HADLEY — Voters at a special Town Meeting on Thursday will consider infrastructure improvements, building repairs, and new and refurbished vehicles for the police, fire and public works departments.
The session for the 25-article warrant starts at the Hopkins Academy cafetorium at 7 p.m.
The most expensive item on the warrant is $750,000 in borrowing for various sewer infrastructure, such as pumps and lines, that are part of the Department of Public Works Sewer Asset Management capital projects and repairs.
Another $350,000 would be borrowed for a similar DPW Water Asset Management capital projects and repairs.
Articles totaling $400,000 would be dedicated to road work in town. The first $200,000, to be borrowed within the levy limit, would supplement state Chapter 90 road funds the town already receives.
Another $200,000 would be borrowed, within the levy limit, and go toward the replacement and repair of the Russellville Brook Bridge, on Route 47 in North Hadley.
Of $251,800 in Community Preservation Act account requests, $181,500 would go to hire an engineering firm to complete a survey and plans for multiuse paths on Middle and East streets.
Town Administrator Nate Malloy said the hope is that $150,000 of this would be grant funded, and when projects are designed the town would get additional grants to pay for the actual construction under the state’s Complete Streets Program.
For building work, the town would use $60,000 in free cash to put in a mandated exhaust system at the fire station, transfer $16,000 to install a new waste oil heater at the DPW building and move $11,000 from free cash for capital repairs, including new carpeting at the Senior Center and painting at the Hadley Public Library and police station.
Free cash totaling $95,000 would be used to acquire a new police cruiser, after the department last year went without a new vehicle, and the town would borrow within the levy limit to spend $90,000 for a new F-150 that would be used by the deputy fire chief. Free cash totaling $30,000 would repair DPW trucks 12 and 25 and $90,000 from water reserves would go toward a DPW replacement pickup truck.
Also from water reserves would be $150,000 to purchase a new back-pulse tank, which is used to hold filtered water, while $45,000 from sewer reserves would replace a sewer plant pump.
Meanwhile, the CPA account, which has $2.23 million available, would also be tapped for two other projects. The first is $40,000 that would go to the DPW to digitize and preserve cemetery records and maps. The second is $30,000 to hire a consultant for developing a new Open Space & Recreation Plan.
A total of $300,000 would go into various accounts, with $100,000 to general stabilization, $80,000 to capital stabilization and $20,000 to Other Post Employment Benefits, while $100,000 moves to the employee compensated fund.
This last fund is a legal requirement the town has to pay for vacations and other accrued benefits when an employee resigns or leaves.
“It goes pretty quickly, unfortunately,” said Assistant Town Administrator Jennifer Sanders James.
A transfer of $75,000 from available funds would pay to demolish buildings at 234 Middle St., near where a new Department of Public Works headquarters could be built, if the town moves forward with that project.
There is also $50,000 in free cash to buy new computers for the police, fire, library and senior center. Another $30,000 in free cash would go to bring the town into compliance with the requirements of the MS4 permit. Malloy said this permit requires various regulations when doing street sweeping, culvert cleaning and drainage and ditch repairs.
Reserves from Hadley Media totaling $5,000 would go toward purchasing supplies.
Another article would give the Select Board the authority to enter into payment-in-lieu-of- taxes agreements with property owners for solar arrays on Mill Valley Road, Mount Warner Road, Shattuck Road and Aqua Vitae Road.
There are two articles that are not related to spending.
One is an advisory petition that calls for the Select Board to install solar-powered flashing warning lights at two Norwottuck Rail Trail crossings on West Street, as well as the crossings on Middle Street, East Street and Crosspath Road.
The other would amend town bylaws to give the moderator discretion to declare two-thirds majorities when a vote is unanimous or clearly overwhelming.
