Natick Spring Annual Town Meeting, slated to start April 25 at the high school, will be tasked with considering 35 articles that cover a range of topics from finance to rezoning to updates on committee work.
The Select Board signed the warrant for Town Meeting (embedded below) earlier this week.
Among the articles (with their respective motions) on the warrant:
Home rule petitions for police, clubs
Article 6 would exempt future police sergeants and lieutenants from the state’s Civil Service program, which the department has found to be restrictive.
Article 19 would give clubs in town more leeway in serving food and alcoholic beverages at fundraising events.
Charter, seal, and dam committee reviews
Article 21 involves an update from the Charter & By-Law Review Committee, and a decision on hiring and paying for a special counsel related to that committee’s work.
Article 32 will present Town Meeting with the Town Seal Review Committee’s choice for a new town seal designed to address concerns about the current one’s accuracy and tone.
Article 33, a citizen petition, focuses on discussion of the Charles River Dam Advisory Committee’s report.
New committees for community & dam preservation?
Article 20 seeks to form a Community Preservation Committee following the town’s adoption last fall of the Community Preservation Act. The committee would oversee how funds raised through a property tax surcharge would support investment in historic preservation, open space, recreation, and affordable housing.
Article 35, a citizen petition, looks to form a Dam Preservation Committee “to investigate and evaluate the feasibility of preserving and repairing the South Natick Dam.” The Natick Select Board in November voted against repairing the South Natick Dam and spillway (aka, waterfall) and in favor of removing the iconic structure.
Wait, there’s more…
Other articles include #24, establishing a Center Gateway Zoning District to foster redevelopment in the area of East Central St./Union St./Grant St.), but with an eye toward making it a natural transition from the downtown area to more residential areas, and #30, a citizen petition that aims to rezone an area near the top of Pond Road to allow development of a senior living facility that spans the Natick/Wellesley line.
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