ATHOL – Voters will face a relatively short warrant of 12 articles for the Fall Town Meeting scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16, at Town Hall.

Among the items voters will be asked to decide on are the use of $160,000 set aside at last year’s Annual Town Meeting to cover the cost of the demolition of the downtown parking deck off of South and Exchange streets. Town officials are asking that $110,000 of that amount be re-purposed to pay “for additional engineering and bidding administration for the Five Points capital improvement project.”

It’s expected that work on Five Points – where Chestnut Hill Avenue and Crescent, Laurel, Brattle, and Lee streets meet – will begin sometime next year.

The area has long been a safety concern due to the convergence of five streets, limited sight lines, and steep grades leading from the northern end of the Chestnut Hill Avenue Bridge to Crescent Street. In addition, the retaining walls that carry Crescent Street past the northern end of the bridge are deteriorating and need to be replaced.

The remaining $50,000 from the $160,000 appropriation will be used by the town to acquire the land and easements necessary to undertake the Five Points reconstruction. Article 4 gives town officials the flexibility to acquire necessary parcels “by all legal means, including by donation, purchase, or taking by eminent domain.”

Other articles

Article 6 seeks an appropriation of $9,400 to complete an assessment of the Bidwell Barn on South Athol Road. The barn sits on 100 acres of land owned by the town. Efforts are underway to determine the best use for that property, with ideas ranging from commercial development to senior housing and outdoor recreation.

At the Sept. 19 Selectboard meeting, Town Manager Shaun Suhoski said the money would be used to hire an architectural firm that specializes in historic and barn restorations nd this money would be used for an assessment of the building. Board member Brian Dodge noted several problems with the structure.

“The roof is pretty much gone, the sills are gone, it’s covered with lead paint,” said Dodge. “Those are three things off the top of my head. This is almost $10,000 just for somebody to tell us what’s wrong with it. That seems exorbitant to me with today’s prices.”

The town manager added that a vote of Town Meeting would be needed regarding the disposition of any part of that site.

Also on the warrant are a pair of articles calling for changes in the town’s zoning bylaws. Article 11 clarifies rules governing Tier 2 battery storage energy systems in Residential A, B, and C zones and for Tier 3 battery storage energy systems specifically in Residential C zones.

Article 12 makes changes in the minimum size of a dwelling unit allowed in “a new building or conversion of an existing building.” The minimum size would be reduced from 600 square feet to 500 square feet. In addition, the bylaws would be changed to allow apartments on the first floor of a building in a commercial zone as long as those units lack public exposure to the street frontage. Finally, buildings constructed in the downtown area would no longer be restricted solely to four stories, as long as any additional floors could be kept within the town’s 50-foot height limitations.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.