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Date: 10/30/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — There will be a special Town Meeting on Nov. 15 and the warrant was discussed between Town Administrator Lisa Wong and the Appropriations Committee during its Oct. 25 meeting.
Wong broke down the 11 articles currently listed on the special Town Meeting warrant and crunched some of the numbers on the finance items with the committee. The night prior she introduced the full town meeting warrant to the Selectboard.
Article 1 is to see if the town will hear the report of the Town Meeting Advisory Committee. The Town Meeting Review Committee began their work after the 2023 May annual Town Meeting. The committee plans to produce a report for the 2024 annual Town Meeting, and an update at this meeting.
Article 2 will see if the town will vote to transfer free cash the sum of $35,000 to cover an Eversource bill from prior fiscal years. Eversource informed the school department in October of this year that some of the meters have not been working and produced a statement dated Sept. 28 for $34,662.08.
The school department has requested the Eversource break down the bill into fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024 amounts so that only the 2022 and 2023 portion will be paid under this article. When more information is received, a recommendation to modify the article will be made at Town Meeting.
Wong added that most articles were not dealing with hard numbers yet as it as still a draft and they were awaiting certified funds from the state.
Article 3 is a vote to see if the town will transfer from unreserved free cash or other available funds $461,000 to make capital purchases, repairs or replacements. The first replacement listed is $385,000 for a new or used street sweeper.
“We do need it before next annual Town Meeting because we need to sweep the streets with the fall and all the sanding and debris and so on. We’re going to need this sooner rather than later,” Wong said.
The second item under the article is $46,000 to replace the scoreboard at the high school athletics field. Wong said she has heard from many around town that it had stopped functioning this fall and a new scoreboard with more modern digital elements would be a nice addition to the town’s sports hub.
The other items listed at $15,000 for new elevators and $15,000 toward a Historic Commission study. The $15,000 for the study would only be used if they secure a state grant and in that scenario the city would get back half their money.
Article 4 if passed would see the town transfer from waste water treatment plant retained earnings of $340,000 toward the Judd Brook project ($300,000) and the Main Street Pump Station channel grinder ($40,000).
Wong said this funding is in line with what has been approved at town meeting in past years to ensure the blades within the grinder are kept up with.
“Typically they last three years but the Main Street Pump Station has been having some issues and we need another $40,000 to get that operational,” Wong said.
She said for the Judd Brook project they just went out to bid for it making some of the item theoretical and pending that outcome. She added the low bidder is currently at $2.15 million and their estimate has been around $2.2 million but has not recently been updated. Other bids were about $750,000 more than the $2.15 million so because of that the town is looking to have an $800,000 contingency on the project.
Article 5 is free cash-related and is a vote on transferring from unreserved free cash or any other available funds $550,000 to the Mosier Stabilization Fund. According to Wong there is currently $850,000 in the Mosier Stabilization Fund and it is estimated that about $1.5-2 million is needed for a feasibility study depending on the scope and when the project is bid.
The article would raise the Mosier fund to $1.4 million and according to Wong it will make the South Hadley project more favorable when the Massachusetts State Building Authority votes in December 2023 on which projects will move forward. If invited into the process, South Hadley must demonstrate that it has the funding in fiscal year 2025 — to be voted on in May 2024 Town Meeting — and brings the total closer to what is needed.
Article 6 looks to transfer $145,453.94 of unreserved free cash to the Opioid Stabilization Fund. At the May Town Meeting this stabilization fund was created but the town had already received funds before they had created a town account to handle it. This article moves those funds into the new Stabilization Fund.
Articles 7, 8 and 9 are all connected according to Wong and have to be voted on in the order they are listed. Article 7 will be to see if the town will impose local room occupancy excise at the rate of 4%. This article is the vote to accept the Massachusetts General Law allowing for the excise tax. The town can vote the percentage up to 6% maximum.
The Selectboard discussed and recommended the 4%, and the state estimates that the town will receive $7,800 for each 1%. For example, 4% is $31,200 and 6% is $46,800 per year. Wong said this article mostly applies to short term rentals in commercially managed buildings.
Article 8 is connected as it looks to impose the Frist Local Option Community Impact Fee at a rate of 3%. When received it would be appropriated 100% to affordable housing and public infrastructure. No properties fall into this category, but this has to be approved in order to approve Article 9.
Article 9 looks to impose the Second Local Option Community Impact Fee at the rate of 3% and when received it shall be appropriated 100% to affordable housing and public infrastructure. According to Wong, at least 35% of revenues must go to affordable housing or public infrastructure projects and the Selectboard voted for the 100%.
Article 10 would see town meeting members vote to establish a senior tax work off program effective for fiscal year 2025. The town would also adjust the exemption to allow an approved representative and allow the maximum reduction of the real property tax bill to be $2,000.
The town has been soliciting public input and discussed at several Selectboard meetings. The state also recently increased the maximum amount from $1,500 to $2,000.
Article 11 will have Town Meeting members vote to amend section 7-20 of the town’s general bylaws by deleting the current language and create more detail language in the bylaw. The Master Plan Implementation Committee would be the beneficiary of the change as it would better describe their purpose as a committee, membership and organization information.
Wong said the language has already been voted on by different town committees to be changed.
A public hearing on the Special Town Meeting warrant is expected during the next Selectboard meeting and the Appropriations Committee will vote on their recommendation on Nov. 8.