Town Meeting - May 12th, 2025

Night five of Arlington's annual town meeting. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/Agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2254&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Voting records are available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/74238/638827347103500000.

Announcements

(John Worden, Precinct 8) In 2006, Mr. Worden stood before this assembly and announced that he planned not to seek re-election as town moderator. Afterwards, he received a resolution from the senate in honor of his service. When the position of assistant moderator was first created, John Leone was the first to serve in that position. Mr. Leone was elected moderator in 2007. His only son was killed in an automobile accident and Mr. Worden presided over part of that meeting. He got a signed statement of appreciation for that. Mr. Worden has another message tonight. He's been a town meeting member for 56 years, starting in 1970. He has a serious eye problem and his optometrist says he's legally blind. Mr. Worden talks about George Washington. He expresses appreciation for town meeting, but says it's time for him to call it quits.

(Mark Kaepplein, Precinct 9) Mr. Kaepplein says there was another pedestrian struck on Mass Ave, and the person was taken to the hospital. Tonight we have an article about Broadway, and there have been no fatalities there. Mr. Kaepplein hopes town meeting spends its money wisely.

(Janice Pagliasotti, Precinct 8) Ms. Pagliasotti says there are 25 significant events that have shaped the history of Arlington. Each has a card, and they're out on display in the lobby. One of the cards deals with town meeting. The cards contain a lot of interesting facts.

Article 3 - Reports

(Christine Deshler, Finance Committee Chair) Ms. Deshler moves receipt of the finance committee's second supplemental report, which reflects votes taken last week, including a new vote on the Minuteman assessment.

(Priya Sankalia, Precinct 13) Ms. Sankalia moves receipt of Zero Waste Arlington's report to town meeting. Zero Waste Arlington is bringing a resolution to town meeting. They'd like us to get a better handle on waste metrics so we can be more strategic. They launched a program to provide reusable beer cups for beer gardens and brought in an MWRA water truck to town day. They're continuing the "Arlington on Tap" campaign to encourage reusable cups and water bottles.

Article 50 - Capital Budget

We started discussing the capital budget last week, and we'll continue now.

(Ed Trembly, Precinct 19) Mr. Trembly says there was a pedestrian fatality by Trader Joe's and another pedestrian was hit near Wollaston Ave. He asked if these incidents occurred during the day or night.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney says there were two collisions on Park Ave. One of them occurred during the early afternoon hours.

(Ed Trembly) Mr. Trembly says the flashing yellow beacons we install at crosswalks are worse than nothing. Drivers can't always see pedestrians in the crosswalk, even when lights are flashing. This leads drivers pay less attention. He encourages lights that allow drivers to see pedestrians, rather than flashing lights.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson asks that the road between Park Circle and Route 2 be considered for resurfacing. He encourages the town to do more chip and seal work. He also encourages the town to keep equipment after its duty cycle if it's still in working order. Getting six years out of a piece of equipment rather than five is like getting a 20\% cost savings. He notes that "capital carry" refers to money previously budgeted but unspent. He asks what a log skidder is.

(Mike Rademacher, Public Works Director) Mr. Rademacher says a log skidder is a piece of equipment that's used to drag logs. The DPW would like to purchase a small one, to help with debris clearing.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson asks if we've ever tried to market the wood from downed trees in conservation areas.

(Mike Rademacher) Mr. Rademacher says that wood generally isn't marketable.

(Anna Henkin, Precinct 6) Ms. Henkin asks about the police department's request for a specialty vehicle. It's listed in the appendix on page 27.

(Christopher Moore, Capital Planning Committee Chair) Mr. Moore says that's in the capital plan for FY 2028.

(Mark Kaepplein) Mr. Kaepplein wishes to discuss item 5.10 which is \$279,000 for a complete streets design of Broadway. He's troubled by this. There haven't been any fatalities on Broadway and he thinks the changes will be more cosmetic than for safety. He suspects a complete streets redesign will remove parking from Broadway, and says that will hurt business. He motions that item 5.10 be struck from the capital budget.

The motion is seconded.

Mr. Kaepplein asks for more details about 5.20, school solar arrays.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney says that would be a new solar array for the Hardy school.

(Vince Baudoin, Precinct 1) Mr. Baudoin lives near Broadway, and the thinks the town would benefit from updating the designs of streets that were laid out decades ago. Complete streets consider all forms of transit, and he urges town meeting to keep that money in the budget. The \$279,000 is a 20\% match for state funds, so we're getting good leverage. He urges town meeting to reject the Kaepplein amendment.

(Eugene Benson, Precinct 10) Mr. Benson says that Table 4 shows a defecit for several years, and asks why.

(Christopher Moore) Mr. Moore says it's not worth fixing future years right now. Instead, it's better to wait until we actually do the budget for those years. He says that capital expenses are often moved around from year to year.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks who makes that decision.

(Christopher Moore) Mr. Moore says the Capital Planning Committee makes those decisions. They have to make each year's expenditures fit within the capital budget.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks how future defecits are considered.

(Christopher Moore) Mr. Moore says the capital budget is based on 5\% of the operating budget. Changing the town budget changes the capital budget.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says there's \$65,000 budget to the Jarvis house. The Jarvis house is falling apart on the outside. He asks why nothing is budgeted for future years.

(Jim Feeney) Mr. Feeney says that some money was appropriated in 2023. We've used CPA money to make an assessment of the building. Some repairs were done, but they're not visible from the street.

(Charlie Foskett, Precinct 10) Mr. Foskett says the discussion we just had flies in the face of the moderator's earlier comments on scope. He says the scheme of borrowing and spending is integral to the five-year plan.

(Pi Fisher, Precinct 6) Mr. Fisher moves the question.

Motion to end debate succeeds on a voice vote.

Kaepplein amendment fails, 35--165--6.

Article passes, 199--7--5.

Article 55 - Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School and Out Of District Vocational Placements

(Al Tosti, Finance Committee) Mr. Tosti says the Finance Committee recommends favorable action on an \$8.3M appropriation to the Minuteman High School. He says it's the second year our assessment has gone down.

(Ms. Driscoll, Minuteman Superintenant) Ms. Driscoll says the school's budget reflects its values, including academics, sports, and supplemental activities. The capital budget increased 2.9\% since FY 2025. Operational expenses are down 21\%, because the school paid off an energy saving lease on the old building.

(Nicki Andreen, Business Manager) Ms. Andreen says the budget drivers for this year are collective bargaining, supplies and materials, insurance, new transportation bidding, and OPEB. OPEB expenses are about 8\% funded right now. The Minuteman has 669 students, and 632 of them are from member towns. 198 are Arlington students.

(Andrew Fischer, Precinct 6) Mr. Fischer says he's extremely disturbed by the school's policies. He asks if they have data on accidents.

(Ms. Driscoll) Ms. Driscoll says the Minuteman accepted 100\% of the student applicants from Arlington.

(Andrew Fischer) Mr. Fischer says he read an article in the Globe which said that some kids are being encouraged not to apply. He asks how many students end up in the trades.

(Ms. Driscoll) Ms. Driscoll says that half of the Minuteman students end up in the trades after receiving their diploma. Some programs have different pathways and require more education.

(Andrew Fischer) Mr. Fischer asks about placement numbers for trades like plumbing, welding, electricians, and carpenters.

(Ms. Driscoll) Ms. Driscoll doesn't have those numbers on hand.

(Andrew Fischer) Mr. Fischer urges a no vote on the Minuteman budget.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson thinks the state should consider providing 100\% of the transportation funding for regional schools.

Article passes, 202--4--2.

Article 7 - Energy Efficiency and Electrification Revolving Fund

(Talia Fox, Sustainability Manager) Ms. Fox says this revolving fund will let the town leverage rebates and incentives for electrification. It will provide timely access to matching funds for state grants, and make us more competitive. It will also avoid delays in processing grants. The town manager will have to authorize each expense, and the Capital Planning Committee will have to authorize all expenses over \$50,000.

(Amos Meeks, Precinct 3) Mr. Meeks is a member of the Clean Energy Future Committee, and he supports the article. He thinks a revolving fund is the right tool for three reasons. First, it's funding by a revenue generating program. Second, it allows for flexible spending related to that program. Third, the revolving fund has parameters on how money can be used. Energy-saving programs are often net cash positive. Town meeting should support this, if you believe electrification is a good goal. The revolving fund will allow us to do more sooner, and to access incentives. He asks if programs are generally cash positive.

(Talia Fox) Ms. Fox says yes, many do generate funds. For example, solar projects can generate \$500,000 worth of offsets.

(Amos Meeks) Mr. Meeks aks if the \$50,000 limit is sufficient.

(Talia Fox) Ms. Fox believes the \$50,000 limit is reasonable. She says we typically have at least one month of lead time before making those expeditures.

(Mark Kaepplein, Precinct 9) Mr. Kaepplein says that electric school buses are far more expensive than diesel ones and they don't work as well in the winter. He asks if someone can provide cash flow numbers for electrification projects.

(Talia Fox) Ms. Fox says the town's solar arrays have been generating \$100,000 year in credits. The two arrays we'd like to purchase would generate a total of \$500,000/year. She says that electric buses have lower maintenance and fuel costs.

(Mark Kaepplein) Mr. Kaepplein asks about battery replacement costs for school buses.

(Talia Fox) Ms. Fox says she doesn't have those costs on hand.

(Mark Kaepplein) Mr. Kaepplein asks if there are other projects. Also, what is the cost of an electric substation.

(Talia Fox) Ms. Fox says there are a variety of other projects that have saved the town hundreds of thousands of dollars. Electrification will require infastructure upgrades. Utilities have to provide upgrade plans every five years, and those costs will be borne by rate payers.

(Mark Kaepplein) Mr. Kaepplein says he's going to vote no. There were rebates on Ford Pintos back in the day, and those cars had low reliability. Sometimes rebates are trojan horses.

(Christopher Moore) Mr. Moore says the article is dealing with two separate flows of money. Solar generation saves money in the operating budget. We also get rebates, which makes the net costs of those projects go own. Incentives typically show up significantly after purchases. He says this the way to make costs equal the net cost, rather than the full cost. Mr. Moore thinks that's a good thing.

(Michael Ruderman, Precinct 9) Mr. Ruderman will vote against this article. He says this is not the way revolving funds are supposed to work. They collect small amounts of money, and the money goes back to that thing. This way of handling rebates from purchases is like taking a large chunk of money and saying it's different. The rebate is part of the purchase price, and that money should come back to town meeting. The revolving fund serves to obscure the amount of money we have at our disposal, and Mr. Ruderman thinks this is borderline deceitful. He asks for a no vote.

(Chris Loreti, Precint 7) Mr. Loreti asks whether voting this article down will prevent the town from getting money.

(Jim Feeney) Mr. Feeney says no.

(Chris Loreti) Mr. Loreti says that virtually all other revolving funds are funded with fees, and not the taxpayer at large. Taxpayers should be the ones that benefit. Mr. Loreti sees this article as a moral hazard, where projects don't get the usual level of scrutiny. He will vote not.

(Eric Helmuth, Precinct 12) Mr. Helmuth says the Select Board brought this article as a reflection of Arlington's commitment to decarbonization. Towns and cities have gone over and above on this. The fund is limited to spending \$250,000/year, and Town Meeting still has oversight. The revolving fund allows the town to be flexible and nimble, and Mr. Helmuth thinks that's the proposition. He encourages a yes vote.

(Daniel Jalkut, Precinct 6) Mr. Jalkut moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 170--34--3.

Article 26 - Transportation Demand Management Plan

We started deliberations on Article 26 last week, and are resuming now.

(JP Lewicke, Precinct 2) Mr. Lewicke thinks this article comes down to how we want our community to look. People want to see new development on our corridors and transportation demand management really supports that vision. These measures bring down the liklihood that new parking will be needed. Good TDM will reduce traffic, and the amount of impervious surface. The parking reduction may allow more housing. TDM is mostly for large developments. The neighborhood multifamily district is smaller, and there's less opportunity for TDM than big projects. Mr. Lewicke thinks this will increase the chances we'll get new development where we've been asking for it. He likes the Baudoin amendment's provisions to add cargo bike parking as a TDM measure. He encourages a yes vote on the Baudoin amendment and the article.

(Mark Rosenthal, Precinct 14) Mr. Rosenthal says there was a deli called Christos that operated for many years at the corner of Mass Ave and Lake Steet. People used to drive there, but the town took away the parking in front of the building and the owner retired. The barber that cuts Mr. Rosenthal's hair says he doesn't have enough parking. He thinks this article should be called "Kill Arlington's Businesses". Mr. Rosenthal said he waited for the 77 bus once, and it didn't come, so he decided to walk. He got home and no bus passed him. He thinks the MBTA's bus schedules are aspirational. There are places you can't get to via the 77. What if you need to go to Waltham? Regarding the Baudoin amendment, Mr. Rosenthal has seen 20 bikes and 1 caro bike in the last week. Regular bikes cost around \$1500 but cargo bikes can cost between \$2000 and \$10,000. Providing parking for cargo bikes will take away parking from cars.

(Jill Krajewski, Precinct 21) Ms. Krajewski plans to vote yes on the Baudoin amendment, but no on the main motion. In a perfect world, public transport would work better for people. But it's not a perfect world. Ms. Krajewski is a teacher; unless she worked in Arlington, she'd have to drive. She thinks the debate about parking requires more nuance. If we value economic diversity, we need more parking.

(Xavid Pretzer, Precinct 17) Mr. Pretzer says all this article does is to potentially reduce parking. It doesn't prevent builders from providing it. He says people who don't want to drive shouldn't have to pay for parking that they don't need.

(Paul Selker, Precinct 9) Mr. Selker rises in support. He thinks this is a modest motion. Mr. Selker tried to rent his parking space and didn't succeed in doing so. There's not a lot of demand for off-street overnight parking. He has a friend with four cars, and they park two of them in their neighbor's driveway, for free. That suggests the value of those parking spaces is zero. The Gentle Dental building across from town hall seems like a good place to add workforce housing on top. But the building is non-conforming and there's no place to put parking.

(John Hurd, Precinct 18) Mr. Hurd moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Baudoin amendment passes, 158--42--2. (This amendment adds cargo bike parking to the list of TDM measures in the zoning bylaw).

Article passes, 155--49--0.

Article 27 - Delete Inland Wetland Overlay District

(Aram Hollman, Precinct 6, Point of order) Mr. Hollman asks if an article can come to town meeting if it was defeated last year.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says yes, if the article receives a positive recommendation from the planning board.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says the Inland Wetland District (IWD) was established before Massachusetts adopted a Wetlands Protection Act. Deleting this district will not create gaps in wetland protections. Permitting in wetland areas is managed by the Conservation Commission, and the IWD creates a detrimental overlap is jurisdiction between the Conservation Commission and Special Permit Granting Authorities. The ARB voted 5--0 to recommend favorable action on this article.

(David Morgan, Environmental Planner) Mr. Morgan says he's responsible for facilitating the town's vision on environmental issues. The Wetlands Protection Act and Arlington's local bylaws go further than the IWD, and include things like wildlife and habitat protection. No map of the IWD exists, and the bylaw's definition of the IWD are inconsistent, so there is no way to map it. Legally, wetlands can't be defined based on elevations, and there's no feasible way to way to map ground water table depth. The procedures for determining ground water elevation are very specific and difficult to evaluate. Mr. Morgan says this is a duplicative and contradictory measure. Special permit conditions are likely to reflect Conservation Commission conditions, and the Conservation Commission usually hears projects first. The IWD is unenforceable, and a highly ineffective tool. Conservation Commission protections are much more robust.

(David White, Precinct 21) Mr. White is a member of the Conservation Commission. He says the commission reviewed this article. They felt the district serves no useful purpose and should be removed.

(Aram Hollman, Precinct 6) Mr. Hollman says the IWD seems to substantially overlap with provisions of Section 5.7, the Floodplain Overlay District. He asks why we're not deleting that section as well.

(David Morgan) Mr. Morgan says the state requires us to have a Floodplain Overlay District in order to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. He says there's no reason for comparison between the two sections.

(Christopher Moore, Precinct 14) Mr. Moore moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 193--10--2.

Article 28 - Definition of Lot Coverage

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says the zoning bylaw uses the term "lot coverage" repeatedly, but the term isn't defined. Inspectional services applies the definition of "building coverage" where "lot coverage" is used. The Zoning Board of Appeals suggested adding this definition to codify's Inspectional Service's practice.

No one wishes to speak on the article.

Article passes, 195--5--1.

Article 29 - Parking in Residential Districts

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this article stems from a request from the Zoning Board of appeals to clarify Section 6.1.10.A, Parking in residential districts, and to clarify the conditions whereby a second driveway can be allowed. This article adds two new dimensional regulations. First, it requires driveways to be located at least 20' from an intersection. Second, it specifies the required width and height of the vegetated buffer that's required along driveways. The ARB voted to support this article, 5--0.

(James Fleming, Precinct 4) Mr. Fleming says this provision applies to cases that the ZBA or Inspectional Service reviews. He asks what the current practices are, with respect to vegetated buffers.

(Mike Ciampa, Inspectional Services Director) Mr. Ciampa says that Inspetional Services has historically required an 18 inch buffer.

(Christian Klein, ZBA Chair) Mr. Klein says the ZBA typically uses this section in requests for second driveways. The board wants a buffer of some kind, and tries to get it as wide as possible. A 7.5' foot wide driveway in a ten-foot setback leaves 2.5 feet. 18" is sort of the minimum, but that should be more than grass.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming moves that the required width of the vegetated buffer be 18", rather than 2.5', so that the zoning bylaw matches inspectional services past practice.

(Ed Trembly, Precinct 19) Mr. Trembly says that a 7.5' driveway with a 2.5' buffer doesn't work with an 8' snow plow. He thinks people may have trouble opening their car doors.

(Andrew Fischer, Precinct 6) Mr. Fischer asks if this provision would have had an effect on the building permitted at the corner of Gray and Pleasant streets. He asks if this change is being made as a response to that project.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the vegetated buffer change would not have had a bearing on that project.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15) Mr. Wagner says these kinds of decisions are important, and this body has to be careful. He supports the article, but not Mr. Fleming's amendment.

(JP Lewicke, Precinct 2) Mr. Lewicke supports Mr. Fleming's amendment. He lived in a two-family home for a while, and a lot of houses on the street had driveways that were right next to each other. The Fleming amendment keeps Inspectional Service's current interpretation. He thinks it's unwise to expand the buffer requirement.

(Roderick Holland, Precinct 7) Mr. Holland moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Fleming amendment fails, 82--101--9.

Article passes, 168--24--5.

Meeting adjourned.