Week in Review

Week in Review: Town Meeting Directs Avery School's Future, New Flag Day Parade Route

A look back at some of the stories we covered this week on Dedham Patch.

Town Meeting Votes to Allow Leasing of Avery School As a result of Town Meeting's vote, the Board of Selectmen now have the authority to lease the old Avery School. The school has primarily been discussed as a spot for a potential arts center. The selectmen quickly got to work on drafting a request for proposals, which would require that any leasee use the old school as an arts and community center. Town Meeting Moderator Maintains Power The article would have called for standing votes on any issue that required a two-thirds vote to pass. Flag Day Parade Route To Change? The Flag Day parade has gone through Dedham Square for 44 years. Pitting tradition against traffic, officials are lanning to change the location. Mayor of Dedham …

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Town Meeting Denies Attempt to Cut Into Moderator's Power

The article would have forced a standing count for any vote that needed a two-thirds majority.

  Town Meeting Moderator Dan Driscoll began discourse Monday on Article 33 in stride - despite an attempt to circumvent some of his power. The substitute motion to the article, submitted by Tom Polito, would mandate a standing count rather than a voice vote for any Town Meeting decision that required a two-thirds vote. "The last couple three years, a lot of people who voted in favor of the articles that finally passed on a two-thirds vote weren't Town Meeting members," Polito said. The Finance Committee had recommended to indefinitely postpone the original article, forcing Polito to submit a substitute motion in an attempt to pass it. Polito complimented Driscoll for making changes to Monday's Town Meeting, including signage that required …

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Town Meeting 2012 By The Numbers

Town Meeting approved an operating budget of more than $85 million.

  Dedham Town Meeting members voted Monday to apporve a Fiscal Year 2013 operating budget of $85,060,161, an increase of about $2.5 million from this year's budget. Members also supported a $6.2 million capital campaign. The operating budget vote came after Town Meeting member Russ Poole said budget-makers were out of touch with the "real world" that's still feeling the Great Recession. "This sort of spending is not sustainable. We are partly to blame because of our consistent approval," said Poole, who also blamed the Finance Committee for their approvals and the school and town administrator for their treatment of the budget like a "blank check." Since Fiscal Year 2006, the town's operating budget has grown by 21.1 million, Poole said …

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Town Meeting Gives Selectmen Authority to Lease Old Avery

The Board of Selectmen now will draft a request for proposal.

  After more than 30 minutes of debate, Dedham Town Meeting members voted by voice vote to give authority to the Board of Selectmen to enter into a lease agreement for the former Avery Elementary School. Selectmen now will look to draft a request for proposal, likely for an arts and community center. The non-profit group Mother Brook Arts and Community Center is the only entity to show interest. Proponents of the article, seen by some Town Meeting members as a referendum on an arts center, said it filled a desire in the town, worked to revitalize East Dedham and would re-occupy the vacant school building quicker than any other project. "This is a great position to be in because this body, a few years ago, voted to believe and reinvest in …

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Town Meeting Election Winners Announced

All 273 seats were open for Town Meeting.

  Dedham Town Clerk released Thursday the Town Meeting members who won a seat in Saturday's election.

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Uncontested Races Dominate Town Election Ballot

Many candidates are in line to win uncontested races.

  Only two races in April's town election will be contested, with the remaining seven boards and positions left without a challenger. While multiple residents pulled papers that would have created races, several did not return signatures to stay in the election. Board of Selectmen incumbent Jim MacDonald won't face a challenger, and neither will School Committee members Joe Heisler, Kevin Coughlin and David Roberts as that committee looks to fill three seats. Of course, a candidate could pull together a write-in campaign between now and Election Day on April 14. The Library Board of Trustees has one seat open with two candidates: former School Committee member Tracy Driscoll and Marcia Jane Withiam-Wilson. Three residents will battle for …

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Time Short for Town Meeting Members

The list of candidates falls well short of the 273 seats that need to be filled, and two deadlines loom.

  Two deadlines loom for the bedrock of Dedham's local government as Town Meeting candidates have until Thursday afternoon to pull papers and until Monday to submit 10 signatures to get onto April's ballot. But, as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the number of candidates who have pulled nomination papers and incumbents who submitted an intent to run again, fell more than 40 positions short of a full Town Meeting contingent. "Do I think we'll have a full slate across the board? Probably not," said Town Clerk Paul Munchbach. "We would like to see a full slate of Town Meeting members." Currently, Precinct 7 has the fewest candidates - with just 22 on the ballot and two people yet to return signatures. While candidates can win through write-ins, …

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Get Your Dedham Dog Licensed

The Office of the Town Clerk is now accepting 2012 licenses.

The change of the calendar means many things, including time to renew your dog's town license - and there are a few changes this year in Dedham. Dog licenses are available in the Dedham Town Clerk's Office, all dogs 3 months or older must be licensed by April 30. Licenses for all spayed or neutered dogs is $10 and $15 for all others. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that all applications must be accompanied by an updated rabies certificate and  must be provide at the time of licensing. The late fee schedule changes put into place last year by Town Meeting will go into effect. Starting May 1, a late fee of $25 per household plus the license fee will  be enforced until the end of the calendar year. The Town Clerk's Office will also…

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