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Date: 10/30/2019
HAMPDEN – Hampden conducted its Special Town Meeting on Oct. 28 at the Thornton W. Burgess Middle School. The warrant contained 19 articles.
Carol Fitzgerald, co-chair of the Advisory Committee informed the residents of the town’s finances before voting. She explained that the town had $1.37 million in its stabilization account and $625,620 in the “free cash.” Free cash consists of funds that have previously been appropriated but not spent and unexpected revenue. She said expenditures from these two accounts would not affect the tax rate.
Fitzgerald informed the residents that approval of all articles would mean spending all of the free cash, $300,000 from the stabilization account, and borrowing $317,443.
All articles were approved by the town, except two articles on which no action was taken. Article 17, one of the no action articles, would have amended language from a previously-passed annual town meeting article to allow for borrowing to fund the Highway Building addition.
“Through the effort of the town accountant,” borrowing money was not necessary, Select Board Chair John Flynn said. The other issue on which no action was taken, Article 18, was a formality and consent agenda item to move available money into the stabilization fund.
Article three, a new bylaw governing the installation, regulation, and removal of large-scale ground-mounted solar arrays was approved by a two-thirds majority vote from the town. Before voting, Donna Hatch, a resident who took the lead in drafting the new solar bylaw proposed a minor amendment to the language allowing installations to have more than one underground water storage tank.
A one-year moratorium on new solar fields expired on Oct. 29, one day after the meeting. Plans for new large-scale ground-mounted solar arrays can now move forward but must abide by the new, more comprehensive bylaw.
After voting, Moderator Richard Green praised the process under which the new bylaw had come about, noting, “this all started with a citizens’ petition,” and that residents had seen the project through to fruition.
Article five, the acquisition of a new emergency radio system, was the one item on the warrant for which bonding was required. The system will be financed through raising and appropriating $200,000 and borrowing the remaining $317,433.
Flynn told the town that the current system nearly failed during the last large storm. He said the system being purchased was newer technology that had been vetted, was more reliable and had a very low maintenance budget.
“This is a system that will provide support to the police department, to the fire department, for decades to come,” Flynn said.
Resident Jim Smith asked why the town was both raising and borrowing funds for the system. Town Treasurer Richard Patullo said, “It seemed irresponsible to borrow that much.” He added that it would likely be done with “short–term notes” since he foresees the probability of large expenditures in the future.
Article eight was a question on using $10,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to replace a fence around Prospect Hill Cemetery.
“This is the exact same request from the spring warrant,” that was voted down, said Doug Boyd, who was presenting the article to the town. Two questions had been raised in May - why is a fence needed, and why can’t it be made of metal to extend its life? Boyd said that the presence of the approximately 900–feet of fencing was recommended by the Cemetery Commission. He also explained that to use CPA funds, the fence must be made of the same material as the historical fence that it replaces.
Resident Dave Markham asked how the material could be changed, to which Boyd said that other materials could be used but then it would not be eligible for CPA funding. Article eight also tapped $24,780 of CPA funds to repair a well in Memorial Park.
Questions came up around Articles six and seven, which give the select board the ability to negotiate tax agreements with the owners of solar arrays on Ames Road and Thresher Road, respectively.
One resident wanted to know how much tax revenue the town received from the solar farms. Patullo answered that it ranged from $50,000 to $85,000 per solar installation.
Another resident, Andrew Netherwood, asked why the town negotiates with each installation separately. Town Counsel Rose Crowley explained that the state authorizes towns to enter into individual agreements with each solar company regarding their properties.