There may be only seven articles on the warrant for the Oct. 1 Town Meeting, but three of them have turned out to be contentious. At its Sept. 20 meeting, the Select Board voted not to support Article 6, a bylaw that would allow the town to regulate everyone’s outdoor water use, and Article 7, adding the Bromfield House to the town center historic district. Article 4, adding a position for a full-time recreation and beach director, received a vote of support from a majority of the five board members, but there are concerns about the position’s salary.
Arguments against the outdoor water use article, which would allow the town to restrict water use by private well owners, ranged from difficulty enforcing the bylaw equitably to fears of overreach in regulating in-ground irrigation systems (see story below). The board voted 4-1 against supporting the article. Erin McBee was the lone “aye” vote, although she said the bylaw would benefit from more time for review and refinement.
Bromfield House article is not supported
Support for the Bromfield House article was rejected by all but member Charles Oliver. The house is currently leased to an organization hosting Afghan refugee families, and members thought it would be premature to put it in the historic district while its future is still unknown. When the lease ends, the town will have to surplus the building again, Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the board, so it could end up in the town’s hands for some time. Member Kara Minar said she wanted to see a more comprehensive approach to adding houses to the historic district, citing two houses nearly as old as Bromfield House directly across the street from it. Those other houses “are just as much in the gateway to our community as Bromfield House,” she told the Press.
Beach director pay grade too high?
Discussion of Article 4, creation of a new recreation and beach director position, centered around its pay grade. While the article does not specify a dollar amount for the job, Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro said the Personnel Board recently graded it as level 11, which has a salary range of $81,000 to $104,000. McBee said that seemed high, and Oliver agreed. He said he wanted to see the Parks and Recreation Commission, which is requesting the new position, demonstrate the need. “I don’t see it with four lines of a warrant article,” he added. Both McBee and Oliver voted against supporting the article. After the vote, Chair Rich Maiore asked Parks and Rec liaison Don Ludwig to let the commission know it will need to provide more information to the community to justify its request if the measure is to pass at Town Meeting.
Unanimous support for four articles
The other four articles received unanimous votes of support: Article 1, paying a few bills from last year; Article 2, permanently mounting the town’s existing mobile radar systems; Article 3, approving the fire chief’s new contract and funding the additional amount owed him for this fiscal year; and Article 5, a new bylaw that would allow about two dozen bylaws to be treated as civil violations instead of criminal violations.
Fall Town Meeting will be held in the Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School Saturday, Oct. 1, at noon.
