Barre Select Board Opens Special Town Meeting Warrant, Approves New Public Safety Hires

BARRE — October 2, 2017 — Barre Select Board opens special Town Meeting warrant and tables solar zoning fight. The board voted unanimously Monday to open the warrant for a November 14 special Town Meeting, placing articles covering a $40,000 police cruiser, a $27,000 tax title appropriation, a $10,900 cardiac monitor lease, fire station renovations, and two parcels of donated town land. A proposed amendment to the solar zoning bylaw — brought by farmer Andy Kukus to allow large-scale ground-mounted solar in residential zones — drew sharp pushback from Town Counsel Jim Cranston and Planning Board members, who disputed both the substance and the process of bypassing a citizen petition; the board tabled the article and directed Kukus to work with the Planning Board. The board also approved two new public safety hires — Jeremy Casilla as firefighter/EMT on-call at $15.66 per hour and Richard Johnson as per diem paramedic at $23.48 per hour — and unanimously discharged a long-standing Community Development Block Grant mortgage on property at 236-238 Peak Street.