Above: Neary students present a Save the Swap Shop petition to Town Clerk Paul Berry (contributed photo)
The proposed closure of the Swap Shop has been a rallying point for many in town, including some of our youngest residents. Yesterday a group of Neary fifth-graders submitted a petition with more than 300 signatures in support of keeping the Swap Shop open.
Turns out it was quite a lesson in civic action. Resident Nicole Rhind sent in this write-up:
Several excited and civic-minded Neary 5th grade boys went to the Town House this afternoon. The boys presented their petition with more than 300 signatures in support of keeping the Swap Shop open. The petition will be given to the Board of Selectman for consideration.
With the help of Town Clerk, Paul Berry, the boys learned a few wonderful lessons about petitions and civic action. Although the petition will not be “officially” recognized due to the lack of addresses and other details (all signatures need to be from residents age 18 or older and the reason for the petition must be clearly written at the top of each page of signatures), the trip was a great success.
They learned that if they collect 100 authorized signatures, they will be able to meet in person with the Board of Selectman to discuss their concerns. At the end of their visit, the boys decided to divide up the task of obtaining 100 signatures so each boy will be collecting signatures in their own neighborhood this week. They plan to resubmit the petition more formally next month.
A huge thank you to all the employees at the Town House for graciously sharing their time with the boys and helping them learn invaluable lessons about local government and democracy.
I don’t know about you, but I think this is a pretty great thing to come out of all the Swap Shop madness. Kudos to the boys!
Kudos to the boys who organized this! My son was extremely proud to come home and tell us that he signed this petition.
Amen to an early start engaging in democratic action!
Great work these boys did taking on the initiative to stand up for what they believe in.
Nice job, boys! And, for all those who signed their petition.
Great job boys!!!
Awesome job…well done!!!
Good news about the boys but since when does someone need 100 signatures to speak to the Selelctmen? Maybe 100 (with all the proper signatures and identification) to request Selecmtne to submit a warrant article for Town Meeting but hopefully not 100 to meet with them? Seems like they can just go to a meeting, as anyone can, and at some point, assuming there’s a “citizen comment” time or some such, they could speak or they could make an appointment in advance.. Maybe there’s some law in there somewhere that applies only to younger people but I surely hope not.
Good point, Donna.
The “Policies and Procedures of the Board of Selectmen” contains a section dealing with the Board’s “Relations with Citizens” and states that “[a]n individual citizen or group of citizens may request an appointment before the Board by contacting the Town Administrator, and put in writing precisely the reason for the appearance and the action desired and naming a spokesman for the group. The Board of Selectmen should be notified by the Town Administrator of any refusals and the reason for such refusal. Participants may be given the opportunity to make a reasonable presentation through the spokesman and to express opinions and ask for pertinent information.” There is more on point, but I won’t quote it at length here. For anyone who is interested, you can find the document on the website of the Drafting Committee for Town Manager Legislation (thank you, DCTML). Here’s the link: http://southboroughdctml.weebly.com/uploads/8/0/1/7/8017791/bos_policy_and_procedures.doc.
Thank you Donna and Betsy for your clarifications.
I did not mean to imply that the boys were not allowed to meet with the BOS without the petition. The information represented in the original story was only a summary of what the boys’ understood form their lengthy conversation with the Town Clerk. It was not meant to represent the actual law or rights of any Southborough citizens. On the contrary, I am sure there was a bit of misunderstanding regarding the 100 signature petition. More importantly, The Town House employees were incredibly welcoming and supportive of the boys’ work and took the time to explain all their options and rights as citizens to have their voices heard and affect change. Please accept my apologies for any confusion.
Nicole, thanks for your post. No need to apologize. The point of your wonderful story was not to spell out parliamentary procedure in Southborough! I just thought Donna had brought up a good point, as she so often does. Kudos to the kids!