WILLIAMSBURG — The town will soon have a new 4-acre public park along the Mill River off Route 9 after Town Meeting decided to buy the property.
The decision to approve the park was one of 41 articles 174 residents — out of 1,956 registered voters — tackled at the four-hour annual meeting Monday night. Other key votes included approval of a fiscal 2019 budget of $7,538,809, $155,915 for a new excavator and changes to the town’s bylaws.
Next year’s budget represents an increase of 2.9 percent over the current budget. Paul Wetzel, co-chairman of the Finance Committee, explained that the average budget increase over the last five years has been 4.7 percent, noting that the town has been committed to keeping the budget increase lower this year.
Easily passing by a required two-thirds majority, voters authorized the town to acquire 4 acres along the Mill River to become a new public riverfront park.
“It’s not often that you have the chance to create a park,” Gaby Immerman, chairwoman of the Mill River Greenway Committee, said after the article passed.
According to Immerman, the committee negotiated the $4,800 purchase price for the property, which is located across from the Village Green and Local Burgy on Route 9 on the other side of the river, and currently owned by Eversource.
Immerman said that the Greenway Committee has been diligent about saving money for the town.
“Our committee has worked really hard not to be a financial burden to this town,” she said.
She said the committee over the past few years has raised close to $200,000 for the various components needed to create the greenway on the Mill River.
The committee raised roughly $8,000 specifically for the 4-acre purchase. The additional funds will go toward the development of the park, which will be permanently preserved open space for fishing, picnicking and trail walking.
Voters unanimously approved acquiring two new pieces of heavy equipment for the town — a $155,915 rubber tire excavator, or backhoe, will replace a similar 18-year-old vehicle, and a new $22,650 tractor will replace a 16-year-old failing tractor now used by the town for mowing.
Voters also unanimously approved spending $24,450 for repairs to the Old Town Hall, a historically significant building in the center of town currently used by the historical society.
Also approved on Monday was $7,000 to upgrade a 10-year-old computer server for the police station, $7,500 to purchase a new voting machine to replace one that is going out of date, and $3,000 for the planning and coordinating of the town’s 250th anniversary.
Voters authorized the Select Board to enter into a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Hull Forestlands, owners of a solar photovoltaic facility being built off Briar Hill Road.
“This would be our third for a solar facility in town,” Select Board member Denise Banister said, adding that the revenue from the agreement would far exceed the money now received by the town from taxes on the property.
Voters also authorized the Select Board to take control of the Capped Wood Waste Landfill on Mountain Street, for the purposes of leasing it out for a solar energy facility.
Seven bylaws were revised related to lot size, special permits, multi-family dwellings, home businesses, accessory apartments, the sale and production of marijuana, and deleting the temporary moratoriam on the sale and distribution of recreational marijuana.
A 3 percent sales tax on the sale or transfer of marijuana or marijuana products by a marijuana retailer was also approved.
A petition seeking $20,000 to purchase a 400-seat automated vote tabulation system failed by a wide margin. The tabulator would have allowed voters at Town Meetings to press a button on a handheld unit rather than having to hold up voter cards.
A proponent of the idea pointed out that the automated voting would not only protect the privacy of an individual’s vote, but that it would greatly expedite the voting process, reducing 15 minute vote counts like some of the ones that took place on Monday to about 10 seconds.
Opponents of the idea said that they preferred the open, tried and true nature of voting by a show of hands holding voter cards, specifically because of its public nature and despite the time it can take.
“I like the town process,” said Select Board member Dave Mathers. “We are all good people, we can agree to disagree and not be hostile, so I think this would be a waste of funds.”
A citizens petition calling on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war passed unanimously.