Voters breeze through meetings

By Taryn Plumb
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – In what may have been a record-setter, voters whipped through the annual and special town meetings on Monday night, passing many of the 27 proposed warrant articles unanimously, and with very little discussion.
The meetings, which drew fewer than 100 voters, were completed in just about an hour-and-a-half.
For starters, the town's Fiscal Year 2011 budget, proposed at $24,595,731, was passed unanimously, with just two procedural questions on close to 200 line items.
Reflecting an increase of more than $1.6 million over the current fiscal year budget, FY 2011's operating expenses include a $5,853,080 assessment to the Tantasqua Regional School District, and another $8,667,850 to Burgess Elementary School. Tantasqua's assessment increased by just over $140,650 in the current fiscal year, and Burgess by roughly $426,000.
Of the total budget pie, 59 percent will be doled out to education, 17 percent to general government expenses, 16 percent to police, fire, and public works, 4 percent to health and human services, and another 4 percent to debt.
Voters also approved expenses for the water department, at $755,765, a 4.2 percent decrease from the current budget. Also passed was $1,195,982 for the sewer department, reflecting a 1.5 percent decrease.
Meanwhile, voters authorized the use of $152,320 for the Route 131 sewer construction project. Similarly, another $25,000 was approved for an engineering study of wastewater management alternatives on Route 15.
To be completed by Tighe & Bond, the study will look at several options, including: expanding sewer service, constructing a line down Route 15, and treating the sewage at the existing facility, with abutters paying for the cost through fees; another option doing the same, but also returning the treated water to the Route 15 service area for discharge; creating a municipally-operated satellite facility on private, town-owned or median land, with sewer rate payers absorbing the costs; or letting individual property owners implement their own private disposal systems.
Meanwhile, a zoning bylaw dealing with expedited permitting will be enacted, per voter approval. The bylaw will be allowed for locations designated as priority development sites, and permit reviews and final decisions will be required within 180 days (subject to extensions). The town planner will be the point of contact.
Voters also authorized a petition request to rezone land on Holland Road from “general industrial” to “commercial-tourist.”
In a similar land matter, voters gave selectmen the ability to accept by gift, purchase, or take by eminent domain, a parcel on Cedar Lake Drive beside Burgess Elementary School. This will allow the town to ensure that all property involved with Burgess construction is owned by the town.
As officials explained, that parcel of land has been classified as “owner unknown,” and considerable effort was taken to determine who, if anyone, owns it. Other land in that vicinity was acquired through tax title. If the town uses it openly for 20 years, according to town counsel, that will extinguish any right of anyone to claim it.
One article that did solicit some back-and-forth discussion dealt with an annual allotment of $15,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to provide operating and administrative expenses for the community preservation committee.
After questions about the use of these funds, committee chairwoman Penny Dumas explained the money is set aside for legal and administrative expenses, appraisal reports and general office supplies, to ensure that the committee doesn't have to tap into the town's general fund.
Typically, Dumas explained, the money isn't even used – last year, for instance, $13,500 was returned to the general CPA fund.
She stressed that “we're very, very stringent with the funds, and they're there if we need them.”
Resident Ginger Peabody expressed her concerns, however, saying “it's still coming out of our pockets.”
After discussion, the question passed unanimously.
Meanwhile, no action was taken on a petition request to revert back to holding the town meeting the last Monday of April. This would have rescinded a vote taken last year that changed the date of the ATM to the first Monday in June.
The finance committee recommended no action because a June town meeting allows the town to provide more accurate state aid figures.

Also approved:

-A $80,770 transfer from a hotel/motel account to the Sturbridge Tourist Association account. The money, which comes from a recently-raised 6 percent hotel/motel tax, will be used for tourism and marketing.
-$50,000 in CPA money to fund roughly 95 percent of the Sturbridge trails master plan. A consultant will be hired to develop a plan for constructing, marketing and maintaining trail systems on the town's expansive inventory of public space.
-$34,933.50 in CPA funds for the Sturbridge trails committee, which will be used to mark trails at Heins Farm, replace culverts and mark boundaries at the river lands, and construct a Leadmine Mount Arbutus loop trail.
-$30,000 for an engineering study of well No. 1. This will cover a cost/benefit analysis of the various alternatives related to preventing the intrusion of surface water.