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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-20-HATS-min HANSCOM AREA TOWNS COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING Held at 7:30 PM on November 20, 2008 At Lincoln Town Offices PRESENT: Sara Mattes Lincoln Board of Selectmen (Chair) Jeanne Krieger Lexington Board of Selectmen Anne Shapiro Concord Board of Selectmen Mike Rosenberg Bedford Board of Selectmen Lisa Mustapich Bedford Planning Board Richard Canale Lexington Planning Board Robert Domnitz Lincoln Planning Board Margaret Coppe Lexington HATS rep Dorothy Steele Massport/OGCA Sara Arnold Massport Hanscom Kati Winchell Save Our Heritage Jack French Lincoln Moderator Ned Perry Concord Moderator Marge Battin Lexington Moderator Joan Bowen Bedford League of Women Voters Deb Mauger Lexington LWV Rick Reed Bedford Town Manager Susan Brooks Lincoln Town Clerk Andy Friedlich Lexington TMMA Edith Sandy Lexington TMMA Jack MacLean Lincoln CHUG subcommittee Lora Goldenberg Bedford Betsey Anderson Bedford Joe Rosen Lincoln Gordon Mitchell Lincoln 7:30 PM INTRODUCTION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman welcomed attendees and outlined the agenda. She explained that the bulk of the meeting would be devoted to a workshop to discuss governance issues, focusing on Town Meetings. Lincoln’s Cultural and Historic Resources (CHUG) subcommittee of its Comprehensive Long Range Plan Committee is eager to compare experiences. 7:40 PM TOWN GOVERNANCE/TOWN MEETING WORKSHOP Copies of an article entitled “Can Town Meeting be Saved?” from the North East Municipal Forum were distributed. A book by Joseph F. Zimmerman, “The New England Town Meeting: Democracy in Action”, Praeger Press 1999, was recommended for further reading. 1 The Chairman asked each town to supply some basic statistics about their populations and Town Meeting attendance. It was noted that Lexington has a representative town meeting whereas the other three towns have open town meetings. Information supplied was as follows: Town Population Voters TM attendance Length of TM Bedford 13,000 8,700 1 – 5% 2 evenings Lincoln 5,600 3,800 5 – 10% 1 day Concord 18,000 12,000 5 – 15% 3 – 6 evenings Lexington 31,000 19,000 (189 TM c. 170 members 6 – 11 evenings Members) Bedford provided copies of its 2008 Annual Town Meeting Warrant Report and Lexington provided copies of its introductory handbook, “Town Meeting in Lexington”. Discussion began with the question of whether Town Meeting is still a viable and effective form of government, followed by examination of a number of aspects of Town Meeting organization and support. A summary of points contributed by participants is as follows: Viability and efficiency of Town Meeting TM maximizes the spread of power and can encourage wide discussion. A representative TM can allow public to speak. Lincoln is concerned about imbalance in the age of attendees (tilted towards the older end). Other towns report a mixture, depending somewhat on the issues. It may take newcomers a while to learn how TM operates; outreach efforts can help. Falmouth’s moderator has developed a school curriculum that may be of interest. Bedford’s moderator has contributed to school lessons, and the scouts help at TM. Communication of issues prior to TM Bedford’s colorful 2008 Warrant Report was produced by the Selectmen with the help of other committees and staff. The warrant report goes out to households about two weeks before TM and includes rules, guidelines for civil discourse, and procedure. The Finance Committee produces a separate Finance Report. Bedford also produces a Town newsletter quarterly. Lexington supplies two newspaper articles – one about warrant articles and one about TM protocol. TM Member candidates host meetings. The TM handbook was produced by the League of Women Voters and Town Meeting Members’ Association. A warrant information report goes out to TM Members and is made available in the library and on websites in advance of TM, as well as the warrant itself. The TMMA has a listserve and places its archives on a website. Only a few Members write to it regularly. Other residents can post messages by invitation; past abuse problems have stopped it being open-access. The TMMA is not a deliberative body of town government. A few information nights are held on major topics prior to TM, and members have a bus tour to view significant sites. Members work hard on writing up the warrant information, trying to ensure neutrality. 2 Roles of Leagues of Women Voters Lexington’s LWV holds a candidates night with break-out groups for precincts and a plenary session for town-wide issues. The League puts a set of questions to candidates and produces a voters’ guide which has so far been published through the local newspaper. It aims to spread awareness of issues throughout the general population. Bedford’s LWV reported feeling challenged. It has experienced poor cooperation from its local newspaper and its resources are stretched. The LWV holds a candidates’ night when there are contested elections. It produces a “Know your town” contacts book, has a website, and helped with the guide to TM. It is considering a Welcome Wagon outreach effort. Concord’s LWV has held a candidates’ night even when elections were not contested, to raise awareness of issues. Occasionally it holds forums on major issues such as the Long Range Plan. Lincoln does not currently have a LWV so more responsibility falls on the Selectmen. Availability of volunteers is a general concern; younger women are more likely have careers than in the past and if they volunteer they are more likely to get involved with schools than town government. The average age of LWV members across the country was reported as 72. Roles of Moderators in outreach Lincoln’s Moderator used to hold a forum for town boards to discuss issues in advance of TM. This developed into the State of the Town Meeting, held in the fall and run by the Selectmen. Boards submit reports and a public discussion is held, often focusing on a particular theme. Documents are placed on the town’s website and the meeting is broadcast via cable TV, as are Board of Selectmen’s meetings. In Lexington the Moderator attends precinct meetings and other meetings in the lead up to TM. He wrote a user friendly explanation of procedures and helps to educate new TM Members. In Lexington citizens also frequently sponsor TM articles. Bedford and Concord’s Moderators also reported helping citizens by reviewing their draft articles. Concord’s outreach efforts have included TM training sessions, a booklet on procedures, a DVD, early mailing of the warrant booklet supplemented by a Finance Committee report, and broadcast of many meetings on cable TV. Most residents are alert to warrant articles. Some Moderators also have powers of appointment over various committees. Some towns include a volunteer card in the warrant booklet and maintain a register. Consent calendars In Lincoln, the Moderator decides which articles are placed on the consent calendar but anyone can remove them at TM. In Concord the Moderator similarly develops a list of articles that are unlikely to be controversial. Five people can take an item off. Staffing Most towns have some assistance from staff in their Selectmen’s/ Town Administrator’s/ Town Manager’s office. Lexington has a graduate intern. Lincoln only has three Selectmen whereas other towns have more. 3 Articles and motions Articles only need to set the scope of the subject matter. Detailed motions can be written and distributed prior to voting and passed “as written”. Some towns try to separate zoning articles from other matters. ‘In’ and ‘out’ crowds Lincoln sometimes hears a perception that town government is controlled by an ‘in’ crowd. Other town’s representatives observed that many residents want to be able to voice their opinions directly to them, or to know that the town is well governed, but not to get involved beyond that. Contested races/ term limits Contested races are generally patchy; incumbents are not always challenged but that may indicate satisfaction. Some towns have selectmen who have served three or four terms. Concord has a recommended maximum of two terms, or one for a five year board membership. A strong Town Manager position may help to maintain continuity. Lincoln is the only town that has a Town Administrator instead. Bedford’s Personnel Board helps to fill committee positions. People tend to gain experience on committees before moving to positions on central boards. Electronic communications Lincoln has just established an email notification system for town announcements, which may be refined to allow people to be more selective in what they receive. Lexington has several listserves, for the schools and interest groups. Also there is the ‘Lexington list’, a yahoo group with archives, which has largely been used for household contractor recommendations, and a spin-off group that discusses political and religious issues. It was noted that anyone can start a blog but Sudbury had problems with unsigned allegations made in a blog begun by the newspaper. The Chairman thanked participants for their contributions to the discussion and suggested that it could be continued in future if people were interested. 9:00 HFAC REPORT Mike Rosenberg attended the last meeting of the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee and reported that there has been a significant reduction in operations at the th airfield. The next meeting will be on December 16. The Chairman wondered why there was little news about the museum proposal for Hangar 24. Massport’s representatives reported that John Silva, the FAA hearing officer, th hopes to arrange a meeting on December 15 for consulting parties to the Section 106 Review. ACTION: Consulting parties to Hangar 24 review 9:10 PM UPDATE ON 128 CENTRAL CORRIDOR COALITION Jeanne Krieger reported that the Coalition has continued to discuss traffic demand management. It has met with the MBTA concerning a new multi-modal transportation center and plans a further meeting. Legislative representatives are being briefed. 4 Richard Canale reported that he attended a rail corridor meeting, where the inner and outer communities appear to have different interests. There may be some economic stimulus funds becoming available. 9:15 PM HOUSING PRIVATIZATION CONTRACT AND BRAC The Chairman reviewed the fact that National Park staff alerted HATS to a proposal it had heard of to convert part of the military housing area to civilian use. The contract for the privatized housing construction was known to be in the course of renegotiation but this idea seemed to be a significant departure from previous intentions. Lincoln’s Town Administrator has met with Colonel Orr in an effort to clarify the situation. The meeting confirmed that a proposal is under discussion for a portion of the housing to be civilian market housing, but the detail is not clear. The Chairman will ask Mr. Higgins if he can ACTION: Chair supply a summary of the conversation for HATS members. Ms. Mattes recalled that during the last BRAC exercise, against a background of base consolidation, the towns made a point of showing that Hanscom had the capacity to accommodate additional uses within its secure boundaries. She commented that carving out an area for civilian use seems contrary to that approach. It could affect security and raise issues about use of federal land. She noted that the original intent of privatized construction was not to sell housing for profit, and considered the lack of transparency troubling. It was agreed that the Chairman will draft a letter to Senator Kennedy and Governor Patrick and circulate it to the HATS Selectmen. OTHER BUSINESS: The Chairman reported that the search for a Cyber Command center is believed to be off the table for now. Mike Rosenberg reported that MAPC has signed the contract for the Battle Road scenic byway study. Towns will need to appoint two representatives each for the Steering Committee - possibly one staff person and one elected representative. MAPC’s role is to provide data and coordinate people. th There will be a MAGIC legislative breakfast on December 8. HATS Schedule th The next HATS meeting will be on December 18, when the main discussion item will be parking. Planning boards and their staff will be invited. Jeanne Krieger agreed to ACTION: Jeanne Krieger coordinate arrangements for the meeting. nd The following meeting will be on January 22, when the main topic will be activities for young people. Mike Rosenberg will coordinate the planning. ACTION: Mike Rosenberg Minutes There appeared to have been a problem with distribution of the September and October minutes due to blocking of email attachments from the Chairman. Mrs. Perry agreed to re-send the minutes to HATS Selectmen and Planning Board representatives. ACTION: Catherine Perry Approved minutes are being posted on Lincoln’s website, www.lincolntown.org, where HATS can be found under Boards and Commissions. 5 The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM. Submitted by Catherine Perry Approved as amended, December 18, 2008 6