Reversal of Town Meeting votes

Several comments to this post have discussed the mechanism for reversal of a representative Town Meeting action. The basis for a reversal is Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 43A section 10 which says, in part,

"If, within said seven days, a petition, signed by not less than three per cent of the registered voters of the town, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the list of registered voters, is filed with the selectmen asking that the question or questions involved in such a vote be submitted to the registered voters of the town at large, then the selectmen, after the expiration of five days, shall forthwith call a special meeting for the sole purpose of presenting to the registered voters at large the question or questions so involved."

This section of MGL differs from the Town Charter section 2-15(b) which contains this requirement.

"If, within said eight days a petition, signed by not less than six per cent of the registered voters of the town, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the list of registered voters, is filed with the select board asking that the question or questions involved in such a vote be submitted to the registered voters of the town at large"

The General Laws and the Town Charter differ on several points as shown here...

... and throughout the applicable sections of the MGL and Town Charter. Which would prevail if an Town Meeting action was challenged and the differences brought to court is not clear.
A comment asked if a permanent list of voters could be filed with the Town Clerk in opposition to every appropriation by Town Meeting.

"I ask you to check with town counsel for a legal opinion, to see if a permanent number of town voters, willing to sign a permanent override petition with the required number of registered voters and to be kept at the town clerks officer allowing any tax payer, to obtain and file for an override on expenditure that exceed 200,000 thousand dollars and presented to the B.O.S.
If this can be done, than it should be done."

I have not consulted with Town Counsel (his advice is not free, there would be a cost associated with the request) and I am not an attorney, but it seems clear the language of both the MGL and Town Charter are talking about a petition which is intiated following a Town Meeting action and pertaining specifically to that action

"Each question so submitted shall be in the form of the following question, which shall be placed upon the official ballot:—“Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted (brief description of the substance of the vote and by what vote thereon if such vote was tabulated)?” If such petition is not filed within said period of seven days, the vote of the representative town meeting shall become operative and effective upon the expiration of said period."

What do you think? Tell us in comments Click here to read on!

Fall Town Meeting Warrant draft copy

The Fall Town Meeting Warrant is taking shape and articles are being formulated. A draft of the warrant can be found at this link. This is not the official warrant and is provided here for information only. The warrant will not be official until voted by the Select Board and published by the Town Clerk.What are your thoughts? Click here to read on!

Mr Lynam thinks we're nuts

Finance Committee member Greg Lynam had this letter in the Standard Times. At the root of the letter is a vote by the Select Board to set a target for the Stabilization Fund at 7.5% of the annual town budget. Mr. Lynam would prefer 10%. The Stabilization Fund has a current balance of about $5 million or 7.3% of the FY2011 budget. The town also has reserves of about $2.4 million in retained Undesignated General Fund balance which is another 3.5% of the budget. The Select Board feels the reserves are adequate, Mr. Lynam does not.
I have disagreed with the goal of 10% of the budget as a goal for the Stabilization Fund for some time now. I believe that 10% of the tax levy or a little more than $4 million would be adequate. Of course, one can easily concoct a myriad of scenarios where any amount that one chooses is not adequate. As I see it, the goal is to have enough money to satisfy bond rating agencies that we can weather an unexpected expense or temporary reductions in revenue. I think that 10% of the levy is enough. Opinions vary.
I was somewhat disappointed in the tenor of Mr. Lynam's opinion. We have a genuine difference of opinion on what constitutes adequate reserves. That does not make us, the Select Board, foolhardy, spendthrifts, or crazy. Despite Mr. Lynam's assertions, I am not aware that any Select Board member wants to go on a wild spending spree or even disagrees that one time revenue, such has been used to bolster the Stabilization Fund, should be used to supplement departmental operating budgets. My particular disagreements with Mr. Lynam extend beyond the amount of the Stabilzation Fund balance. Mr. Lynam correctly states that we have managed to build our reserves by shaving down the operating reserves that had been normally budgeted to departments. Which means that the amount of free cash available to fund the Stab Fund or capital needs has been shrinking. I think that we have gotten in the habit of funding operational needs from the capital budget. I also believe this is poor public policy. If the police department needs 3-4 cars every year to continue their mission (I believe that they do, ...

... they run these cars hundreds of thousands of miles in a year) or the school department needs textbooks and technology to stay current, then those items should be accounted for in the operating budgets. Cars definitely meet the criteria to be capital items in most circumstances, but patrol cars are a special case in my opinion. I would like to see 3-4 cars included in the police budget every year. Textbooks and technology are a bit harder to make the case for capital spending, but the Finance Committee and administration have gone along with the designation in recent years. Here is the problem with that scenario. Let us say that for period of a few years, the town does not have the one time cash to fund these items, police cars and textbooks. That means the police department and schools will have to do without the cars and books. Even if town revenues recover, the town is now faced with buying even more cars or books than would normally be the case since we had to forgo that spending in prior years. Not a good situation. Yet Mr. Lynam is an enthusiastic proponent of capital spending for textbooks. I do not think that makes him foolhardy, irresponsible or ill informed. We just differ on the policy.
I will address a couple more of Mr. Lynam's points. Mr. Lynam has not been an advocate of the wind turbine project. Regardless of his concerns, wind turbines have been shown to be reliable sources of energy and hence, revenue. While it is possible that a wind turbine would cost the town, the evidence would suggest that they will be trouble free and generate revenue for many years. That has been the experience in Hull and Portsmouth and many other places.
Lastly, Mr. Lynam hopes that Town Meeting will rein in the "foolhardy" and "irresponsible" Select Board. Well, good luck with that. Having just seen that body spend a million dollars for barn restorations in town despite recommendations from the Finance Committee not to fund them, I do not have a lot of confidence in the fiscal restraint of Town Meeting.
Finally, let me say that Greg Lynam is a fabulous asset to the Finance Committee and the town. His diligence and insight have been invaluable over the years. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for the countless hours he has devoted to understanding and quantifying the town fiscal situation. Mr. Lynam has shared his insights with me and allowed me to have a better understanding of the how and why of town finances. I could not have done it myself without devoting a tremendous amount of time to the effort. Mr. Lynam had done that work for me and was willing to share his knowledge. I thank him for that. On this issue, we have a disagreement. C'est la vie, n'est pas? Click here to read on!

Annual Town Meeting report

These are unofficial results. The Town Clerk will have the official results.
The warrant for the Town Meeting can be found at this link.
http://www.town.dartmouth.ma.us/Pages/DartmouthMA_Clerk/TMDocs/ATMwarrant060110.pdf
There was a quorum of 204 Town Meeting members to open the meeting. This number is a shame. There are over 360 elected representatives to the Town Meeting.

Article 1 was withdrawn
Article 2 CPC budget passed unanimously.
Article 3 CPC article $688K for Audobon Stone Barn project passed with 6 opposed.
Article 4 CPC article $75K to preserve town records passed unanimously.
Article 5 CPC article $46K to by land at Russel's Mill's Road northwest of the Paskamansett bridge passed with 5 opposed.

The regular Town Meeting was suspended and a Special Town Meeting commenced

The warrant for the Special Town Meeting can be found here.
http://www.town.dartmouth.ma.us/Pages/DartmouthMA_Clerk/TMDocs/STMwarrant060110.pdf
The first four articles were financial housekeeping and passed unanimously.
Article 5 transfered and designated the land between Southworth Libraray and Cushman school as a public park. It passed with 12 opposed.
Article 6 removed term limits for Waterways Commissioners and passed with two against.
Article 7 was amended to increase the printed amount and number of police radios to include 3 for the Emergency Response department. The total number of radios increased to 67 and the cost to $127K. It was accepted with 1 against.
Article 8 established a full day kindergarten stabilization fund and appropriated $50K to it from the school budget. It passed with 2 opposed.
The Special Town Meeting dissolved having completed all business and the annual Town Meeting resumed

Article 6 of the Annual Town Meeting CPC article $143K for Dartmouth Community Park created by article 5 of the Specila Town Meeting passed with 5 opposed
Atricle 7 CPC article for $30K agricultural restriction on the Dominican Sisters farm was withdrawn
Article 8 CPC article $300K for restoration work at the Dartmouth YMCA passed 180-24.
Article 9 funding the Town Clerk's salary passed with 3 opposed
Article 10 the FY2011 budget was passed over for the moment
Article 11 funding the Water Enterprise passed without opposition
Article 12 funding the Sewer Enterprise paseed unanimously
Article 13 funding the Waterways Enterprise passed unanimously
Article 14 Senoir Social Dat program funding passed with none opposed
Article 15 Solid Waste Enterprise passed. One in opposition
Article 10 approving the town FY2011 operating budget passed without opposition.
The Town meeting then adjourned for lunch
more after the jump

Article 16 transferred $272K to the school department for full day kindergarten startup costs.Two opposed
Article 17 provided $260K for an elevator and handicapped access to Cushman School passed, 4 opposed.
Article 18 allows parking lot resurfacing without Planning Board action. Passed with 1 against
Article 19 changing the parking requirements in the Waterways Overlay District passed without opposition
Article 20 allwoing 3 story buildings on Faunce Corner Road north 195 passed 141-36.
Article 21 creating a Municipal Wind turbine bylaw was passed over for the moment
Article 22 creating the position of Director of Development passed unanimously
Article 23 authorizing expenditure of funds previously appropriated for water supply exploration passed unaopposed
Article 24 on funding the Disabilities Commission was withdrawn.
Article 21 Municipal Wind Turbine bylaw passed 134-42 with the amendment that the turbines must be on town owned land, not leased land.
Article 25 petitioning the General Court for a Special Act creating the Lincoln Park Improvement district passed.
The Town Meeting having no other business adjourned and dissolved.

What do you think about the results?
There seemed to be little disgreement among the Town Meetin members in attendance. Do you have an complaints with the results.
Click here to read on!

Can you spell IRONY?

While currently suing the town, claiming that the process for granting Special Permits for municipal wind turbines is flawed, Ms. Nesto now wants the process retained. This is a link to her letter to the editor in the Standard Times. Isn't it ironic,...
...don't you think?
Her assertion that there are many possible sites for wind turbines is just not correct.
The municipal wind turbine bylaw being proposed requires the installations to meet all the conditions of the commercial wind turbine bylaw. The residential and commercial wind turbine bylaws will remain unchanged.
No, really, what do you think? Tell us in comments. Click here to read on!

Dartmouth Community Park

I have decided to support Article 6 in the Annual Town Meeting warrant, which is Community Preservation (CPC) funding for the Dartmouth Community Park between Cushman school and Southworth Library, and Article 5 of the Special Warrant which designates the area as a public park . Initially, I had concerns about the safety of school children if the park was open to the public. I am satisfied that access can be restricted sufficiently to provide security.
The park will also provide a bus circle that will allow the children to board buses more safely.
The use of CPC funds is restricted. See this link for details. However, I am not sure why the land is being designated to the park department since it seems from the CPC website that a school playground would be an allowed use of the fund. See this link (Fourth question under the heading of Recreation).
What I found was that public access to public lands is a complicated issue. The government can and does regulate the use of public land, such as parks. Generally, the courts have held that the public has a restricted right to use of those lands. It may be important, if there is a future challenge about the use, to clearly state how the town intends the land to be used. I am not sure that intention has been addressed to date. As I see it, unrestricted public access can occur during periods that the park is not in use for school purposes. I think in this case, a fair accommodation can be reached.
Update - Curt Brown's Standard Times article about the park can be found at this link
What are your thoughts? Click here to read on!

Annual Town Meeting info

The annual Town Meeting will take place at the Middle School on June 1, 2010 at 9AM.
The town budget summarized in Schedule A of the warrant can be found on the Town Clerk's webpage here. The Schedule A budget posted here is not official. Only the Town Clerk can issue official Town Meeting documents.
A draft copy of the warrant for the Town Meeting can be found here. Again this is not an official copy, only the Town Clerk can issue an official warrant.
I will vote against Articles 3,8 and 20 on this warrant and in favor of all the other articles.
I may also vote against Article 6 ...

... but I have some more research to do on that.
June 1 will also have a Special Town Meeting.
The draft warrant for that meeting is here. Again, unofficial, only the Clerk has the official warrant.
I will probably vote against Articles 5 and 8 on this warrant and in favor of the other articles. I have some more to find out about Articles 5 and 8 before making a final decision. Click here to read on!

New Library Director, Director of Develpoment hired.

At tonight's Select Board meeting, The Library Board of Trustees announced that they have hired a new Director of the Dartmouth Public Library, Jennifer Inglis. Ms. Inglis will assume her duties on April 22nd.
Also at tonight's meeting, Executive Administrator David Cressman announced the hiring of a Director Of Development, Deborah Melino-Wender. Ms. Melino-Wender will assist other departments in writing grants and was also appointed as Select Board representative to SRPEDD, the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District.
In other business, the Select Board endorsed a request by Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros for purchase of new document management software. Ms.Medeiros also addressed the need for additional staffing in the Clerk's office, While expressing sympathy for the dearth of staff, the Select Board stopped short of endorsing adding staff citing the need to look at the budget overall to ensure the affordability of added staff.
The Select Board voted to place an article on the Town Meeting warrant removing term limits for members of the Waterways Commission and to place an article adding a municipal wind turbine bylaw to the zoning bylaws. The Waterways Commission bylaw limits members to two consecutive terms. The new wind turbine bylaw would allow wind turbines, which meet all the criteria set out in the commercial wind turbine bylaw, on municipal lands as an as of right use (i.e the installation would not require a Special Permit). I will post the language of the proposed bylaw in the near future. The Planning Board will be asked to weigh in with their evaluation of the new bylaw before Town Meeting.
The Select Board appointed Selectman Mike Watson and Executive Administrator David Cressman to the Charter Review Commission ...

... and will ask the Finance Committee, School Committee, Planning Board and Town Meeting Moderator for appointments to the nine member body. Selectman Joe Michaud and Mr. Cressman were appointed to the Bylaw Review Committee. The Town Meeting Moderator will appoint two Town Meeting members and Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros will serve on that committee. The Town Charter section on the Charter and Bylaw Review can be found at this link. Contact Moderator Steve Sharek if you would like to serve on either of these two reviews. His contact information can be found in this post.
This evening was newly elected Board member Shawn McDonald's first meeting on the Board. Thank you for nominating me to be chair. Thank you to the other board members for electing me as chair. I am honored and will do my best to live up to your confidence.
Click here to read on!

Dartmouth Moderator Seeks Volunteers for Charter Review Committee

Town Moderator Steven C. Sharek is looking for town residents interested in serving on a special nine-member committee that will review the town’s charter and potentially recommend changes in it. A review of the town’s charter is required once every ten years.
Under Dartmouth’s charter, the Town Moderator makes two appointments to the special charter review committee. The Select Board, Finance Committee, and School Committee make two each. The Planning Board makes one.
The special committee will be charged with reviewing the charter and making a report, with recommendations, to Town Meeting.
“I’m looking for bright, energetic people willing to work,” said Mr. Sharek... ... “This isn’t a long-term commitment, but it’s probably going to be a pretty intensive short-term one.”
On a non-binding referendum this month, Dartmouth voters were asked whether they prefer the existing Town Meeting/Select Board form of government or wanted to change to a Council/Mayor or Council/Manager form. Voters were in favor of retaining the current system by a margin of 57-43%. Voters in all ten of the town’s precincts supported the status quo.
Dartmouth residents interested in being considered for appointment should send a cover letter and resume to Mr. Sharek by e-mail at stevesharek@comcast.net or by U.S. mail to 25 Ricketson Street, Dartmouth, MA 02747.
Deadline for applications is Friday, April 30, 2010
Click here to read on!

Unofficial results at town website

The following is a link to the unofficial results for yesterday's election including all the Town Meeting representative races. The link is to the town website.
http://www.town.dartmouth.ma.us/Pages/DartmouthMA_News/0155B7B6-000F8513

Some Town Meeting representatives not on the ballot may have been elected by write in ...


... and those are not known yet. Any write in candidates that resulted in a tie (e.g. 1 vote) will be decided by a poll of all the elected members in that precinct.
Click here to read on!

Form of government question to be put to voters

There was a lengthy discussion at the Select Board last evening about placing a non binding question on the town election ballot to ask if voters would like to see the form of our town government changed. Dartmouth has the standard form of town government (MGL chapter 43A) in the Commonwealth which is a Town Meeting as the legislature and the Select Board as an executive body. There are six other forms of government detailed in the Massachusetts General Laws (MGL Chapter 43) and the town may also invent another form as we see fit under the home rule provisions of the state Constitution.

Article II. Section 1. Right of Local Self-Government. - It is the intention of this article to reaffirm the customary and traditional liberties of the people with respect to the conduct of their local government, and to grant and confirm to the people of every city and town the right of self-government in local matters, subject to the provisions of this article and to such standards and requirements as the general court may establish by law in accordance with the provisions of this article.

Section 2. Local Power to adopt, revise or amend Charters. - Any city or town shall have the power to adopt or revise a charter or to amend its existing charter through the procedures set forth in sections three and four. The provisions of any adopted or revised charter or any charter amendment shall not be inconsistent with the constitution or any laws enacted by the general court in conformity with the powers reserved to the general court by section eight.

No town of fewer than twelve thousand inhabitants shall adopt a city form of government, and no town of fewer than six thousand inhabitants shall adopt a form of government providing for a town meeting limited to such inhabitants of the town as may be elected to meet, deliberate, act and vote in the exercise of the corporate powers of the town.

As I said last evening, I like the current form, ...

... especially Town Meeting which allows everyone to speak. One drawback of this form is that the legislature, the Town Meeting, meets so infrequently that budgets tend to be overestimated so that the departmental funding does not run out before the end of the fiscal year. I would support changing to a different form if the affairs of the town required multiple Town Meetings in a single year. I don't think the town is there yet.
What do you think about changing the form of town government?
Click here to read on!

Special Town Meeting votes to fund wind turbine project

After hearing presentations from Dr. DiPippo of the Alternative Energy Committee, Ms. Jenkins from the Finance Committee (that committee voted unaimously in favor of the article), Dr. Friedman of the Finance Committee (who wrote a computer model for the turbine economics) and Mr. John Aylward. a resident who opposes the project, the Town Meeting voted to authorize borrowing of $9.5 million dollars to fund the wind turbine project, 182 in favor and 44 against. The authorization required a 2/3 majority of the Town Meeting and the article passed. There is a bit of confusion on the exact vote which the moderator has addressed in an email. Here is what he reports in the email to Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros,

Subject: Offical Vote Total on Article 1 - Wind Turbines
Hi Lynn ... Thanks your help again tonight. My records will reflect a 182-44 vote on Article 1, the wind turbine article. After the Town Meeting, I gave that count to WBSM and The Standard-Times. I'm sending that same information by e-mail to The Chronicle. If I announced it as 182-49, it's only because I couldn't read my own writing. Both tellers clearly counted 44 negative votes and my notes show that. I do know I announced 182 in favor and said that 226 had voted. Either way, the vote was far in excess of 2/3rds. In fact, it was about 80% in favor. In your records, it should be correct. Blame my poor eyesight.
Thanks Steven C. Sharek

In related news, some residents have filed a lawsuit, ...

... appealing the special permit and seeking to block the wind turbine project. The Town Counsel was notified of the suit by the Standard Times on Monday. The paper got the filing before the town. The town and Select Board were served yesterday. I will post the filing here on the blog when I have time to scan it. Ms. Sweet raised a question from the floor about how the town would proceed if Town Meeting authorized the borrowing for the turbines in light of the suit. Executive Administrator, Mr. Cressman replied that the town could borrow some funds to start design and procurement or could wait to see the result of the suit. My preference is to wait until the legal hurdles are cleared before proceeding further.
Click here to read on!

Special Town Meeting blog

Special town meeting started on time, 205 members present
A quorum, a good start
The moderator has decided to take the articles in reverse order Article 3 first- acceptance of MGL chapter 32B section 18
Article passes unanimously- 244 town meeting members present 7:10PM

Now on to Article 2 - Zoning bylaw- Padanaram Village Business District

Some questions about the specifics of the article

Article vote called and passes 243 in favor and one opposed

On to article 3 authorizing a bond to design and construct two wind turbines of $9.5 million

Moderator is laying down some ground rules, the decision before the TM is whether or not to authorize the funding

Moderator will allow the opponents to present a power point presentation of their concerns

First the Alternative Energy Committee will presnt the project

Dr. Ron DiPippo is speaking and showing a Power Point presentation

My battery is dying and I am going to have to log off. Click here to read on!

Dias not running for re-election

Select Board member, Nat Dias, announced at last night's meeting that she would not seek another term on the board. Chairman Joe Michaud and Ms. Dias are the two members whose seats are up for the April 6th election. Mr. David Gonsalves of Fieldstone Lane has taken out papers to run for Ms. Dias' seat.
Mr. Michaud has taken out papers to run for re-election and has also announced his intention to run for State Representative from the 9th Bristol District. That seat is held by Mr. John Quinn who is resigning to run for Bristol County Sheriff against the incumbent, Mr. Tom Hodgson.
Nomination papers for town office, such as Select Board, must be taken out by Friday, February 12th, and must be returned by Tuesday, February 16th. A minimum of 50 registered voters of the town must sign the nomination papers.
In every town election, one third of the representative Town Meeting members from each precinct are elected. There are 39 members from each precinct, so 13 are elected each year. The dates for Town Meeting members nomination papers are the same as the above but only 20 voter signatures are needed. However, the 20 voters must reside in the precinct where the nomination is sought.

And here is the rest.
Click here to read on!

Special Town Meeting tomorrow.

The Special Town Meeting is tomorrow night at the High School on Bakerville Road. If you are a Town Meeting member please try to attend. It is important that we get a quorum.
The start time is 7PM. The warrant can be found at this link.

See you there.
Click here to read on!

Time for Town Charter and bylaw reviews

Our Town Charter provides for periodic review of itself and for review of our town bylaws.
Here is the charter section on review

SECTION 6-7: PERIODIC REVIEW, CHARTER AND BY-LAWS
(a) Charter Review - At least once in every ten years, beginning in 2010, and thereafter in each year ending in a zero, a special committee to consist of nine members shall be established for the purpose of reviewing this charter and to make a report, with recommendations, to the town meeting concerning any proposed amendments which said committee may determine to be necessary or desirable. The committee shall consist of nine members who shall be chosen as follows: the select board, the finance committee and the school committee shall each designate two persons, the planning board shall designate one person, and two persons shall be appointed by the town moderator. Persons appointed by the said agencies may, but need not, be members of the agency by which they are designated. The committee shall meet to organize forthwith following the final adjournment of the annual town meeting.

The bylaw review provision calls for ...

... the appointment of a five member committee. Here is that section of the charter.

(b) By-Law Review - The select board shall at five year intervals, in by a special committee appointed for that purpose, a proposed revision or recodification of all by-laws of the town which shall be presented to the town meeting for reenactment at the annual town meeting in the year following the year in which the said committee is appointed. The by-law review committee shall consist of the town clerk who shall serve by virtue of office, two representative town meeting members appointed by the town moderator and two persons appointed by the select board. The said committee in its final, or in an interim report, shall include recommendations for such substantive change in town by-laws as it deems necessary or advisable. The review of town by-laws shall be in conjunction with the town counsel, or, by special counsel retained for that purpose. Subsequent to enactment by the town meeting, copies of the revised by-laws shall be forwarded to the attorney general of the commonwealth for approval, and they shall be otherwise published, all as required by general laws. Copies of the revised by-laws shall be made available for distribution to the public at a charge not to exceed the actual cost, per copy, of reproduction.

I think that the Executive Administrator should be one of the two appointments by the Select Board. Some member of the Select Board could also be appointed or it could be anyone else. I have a couple of people that I think would be good candidates and I will contact them to see if they are interested. If you are interested in serving on either committee, you can contact the Select Board office or the Town Meeting moderator, Mr. Sharek (EMail - stevesharek@comcast.net)
The scope of the charter review is limited in the arrangement set out in our charter as I posted here. Any proposed changes from the charter committee require approval by 2/3 vote of Town Meeting and a majority of voters in a general election. See MGL chapter 43B sections 1 through 12
Click here to read on!

Finance Committee recommends funding for wind turbines.

Last night, the Finance Committee gave a thumbs up to the wind turbine project bonding in their recommendation to the Special Town Meeting on January 26th. Finance Committee member, Mr. Walker , reports

"the finance committe voted unanimously to recommend the turbine article to town meeting based on favorable economics and overall environmental benefits."

In other news on the project, the town has received word that the FAA will not allow the 100 meter height ...

... at the north tower site. The maximum allowed height according to the FAA will have to be 86 meters at the hub or a high accuracy survey meeting 2C standards would be needed to permit an 89.5 meter height.
The ALternative Energy Committee has this report regarding the impact on the finances of the project. ·

The two turbines, if built on 328-foot towers, will conservatively produce 8,016,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, more than enough to cover the 5,429,000 kilowatt-hours used by the DPW. Moreover, they will supply about 49% of the entire electricity demand of all Town public buildings. Using 295-foot towers, they will produce 7,472,000 kilowatt-hours. Turbines will be built as tall as allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission.

Click here to read on!

Special Town Meeting warrant approved for Jan 26th

Last night, the Select Board approved the warrant for a Special Town Meeting to be held Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Dartmouth High School Auditorium (155 Bakerville Road). The warrant has three articles, a bond authorization to procure and construct two wind turbines, a Padanaram business district zoning bylaw, and the acceptance of a section of Massachusetts General Law which allows the town to have retirees apply for Medicare coverage. I will post the warrant to this blog ...

... when I have the final copy.
These three issues are imporatnat matters for the town and I urge Town Meeting members to make every effort to attend on the 26th.
Click here to read on!

Mr. Walker added to Finance Committee

The Town Meeting Moderator, Mr. Sharek, sends this via email,

To Chairperson Shannon Jenkins and members of the FinCom
I am pleased to report that I am appointing Barry Walker of Potomska Road as the newest member of the Dartmouth Finance Committee. His letter of appointment was mailed on Friday and I expect he will be sworn into his new role by the Town Clerk early next week. He will succeed Tenney Lantz, who recently resigned. Barry owns his own successful small business and serves as both a Town Meeting member and Community Preservation Committee member. He served as a leader and spokesman for Citizens for Responsible Government, a citizens group that opposed most (but not all) of the Prop 2 1/2 override questions placed before the town almost two years ago. While I have not always agreed with Barry's views on town issues, I believe he will be a hard-working member of the FinCom and will add a thoughtful, independent-minded, private sector perspective to the committee. With this appointment (as with all the others I have made), I have attempted to ensure that all parts of the political spectrum are represented. Please join me in welcoming Barry Walker to the FinCom.
Steve Sharek

I thought I had posted earlier that Ms. Jenkins had assumed the chair of the Finance Committee, but I find I had not.
The Finance Committee is appointed by the Town Meeting Moderator and elect their own leadership from among the members.
Congratulations to Mr. Walker and Ms. Jenkins and thank you both for taking on these challenging tasks. Thank you to Ms. Lantz for her service as well

Update

More from Mr. Sharek

I was also going to say that, underpinning all of our debates over money and fiscal policy is a common goal: to do what's best for the Town of Dartmouth. We have different views of what's "best", of course, and how to reach that goal. As I remind Town Meeting members ad nauseum, we need to respect the differences. If Shannon and Barry can work together -- and I am absolutely convinced they can and will -- the result will be a stronger Dartmouth.

Click here to read on!

Town Meeting passes all articles

At Town Meeting last night, all twelve articles before the body were approved. The warrant can be found here. The Town Meeting voted to put $1,955,000 into the Stabilization Fund. Included in that amount is $225,000 for a down payment on full day kindergarten operating costs and $630,000 for state budget cuts. This is an important hedge against the near certainty of state aid cuts for this fiscal year, FY2010.
Other items approved include $225,000 for improvements to Quinn and Cushman schools in order to implement full day kindergarten. The school department received $1.1 million dollars for capital improvements. Included in the list are ...

... video monitoring for the school buildings, improvements at the Middle school, and funds for computers and technology. Additionally, the Town Meeting provided $148,000 for school fee reduction, eliminating bus fees and cutting activity fees in half.
Other town capital improvement expenditures were approved including improvements to our streets, Town Hall, Southworth library, and the old Town Hall building next to the police station. The old Town Hall will house the DCTV Channel 18 operation soon. Funds were approved for police vehicles, public works trucks, and other town rolling stock. A request for a warehouse building to house town equipment was approved. The Sprung building will be sited behind the police station.
Community Preservation funds were appropriated for the Audubon stone barn property and for improvements of Rogers Street boat access.
Two streets, Blossom Court and Masthead Lane, and an article requiring only US made flags be purchased by the town were accepted by Town Meeting.
Click here to read on!