PELHAM — A $5.22 million operating budget to cover municipal and school services, a series of zoning changes, including a prohibition on stand-alone energy storage systems, and a petition calling on the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools to abandon artificial turf in a planned track and field project will come before voters on Saturday.

Town Meeting begins at 9 a.m. outside the Pelham Elementary School, when residents will take up a 31-article warrant.

The Finance Committee is recommending a $5.22 million spending plan, up $202,338, or 4%, from the current $5.013 million budget. But the budget is $105,320 less than requests made by departments.

Committee members issued a report outlining the “troublesome rising budget requests” made by departments in previous years, and had thought that what was being asked for in fiscal 2024 would be lower.

“That hope did not materialize, and costs just continue to shoot upwards,” reads a portion of the report signed by Fred Vanderbeck, Emily Marriott, Cara Castenson and Chairman John Trickey.

The $300,000 in requests, trimmed by nearly a third, in part through use of free cash, included $83,000 in increases from schools, $34,000 for Group Health Care and $30,000 for utilities at the Community Center.

“We may be faced with choosing between larger increases in taxes or cuts in services in the future unless Pelham can fundamentally change its financial trajectory by reducing costs through regionalizing of services or other means, by increasing revenue through new growth and development, or by other options yet to be identified,” the committee wrote.

The bulk of the increases are related to school spending, with a $43,682 increase for the elementary schools, going up from $1.92 million to $1.96 million, and a $38,668 increase for the regional schools assessment, from $966,706 to $1.01 million. That assessment also depends on approving an amended regional agreement formula that includes a guardrail that protects Pelham from an increase higher than 4%.

Costs are also rising for public works, with its budget going up by $32,819, from $423,171 to $455,990.

Outside of the operating budget, voters are being asked to use $415,000 from the capital plan stabilization fund for a new multiuse mini-pumper for the Fire Department.

A total of $242,937 in free cash will go for various purposes, including $30,000 for increased energy costs at the Community Center until a new HVAC system is functioning optimally; $28,000 to pay Pelham’s share of the regional school capital debt; $28,000 for health insurance for the town clerk and DPW; $25,000 for reimbursement of unanticipated special education costs; and $22,000 for the regional school capital reserve account.

CPA spending, zoning

Community Preservation Act spending features $70,000 to support a homeownership application from Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity for the Cadwell Street property, where two new affordable homes would be constructed. Along with two previous Habitat homes, and the future Amethyst Brook Apartments, Pelham would have 7% of its housing stock deemed affordable in the state’s Subsidized Housing Inventory.

Another $17,250 in CPA is to pay Berkshire Design Group to complete a feasibility study for improvements to the elementary school playground. A committee has also been formed to ensure that play area is fully accessible.

On zoning, a new solar bylaw references forests and wetlands, the need to protect habitats, trails and historic resources, and stipulates design, performance, safety and environmental standards that should be followed for these projects. It also spells out how battery storage can accompany photovoltaic projects.

Separately, a bylaw would prohibit separate energy storage systems not connected to solar arrays.

For driveways, a bylaw aims to bring consistency to regulations. This includes adding a requirement for engineered site plans for certain driveways, removing resurfacing as a non-significant modification to an existing driveway and clarifying the standards for a common access driveway, such as maximum grades at certain points of these driveways.

The final bylaw would replace the current language addressing lighting and replace it with one that ensures lighting standards adopted for Pelham’s village center apply to all zoning districts.

Artificial turf

A citizen petition seeks to offer concern about the plan to artificial turf playing field inside track at Amherst Regional High School, a facility used by Pelham students.

Though this project has been approved by the Amherst Regional School Committee, and active fundraising has been done by the Amherst Hurricane Boosters Inc., the project has raised concerns from health boards and Community Preservation Act panels in the member towns.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>