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Date: 11/1/2023
HAMPDEN — Hampden conducted its fall Town Meeting on Oct. 30. Of the 20 articles on the warrant, the most contentious was the question of whether to approve a notice of intent to borrow $8.5 million for a municipal fiber-optic broadband system. In a vote that came closer than any other Town Moderator Richard Green had presided over, voters rejected the measure.
Board of Selectmen member Craig Rivest, who had been the driving force behind efforts to adopt a fiber-optic system, presented information to voters. He explained that the system would be organized similarly to the transfer station, with user fees paying for the service.
While $8.5 million was the amount requested for the borrowing authorization, Rivest told voters that the town would actively be seeking grants to lower the cost. If half of the town’s 1,995 broadband customers signed up for the fiber-optic system, the cost of the infrastructure build out would be paid for by the user fees.
Rivest also addressed flyers urging people to vote against the fiber optic system that had been delivered to homes across the town. The flyers, robocalls and home visits were organized by the Alliance for Reliable Broadband. Rivest said the organization is a lobbying group that has used “smear tactics” against attempts to create municipal broadband in places around the country.
Dave Hayward, who is a member of the Fiber Optic Committee, urged people to vote for the article and said there is grant money that can be accessed only if the town were to move forward on the project.
Resident Joe Sibilia described cable as “a dying dog” industry and said people’s home values would increase if they signed up for the system.
Treasurer Richard Patullo said, “Even if you’re a pessimist like me,” municipal fiber was the way to go.
Thad Clavette spoke against the article. He said that people would still have to subscribe to a streaming service for television content.
Jackie Fornier, who said she has had good experiences with Charter, said, “If we have something that works, what are we doing?”
Jane Thorpe, a resident and customer service representative for Whip City Fiber, assured residents that the company has phone service and will help people navigate streaming services.
Jim Ash said he was “conceptually opposed” to taxpayers paying for something that would benefit a private service and that other options should be considered.
When the vote was taken, Green initially said it had passed. When a hand-count was requested, however, the vote was found to be 133-72, or 64.8% voting in favor, 2% shy of the two-thirds majority required.
Some people watching the meeting via Zoom decried that they could not vote, however, Green said that because the integrity of the vote could not be ensured otherwise, “You’ve got to be here to play.” The Board of Selectmen asked about retaking the vote, but Green said the rules around that would require “homework” and denied the option.
Rivest later commented to Reminder Publishing, “Is fiber dead? The answer is no. While the motion failed, there was well more than a majority vote — 133 [people] voted in favor, which I consider a success.”
He continued, “I think there is enough support from those at the meeting and those who said they couldn’t make it, stressing that they only stayed at home so their significant others could attend the meeting. I think those voices warrant further investigation of municipal fiber-optic internet in Hampden. We will still actively look for grants and other funding opportunities to help address those financial concerns raised. We will regroup and reorganize and see what lies ahead.”
Another article that received substantial debate was whether to approve $57,500 to help fund a new master plan, a document that is supposed to guide the town’s goals and initiatives over five to seven years. The master plan on file was last updated in 1982. A grant for $75,000 had already been secured, but the remainder was required to contract with the engineering and planning firm VHB.
The Advisory Board did not recommend the article because a similar article had failed at the spring Town Meeting. Patullo said the plan was unnecessary for a town with mature zoning bylaws. “Next thing you know, the master plan will have bicycle lanes on every street,” he said.
Resident Connie Witt asked if the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission were involved and how much it would charge the town. Planning Board member Heather Beattie said the PVPC gave an estimate of $75,000, but the scope of its services was not “robust,” and the board decided to contract with VHB instead.
An additional $42,600 was approved for a brush truck, for which $10,952 had been appropriated in the spring. Fire Chief Ed Poulin said the cost of the truck increased between when estimates were acquired and when funding was approved. He said the existing brush truck will be sold to help offset the cost.
Three of the four articles to fund capital expenses at the high school passed. Hampden’s portion of costs for a failed boiler, air conditioning mini-split units and new projectors and monitors totaled $41,458. No action was taken on the last of the four school-related articles because grant funding may pay for upgraded security cameras. If not, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Superintendent for Finance, Operations and Human Resources Aaron Osborne previously said that the item would be brought back at the spring 2024 Town Meeting.
With Town Administrator Bob Markel leaving at the end of the calendar year, $15,000 was approved to hire an executive search firm. While a motion was made to have the search completed in-house by Markel, the Town Counsel Rose Crowley explained that Town Meeting cannot dictate who performs a search, only whether to fund it.
Board of Selectmen member Donald Davenport praised Markel for his accomplishments while in the town administrator position, including negotiating the Action Ambulance service contract and securing thousands of dollars in grant funding for various initiatives. Markel received a round of applause from the crowd.
All other articles either passed or had no action taken. Some of the funding approved included $60,000 for architectural designs for the Senior Center expansion, $23,400 for automatic defibrillators and two community preservation-funded articles to address issues at Academy Hall, totaling $10,538.
At the end of the meeting, the remaining $545,709 in free cash was combined with $344,290 from the stabilization account to lower the fiscal year 2024 tax rate. The remaining balance in the stabilization account, which acts as the town’s savings account, was $1.85 million.
Although the exact amount of the new tax rate was unavailable at the meeting, Advisory Committee Chair Doug Boyd said that the goal was to keep the tax rate between 3.5% and 4% above the FY23 rate.