Burlington Town Meeting to Start Fields Discussion Anew

The May edition of Burlington Town Meeting will continue this Monday with a renewed presentation on Article 25, which seeks $6.7 million for the fields at Marshall Simonds Middle School.

The article was first presented on Wednesday, May 15, in what some Town meetings considered to be an unconventional manner. Knowing that 10:00 was not likely the best time to begin what was likely going to be a very intensive and contentious conversation, Town Meeting and Ways & Means Member Doug Davison moved to postpone the question to first thing Monday. That motion failed, and so at 10:00 PM the article, which was nearly pulled due to a lack of Ways & Means support, was introduced.

An amendment was proposed before the article itself was presented. The amendment, which aimed to change the funding source from bonding to free cash, failed after Ways & Means Chair John Iler and others explained the negative impact of such a significant decrease in free cash reserves to the town's financial rating, saying it would be "probably one of the most irresponsible things you can do."

Once discussion of the article itself ensued, the School Department, who backed this proposal jointly with the Recreation Department, did not present on the articled. Rather, Mr. Iler presented regarding the finance committee's 4-8 vote on recommending the project to Town Meeting. Ed Parsons, also on Town Meeting and Ways & Means, presented the minority report on behalf of those who voted in favor of the article. Then, School Committee Chair Christine Monaco and Members Melissa Massardo and Jeremy Brooks presented their positions.

The general argument against the article was that the plan and evidence that the improvements are needed now didn't feel complete. Those in favor of the article urged Town Meeting not to vote down the proposal, which they see as necessary and urgent, just because the presentation wasn't perfect.

At the end of the evening, Precinct 1 Town Meeting Member Nolan Glantz suggested an amendment to split the project into two parts, installing turf where the grass field currently is now and waiting until next year for the turf and track. (This would need to be brought back to Town Meeting and wouldn't be guaranteed). Glantz held off on that amendment, since it was after 11:00, and the meeting was adjourned mid-article.

There was a lot of online activity both before and after Town Meeting, with parents reaching out to Town Meeting Members, and Town Meeting Members themselves discussing the issue both via email and on social media. The general tenor from advocates is, "Don't make kids suffer for adults' poor planning," and the sense from opponents is that funding this project could jeopardize the Fox Hill and High School building projects.

We'll all see where the discussion leads this evening, as the moderator plans to hit the reset button on this article. This evening's discussion will begin in earnest with a presentation from the School Department, which many say should have already happened.

Town Meeting begins at 7:00 this evening and will be broadcast on BCAT and the BCAT Government Coverage Facebook page. To see more information about the other articles that will be discussed, visit our Warrant Summary.