To the editor:
I will be proposing an amendment to Article 1, “requiring articles in the Warrant to be taken up in their numerical order.” The goal of this amendment is to increase participation at Town Meeting well above the very poor 5% turnout last year.
My amendment will propose that three very high-interest articles be considered before all other Warrant articles on Monday, May 5, starting at 7 p.m. In order, these articles include Article 23: 3A multi-family overlay district zoning, Article 34: MHS roof and HVAC system capital project, and Article 33: Mary A. Alley municipal building capital project.
This amendment will hopefully encourage voters who have difficulty attending the entire meeting to show up for the most important discussions. This would include parents with school-age children, seniors, and busy people in all professions.
If you are interested in weighing in on these very important topics and care little about approving payments for unpaid accounts, vehicle leases, pay scales for seasonal workers, and other mundane details of the operating budget, you need to show up at 7 p.m. sharp. We need to first approve my amendment.
Yes, Jack the Moderator knows that I am planning to do this.
Please spread the word!
James (Seamus) Hourihan
Marblehead