LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town meeting will be asked to vote on a $11.3 million budget, a new solar bylaw, and bans on styrofoam and single-use plastic bags.

 

The annual town meeting will kick off at the elementary school at 6 p.m. Tuesday night. The big ticket item is the annual budget, which the Finance Committee is recommending to be at $11,345,891. That represents a $159,192 increase from last year, most of which can be attributed to payments for the Mount Greylock Regional School renovation/new build project.

 

The assessment for Mount Greylock is up by $92,500, or 3 percent from last year. That increase is entirely attributed to the building project because otherwise, Lanesborough's share would have gone down. Town Manager Paul Sieloff had crafted a town budget that would be a 3 percent increase in taxes, 2 percent of which is for the school and the other 1 percent for town operations.

 

His $11.4 million proposal saw two lines of reductions, first from the Selectmen who took out some $20,000 from the proposal and then the Finance Committee, which is recommending a budget some $60,000 below that. All three budgets — $11,424,403; $11,401,548, and $11,345,891 — are available in the budget book but it is the Finance Committee's recommendation that goes to a vote on the floor.

 

The lengthiest warrant article is for a new solar bylaw. The Planning Board has been working on the new law for months, which would regulate solar photovoltaic projects. The town already has two large ones in the works, one which has been permitted and another still in negotiations. The first, which is a field proposed by Eversource, brought the town's lack of zoning requirements for such projects to light.

 

The nearly seven-page warrant article outlines a number of provisions from the height of solar panels, to needed screening of the array, to the removal once operations have halted. Proposed developers would need a special permit to create a solar array, and must comply with those regulations.

 

The Board of Selectmen has also recommended a ban on polystyrene food containers and single-use plastic bags. Towns throughout the county and state have been banning such products for environmental reasons.

 

Lanesborough's ban would go into effect on July 1, 2018, and companies that violate the law would be subject to a warning for first offense, $50 fine for the second, a $100 fine for the third, and $200 for all others after that. The town would also have the right to suspend, revoke, or deny any license of permit because of violations.

 

The rest of the warrant includes the purchase of numerous capital items; making some currently elected positions appointed ones; a vote to impose a local sales tax on marijuana sales. The full warrant is available below.