WENDELL — All articles passed at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting, including a fiscal year 2021 budget for just under $3 million, and a one-year moratorium on marijuana establishments.
The meeting took place at 10 a.m. on the common outside Town Hall on Center Street. All attendees wore masks, and chairs were spaced at least 6 feet apart. Votes were taken by raising a hand.
New this year, as well, was a Zoom connection to the meeting, according to Christopher Parker, deputy town moderator and a member of the Planning Board. Seven residents watched the meeting through the livestream, though they did not vote or offer commentary.
“It was easy to do,” he explained. “We did have one person who has had trouble participating in Town Meetings in the past.”
The marijuana moratorium presented in Article 25 sought approval to amend the town’s zoning bylaws to include language establishing a moratorium on commercial marijuana growing, processing and selling through June 27, 2021. According to the warrant, during the moratorium, the town will address the potential impacts of commercial marijuana facilities in Wendell and their impacts on the health, safety and welfare of residents to determine how to reasonably regulate marijuana establishments.
Selectboard member Laurie DiDonato explained the article comes after the town was approached by companies with interest in setting up shop in town.
One resident’s concern regarding the moratorium, Parker said, was whether the town could open itself up to legal challenges from interested groups wanting to bring their projects to town.
“The basis of that is, if somebody wanted to do a project, they conceivably could challenge the moratorium to see if it would hold up in court,” Parker said. “Obviously, that would be an expense for them to go that route.”
In response, Parker said at Town Meeting that the concern was speculative.
“This is something new and novel, and there’s people with financial interest in proceeding,” Parker said. “Hopefully, it would be more productive to have a conversation with the town rather than going (the court) route.”
Ultimately, the article passed unanimously.
Parker said there was also some discussion over Article 15, which sought approval to appropriate $28,053 to pay the fiscal year 2021 debt service on the broadband project.
Wendell is about to launch a town-owned broadband network, he explained, and to do so, the town had to take out a loan for construction costs.
“The broadband network will be self-financing, in that subscription fees will pay for the cost of operation,” Parker said. “Two people stated that they thought the broadband fees ought to cover the loans.”
Parker said it was noted at the meeting that the arrangement in which the town borrowed money was approved at a prior Town Meeting.
The article passed, though not with unanimous support.
The meeting adjourned after roughly an hour, according to DiDonato — just in time to beat the rain.
“The planning committee did a great job and I think everybody was happy with how it went,” DiDonato said of the meeting. “It was safe.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne