Freetown, Wareham officials forced to brave hurricane to postpone town meetings

Pounding winds from Hurricane Sandy were at their peak in SouthCoast Monday night when Freetown selectmen Chairman Jean Fox, Town Moderator Bruce Wilbur and three other intrepid town residents headed over to the Freetown Elementary School.

On a day when Gov. Deval Patrick had declared a state of emergency across the state, Fox, Wilbur, Town Clerk Jackie Brown and residents Michael McCue and Robert Souza ventured out not by choice but necessity. They needed to open — then immediately postpone — a special Town Meeting scheduled for 7 that night.

Unless they wanted to start the whole process over and go through the cost of readvertising and setting a new date, they had no option legally but to brave the storm, Fox said.

But if a push to change the law is successful, folks in Freetown and other communities may never again have to go out on a dark and stormy night to postpone a town meeting.

Fox said Wilbur, upon learning that other towns faced the same dilemma Monday, "told us that a legislator in another area was going to seek legislation" to address the concern. "I told him I would sign on," she said.

Basically, the proposed changes would allow town officials to inform the public of an emergency postponement without actually opening the meeting. A message on the town's cable access channel or a post on the town's website would provide sufficient notification of the postponement.

"Conditions were very dangerous Monday night," said Fox. "In a state of emergency, we should be allowed to do that."

Wareham also had continued its Town Meeting to Monday night and ran into the same situation as Freetown. (The meeting resumes tonight.)

The law as it stands "makes no sense," said Wareham selectmen Chairman Steve Holmes. "As soon as the town (is in) a state of emergency, that should end that business."

Instead, Holmes said special arrangements had to be made to bring Town Moderator Claire Smith and a clerk to Wareham High School Monday night to "stand there for five minutes and say 'Everybody go home.'"

Smith also pointed out that inclement weather also can endanger town staff who must trudge out into the elements to handle the postponement.

"Calling people in to open a scheduled town meeting and vote to postpone is a major concern when the community is in the midst of a significant weather event," Fox said. "This meeting occurred just as the tidal surge was becoming a concern. If areas of Assonet had flooded, most of those present would have been stranded."

She said town officials "were telling people to stay home so that first responders and utility crews could do their jobs."

Except Fox, Wilbur and the three others couldn't follow their own advice. They went out and the meeting was postponed to 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at the elementary school.

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