Articles previewing Andover’s 2023 Special Town Meeting are free for non-subscribers to read. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to Andover News.
Andover’s March 11 special town meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will consider three warrant articles, all of which are aimed at blocking the Town’s plan to pave a 1.6-mile-long section of the Haggetts Pond Trail. The meeting will be held at the Collins Center for Performing Arts on the Andover High School campus.
This cheat sheet has everything you need to know about Special Town Meeting 2024, including background information, explainers on the warrant articles, how town meeting works, details on how to participate, useful links, and information on registration, parking and child care.
Scroll down to learn more about what’s on the warrant, how Andover Annual Town Meeting works, how to participate, and a list of useful links.
What you need to know
This article will be updated through the start of special town meeting as more information becomes available.
More coverage of the 2024 Special Town Meeting on Andover News.
What’s On The Warrant
Be sure to read the finance committee report on the special town meeting warrant for a detailed explanation of each article. The committee recommended special town meeting not approve any of the articles on the warrant, saying the articles are “a drastic and pervasive course of action in attempting to halt the Haggetts Pond Rail Trail Project.”
Article 1
If passed, Article 1 would prevent paving foot and bicycle path’s in the Town’s Watershed Protection Overlay District (WPOD). The district includes the Haggetts Pond Rail Trail.
Article 2
If passed, article 2 would prevent anyone from paving any woodland trail within 100 feet of a body of water, whether it is natural or man made. The rule would apply to private and public property.
Article 3
Article 3 seeks to change local bylaws to prevent building any road or walkway “which requires land-disturbing activities” within 50 feet of all water bodies, whether they are paved or unpaved.
How Town Meeting Works
Town Meeting is Andover’s legislative body, and open to any Andover resident over 18 who registered to vote by Nov. 10. Non-residents and nonvoters can attend and will be seated in a special section.
Depending on the issue, motions may need a simple majority, two-thirds, or super majority vote to pass. Andover does not have specific policies or rules for when each type of vote is used, but instead relies on advice from legal counsel on Town Meeting vote thresholds.
Voters who want to use visual displays or slides must make arrangements with the Town Clerk’s Office before the meeting. Call 978-623-8230 for more information.
According to the Andover’s Town Meeting FAQs, articles are considered in the order they appear on the warrant. Articles must be moved by a registered Andover voter on the floor of Town Meeting to open discussion on the article.
Electronic Voting
The special town meeting will be the first time Andover could use electronic voting passed by annual town meeting in May. The Town is encouraging voters to arrive early for a brief training session on using the devices.
If you want to speak on an article: A voter can be recognized by standing and saying “Madam Moderator.”
- Speakers must give their name and address before speaking.
- A motion can be made at the opening of Town Meeting to limit the time for presentations and speakers. Such motions usually apply to all warrant articles.
- Speakers can only be interrupted for a point of order, questions on the legality of the motion, or a question for clarification.
- The Moderator may use of Pro/Con Microphones to help organize the debate on controversial articles.
What is town meeting?
Andover is the biggest Massachusetts town by population to have an open town meeting, one of two most common forms of town government used in the state. In the other form of town meeting, voters elect representatives by ward or precinct.
“The purest form of democratic governing is practiced in a Town Meeting. In use for over 300 years and still today, it has proven to be a valuable means for many Massachusetts taxpayers to voice their opinions and directly effect change in their communities,” according to the Secretary of State’s Citizen’s Guide to Town Meeting. “Here in this ancient American assembly, you can make your voice heard as you and your neighbors decide the course of the government closest to you.”
If you want to amend an article:
- Present your amendment in writing to the Moderator.
- The Moderator will open discussion on the amendment.
- The Moderator will call for a vote on the amendment only.
- If passed, the amended article will be voted on. Otherwise, discussion will resume on the original article.
- Amendments to amendments “are usually ruled out of order.”
Types of Motions:
- Voters can and are encouraged to ask budget questions and can address the Moderator on any line item in the Finance Committee’s report.
- The Moderator can determine the outcome of each article by voice vote, but a standing vote can be called if the decision is questioned.
- Reconsideration is rarely used to correct an oversight or an illegality.
- A meeting may adjourn to a later time and a different place, but when a meeting is dissolved it is finished. A meeting may not be dissolved until every article in the Warrant has been acted upon.
Participating In Town Meeting
All registered voters can participate in Special Town Meeting. Non-voters can attend and will be seated in a special section. The town urges voters and nonvoters to arrive early to sign in at the Town Clerk’s Table.
Childcare: The Town typically offers babysitting for kids in grades K-5 whose parents want to attend Special Town Meeting. Call Andover Recreation at 978-623-8340 for more information.
Transportation: Andover Elder services is offering transportation services to and from special town meeting (call 978-623-8320 for more info).
Parking: Attendees should park in the Collins Center Lot, the main lot at the high school, the West Middle school lot, the lot beside the field house or on Red Spring Road.
Useful Links
- Town Meeting info on Town of Andover Website
- 2024 Special Town Meeting Warrant
- Information on Andover Moderator Sheila M. Doherty
- Town Meeting FAQs
- Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Citizen’s Guide to Town Meetings
- Finance Committee Report