Town meetings in the fall are only scheduled if needed, but often there are at least a few issues to be voted on that can’t wait until next year.  For those who missed or didn’t receive the 29 page warrant booklet at home (see illustration here), extra copies will be available at the Town Building (195 Main Street) during normal hours on Monday from 8 AM until 4 PM.  Copies sent to homes were bundled with the Action Unlimited ad flyer a few weeks ago, delivered to most households, but adnittedly not all.  The text is also available to download on the web page set up for the meeting:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/608/Special-Town-Meeting-October-27-2025

For anyone not familiar with the terms I’m using here, here are three of them:

• Town Meeting - a gathering of registered voters to make specific decisions that cannot be made by government officials alone. 
• Warrant - An agenda and guide for the meeting, listing the individual issues to be voted on.
• Article - An item on that agenda, with a description of the decision to be made, who put it on the agenda, along with some comments from town boards or committees.  There is also a recommended vote from at least one of these boards or committees. 

The first four pages of the warrant booklet provide some explanation of the details on how the meeting is run and definitions of some of the terminology used in the pages that follow.

For more details on the nature of town meetings here in New England, you may want to download and read my unofficial and slightly irreverent article “An Informal Guide to Town Government and Town Meetings in Massachusetts.” It’s listed as "town_government_introduction_1.6," the fifth one down on my “Perspectives” page, here on this web site.

The format and wording of the articles in the warrant booklet are laid out the way they are because they have to conform to various state requirements.  Here is my quick unofficial preview of each of the 12 articles, just to get you started.

1. Housekeeping - to correct an oversight in a list of duties for the Select board.
2. Update to agree with a state law - essentially allow one widow(er) of a retired town employee to receive increased benefits, now permitted by the state.
3. Update to agree with a state law - allow a beer & wine license holder to convert to an “all alcohol” license.  Just one business in Maynard is eligible at this time, according to the comments.
4. Wipe the slate clean of approvals for the town to borrow money that it no longer needs to borrow.
5. Allow some public and school property to be available to permit solar panels to be leased or licensed.
6. Update to agree with a state law - If article 5 passes, allow the town to actually lease or license such solar panels.
7. Take money from PFAS (known as “forever chemicals”) lawsuits already won against polluters and give it to the water department to upgrade treatment equipment.
8. Housekeeping - Zoning - add the Powdermill Overlay District to the existing list of districts. (for what this means, see my article, "Plans in Progress" published in November 2023)
9. Housekeeping - Zoning - delete a parking requirement in one part of the Zoning Bylaw and let parking be governed by a different part.  (The two different requirements conflicted with one another.)
10. Zoning (this one is definitely not housekeeping!) - Make extensive changes to the “Powdermill Overlay District (called “Section 9.7” in the Zoning Bylaw).  (This goes on for over 10 pages of details.  The Comments at the bottom of page 24 say why we’re doing this in three simple sentences.  Planning department officials will explain the reasoning for all this at the meeting).
11. Zoning - specify where large scale electrical battery installations can be located to keep from polluting our water supply in case of an accident.  The state requires us to provide at least one location for this kind of thing. Note:  There is some controversy about battery capacity limits in the wording, so expect some debate about this.
12.  Last one - Take the next step to ban "ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES" (let's just call it rat poison for the moment) in town - In order to ban rat poison boxes town wide (not just on town owned property, as we already voted back in May), we have to ask the state for permission.  The town voters have to ask the Select Board to ask the State legislature (House and Senate) to vote and then turn around and give the town’s voters permission to vote on a Bylaw, down the road.  Got that?

I took the time to write all that stuff, above, because I know it's hard to go through the entire warrant booklet ahead of time, before going to the meeting.  Of course my quick descriptions are just that; brief somewhat irreverent synopses.  But the idea is to read the above before you get to the meeting, so you are ready to vote on the housekeeping ones and get to the more important ones, all before 11:00 PM.
Some of these issues are complicated, at first glance, of course.  But what's really at stake is finding a balance between reasonable government regulation and so-called "overreach."  We want our drinking water to be safe, our land used responsibly, and our rivers and wildlife to be protected, of course.  And yet, we want to allow technology and the needs of the public to move forward with as little trouble as possible.
Thankfully, none of the articles for this meeting involve budget or tax increases, as far as I can tell.  That should help keep the discourse low key and allow voting to proceed more easily. At the same time, that does not reduce the importance of voting on these issues now.
Supposedly, Town Meeting is a "pure" form of democracy because any adult resident who is registered to vote can participate, in theory.  Unfortunately, not everyone is able to attend an in-person evening meeting that can run close to midnight.  Conducting the meeting online, "virtually," is just not practical, nor is it legal, unfortunately.  We do our best, despite the impediments (see my opinion pieces, "no news," and "low voter turnout" on my Perspectives page.)
Given all that, I plan to attend, and I hope to see you there!

It's easy to forget the many hours of work put in by quite a number of people, many of whom are volunteers on boards and committees, who do not get paid anything for their time.  Even for those on staff, in paid positions, preparing for a town meeting is a lot of work.  The articles and motions must be drafted, the language worked out, the legal references checked, the considerations regarding the comments and recommended votes discussed and agreed upon, and lay it all out in individual pages, with charts and tables.  This is followed by the logistics of getting it proofread, printed, and distributed.  Still other folks work to keep the town's web site updated so that reference material and meeting records can be available to the public.
On the night of the meeting, personnel from the Clerk's office must be on hand, along with volunteers, to count and keep records of all the votes.  Students and staff from the schools often volunteer to provide audio and video support when needed.
Doing all this costs money, and must be done the way it is, as required by state law, no matter what a town's population or tax base might be.
So, here is a big "Thank You" to everyone who contributes to keep our local government working.  I appreciate it.

This has been tried in other nearby towns and has been shown to work effectively in most places.  Drivers no longer have to fuss with coins, credit cards, smartphone apps, and so forth. 

Back in July of 2023, I published a story about the dilemma facing drivers in town, called “Money for the Meter?”  The town has an official committee, known as the Parking Authority (See: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/285/Parking-Authority ), but most of the documentation there dates back to 2018. The most recent minutes are from 2023, back around the time I published my story.  At that time, the position of parking officer was vacant, as the previous employee had left.  Without anyone to attend to the meters, they soon filled up with coins and stopped working.

So, what took so long?  Part of the reason has to do priorities facing town government officials.  Old obsolete parking meters had to take a back seat to other more pressing matters, such as road repaving, water system troubles, and trying to balance general town expenses against limited revenue.  Since some meters were labeled “2 hour limit," that had to do in the meantime.
Finally, at the Select Board meeting on Tuesday, August 5th, money was finally appropriated for the change over from meters to signs, as shown in the meeting's minutes (Item 7, section C, on page 4),
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08052025-1742
On August 15th, The Maynard Voice ran a story about future plans for the Naylor Court area.  At the very end of the story, they mention the pending removal of the parking meters,
https://maynardvoice.com/naylor-court-commons-action-plan-2/

It's amazing how contentious parking issues can be in cities and towns in New England.  Much of the problem stems from the fact that the roads were laid out many years before automobiles became common.  There were some horse drawn carriages and coaches, but the vast majority of people either walked or, starting around 1820, were able to ride on a "street railway," the horse drawn precursor to the trolley car.  Electrically powered trolley cars began to take over from horses in the 1880s, before automobiles became practical.  In that same era, the bicycle also became popular.  Thus, there was no need for vast amounts of parking space.
But as with anything else, the advent of automobile transportation came with both pros and cons. According to a chart online, published by the Federal Highway Administration, in 1900, there were only about 8,000 motor vehicles in the US, but by 1913, there were over 1 million!  By 1950, when I was born, there were over 40 million.  With a population of 150 million people, that amounted to just about 1 car per family.
By the mid 1990s, there were over 128 million motor vehicles.  As the population was over 250 million by then, that meant there was 1 vehicle for every 2 people, or about one car per adult, instead of per family.  With many of the same roads still in place in the older cities and towns, no wonder there is a parking problem!
Although Maynard is classified as a "MBTA Community" by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (state government), that's only because we're next door to the South Action commuter rail station. Otherwise, we have no public transportation in town, or connecting us with neighboring towns.  The only thing even close is the van service operated by the Council on Aging.
However, implementing a public transit system (perhaps a local bus that runs a regular route) would take a significant effort, based on the need for funding in today's tight public economy.
We have become so used to the advantages of owning and driving a car, that it may be difficult to stop for a moment to consider walking or using a bicycle. If the weather is cold or rainy, or we're buying groceries, using a car is likely to seem even more attractive.  But, in spite of these challenges, the more we find ways to leave the car at home and set out into the open air, the better we will alleviate parking congestion, and perhaps benefit from the exercise as well.

Maynard, MA - Residents and visitors to town enjoyed blue skies and warm temperatures for two days of festivals this past weekend.
On Saturday, October 4th, Maynard's annual October street fair, Maynard Fest, was well attended, with booths and tables ranging from community organizations, state and local agencies, political parties, medical professionals, and banks, to food vendors, play areas for children, crafts, and other vendors of a variety of kinds.  This year it was very well attended, with Nason and Main Streets, as well as Memorial Park crowded with people exploring the options and enjoying conversations.
Maynard Fest is organized every year by the Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce, which is based in Hudson.  Their web site is  https://www.assabetvalleychamber.org  It takes place the first Saturday in October every year.  Members of the Maynard Police Department were on hand to direct traffic around the streets that were closed to vehicles and provide safe passage for pedestrians at the various crosswalks.

I know at least a few people who did not know that Porchfest was taking place this past weekend.  “How does anyone find out about these things?” they asked me.  Even the organizer of Porchfest remarked that it's hard to get the word out.  I've heard the same from others at different times.
The traditional weekly newspaper in Maynard, The Beacon Villager, ceased publication in May of 2022, so that's no longer an option.
Here at Town Wide Mall, I only publish stories occasionally, so I can’t possibly keep up with the many  events and activities that take place every week in town.  The Maynard Voice has just started publishing online every few weeks, so that is another possible source.
Otherwise, how do people planning an event - and people who want to find events - get connected? 
One of the best guides is the Discover Maynard Calendar of Events web page, https://discovermaynard.com/calendar/  The Discover Maynard site is hosted by the Maynard Cultural District and was originally created to help people from outside of Maynard, "discover" our town and all it has to offer.  But by now, with no printed newspaper in town, it has become a central place to connect Maynard residents with events going on.
For those organizing an event, go to that page and click on the words, "SUBMIT EVENT," just below the banner photo.  That gets you to a page with the guidelines and policies, which you should read before proceeding.  Then click on the large blue button, "Fill out the Submission Form" at the left and enter the specifics for the event, then click the "Submit" button at the bottom.

For those who just want to find out what's going on, ignore the "submit event" button and just start scrolling down the list for events taking place on the date shown above.

It may not seem likely, but flyers posted on these boards actually get a lot of attention.  It turns out that many people stop by to look at them because they pass by one of these boards while walking or jogging, etc. as part of their daily routine.

There are two venues that have so many events that you may want to check their web sites directly.  One is the Maynard Fine Arts Theatre, at https://www.maynardfineartstheatre.com which has details on films, show times, ticket prices, etc.  The other is Sanctuary, with their web site, https://www.sanctuarymaynard.com

In addition to those, Maynard Town Government has some events listed on its home page:  https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov  If you scroll down just a little, below the banner photo and icon strip, the center of the page has a column entitled "Latest News" which has a list of some events.  To the right of that is a calendar grid that has days marked off for meetings and other events.  There is a huge amount of information on this site as a whole, carefully curated by town officials and staff, so it can take awhile to learn where various things are among the many web pages, but there are many good resources.

Maynard Fest has been around for many years, but Maynard Porchfest is a more recent event.  It all sprang from an idea by Elizabeth Barren, who moved to Maynard back in 2017.  At first, she was not aware of Maynard Fest.  However, in October of 2019, she happened to end up on Nason Street around 5 PM, the first Saturday in October.  She observed Sarah, from the Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce, doing the last bit of cleanup after Maynard Fest had just ended.
When they talked, Elizabeth learned about what Maynard Fest was, and, being a part time musician herself, she realized that Maynard could have a Porchfest, similar to those that take place in other cities and towns nearby.  In more densely populated cities, there are few driveways or lawns to stage performances, so front porches are typically the only outdoor space for performers to use.  Anyway, Sarah supplied her with a number of contacts and information to help her get going.
The following year, she began to plan Maynard's first Porchfest to take place in the spring, around the time of the Artwalk.  She had signs made up and had a schedule of bands and musicians finalized when the pandemic hit.  So it all had to be scrapped.
It wasn't until 2022 that she was able to try again.  Various other people chipped in, helping to print up maps, make lawn signs, review submissions by musicians and bands and determine the schedule.  The result?  The whole thing turned out to be a big success!
Everything is done by volunteers.  Musicians are allowed to put out a "tip jar" to collect a bit of cash, but that's it.  Otherwise everything is free and open to the public.
To learn more, yes, of course there is a website for Maynard Porchfest.  You can do a search for "Maynard Porchfest" to get there, or use the link here:  https://maynardporchfest.wixsite.com/website

I am continually amazed and heartened by how many people volunteer to help make Maynard the great place to live that it is.  In today's world, when there is so much focus on financial affairs, taxes, prices, inflation, and so forth, it's easy to forget how big a role simple generosity plays in everyday life.  There is an amazingly robust "economy" of volunteer labor that makes the world work.  The benefits are enormous, both for those who directly partake of the results of that generosity, as well as those volunteering, who get not only the satisfaction in knowing they're making a difference in the world, but who also often benefit from the social interaction and connections that most volunteer labor entails.
When I see headlines with stories about war or political bickering, it helps me to reflect on how basic decency and willingness to lend a helping hand are truly quite common.
As I wrote in my first essay on Substack, back in July, if there's a flood and rescuers in a boat approach  someone who is stranded to take them to safety, they never ask what political party they belong to or for whom they voted in the last election.  They just say, "We're here to rescue you, climb in."  This is a fundamental part of human nature that, as far as I know, will always be with us:  The willingness to help each other, whether in times of crisis, or just to create a community that is warm and welcoming.