Thursday, May 23, 2013
The second of nine precincts in our series looking at which Town Meeting Rep voted for what this spring.
This week we started taking a look at who voted and who didn't at Town Meeting starting with Precinct 1, and today we move to North Chelmsford and take a look at Precinct 2. Of the 738 total combined votes for the Precinct's 18 Town Meeting reps, 482 were "yes", 97 were "no", there were 5 abstentions and 154 non-votes (20.8%) We've attached the FinCom Warrant book with more information on each of the warrant articles, and here's the key for the procedural votes in the grid below You can check also out the roll call votes for focused on articles rather than people on the Town Website as well as on our Day One, Two, Three, and Four overviews, where you can also find the context for all the procedural votes. 7a,10a,19q,26, 32,34,Adjourn 5…
Monday, May 20, 2013
We'll be going precinct by precinct to see how Chelmsford's Town Meeting Reps voted during the 2013 Spring Town Meeting, starting today with Precinct 1.
The 2013 Spring Town Meeting ended earlier this month, and now the clock begins for the anticipated 2013 Fall Town Meeting coming in a few months. But until then, we want to answer a question that many folks had, and still have: who voted for what, and who didn't vote at all? We wanted to know too, so we took a look, and here's the answer, starting with Precinct 1 (pictured in purple). There were 41 roll call votes for Precinct 1's 18 Town Meeting Reps, meaning combined they had 738 combined votes, of which they missed 88 of them (8.8 percent). Of those 738 votes, 509 were "yes", so we focused on the times they voted, "no", "abstain" or didn't vote at all. We've attached the FinCom Warrant book with more information on each of the warrant …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Town Meeting voted to remove the Billboard Overlay District on Thursday, despite representatives of the North Chelmsford Congregational Church wanting to put one up. What's your thoughts?
On the final day of Town Meeting last week, representatives voted 83-39-4 to eliminate the Billboard Overlay District, introduced by Town Meeting in 2009. That vote was controversial, barely passing then, and the issue continued to be controversial since then, particularly in regard to billboards at Chelmsford High School. The 83-39-4 vote barely met the 2/3rds necessary for repeal despite pleas from members of the North Chelmsford Congregational Church (pictured) to be allowed to put up a billboard on land that own that faces Route 3 and is not near any other residences. Today we ask, should they be allowed to do so? Or should billboards be allowed in some circumstances and not others in Chelmsford? Or, should there be no billboards in …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Just down 495, Tewksbury approved funding for their own new turf field at Tewksbury Memorial High School. Today we ask: does that matter when it comes to Chelmsford's two proposed turf fields?
On Wednesday, Tewksbury Town Meeting voters approved $950,000 for their own new turf field at Tewksbury Memorial High School, and today we ask: does that, or will that have any impact on Chelmsford's upcoming new turf fields at Chelmsford High School and McCarthy Middle School? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments. We'll have a more detailed recap of all the votes from Town Meeting, including the Turf Field article, next week. In the meantime, here are our recaps from Town Meeting Day #1, #2, #3, and #4.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
We'll start updates at approximately 7:30 p.m.
9:49 p.m. - Three union agreements have been met with town unions. School union agreements are not brought to Town Meeting according to state law, says Cohen. 9:47 p.m. - Finance Committee and Selectmen recommend against this article, same as 32. It is moved to question immediately. 9:44 p.m. - The Assistant Town Engineer was not present during the Parkerville School clearcutting incident to oversee while that happened, but Paul Cohen says that like other organizations, the Town of Chelmsford sometimes makes mistakes too. Town Counsel says that procurement by the town is strictly enforced by state law. 9:40 p.m. - It's asked why Van Liew is still at the podium while other presenters have had to leave the podium, DeFreitas says it's because…
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The 2013 Chelmsford Spring Town Meeting will resume on Thursday. In the meantime, what's your opinion so far?
We'll head back to the Chelmsford Senior Center on Thursday for at least one more night of Town Meeting, but in the meantime, we want to ask you what are your thoughts on Town Meeting so far? Is it what you expected? Are you happy with how your Town Meeting reps voted? What about your thoughts on the articles on the Turf Fields, Oak Hill, and all the other topics? What about Thursday? Will that be the last night until the fall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. For more, including roll calls courtesy of the Town Website, see our Day 1, 2 and 3 coverage.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Updates starting tonight around 7 p.m.
11:00 p.m. - "Do we expect cancer patients to cause problems at schools?" 10:53 p.m. - A question on a motion during Article 24 is referred to town council, who says it is not a privledged motion, and it cannot interrupt the introduction of an article. 10:51 p.m. - I saw it was 131-1 for a second, but that one person changed their mind. 10:50 p.m. - Once upon a time, Oak Hill was one of the most contreversial issues in town. Now, I get the impression that everyone just wants to plow through what's left. 10:42 p.m. - Dog park passes, Moderator congratulates his dog. Only no votes were Jerry Loew, Nancy Knight and Kevin Martin. 10:19 p.m. - Gail Kruglak says that the lack of a function hall would lose the golf course about $15,000 a year. 10…
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Chelmsford Patch's most read stories for the week of April 26 to May 2, 2013
#1. The 2013 Chelmsford Spring Town Meeting :Night #1 #2. Chelmsford Spring Town Meeting: Night #2 #3. Turf Field Supporters State Their Case #4. Bauman Family Asking Chelmsford Businesses For Help #5. Woman Sues Over Chelmsford Buddhist Monk Sex Tape #6. Chelmsford Police Catch Alleged Billerica Drug Dealer #7. Bauman on Road to Recovery #8. Chelmsford Mirrors Commonwealth in Senate Results #9. What Was Cookin on the Common? Take A Look #10. Last Minute Tewksbury Goal Sinks Chelmsford Lacrosse
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Here's our recap.
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. …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Get the results from each warrant article here as they come in.
9:55 - After a break, Town Meeting is adjourned to Thursday due to many Town Meeting Reps also being election workers in tomorrow's election 9:49 - Article 4 passes. 9:32 - Moderator DeFreitas tells Sam Poulton he can't ask questions he already knows the answers to. 9:29 - The Nashoba Tech superintendent, Judith Klimkiewicz, is at the Westford Planning Board after they requested her presence for a site plan on an athletic facility, which is being discussed now. 9:11 - Beth Logan asks how many Chelmsford students are at Nashoba. Answer: currently there are 150, that number may be higher after enrollment is concluded. 8:46 - Article 3 passes, the electronic voting machine is back again. Only David McLachlan and Christopher Rose voted no. 8:…
John Gault
1:44 pm on Thursday, May 23, 2013
Mr Bruce Clark must have a very busy schedule..... more ›