No conflicts at Blandford Town Meeting; all warrant items passed

June 30, 2020 | Amy Porter
amyporter@thewestfieldnews.com

BLANDFORD – All warrants passed unanimously at the Annual Town Meeting on June 21.  Town Administrator Joshua Garcia said that the Finance Committee had worked hard to present the budget, and each topic had already been discussed in public meetings.

“The culture we’ve been cultivating in Blandford is collaborative. The Finance Committee has been working since October with each and every department to understand their needs and keep an eye on revenue to put an accurate budget together,” Garcia said.

He said working together with the Finance Committee and select board, they were unified in presenting the budget at the Town Meeting.

Among the highlights that passed were a change in name from the board of selectmen to select board, and from selectmen to select board members.

The town voted to transfer $85,000 from free cash to purchase a Class 500 Series truck for the Highway Department, and $96,415 from the Stabilization fund towards the purchase of a new rescue truck for the Fire Department.

Residents voted in favor of creating a Library Building Stabilization Fund for the purpose of repairing and maintaining Porter Memorial Library. They also voted to transfer $100,000 from the Building Stabilization Fund into the Library Building Stabilization Fund.

Garcia said the vote on the town’s share of the Gateway Regional School District budget was amended for the statutory assessment, and passed. The original warrant article reflected the alternative assessment, which is based on an equal percentage increase to the six member towns and must be passed by all six towns.

Earlier this month, Middlefield residents voted for the statutory assessment, a lower amount for the town this year, which defeated hopes to go forward with the alternative assessment.

Four out of the six member towns are needed to pass the statutory formula, which is based on the number of students from each town, according to the March 1 census. Garcia said the statutory assessment for Blandford was $45,000 more than the alternative assessment,“but we were able to support it.”

Blandford residents also voted to establish a Municipal Light Plant Enterprise Fund for broadband operations, and to borrow up to $50,000 to fund fiber optic drop construction and installation in connection with the construction and buildout of the town’s broadband system.  

Blandford has contracted with Westfield Gas & Electric for the buildout, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year to the beginning of 2021, and Whip City Fiber will serve as the town’s Internet Service Provider.

The town also voted to amend its bylaws for ground-mounted solar arrays, defining and distinguishing between large-scale, medium-scale and small-scale arrays as to required permits. The amendments were the result of a moratorium on solar arrays and a year-long study by the planning and zoning boards.

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