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Minutes of Meeting – October 6, 2010
(Chair Judy Cole, presiding)
1. The first item was to approve the minutes of the meeting of September 15, adding Edna English as one of the names listed in Paragraph 3 thereof. The minutes were approved with this change.
2. There was a discussion of the draft of the "Information Gathering Process." It was decided to approach committees, etc. through teams of two, sending initial emails to chairs, etc., introducing the effort, and following up with a questionnaire. (See draft for details.)
3. The "teams" are as shown in another draft document captioned "tentative assignments."
4. The second email, with the questions to be addressed, should follow the suggested language in the draft. Team members should then write up a summary to bring to the meeting on November 17, 2010. There was some concern expressed about whether this could be achieved in the time available.
5. Phil Edmundson wondered what we were trying to accomplish with this effort. Judy Cole explained that some people thought we should "touch base more widely before considering changes."
6. The plan is that thereafter, in a continuing part of the information-gathering process, we will (a) consult with peer towns in re structure, etc., and (b) send questionnaires to, or conduct polls of the public, to learn views of the citizens at large.
7. Eva Marx suggested that after we gather this data we can work on a calendar for the year ahead.
8. The suggestion was made to add a sixth question to the survey: "Do you have anything to add?"
9. Eva Marx will draft a Journal article about how we are proceeding.
10. There was still a question about how to handle suggestions about possible changes in Town Meeting procedure, such as limiting the time of speakers, etc. It was noted that the League has a proposal about the time for submitting warrant articles, and that the Selectmen plan a tentative forum in December for potential articles for the 2011 meeting. It was agreed that "in theory" we might have some simple proposals to bring before this meeting.
11. Phil Edmundson will draft a potential calendar for next year – leading up to the 2012 meeting.
12. Alec Macmillan suggested that we might want to review the League's article, and perhaps support it, as part of our official responsibility.
13. The website is up and running so that suggestions or comments may be submitted through this venue.
14. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 17, 2011, at 7:00 pm.
(Minutes submitted by Alec Macmillan in the absence of the secretary.)