{"id":804,"date":"2010-05-25T02:35:40","date_gmt":"2010-05-25T06:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/?p=804"},"modified":"2010-05-25T09:41:25","modified_gmt":"2010-05-25T13:41:25","slug":"town-meeting-10-session-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/2010\/05\/town-meeting-10-session-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Town Meeting \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc10 Session 9"},"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: <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Personal note<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>8:01 the meeting was called to order.  The <a href=\"http:\/\/twitpic.com\/1qr6w1\">Arlington Madrigal Singers<\/a> sang the national anthem and continued singing until 8:12.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> I&#8217;m happy that this was the first performance of this town meeting &#8211; that&#8217;s 11 minutes saved on each of the previous 8 meetings &#8211; that&#8217;s half of a night of town meeting saved!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Moderator John Leone noted that there isn&#8217;t that much left on the agenda.  He suggested that if we were concise, we might finish tonight.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I was betting on Wednesday, and unfortunately my bet is looking more likely.  We sure didn&#8217;t finish tonight; I just hope we don&#8217;t go until next week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Bill Hayner Pct. 2 voiced his support of an <a href=\"http:\/\/kerry.senate.gov\/cleanenergyjobsandamericanpower\/intro.cfm\">energy bill<\/a> from Senator Kerry.<br \/>\nUp to $220,000 for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arlingtoneducationfoundationma.org\/bridgethegap.html\">Bridge the Gap<\/a>.  Two weeks left.<br \/>\nDick Smith again sought signatures for a non-binding question for the 23rd Middlesex.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 3<\/strong> was taken from the table.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Symmes Neighborhood Advisory Committee.  Michelle Barry detailed the uncovered dirt piles and poor site security on the Symmes neighborhood, and asked for future remediation.<\/li>\n<li>Harry McCabe gave the report of the Margaret Spengler Memorial Committee.  He went into great detail about the planning, preparation, execution of the memorial, and the disposition of the remaining funds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Article 3 was tabled.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">8:35pm at this point &#8211; the hopes of an early finish dwindling rapidly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 11 &#8211; Illuminated signs.<\/strong> Brian Rehrig moved to reconsider Article 11.  It was reconsidered on voice vote.  Brian Rehrig explained that the word &#8220;exposed&#8221; should read &#8220;non-exposed.&#8221;  The newly-revised bylaw was approved 159-2. This move had been mentioned by the moderator, and very few people were interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/2010\/04\/town-meeting-10-session-1\/\">debating\u00c2\u00a0illumination<\/a> again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 27<\/strong> <strong>&#8211; GIC. <\/strong> Tabled.  Tosti did this so we can get to Minuteman tonight for sure &#8211; they&#8217;re here tonight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 55 &#8211; Sewer<\/strong>.  Approved unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Artilce 56 &#8211; Water mains.<\/strong> Approved unanimously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 57 &#8211; Minuteman Regular Budget<\/strong>.  Dr. Ed Bouquillon, Superintendent of Minuteman School District spoke for a few minutes. \u00c2\u00a0He noted that the district&#8217;s budget is down 7.2% from last year &#8211; that&#8217;s 10% cut from level-service budget.  He went through the cuts of 22 people.  He&#8217;s raised tuitions for non-member towns. \u00c2\u00a0Budget approved on unanimous vote.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 58 &#8211; Minuteman\u00c2\u00a0Feasibility\u00c2\u00a0Study.<\/strong> Al Tosti moved the substitute motion the <a href=\"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/2010\/05\/town-meeting-10-session-8\/\">Finance Committee approved last week<\/a>, and made two small changes to the text.  Tosti walked through the decision process.  The Finance Committee voted &#8220;no action&#8221; at first because we were concerned that it was too much money for a school that we weren&#8217;t sure was viable.  Later meetings and negotiations and the intercession of the Mass School Building Authority helped narrow the scope of the plan. The plan now starts with an enrollment study and a report of a Regional Task Force on changes to the regional agreement.  The Superintendent has agreed that the full program won&#8217;t go forward unless Arlington (and other towns) sign off on the enrollment study and task force report.  That convinced the finance committee to approve this feasability study. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I&#8217;m proud of how this worked. \u00c2\u00a0I think FinComm discussed this at 8 or 10 different meeting this year, some of them for a long time. \u00c2\u00a0We ended up in a place that is good for Arlington and supports the educational mission of Minuteman. <\/span>The Superintendent talked about the needs of the physical plant.  He reviewed the MSBA building process and where the district is in the process.  He talked about how much the feasibility study would cost and what would be in it.  A speaker in favor commended the progress the district has made.  Paul Schlictman called for a change in the regional agreement, which was echoed by later speakers.  He endorsed the motion.  There were questions about the five biggest towns.  There were questions about school sizing, enrollment, and waiting lists at other vocational districts.  Debate terminated.  The motion was\u00c2\u00a0substituted, and approved unanimously. \u00c2\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I was delighted and surprised &#8211; so much debate, so much discussion, and a unanimous result. \u00c2\u00a0I never would have expected it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Break at 9:24.  Returned at 9:36.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 27 &#8211; GIC<\/strong>.  The moderator recognized the motion of the Finance Committee as the main motion. \u00c2\u00a0Al Tosti spoke to the motion, but spoke more to the <a href=\"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/Article27Resolution.doc\">alternative resolution proposed by the Town Manager<\/a>. \u00c2\u00a0He reported that Finance Committee had endorsed the resolution. \u00c2\u00a0He repeatedly noted that the debate should be about the resolution, not the GIC. \u00c2\u00a0Town Manager Brian Sullivan explained that the recent progress towards negotiation moved him from the original home rule legislation, which if enacted would force the unions into the GIC. \u00c2\u00a0Instead he was recommending the resolution, which only encouraged progress towards the GIC. \u00c2\u00a0He gave a history of the town&#8217;s negotiations and explained how the plan would benefit the town employees. \u00c2\u00a0He described outlined how the legislation would guarantee equal or better benefits for town employees, as determined by an independent actuary. \u00c2\u00a0Ken Hughes, town meeting member and member of the Public Employee Committee spoke. \u00c2\u00a0He proposed an amendment to strike out the deadline from the manager&#8217;s resolution, and remove the call for a future Special Town Meeting if a deal isn&#8217;t reached. \u00c2\u00a0He urged that the meetings happen with no preconditions, negotiate in good faith. He said: &#8220;We&#8217;ll never walk away from the table.&#8221;  Shawn Sullivan of Arlington&#8217;s firefighter&#8217;s union spoke and echoed the same points, saying, &#8220;We&#8217;ve never left the table.&#8221;   Ron Colosi of the Arlington Education Association &#8220;echoed the statements.&#8221;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> The problem with this line of statements was that it was completely untrue. <\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Really, I was surprised a<\/span>t the audacity of these statements. \u00c2\u00a0Every town meeting member had received a <a href=\"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/TownMeeting2010GICpacket.pdf\">copy of the letter<\/a> signed by Ron Colosi, on AEA letterhead, where he wrote statements like &#8220;. . . to discuss potential health care options <\/span><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">other than<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> the GIC&#8221; (emphasis in orginal) and \u00c2\u00a0&#8220;The AEA is currently not prepared to have any discussions regarding the GIC. . . &#8221; \u00c2\u00a0This is a union that refused to discuss the GIC, and is simultaneously claiming that it never left the table. \u00c2\u00a0I&#8217;m glad we had the letter in hand, and we could appreciate the truth in the statements for ourselves. <\/span>Selectmen voted 3-1 in favor of the resolution. \u00c2\u00a0Selectman Diane Mahon voted against it.  She said that the deadline is unfair and premature.  She doesn&#8217;t think the deal can get done in June, July, August, and the three weeks in September, and advocated longer time.  Chris Loreti complained that the Board of Selectmen did not report on this in a timely fashion.  Harry McCabe is opposed because he does not think it is fair. \u00c2\u00a0John Maher very eloquently made the point that the manager&#8217;s home rule petition, were it to ever go forward, would not decrease the coverage for employees &#8211; it only decreases the costs, as determined by a mutually chosen actuary.  He rebutted the notion that this vote could be an unfair labor practice.  Mike Healey doesn&#8217;t like the manager&#8217;s words because it implies that Town Meeting would do something in the future.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">His statement understated what the resolution was. \u00c2\u00a0It&#8217;s an explicit deadline, with a threatened action if the deadline is not met. \u00c2\u00a0There&#8217;s no &#8220;implied&#8221; there at all. <\/span>Grant Cook noted there&#8217;s a deadline here whether we vote for it or not, because of the pending budget issues. A vote to terminate debate failed 94-66. \u00c2\u00a0I gave a <a href=\"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/gic_speech.pdf\">speech<\/a>.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> I was fairly pleased with how my speech went. \u00c2\u00a0My points weren&#8217;t new to the debate, but I think I ordered and emphasized them differently, and I think that the meeting appreciated the insight that provided. <\/span>Gordon Jamieson talked about &#8220;Getting to Yes.&#8221;  Janice Weber read a letter from a resident in Precinct 13. \u00c2\u00a0 Andrew Fischer supports the Huges amendment.  There was a question about health insurance reimbursement accounts.   Annie LaCourt supported the manager&#8217;s main motion. \u00c2\u00a0She talked about her support of unions and why we had to get the deal done. Kevin Koch has never seen a unanimous vote of the unions, and suggested to leave the deadline in the motion in order to keep things moving along. \u00c2\u00a0 Judith Phelps notes that Arlington has been forbidden from, and has agreed not to, propose articles to town meeting that would diminish benefits without previous union agreement, and is opposed to the article. \u00c2\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">I think her point is moot &#8211; the proposal would <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">increase<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> benefits, so there is no conflict with that past decision.<\/span> Charlie Foskett moves to terminate debate, approved by voice vote. The Hughes amendment (to remove the deadline) fails on voice vote.  The manager&#8217;s resolution was substituted by a vote of 126-37. \u00c2\u00a0The resolution was then approved on voice vote.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting was adjourned. \u00c2\u00a0Al Tosti gave notice of reconsideration on articles 55-58.<\/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":[2,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arlington","category-town-meeting-10"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","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=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":811,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions\/811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}