LEVERETT — Roughly 100 residents voted to approve Leverett’s share of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District budget, accept a 146.3-acre property gift and appropriate funds for a series of community preservation projects during Saturday’s annual Town Meeting.

Of the 37 articles on the warrant, all proposals passed with the exception of two involving the resurfacing of Dudleyville Road and a change to the ground-mounted solar bylaw. The Dudleyville Road article was tabled after residents called for more information on the specific repair plans and funding, and the ground-mounted solar article was tabled due to an error in its phrasing.

Regional school budget

Leverett’s share of the regional school district’s budget sparked the most input from attendees.

While Leverett paid $1.63 million this fiscal year, the fiscal year 2026 budget rose by $230,356, or 14.1%, to $1.86 million. According to Select Board Chair Tom Hankinson and Amherst-Pelham Regional School District Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman, Leverett has paid a smaller share of the budget in recent years compared to Amherst due to a “guardrail method.” However, on March 31, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education informed the committee that this method would no longer be approved, leading the committee to fall back on the codified regional agreement.

“So for the past couple of years, we have been doing it out of sequence,” Herman said. “Which left us with the only assessment method available to us, which is the one in the regional agreement that was agreed upon and cemented by the four towns.”

School Committee member Tilman Wolf described the 14.1% increase as a “one-time significant increase compared to previous years.”

“These guardrails were really designed, conceptually, to cushion the blow,” said Sarah Dolven, a former School Committee member. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing the ramifications of basically kicking this can down the road.”

Gary Gruber encouraged attendees to vote “no.” “I think we are being bullied by the town of Amherst into putting up with an increase of our budget over 14%,” Gruber said.

In response, Wolf said the increase “is not something that Amherst has determined that they want to do.” Instead, Wolf said, “This is something that the state law has told us that we have to do.”

“This is not a ‘we are being bullied,’” Herman responded. Referring to the regional agreement, she added, “This is a document that was agreed upon years ago. This is an assessment. The process was out of order for years. And this year, we are being held to those timelines.”

Select Board member Patricia Duffy described the March 31 School Committee meeting as “DESE coming in, scolding us, and telling us we’d been doing this wrong for seven years and blaming us, although DESE accepted it.”

Several residents called for reexamining the regional agreement, an effort that is already underway, according to Hankinson. In an email, the Select Board chair said the Regional Financial Sustainability Group, an exploratory committee with members representing Amherst, Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett, will reconsider the agreement. According to Hankinson, the group intends to “conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the regional school agreement, with a view of constructing an agreement that is equitable, forward-looking and robust.”

Woodlot gift

Residents also voted to accept a 146.3-acre woodlot, known as the Two Brothers Woodlot, from resident Bruce Spencer. The property is at 353 North Leverett Road, near the Shutesbury town line.

Eric Donnelly led an examination into the proposed agreement and created a 28-page report for the Select Board, which he summarized for residents on Saturday.

“It’s not really just a regular piece of land,” Donnelly said. Referring to Spencer, he added, “He’s been working on this land as a career forester for many years. It’s a really exemplary piece of property. I think it’s a big honor that he’s offering it to us.”

According to Donnelly, Spencer offered the lot with the stipulation that Leverett follows his “management philosophy.” Donnelly said this entails permitting hunting, maintaining the roads and “small-scale management.”

However, Donnelly cited maintaining the property’s bridge as one potential challenge of owning the woodlot.

When Finance Committee member Isaiah Robison asked for the specifics of the bridge, including estimates of replacement costs and the structure’s lifespan, Donnelly said, “It’s really hard to pin down real numbers.” Some residents expressed apprehension over accepting the property as a gift without knowledge of potential financial burdens in the future.

In the same article, residents also voted to create a Town Forest Committee dedicated to overseeing the property. Donnelly said the next steps involve appointing members to this committee and working through the “nuts and bolts” of the transfer with the Select Board, including the timeline and legal agreement. He hopes by this time next year, the woodlot will belong to the town of Leverett.

Library pocket park

Residents also voted to appropriate $374,529 from the Community Preservation Fund Unreserved Balance to fund the construction of an accessible pocket park, an article that passed with applause from voters. This sum is in addition to money raised by the Friends of Leverett Library and a LifePath grant.

Leverett Library Director Hannah Paessel said this park would include a path circling the library with a boardwalk, benches, a bike repair station, an enclosed stage for workshops and outdoor instruments for “intergenerational play.”

As Leverett’s first public park, Paessel added that the project aligns with several Community Preservation Committee goals by “increasing recreational space,” “enhancing opportunities for people with various handicaps,” “serving a large number of residents” and “supporting multiple recreational uses.”

Paessel said the Friends of Leverett Library will pay for the first year of maintenance, and the Highway Department will continue to mow the property and use a leaf blower on the new pathway.

Rattlesnake Gutter Road

Attendees also voted to appropriate $265,000 from the Community Preservation Fund Unreserved Balance to restore the discontinued town-owned section of Rattlesnake Gutter Road, preserving it for recreational trail use.

Stephen Weiss presented a slideshow depicting the damage to the road, only 661 steps from his home. Residents watched a July 2023 video of rainwater gushing through the trails. Weiss said the flood collapsed a section of the retaining wall that was supporting the road due to the “obsolete” drainage system.

To face future rainstorms, Weiss said major repairs are necessary. The $265,000 will be put toward removing dead trees along the side of the road, clearing out debris from the drainage ditches, constructing more drainage ditches, replacing and installing more culverts and water bars, and reconstructing sections of the retaining wall.

School track

The final request from the Community Preservation Fund Unreserved Balance, which was also approved, was $176,000 for the renovation of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School’s track and two new athletic fields.

Amherst’s Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said the current track “is not suitable for local and regional events,” an ongoing issue over the last five to seven years.

Hankinson said he recently visited the track to discover that “it is in hideous condition.” “This is a resource for the kids,” Hankinson said in support of the article.

Dolven, a parent of student athletes, described the current track as “embarrassing” and “dangerous” compared to other schools where her kids have competed.

The new eight-lane track will include accessible paths, parking and two new grass athletic fields for sports like field hockey, lacrosse and soccer. With $4.1 million already allocated toward the project before Saturday’s Town Meeting, Ziomek said the goal is to start construction in June.

Election

To kick off the meeting, Leverett residents also elected town officials.

The town reelected Patricia Duffy to the Select Board and Sam Black to the Board of Assessors. As for the Board of Health, the town opted for John Hillman to return and voted in newcomer Marsha Johnson. Bethany Seeger, Philip Carter and Elizabeth Kiebel will retain their seats on the Finance Committee. Additionally, Seth Seeger and Judith Davidov were reelected as Leverett Library trustees.

With each member of the School Committee stepping down, the town elected Timothy Shores, Elizabeth Thompson and Andrew Parker-Renga, leaving two seats still empty that can be filled by Selectboard appointments.

With the Planning Board members stepping down and no nominations on Saturday, the Selectboard will appoint residents to the Planning Board at a later date.