Belchertown Select Board Endorses 41-Article Town Meeting Warrant in Unanimous Vote

BELCHERTOWN — April 21, 2026 — Belchertown Select Board unanimously endorses 41-article Town Meeting warrant and ratifies new Conservation Administrator. The board voted 3-0-0 on all eight action items Tuesday, with members Whitney Jorns Kuhnlenz and Jonathan Ritter absent. Town Manager Steven J. Williams presented the final warrant, which adds a new article authorizing transfer of 10 acres to the EDIC and drops a now-unnecessary surplus property article after the board separately declared a list of town-owned parcels — excluding two State Street lots flagged for potential municipal drainage use — as surplus under the Select Board's tax-title authority. The board ratified the appointment of Julie Meyer as Conservation Administrator effective April 24, prompting Member Jennifer D. Turner to request a future discussion on whether the Town Manager-appoints, Select Board-ratifies structure "was not intended to just be a rubber stamp." On health insurance, Clerk Nicole A. Miner reported 1,351 subscribers have left the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust, though roughly half carried above-average claims; Williams noted some municipalities face increases as high as 35 percent this year, against Belchertown's approximately 12.5 percent.