At Saturday’s Town Meeting, voters will be asked to vote on 50 articles. Here’s a synopsis of each, in plain English, including its fiscal impact.
If you’re looking for legalese, you’ll find it in the Town Meeting booklet, which all residents should have received in the mail last weekend. The booklet contains the exact wording of all 50 articles, their cost, and the recommendations of the Finance Committee. Readers should be aware, however, that the final wording of some won’t be known until their motions for adoption are read on the floor of Town Meeting. These motions can themselves be amended, so you need to stay on your toes.
ARTICLE 1: Hear Annual Reports of Town Boards and Committees
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
An annual housekeeping formality, this article asks voters to hear reports from the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and any other boards with prepared reports to present. Written reports for virtually every town committee and department appear in either the 2015 Town Meeting booklet, which includes reports from the Finance and Capital committees, or the 2014 Annual Town Report, which includes everyone else. The School Committee typically provides a report of its own. All reports will be available at Town Meeting.
Passage of this article opens the door for any board or committee to step forward and tell the town of its activities and accomplishments over the past year.
ARTICLE 2: Close Out Previously Approved Debt Service
Amount: No material impact
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
In 2010, Town Meeting authorized the borrowing of $550,000 for a new forest-fire truck. But the truck was purchased for $505,000, leaving $45,000 of the authorized amount unspent. In 2012, Town Meeting authorized the borrowing of $750,000 for a three-year project to repave Littleton County Road. The job was completed earlier than expected and below cost, leaving $87,519 unspent.
Approval of this article rescinds both authorizations, precluding their inclusion in any assessment of the town’s overall debt, but has no direct effect on the budget.
ARTICLE 3: Extend the Sunset Date
of Funds to Rebuild the Bromfield Stone Wall
Amount: Whatever remains of the $55,000 already appropriated
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Two years ago, on April 6, 2013, Town Meeting appropriated $55,000 from Community Preservation Committee money for restoration of the stone wall that runs along Mass. Avenue in front of the Bromfield School and town library. While some of the wall has been rebuilt, the task isn’t finished. Passing this article gives the Parks and Recreation Commission another year to finish the project.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 4: Extend Sunset Date of Funds to Digitize Town Documents
Amount $20,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
At last year’s Town Meeting, attendees appropriated $20,000 to begin converting the town’s paper documents—many of which are stored in boxes on the second floor of Town Hall—into readable, digital files. This first phase of a multiyear project was to have been completed by June 30 this year, but as of the date that this issue of the paper went to press, no work had been done and no money had been spent. Passing this article gives the selectmen another year, until June 30, 2016, to complete the work.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 5: Approve the Town’s
Omnibus Budget
Amount: $22,677,209
Inserted by Finance Committee
Although it takes months of meetings to prepare, the town’s omnibus budget is typically approved in a matter of minutes, often without a single question asked or comment made. In its seven pages (see pages 28–34 in this year’s Town Meeting booklet), the budget lays out the amount the Finance Committee recommends be spent by each department in the coming year. The document also shows how much each department spent in fiscal years 2012 through 2014, as well as the amount authorized for fiscal 2015 (actual spending won’t be known until late this summer).
When the warrant was printed, the budget for fiscal 2016 totaled $22,677,209 (see the line titled “Grand Total Omnibus Budget” on page 34), a 3.25 percent increase over this year’s amount. The amount continues to be fine-tuned up until Town Meeting begins.
As always, the budget for Harvard’s schools (line 32) accounts for the biggest chunk of town spending, totaling $12,274,605, a 2.12 percent increase over the current year. Benefits and insurance account for the second largest block, amounting to $4,025,198 (the sum of lines 56 and 57). That line is up 5.3 percent this year, lower than last year’s dramatic 9 percent rise as the town began setting aside money for its OPEB (other post-employment benefits) obligations.
Other big budget categories include the following:
- General government, which includes salaries for the town administrator and assistant town administrator, finance director, and town clerk and pays for the operation of town buildings: $1.27 million (see Total General Govt. on page 29).
- Public safety, including spending for police, fire, ambulance, and inspectional services: $1.73 million (see Total Public Safety on page 30).
- Physical environment, most of which is for the Department of Public Works (see lines 34, 35, and 36), but includes the transfer station, water department, and cemetery: $1.35 million (see Total Physical Environment).
The biggest percentage increase (23.2 percent) is in the selectmen’s budget because of the addition of a combined assistant town administrator and human resources director position to Town Hall staff.
Before a penny of this money can be spent next year, Town Meeting must give its assent. The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass the article in its entirety.
ARTICLE 6: Freshen the Town’s Reserve Fund for Fiscal 2016
Amount: $350,000
Inserted by Finance Committee
Not all the money spent by the town is included in the omnibus budget. There are always unforeseen expenses. The Finance Committee wants to set aside $350,000 for the Reserve Fund this year, half for traditional emergencies, such as extra plowing and treatment of roads in an especially snowy winter like this past one, and half to cover potential unforeseen special education costs.
The money is raised through fiscal 2016 property taxes and other revenue. It is under the control of the Finance Committee and saves the town from having to hold numerous special town meetings to authorize the expenditures of small sums. A table in the Town Meeting booklet shows how these funds were used during the 2014 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2014, with $173,451 unspent and returned to the town’s coffers.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 7: Hire Firm to Audit the Department of Public Works
Amount: $10,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
At their strategic planning retreat two years ago, the selectmen decided to have an outside firm assess the management of one town department each year and recommend improvements. They are seeking funds to begin the process this year with the Department of Public Works. If the audit proves useful, the process will be extended to other departments in later years.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 8: Outfit New Police Hire
Amount: $3,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
According to Police Chief Ed Denmark, the cost of outfitting a new hire is $5,000—that’s hat to shoes, gun and belt, winter coat, etc. This is more than can be covered by the Police Department’s uniform-maintenance allowance, so the selectmen are asking the town for $3,000 to cover the difference for this one-time cost.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 9: Finish Up Roadside Tree Maintenance
Amount: $20,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
From the ice storm of 2008 to this year’s record-breaking snowfall, weather has done a lot of damage to Harvard’s roadside trees. In recent years, the Department of Public Works has hired an outside contractor to help catch up with the backlog of broken and overhanging branches, as well as trim back brush along the roads. The DPW director recommends doing so again this year, with the expectation that his staff will be able to keep up with the tree work thereafter.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 10: Hire a Town Planner for Another Year
Amount: $60,000
Inserted by Planning Board
This article would continue contract services of up to $60,000 with the town planner. Because the contract is for services to the town, the position would need to go out to bid if the article is passed. Planning Board Chairwoman Kara Minar noted that the board has not pursued the creation of a full-time position because the part-time arrangement has been working well. The town planner position, presently held by Bill Scanlan, was approved by voters at the 2013 Annual Town Meeting and renewed at the 2014 ATM. Over the past year, Scanlan has been responsible for securing more than $25,000 in grants for the town, including the most recent grant award for a traffic study in town center. In addition to his daily tasks—which included the drafting of this year’s bylaw amendments—Scanlan also helps lead a task force of local planning and design experts who are analyzing design guidelines in an attempt to determine what Harvard might like to see in its commercial district in the future. Scanlan has also done research and provided counsel for many committees on various land-use issues. Minar said that if the position is approved, the town planner will also face the task of implementing recommendations from the Master Plan, as well as design guidelines for the commercial district in the next few months.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 11: Data System Upgrade (Water System)
Amount: $10,058
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
This article addresses whether the town should spend money to update the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA), which is a system of software and hardware used to manage and track the town’s water system. SCADA monitors things like how the water system is operating, how many gallons are being pumped, and water tank levels. The current SCADA system software is out of date. Funding for this article will also cover physical security measures for the pump houses and the water tank to protect the town water system from vandalism and terrorism. Many of these software, hardware, and security upgrades are required by the Department of Environmental Protection, the agency that licenses the water department. The money used to pay for this expense will be raised and appropriated from property taxes.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 12: Hire a Part-Time COA Outreach Worker
Amount: $20,000
Inserted by Council on Aging and Board of Selectmen
The existing Council on Aging (COA) staff includes one part-time outreach coordinator handling a growing caseload of older residents who need help living independently at home. This article asks for $20,000 to hire an additional outreach worker, which would allow more time for home visits and follow-up calls and facilitate access to available services. Because this is a new position, the request appears as a warrant article apart from the COA budget this year. If approved, funding for the position will be included in the COA annual budget in future years. (See “Second COA outreach worker would help town’s oldest residents.”)
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 13: Purchase Municipal Permitting Software
Amount: $15,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
If approved, this software would allow residents to apply online for permits from town officials ranging from the Board of Health to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Applicants could also submit a single set of plans online, so that all the relevant inspectors and authorities could review them and coordinate their comments. Once the software is fully set up, residents could also pay permit fees online, as they can do now for a burn permit.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 14: Fund the Capital Planning and Investment Fund
Amount: $40,000
Inserted by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment
Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
In past years, the DPW has had access to a $70,000 omnibus budget line item to pay for recurring capital items, from shovels to plow blades to small trucks. This money has allowed the department to purchase equipment without going to the capital committee for approval. This year, the Finance Committee recommends leaving $30,000 in the DPW budget for such purchases, but raising the rest, $40,000, as a warrant article funding the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund (mislabeled in the warrant article as Capital Planning and Investment Fund, but correct in the FinCom recommendation). In fiscal 2016, the DPW will have only $30,000 available and will need to submit fiscal 2017 requests for larger items to the capital committee, as do the schools and other departments. Passage of this article will transfer $40,000 of the town’s fiscal 2016 revenues to the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund, available in fiscal 2017 and beyond.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting approve the article.
ARTICLE 15: Pay Principal and Interest on CPIC Debt
Amount: $161,889
Inserted by Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article is necessary to pay the principal and interest due on debt incurred by the Capital Planning and Investment Committee. The money will come from the town’s Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. By paying for some capital projects with borrowed money rather than outright withdrawals from its investment fund, the capital committee has been able to stretch its available dollars. The article has no impact on taxes.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 16: Upgrade Police Radios
Amount: $85,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
Currently, at the scene of an accident, police and fire are unable to communicate with each other without having messages relayed by the dispatcher. This is because the police operate through a low-band radio system while the Fire Department is on a high-band; the different frequencies cannot “talk” to each other directly. Putting the two emergency departments on the same high-band frequency would allow direct communication between them and would free the ambulance to use its low-band radio without interference. The Police Department would keep its low-band system as backup.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 17: Replace a Wooden
Section of the Town Dock
Amount: $18,000
Inserted by Parks and Recreation
Commission and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
The request for funds to replace the wooden town dock is the culmination of several years of efforts by the Parks and Recreation Commission and the harbormaster. Over time, sections of the dock have been removed for repair because of safety issues, but heaviness of the sections and indirect access have made this difficult. The old wooden dock, used by the town as mooring for small boats and as a fishing pier, would be replaced by a durable, easily maintained plastic material. Funding would come from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 18: Purchase New Heavy-Duty Dump Truck
Amount: $175,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article asks the town to purchase a new heavy-duty dump truck for the Department of Public Works. The truck will replace the oldest truck in the six-truck fleet, which is no longer effective. The new heavy-duty dump truck will be used primarily for clearing ice and snow, as well as other DPW operations such as roadway repair. Funding for this article will come from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. For more information on this purchase, see http://bit.ly/1BM06u5.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 19: Purchase a Fuel Dispensing System for the Town’s Fuel Depot
Amount: $19,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article seeks to purchase a new fuel dispensing system at the town fuel depot. The new system would include software and hardware upgrades. The DPW maintains the only fuel depot in Harvard for town vehicles; it is used by the police, fire, ambulance, and public works departments, as well as the schools, and to fuel other town vehicles. The current fuel management system software was purchased in 1999 and is no longer supported by the operating system. Similarly, hardware used in the fuel management system is out of date, and replacement parts are no longer available. The upgrades to this system will also include a much more robust and streamlined reporting capacity, which will integrate with the other computers used at DPW, instead of requiring a stand-alone system. The software will provide information such as how much fuel is in the tank, when fuel needs to be reordered, and the integrity of the tank. Funding would come from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 20: Renovate and Repair the Bathrooms at the Elementary School
Amount: $30,000
Inserted by School Department and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
The four student bathrooms to be renovated have been in use for 27 years, since the new elementary school was built. Stains have seeped into the grout in the tile floors, and odors rise from them. If funding is approved, easier-to-clean vinyl tile floors are the top priority, followed by new toilets and washbowls. Also on the punch list: replacing rusted heating units and improving ventilation. None of the bathroom renovation work would be within the kindergarten wing. Funding would come from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. (See “Schools seek updates to buildings.”)
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 21: Purchase a New VOIP Phone System for the School Department
Amount: $100,000
Inserted by School Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
Replacing the schools’ aging phone systems has been part of the district’s five-year capital plan. The Bromfield School’s current telephone system is no longer manufactured, making repair parts difficult to obtain. Classrooms in the elementary school lack speaker boxes, so that announcements are inaudible much of the time. The proposed system would allow teachers and staff to make calls within the system simply by dialing an extension, rather than tying up an outside line. The new system would also meet “enhanced 911” requirements, meaning that any teacher could dial 911 and emergency responders would know what room the call came from. Funding would come from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 22: Pay for Hildreth House Accessibility, Safety, and
Site Improvements
Amount: $1,360,000
Inserted by Council on Aging, Board of Selectmen, and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article requests funding for safety and access improvements at Hildreth House, the town’s senior center. It would pay to expand and improve the parking areas and driveway, and to make the inside of the building fully accessible to all users. At present, staff offices, the computer lab, and a small meeting room on the second floor are not accessible to anyone who can’t climb stairs. If voters approve the project, funding would be provided by a $1.241 million Proposition 2½ debt exclusion and by the application of approximately $119,000 in available funds from a community development block grant. The debt exclusion will require a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting. This measure also requires a majority vote of Town Election on April 7. A yes vote would authorize the borrowing to fund the Hildreth House, while a no vote would prevent it.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 23: Install a New Air-Exchange System in Bromfield Science Labs
Amount: $315,000
Inserted by School Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
Passage of this article will make money available to the schools for upgrading the air-exchange equipment that serves science classrooms at the Bromfield School. The current ventilation system exchanges air at the rate of twice per hour. State school building standards recommend an air-exchange rate of six times per hour. The poor ventilation makes it difficult to conduct simple experiments that require the use of Bunsen burners or volatile substances such as concentrated ammonia and ethers. Some experiments must be conducted outside in midwinter or with windows wide open. Funding for this article would come from $185,000 in excluded capital and $130,000 from town revenues. Additional money, if needed, would come from a school-managed fund, such as the Shaw Trust. For more information see “Schools seek upgrades to school buildings” on page 1. See also a more complete description of the problem at the Press website: http://bit.ly/1DYhV0g.
The Finance Committee recommends that this article be passed.
ARTICLE 24: Fire Department Tanker Truck
Amount: $350,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article asks the town to buy a new tanker truck for the Fire Department. It would replace the current tanker truck, which is 26 years old and has had multiple leaks in the past year. Where there aren’t fire hydrants available, as in most of Harvard, the tanker truck brings 3,000 gallons of water to a fire to use before a local water supply is established. Funding for this article would come from “exempt debt,” which means the cost of the debt will be split among property owners and added to their tax bills. Per household, the cost for this debt is expected to be slightly less than $15 for an average-valued property per year, for the life of the debt, which is expected to be 15 years.
Residents will also vote at the Town Election on whether to authorize the borrowing to fund this purchase. Ballot question 2 addresses this article. A yes vote would agree to purchase the truck and add the cost to each household’s bill. A no vote would prevent borrowing these funds and, in effect, stop this purchase from happening. For more information on this purchase, see http://bit.ly/1BM06u5.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 25: Fire Department Pumper Truck
Amount: $500,000
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article asks the town to purchase a new pumper truck to replace the Fire Department’s current pumper, which is 15 years old and has a 40-inch crack in its frame, rendering the truck unusable. The pumper truck attends all emergency calls, not just structure fires, and takes extrication equipment to the scene of accidents. Funding would be from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund. For more information on this purchase, see http://bit.ly/1BM06u5.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting pass this article.
ARTICLE 26: Community Preservation Committee Report
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) oversees the town’s Community Preservation Fund and reviews applications from town organizations for its use. The committee must allocate at least 10 percent of the money it receives each year to historic preservation, 10 percent to the development of affordable housing, and 10 percent to acquisition and restoration of open space and recreational assets. The money for a given category must go to a specific project or be deposited into a reserve fund for that category. Money left over goes into an unspecified reserve fund for use at a later time. CPC money comes from a 1.3 percent surcharge on town property taxes and from matching state money. The report of the CPC can be found in the 2014 Annual Town Report (not to be confused with the Town Meeting warrant booklet that came in the mail), which will be distributed at Town Meeting on Saturday morning.
ARTICLE 27: Community Preservation Funds—Transfer
Amount: $26,100
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Although the CPC manages the town’s preservation fund, Town Meeting approval is required to transfer money among accounts within the fund or to qualifying projects. Since the CPC has no historic preservation projects to support this year, the committee is asking to move $26,100 from its unspecified reserves to the Community Preservation Fund’s historic reserves. This amount is the 10 percent minimum required by law to go to historic preservation.
The Finance Committee makes no recommendation on Community Preservation articles.
ARTICLE 28: Add to the Harvard Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Amount: $26,100
Inserted by Harvard Municipal Affordable Housing Trust and Community Preservation Committee
To see if the town will vote to appropriate and transfer $26,100 from fiscal 2016 Community Preservation revenues, to be placed in the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund (see above).
The Finance Committee makes no recommendation on Community Preservation articles.
ARTICLE 29: Continue Efforts to Control Invasive Plants on Conservation Land
Amount: $26,100
Inserted by Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee
The Conservation Commission requested $50,000 in CPC funds to continue its efforts to control invasive plants such as Oriental bittersweet and black swallowwort on conservation land. The CPC voted to allocate $26,100 to the project from its unspecified reserve funds. This amount is 10 percent of the CPC’s 2015 funds.
The Finance Committee makes no recommendation on Community Preservation articles.
ARTICLE 30: Upgrade the Harvard Park Cross-Country Trail
Amount: $75,000
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Recreational facilities are among the possible uses of CPC money. This article would allocate $75,000 from the CPC’s unspecified reserve funds to upgrade the cross-country trail at Harvard Park. Upgrades would include improving drainage and adding a graded base to make the trail more level. Besides improving the trail for the Bromfield cross-country team, the smoother surface would make the trail more usable by people with limited mobility. The Parks and Recreation Commission would receive the funding, and the Harvard Park Trust would manage the project.
The Finance Committee makes no recommendation on Community Preservation articles.
ARTICLE 31: Fund Community Preservation Administrative Expenses
Amount: $2,500
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
The CPC’s administrative expenses include necessary legal fees and Community Preservation Coalition membership. Funding for this article would come from the Community Preservation Fund.
The Finance Committee makes no recommendation on Community Preservation articles.
ARTICLE 32: Reauthorize Existing Revolving Funds
Inserted by Finance Committee
This article re-authorizes revolving funds for the Council on Aging (maximum $35,000 in fiscal 2016), Fourth of July Committee ($25,000), Harvard Ambulance Service ($150,000), and the Fire Department’s S.A.F.E. Program ($15,000). No funds are appropriated by this article, but necessary authorization is provided for accounts to collect and disburse funds.
The Finance Committee recommends that Town Meeting reauthorize these revolving funds for fiscal 2016.
ARTICLE 33: Establish an Applicant Fee Revolving Fund
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
This article establishes a new revolving fund account to cover costs for services required by the town when a resident applies for a permit or license. For example, an application may require a hearing by a town board, and that hearing must be advertised in local papers. The cost of the advertisement is the resident’s responsibility, but the town pays for the advertisement and the resident reimburses the town. This fund would be used for expenditures and receipts for these service costs.
The Finance Committee recommends the passage of this article.
ARTICLE 34: Establish a Tax Title Revolving Fund
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
The town is beginning to pursue the collection of long overdue taxes, and that process incurs legal fees. Those fees are the responsibility of the recalcitrant taxpayer, but in many cases the bills need to be paid before the town can be reimbursed. Receipts of reimbursed fees only, not the actual taxes or penalties, will go into this account and will be used to pay overdue tax collection legal fees as they are incurred.
The Finance Committee recommends the passage of this article.
ARTICLE 35: Establish a Revolving Fund for Cable-Related Income
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
The town receives revenue from the franchise agreement with its cable operator, currently Charter Communications. Residents pay for PEG (public, educational, or governmental) access on cable bills, and the cable company gives that money to the town to fund Harvard Cable TV, the town’s local public-access TV station. The money is currently kept in a gift fund, but it is more appropriate to keep it in a revolving fund.
The Finance Committee recommends passage of this article.
ARTICLE 36: Approve Employment Contract for the DPW Director
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Massachusetts General Law allows towns to have contracts with specific employees, such as the police chief and town administrator, but the DPW director is not one of those employees. To have a contract with the DPW director, the town must authorize the contract, but that never happened. This article simply corrects that oversight and makes no changes to the director’s current contract, which expires on June 30 this year. If the article does not pass, the director’s benefits would remain the same, but he would become an employee at will and his appointment would have to be renewed every year instead of every three years as a contractual employee.
ARTICLE 37: Ratify and Fund Police Union Contract
Amount: $27,200
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
As of March 25 the police contract was signed by all parties; $27,200 will fund the contract.
The Finance Committee deferred making a recommendation on this article because the information required to make a recommendation was not available prior to the printing of the Town Meeting booklet.
ARTICLE 38: Amend Historic District Bylaw
Inserted by Historical Commission
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
In passing this article, the town agrees to accept digital maps of Harvard’s Town Common and Shaker Village historic districts, replacing existing hand-drawn maps. The update to the bylaw correctly points readers to new maps.
ARTICLE 39: Amend Bare Hill Pond Bylaw to Allow Harbormaster to Fine Violators
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Any organization or homeowner who wants to put a dock or other structure in Bare Hill Pond must get a permit from Harbormaster Bob O’Shea to do so. The two biggest permits he writes each year are those for the town itself and for the Bare Hill Pond Rowing Association. But although O’Shea can set conditions of use for a permit holder, his only way to deal with violators is to revoke their permits and demand they remove their docks from the water. This article amends the town bylaw to allow the harbormaster to impose fines instead. At their March 2 meeting, the selectmen approved a complaint process and schedule of fines—$50 for a first violation; $100 for subsequent violations—for individuals who violate town beach rules. O’Shea says that if this article passes, he will use the same policy to deal with organizations or homeowners who violate their pond use permits.
ARTICLE 40: Grant St. Benedict a Nonexclusive Utility Easement
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
The St. Benedict Center school has buildings on both sides of Still River Road. This article would allow the center to construct an underground culvert from one side of Still River Road to the other for water lines that serve its heating system
.ARTICLE 41: Allow Nonresident Employees to Fill Personnel Board Seats
Inserted by Personnel Board and Board of Selectmen
Under Harvard’s current law, the Personnel Board includes one town employee, who must be a registered voter in Harvard but cannot be a union member or a school employee. So few town employees meet all those requirements that it can be difficult to fill that position. If this article passes, the town employee would no longer need to be a Harvard resident or a registered voter here.
ARTICLE 42: Amend Town’s Zoning Map
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
Harvard’s official zoning map does not show the solar overlay districts located at the DPW and on Ayer Road. Passing this article will add them. On the same maps, the Town Center and Shaker Village historic districts are shown as zones, which they are not. This article will correctly show them to be the historic districts that they are.
ARTICLE 43: Amend Protective Bylaw—Adult Entertainment
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
At the 2014 Annual Town Meeting, residents voted to amend the protective bylaw to create an adult entertainment district and definitions pertaining to adult entertainment. Prior to the vote to approve the amendment, businesses that could qualify as adult entertainment did not face any restrictions beyond the limits that all potential developments have under the existing bylaw. Following the ATM results, the Planning Board sent the language to the attorney general’s office for approval. The attorney general deemed the language too restrictive and rejected the amendment. The Planning Board has since revised the amendment approved last year to comply with the attorney general’s ruling, and must now present the newly amended amendment to voters at this year’s ATM. As with last year’s version, if residents vote to accept the amendment, it will again be sent to the attorney general’s office for complete approval.
ARTICLE 44: Amend Protective Bylaw Definitions
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
This article aims to define two new phrases for the town’s protective bylaw: “building area” and “grocery store.” Both proposed definitions attempt to reduce any loopholes that could allow developers to build structures that might not fit in with the “rural character” of Harvard. If passed, the amendments would not change the maximum square footage for new buildings that is presently allowed by the protective bylaw or the Ayer Road Village special permit. The “building area” definition would prohibit developers from defining an interior firewall as an exterior wall, which (if unchanged) could allow for the connection of two or more smaller buildings into a bigger complex that exceeds the maximum allowed square footage. The “grocery store” definition would require any potential stores to meet a quantifiable percentage of food products on their sales floor to assure that retail businesses akin to big-box stores could not take advantage of the existing bylaw language that pertains to grocery stores.
ARTICLE 45: Amend Zoning Bylaw to Add Mitigation Measures for Commercial Driveways
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting
Harvard’s existing bylaw requires the developer of any project that will increase traffic by more than 500 trips per day to prepare a traffic impact study. Article 45 adds to what that study is expected to cover. If it passes, developers will be asked to propose mitigation measures that could be taken to reduce the impacts of their proposed projects and their estimated costs, such as turn lanes, traffic signals, and improvements to intersections and medians. Moreover, the study must make specific proposals that, if approved, would be implemented and paid for by the applicant. They must be consistent with the town’s Master Plan, the latest version of which is currently being written.
ARTICLE 46: Acquire Willard Conservation Land
ARTICLE 47: Acquire Lawton Conservation Land
Amount: $1 each
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
These articles authorize the selectmen to acquire two parcels of land at a dollar apiece. Both parcels have already been purchased through the Conservation Commission and the Conservation Trust and are protected under conservation restrictions. The function of this step is to clear titles to the land from any undetected pre-existing problems. For more information, see http://bit.ly/1CpURWc.
ARTICLE 48: Expand the Town Center Sewer District
Amount: To be determined; no impact to taxpayers.
Inserted by Sewer District Commission, Board of Health, and Conservation Commission
Because of the proximity of three Whitman Road properties to the town’s two wellheads and Bare Hill Pond, the Conservation Commission and the Board of Health requested that the Sewer Commission expand the sewer district to include the properties. In addition, an Oak Hill Road resident whose property is adjacent to an existing sewer main on Old Boston Turnpike requested that the district be expanded to include his property. Sewer Commission members are comfortable that the system has the capacity to accommodate this minor expansion. The cost of the expansion, which will be borne by the owners of the properties involved, was not yet determined when this paper went to press.
ARTICLE 49: Accept Gifts of Property
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
This vote is required to accept land donated to the town. It is inserted annually by the Board of Selectmen and has the support of the Finance Committee, which every year encourages residents to consider tax-deductible donations of land to the town. At the time the paper went to press, Town Administrator Tim Bragan said no such gifts were anticipated.
ARTICLE 50: Accept State Highway Funds
Amount: To be determined
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
This vote is required by state law to accept so-called Chapter 90 funds that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) provides each year for the repair and improvement of the town’s 64 miles of roads. It has the support of the Finance Committee, which says it is “pleased these funds continue to be distributed.” The amount that Harvard will receive in fiscal 2016 has yet to be determined. For the current year, according to DOT, the town received $510,206
