Article 30 Unanimously Removed From Warrant
We will have more from later in the meeting.
All five selectmen have voted to remove Article 30 from this spring's town warrant. We will have more updates from the meeting as it becomes available.
Board Of Selectmen
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Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday Night's Gun Ban Hearing Agenda and the Citizen's Petitions on The Issue
We'll have more later tonight.
One certainty during the lead up to Town Meeting season is constant updates, and here is the latest update on what can be expected during Wednesday night's continuation of last week's Board of Selectmen meeting, being held at the Stony Brook School. Attached is the agenda, accurate as of Wednesday morning, and the citizen's petitions submitted referencing Article 30 in some way. If we hear of more updates or changes, we will send them your way and we will have information from the meeting tonight as soon as possible.
In this Article:
Amber B.
11:23 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
I've heard the irascible "moonbats" now have 200+ signatures on a petition for special town meeting in the fall. Stay tuned, this one ain't goin' away anytime soon, folks. more ›
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Westford Town Election Moved to Coincide With U.S. Senate Special Election. Do You Approve?
Near the end of last night's Board of Selectmen meeting, the board voted 4-0-0 to combine the two dates.
As Westford's town election day and the special election to fill John Kerry's U.S. Senate seat approach, the town of Westford chose to combine the two elections on Tuesday night. Originally the town election was scheduled for May 7, one week after the special election. Although Selectman Bob Jefferies initially almost abstained because he is a candidate for the board in the upcoming election, the vote was ultimately 4-0-0, with Andrea Peraner-Sweet, the other incumbent candidate whose seat is up, not in attendance. Town Manager Jodi Ross said combining the two dates would save the town $4,000 and Bob Price told the board that it was very difficult to obtain poll workers for one election, let alone two. On the other side, Alisa Nakashian-…
In this Article:
Ghost
5:08 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
There is a RECALL provision, so I have been told, that will allow removal of those Town Officials not up for election. The direction Westford is headed it seems cleaning house with the BOS and School Committee are well in order! I am sick of Westford being the laughing stock this past year whose teachers are looking to jump ship at any possibility of employment elsewhere and our gun control … more ›
Date, Time, Location Set for Selectmen Meeting Continuation
The meeting will be at the Stony Brook School on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Westford Patch has just learned that last night's Board of Selectmen meeting postponed due to overcrowding will be continued on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Stony Brook School. The hearing on the warrant for the 2012 Annual Westford Town Meeting was postponed in part due to overcrowding on Monday night. There, the Selectmen will hear discussion on Article 30 (the proposed gun ban bylaw), two citizen's petitions with similar language to Article 30, Article 16 (a capital expenditure article) and a possible new article on helping Nashoba Tech build a running track. Patch could not immediately obtain the capacity of the auditorium, but in the past it has hosted crowds comparable in size to the one at Monday night'…
In this Article:
Dan M
12:49 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Want to minimize the possibility of crime in your town? Criminal control, not gun control. Simple logic. Would criminals rather prey upon those they KNOW to be disarmed or those who very well may be armed? One gun ban or 100 gun control laws won't do anything to criminals since they have no regard for laws. It's been proven that more legal private gun ownership translates into less violent crime … more ›
Gun Article Hearing Postponed to Next Wednesday or Thursday
Chairman Kelly Ross was disappointed in need to delay the hearing, gun rights advocates believe more planning could have avoided delay.
In the ongoing debate over the proposed warrant article to ban assault weapons in Westford, a new debate arose at last night's Board of Selectmen's meeting involving the subject: how many people are coming? Board of Selectmen chairman Kelly Ross ultimately had to postpone the hearing due to violations of the fire code, which saw more than the 47 maximum people in the town hall conference room in addition to above the 75 maximum elsewhere on the second floor of town hall and numbers approaching the 75 maximum on the building's first floor. "I knew there would be a lot of people, but I didn't know there would be this many, and in retrospect I should have," he said, stating the final number of e-mails and phone calls numbered in the "dozens…
In this Article:
Butch Foote
4:36 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
My quotes above your reply are from the SCOTUS ruling. more ›
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Gun Discussion Postponed Due to Overcrowding at Town Hall
During Representative Jim Arciero and Senate Eileen Donoghue's discussion on the state budget, Selectman Kelly Ross was informed that Town Hall was over capacity and discussion on the town warrant would have to be delayed.
This morning the Westford Patch asked if Town Hall would be big enough to hold everyone wanting to discuss Article 30 and other gun-related warrant articles at this spring's upcoming town meeting, and the answer appears to be no. In what Selectman Kelly Ross called "one of the lowest moments of his career as a Selectman," discussion on anything relating to guns was postponed to a date yet to be announced, with approximately 100 people gathered in the hallway and meeting room. We will have more on this story as it develops. UPDATE 8:50 p.m. - We've been told that approximately 50 people were downstairs in addition to the more than approximately 100 upstairs. UPDATE: 8:53 p.m. - Article 19 (Authority for Selectmen to Take Easements Related…
In this Article:
R Gagnon
4:08 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013
Don, just like our right to live freely, it is up to the government to prove you are not worthy of that right in order to take it away. Similar to a court of law, you are worthy of excercising your 2nd amendment right unless proven otherwise. There is no burden on the citizen to prove he is worthy of the right to bear arms before he can excercise it. Its called due process. more ›
Is Town Hall Big Enough For Tonight's Discussion on The Firearms Warrant Article?
There's plenty on the Selectmen's docket tonight, but we're expecting a big crowd for one item in particular, and we want your take on whether there's enough room.
A discussion on last year's warrant articles for Spring Town Meeting was so packed that many observers were forced to stand outside in the hallway. Will tonight be a repeat with the large crowd expected for tonight's discussion on the firearms ban warrant article? Since Patch first reported on this story over a month ago, the topic has spread to media outlets across the state, with a packed house of those wishing to discuss the article the last time it came before the Selectmen's attention as well. Tonight's meeting also has a wide array of other items on the warrant as well as a presentation by State Representative Jim Arciero and State Senator Eileen Donoghue on the Fiscal Year '14 state budget, an update on the potential Fiscal Year '14…
In this Article:
Protagoras
8:11 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013
I hope your reference to Selectman Jefferies proposed Article was tongue-in-cheek when you are insinuating that it would be start a grass roots discussion? Mr. Jefferies has the right to say and propose as he wishes, but as an elected official of this town it was a disservice to the town. Read the Article carefully, it was cobbled together quickly and has no legal basis to support Federal … more ›
Friday, January 25, 2013
FinCom, School Committee, BOS Continue Debate Over Budget
A possible override vote still looms as the multiple boards mulled various options on what to do about the School Department's proposed budget.
Will there be an override on the warrant at this spring’s Town Meeting? It’s still not clear, but the Finance Committee continued to discuss the possibilities during Thursday night’s meeting along with the Board of Selectmen and School Committee. The possibility came in part due to an approximately 4.5 percent proposed increase from last year’s school budget request by the School Committee, approximately $975,000 above Town Manager Jodi Ross’ recommended budget. That increase came primarily from to $450,000 for new expenses related to state mandated special education costs along with three other areas. The first was increases also came from new positions begun this year, like the School Resource Officer at Westford Academy ($72,000), …
In this Article:
Alex Finnegan
8:22 pm on Sunday, April 7, 2013
Jesse James said: "Why pay an old and tired teacher at the C15+ level ~$80,000/year when a young and vibrant teacher will do the same job at a B5 level for ~$50,000/year with a smile." Those are both baseless assumptions on your part. The B5 might be an alcoholic, the C15 might be everybody's favorite teacher. Why are you arguing made up examples? I have emailed Olsen, Jodi and the town and have … more ›
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Selectmen Move on Vose Parcel Conservation Without Mention of Parking
The board discussed the controversial Vose Parcel as well as new sidewalks in the area.
The Board of Selectmen addressed several issues surrounding the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail on Tuesday night, including two issues impacting the long standing debate on parking in the area of Carlisle and Acton roads. With Westford Conservation Resource Planner Bill Turner fully recovered from illness that prevented him from attending the board’s last meeting, the Selectmen gathered his counsel on how to proceed with a conservation restriction agreed to by the Conservation Commission. Although the small size of the property (8,500 square feet) made it an unusual choice for a conservation restriction, the Conservation Commission recommended pursuing a restriction approved by the state due to a certified vernal pool near the property, the …
Andrew Sylvia
10:57 am on Thursday, January 24, 2013
Thanks Chris! I apologize for the error here, I must have misheard things. I grabbed the details from the packet Chris mentioned and added them above as a .pdf attachment, I hope I can make amends there. Also to build on what Chris said, there's plenty of other source materials for from BOS, School Comm and Fin Comm meeting packets on the Town Website, go to "meetings and agendas" on the "quick … more ›
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Selectmen Mull Warrant Article on Gun Ban
The Westford Board of Selectmen closed the town warrant for March 23rd's Annual Town Meeting, but debate centered around one specific article, which will likely be revisited next month.
As of Tuesday night, the warrant for this spring’s Town meeting is officially closed. But in reality, one could say that it’s not quite closed all the way. The Board of Selectmen and local residents had a robust debate on Article 30, an article built around the goal discussed at the board’s last meeting to create a bylaw prohibiting the sale or possession of certain guns such as assault weapons and machine guns within town limits. With the absence of Selectman Val Wormell and the measure’s driving force, Selectman Bob Jefferies, the debate around the warrant article on Tuesday split into two camps: those who believed the warrant article, and the subject of gun control, should be discussed for better or worse at Town meeting, and those …
Jim Jarvie
2:51 pm on Sunday, February 17, 2013
Remember, you have a choice and an opportunity to bring change to the BoS. Looking forward to meeting many of you Wednesday night. Check out my facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/jimjarvieforselectman more ›
Max
7:47 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
``Somebody that's not truthful, that's big, to me. I'm a big fan of the `Judge Judy' show. And when you lie in Judge Judy's courtroom, it's over. Your credibility is completely lost. You have no chance of winning that case,'' San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said Friday. ``I learned that from her. It's very powerful, and true. Because if somebody does lie to you, how can you ever trust anything … more ›