ORANGE — The water tower proposed for the Orange Industrial Park is a go, after voters at Monday’s Special Town Meeting opted to accept land from Seaman Paper and to accept or take land from Power Fund Partners for its construction.

Seaman Paper, located at 151 Governor Dukakis Drive, has reportedly been paying high insurance premiums due to insufficient water capacity and the town determined that a water tower could incentivize other businesses to move into the industrial park.

Resident Bruce Scherer said he was initially “on the fence” regarding the water tower but he decided it is important to the Orange Industrial Park’s function.

“We need to do it. We need to do it now,” Scherer said before Monday’s vote.

An initial $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money was set aside to secure a matching MassWorks grant for the work. The design estimate for construction came in at $2.5 million, so in June, Annual Town Meeting voters authorized another $1 million in borrowing if needed. The town has also committed its leftover $835,700 ARPA balance, bringing the total ARPA commitment to nearly $1.9 million to reduce potential borrowing. Seaman Paper also pledged $250,000 toward the project at the June meeting.

Selectboard Vice Chair Pat Lussier asked if voters could get an explanation as to why an additional piece of land — and not just the Seaman Paper parcel — had to be acquired.

Town Administrator Matthew Fortier said Seaman Paper was willing to donate some land for the project, but a parcel from two property owners is necessary to create a lot through an Approval Not Required (ANR) Plan, a type of land division that does not require a formal Planning Board review process.

Lussier had expressed frustration at the Nov. 20 Selectboard meeting over a perceived lack of communication relating to the two warrant articles for the water tower. She had thought the Seaman Paper parcel was the only land required to build the tower, but learned at that meeting that a parcel from Power Fund Partners, which grows the marijuana sold by the Orange Cannabis Co. dispensary, is needed as well. She said this information was “another surprise at the very end,” though she was not in attendance at the Sept. 4 Selectboard meeting when a Weston & Sampson engineer mentioned the two land parcels while detailing the final plans for the industrial park.

Resident Sarah Wells asked about the water tower itself and its public benefit. Town Counsel Donna MacNicol explained more water pressure is needed in the industrial park and a water tower “is the only way to deliver that to the park in adequate amounts.”

At the request of its insurance provider, Seaman Paper had already spent at least $450,000 to improve the sprinkler systems in its buildings, it was reported in June.

Animal control

Later in the Special Town Meeting, voters adopted two animal control articles. One establishes a bylaw prohibiting residents from allowing “any goat, sheep, cow or other neat, equine, swine or fowl” under their care from going at-large on “any street, sidewalk or other public place in the town, or upon the private property of another without their expressed permission,” while the other establishes a noncriminal disposition and enforcement bylaw. A first offense will result in the offender being notified of the animal bylaw and a referral to the Agricultural Commission. A second offense would merit a written warning and any subsequent offense would earn the offender a $50 fine. Livestock can cause disturbances and impede traffic in town.

Police Chief James Sullivan said town officials have no interest in punishing farmers or pet owners whose animals accidentally escape a property from time to time, but some measure is sorely needed to incentivize residents from allowing animals to roam free without taking precautions to prevent it.

“We have elderly people in town that can’t go out to deal with the mess that is left by these animals,” he said. “They’re out in the streets, they’re interrupting traffic, they’re causing property damage on other people’s property.”

He and Jennifer Arsenault, the town’s animal control officer, have said the need for a bylaw boils down to one or two particular farmers in town. Sullivan said at a Selectboard meeting in late October that he frequently uses his police cruiser’s air horn to shoo animals off the road when he encounters them on his commute to work. He added that citations for animal control bylaw violations — like speeding tickets — would be issued at an officer’s discretion.

At the Special Town Meeting, Arsenault said the proposed bylaw also serves to protect animals.

“If animals are out in the road, they’re going to get hit,” she said. “I’m not out there trying to fine anybody. I just want these animals kept out of the road. We’ve had this bylaw in Athol for many, many years. We don’t have this issue over there.”

George C.F. Willard said a cow’s “entire look on life is, ‘How can I get out?’” He said his son in Wendell discovered that his beef cattle swim through a pond to leave the property.

“It’s just a fact of life. I don’t care how well you feed them, cows want out,” he said.

Janelle Caron, an Orange resident and the assistant animal control officer with the North Quabbin Regional Animal Control, took to the microphone to say there are one or two chronic offenders and people are moving to Orange with dreams of being farmers, but without knowledge of how animals behave. She said this will become a bigger problem without an adequate bylaw.

Other articles

Voters also adopted Article 10, appropriating and transferring from free cash or another designated account $10,833 to increase executive assistant wages. Its adoption also changes the job title from administrative assistant to the Selectboard and town administrator, to that of executive assistant. Fortier explained it was brought to the board’s attention that the duties of Brianne Bruso, the current administrative assistant, were inconsistent with the original job description.

“In light of this news, I recommended to the Board of Selectmen that we could create a new job description that better reflects the duties of the person doing the job,” he said, adding that the new role comes with increased responsibilities.

Fortier added that the pay increase amounts to 20%, which resident Pamela Gale called “a bit excessive” because other town employees have not gotten raises. In response to this, Selectboard Chair Tom Smith said the wage hike is due to an “extreme increase in this individual’s workload, responsibilities and definitely extra hours that they were not compensated for.”

Gale said there are many town employees that do more than they are paid to do.

“So there were many positions that were combined when we did have some reduction,” Smith replied. “But most of those positions did receive a salary increase.”

Resident Ann Reed referred to herself as a “penny-pinching taxpayer and a stickler for spending,” but said Bruso’s performance level is “definitely executive-level in my experience and my observation.”

Voters also gave their blessing to the warrant article requiring all elected and appointed town officials to take an oath of office within 60 days of their appointment or forfeit their position. This will apply to anytime someone is elected, appointed, reelected or reappointed. This article was the result of a concern brought to the Selectboard’s attention by Town Clerk Nancy Blackmer, who explained there have been instances in which people — especially those being reelected or reappointed — don’t visit Town Hall to be sworn in to a new term. A person cannot legally vote on a board or commission matter or participate in official discussion until they affirm an oath of faithful performance of their duties.

Residents approved a small grammatical amendment proposed by Reed, an early proponent of the bylaw, and then adopted the article.

The adoption of Article 8 authorized the dissolution of the Orange Human Resource Board, which is not currently active. Fortier previously explained that the board is not necessary as there is already a human resources director in Amber Robidoux, who is also the town treasurer. According to Orange’s municipal website, the Human Resource Board is currently comprised of Keith Waters and Laurie MacDonald.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.