COLRAIN — The 112 voters in attendance at Tuesday’s Special Town Meeting, following two amendments on the floor, agreed to provide just $1 to match a $20,000 grant slated to support a senior meals program, down from the requested $6,000, and clarified which entities would be involved with handling the service.
Of the seven warrant articles, Article 4, asking to raise and appropriate $6,000 as a match following receipt of a grant from the Massachusetts Councils on Aging, prompted the most discussion. Although the Council on Aging had previously voted to reject the grant, Colrain was able to change the contract to instead name the town as the recipient rather than the council and make Town Administrator Diana Parsons the delegated authority to spend the money, allowing the town to continue to receive the grant.
John Yannis, a member of the Council on Aging, said he thinks the proposed program, which would provide two meals per month for up to 165 Colrain residents, is “a great thing to do.” He encouraged his fellow residents to vote in support of the original $6,000 request.
The article was subsequently amended by resident Joe Slowinski to stipulate that implementation of the grant program would not involve Colrain Food For All, a volunteer effort that helps families address food insecurity. The town had envisioned working with Colrain Food For All. In addition, the amended motion dictates that the town will rely on town employees or unpaid volunteers to administer the grant, not a third party.
In a second amendment, Slowinski proposed the town’s contribution to match the grant be lowered from $6,000 to $1. Parsons said the $6,000 from the town would have been for renting a space where the meals could be held.
Treasurer Paula Harrison called the possibility of the senior meals “a fabulous complement to our current COA programming,” and added that she did not think Slowinski’s amendment was “rational or reasonable.”
The first amendment, stipulating who will be involved in administering the grant program, passed 68-38, while the second amendment, regarding the dollar amount, passed 60-37. The article, as amended, ultimately passed 80-28.
Articles 1 and 5 were ultimately rejected. Article 1 sought to approve demolition of the partially collapsed old schoolhouse at 101 Heath Road and Article 5 asked for approval of asbestos surveying at an unsafe structure at 6 Greenfield Road.
If passed, Article 5 would have transferred $3,000 from the General Stabilization Fund for the asbestos survey. When the article was first voted on, it failed 48-62, but a motion to reconsider brought it back to the floor for more discussion. That motion to reconsider passed 54-43.
Slowinski urged his fellow residents to vote “no” on Article 5, saying that it was “evident” that the Selectboard and town administrator were “out of step” with the rest of the town. In response, Harrison said she found it “very discouraging that someone would pit the town and town officials against the residents,” adding that this money wouldn’t be coming out of taxes, as it was a transfer from the General Stabilization Fund.
Because such a funding transfer requires a two-thirds majority to pass, Article 5 ultimately did not pass, receiving 50 votes in favor and 42 votes against.
Article 1 was not as contentious as Article 5. Article 1 would have transferred $18,000 from the General Stabilization Fund to demolish the old, partially collapsed schoolhouse at 101 Heath Road. According to the Selectboard, demolition would support getting the property back on the tax roll.
Resident Anne Sperlonga stated that the Fire Department had turned down the opportunity to practice putting out fires on the building, and she wondered if any other fire departments would be interested in the opportunity. Fire Chief Nick Anzuoni said the building is not structurally sound and would provide zero training purpose.
Resident Michael Slowinski asked if the Highway Department had been consulted about the demolition, saying it would save the town a great deal of money to perform the work in-house and that the building seems small enough. Highway Superintendent Nate Gilbert said his department would be able to handle the demolition, and would just need to rent of a couple trash receptacles, which he said would cost around $600 apiece.
After Gilbert said his department could work on the demolition, the article seeking to transfer $18,000 failed in a 19-77 vote.
Three articles, Articles 2, 3 and 7, were approved as written. Article 2 asked to transfer $11,693 from the General Stabilization Fund for Colrain’s share of the fire alarm panel replacement at Colrain Central School, which passed 75-29; Article 3 sought to transfer $8,700 from the General Stabilization Fund to insulate the attic at Colrain Central School, which passed 78-18; and Article 7 asked to use $5,000 from the Technology Stabilization Fund to transfer the town from a physical server to a cloud-based one, which passed 85-4.
A lone article, Article 6, was passed over by the Selectboard. This would have provided a sum of money for the purchase, implementation and related costs of a new electronic permitting system. This was passed over because that money will instead be taken out of the Building Department’s fiscal year 2027 expense budget and the Building Department Revolving Fund.
