Town Meeting approves rewritten school district agreement

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 26, 2026

Hampden's Fall Special Town Meeting approved a rewritten Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Agreement and voted to authorize the sale of the town's vacant Townhouse building. Advisory Committee Co-Chair Doug Boyd reported $1,269,840 in free cash, with $500,000 directed toward the town's $1.45 million Scantic Valley Water District debt. Regional School Committee member Lisa Sternberg opposed the school agreement, warning "it's going to go Wilbraham's way," but it passed on a show of hands after a four-year rewrite process.

Voters rejected partnership and retained-ownership options for the Townhouse, where renovation is now estimated at $8.9 million, after resident Connie Witt argued "you cannot do away with the town's history." Voters also backed a home-rule petition letting reserve officer Michael Caine, who logged 156 shifts in 2025, seek state approval to serve past the mandatory retirement age of 65 to 75, over objections from resident Eric Madison about town liability.

In the full story:

• Opening Financial Report
• Article 1: Regional School District Agreement
• Articles 2-3: Regional School Budget Adjustments
• Articles 4-5: Transfer Station and Unemployment Funding
• Articles 6-8: Vehicle Purchases
• Articles 9-11: Town Hall Capital Repairs
• Article 12: Hampden's 150th Anniversary
• Article 13: Water District Debt Service
• Articles 14-16: Disposition of the Hampden Townhouse
• Article 17: Telecommunications Lease
• Articles 18-19: Zoning Bylaw Amendments
• Article 20: PEG Access Fund
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,518 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.