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Auciello resident: ‘Town Meeting is not over’

PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

Confusion over parliamentary procedure lingers after Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting ended before members could vote on two motions relating to private ways.

Article 38, the last item to be debated Saturday, contained three motions. One asked for the town to accept Auciello Drive as a public way. The second and third motions related to a bylaw amendment and asking the town to appropriate free cash for a program to evaluate private ways for acceptance as public ways. The first motion failed, and the other two were not voted on after Annual Town Meeting was dissolved due to the lack of a quorum.

Parker Happ, who presented the citizens’ petition, believes dissolution of the meeting was not authorized under Massachusetts General Law and that the subject matter of the article “was not fully acted upon as required by state law.”

“Ultimately, these are independent procedural concerns, and either one alone would raise questions,” Happ stated in an email, “but together they suggest the dissolution did not align with established Massachusetts town meeting practice nor any previous Hopkinton Town Meeting of my recent memory.”

Happ took issue with the procedure once quorum was lost. Citing MGL Chapter 39 Section 13, he argued that the sub-quorum formed after the quorum vote was called did not have the authority to dissolve the meeting — only to adjourn it. He also pointed to another part of the commonwealth’s town meeting laws, stating that voters were entitled to consider each motion separately.

“Two of those three motions never received a vote, were never withdrawn by the mover and were never formally tabled by parliamentary action,” stated Happ. “The subject matter of Article 38 was therefore not fully acted upon.”

“There are remaining motions, unfinished business, and therefore the dissolution motion was inappropriate,” he clarified in a follow-up email.

Town Clerk Connor Degan shared via email that a review by the town’s legal counsel “determined [the motions made at Town Meeting] were appropriate and align with the relevant practices and legal standards.” He stated that a dissolution dismisses remaining matters on the warrant and that Annual Town Meeting did act upon the remaining motions in Article 38 by voting to dismiss them by dissolving the meeting.

He also explained that the town uses the Massachusetts Moderator’s Association’s “Town Meeting Time” rulebook for its parliamentary procedures for town meetings. According to Degan, if a meeting loses its quorum and the moderator determines regaining quorum is unlikely, motions to dissolve are acceptable — even if there is remaining business.

Happ pushed back against the idea that regaining a quorum in the future was unlikely. “The stated basis for the dissolution motion was that the remaining motions would not garner sufficient interest,” stated Happ. “This is not a recognized parliamentary or statutory standard for any procedural action under Massachusetts town meeting law.”

“Massachusetts law outlines that Town Meeting attendees decide outcomes through participation, not the clerk’s opinion that no one will show up for a second day,” Happ continued in a separate email.

In a follow-up call, Degan affirmed the decision to call for a motion to dissolve Annual Town Meeting. “The moderator and I discussed [it] and believed we were not able to get a quorum again,” he said. And while Degan had shared concerns about accepting Auciello Drive as a public road while speaking as a private citizen at a recent Select Board meeting, he noted wanting to see progress on the matter and giving residents a chance to discuss in the future.

“It would have been nice to get people’s opinions on [the motions], but it would have been a challenge to get people to come back on another day,” Degan stated in a previous interview.

Happ maintained his belief that residents are entitled to vote on the motions and were denied that opportunity as a result of dissolution. “The unaddressed warrant business remains regardless of how the dissolution motion was framed or communicated,” he claimed. “Degan’s motion is procedurally invalid. Town Meeting is not over.”

As to what further action he intends to take, Happ said he is weighing his options. “There’s really no playbook for what to do when your town disenfranchises you and deprives you of your right to [citizens’] petition,” he stated.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

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Photo of the Day

Hopkinton Police Sgt. Bill Burchard, baseball player Sean Kelly and Sparky the Fire Dog throw out ceremonial first pitches at Sunday’s Hopkinton Little League Opening Day event at Carrigan Field as HLL president Matt Hodges looks on.

PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO