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Date: 5/19/2016
WILBRAHAM – One of the highest peaks in Wilbraham will soon become town property.
In perhaps the most debated issue of the evening, Town Meeting voters approved the allocation of $150,000 from Community Preservation Act funds to purchase the Mount Marcy parcel on Glendale Road from Jerome Gagliarducci and his limited liability company, Silo Farm Associates.
Joe Calabrese, chair of the Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee, explained the 47.3-acre parcel would be maintained for passive recreation such as hiking. The property would include a switchback trail, parking area and kiosk.
The former longtime coach of the East Longmeadow High School cross country team lamented that community’s systematic loss of its trail system and said the purchase was part of a continuing effort to preserve such assets in Wilbraham.
“Wilbraham today is what East Longmeadow was four decades ago,” he said. “We have the most beautiful town in the area.”
He added the property already abuts two other town-owned parcels and all told the state would kick back approximately 62 percent of the town’s investment in the land.
Detractors questioned, given the financial obstacles facing the town and its school district, whether the investment was needed or simply wanted and also spoke against taking tax-generating property off the tax rolls.
Planning Board member Dave Sanders stated his belief that the town could purchase the land, but make a flat portion open to development while preserving the area near the peak. He asserted the there was the potential to develop five or six houses on that property.
Resident Michael Dane spoke against public ownership of the land. He said he would consider a 99-year lease that could be reviewed, but simply purchasing the property in such a manner would limit the next generations’ options when determining its future.
In support of the acquisition, it was noted that the money used to purchase the property was funded outside of the normal operating budget.
Tracy Plantier of the Planning Board, who also served on the Vision Task Force, pointed out that open space was one of the aspects most valued by residents.
Resident John Broderick also countered Sanders’ assertions, stating the peak was not the only valuable part of the property from an open space and recreation standpoint. He also noted the entire property could be developed by a private owner, depending on the opinion of the Planning Board.
The long-vacant Boston Road building at 2451 Boston Road, often referred to as the Belli building, will also be demolished after a majority vote approved a $140,000 expenditure.
Dane questioned why the town could not sell the property. Real estate broker Donald Flannery answered that he tried to do just that for seven years.
“If it could have been sold, it would have been sold,” he said.
He said the land was valuable, but was he was unsuccessful in selling it due to the condition of the building. He explained it was offered to Utility Manufacturing Co. at 2443 Boston Road, but that business wouldn’t take it for free due to the prospect of addressing the crumbling building. He added a potential buyer backed out the day before the closing.
Contractors, he added, stated they could not remove the asbestos in the building by conventional means because the building was too dangerous to enter.
Voters also approved by 2/3 majority vote a zoning bylaw change for 384 Main Street from Residence 26 to Neighborhood Office. FloDesign, an engineering consulting company located at 380 Main St., plans to purchase the property from its current owner, Wilbraham & Monson Academy, for an expansion.
Town Meeting also approved a fiscal year 2017 budget of just under $45 million. Finance Committee Chair Daniel Miles noted the town had no Proposition 2 ½ overrides and was able to stay below the levy limit for the third straight year, this time by $179,556.
He expressed concerns with the rapidly rising tax rate, which he said has increased from $14.54 in 2007 to an estimated $22.06 in 2017.
Education remains by far the town’s largest expenditure, totaling 54 percent of the budget, followed by Public Works and public safety at 13 percent each.
Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) Assistant Superintendent for Business Beth Regulbuto said the district faces an estimated $537,990 gap between the proposed and level service budgets.
According to initial state budget proposals, the district expects a modest increase of ½ percent, though the House of Representatives has proposed a budget with $106,000 in additional funding for HWRSD. The district is also budgeting for a 65 percent reimbursement for its qualifying regional transportation costs under Chapter 71. Since not all transportation costs qualify, that reimbursement covers $1.3 million of the town’s $3.1 million estimated expenditure.
It was also pointed out the district anticipates and enrollment drop of 92 students – 30 fewer in Hampden and 62 fewer in Wilbraham – resulting in a 0.25 percent increase in Wilbraham’s share of the assessment.
Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea noted due to the declining enrolment and budget difficulties, four full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching positions would be eliminated at the high school, resulting in a shift to a junior high school model. In addition, two FTE teaching positions at the high school and two additional teachers at the elementary level will be cut. Programming may also be reduced.