Tonight is the first night off from Town meeting, but in many ways, it still feels like it is continuing. There are a few decisions that seem to have drawn the ire some residents, and there are a lot of words going back and forth on the Arlington List and other local media. Although the meeting is over, I will take a few lines to explain my votes on these items.
Leaf Blowers: I voted for having a summer moratorium on gas powered leaf blowers. There were several reasons put forward regarding noise, exhaust, blown toxins, and the lack of the above in opposition. I was very turned off by the "this is my town - do it my way" arguments made by a couple of speakers. In the end, I was drawn to the proposal where the blowers are allowed during the peak leaf and lawn clearing seasons, but not allowed during the summer months, where they are mostly used to clear mowing debris off hard surfaces. This is also the time of year when windows are likely to be open, exacerbating issues with noise and blown dust. Using a broom 20 times over the summer in exchange for a more peaceful environment is a fair trade to me.
Football Helmets: I voted against having the town (as opposed to the schools) pay for football helmets. The school department had already agreed to pay almost the full amount requested in the initial warrant article. The substitute motion would have doubled the appropriation with all the money going to one school sport. On principle, I opposed the article, because I think it is bad policy to start funding specific school costs from the general town budget. In future, we could be asked to fund lab equipment, art supplies, or any other cost that parents feel is not being appropriately funded by the school department. I agree with the proponent that this is a serious matter in need of immediate action. I just don't think this is a matter for the town; it should remain with the schools.
Mass Ave Corridor: I opposed both articles intended to slow or stop the Mass Ave project. I thought revoking the eminent domain granted last year was a poor way to try and derail the road project, as it has no direct was of doing that. All it would do is lead to poorly constructed sidewalks without curb cuts for the elderly and disabled. I was also taken aback by the assertions that I didn't know what I was doing then, so I should vote differently now. I knew the facts then, and I know them now, and I will not change that vote. I was also opposed to putting a non-binding question on the ballot. As was stated on the floor, if the article passed, the vote would not come up until next spring, and the project could very well be underway by then, rendering such a vote moot at best and disruptive at the worst. The wording used for these questions need to be carefully and evenly stated. The proponent's language about trading the historic character by reducing to 3 lanes could easily have read changing the archaic character by increasing the width to a modern five lanes. Both statements are factually correct depending on your point of view. However, I hope we can agree that the outcome could be quite different depending on which question you put before the voters.
If anything else was controversial, I have likely blocked it from my mind. I'm just glad to be home, paying my bills, catching up on life, and looking forward to getting back some sleep.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Eight
We're Done! I really didn't see how we would get there, but we finished all the articles and dissolved a little before 11:30. I'd like to express my appreciation for all the good work done by the members, the town officials, and especially, the moderator. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We started with a rousing singing of "God Bless America" and "The Star Spangled Banner", led by Mr Greeley and some group of singers - I didn't catch the name. (It seemed to be mostly made up of town officials.) We started with a vote to keep the Gibbs School under the management of the Town Manager until 2017. Next was a positive vote to place extra money from the special education budget into a reserve account against a future year where there may be a deficit.
After discussing the best way to encourage coordination between various town committees and non-profits to promote Arlington's historic legacy, we voted to approve funds to start a signage campaign. We also approved a separate amount for the Uncle Sam committee. We approved appropriations for the Harry Barber community service program, pension adjustments, post employment benefits, the overlay reserve, the long term stabilization fund, and the tip fee stabilization fund. We approved a transfer to the cemetery commission and use free cash to offset the tax rate.
There was a very good presentation about the need to replace football helmets with safer, newer models. The issue was whether the town should separately appropriate $25K after the school department had appropriated $22K for the same purpose. There was a lot of confusion over why a substitute motion was filed to essentially double the amount of the initial request. We voted down the additional request substitute motion and adopted the recommended no action position. I felt this was a matter for the school department anyway. We also voted no action on senior center furniture funding, a flood study (Selectmen are working on it), and a GIS study of affordable housing.
We also had two votes related to the Mass Ave corridor project. The first was an attempt to institute a substitute motion to rescind the eminent domain approved last year to replace sidewalks in East Arlington in conjunction with the project. The two presentations by the supporters claimed that we were misled last year into making an incorrect decision, and we need to stop the Mass Ave project until changes are made. Having served last year, I knew exactly what I voted for, and judging by the 132-40 vote against adopting the substitute motion, many others felt the same way. The second substitute motion was to put a non-binding question on the ballot asking whether Mass Ave should be reduced to three lanes. I felt the presentation in favor didn't make a strong case. We were repeatedly told that the town was divided 15-1 against this project, but again, the meeting voted strongly against the substitute motion. In both cases, the votes reverted to no-action, and were dismissed.
We had a vote to adjourn defeated, since there were only four articles left. We had no action votes on an over-age officer candidate and use of outside council. We had single pro-con presentations on a resolution in opposition to the Citizens United case. The final vote was 190-42 in favor of the resolution. We then went back to approve putting funding in place for future collective bargain agreements; the agreements have to be approved by town meeting anyway. We then dissolved the meeting and headed home.
We started with a rousing singing of "God Bless America" and "The Star Spangled Banner", led by Mr Greeley and some group of singers - I didn't catch the name. (It seemed to be mostly made up of town officials.) We started with a vote to keep the Gibbs School under the management of the Town Manager until 2017. Next was a positive vote to place extra money from the special education budget into a reserve account against a future year where there may be a deficit.
After discussing the best way to encourage coordination between various town committees and non-profits to promote Arlington's historic legacy, we voted to approve funds to start a signage campaign. We also approved a separate amount for the Uncle Sam committee. We approved appropriations for the Harry Barber community service program, pension adjustments, post employment benefits, the overlay reserve, the long term stabilization fund, and the tip fee stabilization fund. We approved a transfer to the cemetery commission and use free cash to offset the tax rate.
There was a very good presentation about the need to replace football helmets with safer, newer models. The issue was whether the town should separately appropriate $25K after the school department had appropriated $22K for the same purpose. There was a lot of confusion over why a substitute motion was filed to essentially double the amount of the initial request. We voted down the additional request substitute motion and adopted the recommended no action position. I felt this was a matter for the school department anyway. We also voted no action on senior center furniture funding, a flood study (Selectmen are working on it), and a GIS study of affordable housing.
We also had two votes related to the Mass Ave corridor project. The first was an attempt to institute a substitute motion to rescind the eminent domain approved last year to replace sidewalks in East Arlington in conjunction with the project. The two presentations by the supporters claimed that we were misled last year into making an incorrect decision, and we need to stop the Mass Ave project until changes are made. Having served last year, I knew exactly what I voted for, and judging by the 132-40 vote against adopting the substitute motion, many others felt the same way. The second substitute motion was to put a non-binding question on the ballot asking whether Mass Ave should be reduced to three lanes. I felt the presentation in favor didn't make a strong case. We were repeatedly told that the town was divided 15-1 against this project, but again, the meeting voted strongly against the substitute motion. In both cases, the votes reverted to no-action, and were dismissed.
We had a vote to adjourn defeated, since there were only four articles left. We had no action votes on an over-age officer candidate and use of outside council. We had single pro-con presentations on a resolution in opposition to the Citizens United case. The final vote was 190-42 in favor of the resolution. We then went back to approve putting funding in place for future collective bargain agreements; the agreements have to be approved by town meeting anyway. We then dissolved the meeting and headed home.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Seven
I was a few minutes late to tonight's meeting; I was taking the kids to karate. I arrived during the continuation of the debate on leaf blowers. Although I missed the presentation of a second substitute motion, I agreed with its intent to limit leaf blower use the spring and fall when the need is greatest. I voted for this substitute motion and for the final motion. I think many of us were surprised when it passed 95-85 with only 71% voting.
We then moved on to article 40, the town budgets. There was a significant amount of discussion regarding the school budget. I asked about the street light budget, and the 20%+ savings projected for next year in both energy use and maintenance are due to the town's adoption of LED street lights and traffic signals. In the end, the budgets were approved unanimously. We adjourned with high hopes of finishing on Wednesday.
We then moved on to article 40, the town budgets. There was a significant amount of discussion regarding the school budget. I asked about the street light budget, and the 20%+ savings projected for next year in both energy use and maintenance are due to the town's adoption of LED street lights and traffic signals. In the end, the budgets were approved unanimously. We adjourned with high hopes of finishing on Wednesday.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Six
Welcome to the end of week three. We picked up with our discussion regarding rubbish collection. The proposal was to require leftover garbage on the curb be removed before 9:00pm that day. There were two amendments intended to extend that period in case trash pickup was delayed or skipped. In the end we went with the more succinct language extending the period to 9:00pm the day after normal pickup. This was the final action of the special town meeting, which was then adjourned.
The next item was an attempt to reconsider article 32 regarding merging town departments. The proponent felt that by agreeing to accept the report, we were starting down the consolidation path, and he wanted to prohibit further research on this topic until it could be acted upon by Town Meeting next year. The vote did not meet the threshold, and the article remained closed.
The next three articles dealt with Minuteman Tech. The first was a request to the Minuteman retirement board to allow the town to repay the court judgement against it over a period of ten years rather than all at once. The is related to pension obligations based on the Minuteman pensions being overseen for a period of ten years in the 70's and early 80's. The superintendent stated his intention to support this request with the board. We then discussed whether to approve the school's operating budget. There was significant discussion about the inequalities inherent in the way Minuteman is administered; we have 30% of the students and costs, but only 6% of the voting power. It was proposed to cut the amount of money requested in protest, but since the other communities approved the budget, we were obligated to pay the full amount no matter what. We voted down the substitute motion and approved the allocation. The third item received no action.
The final topic of the night was gas-powered leaf blowers. The proposal is to ban them outright in town due to the noise levels and their tendency to blow whatever happens to be on the lawn onto adjacent properties. We'll pick this up next time
The next item was an attempt to reconsider article 32 regarding merging town departments. The proponent felt that by agreeing to accept the report, we were starting down the consolidation path, and he wanted to prohibit further research on this topic until it could be acted upon by Town Meeting next year. The vote did not meet the threshold, and the article remained closed.
The next three articles dealt with Minuteman Tech. The first was a request to the Minuteman retirement board to allow the town to repay the court judgement against it over a period of ten years rather than all at once. The is related to pension obligations based on the Minuteman pensions being overseen for a period of ten years in the 70's and early 80's. The superintendent stated his intention to support this request with the board. We then discussed whether to approve the school's operating budget. There was significant discussion about the inequalities inherent in the way Minuteman is administered; we have 30% of the students and costs, but only 6% of the voting power. It was proposed to cut the amount of money requested in protest, but since the other communities approved the budget, we were obligated to pay the full amount no matter what. We voted down the substitute motion and approved the allocation. The third item received no action.
The final topic of the night was gas-powered leaf blowers. The proposal is to ban them outright in town due to the noise levels and their tendency to blow whatever happens to be on the lawn onto adjacent properties. We'll pick this up next time
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Five
We started the night with the capital budget. After some discussion about several of the specific items, we passed the budget.
We then recessed the annual town meeting and opened a special town meeting to address several items that relate to this year's budgets and policies. We started by accepting the reports to the special town meeting. We approved reallocating the medical insurance savings from the change to GIC to cover collective bargaining agreements. We appropriated funds to cover the costs of emergency repairs to Minuteman Tech, the Community Safety Building, and energy efficiency improvements in town buildings. We voted down creating a separate fund to gather funds from energy rebates. We spent the rest of the evening discussing a new trash policy linked to the proposed waste disposal contract being negotiated by the town. The articles calls for removing garbage from the curb after 9:00pm if it isn't picked up. This will take a lot more time, as I believe it will become a discussion more about the trash policy than the actual article.
We then recessed the annual town meeting and opened a special town meeting to address several items that relate to this year's budgets and policies. We started by accepting the reports to the special town meeting. We approved reallocating the medical insurance savings from the change to GIC to cover collective bargaining agreements. We appropriated funds to cover the costs of emergency repairs to Minuteman Tech, the Community Safety Building, and energy efficiency improvements in town buildings. We voted down creating a separate fund to gather funds from energy rebates. We spent the rest of the evening discussing a new trash policy linked to the proposed waste disposal contract being negotiated by the town. The articles calls for removing garbage from the curb after 9:00pm if it isn't picked up. This will take a lot more time, as I believe it will become a discussion more about the trash policy than the actual article.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Four
Tonight, we got a fair amount done, but we left a lot of articles on the table for later. We started discussing the interest rate to be imposed on the elderly who opt to defer their property taxes. After defeating an amendment that would set the bottom rate at 4%, I voted with the majority to approve a rate without a lower cap. The expectation is that the number of seniors who are able to take advantage of this program may double due to the new rate and the loosening of the income criteria.
We approved no action on articles dealing with tax exemptions for the elderly, creation of a municipal finance department, and enactment of local option taxes. We tabled collective bargaining, town budgets, special education reserve fund, and historic signs so they could be presented by the correct people when we have more time. The articles related to Minuteman Tech were all postponed until May 9, when the superintendent will be available.
We voted to accept the report of the Town-School consolidation committee. I voted with the majority to approve the home-rule legislation to allocate wireless proceeds to open space maintenance. We approved the CDGB allocations, the revolving funds, positions re-classifications, and financing of sewer and water projects. We voted to approve the appropriations for committees and commissions, town celebrations, water bodies fund, and other miscellaneous expenses.
The last item of the night was a discussion regarding a proposed committee to discuss parking meters. Despite an early attempt to adjourn, we stayed in session until we could complete the discussion and vote. Monday will be a special town meeting, and we were eager to complete this article before we left. The substitute motion was approved, and the committee formed. We then adjourned until Monday.
We approved no action on articles dealing with tax exemptions for the elderly, creation of a municipal finance department, and enactment of local option taxes. We tabled collective bargaining, town budgets, special education reserve fund, and historic signs so they could be presented by the correct people when we have more time. The articles related to Minuteman Tech were all postponed until May 9, when the superintendent will be available.
We voted to accept the report of the Town-School consolidation committee. I voted with the majority to approve the home-rule legislation to allocate wireless proceeds to open space maintenance. We approved the CDGB allocations, the revolving funds, positions re-classifications, and financing of sewer and water projects. We voted to approve the appropriations for committees and commissions, town celebrations, water bodies fund, and other miscellaneous expenses.
The last item of the night was a discussion regarding a proposed committee to discuss parking meters. Despite an early attempt to adjourn, we stayed in session until we could complete the discussion and vote. Monday will be a special town meeting, and we were eager to complete this article before we left. The substitute motion was approved, and the committee formed. We then adjourned until Monday.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Three
We made some real progress tonight. We started by finishing the discussion about accessory apartments. I was glad to see both amendments, limiting the apartments to seniors and affordable housing, defeated. However, I was on the losing side of the defeat of the original article.
There was some excitement as Mr. Greeley took Mr. Loreti to task over comments he made regarding the Board of Selectmen. He had indicated that there was a culture of exchanging favors and downplaying proposals to change the bylaws. Mr. Greeley rose to defend the honor of the Selectmen, pointing a warning finger and shouting. What great fun!
There were many articles passed tonight to make minor changes to keep the bylaws up-to-date. We passed requiring recording of testimony in 40B hearings, normalizing the wording in the human resources regulations, remove the police chief from historic district enforcement, update outdated provisions, and normalizing the spelling of certain street names. We agreed to have newspaper bins re-certified each year to eliminate abandoned bins.
We voted "no action" on several articles. This happens when there is no approved language to put forward on an article. Those articles dealt with submission of meeting minutes, adopting electronic voting immediately, allowing second water meters, allowing evening off-leash dog hours in parks, and establishing a building maintenance committee.
We also discussed several articles regarding the operation of Town Meeting. We agreed to keep the starting time of 8:00pm. I preferred to keep the speaking limit of 10 minutes, but the meeting voted to reduce the time to 7 minutes. We also agreed to form a committee to investigate electronic voting at Town Meeting.
We voted to table or postpone several articles as well. We tabled the article on municipal liens for school fees. We postponed discussions regarding leaf blowers, the disposition of the Gibbs School, and setting an interest rate for property tax deferrals.
Our final act of the night was to change the qualifications for property tax deferrals. The current procedure of having a fixed rate was changed in favor of adopting the state "circuit-breaker" limits. We almost didn't vote, because a motion to adjourn was presented right at 11:00. However, the moderator indicated there was only one speaker left on the list. The motion to dismiss was voted down, the last speaker passed, the article was adopted, and we adjourned - all within a couple of minutes.
There was some excitement as Mr. Greeley took Mr. Loreti to task over comments he made regarding the Board of Selectmen. He had indicated that there was a culture of exchanging favors and downplaying proposals to change the bylaws. Mr. Greeley rose to defend the honor of the Selectmen, pointing a warning finger and shouting. What great fun!
There were many articles passed tonight to make minor changes to keep the bylaws up-to-date. We passed requiring recording of testimony in 40B hearings, normalizing the wording in the human resources regulations, remove the police chief from historic district enforcement, update outdated provisions, and normalizing the spelling of certain street names. We agreed to have newspaper bins re-certified each year to eliminate abandoned bins.
We voted "no action" on several articles. This happens when there is no approved language to put forward on an article. Those articles dealt with submission of meeting minutes, adopting electronic voting immediately, allowing second water meters, allowing evening off-leash dog hours in parks, and establishing a building maintenance committee.
We also discussed several articles regarding the operation of Town Meeting. We agreed to keep the starting time of 8:00pm. I preferred to keep the speaking limit of 10 minutes, but the meeting voted to reduce the time to 7 minutes. We also agreed to form a committee to investigate electronic voting at Town Meeting.
We voted to table or postpone several articles as well. We tabled the article on municipal liens for school fees. We postponed discussions regarding leaf blowers, the disposition of the Gibbs School, and setting an interest rate for property tax deferrals.
Our final act of the night was to change the qualifications for property tax deferrals. The current procedure of having a fixed rate was changed in favor of adopting the state "circuit-breaker" limits. We almost didn't vote, because a motion to adjourn was presented right at 11:00. However, the moderator indicated there was only one speaker left on the list. The motion to dismiss was voted down, the last speaker passed, the article was adopted, and we adjourned - all within a couple of minutes.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night Two
Only one real vote tonight. After a long discussion, the proposal to allow the creation of a memorial park within certain Conservation Commission properties was defeated 95-75*. This was a proposal that I strongly supported. Arlington is quickly running out of space to lay our dead to rest. However, "not is my backyard" rules the day. There were many arguments about procedure and whether an appointed board should be allowed to make decisions about where the memorial park(s) could be located. Overall, the tone of the comments was very negative; no one had any alternatives about what to do. By law, we have to deal with this problem, and we are quickly running out of time.
We spent a fair amount of time discussing accessory apartments, but we adjourned before taking a vote. I spoke in favor of the article and against two proposed amendments. The amendments would limit the units to seniors and affordable rents. The presentations were, in my estimation, disingenuous because the proponents were asking the members to vote down the article whether they accepted the amendments or not. There was a mean-spirited tone to the presentations, repeated by other speakers, warning about the possibility of others moving into our single-family districts. Those others would bring children and cars and other things no one wants. I tried to point out the problems with the amendments and make a case that many issues expressed with the article, have nothing to do with the article. Who lives in a house, how many cars they have, whether the house is too big for the lot, and the lack of affordable housing are all issues that exist today and have nothing to do with this article. I fear that this article, like most of the presentations by the Redevelopment Board, will be voted down Monday night.
* It was sad to see that only 170 of the 254 members, only 2/3 of the full meeting, stayed to vote on this article. We all took an oath to come to meeting; how come 1 in 3 don't bother to participate?
We spent a fair amount of time discussing accessory apartments, but we adjourned before taking a vote. I spoke in favor of the article and against two proposed amendments. The amendments would limit the units to seniors and affordable rents. The presentations were, in my estimation, disingenuous because the proponents were asking the members to vote down the article whether they accepted the amendments or not. There was a mean-spirited tone to the presentations, repeated by other speakers, warning about the possibility of others moving into our single-family districts. Those others would bring children and cars and other things no one wants. I tried to point out the problems with the amendments and make a case that many issues expressed with the article, have nothing to do with the article. Who lives in a house, how many cars they have, whether the house is too big for the lot, and the lack of affordable housing are all issues that exist today and have nothing to do with this article. I fear that this article, like most of the presentations by the Redevelopment Board, will be voted down Monday night.
* It was sad to see that only 170 of the 254 members, only 2/3 of the full meeting, stayed to vote on this article. We all took an oath to come to meeting; how come 1 in 3 don't bother to participate?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
2012 Town Meeting - Night One
Tonight was the first night of the 2012 Town Meeting! We stumbled through the swearing in - the revised oath did not match what was shown on the screen. Mr. Greeley's State of the Town Address was humorous and somewhat poignant.
The process of receiving reports from the various town committees started with Selectmen, Finance, Redevelopment, Zoning Review and one other report submitted. Elsie Fiore was elected as the Measurer of Wood and Bark, taking over the position formerly held by John FitzMaurice. Jim O’Conor was elected as Assistant Town Moderator.
We made it through three articles of substance tonight, all from the Redevelopment Board. The first changed the definition a sign to remove wording that previously had categorized public art as a sign, as it was "designed to attract the eye." After a short debate, I voted in the majority to change the language.
The second article proposed to create a mixed-use category to be available in certain business districts by special permit. The initial presentation by the board was reasonable, but the opposition was more persuasive with what I felt was a very disingenuous presentation of worst-case scenarios. An amendment was presented to apply the proposed change to all business districts. I voted in favor, but it was not adopted. Again, I voted in favor of the article, but it was not approved by town meeting.
Articles pertaining to accessory apartments and memorial parks were tabled (too little time remaining), so we moved on to an article seeking to clarify the language in the bylaws to allow "promotional" historic signs. The previous language included a few inconsistencies with regards to historic signs, and the article sought to correct those problems. After a short debate, I voted with the majority to make the change in language.
We adjourned shortly before 11:00, and we are scheduled to reconvene Wednesday at 8:00.
The process of receiving reports from the various town committees started with Selectmen, Finance, Redevelopment, Zoning Review and one other report submitted. Elsie Fiore was elected as the Measurer of Wood and Bark, taking over the position formerly held by John FitzMaurice. Jim O’Conor was elected as Assistant Town Moderator.
We made it through three articles of substance tonight, all from the Redevelopment Board. The first changed the definition a sign to remove wording that previously had categorized public art as a sign, as it was "designed to attract the eye." After a short debate, I voted in the majority to change the language.
The second article proposed to create a mixed-use category to be available in certain business districts by special permit. The initial presentation by the board was reasonable, but the opposition was more persuasive with what I felt was a very disingenuous presentation of worst-case scenarios. An amendment was presented to apply the proposed change to all business districts. I voted in favor, but it was not adopted. Again, I voted in favor of the article, but it was not approved by town meeting.
Articles pertaining to accessory apartments and memorial parks were tabled (too little time remaining), so we moved on to an article seeking to clarify the language in the bylaws to allow "promotional" historic signs. The previous language included a few inconsistencies with regards to historic signs, and the article sought to correct those problems. After a short debate, I voted with the majority to make the change in language.
We adjourned shortly before 11:00, and we are scheduled to reconvene Wednesday at 8:00.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
OK, this blog was intended to be a record of my experiences in Town Meeting: somewhat as a log of events and also as a way to let others know how I voted on various articles before the meeting. Well, three years have gone by, and I have yet to post anything. I am up for reelection on April 10, and I want to give some indication of what my three years on Town Meeting has been about.
My plan is to post three annual synopsis of my votes based on the notes I took at the time. I will provide commentary as best I can, where I can. In this way, I hope to let you know more about my views, and hopefully encourage you to support my reelection.
I'm asking for your vote.
My plan is to post three annual synopsis of my votes based on the notes I took at the time. I will provide commentary as best I can, where I can. In this way, I hope to let you know more about my views, and hopefully encourage you to support my reelection.
I'm asking for your vote.
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