Mansfield Town Meeting Roundup: Budgets, Wetlands and Developments

The Mansfield Town Meeting saw a total of 45 articles discussed, with one reconsideration and three other votes schedules for next week.

The first, and most contentious vote, was the town side of the budget. The approved number for the budget was $34,079,482 on the town side. The budget passed 212-199 after much discussion in the auditorium.

The second article was the school budget, which was arguably more contentious leading up to the meeting than in the vote itself. The budget passed for $41,098,245 without a contentious enough quorum for a head count.

The quorum approved article 29, which allowed for Mansfield to keep funds from checks paid to other private parties that did not cash said checks within one year. The article provides for numerous attempts to contact any such party and allows an appeal process.

Article 31 passed wihtout contention and motioned to petition the state legislature for a Public Endangerment Act, which would allow the town to charge a person taken into protective custody would have to pay a fine equal to the cost of housing said person for a night. Legislation like this was rejected by the Attorney General last year in Foxborough. Town Manager William Ross said that with both towns reinforcing th idea it would have more traction than last time. 

The town voted in article 33 to give permission in for the route 106 mural without heavy contention. The article allowed for the construction of the mural, but did not set up any funding. The mural will have to be funded by donations given to the Mansfield Mural Committee.

A petition given by Mansfield school committee chair Michael Trowbridge was voted in article 40. The petition would have abolished all municipal wetland protection bylaws, which Trowbridge argued were unecessary and hindering to homeowners. The town voted against abolishing the protectionary measures.

Willam Clemmey, owner of many properties in the town, petitioned for several rezonings. Article 42 passed for a rezoning of two residential parcels on West Street behind the Staples, Home Depot and Shaws. Article 43, a rezoning of the residential zones across the street, did not pass.