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October 25 Special Town Meeting: 6 articles pass, 1 referred back

The October 25, 2021 Special Town Meeting took place remotely via zoom. Town Moderator, Bob Hiss, began the meeting with some introductory remarks and a few speakers took the floor with presentations and updates.

Resident Brian Furze spoke about harassment he and his husband received and how they have turned that experience around and have raised close to $35,000 towards a scholarship that will honor a student that stands up to bullying and is going on to secondary education (2-year or 4-year college or a trade school). They are still accepting donations towards the scholarship fund. The link can be found here: Fundraiser by Bryan Furze : #iammichellefruitzey Scholarship (gofundme.com)

The recent passing of town residents Marvin Gordon, David Jones, and David Evans was observed and a moment of silence was held in their memories.

The Milton Cultural Council is is looking for your input to help them redefine their priorities for granting monies to local artists, cultural organizations and more. The survey can be found here: Community Input Survey

The Equity and Justice for All Committee is requesting your input regarding issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the town. The survey is available electronically by clicking here.

School Building Committee Chair, Sean O’ Rourke provided a presentation and update, on the groups Statement of Interest submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the spring 2022 decision regarding the building of a new school. The committee is hopeful that their bid for funding will be accepted.

After the updates, the Town Moderator moved into the articles. The warrant can be viewed here: View the Warrant.

The articles are as follows:

Authorize Select Board to Acquire 41 Wharf Street ……………………………… 10
Amend General Bylaws – Stormwater Management Bylaw …………………… 11
Appropriate monies from PEG Access and Cable Related Fund ……………. 12
Amend Law Budget – Fiscal Year 2022 ……………………………………………… 12
Amend Departmental Budgets – Fiscal Year 2022 ……………………………….. 13
Unpaid Bills Appropriation……………………………………………………………….. 14
Appropriate monies from Capital Stabilization Fund to General Fund …….. 15

The first 6 articles passed. The last article, Appropriate monies from Capital Stabilization Fund to General Fund, was requested by Select Board Chairwoman, Katie Conlon, to be referred back for further study. That request passed.

The passing of article 3 is very important for the town’s infrastructure as the new network upgrade will ‘form the backbone of a town broadband utility’ that will benefit the town greatly.

The town budget increase will allow for new positions to be added in the schools and police department and increase the library’s book and materials budget. The new positions will be funded as of January 1, 2022.

To learn more, please visit the Town Meeting page:

https://www.townofmilton.org/town-moderator/pages/town-meeting