LEVERETT — Solar power bylaws, potential elementary school regionalization and transfer station policies will be brought to a vote at the annual town meeting on Saturday.
The meeting, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Leverett Elementary School, will set the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and bring 35 articles to a vote, five of which were put on the warrant by petition.
The issues include whether to approve of involvement by Berkshire Gas with the discontinued Kinder-Morgan pipeline, authorize an account to support the Leverett transfer station, and allocate $24,000 to repair Jackson Hill Cemetery. The pipeline project has been shelved indefinitely but too close to the date of the town meeting to remove it from the warrant.
One article seeks changes to the Leverett zoning bylaws regarding solar electricity farms. The new Section 4970 would require a 100-foot setback on the perimeter around medium-sized plots of solar panels. A ground-mounted solar energy system determined to be medium in size covers 1,750 to 40,000 square feet, according to the proposed bylaw.
A solar-energy system less than 1,750 square feet would be considered small, while a solar installation ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 square feet would be considered large.
Resident Barry Oberpriller, 46, said the new bylaws would make his proposed solar farm “basically impossible” to install. Oberpriller operates what he calls a “zero-energy home,” using solar power, and hopes to bring the energy source to the town.
He plans to attend the meeting Saturday and request that the 100-foot setback be reduced to 25 feet, calling the mandate “unreasonable.”
The proposed solar farm would generate 500 kilowatts and power roughly 100 homes, according to Oberpriller.
Planning Board member Richard P. Nathhorst said he “absolutely” supports Oberpriller, and will vote to approve the new Section 4970 bylaw with amendments.
A change in regional school funding will be brought to a vote Saturday in response to pressure from neighboring Shutesbury. Leverett will vote to amend its Amherst-Pelham Regional School District agreement to mitigate the financial impact of a population increase in Shutesbury, according to Selectboard member Julie Shively.
Shutesbury is pushing to incorporate income and property ownership in the school funding agreement after experiencing a population increase and paying more than it previously did. If the article passes a vote, 90 percent of the funding will be based on the per-pupil method while 10 percent will depend on income and property value.
The town also will vote Saturday on whether to establish an exploratory committee to investigate a potential elementary school regionalization project.
According to Nathhorst, Leverett Elementary School can accommodate around 250 students, but it now has about 125, including those enrolled through School Choice. The town is seeking to regionalize the elementary school and bring in students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade from neighboring towns Amherst, Pelham and Shutesbury rather than close the school.
Five articles pertain to the Leverett transfer station, four of which were brought by petition. One would allocate funding for the transfer station not exceeding $3,000 in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Articles brought by petition are asking the town to keep the station open on both weekend days and change hiring practices to make it easier to staff. Article 33 proposes the town terminate a contract with the Franklin County Solid Waste District and reinstate on-site services at the Leverett transfer station, excluding hazardous waste which would be brought to Amherst.