WARWICK — Residents on Monday adopted Annual Town Meeting’s 26 articles, which included accepting the First Parish Unitarian Church and Meetinghouse and 32 acres on Hastings Pond Road as a gift from the First Parish and Religious Society.

The Selectboard will now hold and maintain the building on the town common for public purposes, including historical preservation, public assembly and cultural programs. With the town adopting the three relevant articles pertaining to the acquisition of the land and meetinghouse, the church’s board of governance will offer $100,000 to repair the historic church. The building is no longer an active church and the board wanted to transfer ownership to Warwick.

The roughly 80 residents in attendance also gave their blessing to an article regulating the town’s design and construction of buildings to meet energy-efficiency goals, and to another entering the town into the state’s long-term municipal decarbonization initiative. By adopting Article 21, townspeople voted 44-34 to replace the “Stretch Energy Code” with the “Specialized Energy Code” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“How does [the ‘Specialized Energy Code’] affect ADUs — accessory dwelling units? It doesn’t,” Town Coordinator David Young advised attendees.

Adoption of Article 22 enables the town to be designated as a “Climate Leader” through its commitment to the elimination of on-site fossil fuel burning in municipal buildings and vehicles. Young previously explained that becoming a Climate Leader would boost the town’s eligibility for state funding for clean energy infrastructure projects such as solar, battery storage and heat pumps.

“We’ve done [roughly $750,000] worth of work with state Green Communities money over the last 10 or so years,” he previously told the Greenfield Recorder, mentioning the need to prioritize energy-efficient vehicles when replacing equipment in the town’s fleet. “If there isn’t an electric vehicle that’s capable of plowing snow commercially available, then you go to a plug-in hybrid vehicle. And then if there isn’t that, you go to a hybrid vehicle. If there isn’t that, you go to a gas vehicle. It’s a commitment to get off of fossil fuels, but the end result will not be that we are forced into doing something that’s stupid.”

Young told Town Meeting attendees he felt it would be silly not to adopt Article 22.

Voters also adopted the proposed $3.03 million fiscal year 2026 budget, which represents a roughly 7% increase from the current fiscal year. The increase is attributed, in part, to rising health insurance rates. According to Young, voters can expect a roughly 5.5% to 5.7% tax increase.

Finance Committee member Diana Noble explained the $5,000 hike in the treasurer’s salary will more appropriately reflect Ryan Mailloux’s responsibilities. She mentioned Warwick’s treasurer also handles the town’s payroll.

Article 19 received the two-thirds majority necessary to transfer $59,249 from the stabilization fund to pay off the principal balance owed on the Kia electric school bus used by Warwick Community School.

“This will not effect your tax rate,” Noble said.

Eighty-six (12.3%) of the town’s 699 registered voters attended Annual Town Meeting, according to Town Clerk John Paganetti.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpo  li@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.