by Frank Schroth

Town Meeting began as most town meetings do. There was the singing of the National Anthem by members of the MHS chorus, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the swearing in of Town Meeting Members. Moderator Walsh acknowledged town officials who have passed away or stepped down from office. It was all routine until Article 8 came up for discussion and Senator Joyce pulled a funding rabbit out of his hat.

Article 8, which concerned what sum of money the Town would appropriate for capital items, was anticipated to be a long and difficult one. It may have been a bit long, but it was not difficult. The issue was funding for a design engineering study for the proposed parking and traffic changes to East Milton Square (i.e. that is commonly referred to as the parking on the deck). The Warrant Committee recommended $2.9 million. This would include but not be limited to a $1 million repair of Central Ave, 3 pickups and a flat bed truck for the DPW ($287,700), reconstruction of the locker rooms at DPW and Cemetery garage, and replacing 20% of the schools’ inventory of computers ($220,000). It did not include a $300K request for the design engineering study of the East Milton deck. The selectmen, as expected, filed a motion to amend the article to insert the amount putting the  total appropriation at $3,123,255. Chair Denis Keohane gave a presentation outlining the change being proposed and the benefits. He said the new configuration of the space on the deck would not remove any existing green space but actually increase it slightly. It would add ~30 parking spaces and also include wayfaring, pedestrian, and bicycling safety measures. He also claimed that the changes would result in an improved ROI due to better occupancy rates and commercial rates, though specific numbers were not given. He concluded that it is ” a small investment in terms of what you get back.”

The merchants of East Milton who have been clamoring for a solution to the parking situation in the square for a long, long time, are eager for a solution and believe that this is it. There have been primarily two threads of opposition: the Warrant Committee did not believe that the Selectmen and Town Planner had substantiated the amount they were requesting; the scope of work was undefined and therefore the amount being allocated seemed arbitrary. During his presentation Mr. Keohane acknowledged this and reviewed broadly the general line items involved and their respective amounts which totaled $239,059. The other objection was whether the construction could take place at all given state (Article 97) and federal regulations of parks (Section 4(f) of Dept of Transportation Act) . Senator Joyce rose and addressed that issue.

Senator Joyce gave a detailed rebuttal, including counsel from both the Massachusetts House and Senate, to the claim that the deck is a park. He also noted that though a vote at the state house may not have been required, “We had that vote . The issue is settled.” He then went on to say that in discussions with Secretary of Transportation Davey, he has secured a promise for $300,000 to cover the design engineering study. This remarkable development took town meeting by surprise and essentially rendered any further opposition moot. As Senator Joyce said from the floor, “There is not Article 97 issue and there is no funding issue.” And given there were no issues, the Warrant Committee approved the motion as did the majority of town meeting. Selectman Hurley noted that town meeting still needed to vote the bonding amount. However, the expectation is that the state will fund the cost. There was agreement from the selectmen to incorporate recommendations from TMM John Cronin to engage a professional landscape architect and TMM Ellen DeNooyer to incorporate the traffic study and a couple other considerations such as the angle parking currently on Granite Ave just north of the deck. There were some questions from Town Meeting members for clarification on some of the other expenditures (e.g. why the F150 trucks did not cost the same – because one has a plow). Article 8 passed unanimously and to some applause.

Articles 1 – 7 also passed unanimously.

In other business, Town Meeting heard a brief presentation from Rick Neely, Chair of the Government Review Study Committee. The Committee had been formed by the Board of Selectmen last year. There had also been a citizen’s petition to form such a committee but Town Meeting approved the Selectmen’s with the addition of two members appointed by the Town Moderator. Mr. Neely reviewed the committee’s recommendations which include but are not limited to:

• amending the town bylaws “to require that the Town Clerk exercise specific efforts to inform residents of upcoming elections for Town Meeting membership” and promote an understanding of the warrant
• the town and schools collaborating on a technology assessment and strategic plan
• increasing the authority and responsibilities of the Town Administrator
• adding an alternate member to the Planning Board given increase in special permit applications

(Note: we will post or link to complete report when it becomes available).

TMM Steve Morash rose to thank the committee but also said, “I don’t know where this is going.” He noted that a committee appointed by the selectmen was recommending changes to the town that were not being discussed on the floor of town meeting. Moderator Walsh acknowledged that “This was unusual.” Selectman Hurley rose to say that the process of requesting a fiscal review of the town (another recommendation) by the state had been initiated. He also said other recommendations would be discussed with the opportunity for public input and that should the selectmen decide to move forward, the changes would need to come up for discussion and approval at a future town meeting.

Town Meeting resumes this evening at 7:30pm at the Charles Winchester Auditorium. It is broadcast live on MATV.