SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The Springfield Selectboard held a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, where they set the dates for an informational meeting and special town meeting pertaining to the ordinance that prohibits the discharge of firearms in Hartness Park.
The selectboard signed Ordinance 2024-0002 on Aug. 12, at the recommendation of the ordinance committee, although it has not gone into effect yet. When a group of Springfield residents learned of the new restrictions, they exercised their rights as citizens and distributed a petition to repeal the ordinance, which they presented to the board at the Sept. 23 meeting. Once the required number of signatures was obtained, it was incumbent that the board put the ordinance up for a townwide vote.
Town manager Jeff Mobus noted that holding the special vote on Nov. 5 to coincide with the national election would elicit a higher voter turnout and save the town the cost of a separate election. He reminded the board that voter turnout for this type of special vote was typically something like one registered voter out of six, but holding the vote on Election Day could give almost half the town the opportunity to weigh in on the issue.
Since the informational meeting can be no more than 10 days in advance of the voting date, the board determined that meeting would take place on Monday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m., prior to the regular selectboard meeting.
Town clerk Barbara Courchesne said she would be mailing out the ballot and information packets on the special vote starting Oct. 7. Courchesne also told the meeting that absentee and early voting would be available. Interested voters should visit the town hall or the town’s website.
The polls will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., at Riverside Middle School. Courchesne explained that as voters arrive, they will receive, separately, ballots for the general election and a ballot for the vote on the ordinance repeal. The ordinance vote will utilize “separate checklists, checkers, and a separate conversation about whether or not [voters] want to participate in the local election.” At the end of the night, different individuals than those working the general election will hand-tally the paper ballots.
Ordinance 2024-0002 is posted on the Springfield town website.