the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen unanimously endorsed the proposal.

 

7. There is no unanimity when it comes to the Waubeeka Overlay District.

 

The last item on the 35-article warrant promises to be the most heavily debated.

 

That article — as printed — is not what the town will vote. Instead, there are two competing "amendments," basically rewritten bylaws. One amendment will be offered by the petitioner, Stanley Parese, the attorney for Waubeeka owner Michael Deep. Another amendment has been drafted by the Planning Board.

 

As the petitioner, Parese will have the first opportunity to move an amendment for consideration. His preferred plan would control development at Waubeeka by creating a 10-acre building envelope and limiting the size of a hotel to 120 units.

 

The amendment passed on a 3-2 vote of the Planning Board would limit the scope of construction by the number of square feet and allow an option for more square feet if the owner places more of the property's land into conservation restrictions.

 

Advocates of the Planning Board's proposal, known as the Gardner Amendment, say the amendment favored by Waubeeka does not do enough to preserve open space on the property and allows for unlimited building within the 10-acre portion of the parcel.

 

Advocates of Parese's amendment, known as the Acreage-Controlled Amendment, say that there are aesthetic controls built into the by-law, and any development would face a number of administrative hurdles, not the least of which is a special permit issued by the ZBA.

 

The Planning Board split 3-2 in favor of the Gardner Amendment. The Board of Selectmen last week endorsed the Acreage-Controlled Amendment in a 4-1 vote.

 

All zoning by-laws need a two-thirds vote to pass at town meeting.