Several residents attended to urge selectmen to approve the aggregation agreement. The vote had been delayed partly because selectmen had said that they needed more information.
Belchertown selectmen, L-R, Ron Aponte, Bill Barnett, Brenda Aldrich and George Archible, meeting with Hampshire Council of Governments Executive Director Todd Ford who is facing them at the Jan. 27 2014 meeting. BELCHERTOWN – Town residents will have the option to pay electric bills into a new, multi-town energy cooperative after selectmen Monday voted 3-1 to join a Hampshire Council of Governments initiative several years in the making.
According to the HCOG Executive Director Todd Ford, who attended the Jan. 27 selectmen’s meeting, Belchertown is the 34-th community to formally join the energy collaborative.
Dubbed an electricity aggregation agreement, the idea is that with 160,000 residents in the multiple communities banding together, their buying power is strengthened. Resulting in lower costs, according to Ford.
Several residents attended to urge selectmen to approve the aggregation agreement. The vote had been delayed partly because selectmen had said that they needed more information.
Selectman George “Archie” Archible cast the no vote. Vice Chairman Brenda Aldrich, who is skeptical of the idea, was swayed to vote in favor because of what residents said to support the measure at Monday’s meeting.
Aldrich said she was troubled by the some of Ford’s responses and was not comfortable with the lack of data about what electricity would cost under the program.
“We don’t have any figures yet; the only figure we have is how much we are going to pay the Hampshire Council of Governments," Aldrich said.
In other business, selectmen unanimously voted to refer back to the Planning Board a proposal created by the Planning Board that would alter the zoning bylaws, by creating suggested guidelines for builders.
The proposed voluntary guidelines focus on the visual impact. The goal is to steer development to adhere to architecture consistent with a “Belchertown style” that resembles rural New England.
The Planning Board is expected to hold public hearings on the zoning proposals, the selectmen said.
In another matter, selectmen accepted a 15.5 acre land donation off North Washington Street that will be used to fortify the town’s open space.
Selectmen accepted the resignation of Council on Aging member Sandy Farron.