At another Annual Town Meeting, any year and in most towns, the news that the overall operating budget would be lower than last year's by almost $180,000 would have been applauded.

Townsfolk might still be applauding, two weeks later.

Not in Sandisfield this year. There was something on the warrant to distract voters from the good news.

Article 6

Dominating the May 17 Annual Town Meeting was Article 6, which asked that the Town take ownership of its two fire department properties, legally owned by the Sandisfield Fire Department, Inc., a nonprofit entity, by "gift, purchase, eminent domain, or otherwise." In the wording of the article, the Town reported the amount of $765,000 (which was the valuation of the properties) and indicated that it had the money available in two Town accounts if that's what negotiations came to.

After Moderator Dominic Konstam read the proposed article, he invited voters to comment. More than a few were on their feet.

First up was Carl Nett of Town Hill Road who proposed an amendment to the article to eliminate the "purchase" and "eminent domain" scenarios, as well as all of the references to money. What remained would change the property transfer to a "gift" only.

George Riley, a former Select Board chairman, stated that "the Town should not pay for what it has already paid for and which is morally, if not legally, rightfully already the Town's buildings and land."

He pointed out that Firehouse #2, the large firehouse facing Rt. 57, had been built in 1987 primarily by taxpayer donations and by local workers and volunteers whose money, time, and skills had been given with the assumption that the building would revert to the Town.

"Gifting is the appropriate venue," Riley added, supporting Nett's amendment.

He continued, as quoted in The Berkshire Eagle, "from a psychological perspective," appropriating this full amount [the $765.000] will remove any incentive for the nonprofit's directors to donate the buildings. "'Now that the money is there,' he said, 'they're going to want that money.'"

Another resident, Planning Board member Bill Taylor of New Hartford Road, said, "If you're bargaining, you don't offer the highest price first."

The Eagle quoted Select Board member John Field that including a money amount in the article gave the Board the ability to negotiate and that the amendment to acquire the properties by gift "really hobbles us. What I'm asking is for the townspeople to trust us to do the right thing."

Before the vote on his amendment, Carl Nett took the mic again to point out that not including the $765,000 did not "preclude the Select Board's attempt to negotiate." (For Nett's rationale for his opposition to the SFDI, see his "Out on a Limb" column.

When Moderator Konstam called the vote, Nett's amendment passed.

Earlier in the meeting, residents had agreed that the vote on the contentious Article 6 itself should be by secret ballot. Memories can be long in a small town.

Town Clerk Douglas Miner explained an elaborate but clear plan for casting ballots and asked that voters line up in groups of the three seating sections. He offered a prize for the most decorous section but there was no clear winner. Everyone followed the rules.

Article 6 passed, as amended, 86-17, that the properties be acquired by gift. Back to the drawing board for the Select Board and SFDI.

Other Business That Day

An article for an appropriation of $5,000 for an electric vehicle charging station was tabled at the suggestion of Green Communities Team Chairman Paul Adams who felt that more clarity was needed around the actual cost of the station and additional information on state incentives.

A part-time assessor consultant will be hired for $30,000. The Town has been without a principal assessor for four years.

A long-time goal of the Council on Aging was reached, following a plea by Linda Riiska and others, that a shuttle bus be purchased for about $64,000, with an additional $14,600 to hire a driver. She said that more than half of Sandisfield's 850 residents were over 55 and many needed help getting to or from anywhere. The bus would be used to drive seniors to shopping or appointments. The article, which Linda reminded voters had been on the burner for five years, passed unanimously.

As if in answer to last year's no vote on a request to purchase a new or used ambulance, voters this year agreed without discussion to purchase such a vehicle for up to $300,000.

But Why Did the Budget Go Down?

The School Committee should have received most of the applause, had there been any. The Town's operations budget at Farmington River Regional School was reduced for FY2026 by over $300,000. The recent redrafting of the Regional District Agreement between Sandisfield and Otis did that trick, after several years of hard, focused work to get the two towns to agree to the change.

The redrafted RDA agreement reduced the Education Budget by about 17 percent, which made up a large part of the Town's budget saving of nearly $180,000. Applause to the School Committee.

With additional reporting by Larry Dwyer