ASHFIELD — Residents will consider citizen’s petitions that seek to curb excessive noise — a proposal inspired by disruptive gun sounds — and banning single-use plastic when they convene for Annual Town Meeting on Saturday.

The Annual Town Meeting, which will discuss 35 warrant articles, will start at Town Hall at 10 a.m., with a brief Special Town Meeting preceding it at 9:30 a.m.

Excessive noise

Recent issues over excessive noise in town began last fall when AR-15-style rifles were heard being continuously fired at 620 West Road. The incident was ultimately resolved by speaking with the various parties involved, and the town hosted a forum in November 2022 to discuss the larger issue of gun noise.

Resident Ron Coler created a new noise ordinance inspired by the controversy, but he sought to take politics out of the equation and focus on an empirical way to mitigate unwanted noise in general. He worked with Evelyn Resh, a member of the Board of Health acting as an individual, and Joe Ragan, a resident who lives near the property with the original gun noise complaint, to make the new bylaw.

Coler’s proposed ordinance would better align with modern laws created by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Ashfield’s current noise bylaw is 33 years old), assign authority to the Board of Health and give specific measures for how to define excessive noise.

“Town counsel has made it clear to us that this petition would not have had any impact on the outcome of the issue last year,” noted Selectboard member Todd Olanyk, referring to the gun noise heard on West Road.

Single-use plastic

Modeled after Hadley and Buckland’s recently passed single-use plastic bans, Coler’s other citizen’s petition would eliminate the sale of any plastic food service ware in Ashfield, with several exceptions. The bylaw would not stop the sale of plastic prepared and manufactured outside of town. For example, people would still be able to purchase a bottle of soda manufactured outside of Ashfield. Instead, any food made and sold inside the town would need to be packaged in compostable or reusable material.

“A lot of other communities have already done this,” Olanyk commented. “We do not have many businesses in town that would be affected.”

However, as part of the proposed bylaw, any business would be able to request an exemption from the Board of Health through a hardship deferment application.

Debt exclusion, budget

The town will also vote on a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion in the amount of $300,000 to purchase a new fire truck. In addition to needing Town Meeting approval, Ashfield voters will need to authorize the spending at the ballot boxes. Polls will be open for the town election on Saturday from 10:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The town has appropriated $400,000 over the past several years and would need this last portion to buy the fire truck. The Fire Department’s existing truck is 27 years old. The new truck could take up to two years to manufacture and is expected to cost $700,000.

“We think we have been responsible for putting together the best vehicle to replace that truck,” said Fire Chief Kyle Walker.

Along with this purchase, the town will vote on a roughly $5.67 million budget for fiscal year 2024, a 7.29% increase over the current year. Town Administrator Paul McLatchy III said the increase can be attributed to multiple reasons, including more students attending vocational schools and a 29% spike in the Highway Department budget for roadwork and vehicle repairs.

“By making these repairs, the hope is to extend the life of [the vehicles] a few more years,” McLatchy wrote in an email, noting a full replacement would cost $300,000.

Additionally, the Fire Department budget increased by 28% for maintenance and capital expenses, and the Selectboard hopes to put $200,000 toward broadband-related debt to limit interest owed.

“This last year our borrowing rate went from around 0.37% to 4.1%, or over 10 times as much,” McLatchy noted.

Other articles

The Mohawk Trail Regional School District is putting forward three warrant articles that would change the regional agreement to better align town assessments with the state funding formula by factoring in School Choice students and residents who opt to attend a charter school. Shelburne has already voted these articles down, and several other towns are expected to table them because they were brought forward late in the process of creating the Town Meeting warrants.

“There are some benefits in us voting — we will demonstrate to other towns what Ashfield thinks,” Olanyk said. “Historically, the town has voted to support the school.”

Also on the warrant, the town will vote on adding a 6% tax on short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs. The renters will be responsible for paying this tax. Olanyk said a majority of other towns that are similar to Ashfield already have this tax in place, and it could generate about $200,000 worth of revenue for the community.

“I’m looking forward to another great demonstration of democracy,” Olanyk said.

For the full warrants for both the Annual and Special Town Meetings, visit ashfield.org/2409/Annual-Town-Meeting-Election.

Reach Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.

]]>