What’s On Tap Tonight at Town Meeting?

If opening night was special, then the second session of annual Town Meeting might just be thoroughly modern.

Articles on the agenda for tonight deal with a climate change resolution, solar energy purchasing, updating a zoning article and, if they get to it, electronic voting.

That’s according to Town Moderator Deb Brown, who set the second session’s agenda before adjourning the opening meeting on Monday. Tonight's meeting, set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Cary Hall, will open with the report from Town Manager Carl Valente, per Brown's plan.

Climate change and energy are next up on the agenda, in the form of Article 33, which asks the town to consider climate change in all of its decisions and planning processes, and Article 29, which seeks to provide flexibility in negotiating the installation of solar energy facilities and purchasing of solar electricity.

Following those would be Article 34, which seeks to amend and recodify Lexington’s zoning bylaw, and, should time allow, Article 32, which would add electronic voting as an allowed voting method at Town Meeting.

Previous Actions

On Monday, March 18, the opening night of annual Town Meeting featured a special Town Meeting that authorized the Board of Selectmen to make a $10.95 bid to purchase 10 acres of the Scottish Rite property on Marrett Road – an offer that was subsequently accepted yesterday.

Other opening night actions included:

• Indefinite postponement of articles 21 (appropriate to stabilization fund) and 28 (a bylaw amendment to provide an alternate method of making the warrant available to residents)
• Reaffirmation of the 1934 town seal under Article 27 (to see the seal, check out the second photo posted above)
• Strengthening the town’s tree bylaw under Article 30