WHATELY — Town meeting voters on Tuesday will consider a new bylaw regulating battery energy storage systems, the purchase of a new police cruiser and Highway Department equipment as well as $120,300 worth of updates to the Whately Elementary School playground.
The meeting will kick off at 6 p.m. at the elementary school.
Battery energy storage system bylaw
Currently, the town’s solar bylaw includes conditions for battery energy storage systems. After continued discussions at Planning Board meetings, the board plans to remove these conditions and propose an altogether separate section of the town’s zoning bylaw that specifically regulates battery energy storage systems, based on the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ model bylaw.
Many conditions in the proposed new section referenced in Article 24 of the Town Meeting warrant depend on three tiers for these systems. Tier 1 refers to systems with an aggregate energy storage capacity below 250 kilowatt-hours, or small residential or farm-scale systems, equivalent to about three home battery units, according to a document outlining the new section. Tier 2 refers to mid-scale commercial or agricultural systems and Tier 3 refers to large commercial or utility-scale systems.
According to the Annual Town Meeting Booklet, Tier 2 developers must provide a site plan review. Tier 3 installations require applicants to provide a site plan review and obtain a special permit.
The draft bylaw also includes what the booklet describes as “safeguards in two areas of particular resident concern” — the town’s water supply and fires and other emergencies.
While all battery energy storage system developers must identify water supplies within 500 feet of their proposed site and potentially provide a hydrological assessment to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Tier 2 and Tier 3 installations are banned in the town’s Aquifer Protection District and within 300 feet of an agricultural well or private well used for drinking water.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 developers must also submit a “detailed” Emergency Response Plan to Fire Chief JP Kennedy outlining shutdown and fire response protocols and training for local emergency responders. Developers must also prove that the proposed site includes “adequate fire suppression water supply and access,” according to the description of the bylaw in the booklet.
Capital projects
Residents will consider $350,500 worth of capital projects on Tuesday.
For the Highway Department, Article 18 asks voters to approve moving $6,500 for the purchase of an equipment trailer and $55,000 for a used pickup truck from free cash, along with $50,000 from free cash and $100,000 from the Capital Stabilization Fund for the purchase of a new highway truck. At the Police Department, $40,000 from free cash to replace the police station roof as well as $20,000 from free cash and $50,000 from the Vehicle Stabilization Fun for a new police cruiser will be up for a vote.
The Whately Elementary School hallway carpet is also set for a replacement, prompting voters to considering using $17,000 from the Town Buildings Stabilization Fund for the project.
Other articles
Along with the hallways, a revamp for the school’s playground is also on the docket for Tuesday.
Article 23 asks residents to consider transferring $120,290 from the Community Preservation Fund to cover the majority of the cost of rehabilitating the playground, including repairing and replacing broken or unsafe equipment, installing new equipment and improving the “overall layout of the playground to create safer circulation and age-appropriate zones,” the warrant reads.
For Articles 21 and 22, residents will vote on dedicating Community Preservation Fund money to acquiring Agricultural Preservation Restrictions on farmland in town, specifically $8,100 for a restriction on 22.3 acress of land off State Road and 31 acres for land behind a house on River Road.
Through the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) pays farmers the difference between the fair market value and agricultural value of their land in exchange for a deed restriction that requires the land remain farmland, according to mass.gov. The site claims that the program allows farmers to earn money for their land without selling it.
Voters also will consider switching the town clerk from an elected to appointed position in Article 26, a request from the Selectboard. For the change to go into effect, residents must vote in favor of the switch at both the Annual Town Meeting and a future town election.
Article 27, the final article on the agenda for Tuesday, proposes a property tax workoff program for residents over 60 years old. The five or fewer program participants would volunteer services to the town in exchange for a drop in their property tax bill of up to $1,200 per year.
