Get involved: Moultonborough town meeting Saturday March 13th, 209

wifi · 03-12-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

Can the voters in M'boro amend the motions made by Sandwich?

As you might know, M'boro is it own school district, distinct from InterLakes.

breathe easy · 03-12-2010, 04:06 PM

The Moultonborough School district annual meeting precedes town meeting tomorrow ( Saturday) and will start at 9am. The only way to avoid the meeting being hijacked by special interests is to attend and vote. As observed during the school budget hearing last month, there are parents that will try to amend the school budget and put the sensible budget cuts back, and who knows what else?
What many in town don't seem to understand is that M'boro has many seniors and people on fixed incomes and literally, every dollar counts.
With student population declining in just 3 years from 674 to 604 how can anyone justify not reducing spending?

twoplustwo · 03-12-2010, 07:48 PM

Yes, the voters in Sandwich did have the last say and apparently hijacked the meeting according to many Meredith residents.

If the population of Sandwich can 'hijack' a meeting versus the population of the Town of Meredith, then a whole lot of the Town of Meredith sat on their collective rear ends and didn't bother to attend. According to the 2008 census, Sandwich has 1,316 residents to Meredith's 6,623. That's not hijacking, it's voting, which is their right. Any voter in Meredith who didn't show up to vote is getting what they deserve.

Sue Doe-Nym · 03-13-2010, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoplustwo

Yes, the voters in Sandwich did have the last say and apparently hijacked the meeting according to many Meredith residents.

If the population of Sandwich can 'hijack' a meeting versus the population of the Town of Meredith, then a whole lot of the Town of Meredith sat on their collective rear ends and didn't bother to attend. According to the 2008 census, Sandwich has 1,316 residents to Meredith's 6,623. That's not hijacking, it's voting, which is their right. Any voter in Meredith who didn't show up to vote is getting what they deserve.

That's exactly the point, "voter apqthy" as described in the Billings letter to the editor. Too many Moultonborough voters might not come to the annual meetings and end up with larger budgets than are recommended.

tis · 03-13-2010, 08:21 AM

Voter apathy is a big problem. So is voter "ignorance". We all know it is very hard to understand what we are voting for sometimes, unless you have researched it before hand. For instance if it says to change (x) to 500 feet and you didn't go back to see what the old (x) was, how in the world can you know what you are voting for? The answer is you can't. In Wolfeboro, around 500-+ people out of 1500+- that voted, voted for a blank amendment. Did they think they were being funny or did they just quickly run through all the amendments?

breathe easy · 03-13-2010, 05:10 PM

Here is the blow by blow for the School and Town Meetings in Moultonborough earlier today.

http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.co...esults_13.html

http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.co...g-results.html

phoenix · 03-13-2010, 07:26 PM

thank you for posting this

Pineedles · 03-13-2010, 09:26 PM

I wonder what the outcome will be after the vote on stopping mosquito control will be? More Mosquitos this spring? More Equine encephalitus? More lyme disease? We'll see.

fatlazyless · 03-13-2010, 10:46 PM

According to the above link, about 7.5% of the Moultonborough electorate was present at the town meeting, and that number got reduced down to 5% after lunch was served and presumably 1/3 of the voters in attendance did not return.

This 7.5% Moultonborough attendance is higher than the 3% number for Meredith most likely because Moultonborough town meeting is held on a Saturday morning, while the Meredith town meeting is held on a Wednesday night from 7-pm to midnight.

For many New Hampshire town meetings, getting to control the vote is all about getting the voters to show up to have a vote. The only voters who show up to the 7-pm to midnight town meeting are those who have a strong interest in the vote. In Meredith, a number of expensive projects including the police station, fire station, community center, & million dollar football field were all passed with only a very small (5% or less) of the electorate present. For those who voted yes, getting their project built was a victory in small town politics.

Conversely, the same voting game played out against the Meredith core of voters who show up, when Sandwich rallied their voter-troops, filling the gym to capacity, and out-voting Meredith voters.

Meredith pays for 72% of Inter-Lakes SAU-3 schools. Center Harbor pays 14%. Sandwich pays 14%.

Probably, some of those who voted against Meredith SB-2 school or Meredith SB-2 town in March 2008, or March 2009, are now rethinking the SB-2 style of voting and would maybe vote for it in the future.

Sue Doe-Nym · 03-14-2010, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

I wonder what the outcome will be after the vote on stopping mosquito control will be? More Mosquitos this spring? More Equine encephalitus? More lyme disease? We'll see.

It was only a monitoring program, never any actual spraying. Many people thought as you did that it actually involved control. Using the word control rather than monitor was a bad choice of words.

Pineedles · 03-14-2010, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

It was only a monitoring program, never any actual spraying. Many people thought as you did that it actually involved control. Using the word control rather than monitor was a bad choice of words.

Thanks Sue Doe-Nym. BTW I love your name.

"$200,000 over the past four years to address a problem that does not exist in our part of the state."

$50K per year to count and test Mosquito's over the past 4 years? I certainly agree that they should cut that. Ya think they would have figured out they didn't have a problem the 2nd or even the 3rd year? Oh well, at least they stopped it before it became a 1/4 million dollars.

breathe easy · 03-15-2010, 07:47 AM

The Moultonborough Citizens Alliance posted the School District video on it's website:

http://moultonboroughcitizensallianc...er-2010-s.html

breathe easy · 03-15-2010, 06:00 PM

Here is the link to Moultonboro 2010 Town Meeting video
http://moultonboroughcitizensallianc...n-meeting.html

Argie's Wife · 03-12-2010, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wifi

As you might know, M'boro is it own school district, distinct from InterLakes.

Forgive me - I meant Meredith... (don't swat me... I admit I get the two names mixed up all the time for some silly reason...)

03-12-2010, 07:48 PM	#3
twoplustwo Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 456 Thanks: 51 Thanked 39 Times in 21 Posts	laughable Yes, the voters in Sandwich did have the last say and apparently hijacked the meeting according to many Meredith residents. If the population of Sandwich can 'hijack' a meeting versus the population of the Town of Meredith, then a whole lot of the Town of Meredith sat on their collective rear ends and didn't bother to attend. According to the 2008 census, Sandwich has 1,316 residents to Meredith's 6,623. That's not hijacking, it's voting, which is their right. Any voter in Meredith who didn't show up to vote is getting what they deserve.

03-13-2010, 07:26 PM	#7
phoenix Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: phoenix and moultonboro Posts: 1,592 Thanks: 65 Thanked 288 Times in 204 Posts	thank you for posting this __________________ it's tough to make predictions specially about the future

03-13-2010, 10:46 PM	#9
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 9,171 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 310 Thanked 1,103 Times in 812 Posts	According to the above link, about 7.5% of the Moultonborough electorate was present at the town meeting, and that number got reduced down to 5% after lunch was served and presumably 1/3 of the voters in attendance did not return. This 7.5% Moultonborough attendance is higher than the 3% number for Meredith most likely because Moultonborough town meeting is held on a Saturday morning, while the Meredith town meeting is held on a Wednesday night from 7-pm to midnight. For many New Hampshire town meetings, getting to control the vote is all about getting the voters to show up to have a vote. The only voters who show up to the 7-pm to midnight town meeting are those who have a strong interest in the vote. In Meredith, a number of expensive projects including the police station, fire station, community center, & million dollar football field were all passed with only a very small (5% or less) of the electorate present. For those who voted yes, getting their project built was a victory in small town politics. Conversely, the same voting game played out against the Meredith core of voters who show up, when Sandwich rallied their voter-troops, filling the gym to capacity, and out-voting Meredith voters. Meredith pays for 72% of Inter-Lakes SAU-3 schools. Center Harbor pays 14%. Sandwich pays 14%. Probably, some of those who voted against Meredith SB-2 school or Meredith SB-2 town in March 2008, or March 2009, are now rethinking the SB-2 style of voting and would maybe vote for it in the future. __________________ .... Banned for life from local thrift store!

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03-12-2010, 04:06 PM	#2
breathe easy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 98 Thanks: 7 Thanked 23 Times in 9 Posts	The Moultonborough School district annual meeting precedes town meeting tomorrow ( Saturday) and will start at 9am. The only way to avoid the meeting being hijacked by special interests is to attend and vote. As observed during the school budget hearing last month, there are parents that will try to amend the school budget and put the sensible budget cuts back, and who knows what else? What many in town don't seem to understand is that M'boro has many seniors and people on fixed incomes and literally, every dollar counts. With student population declining in just 3 years from 674 to 604 how can anyone justify not reducing spending?

03-13-2010, 08:21 AM	#5
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,946 Thanks: 795 Thanked 1,493 Times in 1,040 Posts	Voter apathy is a big problem. So is voter "ignorance". We all know it is very hard to understand what we are voting for sometimes, unless you have researched it before hand. For instance if it says to change (x) to 500 feet and you didn't go back to see what the old (x) was, how in the world can you know what you are voting for? The answer is you can't. In Wolfeboro, around 500-+ people out of 1500+- that voted, voted for a blank amendment. Did they think they were being funny or did they just quickly run through all the amendments?

03-13-2010, 05:10 PM	#6
breathe easy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 98 Thanks: 7 Thanked 23 Times in 9 Posts	Here is the blow by blow for the School and Town Meetings in Moultonborough earlier today. http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.co...esults_13.html http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.co...g-results.html

03-13-2010, 09:26 PM	#8
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,550 Thanks: 1,072 Thanked 672 Times in 369 Posts	I wonder what the outcome will be after the vote on stopping mosquito control will be? More Mosquitos this spring? More Equine encephalitus? More lyme disease? We'll see.

03-15-2010, 07:47 AM	#12
breathe easy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 98 Thanks: 7 Thanked 23 Times in 9 Posts	The Moultonborough Citizens Alliance posted the School District video on it's website: http://moultonboroughcitizensallianc...er-2010-s.html

03-15-2010, 06:00 PM	#13
breathe easy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 98 Thanks: 7 Thanked 23 Times in 9 Posts	Here is the link to Moultonboro 2010 Town Meeting video http://moultonboroughcitizensallianc...n-meeting.html