SOUTH HADLEY — Voters will decide whether to approve a new senior tax work-off program and fund an additional assistant principal at the high school at a special Town Meeting on Wednesday.

Half of the 12-article warrant establishes fees to generate revenue for the town and formalizes the master plan advisory committee. The other half of the warrant requests to use town funds and free cash to purchase capital goods and pay off expenses. The meeting begins at 6 p.m at the high school at 153 Newton St.

Article 11 asks to establish a senior tax work-off program, which allows seniors to work off up to $2,000 of their property taxes each year. Seniors accepted into the program will be placed in a local government department based on their skills and the town’s needs.

In other work-off programs around western Massachusetts, seniors have a certain amount of hours to complete within a specific timeframe. If approved, the program will begin on July 1, 2024.

The Select Board has yet to establish qualifications for the program, but Town Administrator Lisa Wong said the board will decide the details in early spring. The state sets minimum requirements for any senior work-off abatement program, including that applicants must be over 60 years and own property in the town. Years of residency, exact age and income limits are all decided on by the Select Board.

Article 2 requests to spend $61,000 from state aid toward a new assistant principal at South Hadley High School.

The article was added to the warrant in an emergency joint meeting between the School Committee and the Select Board, during which the committees discussed responses to three assaults at the high school last month that required some staff and students to seek medical attention.

“Expanding the High School administrative team has the most immediate positive impact to support students at a critical juncture in their academic, social and emotional growth,” said interim Superintendent Mark McLauglin in a statement.

New fees

In Article 8, the town requests a local room occupancy tax of 4% on any short-term rentals in private homes, like an Airbnb or bed and breakfast. Wong said the town would receive money from the tax each quarter and deposit it in the general fund.

“The town just passed a bylaw to allow short-term rentals. Applications [to establish short-term rentals] are being accepted now; the fee coincides with that,” Wong said.

Articles 9 and 10 propose two local option community impact fees for hotels, bed and breakfasts and other short-term rentals. These are additional fees connected to the local room occupancy excise fee. Anyone who rents a room is required to pay an extra 3%.

The money raised by the town’s new fees will pay for affordable housing and public infrastructure projects. Wong said South Hadley does not have properties that apply to the first impact fee, but “per Mass General Law, the first impact fee has to be approved in order to approve the second.”

“We have not yet decided a mechanism for spending the funds, but it will likely involve staff input, a recommendation to Select Board, and Town Meeting approval if applicable,” she wrote in an email.

Master Plan

The final article on the warrant involves establishing responsibilities and criteria for a new advisory committee for master plan projects.

The Master Plan Implementation Committee will track progress on projects, assist in addressing challenges to projects’ implementation and provide updates to the Planning Board, the Select Board and the town. The committee also is in charge of community outreach regarding the master plan’s projects and progress.

The committee consists of five to nine members who serve three-year terms. The Planning Board and Select Board appoint the members of the Master Plan Implementation Committee (MPIC), including a member from each of the boards.

“MPIC has already been formed. They are amazing. This is just their decision to build more process and reporting into the bylaw,” Wong said.

Other articles

Articles 3 through 6 deal with transfer and allocation of free cash and retained funds for purchases, replacements and repairs. Article 3 requests $35,000 to pay off an electric bill from 2022 and 2023. Article 6 moves about $145,500 from the general fund to the Opioid Stabilization Fund.

Article 4 pays for a new street sweeper, a new scoreboard and elevators for the schools and a historic commission study required for a state grant. The town’s street sweeper caught fire last spring and needs to be replaced. Wong said during a Select Board meeting that the scoreboard stopped functioning about a month ago.

“We have more capital items on [the warrant] now than we have typically for a fall Town Meeting,” Wong said at the meeting, explaining that some items were pushed back from the annual Town Meeting, while others were added by Director of Building Operations Scott Moore, who has developed capital projects since summer

The town asks voters to use $340,000 in revenue from the wastewater treatment program for the Judd Brook sewer interceptor stream repair project and Main Street pump station channel grinder in Article 5. The $300,000 in contingency money for the Judd Brook project will cover the remainder of the bid and ensure the project is completed before the next annual Town Meeting. The rest of the money will refurbish the channel grinder.

Article 5 requests to move $550,000 from free cash to the Mosier Stabilization Fund in preparation for a new elementary school.

South Hadley is applying to the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s grant program to replace Mosier Elementary School. As part of the requirements, the town must prove it can support some of the financial burden of the process, including a feasibility study. The Mosier Stabilization Fund serves as this proof.

The warrant can be found on the town’s website at southhadley.org.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.