Town Meeting Reimagined Taskforce reviews January meeting, agrees technical fixes and outreach steps

The Town Meeting Reimagined Taskforce met Feb. 16 to review feedback from the January town meeting and to set a short list of procedural and technical fixes ahead of the March 3 vote and the spring report to the selectboard.

Gaye summarized written and verbal feedback noting broad praise for the food and the informal hallway setup, which members said helped spur conversation. The taskforce agreed to document room setup with a pre-meeting photo, recruit more volunteers for setup and cleanup, and consider moving the PA system to Deb Rawson to make it available to more users, a change Angelike suggested.

On audio‑visual and remote access, members proposed additional microphones, a push‑to‑talk button for Sabina to reduce background noise, and mid‑room screens to help in‑person attendees view remote participants or slides. Steve said he would investigate whether Wi‑Fi boosters could improve Zoom quality after the January meeting’s online feed suffered when many in‑room participants were on camera.

The group agreed to simplify the moderator’s role so the moderator focuses on managing the room and coordinating with the online moderator; a separate person should work directly with Sabina to type proposed amendments. The taskforce also recommended that only one amendment be visible on the screen at a time and that proponents of complex amendments pre‑circulate handouts. Members noted continuing confusion over selectboard rules and recommended producing a clear handout explaining the rules and the amendment process.

Taskforce members discussed vote counting both in the room and online. For in‑person counts, they suggested reorganizing seating or counting by sector to speed the process and make hands easier to see. Online, members identified an issue in which raised hands did not clear automatically; Sam volunteered to manage online hands and to help participants update their Zoom display names so their votes could be attributed correctly.

The group also endorsed continuing the hallway hub concept and outreach tables, recommending invitations to the school board and legislators to host tables while noting that elected officials should be acknowledged but not given presentation time. Members proposed staffing a TMRi table outside the polling location on March 3 to collect ideas and to hand out rules and draft ballot materials when available.

On broader governance questions, members flagged poor communication between the taskforce and the selectboard that led to confusion about the meeting warning, agenda order, and whether a final budget vote should be taken; they discussed which ballot items belong at the budget meeting and whether to bar amendments entirely, citing discussion of Susan Clark’s memo. No formal change to the selectboard’s authority or the town’s procedures was recorded at the meeting.

Immediate next steps recorded by the taskforce included SJ posting a summary on the Free Press Forum to reinforce next steps in the budget process, making surveys available at the March 3 vote, aiming to produce a report to the selectboard by late May, and meeting again on March 9 and April 6 (the April meeting to include survey feedback). Several operational suggestions in SJ’s notes — name tags, clearer internal rules for moves and seconds, draft ballot distribution, and prioritizing which departmental presenters should appear early in the agenda — were added to the taskforce’s to‑do list.

No formal motions or official votes were taken during this meeting; the session focused on clarifying procedures, assigning follow-up tasks, and improving accessibility and transparency for future meetings.