Monday, February 25, 2013
Town Meeting is now less than a month away, what do you think the final figure will be when all is said and done?
We're now less than a month away from Town Meeting, and the total amount for Fiscal Year 2014 revenues are projected at $101,412,843. However, with the warrant now closed, Article 11 (where voters will approve the operating budget), would allow voters to discuss a possible Prop 2 1/2 override vote supplemental funding for the School Department's requests for funding above the Town Manager's recommended budget. Westford's not alone, the Boston Globe reports that two other communities are looking into a possible override vote. School Committee chairwoman Angela Harkness has said repeatedly during public meetings that most of the proposed additional funding to bring on new staff memebers is vital for maintaining the town's educational …
Friday, February 22, 2013
After Wednesday night's signing of the warrant at the Stony Brook School, we want to ask you if you're still planning on heading to Town Meeting.
March 23 is rapidly approaching and that means the 2013 Annual Town Meeting at the Abbot School, an event that will see see a few hundred people more than likely. Still, that number likely would have been much higher if not for the news on Wednesday that Article 30, which would have amended town bylaws to add restrictions on firearms, and two citizen's petitions relating to Article 30, will not be on the warrant. So today we want to ask you if you still be heading to Town Meeting. If you are, what articles will you being paying attention to? Is there another reason other than a specific item why you want to go? If you're not, why not? Is it the lack of Article 30? Is it the length of the meeting? Are you busy that Saturday? Give us your …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The issue may arise again at some point in the future, but not before Spring Town Meeting on March 23 as a packed Stony Brook Auditorium left seeing the Selectmen sign the Town Meeting warrant without the controversial "gun ban" warrant article.
The voters of Westford now have the articles they will act upon at the Abbot School on March 23, and none of them will involve guns. In what was a very brief continuation of last week's meeting, the board voted unanimously to withdraw the controversial Article 30 that would prohibit certain types of firearms in front of an overflowing auditorium and a secondary room (pictured) at the Stony Brook School on Wednesday night. The board also declined to reopen the warrant for several other articles, including new citizen's petitions related to Article 30, signing the warrant and ending debate on what will be presented to voters at Town Meeting. Selectman Bob Jefferies, the principal proponent of the measure, did not see the article's …
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The warrant article would combine the East Boston Camps with the nearby Stepinski Parcel to create a new piece of land called the Westford Woods.
While much of the focus in the leadup to the March 23 Annual Town Meeting has been focused on the proposed gun bylaw amendment and the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, one group of residents is hoping to draw some attention to a cause they believe will give back Westford one of its most notable landmarks. After it was tabled at last year's Town Meeting, this year advocates of what is now Article 31 are hoping to take the East Boston Camps, combine the property with the neighboring Stepinski Parcel and have the new parcel be known as the Westford Woods. The two pieces of property, roughly located along the Stony Brook between the Stony Brook School, the American Legion Fields, and Stony Brook Acres, were purchased by the town in 2005 for a …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
We'll have the answer on Monday! But in the meantime, tell us what you think.
The gun ban issue has brought so much attention that it shut down town hall , but with almost 500 likes on Facebook in about 12 hours, it's possible that something might have eclipsed it in terms of importance for Westford residents. We'll have the answer for you on what was the most read story of this week on Monday, but in the meantime, what do you think is a bigger issue to Westford: the gun ban warrant article or the announcement that Whole Foods is coming to town?
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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'…
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…
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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…
Jack Boston
1:38 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Coordinators should be K-12 as the frameworks have all been redone in the past few years and there is minimal change needed. Mandarin is a luxury not a necessity. The IT coordinator should be shared with the Town, there is no need for two. Resource officer at the school maybe a good idea but there are still too many drugs/alcohol users at the high school and not sure of the specific plan to … more ›