Selectman seeks to cut health insurance for new board members

Town Meeting is a chance for ordinary citizens to have their say, and below is a summary of changes they want considered this spring.

Six of the 15 issues have to do with the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex at Summer Street. Others involve health insurance for new selectmen, conflict of interest and, yes, off-leash dogs.

All are noted briefly below.

Marie Krepelka, the selectmen's administrator, said Feb. 9 no citizen articles were submitted for the May Special Town Meeting.

٭The sports-complex articles:

Joel Higginson, a Summer Street neighbor, would like the lights turned off before 10 p.m.

٭ David A. Cenato, who lives at Kings Court, which overlooks Buck Field, wants lights turned off an hour earlier than that, would like sound systems outside the rink controlled, and seeks to limit the number of baseball games that begin at or after 7 p.m. at Buck.

٭ Jeanne Leary, who heads the Summer Street Neighborhood Association, wants field lights angled away from neighbors and seeks $24,000 to replant trees removed when Summer Street was reconstructed.

Here are the other articles for the April Town Meeting brought by Arlington residents who accompanied their agenda items with the signatures of at least 10 registered voters.

٭ Selectman Diane Mahon wants to stop any new member of her board from receiving health insurance after this July. She also wants to ban texting while driving.

٭ Thomas Davison seeks a bylaw amendment to prohibit elected or appointed municipal employees from representing private parties before town boards and commissions.

٭ Mary McCartney seeks a bylaw change to allow dogs to be off-leash at certain times and places as well as determines penalties for violations. In an e-mail Feb. 8, McCartney wrote:

٭ Louise B. Popkin wants to zap bug zappers -- that is, restrict when they can be used.

٭ Roseann Casazza, head traffic supervisors, is asking Town Meeting to appropriate funds for the Police Department "for the provisions of the Arlington Traffic Supervisors."

٭ Lisa Weil, submitting on behalf of Sustainable Arlington, wants to amendment zoning bylaws to provide a definition for ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations and allow ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations in districts.

٭ John Leonard wants a change providing 60-days' notice before Town Meeting votes to accept the local-option legislation may be revisited by a future Town Meeting.

٭ Noelan Corbett is asking for a home rule petition to allow him to apply to become a town firefighter even though he is beyond 32 years old.

These articles will accompany others brought by town officials. As many as 79 articles are expected for the 2010 meeting. All articles, after town counsel adjusts their language, are expected to be available to the public about mid-March.

This story was first published at 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, and updated Feb. 8.