After a lengthy discussion primarily focused on what a yes or no vote would mean, Town Meeting instead voted to postpone indefinitely a citizen petition relating to the restructuring plans of the Beech Street Center.
The petition, submitted by Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Paul Joy and Precinct 1 Town Meeting member Bob McGaw, effectively sought to gauge public opinion about plans the town shared last month to merge the recreation staff with the Council on Aging staff (now collectively the Community Services Department) in the administrative offices of the Beech Street Center. In April, the plans included the recommendation to build a back entrance for recreation services to mitigate foot traffic concerns in the center’s lobby.
The motion to dismiss passed, 174-70, with four abstentions.
The petition argued the plans presented in April conflicted with the terms of a 2011 memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the town and the Friends of the Council on Aging, stipulating the center should remain primarily for senior use until 2049. Plans that would no longer support the primary use of the center for seniors, which petitioners argued was the case here, should require a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting.
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The town’s legal counsel, however, argued the proposed changes did not constitute a change of use; therefore, any vote on the article would be considered non-binding.
According to Town Moderator Mike Crowley, a “No” vote signified an unfavorable opinion of the town’s plans; a “Yes” vote signified a favorable opinion of the town’s plans.
Complicating matters further, the conversation Wednesday night came two days after the Select Board voted to affirm the MOU from 2011, and to affirm the Administrator’s Act of 2014, which asserts the town administrator’s authority to manage the reporting structure and organization of town departments.
Moreover, Select Board members voted to indefinitely postpone the discussion of adding a door or service window for recreation purposes. They also agreed to the concept of the recreation staff using the office space on a trial basis, monitoring and gathering data, and being responsive to any issues that arise. And finally, the Select Board’s discussion Monday night included a recommendation to Town Meeting to indefinitely postpone the citizen petition.
Thus, Select Board Vice Chair Matt Taylor’s update to Town Meeting members after Joy and McGaw’s presentation confused the conversation further—if so much had been changed since April, what exactly was Town Meeting voting on?
Some members spoke to the benefits of the proposed plans to merge the staff, allowing a handful of recreation staff to move into the office space at the Beech Street Center. Taylor explained the recreation staff’s move to the Beech Street Center would allow the start of a town-wide re-delegation of office space.
Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Chris Doyle, who also serves as chair of the Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee, said the plan demonstrated an optimal use of space and an effort to improve services while also reducing costs. Others, however, argued any discussion of the change constituted a break from the agreement made in the 2011 memorandum, and that such plans infringed on seniors’ access to the only building in town geared specifically toward seniors.
“As a Town Meeting member, I feel it’s my obligation to take a position on the issues that come before us, but in this case, I think that’s asking too much,” said Precinct 1 Town Meeting member Jack Weis. “A body of 288 people who have been given scant information about this is not the right body and not the right time for us to make a decision about that.”
Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Glenn Wong, who motioned to postpone indefinitely, said he shared the confusion expressed by others before him.
Precinct 8 Town Meeting member Ellen Schreiber, too, urged her peers to vote to dismiss the article.
“I agree that there needs to be a discussion of these issues,” she said. “I don’t think we’re prepared to do that right now.”