Meeting, August 29, 2002

 

Present:  Paul Connolly, Raphael Herz, and Jeff Phillips

Absent:  Phil Verzani and Linda Wollschlager

 

The meeting was called to order by the chair at 7:50 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 August 26; the agenda had been sent at the same time.

 

Mr. Herz briefed other members of the committee on recent events. He reported that his meeting on August 12 with the Town Administrator was a very good get-acquainted meeting. He had expressed his regrets to the Selectmen about their invitation to attend their meeting on August 19. He could not attend because of prior commitments. He did suggest an alternative meeting date; and the Selectmen have reissued the invitation for September 9. To assist in preparation of any materials in advance of the meeting, Mr. Herz will endeavor to contact the chairman of the Board of Selectmen to gain insight into Board concerns.

 

The committee discussed whether there was need for further support for various boards and committees so that they would have sufficient information to adopt a position on warrant articles sponsored by the CBRC. The committee agreed that in most cases support has been provided throughout the process to the extent that the contacts from the various boards and committees have communicated with the CBRC. For example, the contact for the School Committee stated that written communication with the CBRC is sufficient unless the School Committee decides to invite the CBRC to appear at a School Committee meeting. Mr. Connolly will contact the Police Chief and offer to meet with him with regard to the CBRC-sponsored articles affecting the Police Regulations section of the By-Laws.

 

The committee took note of the recent article in the MetroWest Daily News and the Natick Bulletin and Tab about the CBRC-sponsored warrant articles. Because a number of quotes in that article suggested a lack of understanding of the process that Town Meeting, as the Town's legislative body, is required to follow and that the CBRC, as a committee of that legislative body, must also follow, the committee agreed that some letter ought to be sent to Town Meeting members to explain that the CBRC has carried out its mission with seriousness by identifying areas of concern in the Charter and By-Laws, has sought to bring suggested Charter and By-Law changes to Town Meeting members for public debate, and has sought to provide Town Meeting members with sufficient information to assess the merits of each of the motions before them.

 

The committee noted that it will provide the Finance Committee with recommended motions and the modifications of the appropriate sections of the Charter and By-Laws that show clearly what is being changed. The committee will urge the Finance Committee to use these materials, as modified as a result of the Finance Committee's deliberations, to provide the same in its report to Town Meeting.

 

The committee reviewed the motions to be recommended to the Finance Committee. With regard to Article 39 on the warrant dealing with the number of members proposed for the Recreation and Parks Commission, Mr. Herz offered an amendment that would change the number of members to be elected from five to seven. He stated that, at an informal gathering with members of the present commission, many commission members had expressed such a preference. Mr. Connolly argued that there were many good reasons to keep the number of elected members at five and that he wanted to hear the reasons for seven members at the meeting before the Finance Committee. Mr. Connolly moved to indefinitely postpone a vote on Mr. Herz's amendment. The committee unanimously (3-0) voted for indefinite postponement.

 

Minutes of the August 8 meeting were approved as written.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:35 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Paul E. Connolly