WHATELY — Residents passed every article except one, regarding commercial trucking use, at annual Town Meeting on Tuesday night at Whately Elementary School.
Article 35 proposed new commercial use designations for trucking and construction equipment in the various zoning districts in Whately. Residents voted to table the article for future discussion due to a lack of specificity.
As residents discussed the proposed bylaw, Select Board member Jonathan Edwards implored residents to participate on boards and attend meetings, because the town’s shortage of volunteers causes a disconnect between what residents and the town government want.
“If you have something to say about how this should look in its final format, you should attend the public hearing that the Planning Board creates,” Edwards said, “otherwise the Planning Board is running blind in terms of public sentiment until they get to a Town Meeting when it’s oftentimes too late.”
Zoning Board of Appeals alternate Frederick Orloski, who is also a former Select Board member, questioned the specificity of the bylaw.
“What is a large truck?” Orloski asked. “That’s very subjective and it’s going to come down to the Planning Board or ZBA or the building inspector to decide, ‘Is this a large truck?’”
Other residents spoke up in agreement, including Edwards, who seconded the motion to table the article for future discussion.
“We want to avoid the perceived favoritism of one person making a request for a special permit as opposed to somebody else,” Edwards said. “And that discussion will inevitably arise without more specificity.”
Voters approved the rest of the warrant, including a $5.42 million town operating budget for fiscal 2022, which is a 3.23% increase over the current fiscal year; a $1.83 million budget for Whately Elementary School, which is up 2.5%; and Whately’s $916,815 contribution toward Frontier Regional School’s budget, a decrease of 6.53%.
Residents also approved a $15,000 appropriation for the Police Department to comply with the Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth. Police Chief James Sevigne Jr. said the town must pay this fee for training of officers.
“The biggest thing that we’re facing right now with the police reform is that it’s going to require all our part-time officers to attend 200 additional hours of training,” Sevigne explained. “Plus we have to purchase some equipment related to body cams for software, editing and things like that.”
Sevigne said the Police Department will spread these fees out over the next three years and to expect the same type of article at next year’s Town Meeting.
Residents also approved bylaw revisions designating Poplar Hill Road, Strippe Road and Webber Road as “scenic roads,” which prohibit tree removal or dismantling of stone walls without a public hearing.
A slew of Whately Elementary School repairs were approved as well. The town will allocate money to replace a commercial oven in the cafeteria, resurface the driveway, and install new tile flooring and rugs.