Three motions passed at Special Town Meeting

Motions on all three articles that were voted on at last Monday's Special Town Meeting passed. Given the low turnout, it took 20 minutes to establish the necessary quorum of 50 registered voters. Once a quorum was present, the meeting lasted less than 15 minutes.

The motion on Article 1 (restoration of the Jonas French watering trough in the town center) was to take no action. Since the article was submitted, the CPC and Historical Commission have been discussing the idea of moving the trough to its original location.

On Article 2, a motion was passed to transfer $33,250 from CPA funds for the interest payment on the long term bond for Ferrrari Farm property that the town voted to acquire last year. The previous amounts voted at last May's Special Town meeting were for interest on a short-term bond and for expenses associated with getting the long term bond. FinCom Chairman Dana Metzler questioned whether the town would need a special town meeting to fund those payments each year. Treasurer Bonnie Ricardelli explained that future payments would be funded by voting on an article at the Annual Town Meeting.

The motion to transfer $5,000 from Cemetery Special Revenue to supplement the Cemetery Interments operating budget passed. Cemetery Commissioner Alan Chaney explained that this action was primarily a housekeeping matter. Funds from the sale of cemetery lots are deposited in the Cemetery Special Revenue account. A town meeting vote is required to make those funds available for use in maintaining the cemetery.