This evening's Special Town Meeting achieved a quorum on time and maintained a quorum for the entire meeting to dispense with 27 Articles on the Warrant.
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It was good to see new faces in the crowd and many of the old friends who missed last week.
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Good showing and thanks to all to complete necessary town business!
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Maybe you can offer some suggestions on nemasket about how we can better publicize the information earlier, in greater detail to avoid lengthy discussion of the basics on town meeting floor -- not to say questions and comments aren't essential and they certainly add to the discussion, but are there ways we can provide the foundation information earlier? collect the factual information and make it available earlier? For instance, someone asked on town meeting floor how many towns had adopted a certain MGL (Massachusetts General Law). It was a pertinent question that may have provided important information if asked earlier.
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On a somewhat separate note, Jim Thomas, who has served as Town Moderator has announced that he will not run for re-election in April's Town Election. Unless an unforeseen town meeting suddenly occurs before that time, this Special Town Meeting was his last. Jim has done his best to be fair to participants, translate the legal procedures so that they are clearly understood by those of us who are new to the process and allow discussion to go on as long as he felt voters needed to speak to issues of concern, but attempted to limit an overdose. Jim donated a DVD of a Town Meeting Guide to the library, ComCast and the High School. When Jim made me aware of that, I requested that ComCast air the program on the local access channel, which they did and hope it succeeded in answering questions some might have. (If you still have questions, you can borrow the library's copy. Or I'll request that ComCast run it again prior to next year's ATM.)
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Jim, thanks for working to educate some of us and explain in clear terms what we were voting on and what the peculiar town meeting terms meant. Your replacement needs to be as patient as you have been, especially when I approach the microphone!
4 comments:
You need to take some of the credit. I only attended this meeting because you made me aware of the issues and linked to nemakset where I could read the comments.
Look around that audience. They were voters that read these blogs and are becoming familiar with the issues because a few of you have explained town meeting and what it means. We're starting to understand how it works so keep explaining it.
This was my first town meting and some of it didn't make sense but its coming together. You embarased us I went it got done. I'm learning and wish it had been explained to me.
There were several speakers who went on too long. I have to write down those motions to stop debate and vote on an issue and bring it with me to the meeting. Then I can work up the nerve to go to the microphone.
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