Complete Warrant Article Recap: Wayland 2013 Annual Town Meeting

Patch is keeping track of the actions taken on the articles of Wayland’s 2013 Annual Town Meeting Warrant. You’ll find a recap (without abstentions) of the vote as well as amendments passed for each article below (amendments that failed are not included, but can be followed in the live blog linked below). The original 2013 Town Meeting Warrant is available as a PDF.

In addition to this article recap, Wayland Patch is live blogging each session of the ATM from the town meeting floor.

• Live Blog Session 1 (April 4)
• Live Blog Session 2 (April 7)
• Live Blog Session 3 (April 9)
• Live Blog Session 4 (April 10)

NOTE: For a printable version of this, or any other article published on Wayland Patch, click the "Print" link above the article text, but below the headline.

SUMMARY OF ARTICLE VOTES AND AMENDMENTS PASSED (Session 1)

Article 1: RECOGNIZE CITIZENS AND EMPLOYEES FOR PARTICULAR SERVICE TO THE TOWN - passed by a unanimous voice vote.

Article 2: PAY PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR UNPAID BILLS - passed over by a vote of 162 yes, 32 no.

Article 3: CURRENT YEAR TRANSFERS - passed by a voice vote. There was a momentary glitch with electronic voting (one of the base stations needed to be rebooted). It was quickly corrected and electronic voting was used for the remainder of the session.

Article 4: OPEB FUNDING - passed by a vote of 218 yes, 69 no with the following amendment:

• Reduce the total appropriation by $645,668, which amount was originally proposed to be raised through tax dollars. That brought the total OPEB Funding appropriation down to $98,534 from $744,202. The amendment passed by a vote of 143 yes, 136 no.

Article 5: FY 2014 OMNIBUS BUDGET -

• Motion one (operating budget) passed by a vote of 190 yes, 30 no, with an amendment that deleted $102,671 proposed for WaylandCares (the amendment passed 150 yes, 122 no). The amended and approved budget is $72,252,247 with $62,911,951 to be raised through taxation.
  • Following the amendment to not fund WaylandCares, a motion "that the Board of Selectmen bring an article to the next town meeting regarding the organization and responsibility of WaylandCares or something of that nature" was proposed. It passed 169 yes, 64 no.

Session 2 on Sunday, April 7 covered the articles below.

• Article 5, Motion two (jurisdiction of various town employees and departments). This was amended, by a vote of 100 yes, 65 no, to delete the language putting the management of the Wastewater Treatment Facility under the responsibility of the town administrator for operation, maintanence and administraton. Town Moderator Dennis Berry then said that this motion was voted and decided at Thursdays session of town meeting, though no individual vote was taken for this motion.
• Article 5, Motion three (capital budget) - Passed by a vote of 147 yes, 27 no. The motion presented on the floor differs from that printed in the Warrant. The Middle School Roof Renovations line item was separated out into its own motion. That reduced the capital budget request to $3,085,000 and the amount authorized to be borrowed to $1,060,000.
• Article 5, Motion four (Wayland Middle School roof repairs) - Passed 203 yes, 20 no, with an amendment (it passed 172 yes, 53 no) that dictates $500,000 will be borrowed rather than transferred from Free Cash.

Article 6: COMPENSATION FOR TOWN CLERK - passed 178 yes, 14 no.

Article 7: APPROVE PERSONNEL BYLAW AND WAGE & CLASSIFICATION PLAN - passed 161 yes, 45 no.

Article 8: ACCEPT LAW INCREASING REAL ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION AMOUNTS - passed 183 yes, 16 no.

Article 9: AMEND 1978 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING VOTE REGARDING LANDFILL ACCESS ROAD PARCEL AND DESIGNATE
CONSERVATION LAND - passes 191 yes, 51 no.

Article 10: APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF NEW DPW MAINTENANCE AND STORAGE FACILITY AND ACCESSORY STRUCTURES - fails by a vote of 158 yes, 95 no (it required a two-thirds vote).

• When the first motion failed, a second motion was proposed seeking $900,000 to be borrowed for maintanence and repairs of the current site and continued research into the River Road site for a new facility. This motion also failed -- by a vote of 127 yes, 103 no (again, it required a two-thirds vote).

Article 11: AMEND SECTION 19-3: FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND AMEND SECTION 36-5: QUANTUM OF VOTE, REPORTS - passed over by a vote of 209 yes, 8 no.

Article 12: AMEND TOWN CODE SECTION 36-18: ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION OF NON-RESIDENT TOWN OFFICIALS  - passed by voice vote (electronic voting had a glitch) with the following amendment:

• Delete the words "town counsel" and "speak to articles" from the motion. That essentially meant that only the words "public buildings director" were added to the language of the town code.

Article 13: SET ASIDE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION FUNDS FOR LATER SPENDING - passed by voice vote.

Article 14: APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION FUNDS FOR STUDY AND DESIGN OF ATHLETIC FIELDS AT LOKER CONSERVATION AND RECREATION AREA - passed 156 yes, 57 no.

Session 3 on Tuesday, April 9 covered the articles below.

Article 15: ACQUISITION OF 150 MAIN STREET PROPERTY (FORMERLY FINNERTY’S RESTAURANT) - failed 118 yes, 229 no.

Article 16: TRANSFER AND DISPOSE OF SEPTAGE FACILITY LAND AND ADJACENT TOWN-OWNED LAND ON BOSTON POST ROAD - failed 239 yes, 129 no (it required a two-thirds vote and achieved only 64.5 percent).

Article 17: AMEND ZONING BYLAW CHAPTER 198: RIVER’S EDGE HOUSING OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT - failed 197 yes, 123 no (it required a two-thirds vote and achieved only 64.5 percent).

Article 18: ACCEPT ROADS AS PUBLIC WAYS - passed 200 yes, 63 no

Article 19: AMEND TOWN CODE CHAPTER 193A: LAND CLEARING, GRADING AND PROTECTION OF SPECIMEN TREES - passed 181 yes, 29 no.

Article 20: AMEND TOWN CODE SECTION 91: REGULATION OF DOGS - failed 39 yes, 145 no.

Session 4 on Wednesday, April 10 covered the articles below.

Article 21: CHOOSE TOWN OFFICERS - passed 143 yes, 6 no.

Article 22: SELL OR TRADE VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT - passed 159 yes, 7 no.

Article 23: ACCEPT GIFTS OF LAND - passed vote of 206 yes, 6 no.

Article 24: HEAR REPORTS - passed 251 yes, 7 no.

Additionally, Berry allowed a discussion and vote on whether to reconsider Article 10: Appropriate Funds for Construction of New DPW Mainenance and Storage Facility and Accessory Structures.

After a few minutes of debate, the town elected to not reconsider Article 10 by a vote of 202 yes, 113 no (it required a two-thirds vote but fell short at 64.1 percent).