Winchester voters dump town's historic district

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
 

WINCHESTER — Established 20 years ago, the town’s historic district ordinance and commission are now history following town meeting Tuesday. Residents voted, 364 to 211, to back a petition warrant article to abolish the ordinance and commission.

They then approved a petition warrant article, 331 to 235, to establish a heritage commission as an advisory board with no regulatory power.

The heritage commission can receive donations of money and property, and acquire and/or improve historical or cultural resources in town. Both require selectmen approval, according to the warrant article.

The commission also has the power to advise on matters “affecting or potentially affecting cultural and historical resources,” according to the warrant article. It can also survey and inventory those resources.

In addition, the commission will have no less than five full members and one alternate member. Of the five full members, one will be a selectman, and one will be from the existing historical district commission. All other members will be appointed by the selectmen.

The decision to end the historic district ordinance and form a heritage commission comes three years after voters decided not to approve a petition warrant to abolish just the historic district ordinance. The vote count three years ago was 350 to 296, a difference of 54.

Tuesday’s warrant articles passed by margins of 153 and 96.

The warrant articles also come 20 years after town meeting voters approved the historic district ordinance. The ordinance established two historic districts, and a commission to oversee the districts and enact and enforce regulations on them.

One historic district covered a section of Main Street from Chapel Street southwest to the Route 10 bridge, and portions of Michigan and High streets and Richmond Road. The other covered a section of Ashuelot Main Street, and Old Hinsdale and Back Ashuelot roads.

However, how the historic district commission has overseen the district, and some of the decisions it has made on properties have been subject to controversy. While some commission members said they’re protecting the town’s history, some residents have accused the commission, and individual members, of putting unfair burdens on property owners.

In other business Tuesday, voters approved, 512 to 103, a town operating budget of $3,472,594 for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1. The budget is down $94,782, or about 2.7 percent, from the $3,567,376 budget voters approved last year.

They also approved spending $130,000 on the reclaiming and base coat of Old Chesterfield Road from upper Clark Road to the State Park entrance; the vote was 386 to 224.

A warrant article seeking to raise $7,000 to hire a grant writer passed, 394 to 225, as did establishing a capital reserve fund for the purpose of repairing the church steeple where the town clock sits.

That warrant article, which voters approved 384 to 242, also sought to put $25,000 into the account.

Voters passed a petition warrant article to appropriate $50,000 to subsidize youth recreation programming at the E.L.M. Memorial Community Center, 405 to 218. However, they didn’t back another petition warrant article to appropriate $30,000 for a coordinator for teen programming as part of the ACCESS before- and after-school program. The proposal was voted down by 140 votes, 380 to 240.

All other warrant articles passed. 

 

In a four-way race for a three-year term as a selectman, incumbent Roberta Heinonen Fraser was re-elected with 285 votes. Challengers Richard C. Pratt, Brandon J. Day and Barry Montgomery finished with 174, 81 and 61 votes, respectively.

In a three-way race for a term as selectman, Robert Leustek received 262 votes to 210 for Dean Beaman and 136 for Gene Park.

Incumbent Brooke Sharra was re-elected to a three-year term on the planning board with 275 votes, and the other three-year term went to Christy L. Davis with 306 votes.

Day and Montgomery finished out of the running, each getting 157 votes.

Kim Carl beat out Leustek for a term on the planning board, 329 to 257, and Janet Marsh received just five votes more than challenger Kenneth Berthiaume for a term as a Thayer Public Library trustee, 276 to 271.

The following were elected without opposition: Sherman Tedford to a term on the budget committee; Stephen Fucile to a two-year term on the budget committee; Rikki Bolewski to a three-year term on the budget committee; Kenneth Cole to a three-year term as trustee of trust funds; Elizabeth Freyenhagen, Denis V. Murphy 2nd and Rick Durkee to three-year terms as Conant Public Library trustees; Montgomery, Paul Dobbs and Kim N. Gordon to three-year terms as Thayer Public Library trustees; Karen Berthiaume to a two-year term as a Thayer Public Library trustee; Gordon to a two-year term as supervisor of the checklist; Freyenhagen to a six-year term as supervisor of the checklist; Donald Hubbard to a three-year term on the Musterfield Cemetery Committee; and Margaret Curtis to three-year term as town treasurer.

Of the town’s 2,825 registered voters, 644, or about 23 percent, participated in voting at town meeting and elections on Tuesday.

Winchester is an official-ballot town, so voters decided on town meeting warrant articles at the polls.

Meghan Foley can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or mfoley @keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MFoleyKS.