Board of Aldermen 11-26-2019 Page 18
Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja
Yes, I’d just like to each the Mayor's invitations to everyone for both Plaid Friday and the Stroll. | know
our downtown merchants and Great American Downtown have been working with the City Departments
to dress up the street and they are ready and wish you a Happy Holiday Season. And then Happy
Thanksgiving to all of you and to the members of our community. Thank you.
Alderman Jette
| hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. But next Monday we get back to work, we have a Public
Hearing on several bonds. One of them is the Middle School, the bond for the Middle School. We had
an informational meeting at Main Dunstable School that gave people a chance to ask questions about
it. Unfortunately one of the bonds that is on the schedule for this coming Monday is the bond to build a
new Public Works Building. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to have the Public Informational
Meeting prior to the Public Hearing. | noticed that today | think it was we were all invited to a Public
Informational Meeting on December 9", which is the week after. | don’t know, | confess ignorance on
whether or not the public hearing scheduled for December 2™, since we voted on that, whether we
have to do something here and whether it is necessary for me to make a motion to postpone that public
hearing until after the informational hearing is held on December 9". | am asking for your guidance
there whether that’s necessary or not?
President Wilshire
Well the public hearing does give the opportunity for the public to come in and express any concerns. |
thought about it because you did mention it to me before the meeting tonight. | don’t see a need to take
that bond off the table and hold it because the people that are concerned about it have a right to come
here, that’s what the public hearing is about. And if they get two opportunities all the better because
they will still have an opportunity the following week.
Alderman Jette
With all due respect, | don’t know if | am the only one that thinks that we ought to have an informational
meeting to explain to the people what it is that we are looking at so that they can hear what the
proposal is before we ask them to come to a public hearing and express opinions. We are asking them
to express opinions about something that they know little about. So | think that it is better to have the
informational meeting and then have the public hearing after they know what it is about and then they
can speak intelligently about whether they support it or oppose it.
President Wilshire
Didn’t you just say there was an informational meeting already at Main Dunstable School?
Alderman Jette
That was on the Middle School Project.
President Wilshire
Oh that wasn’t on the Public Works Facility.
Alderman Jette
That was not on the Public Works Building Project, no.
