List of Articles with Links & Details

• Read the 2017 Town Meeting Warrant

REPORTS:

1. Acceptance of Town Reports – HOPKINTON MA 2016 Annual Town Report
2. Hopkinton Day

FINANCIAL – FISCAL YEAR 2017:

3. FY 2017 Supplemental Appropriations – $500,000 from free cash for snow & ice removal in excess of last year’s budget
4. FY 2017 Budget Transfers – None
5. Unpaid Bills from Previous Fiscal Years -$6,076.79

FINANCIAL – FISCAL YEAR 2018:

6. Property Tax Exemption Increase
7. Senior Tax Relief
8. Means Tested Senior Property Tax Exemption
9. Set the Salary of Elected Officials – Town Clerk $65,630.24
10. Fiscal 2018 Operating Budget – $82,102,328.78 (This includes $42,591,311 for the Hopkinton Public Schools)
    • FY 18 Budget Policy Statement – 2016-11-01
    • FY18 Financial Model & Town Manager Budget
    • Appropriation Committee Report for ATM 2017
    • FY18 School Committee Budget Town Meeting Slides
11. FY 2018 Revolving Funds
12. Chapter 90 Highway Funds – $651,149 paid by the state to support the Town’s Pavement Management Plan
13. Transfer to General Stabilization Fund – $300,000 from free cash
14. Transfer to Capital Expense Stabilization Fund – None
15. Other Post Employment Benefits Liability Trust Fund – $379,264 from free cash
16. Underride – An underride can be passed to limit additional funds for any municipal purpose. An underride permanently decreases the Town’s levy limit. It does not necessarily decrease taxes paid by residents. An underride question may be placed on the ballot by a majority vote of the Board of Selectmen and must be passed by a majority of voters.
17. Hopkinton Day Funds – None
18. Sewer Flow Metering Program – $150,000 from Sewer Enterprise Fund Borrowing

CAPITAL EXPENSES AND PROJECTS:

19. Pay-As-You-Go Capital Expenses
    • Highway Ford Explorer $41,000 – DPW Slides
    • Repair of Lake Maspenock Dam $110,000 – DPW Slides
    • Replacement of Hayden Rowe Drainage Pipe $90,000 – DPW Slides
    • Replacement of Police Vehicles $79,468
    • Garage Door at Main St. Fire Station $70,140
    • Retrofit Police Department Access Control System $57,239
    • Install IP Cameras at Fire Department $39,754
    • Replacement Desktops and Laptops $34,921
    • Building & Grounds Equipment – Systemwide – Schools $30,000
    • Systemwide Security Upgrades – Schools $100,000
    • Systemwide Technology Upgrades – Schools $70,000
    • Hopkins School HVAC Assessment & Upgrades $125,000
20. Fire Station Roof HVAC $525,000 Debt Exclusion – FD Roof Slides
21. Main Street Cemetery Fence Repairs – None
22. Re-purposing of Appropriated Funds – ATM 2016 Article 23 – $50,000 – Whitehall Wells DPW Slide
23. Fruit Street Blending Facility Construction $1,500,000 from Water Enterprise Fund Borrowing
24. Hayden Rowe Traffic Calming $1,050,000 Debt Exclusion
25. Chestnut Street Sidewalks – Citizen’s Petition – This is expected to be withdrawn
26. DPW Salt Shed $260,000 from General Fund Borrowing
27. Elmwood School Solution – $600,000 for a Feasibility Study from General Fund Borrowing
28. Application of Bond Premiums – This article is of housekeeping nature in order to facilitate the request in Article 29 below.
29. Excess Bond Premium – $646,430.41

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION FUNDS:

30. Community Preservation Funds
31. Community Preservation Recommendations – CPC Slides
    • a.) $55,000 from Budgeted Reserves for a Shared Use Trail on property located on the former Hughes Property and shown on the Assessor’s Map as U24 10 0, U24 10A and U24 9 0 (192 Hayden Rowe); provided, however, that no work shall be performed with CPC funds except on such property, that signage shall be installed prohibiting dogs off the Shared Use Trail, that no trail construction shall commence until a plan is approved which identifies the location of a dog park on the property, and that no bridge shall be constructed over wetlands located on the property with CPC funds; said sum to be spent under the direction of Hopkinton Trails Club and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • b.) $20,000 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation to preserve Hopkinton and Upton Town land records, determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town; said sum to be spent under the direction of the Town Clerk and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • c.) $200 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation for the Film Reel Conversion of “Hopkinton Fair” 1944-1945, determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town; said sum to be spent under the direction of Hopkinton Historical Society and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • d.) $10,000 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation for Historic Headstone Restoration, determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town; said sum to be spent under the direction of Hopkinton Cemetery Commission and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • e.) $7,000 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation for the professional organization, cataloging and display of the Cheney Family Collection; determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town. Said sum to be spend under the direction of the Hopkinton Historical Society and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • f.) $4,000 from Budgeted Reserves for the Reconstruction of Three Bridges in the Town owned Cameron Woods Property. Said sum to be spent under the direction of Hopkinton Area Land Trust (HALT), the Open Space Preservation Commission and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • g.) $25,000 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation for an Architectural Historical Survey. Funding request is contingent upon receiving a Massachusetts Historic Grant, determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town; said sum to be spent under the direction of Hopkinton Historical Commission and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • h.) $400,000 for the Fruit Street Building bathroom, concession and storage facility; said sum to be spent under the direction of Parks and Recreation Commission and the Community Preservation Committee, and for the purpose of meeting such appropriation, to authorize the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to borrow said sum in accordance with Chapter 44B, Section 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, or any other enabling authority; provided, however, that payment of debt service on the bonds and notes for this purpose shall be made from CPC reserve funds.
    • i.) $250,000 from Budgeted Reserves for EMC Park Lighting; said sum to be spent under the direction of Parks and Recreation Commission and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • j.) $5,000 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation for Cemetery Fencing on Main Street, determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town; said sum to be spent under the direction of the Cemetery Commission and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • k.) $26,000 from Budgeted Reserves for the engineering, and limited construction support for Reed Park; said sum to be spent under the direction of Parks and Recreation Commission.
    • l.) $5,500 from Budgeted Reserves for benches for the Center Trail; said sum to be spend under the direction of Open Space Preservation Committee, Hopkinton Area Land Trust (HALT) and the Community Preservation Committee.
    • m.) $5,000 from funds reserved for Historical Preservation for Cemetery Fencing on Main Street, determined by the Historical Commission to be significant to the history, archeology, architecture or culture of the Town; said sum to be spent under the direction of the Cemetery Commission and the Community Preservation Committee.

ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENTS:

32. Utility Structures – This article would make a change to require a special permit in the residential zoning districts for the construction of new above ground structures for utilities. At the present time, these structures typically require Site Plan Review from the Planning Board, and this would not change. It would add another layer of Town regulation of utilities.
33. Restaurant Definition and Parking Requirements – This article would define the term “restaurant” and clarify the bylaw with respect to such uses. The changes also revise the parking requirements by establishing separate parking requirements for restaurants with customer seating and those without. The parking requirements also take into account outdoor seating, which current requirements do not. This change was initiated from litigation. The case pointed out that the term “restaurant” is used extensively in the bylaw, but it isn’t defined. There are many places that have food available and the Zoning Advisory Committee had extensive discussions regarding the nature of restaurants. The proposed definition would not make any existing restaurants nonconforming.
34. Flexible Community Development Bylaw – This is a housekeeping article that clarifies the intent of existing language within this bylaw. Some developers were confused as to how the amount of a payment in lieu of an affordable housing unit is calculated. The intent of the Town has always been that the payment would be calculated for an affordable 3 bedroom single family home regardless of what is constructed. This will spell that out more clearly.
35. Open Space and Landscape Preservation Development – This is a housekeeping article to clarify when the Open Space required under the bylaw is conveyed to the future owner. This language will require conveyance prior to the issuance of the first building permit but also allow some flexibility if an extension is needed and all parties agree.
36. Hotel Parking Requirement – There is currently no parking requirement associated with hotels and inns permitted in the Hotel Overlay District. This article will add a parking requirement.
37. Gross Floor Area/Site Plan Review – The terms gross floor area and gross floor space are used interchangeably in the Zoning Bylaw and gross floor area is not defined. The definition of gross floor space excludes the floor area used by accessory garages. Because our site plan review bylaw has a review threshold based on gross floor area, there is a loophole in which large commercial garages can be constructed without site plan review. The amendment closes that loophole but does not change the intent of site plan review. The impact of the change would mean that site plan review would be required for commercial garages.
38. Moratorium on Marijuana Establishments – This article proposes a temporary moratorium on commercial marijuana establishments in the Town. The need for this arose from last November’s state election that legalized recreational use of marijuana. The Planning Board and Zoning Advisory Committee will draft zoning regulations for the 2018 annual town meeting during the period of the moratorium. During this same period, the state will developing regulations, and it is hoped that the regulations they develop will inform our process. These are new uses that the Town is not familiar with, so we need to do research on parking requirements, dimensional requirements, etc. before making recommendations to town meeting.
39. Sign Bylaw – The proposed changes were requested the Design Review Board. It has reviewed signs on second floors of buildings that from a design perspective do not contribute positively to the appearance of the Town’s commercial areas. It is the intent that prohibiting signs all the way up the walls of buildings will impose a design aesthetic that is consistent with how we want our commercial districts to look.

GENERAL BYLAW AMENDMENTS:

40. Public Consumption of Tetrahydrocannabinol (marijuana / cannabis)
41. Minutes of Public Bodies
42. Departmental Revolving Funds – This is a housekeeping article to establish existing revolving funds by incorporating them into the Town Bylaws. There are no new revolving funds being created in this article. This type of article would only be needed on future warrants if a revolving fund were added or removed by the Town.
43. Posting of Warrant
44. Town Meeting Quorum – Citizen’s Petition
45. Alcohol Sales at Town Facilities
46. Kennels
47. Construction Waste or Debris Bylaw
48. Discharges to Storm Drain System
49. Driveway Standards
50. Unregistered Motor Vehicles

LAND ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS:

51. Gift of Land – Hehn’s Farm Way – This article will allow the Town to accept the gift of 4.9 acres of open space created in the Hehn’s Farm subdivision. The land connects open space that the Town already owns and the Center School property.
52. Gift of Land – Box Mill Road – This article will allow the Town to accept the gift of 10.2 acres of land off Leonard St., where lots were recently created off an old paper street. The land is adjacent to the Middle School and the Upper Charles Trail.
53. Street Acceptances
    • Cider Mill Road from Ash Street to Dead End
    • Cold Spring Brook Road from North Mill Street to Dead End
    • Cranberry Lane from South Mill Street to Dead End
    • Pinetree Lane from North Mill Street to Dead End
54. Easement – 125 East Main Street
55. Fruit Street Property – Lease to Youth Organization – Map for Articles 55 & 56
56. Fruit Street Property – Lease to Animal Shelter – Map for Articles 55 & 56

ADMINISTRATIVE:

57. Early Voting – Citizen’s Petition
58. PILOT Agreement – MA Solar Highway Phase 1B LLC
59. PILOT Agreement – NRG DG Marathon LLC
60. Set local speed limits – 25 MPH
61. Set local speed limits – Designated Safety Zones
62. Constables – to make the position of Constable an appointed, instead of elected, position to be appointed by the Board of Selectmen.
63. Trustees of the School Trust Fund in the Town of Hopkinton