Whately Selectboard Commits Funds to Ready Veterans Memorial for May 24 Ceremony

WHATELY -- April 29, 2026, Whately Selectboard unanimously approved four substantive actions at its April 29 meeting, headlined by a $250 emergency expenditure to repair the town's veterans memorial site before the May 24 Memorial Day ceremony. The board voted to draw the funds from its own administrative budget to supplement roughly $250 remaining in a nearly depleted donation account, covering an estimated $450 bill for rose bush removal, bark mulch, and grass trimming by local landscaper Zach Smith; board member Julie also offered to recruit giving-garden volunteers to remove the rose bushes at no cost. Ruth, a Grange representative whose late husband's memorial donation seeded the maintenance fund, and Ray Belisle of the VFW appeared before the board to raise the alarm, and Ruth noted she is preparing a Massachusetts State Grange Opportunity Section grant application, due June 15, with results possible by July 1, that would fund ongoing upkeep. The board separately voted to approve a contract with Berkshire Design Group for an engineering feasibility study of the DeMeo Property at 268 State Road, expected to cost around $9,000 and funded from the Abatement Trust, to assess how many housing units the parcel could support. Two additional unanimous votes set the fiscal year 2026 solar resource replacement fee at $3,369 per acre and authorized release of a request for interest in potential reuse of the Center School. The board also appointed Melissa French to the Housing Committee and reviewed a draft Annual Town Meeting warrant it is set to close at its May 13 meeting, with Town Counsel advising that the proposed town clerk elected-to-appointed conversion cannot reach a general bylaw amendment until at least the 2027 Annual Town Meeting.