Town Meeting members Saturday voted by a wide margin to keep in place a ban on firearms in town buildings, playgrounds, and parks, rejecting a call from Police Chief Dana Flynn and Town Manager Derek Brindisi to opt out of a clause in a state law that took effect in October.
The spring gathering of Plymouth’s legislative body also appropriated funds that could be used to buy land around the former nuclear power plant and approved money to repair the Jenney Pond dam, as well as rezoning of a gravel pit to possibly make way for a big-box retailer.
In what turned out to be the most contentious part of the meeting, the assembly also retained a provision in the town charter that makes maintenance of school buildings exclusively the responsibility of the school department and voted to allow public comment at Town Meeting precinct caucuses.
The spring Town Meeting was really a two-in-one deal. The first part was a Special Annual Town Meeting to deal with items that came up after the regular warrant was closed. It was followed by the regular Annual Town Meeting.
Jenney Pond dam
David Gould, the town’s director of energy and environment, asked Town Meeting to approve borrowing $6.7 million to repair the Jenney Pond dam. The work would include removal and regrading of the road that goes over the dam, and improvements to curbing, sidewalks, signage, light poles, erosion controls, and water control systems, as well as tree work.
“Large areas of our town would be in jeopardy” if the dam were to fail, said Town Meeting member Don Williams.
He met no opposition and Article 3, item B1, of the Special Town Meeting passed by a vote of 145-0.
Firearms ban
Town Meeting member Betty Cavacco unsuccessfully argued that the town should exempt itself from a provision in a sweeping state gun safety law that bans firearms in municipal buildings and on public properties such as parks. The law allows towns to opt out of the provision.
The Select Board and the Advisory and Finance Committee had recommended that Town Meeting not take up the article proposing the exemption, which was supported by Flynn and Brindisi. The Select Board had earlier backed opting out of the law, but members Charlie Bletzer and John Mahoney – both up for re-election and facing challengers – changed their position last week after hearing from constituents opposed to their stand.
Cavacco, citing her respect for Flynn and for the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, introduced a motion Saturday to take up the exemption anyway.
Until last October, firearms had been allowed in town buildings and parks.
“This has been going on for hundreds of years without incident,” Cavacco said. “When one advertises gun-free zones, it becomes a soft target. Becoming a gun-free zone makes us vulnerable. I ask that we stand up for the Constitution and that we stand up to support our police chief.”
But it soon became clear that she was in the minority. Among the supporters of the ban was Town Meeting member Laurence Pizer, the former long-time town clerk.
“The thought that someone might be easily able to come into the office with a gun horrifies me,” Pizer said, recalling the rare instances when difficult visitors prompted his staff to call police.
After a relatively small number of Town Meeting members had spoken, it became apparent that few, if any, opinions on the matter were going to change, and the body voted by a more than two-thirds majority to close debate.
Then, by a vote of 112-33, with five abstentions, members voted against the article.
But in an unusual turn, Plymouth voters may have a chance to revisit the issue in the May 17 town election. Last week, at the urging of Bletzer, the Select Board voted to place a nonbinding resolution on the ballot asking voters whether they support a gun ban. The board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to approve the language of the resolution. Given the overwhelming vote by Town Meeting, it’s unclear what will happen. At least one complaint has been filed over Bletzer’s move – which was backed by fellow board members David Golden and Dick Quintal – contending that it violated the state’s Open Meeting law because the subject of the ballot question was not on the board’s agenda that evening. In any case, a ballot vote would not negate Town Meeting’s action.
Holtec land
Town Meeting approved adding $500,000 to the Nuclear Mitigation Stabilization Fund, money that could be used for the purchase of 1,530 acres around the former Pilgrim nuclear power plant should it be put up for sale. Holtec International, the company decommissioning the plant in Manomet, owns the land.
Select Board Vice Chair Kevin Canty proposed appropriating the funds, which was supported by the board. The Advisory and Finance Committee opposed it, arguing that the funds should go toward tax relief.
“If a private developer were to purchase this land and build residential properties upon it, it would be a drain on services forever,” Canty said. “We believe that would seriously jeopardize the financial health of this community.”
The town has a right of first refusal if the land comes up for sale, but the price is likely to be high.
“Is that a good strategy to spend $35 million to $50 million to buy 1,500 acres?” countered Town Meeting member Michael Hanlon. It is not clear how much the land could eventually sell for.
By a vote of 121-19, with one abstention, the measure – Article 12 of the regular Annual Town Meeting – passed.
With the addition of $500,000, the fund is now up to $10.4 million. On top of that, the town’s agreement for payments in lieu of taxes with Holtec provides another $3 million credit for the purchase of the land.
School building maintenance
Two articles that would have amended the town charter to remove exclusive authority over maintenance of school buildings from the school department and replace the charter language with a town bylaw keeping school buildings under the responsibility of the school department were defeated.
The confusing idea was to make it easier for the town to streamline maintenance of school facilities if it chooses to do so in the future. Because a change in the town charter requires approval by the state Legislature, it takes longer than a change in a bylaw, Canty argued.
To get the School Committee to agree to a change in the charter, the Select Board agreed to also propose a bylaw keeping the status quo.
Both proposals generated lengthy discussions.
“We should leave these protections intact in the charter,” said Town Meeting member Joseph Hutchinson. He said they keep town officials from meddling with the school budget.
Town Meeting member Donna Curtin said the schools do a better job of maintaining facilities than the town does.
“One of the things we can all take confidence in here is the excellence of our school system in how they have handled facilities in a way that our town should take up and learn from,” Curtin said.
In the end, Town Meeting decided to keep things the way they are.
The proposed bylaw, Article 21 of the Annual Town Meeting, went down by a vote of 104-40, with one abstention. The charter change, Article 22, was defeated by a vote of 128-13, with two abstentions.
Clearing the way for Costco?
Town Meeting members voted overwhelmingly in favor of rezoning the TL Edwards Inc. gravel processing plant so that the owner can sell the 54-acre parcel, preferably to a retailer.
Members voted 129-13 in favor of Article 27, which needed a two-thirds vote to pass.
Some members questioned whether a new use, such a retailer, would harm the environment, especially the town water’s supply.
Lee Hartmann, the town’s director of planning and development, said the property – a prominent blight on the landscape – is located at one of the “gateways” to the town and “no matter what we do” it will be preferable to keeping the gravel plant, with its steady traffic of heavy trucks.
The property is already connected to the town’s water system so development of the site would not threaten the aquifer, he said.
The site off Cherry Street and Commerce Way was zoned light industrial. The new mixed commerce zoning allows retail businesses, Hartmann said.
Williams Sims, Edwards’ lawyer, said approximately “a hundred truckloads” go in and out of the plant each day.
“If approved, this site would be very different from what is going on there now,” he told Town Meeting members.
Sims has said several potential buyers have reached out, including Costco, but his client did not want to engage in serious discussions until the Town Meeting vote.
Owner TL (Terry) Edwards, who is 80 but still works 40 hours a week, wants to consolidate the plant with another he owns in Avon, and “at the same time capture the retail business that would be much more attractive in Plymouth,” Sims has said.
Public comment
The other measure that generated lengthy debate was a proposal to require public comment at Town Meeting precinct caucus meetings.
By a vote of 78-62, with two abstentions, Town Meeting voted for Article 28, saying that a minimum of two minutes at precinct caucuses “may be allowed,” adding that “public comments cannot be censored.”
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.