Meeting, August 8, 2002

 

Present:  Paul Connolly, Raphael Herz, Linda Wollschlager, and Jeff Phillips

Absent:  Phil Verzani

Others:  Gwen Kermode

 

The meeting was called to order by the chair at 7:20 PM in the Retirement Board Conference Room, Third Floor, Town Hall. The notice for the meeting had been sent to the Town Clerk for posting on April 1; the agenda had been sent on August 5.

 

Minutes of the August 1 meeting were approved as written.

 

Ms. Kermode expressed concerns that some proposed changes omitted mention of the new Human Services Department. Mr. Connolly explained that an omission had been made in one case by mistake and that the omission would be rectified. He also explained that the committee did not favor placing in the By-Laws a description of the departments of the Town or a list of officials appointed by the Town Administrator except in those special cases when it was necessary to point out that the organization of the Town government in Natick did not follow the model described in the General Laws or when a reference to a specific Charter or By-Law section would be helpful to a reader of the By-Laws.

 

Mr. Herz briefed other members of the committee on recent events. The Recreation Commission expressed a preference for an all-elected commission of seven members. The Conservation Commission provided some revisions relative to the Wetlands Protection by-law. He received a communication from Susan Salamoff expressing a concern that Town Counsel had not thoroughly reviewed the draft warrant articles that the committee has been working on. He received a communication from the Board of Selectmen urging the committee to submit all draft warrant articles to Town Counsel before proceeding further, expressing concern that some draft changes may affect the Board of Selectmen, the Town Administrator, or Town departments, and inviting the committee to attend the Board of Selectmen meeting on August 19. He had a brief telephone conversation with the Town Administrator, and a meeting with the Town Administrator is scheduled for Monday, August 12.

 

The committee continued the review of draft warrant articles that had not been completed at the public hearing last week. Two documents had been prepared to guide the discussions at the public hearing: (1) proposed warrant articles to change the Charter and By-Laws, 7/26/2002; (2) modifications in the Charter and By-Laws, 7/28/2002. (In these minutes, the items are referenced by the short designations that appear in the first document.)

 

By-Laws, Art. 20, s. 2. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 20, s. 5. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 21, s. 1. This item had been postponed from the previous meeting. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve a revised warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 22, s. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve a revised warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 23, s. 1, 4, 6. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 24, s. 1. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 24, s. 2 ff. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 30, s. 2; Art. 79. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to a revised motion to recommend to the Finance Committee. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 40, s. 1. The motion to approve the draft warrant article failed (1-3).

 

By-Laws, Art. 40, s. 4, 5. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 41, s. 1, 5, 11, 12. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 41, s. 13. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 42; Art. 53; Art. 74. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 43, s. 1, 2, 4, 5. Mr. Phillips recused himself for these items. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve a revised warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 50, s. 10, 13, 18, 20. The committee unanimously (4-0) adopted amendments that deleted changes 1 and 2 in the draft warrant article. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the revised warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 51, s. 6, 10. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 51, s. 8; Art. 50, s. 24. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 52, s. 2; Art. 73. The committee unanimously (4-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 70, s. 1, 2, 3. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 80. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 90. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 92, s. 2, 4; Art. 81, s. 12. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

The following five items had been postponed from the previous meeting.

 

Charter, Art. 3, s. 3-2(a), 3-6(b), 3-9(b). The committee unanimously (3-0) voted to retain the constables' duties relative to profane swearing and gaming. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the revised warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

Charter, Art. 4, s. 4-1, 4-2 (3); Art. 7, s. 7-12. Mr. Connolly suggested an amendment to address the issue of insufficient time for the Board of Selectmen to take a vote to reject a proposed appointment made by the Town Administrator. The committee did not consider the amendment. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

Charter, Art. 5, s. 5-2. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 11, s. 12. Mr. Connolly reported that the December 1 date is okay. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the draft warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

By-Laws, Art. 12; Art. 45. Mr. Connolly reported on the suggestions that had been received and described the revisions. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the revised warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM contingent upon receipt of the revised warrant article in writing and opportunity to review.

 

The following two items are new on the agenda for this meeting.

 

Charter, Art. 6, s. 6-4(b). No person other than treasurer pays bills [Treasurer (1)]. Misleading statement. The committee unanimously (3-0) agreed to approve the suggested warrant article and submit it to the Fall 2002 ATM.

 

Charter, Art. 3, s. 3-11(a). Appoint associate member of Planning Board by vote of Planning Board. The motion to approve the suggested warrant article failed (1-2).

 

The next meeting was scheduled for August 29.

 

The meeting adjourned at 11:00 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Paul E. Connolly