Hampden voters decided on 25 articles at this year’s Special Town meeting on Oct. 26.
Reminder Publishing photo by Peter Tuohy
HAMPDEN — Residents gathered at the Hampden Town Hall on Oct. 26 for the 2026 Special Town Meeting, casting votes on 25 articles and bringing a four-year regional agreement process one step closer to the finish line.
Wilbraham voters will also need to approve the regional agreement at its Special Town Meeting on Nov. 9. The agreement will go to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the finalizing signature if Wilbraham approves.
Only Articles 15 and 16 pertained to any next steps for Old Town House, which voters authorized the town to sell in Article 14.
Going into the meeting, Hampden had $1,269,840 in free cash. Free cash is sourced from budget line items that weren’t expended by town departments and excess revenue. The finance-related articles totaled $415,592.
Advisory Committee Chair Doug Boyd recommended putting an additional $500,000 of free cash toward the $1.45 million in outstanding expenses for the water district expansion. Voters approved the payment in Article 13.
Boyd recommended the remaining balance go toward reducing the tax rate, which voters approved in Article 23.
Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Superintendent John Provost introduced Article 1 for the regional agreement vote, which passed.
The agreement — created in 1956 and amended in 1994 and 2015 — is between the two towns, the HWRSD School Committee and DESE.
Provost said DESE found that the “outdated” agreement was negatively impacting students.
Some residents expressed concern over capital costs, the state and the future of Wilbraham Middle School, which are addressed separately in a memorandum of understanding between the two towns.
The regional agreement does include a section for capital costs for district-owned schools.
Wilbraham Middle School would become district-owned if accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s core program and if the towns take on debt to renovate or fully rebuild the school.
The agreement states capital costs on district-owned properties would be apportioned to the member towns based on the three-year average of foundation enrollment.
Articles 2 and 3 were also related to the school district.
Article 2 asked for an $85,720 increase to the district’s capital assessment for air quality improvements and securing exterior doors at Wilbraham Middle School. Hampden’s approved share is $17,940.
Article 3 requested $170,000 for IDF switches and network upgrades at Minnechaug Regional High School and the purchase of a sander truck.
Boyd successfully amended the article to exclude the sander truck replacement from the purchase, stating the truck has been repaired and passed inspection.
The sander truck’s removal decreased Hampden’s assessment for the article from $34,652 to $14,771, which voters unanimously approved.
Article 4 was also unanimously approved, which requested $48,000 for additional testing monitoring and testing at the transfer station. Article 5 requested $10,000 for unemployment expenses.
The next three articles sought $195,000 for three different vehicles, which all passed.
Article 6 requested a new police cruiser to replace an aging cruiser. Article 7 requested a cruiser to replace a totaled cruiser from an accident earlier this year. Article 8 requested a new pickup truck replacement for the Highway Department.
The cruiser in Article 6 has 125,000 miles on it and 17,000 engine hours from idling around 12-16 hours a day.
Selectboard Chair John Flynn said the town would receive an insurance reimbursement of around 50% for the totaled cruiser in Article 7.
Article 9 requested a transfer of $65,520 in unused funds for septic system improvements, asbestos abatement and new flooring at Town Hall.
Resident Rebecca Leclair asked how many rooms were in the building, and how many were currently used to justify the payment.
Selectboard member Don Davenport said there are 33 rooms and 25 are occupied. The article passed unanimously.
Resident Andrew Netherwood proposed an amendment to remove lighting from Article 10.
The article requested an unused fund transfer of $20,673 and an appropriation of $50,000 for electrical, lighting and well improvements at Town Hall.
He said he had brought an offer to Town Meeting and the Select Board from the Mass Save program to replace lighting in municipal buildings for free in 2014 and 2018.
He said he didn’t think “we should have to pay a dime to replace this if nobody could reach out back then to do it” and wanted the town to reach back out to Mass Save for free municipal lights.
The Advisory Committee did not recommend Netherwood’s motion, and Flynn said the article increased lighting around the building and not just indoors.
Flynn added there used to be great Mass Save programs and the town did see if there were any existing programs. He said the programs aren’t there and money has been cut back.
Netherwood’s motion to amend failed and the article passed.
Article 11 approved $45,000 for an automatic transfer switch on the emergency generator at Green Meadows Elementary School. The transfer switch is not operational and requires manual reconnection by an electrician after a power outage.
Article 12 adds $10,000 to Hampden’s 150th celebration in 2028, which puts the total funds raised up to $30,000 for the event.
Davenport gave a presentation on the Old Town House for Articles 14, 15 and 16.
The property’s total value is $1.46 million and brings $30,000 to $40,000 in unoccupied yearly costs. It would cost the town around $8.9 million to renovate the building and around $570,000 to $743,000 to demolish it, so residents only voted to sell it.
Articles 18 and 19 passed amendments to the solar zoning bylaw and the continuation of uses zoning bylaw.
Planning Board member Gina Stabilo described the change in Article 18. She said the changes remedy old rules to align with current town needs and state laws.
The bylaw’s purpose is to provide for the construction and operation of solar energy systems and provides standards for placement, design, construction, operation, monitoring, modification and removal of solar energy systems.
Article 20 allows the town to create a special account to receive funds paid in connection to its agreement with Spectrum. Spectrum pays the town 2% of local gross revenue to support town broadcasts.
The citizen petition in Article 21 allowed Hampden Police Department reserve officer Michael Kane to serve past the normal retirement age of 65 and stay in his position until the age of 75, the date of his retirement or the date he is relieved of duties by the town.
Kane has been with the department for 13 years. Kane said the Selectboard told him he would not be reinstated due to age after June 30 at its June 22 meeting.
He added he contacted the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission, which handles licensing and certifications for all Massachusetts officers.
The agency told him he met the full-time officer requirements with no restrictions through September 2029.
Resident Eric Madison did not support the petition. He said 65 is the mandated retirement age because of the physical aspect of the job.
He added allowing officers to serve after 65 also increases liability risk to the town due to age-related limitations and job-related injuries.
Resident Edward Brunton said he’s known Kane for 14 years and sees no reason to stop him from serving.
He said Kane worked 156 shifts last year, which is “156 times that someone else on the PD got to spend the evening with their family instead of being forced in because Mike was willing to come to work.”
Davenport noted the state has received 32 applications for officers to extend past 65 and have only passed six. He said the state has never passed one for 75.
Article 22 transferred $5,000 to the conservation fund. No actions were taken on Article 24 and 25 since Article 23 confirmed the tax rate reduction from free cash.
