Annual Town Meeting – Saturday, September 12, 2020

This Post has been archived and its content might be outdated. If you are looking for recent content, please check this Site's Homepage.

2020 Annual Town Meeting has been rescheduled to Saturday, September 12, 2020. The Meeting will be held outdoors as a COVID-19 precautionary measure.

DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2020
Continuation/Rain Dates: Sunday, Sept 13 and Sunday, Sept 20

TIME: 9:00 AM
Break at 12:30 PM. Adjourn by 5:00 PM.

LOCATION: L-SRHS ATHLETIC FIELDS
390 Lincoln Road

WARRANT Contains detailed information about all Town Meeting articles. Mailed to all Sudbury households.		PRE-RECORDED PRESENTATIONS PRE-RECORDED PRESENTATIONS WILL NOT BE SHOWN AT TOWN MEETING.		LIVE BROADCAST Town Meeting will be televised on: Comcast: Channel 8 Verizon: Channel 31 SudburyTV Live Stream

ARTICLE GUIDE User-friendly summaries of items up for a vote at Town Meeting.		COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS Town Meeting will be held outdoors with social distancing and facial covering guidelines in effect.		LUNCH BREAK Food trucks will be on site from 11AM – 2PM for those wishing to purchase lunch.

TOWN MEETING INFORMATION

• Prepare for Outdoor Town Meeting
  • Pre-Recorded Presentations
  • COVID-19 Precautions
  • Accessible Parking & Mobility Assistance
  • Child Care
  • Hearing & Sight Impairments
  • Location UPDATED
  • NEW Lunch Break
  • Order Regulating Gatherings in Massachusetts
  • Presentations
  • Schedule UPDATED
  • NEW Transportation
• Absentee Voting – Not available at Town Meeting
• Town Meeting Procedure
• Voter Registration – Due by August 22, 2020 for this Town Meeting

PREPARE FOR OUTDOOR TOWN MEETING

In order to make outdoor Town Meeting as efficient as possible and to mitigate various risks, many articles will be pre-recorded and not have live presentations at the meeting itself. Voters are asked to watch pre-recorded presentations in preparation for Town Meeting.

Pre-Recorded Presentations
Recordings will not be shown at Town Meeting. Please watch in advance.

State of the Town Address (Dan Carty, Board of Selectmen, Chair)

Citations from the Massachusetts House of Representatives (Carmine Gentile, State Rep.)

Community Preservation Act Overview (Sherrill Cline, CPC, Chair)

Town Meeting Article Presentations – Select an Article from the list, then click on “Prerecorded Presentation” under “Online Information.”

COVID-19 Precautions
The 2020 Annual Town Meeting will be held outdoors as a COVID-19 precautionary measure. Seating will be spaced in accordance with COVID-19 regulations, and appropriate face coverings must be worn by all attendees. Portable restrooms and sanitizing materials will be available.

BRING

• Face Coverings
• Hand Sanitizer
• Hat
• Insect Repellent
• Snacks/Lunch
• Sunblock
• Town Meeting Warrant (mailed to all Sudbury households)
• Water

LEAVE AT HOME

• Large umbrellas (so as not to hinder others from viewing the meeting and being counted for a vote)
• Pets

Accessible Parking & Mobility Assistance

The September 12, 2020, Annual Town Meeting will take place beginning at 9:00 AM, outside on the grass/softball field behind Lincoln-Sudbury High School.  There will be physically distanced seating available on the field, due to the school not being available for restroom use.  Portable restrooms, including 2 that are ADA accessible, will be available in two locations adjacent to the field.  All volunteers and attendees will be wearing face coverings.  Emergency personnel will be on site as a precaution.

Accessible Parking
There are several spots available in front of the school, in the main high school parking lot and a small number of parking spots in the area directly behind the high school, which are being held for wheelchair users.  There will also be physically distanced seating in the back of the high school.  The area that is closest to the school building is expected to have some shade during most or all of the meeting.  Although this seating area is some distance away from the main seating area, there will be both amplified sound and closed captioning for the attendees in these seats.  In addition, the Moderator will have Assistants in the area to help with vote counts and microphones for questions.

To park in the spots at the back of the high school, you must use a wheelchair, have a disability placard or license plate and are urged to contact the Sudbury Senior Center in advance.  Should the lot be full, alternative accessible parking is available in the high school main parking lot as well as the high school front parking lot (near the front doors and office). 

Sudbury Police personnel will be assisting in the parking process. Golf carts travelling along the road that surrounds the school and parking lots will be available to assist in shuttling attendees to their seating. 

Persons who use a wheelchair to ambulate, are urged to contact the Sudbury Senior Center to make a plan for either drop-off or parking at the event.  Please contact the Senior Center at 978-443-3055 or senior@sudbury.ma.us. 

Child Care
Child Care will not be provided at Town Meeting as a COVID-19 safety precaution. All Town Meeting attendees are asked to wear face coverings and maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance from other participants who are not members of the same household.

Hearing & Sight Impairments
Those with hearing and vision impairments are encouraged to sit in designated areas by the front of the stage. Seating for persons requiring mobility and other accommodations will be available in the area adjacent to the gymnasium building, overlooking the field with full visual and hearing access to the meeting. Closed captioning screens will be available in both locations, and a web link to the Closed Captioning will also be available for those who wish to use their phone or device to view the captions.

Location UPDATED
Town Meeting will be held at L-SRHS baseball diamond (SEE SEATING LAYOUT BELOW) in the lower athletic field adjacent to the gymnasium building at the rear of the school, which is accessible by walking or by golf carts with drivers. Stationary microphone access will be available, and appropriate cleaning will take place. Seating on the field will be spaced according to social distancing guidelines. Folding chairs will be provided, however not all chairs will be in areas that provide shade. Voters are asked to plan accordingly and bring sun protection in the event they are not seated in a shaded area.

Parking
The primary parking will be located in the main parking lot (the “solar field parking lot”) to the right (east) of the schools.   A specified area elsewhere will be reserved for HP parking where golf carts with drivers or other transport can provide transportation to the check-in area.

Seating Layout
Please click map below for detail..

NEW Lunch Break
Food trucks will be on site at L-SRHS from approximately 11AM – 2PM to assist with timely resumption of Town Meeting following the lunch break, Those wishing to purchase food are asked to wear facial coverings and maintain socially distant spacing while in line. The following trucks have been confirmed. This list will be updated as needed.

Chicken & Rice Guys Halal chicken plates and more ORDER ONLINE

Tacos Don Beto Authentic Mexican food

 Trolley Dogs Signature hot dogs – ORDER ONLINE

Order Regulating Gatherings in Massachusetts
The Third Revised Order Regulating Gatherings Throughout the Commonwealth issued by Govern Baker on August 7, 2020 sets limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings. As listed on page 4, item 5 of the order, any municipal legislative body, such as Sudbury Annual Town Meeting, is exempt from the requirement.

Presentations
In order to make outdoor Town Meeting as efficient as possible and to mitigate various risks, many articles will be pre-recorded and not have live presentations at the meeting itself. Voters are asked to watch pre-recorded presentations here in preparation for Town Meeting.

Those who wish to pre-record an article presentation, may do so via SudburyTV signup or submit their own recording. Learn more here: Town Meeting Presentation Guidelines and FAQ.

Schedule UPDATED
Town Meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 AM on Saturday, September 12. CHECK-IN WILL BEGIN AT 8 AM. There will be a 45 minute break at approximately 12:30 PM. To minimize exposure to EEE, the meeting will adjourn by 5 PM. Rain dates and continuation dates are Sunday, September 13 and Sunday, September 20, starting at 9 AM.

NEW Transportation
For those who need transportation to Town Meeting, the Town is working with two companies to provide transportation to and from the meeting. Please contact Senior Center Outreach Specialist Ana Cristina Oliveira at 978-639-3268 or oliveiraa@sudbury.ma.us if you need transportation, and she will help connect you.

ABSENTEE VOTING

Please note, there is no remote or absentee voting at Town Meeting. Absentee voting is possible during elections, which use ballots as the voting mechanism. There are no ballots at a Town Meeting as Motions are made on the floor of Town Meeting and may differ from the Article presented in the warrant. Thus, Town Meeting votes must be taken in person.

TOWN MEETING PROCEDURE

Click below, or see the Summary of Basic Town Meeting Procedures at the front of the Town Meeting Warrant to learn more about Town Meeting.
Citizen’s Guide to Town Meetings
Town Meeting Bylaws 

VOTER REGISTRATION

A resident must be registered to vote by Saturday, August 22, 2020 in order to vote at Town Meeting. Check your voter registration status here.

Event Details

• Email this Post
• Print this Post
• Content Shortlink
• Back to Town Meeting