Special Town Meeting Begins Monday at 7:00pm

Hopkinton Special Town Meeting Day 1
Monday, January 30 at 7:00-11:00pm
Middle School Auditorium
There are 4 articles to vote on the warrant. Town meeting will repeat the following evenings 7:00-11:00pm until all the articles are voted. We expect Special Town Meeting to last at least 2 evenings. The first motion of the evening is expected to be a vote to defer action on article 2 (new school) until 7:00 PM on day 2 (Tuesday 1/31/17), but we cannot be sure if the motion will pass. Stay tuned.

As usual eHop will be covering Town Meeting live on social media to let you know the results of each vote as it happens. Follow us @eHop01748 and look for the hashtag #HopSTM17. 

Useful Documents:

• List of Articles and Motions, including dollar amounts
• Town Meeting Information Portal on hopkintonma.gov

List of Articles with Links & Details:

Article 1: Periodic Charter Review: Report and Recommendations

To hear the Report of the Charter Review Committee, submitted pursuant to Section 7-6 of the Town’s Home Rule Charter, and to see if the Town will vote to adopt the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee as set forth in a proposed Charter. Three key changes being recommended:

• Changing the Town Clerk from elected to appointed by the Board of Selectmen;
• Standardizing reporting structure for Town employees; and
• Streamlining the Budget Schedule and Warrant Process.
• Charter Review Committee Report
• Proposed Draft Charter for 2017 Special Town Meeting
• Charter Review Committee Slide Show

Article 2: School Building Project (addition of 4 classrooms to the school building project currently underway) – An additional $1.5 Million

• Article 2 Fast Facts – Classroom Addition for New Elementary School
• Hopkinton School Enrollment Continues to Surpass Projections

Article 3: Acquisition of Property at 61 Main Street for Downtown Corridor Realignment

To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to acquire, by gift, purchase, or eminent domain, a fee or other interest in all or any portion of the property located at 61 Main Street and designated on the Assessors Map as U16-250-0, said land to be used for purposes of realigning the intersection of Main Street (Route 135) and Cedar/Grove Street (Route 85) in order to improve the flow of traffic on Main Street and enhance public safety.

Article 4: Authority to Negotiate Solar Agreements

To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to negotiate payment in lieu of tax (PILOT) agreements for solar energy projects in the Town of Hopkinton in accordance with Section 38H of Chapter 59 of the Massachusetts General Laws.