Great Barrington — The annual town meeting on Monday, May 1 was one part an exercise in traditional New England democracy, and another part a five hour long endurance test. The meeting, which was held at Monument Mountain High School, included 42 articles on its warrant.
Around three hours into the meeting, at around 9 p.m., Town Moderator Michael Wise asked the audience if they wanted to recess the meeting until Thursday, May 4. “Someone suggested to me that if we don’t finish it by nine we should come back on Thursday,” Wise said. “You want to finish it tonight?” Various audience members in attendance said yes, and the meeting continued on until 11 p.m.
Approximately 249 residents attended the meeting, along with “guests” and residents from other towns. As the five hour meeting went on, however, the audience dwindled down. But at the end of the night, Town Moderator Wise clarified that a quorum continued to be present all throughout the meeting.
Articles about the annual town meeting, including warrant votes, will be published over the next few days in The Berkshire Edge. In the interim, the following is a summary of the vote on articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant.
Article 1: Authorize revolving fund limits for Building, Public Works Departments, and Council on Aging. Passed.
Article 2: Elected town officials salaries for the Selectboard. Passed.
Article 3: Fiscal 2024 town operating budget for $14,577,919. Passed. The approved budget is an estimated $683,862, or 4.9 percent, increase from the Fiscal 2023 budget. The estimated tax rate is now set to go up to $14.60 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Article 4: Capital spending authorization for $8,159,100. Passed. The authorized expenditures includes $5,235,700 for street and bridge improvements; $1,325,00 for building and grounds improvements; $370,000 for parks improvements; $350,000 for a technology broadband project; and various equipment expenditures for the Public Works, Police, and Fire Departments.
Article 5: Authorize funding of community programs. Passed. The article authorizes the town to use free cash received from host community agreements with marijuana establishments to fund various community programs.
Article 6: Wastewater Treatment Plant budget for Fiscal 2024. Passed. The approved budget for Fiscal 2024 is $2,824,711.
Article 7: Capital authorization for Wastewater Enterprise Fund. Passed. Approved capital items include $400,000 in collection system improvements, $200,000 in engineering services, and $14,000 for a mower.
Article 8: Authorize repurposing of Wasterwater Enterprise Fund borrowing appropriation. Passed. With the vote, the town approved $300,000 to pay for the cost of departmental equipment, wastewater system improvement, and repair projects. The funds were taken from the unexpended portion of $400,000 that was authorized at the annual town meeting in 2020.
Article 9: Fiscal 2024 Berkshire Hills Regional School District assessment. Passed. The total assessment is $20,333,733, which includes $19,889,874 for the operating assessment and $443,859 for the capital assessment. The assessment is $1,387,100 more than this fiscal year.
Article 10: $140,000 for out of district vocational tuition and transportation for Fiscal 2024. Passed.
Article 11: Authorization of use of free cash to reduce the tax levy. Passed.
Article 12: Authorization to pay prior fiscal years’ invoices. Passed. Residents authorized the town to pay $195 to Custom Drug Testing, Inc. and $87.55 to Berkshire Medical Center.
Article 13: Authorization of an appropriation of $150,000 from the town’s Free Cash line item into the town’s Stabilization Fund. Passed.
Article 14: Authorization of an appropriation of $150,000 from the town’s Free Cash into the Capital Stabilization Fund. Passed.
Article 15: Authorize the establishment of an Other-Post Employment Benefits Trust Fund. Passed. According to the town meeting warrant, the fund has been established “to account for appropriations made to cover current and future liabilities of the town for group health insurance benefits for retirees and their dependents.”
Article 16: Authorization of the re-purpose of the town’s Pension Reserve Trust Fund. Passed.
Article 17: Authorization of the transfer of funds from the town’s Sale of Cemetery Lots Fund. Passed.
Article 18: Authorization of $151,294 from the town’s Free Cash for Southern Berkshire Ambulance Service. Passed.
Article 19: Authorization of $20,000 from the town’s Free Cash to the Unemployment Trust Fund. Passed.
Article 20: Authorization of $175,000 from the town’s Free Cash to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Passed.
Article 21: Authorization of $30,600 from Free Cash for upgrades to the town’s website. Passed.
Article 22: The appropriation of $15,000 from Free Cash to pay for legal fees associated with the upcoming renewals of Host Community Agreements. Passed.
Article 23: Rescinding of old borrowing authorizations. Passed. The borrowing authorizations that were rescinded were from annual town meetings in 2016 and 2020 and were used for the purchase of various equipment for the Public Works, Fire, and Police Departments.
Article 24: The authorization of the closing of town offices on Saturday per state General Law Chapter 41 Section 110a. Passed.
Article 25: Appropriations from the Community Preservation Fund Reserves. Passed. WIth the vote, the town approved $55,000 for the Historic Resources Reserve Fund, $55,000 for the Community Housing Reserve, $62,000 for debt service on the Memorial Field project, $15,000 for administrative expenses, and $363,000 for the balance of Fiscal 2024 revenues for the Fiscal 2024 budgeted reserve.
Article 26: Funding for community preservation projects. Passed with two exceptions. After substantial debate by residents, funding was removed for two line items. Under “affordable housing” projects, a proposed $250,000 expenditure for the Alander Group for housing at 322 Main St. was rejected by town meeting attendees. A separate expenditure for $150,000 under “historic resources” for the same building was also rejected by town meeting attendees. A total of $770,000 of expenditures for various affordable housing, historic resources, open space, and recreation projects were approved by attendees.
Article 27: The authorization for the town to acquire by donation a 36,000-square-foot parcel of land on and easterly of Bentley Avenue that is owned by the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire. Passed.
Article 28: Acquisition of land and/or easements in order to implement improvements on Lake Mansfield Road. Passed.
Article 29: Amend town bylaw to allow for three driveways on a property. Passed.
Article 30: The update of several zoning definitions, including the elimination of the term “family” as it is used in the town’s zoning bylaws, substituting the word “unit” in place of the term “family.” Passed.
Article 31: Various updates of Section 6.4 Performance Standards in the town’s Zoning Bylaws. Passed.
Article 32: The amendment of Section 3.1.4 Table of Use Regulations in the town’s Zoning Bylaws. The amendment “is intended to regulate three-unit residential uses in the same manner as two-unit residential units.” Passed.
Article 33: The revision of Sections 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 of the Zoning Bylaws “to reflect that two-unit and three-unit residential uses are now regulated similarly.” Passed.
Article 34: Amending Section 6.2.7 of the town’s Zoning Bylaws in order to “amend Route 7 landscaping requirements because the existing requirement for a new tree every 25 feet of frontage can be impractical.” Passed.
Article 35: Amending Section 3.1.4 of the town’s Table of Use Regulations in the Zoning Bylaws for the B2 (General Business) Zone. According to Planning Board member Jeremy Higa who spoke about the article at the hearing, “This amendment will allow multi-unit residential or mixed use development in the B2 zone to be permitted by right if at least 10 percent of the proposed housing units are affordable for at least 20 years. Currently, their use is allowed only by a special process which is long, risky, expensive, and whose outcome is never clear. By removing the special permit obstacle, and allowing by right development. These amendments will promote more housing units, including affordable housing units in the B2 zone.” There was a proposed amendment from the floor that would change the proposed article from “20 years” to “in perpetuity.” However, the proposed amendment failed by a tallied vote of 103-63. The article eventually passed.
Article 36: Listed in the town meeting warrant as “amending the zoning map on Silver Street.” As presented at the town meeting, however, this was changed to an article of “to take no action on Article 36.” Passed.
Article 37: Transfer to the Selectboard control of land adjacent to the Old Route 7 Path in order to sell it to the owner of 434B Stockbridge Rd. for $10,000. Passed.
Citizen’s petitions
Article 38: For the town to add to its zoning regulations, under Wireless Telecommunications Overlay District in its section regarding approval criteria for projects, a “Wireless Telecommunications Facilities application requirement for completeness.” The citizen’s petition relates to zoning bylaws relating to cell phone tower projects in town. Passed by a tallied vote of 115-42.
Article 39: Amending the town’s short-term rental bylaw that was adopted at last year’s town meeting. At last year’s town meeting, residents adopted a bylaw that read: “An owner shall not register or offer a rental unit subject to a long-term lease as a Short-Term Rental, nor shall a tenant offer his/her/their rental unit as a short-term rental.” As passed by residents at this year’s town meeting, the part of the line that reads “nor shall a tenant offer his/her/their rental unit as a Short-Term Rental” has been taken out of the bylaw. Passed by a tallied vote of 78-76.
Article 40: Amending the town’s short-term rental bylaws by adding a section regarding inspections. Article voted down.
Article 41: Amending portions of regulations of the short-term rental bylaw, removing the following section: “An Owner may register to operate only one dwelling unit as a Short Term Rental. If a person owns two properties or owns one and is listed as a manager or agent for a second that is owned by an LLC, for example, that person must choose one or the other to be registered as a Short term Rental. No person shall have more than one legal or equitable title or beneficial interest in any dwelling unit used for a Short Term Rental except as provided for above. An Owner may hire a property management company to list and manage Short Term Rentals, but the registration must be in the Owner’s name. Up to Two bedrooms in a dwelling unit or an entire secondary unit on the same parcel may be registered and rented as a Short Term Rental by right. The registered Short Term Rental may be rented for an unlimited number of days per year, provided that the Owner is residing in one of the dwelling units on premises at the time of the rental. In cases where the Owner is not residing on premises at the time of the rental, no unit or portion thereof may be rented more than 150 days per year.” Article voted down.
Article 42: The article is listed in the town meeting warrant as “The citizens of Housatonic and Great Barrington petition the town of Great Barrington to purchase, own and operate the Housatonic Water company.” Town Moderator Wise told the audience that “this is an advisory statement on the views of town meeting.” However, resident Carol Diehl proposed an amendment: “The citizens of Housatonic in Great Barrington petition that the town of Great Barrington act immediately to acquire, own, and operate the Housatonic Water Company.” Diehl’s amendment passed.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the estimated tax rate was set to be $14.68. In an email to The Berkshire Edge, Town Manager Mark Pruhenski wrote: “The ESTIMATED tax rate is actually $14.60, and we do not set the tax rate until our annual classification hearing in November. At this point in the process, we can only estimate it since property values are not yet certified by the state.”
