Town Meeting start was a fiasco
Editor, Townsman:
The Andover Special Town Meeting, on Dec. 5, 2011, was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. It should have been called to order at that time. It was delayed by the moderator to allow those in line to be checked in and allowed into the Collins Center.
The elderly, most in opposition to Article 3 - Andover Youth Center appropriation, started to arrive at 6:15. By 7, the Collins Center was filled to capacity (1,230) as stipulated by the certificate of occupancy. The Town Meeting was delayed to allow the late comers to arrive, and arrive they did. The moderator instructed them that they could not stand in the aisle. Extra chairs were setup in the side area and on the stage area with approximately 250 chairs, bringing the total of seating in the Collins Center to over 1,400.
The meeting was finally called to order just after 8 p.m.
This delay caused a hardship on some of the elderly since many would have had to leave their residences by 6 to get seated by 7. Then they were forced to wait for over an hour since the meeting was delayed.
The moderator should have been notified as soon as the attendance in the Collins Center reached the number on the certificate of occupancy. The moderator should have instructed the town clerk to stop allowing people to enter. At that time, the moderator should have made a decision on the proper way to proceed, rather than just continuing to allow people to enter the Collins Center.
The meeting was called to start at 7 p.m. and should have started at that time. When the capacity was reached, the meeting should have been adjourned to another date at a larger facility so that all interested voters could appropriately be accommodated.
Town officials in attendance who knew or should have known of the unlawful overcrowding included: the town clerk, moderator, Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Finance Committee, public safety officials, town counsel and the town manager.
At a subsequent tri-board meeting of the selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee, the selectmen commended the moderator on how well she handled the meeting. I think not.
William T. Downs
147 Elm St.
Retired fire chief and former selectman
