Brookline Town Meeting May 2019: How They Voted Night 1

BROOKLINE, MA — Once again this spring, some 240 elected officials descended on the Brookline High School Auditorium on Greenough Street Tuesday for the beginning of Town Meeting. The bulk of the first night of discussion centered around the budget, one hour of which was focused on what to do about the Driscoll School.

Renovating the elementary school was part of a three-pronged solution to increased enrollment at the schools. When a debt exclusion override failed earlier this month, it pushed the pause button on both the planned changes at that school, as well as the ninth elementary school at the Baldwin site. After an hour's discussion, Town Meeting members voted to support moving the renovations at the Driscoll School forward.

That was a fraction of a larger discussion on the budget, which was one of 31 items up for vote.

Items still on the agenda to be discussed on Thursday when Town Meeting continues, include a proposal to change the zoning in a portion of Coolidge Corner to allow mixed-use apartments and businesses where the Waldo-Durgan garage is located. Another proposal would allocate money from parking meters in Brookline Village to beautifying the village. Another article involves enforcement of leash laws for dogs, especially at Brookline's Green Dog Parks.

And then there's the proposal to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol-flavored products. Other talkers? A proposal to require the town to have feminine hygiene products in its public bathrooms and another calling for the town to issue a public apology to former firefighter who was fired after reporting a racial epithet left on his voicemail by a supervisor. The meeting will likely span more than just two nights.

Here's a quick look at what was discussed on night 1 of town meeting:

Article 1: This calls for the Select Board to appoint two Measurers of Wood and Bark.

Vote: passes.

Article 2: Town must approve funding for any unsettled labor contracts.

Vote: passes

Article 3: Each year the town must settle balance agreements.

Vote: passes.

Article 4: Asks that the town accept a new statue that would establish a new fund to govern public cable Access. It's part of state law.

Vote: passes.

Article 5: School Department is requesting a revolving fund be set up for their bus program.

Vote: Passes unanimously.

Article 6: The Town Bylaws require this one: It is to show the status of all special appropriations. There's a question of what to do about $4 million set aside for the Driscoll School.

Vote: No action.

Article 7: State law requires this one: It addresses unpaid bills from the town.

Vote: Passes.

Article 8: This article provides for an increase in property tax exemptions for surviving spouses, the elderly and blind and disabled vets.

Vote: Passes unanimously

Article 9: Annual Appropriations, 2020 budget.
Vote: Passes.

Catch the play-by-play by searching #brooklineTownMeeting on Twitter.

And here's what will be discussed Thursday, night 2:

Article 10: This revisits Article 2 of the April 9 Special Town Meeting.

Article: 11: This asks for the legislative body's approval for the town's agreement with the MBTA to expand the high school over the MBTA tracks.

Article 12: This would allow for widening the sidewalks and planting trees at 20 Boylston Street, where a mixed use development is being built.

Article 13: The Select Board proposes a new Waldo-Durgin zoning district for a portion of Coolidge Corner. The district would include three parcels owned by Chestnut Hill Realty.

Article 14: This is related to the Waldo-Durgin and would approve an agreement with the town and Waldo-Durgin and work in concert with related articles.

Article 15: Also related to the Waldo-Durgin development. The current proposed developments are either a hotel or a residential building, but future uses could include buildings exempt from taxation, so this article would assure the town and Waldo-Durgin would enter into a "Tax Certainty Agreement," to ensure the town would collect taxes for 95 years.

Article 16: This proposal asks the town to establish a Parking Benefit District in Brookline Village that would allocate revenue from parking meters to be used in Brookline Village on “projects and improvements such as enhanced winter lighting, flowers and greenery, public art, and improvements for pedestrians and cyclists,” according to the warrant article.

Article 17: This would allow the Select Board to expand the town Naming Committee (the group tasked with recommending names for new town buildings) to up to seven participants.

Article 18: Dogs. This proposes stricter enforcement of leash laws at the Green Dog parks and around Brookline.

Article 19: This article proposes banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol-flavored products.

Article 20: This asks the town to provide free feminine hygiene products in public restrooms owned or leased by the town.

Previously:

Brookline Town Meeting What's On Tap?

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).