Westminster boards prepare for town meeting
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Westminster Selectmen and Advisory Board members met on Monday, Nov. 19, to determine whether or not they were going to support the articles on the upcoming Fall Town Meeting warrant.

The two boards decided to hold their opinions on the four articles proposed by the Planning Board, which will request a variety of rezoning issues. The boards want to hear the explanations of the reasons for the changes in the zoning.

The four articles that are proposed include one that changes parking requirements, and one that changes the procedure for creating lots that don't meet the definition of lot area from a variance request of the Zoning Board of Appeals, to a special permit from the ZBA.

The other articles are a request to rezone 83 and 84 Main St. as commercial properties and to adopt a new zoning map, which depicts the existing zoning districts but in a different format.

The boards also withheld their recommendations on the articles related to the Schenck property after Advisory Board members questioned the status of two warrants.

One of the articles is requesting the town to contribute $80,000 to purchase an Agricultural Preservation Restriction on a 46.6- acre parcel of land.

"It's a permanent deed restriction," said Selectman John Fairbanks.

The second article is asking the town residents to purchase a 61.4- acre parcel of forestry land that is also owned by the Schencks and is contiguous to the agricultural property. The land will cost $320,000, but the town has received a state grant to reimburse them $186,000.

A couple of members of the Advisory Board expressed concern that four lots had been removed from some aspect of either of the two pieces.

"Is it hearsay, or is it fact that four lots have been carved out," asked O'Toole.

But because no one representing the issue was at the meeting and the Advisory Board members still had questions about it, members on both boards held their recommendations on the issue.

After the meeting, Town Planner Alicia Altieri said no lots have been carved out of the land for development. She said four lots in the forestry area - the area the town is considering buying - had been perk-tested to determine if septic systems could function in that area and all passed. She said the test was done to show that if the town does not buy the land then it will probably be bought by a developer.

Both boards gave their unanimous support to the formation of the Agricultural Commission, buying a sound system to use during the town meetings at Westminster Elementary School, an article for school capital purchases and three articles proposed by the Department of Public Works.

O'Toole expressed his support for the Agricultural Commission because of the turnout at the informational meeting.

"It was the first public meeting we've had that more than three people have shown up to," he said.

The selectmen voted 2-1 to recommend the article to fund $7,000 to pay for a custodian to be in one of the elementary schools so the youth basketball program can use both gyms every night. Westminster Elementary and Meetinghouse schools have been closed on alternating evenings due to the budget cuts by the school district.

Selectman Nick Hay expressed his concern about why the district had chosen to close the schools on alternating evenings.

The Selectmen and the Advisory Board also voted to support an article that would grant the town an easement on to 4 Leominster St. The article is now for an easement so the town can access the land to do environmental testing on it instead of purchasing it.

The town will need to purchase it in order for MassHighway to reconstruct the intersection at South, Main and Leominster streets.

The boards are considering passing over an article to buy recreation land on Worcester Road because grant funding may become available.

The Fall Town Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Westminster Elementary School.

In other business:

• Selectmen approved additional work at the American Legion/Senior Center so long as it does not go above the money that had been appropriated. If the cost is more than the appropriated money then the Selectmen said the American Legion is going to have to cover the cost difference.

• The Selectmen signed an extension to the Solid Waste Disposal agreement with Fitchburg that covers the time between June 31 and Dec. 30, 2007.