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Resident urges Finance Committee to recommend against Article 73 on Baxter Road lease and geotube expansion
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Summary
A public commenter told the committee Article 73 lacks necessary scope, timing and license terms for a geotube expansion project and mirrors previously withdrawn articles; the committee noted the article will be discussed further on Feb. 19.
Doug Rose told the Finance Committee on Feb. 3 he planned to recommend the committee oppose Article 73 (a proposed lease/license for Baxter Road property to enable geotube expansion) at Town Meeting because the article, as written, omits critical details.
Rose said Article 73 is identical to language used in prior articles (Article 68 from 2004 and Article 81 from last year) that were tabled or withdrawn because license terms and project timing were unresolved. He argued the current draft provides no timing or scope for the geotube expansion, no license terms that would secure public benefits, and therefore asks Town Meeting to delegate decision-making to the Select Board without meaningful safeguards.
Rose said town leadership previously recognized unresolved issues; he cited Select Board reluctance to include the article on the warrant without clear terms and said the board agreed to add the article only with a caveat that it could be withdrawn if terms were not finalized well before Town Meeting. He said he would follow up with a letter detailing additional concerns and supporting documents.
Committee members acknowledged the history and confirmed that Article 73 will be discussed further (scheduled for Feb. 19) and that, absent new information, the committee’s evaluation that day would reflect the article as drafted.
