{"id":1528,"date":"2012-05-08T02:06:21","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T06:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2012-05-08T02:06:21","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T06:06:21","slug":"town-meeting-12-session-5-and-special-town-meeting-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/2012\/05\/town-meeting-12-session-5-and-special-town-meeting-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Town Meeting \u00e2\u20ac\u212212, Session 5 and Special Town Meeting #1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>I take notes during Town Meeting. They are not official in any way. As I listen to people speak, I type notes. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that, at times, I mishear or misunderstand the speaker, but my notes represent what I hear at the time. I then publish the notes every night after the meeting. I do go back and make a few edits as errors are pointed out to me.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I do not try to reproduce my entire notes for this online version. Sometimes I relay a quote from a specific speaker. Most of the time I only summarize the discussion. At points I give a purely personal opinion; those are clearly labeled like this:\u00c2\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Personal note<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Town Meeting sang the national anthem, accompanied by Town Meeting Member Jane Howard on piano.<\/p>\n<p>The Moderator said that we would start with Article 41, then open the Special Town Meeting.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ryan Katofsky of Sustainable Arlington announced the receipt of a grant for &#8220;Solarize Mass.&#8221; The town will use the money for both subsidizing residential panels and outreach and publicity.<\/li>\n<li>Jane Howard announced the Spy Pond cleanup on May 12th from 9am to 1pm. For more info email <a href=\"mailto:ekarpati@juno.com\">ekarpati@juno.com<\/a> and <a href=\"mailto:ekarpati@juno.com\">stroker@alumni.clarku.edu<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Article 3<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0was taken off the table.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>John Cole gave the report of the Permanent Town Building Committee. He reviewed progress on the firehouses, community safety building, and school projects. He complimented Chief Jefferson on his money-saving efforts on the fire houses.<\/li>\n<li>Lawrence McKinney &#8211; gave the report of the Uncle Sam committee, and led the meeting a round of &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221; for the 200th birthday of Uncle Sam. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u00c2\u00a0Funny line of the night from Al Tosti: &#8220;He promised not to sing if we gave him the money for the committee.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Art 3 was tabled.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 41 &#8211; Capital Budget.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Charlie Foskett gave the report. \u00c2\u00a0He outlined the process, running from fall to February. \u00c2\u00a0He noted that it is the Town Manager&#8217;s budget, but the Town Meeting is the body that gives approval. He reviewed the last several years: rebuilt the schools, replaced the rolling stocks, updated the water pipes, etc. He said that we are voting the public safety building repair in the special town meeting so we can get the bidding started immediately. There were many questions. \u00c2\u00a0One was about the previous votes on water and sewer in <a href=\"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/2012\/05\/town-meeting-12-session-4\/\">Articles 42 and 43<\/a>. The difference between this vote and those is the funding source. \u00c2\u00a0There was a discussion of exempt v. non-exempt debt, which is debt exempt from Proposition 2.5 v. debt that is within the Proposition 2.5 limits. There were questions on the Parks and Rec spending. There was a question about which roads are being resurfaced this year (see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arlingtonma.gov\/Public_Documents\/ArlingtonMA_DPW\/projects\/2012_Road_Rehabilitation_Projects.pdf\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.town.arlington.ma.us\/Public_documents\/ArlingtonMA_Home\/018B418E-000F8513\">here<\/a> on the town website). \u00c2\u00a0There was discussion of the goals and process for the comprehensive master plan. Carol Kowalski reported that October 17th will be the kickoff of the process of writing the master plan. \u00c2\u00a0There was a discussion on school budget and the helmet spending coming up in Article 58. \u00c2\u00a0Mr. Foskett reported that the school department didn&#8217;t make a request for capital funding, so the capital committee didn&#8217;t formally consider it (though they did discuss it with the proponents and the schools). \u00c2\u00a0He noted that the school budget contained concussion-related items. Questions on Wellington Playground scheduled for 2017. Dallin school playground reconstruction was discussed. There was a question on the Mill Brook culvert work to be done under the high school parking lot. A question was asked what the mileage was on the Prius that is being replaced &#8211; the answer was that it was a 2001 with 30,000 miles. \u00c2\u00a0It was explained that it was being replaced because of high\u00c2\u00a0maintenance\u00c2\u00a0costs. Carl Wagner moved to terminate debate, and it was. \u00c2\u00a0The article passed on 2\/3 voice vote.<\/p>\n<p>The moderator recessed the regular town meeting, called the Special Town Meeting to order. \u00c2\u00a0We passed all of the traditional meeting-opening motions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 1 &#8211; Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Al Tosti gave the FinCom report.<\/li>\n<li>Kevin Greeley gave the Selectmen&#8217;s report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Article 1 was tabled.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 2 Amendments To Fy2012 Budgets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Al Tosti explained this article. \u00c2\u00a0The vote changes 2012 (current FY budget). \u00c2\u00a0It lowers the budget for health insurance to reflect the savings from joining the GIC. \u00c2\u00a0It moved the money to several different areas, including savings. \u00c2\u00a0Approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 3 Appropriation\/Fy12 Collective Bargaining<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We approved the spending for the unions that have settled, and saved some money for future spending. \u00c2\u00a0This is the 2012 budget. \u00c2\u00a0Approved unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 4 Appropriation\/Minuteman Regional\u00c2\u00a0Vocational Technical High School\u00c2\u00a0Extraordinary Building Repairs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Minuteman had their school closed this summer by the fire inspector. \u00c2\u00a0They had to rip out some walls and replace them. \u00c2\u00a0This unexpected cost is assessed in the 2012 budget. \u00c2\u00a0Passed unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No action unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 6 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Capital Budget\/Community Safety Building<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This issue had been mostly discussed under Article 41. \u00c2\u00a0It is to do improvements to the community safety building, particularly around leaking issues. \u00c2\u00a0There was a comment about the ugliness of the building. \u00c2\u00a0Article was approved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No action unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 8 Appropriation\/Energy Conservation Fund<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ryan Katofsky talked about energy savings projects in town. \u00c2\u00a0He\u00c2\u00a0showed deals that didn&#8217;t go through, and deals that did. \u00c2\u00a0Chris Loreti opposed &#8211; he said this was giving the town manager a $200,000 check for him to go on a shopping spree. Charlie Foskett opposed &#8211; these projects are just like every other purchase program in the town, he said. \u00c2\u00a0It should go through the regular project planning. \u00c2\u00a0Paul Schlictman made the case that we should save money ASAP &#8211; don&#8217;t wait for the process. \u00c2\u00a0Several speakers were in favor. There were questions about several aspects of the program. \u00c2\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I voted<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">in favor of this. \u00c2\u00a0We need to innovate aggressively to keep costs down. \u00c2\u00a0This is just the type of experiment I think we should be jumping at. \u00c2\u00a0If we review the\u00c2\u00a0program\u00c2\u00a0and it&#8217;s a failure, I won&#8217;t consider this a bad idea &#8211; we will have learned. \u00c2\u00a0And if we review the program and it&#8217;s a winner, even better.<\/span> \u00c2\u00a0Carl Wagner moved to terminate debate. \u00c2\u00a0Approved by voice vote.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 9 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 Home Rule Legislation\/Energy Conservation Fund<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Board of Selectmen voted to recommend creating the fund, and FinComm recommended no action. \u00c2\u00a0The Moderator ruled that the Selectmen had the main motion. \u00c2\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">This was an important decision, because the two votes were very different. \u00c2\u00a0It gave us a starting point for the debate.<\/span> \u00c2\u00a0Harry\u00c2\u00a0McCabe tried to make a substitute motion of &#8220;positive action,&#8221; but his intent was very unclear. \u00c2\u00a0Several speakers were opposed to this fund &#8211; they think we should see how the first $200,000 goes first. \u00c2\u00a0Ted Peluso says that this is a trust issue &#8211; we should trust our Town Manager; we already give him far more. \u00c2\u00a0In answer to a question, the Town Manager says that\u00c2\u00a0this\u00c2\u00a0fund will help us use the $200,000 from the previous article to its fullest. \u00c2\u00a0Scott Smith moves to terminate debate, and it was. \u00c2\u00a0Moderator ruled Harry McCabe&#8217;s motion out of order. \u00c2\u00a0The fund was defeated by a vote of 67-86. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The moderator initially ruled that the fund was defeated by voice vote, but I jumped up to request a standing count. \u00c2\u00a0I didn&#8217;t think the moderator was wrong in his ruling, but I had doubt, and I wanted to remove the doubt. \u00c2\u00a0The standing vote showed that the moderator was correct, but with a 19-vote margin, I don&#8217;t regret the time spent on the standing vote. \u00c2\u00a0On the issue itself, I was pretty torn. \u00c2\u00a0I thought the debate was very informative, and while I was on the losing side of the vote, I&#8217;m not losing sleep over this one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 10 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Bylaw Amendment\/Rubbish Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Selectman Kevin Greeley said that this rule would require people to take trash in from the curb if it&#8217;s not picked up. \u00c2\u00a0He said we had complaints about leaf bags being out all winter. \u00c2\u00a0Mike Rademacher talked about the new trash contract. \u00c2\u00a0It includes\u00c2\u00a0weekly recycling, recycling enforcement, and a weekly household waste limit. The price we pay for trash pickup is even lower than last year, and we get weekly recycling. Having a waste limit is part of the deal to get that price. \u00c2\u00a0He noted that our contractor can refuse to pick up illegal items &#8211; construction items, tires, and\u00c2\u00a0recyclables. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0There were several concerns about times where the town or vendor fails to pickup trash, and what happens then. Scott Smith proposed an amendment to make that less of an issue. \u00c2\u00a0There were concerns that 9pm is too early, and confusion on leaf pickup times. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The actual vote we&#8217;re taking is about not letting people leave trash on the street for weeks at a time. \u00c2\u00a0The new trash contract is really a separate issue. \u00c2\u00a0The DPW Director and Town Manager decided to tackle the new contract head-on since they knew there were questions. \u00c2\u00a0The downside to that is that there was confusion about the two issues being linked. \u00c2\u00a0I think that there was no obviously easy way to have the conversation, so we might as well tackle it head on. \u00c2\u00a0But, we should remember what we&#8217;re actually voting on on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We adjourned for the night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I take notes during Town Meeting. They are not official in any way. As I listen to people speak, I type notes. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that, at times, I mishear or misunderstand the speaker, but my notes represent what I hear at the time. I then publish the notes every night after the meeting. I do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-town-meeting-12"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1528"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1534,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions\/1534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}