Residents discuss the Hawthorne Lane water issue at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO
Two citizens’ petitions presented at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting provoked discussion about modifying town policies to include what some speakers termed as “fairness” and “humanity.”
Article 18 was a citizens’ petition presented by Kathy Nagel for authorization of drainage improvements for the Hawthorne Lane area. It was approved by a 152-23 vote, but it is nonbinding.
“The town has been aware of a significant drainage failure for years,” she said.
Nagel said the Conservation Commission at that time issued “approval for a drainage solution,” but it was not enacted.
She noted that in 2020, water was discharging from an electrical box near her home. For years, water has been pooling on her street that she said contained “algae growth and hundreds of tadpoles.” It also has been running from the roadway onto her property, she said.
Kerry Reed, the Department of Public Works director, said the request has been included in the five-year capital improvement plan for repaving and regrading the road. But it cannot be addressed until the 2030 fiscal year because of project prioritization.
Kyla LaPierre, the town’s chief financial officer, said the project would cost $350,000.
“The solutions that they’re suggesting would require a connection to a private culvert, to drain on private property” Reed explained.
Town counsel Jay Talerman noted that the article has “no notice of an appropriation.” Allocating money would be “beyond the scope of the motion.”
Resident Muriel Kramer, a former Select Board member, suggested a motion to fund the street in FY 27 as “the vote of support to make sure it is prioritized.”
This could not be done, as the FY 27 budget was approved earlier in the meeting.
Kramer suggested the motion be put on a Special Town Meeting later this year.
Added Kramer: “This is a longstanding health and safety issue.”
Town Clerk Connor Degan said the applicant could put it on the warrant for the anticipated fall STM or next year’s ATM. He advised the petitioners to speak with the departments involved to work out a solution so that it “stays on the radar.”
An amendment passed that would request funding in the FY 28 budget for the proposed project passed in the 152-23 vote.
Auciello Drive road acceptance defeated
The first motion in a three-motion article requesting the acceptance of Auciello Drive as a private way failed in a 53-42 vote.
Proponent Parker Happ called a quorum after the measure was defeated because of the low vote number. But it did not affect the motion, as it already was voted down.
Happ noted that the town provided plowing services for 30 years until 2024 despite it being a private road.
“It’s about fairness,” he stressed. “And we simply want to have town services.”
At that point, a quorum was called. Because it was not met, Annual Town Meeting was dissolved.
The article was not recommended by the Planning Board, Select Board or Department of Public Works.
DPW director Kerry Reed said that the private way needed to be brought up to current standards. This would cost the residents of the five homes on the street an estimated $170,000.
She noted that there were letters dating back to 1999 making residents aware of the steps they needed to take to make Auciello Road a private way under subdivision regulations.
There’s a disconnect here between the headline and the article which doesn’t include what the actual debate was about. From my perspective the citizens who sponsored the warrant article were basically told by elected and appointed officials, including Town Counsel that what they wrote would not result in any kind of actionable outcome (i.e. the problem would get fixed) As various townspeople got up to the mic to express support & offer to help amend the article they too were shut down. Finally, one citizen appealed to the powers that be and basically asked, “Well then, give us some help, how can we fix this for them?” In the meantime, a Select Board member made the comment that this process of citizen petitioning and other townspeople trying to aid the petitioners was “disrepectful” to elected officials! “We have a process, people” he said. I would add to that by saying “yes, and citizen petitions are part of the process”! And when you have appealed to everyone in positions of power and the problem had remained for decades, a citizen’s petition is your last best chance. Town Meeting can be a daunting experience for people unfamiliar with the process (including Select Board members.)