ATHOL – Following a delay due to an inability to meet its quorum, the Fall Town Meeting was held on Oct. 23, with all 12 articles voted on in short order.

The lengthiest discussion for those 115 voters in attendance was on amendments to five of the 11 chapters of the Town Charter. Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee Chair Ken Duffy outlined the amendments, most of which were relatively minor. These included corrections to grammar, the elimination of gender pronouns, and replacing the term “Board of Selectmen” with “Select Board.”

More significant changes included the elimination of Section 4 of Chapter 2, which provided a mechanism for residents to overturn Town Meeting votes via referendum. Duffy explained that this was only utilized once, in 2003, and was unsuccessful.

“We found that this was a redundant process which can and should be handled at the Town Meeting, during discussion and vote,” he said. “So, we proposed to eliminate (the referendum).”

Another elimination from the charter was Chapter 4, Section 3, paragraph 2, which details the process by which the regional School Committee prepares and presents its annual budget. Duffy said the committee is its own entity and the municipal government has “no right to tell them how they should present their present their budget to us; we just need it in a timely manner.”

The only requirement to remain the same, it was proposed, is that the committee submit its budget “in sufficient time.”

Duffy mentioned the positive relationship between the town, school district and committee.

“Much unlike other towns,” said Duffy, “it is excellent. You should be very proud of your school district and the communication level between the municipal side of the business and the educational side. It works extraordinarily well.”

Another proposed amendment would dispense with the requirement that the Town Clerk be a resident of Athol. Duffy pointed out that the administrators of most major municipal departments – including police, fire, and public works – are not Athol residents.

“They’re all excellent at their jobs, and we wouldn’t be able to attract them if we required them to be in town,” he said.

The vote to approve the proposed amendments was unanimous. The new version of the Town Charter will be sent to the Office of the Attorney General for review and if approved, would be presented to voters at the April Town Election.

Other measures approved Monday evening included the re-purposing of funds originally for the demolition of the downtown parking deck to instead cover the reconfiguration of the Five Points intersection. Also approved was a zoning bylaw amendment governing the location of Tier 2 and Tier 3 battery energy storage systems in residential zones and the General Commercial District, as well as amendments to the zoning bylaws relative to the size and location of apartments, and the number of stories permitted, in downtown residential/commercial developments.

At the start of the meeting, Duffy explained that articles asking voters to approve $31,000 for items to be paid for by funds raised from taxation would actually be paid for by the larger than expected amount of state aid. He said Athol had received approximately $36,000 more than had been estimated when the town’s FY24 budget was being constructed.

“So those items, if they pass, won’t have an impact on your taxes,” he said.

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