WILBRAHAM – About 100 Wilbraham residents gathered in the auditorium at Minnechaug Regional High School on the evening of May 13 for the annual Town Meeting. While there were 47 articles in all, the main points of contention revolved around the budget, a couple of capital spending projects, solar installations, and a zoning change.
    
Article 7

Article 7 presented the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) town budget. The proposed budget for FY20 was $43,123,538. Finance Committee Chair Carolyn Brennan gave a presentation outlining the major components of the budget. A total of $39,548,826 would have to be raised and appropriated.

“We are under the levy limit, which is a relief to tax-payers,” Brennan said.

Howard Barber, the director of finance for the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, also gave a presentation that had previously been shown to the School Committee and residents at a public hearing on March 7. He explained that there was a 1.19 percent increase to the town’s assessment due to a shift in where HWRSD students live. A larger percentage now live in Wilbraham than during the last Fiscal Year.

Barber also explained that, although the state promised to cover 100 percent of the district’s transportation costs through Chapter 71 funding, they are currently only cover 68 percent, leaving the district to pick up the rest of the tab.

Resident Donald Flannery asked Barber if there was a way to compel the state to fund the entire cost of transportation and mentioned bringing a lawsuit against the state. Barber said that Chapter 71 funds are distributed evenly to regional school districts. There is an effort to have the state release an additional allocation of funds. Barber said the HWRSD is hoping to see some improvements in the future. The article passed.

Article 14

Article 14 proposed several capital spending projects. The total cost of the projects was $566,078 to be taken from the town’s Free Cash. For most of the projects there were no objections, including $75,000 for a material screen machine for the Department of Public Works, $50,000 in drainage improvements, and $50,000 for Fire Department breathing equipment.

Flannery again took to the mic to request that the $50,000 allotted for the study of town buildings be increased in order to see if moving the Senior Center to a portion of the shuttered Memorial School would be more cost-effective than building a new one. He said a similar study of the town buildings had been done “a few years ago,” by Roy Brown.

Selectwoman Susan Bunnell said that the purpose of funding the study was to update the 2008 Brown study and reminded Flannery that the parliamentary procedures that had been approved earlier in the meeting stated that any voter proposing an increase to spending must cite where the funds would come from.

“Now don’t make me jump through hoops here,” Flannery said, raising his voice and speaking over Bunnell, at which point the moderator, James Jurgens, admonished Flannery for being “out of order.”

Another resident questioned whether there was a commercial dishwasher at Memorial School that could be used for Soule Road School, rather than purchasing a new one for $65,000. He said it seemed like a waste if Soule Road was going to be closed as he had heard. While the question of taking the dishwasher from Memorial School was never answered, Capital Planning Committee Chair Nick Manolakis said that there were no current plans to close Soule Road School.

Article 14 passed.

Article 28

Article 28 is an amendment to the language in the by-law that regulates large-scale ground-mounted (LSGM) solar farms. Jeff Smith of the Planning Board said that the changes would provide better protection for abutters, increased setbacks from property lines, stricter language for approval or denial, stricter ownership and lease guidelines, and a stormwater management report. The proposed changes did not affect residential solar systems.

There are currently two LSGM solar installations in town and two more that have been permitted but not yet installed.

A resident asked Smith how it would affect energy prices in town. Smith said that some of the larger installations participate in a program that offers reduced rates to abutters and said that the municipality can receive a credit.

Andy Levenson stepped up to the mic to ask what assurances the town has that the businesses that erect the solar farms will remove them when they go out of business or break down. Smith explained that there is language in the by-law and the bonds that the businesses take out allowing the town to be compensated were a business to dissolve.

“Why would we let them into our town if we have these doubts?” asked Levenson.

“We don’t have doubts, we have a rock-solid by-law that we presented to you,” Smith answered to audience laughter. The by-law change was passed.

Article 29

This article would change the zoning on a single piece of property at 5 Woodlawn Dell Rd., from Residence-40 to Neighborhood Office. The building is currently owned by the Wilbraham Masonic Building Association but is not in use. Wilbraham resident Vincent Cardillo is pursuing the purchase of the building as an office for his dental consulting business.

A few residents of the neighborhood spoke against the zoning change. Carisa Cosimini and Allison Catellier both expressed concern about an increase in traffic. Cartelli called it a “very skinny street,” and said kids ride their bikes and people walk their pets on the road. Cardello said there would only be three or four people working in the building.

Another resident raised the question of what problems might arise from future businesses that use that building. Smith said Neighborhood Offices are strictly regulated and any subsequent businesses would have to go through the zoning board of appeals. He said that right now there is no tax revenue coming from the property.

“It’s not like it’s smack dab in the middle of a bunch of houses,” Smith said. In spite of the neighbors’ reluctance, the article passed.

All of the other articles passed with the exception for Article 35, which would have approved the Community Preservation Committee’s acquisition of 1.6 acres of land. On this article, there was a vote of “no action.”