SAUGUS — Town Meeting members voted to reject a proposed community engagement committee by a vote of 24-20 at the fourth night of Annual Town Meeting.
Members discussed an amendment made to Article 23, which proposed the committee. The amendment would have decreased the amount of members on the committee from 10 to five with two alternates and outlined donation regulations.
The author of the article, Precinct 2’s Matthew Parlante, took to the lectern to address fellow Town Meeting members following the introduction of the amendment to the article. Parlante said that the committee was designed to help the community.
“It’s really just an attempt to get a new conversation going with the residents about our town and our community. Just giving it a shot,” Parlante said. “You know, basically, it’s just set up for a year. So, I’m asking for (you to) give it a chance, and let’s see what we can create with this.”
A large number of Town Meeting members shared their opinions on the article, with discussion on the amendment taking up a significant portion of the meeting.
“I don’t think this type of committee is necessary,” Precinct 8 Town Meeting member Arthur Grabowski said. “I think we have Founder’s Day, that we’ve had for years, where we have any community group that wants to, has a booth there. People can talk to these people that are in these other committees, get some feedback on what’s going on in the town, find out what groups are in town, what they do. That’s very well attended.”
As a result, Grabowski argued that the new committee would be redundant.
Precinct 1 Town Meeting member Stacey Herman-Dorant questioned why the membership was capped at five members.
“It would seem better, perhaps, to say ‘up to a 10-person committee,’ so perhaps if over five are interested, they’d have that opportunity to join the committee as well,” Herman-Dorant said.
Parlante addressed Herman-Dorant’s question, saying that the change was made after discussing the article with Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian.
“After sitting with my colleague from Precinct 10 and thorough conversation, it made sense why a smaller committee, in terms of making the decisions and the direction of it, would work better than 10, but again, I want all the feedback,” Parlante said. “I’d love to see 50 members in there taking part of this committee.”
Parlante stressed that membership in the committee would be voluntary.
Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Delios also took issue with the amount of people who were to serve on the committee. He said that instead of a fixed amount of members, membership should be between all Town Meeting members on a rotating basis.
Resident Kerry Hogan said that the town is hungry for the committee.
“The very first Annual Town Meeting of this, you know, three-part meeting, there were nine people here. Nine. Nine people,” Hogan stressed. “So, the community is not engaged in any aspect at this point. You members are engaged, but the community is not.”
Precinct 4 Town Meeting member Robert Long said that the town’s residents are aware of what goes on at Town Meeting.
Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Frank Federico said that as a moderator of a Facebook group for the town, in order to combat spam in the group, potential members are required to answer three questions, one of which is naming a sitting selectman in town.
“You wouldn’t believe how many Saugus residents who try to join the group who can’t name a sitting selectman,” Federico said. “Speaking with the residents around town, they can’t name the town manager, and they actually think the town manager is a mayor.”
Parlante echoed Federico’s sentiment, saying the town has suffered from low voter turnout.
“If you are not showing up to vote, if you don’t even know who the town manager is… You know how many people I’ve talked to, they’re like, ‘What’s a Town Meeting member?’” Parlante said.
Grabowski said that if residents don’t want to vote, it is their prerogative.
“I’m… listening to people in this, elected officials, in my opinion, browbeating the electorate and residents in this town. If there’s voter apathy, that’s their prerogative to have voter apathy,” Grabowski said. “It’s not our job to go out there and pull them by the ear and say, ‘Come and get involved in your town.’”
