SOUTHAMPTON — At a special Town Meeting on Tuesday, voters will decide whether to appropriate around $420,000 to permanently conserve over 700 acres of land as part of the Mountain Waters Project.

The project, which the town of Southampton, Kestrel Land Trust and other groups have been working on for about five years, seeks to protect 1,025 acres of wild and working land in Southampton, Westhampton and Montgomery over the next two years.

“It’s going to preserve open space in town for conservation purposes and make sure that in the future the town maintains its rural character,” said Town Administrator Ed Gibson.

In October, the project received a $1.25 million state grant to purchase property and conservation restrictions. The town needs to match 15% of the portion of the project that applies to Southampton parcels, located at Wolcott Road, Former Road, Cold Spring Road, Maple Street and Glendale Road.

Voters at the special Town Meeting will decide whether to appropriate Community Preservation Act funds to cover that match.

If approved, the project will likely create the largest ever public conservation area in the town, according to Kestrel Land Trust Conservation Manager Bridget Likely.

Other funds

About half of the articles on the Town Meeting warrant seek to allocate and transfer money for outstanding bills, operating expenses, and other funds.

“We usually have to do this sort of thing at this time of year for unforeseen costs,” Gibson said.

Article 2 pursues a transfer of $119,766.50 to the police department operating budget. Gibson said that “a good portion of that is generated from the fact that we had to join our dispatch with Easthampton. It basically recognizes new duties that police officers will have to do now and in the future.”

Articles 3 through 7 seek to transfer $20,000 for fire and EMS expenses; $36,000 to the assessor department operating budget; $21,227 for general highway expenses; $6,000 from the group health insurance account to the unemployment operating budget; and $19,195 for the health department.

Voters will also decide whether to appropriate the town’s free cash to several funds, including $350,387 to the Hampshire Regional school account; $95,564 to the capital stabilization fund; $82,769 to the operating budget; and $27,590 to the post-employment benefits account.

In Article 12, the town seeks to establish an opioid stabilization account, into which funds received by the town from opioid litigation settlements will be transferred.

The purchase of a new school transportation van for $98,000 is also on the docket. The new van would replace an existing van at William E. Norris Elementary School, which “has run its course,” according to Gibson.

As for another vehicle purchase, the town will also decide whether to transfer around $17,000 in additional funding for a new ton truck with a plow and sander, which was initially approved in 2021.

“Ford actually canceled the order on it after we had placed it due to supply issues during the pandemic,” Gibson said. “Now this one will end up being two model years newer... so there’s that inflationary factor.”

Article 15 seeks to appropriate $6,500 for the replacement of water damaged ceiling tiles at Norris Elementary School.

General Bylaws

Articles 18 and 19 seek to establish new bylaws about membership on boards, committees, commissions and councils; how new applicants can join appointed groups; and how those groups operate. The bylaws would require that the maximum number of members be odd to prevent tie votes; list the responsibilities of the chair, vice chair and clerk of committees; require adherence to the State Ethics Commission and Open Meeting Law rules; among other operating rules.

“The Bylaw Review Committee wanted to come through and clarify memberships and how people are appointed to boards, committees, and commissions and their duties,” Gibson said. “The intent is to keep all the boards, committees and commissions as full with members as their charters or bylaws state because it’s easier to make quorums out of those.”

Attendees will also choose whether to rescind and accept a Massachusetts General Law “modernizing what the town has accepted for the establishment of the fire department and fire chief… It puts it in the same categories as police chief,” according to Gibson.

The special Town Meeting is set to take place at 7 p.m. at Norris Elementary School.

Maddie Fabian can be reached at mfabian@gazettenet.com.