WILBRAHAM — The town of Wilbraham will conduct its spring Town Meeting on May 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Minnechaug Regional High School. There are 50 articles on the warrant, including the fiscal year 2026 budget, capital projects, zoning changes and citizen’s petition articles.
Article 20 asks the town to approve the $55.05 million FY26 budget, which is 4.93% higher than the FY25 budget. Approval of the budget is recommended by the Finance Committee.
This year’s capital projects are laid out in Article 21, and all are slated to come from Wilbraham’s free cash account. The highway department has five pieces of equipment on the list, including three dump trucks at $296,500 each. A chiller at the Wilbraham Public Library would cost $175,000 and it would cost $90,000 to repave the Town Hall’s parking lot.
Several of the capital items are for the schools, including switch upgrades at Mile Tree Elementary School, Wireless Access Points at Wilbraham Middle School and flooring at Stony Hill School. These items total $260,000.
However, Wilbraham is also responsible for about 82% of Minnechaug Regional High School’s capital costs, as the funding for these is determined by enrollment percentages. In Article 22, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District presents four items to be replaced or upgraded this year, totaling $369,409. Nearly $300,000 of that amount is for camera system upgrades. Between these two articles, the capital needs total $2.14 million from the town’s free cash.
In Article 28, the town is requesting authorization to borrow $4 million from the state’s Local Water Assistance Program. The money would fund the design, permitting and construction of water infrastructure projects, including the replacement of a century-old water main on Miller Street in Ludlow. The main supplies Wilbraham’s water. The 0% interest grant would be repaid from the Water Enterprise Fund over 10 years.
Articles 29 through 32 pertain to the state’s HERO Act. Passed in 2024, the act includes provisions that allow an increase in property tax exemptions for veterans, a cost-of-living adjustment calculated annually by the state Department of Revenue, a property tax exemption for surviving spouses, parents or guardians of military members who are missing in action and presumed dead, or who died of injuries sustained in the line of duty. The cost of these provisions would be borne by the town and not subject to state reimbursement.
Article 33 would adopt a local meals tax. It would add 0.75% to the price of restaurant meals in town, increasing the tax from the state’s 6.25% to 7%. The increase is expected to net $45,000 per quarter in FY26.
Article 47 would set a townwide speed limit of 25 MPH on roads that do not already have a posted speed limit. This would reduce the current speed limit on unposted roads from 30 MPH.
Improvements are needed at the intersections of Springfield Street and Stony Hill Road, and Stony Hill and Boston roads. Sidewalks are slated to be installed at both intersections. However, before the improvements can be implemented, the town must take land for easements at three properties on Stony Hill Road, one property on Springfield Street and another on Boston Road. Articles 45 and 46 would accomplish this. The town would be required to reimburse the property owners for the land takings.
Bylaw changes
In summer 2024, the state passed the Affordable Homes Act. As part of the legislation, municipalities must allow “accessory dwelling units,” including tiny homes and in-law apartments. While the units cannot be rejected, reasonable restrictions can be placed on them through zoning laws. Article 34 would adopt restrictions that limit the units’ size, parking and placement on a lot. Units would require site plan approval by the Planning Board.
In another bylaw change, Article 36 would allow used vehicle sales, but only by businesses that sell new vehicles.
Citizen petitions
There are a few citizen petition articles on the warrant. Article 48 would implement a policy regarding which flags can be raised on town property. These would include national, state and municipal flags, those of town departments, service flags and military flags.
Another petitioned article would request that the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission increase the town’s number of liquor licenses from three to four. It was submitted to allow The Guilty Grape to expand its license to include all alcohol, rather than just wine and malt beverages.
The final article is a non-binding resolution to ban retail plastic bags in town. The vote would serve to inform the Select Board of the community’s interest in such a ban.
