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STM petitions aim to help town do ‘big things’ for residents

FILE PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

Hopkinton resident Parker Happ is gathering signatures to get 19 citizen petitions on the warrant for October’s Special Town Meeting.

Happ is a member of the Planning Board, but he has developed the articles as a private citizen. Some of the items relate to zoning, but, according to Happ, they span a wide range of issues he and other residents are concerned about.

A few of the proposed articles address issues Happ has advocated for over the past year, including town acceptance of private roads, plowing services for private ways and amendments to Town Meeting procedures. He has raised objections to parliamentary procedures during May’s Annual Town Meeting that dissolved the meeting due to lack of a quorum. That action prevented members from voting on the last two motions of an article relating to private ways.

“We’re looking to solve this once and for all,” Happ said of his concerns with private roads. Another petition aims to settle the funding for the Hawthorne Lane culvert project, which was approved to move forward at ATM but has not yet been acted upon by the Department of Public Works, according to Happ.

The petitions also hope to target term limits for town officials, eligibility qualifications for the police chief, the use of Flock Safety cameras and improving transparency. He shared a vision of the town establishing a dedicated transparency officer to assist residents with understanding and moving through the town’s bylaws and regulations.

Two proposals Happ expressed excitement over were a housing preference program for town employees and a community center study.

The housing petition would use Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40Y rules to give town employees the right of first refusal in a starter home zoning district. He said this could help the town compete in what it offers town employees in regard to salary and benefits, potentially reducing some salary costs.

Happ noted the petition for a community center would ask for a design that would meet the recreation needs of Hopkinton seniors. It also includes the demolition of the Parks & Recreation office on Walcott Street to make room for more parking downtown.

Happ said he has been discussing the petitions with town committees and employees and already has spoken with more than 200 residents. His hope is to use this mechanism to get the town to meet the “high expectations of our citizenry.”

“We want to do big things that are going to benefit the town,” said Happ. “Let’s let the town decide, and hopefully we can follow through on some of these things that were promised or we will promise.”

— NICK SCHOFIELD

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Photo of the Day

Town Clerk Connor Degan (left) looks on as intern and Hopkinton High School junior Mahathi Manikandan feeds sample ballots into a ballot box during election machine testing at Town Hall on Thursday ahead of Tuesday’s state primary.

PHOTO/NICK SCHOFIELD