by Valerie Hurley ·
Friday, September 27, 2024
Residents and town officials will convene for the second session of Annual Town Meeting Saturday, Sept. 28, at Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School. The meeting starts at noon, with check-in beginning at 11:30 a.m.—time enough to get to sports practice or the Transfer Station and still be on time to participate in the direct democracy of Harvard’s Town Meeting.
The Select Board has put forward 13 articles for voters to debate and approve. Every registered voter can voice an opinion and vote on proposals that include a specialized energy code for new construction and a re-vote on spending an additional $2.31 million for the Devens water connection.
Outside the auditorium, you may see some displays to promote civic activities. The Conservation Commission will offer complimentary booklets “Invasive Plants & How to Manage Them,” which were funded by a grant from the Nashua, Squannacook and Nissitissit River Wild & Scenic Stewardship Council.
Sadly, the ever-popular bake sale put on by the Girl Scouts will be absent Saturday, but Scout leader Jessica Stone Beauchemin assured the Press that the bake sale will return for spring’s Town Meeting.
Last spring, electronic check-in took place in the lobby instead of in the auditorium, making for tight quarters in the lobby and pushing at least one display into a far corner. This year, Moderator Bill Barton and Town Clerk Rose Miranda said that check-in is back in the auditorium, freeing up the space people needed to move freely in the lobby to visit with neighbors and look at the displays. The Poll Pads will once again be used at check-in, but the pads are not connected to the internet, so voters’ personal information is not at risk, said Miranda..
The Poll Pad accepts either a first and last name or a driver’s license barcode for scanning. No information from a scanned license will be retained by the device.
At the check-in table, registrants will receive a clicker, which will be needed for voting as part of the town’s new automated voting system from Meridia Interactive Solutions. The League of Women Voters of Harvard and Bolton’s league each bought 500 clickers and lend them back and forth, allowing each Town Meeting to accommodate 1,000 voters.
The clickers fit in the palm of a hand and provide instantaneous results with a permanent record of the decision. They use radio frequency to send the voting signal to a receiver monitored by Barton, who will set a designated amount of time for people to cast their votes. Results will display instantly on a large screen visible to all participants. Each voter will receive confirmation that their response was received and counted. Voters must relinquish their clickers on the way out of the auditorium; last year, not a single clicker failed to make its way into the collection box.
Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting should walk up to the microphone and take a place in line. While social distancing is no longer required, residents are reminded to be mindful of their proximity to others for their own and others’ comfort.
Speakers should give their names and addresses before beginning their remarks. All comments and questions should be addressed to the moderator and be relevant to the article being discussed at the time. If the moderator cannot directly answer any questions, he will pass them to the appropriate person. At previous Town Meetings, Barton has reminded residents to avoid repeating points that others have already made and to remain civil to fellow residents.
Each article will be debated under a main motion to be decided by a “yes” or “no” vote and can also be amended, deferred, or withdrawn; if an amendment is allowed, it must be submitted in writing to the moderator. Town officials—in particular the moderator and town counsel—are experienced in the rules of Town Meeting and will guide the process accordingly. To learn more about the conduct and procedures for Town Meeting, see the useful summary prepared by the League of Women Voters of Harvard, available at lwvharvard.org/town-meeting-conduct-and-procedures.
The warrant document containing articles will serve as a guide throughout the meeting, so participants should pick up a copy and any materials on display in the lobby. It is also worth bringing along this week’s issue of the Harvard Press, which provides a summary of each article in “Warrant in Plain English.” Additional stories in the Press also provide insight into several of this year’s more complex articles.
Parking is allowed around the school or library; parking is not allowed in the circle in front of Bromfield.