##VIDEO ID:ieA21cN_aYg## [Music] all right ladies and gentlemen we're going to get [Music] going biggest crowd I've seen in 45 years anyway uh before before we open the uh 2024 special town meeting uh we're going to do begin with the uh Pledge of Allegiance the flag is right over there want to stand please pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all with that being said the 2024 December 16th special town meeting is hereby called to order okay uh just to go through a couple things uh of course according to our bylaws we uh we have to read the go through the articles in the warrant by lottery so uh the town clerk she'll she'll draw it whether we do article one first or article two first our bylaw says we start uh we do that we selected by by Lottery all right just to go through uh a a couple of things uh just for procedure wise just like every other town meeting this is how it's going to work if you want to speak to a particular article you uh raise your hand uh we're going to alternate between we're going to alternate between this room here the gym and the uh allpurpose room uh raise your hand I will call on you you uh come up to the microphone you identify Yourself by your name and your address and uh you'll be allowed to certainly speak ask questions or certainly give your opinion uh I'm going to ask like we always do to please be respectful whether you agree with the person speaking or not and uh the quicker we get through this and give people time to speak we'll uh we'll get through it as quick as possible another thing too both articles in our warrant article one and AR article two are going to be voted either to accept or deny it by majority vote it's uh it's a not a 23s Vote or anything it be it's a simple majority so that's why if you don't have a red and a and a green card uh raise your hand or something we'll we'll get you some we because you're going to need a red card or and and a green card okay let's kick this off uh I'll entertain a a motion to dispense with the reading of the warrant Mr moderator uh yes Mr Bruno I would move that we dispense with the reading of the warrant second okay I have a motion uh to dispense with the reading of the warrant uh in a in a second uh all those in favor of dispensing with the reading of the warrant all those in favor please raise your green card awesome thank you uh all those screen too you got look at the other oh sorry sorry Dan uh one more time why don't we do it one more time all those in favor of dispensing with reading of the warrant please raise your green card okay thank you all those opposed please raise your red card unanimous okay I have your name how do you Dan how are you do Mr Masari unanimous for yes okay thank you sir okay now uh second thing is entertain a motion to dispense with the reading of the conable return do I have a motion motion I'll make a motion to uh one more time B it's a a motion to dispense the reading of the Constable returns to dispense the reading of the Constable return yeah second I have a motion and a second to dispense with the reading uh all those in favor please raise your green card all those opposed please raise your red card I you unanimous here Mr Masari unanimous okay thank you sir okay what I'm going to do uh just to let you know uh just to introduce everyone this is these are our our Board of selectman over here uh also our town councel uh Rick uh Town Administrator and our town clerk and to my right uh is the uh finance committee sorry I keep forgetting to get close as I can to the mic all right let's uh let's go with the lottery article two okay we're going to start with article two that will appear uh in the uh in the warrant I believe it's on page8 that's on him to make the motion right to the mic Steve yes sir uh this article was proposed by uh Mr Goodman yes sir if you'd like to speak to your article uh Steve Goodman 24th Avenue get real close please Mr Mr moderator I I don't think there's a motion on the floor yet that has to move it and somebody has to Second it sorry I thought there was no not yet all right I need a a motion then to uh to debate article article two um I'll make a motion to propose article two to make a make it an article and a second second okay thank you I have a motion in a second okay yes Mr Goodman would you like to speak to your article um so I propose this article for an ongoing problem we had at one of the Lakes the language is very simple um anything that's not specifically prohibited in here is allowed I did want to make one Amendment to the language that's in the warrant um where it reads no PWC operation shall be allowed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 10: a.m. in order to bring this in line with existing Town bylaw and state law at like to change that language to say from the hours of Dusk to 10: a.m. pwc's can't be operated after dusk because of the safety Factor M Mr moderator uh so a point of order yes sir uh the um Mo maker of the motion is the maker of the motion is is is the motion's on the floor now he's trying to amend it uh to make things simpler I would suggest that uh Mr Goodman withdraw that motion it would with the permission of the second and then make a new motion exactly saying what he's trying to say now so that we don't have to go for two motions you know a motion and then a motion to amend and so on and so forth that would be simpler okay my my suggestion that does make sense okay you if you uh Mr moderator again what he would have to do is is read the motion as he wants on the floor with that Amendment so you would just read the motion you're going to have to read the whole thing with the changes that you are looking for okay uh so you make a motion to withdraw my previous motion yeah I'll make a motion to withdraw my previous motion on article two second so I have a motion in a in a second to with withdraw that read to vote in so we're going to need a vote a majority vote all those in favor of allowing the withdrawal raise your green card really to do it that way all those opposed raise your red card Mr basari I have unanimous other than one negative okay it passes uh to uh now if you want to make a motion to amend the article is written I'd like to make a motion to to amend the article as written Mr moderator with corrections with Mr moderator another point of order if if if the maker of the motion now uh can just move exactly what he wants on the floor it's not an amendment he's going to move he's going to read this motion with his changes so that we's not amending it's a brand new it's a brand new article yes so your motion is to propose the following article I'll make a motion to propose the following article correct and and please read it read it could you get right to the mic please uh Steve move to the mic to use the personal watercraft including jet ski watercrafts surf Jet watercrafts and wet bike motorc crafts is prohibited on East and West mon ponset Pond without a resident PWC permit which is to be displayed prominently on the PWC at all times the board of Selectmen will establish a reasonable annual fee to acquire such a permit any appropriate regulations regarding the use of such pwc's and a fine of not less than $300 for violations of this bylaw resident PWC permits are to be issued by the Halifax Police Department a resident with PW resident pwc's with permit may be launched from one or two town-owned ramps located at the F fourth a or Route 36 and from their own private property PWC are prohibited from launching from the Route 58 state boat ramp also known as Landing no PWC are allowed on any town-owned beaches other than for the immediate purposes of launching or taking out no PWC operation shall be allowed between the hours of Dusk and 10: a.m. or take any other action relating there to second okay I I have a motion in a second would you like to speak to this Mr Goodman uh I think it speaks for itself a little closer to the mic that's all I I think the law speaks for itself uh I think anyone who's had to deal with the problem of nonresidents and their lack of respect for our town and our waterways um understands the intent that I'm trying to get through here um so I i' like I'll just let it stand as it is okay thank you sir recommendation from the board of selectman uh the uh this is a petition article uh the board has not taken a position on this we were uh came in at the very last minute uh and we haven't really uh been involved in creating this language or or anything so the board doesn't doesn't have a recommendation for or against we'll do whatever the town wants to do thank you sir finance committee recommendation as as written uh the finance committee does not recommend okay thank you sir uh I'll entertain now any uh questions or uh opinions or that would like to speak to this uh article too you have a question yes sir if you could come up to the mic and identify yourself your name and address please uh don Barrow 33 Ocean AV uh why does the finance committee not recommend hold on I'll see if I can try to find that out for you I I can certainly answer that and any individual in the finance committee is welcome to comment also so as it's written if I'm reading this and and I believe I'm reading it correctly there's only two places that someone can launch a PWC so if I live on the pond or on the lake and I own a PWC I can't launch it from my own peer that's what this says hold on hold on hold on I I believe what he I believe what he excuse me I believe what he read and amended and Mr Goodman correct me if I'm wrong you did uh specifically say uh that they may launch from one of two town-owned Rams located at 4th AV in 36 in in their own and their own private property did I did I get that correct that's correct I added that language after some input from uh citizens in town uh they read it and they brought that to my attention that I didn't specifically enumerate the people who lived on the lake um and it also doesn't address moing if you have a moing this is putting in and taking out which you can do from your own private property that's why I made the change okay thank you sir it was amended does the uh the finance committee want to make a recommendation at this point with those changes you right we good okay so uh we'll we will change it to a recommendation um however just one one point when he was making his change he didn't say he was changing and adding private property he just said dusk at 10: a.m. yes he yes he did did he that's I I hear I didn't hear it and he needs to get closer to the mic I I believe that is what he said I got that correct I yes launching from your own private property is included so uh so there is a recommendation from the finance committee if I got the finance committee does recommend any other questions opinions yes sir oh hold on one second can can you hold on one second Mr basari go ahead I forgot I was alternating go ahead yes sir but identify yourself address I Deb Rosenberger 559 mon pansa Street who is in charge of monitoring this who who goes to see who has their stickers let me see if I can uh find the answer for that Mr Goodman sure thank you um for those that don't know uh any law in town you can you can call the police department but we specifically have a police chief who's also listed as our Harbor Master um he doesn't have a boat but um that's a that's another issue for another meeting but um the police chief is the Harbor Master so uh any Town bylaws that have to do with our waterways he has full enforcement authorities thank you sir yes ma'am if feel like to come to the mic Bonnie Johnson from fouth Street you seem to be penalizing the people that own watercraft in the town by making us get a permit and not penalizing ing the people are creating the problems years ago my husband had to get a sticker when we didn't live in this town in order to fish why can't you have the people that want to use the pond for jet skis or whatever apply for the permit go to the town hall get it or go to the police station and get it and charge a large enough fee that you'll distract people from coming here thank you ma' let me see if I can get a answer to that Mr Goodman would you like to address that your article um the lot of town groups that come um have specifically said to me they come here because we don't have any regulation uh and it's not necessarily that they're out of town it's that they don't respect the waterways uh the town did try to impose parking tickets to kind of make it less uh you know kind of make it less attractive for them to come to the to the beach uh and I witnessed them just RI the parking ticket up and throw it on the ground because the price was inconsequential um and that's what I'm trying to do away with is the people who don't respect our town um I'm not penalizing in the people who live in town you'll notice there's no fee listed for residents you just have to go to town hall something that proves you're a resident and get your permit the income will be generated from the fines because the people that don't respect it they will they'll stop coming permits they don't care about permits half the time their watercraft aren't even registered as are their trailers and their cars aren't even registered they don't care about that and they don't care about the town that's why they come here because they don't live here uh Mr basari Charles Rogers 509 mon ponset I live on the east lake um been there for 40 years and I do agree that there's sometimes the jet skis are a little bit of a nuisance but I believe in Freedom and I believe that when I bought my property I knew that there was going to be jet skis or other types of things and I find that after 15 or so minutes people get tired and they they pull it away so I believe that the lakes are a beautiful asset to our town they attract people to the town that's the reason I moveed to the town because of the Lakes the freedom to use the Lakes I believe is something that people that that moved here ought to have and just because one person thinks that they're bothering him I guess that he knew that when he bought the property so did I and I think that the allowing the people to have the freedom to use the lake the most that I could say is that the lady who just spoke about having the Out of Towners get a permit would be an opportunity to read them a little bit of the the the proper etiquette for using their their watercraft okay thank you sir uh yes sir over David msio 161th Al uh so I just want to uh I want to clarify some things that that Mr Goodman has stated with this as far as what the responsibilities are for the people using the personal watercraft is to not only help not treat or misuse the lake uh there's a number of other things that the people from out of town sir that you were speaking of are disrespecting Our Town primarily the environment secondly our children because I've witnessed this as as a resident I've only been here since 2018 as a resident I've seen these people on the personal watercraft using uh their their their equipment within the boundaries of the swim area on Fourth hav which becomes a safety issue especially for me who frequently uses the lake with my children okay we've spoken to these people we've asked these people to behave we've asked these people to stop doing what they're doing they do not comply they do not care the reason why we're asking for this is because in the time that I've been here the time that I've gotten the opportunity to use the lake there has never once been an issue with the jet skiers or the people using the personal watercraft or the boers that were resident the voters the the people using the personal watercraft were respectful of the other people I've seen people on paddle boards I've seen people on wakeboards uh excuse me uh kayaks that were were um that were being somewhat uh what's the term harass harassed thank you harassed because they were on it also we have uh the the 550 Tavern that has a beautiful they they've redone that and made it so they can have beautiful weddings and so on there and these jet skiers have personally pulled up and yelled at these people having a wedding vulgarities of of of what they were choosing to do the people that are doing the uh the Porta party the gentleman that has to come over there and vacuum the Porta partio where was diapers stacked up above and I apologize for the for this grotesqueness but the the abuse of the trash in the facilities that our Town's taxes are paying for is beyond what we need and what this town deserves I really think that this is something we need to to just vote on and I'd like to make a motion to call to vote this article second over okay I I have a motion on the floor and I have a second to uh to call the call the article Mr the moderator I have a second that's okay right now uh we're just going we have to vote on the uh on on calling the question someone have to deal that Mr moderator maybe you need um could explain uh what it means to call the question that we are ending debate that's the issue that's to be addressed with this motion that was the point it was one more lady over here that didn't want to speak but if there a motion's on the floor a point of order I would suggest is if the motion is on the floor then that ends debate on that issue until the town meeting says otherwise correct thank you very much uh yes Mr basari uh we have a motion on the floor in a second to call call the qu call the article okay so right now we're going to vote on whether or not we're going to end debate not on the article itself on just ending the debate this requires a uh two-thirds vote from the town all those in favor of calling article raise your green card what's that yes we don't have any counters here who's Mr sarry is they don't they don't have to count for this same same here Mr moderator okay um once again all those in favor of uh ending the debate on article two raise your green card Mr basari in your room all those opposed raise your red card I have 2third vote here Mr basari I have two3 green here all right article of the motion passes to end the debate okay now we're going to vote on the article itself we're going to vote on article two as it was amended and changed and by by Mr uh Goodman so this you one to count is for on this one no you see simple majority simple oh that's right it's a simple majority you're you're right it was uh just for recall so this is a simple majority on on whether or not article two passes all those in favor of uh article two please raise your green card looks pretty unanimous Mr basari you're all set in there yes sir all those opposed please raise your red card passes article two [Applause] [Music] passes Mr Mar we also had majority green I'm sorry we also had majority Green in this room I couldn't understand said he had majority yes I saw that thank you Dan all right let's move on article one Mr moderator uh I would move article one as presented in the warrant second I have a motion in a second uh to move the article as presented uh can you put that up there we're going to put the uh zoning map up on the screen so that everyone knows what we're talking about I hope I'd like to make a motion hold on a second so Mr moderator yes sir would you like to speak to this uh so uh on this article the uh state of Massachusetts a couple of years ago passed the law known as uh 3A uh chapter 40 section 3A between between that law and the regulations that came from it uh Halifax is designated as an MBTA Community we can go into detail as to why that is but the sword answer is that it's because we have a a railroad station under the law under Section 3A law uh MBTA uh communities such as Halifax are uh required to uh adopt an overlay District which allows as a matter of right multif family development so that they don't have to get any further permission to build apartments or condos in that District That's the Law um in uh response to that or and um the law also requires that we do this by the end of December that's why we're having this meeting so late in the year um the penalties if you don't follow the law include uh loss of uh discretionary grants not not all money but certain money from the state uh there's also the attorney general has come out uh and indicated that she will uh seek civil enforcement uh against any town that doesn't follow the uh doesn't doesn't comply with the law meaning she's going to try to force us to do to do uh to accept such a a overlay District what the uh Board of Select is done uh with the uh help of a zoning bylaw Review Committee and uh um uh so on has presented to town meeting uh a proposed bylaw which we are told by the state is in would put us in um in conformance with the law uh essentially what we are uh proposing here uh is that the Twin Lakes development um and anj adjoining land between Twin Lakes and the railroad track known as the garden company land uh be uh made into an overlay District for this MBTA multihousing uh development that's really what's here to be decided on um whether uh the town agrees with the um zoning law as it's written in the state or not um we really don't have a choice on that all that you can do is either accept to comply with the law that we presented uh or not and so that's what the issue is tonight we already know that all right the the article itself was proposed by the board of Selectmen is there a recommendation from the board of Select Board of selectman has uh serious concerns with the law itself um we have proposed this um bylaw and tonight's town meeting so that we are giving the town the opportunity to be in compliance the board itself has never recommended this uh law and I think my uh two Selectmen each have a comment to say about that thank you Mr moderat can you guys hear me okay Mr D if you want to sit down I'll call on you when you're when they're done all right so first as we start tonight um I'm going to wrote it down here in my phone to make sure I remembered everything uh I ask residents to keep things respectful everyone here is here because they care about Halifax and want to do what they think is right for the future of our town whether you agree with the person sitting next to you or not please keep that in mind I wanted to let everyone know where I stand on this MBTA zoning issue and why this has been such a tough decision for me these past few months first off let me start by saying I don't think anyone here tonight wants the state of Massachusetts telling us in Halifax how to establish the future of our town amen first off that said I understand what the state's trying to do increase housing inventory by creating Housing close to public transportation in efforts to decrease the number of Cs on the road and ease environmental impacts but this does not work for a town like Halifax we are not quinsey we are not brry or wouth people in those communities could conceivably lean on public transportation instead of cars but our train station is miles away from our town center and as a result no one would likely be walking to Walmart or to our senior center or to Halifax Elementary School the MBTA zoning law mandate is a one siiz fits-all law and in Halifax's case they're telling us to to cram a size 10 into a size six but to shake our fists and scream no just to make some sort of grand statement and not weigh the consequences of what that means is not only shortsighted but irresponsible whatever we decide tonight it will have repercussions a yes vote could mean development and more taxing of our natural and town resources a no vote means we will lose out on discretionary grant funding and there is a very real possibility that our tax money could be going towards fighting legal battles with the state of Massachusetts instead of going towards things like our school our First Responders and other Town Services we already know here in Halifax that the upcoming year is going to be financially challenging we're a small town with a small business tax base but because of this the town has historically used discretionary grants like the ones that will be in Jeopardy to help the town move forward and there's no doubt about it losing those will hurt but since I took the job of Selectmen my duty remains first and foremost to do the will of the people of Halifax not the state of Massachusetts because of this and because I do agree that this is an overstep of State Authority I will be holding up a red card and voting no on article one don't no don't don't please please please don't this honestly this is nothing I want you guys guys understand this is really nothing to celebrate tonight um because do I feel great about this absolutely not but honestly I I would feel not great about voting either way tonight because quite frankly there really isn't a great option here given our two Alternatives but I do hope that if this article does fail tonight and that residents will understand if they start to notice a change in the level of our town Services as a result and they understand the results of what we decide again I will back whatever we want to do and I thank you all for your time all right uh thank you Mr C Mr Pratt yeah I have a lot of the same actually we didn't collaborate on a note but I have a lot of the same uh phrasing so um good evening I'd like to thank everybody for their patience tonight and thanks for spending us a few hours with us so close to the holiday um this has been a long process nobody at this table nobody at that table uh put this in front of you tonight this is coming from a higher level uh this is not our recommendation clearly um it's been a long process to get here we were led by Our Town Administrator who put in countless hours time and effort so I'd like to thank Cody um I'd also like to thank the members of the zoning bylaw Review Committee uh John Jeremy Frank uh Jerry Jim and others uh Ed Bailey commissioner uh Building Commissioner um very valuable service they provided to the town uh one of their aspects was to bring this to the meeting tonight they have done that um so whether or not you agree with article one uh I'd like to remind everybody of two things nobody here has asked for us to be here tonight um but here we are and a lot of time and effort has been put in behind the scenes to get us here um but that doesn't make it an article worth your consideration um the town in my opinion has met the obligation and the burden placed upon it by the Commonwealth by holding Quorum tonight and putting this to a vote um but that is where my support for 3A ends uh I have been consistent throughout the process uh in stating that a no vote um should be given Halifax is different than Hansen different than midaro different than every other city in town in the Commonwealth we don't fit in a box and we shouldn't acques to the state from their 40,000 foot View from Above um as I've been told for years uh by people smarter than me you can't put toothpaste back in the tube once you vote it it's here um I would caution you with that vote uh as Jonathan mentioned there are ramifications repercussions and Fallout from a no vote and we all need to be prepared for those those will not be easy or fun to deal with either on a municipal level or in individual households there will be an increased burden faced upon many of us with a no vote but to protect the fabric of the town the no vote is where I have been since I was elected in May and where I remain this evening it's a long-term view to vote no the short-term view is to give the state what it wants the problem is the state will never stop asking once you've given in the long-term view to protect the town in my opinion is a no vote that's where I've been since May and that's where I remain tonight okay thank you sir the uh make note too the uh planning board uh held a public hearing also and you'll see on page seven uh in the warrant that the planning board does not recommend uh article one I'll turn to the uh finance committee the finance committee recommendation the finance committee understands both sides of the equation and the financial impacts so this time we make no recommendation on article one okay uh on that I will uh open it up to questions Mr Donley was first Mr Donley first i' just like to make I thought it was Mr Donley he he waved to me oh he waved to you oh okay your name and address please Jeff buer Brandy Circle I would just like to make the point I don't think anyone should be afraid of a no vote here we've got a governor who goes nationally and says I'm going to defy Federal immigration law if she can do that we can certainly say no to this thank you sir please please order uh Mr barar you're we're going to alternate rooms anybody there would like to speak to the article one go ahead I'd like to motion that we end debate everybody knows why we're here and just go to the vote we have families to get home too thank you Mr Donley your name and address please you need to get really close van Donley 2011 cranberry Drive elax M hold on Ben hold on one second all right Mr hold on one second I got it uh Mr basari uh I'm I'm not going to uh recognize that request to move the the question because that ends debate and I think uh we should have at least some form of debate before we end the debate so uh I'm going to allow I'm going to allow I'm I'm going to allow some people to uh to speak e okay just had to do uh legal legal verification that's all uh so yes I am going to allow uh some more debate and uh if the motion to uh call the question comes up later on after some some debate has been made then then we'll move on to to that's correct and then I I Ruled that it was out of order as I just said so we're going because I said I'm going to allow more debate no I check time that's that's the moderator's decision okay so if if somebody else wants to voice an opinion we could certainly do that and and then if someone calls the question we can do that also I'll make a motion Karen favor 66 cido Bosworth Road I want to make a motion as well call the vote we already had a first we already had a second call the vote once once again I'm going to allow people to express their opinion before we rule to to call it ma'am somebody like to speak yes Mr D my name is Ed Murphy 20 Larry AB I would like to express my opinion to just go to a vote hold on Mr basari hold on one second Mr D I would just like to say this town's had a uh a lot of debate for a long time and that's I think why you see a lot of people here but I'd like to make a motion to deny nonresidents other than those who work in the town and the Town Council from speaking we've had enough on this subject I've had people at my house it needs to end and we need to send a message to the state house thank you sir Mr basari is there someone there that would like to speak to it yes uh my name is Ed Murphy 20 Larry AV and my opinion is we just move to make the vote no more debating there is nothing left to debate anyone who's been involved in this issue knows what the issue is about once again please move forward and let's make the vote okay thank you s yes sir the red card Mr Mario mother like to make a motion to call the vote okay we've had enough debate uh I have a motion on the floor do I have a second to call the I have a motion in a second to call the vote I'm going to this is going to require a two-thirds vote to end the debate so just to make that clear so all those in favor of ending the debate please raise your green card Mr basari okay all those opposed to ending the debate raise your red card Mr bassar do you have a two-thirds vote two3 I would say yes we do we have a two-thirds vote here also we uh we end of the debate okay now we are going to vote on article number one as presented in the in the warrant this this will require a majority vote all favor Mr moderator a point of Honor order rather could you please tell us what a yes vote means and what a no vote means certainly a yes A yes vote means you're in favor of article one on the proposal for the MBTA a no vote would be your oppos to it you need further explanation than that yes yes thank all those in favor of article one as presented in the warrant please raise your green cards all those opposed to article one please raise your red card M Mr basari do you have a majority vote in the allpurpose room majority in the negative when we have a majority vote here in in the gym Mr moderator motion does not pass Mr moderator uh that's the last article I would move that we dissolve this town meeting second second I have a motion in a second to dissolve the town meeting all those in favor dissolve your meeting please raise your green card all those opposed please raise [Applause] [Music]