Warner officials hoping to construct a sidewalk to connect the downtown to the Market Basket shopping plaza walked away empty-handed from Wednesday’s Town Meeting, after residents rejected plans for design engineering.
The proposed article on the warrant sought to establish a capital reserve fund with $95,111 to do an engineering study on a potential sidewalk to connect Warner’s downtown to the Exit 9 retail and residential area, stretching from Roslyn Avenue to the rotary on West Main Street, known as the Intervale District. The town was chosen to receive an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant to fund the project.
But on Wednesday night, attendees voted 78-74 to amend the article to instead put $5,000 toward a study – to be combined with $20,000 in existing funds – and make a study committee that includes residents who own property along that route.
“This article 16, before amended, if it had passed, would have given us legitimate engineering options,” said selectman Sam Bower. “Now that it has been amended to $5,000, we do not have the funding for legitimate engineering options,” said Bower. “Pretty much, it has rendered this project stopped or dead at this point.”
Residents ultimately voted 99-40 against the amended article.
Proponents of the sidewalk project said it would make the town safer and more walkable, improving health and the environment in the community. One resident at the meeting said she sees pedestrians walking on that road every day to get to work or to access grocery stores. But other residents said the sidewalk would be expensive to build and maintain, and that in the absence of motor vehicle accident data, no clear need for a sidewalk has been demonstrated.
Wednesday’s meeting became contentious at times. Attendees were quick to challenge most spending articles and express skepticism about the town’s handling of funds. Some residents encouraged others not to vote for items, in the hope that it would encourage town officials to tighten the belt in the future.
Attendees did pass the town operating budget of $3,675,514 as proposed, which is a 4.3% increase from last year’s budget of $3,524,207 after a lengthy debate. The budget includes a 4% raise for town employees and another 2% raise that will be allocated based on merit.
Residents also voted 129-34 to pass a 10-year construction project loan of $2,615,000 to repair and improve town roads, but only after amending it to be more specific and restrict how the funds could be used. The amended version authorizes the town to improve only Schoodac Road, Poverty Plains Road, Pumpkin Hill Road, Mason Hill Road and North Village Road and to have the Roads Committee take the lead on the plans, cost estimates and contract bids rather than the Board of Selectmen.
Roads agent Tim Allen said that while he understood the town’s need for accountability, he wants to be able to begin work as early as possible to avoid wasting valuable construction time.
“I think in the long run I have to work hard to make it all work, but I think in the long run it is going to save the town money,” Allen said about the loan.
Residents voted down an article that had come to be on the warrant via resident petition that proposed replacing the transfer station’s trash compactor for $100,000. James Gaffney, who proposed the petition, argued that the current trash compactor is outdated and should be replaced sooner rather than later so it doesn’t break unexpectedly at a bad time. Instead, residents opted to pass another article on the warrant adding $80,000 to the Transfer Station Facility Project Capital Reserve Fund, which Bower said will be used to redesign the Transfer Station area in preparation for a new trash compactor that will be purchased with existing funds and used alongside the existing one. Having two operational trash compactors will ensure work can continue even if one breaks, Bower said.
“With the new layout and the new design and two compactors, [Foreman Varick Proper] thinks that will address some efficiency issues and some safety issues,” Bower said. “And hopefully with the new redesign, address some of our actual waste issues we have as a town.”
Residents also voted 57-32 to approve $108,445.75 to replace the skate park at Riverside Park. Although the original request was for $56,000, half the needed amount, Parks and Rec commissioner Tim Blagden proposed an amendment for the full amount, which voters accepted.
In the polls on Tuesday, Warner residents voted 253-224 against a proposal to finance the construction of a STEAM (science, technology, engineering and math) wing at Kearsarge Regional High School for $22,270,344. The STEAM wing ultimately failed district-wide, as it did not get the necessary number of votes among all sending towns. Warner residents also passed a school operating budget of $47,172,492.
In the ballot votes for town officers, Michael Kevin Brown won the race for supervisor of the checklist with 261 votes, beating out the other candidate, Karen Coyne, who received 163 votes. Michael Cutting won a three-year seat on the Budget Committee with 432 votes and write-in candidate Harold Blanchette won the other three-year seat on the Budget Committee with nine votes, beating out the second write-in candidate, Richard Bixby, who received four votes.
Bower won a one-year seat on the Board of Selectmen with 441 votes, and Christine Frost won a three-year on the Board of Selectmen with 423 votes. Robert Blake won a one-year seat on the Budget Committee with 416 votes. Gerald Courser won a seat on the Chandler Reservation Committee with 466 votes. Janice Cutting was elected almoner of the Foster and Currier Funds with 449 votes. Robert Blake was elected trustee of trust funds with 416 votes. Michael Kevin Brown (393 votes), Sherry Colfer (380 votes) and Teresa Hathaway (378 votes) were elected as library trustees. Mary Cogswell (419 votes) and Donald Wheeler (399 votes) were elected as cemetery trustees. Ray Martin was elected town moderator with 463 votes.