by the staff of the Harvard Press ·
Friday, September 27, 2024
At the second session of Harvard’s Annual Town Meeting Saturday, Sept. 28, voters will be asked to approve 13 articles. The meeting’s agenda, or warrant, asks attendees to decide a variety of proposals put forth by the Select Board and town committees.
On the following pages we explain each article on this fall’s warrant in everyday language, highlighting the amount of money involved, its source, who will manage its use, whether the article affects your taxes, and—when less than obvious—the consequences of voting “yes” or “no.”
You’ll find additional detail in the Town Meeting warrant booklet, which will be distributed to attendees Saturday when they register. The booklet is also available on the town website. To find it, go to www.harvard-ma.gov and select “Town Meeting Second Session.” When that page appears, click on the link at the bottom of the page.
The warrant booklet contains the town counsel-approved wording of each article and whether it’s been recommended by the Select Board. Readers should be aware, however, that the language of an article and sometimes its exact cost and source of funds can be altered when the motion for its adoption is read on the floor of Town Meeting. The motions themselves can be amended, so you’ll need to pay attention.
For details on how to speak and legislate at Town Meeting, you might consult “Town Meeting Conduct and Procedures” prepared by the League of Women Voters of Harvard, available at the League’s website, lwvharvard.org, and follow the links from “Local Government.”
For help with specialized terms such as “General Fund” or “stretch code,” see “Glossary of municipal lingo.”.
Article 1 – Transfer from General Stabilization to fund Monty Tech budget
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: $49,106
Source: General Stabilization Fund
This article, an annual formality, asks voters to hear reports from the Select Board, School Committee, and any other boards that wish to present. A “yes” vote opens the door for any board or committee to step forward and tell the town of its activities and
Harvard is one of 18 towns in the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District. Each town pays a yearly assessment to support Monty Tech’s operations and capital needs. This year, the assessed amount was larger than estimated, and the final figure arrived too late to be included in the fiscal 2025 omnibus budget at the Spring Town Meeting.
Requested by the finance director. Recommended by Finance Committee.
Article 2 – Transfer from General Stabilization to fund Select Board budget
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: $25,539
Source: General Stabilization Fund
Both the town administrator and the assistant town administrator (Tim Bragan and Marie Sobalvarro) resigned this year, effective June 30. The Select Board chose Dan Nason as the new town administrator on June 24, but Nason could not start work until August. Bragan was retiring and agreed to stay on as town administrator full time, and that arrangement continued through August as Bragan helped train Nason. The board wanted to wait for Nason to choose an assistant town administrator, but human resources work cannot be put off. The town hired a contractor to do that work and help train the new assistant, Allyson Mitchell, when she came on board last month. The requested funds are to cover those two unexpected expenses, $7,329 for the interim town administrator work and $18,210 for human resources services.
Requested by the Select Board. Recommended by Finance Committee.
Article 3 – Transfer from General Stabilization to fund building repair
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: Unspecified
Source: General Stabilization Fund
This article was meant to address what was thought to be a blockage or a leak in the pipes underneath the old library that connect the bathrooms to the sewer system. Water backing up from the system’s sewage pipes into the building’s furnace room forced the building’s tenant, Fivesparks, to close the bathrooms. It took a few months to find a contractor willing to investigate the problem. But last month a contractor was hired, and he determined that the system was once again functioning. Cameras showed that the pipes under the building were clear and solid, although aging, and that water was flowing freely through the system. No funds are currently needed for repairs, and the Select Board recommended taking no action on this article at its Sept. 17 meeting.
Requested by the Select Board. Recommended by Finance Committee.
Article 4 – Updating of Fire Department procedures
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: $3,900
Source: General Stabilization Fund
The Harvard Fire Department’s policies have developed as needed over a number of years. The fire chief is requesting money for an outside expert to review the department’s policies and determine whether they are in accord with current best practices, as well as all state regulations.
Requested by the fire chief. Recommended by Finance Committee.
Article 5 – Appropriate cable franchise fees
Vote required: Majority
Amount: $81,000
Source: Cable acess fund
Harvard Cable TV, now known as the Harvard Media Cooperative, draws money from three sources to pay for its operations. Spectrum, Harvard’s cable TV provider (formerly Charter Communications), provides the largest share, an amount set by the terms of its 10-year contract with the town. But the town also provides an annual subsidy ($25,541 in fiscal 2025); and so do the schools ($26,000 in fiscal 2025).
The $81,000 due from Spectrum for fiscal 2025, which began July 1, currently sits in the town’s cable access fund. Passage of this article transfers the money from there to a receipts-reserved-for-cable account, where dollars are available to the Harvard Media Cooperative Committee to pay for personnel and the cost of providing its services to the town and schools.
For more on the rebranded department, see this week’s story on page 1.
Requested by the Select Board. Recommended by the Finance Committee.
Article 6 – Permanent water connection with Devens
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: $2,310,000
Source: Cable acess fund
Due to a procedural technicality, a vote taken at Special Town Meeting in May that approved borrowing an additional $2.31 million for the Devens water connection project needs to be taken again. The Harvard Charter specifies that Special Town Meeting warrants must be posted on the town website at least 14 days prior to the meeting; last May’s meeting was posted only 13 days in advance. The error was recently discovered by bond counsel, who asked for the re-vote. Work has already begun on the project, and the initial appropriation of $4.85 million, voted in 2023, is available. But should this article fail, the town would likely hold another Special Town Meeting to get enough votes to approve the additional funding needed, according to Town Administrator Dan Nason. There is no need to re-vote a ballot question; the state agreed to increase the excluded debt approved at Town Election in May 2023 by the additional $2.31 million needed.
Requested by the Select Board. Recommended by Finance Committee.
Article 7 – New regulations regarding municipal investments
Vote required: Majority
A change in Massachusetts General Law passed by the Legislature in 2023 allows towns to use the state’s “Prudent Investment Rule” in deciding how to invest the money held in its various trust funds, such as the Rantoul Trust and others.
Under existing law, a trust fund’s money must be deposited in a trust company, cooperative bank, or savings bank. Passage of this article would allow a wider range of investments, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
The rule requires that investment decisions balance risk and reward and align with the particular needs of a trust. For example, a trust whose purpose is to provide steady annual income to its beneficiaries would be treated differently from one whose aim was long term growth. The rule does not create a list of permitted or prohibited investments, and Harvard’s treasurer, Lindsay Ames, has final say in whether to accept or ask for revisions to the investment strategy recommended by the town’s advisers, Bartholomew & Company Inc. of Worcester.
In deciding to recommend this article, the Finance Committee asked the Finance Department to report periodically on how Harvard’s trust fund money is invested and the returns achieved.
Requested by the finance director. Recommended by the Select Board and Finance Committee.
Article 8 – Approve roadway layouts
Vote required: Majority
Amount: None
Article 8 asks the town to accept the layouts of a few roads that intersect Ayer Road as a requirement for the Ayer Road reconstruction project. The roads all intersect Ayer Road north of Route 2, and Town Administrator Dan Nason told the Select Board that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation no longer accepts outdated layouts for any road that intersects one of its road reconstruction projects. They don’t want to see a boundary expressed as “Mr. Smith’s tree to Mrs. McGillicuddy’s stone wall,” he said. The layouts were recently redone as part of the project design, and the board voted unanimously to accept those new layouts at its Sept. 17 meeting. The town must also vote on the new layouts, which do not involve any modifications to the roads involved: Gebo Lane and portions of Myrick Lane, Lancaster County Road, Poor Farm Road, and South Shaker Road.
Requested by the Department of Public Works director. Recommended by the Select Board.
Article 9 – Ayer Road transportation improvement project easement and takings appraisals
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: Up to $60,000
Source: Raise and appropriate
A year-long reconstruction of Ayer Road from the Route 2 interchange to the town line is scheduled to begin in 2026. It will add six crosswalks and a walking-biking path on the post office side of the road. The intersection at Ayer and Lancaster County roads will be eliminated, leaving only the Gebo Lane entrance and exit to Ayer Road. The total cost is estimated at $12 million, with the federal government paying for about 80% of the project and the state about 20%.
However, Harvard must pay for the design and for easements and land-takings (including the appraisals). The final cost of land won’t be known until the design is complete. As of now, with the design at the 75% mark, DPW Director Tim Kilhart reports that what’s needed are four takings, 68 permanent easements, and 69 temporary easements. The $60,000 will pay for the appraisals of the land takings and permanent easements.
Requested by the DPW director. Recommended by the Select Board.
Article 10 – Establish wetlands bylaw revolving fund
Vote required: Majority
Amount: None
The Conservation Commission receives a fee whenever someone files an application under the Harvard Wetlands Protection Bylaw. If approved, this article would allow the commission to deposit those fees in a revolving fund. The commission could then use money from the fund to cover expenses such as legal notices and fees, training for board members, markers for wetlands borders, consultant fees for technical expertise, and other expenses related to its mission.
Requested by the Conservation Commission. Recommended by the Finance Committee.
Article 11 – Establish a special education reserve fund
Vote required: Two-thirds
Amount: $150,000
Source: General Stabilization Fund
As provided by state law, this article would create a new Special Education Reserve Fund that the schools could use to meet unexpected special education costs, rather than relying on the town’s general Reserve Fund to cover those costs. The balance in the fund would carry over from year to year, earning interest. Money from the fund could be spent only by a majority vote of both the School Committee and the Select Board.
See this week’s article on page 10 for more information.
Requested by the School Committee. Recommended by the Finance Committee.
Article 12 – Establish a school facilities revolving account
Vote required: Majority
Amount: None
Various civic, cultural, and athletic groups pay a rental fee when they use the school buildings on weekends or after school hours. For many years, those fees went into an account from which the schools paid the related costs, such as heating, electricity, and overtime pay for custodians. Last fall, however, the state said the old account had not been set up correctly. If approved, this article would establish a new account, in the correct form, to hold the fees and cover the same expenses. All money in the fund would come from those fees; the town is not being asked to transfer any money into the account.
Requested by the School Committee. Recommended by the Finance Committee..
Article 13 – Adopt specialized energy code
Vote required: Majority
Amount: None
The specialized energy code would add new energy efficiency standards to Harvard’s building codes and would apply only to new construction. It would be incorporated into Harvard’s existing stretch code, known as such because it expands the efficiency standards of the base energy code.
The specialized code introduces additional standards for new homes or commercial buildings constructed with both electric and combustion fuel systems. Such homes would need to add solar panels and install the wiring for future conversion to electric systems. The required solar capacity varies depending on whether the house is less than or more than 4,000 square feet.
New standards for mixed-fuel commercial buildings, schools, and municipal offices of more than 20,000 square feet would also need to add solar components and pre-wiring to accommodate future electrification.
Neither all-electric commercial buildings nor homes would be subject to the specialized code; they are governed by the existing stretch code, which was extensively updated in July. For more information, see “Consider This: Harvard’s energy journey” in the Sept. 20 edition of the Press.
Requested by the Climate Initiative and Energy Advisory committees. Recommended by the Select Board.