Cheshire to Vote on School Funding and More at Town Meeting

By Daniel MatziBerkshires correspondent
11:40AM / Sunday, June 09, 2024Print Story | Email Story

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Voters will gather on Monday, June 10, to address the annual town budget and several key issues during the town meeting in the Cheshire Community House cafeteria (The former Cheshire Elementary School) at 7 p.m., with voter check-in starting at 6:30 p.m.

The warrant can be found here.

The proposed budget for fiscal 2025 includes various departmental funding requests, reflecting necessary increases due to inflation and rising costs of materials and services, according to the Cheshire Annual Town Meeting Voter Information Packet.

The town's operating budget highlights an allocation of $1,509,096 for general government operations, with a notable portion dedicated to legal services reflecting ongoing litigation. That amount would increase from $12,500 in FY24 to $20,000 in FY25.

Two articles in the warrant directly relate to funding for the Hoosac Valley Regional School District. Article 9 would pass the district's $3,098,996 budget as submitted. If that passes, Article 25 would determine if the town would pay for the budget by transferring funds from free cash and the general stabilization fund.

If the HVRSD budget does not pass, the town would move to vote on a Proposition 2.5 override, effectively raising the tax rate for the town. Adams town meeting approved the school budget last week.

Voters will also decide on compensation for elected officials, disposal of surplus property, and authorization for balance agreements. Significant spending articles include:

• Public Safety: $468,052 for police and fire services, with the introduction of a full-time School Resource Officer at Hoosac Valley Regional Middle and High School.

• Highway Operations and Tree Warden: $1,046,092, covering increased wages and increased rates and the usage of streetlights.

Additionally, the meeting will address several capital expenditures, including:

• Debt Service: $168,817 to cover various town debts, mostly covering Highway and Fire Department vehicles.

• Water Projects: $167,118 for Phase 2 of the North State Water Main Replacement.

Other noteworthy articles include adopting a meals tax for local restaurants, expanding the authority of the collector office, and establishing standards for short-term rentals.

Voters will also consider separating the Treasurer/Tax Collector position into two positions, and changing the Town Clerk's position from elected to appointed, effective May 2027.

The Board of Selectmen has recommended all warrant articles, indicating a broad support for the proposed changes and appropriations.

Tags: cheshire_budget, fiscal 2025,

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Letter: Progress Means Moving on Paper Mill Cleanup

Letter to the Editor05:00PM / Wednesday, February 11, 2026

To the Editor:

Our town is facing a clear choice: move a long-abandoned industrial site toward cleanup and productive use or allow it to remain a deteriorating symbol of inaction.

The Community Development team has applied for a $4 million EPA grant to remediate the former Curtis Mill property, a site that has sat idle for more than two decades. The purpose of this funding is straightforward: address environmental concerns and prepare the property for safe commercial redevelopment that can contribute to our tax base and economic vitality.

Yet opposition has emerged based on arguments that miss the point of what this project is designed to do. We are hearing that basement vats should be preserved, that demolition might create dust, and that the plan is somehow "unimaginative" because it prioritizes cleanup and feasibility over wishful reuse of a contaminated, aging structure.

These objections ignore both the environmental realities of the site and the strict federal requirements tied to this grant funding. Given the condition of most of the site's existing buildings, our engineering firm determined it was not cost-effective to renovate. Without cleanup, no private interest will risk investment in this site now or in the future.

This is not a blank check renovation project. It is an environmental remediation effort governed by safety standards, engineering assessments, and financial constraints. Adding speculative preservation ideas or delaying action risks derailing the very funding that makes cleanup possible in the first place. Without this grant, the likely outcome is not a charming restoration, it is continued vacancy, ongoing deterioration, and zero economic benefit.

For more than 20 years, the property has remained unused. Now, when real funding is within reach to finally address the problem, we should be rallying behind a practical path forward not creating obstacles based on narrow or unrealistic preferences.

I encourage residents to review the proposal materials and understand what is truly at stake. The Adams Board of Selectmen and Community Development staff have done the hard work to put our town in position for this opportunity. That effort deserves support.

Progress sometimes requires letting go of what a building used to be so that the community can gain what it needs to become.

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