The board’s normal second-Tuesday meeting date in June coincides with the town election on June 9. The board agreed to reschedule to Tuesday, June 16, to allow election results to be known, new board members to be sworn in, and the group to begin planning summer implementation of whatever trash and override decisions the voters make.

A board member announced support for conducting early voting for the upcoming ballot question, describing it as important given what was characterized as ‘one of the biggest ballot initiatives in the last two decades.’ The Town Administrator described the three pre-Election Day voting mechanisms:

1. Absentee ballots — require a stated reason
2. Mail-in ballots — opt-in required by May 27; no reason needed
3. Early voting — no excuse required; available in person before Election Day

Procedural path: The Board of Registrars (three partisan members plus the town clerk) must convene a meeting and vote; two of four votes are needed to recommend early voting to the Select Board, which then authorizes it. The Select Board has no mechanism to compel the Board of Registrars to meet. The town administrator’s office offered logistical support for a hybrid meeting. The board noted early voting was conducted twice in the prior year’s referendum process, and board members on both sides of prior issues had supported it. The town clerk’s office noted only the two staff clerks can process votes into the Secretary of State system; volunteers could assist with other tasks.

Matthew Hooks (Nana Pashman Street) moved to reorder the warrant so Articles 2, 22, 23, and 29 would be heard first while attendance was highest. Opponents including Peter Barnett and Sarah Fox argued the reorder jeopardized quorum for routine but necessary articles. The amendment passed by electronic vote and the main motion as amended passed 1,023 to 225.

The Finance Committee reviewed the Town Clerk and Elections budgets with Finance Director Alicia presenting in the clerk’s initial absence due to a Zoom technical issue. The town clerk budget reflects one full-time special clerk FTE cut. Town Clerk Robin eventually joined and stated the office cannot function adequately with two staff, citing a history of state intervention in towns that failed to maintain adequate election staffing. She noted both remaining clerks handle elections, dog licenses, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and meeting postings daily, and that simultaneous absence of either staff member would require closing the office. The Elections & Registration budget increased approximately $61,000 year over year, driven by mandated mail-in ballot postage increases and a state primary in the cycle. The committee approved both budgets.

The board took four actions to open the Annual Town Meeting warrant:

1. Set Annual Town Meeting for Monday, May 4, 2026 at 7:00 PM (venue to be announced).
2. Opened the warrant for the May 4, 2026 Annual Town Meeting.
3. Set the public warrant deadline: Friday, January 23, 2026 at 12:00 noon.
4. Set the town government boards and commissions warrant deadline: Friday, January 30, 2026 at 12:00 noon.

All four votes were unanimous.

The Select Board approved early voting hours for the July 8, 2025 special election as recommended by the town clerk and board of registrars:

The window was constrained on one end by notice requirements and on the other end by the July 4th holiday closure of Abbot Hall (which will host Festival of Arts activities) and the processing time required by the clerk’s office between early voting and election day. Mail-in voting remains available. The board approved unanimously.

The committee voted 4-0 to permit the Town of Marblehead to use the Marblehead High School Field House as a polling location for a special election scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 2025. The chair noted it is a town-wide referendum; the full list of polling locations was not confirmed at the meeting.

On recommendation of the town clerk and Board of Registrars, the Select Board approved early voting hours at April Hall for the June 10, 2025 annual town election:

For the July 8, 2025 special referendum election, the board approved polling hours of 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM, as mandated by Chapter 405 of the Acts of 1954, which prohibits polls from opening before 2:00 PM. General Law Chapter 54, Section 64 prohibits polls from remaining open past 8:00 PM.

The board conducted six sequential votes to establish the special election:

Question 1 language approved: “Shall the town vote to approve the action of the town meeting wherein the town meeting voted to approve Article 23, the adoption of MGL Chapter 40A Section 3A zoning overlay districts — yes or no?” A yes vote affirms the amendment; a no vote repeals it. All six motions passed unanimously. The board also noted a legal opinion on the referendum vote threshold would be made publicly available.

The Select Board voted to change polling locations for the June 10, 2025 Annual Town Election:

The locations will remain in effect for subsequent special or referendum elections unless the board votes otherwise. The town clerk was directed to notify the Secretary of the Commonwealth and affected voters per applicable law.

The board also approved two Home Rule Petitions arising from the May 2025 Town Meeting:

• Article 28: Means-tested senior citizens property tax exemption — submitted to the General Court.
• Article 44: Amendment to Chapter 37 of the Acts of 2004 — submitted to the General Court.

Both passed by unanimous roll-call vote.

Article 52 proposed amending town bylaws and filing a home rule petition to create a recall provision for elected officials. Key elements of the proposal:

• Initiation: Affidavit signed by at least 2% of registered voters (approximately 315 signatures) — no time limit stated
• Full petition: At least 20% of registered voters (~3,400 signatures) within 30 days of petition issuance
• Eligibility: Only officials who have served more than 6 months on a term longer than one year (applies to Select Board, School Committee, Board of Health, Water & Sewer)
• Election: If signatures verified, a recall election is scheduled; official may run; ballot contains the recall question and candidate nominations simultaneously

Presenter Luisa Boarini and co-presenter Michael Fu described it as a safety mechanism analogous to insurance, noting Swampscott adopted a recall provision in 2016 and approximately 150 Massachusetts communities have such provisions.

Key concerns raised from the floor:

• No defined grounds for recall (misconduct undefined), opening the door to politically motivated use
• No time limit on collecting the initial 2% affidavit signatures
• Risk of chilling effect on elected officials making unpopular but necessary decisions
• Charter Commission Chair Amy Drinker noted the commission has draft recall language in Article 7.5 of its working charter and will discuss it at a future open meeting
• Cost of a recall election would fall to the town

Amendment: A subsidiary motion to raise the full-petition threshold from 20% to 50% of registered voters was defeated.

Final vote on main motion: Failed 231–115.

After the vote, the moderator called for dissolution of the 2025 Annual Town Meeting.

The moderator reviewed meeting procedures: the presentation lectern is for officials; aisle microphones are for deliberation; speakers must state name and address; a two-minute clock would apply to back-and-forth debate; and disruptions would not be tolerated.

On electronic voting, the moderator thanked Gretchen Langton and the school technology team for support.

Regarding Article 23 specifically, the moderator announced he had received a request for a written ballot. Citing the bylaw provision that no reconsideration is permitted after a written ballot, he said he would put the question of whether to use a written ballot to the voters themselves by simple majority before the Article 23 vote.

The meeting approved a subsidiary motion allowing the moderator to extend the floor to non-voters such as town staff.

The town administrator updated the board on polling location logistics for the upcoming June election. The Old Townhouse lift overheats under heavy use and is not viable as a polling place. Abbott Hall’s elevator project — requiring parts not yet available — has been rescheduled to begin after the 4th of July, making Abbott Hall available for the election.

The proposed plan, to be voted on at the next meeting (no later than May 21, the statutory 20-day deadline before the election), is for Districts 1 and 2 to vote at Abbott Hall and Districts 3, 4, 5, and 6 to vote at the Marblehead High School field house. The field house has been ADA-certified as a polling place. The town clerk and Chief Gilland were cited as coordinating the logistics.

Town Administrator Keer explained that both current polling locations — Abbott Hall and the Old Town House — will be unavailable for the June election. At the Old Town House, the elevator overheats under heavy Election Day use and has trapped voters. At Abbott Hall, mandatory safety-compliance upgrades are scheduled for June and cannot be postponed.

Chief Gillin and Town Clerk Robin Michoud coordinated with the schools; the School Committee voted to allow use of the high school field house as a single consolidated polling location. The date is expected to coincide with a professional day so students will not be present.

A formal Select Board vote is anticipated at the next meeting, pending a site survey for ADA compliance certification required by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, which must be completed at least 20 days before the election. Board members noted the consolidation mirrors a broader trend and referenced a successful similar arrangement during COVID, suggesting it could become a permanent change if it goes well.

Article 49 – Town Meeting Parliamentarian: Addresses the role of town counsel in advising on citizen amendments at town meeting; the article sponsor noted concerns about potential conflict of interest when town counsel is engaged to advise on motions that may be adverse to the Select Board’s interests. No recommendation.

Article 50 – Prop 2½ Ballot Structure: Advisory article directing the Select Board to place each debt exclusion override as a separate ballot question corresponding to its article, rather than bundling multiple overrides into a single question. No direct financial impact; no recommendation.

Article 51 – Reconsideration Procedure: No financial implications; no recommendation.

Article 52 – Recall Provision Amendment: No financial implications; no recommendation. Meeting adjourned at approximately 11:40 PM.

Fire Chief Jason Gillen and Town Clerk Robin presented a request to use the Marblehead High School fieldhouse as a consolidated polling place for the June 10, 2025 town elections. They cited recurring infrastructure issues at current polling locations including elevator overheats, stalls, and lighting failures.

Superintendent Fox noted the fieldhouse can be used safely while school is in session with appropriate security measures, floor covering, and parking coordination. The committee discussed ADA-compliant temporary accessible parking and logistics.

The vote was to approve use for the June 2025 election only, with a commitment to evaluate permanency going forward. The Select Board must separately approve the arrangement, and the state must conduct an ADA compliance review.

Vote: 4 to 0 in favor.

The Town Administrator walked through all 52 articles before the board voted to post the warrant. Key articles include:

The board voted unanimously to post the warrant. The Town Administrator noted the Finance Committee will review Select Board departmental budgets on March 31 and issue full budget recommendations on April 7; the warrant hearing is also April 7.

During public comment, a resident reported that the town meeting article expanding the Board of Health from three to five members had never been filed with the state legislature by the Select Board. State Representative Jenny Armini confirmed to both the resident and a board member that legislative committees required to advance the bill had not yet been established, and that the timing needed to print ballots made passage in time for the June 2025 election unlikely.

A board member stated she had spoken with Representative Armini on the Friday before the meeting and was told it was “not likely” to happen but was keeping the request open through March 1st. Board members expressed disappointment, noting the expansion had been approved at town meeting the prior year and that the three-member limit had constrained board activity—for example, preventing members from attending other boards’ meetings without triggering quorum issues.

No action was taken; the matter was noted for discussion at the next regular meeting.

The board took three separate votes:

1. Annual Town Meeting: Monday, May 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM, Marblehead Veterans Middle School Auditorium, 217 Pleasant Street.
2. Warrant opened for the May 5, 2025 Annual Town Meeting.
3. Warrant closed for general public: Friday, January 24, 2025 at 12:00 noon.
4. Warrant closed for town government boards and commissions: Friday, January 31, 2025 at 12:00 noon.

The board approved the town clerk’s request to hold early voting at Abbott Hall, 188 Washington Street, on the following dates: October 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, and November 1. Saturday hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM; weekday hours align with a half-hour buffer on each end of the regular workday. Specific hours will be posted on the town clerk’s website.

The board voted to open and close the warrant for the June 11, 2024 annual town election. Offices to appear on the ballot include: Select Board (vote for five), Moderator, Assessor, Cemetery, Board of Health, Housing Authority (vote for two), Library Trustee (vote for two), Municipal Light Commissioner (vote for two), Planning Board (vote for two), Recreation and Park Commission (vote for five), School Committee (vote for one), and Water and Sewer Commission (vote for one).

The town purchased 1,500 electronic voting devices from vendor Meridia for use at Town Meeting beginning May 6, 2024. Key features:

• Devices are numbered starting in the 2000 series to allow borrowing from neighboring communities without duplicate serial numbers
• Voting windows will be approximately 15 seconds; the device provides light feedback confirming a vote was registered
• Voters can change their vote within the open window
• Results display on a screen after the window closes; running vote totals (but not results) are visible during voting
• Voting is anonymous — devices are not assigned to specific individuals
• Devices can be remotely deregistered if not returned; recovery and re-registration is possible
• Practice votes will open each Town Meeting session
• Collection boxes at exits will be used to recover devices at the end of each meeting night

Town Moderator Jack Ridge noted that every community using electronic voting has embraced the system, and cited a 2020 incident of a voter photographing neighbors’ votes as part of the impetus for adopting the technology.

Article 49: Would rescind the prior year’s town meeting vote that changed Select Board terms from one year to three years. Minimal legal costs noted but deemed nominal. No recommendation.

Article 50: Would amend bylaws to add recall provisions for elected officials. One committee member noted a recall election could cost approximately $20,000, though it was noted the article as written would route a recall to the next regular town election rather than a special election. Follow-up needed; no recommendation tonight.

Article 40 amends the annual town election procedures to change the time of day for the random drawing of names for ballot order. No financial implications; no FinCom recommendation.

The Town Clerk budget was approved at $238,732 and the Elections and Registration budget at $330,147. A reclassification moved town meeting expenses from the elections budget to the town clerk budget. The Town Clerk noted that dog tag fees have not meaningfully increased since 2001, and a warrant article would raise them by $5 per tag; with approximately 3,000 dogs registered, this would yield roughly $15,000 in additional revenue annually, bringing total dog tag revenue to approximately $45,000–$60,000.

The board voted to hold the 2024 Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 7 PM at Marblehead Veterans Middle School Auditorium, 217 Pleasant Street. The warrant was formally opened. Submission deadlines set:

• General public: Friday, January 19, 2024 at noon
• Town government boards and commissions: Friday, January 26, 2024 at noon

Town Moderator Jack Ridge noted the meeting is 172 days away and encouraged residents to attend public meetings and participate.

The board interviewed Margaret (Margie) Harrick for the Registrar of Voters position. Harrick described her background in nonpartisan civic engagement, her work with Girls Inc. of Lynn, and her Franciscan spiritual direction training. The board unanimously approved her appointment to a term expiring April 2026. She will be sworn in by the town clerk before assuming duties.

Article 53, which would accept a state law provision on nomination papers, was skipped at Warrant Night because sponsor Jonathan Letterman could not be present and did not submit a written statement or send a designee.

Jim Sisson’s written statement was read aloud because he was out of town. The statement argued Marblehead is unique among Massachusetts towns in having a one-year select board term. Moving to staggered three-year terms, as with the school committee, would allow members to focus on governing rather than campaigning. Sisson noted the transition would begin with a one-time election cycle to establish the stagger. No questions were taken because the sponsor was absent.

Article 53 accepts a state law provision regarding nomination papers for town elections. No financial implications were identified. The Finance Committee made no recommendation. Sponsor Jonathan Letterman was listed but did not appear to be reachable on Zoom.

Article 37 – Saturday Voter Registration: Accepts a state law provision allowing the town to opt out of mandatory Saturday voter registration the day before town elections. The clerk noted that expanded online, mail, and RMV registration options make in-person Saturday sessions less necessary; the option to hold them remains. Approximately 100 communities have already accepted this. Voted unanimously to recommend adoption.

Article 38 – Town Election Date: Moves the annual town election back one week to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Juneteenth holiday, which now falls on or near the prior election date. No financial implications. No Finance Committee recommendation required.

Town Clerk presented two small budgets. The town clerk budget of $223,956 reflects 2% COLA and step increases for two staff, plus a $1,000 increase for the dog program and minor postage and dues increases.

The elections budget of $61,779 is lower than alternate years because there is no state November election in FY24. Costs have risen due to vote-by-mail and early voting requirements; a postage meter was required for ballot mailings. The state is not expected to reimburse the town for mailing costs. The clerk noted that three staff are insufficient for election administration and flagged a future need for additional help.

The board approved technical language revisions to Senate Bill 3027, a home rule petition establishing that the order of candidates’ names on Marblehead town election ballots shall be determined by a random lottery conducted by the town clerk. Key provisions include:

• A lottery must be held for each race after the candidate withdrawal deadline
• All qualified candidates or their representatives may attend
• The drawing begins no earlier than 6:00 PM the day after the last withdrawal date
• Incumbents seeking re-election shall be designated as such on the ballot

The revised bill is to be forwarded to the office of Senator Crighton. The board noted this was a technical/grammatical amendment that does not affect the legislative intent.

Town Meeting approved a summer ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, though the approval came after the current season’s end date so restrictions will take effect the following Memorial Day. Town Meeting also approved updating both general bylaws and zoning bylaws to use gender-neutral pronouns and nomenclature. The one remaining item — changing the order of candidate names on ballots — requires special legislation, which has been filed with the state senator’s office.

A recent amendment to Massachusetts General Laws (Chapter 92 of the Acts of 2022, Section 13, amending MGL Chapter 54, Section 72) shifted the statutory duty to deploy a sufficient number of police officers — at minimum one per polling location — from the police chief to the Select Board. The board voted to fulfill this requirement and designated the police chief (or designee) as the appointing authority for all future election police details, to be assigned according to scheduling and availability.

Early voting hours approved per Massachusetts election law:

The item was added to the agenda late due to the timing of the town clerk’s communication but required action before the board’s next regular meeting.

On recommendation of the police chief, the board voted to add Abbot Hall (188 Washington Street) to the recurring resolution voted in February 2016, restricting parking to voters only beginning at the driveway entrance and continuing to Washington Square. Restrictions apply from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election days and are lifted as soon as no longer needed.