Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 6:00 PM

Updated June 22, 2020 - 

The Annual Town Meeting logistics team met this morning and reviewed weather information and updated COVID-19 case numbers. There has been no marked change in COVID-19 positive community cases. Currently, there are 2 positive cases in the community and that number has been relatively consistent for 3 weeks. Weather information and radar has been continuously monitored since last Thursday. The weather pattern is stable for the next two days with a 30% chance of rain on Tuesday. The team has decided to proceed as planned with tomorrow’s Annual Town Meeting with a few modifications identified below. 

Modifications and Additions for Town Meeting:

• Residents attending Annual Town Meeting should bring an umbrella to use as shade from the sun and/or in the event that rain develops
• A misting tent has been added and will be available for anyone that needs to cool off
• A shelter plan will be developed in the event that rain occurs and people need to be moved to a covered area. 

As has been planned all along, chairs, hand sanitizer and bottled water will be provided and extra masks will be available if needed. 

Updated information has been added to the Town Meeting website, available here, and includes the recommendations and motions of the Finance Committee, the Town Manager’s budget presentation, and information on the citizen petitions. 

Tonight, June 22 at 7pm there will be the second and final virtual public forum on the Warrant. Residents are encouraged to participate and ask any questions they may have in advance of tomorrow’s Annual Town Meeting. 

This will truly be a unique Town Meeting and we ask for everyone’s patience and understanding as we proceed with this necessary Legislative act to keep Town Government running smoothly into the new Fiscal Year. 

The Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2020 with a rain date of June 24. The meeting will be held outside at Longmeadow High School. An Annual Town Meeting logistics team has been meeting for several weeks to prepare and plan for Town Meeting

The Warrant is being printed and booklets will be mailed to every household. The warrant contains 36 articles, some articles have been condensed into a consent agenda*.

A copy of the warrant is available here.

*A consent agenda is a grouping of articles together under one motion in order to save time in a meeting. When a motion to approve several articles as a consent agenda is made and seconded, the Moderator will call out the article numbers in the proposal. Any voter who wants to consider an article separately will call out “hold,” and the Moderator will remove that article from the consent agenda. Voting will proceed for the motion to approve (or reject) all the articles in the group. 

Recommendations & Presentations at Town Meeting

Finance Committee - 

• The Finance Committee voted to approve all of the Articles that were previously listed as "Recommendation to be given on the floor of Town Meeting" 
• The Finance Committee voted to Recommend Article 14.  
• The Finance Committee voted to recommend the budget Article 13, with the explicit understanding that the budget figure would immediately be Amended on the Floor by the Select Board after its reading. Finance Committee’s recommendation on the budget Article 13 will be made after the Amendment is made. 
• Finance Committee voted not to recommend  Article 30, dealing with CPC funding for a study for a skate park. 

"The Finance Committee does not recommend Article 30.

The Finance Committee voted against recommending this article for a number of reasons.  First, this expenditure represented the first step in installing a new facility, the expense of which would far exceed the price of the study itself.  Second, this would be a brand new facility which would incur a brand new maintenance obligation and ongoing maintenance expenses, rather than the repair or improvement of an existing facility. Finally, the feeling of the majority of members was that unlike the team sport facilities in town, this proposed skate park would represent a niche interest, serving a relatively small number of patrons, too small to justify the expense of installing the facility."

Budget Presentation by Town Manager

• FY2021 Budget Presentation by Town Manager

Citizen Petition

Article 36 & 37 related to bylaw changes for the installation of ground-mount solar panels on the side or front of a home. Supporting documentation

• Solar panel warrant introduction
• Solar warrant article  
• Mock ground mounted solar panels