Easy, breezy special town meeting

By Matthew Bernat
Turley Publications Staff Writer

STURBRIDGE – Voters moved briskly through Wednesday’s Special Town Meeting, approving all nine warrant articles in about 20 minutes.
With minimal explanation needed from Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Smith on a handful of articles, and only one question from an audience member, those in attendance approved changes to the general bylaws regarding town meeting deadlines, a land swap, repairs to the fire department’s diesel fume exhaust system and other articles akin to financial housekeeping.
The lack of contentious articles likely contributed to the low turnout.
“The crowd is so small tonight, I don’t think we need counters,” Town Moderator Michael Caplette said at the start of the meeting.
The sole question came before a vote on the Burgess School project land swap, which transferred an 11,157 square-foot parcel of land to the town from 408 Main St. In exchange, the town offered a L-shaped parcel of about 22,340 square feet, adjacent to the site. The swap was needed to allow a better site plan for the school and cleared minor encroachments on town property. Neither lot is suitable for building.
Elizabeth Banks, of the Zoning Board of Appeals, wanted to know what each site was zoned. Smith noted both parcels were zoned in the commercial tourist district and that classification would not be changing. The article passed unanimously, as did all others, except for a $120,000 reduction to the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.
As the town’s reserve fund was over-budgeted at Annual Town Meeting due to uncertain state aid and local revenue figures, the reduction was needed to come in line with reduced revenue projections.
Also approved: $120,000 in funding to upgrade the water treatment facility; funding the Department of Public Works employees recently settled contracts with $14,706; repairs to the fire department’s diesel bay exhaust at $6,500; and a $75,000 transfer to the stabilization fund.