Special Town Meeting and June Election Update

From the Town Clerk…….

Special Town Meeting

There will be a Special Town Meeting held on May 1^st at 7:30 PM  in the Auditorium of the Bellingham High School. This citizen-generated Special Town Meeting will consist of one article which reads as follows:

ARTICLE 1. To see if the Town will vote to amend its Zoning Bylaws as follows: 1. To add the following definition to the provisions of Section 240-32 Warehouse: A building or facility with the primary function is to provide for the commercial storage and/or distribution of a wide variety of merchandise, good and/or other products. This shall include those facilities designed to store products in preparation for shipping and where those products are generally not made available for retail sale at the facility. Warehouses shall include those facilities for short or long term storage, and, in this manner shall also include fulfillment or “last mile” facilities for the short term storage and distribution of items made available through online or other similar sales. The storage or parking of tractor-trailers, trucks or trailers used in moving goods to or from Warehouses is also included within this definition. The term Warehouses shall not include retail self-storage facilities where members of the public can lease portions of a building for storage of household or personal goods or other items not intended for distribution or sale. 2. To amend Section 240-31, the Use of Regulation table, by changing “Yes” to “No” for Warehouses in the industrial Zone, thereby making Warehouses a prohibited use in all zoning districts within the Town of Bellingham.

(By: Steve Goyette, 58 Box Pond Road, Bellingham, MA 02019) The Planning Board will hold a Public Hearing concerning this Article on April 25th and will offer their recommendation at Town Meeting.

Annual Town Election
Bellingham’s Annual Town Election will take place on June 4, 2024 as prescribed by amended Town Bylaw. Polling will take place at the Bellingham High School Gymnasium from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM. Absentee balloting will be available for those who are unavailable to vote on June 4^th. You may apply for an absentee ballot by contacting the Town Clerk’s Office (TownClerk@bellinghamma.org or 508-657-2830) or online from the Town Clerk’s page at bellinghamma.org.

Candidates are as follows:

Selectmen (3 years) - Choose (2)

Jennifer Altomonte

Michael Connor (I)

Donald Martinis

Gary Reichert

Selectmen (2 years) – Choose (1)

David Cutler

Ann Odabashian (I)

Planning Board (3 years) – Choose (2)

Stephen Goyette

Brain Salisbury (I)

Library Trustee (3 years) – Choose (2)

Kimberly O’Neal

Lynn Scornavacca

School Committee (3 years) – Choose (2)

Courtney Cartier

Erik Ormberg (I)

Housing Authority (5 years) – Choose (2)

Linda Cartier (I)

Christopher Remillard (I)

Also, there will be a Candidates’  Forum at the Bellingham Senior Center on May 14^, 2024 from 9:30  until 11:00 AM.

All are welcome to attend.

There will also be a Proposition 2 ½ Ballot Question that reads:

 “Shall the Town of Bellingham be allowed to assess an additional $750,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of hiring six paramedics and funding costs of related equipment, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024.

Options are Yes or No