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winni83 · 03-16-2016, 08:07 AM

According to the minutes of the 2016 Moultonborough Town Meeting here is what happened after the votes on Article 2 were counted.

Selectman Shipp made a Motion to Reconsider, apparently believing that if passed, such a Motion would result in a re-opening of the debate that day. There was confusion, to put it kindly, generated by the Town Moderator and Town Counsel, who stated that the reconsideration would take place that day. Shortly thereafter, Town Counsel reversed his position, apparently having read that Statute that Long Islander cites, and stated that the reconsideration could not take place for 7 days. Selectman Ship then withdrew his Motion to Reconsider. Then a voter made another Motion to Reconsider. The Town Moderator stated that such a Motion could only be made by a voter who was on the prevailing side of the underlying vote (namely a voter who voted NO on Article 2). Why this standard did not apply to Mr. Shipp is unclear. The Town Moderator asked the voter who made the Motion to state which side he had voted on and the voter refused to answer. The Town Moderator then proceeded to act as if the Motion were properly made. Another voter then challenged the position of the Town Moderator with respect to the standing of the voter to make the Motion of Reconsider and the legislative body overturned the position of the Town Moderator, so there was no Motion to Reconsider. Another voted than moved to restrict reconsideration, which passed.

What does all this mean, apart from the performance of those who are supposed to know what they are doing in terms of running the Town Meeting, is that like Hydra, the “Community Center” will not go away and will continue to be a divisive issue despite the assertions of the proponents of Article 2 that all they wanted was a final vote, which they got.

03-16-2016, 08:07 AM	#13
winni83 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Moultonborough, NH Posts: 423 Thanks: 17 Thanked 212 Times in 134 Posts	According to the minutes of the 2016 Moultonborough Town Meeting here is what happened after the votes on Article 2 were counted. Selectman Shipp made a Motion to Reconsider, apparently believing that if passed, such a Motion would result in a re-opening of the debate that day. There was confusion, to put it kindly, generated by the Town Moderator and Town Counsel, who stated that the reconsideration would take place that day. Shortly thereafter, Town Counsel reversed his position, apparently having read that Statute that Long Islander cites, and stated that the reconsideration could not take place for 7 days. Selectman Ship then withdrew his Motion to Reconsider. Then a voter made another Motion to Reconsider. The Town Moderator stated that such a Motion could only be made by a voter who was on the prevailing side of the underlying vote (namely a voter who voted NO on Article 2). Why this standard did not apply to Mr. Shipp is unclear. The Town Moderator asked the voter who made the Motion to state which side he had voted on and the voter refused to answer. The Town Moderator then proceeded to act as if the Motion were properly made. Another voter then challenged the position of the Town Moderator with respect to the standing of the voter to make the Motion of Reconsider and the legislative body overturned the position of the Town Moderator, so there was no Motion to Reconsider. Another voted than moved to restrict reconsideration, which passed. What does all this mean, apart from the performance of those who are supposed to know what they are doing in terms of running the Town Meeting, is that like Hydra, the “Community Center” will not go away and will continue to be a divisive issue despite the assertions of the proponents of Article 2 that all they wanted was a final vote, which they got.