2023 Annual Town Meeting - Night Five

Welcome to Night Five. Due to technical issues, the start of the meeting was delayed by twenty minutes. We were all happy to chat while additional cables were run. There was a sense of relief when the connection to the Satellite Room was restored. The Moderator called us to order, noting, "It has been that kind of night."

The Moderator had a few comments before we started. The Moderator's job is to moderate the discussion and be a moderating force. That is the most serious part of the job. Unchecked passions are the danger.  Maintaining decorum is very important.  Members are reminded to refrain from cheering, booing, or intimidating during open debate.  He watched last week's debate on artificial turf, and he emphasized that our debate will not be run that way.  Calling into question people's motives are right out.  The Moderator reminded everyone that only he gets to call on people.  He will take no position on artificial turf, but he does on how we conduct the discussion.  Our responsibility is to embody and transfer the will of the voters to the laws of the town.  We were cautioned to consider our words carefully.

Mr. Helmuth, Chair of the Select Board thanked the Moderator for wise words, and he hoped we heed them.  He moved that should the business of the meeting not be completed tonight, we will adjourn to Wednesday.  The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

The Moderator called for the test vote.  Today's question was whether the members agreed with the statement "I support free speech for people I disagree with."  The Moderator reminded the members that there will be a record of how they voted.  The question was endorsed 202-13.

Mr. Helmuth played the National Anthem.  The Moderator called for announcements and resolutions.  TMM Foskett asked that Paul Buckley, a resident of the town be allowed to address the meeting.  As president of the local Rotary Club, his organization is organizing the annual Flags for Heroes display.  It has been at the Park Circle Water Tower since the start of the AHS rebuild.  People interested in supporting the project can sponsor a flag for $40.  A flag can be dedicated for up to two people, and the proceeds go towards scholarships at local schools.  The flags are displayed Memorial Day to Flag Day.  We were encouraged to go to www.arlingtonmarotary.com for more information.

TMM Maher noted his appreciation for the Moderator's words.  This is his 48th year on Town Meeting.  He is the director of the Symmes Memorial Fund, which is the successor to the Symmes Medical Use Fund.  They are able to grant around $50K per year for local needs.  For more information, please contact TMM Maher.

TMM Jones announced that June 24 is Prince Hall Day in Arlington.  The date commemorates a speech Prince Hall had delivered in Arlington.  There will be a celebration at the Mason Hall featuring a talk by Rosemarie Smurzynski on June 24.  The annual holiday was approved by Town Meeting 2021 through the efforts of TMM Melofchik.  There were no other announcements or resolutions.

TMM Deshler, Chair of the Finance Committee moved to take Article 3 from the table.  The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.  Allen Reedy, Chair of the town's Permanent Building Committee moved that their report be accepted.  He noted that the full report is available on the town website.  The committee was created by Town Meeting to oversee major construction projects undertaken by the town.  They currently have two major projects, the Community Center and the Town (DPW) Yard.  (The AHS Rebuild has its own separate committee.)  The Community Center in the old Central School building is a $9M project.  It included renovation to first three levels.  The building has been occupied for a year while the contractor is performing final closeout tasks.  The Town Yard / Municipal Services complex includes renovations to four historic buildings and the construction of several new buildings along Grove Street.  The $47M project includes extensive site work.  It is the future home for the DPW, ISD, IT, and Facilities.  It has been a difficult site to work.  It is the former site of a coal gasification plant, now contaminated with hazardous materials and heavy metals.  They are unearthing something new every day while trying to deliver the project relatively on time and as close to on budget as possible.  The are now starting to renovate the oldest buildings, so there is some concern over what they might encounter.  Mr. Reedy expressed the committee's appreciation for our support for these projects.  There being no other reports, TMM Deshler moved to put Article 3 back on table.  The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

The leadership team from Minuteman High School is present this evening to present their budget under Article 44.  TMM Deshler moved that Articles 30-43 be laid upon the table.  The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.  TMM Deshler presented that the Finance Committee report is recommending $8.9M be approved for the Town's share of Minuteman operations.  TMM Ruderman, Arlington's member on the Minuteman School Committee noted that this is a nine town regional school district, and he has been our representative for the past three years.  The full report is available on the town's webpage.  The school district sought to save funds by not printing copies of the report for all the member towns.  He introduced the new Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Dawson who started at the end of last year.  She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, with a Masters degree from Harvard and a PhD from UPenn.  He can answer questions, as can the superintendent and the finance director.

Dr. Dawson, presented a high level review of the budget.  Her focus is on improving teaching and learning.  This year's request is a 4.5% increase over last year in support of a 6% increase in costs.  Arlington's share is $7.1M towards education, with the rest supporting the debt service on the school rebuild.  Dr. Dawson noted that shifts in enrollments were impacting fees.  She is proposing to add three teachers.  She noted that 10.3% of the school's budget is grant funded.  The schools obligations to fully support its pensions requires an increase in funding for that purpose.  She recommended approval of this budget.

TMM Mandal offered a warm welcome to Dr. Dawson and to parents of Minuteman students.  Arlington residents are very passionate about Minuteman.  She is concerned about recent developments at the school.  She has submitted a letter, but she won't discuss it tonight (The Moderator asked not to discuss what you're not going to discuss, and only discuss what you’re going to discuss.)  She asked if there was any comment regarding any administrative changes due to parental feedback.  Dr. Dawson (The Moderator asked if this was a budget question.)  TMM Mandal said she had received information over the weekend.  As the budget was being presented, she wanted to know whether the Superintendent anticipated any changes that might impact the budget.  An example would be outreach to hire new staff.  Dr. Dawson said she was unclear on the question.  TMM Mandal started rephrasing her question when she was called out of scope.  She asked if the school would be looking for new administrator.   Dr. Dawson indicated the presented budget meets all the staffing needs of the school, including a search committee.  TMM Mandal said Arlington loves its teachers, and she has some concerns about the recent no confidence vote.  Does the Superintendent have any concerns about her ability to negotiate with the unions?  TMM Ruderman is a member of the negotiation subcommittee.  They have concluded contract negotiations within the last month.  They are "done and dusted."  TMM Mandal asked about enrollment numbers, and asked about the wait list.  Dr. Dawson said it was too early to address at this time.  Currently, Arlington has 46 acceptances with an additional 6 students on wait list.  That is likely going to change as more students finalize their plans.  Enrollment from other towns is increasing. (The Moderator thanked the member for her "tour around the borders of scope.")  TMM Kaepplein said that in the past, there had been a better opportunity to learn about what the school does, but that was missing this year.  He asked whether the Superintendent could speak to differences between what Minuteman offers versus what Arlington Public Schools could provide for vocational training.  Dr. Dawson said the current budget sets up for a responsible future budget.  She looks forward to collaborating with all public schools.  Minuteman just hosted classes from the Arlington Public Schools,  TMM Kaepplein noted that enrollment is up 10%, but the budget is up 20%.  Dr. Dawson noted that most of the teacher salaries (2/3 of staff) are on the top tier of the salary scale.  Nikki Andrade, the Assistant Business Manager said that costs for new hires, new contracts, and consumables were all up.  TMM Kaepplein asked about the costs for recruitment and for replacing teachers and the principal.  Dr. Dawson said she had an internal team for recruitment and retention.  They post vacancies, but do not plan on conducting a national search.  They expect the open positions to be filled soon.  TMM Hamlin moved to terminate debate.  The motion was seconded and motion failed on a voice vote:  "The no’s have it."

TMM Carme asked whether there were any pending lawsuits or liabilities (The Moderator asked how this relates to the budget.)  She said those costs will need to be accounted for in the budget.  Dr. Dawson said there is no current litigation.  She could not comment on other possible legal issues on the advice of counsel.  TMM Orfanos had been looking into the financials.  You can have no great schools without great teachers.  However, the faculty held a unanimous vote of no confidence.  We need to open a passionate debate.  What is the financial impact of this vote by the staff?  She discussed the financial impact with TMM Ruderman.  It was an historic vote, leading to four 4 resignations.  When asked how those staff members will be replaced, TMM Ruderman responded with four words, "they will be replaced."  There are 9 open positions between teachers and the principal.  The costs of replacement can be very high.  The cost of the vacancies is critical.  TMM Orfanos asked whether the Superintendent was aware of financial implications?  Turnover can negatively impact morale.  (Calls to stay in scope)  How does the student walkout effect enrollment  (The Moderator called for order.)  How does no confidence impact recruitment?  Too many questions are before us about the budget.  We don't want to send good money after bad policy.  (The Manager reminded the members to address all questions to the Moderator, and he will decide who will address the questions.  The Moderator is here to moderate.)  TMM Tosti noted a hard act to follow.  He was looking at a nice chart last week.  It included all schools and per person costs, but he could not submit it to the Manager for display during the debate.   Minuteman is the most expensive vocational school in state at $34K/student.  Greater Lawrence only costs $31K/student, and others are all lower.  We need great schools, but also affordable schools.  What can Minuteman do to reduce these costs?  Dr. Dawson admitted Minuteman is "one of the highest", but continued that they also have one of the highest staff budgets, since most teachers are on the top salary step.  She could only lower assessments by lowering staff salaries.  She doesn't have any current plans to address this issue.  She concluded that 77% of the budget goes towards towards employees.

TMM Heigham said she is critical of Minuteman because of the per student cost.  She asked whether all programs have the same cost per student?  Do some programs need more money than others?  Dr. Dawson confirmed the funding is not equal as different programs have different needs.  The funding is equitable.  The different departments make their own requests for what support they need.  TMM Heigham asked whether more students are coming to the school to study the expensive subjects.  Dr. Dawson said incoming students not accepted by what they are interested in studying.  The first year is an exploration of all the options the school has to offer.  The only time they look at the distribution of students was when a student requests a change their selected program.  It doesn’t impact the budget. TMM Heigham noted a previous preference for higher achieving students.  Can the school look into true vocational pathways.  In the past, it looked like computer science and robotics candidates were preferred.  Vocational schools used to be school-to-work programs.  Now, they seem to be more school-to-college.

TMM Schlichtman was on the Minuteman School Committee back in 1997-2001.  He asked how many individual towns need to approve the budget before it is approved?   Dr. Dawson confirmed that was six of nine.  TMM Schlichtman asked if that threshold had been achieved, and the Superintendent said it had.  TMM Schlichtman noted that this budget is approved no matter what we do, so let’s just approve it.  (The Moderator asked no to cast aspersions on other towns.)  The only thing before Town Meeting  is approving the budget amount put forward by the Finance Committee or not. Minuteman is now a good school with a wait list.  Per the state's school reform act, employment is solely at discretion of the Superintendent.  That covered the four corners of the issue.  (The Moderator commented that "four corners" implies flat Euclidean space, but he won't hold that against the speaker.)  TMM Greenspon said as a physicist would debate whether that was true, but he moved to terminate debate instead.  The Moderator denied the motion, since he had commented first, even if it was just a joke.  Debate must continue.

TM Logan rose to introduce a resident.  (There was notice that members in the balcony were having trouble hearing to speakers.  It was different from earlier days.)  Claudia Annette, parent of a Minuteman student was surprised at the things going on at the school.  She was wondering how this might effect the projected number of students entering Minuteman.  Parents talked about how culture was so beneficial in the past.  She does not know if the numbers are still correct.  She has advised parents to consider the school, but she is not sure how that will look once people know about the ongoing issues.  She didn't think we were ready to discuss the real budget.  We might be talking abut feelings, but those feelings affect the number of students attending the school.  TMM Granucci, moved to terminate debate.  The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.  The main motion on the Minuteman budget passed 203-20.  TMM Ruderman thanked Town Meeting for its support.  We started our break.

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Back from break, the Moderator was reminded that budgets are presented in tables, which literally are rectangles.  The "four corners" remark made earlier was appropriate.  (We're getting a little punchy.)

TMM Deshler, moved to take Article 12 from the table.  The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.  TMM Helmuth noted the Select Board strongly encourages support for their vote of no action.  The Town has bodies that deal with these issues.  They are confident that the process has been fair and balanced an inclusive.  The potential hazards are real, and the science is evolving.  There is no full agreement on the risks.  The best policy is not a blanket moratorium, but site-by-site analysis by the Town to determine the best approach for each location.  He trusts the current process and supports town staff.  He urges the meeting to support the recommended vote of no action.  (The Moderator noted we have more amendments to this one article than some towns have articles on their warrant.)  TMM Melofchik introduced her substitute motion to implement a moratorium and establish a study committee to be in effect until a report is filed at or before the 2025Annual Town Meeting.  Artificial turf fields use crumb rubber as a loose infill.  It is a dangerous material, containing toxins.  The materials contain PFAS, a class of persistent, bio-accumulative chemicals. The existing artificial turf field at Arlington Catholic sheds 480 lbs of particles are shed every year.  These chemicals are hormone interrupters.  There are no safe levels.  The recommended maximum exposure is 4 ppt.  The chemicals leach off fields into waterways.  The fields contribute to climate change.  They shed microplastics.  They are not recycled in the US.  It is a disposal nightmare.  There could be huge liabilities.  Four states, including Massachusetts are looking at banning artificial turf.   TMM Melofchik asked members to vote yes on her substitute, but vote no on the other substitute and amendments.  Plastic fields are not safe.  She said her group has brought the science to the members.  They did it for us.  There are no artificial turf products that do not contain PFAS.

The Moderator interjected that he would allow some commentary regarding motions not yet presented.  This would not usually be his practice.  TMM Melofchik move her substitute motion, which was seconded.  TMM Vakil said he had been researching the material, and he had learned many things.  PFAS are really bad.  He threw out his non-stick pans.  Incremental exposure is real, but small in scale.  Access to outdoor spaces where we can be active is more valuable than the danger of exposure.  He was looking to provide some clear guidance with a path forward.  He encouraged voting against the substitute motion, or a positive vote with his amendment.  He moved acceptance of the motion, which was seconded.  (The Moderator said he would be following the Ross Rule for considering and ordering amendments.  This starts with broad strokes, moving towards finer detail.  It is named after Bob Ross, the famed television painter.)  TMM Greenspon presented his amendment.  The Belmont Hill School (BHS) has pulled out of negotiations with the town.  Poets Corner is in very poor repair.  The former landfill is not properly capped.  He is not sure what the Archdiocese will do with their land.  Maybe the Town could purchase it.  He doesn’t want a moratorium to stop pursuing a possible development.  A blanket ban could be bad.  The Conservation Commission would weigh in anyway.  He is not sure about moratorium, so his amendment would allow the Town to proceed with negotiations.  The Town should be prepared should this land proposal move forward. His amendment was moved and seconded.

TMM Schlichtman rose to present his amendment.  Last week, in Town Hall, two groups were sharply divided and presented very different narratives.  (There was another reference to topography, and the Moderator noted that he has the authority and ability to make policy.  The speaker offered trapezoids as a possible alternative, and the Moderator agreed to allow it.  You kind-of had to be there...)  Our playing fields lack well maintained grass.  Our responsibility as we approve budgets is to consider the best options for our constituents.  Artificial turf has its uses, including capping a toxic site behind AHS.  This site is excepted from the original substitute.  The Town can set specifics,.  That might not be in scope this evening.  His amendment proposes reducing the period for the study committee and moratorium to one year, until the 2024 Town Meeting.  The committee would come with a report, which would allow for the preparation of articles and budgets.  The majority of town is between banning artificial turf and allowing its unregulated use.  Please vote yes on his amendment.  The amendment was moved and seconded.

TMM Pagliasotti introduced her amendment whereby all study committee members proposed by the Melofchik substitute motion would be made voting members.   (The Moderator noted that if members are clicking in now to be added to the speaker list, given the length of the list, you will not likely be called to speak until after the expiration of the Schlichtman amendment.)  TMM Pagliasotti noted that the ex-officio and non voting members added to the committee in the substitute motion have critical expertise, and they must be part of the voting.  Her amendment was moved and seconded.

TMM Dennis moved that his two amendments be received.  They were seconded.  He sees the substitute motion as having three flaws.  First, denying voting to some committee members builds inequity.  The committee must be more inclusive.  The Pagliasotti amendment leaves an even number of members on the committee.  The Dennis (#1) amendment removed one member, so it is an odd number.  The chair, who is assigned by the Moderator, must be neutral.  The Dennis (#2) acknowledges that the committee must not just look at problems, but also look into best practices.  The moratorium is an issue.  Without further development, Poets Corner will remain an eyesore and the church will sell their land.  TMM Dennis supports the Greenspon amendment as a symbolic statement.  Not all the communities noted to have banned artificial turn have actually done so.  Springfield and Belmont both have recently installed artificial turf.  Brookline has an Athletic Surface Task Force.  Many other communities are still installing artificial turf.  How did this get so complicated?  The proponents started with the moratorium.  The plan for a review committee came later.  We should approve the amendment, and vote down the substitute motion.  We can then come back in the fall with a better proposal.

TMM Benson proposed an alternate substitute motion with TMM Stamps.  In response to the BHC withdrawal, he noted there are no agreements or payments.  There are some arguments about Poets Corner, but this proposal is not about that; it is about artificial turf.  Putting poisons on the ground is not a good idea.  He moved his substitute motion, which was seconded.  This motion is similar to the Melofchik motion but better.  The committee will prepare a report for the 2024 town meeting.  The one-year moratorium exempts AHS athletic fields.  This motion was filed, because they went to the forum last week, and both sides were there talking across each other.  This needs to be a town meeting committee that is fair and balanced.  As representatives, we will know what to do.  This motion changes the composition of the committee to have seven voting members and two non-voting members.  The committee needs to talk together, so there will be no industry involvement, no lobbyists, and no legal involvement.  This will be the best committee for its composition.  It has conflict of interest rules.  The composition will allow the members to talk together rather against each other.  A field covered in rubber ... SCOPE.  That was the last of the proposals.


The Moderator explained that an article is like a platter you can stack things upon.  The two substitute motions are two plates on the platter. One of the plates has six saucers stacked on it.  That is the Melofchik substitute motion.  The other is the Benson / Stamps substitute motion.  The Moderator requested Mr. Pooler address the meeting.  TMM Weinstein had a Point of Order to object.  The Moderator said they had talked about it before, and it was his choice as moderator.  Mr. Pooler was glad to have found is town meeting button.  He hopes that it will make things go smoother.  The Town received written notice from BHS indicating they were pulling out of any projects at Poets Corner.  He hopes Town Meeting supports the Select Board.  TMM Weinstein again raised a Point of Order to object to Mr. Pooler addressing the meeting.  He said it was undemocratic, and he should have spoken during the Select Board's presentation.  The Moderator said Mr. Pooler wasn't there to debate.  He would provide information regarding what would happen if the substitute motions were not adopted.  He asked when would Town Meeting want to hear from the Town Manager.  TMM Weinstein quipped "after we vote!"  The Moderator asked him to stop.  Mr. Pooler would be available for questions.

TMM Goldsmith, speaking with one month of experience on Town Meeting thought parents of children should do what they believe is best for their children.  We need to evaluate the options.  BHS was willing to pay good money.  The  Archdiocese wants to sell the land.  How attractive is the poorly capped landfill.  It is a sketchy site.  Arlington has a better hand to play  than we think.  He supports the Benson / Stamps substitute motion.  He thinks this will allow things to keep moving forward. A moratorium is an OK compromise.  We are the adults in the room, and we should be making the best decision.  TMM Weinstein apologized for his earlier outburst.  This is a stressful time.  The Moderator appreciated his apology.  TMM Weinstein appreciates everyone who put forward motions and amendments.  He commented on the other amendments.  The Vakil amendment makes the case for study committee for him.  It does not address precursor chemicals to PFAS.  EPA 537 only detects a portion of the dangerous chemicals.  It does not address all the other problems.  It will lead to increased stormwater issues.  Exposure is cumulative.  Artificial turf gets degraded over time, made smaller and inhale-able.  The  Pagliasotti amendment is not controversial.  It would make the non-voting members voting.  He thought this could make it more unbiased.  Dennis (#1) removes the ability of the study committee to choose its own chair.  A chair is imposed by the Town Moderator, which is very autocratic.  Dennis (#2) increases the scope of the committee to explore best practices for artificial turf, but not for natural grass.  This will lead to skewed results.  It changes the focus from looking at determining if turf is safe.  The Melofchik substitute motion is still the best.

The Moderator noted that being called autocratic didn’t sting as much as he thought it would.  TMM Bergman, as a proponent, wanted to explain why this is so important.  Artificial turf is personal.  He has been reading and studying.  All the chemicals are from one class and are regulated one-by-one.  When one is banned, the industry just tweaks the formula to have a new unregulated chemical.  There are now over 12K varieties.  We have grown up in a plastics era.  There was a cancer cluster in her neighborhood.  It became a superfund site. Her mother had five separate cancers,  Only a few friends have no cancers.  Chemicals similar to those in artificial turf were in that site.  This will only create new toxic sites.  There is new research daily.  There are no safe levels.  There are emerging clusters of cancers among goalies and baseball players.  Why ban plastic bags and bottles, only to install plastic over fields. She is disappointed and puzzled about why environmental leaders are seeking to cover fields in plastic.  She asks for a yes vote for the Melofchik substitute motion and no on the others. TMM Moore (C) said this is a moment in the history of understanding the science.  There are strong arguments on both sides, and we don’t know how to move with so many amendments.  (The Moderator compared them to a smorgasbord.)  He appreciates the work it took to get here.  What happens if we have no action vote?  Mr. Pooler said if that happened, it would be his intention to appoint a study committee.  The forum answered some questions, but posed several others.  The Town would form a Town Manager committee to perform a similar scope of research, look into testing, impacts, chemicals, health, environment, recreation use, lifecycle costs, and the feasibility of going organic.  The committee would report responses by the end of the year.  TMM Moore (C) said this was a sign that things are working.  Both sides have spoken, and he likes the Town Manager's proposal.  It has a mix of staff, committee members, and public residents.  It would follow a straight-forward path, not because the public isn’t heard, but because they are reflected in the town's proposal.

TMM Greenspon raised a Point of Order to ask if the main motion is divisible.  The Moderator said he will make that decision when it comes up.  TMM Hurd said he doesn't want to repeat what has been said at the hearing, but wants to reiterate a few points.  As a town meeting member and a select board member, he is always amazed at the environmental focus of the town.  He comes at this question as a parent with kids who play on the town's fields.  The state is researching this same question.  This is a state issue.  They have the resources to make a more informed decision.  State action levels the field for all athletes. There has been a devaluing of the need for sufficient playing fields for our children.  He has supported things that burden adults.  This would burden our children.  The main town sports organizations agreed to put forward a joint letter saying we need more fields.  His child has only played 2 of 7 games this year due to field closures.  It takes two days for the fields to dry at Poets Corner.  Imposing a moratorium is not fair to the kids.  Even with today's news, we may still have another proposal.  Please vote yes on the Dennis Amendments, but no on the main article.  TMM Hurd asked to bring forward a resident to speak.  Phil Lasker,  Chair of the Park and Recreation Commission said he was devastated that BHS has withdrawn from negotiations.  There are financial concerns.  The Commission opposes any ban or moratorium.  He believes natural turf will not solve the town's field access issues.  Artificial turf is the solution.  He thanked the user groups for their support. The Commission will continue to work with local residents, with BHC, and with the Archdiocese.  He thanked Joe Connelly, the Director of Recreation for his commitment to the town.  There is more information at the PRC website.

TMM Trembly had an experience a while ago, picking up an artificial turf field in Weston or Sudbury.  They bought a new field and the rainwater rubbed the crumb rubber out and field ... and the field floated away.  We haven't talked about the problem of the field floating away.  He would like to see the Town purchase the church land.  (The Moderator noted he was out of scope.)  He would like town to have natural turf to place snow upon in the winter.  (The Moderator asked if this was coming around to road salt.) (No, that is the DPW budget.)  TMM Kelleher passed.  There was a motion to adjourn.  The Moderator asked for notices of reconsideration.  There being none,the motion to adjourn was seconded and passed on a voice vote.