The Morning After

Okay, it took me a few days, but here is the report from the Plymouth Town Meeting held last Monday Night at Plymouth North High School. After the colors were smartly presented by the police honor guard, and after the National Anthem was ably performed by the High School chorale, and after we all pledged allegiance to the U.S. Flag, America's Home Town took up the people's business, or at least that portion of the people's business as was properly included on the official Warrant.

Many of the articles dealt essentially with housekeeping matters and even some which involved significant sums of money were quickly passed without debate. A few of the Articles, however, precipitated spirited debate.

For a community being pressed financially by the weak economy and cut-backs in state aid, Article 7, involving a misplaced $190,000, brought the debaters to their feet. While it was stipulated by the chair that this money could not, under the law, be put back into the general fund, speaker after speaker insisted that the money could be better spent than the items included in the article. $10,000 each was allocated to the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving parades, respectively, apparently to pay for public safety (police details?) And while someone suggested that the Thanksgiving parade had its roots in a religious celebration, the use of the money was approved.

$45,000 was allocated to something called Plymouth 2020, the celebration of the Town's 400th anniversary tens years hence. It sounds like quite a party.

Why this article included $10,000 to pay for two trash containers sporting the unlikely name of "Big Belly Compacting Trash Receptacles", for use on the waterfront area, seemed highly incongruous, but passed handily. Go figure.

Articles 21 and 22 provided for the establishment of a Right To Farm Law and the establishment of an agricultural Committee. Throughout the extensive promotion of these proposals by the Right-To-Farm Steering Committee and the Open Space Committee, we were assured that the principal act was essentially a re-codification of existing state law into the local by-laws; as a result, no new laws were enacted. The Ag Committee would simply help existing Town Departments deal with agricultural and farming issues, thereby no new powers or responsibilities were created. And all of this would come at no cost to the Town! The only question remaining is then why do we need these two new by-laws in the first place? BTW, both passed unanimously. Stay tuned.

The final issue of the night, resolved just prior to 10:30 p.m., was the rejection of Article 24, aka the Sex Offender Residency Restrictions by-law. Originally intended to restrict Level 3 Sex Offenders from residing within a half mile of a school, park, playground or elderly housing facility, the proposal was amended to also restrict loitering by certain sex offenders in or around Town or state parks.
Moreover, an amendment was proposed and voted down to remove the residency restrictions from the act. This was a badly-written law which had been cobbled together in, frankly, an amateurish manner. The Town Meeting wisely voted against the proposal. This rejection should be in no way seen as support for sexual predators. The expectation is that the issue will be sent to an appointed committee where a carefully considered by-law will be drafted. Re-consideration of this highly-emotional issue is expected at a future Town Meeting.