EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated at 9:57 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Marblehead can’t seem to quit leaf blowers. The perennial issue will again come before Town Meeting this May via three citizen petitions.
Lead sponsor Sabrina Velandry of Prospect Street has proposed citizen petitions expanding the existing summertime ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Velandry’s petitions would specifically:
— Institute a year-round prohibition on gas-powered leaf blowers.
— Remove exemptions for town employees.
— Expand fines up to $300 for both residents and landscapers caught violating bans.
“These things are so dangerous, it’s unbelievable,” said Velandry, citing noise and fumes alongside hearing loss risks like the tinnitus she claims leaf blowers triggered. “There is no safe exposure…none.”
For the 2024 warrant, Town Clerk Robin Michaud has certified a dozen citizen petitions.
Establishing a recall bylaw
Daniel Donato of Manataug Trail is the lead sponsor behind a proposed bylaw that would allow residents to recall elected officials. Massachusetts citizens have a state constitutional right to recall public officials, but unlike most cities and towns, Marblehead does not have recourse to remove officials.
“I’m hoping residents will consider giving themselves more agency and more options,” said Donato. “This is about being prepared to deal with a situation, should it ever arise, where a town official shows such disregard for the will of the voters and the responsibilities of their office that a large majority of voters want them removed.”
Donato continued: “There is the potential that people might seek to misuse the power of recall. I would hope that this is reserved for egregious cases and not when voters disagree with decisions here and there in the normal course of town governance. Even knowing that this potential exists, I believe it’s worth the risk to have this safeguard in place.”
School Committee member Jenn Schaeffner declined to comment on the recall petition specifically, but did speak about the importance of the citizen petition process.
“I do honor the commitment to the democratic process which is our open town meeting structure,” she told the Current. “Citizen articles are the embodiment of this form of democracy and governance.”
The recall process starts when 50 voters sign a form to say they want to recall, or remove, an elected official from their job. This form lists the official’s name and why they want to recall them. After checking these signatures, the town clerk gives out petitions that need more signatures (5% of all voters in town). These filled-out petitions must be returned within 60 days.
Next, if all requirements are met, the official is told about the recall. They have five days to quit. If they don’t quit, a recall vote happens during the next town election. Voters will see on their ballots whether they want to recall the official and also choose who could replace them if the recall succeeds. The official being recalled cannot run in this replacement election.
For the recall to pass, a supermajority of 60% of voters who cast ballots in the recall election must vote for it. If it passes, the official is removed, and the replacement with the most votes takes over. If not enough people vote for the recall, nothing changes. The official stays in their job unless they resign before the vote.
Protections against repeat or immediate recalls are also in place, such as barring recall petitions within three months of an official taking office and within six months of an unsuccessful recall attempt.
“This effort is not intended to be a shot across the bow of our officials. Instead, it’s giving voters one more lever to pull (hopefully rarely) when and if they need it,” Donato said. “In rare cases, when we may discover that a person we elected to office has hidden important and highly relevant information prior to the election, the voters of Marblehead may want that person removed.”
Rolling Select Board back to one-year terms
A petition sponsored by Dwight Grader of Mill Pond seeks to rescind last year’s Town Meeting decision to change Select Board terms from one to three years. Last year’s vote essentially sent a home rule petition seeking the Legislature’s approval and the governor’s signature to make the term change. The new petition surfaced just weeks after the state Senate granted preliminary approval on the matter. The decision now sits in the House.
Website overhaul
Resident Jim Zisson sponsored a petition to overhaul Marblehead’s website. He says that the town identified overhauling Marblehead’s website as a priority, but it’s been placed on the back burner.
“I’m hoping to work with the Finance Committee to get funding for the website,” said Zisson. “If they don’t put the funding in the budget, we’ll ask Town Meeting for the money.”
Parliamentary procedure, traffic safety
Dan Albert of Leicester Road has put forth three petitions aimed at amending Town Meeting parliamentary procedure, Traffic Safety Committee oversight and the timely implementation of required road safety measures.
The first petition aims to improve operations and participation at Town Meeting by updating several sections of the town bylaws.
Regarding the “seating of strangers” — or nonvoting attendees — during Town Meeting, Albert said: “The current rules prohibit ‘strangers’ from being seated, but we’re really talking about welcoming student groups and other visitors. The changes just make it more inviting for a civics class or others to observe the meetings.”
On motions to indefinitely postpone business, he explained: “The tradition in Marblehead has been allowing a motion to postpone before the main motion is even presented. This goes against parliamentary procedure. The changes would require hearing the motion first, then allowing motions to table it or postpone consideration.”
Finally, on reconsidering previous votes on the Town meeting floor, Albert noted: “Currently the moderator has to determine if someone voted ‘yes’ originally before allowing a reconsider. But that’s difficult with secret ballots. Updating this procedure relieves pressure on the moderator and follows best practices.”
His second petition aims to correct some clerical issues in the bylaw creating the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, which was originally passed through his citizen petition at Town Meeting.
“There are a couple typos — a missing word or two,” Albert said.
His third petition calls for painting road safety shoulders on Maple Street between Lafayette and Humphrey, as required by a 2012 site plan approval that has gone unfulfilled for 12 years.
“There was no sense of urgency in town officials” on meeting these safety requirements, Albert said. He said he has shared relevant documentation with the police chief, School Committee and town engineer asking for a firm completion date. His petition sets a hard deadline of June 1, 2024, to finally implement the measures. Albert said if the date needs adjustment, “June 30th is better. Big deal.” The goal is spurring action on “road safety features that have been missing for 12 years,” he said.
Albert hopes officials will collaborate on the petitions but filed them because “it’s been long enough” waiting for the safety improvements.
Other citizen petitions that passed certification muster:
— Philip Blaisdell of Front Street sponsored a citizen petition to “maintain and keep open the State Street restroom on a year-round basis.”
— Kenneth Grant of Haley Road sponsored a citizen petition to “increase the size of sheds requiring just a building permit from 81 square feet to 121 square feet.”
— Charles Nordstrom of Knight Avenue sponsored a citizen petition to waive beach and transfer station sticker fees for honorably discharged veterans residing in Marblehead.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
