Southwick Town Meeting tackled 28 articles on warrant
SOUTHWICK — The auditorium at Southwick Regional School was packed last Tuesday for Town Meeting to decide on 28 articles on the warrant.
The meeting, led by Town Moderator Celeste St. Jacques, kicked off with the 'housekeeping' articles, which included items like authorizing the Select Board to sell or trade obsolete equipment and allow the town trust funds to be invested according to the state's 'Prudent Investment Rule.'
Requested by Town Clerk Christie Myette was Article 7 to allow her to revise the town's bylaws. The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has suggested the town's bylaws be 'cleaned up' by shifting them in logical order and renumber. There will be no revisions of the bylaws themselves. All were adopted unanimously.
Article 8 was approved, which was to rescind Article 22 of last year's Town Meeting related to a property on Berkshire Avenue a family trust in Connecticut offered to the town. It was found that resolving issues with the deed would cost the town too much. It was adopted unanimously.
Article 9 asked Town Meeting to authorize borrowing $16 million to build a town-owned fiber-optic network. After a contentious debate that lasted nearly an hour, Town Meeting voted it down. The authorization needed a two-thirds majority. The vote was 353 for and 204 against. The article missed being adopted by 15 votes.
Article 10 asked Town Meeting to approve the town's annual budget. It did. The final general government budget approved was $13.6 million which was a 2% or $238,514 increase from last year. It also approved the DPW Sewer Division budget of $1.4 million, which was a 4% increase from the previous year, and the DPW Water Division budget of $1.58 million, which was 2% increase from the previous year.
Article 11 was a borrowing authority of $1 million for road repairs. It passed unanimously. However, before it passed Jeff Dunlap said the town should consider borrowing more next year because $1 million is only a band-aid for the extensive repairs needed. Finance Committee Chair Joseph Deedy said residents should be prepared to authorize a much larger amount in the next year or so.
Article 12 was to create a revolving account for the Conservation Commission. It passed unanimously.
Article 13 was to set the maximum amounts of various revolving accounts, like Local Lake Permitting and the Economic Development Commission. It passed unanimously.
Article 14 was for the town to accept Revere Road and portions of Salem and Concord roads. There was one no vote. It passed.
Article 15 was to approve $20,000 for the costs associated with the taking of easements for the newly accepted roads. It passed unanimously.
Article 16 was to appropriate $737,164 to pay for the tuition of students who attend school out of district for vocational education. The town will get about $230,000 from the state's Chapter 70 funds next year. It was approved with a few naes.
Article 17 was to approve appropriating $14.4 million for the annual assessment of the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District. District Superintendent Jennifer Willard said that six teachers and two coaches were laid off to balance the district's budget. It passed unanimously.
Article 18 was a request by the school district for a borrowing authorization of $515,000 to design a new boiler for the Woodland School ($103,000), study and design a boiler for Southwick Regional School ($220,000), and $192,000 to rehabilitate the track. That amount was reduced by $100,000 after Town Meeting approved a Community Preservation Committee allocation of that amount for the track. The authorization passed with a few noes.
Article 19 was a request by the CPC to approve its annual budget. Town Meeting authorized the reservation of $59,601 for funding Open Space projects, Historic Resources projects, and for Community Housing projects, respectively. It also asked Town Meeting to reserve $387,411 for the Community Preservation General Unreserved Fund, and to reserve $29,800 to cover administrative and operating expenses of the CPC. It passed unanimously.
Articles 20, 21, and 22 were CPC-requested allocations of $66,650 to the alum treatment debt service, $670,000 to build six pickleball courts at Whalley Park, and $100,000 for the rehabilitation of the track. All passed with a smattering of naes for each.
Article 23 asked Town Meeting to approve a new general bylaw to protect, preserve and enhance public parks, beaches, recreation, [and] conservation areas. It needed a two-thirds majority to be adopted. While 166 voters approved it, 70 voted no, which didn't meet the two-thirds threshold.
Article 24 asked Town Meeting to adopt a new public nuisance bylaw. It needed a two-thirds majority to be adopted. After a voice vote, St. Jacques ruled it didn't reach the two-thirds needed.
Article 25 as Town Meeting to approve a new accessory dwelling unit bylaw. Essentially, it established a bylaw that allows what are often called mother-in-law suites 'by right' in district zoned residential. It also needed a two-thirds majority to be adopted. St. Jacques ruled after a voice vote the article reached the two-thirds threshold to be adopted.
Article 26 was an amendment related to the ADU bylaw involving site plan review. It passed unanimously.
Article 27 was a citizens' petition asking Town Meeting to adopt a new bylaw to require hunters to get permission from the owner of property they hunt on. While 96 voters approved it, 71 voted no, which didn't meet the two-thirds threshold needed and failed.
Article 28 was another citizen's petition, which asked Town Meeting to rescind the town's short-term rental bylaw, which was approved in at the May 2023 Town Meeting. Before the debate began, town counsel Benjamin Coyle ruled that if there was an attempt to rescind a bylaw, it needed to go through a formal process that involved the Planning Board and public hearings. No vote was taken.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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