NORTHFIELD — The 31-article warrant to come before Annual Town Meeting voters on Monday includes the creation of a publicly-owned water district, the purchase of land for a public safety facility and the decision to make town clerk an appointed, rather than elected, position.
The meeting will be held at Pioneer Valley Regional School at 7 p.m.
Articles 23 and 24, which relate to the public safety facility and water district, respectively, will likely be the most important articles this year, Town Administrator Andrea Llamas said.
The approval of Article 23 would authorize the Selectboard to buy a roughly 23-acre vacant lot owned by Ed Snow on Main Street, just north of Dickinson Memorial Library, to house a public safety complex for police, fire and EMS services. Llamas said $170,000 is already available for the board to purchase the land, derived from the sale of a cell tower easement. The article would not approve funding for the building itself.
However, a later request, Article 25, involves appropriating $400,000 and transferring $600,000 from the Capital Stabilization Account to fund engineering, design work and project management for the public safety complex.
The creation of a new water district has been an ongoing discussion for multiple boards in town. Last month, attendees of a joint meeting of the Selectboard and Finance Committee stressed the need for public input before the issue is put before Town Meeting voters, and a public hearing on the issue was held on April 6.
The northern part of town is currently served by the East Northfield Water Co., a private company that does not have the financial capacity to make necessary improvements, including repairs along Pierson Road and Linden Avenue and equipment upgrades to comply with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s filtration requirements.
“I don’t see how the company can do any of that,” Llamas said of meeting the MassDEP requirements.
The creation of the Grandin Water District would transfer water services to a nonprofit, which would have better access to low-cost grants and loans than a private company. The district would be responsible for “obtaining, treating and distributing” water for domestic use and extinguishing fires.
The approval of Article 24 would send an act establishing the Grandin Water District to the state Legislature “in the hopes that they’d be passed by the end of the term,” Llamas said.
In terms of the proposed fiscal year 2023 budget, the Finance Committee is recommending a roughly $9.01 million omnibus budget. Should all spending articles be passed at Annual Town Meeting, total expenses would equate to about $12.06 million, which would be a 3.36% increase over the current fiscal year’s $11.67 million. According to the budget summary, the estimated tax rate would be $14.67 per $1,000 valuation, up from $13.85 this year.
Among the other spending articles are proposals to use $300,000 of existing funds to buy a new ambulance; establish stipends for the Planning Board (although the Planning Board sought $6,000 to split between five members, the Finance Committee is recommending $4,000); appropriate $30,000 for a programmable sign for Town Hall; allocate $21,000 for a new Transfer Station trash compactor; use $15,000 of Community Preservation Fund money to paint the exterior of the Northfield History Museum at 13 Pine St.; appropriate $20,000 for Americans with Disabilities Act-related improvements at multiple town buildings; and transfer $240,000 from free cash to renovate Northfield Elementary School’s bathrooms, $200,000 for a new Highway Department truck and $56,000 for a police cruiser.
To view the full warrant, visit bit.ly/3kr5x29.