No Quorum Means No Mansfield Special Election

A special town meeting called to decide whether to convert the former Lowney Chocolate Works building into a new apartment complex was postponed until April, because it did meet the minimum number of 200 residents require to be present to vote on the issues.

The meeting, which had about 150 Mansfield residents in attendance, was rescheduled to April 9, 2013—coinciding with the annual town meeting—after it had been adjourned for about an hour in the hopes that more people would show up.

This was supposed to be the first town meeting for new Town Clerk Marianne Staples, but as a previous 14-year town clerk in Blackstone, she acknowledged that not making quorum is not unheard of.

“It's unfortunate, because there's a lot of money that can be put back” into the town, she said, adding that the decision to postpone the meeting until April came because of the upcoming holidays and winter to follow.

It's more difficult to get residents to come out in inclement weather, said Staples, who cited Tuesday's cold, rainy weather as a reason more people didn't come out.

The most the big-ticket item on the agenda was the debate of what to do with the Lowney Chocolate Works Building, which became vacant after production was moved to a new plant in Hazleton, Penn. last year.

A plan proposed by Mansfield developer Joe Mulkern and Boston-based Winn Development, would retrofit the to building to accommodate a complex of loft-style apartments, that preserve the notable architectural details of the more than 100-year-old building, such as existing brick walls and woodwork.

The plan, which is supported by many town officials, has drawn ire from some residents, who think there could be an opportunity to bring manufacturing back to the building and who don't want to see more children crowding the Mansfield school system.

Proponents of the project argue that the building is too outdated for manufacturing, part of the reason it was shut down in the first place.  

Another goal of the meeting was to vote on whether to take unspent money from various departments and projects and put them into a new account. Now, both of those debates will be shelved until the next meeting in the spring.

“We just paused it until April,” said Staples. “Hopefully, we'll make quorum them. If not, we'll [have to] postpone again.”