SAUGUS — A small group of Town Meeting members gathered at the Saugus Library Tuesday evening to discuss a trio of articles sponsored by Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian, including an article that seeks to rename the Ballard School property “Ballard Gardens” and asks Town Meeting to support turning the property into a public park.
Manoogian was joined by seven of his fellow Town Meeting members at the first of two forums he is sponsoring. A Town Meeting member for decades, Manoogian sponsored three articles on the warrant for the annual Town Meeting on May 1 — Articles 17, 18, and 19 — which concern the fate of the Ballard School, proposing non-binding resolutions, and citizens’ right to speak.
The conversation began with Manoogian explaining Article 19, which would amend Town Meeting procedures around moving the question or ending debate on a particular article. Under Manoogian’s proposal, a 9/10 vote of the Town Meeting quorum would be needed to shut off debate on an article if the town moderator determines there are Saugus residents who want to speak to the issue on the floor.
He said submitting the article was motivated in part by the fact that Town Meeting voted to indefinitely postpone an article Manoogian submitted for the Sept. 24 Special Town Meeting despite there being a queue of residents who wanted to speak.
“There’s always been a history at Town Meeting … that if there’s people in the audience that want to speak… you don’t move the question. After all … [Town Meeting is] closest to the people, people should have the right to participate,” Manoogian said.
Manoogian pointed to the fact that to spend money on a prior year’s bills, Town Meeting has to vote to do so by a 9/10 margin, meaning the new requirement would not be out of step with other procedures.
The new rule would apply to only Saugus residents, and those who want to speak would have to provide their name and address before being granted the floor, according to Manoogian.
Article 18, Manoogian explained, is the extension of a home rule petition Town Meeting passed in recent years that would allow any Town Meeting member to submit a non-binding resolution for consideration. In order to do so, resolutions would have to be filed with the town clerk’s office 48 hours prior to the next Town Meeting, excluding weekends and holidays.
Resolutions would serve as the town’s legislative body expressing its opinion on a particular issue, and would not amend zoning bylaws, allocate funds, or have any binding effect on town government.
The home-rule petition was enacted by the legislature and signed by former Gov. Charlie Baker last October. Since the legislature amended the petition to add the language about weekends and holidays, additional aproval from Saugus was needed.
The article sparked some debate among the assembled members, with Precinct 6 member Bill Brown expressing concern that 48 hours would not be sufficient notice. He noted that a member could file an article as late as 7 p.m. on Thursday for a Town Meeting slated for Monday at 7 p.m., which could cause issues.
“A problem still exists, only on a smaller degree,” Brown said.
But, Manoogian said the 48-hour window is consistent with what the state’s open meeting law requires.
“I suppose somebody could play beat the clock and get it in and your time to react and all that might be different, but it’s no different than the Planning Board, the Conservation, the School Committee, the Selectmen, whatever,” he said.
Article 17 — concerning the renaming of the Ballard School — generated by far the most discussion of any of the three articles sponsored by Manoogian, with Precinct 2 Town Meeting member Bob Camuso expressing hesitance at supporting a final decision for the site.
The article reads “Town Meeting by its vote, supports the concept of demolishing the existing building, site preparation, repurposing where appropriate, elements and materials that can be incorporated into a passive green space.”
Ballard Gardens would be a passive, non-recreational, greenspace that would have topographical landscaping, walkways, plantings, and benches, according to Manoogian. Parts of the property may be reserved for a dog walk area and a community garden.
Manoogian explained that Town Manager Scott Crabtree would be responsible for determining a final vision for the site, with the article asking only for support to change the name.
Camuso said he supported razing the existing building, which has been vacant for years after serving as an early childhood center, but didn’t want to be “locked in” to a decision on the future of the site.
“My question is what happened if they find a better use for that and we did not take it?” Camuso asked. “We’re ahead of it because we still don’t really know what’s going to happen with it. I understand the concept of that happening because it’s an empty building and doing something with it because it’s sitting idle, it’s an eyesore.”
“I just don’t want to be locked into that,” he added.
Should Crabtree identify a better use for the school than turning it into a garden, he would return to Town Meeting to ask for support on that proposal, Manoogian said.
And, Manoogian added, the Ballard Gardens proposal was developed following an extensive process of community support that involved residents of the area, two Selectmen, and Town Meeting members.
Another concern raised at the forum was that each of the several neighborhoods with a vacant school property, including the Waybright, Lynnhurst, Oaklandvale, and Roby schools, would want the property razed and converted into a park akin to Ballard Gardens.
But, Manoogian said he saw no issue with that.
“If every vacant school turns into a park that would make this community distinctive in a very unique way,” he said.
He added that he sees the Ballard Gardens becoming a destination for not just residents of the area, but of the town as a whole and neighboring communities, akin to Breakheart Reservation or the Saugus Iron Works.
