HomeMy WebLinkAbout_08122020-8872Town Government Study Committee
Minutes of the meeting of August 12, 2020. The meeting took place via Zoom. Members of the
committee present were: John Brescher, Curtis Barnes, Rick Atherton, Linda Williams (10:57
arrival), Campbell Sutton, and Tucker Holland.
1) Chair John Brescher called the meeting to order at 10:04 am with a quorum.
2) Agenda: Campbell Sutton moved approval of the agenda, seconded by Curtis Barnes.
All voted in favor by voice vote.
3) Public Comment: None. Campbell Sutton suggested that John Brescher check with
Town Administration to ensure the public knows how to comment and access our
meetings.
4) Minutes: Campbell made a motion to approve of July 22, 2020 to next meeting. The
motion was seconded by Tucker Holland. All voted in favor by voice vote.
5) Discussion of Select Board memo:
Chairman Brescher opened the discussion to the other Committee members to see if
they had comments on the edits that he made.
The question that seems to remain is what the role of the Town Government Study
Committee should be – should it be on-going or should it be a committee that is
appointed and then disbanded every few years. The idea of having an on-going
workgroup was suggested that may be best suited to review some of the day-to-day
governmental affairs, while having the Charter changes go before a Town Government
Study Committee as it is presently contemplated.
Rick Atherton reminded the Committee that our responsibility is to report to Town
Meeting, not necessarily the Select Board or Town Administration. Campbell Sutton
agreed and added that we, as a committee, are responsible to the voters.
Tucker Holland added that while our committee reports to Town Meeting, the Select
Board did appoint the members of the committee.
Rick Atherton suggested we not recommend any changes to the Select Board, but
perhaps make changes to the terms of Article V in the charter and suggest that perhaps
the committee have staggered three-year terms.
Tucker Holland suggested that we ask the Select Board if they are interested in
something like this. We can assume there will be an opinion, but this is what we
suggest. John Brescher will draft a recommendation to be included in the memo.
The next item for discussion was the Parks & Recreation section of the memo. Again,
the committee revisited the discussion of if the Parks & Recreation
Department/Commission within the charter. Campbell Sutton thought that we were
waiting for the outcome of the Annual Town Meeting warrant article. Nonetheless, it was
suggested that until the charter issues re: appointing, establishment, etc… are resolved,
then the Select Board should take back its power of appointment until all of the
contradictory pieces can be resolved.
Rick Atherton added that this would be a recommended change and want to get in
motion and we should make a recommendation and that we don’t necessarily need to
wait for the warrant article to be passed to make a recommendation. Linda Williams and
Campbell Sutton will tackle this part of the memo.
The next item in the memo to the Select Board is the role of the Airport. Curtis Barnes
suggested we look at this in the same vein as looking at the Wannacomet Water
Company. The committee is going to ask Tom Rafter if the warrant article for the
Airport’s grant-receiving flexibility was approved.
6) Remaining Tasks for the Committee: The next task for the committee will be to compile
the recommendations into a memorandum and circulate for review.
7) Other Business: Campbell Sutton suggested looking at the results of the non-binding
poll. And it was suggested John Brescher reach out to Lauren Goldberg and Libby
Gibson re: a review of the charter.
8) Date and Time of the Next Meeting:
The next Zoom meeting will be held on September 2, 2020 at 10:00 am.
9) Adjournment:
A motion was made by Rick Atherton and duly seconded by Curtis Barnes to adjourn at
11:05 am.
Respectfully Submitted,
John B. Brescher, Chair