Adams School Project Vote Will Be Held
Update: Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, 3:34 p.m.The votes taken at the Wednesday, Sept. 8, meeting to set town meeting and election dates, and place a debt exclusion article stands. Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said Friday afternoon that the opinion of Town Counsel Edmund R. St. John III was that the vote was valid.
Butler said St. John's opinion was based on case law that found abstentions did not count in determining a quorum; that the body of members voting constituted the quorum. The town has had conversations with both the Department of Revenue and bonding counsel to confirm that opinion.
"The town will proceed with the special town meeting and election," said Butler.
The town has set a special town meeting for Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. at Plunkett Elementary School. If the town meeting passes the article, it will be placed before the voters on Thursday, Oct. 21, by ballot voting at the Department of Public Works garage. Cheshire will vote separately. The actual numbers will be placed in the warrant article before the warrant closes on Sept. 22.
Selectwoman Paula Melville, who voted against the warrant, wrote us that she "was sorry that not everyone sees my actions as a precautionary measure to avoid failure of the debt exclusion."
Melville based her objections on what she said was the failure of the school district to provide options for the town to vote on. The school building committee, in cooperation with the state School Building Authority, has determined that closing the Adams middle school and moving the students to the high school is the best options. In a letter to the Transcript that she supplied to iBerkshires, Melville writes:
 Certain people have said that I have some strange ideas.This one is that I believe the people footing the bill should have the choice about what they are paying for. What is so bad about putting the ballot referendum question out there to voters of Adams and Cheshire? "Please indicate your choice of school building project by placing an 'x' before the option you prefer. _____ Renovation of Adams Memorial Middle School _____ Construction of a new town elementary school _____ Middle and high school merger at Hoosac Valley High School _____ No school building project at this time Are there other options to include? I love - with the new construction option – the vibrancy that comes from having young people among us and that the towns of Adams and Cheshire will be investing in themselves.  |
Adams School Project Vote in Limbo
Originally posted Sept. 16, 12:12 a.m.
 Town Meeting member George Haddad said the voters had a right to decide the fate of the school project. |
"Is there going to be a ballot question with options for the voters to decide on?" asked Melville. When told the article wouldn't change, her answer was simple: "No."
Her naye votes have put the debt exclusion article for borrowing on the project in limbo and, even if confirmed, the town meeting set last week will have to be moved.
"I understand what Paula is saying but I find it unbelievable that a single person with a single vote could prevent this project," said Chairman Michael Ouellette. "Hopefully, next week we'll have an answer on that."
The board voted on four motions last Wednesday to open a warrant, set dates for the town meeting and a town election and place language for a Proposition 2 1/2 override debt exclusion for borrowing on the project. Melville voted against all the motions, saying she couldn't support the project as it was, and Ouellette abstained after Melville raised the question of conflict of interest because his daughter works for the project's architects.
Melville said Ouellette's abstentions meant the debt-exclusion vote was not legal since the state statutes require a two-thirds vote. Ouellette, who said he abstained "to avoid even a hint of conflict," said town counsel was trying to determine if the two-thirds meant a quorum (of five) or those actually voting (four). Counsel was also trying to determine that if the vote failed, whether Melville, as the sole negative vote, was the only one who could reintroduce it.
A number of town meeting members objected to Melville's vote, saying the project should go before the voters to be decided not held up over one person. There is also worry that the project would fall off the state's funding list if it doesn't move forward.
 Selectwoman Paula Melville said she would not consider voting to put the project on the ballot unless it offered multiple options. |
The school project is a the result of a feasibility study authorized by the town two years ago that would permanently close the Adams Memorial Middle School and move those students to Hoosac Valley High School. The School Committee also was meeting Wednesday night to determine the costs of the project and the state's reimbursement, expected to be between 60 and 80 percent.
Selectman Scott Nichols, who had worked on the building committee, said the town had made the mistake of failing to deal with the middle school in the 1990s, only to spend money on a deteriorating building.
"I'm really frustrated that we're at this point because one member of this board could squash this project over a quorum vote," said Nichols, his voice rising. "This is not about politics. ... I'm not going to play games for the next three years."
The votes had taken place under a suspension of rules at the workshop meeting and Selectman Jason Hnatonka had asked that the issue be placed on the agenda to the discussion could broadcast. Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said he'd placed the votes on last week's agenda because of the tight timeline for getting the project started by next spring.
"I was asked by the [School Building Authority] to get these dates set," said Butler. "I truly didn't believe a member would have abstained or would have opposed because this was a procedural vote."
Two School Committee members Carol Corrigan and Regina Hill said a great deal of work had gone into the plans and couldn't understand why Melville was asking for more options.
 Selectman Skip Harrington said voters should have a say. |
"A lot of time and effort has gone into this proposal; a lot of my time has gone into this proposal," said new member Regina Hall, a PTG leader, who was annoyed that Melville was "smirking." "Why we're fighting and bickering over this is beyond me."
It was Philip Grandchamp, counsel for the school district who said he was speaking as an Adams resident, who asked that Melville reconsider her vote to save time and money. Melville refused and later said she had her constituents to represent.
Selectman Arthur "Skip" Harrington said he could understand Melville's focus on the technical issues of the vote and her concern over the school.
"I don't understand, however, why you won't allow this to go to the people to vote on the issue one way or the other."
Should the vote stand, the board will still have to change the town meeting dates. The board will meet next week only if has to vote.
In other business, the board:
► Confirmed the hiring of Melissa Schaffrick, a former Building Department staffer, as the new administrative assistant. Butler said he'd received 31 applications and interviewed six.
► Approved signage for the 29th annual Fall Run set for Sunday, Sept. 26, with a bike night on Sept. 25. The motorcycle run sets off at 11 a.m. from Bowe Field. Last year, the event raised $19,500; it's raised more than $407,000 total for the Shriners' Hospital.
► Heard an update of the summer youth program that the town matched funds with. Some 88 children participated in the six-week day sessions that included sports, arts and educational activities.
