ORANGE — The state senator and state representative serving Orange in the Legislature stopped by last week’s Selectboard meeting to detail their advocacy for the region and answer questions submitted in advance by members of the public, including what’s next for Orange’s first town charter and the feasibility of Northern Tier Passenger Rail.
To start, Selectboard Chair Tom Smith read a question about the next steps after the town voted at a Special Town Meeting to petition the state Legislature to pass a bill establishing Orange’s first town charter. A charter essentially serves as a town’s constitution, providing the blueprint for how municipal government is structured and how it operates.
Rep. Susannah Whipps, an Athol resident who serves as the only Independent legislator in the State House, said her bill is being reviewed by the House legal counsel, a process she predicts will take six to eight weeks.
“Hopefully sooner than that,” she said.
Orange currently operates under an established set of town bylaws, practices and procedures, and according to applicable general laws and regulations, with a town administrator who works on behalf of the five-member Selectboard to coordinate across municipal departments and operations. Adoption of the charter creates a strong town manager role to serve as chief administrative officer and direct day-to-day operations across most of the municipal government structure.
Whipps said there will be an opportunity to offer input on the bill via written testimony. She also commended the town and its Charter Advisory Committee on the work put into the proposal.
“I think it really creates a strong leadership structure for the entire town,” she said. “I’m excited for that for you.”
The next question Smith read asked if the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District’s budget woes are uncommon in the state.
“It is quite common, unfortunately,” replied state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton.
She said deliberations have yet to begin at the state level about the types of schools in the North Quabbin region — ones that are regionalized, rural and facing declining enrollment.
“We haven’t yet had a refreshed conversation on rural school transportation or special education or … vocational schools,” she said.
Comerford went on to say that she and Whipps are “constantly advocating for full charter mitigation, for regional school transportation, for money for the circuit breaker.”
“We really need sustained fixes,” she said. “We really need a systemic solution.”
Another question asked if it is realistic to hope that the Northern Tier Passenger Rail system comes to fruition. Comerford said it is and that the Franklin Regional Council of Governments recently conducted a study on the matter.
“It took a good long time for that study to be done, but there is a study. It found that it’s actually relatively inexpensive to restart passenger rail,” Comerford said. “We’d just be going back to what we had in the ’60s.”
She mentioned that the state Department of Transportation is also conducting an economic development analysis.
“There’s momentum. It’s not done by a long shot, but there’s momentum,” she said. “It could be a real boon for Athol-Orange.”
Another question asked about the status of a bill Comerford and state Rep. Aaron Saunders, D-Belchertown, filed that would establish a 5-cent per 1,000-gallon excise fee on Quabbin Reservoir water, generating roughly $3.5 million annually for host communities. The bill also aims to provide “just recompense” for the region’s service and environmental sacrifices, supporting local services and increasing western Massachusetts representation on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s board of directors.
An act of the state Legislature disincorporated Dana, Prescott, Enfield and Greenwich — four towns in the Swift River Valley — on April 28, 1938. Construction of the reservoir began in 1936, with filling commencing on Aug. 14, 1939. It was completed in 1946, when water first flowed over the spillway. The reservoir now consists of 412 billion gallons of water and covers 39 square miles, according to the state’s website, providing eastern Massachusetts with 200 million gallons of water every day.
Comerford and Whipps said they are working to ensure the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is listening to the North Quabbin region.
“I think everybody in this room understands the contribution we make to the commonwealth is beyond measure,” Whipps said on Wednesday. “Boston would not be Boston if it were not for those four communities. Worcester or Springfield would be the major city, and Boston would just be a seaport.”