To the editor:
I am deeply disappointed to hear that Dr. Ruby Chang’s advice to postpone the annual town meeting to Thursday was ignored by town moderator Michael Wise. The Great Barrington ATM is scheduled for Monday, June 7, while Thursday, June 10, had already been announced as a backup date.
First, it is unusual that an annual town meeting is being held again in the Monument Mountain Regional High School parking lot, even though we had other choices, and that our moderator considers 90-degree weather as okay because the forecast “is a bit lower than 93 degrees…” I find this terribly insensitive, if not dangerous, and plan to raise the issue to the state attorney general’s office, if Wise’s decision is not rescinded.
Dr. Chang’s strong recommendation was extremely rational and should be respected for her years serving on the Great Barrington Board of Health. Time and again, she has shown her concern for our public health.
We should understand that if people suffer as a result of the conditions already explained by Dr. Chang, the town might be held liable for illnesses resulting from the meeting. At a minimum, the tacit message is that if some voters are not willing to risk their health, the town doesn’t want them as voters.
Recommendations for warrant articles
The annual town meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. is important. It will include proposed warrants held over from the Sept. 16, 2020 special town meeting. Why? Citizens’ proposals were not addressed until 9 p.m. in the cold, dark high school parking lot. Neither audio access in one’s car nor the public PA systems were effective. Between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., controversial cannabis regulations were finally discussed before a dwindling number of voters (103), barely meeting the quorum (of 100). Just think — a mere handful of voters could determine many warrant articles for the largest town in southern Berkshire County with a population of 7,700 and registered voters of more than 5,000. How democratic is our process with these impediments?
To compensate for these deferrals, we should address citizen petitions at the beginning of the June 7 meeting, not at the very end. Please support this agenda change which will be proposed and voted on early in the meeting at 6 p.m.
Please consider these specific recommendations regarding proposed warrant articles:
Warrant Article #25 (this replaces Deferred Warrant Article #28, held over from the September 2020 Special Town Meeting): Please vote YES. This warrant restores the 500-foot buffer zone of cannabis operations from schools, churches and other areas where children commonly congregate and is the recommendation of the State Cannabis Commission. Successful “YES” votes will override the 200-foot distance in future applications. The Selectboard and Planning Board loosened the distance in order to allow more cannabis operations in prominent places in Great Barrington, including those near toy stores. Many people were unhappy with these decisions, but they need to register their disagreement at the annual town meeting or vote out the representatives in the future.
Deferred Article #27: Please vote NO. This allows cannabis operations to be approved in I2 zones. While marketed as “industrial zones”, the I2 area immediately at stake is half a block above Main Street (behind Cumberland Farms where youth congregate). This I2 patch extends along the railroad tracks to Castle Street/Castle Lane (a stone’s throw from the Triplex Movie Theatre and adjacent to a dense residential district). Another I2 area is located two blocks east of the library. Until I2 is redefined throughout Great Barrington, please vote no.
Deferred Warrant #28: Please vote yes for procedural reasons. This proposal was the predecessor (the original version) of Warrant Article #25.
Other Town Proposed Warrants:
Article #12: Please vote yes to support the Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad, Inc., an essential service.
Article #17: Please vote NO on spending $1.2 million for a municipal parking lot. Why? The parking lot should be a joint expenditure between the town and its businesses. We have huge upcoming financial priorities in GB and need an economic development plan before we make this major investment which will require ongoing commitments for maintenance.
Article #19: Please vote YES to support CPC/CPA recommendations.
Sharon Gregory
Great Barrington
