Barre Select Board Approves New Treasurer-Collector, Advances Marijuana Bylaw Discussion

BARRE -- October 29, 2018, Barre Select Board approves new treasurer-collector and advances marijuana licensing framework. The board unanimously approved a letter of understanding hiring Sharon Ashley as treasurer-collector at $15,000 per year for 37 hours per week, effective November 19, replacing outgoing Nancy Talbert, who was retained as a transition consultant at $75 per hour capped at $10,000. Chair Dr. Maureen Marshall, Vice Chair Mark Regienus, and Clerk Richard Stevens also unanimously endorsed a grant application letter to the Central Mass Regional Planning Commission to fund rewriting the town's overdue open space and recreation plan. The board spent the majority of the meeting debating a draft marijuana local licensing bylaw, including whether 500-foot buffer requirements from churches, daycares, and group homes should be hard zoning restrictions or handled case-by-case through host community agreements, with one member arguing strict blanket buffers, layered on top of limited commercial zoning, treat marijuana businesses "more restrictive" than licensed package stores. No formal vote on the bylaw was taken; the board is targeting release of a near-final draft weeks before a special town meeting.