BELCHERTOWN — Following a brisk Town Meeting Monday night, roughly 200 residents authorized a $61 million operating budget, a new affordable housing trust, and the purchase of 177 acres of conservation land.
Navigating an extensive warrant with notable speed and minimal opposition, voters covered the gamut of municipal business, from government employee raises and committee standards to basketball court restorations and a new electric vehicle charger revolving fund.
While a couple votes received applause from residents, there was very little discussion or opposition during the meeting. The ease of the process caps off a relatively calm budgeting season for Belchertown, a year after the $2.9 million Proposition 2½ override passed.
Affordable housing
There were two exceptions to the relatively quiet Town Meeting. One cleared up confusion on the two cemeteries receiving funds to restore veteran gravestones, and the other explained the appropriation of $250,000 to Sportshaven Mobile Home Park’s water system.
For the last three years, the Sportshaven Tenants Association has worked with the town to build a new water and septic system for its residents. The municipality has backed $3.4 million in state grants for a new well, water tank and water system. However, the project is still short at least $1.3 million to finish the project.
“By adding the Community Preservation funds, that makes us more attractive to get additional funding from the state, because we’re putting our own money into this,” Select board Chair Lesa Lessard Pearson said. “It’s every resident’s right to have [access to] clean water and a good sewer system.”
Including the CPC money, $350,000 of taxpayer money has gone to the project, Town Administrator Steve Williams said. The extra allocation would also allow the town to add Sportshaven’s 39 units to its affordable housing stock.
Bylaw changes
In addition to the mobile home park, residents passed an affordable housing trust bylaw. The public charitable trust will facilitate financial assistance for moderate home renovations. As the seed project for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) 2.0 program, the trust will prioritize projects focused on accessibility and climate resilience, such as new HVAC systems or flooding safety.
The bylaw bars the trust from building new housing. Donations, gifts and grants will fund any projects exclusively for owner-occupied housing in Belchertown. The seven-person body will also work with the town to meet community housing needs and promote education of town housing resources.
Town Meeting voters also authorized two new revolving accounts. The EV charging station revolving fund will funnel fees for using the chargers in the Town Hall parking lot into maintenance and upkeep.
And a Tobacco Control fund will use any violations of local tobacco control into community education and compliance checks. Two tobacco retailers were fined $1,000 in March for selling cigarettes to a person born after Jan. 1, 2004, a violation of the town’s nicotine-free generation initiative.
Conservation, recreation
Outside of the bylaw changes, conservation and recreation efforts in Belchertown received a boost at Town Meeting. Most notably, voters authorized the municipality to purchase two parcels of forest land, and then apply for state and federal grant reimbursement. Kestrel Land Trust offered to hold conservation restrictions on all 177 acres.
Off Old Farm Road is 50 acres of forest land highly prioritized by both the town and state for its biodiversity and climate resilience. A Land Acquisition for Natural Diversity grant will provide most of the $706,000 purchase price, with the remainder coming from Community Preservation grants.
As of May 4, Belchertown received a $392,000 Acquisition for Forests Reserves grant to purchase 127 acres of the Mahall and Walker Forest. According to a statement from the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Quabbin Reservoir and Jabish Brook Conservation Area abut the forest land, promoting more passive recreation across the region. The grant covered under half of the $790,000 total cost.
The Belchertown Recreation Department also received permission to fund a $70,000 renovation to the basketball courts near Chestnut Hill Community School. A state grant will reimburse 68% of the cost.
After nearly two years, the town transferred a 9.4-acre parcel on Turkey Hill Road to the Belchertown Economic Development Industrial Corporation (BEDIC). This will allow the quasi-public organization to develop an industrial park on the Belchertown State School property.
“It makes practical use of land that is otherwise unbuildable, creating a more robust opportunity for our BEDIC to promote commercial growth and rural revenue,” Select Board member Nicole Miner said.
Capital Improvement
Belchertown this year has allocated three funding sources for capital items. The first uses $500,000 from the Proposition 2½ override to fund the entrapment covers at the Chestnut Hill Community School pool, parking and traffic reconfiguration at Jabish Brook Middle School, electrical outlets at the Town Hall auditorium, firefighting gear and bathroom renovations at the middle school.
The other two funding sources include $420,400 in free cash and $2.5 million in bonding. The full list of these projects is on the annual Town Meeting warrant.
