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Date: 10/12/2022
LUDLOW – On Oct. 3, Ludlow residents gathered in the Ludlow High School Auditorium to vote on 11 warrant articles as part of Special Town Meeting.
Article One was a request to raise and appropriate funds to settle unpaid bills and/or over-expended accounts on previous fiscal years. The total sum of money was over $20,000. Most of the items listed did not need a description, but a few members from town expressed how they wanted more transparency on a couple of items. When the Board of Selectmen could not give those descriptions right away, the article did not receive a nine-tenths vote to pass.
After moving past Article Two, a town member motioned to reconsider Article One and the town voted yes to hear more about it. Members of the Board of Selectmen offered more background on the specific items residents wanted to know more about, and eventually the article passed on the second attempt.
Article Two involved a request to raise and appropriate $5,052.73 to meet the required 10 percent match of a Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant needed to replace the supply and attack firefighter hose that has reached its lifespan. The residents of the town voted yes to pass article two.
Article Three and Four dealt with amending two town of Ludlow bylaws. Both bylaws dealt with Chapter Two, Section 24, regulating the Conduct of Town Business, Capital Improvement Planning Committee. Article Three changes the structure of the committee to an odd number and Article Four clarifies that capital outlay combined asset purchases totaling at least $20,000 must be for one project at one location. Each article was passed by the residents.
Article Five was a request to raise and appropriate $54,000 to fund a new facilities director position. The Board of Selectmen explained how there was a huge need for this position as it currently did not exist. They suggested that it would save the town money in the long run by designating someone to create and execute a maintenance plan and manage the town’s buildings and ground needs to fix problems before it was too late. Residents voted yes on the article.
Article Six was to raise and appropriate $33,500 for a veterans center in town. The center would include benefits and amenities like a food pantry, telehealth access, employment services, and a meeting space. One town member expressed how there were many food pantries within 10 miles or services in Springfield for veterans and wanted the town to consider that and save money instead of starting the center.
Cmdr. Eric Segundo from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3236 explained how there is a need to support local veterans by making a veterans center in town instead of making them drive or use public transit to access other amenities. Residents supported this article.
Article Seven was a housekeeping item that did not make it into the fiscal year 23 (FY23) budget. In FY23, there will be a mandatory property reassessment program and the appropriation would pay for consultants to perform the reassessment. People at Town Meeting voted yes to raise and appropriate $47,000 to fund the three-year property assessment recertification.
Article Eight looked to designate Riverside Drive as a public way. This Light Industrial Land in the eastern most area of the Ludlow Mills project (currently undeveloped), is estimated to support the development of over 500,000 square feet of Light Industrial buildings, the creation of over 950 associated jobs and add an estimated $2 million annually to the municipal tax base. Article eight was supported by residents.
Article Nine was going to talk about establishing a Capital Improvement Reserve Fund Account for funding capital improvement projects. It was tabled after the Select Board motioned to take no action and the town agreed, voting unanimously. The article was tabled.
Article 10 was to see if the town would raise and appropriate and/or transfer $150,000 to increase the FY23 School Department budget. School Business Manager Kathleen Demetrius was there to clarify the cost asked for. She explained to the town that special needs costs vary every year and were not built into the contingency for this year. Residents passed Article 10.
Article 11 involved a request to raise and appropriate $21,000 to fund a part-time local building inspector. The Board of Selectmen mentioned how the part-time local position has been vacant since 2018 and only 65 of 438 recorded complaints have been closed. The town unanimously voted yes on the article.