Chelmsford Town Meeting: Bag Ban, Gender Neutral Name, Lights

CHELMSFORD, MA — It's that time of year again: Fall Town Meeting season. The Town Meeting will begin Oct. 21 and Town Meeting members will vote on more than 30 proposals up for discussion. Included in the warrant this meeting is a plan to install $80,000 worth of rapidly flashing lights at crosswalks adjacent to Chelmsford Public Schools and at the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail intersection at High Street.

There's also a proposal to follow in the footsteps of a number of towns across the commonwealth, including Brookline, to change the name of the Board of Selectmen to the gender neutral Select Board in the charter. It would also mean instead of calling members selectmen or selectwomen they'd be referred to as members.

And up for discussion again? Whether Chelmsford should ban thin film single-use plastic bags by all businesses in town. Some 122 communities in the state have adopted a form of a plastic bag ban, including Boston. Last fall the Finance Committee voted 4 to 3 to recommend against approval of a similar article and that Town Meeting ended up voted the article down 71 to 46. But this year could be different.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday, October 21, at the Chelmsford Senior Center on Groton Road in North Chelmsford.

A look at the quick list:

Article 1 Reports of Town Officers/Committee
Article 2 Rescind Remaining Authorized, But Unissued Borrow for Purchase of Chelmsford

Article 3 Rescind Unexpended Appropriation for Progress Avenue Sewer Pump Station
Article 4 Rescind Unexpended Appropriations from the Community Preservation Fund
Article 5 Cemetery Improvement and Development Fund
Article 6 Appropriate Commonwealth Transportation Infrastructure Fund Monies
Article 7 Funding for Collective Bargaining Agreements
Article 8 Amend Fiscal Year 2020 Operating Budget
Article 9 Sewer Construction Stabilization Fund
Article 10 South Row Elementary School Roof Repair
Article 11 Fire Department Replacement of Breathing Air Compressor Unit
Article 12 Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons
Article 13 DPW Alpha Road Facility Bituminous Concrete Top Coat
Article 14 Chelmsford High School Parking Lot Resurfacing and Granite Curbing
Article 15 Transfer Free Cash to Reduce the FY20 Property Tax Levy
Article 16 Transfer Free Cash to the General Stabilization Fund
Article 17 Community Preservation Fund - Roberts Field Ballfields
Article 18 Community Preservation Fund - Planning and Design of Pedestrian Bridge
Article 19 Community Preservation Fund - Building Façade Program in Town Center/Vinal Square
Article 20 Sewer Capital Projects
Article 21 Home Rule Petition - Change the Name of the Board of Selectmen to Select Board
Article 22 Zoning Bylaw Amendment - Route 40/Groton
Article 23 Zoning Bylaw Amendment - Continuing Care Community Overlay
Article 24 Zoning Bylaw Amendment – Amend CEIOD to Allow Multi-Family in Industrial Areas
Article 25 Zoning Bylaw Amendment – Preexisting, Nonconforming Single & Two Family Residential
Article 26 Zoning Bylaw Amendment – Minor Updates to Cluster Open Space Zoning Bylaw
Article 27 Zoning Bylaw Amendment – Historical Preservation and Reuse
Article 28 Zoning Bylaw Amendment – Eliminate Sign Advisory Committee
Article 29 Zoning Bylaw Amendment – Rear Lots
Article 30 Real Estate Tax Exemption for Parents and Guardians of Deceased Active Service Members
Article 31 Waive Dog License Fee for A Dog Owned by a Person Aged 70 or Older
Article 32 General Bylaw Amendment – Retail Use of Single-Use Plastic Checkout Bags

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