Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Resident Isabella Jancourtz offers some thoughts on the upcoming political events in Weston in this letter to Weston Patch.
- NEWS
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Tuesday, February 26
Weston's town caucus is coming up on Monday, March 11, and I'm looking forward to seeing who's running. Of course, you don't have to attend the caucus to be on the ballot. You may, instead, collect 50 or more signatures of your fellow voters and file them with the town clerk by March 22. Unfortunately, attending the caucus may not tell you much about the people running because the tradition is for them not to speak, but to be nominated by a friend. That may have worked well back when everybody knew everybody else in Weston, but not so much these days. I hope we start a new tradition this year at the caucus, actually seeing and hearing from the candidates before we vote for them. We discussed this issue at the now disbanded Weston Town …
Friday, February 22, 2013
The warrant submission deadline is Friday, Feb. 22.
The warrant for Annual Town Meeting closes today, Friday, Feb. 22, according to an announcement on the Town of Weston's website. The warrant was opened by the Board of Selectmen at its Jan. 23 meeting, with a deadline of Feb. 22 set for residents to submit articles. Town Meeting is scheduled for May 13. Curious how to request an article on the Town Meeting warrant? More information is available on the town website. Look on the Town Information page for the Town Meeting info page.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Capital improvement, Community Preservation Act among articles discussed.
Weston’s annual Town Meeting concluded on Wednesday, May 9, at Weston High School with the quick approval of a number of articles related to capital improvements and community preservation efforts, and a lengthy and impassioned discussion about Article 25, to appropriate funds for reconstructing a dam at Hobbs Pond. Ultimately, that article passed by a standing count of 133-85, but not before supporters on both sides of the issue—whether to build a 50-foot spillway to replace the dam that breached in March 2010, or to remove the dam and allow brook restoration—had the chance to present their views. Presenting the article was Weston Conservation Commission member Brian Donahue, who told the audience that while both options were deemed “…
Annual Town Meeting 2012 wraps with the completion of remaining articles.
Following a lengthy and impassioned discussion by supporters on both sides of the issue, Weston residents voted last night at Town Meeting to restore Hobbs Pond by building a 50-foot spillway, to replace the original dam that breached in March 2010. The standing count vote of 133-85 to approve Article 25, to appropriate funds for Hobbs Pond Dam reconstruction and pond preservation, followed suit with a majority vote by the Weston Conservation Commission in favor of pond restoration at its public hearing on the issue last month. The other option debated at previous Conservation Commission meetings, and at last night’s Town Meeting as Article 26, was to remove the dam and allow the area to revert to its original stream channel. Later in the …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Zoning and capital improvement articles on tap.
Weston's Annual Town Meeting resumes tonight with zoning and capital improvement articles on tap to start the meeting, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Weston High School auditorium. Town Meeting started Monday night, and articles 1 through 17 were completed, including two of seven citizens' petitions passing that night. Attendance was strong Monday night, with hundreds of people attending the meeting, which at 11:15 p.m.was adjourned to May 9. Do you plan to attend Town Meeting tonight? Vote in the poll, then tell us why or why not in the comments section. Weston Patch will be there to report on the meeting, so check back on Thursday for coverage.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Seven citizens' petitions were discussed during the first night of annual Town Meeting.
Weston’s annual Town Meeting began Monday, May 7, with quick approval of several budget and finance articles, while the main discussion centered on several citizens’ petitions last night. (See a complete list of the articles and votes from Monday night here.) Bill Sandalls presented Article 11, to amend how standing votes at Town Meeting are counted. (Editor's Note: Clarification from Bill Sandalls: Article 11 allows standing counts to start with either the yea's or the nay's, whichever seems to be in the minority on the voice vote, then the apparent majority would be counted only to the extent necessary to determine the outcome of the vote.) “This amendment provides for a streamlined way for standing votes to be counted,” Sandalls said. …
A look at Monday night's Town Meeting votes.
Town Meeting kicked off Monday, May 7, with the completion of warrant articles 1 to 17, plus all five articles on the Special Town Meeting Warrant. Later in the day, Weston Patch will be posting a more substantive article on the discussions had at Town Meeting. But for now, here's a quick look at the results of the Town Meeting votes taken. Finance/Budget Articles Citizens' Petitions Town Meeting resumes Wednesday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Weston High School.
Monday, May 7, 2012
A letter to the editor from Wendy Spector.
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, May 7, 2012
To the Editor: I'd like to thank all the residents who took the time to vote on Saturday. The turnout was higher than normal, which is great, and I share the goal of Bill Sandalls and other residents to make such turnout a more regular occurrence. I will also continue to work with The Weston Town Meeting Advisory Committee (WTMAC) to try to make Town Meeting and town governance more engaging and efficient, and to increase the opportunity for more residents to be heard. As we look ahead to tonight's Town Meeting, I will be adopting some recent WTMAC recommendations: Once our business for this Town Meeting is completed, I look forward to hearing from WTMAC for more suggestions as they continue to explore ideas, and encourage others to …
Monday, April 30, 2012
A letter to the editor from William Crum.
- OPINION
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Monday, April 30, 2012
Dear Editor: Earlier this year, I volunteered to join the Weston Town Meeting Advisory Committee, or WTMAC in short. What could be more boring? Actually, it’s been more what Sinclair Lewis called “the eternal aching comedy of expectant youth” (Main Street). At 54, I’m one of the younger ones on the Committee, four of whose members dropped out in just three months due to either too much excitement or the “imposition” of meeting for a few hours a month. One even emailed us they were “furious” that fellow citizens had tried to adjourn for another late night Town Meeting deliberative session. How civic standards have fallen! People waste weeks watching trivial TV, but can’t bother to spend under 10 hours at Town Meeting per year. I wonder what…
Friday, April 27, 2012
A letter to the editor from Ed Coburn.
To the Editor: This year at Town Meeting Weston will hear discussion of 9 citizen's petitions. These are articles that are on the warrant not because of a town government board or committee but because of an individual resident. What could be better than that — it seems like direct democracy in action. In order to get an article on the warrant at town meeting, by state law, a resident needs to get just 10 signatures of other residents. That's it. These petitions do not go through the open government process with meetings and hearings. So, these citizen's petitions can be easily employed by an individual or small group to serve special interests. Democracy means there's an open, fair process and majority support the outcome, not that you'…
Derek Chilvers
9:15 pm on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
As usual Isabella Jancourtz has hit all the right nails squarely on the head. Bravo and thank you. more ›