GB Voters Urged to Return Thursday for Continuation of Annual Town Meeting

Great Barrington voters are asked to return to a continuation of the Annual Town Meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Monument Mountain Regional High School. The meeting format will again be a “drive-in” style meeting in the parking lot using a low power FM transmitter.

“We really need our voters to come back to finish our work before July 1,” said Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon. “We are so appreciative of Monday’s dedicated turnout and had hoped to conclude then, but our audience dwindled as the evening progressed, so we had to continue business to Thursday.”

Nine citizen petition articles remain for consideration, and at least 100 voters are required to reconvene the meeting

The Town must take some action on these nine articles by June 30. Some petition sponsors have indicated that they would support passing over their articles now, for consideration at a special town meeting later this summer. Nevertheless, voters at the meeting will have to decide whether to do that. Other petition sponsors may ask the voters to consider and vote on their articles at this meeting, rather than pass over them.

Petition articles requiring action are: proposed changes to mixed-use development; zoning bylaws; marijuana establishment locations and operations; reinstating two-way traffic on Lake Mansfield Road; changing citizen participation rules for town board and committee meetings; a ban on hazardous waste disposal, and a petition against for-profit prisons in Massachusetts.