Granby voters approve list of expenditures at town meeting

Date: 5/16/2023

GRANBY — Although there were plenty of questions asked and comments challenging some of the requests for spending, the approximately 100 voters who came to the Town Meeting on May 8 ultimately approved all warrant articles.

The voters gathered in the gym of the East Meadow Elementary School for a meeting that lasted about two hours.

The most controversial proposed allocation was for the purchase of an unmarked police cruiser for use by the department’s detectives. The Police Department was asking for $60,152.

Several voters commented about the proposed purchase and Police Chief Kevin O’Grady answered the questions. One resident wanted to know if the new car would be a hybrid and O’Grady said that was the plan. Another wanted to know if the department actually had detectives and O’Grady replied there were two, each with an unmarked car.

The vote on this matter had to be counted twice with 68 in favor and 37 opposed.

Another issue that drew attention was the request by the Highway Department for $105,000 for the purpose of buying a vacuum truck for the department. Superintendent David Desrosiers explained the department had identified a used vacuum truck to replace its 1992 model. He added the department must clean out catch basins and a vacuum truck is often needed for that job, which is mandated by the Environmental Protection Administration. One resident questioned whether or not it would be less expensive to outsource the job to private contractors but Desrosiers said it wouldn’t.

The town also established an Opioid Settlement Stabilization Account “for the future expenditures related to opioid recovery.” As noted on the website of the Attorney General, “On Nov. 23, 2022, Attorney General [Maura] Healey announced a proposed $6.6 billion nationwide resolution with drugmakers Teva and Allergan, which will provide more than $130 million to the Commonwealth and its cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery across Massachusetts, once finalized.”

For Granby to receive money from the commonwealth it needed to have this new account. It received $21,291.27 during fiscal year 2023.

Among the actions taken were the approval of the following allocations:

• $50,000 to pay for repairs to the play structure at Dufresne Park. One resident said the park has been closed for a year because of repairs that need to be made for safety.
• $35,735 for the upgrade of the security system at the Junior Senior High School.
• $38,230 for the replacement of classroom projectors at the Junior Senior High School.
• $65,000 to repair the Fire Department’s brush truck, which is used to combat forest and brush fires, A new truck would have cost the town $240,000. When a resident remarked she had lived in the town for a long time and that there were no forest or brush fires in New England. Fire Chief Michael O’Neill explained his department has responded to several brush fires in the past few months.
• $236,500 for the purchase of self-contain breathing apparatus for the Fire Department to replace 20 air packs that are 12 years-old and require replacement.
• $67,262 for buying a new police cruiser, which is an annual purchase for the town.
• $50,000 to help fund the town’s removal of hazardous trees.
• $15,000 to fund exterior cameras at the Highway Department. There have been recent incidences of illegal trash in the department’s dumpsters.

$12,195 to pay for automatic door openers at the Police Department which O’Grady explained was a requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The next town meeting will be on June 5.