Middlesex Town Meeting Solutions Committee
Meeting Minutes
October 9, 2001

Present: Susan Clark, Gregory Whitchurch, Barbara Whitchurch, Dave Shepard, Henrietta Jordan

1. Status Update
Susan brought the committee up to date on actions and activities since the last meeting. Brian Prendergast has agreed to design a new cover for the Town Report. Susan has spoken with Russ Alger who expressed concern that the committee isn’t addressing the issue of absentee voters. She also talked with the grade 5/6 teachers at Rumney. These teachers have a monthly town meeting with their students and have invited anyone on the committee to attend. There is interest in a town/school event related to Town Meeting. The idea of a Town Report treasure hunt for the students was one idea.

2. Town Gathering
Plans are moving forward for having Frank Bryan come to Middlesex for a talk concerning Town Meeting. This event would include facilitated discussion in smaller groups to gather information. This could be an opportunity to have people take the survey the committee has been developing.

3. Committee Tasks
The committee discussed the priorities for this committee to accomplish and it was agreed we should aim for presenting some recommendations to the Select Board prior to Town Meeting. Regarding priority tasks for the time leading up to next Town Meeting, the committee developed the following list:
1) Complete the survey.
2) Investigate transportation options for people who may have difficulty in getting to Town Meeting but who would like to attend.
3) Investigate the pros and cons of holding Town Meeting at the Town Office or at Rumney School.
4) The event with Frank Bryan as speaker.

The concept of living room meetings to gather information on residents feelings about Town Meeting was brought up. Greg suggested it might be helpful to have one of these to help fine tune the survey. Greg will visit Russ Alger and discuss with him the concept of a town resident being able to attend Town Meeting without being physically present at the meeting; most likely using communications technology.

4. Communication with Town Residents about Town Government
Means to communicate with residents about town government issues, most of which have been discussed at previous meetings, were briefly noted:
- Town website
- Guide to Middlesex for new residents
- Column in Middlesex Monthly

5. Meeting with Select Board
Part way through this meeting, Susan left for a time to speak with the Select Board (who were having a concurrent Select Board meeting) about our request for funds to mail the Town Meeting survey. The Board gave approval for up to $300 for the Committee to go ahead with mailing the survey. Peter Hood and Mary Alexander of the Select Board are interested in receiving past meeting minutes from this committee.

6. Absentee Voters
Concerning absentee voters it was agreed that the committee needs to further research potential technological assistance for voters who would like to participate in Town Meeting but can’t physically attend for various reasons. Another issue that needs further research is what role a town charter may play in the amount of flexibility there could be for allowing people to vote who aren’t physically present at Town Meeting. Susan mentioned this issue to the Select Board and Peter Hood indicated he wasn’t sure that Middlesex doesn’t have a charter. The question was also posed of whether a charter is needed to pursue options for allowing voting at Town Meeting by voters not physically present. The committee may need to check with the Secretary of State or the League of Cities and Towns about the possibility of legislative changes to allow for electronic voting.

7. Surveys
Comments on the Town Meeting survey need to get to Barb by October 16. At the next meeting the surveys will be prepared for mailing.


8. Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on November 8 at 6:00 pm at the Town Office.

Minutes recorded by Dave Shepard