Monthly Archives: May 2018

THE SPECIAL TOWN MEETING PASSED ALL WARRANT articles unanimously Monday night, May 21 as the Town of Hawley took another step toward the goal of providing its residents with high-speed Internet using funds from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI). 

The proceedings were a tad awkward, in that each of the three warrant articles had to be voted twice: first, to accommodate last-minute amendments; and, second, to enact the warrant  items as amended. Yet the entire process was speedy and efficient, taking less than 30 minutes.

The purpose of the warrant was to authorize the Hawley Selectboard to borrow and/or transfer funds to provide interim payments to the successful vendor until such time as the Town can receive reimbursement from the Commonwealth.

The objective of the amendments to the warrant was the same in all three cases — to “loosen” the language to account for the possibility of alternative vendors, and to provide for the prospect that an agency other than MBI might be the ultimate funding source.

The revised warrant, as enacted by the Special Town Meeting, can be viewed HERE.

THE HAWLEY TOWN MEETING RAN SMOOTHLY Monday night, May 14, as all warrants presented for consideration were either adopted or passed over by unanimous vote.

Items adopted by the group of 30-plus voters present included:

◊ Town Reports (Article 1);
◊ School District items (Articles 16 through 20);
◊ Budget Appropriations (Articles 2-10, 12-14); and,
◊ Veterans Fund provisions (Article 15).

Items passed over at the meeting included:
◊ Vocational Tuition and Transportation (Article 11)
◊ Integration of Mohawk District 6th Grade students into Mohawk
◊ Middle School (Article 21).

A .pdf copy of the 2018 Hawley Town Meeting Warrant can be downloaded HERE. [159 kb].

This is the Town Election vote tally, as of 9:00 pm May 7, 2018. The total number of Hawleyites voting was 63, or 23% of the Town’s registered voters:

Congratulations to all!

ACCORDING TO TOWN CLERK PAMELA Shrimpton, Diane Broncaccio, Reporter for the Greenfield Recorder, said that Hawley’s 23% voter turnout was the highest of any of the W. Mass. towns that conducted elections on Monday, May 7.