Goshen Handles Town Business with Dispatch

Union-News (Springfield, MA)

Author: RICHARD NADOLSKI

GOSHEN, MA – It took 30 minutes for a special town meeting to unanimously pass all 11 articles on the warrant last night, including a revision to the town’s driveway bylaw and cuts totalling $6,673 to bring the town’s budget into balance.

The first order of business for Town Clerk Mary Lou Joyner, after counting to make sure the necessary quorum of 25 residents was in attendance, was to swear in George Barrus as the temporary replacement for Town Meeting Moderator Wilfred Wright, who was unable to attend.

The 7:30 p.m. meeting got started a few minutes late and ended a few minutes after 8 p.m.

During that time voters debated, briefly, and then voted for a driveway bylaw revision that set tougher design standards for the construction of private driveways.

The article requires better culverts and drainage systems and defined the allowable grade which could be used in the construction.

Four of the articles called for a combination of reductions and use of unspent money that reduced the town’s current $956,425 budget by $6,673 to balance it.

The voting resulted in reductions of $1,633 in the general highway account, $500 in the Police Department budget, $2,267 in the Building Inspector’s account and use of the unspent $2,273 in an account to buy a sickle bar.

The longest debate on any of these articles was actually on a point of clarification on the sickle bar account article, which had to be amended to state that the money was being transferred from an account initially authorized during the annual May town meeting.

In other matters on the warrant, residents voted to accept a 1985 Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser that was offered to the town by the Goshen Police Association. The association combined with firefighters during the summer to sponsor a pig roast that earned enough money to buy the vehicle from the town of Hinsdale for $1,300. The cruiser will be used by the police department.

In another article, voters accepted a 1981 police cruiser for use by Fire Department Chief Francis Dresser. The cruiser was given to him by the Police Department. Police Chief David Guertin told meeting voters that the cruiser was purchased a few years ago for $700.

Nancy Hoff, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, took a moment to praise the donation by the police association and her comments were greeted with a round of applause.

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