Annual Town Meeting kicks off Monday

From stricter energy codes to higher taxes, a new police deputy to solar-powered schools, this year’s annual town meeting promises to be an interesting affair filled with lots of lively discussion and debate — and it all gets underway Monday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Canton High School Morse Auditorium.

With a total of 44 articles on the warrant, including five zoning articles and a number of other hot-button proposals, Canton residents will face an assortment of tough choices and may very well require another night or two — ATM meets on consecutive Mondays and Wednesdays — before all business is concluded.

Without question, one of the major themes at this year’s town meeting will be the degree to which residents want to commit to energy conservation and efficiency, as there are four separate articles that address this issue directly.

Two of them (articles 14 and 28) were proposed by the newly formed Green Team, which serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Selectmen, and the other two (articles 21 and 23) were submitted by the School Committee.

The one that has generated the most questions is Article 28, which proposes adoption of the “Stretch Energy Code,” an optional state code that requires higher energy efficiency levels in new homes and commercial buildings as well as major additions.

The new code, which has the unanimous support of the Finance Committee, has already been adopted by more than 50 Massachusetts communities and would allow for additional grant opportunities. And according to Green Team members, whatever upfront costs incurred by homeowners as a result of the stretch code would be recovered through energy savings within a year of new construction; however, selectmen have been reluctant to endorse the new standards, citing the added cost to homeowners as well as the fact that the state itself has not adopted the stretch code.

The Green Team’s other recommendation, which appears under Article 14, is to establish a new “solar photovoltaic” overlay district in the vicinity of the former town landfill on Pine Street. Boston-based Southern Sky Renewable Energies is already planning to construct a 15-acre solar farm on the site — which would make it one of the largest in New England — and the zoning article would essentially pave the way for the farm to be expanded to 40 acres in the future.

Municipal leaders are not the only ones venturing into the world of solar; school officials have also submitted an article that would allow solar panels to be installed on school roofs. The project, which would be constructed by a general contractor and managed by a third party, is expected to generate between $30,000 and $40,000 in energy savings annually and would cost the schools nothing.

Meanwhile, the school department is also proposing a “performance contracting” plan as a creative way to fund costly capital improvements, most notably a brand-new heating system at the Rodman administration building. Under the terms of the agreement, the contractor would make a series of energy upgrades, and the schools would then use the energy savings to pay for the upgrades over a specified number of years.

In addition to the energy proposals, this year’s warrant features several other intriguing articles, including a trio of zoning changes pertaining to Canton Center. Articles 15 and 16 would restore the sections on the Canton Center Design Review Board and the Canton Center Economic Opportunity District that were “inadvertently omitted” from the re-codified zoning bylaws approved at ATM last year.

The CCEOD is an overlay district that allows for a mix of residential and commercial uses, and Article 17 would amend the zoning map to incorporate parts of Revere and Neponset streets, including the entire Plymouth Rubber property.

In 2008, the site’s owners, the Illinois-based Napleton Company, had proposed a controversial mixed-use project that was ultimately rejected by town meeting voters. However, this article, according to Napleton attorney Paul Schneiders, would simply provide the owners and the community with another option for the property besides the industrial uses allowed under the current zoning. Schneiders also stressed that his clients would still need to obtain a special permit from the zoning board in order to take advantage of the mixed uses permitted by the CCEOD.

But that wasn’t enough to sway the Planning Board, which has recommended that the article be indefinitely postponed on the grounds that it “would allow for an overabundance of apartments and create a major burden on our schools, police, fire, DPW as well as all other town services” and “would threaten the current downtown businesses.”

Another proposal that has been questioned by town officials is the adoption of the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act, outlined in Article 39 and sponsored by the Conservation Commission. Previously approved by town meeting voters in 2006 but defeated in a subsequent town election, the article would add a surcharge on residential and commercial property that would be used to fund the purchase of property for open space, recreation, community housing, and preservation of historical resources. The surcharge would be 1 percent of the annual real estate tax levy and would not apply to the first $100,000 of taxable real estate. Low-income property owners would also be exempt.

While the entire Finance Committee is opposed to the added property tax, all but one has offered their support to Article 34, which would add a 0.75 percent tax on the sale of restaurant meals in Canton. The tax, which is a local option provided by the state, has been adopted by many surrounding communities and would generate an estimated $274,000 in annual revenue.

Other articles of note at this year’s town meeting include Article 19, which would allow the town to petition the state legislature to exempt the position of deputy police chief from civil service regulation, thereby enabling the chief to promote one of his own lieutenants; Article 35, which would authorize the town to acquire Reservoir Pond from its current owners, the Napleton Company, after Napleton completes necessary repairs to the Pleasant Street dam; Article 37, which would allow the town to lease the Ponkapoag Golf Course from the state for a period of 25 years and enter into a management agreement with a golf management company; and Article 29, which would permit the sale of alcohol on Sundays between 10 a.m. and noon by restaurants, hotels and clubs.

As for the 2012 operating budget, residents will vote on a bottom-line figure of $70,055,825, which includes $30,440,978 for the schools, $15,535,215 for municipal departments, and $24,079,632 for fixed costs.

The budget picture is fairly straightforward this year, since neither the schools nor the municipal departments requested additional funding from any of the town’s reserve accounts. In fact, the only major transfer request this year involves taking $250,000 from free cash to help cover FY11 snow and ice removal costs.

Nevertheless, after tapping heavily into free cash over the past few years to cover unforeseen expenses, the town’s total reserve balance has dwindled to $5 million — a trend that the Finance Committee warns could threaten Canton’s AAA bond rating and lead to significantly higher borrowing costs in the future.

For this reason, FinCom has recommended moving $40,000 from free cash into the stabilization fund and has strongly urged the town to replenish its reserves as soon as the economy shows signs of improvement.

Town meeting will commence at 7:30 p.m. and will adjourn at 11 p.m. It will continue to meet on consecutive Mondays and Wednesdays starting at 7 p.m., except for May 30, until all business has concluded.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Apr 21 2011. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.