WESTFORD — The Town of Westford recently held its annual special town meeting on Monday Oct. 27 in the Westford Academy gymnasium.
Nearly 700 people voted and dozens more were in attendance for the meeting, which lasted nearly four hours.
13 articles were on the agenda, each which included several motions.
Some of those motions, such as the second motion on Article 3, sought $1,150,000 for the addition of a new artificial turf on Nutting Field. The third motion on Article 3 sought $1,000,000 for the purchase of a new firetruck for the Westford Fire Department.
Both of these motions sparked questions and debate among some residents.
One resident suggested skipping debate on the new field and moving the motion directly to a vote, arguing that it was already debated in past town meetings.
“We‘ve already thoroughly debated this, not only at town meeting, but at special meeting as well,” the resident said. “I believe we have a number of children here who don‘t get a say in this, they‘re all here outside. I want to speak for the children, make sure they‘re safe, and see if we can move this directly to a vote.”
However, another resident opposed the renovation of the field all together, arguing that it had already been voted down in past town meetings, and that Westford has other sports fields that can be used, and that the project was unnecessary and too expensive.
“I‘ve coached teams in Westford for ten years, on Jack Walsh (field), on Abbot (field), and I‘ve never has a player go down with an injury,” the resident said. “Maybe I‘m lucky, but there were the synthetic fields put in at the end of my tenure, and I don‘t see the… how many fields to we have (in Westford)? What are we talking about?”
The motion to purchase a new firetruck also sparked some debate among residents regarding the urgency of needing a new firetruck, the cost, and when it is expected to be delivered.
“This is a long time to wait for a firetruck,” one resident said. “If I know anything about Massachusetts, they love to change the regulations and compliance down the road for future anything. So I guess my question is, does the contract we‘re planning to sign, guarantee that it will be compliant with Massachusetts law and any requirements regarding fire engines when it‘s produced? So that we‘re not agreeing to approve something that might not be in compliance.”
However, despite any objections from residents, both motions passed with an overwhelming majority, 562 to 131 and 420 to 66, respectively.
Following the meeting, WestfordCAT spoke to Westford Youth Soccer President Matt Cotter, who said he was pleased with the outcome of the vote on renovating Nutting Field, as he said it was long overdue and the field was the primary soccer field used by the town’s soccer programs.
“Grass would have not fit the needs of the soccer program or the youth lacrosse program,” Cotter said. “We‘re thrilled (with the outcome). Maybe we underestimated the vote in March (which struck down the renovation), but people definitely came out in force tonight. I didn‘t know until they did the vote to move the motion (to a vote), when I saw that, I said ‘I think we‘re in a good place.”
