I am seriously concerned and disappointed that the Milton Town Meeting process has become inflexible to the degree it is on the verge of becoming irrelevant.
At Monday evening’s Town Meeting as an elected town meeting member from Precinct 6 I rose to speak in support of town meeting member Sheryl Fleitman’s presentation to the Town Meeting regarding the serious and dangerous condition of airplane noise and airplane jet pollution over Milton’s airspace as a result of the overuse of Logan Airport Runways 4 Left and 4 Right. However, I was denied the right to speak before the assembly.
This town is in effect a bulls eye for another disaster worse than the tragic incident of a body falling out of a wheel well of an approaching jet on to a street in Milton. Nonetheless, as an elected town meeting member and as important as this issue is to the entire Milton community I was not allowed to speak.
I am sure this was not a personal matter and I do not take personal umbrage to that denial. I am sure it is a result of some arcane procedure under Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Order which was instituted in the 19th century if not earlier. Clearly, the calcification of those rules has caused a critical degree of paralysis in this body when there is a need to move quickly to address immediately the critical problems of our day.
To the point. Anyone who lives in Precinct 6 does not need to be reminded that this area is greatly affected by airplane noise and airplane jet fuel pollution as planes make their final approach to Logan Airport on Runways 4 Left and 4 Right. Runway 4R is the biggest contributor to this problem because that is the runway used for all jumbo jets and it is the only runway at Logan which is fully implemented to accept instrument landing approaches.
Yet, even while the critical problem of airplane noise and airplane jet fuel pollution is infecting this community right over our heads we are subjected to an hour’s debate of the self absorbed and meaningless drivel of Warrant Article 2 which would instruct the schools to assist the town clerk in publicizing the semi-annual town meeting. What good is it to publicize what went on the other evening at the town meeting other than to totally disillusion students in our excellent school system who might wish to follow the activities of this body. Fiddling as Rome burns comes to mind quickly.
What I would have added in my brief remarks in support of Town Meeting Member Fleitman would have been a call to action in light of my personal and direct contact with MassPort’s office of Operations on Sunday morning October 6.
The planes on that Sunday morning began their final approach to 4R before 6 AM. When I called the Noise Complaint Line as directed by MassPort so that it can collect data on the incursions into this community I was met with a series of what are euphemistically called ” F-Bombs”. That was not the main problem although it definitely demonstrates a lack of training these individuals are given in dealing with the public. No, the main problem and one which affects us all whether we live in Milton or elsewhere is what that MassPort Operations employee said to his fellow employees when apparently he did not think I could hear him:
He said with a distinct and clear laugh in his voice, ” …tell them we have a ‘security emergency’ and put them back on hold and don’t get back to them. That should F’ing piss them off…”. Really, in this age of a terrorist attack at a road race and constant threats of terrorist attacks tell the public there is a “security emergency” at Logan International Airport when there is none.
We are not being well served and our lives are put in danger when civil – actually not so civil – servants lie about security emergencies to the public in order to duck their responsibility to log noise complaints no matter how many there may be. Their miss deeds must be exposed to the light of public scrutiny and dealt with accordingly and not swept under the proverbial rug or denied exposure by ancient forms of governmental procedure.
So, for this town meeting to continue to ignore this perilous issue under the restrictions of some ancient rules of procedure while they continue to argue how many angels can fit on the top of a pin makes no sense and does not serve the common good.
Frankly, it is a wonder any town meeting members show up any longer to what has become a gathering of those who meet to discuss and debate issues that rarely affect the daily lives of this community.
Failure to allow me to speak did a disservice not to me but to the precinct I was elected to represent.
Paul Yovino
Town Meeting Member
Precinct 6
Paul, there are rules and laws governing Town Meeting. They are not “arcane procedure under Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Order which was instituted in the 19th century,” nor are they difficult to understand. Get the rules, get the the laws, acquaint yourself with them, and then assert and apply them. You’d be surprised how relevant Town Meeting can suddenly become to your issue. Stop lamenting your own ignorance about how to get a matter before Town Meeting (it’s not arduous!), stop relying on other people to remember to act on your behalf. Do it yourself. That’s how you do a service to the precinct you were elected to represent.
Michael, your defense of the status quo does not address the symptom that is clearly visible to many. The current town meeting system is arthritic to the point of nearly crippling the body politic.
I believe I followed the arthritic procedures by first approaching the town moderator and then approaching town meeting member Fleitman’s presentation sponsor, Board of Selectman Chair, Denis Keohane.
More than that these arcane and arthritic procedures are followed only when convenient.
Last fall U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch spoke before the town meeting by invitation just prior to his bid for reelection and spoke for a considerable amount of time after which the discussion was open to the elected town meeting members to comment. His “presentation” was clearly not an Article in the Town Warrant.
That same courtesy was not offered to me in the case at hand – to comment on a presentation to the assembled town meeting.
Rules of order which are not applied fairly, equitably and uniformly are not worth the paper on which they are written.
So, Michael it is not an issue of “ignorance” but an issue of fairness and equity both of which were blatantly missing on Monday and Tuesday evening.
The Red Sox have just won the World Series. Mr. Yovino, try and enjoy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shalom – JPO
JPO – Would you please stop using the word Shalom – you are using it incorrectly and it is very insulting.
Thank you.
In my mind, Joseph Patrick O’Malley’s frequent use of the word “Shalom” is very welcomed in Milton and in “My Town Matters.” For those unfamiliar with the word: “Shalom (???????) (Sephardic Hebrew/Israeli Hebrew: shalom; Ashkenazi Hebrew/Yiddish: sholom, sholem, sholoim, shulem) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, prosperity, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye.[1][2][3] As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities (especially between man and God or between two countries), or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals. The word is also found in many other expressions and names. Its equivalent cognate in Arabic is salaam, sliem in Maltese, Shlama in Syriac-Assyrian and sälam in Ethiopian Semitic languages from the Proto-Semitic root S-L-M.” from Wikipedia
Shalom! – HFV
Thank you Herb! Couldn’t have said it better myself. No one who knows Joseph Patrick O’Malley has ever been insulted by his use of the word “Shalom”
For clarification, the “(???????)” that appear after the word “Shalom” above, were the Hebrew letters for the word “Shalom.” They did not make it through my “cut and paste” action on the original Wikipedia article.
You can find the Wikipedia entry that Herb Voigt is referencing here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalom