Moderator Peter Matrow reads articles aloud while leading the town’s Oct. 28 special Town Meeting.
Reminder Publishing photo by Laura Mason
MONSON — At the Oct. 28 special Town Meeting, Monson residents voted against purchasing two local properties proposed by the Community Preservation Committee after concerns were raised about the impact these purchases would have on residents’ taxes.
Approximately 100 residents in attendance voted on the 29 articles proposed by various town departments and committees. While most articles did not generate any discussion and were passed unanimously by residents, there was disagreement concerning four articles brought forward by the Community Preservation Committee. The Finance Committee recommended that residents pass over the requests in these articles.
Articles 22 and 23 related to the appropriation of funds and purchase of 67 acres from Bretta Construction located on Margaret Street. To purchase this land, the Community Preservation Committee requested the town appropriate $51,625 and borrow $93,250, which would cover half of the total cost to purchase this land. The other portion of the purchase was then to be covered by a Land Acquisition for Forest Reserves grant.
Similarly, articles 24 and 25 requested appropriated funds and the purchase of 110 acres of land. This land, located at 195 Reimers Rd., is currently owned by a private resident who offered the purchase in order to ensure the area remained undeveloped, former Community Preservation Committee chair Leslie Duthie explained. The total request was for $137,800 of appropriated funds and a borrowed $400,210 to purchase the land, dependent on being awarded a Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity grant.
During discussion of the four articles, residents emphasized the value of open space with some stating that they decided to live in Monson because of its access to open conservation land. Others noted how open space encourages wildlife and helps to maintain the current appearance of Monson.
Community Preservation Committee Co-Chair Glenn Colburn urged residents to approve both proposals, explaining that the land was carefully selected by the committee. While discussing the proposed 67 acres, he highlighted the land’s ability to connect the town’s current conservation in order to create a “corridor” for wildlife and to protect the appearance of the area. Later, concerning the 110 acres, he again encouraged residents to accept the opportunity to purchase this land, stating that such a large property would increasingly not become available to the town as land becomes divided into smaller acreage by owners.
Alternatively, other residents raised concerns about how purchasing the land would increase taxes, as the properties would be removed from the tax rolls and would then be paid by residents. Finance Committee chair Peter Fimognari highlighted this concern, referencing a previous 8% tax increase from purchasing other properties, and urged residents to pass over the articles. In response, some residents stated that they would be willing to pay increased taxes to protect the land, while others stated that increased taxes would create a challenging situation for residents with fixed incomes.
Finance Committee member Kenneth Parkes noted the unlikeliness of the land becoming developed, referencing preventive wetlands in the 67 acres and the owner’s intention to maintain open space for the 110 acres. As a result, he recommended that residents take no action on the articles so that the land could remain on the tax rolls. Duthie later stated that there were eight houses recently constructed near the 67 acres and that purchasing the land could lead to recreation uses, such as bike trails.
While the appropriated funds requested in Article 24 were approved by residents, the full purchase of both properties were ultimately not approved during the meeting with residents voting to pass over Articles 22, 23 and 25 at the Finance Committee’s recommendation. In a vote with 49 residents in favor and 45 against, Article 24 was not passed over and was later approved as written by the Community Preservation Committee with 50 residents voting “yes” and 39 voting “no.”
Another article brought forward by the Community Preservation Committee was Article 19, which requested an appropriation of $14,550 from the committee’s Undesignated Budgeted Reserves Account to restore the baseball diamond at Cushman Field, including replacing the infield materials as well as installing bases, benches and the pitcher’s plate. Due to an error with the written article and recommendation, this proposal required an amendment to state the exact proposal from the committee. However, both the article and amendment passed without disagreement.
Likewise, attending residents also voted unanimously to approve 20 other articles, which included approving the town to accept the Bellman Museum building as a gift, to appropriate funds for the Water and Sewer Commission’s unpaid fiscal year 2024 bills, and to appropriate funds to support restoration of Memorial Hall’s ceiling and walls.
The remaining four were also approved by residents with minimal disagreement. These were Article 8’s appropriated $25,000 for a fraud risk assessment, Article 9’s appropriated $101,015 for the town’s prior year bills, Article 26’s appropriated $7,245 to finalize the basketball court project recently completed at Granite Valley School and Article 27’s zoning bylaws amendment to remove the Town Meeting approval requirement to construct a multi-family dwelling in town.
The full recording of the Oct. 28 special Town Meeting is available to view at m-pact.tv.
