BCAT News

The second of Town Meeting’s three annual gatherings is set to begin the evening of May 12 in the Fogelberg Performing Arts Center. 

May Town Meeting is when the body considers the town budget for the upcoming fiscal year, voting on various warrant articles.

The full warrant can be found on the town’s website, but let’s take a closer look at some of the more significant articles up for discussion.

Article 3 pertains to the annual authorization of the Revolving Accounts of several town departments. One noteworthy change is the spending limit for the Local Transportation Program has increased from $100,000 to $250,000. During the May 5 meeting of the Select Board, Town Administrator John Danizio stated among the reasons for the increase is the growing popularity of the town’s Ride-Share program. The Select Board and Ways & Means voted unanimously in approval of the Article.

Article 4-6 is the continued replacement of Department of Public Works (DPW) vehicles, with a sum of $735,000 from Free Cash. The vehicles in question include a Backhoe for the Cemetery, Bucket Truck for the Highway Division, and a Water Dump Truck. Ways & Means voted unanimously in approval of the Article.

Article 4-19 is the request of $350,000 to improve the common. The project would replace asphalt walkways on the Town Common with concrete walkways, as well as renovations to the gazebo which include the addition of an accessible walkway and pad for a potential wheelchair lift in the future. Burlington Parks & Recreation Director was before the Select Board to discuss the project at their April 14 meeting. The Select Board and Ways & Means voted unanimously in approval of the Article. 

Burlington Public Schools has many financial articles on the warrant this May. Article 4-20 is a request of $578,000 for the implementation of a new Literacy Curriculum Plan. The decision for a new program came after the Literacy Audit of Pre-K-12 last year. The program, CKLA Amplify for K-5 is aligned with the state’s current standards. Ways & Means voted unanimously in favor.

Article 4-23 is a request for $637,000 for School Network Equipment. Erate is a federal program that provides equipment at a discounted rate to schools for telecommunications and Internet access equipment. Burlington Schools are eligible for approximately $573,000 in discounted equipment via Erate grant funds. If approved the $573,000 is eligible at a 50% rate and that sum would go back to the schools. Ways & Means voted unanimously in favor.

Article 4-27 is a request for $753,000 for HVAC maintenance at Francis Wyman Elementary. Maintenance would occur during the summer months when school is out. Ways & Means voted unanimously in favor.

Articles 26 and 27 pertain to the ongoing Field Renovations at Marshall Simonds Middle School. 

Article 26 would be to approve $1,700,000 for “Phase Two” of the project, which is replacing and renovating the athletic fields (specifically the track and turf). Ways & Means Member Christopher Campbell made note that due to the Field Renovation project being broken up, costs have significantly increased over the past year. Ways & Means voted 11-2-1 in favor of Article 26.

Article 27 is to approve $1,650,000 to install an outdoor bathroom facility at the fields. The article prompted a lengthy discussion among the Ways & Means Committee, with many members citing their frustration over no specifics on a design or timeline for the project, and a lack of feedback on other town departments such as Conservation and Parks & Recreation.  

Superintendent Dr. Eric Conti and Burlington Public Schools Director of Operations Robert Cunha suggested the article may be rewritten or withdrawn altogether, pending a decision from the School Committee. Ways & Means voted unanimously in disapproval of the article.

Article 35 proposes zoning changes with regard to the Mixed Use Innovation (MIX) District which was recently approved at the January Town Meeting. To recap, The MIX District will unify different zoning types on the Mall Road and Middlesex Turnpike area. Prior to the Town Meeting, the Select Board unanimously voted in support of the project, while the Planning Board had mixed opinions, voting 3-4 against it. 

The article would see the removal of Retail Industrial (lR) Zoning District from the Zoning Bylaw, and require developers to get a special permit from the Planning Board. The Select Board expressed their concerns for the article in their May 5 meeting. 

Member Sarah Cawley stated her concerns over how this would affect the just-approved MIX District. 

“It sort of goes against the original vision and purpose of this zoning.” said Cawley, “The intention was to encourage and incentivize a variety of uses in that area making it more flexible and desirable. By making these areas more restrictive, so that certain uses would have to go through a more rigorous special permit process to me is sort of a step backwards from the goal of the project.”

The Planning Board and Staff were not in attendance at the May 5 meeting due to scheduling conflicts. The Select Board has a joint meeting with the Planning Board scheduled for 5:30 pm the evening of May 12 prior to Town Meeting to discuss the article further.

Town Meeting will come to order at 7 p.m. on May 12. BCAT will broadcast the meeting live on our Government Channel, as well as livestream on our BCAT Government Facebook page. It is possible Town Meeting will continue to May 14 and 19.