ADAMS -- Selectmen scheduled a special town meeting for October during Wednesday night's regular board meeting.
At the special town meeting -- to take place Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., at C.T. Plunkett Elementary School -- officials will seek approval to borrow roughly $191,000 to cover the entire cost of the town's end of Tropical Storm Irene repairs.
Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said the period for executive approval of the spending has expired, necessitating a nod from Town Meeting to borrow the amount, likely to be sought in the form of a five-year bond.
Butler said "a lack of clarity from one entity on how much [money] we're going to get" for damage repairs caused officials to miss the executive timeframe.
The $191,000 figure excludes the town's Tophet Brook cleaning expenses of roughly $500,000 because the project was in the works before Irene. Other town departments are expected to contribute warrant articles to the meeting's agenda between now and October.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we can put together a docket with four to five articles," Butler said.
Butler also declared an open warrant effective immediately. Residents who can gather 200 signatures for a particular issue from registered voters will be able to add the item to the meeting's agenda.
Regarding potential repairs to Charles Street bridge, Selectmen did not move to have Town Meeting vote on the issue.
"It will not get to Town
The 15-foot bridge, rendered impassable during the storm, carries the double burdens of being on an unaccepted street and having repair costs of over $250,000.
At a workshop meeting last week, Harrington reported that the town's public safety department heads saw no issue with the street remaining a one-way-street, the nearby Davis Street remaining the lone point of access to the eight-home neighborhood.
In other business, Selectmen received notice from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) that the agency is considering the purchase of 394 acres off East Mountain Road from a private individual.
If purchased, DCR intends to add the land -- known as the Fritz Property and formerly a wood lot -- to the Savoy State Forest, which it abuts.
"I imagine our PILOT [payment in lieu of taxes] increases as a result of this," Butler said.
Selectmen notified the public of DCR's intent, but put off a secondary request from the agency that they waive a mandatory 120-day notice period before the transaction.
"The question is, is there any objections to it from the public," Selectmen Scott Nichols said. " ... There's a reason why that's in there and I'm not sure what that reason is."
Selectmen Michael Ouellette agreed.
"Currently there's a law in effect and if we're going to waive it, I want to know why," he said.
DCR's secondary request was put off until after more information is provided.
Butler also updated the board regarding the town's planned solar development at the old landfill on East Road, saying developer Tecta Solar has nearly reached an agreement with National Grid, and that he's "confident [the project] will break ground before the holidays this year."
To reach Phil Demers, email pdemers@thetranscript.com.
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