Long Debate, No Upsets at Winchendon's 2023 ATM

by Inanna Arthen
128 voters approved all of the articles on the Special and Annual Town Meeting Warrants on Monday, May 15 at the Murdock High School Auditorium, with substantial discussion on only one of the articles. Article 9, which included the reorganization of three different town offices or departments in a single vote, evoked considerable comment from voters. Articles involving far more financial expenditure by the town breezed through with no discussion, as did the revised Signs Zoning Bylaw which created some controversy last year and failed its previous Town Meeting vote in 2022.

For the second time, voters passed through the new check-in system which debuted at the town annual election two weeks ago. The old hand-marked binders full of voters' names have been replaced by tablets and scanners. Volunteers can check in voters by scanning their drivers' licenses or typing in the first three letters of a voter's first and last names. While presented as a way to "accelerate" checking in voters, it seemed somewhat slower, with only two lines instead of the previous three (one line for each of the town's three precincts). Moderator Coral Grout called Town Meeting to order about ten minutes late because voters were still in line at both check-in stations.

Once again, real-time CART captioning was provided by trained technician Stefanie Farrell and projected on a screen at the left side of the auditorium. This was helpful to many, as the audio in the auditorium was frequently difficult to hear.

Beginning with Special Town Meeting (which deals with business for the current fiscal year), Article 1, Finance Committee report, was passed over by a vote of 94 percent in favor, 6 percent opposed. Article 2, to transfer $260,000 from Free Cash to offset the deficit in the Department of Public Works' Snow and Ice budget, following the past season of heavy snow and ice storms, passed with 92 percent in favor, 8 percent opposed.

Annual Town Meeting then opened with Article 1, report from the Finance Committee. Chair of the FinCom Thomas Kane gave the traditional report. Mr. Kane began with an explanation of the town's "Free Cash Policy," stating that Free Cash comprises the end-of-[fiscal] year remaining unrestricted funds. Ideally, the town wants to maintain a Free Cash balance of 5 percent of the annual budget, or about $1,600,000. Winchendon's Free Cash balance has been steadily improving; in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, it was $487,680, in FY 2020 it was $627,703, and in FY 2021 it had doubled to $1,237,520. It's important not to use Free Cash for recurring expenses, Mr. Kane said.

Because voters had just approved using $260K of Free Cash to cover current year snow and ice expenses, Mr. Kane discussed the town's budgeting for winter snow and ice, which has been far below expended amounts for the last five years. The FY23 costs were more than double the amount budgeted ($303,000) at $761,926. This makes the shortfall a recurring expense as it comes out of Free Cash.

Mr. Kane went on to summarize that Free Cash articles in the 2023 Special and Annual Town Meeting Warrants (one of which was just passed) came to a total of $1,014,750, leaving a remaining Free Cash balance of $202,770 if they all passed.

Finally, another expense that could tap into Free Cash would be Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) payments, which are contracted benefits paid to retired town employees. These are projected to be more than $118,000 in the next fiscal year (FY24).

The report was accepted with 90 percent in favor, 10 percent opposed.

Article 2, to establish a new Cable Public Access Enterprise Fund, was approved with no discussion, 89 percent in favor, 11 percent opposed.

Article 3, to establish a new Opioid Abatement Settlement fund, for the monies being disbursed to communities as part of a major settlement of a class action lawsuit related to prescription opioid medications, elicited some discussion. Town Manager Justin Sultzbach explained that these funds are being pooled by area communities, including Gardner, Templeton, Ashburnham and Westminster to share in the expense of services that all of them could access. Articles 3, 4 and 5 all related to the mechanism for managing these funds.

Voter Tina Santos rose to ask if the individuals in town who had started an addictions awareness group (Working Wonders in Winchendon) several years ago would be included in the new programs. (Jennifer Sibley, former Director of the Winchendon CAC, was one of the founders of that group). There was not an answer for this, but it was noted that more lawsuits remain to be settled and there will likely be more money coming to towns for substance abuse services. Voter Marc Dorwart rose to ask how the abatement funds would be managed and used. Mr. Sultzbach and Winchendon Police Chief Dan Wolski explained that the programs would be run by GAAMHA Inc. in Gardner in coordination with the various towns. The money would not be going back to the state, and the contract was for a three-year period. The settlement funds will be disbursed over 16 years.

Article 3 passed with 83 percent in favor, 17 percent opposed. With no further discussion about the Opioid Settlement, Article 4 passed with 84 percent in favor, 16 percent opposed and Article 5 passed with 87 percent in favor, 13 percent opposed.

Article 6, a regular article setting the spending limits for the town's various revolving funds, passed with 88 percent in favor, 12 percent opposed.

Article 7, funding the Senior Tax Workoff program by which senior citizens can work in part time jobs for the town in exchange for an abatement on their property taxes, was a lower amount of $7,700 this year because the program is not being heavily used. It passed with 87 percent in favor, 13 percent opposed.

Article 8, funding to support the Winchendon Community Action Committee (CAC), has been raised this year to $27,500 (from $25,000) due to higher costs for fuel and food. This article passed, 82 percent in favor, 18 percent opposed.

Article 9 evoked the longest explanation and the most debate of any of the articles in the Warrant. Dealing with "the Town Manager's proposed 2023 Organizational Change to Staffing as required by the Town Charter," it had three parts. All three parts needed to be voted on as a whole, either up or down, with no amendments, according to the Town Charter. The restructuring plan had been discussed in detail at multiple hearings and open Board and Committee meetings over the past several months.

Mr. Sultzbach began with a presentation, which followed a handout given to voters as they arrived at Town Meeting. The first proposed change would combine the positions of Director of Department of Public Works and School Maintenance Director, and create two new mid-management positions: School Maintenance Supervisor and DPW Engineer Supervisor. There would be no net cost to the town. The new positions would be covered by handling MS4 stormwater permitting and peer review fees in-house, with the DPW Engineer Supervisor doing them, rather than paying Tighe & Bond for those services. "One important piece was that we added direct report on the town side, direct reports on the school side, that would be underneath that combined role [of DPW/School Maintenance Director]. So there would always be somebody at the schools on behalf of the schools, there would always be somebody on the town side. But those would be mid-management positions. So the salaries are lower," Mr. Sultzbach said.

The second change would remove the position of "Director of Planning and Development," promote the current Planning & Land Use Coordinator to "Planning & Land Use Agent" (union supported), and shift Economic Development duties to the Town Manager's office. This would be a projected net savings for the town of $40,000. Mr. Sultzbach explained that since the previous Director of Planning and Development left, a year and half ago, "the specific duties of that role, went over to our Planning and Land Use Coordinator. So as part of the Union agreement with Town Hall, if a supervisor leaves, and the individual organizationally underneath them has to pick up some of their duties temporarily, we temporarily give them a partial increase to make up for that difference, because we're picking up extra work. And so we have been doing that since Tracy left, our Planning and Land Use Coordinator...has done an excellent job. She's supported by the Planning and Zoning Board. So we're very much covered on the planning side of things. So we're talking about support for planning board meetings, support for the Zoning Board of Appeals, we haven't missed a beat." Meanwhile, the Economic Development work has been handled by the Town Manager's office.

The third change would add the position of full-time Recreation Coordinator, at a salary of $45,032, fully grant-funded to start and projected to be predominantly self-supporting within three years using revenues from town-sponsored recreational events.

Voter David Watkins rose to express concern about a lack of oversight with Change 1, with the DPW managing both the town and the schools. Mr. Sultzbach explained that Director of Public Works Brian Croteau is MCCPO (Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official Program) certified, which involves training, CORI checks, and "an extra level of scrutiny. So that you have to go through the process of checking the boxes, you can't just hand out contracts. You have to go through the public vetting process, depending on the dollar threshold, you can't get a job for your buddy, those days are gone." Contracts and payments have to be signed off on at multiple steps. Mr. Sultzbach said. "If this were to move forward, the next step would be to have formalized agreement between the town and the schools. And we could build an extra layer, just an extra safety net," he added.

School Committee member Greg Vine asked about the responsibility for grants under Change 2, given how critical they are for the town. Mr. Sultzbach said that "we haven't seen a downturn in grants." Grant writing had always been "farmed out" to a consultant, and this will continue to be done. Even without a Planning and Development Director, the Town Manager's team brought in $5 million in grant monies just this year alone. "I think we've had a lot of success as a team in Town Hall and in our adjacent departments in diversifying the duty of securing grants," Mr. Sultzbach said. "It's not just one person going out and doing it. We're all out there hustling and grinding, trying to bring money. It's everybody's job. It's not just a one person job. And I think we've seen the results of that this year, in particular, and I think you're gonna continue seeing that, because we've woven that into our organizational structures."

Mr. Dorwart rose to opine that the changes were "a bandaid" to cover the Town Manager's inability to fill positions, and that voters weren't being given a real choice since all three changes had to be voted up or down as a package. Mr. Sultzbach responded that the single vote was determined by the language in the Town Charter (printed in full in the handout voters were given) which dictated that the changes be presented as one motion and could not be amended.

Voter Wayne Crespo rose to talk about issues with roads in town that were problems because the developers who put them in were not followed up with by the town, to make sure they did what they'd promised to do. "We got about a 30 percent increase in our taxes this year. And I'm hoping that that will cover a lot of this cleanup task problems. And I'm hoping that this agent will keep the [developers] on track and, you know, they say that they're going to do something that they never follow up on...you need somebody in this position, that is going to be able to keep track of everything."

Ms. Santos rose to ask why one member of the Board of Selectman had not recommended the article. Selectman Barbara Anderson was the dissenter, and she explained that she felt the changes should have been in three separate articles. She also felt that with the Town Manager leaving, the changes should wait until a new Town Manager has been hired.

After 39 minutes of discussion, Article 9 passed with 68 percent in favor, 32 percent opposed.

Following this, Article 10, the town budget in the amount of $16,744,246 passed with no discussion, 87 percent in favor and 13 percent opposed.

Article 11, the Water Enterprise Fund in the amount of $1,012,542.48, passed with no discussion, 86 percent in favor and 14 percent opposed.

Article 12, The Wastewater Enterprise Fund in the amount of $1,447,534, passed with no discussion, 87 percent in favor and 13 percent opposed.

Article 13, the Transfer Station Enterprise Fund in the amount of $242,337, passed with no discussion, 88 percent in favor and 13 percent opposed.

Article 14, the new Cable Public Access Enterprise Fund in the amount of $111,300, passed with no discussion, 82 percent in favor and 18 percent opposed.

Article 15, the School Department budget in the amount $16,983,226, passed with no discussion, 75 percent in favor and 25 percent opposed.

Article 16, the town's assessment for the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School budget in the amount of $706,060, passed with no discussion, 73 percent in favor and 27 percent opposed.

Articles 17 through 21 were capital improvement expenses grouped by funding source. Article 17 included expenditures from Free Cash in the total amount of $224,750. These include $130,000 for the Blair Square Phase 3 Pre-Design, $21,750 for the Grove Street Parking Lot, $30,000 for a Salt Brine System, $17,000 for a generator house at the DPW yard, and $26,000 for SCBA Replacement Phase 1. It passed with no discussion, 83 percent in favor and 17 percent opposed.

Article 18 included capital improvements to be covered by five-year borrowing, including $250,000 for Town Hall Repairs Phase 1 (East side) (annual payment $52,500), $244,181 for a 6-wheel Mack dump truck (annual payment $51,278), $140,000 for the Winchendon Community Park Barn exterior ($29,400 annual payment), and $150,000 for the High School Parking Lot ($31,500 annual payment). It passed with no discussion, 73 percent in favor and 27 percent opposed.

Article 19 included capital improvements to be covered by ten-year borrowing, which included one item, $223,411 for a Roll Off truck at the Transfer Station ($24,000 annual payment). It passed with no discussion, 75 percent in favor and 25 percent opposed.

Article 20 included capital improvements to be funded through the Water Enterprise Fund. This included one item, $98,884 for a Service Truck (annual payment $20,700). It passed with no discussion, 74 percent in favor and 26 percent opposed.

Article 21 included capital improvements to be funded through the 911 grant, including one item, $136,918 for a police cruiser replacement. It passed with no discussion, 84 percent in favor and 16 percent opposed.

Article 22 requested $550,000 from Free Cash to fund a portion of the FY 2024 Paving Plan. This was the only article not recommended unanimously by the Finance Committee. FinCom Chair Thomas Kane stated that he was concerned about the timing. The town won't know how much Free Cash it has until Free Cash is certified in the fall. He felt this article should be postponed to the Fall Special Town Meeting. That being said, the article passed with no discussion, 65 percent in favor and 35 percent opposed.

Article 23 requested that the town authorize borrowing $450,000 to fund a portion of the FY 2024 Paving Plan. It passed with no discussion, 79 percent in favor and 21 percent opposed.

Article 24, requesting $12,250 for a leaf loader for Cemetery Perpetual Care, passed with no discussion, 81 percent in favor and 19 percent opposed.

Article 25, requesting $50,000 to fund the expansion of the Town Cemetery into other town-owned property, passed with no discussion, 80 percent in favor and 20 percent opposed.

Article 26, requesting approval of amendments to the town Zoning Bylaws' Article 9, "Signs," was explained by Planning & Land Use Coordinator Nicole Roberts with a presentation. Despite the previous controversy these amendments had evoked, the revised version passed with no discussion, 87 percent in favor and 13 percent opposed. It required a two-thirds majority.

Article 27, requesting $135,625 for the Stormwater Asset Management Project, passed with no discussion, 87 percent in favor and 13 percent opposed.

Town Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

3rd Annual Taste of Winchendon Soars with Perfect Weather, Big Turnout

by Inanna Arthen
More than 350 people attended the third annual Taste of Winchendon event outside the Beals Memorial Library on Saturday, May 13 from noon until 4:00 p.m. Crowds of people waited patiently in line for plates of free food representing diverse cultural traditions, and sat at the dozen or so long tables to enjoy performances by Cailte Kelly, The BIG RanDom, and dancers from the United Confederation of Taino People. Those who were brave enough to get up on the temporary dance floor on the lawn got a sample lesson in salsa dancing, and some folks experimented with spinning hula hoops. For the kids, there was a bounce house, face painting, a corn hole game, tie-dying, and crafts. At one table, attendees could paint a fabric square to be sewn into a community quilt.

In keeping with the theme, streamers with small flags from every nation were seen all around the lawn, while vases full of miniature multi-national flags sat on the long tables. The Beals Library lawn was as colorful as the outside of New York City's United Nations building.

The lawn in front of the stage was surrounded with brightly decorated tables set up by various orgaizations, including the Winchendon Farmer's Market, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Winchendon Garden Club, HEAL Winchendon and Growing Places. The Community Heart & Soul project solicited residents' opinions on its evolving community statements, which were displayed on large posters.

Chali' Naru Dones, an indigenous Taino woman, offered attendees spiritual blessings with burning sage.

At the end of the afternoon, some twenty raffle baskets and bundles were awarded. Attendees could get raffle tickets in exchange for their stamped "passports" and/or purchase as many tickets as they wished for just $1 a chance.

The weather was perfect, warm and breezy with bright sun and a clear blue sky. Given how many weekend events were rained out over the previous three weeks or so, Taste of Winchendon was definitely smiled on by Mother Nature!

Many thanks and much kudos goes to the scores of hard working volunteers, many of them youth and teens, who pulled off this successful event, along with HEAL, the Winchendon Cultural Council, the Winchendon CAC, Growing Places, the Town of Winchendon, CHNA9 and the Beals Memorial Library who hosted the whole thing in their back yard. It's becoming a solid Toy Town tradition.

The Beals Memorial Library Receives National Grant for Small and Rural Libraries

$10,000 Grant Will Help the Library Work with Families and Children on the Autism Spectrum

Winchendon--The Beals Memorial Library has been selected as one of 240 libraries nationally to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.

The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library. Individuals and families on the spectrum are underserved within Winchendon's community and the library wants to change that by expanding services to provide an environment that allows individuals to engage in sensory-friendly programming and special events through the See Beyond the Spectrum initiative. "The library has a wonderful opportunity to truly make a difference in this community," said Alexis Chanthachack, the library staff member spearheading the grant effort. "It can become a place where autistic children, like my son, can experience all the wonder and magic a library has to offer."

Are you a parent or caretaker of a child with autism? We want to hear from you. As part of the grant, the Beals Memorial Library staff will host an upcoming community conversation with residents about autism on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at the Library. Learn about our upcoming plans and express your thoughts on how we can make the library more accommodating for you and your family.

Through the See Beyond the Spectrum initiative, the Beals Memorial Library will offer a variety of services to the community that will focus on sensory-friendly programming and activities, educating library staff and the community, and expanding the library's collection. With the aid of this grant, the library will have an opportunity to set an example for other libraries in the area, and throughout New England, to become better, more accessible resources for individuals and families on the spectrum.

If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact library staff member, Alexis Chanthachack, at 978-297-0300, or visit bealslibrary.org for more information.

Since 2014, ALA's Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.

Toy Town Community Policing Going Strong

by Keith Kent, Special to the Courier
As the warmer months have arrived and more people venture in greater numbers outdoors, it's no secret that the volume of calls to Police tend to increase. A strong relationship with the public at large is key to both communication, integrity, and trust. That relationship begins at a young age as with most topics, and in Law Enforcement, it all starts with Community Policing.

There are many technical definitions as to what truly is the actual description and meaning of "Community Policing". At the website of www.discoverpolicing.org Community Policing is defined as involving three key components. First, developing community partnerships, secondly, engaging in problem solving, and third, implementing community policing organizational features. Others such as the Oxford Learners Dictionary simply define it as:Community Policing 1. a system for developing trust and understanding between the people who live in a particular area and the local police, in order to reduce crime in that area. The system involves regular contact between the public and individual police officers and members of the public work together with the police to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour.

Despite all of the above, Officer James Maynard of the Winchendon Police Department will tell you it's actually really simple when you get right down to it in his own words as he told the Winchendon Courier, "We are here to serve, and we want all children to know we are their friends, and they can come up to us any time they want to about anything, and we are here for all of them".

In a nearly full parking lot at the Central Street shopping plaza quickly garnering the attention of some passing through on the late afternoon and early evening of Monday, May 15, two quick blips of a WPD police patrol vehicle siren could be heard. However it wasn't your standard stop, neither no speeding infraction or disorderly conduct. To the smile of those looking, a very small young boy sitting in the front passenger seat of the patrol vehicle with the door wide open and his father at his side, enjoying being shown the "Tools of the trade" by Officer James Maynard in none other than an act of "Community Policing". In mission of building bridges and reaching out, the fine young lad enjoyed himself doing such things as turning the lights on and off with the officer very briefly engaging the siren for him to his delight, and much more.

Maynard taking the boy around the patrol vehicle, showed him things such as the first aid medical kit, defibrillator and others, explaining not only how some things work, but why they are needed in a gentle age appropriate way. "We explain to children that due to the nature of the business that we are often the first on a scene of a call, so sometime it's necessary to have different types of bandages or other equipment available if they are needed". Maynard could be seen pointing to different parts of the open first aid kit, and taking out the defibrillator, as well as other equipment, while the young boy watched with great interest asking questions.

At the end of the presentation with "Time Allowing" meaning if a call for aid had arrived the officer would have had to attend an event, the young boy like all little children in this community policing presentation, was given a "Teddy Bear in a blue t-shirt". With a very big smile Officer Maynard was happy to report when asked the question by the press, "Why did the boy receive two Teddy Bears"?, Maynard laughed and replied, "He said thank you, and can I please have one for my sister also. You just can't say no to that"!

While many police departments around the nation face a time when its municipalities citizens seem at near constant conflict with law enforcement, the WPD is clearly guilty of its own scandal, "Distribution of Teddy Bears to minors" LOL.

Maynard who will have been with the WPD serving both the department and the citizens of Toy Town 5 years as of this coming June, has taken part in this version of community policing with children now nearly two dozen times. Maynard said, "Kids love it. They love to hit the siren, hit the lights, the horn, they just have a blast! It's honestly just as fun for the parents seeing their children enjoying these things playing with some of the things we have, everybody enjoys it".

Allowing untrained persons into certain parts of a patrol vehicle can potentially create a variety of situations. When Officer Maynard was asked what any of his fellow Officers advised him of when he first came on to the department and then first performing this community service he said with a big smile, "They told me, make sure they sit in the passenger seat, not the drivers seat, and the vehicle is off and don't leave the keys in the ignition"! Maynard then went on to add, "Seriously though, you want them to experience the little things, and to enjoy them, but then you want to show them your tools, and explain to them that you have these available such as medical aid kits and others because the police may some times need to render aid as well.

Explaining the point of "Community Policing" further, Maynard elaborated, "We are all as officers nobody to be scared of, we are people just like you. It's important that everybody knows we really are people just like everybody else, and at the end of the day, we want good relationship, and we want children to know we are their friends".

In closing Officer Maynard said, "We want all children and parents to know, we are here to be their for them, they can come to us about anything because we are people just like they all are, and if they are afraid of any kind of problem they can always feel they can come and talk to any police officer because we always want to listen and always want to help everybody as best as we can.

In these photos, Officer Maynard takes out and explains to the young child both how an AED, or Automated External Defibrillator works and why it may be needed by a police officer to potentially have on scene.

Zine Workshop at the Beals Memorial Library

If you enjoy reading magazines, why not try making your own? The Beals Memorial Library is inviting Winchendon teens and tweens to take part in a free and fun Zine Workshop this June!

On Tuesday, June 6, and the following Tuesday, June 13, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., the Winchendon library will be offering a two-part workshop for middle school and high school students to make their own self-published, DIY magazine that reflects the theme of Journeys: Identity, Culture, and Community, the interpretation of which is up to the participants. Following the workshop, there will be a showcase held on Tuesday, June 20, at 5:00 p.m. for participants in the workshop to share copies of their zines and show their creations off to the public.

This workshop is brought to you with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

For more information, contact the library at 978-297-0300 or visit their website at bealslibrary.org.

Multi-Vendor Event at the Senior Center May 25

The Old Murdock Senior Center, at 52 Murdock Ave., Winchendon, will host the Lions Club Sightmobile on Thursday, May 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., along with several other vendors and information booths for organizations. Featured will be:

Lions Club Sightmobile
Vision Exams
Information to facilitate detection of:
Eye disease, such as Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Macular Degeneration
Vision loss
Hearing loss
High Blood Pressure & Diabetes testing by a licensed EMT

Worcester Talking Book Library
Free services to Massachusetts residents of any age who are unable to read traditional print materials due to a visual or physical disability.
Large Type Books
Print Braille Collection
Recorded Books

Vitra Health
A home health company based out of Massachusetts that provides financial assistance, resources and services to disabled and elderly individuals across our local communities.

Fidelity Bank
SCAM Detection Information

Miracle Ear
Over 48 million people nationwide experience some level of hearing loss, but solutions for this chronic condition exist that could improve your social experiences and enhance your daily life. See what we have to offer you.

Winchendon CAC (Community Action Committee)
The Winchendon CAC is a community center dedicated to assisting individuals and families in crisis and has been working for more than 40 years to improve residents access to healthy food, housing, economic mobility, education, and serves as a "safety net", point of contact, and/or referral resource for those in need.

Care Central VNA & Hospice
Care Central VNA & Hospice is a not-for-profit home healthcare agency dedicated to providing quality care to the community, regardless of their ability to pay.
Adult Day Health Services
Skilled Home Care Services
Support Groups
Hospice

Winchendon Housing
Information about Housing and current Programs
Applications

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