Overview:

The Athol Selectboard and Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee have voted to endorse six articles to be decided on at the Nov. 10 Special Town Meeting, including a proposed bylaw revision that would define family as a person or number of persons occupying a dwelling unit and living in a single housekeeping unit, provided that a group of five or more unrelated persons shall not be deemed a 'family' where not related by blood, marriage or adoption, including wards of the state. The new definition of boarding house would read "Any dwelling in which more than four persons not members of the family residing on the premises, either individually or as families, are housed or lodged for hire with or without meals. A rooming house or a furnished rooming house shall be deemed a boarding house."

ATHOL – The Selectboard and Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee have both voted to endorse the six articles to be decided on at the Nov. 10 Special Town Meeting

The two met separately on Oct. 14 to discuss the articles. While many deal with unpaid bills or other financial matters, one is for a proposed bylaw revision stemming from an ongoing hearing for a sober house at 217 Spring St. A public hearing on the bylaw amendment, which is required by law, has not yet been scheduled.

Director of Planning and Development Eric Smith went before the FWAC to urge endorsement of Article 6, which would amend the definitions of “family” and “boarding house” in Section 4.1 of the town’s zoning bylaws.

“This was actually requested by myself as the town planner, as well as the (Zoning Board of Appeals) and the building inspector/zoning agent,” said Smith.

The town planner read from the current bylaw, which defines family as “any number of individuals living and cooking together on the premises of a single housekeeping unit.”

“There is no upward number of unrelated individuals in our current ‘family’ definition,” he said.

The amended bylaw would define family as “a person or number of persons occupying a dwelling unit and living in a single housekeeping unit, provided that a group of five or more unrelated persons shall not be deemed a ‘family’ where not related by blood, marriage or adoption, including wards of the state.”

The new definition of boarding house would read “Any dwelling in which more than four persons not members of the family residing on the premises, either individually or as families, are housed or lodged for hire with or without meals. A rooming house or a furnished rooming house shall be deemed a boarding house.”

Smith said he was unsure if the Spring Street residence would be grandfathered under the current definition if voters do approve the new wording, “but we want to, hopefully, eliminate those concerns in the future by having a cap of unrelated family up to four, meaning five-plus is not a family, it’s a boarding house; a boarding house would be more than four persons.”

Article 1 asks voters to amend “the FY26 transfer station enterprise fund budget and raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds a sum of money to fund increased disposal and other costs.”

Town Manager Shaun Suhoski told the FWAC, “The disposal costs went higher than we expected, and we can’t spend above the target that we set in the budget. So, we may be looking to amend that transfer station budget. I don’t want to give you an exact number – we’re still working on it – but maybe $30,000 to accommodate the disposal costs.”

Articles 2 through 4 seek voter approval to pay unpaid prior years’ bills. These include $20,000 for WIN Waster Innovations, the town’s trash hauler, $105 for a front-end alignment to a town vehicle, and $1,331.444 to Canan Financial Services for a copier lease.

Article 5 seeks a transfer of $36,650 from the Ambulance Stabilization Fund to equip the town’s new ambulance and pay for two IV pumps for the Advanced Life Support ambulances.

The Special Town Meeting takes place at Nov. 10 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall at Town Hall.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.