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Date: 2/18/2021
HAMPDEN – At the Hampden Select Board meeting on Feb. 16, Principal Assessor Kelly McCormick and Chair of the Board of Assessors Norman Charest requested that the Select Board add an article to the Annual Town Meeting warrant that would raise the income threshold for the senior tax exemption.
A senior saves about $4,800 per year on their property taxes, through the program, McCormick said, although that number changes each year based on calculations from the state.
Currently to qualify, an individual senior must make less than $15,000 per year or less than $20,000 for a couple. The new guideline would allow individuals making up to $20,000 or couples making as much as $30,000 to qualify.
There are other criteria for the program, such as Massachusetts residency for five years, ownership of the home since July 1 and an age minimum of 70 years old. There is also a maximum asset amount.
McCormick said that the senior tax exemption, regulated under MGL Chapter 59, Section 5 Clause 41C, was last reviewed in 2004. Charest added that the Board of Assessors had reviewed the income guides for surrounding towns and that the new criterion was in keeping with other municipalities in the area. “It seems to be in line with what everybody is doing,” said Charest.
For the past two years, Charest said, only four seniors in Hampden have applied for the exemption annually. He estimated that the new income cutoffs may result in three to five additional participants. The funding to offset the property exemption comes from the overlay account and Charest said that even if the program participation increases by 10 residents, the account can absorb the cost.
The board agreed to add the article to the warrant.
Interim Town Admistrator Bob Markel informed the Select Board members of an opportunity to acquire an electric vehicle (EV) charging station at no cost to the town. Eversource is encouraging EV charging station installation by covering the cost of the electrical connections and a grant from the state would pay for the actual charging unit. The electricity to charge the vehicles is charged to the vehicle owner via credit card. The station could be installed in the Town House parking lot or on Main Street.
“I’m going to ask. Why?” board member John Flynn said, questioning whether an EV charging station is needed in Hampden. He noted most EV owners charge their vehicles at home. Markel responded that EV ownership is increasing and since it would not cost the town anything, “I thought it’d be a good way to get ahead of it.”
Select Board Member Mary Ellen Glover commented that she doesn’t think the town is “ready for that.”
Chair Donald Davenport asked Markel if a state mandate for municipal electric vehicles is likely. While not yet required, he said it is possible under the Green Communities framework, Markel said.
“If it costs nothing, I’m amenable to exploring it,” Flynn said. Davenport agreed.
After a call with Tighe & Bond, a building and design consultation firm regularly used by the town, Markel said they are developing a proposal to evaluate each of the public water supply alternatives for the handful of houses on Main Street with sodium-contaminated well water. Markel told the board that he estimated the evaluation cost to be $15,000 and urged the board to request from the Advisory Board a transfer from the reserve fund, rather than wait the three months until the May Town Meeting before taking the first steps toward fixing the drinking water issue. The issue will be taken up with the Advisory Board.
There was controversy over an email sent to Davenport by Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) committee member Bill Bontempi. In the correspondence, Bontempi informed Davenport of an initiative to develop a strategic plan for the district but noted that laying out the district’s weaknesses as part of that document’s creation could put the district at a disadvantage in the ongoing lawsuit between the Town of Hampden and the HWRSD. He requested a conference between the two parties.
Glover, who has been involved with the lawsuit from the beginning, stated that the attorney representing the town in the case, Ed Pikula, should be the one to speak with the district’s lawyer, rather than Davenport and Bontempi. After discussion with Phil Schneider, liaison to the Select Board on the lawsuit, it was decided that Davenport would contact Bontempi and agree to have Pikula follow up and discuss the issue with the district’s lawyer.
Markel was given the go-ahead to reach out to at least two consulting firms regarding the creation of a safer intersection where Allen Street, Somers Road, Wilbraham Road and East Longmeadow Road meet. Markel explained that a redesign of the intersection can be paid for with a mixture of grants from the Gaming Commission. “We can get a project designed. We can get federal funding,” to complete the project, Markel said.
In the town administrator’s report, Markel confirmed that several items on the Select Board’s “focus list,” created in July 2020 have been completed, including the revival of the Capital Plan Committee; the hiring of a conservation agent; a decision on regional dispatch and completion of the senior center feasibility study, the fire station study and the town employee compensation review.