ATHOL — Athol voters will gather for the town’s fall Town Meeting Monday night at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall at Town Hall. Those in attendance will be asked to dispense with a total of 12 articles.
The single big-ticket item on the warrant, Article 3, seeks $425,000 for the purchase of a new ambulance for the town’s Fire Department. Late last month, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski told the Athol Daily News that voters will be asked to approve the transfer of cash “from an existing revolving account where ambulance revenues are set-aside to accumulate and cover new ambulance and related costs. There is currently just over $428,000 in that revolving account plus ongoing revenues. So, no free cash or taxpayer funds (will be used) on this item.
Suhoski further explained that town officials try to replace one of the town’s two ambulances every eight years on a rotating basis, meaning a new emergency vehicle is put into service every four years. While voters would normally be faced with an article of this kind at the Annual Town Meeting in June, Suhoski said, “The supply chain, like everything, is now extending up to and beyond a year for delivery. That is why Chief (Joseph) Guarnera was looking to advance the Town Meeting authorization this fall rather than ‘lose’ another eight months of time waiting until the June 2023 annual meeting.”
Town officials are also seeking permission, in Article 6, to obtain property easements deemed necessary for work on the reconfiguration of what is known as the Five Points section of Athol. Five Points generally consists of the intersection of Chestnut Hill Avenue — sometimes called Bridge Street — heading toward MassGrow, as well as Laurel, Lee and Crescent streets. The location has been listed as a dangerous intersection for a number of years.
For the work to proceed, the town must secure a number of permanent and temporary construction easements from property owners in the area. At an October 2021 Selectboard meeting, Public Works Director Dick Kilhart told the board that he and Assistant DPW Director Paul Raskevitz had reached out to approximately 35 property owners by certified mail to make them aware of the town’s needs.
Kilhart recently told the Athol Daily News that design of the project should be finished in the near future, with solicitation for bids on the project going out sometime next year. Work on the more-than $5 million project, which includes the reconstruction of a pair of deteriorating retaining walls, will likely proceed sometime in 2024.
A pair of proposed zoning amendments call for the elimination of split-zone property lots in a couple of areas along South Main Street. Article 10 would do away with parcels that are split between Neighborhood Commercial and Residential-A or Residential-C zones and re-zone them General Commercial. Article 11 addresses a number of “large, mostly vacant parcels that are split between commercial and residential zoning on the northerly side of South Main Street, from the property known as the Ledges Greenhouse, and easterly to Brickyard Road.” These lots, too, would be rezoned as General Commercial.
The last article on the warrant was submitted via citizen petition. It asks the town to prohibit the use of all engine brakes in the town of Athol. Engine brakes are typically found in large commercial vehicles and are used for stopping the vehicle through the engine’s power instead of through normal braking process. Many communities have banned their use because of the loud noise that results.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com