I am off to a special town meeting here
in out little New Hampshire town to discuss a matter of great import
– the replacement or refurbishment of one of our fire department's
pumpers.
While this matter had been discussed
and voted on during our regular town meeting back in February and
March, the voters decided not to replace the 25-year old fire engine
and considered having it repaired for a fraction of the cost of a new
pumper. But the idea foundered when it was found the old pumper was
in far worse shape than originally reported. And since the town can't
make capital expenditures of this magnitude without a town meeting to
discuss the matter and a follow-on vote the following month, our
selectmen decided to call a special town meeting. They petitioned the
court for permission to hold a town meeting off of the regular
schedule and received the court's blessing to do so. (Towns can't
just call a town meeting at anytime other than the designated dates,
unless an emergency or other immediate need requires it. In this case
the replacement of a vital piece of life-saving equipment was seen as
meeting the conditions to allow this special town meeting to be
held.)
I expect there will be lively
discussions and debate at this meeting, if not some acrimony. (A
lengthy series of letters to the editor in both of our local
newspapers created an atmosphere that generated a lot of the
aforementioned acrimony.)
If nothing else, it will be interesting
evening.
And so it goes in small town America.