Thanks to a long-time town benefactor, the town has an extra $8,178 to spend on repairing tennis courts and fixing an access road to town fields.

Selectmen unanimously approved spending $5,000 from the Eben H. Ellison Fund to add to money the town has allocated to repair the two tennis courts at Wadsworth Road and the two courts near the Tarkiln Community Center on Summer Street.

Two years ago, town meeting voters approved $30,000 for these projects but both times they went out to bid, they came in over budget, said Recreation Director Gordon Cushing. The lowest bid in August was $35,000.

The additional $3,178 from the Ellison Fund will be spent on paving an area adjacent to the road at the Lincoln Street field parking lot. This section washes out and needs repair. The town plans to pave the parking lot as more funds become available, said Cushing.

In addition to these projects, an additional $8,178 from the fund will be spent on maintaining the two Ellison playgrounds in town. One is at the library and the other is at the Chandler School.

The Eben H. Ellison fund was set up in 1990 and currently contains $300,000 in non-expendable funds but interest from the principal is to be spent on the Ellison playgrounds and worthy town projects.

In other business, selectmen:

• Appointed Andrew Wiemeyer to the Duxbury Historical Commission and accepted the resignation of Lois Mc-Keown from that committee.

• Appointed Chuck Rubin to the Recreation Activities Committee.

• Announced that Oct. 17 is the final day for voter registration at the town clerk’s office in the town hall, which will be open until 8 p.m.

• Announced the fire station open house will begin at 9 a.m. The dedication ceremony starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 21.

• Announced that the deadline for submitting a warrant article for the 2013 annual town meeting is Dec. 4. Assistance in drafting articles can be arranged by contacting Susan Kelley in the Town Manager’s office.

• Learned that the Fall Foliage Fiesta sponsored by the Open Space Committee will take place Sunday, Oct. 21 from 1-3 p.m. at the town-owned Crowell bog at Congress and Lincoln streets next to the roundabout.