Covid-19 reshapes 2020 annual Town Meeting

UPDATED, June 16: The 2020 annual Town Meeting was like no other. The Monday, June 15, meeting, postponed from April 27 because of Covid-19, was outside — and it was expected to be brief — andf it was: one hour and 45 minutes. “I believe this is the shortest,” Town Moderator John Leone said after the meeting dissolved.

“I really do not think that [Town Meeting] has ever been held outdoors,” he said in response to a question last week from YourArlington. “Back in the Colonial days, we were part of Cambridge, but it would have been held in church” or similar indoor venue. “… [A]t least since Town Hall was built [1913], it has always been inside. It is definitely a first for representative Town Meeting.”

The 6:30 p.m. session was at Peirce Field, more known for football and soccer or the Arlington High commencement, which was held virtually his year.

 The annual meeting, to discuss and vote on town issues, was not expected to take place over several evenings, but just one. A summary of the meeting will be published.

Seating arrangement, expectations

Unlike dimly lit Town Hall, where chairs for as many as 252 members are cheek by jowl, the layout at Peirce Field is spaced out (though officials hope that, given the distance, members will pay attention). See the layout, showing seating assignments >> 

Leone

This is another key difference, as many members have their favorite seats. In the face of the pandemic, the public makes many concessions.

Before listing his expectations for the 214th annual Town Meeting, Leone wrote:

“Amid all of the chaos of the new normal, we find ourselves at that time of year when we gather as citizen legislators. The business of the town, specifically coming together to set our path for success in fiscal 2021, does go on. However, it is safe to say we will gather in a manner that is significantly different than years past.”

• Arrive early (gates open at 6 p.m.). The meeting starts promptly at 6:30, “without all the usual pomp and circumstance.”
• Masks are required, from exiting your car until you return to your car. Those with a medical reason for not wearing a mask should tell police and fire personnel before entering the screening area.
• If you attend with family a member with whom you live, stay together​ throughout the arrival and registration process and until you enter Peirce Field. Otherwise, enter individually, maintaining a safe distance from others.
• As you approach the field, you will be directed to one of three lines for screening. Maintain safe distancing by standing next to the traffic cone until the person in front of you advances. You will be asked a few questions by Arlington Fire EMTs, and you will have your temperature taken thermally.
• After screening, wait until a safety official directs you to the field.
• A volunteer will direct you to one of seven registration tables designated by precincts. Find a specific table based on your precinct.
• A volunteer will help you select a seat on the field. Seats are placed in specific spots, and we request that you not move the chair for any reason. If you would like to request to sit with a family member, see a volunteer.
• Once seated, you must remain seated for the whole meeting. If you intend to ask a question, a wireless microphone on an extension arm will be brought to you. If you intend to speak, you will be safely directed to a stationary microphone and given instructions on a safe path to take.
• Arlington High School will be closed to all, except for Peirce Field. Bathrooms will not be available.
• At the meeting’s close, safety officials will dismiss attendees by row. Do not congregate in the parking lot or outside the school.

Meeting changes

Now, as to the meeting itself, Leone noted these points about steps aimed to help facilitate an efficient, orderly meeting:

• Consent-agenda motion: Fewer articles than usual are included on the annual Town Meeting warrant. A number of routine articles — essentially, those voted at each annual meeting — are combined into a series of consent-agenda votes.
• Speaking limits: Under the moderator’s powers to regulate meeting proceedings and town bylaws, time limits will be strictly enforced. A speaker on each article is limited to seven minutes the first time called and five minutes for the second time.
• The electronic voting system will not be used — no clickers. Members will vote the old-fashioned way — by voice. If necessary, tellers will record standing votes.
• Printed reports of the Redevelopment Board, Select Board, Finance Committee, Capital Planning Committee and CPA Committee are mailed to all meeting members. No copies are available June 15, so members are asked to bring them. Reports are also available online, at the links below.
• Internet connection is unavailable at Peirce Field for electronic devices, as is any large electronic display system.
• All substitute motions and amendments to motions must be submitted no later than 11 a.m. Friday, June 12, to JLeone at town.arlington.ma.us and to Town Counsel Doug Heim at DHeim at town.arlington.ma.us, for legal review, a determination of scope and for distributing to meeting members. Provide the original and two copies to the moderator and a copy to each meeting member on June 15.
• The rain date for the annual meeting is Wednesday, June 17, or June 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Peirce Field. The decision on whether to postpone will likely need to be made the day of the meeting. If a postponement until June 17 is needed because of weather, that notice will be on the town’s website, and members will receive a email via the members’ listserv.
• Leone wrote of planning for the meeting: “The overarching goal is to do everything possible to conduct the meeting in a way that protects the health and safety of attendees, while at the same time upholding our high Town Meeting standards of participatory democracy. The planning and organization for this year’s annual meeting is being done in collaboration with the town clerk, Select Board, town manager, town counsel, director of Health & Human Services and the AHS facilities team.”

Lexington held its Town Meeting virtually in early June, the first in the state to do so. Arlington did not have the technical framework to make that happen here.

Menotomy Matters: 2020 Town Meeting links

School report, budget summary >>

Watch live on ACMi (Comcast Ch. 22, Verizon Ch. 26, RCN Ch. 614

This news summary was published Thursday, June 11, 2020, and updated June 16, to swap photo.