SHELBURNE — Among the 34 warrant articles coming before Annual Town Meeting voters on Saturday are proposals to build a $100,000 pole barn for Highway Department equipment, join a West County Senior Services District and have a ballot question regarding the Community Preservation Act.
The meeting will convene at 10 a.m. at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School.
Article 16 proposes using $100,000 to construct a three-sided pole barn to store Highway Department equipment. This article includes raising taxes to pay for half of the costs and using stabilization funds for the other half.
“It would mean maybe a dime or 20-cent increase in the tax rate,” Selectboard member Robert Manners said.
“The Highway Department has over $100,000 worth of equipment sitting under the sun, rain and snow,” he continued. “We wanted to build the pole barn to protect the longevity of the equipment.”
The plan also includes installing solar panels on top of the barn to offset the cost of electricity in town buildings.
As part of Article 22, the town will discuss entering a seven-year lease with Ancient Glacier LLC to create an outdoor dining area.
When developers bought the lot at the corner of Bridge Street and Deerfield Avenue, they were unable to build what they planned due to a lack of funding. Today there is a green space in the area. The town plans to lease this land to provide picnic benches for tourists and residents.
Should the article pass, the funding of $3,500 for the first year of the lease will come from raising taxes.
In Articles 23, 24 and 25, the town will discuss accepting a gift of land from Mill Falls LLC. When the company that owns the condominium complex at 49 Conway St. renovated the area, changing the use from commercial to condominiums, it blocked off the Glacial Potholes overlook for Shelburne residents.
During renovations, the developer for Mill Falls LLC designated privately owned land and land owned by the city to clear up confusion. With these three resolutions, the town would have unrestricted access to the observation deck of the Glacial Potholes.
In Article 32, residents will be asked to support the creation of a West County Senior Services District.
“The independent district would be similar to a regional high school district,” Manners explained.
Proponents say forming a new West County Senior Services District among Shelburne, Buckland and Ashfield will give the towns equal ownership and an equal voice in how elder services are run.
Instead of Shelburne serving as the lease-holder for the rented Senior Center in the Masonic building at 7 Main St., a six-member board of managers would become the legal entity managing the facility and senior services. Two members would be appointed from each town, and any board vote would require a 4-2 majority to pass.
For the past several years, study groups have explored new sites for a possible Senior Center expansion. But the new district will not have the authority to rent, buy or build any future Senior Center building unless it has Town Meeting approval from all three member towns.
The exact verbiage presented in Article 32 was presented at the Buckland and Ashfield Annual Town Meetings, and passed at both.
Should voters approve Article 33, it would allow the town to put a question about enacting the Community Preservation Act (CPA) on its ballot for consideration in November.
The Community Preservation Act’s website explains, “CPA is a state law passed in 2000 that allows Massachusetts communities to conduct a referendum to add a small surcharge on local property taxes. When combined with matching funds from the statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, this dedicated fund is used to build and rehabilitate parks, playgrounds and recreational fields; protect open space; support local affordable housing development; and preserve historic buildings and resources.”
Franklin County towns that have already adopted the Community Preservation Act include Conway, Deerfield, Greenfield, Northfield, Leverett, Shutesbury, Sunderland and Whately.
Manners said the town plans to pass over Article 15 and 34 at the meeting.
Article 15 called to transfer $22,500 from the Stabilization Account to buy a solar-powered LED messaging board. This board was instead bought with a state grant.
Article 34 creates a committee for the Community Preservation Act. The town will have to approve this change on the ballot before a committee can be made.
“This was putting the cart before the horse,” he said.
There are some significant changes in the proposed fiscal year 2023 budget of roughly $4.92 million, as compared to the $4.88 million needed in fiscal year 2022. This represents an increase of 0.8%.
The assessor’s contracted services line item will decrease by $13,430 or 52.7%.
“We went with a different firm,” Manners said. “We are very pleased with them.”
The new firm costs less than the previous company the town hired. Software and maintenance will also decrease by $9,735 or 45.1% due to a change to more affordable software.
Due to changes in administrative aspects, there was a reduction in needs for certifications, Manners noted. The staff certifications line item will decrease from $2,500 to $1,000, equating to a 60% decrease.
Memorial Hall expenses will increase by $2,850 or 17.5% because of the rising cost for utilities. Medicare costs will increase by $2,425 or 18.8%. Additionally, the emergency management expense went up $2,450, or 146.3%.
“We have steadily been increasing the emergency management expense budget to pay for items in our emergency management center,” Manner explained.
See the full meeting agenda at bit.ly/3tqzuEK.
Contact Bella Levavi at blevavi@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.