Select Board supports all but two articles on Town Meeting warrant

The Select Board made quick work of recommending most of the 13 articles on the warrant for the second session of Annual Town Meeting, to be held in the Bromfield School’s Cronin Auditorium at noon, Sept. 28. But two articles inserted by the School Department remained controversial.

Article 11, which requests a separate reserve fund for special education, generated objections regarding the timing. Board member Charles Oliver said the request should be made on the spring Town Meeting warrant, when the budget and other financial articles are under consideration. The board voted 3-0 to not recommend the article, with member Kara Minar abstaining. Minar said she agreed that spring would be better, but she was not comfortable voting against an article that the Finance Committee had recommended at its meeting earlier in the day. Member SusanMary Redinger was not present.

Oliver also objected to the $300,000 limit in Article 12 that would create a revolving account for money received from renting out school facilities. School Committee Chair Abby Besse, who was at the meeting, said the committee will be voting on lowering that amount to $150,000 next week at the request of the Finance Committee. Minar made a motion to recommend the article, adding the phrase “with the understanding that the number will change.” The board voted 3-1 to recommend; Oliver voted nay.

The board voted unanimously to recommend taking no action on Article 3, which requests funds to repair the pipes under the old library. That problem has since resolved itself.