Special Town Meeting is on Saturday, October 29, at 9:00 at the Performing Arts Center attached to Alden School. There are 10 articles on the warrant. While we do not expect Special Town Meeting to last all day -- indeed, we hope to be done mid-day -- we cannot control what happens on the floor and therefore cannot say exactly when anything will happen.
You must be a registered voter in the Town of Duxbury to vote at Special Town Meeting. There is no absentee voting -- you must be there in person to cast your vote.
For Article 1 -- the school building project -- to pass, 2/3 of the voters must say yes. That's 66.67%. For every vote against the project, there must be at least two votes for the the project. Twice as many people for as against. However, you want to say it, it means your vote matters. In Hingham this past Monday night, their school building project for a new middle school passed by 82 votes. 2000 people attended that special town meeting, and it came down to that small number of voters.
There is no planned break -- no lunch break -- as at Annual Town Meeting.
Before You Arrive
We strongly encourage all families to make child care arrangements in advance. While there likely will be some walk-in availability, programs may cancel if not enough kids are pre-registered. Programs are available through:
- Before and After Dark (781-934-7633)
- DHS girls volleyball team (Barbara Vetch - barbaravetch@comcast.net)
- Duxbury Student Union (admin@duxburystudentunion.org)
More information on childcare options can be found at Town Meeting Childcare Update.
Checking In
When you arrive at the PAC, you will need to check in. Check-in begins at 8:00AM. Checking in is done by precinct first, street name second, street number third, and name last. For example, I am in precinct 4, and I live on Temple Street. I would go to the table for precinct 4, tell the checkers I live on Temple Street, then my street number, then my name.
When the checker checks off your name, he or she will hand you a slip of paper. Hold onto this slip of paper! If the vote needs to be hand-counted (rather than decided by voice vote) you will need to hold up this slip of paper - your "ticket" - to be counted. In addition, if you intend to sit in the PAC proper, you will need to show this ticket to safety staff to show you are a registered voter who has checked in properly.
If the vote goes to a counted vote, you must hold up this ticket for your vote to count. DO NOT LOSE THE TICKET!
We recommend you arrive EARLY to allow time for checking in -- with luck there will be a big turnout! (You could arrive early to check in, then take your kids to childcare, then come back and sit down.) And don't forget to thank the checkers; they have been there since very early in the morning, getting everything set up. Town meeting would not happen without their work.
Seating Areas
Provisions are being made for several overflow areas. In the PAC itself, seats are reserved for registered voters, and town officials intend to enforce this. Overflow areas will include the Alden cafeteria, gym, and PAC practice rooms, and possibly other areas, and kids are welcome in those locations. If the PAC and cafeteria are full, ushers will direct voters to the next space to fill, and spaces will be filled in sequence to avoid scattering. However, with a high turnout expected, we need to be aware and respectful of maximum occupancy numbers, fire codes and public safety. Kids count toward the maximum occupancy number - and this is why it may be good to have your kids covered elsewhere. And if you have made arrangements for your kids, please sit in the PAC so we can fill as many seats with supporters as possible!
What Happens on the Floor
At 9:00AM, the moderator (Friend Weiler) will call the special town meeting to order. After the Pledge of Allegiance and certain formalities, article 1 will be brought forward. The school building committee will give a presentation on the project, and several other town representatives and officials will be prepared to speak and add commentary. The floor will then be open to meeting attendees to speak and ask questions.
When and Where to Speak
If you would like to speak about the project or to a comment or ask a question, go to one of the several microphones around the PAC. There will be microphones on each landing for those seated in the upper section, two in back on the lower section, and one up front. The microphone up front on the floor is NOT reserved for town officials only. Especially if you are seated in the lower section, feel free to go up to this microphone; it's possibly the best mic in the PAC for being seen and heard, and the line to speak there may be shorter.
Note also that although those in the cafeteria or PAC practice room or other overflow area will be counted in any voting, you must come into the main PAC to speak.
Once at a microphone, wait to be acknowledged by Mr. Weiler, then state your name and what street you live on. Please keep comments succinct and to the point as there are likely others who would like to speak as well. Please listen carefully to the comments of voters who speak before you to be sure you make new points at your turn at the microphone; redundant comments will only delay the proceedings. Please also be respectful of others' points of view.
Motions
At any time during the discussion, a citizen may make a motion from the floor related to the article. While we cannot know what, if any, motions will be made, we can offer some information about types of motions that could be made. When motions are made, listen very carefully to Mr. Weiler. He will give direction as to what votes on a motion will mean.
Motion for contingency amendment: A citizen could make motion for a contingency amendment on the article. This might mean the article as printed would be amended so that if the article as a whole is approved it would or would not include something specific.
For example, if a citizen really, really wanted to have an indoor track, he or she could offer a contingency amendment stating that the main article (1) be approved contingent on adding an indoor track for x amount of money.
Similarly a contingency amendment could be presented that would remove a specific item from the proposal, or remove a percentage of the total appropriation from the proposal.
In any case, town meeting then must vote an amendment up or down, and then discussion would continue on the article in light of the now approved amendment.
While we can't tell you how we think you should vote on any given amendment or motion because we don't know what amendments will be presented, we do recommend that special town meeting attendees follow the recommendations of the School Building Committee. The 14 volunteer members of the School Building Committee have put thousands of hours and their cumulative 400+ years of experience into this proposal to squeeze out every bit of value and benefit from the project.
The discussion on the floor of town meeting does have the potential to be....interesting. Town meeting is nothing if not good people watching! We encourage you to stay calm and focused on the end result. We may not all agree with project, but we do all still have to live together in town.
Motion for secret ballot: a citizen could make a motion that any vote on the article is done in secret. There are any number of political reasons a citizen might prefer a secret ballot. In Hingham this past Monday night at their special town meeting, the vote on the funding for a middle school went to such a ballot. It took well over an hour to cast and count all the ballots.
Motion to move the article to a vote: At any point in the discussion, a town meeting attendee can make a "motion to move." Such a motion will stop all discussion on the article, and move the article as it currently stands to a vote. In this case there could be two votes in quick succession: the motion to move is first voted, and if voted up ("yes"), the vote on the article would follow.
Securing the Vote
Once the vote is taken, it's done, right? Not necessarily. Those of you who attended spring town meeting probably remember the motion for reconsideration.
In short, a motion for reconsideration is a way a vote can be brought up for a second vote, invalidating the first. You can read a detailed discussion on motions for reconsideration here: Motions for Reconsideration, or a Crash Course in Parliamentary Procedure.
Provided the vote goes in favor of the proposed building project, we have someone who will stand up and make a motion for reconsideration. If the first vote has gone in favor of the schools, the motion to reconsider the vote should be voted down ("no"), as we will not want to bring up the article again for further discussion and another vote.
Additional Articles on the Warrant
After article 1 and (hopefully) the motion for reconsideration are done, Special Town Meeting is not over. There are are nine additional articles on the warrant, and each deserves our consideration. The supporters of those articles were there through the schools article and it would be a show of respect for their causes to listen to their articles.
Please DO NOT VOTE and RUN! While it is your right to participate in democracy in any way you choose, this appears extremely disrespectful to the process. We’ve been able to bring many empty-nesters over to the school’s side, and we don’t want to lose them. An immediate mass-exodus could lose some of those critical votes that we will need at the ballot box on November 5. They listened to our article, let’s listen to theirs!
Thank you so much to all of you for your support and action. Let's not let our guard down now! WE CAN DO THIS!
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