2013 Chelmsford Spring Town Meeting Night #2 - Turf Field Passes

11:10 p.m. - Meeting adjourned, Article 16 passes.

10:58 p.m. - Stop and Shop did not want to have public discussions with the town due to the tenuous nature of the sale, but what can be said is that it's being marketed for retail uses.

10:39 p.m. - Turf field CPC article passes. The audience filters out the back. We move on.

10:35 p.m. - Motion fails, Nick DiSilvio's son testifies. Another motion to call to question after that.

10:31 p.m. - Moderator DeFreitas asks crowd to stop whispering during debate. Currently there are nine people in line to talk.

There's also 11 voting clickers left in the hallway. Unclear who didn't show up. Sam Poulton calls to question.

10:21 p.m. - Bob Joyce opposed turf field due to concerns for taxpayers. Several supporters note lack of turf field leaves youth players at significant disadvantage versus other towns.

10:12 p.m. - Debate will be end no later than 11:14 p.m. due to a motion that just passed.

10:10 p.m. - There will be more traffic, bonds cannot be paid off early. Entering debate portion....

10:07 p.m. - Confusion over user fees, Luppoli reiterates they will not go up and says local youth sports groups are onboard with turf fields.

10:05 p.m. - All funds for the turf fields go through the Booster Club. Line of questioners back up to four.

9:54 p.m. - A motion has been made to allow people more than two questions on this particular article due to its importance. It passed easily by a hand vote.

9:49 p.m. - Almost at the end of the line of questions.

9:38 p.m. - Concerns from Fran McDougall over article in today's Lowell Sun, Lupoli says article was in error, McDougall says it was not.

9:24 p.m. - Onto turf field questions. Presentation just got good amount of applause. Sal Luppoli of Sal's Pizza, a Chelmsford resident, is discussing fundraising. It went from $20,000 to $336,000 in turf field donations. He is holding $24,000 in checks from residents in his hands.

9:12 p.m. - A lot of turf field supporters in the audience. We're having some difficulties uploading the photos of roll calls right now. We'll try later.

8:50 p.m. - CPC funds cannot be used for acquisition of turf fields, but it can be used for non-turf expenditures.

8:34 p.m. - Plenty of discussion about school security cameras.

8:31 p.m. - Town manager Paul Cohen says main users of the McCarthy track would be members of the community.

8:27 p.m. - Brian Lantina asks Chief Curran if the fire trucks were refurbished in China. Answer: No.

8:15 p.m. - "Can I ask a follow up to that?" - Bob Joyce "No." - Moderator DeFreitas

8:08 p.m. - Track at McCarthy School will be renovation capital funds will be requested whether or not turf field article passes later.

7:59 p.m. - Amendment fails.

7:57 p.m. - Amendment now over whether each line item in the capital budget should be discussed.

7:52 p.m. - Moving right along here!

7:46 p.m. - First two articles have no dissent. Bob Joyce moves to amend the amount in Article 7 to $200,000.

7:33 p.m. - Moderator DeFreitas is telling everyone not to head up to the microphone to score points, using a metaphor about a ship telling a lighthouse to move to remind folks not to ask unnecessary questions.

7:30 p.m. - Ready to go for Night 2!

For more information on each of the articles, see the attached report from the Finance Committee

You can also watch the meeting live at live.chelmsfordtv.org

Article - Description - Vote - Time of Debate

Article 9 Revolving Funds 140-0-2 7:52 p.m. 

What do you think will happen tonight? Let us know in the comments.