DALTON, Mass. — Voters had a chance on Monday to review the town meeting warrant in advance of next week's annual town meeting. 

 

In previous years, the town held a town meeting and a special town meeting to cover its annual business. But some residents would only go to one meeting. This year, the town officials are hoping to hold only one town meeting depending on how long it will be. 

 

"This warrant includes all of the articles that we expect. So we're hoping not to have a second town meeting. Sometimes people go to one maybe and not the other," Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said, "And we'll see whether it's too long for people, and then we should go back but awfully interested in your feedback about that. My sense is that if we can get it done in one night, that's best." 

 

More than a dozen residents attended the educational session at Wahconah Regional High School and a majority rated it as helpful at the end of the night. 

 

The first 13 articles are financial articles that get presented every year and have not been controversial. 

 

During the session, some residents raised concerns regarding the property tax rate. The average tax bill will go up with the proposed fiscal 2023 budget but the tax rate is going down because of the increased valuation of properties.

 

"I just like to point out though our taxes are among the highest in the Berkshires," said Dr. Henry Rose.

 

His wife, Cheryl Rose, agreed, adding, "We lived here 15 years, but we've lived in Pittsfield 25 years. So we made a somewhat horizontal move a little bit more, but our tax bill went way up. So we're comparing like that."

 

In response, Hutcheson said these increases are reasonable, that the town is in very good financial health, and that the tax rate is not as telling as the tax bill. 

 

"The tax rate is a much less meaningful number than the average tax bill," he said. "In general, I think the finances of the town are excellent. And one of the measures of that is that the government here is not suggesting taxing people to the limit that they can be taxed.

 

"Many towns are taxing right up to what's called the levy limit, how much the state allows you to tax people under Proposition 2 1/2. And we are well below, but we're allowed to tax people based on the valuation of people's property and things like that. So, the town in general is excellent financial health."

 

Currently the town debt is going down but that will change substantially when it has to start paying for the new high school. When that will happen is unclear and will depend on financing and interest rates. 

 

The superintendent will be at the town meeting to answer any questions that residents have surrounding the school system. 

 

One resident asked why the town is giving the Community Recreation Center a $60,000 grant and asked if the town could afford it. 

 

The CRA does not offer a discount or free memberships to Dalton residents despite the grant. After the meeting, the Roses said people who live in Windsor ski at Notchview (which is owned by the Trustees for Reservation) for free so it is unclear why the CRA is not the same way when the town gives them a grant. Select Board Joseph Diver said he would look into this. 

 

The board did not have an overall financial report prepared during the educational session but will have the numbers available at the town meeting

 

Residents at the meeting also raised a variety of concerns regarding a number of articles. Most notably, the increase in the Police Department budget.

 

Police Chief Deanna Strout was present at the meeting and explained that the increase in her department's budget is due to the new police reform bill that does not allow the department to hire part-time officers. The department also requested an increase in the training budget because the state legislation is requiring more officer training. 

 

"We no longer can hire part-time police officers, we have to depend on full time only. It's an unfunded mandate that the governor signed into law last year," Strout said. "So, we are now only able to hire full-time trained officers and our training budget double because that's what the law requires us to do now."

 

The fiscal 2023 budget did see increases due to the wage and compensation study that found a number of public employees were not getting paid as much as other communities. 

 

"So, that [study] has resulted in a proposed increase in salaries for all town employees, some relatively little, some much more substantially. For instance, our dispatchers were paid about 38 percent below their counterparts in comparable towns." Hutcheson said. "So, their budget grows quite considerably because of this study. We have had some trouble recruiting and retaining employees. And we're hoping that this can help address that issue."

 

Town Planner Grant McGregor also presented on Article 14, the proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw and Article 15, the drive-through bylaw. 

 

The ADU bylaw has been process since October 2020 when the Planning Board received a couple of written requests in support of it. The Select Board approved the formation of an ad hoc committee last year to develop the bylaw.

 

There was not much discussion on the ADU bylaw aside from the language. One resident questioned the meaning of NP, P, and PA on the article. 

 

McGregor apologized and said it should have included a key and explained that "NP" means "Not Permitted", "P" means "Permitted by Right" and "PA" means "Permitted via Special Permit."

 

Diver and Hutcheson also issued a correction to Article 14 explaining that the legislation signed by the governor a couple of years ago allows for the bylaw to be passed by a simple majority rather than a two-thirds vote since it promotes affordable housing. 

 

The purpose of the bylaw is to create more housing, which is part of the town's Master Plan. 

 

"It's not necessarily more affordable housing, but we need more housing for people in town," Select Board member Dan Esko said. "That's key. And that's in the master plan."

 

The drive-through bylaw received more criticism. In 2008, Article 7 amended the bylaw to what it currently reads. 

 

Chapter 350 of the town's code, the Table of Use Regulations states that drive-through facilities are permitted for banks, financial institutions, and car washes only with all other uses specifically excluded.

 

The amendment states that drive-through facilities are currently permitted for banks, financial institutions, and all other primary business uses for the purpose of growing economic development.

 

Over the years, the bylaw has been amended and in 2014, under Article 21, a number of new conditions were proposed in addition to re-numbering again. This was tabled and has not been voted on again or brought to town meeting. 

 

The amendment to the bylaw would rearrange the zoning to allow any business to have a drive-through in business and industrial districts as long as it does not effect traffic. 

 

"The Dalton Redevelopment Authority, put this bylaw in front of the Planning Board. And the intent is to rearrange the the zoning where drive-through should be allowed to be zoned to exclude them from residential districts and allow them in business and industrial districts" McGregor said, "And this would also change the use from only financial institutions banks car washes to all primary business uses."

 

Most of the town consists of residential districts so there are only a handful of places this amendment will effect. 

 

"The bylaw shows not being permitted in residential districts, which residential districts make up it must be like 95 percent of the parcels in Dalton," McGregor said. "There's a handful of business and industrial zones where this would really be possible and everything would need to would need to meet requirements based on cars not being backed up onto a road."

 

Historical Commission Vice Chairwoman Louisa Horth raised the concern of bylaws being present in the proposed historical districts. 

 

As the amendment is currently written, drive-throughs will not be permitted in historical districts. This will not include the two proposed historical districts until they are designated as historical districts. 

 

Horth questioned what would happen if a drive-through was built in one of the proposed historical districts before there designation: would it be grandfathered in or would have to be removed?

 

It was unclear what would happen in this case and the Planning Board would have to defer the question to legal counsel. 

 

Esko said, "I was serving on the Planning Board during these deliberations. It is certainly challenging to write bylaws for a district that doesn't exist yet. That was a challenge that we faced.

 

"And we felt like this language would encompass future districts that were actually historic districts but the other two are not currently districts designated historic districts as to an existing drive thru in a future district."

 

McGregor explained to this reporter after the educational session that most of the proposed historic district parcels are residential so a drive-through would not be permitted anyways. 

 

Residents also questioned what the plan was for the transfer station. In an effort to save money, provide more options to residents while reducing the total waste stream the town will be taking over the transfer station which is currently being operated by Casella. 

 

Hutcheson explained that now that Community Ecopower in Pittsfield is being sold possibly to Casella, which would probably put their own transfer station in Pittsfield. It is unclear how or when that is going to operate.

 

He feels the town will have more control over how the waste is managed, reduce waste and cost.

 

"So, the town being nonprofit, we expect to be able to perform at least the same service for less money," he said. "And we hope to actually increase service and also be able to cut money, probably not the first year, we need to take over the operation, our intent is to keep all of the costs exactly what they were this year, and see what it's like to manage that transfer station."

 

The annual town meeting will take place Monday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at Wahconah Regional High School. The warrant can be found here.