THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUnE 7, 2024 Page 3 Town Meeting 2024 Members disengage themselves from Community engagement article; returning it back to its maker By Mark E. Vogler We had a great conversation.” “I’d love to see 50 members F irst-term Town Meeting Member Matthew Parlante says community engagement has always been his motive behind Article 23. But the more it got discussed at this year’s Annual Town Meeting, the less engaging Parlante’s colleagues found it. Initially, the article to establish a Community Engagement Committee passed by a narrow margin. But Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian – a supporter – moved to have it reconsidered at a meeting two weeks ago because he didn’t think it had a strong backing of members. Manoogian offered to meet with Parlante and help refine the article’s language so it would be more palatable to members. An amendment that Parlante submitted to members at Monday’s meeting reduced the size of the committee from 10 members to five and modified the language to include this: “The MEETING | FROM PAGE 2 Board or somebody not doing their job,” Manoogian said. “There are still vulnerable neighborhoods that could be impacted by a weak Planning Board. It’s discouraging what happened. This was a good overlay [district] that was abused,” Manoogian said. Long was not impressed with the Overlay district. “If you think the overlay is working, I’d ask you over to Essex Landing. We were promised a hotel,” Long said. But the developer appears to be backing taking part in this. I don’t see anything negative that can come out of this,” the Precinct 2 Town Meeting member said of his amended article. Some members questioned the format, suggesting that what was presented as an amendment should have been considered as a substitute motion. Several members said they thought narrowing the membership down to five members made it less MEETING 2024 | SEE PAGE 4 Precinct 4 Town Meeting Member Robert Long said a Community Engagement Committee is unnecessary when citizens can come to Town Meeting and speak for five minutes on every article. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) purpose of the committee is to engage citizens to bring about better understanding of Saugus Town Government.” The article originally stated as its purpose “to generate more participation of community members in civic matout of the promise, according to Long. Concerns about overdevelopment Selectman Serino, the architect of the zoning articles, said he was motivated to address problems created by developers whose focus was on building apartments. “There is no benefit for Saugus to build apartments for non-Saugus Residents,” Serino said. “The fastest way to change our community is to continue to build apartments at a fast pace. It is important to ters and increase civic engagement through educational forums and existing town public events.” “Third time’s the charm,” Parlante told colleagues Monday night, adding, “I met with my colleague from Precinct 10. strengthen our zoning bylaws in order to prevent the over-development of Saugus,” Serino said. One of his articles addressed the density issue. “My article would lower the number of apartments from 20 units/per acre [to] 15 units/per acre,” Serino said. “A projected reduction from 3,840 potential apartments [to] 2,880 potential apartments. This projection only includes lots greater than 9 acres. This projection does not include smaller lots that could be combined into larger lots,” he said. Dr. Priti Amlani Dr. Bhavisha Patel Eastern Bank Building on Rte. 1S 605 Broadway, #301 * Saugus (781) 233-6844 www.bostonnorthdental.com * Restorative Dentistry * Cosmetic Dentistry * Implant Restoration * Zoom Whitening * Teeth in a Day - All on 6 * Invisalign * CEREC Crowns (Single Visit Crowns) * Root Canal Treatment * Sedation Dentistry ~ Full Mouth Rehabilitation ~ Before After Window Glass & Screen Repair
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