WHATELY — In less than 10 minutes constituents voted through Wednesday’s special Town Meeting agenda, unanimously approving three items, taking no action on one.
“We’re just trying to straighten out the intersection where Egypt Road meets Routes 5 and 10; make it a little bit wider,” said Selectwoman Joyce Palmer-Fortune. Residents gave the Franklin Regional Council of Governments access to the road through an easement. Palmer-Fortune noted the vote was needed because Egypt Road is a county road.
No action was taken on the first article, which asked voters to allow the Select Board to acquire access to 200 Chestnut Plain Road, a parcel behind the Town Hall, to expand parking. Select Board Chariman Paul Orloski, who introduced a vote of no action, explained it’s because the “property is no longer being pursued.”
A third question, which was unanimously approved, authorized the Select Board “to acquire by gift, purchase, or eminent domain” access to 9 North St. for a pump house connecting the Whately Water District with the town’s water department. Berkshire Design Group, the project’s design firm hired by the town, has almost finished designs.
The fourth and final article on agenda changed how the town handles surplus property disposition — “bringing the amount into line with state law,” Town Administrator Brian Domina said previously.
Before the meeting Whately Historical Commission Chairwoman Donna Wiley recognized Quonquont Farm’s preservation efforts on behalf of the town.
Wiley called current owners Allison Bell and Ann Baker’s restoration work “a truly special effort in preservation. Which I will say has been greatly to Whately’s benefit, because people now know where it is.”