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Date: 10/11/2023
LUDLOW — On Oct. 2, residents gathered in the Ludlow High School Auditorium to vote on 22 warrant articles as part of Town Meeting.
Article 9, which would have allowed the town to accept Piney Lane as a public way based on the layout by the Board of Selectmen to improve and upgrade the Piney Lane Bridge, was tabled.
Selectman Derek DeBarge said there wasn’t enough information to vote on the article and Town Administrator Marc Strange added that this article should be on the spring Town Meeting warrant.
Article 19 was also not voted on after Planning Board Chair Raymond Phoenix moved to take no action on the listed item.
Article 19 would have placed a temporary moratorium on battery storage.
Articles 11-13 and 15-20 were all zoning bylaw amendments submitted by the Planning Board, and were all approved by the precinct members.
Those amendments include visibility at intersections, fences, dimensional requirements, setback diagram replacement, updates to the site plan approval process, reference changes, replacing diagrams and replacing diagram reference numbers.
Phoenix said, “There were a number of bylaw changes that [the Planning Board] have on the warrant that are all basically stemming from trying to maintain the spirit that’s in the bylaw, but make it clearer so that people that are coming in, whether it be to the Planning Board or the building office, have a better understanding of what those expectations are.”
Article 2 allows the town to meet the required 10%, or $8,965, match of a Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant.
The Ludlow Fire Department received a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant in the amount of $98,620 to replace a 28-year-old diesel exhaust capture system at the Ludlow Fire Department.
The system is used to capture and discharge the vehicle exhaust made from vehicles as they enter and exit the building. This system prevents the carcinogen-laden vapors from entering the areas where the fire department staff live and work.
Article 3 authorized the Board of Selectmen to enter a five-year contract with Axon for the lease of tasers for the Police Department.
Article 4 was approved and will expand the district improvement financing boundary, which would identify the amended and expanded geographical location of State Street and the Ludlow Mills Improvement District.
Article 5 is designed to amend a district improvement financing program authorized under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40Q, known as the State Street/Ludlow Mills DIF Program.
The State Street/Ludlow Mills DIF Program will feature the revised boundaries of the State Street/Ludlow Mills Improvement District.
Strange added, “Essentially what the program says is once Town Meeting accepts the DIF district and the financing plan, any additional new growth that comes in related to growth in that district, that money can be reinvested back into the district. Whatever tax revenue we get from future developments can be added back to the district.”
Ludlow is currently in the process of looking to make improvements to East Street and a few Ludlow Mills buildings.
Articles 21 and 22 increased the fines for leash law violations and nuisance dog violations.
According to the warrant, the town has seen an increase in leash law violations and nuisance dog complaints, and are hoping for the increase in fines encourage more people to obey them.
The fines increase from $50 to $100 for first offenses, from $100 to $200 for second offenses and the third offense is $300.
Article 6 was approved and now the town can look to create an opioid stabilization fund.
Like other municipalities, Ludlow expects to receive annual funds as part of a settlement agreement stemming from a national lawsuit against drugmakers, pharmacies and other companies that were prosecuted by state attorneys general for their role in the opioid crisis. The settlements are being paid to the 13 state governments that brought the lawsuit. Gov. Maura Healey, who was the state’s attorney general at the time, announced last year that she would direct 40% of Massachusetts’ share of the settlement to be split among the 351 cities and towns. The remaining 60% will be spent at the state level, on anti-addiction and anti-overdose programs.
The proposed warrant article allows for the creation of a special purpose stabilization fund.
Article 7 authorized the Board of Selectmen negotiate and enter into a payment on lieu of taxes agreement with Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electrical Company, the owner of the solar photovoltaic energy generating facility located at 327 Moody St.
A positive vote on Article 8 allows the transfer of $210,934 from unspent capital appropriations.
The town intends to use these funds toward the upcoming Town Hall renovations scheduled for the summer of 2024.
Those renovations include a new roof, energy-efficiency improvements, abatement and the replacement of asbestos ceiling tiles, replacing carpeting and other improvements.
Article 10 corrected an error with the fiscal year 2024 budget.
At the May Town Meeting, Article 18 contained a discrepancy in the amounts of the FY24 budget.
The two amounts were $80,868,618 and $80,876,409.
At this Town Meeting, Article 10 requested authorization for a total FY24 budget in the amount of $80,868,618.
The correct amount should have been $80,876,409, leaving an extra $7,791 that did not get factored into the total.
Article 1 was a house-keeping item asking the town to authorize payment of any remaining bills from previous fiscal years in the amount of approximately $13,000.
Article 14 changed the membership of the Admin Review Committee by removing “and one member” and “of the Board of Public Works.”
The Board of Public Works has been dissolved and the DPW director will continue the department’s membership.