After casting votes from their cars due to restrictions from the coronavirus pandemic, Hopkinton residents were able to come together Saturday for their first in-person town meeting in three years.
Voters were in an agreeable mood and passed eight of 10 articles on the warrant, including the $8.3 million proposed budget, leasing town-owned land for a solar farm and spending $875,000 for repairs on the Houston Barn, which serves as critical space for the Department of Public Works and a storage facility for several town organizations.
“I think everyone was excited to be back in the gymnasium,” moderator Sara Persechino said. “Drive-up voting worked when we needed it, but there’s no replacement for getting together with your neighbors and talking about the issues at hand.”
The barn renovation was the first question of the day, asking voters to approve a $272,000 bond, which required a three-fifths majority. Another $603,000 for repairs would be spent using American Rescue Plan funds. The question passed overwhelmingly by a 221-48 vote conducted by secret ballot.
The need for barn repair surfaced after a leak was found in its roof. Originally, the Select Board considered replacing only the barn’s roof, an estimated $80,000 project, but decided to take a wider look at the structure and commissioned the Houston Barn Study Committee, which was formed in January of 2021.
The committee presented a number of cost estimates, including a basic stabilization of the building, repairing and rehabilitating the barn, and tearing it down and constructing a new structure. Ultimately repair and restoration was chosen to extend the lift of the barn, while saving money on the cost of full replacement.
Work will be done in two phases. First, the barn will be jacked up in order to construct a new foundation and fix any drainage issues. Once the barn is back in place, the second phase will include installing a new metal roof, electrical wiring, a fire suppression system as well as replacing siding and doors on the barn. Anything beyond the $875,000 will be funded by grants and private donations.
The barn currently serves as a storage facility for the town’s Recreation Department, the Hopkinton Youth Sports Association, the Slusser Senior Center, the Hopkinton Library, the Boys & Girls Scouts and the high school athletic department.
The operating budget of $8.3 million, presenting a $621,430 increase and an 8.1% tax increase, passed by a voice vote. Residents similarly gave the thumbs up to allow a solar farm to be constructed at a 95-acre town-owned gravel pit on Clement Hill Road. The yet-to-be negotiated lease will last up to 41 years and “include various easements to facilitate operation of the solar farm.”
One of the most contentious issues of the day asked voters to reclassify 150 feet of Bound Tree Road from class VI to a class V road to allow a single-family home to be built. Changing the classification meant the town would need to maintain the small section of road near the town boundaries with Warner and Henniker.
Skeptics feared the decision would set a precedent and lead to other requests to convert sections of road, which could begin to chip away at the rural character of the town. Those in favor cited the limited number of buildable lots in town and minimal cost to maintain such a small section of road.
The question eventually failed, with 133 residents voting no compared to 112 in favor.
The other issue voters rejected was a petitioned warrant article asking that all ballots cast in town be counted by hand instead of by machine. Proponents cited election integrity and security while expressing skepticism about trusting machines to be accurate.
Similar questions were asked in more than a dozen towns this year, including Loudon, where it also failed.
State and local election officials contend AccuVote machines, the only approved ballot counting machine in New Hampshire, have proven themselves to be accurate and reliable.