Granby Selectmen Schedule Dates to Discuss Holcomb Farm

The Granby Board of Selectmen on Monday set its next meeting on May 7 to include a discussion with representatives from Holcomb Farm.

The discussion will center on redefining the role the town has with Holcomb Farm Inc.

Town Manager William Smith noted Monday evening that 367-acre Holcomb Farm, which was donated to the town in the early 1990s and overseen by HFI, lost a lot of grant money in recent years, requiring more town involvement, particularly in the areas of maintenance and back office administration.

One way of doing that is promote use of the farm by local residents, Smith said.

“We certainly want to assist with that, and we’re trying to get our hands around that so we can do the best we can,” said Smith, noting that the goal is to do so while minimizing the impact on Granby taxpayers.

In the short-term, Smith said that the goal was to bring on additional programming at the farm that was “self-sustaining, to not have a great impact on any local dollars.”

With that said, there may be some financial impact, though that has not yet been determined.

“We may need some start-up assistance,” Smith said.

Smith said that the town has fielded numerous requests to use the farm, but that more discussion was needed in order to set specifics.

“It’s just a fabulous resource,” Smith said of the farm. “It all can work. We want to make sure the blend works and makes sure it’s right for everyone.”

In addition, a public workshop will be held on June 4 seeking input from residents.

“We’re working on how best to work together to make Holcomb Farm succeed and make it better for the residents of Granby,” First Selectman John Adams said.

In other business, the selectmen discussed prioritizing “add back cuts” from the 2012-13 budget.

Specifically, in formulating the 2012-13 municipal budget, several items requested by town departments had to be cut. Those items included the addition of a police investigator/youth services officer; the hiring of a park and recreation program supervisor; and the restoration of a full-time public works maintainer position.

The Board of Finance at its March 27 meeting requested that the selectmen prioritize what was needed by the town so that items possibly could be added back in later budget years.

Without committing to anything, the selectmen discussed a “suggested” list of six items in the following order: police investigator/youth services officer; park and recreation program supervisor; restore a full-time public works maintainer position; financial management accountant; restoring library hours and services; and other priorities.

The selectmen agreed that further discussion with the finance board and the Board of Education - particularly with regard to the youth services officer - was needed before the list was finalized.

None of the items were going to be made a part of the 2012-13 budget, according to Smith, but that the hope was that things would be taken off the list and included in future years’ budgets.

Finally, Adams reminded residents that the annual Town Meeting was scheduled for April 23 at 7 p.m. Presentations will be made by the finance board, school board and selectmen, followed by public comment and a vote.

For the budget to pass, at least 230 eligible Granby voters must be present, with ⅔ of those in attendance voting in its favor.

If a quorum isn’t met, or the budget is not passed by a ⅔ majority at the Town Meeting, then it proceeds to a machine vote at a later date. If the budget is voted down at the machine vote, then subsequent machine votes are scheduled for every other week, with public hearings held in the interim weeks until one passes.