HARDWICK – As the Jan. 7, 2023, special election nears, Hardwick residents are looking to obtain as much information on the proposed horse track before casting a ballot.

The special election pertains to the proposed Commonwealth Equine and Agricultural Center (CEAC) LLC horse racing facility location at 228 Barre Rd.

To provide a space for residents to convene and share information from both sides – those for and against the proposal – the Hardwick Board of Selectmen added an informational meeting item to its Dec. 19 agenda.

Before hearing from residents, Town Clerk Ryan Witkos explained that a special election will take place on Jan. 7, 2023, from 12 to 7 p.m. at Hardwick Elementary School.

He said, “Given the uncertain weather that may occur that day, there will be plenty of vote by mail applications,” that are available outside his office and on the town’s website, https://townofhardwick.com/PDF/2023VotebyMailApplication.pdf. Applications can be brought to the drop box at the top of the stairs of the municipal building, faxed, scanned, emailed to Witkos or given to him in person.

The vote by mail application deadline is Dec. 30 at 5 p.m.

Given the timing of this election, Witkos said early in-person voting will not be allowed. This election will only have mail-in voting or in-person voting on Jan. 7, 2023. On election day, he noted that mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. If there is no postal mark or it comes in later than Jan. 7, 2023, the ballot will not be included in the vote.

Those that are not able to make it to the polls on election day can make an appointment with Witkos to vote absentee in person, in his office. The deadline to vote absentee is Jan. 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. Witkos encourages absentee voters who have not already made an appointment to reach out to his office to do so.

Informational meeting

The Board of Selectmen provided two handouts for attendees. One of the packets was question and answer responses by Town Administrator Nicole Parker and town counsel Alex Weisheit from KP Law. The other packet was questions asked of the proponent and their responses.

Board of Selectmen Chair Julie Quink noted that the meeting would stop at 8:30 p.m. If there was time, she would entertain questions only – no comments. For anything that requires an answer, she assured that an answer would be obtained and relayed for the public’s knowledge.

Quink went on to share some of the commonly asked questions and responses that were addressed by Parker and Weisheit, including race days, parking and traffic, to name a few. She explained that CEAC’s responses went into greater detail, but both documents can be found on the homepage of the town’s website, https://www.townofhardwick.com/index.html.

If any responses were updated after the meeting, Quink said the online responses will reflect that with the date the change was made.

When it came time for the respective parties to speak, Devon Ruud represented those in favor of the track and Cara Wilczynski represented those opposed.

Ruud spoke first, sharing her perspective on the matter and touching upon some key points that have been made throughout this process. “Things need to change,” she said. While she would like to see the hayfields stay the way they are forever, she noted, “sustaining that in today’s generation is not feasible.”

Ruud went on to say that agritourism seems to be popping up all around. “It’s a way that the farms are expanding their business revenues. It’s a way that farms are still surviving to do what they love to do but in a way that makes them money.”

She shared that she would not like to see this land developed into a brewery that would be open 365 days a year, constantly bringing people in. “At the end of the day, what I truly want for this place has nothing to do with me because I did not buy this property.”

With the $500,000 annual revenue originally proposed by CEAC, Ruud said, “$1 million in two years is $1 million we didn’t have two years ago,” that can be used for a plethora of projects.

Wilczynski followed and shared that she is currently the president of Hardwick Villages for Responsible Growth. She explained that the group plans to work toward the betterment of the community in the future.

As a group, Wilczynski noted that extensive research was conducted on CEAC’s proposal. This includes the $500,000, race days, feasibility for the town and more. “No one person could have gathered this information and researched it on their own,” she said. She noted that her group gathered information through the binding application that was submitted to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the Massachusetts gaming laws, the drafted host community agreement and the studies that commonwealth racing had done to develop a proposal.

Based on some findings, Wilczynski noted that the current statutory minimum number of race days required to qualify for a simulcast license is 100 days. However, before the meeting began, Parker noted that she would check the accuracy of this information, as someone informed her of a possible amendment.

Wilczynski also mentioned gambling, although the developer is not proposing that at the site.

She said, “I ask all of you: do you have the information necessary to vote? Do you have the details you need to understand what is truly at stake here?”

She concluded, “How is this race track feasible for our small town [of] Hardwick? We don’t need to settle for this. We don’t need to rely on this proposal. Vote no, Jan. 7.”