NORTHFIELD — Annual Town Meeting passed every article on the warrant, the only amendment being to pass over the Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s proposed budget as had been previously discussed by town officials and School Committee members.
In all four towns of the Pioneer district, the selectboards and finance committees plan on holding special Town Meetings in June to vote on the school budget, which has changed to reflect the recent decision to close Leyden’s Pearl Rhodes Elementary School. The school budget that was on the Town Meeting warrant, which was created before Pearl Rhodes was closed, called for a 1.65-percent increase in funding from the towns. The newly revised budget calls for a 1.14-percent increase.
Northfield’s currently approved budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which does not include its costs to the Pioneer district, is $3,716,628. The special Town Meeting when the Pioneer budget will be voted has not been officially scheduled, but town officials have discussed holding it June 17.
■A big step was taken toward expanding the Selectboard from three members to five, but the change is not done. The article that passed will petition the state Legislature to allow Northfield to make the change. If the state allows it, a question to increase the board’s size may appear in the next town election. The two new members could also be voted in at the same election.
The change was recommended by the Town Governance Study Committee on the grounds that it would bring more diversity of opinions to the Selectboard, would distribute the workload more broadly and would make it easier to gather a quorum (the number of members needed for a meeting to be legal). Town Governance Study Committee member Brian Brault said that the committee had interviewed other towns that had made the change, and none regretted it. The crowd applauded when the article passed.
■Opinions varied on changing the name of Columbus Day to “Indigenous People’s Day.” The supporters who spoke generally advocated re-evaluating Columbus’ exploits on this continent, which involved enslaving the natives in his pursuit of gold. Some argued against the article, but supported creating a new holiday called “Indigenous People’s Day” without removing Columbus Day. Debate was curtailed by an enthusiastically received motion to end discussion and compel a vote. The vote required a hand-count, but the article passed 78-72.
■Police Chief Robert Leighton, upon prompting from Selectman Alex Meisner, spoke on an article on buying a new police cruiser, explaining that the new cruiser would replace the oldest one in the department’s four-cruiser fleet, a 2013 model that the department is planning to trade in. A paper ballot was requested by someone in the back. The tally was 125-79.
■A ban on large trucks on Gulf Road was debated on the grounds that it might create problems for business owners who live on Gulf Road, and that the ban would simply divert traffic to other unsafe roads. Town Administrator Andrea Llamas said that it would not exclude local traffic. A proposed amendment to expand the ban to Mountain Road was rejected after Moderator Nathan L’Etoile said that the amendment would invalidate the article, due to its involvement with state laws.
■The town now supports changing the state seal and motto. Formally, Northfield will request that State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, and State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, support the formation of a special commission on the seal and motto. All who spoke in favor of the article emphasized that the seal’s imagery is offensive. Brian Bordner was the only person who argued against the article: “If you want to change everything about our state, here’s your golden opportunity.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ex 261.