SAUGUS — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday evening voted unanimously to open the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, set for May 1 this year, and inserted an article drafted by Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian.
The warrant will close on April 4, and residents seeking to have an article appear on the warrant are required to garner 10 signatures to be reviewed and approved by the town clerk’s office. The 2022 Annual Town Meeting warrant featured 38 articles and stretched across four nights, as members debated matters such as allowing recreational marijuana in Saugus, public art, and the height of buildings.
The article sponsored by Manoogian concerns the right of citizens to speak at Town Meeting and raises the number of votes needed to cut off debate on an article when there are Saugus residents who want to speak on a particular issue. He said the article was sparked by a motion by Precinct 6 member Bill Brown at the Oct. 24 Special Town Meeting to end debate on an article Manoogian authored. That article asked Town Meeting to send a resolution to the state legislature opposing WIN Waste Innovations’ proposed expansion of its ash monofil.
“By that [motion] passing by one vote, Town Meeting denied the public their voice,” Manoogian said, noting that several Precinct 10 residents sought to comment on the article before debate was shut off. “There’s always been a sentiment that you would never shut off debate if somebody wanted to speak.”
Under the article proposed by Manoogian, when a member makes a motion for the “previous question,” “calling the question,” “calling for a vote,” or “closing debate,” a 9/10 vote of Town Meeting is required for the motion to be adopted if the Town Moderator determines there are Saugus residents who wish to speak on the article up for debate. Should the moderator determine no residents wish to speak, a ⅔ vote will be required.
Manoogian said the article concerned any issue that could come before Town Meeting, and was not specifically tied to WIN.
The “whole purpose of Town Meeting” is to ensure Saugus residents get a voice in their government, Manoogian said.
The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to insert the article into the warrant. Members did not discuss the article’s content during the meeting.
Thus far, plans for only one more article have been made public. Precinct 2 Town Meeting member Joe Vecchione, a former member of the Planning Board, intends to submit a zoning overlay for Cliftondale Square. If adopted, it will permit the construction of new housing in the area and require that the first floor of any new development be commercial space. Vecchione hopes this will aid the revitalization of the square.
A second public forum on the overlay is set for March 1.
