Town meeting recap: Most everything passed

Residents made quick work of the 13 articles on the warrant at last night’s special town meeting. The whole thing lasted about two hours.

Nearly every article on the warrant passed, including the ladder truck, the marijuana use bylaw, and the solicitor bylaw. The only exception was a bylaw that would have moved town meeting to the first Saturday in April.

For most of the articles there was little or no debate. Most surprising for me was that the two capital purchases — the ladder truck for $850K and the police SUV for $33K — elicited no discussion. Nothing. Not a word. I thought for sure somebody would stand up and object. Instead, both passed almost unanimously.

The most debate came around the marijuana use bylaw and the solicitor bylaw. Both eventually passed by wide margins.

I’ll dig into the big articles in upcoming posts, but here’s a quick recap.

• Article 1: Town reports – NO VOTE
• Article 2: Increase senior tax work-off amount to $1000 – PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
• Article 3: Transfer town retirees to Medicare Supplemental Health plan – PASSED
• Article 4: Purchase a new aerial ladder truck – PASSED
• Article 5: Fee for zoning violations – PASSED
• Article 6: Drainage easements on Newton Street – PASSED
• Article 7: Purchase a new SUV for the police department – PASSED
• Article 8: Dog and kennel bylaw changes – PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
• Article 9: Solicitor bylaw – PASSED
• Article 10: Marijuana consumption bylaw – PASSED
• Article 11: Conservation filing fees – PASSED
• Article 12: Move town meeting to the first Saturday in April – FAILED
• Article 13: Town warrant posting schedule- PASSED