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For more on Town Meeting, check out our overview recap. You can also check out the video of the meeting on Westford CAT.
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Check back here for breaking results from Day 1 of Westford's 2013 Annual Town Meeting.
Can't make it out to Town Meeting today? Missed the live showing on Westford CAT? Don't worry, here's your scorecard to what happened on Day 1 of the 2013 Annual Town Meeting. We'll be updating this throughout the meeting, and we'll have pictures from the proceedings on Monday. If you are here or are watching on TV, let us know what you think in the comments section! Reports Financial - Fiscal Year 2013 Minot's Corner stabilization passed unanimously, voice vote Enterprise requests passed, voice vote School budget amendment - decrease of $550,000, fails 104-140 ballot vote Original school budget passed, by voice vote Amendment to reduce part of Water Enterprise Fund passed, by voice vote Rest of budget, passed, by voice vote Capital …
9:55 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
That's not what I meant. There's amendments voted on that weren't in previous docs. I know what each article is, does every body at the TM? E.G. Article 10, the raises @ water dept, the meeting was ok w/giving the Water Dept Manager a $6k-$9k raise? The existing band had $21,000 of leeway, is the band shift needed? What was he making before & now? Are these details divulged? So is it verbally … more ›
Westford voters will decide on Saturday.
"East Boston Camps" or "Westford Woods?" Voters will make their decision at the Abbot School on Saturday, and the Conservation Commission has provided them with a recommendation, albeit, one with some reservations and extensive debate. At their meeting last week, the board voted 5-2 to recommend the petitioned warrant article asking voters to merge the East Boston Camps parcel with the nearby Stepinski Parcel and rename the new property as the Westford Woods. The board's vote came after they asked the petitioners to compromise and allow the camp area on the parcel to retain the East Boston Camp name, even if the article passed. Still, opinions on the vote were more nuanced than its final tally. Only Jim Gozzo seemed to truly support the …
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12:05 pm on Saturday, March 30, 2013
Look for less access for residents. The place will shortly be by invitation only,with a fee of course more ›
With Town Meeting rapidly drawing closer, Board unable to resolve last few changes to proposed bylaw
The Westford Planning Board voted unanimously at Monday evening’s meeting to recommend temporary dismissal of Article 20, which amends the town’s Zoning Bylaws concerning sign regulations, from the Town Meeting agenda. With the annual Town Meeting looming a mere five days from its meeting, the Board reached the difficult decision after two months of public hearings. Director of Land Use Management Chris Kluchman again provided Board members a revised draft of the proposed amendment that differentiated between the existing and proposed sign bylaws. Some of the more challenging issues that have left the Board at a standstill involve portable signs and the reduction in size of wall signs. Incorporating those changes without drawing the ire …
1:10 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013
Discussion on the proposed sign bylaw will continue on Monday, April 1 (no jokes, please) at 8:50 pm on the second floor of Town Hall. As noted above, striking a balance between Community Character and business interests is challenging. When the process was started in 2010, a major goal was to change the sign bylaw to support the town's Comprehansive Master Plan and Route 110 Master Plan -- … more ›
Town Meeting is on Saturday, what do you think will take center stage?
We've only four more days until Town Meeting Day here in Westford at the Abbot School, and today we want to ask you: what will be the most talked about article on the warrant: both in terms of people talking during the meeting and the results afterward. (and no, we're not expecting any talk of gun bans.) Here's a list of the expected articles. More information is at the town website. #1. Accepting Town Reports #2. Unpaid Bills from Previous Fiscal Years #3. Fiscal Year 2013 Supplemental Appropriations #4. Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Transfers #5. Transfer from the Perchlorate Stabilization Fund for Perchlorate Expenses #6. Appropriate Funds to Address Public Safety Hazards at 12 North Main Street. #7. Authorize Expenditure from Insurance …
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6:21 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
Hey Phil, I think your sarcasm is lost on Ms. Harde. By the way, Ellen, how are your minions going to vote tomorrow? more ›
The Board of Selectmen voted to reconsider their recommendation vote following changes to wording that voters will now see.
The wheels of government are constantly in motion, and now Town Meeting voters heading to the Abbot School on March 23 will have one more change after Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting. Article 11, which will set the town's operating budget for Fiscal '14, will now have no option to possibly consider a Prop 2 1/2 overide vote following news from School Superintendent Bill Olsen that could potentially impact next fiscal year's school budget. That budget had been recommended by the Selectmen with a split 3-2 vote before the news from Olsen that Westford's schools would be getting $88,000 in the first installment of a $4.1 million settlement from the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative, a settlement shared by all towns within the …
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8:46 pm on Monday, April 8, 2013
That's not how it works. They don't preemptively allocate funds for a specific student. more ›
The Selectmen want to wait until Fall Town Meeting to seek more information from the Permanent Town Building Committee.
Westford's Board of Selectmen will unanimously recommended to Town Meeting voters the dismissal of Article 27 on Tuesday night after coming to a consensus that more resarch is needed on the proposed Parker Village Fire Sub-Station, or if a fire station in Parker Village is even needed at all. The Article, which asked voters to approve a swap of land in the Jack Walsh field parcel, now under the supervision of the Recreation Commission, for parcels of land near the Stony Brook School once being considered as a possible Town Hall annex location. Town Permanent Building Committee chairman Tom Mahanna told the board that the Jack Walsh location, which would be funded by Cornerstone Square developer Robert Walker as a condition of a permit …
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9:32 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Mr. Walker is in business to make money. A strange concept in MA. The Planning Board made Mr. Walker agree to put up a "fire station" as a condition of getting waivers on certain zoning requirements. These impact fees have been around for a long time and they are a way to fund pet projects for elected officials. more ›
Board running out of time to approve proposed sign regulations before Town Meeting
Fresh off its informal working session, the Westford Planning Board undertook once again the arduous task of amending the section of town’s Zoning Bylaws that deals with sign regulations. Director of Land Use Management Chris Kluchman provided the Board with a revised amendment that incorporated comments from the working session meeting. A common theme of the revision process has been how best to manage the advertising needs of the business community with the town’s desire to maintain a certain character common to Westford along with safety and visibility aspects. Under the proposed amendment, the size of wall signs will decrease from one and a half times the square footage of linear building frontage to being equal to the square footage …
10:02 pm on Sunday, March 10, 2013
If signage was protected by the Second Amendment, imagine how quickly they'd have been able to deal with this issue! more ›
The Burlington Free Press reports that there will be some problems with this year's town report in Westford's sister town to the north.
The Burlington Free Press is reporting that voters head to Town Meeting on March 4 in Westford, Vermont are going to have a little difficulty when it comes to details on the town's financial records. That's because Town Treasurer Charlotte Vincent has failed to submit information for town auditors in time to include in the town report, which she has not done in recent years as well, according to the report. Vincent is elected to her position and has run unopposed since 1999. Westford's proposed town budget is $1,673,606, and the school budget is $5,038,777. The town of Westford, Vermont has a population of approximately 2,000. Westford, Massachusetts' town manager requested Fiscal '14 budget was $98,436,379. More information on Westford…
Voters will act upon the issue on March 23, but there is no recommendation one way or another as of yet from the Conservation Commission after last week's hearing.
Advocates for combining the East Boston Camps with the nearby Stepinski parcel into a new property that would be called the Westford Woods came before the Conservation Commission last week, seeking a recommendation on the Town Meeting warrant but finding that more discussion will be needed. Last year, several residents attempted the name change at Town Meeting, but discovered that the Conservation Commission could override even a Town Meeting vote on changing the name of the property, which they had indicated that they would if needed. Former Selectman and lifelong Westford resident Dina Healey Coffin introduced the measure to the board this year after hearing town counsel’s advice that a proposed bylaw change could circumvent the …
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8:09 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I think we're really getting close to the actual issues here...thanks, Seven Feathers and R Gagnon. This thread has been heated and there are some angry people here, but let's (finally) talk frankly about who we're really angry at. EBSC Alumni: If you have a good understanding of what went on, it's not really the Town of Westford, or individual Westford residents (despite some aggressive/rude … more ›
Alex Finnegan
8:24 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
W Resident "I find it crazy that the school needs more & more budget but the birthrate in Westford is declining significantly" Enrollment is what matters. The school needs more & more b/c of the way they have stacked the steps. Westford is one of the cheapest districts in the state by far. I find it crazy that people aren't happy w/the performance/cost ratio. @ hiring new school employees, … more ›