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Date: 7/12/2021
GRANBY – The Granby Selectboard decided to plan for a Special Town Meeting in the fall after several financial items were brought to their attention.
The meeting began with Town Administrator Chris Martin explaining that since the Annual Town Meeting had taken place in June some items had come up. These items, he said, would likely need to be addressed at a Special Town Meeting in the fall. Martin then gave an overview of items that needed to be addressed including a student attending Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton instead of Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer.
“So that is another $18,679 tuition assessment we have to raise for the fiscal year 2022,” he said.
Additionally, he said the chair of the Granby Board of Health had notified him that they had used the services of the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District. Martin said he, along with others, had been under the impression that the cost of the assessment to join the district would be $5,000 and they would be assessed “over subsequent years.”
However, he said, this was not the case. Martin said the chair of the Board of Health had been notified by the district that the town would need to pay $5,000 each year for their services to identify diseases such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus in mosquitoes. This, he said, meant they would need to raise an additional $5,000 for fiscal year 2022 (FY22).
He went on to say that another item to be addressed at a fall Special Town Meeting dealt with the Assessor’s Office and their desire to hire an assistant town assessor. “They hired this individual at a higher rate than was budgeted for in the FY22 budget. I asked why the chair, who was at the Annual Town Meeting didn’t get up and make an amendment, and she just didn’t think to do that,” he said. “So we have to come up with another $20,090 to cover the wages for the assistant assessor for FY22.”
Martin added that at the end of the Annual Town Meeting there had been a push for a recall bylaw, which had ultimately been dropped from the discussion. He said he’d like to bring it again before the town. He said also needing to be addressed were new stormwater bylaw regulations, which the committee was close to having a final document for, which would need to be brought before a Town Meeting before being incorporated into zoning bylaws.
Also needing to be addressed at a Town Meeting, he said, was the Planning Board’s plan to make a change to the town’s zoning regulations regarding private events. “We have some people who, they have a large property and they now want to hold weddings and large parties to be held there because they have a venue and feel as though they should have their own business,” he said.
Martin said the Planning Board had some concerns regarding the change “because with large venues you have a lot of parking and the neighbors should have some say.” In total, Martin said there were six topics to be addressed at a Town Meeting. While the board said they hoped to have the meeting in the East Meadow School due to air conditioning, they needed to consult with the school to make sure they would be able to use the building. While they weren’t able to plan for an official date, the board decided on a tentative date of Sept. 20.
The board moved on to address the renewal of their lease for hosting meetings at the annex. Martin said they were currently in the third year of their three-year lease and asked if the board wanted to renegotiate a new lease or if they’d prefer to make adjustments to the old library and move their offices there. Member Glen Sexton said he would want to look into both options to see what would need to be done to the library to accommodate them, but also look into the cost of a one-year lease in case they were not able to move to the library in time. Chair Jennifer Silva said their lease would end on June 30, 2022, and she was not in favor of signing a new three-year lease.
Currently, Martin said there was one individual who had an office at the old library, but he had spoken with the individual and there was a space at West State School. Silva said it would save the town money as it currently cost the town about $24,000 to lease the annex. Sexton said they would likely need to come up with costs and figures to present at the fall Special Town Meeting. However, Martin added that last year about $18,400 had been allocated for renovations for the library that had not been spent. “So that money could be programmed into adapting the building for additional office space,” Martin said.
It was pointed out that the town clerk, collector, assessor and board of health also used the annex building so Sexton said those departments would need to be consulted to find out what they would need to accommodate their department in a new space.
Martin then brought up a written complaint regarding a residence on Carver Street between two neighbors. He said the letter stated that the town was not responding to the complaints and he wanted to set up a meeting with the resident, a liaison and himself. Additionally, he said he wanted a board member to attend the meeting as well and member Richard Beaulieu said he’d volunteer. Martin said he felt as though they needed to do something to address the situation, even if it was only a small resolution.
“I’m afraid if they keep going at it, someone’s going to get hurt,” he said.
The board then moved on to address a letter and fine that had been issued by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding ongoing issues at the town’s public safety complex. Martin explained there had been issues at the building “going back to when it was first constructed.” He said some of the issues consisted of permits not being obtained in a timely manner, installing a water-softening system, an issue with the holding tanks at the site and an issue regarding the UV treatment system.
Silva questioned why the issues weren’t caught when the building was constructed and why the DEP was “up our backsides.” Martin said he wasn’t sure how it fell through the cracks as he wasn’t involved in the construction of the project and he wasn't involved until the building was completely constructed. Martin said to the best of his knowledge all issues had been resolved, so the next steps were to sign the document and pay the $1,000 fee.