Article 1: Choose Town Officers, passed on a near unanimous voice vote. The nominators and newly elected officers are:
The moderator then proceeded to the Consent Agenda for the Town Meeting, which included articles 2, 3 and 21-40. Consent Agenda articles are typically recurring and are not expected to generate controversy. Each article is introduced by the moderator and, if five Meeting members so request, an article may be taken off the calendar for separate consideration. Only one consent agenda article, Article 29, was held for a separate vote. With the exception of Article 29, the Finance Committee recommended all of the articles.
Select Board Chair Dean Charter then moved to take action on all the articles on the consent calendar except the held article. Most of the articles on the consent agenda required a simple majority, but Article 21, Amend Zoning Bylaw Related to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), required a ⅔ majority because it changed a bylaw. The Consent Agenda passed by a voice vote sufficient to support the required majority vote for passage and the 2/3 majority required for Article 21.
To consider Article 29, Select Board member Fran Arsenault moved that the Town authorize the grant, termination or acquisition of easements, as set forth in the article. In response to comments raised about the purposes of the article, Ms. Arsenault confirmed that there were no plans contemplated in this article relative to Hayward Road. Select Board member David Martin, speaking at one of the floor microphones rather than from the podium, reminded the Meeting that easements are not takings but are a tool that can be used to facilitate access for projects such as sidewalks. He emphasized that easements are individually negotiated between the landowner and the Town. Article 29 passed 270 to 99.
Pat Clifford is on the Letters Committee of the Acton Exchange and on the Town of Acton Planning Board. She steps forward each year to contribute to Town Meeting coverage for the Acton Exchange.
