Whately approves ‘aggressive’ budget at Town Meeting

May 31, 2022 | Dylan Corey
dcorey@thereminder.com

WHATELY – Gathered outside of Whately Elementary School on May 24, roughly 50 voters unanimously approved Whately’s $5.73 million fiscal year 2023 (FY23) budget and definitions for new marijuana courier and delivery businesses among other items before eventually voting to table the final article, Article 26, which would re-zone a parcel of land to allow for more commercial use related to the marijuana businesses.

The total operating budget increased by $310,464 or 5.73 percent with a nearly $132,000 spike for Frontier Regional High School. Cultural, recreation, and services operations increased by $21,261 or 15.65 percent including an additional $8,268 to the South County Senior Center and $7,150 for the Recreation Commission.

The hike in the budget raised the first question from a resident who wondered if any of the most significant rises were likely to be one-time increases or if they would be ongoing.

“Compared to other years, this is a budget that is certainly more aggressive in terms of the percent and the dollar increase,” said Finance Committee Chair Paul Antaya. “Much of that is driven from school costs and much of that is driven from the fact that we, Whately, are part of a four-member council of towns that support Frontier Regional High School and the state essentially tells Frontier what they have to allocate to each town. We’ve had a couple years where we come out smelling like roses. In other years, such as this year, not so much. That type of inequity is in all likelihood not going to continue.”

“For Tri-Town Beach, the simple answer is that we have historically under-funded Tri-Town Beach and it reflected in its operations,” Selectboard Chair Jonathan Edwards added. “We are investing more money into Tri-Town to make it a place that is welcoming and a destination for people of all ages to utilize. One of the things we hope will bring that cost back down at some level is we have invited the town of Sunderland into Tri-Town Beach to actually make it go along with its name, and if Sunderland joins then obviously that ratio of cost for the three towns will drop Whately’s share appropriately. So much of what the South County Senior Center does is grant-funded from the state, and the state has chosen to drop back some of its perpetual grants that it’s always giving and if we want the services to continue, we have to pick up the tab.”

Planning Board member Brant Cheikes provided background on Articles 24 and 25, which provoked the most engagement from the audience. Article 24 established definitions for marijuana courier and marijuana delivery businesses while 25 specified where and how they would be allowed within the town.
Comparing it to DoorDash, Cheikes said a marijuana courier would be allowed to deliver finished and packaged marijuana products, accessories and branded goods to customers while being barred from selling or processing items in their own way.

Marijuana delivery businesses would be licensed to purchase at wholesale and warehouse marijuana products and label, sell and deliver them directly to customers. They are not allowed to repackage products or operate a storefront.

“As everybody knows, marijuana is legal in Massachusetts for both medicinal and recreational use,” Cheikes said during his introduction. “It’s taxed, and it’s highly regulated at the state level. For a town like Whately, marijuana represents new business opportunities and the potential for new revenue streams to fund town services. These are new delivery businesses that came to our attention. Over a series of public meetings and discussions, the Planning Board discussed these delivery businesses and we determined that our existing bylaws didn’t cover them or were silent on these two kinds of businesses. We concluded that they should be allowed in town but should be restricted and subjected to all the regulatory oversight that currently applies to marijuana cultivators, manufacturers and retail sales operations.”

The town ultimately passed both articles unanimously before tabling Article 26. Other articles that the town passed earlier in the meeting included continuing the Haydenville Road reconstruction project, $255,000 from FY21 free cash to reduce the tax levy for FY23, and $70,000 from FY21 free cash to be transferred to the Town Buildings Stabilization Fund.

At the start of the meeting, Edwards dedicated the annual report to South County Emergency Management Services, saying the staff excelled in assisting the community throughout COVID-19.

“I’ve always enjoyed dedicating the annual report because it allows me to reflect back on the people who have made a real difference to this community,” Edwards said. “Eight or 10 years ago now, we worked together with the three towns to create what I know to be is the premiere and poster child for ambulance services in Western Mass. if not the commonwealth in terms of regional delivery. South County Emergency Management Services stepped up to the plate like no one else did because it was part of their job, but they also tried to figure out what else they could do above and beyond what was in their job description. The staff got involved with COVID[-19] testing, response, distribution of critical supplies to keep patients, caregivers and family members healthy.”

“We should be incredibly grateful for that forward-thinking, that it’s not just about what’s on the job description, it’s about what’s going to make the community better,” Edwards continued. “I’d like to really take the opportunity to thank South County Emergency Management Services, [EMS Director] Zach [Smith] and his entire staff, because of what they did and that’s why I am very proud to be able to dedicate this annual report to SCEMS and their entire staff.”

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