Town Meeting Time

On Monday evening, November 6 at 7:30 PM in Winchester High School, Town Moderator John Sullivan will gavel Town Meeting to order and Town Clerk Mary Ellen Lannon will recite the notice to the Constables to post the Warrant. Town Meeting has evolved throughout the years, but it remains essentially the same institution that was established to govern the first communities of our country back in the 17th century. Town Meeting is the legislative branch of the Town of Winchester’s government. Only Town Meeting can appropriate funds, pass by-laws (ordinances), adopt zoning, authorize debt and sell land.

Town Meeting is a dying breed. It is only practiced in the New England states, and then only available to towns, not cities. Many New England towns have opted to abolish Town Meeting and move to a council form of government. Massachusetts is an exception (no surprise!). With the exception of a handful of towns, Town Meeting is the form of government for all towns in Massachusetts. This is even the case for larger communities such as Brookline, Framingham and Arlington.

This fall, the Winchester Town Meeting will consider important land use and budgetary matters. There are zoning proposals to control development at the former Immaculate Conception site on Main Street and the former Pansy Patch property on Cambridge Street. There is a proposal to adopt the Community Preservation Act (CPA), a state initiative that establishes a property tax surcharge to fund open space acquisition, historic preservation and affordable housing. Town Meeting will also be asked to approve some capital expenditures and approve increases in water and sewer rates.

I encourage all Town Meeting Members and interested residents of the Town to refer to the Town Meeting Section of the Town’s Internet site. It has copies of all official documentation on each article of the Warrant.

Town Meeting is a special institution that represents pure democratic government. Let’s celebrate it this fall with informed and respectful debate.

Winchester Reads

The annual community reading initiative that the Winchester Public Library sponsors is a unique and enjoyable program. Having the entire community share the experience of reading a fictional novel is a great diversion from the stresses of everyday life and the divisions that controversial public policy issues can create.

This year’s book was In Revere in Those Days, by Roland Merullo. This is a beautiful story of a young boy who grows up in nearby Revere, Massachusetts in a close-knit immigrant family. He faces tragedy and many other struggles while growing up, but is able to call upon the strength of his family and the values he gained growing up in this blue-collar community. Last year’s book, Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, was also a story of an immigrant family. In this case, most of the story is set in Kabul, Afghanistan. This novel provides a fascinating look at culture in the Middle East and how life changed when the Taliban came into power.

This year’s Winchester Reads program culminated in a session with the author himself. Winchester Reads is only one of many interesting programs that the Winchester Public Library provides to citizens of all ages. For more information on library programming, check out this web page- http://www.winpublib.org/whatsnewandevents.htm

Recycling-The Time is Now

If you haven’t noticed yet, the Town is making a big push on recycling. Kicked-off in September with a banner in the Center, information on recycling has been inserted in the property tax bills, included in a recent On-Line Newsletter, and in materials heading home with schoolchildren later this month. New signs and recycling containers will be appearing at the Transfer Station soon. Recycling is important to the Town because it saves money. Every ton of paper that is recycled will save the Town over $75. Since funding for the Town’s solid waste operation is derived primarily from fees, this savings will be realized directly by Winchester residents. Recycling also helps sustain our environment. It makes so much sense to reuse products rather than burn or bury them.

Recycling is coming a bit late to Winchester. Over the last twenty years, the Town was involved in a very unfavorable solid waste contract that actually made it costly to recycle. This contract required the Town to pay for tons of trash that it didn’t deliver, making it difficult to justify generating less trash. Fortunately, this contract is over and the Town is now paying for the actual tons it delivers. Recycling trash avoids the $75/ton disposal charge and can generate additional revenue. This is especially the case with paper.

Recently, a group of graduate students from Tufts University studied the Town’s solid waste system. They completed a survey of residents that confirmed a flaw in the Town’s system- the Transfer Station facility is congested, making it inconvenient and difficult to recycle. The Town has acknowledged this problem and has solutions to solve it. However, the Transfer Station is built upon a former landfill and incinerator facility that makes modifications costly and subject to state environmental review. We are on the verge of a breakthrough with this issue and are hoping to design improvements later this year.

Meanwhile, we encourage all residents to make an extra effort and develop a recycling plan for your home. Start with paper- it is the most important aspect of the waste stream. You may combine newspapers, junk mail, magazines and office paper all in one container and deposit it is the applicable bin at the Transfer Station.

Please recycle- the time is now!

The Clock Tower

One of the more enjoyable aspects of being Town Manager is my responsibility for our community’s house- Town Hall. Many days, I actually spend more time in this house than in my own!

Built in 1888, Town Hall is a classic building in the Romanesque style. It was designed by the architectural firm of Rand & Taylor. It dominates Winchester Center’s landscape and is one of the most attractive public buildings in our region. The building was completely renovated in 1987. Many residents have commented on the scaffolding that is currently covering the clock tower. Following roofing and other exterior repairs to Town Hall, water infiltration was noticed in the tower. While the contractor was already mobilized, the Town had the work expanded to include re-pointing and other masonry repairs to the tower. This provided an opportunity to address the clock within the tower.

There are clock faces on each side of the tower and a large bell, all operated by a unique (and original) mechanical system. The Town is extremely fortunate to have a dedicated and competent citizen volunteer, Bradley Ross, who maintains the clock mechanics and ensures that they operate properly. Mr. Ross is truly an unsung hero of the Town of Winchester. Through the efforts of Mr. Ross and Claude Barden of the Department of Public Works, the clock faces and other components were repaired and protected from exposure to the weather. It is expected that the work will be completed and the scaffolding removed this month.

I am proud to work in this building and be a part of the team to keep it functioning as the seat of town government and the symbol of Winchester for many years to come.


For more information on the history of Town Hall, see Ellen Knight’s summary at http://www.winchester.us/ArchivalCenter/TownHall.html

Planning Revisited

Last week began a new chapter in Winchester’s long history of community planning. The Town has restored a professional, in-house planning position with the arrival of Elizabeth (Betsy) Ware. Betsy will be working part-time as the Town Planner. She has twenty-five years of experience in planning and is familiar with our structure and process of government. The Town Planner position was restored following an intensive process of bringing together the elected Board of Selectmen and Planning Board under a Memorandum of Agreement. Essentially, the Agreement establishes a compromise by vesting policy authority with the Planning Board and administrative oversight and coordination with the Town Manager.

One only needs to look around Winchester to see the foresight and commitment to planning. Natural beauty and open spaces, well laid-out neighborhoods, a vibrant downtown, and fine public buildings are a testament to the public officials and citizens who developed master planning documents and zoning laws. In 2006 however, Winchester is being impacted by the forces of economics and environment. Historic and significant large parcels of land are being developed or redeveloped. Market forces and the attractiveness of Winchester have made residential development the most viable option, exacerbating the fiscal impact on our budget. Large scale development outside our borders has impacted the amount and intensity of storm runoff, creating flooding and degrading the quality of our water bodies.

The Town is responding with both short-term and long term measures. Longer term, the Planning Board has initiated an update of the Town’s Master Plan. This will build upon recent efforts of visioning and strategic planning. In addition, the Town’s zoning by-law document is in the process of being reorganized and updated, including the incorporation of modern “smart growth” techniques. In the short-term, the Town is addressing the zoning regulations for large land parcels, at the same time negotiating mitigation and other things of value to offset the impacts of development. These efforts bring challenges, including the ability to successfully engage the community and affected neighborhoods. I am hopeful that, with the arrival of our new Town Planner, this effort can be more coordinated and productive.