Voting This Way and That

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - The fall Special Town Meeting tonight wrapped up at 9:00 PM, just about two hours after it started.  There were only eight articles, with four of them sailing through with almost no discussion.  However there was quite a bit of debate on a few of the others.  In the end seven out of the eight articles passed.

Article 3: Alumni Field Bleachers

Article 3 was the biggest ticket of the night, a plan to borrow 3.4 million dollars to fund replacement of the bleachers at Alumni Field with a new facility.  The proposal included seating for 750 people, with a press box mounted above (for WAVM students to record video of the games), along with a separate building to house a concession stand, and ADA compliant bathrooms with enough capacity for a full crowd.  Based on current building codes, bleachers cannot be constructed without enough bathroom facilities included.
If the measure were approved, the town would borrow the amount by issuing bonds to be paid off over the next 15 years at a 3.5% interest rate.  The total cost, with interest included would be just over $4.5 million.  Property taxes would increase approximately $70 per year for the average single family household, assessed at just over $500.000.

Proponents explained that the existing bleachers on the field have outlived their useful life.  (As they are now unusable, the town must rent temporary bleachers during each sport’s season, at significant expense.)  The existing facilities are limited to portable toilets, as there is no conventional plumbing on site.

Proponents also explained that the cost has increased since the original concept was developed as building code requirements have been added in the mean time and construction costs have gone up as well.  A document detailing the plans was projected on the screen for voters to view.  A copy of the plan, along with other information, is available on the school department's web site page devoted to it:
https://www.maynard.k12.ma.us/page/alumni-field-bleacher-project
Discussion on the article went back and forth between pro and con arguments along with a variety of questions in between. 

One concern revolved around the condition of the playing field itself, which was not included in the proposal.

Apparently, the field is not in good condition, but town officials could not give an estimate of the cost of field renovations because the process of determining that is still in very preliminary stages.   At least one voter recommended that the town come back with a more comprehensive plan to include the field and bleachers together as a single project.
Others questioned the town’s priorities in general, with more than one voter asking why we would be spending more on school related projects when a new senior center has still not been addressed.  Last year, the town voted to borrow over 50 million dollars to build a new elementary school to replace the existing one.   That vote passed overwhelmingly (see previous story "Historic Vote Brings Historic Attendance at Meeting").

When asked how many days per year the field is used, or how many high school students are currently enrolled, proponents did not offer any exact answers.

After spending almost an hour on this, the Moderator stated that he would not allow any more discussion, limiting comments and questions to the last four people still waiting at the microphones.  However one person got up just after that and insisted that he be able to speak, after the others had finished.  At first, the Moderator told him no, and to go back to his seat.  The Moderator even called for the Sergeant at Arms to have the voter in question removed when he refused to stop talking.

But at that point a loud murmur arose in the room, so the Moderator asked for a show of hands for how many voters wished to extend the time for debate, for this one person.  Seeing a significant number in favor, he invited the person to have his say.

Finally, a vote was taken.  The count was 97 "Yes," and 136 "No," so the article did not pass. It would have needed a 2/3 majority to pass, so this was a decisive loss.  (These are the vote totals I wrote down while attending the meeting.  However, for official results, check the Town Clerk's web page:  https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/535/Special-Town-Meeting-October-7-2024 )

Article 7: Solid Waste Enterprise Fund

Article 7 was to establish an Enterprise Fund for solid waste collection in the town.  Solid waste refers to trash pickup and disposal, and any additional costs for recycling pickup.
Right now, about half the cost is recovered by the sale of trash "stickers" (known as a "pay as you throw" or PAYT system), and the other half is paid for out of the general fund, supported by property taxes.  These services cost the town about $1 million per year, total.

An "Enterprise Fund" is a way to separate both income and expenses within the town for a particular purpose, rather than intermingle the money with the "general fund" that is used to pay the rest of town expenses overall.  For example, the water and sewer systems use an enterprise fund which puts all money collected from water and sewer bills paid by residents into a separate fund for just that purpose.

During the meeting, more than one voter wanted to know that if this went into effect, would the cost of trash stickers would go up and yet property taxes would not be reduced at the same time (and the property tax money now collected would instead just go to other purposes)?  However, town officials explained that the exact cost of stickers was far from being worked out and the tax burden was therefore still not determined.  They told the meeting that was just a first step to help manage the entire portion of costs to the town for these services.  The article was only intended to lay the groundwork for further discussions, proposals, votes, etc. in the future.
The article passed by a simple majority, by a show of hands, as a neither a secret ballot nor more than a simple majority was required.

By the end of the meeting, all articles passed by the required percentage, except for Article 3.  For anyone with questions regarding the terminology used at Town Meetings, such as "What's a Warrant?" please see my "Introduction to New England Town Government" (a PDF available for download via a link) on this web site's Opinion Page.

Commentary

Before the meeting, I read through my copy of the Warrant to get a general idea of what was to be considered.  At the end of the section on Article 3, on pages 11 and 12, I underlined a few sentences in the Finance Committee's recommendation.

No, you don't have to squint at my illustration here, or go searching for your copy of the Warrant to see what caught my eye.  I'll give it to you right here (although you can see the full text of the Warrant on the town's web site here:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3331/Special-Town-Meeting-Warrant-October-7-2024
Here is what they wrote, "The Finance Committee is concerned about the total debt service that Maynard is carrying and the burden to the Town’s taxpayers. The Finance Committee would like to recognize that there are many important potential projects yet to be funded in the upcoming years. This includes projects such as the Winter Street DPW Garage, Stormwater, Golf Course and Senior Center improvements. The Town Boards and Committees are holding regular meetings on these priorities and Townspeople are encouraged to attend and make their voices heard."
I have put the text I underlined in color here, to add emphasis not originally present in their statement.

My point is this:  The town of Maynard faces at least two significant challenges.
   1.  The projects mentioned, and at least a few others not mentioned, are large, expensive, and require a complex process to scope out, design, and budget.  The more complex this process is, the more meetings and documents are involved, and the more difficult it is for the "Townspeople" to keep up with what's going on and develop an informed opinion.  Who has time to sit through all those meetings and read documents that can run 50, 100, or even many hundreds of pages?  (The Green Meadow Elementary School project had one document that ran 1600 pages, if I recall correctly).
I, as your loyal "self-appointed volunteer reporter," even have a hard time keeping up; I end up missing many meetings and don't have time to read more than a few documents that are presented. This begs the question: What has our democracy come to, if the public cannot properly avail themselves of the issues involved?
   2.  The world outside has a dramatic influence on our options, as a town.  The state and federal government are constantly changing laws, regulations, and policies that impact what we can do, specifically when it comes to building projects.  We either get an increasingly expensive building, or no building at all.  Trying to find a middle ground to save money has become increasingly difficult.  And that's just for government.  The "private sector," and the economy in general, also have significant impacts.  Construction labor and material are all market based, and markets can fluctuate, sometimes wildly.
For example, I often hear people lament that we have a number of empty storefronts in town, "Why doesn't someone do something to revitalize our downtown business districts?"  Why, indeed?  Others speculate, "It's due to greedy landlords!"  But the problem was largely caused ... by us!  Yes, it is we who shifted our buying habits from local merchants to big box stores (starting in the 1970s) and then to shopping online for direct delivery to our doors (the 00s through to now).
When we stopped shopping at local stores we dried up the revenue they needed to stay in business.  They, in turn were no longer there to pay for ads in our local newspapers, which then dried up their income from ad revenue.  We stopped buying classified ads in our local newspapers to post items for sale or give-away, and shifted to posting those online instead, ether on CraigsList or now on social media.  That left local newspapers adrift and eventually bankrupt.
There is no evil person or conspiracy here.  These are the changes we've made without fully understanding our impact on the towns in which we live.  We have prioritized low prices and access to an array of products so vast that no one "brick and mortar" retailer can ever hope to keep in stock. It is natural to want these things, but there are significant impacts on the quality of life in our towns.  We have yet to develop an entirely new arrangement to support local community communication and commerce.
And, of course, Maynard is not alone in this.

Conclusion

We must be very careful in deciding which projects to pursue and how to pursue them.  If we vote in favor of too many costly infrastructure projects, we risk increasing the local property tax to such a level that it changes the very character of the town.  That is, people with modest means, such as the elderly, the artists, the self employed, the staff workers at our restaurants and schools, etc. will all increasingly leave town for other places to live where the costs are more within their means.  The ultimate end of that would mean that a "monoculture" replaces the diverse and vital town we now have.
There are towns not to far distant from us that are now dominated by families with high paying jobs, who want to have "good schools" for their children, smoothly paved streets, nice new buildings, and the like.  Everyone else has already left those towns because they can no longer afford the taxes or the price of real estate.  Increasing real estate prices benefit those who own a home and wish to sell it, but deter those who wish to buy.  We can't have it both ways.
I live here because I looked at a number of towns nearby and chose Maynard on purpose.  I didn't ask my real estate agent to just find me a house. I wanted to "buy into" a specific town because I wanted to live where there was a diversity of residents who were active in town affairs.
No, nothing can stay the same over time.  Changes must come.  It just pays to think through the impact of how we live and the assumptions we make, when it comes to what we value in the way of community. As for me, my slogan is "shop locally."  I can't always do that, but I keep it in mind and try to act accordingly, whenever possible.

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