SOUTHAMPTON — Some 175 voters at the annual Town Meeting on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to conserve land above the Barnes Aquifer.
The project to conserve over 25 acres near Cook and County roads is being done in cooperation with Easthampton and will be funded equally by state grants and Community Preservation Act funds from the two communities.
“This is about the land,” said Mark Wamsley, land conservation manager at Kestrel Land Trust in Amherst. “Land that has been in existence well before there was a Southampton and will continue to live on into existence in Southampton’s future long after each of us are gone.”
The conservation land will allow for the protection of the aquifer, which provides water to Easthampton, and to Southampton during droughts or periods of heavy use, and for hiking and other recreation.
About 4 percent of the town’s 4,424 registered voters attended the Town meeting which last about 2 ½ hours.
By majority vote, they accepted Old Harvest Road in the Western View Estates subdivision as a town road, and by unanimous vote amended the town’s solar zoning bylaw.
Meanwhile, nearly every article concerning the $15.63 million budget for the year beginning July 1 was approved without amendment by a majority or unanimous vote.
But Article 13, which transferred $615,408.40 to the Water Enterprise Fund was initially voted down — which, if left uncorrected, would have produced grave consequences, officials said.
The Finance Committee did not recommend approval of that article because it increases Water Department employee salaries beyond the guidelines set by the Select Board.
The meeting continued with other matters until Water Commission member Matt Christy requested a reconsideration.
“If no budget is passed for the Water Department, residents should be aware that there will be no water service as of July 1,” Town Administrator Heather Budrewicz said.
Voters approved a new budget that provides some $300 less for salaries and wages, which follows the Select Board’s recommendations.
Moderator Robert Floyd quickly turned back an article proposed by Budrewicz that would have allowed speakers to face both the moderator and Town Meeting voters.
Speakers traditionally have faced only the moderator, with their backs to voters.
“I rule the motion out of order,” Floyd said. “By statute, Town Hall has no control over Town Meeting process.”
Floyd said he was fulfilling his oath as an elected official to follow state law which states that the moderator has authority over questions of order at Town Meeting.
The motion to table the article was approved 135-38.
A majority of voters approved a solar net-metering contract that will save the town an estimated $11,000 on energy costs over 20 years. Longmeadow, Easthampton and Deerfield and the Gateway Regional, Amherst-Pelham and Hampshire Regional school districts have signed on to the project, which is located in Deerfield, according to consultant Todd Bard of LEE Energy Group.
And the town is closer to being eligible for the state Green Community designation after a majority of voters approved a stretch code regulating the design and construction of buildings in regard to energy efficiency.
Once the town is awarded the Green Community designation, it would be eligible for preferential consideration for state grants for green projects.
A majority of voters approved a transfer station enterprise fund budget that calls for it to no longer be open on Thursdays and increases the minimum tipping fee for items from $5 to $10.
It will remain open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The budget was put forth by highway superintendent Randall Kemp and recommended by the Finance Committee.
Six articles were approved for capital expenses.
— $5,451 for half the cost of 13 bulletproof vests for the Police Department. The other half will be funded by a federal grant. Such vests have a five-year life span and are used daily by officers, according to Police Chief Michael Goyette.
— $53,196 to purchase a Ford Explorer SUV police cruiser.
— $9,000 to purchase three sets of firefighter turnout gear, as part of a three-year plan to purchase a new set of gear for the Fire Department.
— $22,000 to purchase 22 laptops for use by William E. Norris School teachers. The teachers’ old laptops will be used by students, Principal Alisa Pluta said.
— $6,400 to purchase four projectors for Norris School classrooms.
— $9,925 to upgrade the door of the Norris School to address security concerns.
Voters approved four projects that will be funded using Community Preservation Act money.
— $5,000 for 10 flat veterans’ grave markers as part of a project to mark all such graves. There are veterans of the French and Indian war buried in Southampton, according to CPA Committee chairwoman Virginia Ahart.
—$2,000 to fund the restoration of Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans’ monuments as part of a rehabilitation project.
— $15,000 to the Southampton Historical Society to fund climate control needs and a dehumidifier to rectify flooding of the basement of the Clark-Chapman House. The house includes many artifacts from the town’s early history that may be damaged by humidity, Ahart said.
— $20,000 to the Conservation Commission to stabilize the historic Red Barn on conservation land formerly owned by the Szczypta family. The College Highway barn is considered to be “iconic” by many town residents, though it is in rough shape, Ahart said.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.