GHS Information

This has been billed as a separate website, but it's actually a page/area on the Town of Greenfield website:

www.greenfieldhighschool.org

Please do not hesitate to send me your questions or comments, and I will do my best to get you answers or forward your feedback. This is an important project and a historic vote -- we should all head to the polls feeling fully informed.

May Day

Didn't have 4 1/2 hours to watch the Greenfield Town Council meeting last night? Can't say I blame you. If you want to fast-forward to the good parts, you can find it online courtesy of the good folks at GCTV.

Regarding my "no" vote for a May 1 election--

Back in January/February, I heard the following reasons for holding a separate, special election on the high school project:

• The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) recommended a special election because the question could otherwise be lost in a "regular" town election.
• The timing of the town election (June 12) was too late in the available window to facilitate going back to the public for a second vote if the first vote failed.
• June 12 was a period of school vacation and many interested/affected parties would not be around to weigh in on the issue.

From that initial discussion to yesterday, March 21, I observed the following:

• There would be no preliminary election, and modest turnout was expected for the June 12 election, due to no contested races beyond the 3 candidates for School Committee.
• Numerous individuals expressed concern about the expense ($13-$14000) related to opening the polls for a single ballot question.
• With less than 6 weeks to go before a May 1 election, many Greenfield residents did not feel that they had enough information about the project.

At the meeting, I asked for a recap of why the May 1 vote was important. Councilor Farrell, who has been the Council liaison to the School Building Committee, mentioned MSBA's recommendation, but did not indicate that May 1 was actually a requirement, and did not commit to undertaking a second vote if the first vote failed.

Much to my surprise, Mayor Martin and the project manager came forward to state that the project timeline was contingent on the May 1 favorable vote, and that it would cost delays and therefore dollars if the town waited 6 weeks to vote on June 12. For me, and at least 5 other councilors, this was new information, and it was unsupported by any documentation.

Why was this detail not made public prior to the Council meeting, and why was it not documented? It was an important factor that councilors and voters should have understood before committing to any election timeline.

It was an additional surprise that the School Building Committee had printed 10,000 brochures for mailing, prominently featuring a May 1 vote date. According to Councilor Farrell, the redress for any date change involved hand-stickering each brochure.

As a Councilor, I think it's my role to get information to constituents, to hear their feedback, and to gather and consider all relevant information before a vote. Particularly given the high-stakes nature of the high school project, and the number of concerns expressed by residents about the expense and timing of a special election, I did not feel that the Town and the School Building Committee provided sufficient information to Councilors or residents on this particular issue to justify voting in support.