LYNNFIELD — Voters at the Nov. 13 Fall Town Meeting will be asked to make several decisions that will impact the town.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan said there are “three main articles” on the warrant this year – the proposed zoning bylaw, the proposed library renovation project, and a 10-year road improvement plan.
Before reviewing the articles at a recent Select Board meeting, Select Board Chair Dick Dalton said some residents had emailed concerns to the board about the order of articles on the warrant.
“I know there are people with some really strong feelings about where (some of the articles) belong on the (warrant),” Dalton said.
Anne Malenfant, vice chair of the Board of Library Trustees, said she was one of the people who sent an email. She asked if the library renovation article could go “kind of early in the process” as the MBTA bylaw article could be a lengthy discussion and be “contentious.” She also asked the library article be placed before the roads appropriation article. She cited childcare issues as one of the reasons and referred to the library renovation proposal as a “revised plan” having already gone before Town Meeting in the past.
“It’s kind of a re-ask. … It’s been there before,” she said. “Really one of the major pieces is the primary users of the library are young families and, obviously, Town Meeting can be challenging. Child care is being offered which I very much appreciate, but as it nears bedtime you know people can’t stay. They can’t keep their kids there till late and have to make a decision about when they are going to go so you are really giving those young families the opportunity to have their voices heard,” she said.
Library Trustees Chair Joe Gallagher agreed with Malenfant.
“People have to show up at 7 o’clock, they have babysitters, a lot of people have soccer games to pick up so for young families, it is more of a strain to sit through a long meeting so I wanted to echo what Anne said about trying to get to the library as early as possible,” Gallagher said.
Dalton’s response was brief yet pointed. He said he believes the MBTA zoning article should be first because there are “grave consequences” if the article isn’t passed.
“Also, just thinking out loud, I understand the points that have been brought up about the couples with children and pickups and all of that. On the other hand, I can perhaps use that argument against you and say, ‘Why don’t you come to the meeting and vote on all the important issues, and make some arrangements,'” Dalton said. “We’re providing child care, but I’m not here to debate about that. I’m just saying that someone could argue that back.”
“If you think about it, the original ask was for a new library and this is for a completely different ask,” Vice Chair Phil Crawford said. “This is not a re-ask. It’s a new ask and I think it should take some time. The last time we had a library ask we did offer babysitting. No one took us up on it and we had to cancel it.”
Crawford agreed the MBTA zoning article should be discussed first.
“It is complicated, but it’s a very good solution,” he said. “I’d like to have as many people vote on all three as possible.”
Select Board member Alexis Leahy disagreed with Dalton and Crawford on prioritizing the MBTA Zoning article, saying she preferred the library and roads articles should appear on the warrant before the zoning article. She did say she hoped residents would come to Town Meeting “with some basic knowledge.”
Following a motion by Crawford, the board voted 2-1 to place the MBTA Zoning proposal as Article 4, the library renovation proposal as Article 5 and the roads improvement proposal as Article 6 with Leahy as the sole nay vote.
Dalton then handed the meeting to Assistant Town Administrator Bob Curtin for a review of the articles.
Curtin said the first two articles were routine, dealing with paying overdue bills from the prior fiscal year and transferring funds within the current fiscal year budget.
Article 3 asks voters to approve a transfer of funds from the Recreational Capital Trust fund to refurbish and improve athletic fields.
“The intention here is to replace the turf on the main playing field at the high school which gets the most use and is the closest to being worn out,” Curtin said. “
Article 4 is a big one; it asks voters to amend the Zoning Bylaw by adding to Section 2.2 (Special Districts) a new multi-family overlay district (MFOD) to bring the town into compliance with Mass. G.L. Sec. 40A, 3A, a law passed in 2021 to address the Commonwealth’s housing shortage to provide for as-of-right multi-family housing development. Under the current definition, detached units are not permitted for senior housing. Communities must comply with the state law on or before Dec. 31 of this year or face possible loss of many grants due to noncompliance with state law.
Article 5 asks voters to approve an appropriation of $18.3 million for the proposed Lynnfield Public Library renovation.
“That would require a two-thirds vote because that would also require taking on debt,” Curtin said.
Article 6 asks voters to approve an appropriation of $12,850 for the town’s 10-year roadway improvement program. Curtin said as a roadway debt exclusion, funds would be dedicated to roadway improvements that would supplement existing funding sources and, as such, it requires a two-thirds vote.
Article 7 asks residents to amend Chapter 143 of the General Bylaws by adding a new Sealer of Weights and Measures fee schedule.
The Fall Town Meeting will take place at the Lynnfield Middle School starting at 7 p.m.
