MONTAGUE — The Selectboard is encouraging Town Meeting members to vote “yes” on all nine articles on the Oct. 28 Special Town Meeting warrant, including appropriating $1.75 million to fund a feasibility study exploring the future of Sheffield and Hillcrest elementary schools.
The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Turners Falls High School on Turnpike Road. Town Meeting members will consider approving payment of outstanding bills from the previous fiscal year year, addressing a budget deficit at the Turners Falls Municipal Airport and creating a senior tax work-off program, among other topics.
Article 7 asks voters to authorize a feasibility study focusing on Sheffield and Hillcrest elementary schools. The study could cost up to $1.75 million, with $500,000 coming from the town’s Capital Stabilization Account, and up to $1.25 million to be paid for through borrowing. The study would be eligible for a reimbursement grant through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). According to Steve Ellis, chair of the Sheffield and Hillcrest Elementary School Building Committee, the MSBA’s reimbursement could pay up to 76% of the cost.
“We are trying to get to the best and most cost-effective solution to ensure educational programming is provided in appropriate physical spaces in our buildings,” Ellis told the Selectboard last week. “There are some real issues with our current buildings.”
The town is looking to expand and renovate Sheffield Elementary School, which currently serves students in second through fifth grades. The expansion would allow students from Hillcrest Elementary School, which serves pupils in preschool through first grade, to be brought under one roof.
The smaller of the two schools, Hillcrest, was first built in the 1950s, and is a single-story, L-shaped building. The main Sheffield Elementary building was rebuilt in 1988 after a fire destroyed the building, but spared the attached auditorium and gymnasium. An administrative building was constructed in 1925.
Ellis said that while Montague is facing a period of declining enrollment, the aging school buildings are not sufficient to meet modern needs and do not have enough space for required school services.
“We have numerous classes where programmatic spaces simply are insufficient, despite the broader narrative around declining enrollment,” Ellis said.
Ellis said the feasibility study would give the town information as to what the best options are for renovations, and what federal and state funding could be leveraged to limit the financial burden on Montague.
The $1.75 million study would fund architectural designs, an owner’s project manager and an environmental site analysis, Ellis said.
“It really is a vote to get the facts,” added Sheffield and Hillcrest Elementary School Building Committee member Tari Thomas, who also serves as interim superintendent of the Gill-Montague Regional School District. “To really arm the community with the choices, a menu of choices that makes sense for them in caring for their children, educating their children for the next many decades.”
Town Meeting members will be asked whether to appropriate $38,550 to address a deficit in the Turners Falls Municipal Airport budget for fiscal year 2026, and allocate an extra $15,000 for the airport’s fiscal year 2027 budget. Both of these articles would be paid for using the town’s certified free cash.
Selectboard Chair Richard Kuklewicz explained that the airport ended FY26 in a deficit because a tenant left, reducing revenue, and because repair costs for the space for future leasing increased. He said the town recommends using free cash to address the deficit to avoid impacting residential tax bills.
For FY27, the airport anticipates a $10,000 revenue shortfall and is seeking an additional $5,000 for overtime pay. The town accountant put the article forward to prevent the town from needing to address a budget deficit later on.
“It’s part of a discussion the accountant has been having with the Department of Revenue, who’s watching the airport budget because it keeps perpetually being underbudgeted,” Town Administrator Walter Ramsey explained. “This is a recommendation between the DOR and the accountant to resolve this.”
“This is a preemptive strike,” Kuklewicz said.
With Article 8, Town Meeting members will be asked to adopt Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59, Section 5K, which would allow Montague to create a senior tax work-off program. The program would be administered by the Council on Aging and create 10 slots for residents over the age of 60. These residents would volunteer their time with the town in exchange for reductions in their property tax bills.
“This would allow us to establish the program and to start preparing the work for fiscal year 2028,” Kuklewicz said.
Other articles on the warrant include:
- Using $1,643 in free cash to pay Verizon and Signet security system bills from FY26 for the Police Department.
- Using $61,502 in free cash to close out eight grant accounts that saw deficits from previous fiscal years.
- Appropriating $12,032 from the Sale of Highland Cemetery Lots Account for cemetery maintenance.
- Using $16,300 in free cash to purchase an automatic floor scrubber and an infield groomer, as well as to resurface the Unity Park walkways and splash pad.
- Allowing the town to lease 34 Central St. for another 30 years. The space is currently being leased by Community Action Pioneer Valley, which informed the town it would like to renew its lease when the current 30-year lease expires on Aug. 1, 2027.
The full warrant will be posted to montague-ma.gov.
