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Municipal votes · 2020–2021 Board

Abington Select Board

How the Abington Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide. Alex Bezanson and Mike Kolodziej joined the board after the 2020 town election; Tom Connolly and Ken Coyle left. On July 13, 2020 the board chose Tim Chapin as Chair (unanimous) and Alex Bezanson as Vice Chair (3 ayes). The town has posted minutes for this board only through October 19, 2020; nothing is posted for November 2020 to April 2021 (the website has no 2021 minutes folder). Covers 7 meetings, July 13 to October 19, 2020.

A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.

What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.

Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.

Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budget
Election Day · Tuesday, Nov 3

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What Town Meeting decided

In Abington, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.

Annual Town Meeting · April 7, 2025 26 votes: 22 passed, 2 failed, 2 no action
  • Art. 1 Raise $17,490 for out-of-district vocational school transportation, 2025-2026 (consent agenda) Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 2 Raise $5,000 for the Health Imperative violence prevention program, FY2026 (consent agenda) Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 3 Raise $2,500 for the Arc of the South Shore, FY2026 (consent agenda) Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 4 Transfer $25,000 from free cash for grant matching funds, FY2026 (consent agenda) Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 5 Transfer $20,000 from free cash for public safety overtime and details at the St. Patrick's Day Parade Passed “Passes”
  • Art. 6 Create a residential waste hauling enterprise fund and provide $1.2 million for its start-up Failed “Does Not Pass as Proposed · In favor (Yes) of the Article 124 / Apposed (No)to the Article 141”
  • Art. 7 FY2026 operating budget, $71,847,803, plus $1,200,000 from free cash for waste collection Passed “Passes”
  • Art. 8 Fund the capital plan, total $2,343,321.99 Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 9 FY2026 Community Preservation budget: $871,552 in projects and reserves plus a $150,000 Memorial Field bond payment Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 10 Transfer $50,000 from water retained earnings for sick leave buy back for two retiring Water Department employees Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 11 Transfer $106,161.85 from free cash for uses consistent with the FY23 opioid settlement Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 12 Transfer $1,000 to care for the abandoned Hillside Cemetery on Randolph Street Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 13 Accept a gift of about 20 acres on Ashland Street from the Trufant family for open space, agriculture and recreation Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 14 Transfer $125,000 from golf course retained earnings to demolish the building at 22 Bedford Street Passed “Passes”
  • Art. 15 Acquire land and easements for the Hancock/Chestnut Street intersection improvement project Passed “Passes”
  • Art. 16 Approve the amended South Shore Regional Vocational School District agreement Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 17 Create a revolving fund (limit $10,000) for maintenance of town EV charging stations Passed “Passes”
  • Art. 18 Add a general bylaw on security alarm systems and false alarm penalties Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 19 Lower the Town Meeting quorum from 150 to 75 registered voters Failed “Does Not Pass”
  • Art. 20 Replace the zoning section on accessory apartments with rules for protected-use accessory dwelling units (ADUs) Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 21 Remove "accessory apartments" from the zoning use table and change some single-family uses to "N" Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 22 Fix a typographical error for two-family/duplex use in the Transitional Commercial zoning district Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 23 Change abutter notice wording for Board of Appeals public hearings to match state law Passed “Unanimous”
  • Art. 24 Amend zoning rules for small-scale ground-mounted solar No action “Passed Over”
  • Art. 25 Require structures to be at least 10 feet from any easement (zoning) No action “Passed Over”
  • Art. 26 Transfer $200,000 from free cash to cover the FY2025 snow and ice deficit Passed “Unanimous”

Source: Town Clerk's certified record in the 2025 Annual Town Report.

Not here yet: the April 1, 2024 Annual Town Meeting, the November 25, 2024 Special Town Meeting and the May 4, 2026 Annual Town Meeting (the Town posts only warrants for these, and no 2024 Annual Town Report is online).

Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).

Members

Kevin DiMarzioMember · Elected townwide · at 7 of 7 meetingsJames ConnollyMember · Elected townwide · at 7 of 7 meetingsMike KolodziejMember · Elected townwide · at 7 of 7 meetings

"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.

Meetings

About missing minutes

Loaded: every Select Board meeting (called the Board of Selectmen until 2025) with minutes posted on the town website: 2019, 2020 and January 2022 through July 20, 2026. Not here: anything from 2021 (the website has no 2021 minutes folder), meetings whose minutes the town has not posted (the board meets about twice a month, but only 10 to 16 sets of minutes are posted for each year), executive-session minutes, and minutes after July 20, 2026. Abington's minutes are typed by the Town Manager's office and usually give the mover, the seconder and the result in one line ("motion by Mr. X ..., seconded by Ms. Y, unanimous"); remote and Zoom-era votes are often roll calls by name. 57 of the 97 files are scans (every file from 2019 through September 2023 and nine later ones), which we read by computer text recognition. When the minutes say a vote was unanimous we show every member present as voting yes; when they give a roll call, or a count with the members who voted no or abstained named, we show each member's vote as recorded. Abington writes three-number counts as for-abstain-against (for example "4-1-0 (Mr. Bunker abstained)"). When the minutes record an action with no count, no names and no mention of a unanimous vote, we show the result only and never assume it was unanimous. Where the minutes give only a count without names, or the names and the count do not match, we show the count only and add a note. Members who had not yet arrived, had left, or stepped aside (recused) are left out of that vote. At joint meetings (Board of Assessors, Water and Sewer Commissioners) only the Select Board members' votes are shown, and a "choice" vote where each member named a candidate shows the result only. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.

Monday, October 19, 2020 · Regular meeting2 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 5 members presentTuesday, October 6, 2020 · Regular meeting14 recorded votes, 2 with disagreementAll 5 members presentMonday, September 28, 2020 · Regular meeting11 recorded votes, 1 with disagreementAll 5 members presentMonday, August 24, 2020 · Regular meeting9 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 5 members presentMonday, August 10, 2020 · Regular meeting9 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 5 members present

Votes where members disagreed

Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.

Oct 6Adopt the order of layout for Crabtree LaneMotion: To adopt the order of layout for Crabtree LanePassed 4–0 · Abstained: Bezanson

October 6, 2020: Adopt the order of layout for Crabtree Lane

Adopt orderPassed · 4–0

To adopt the order of layout for Crabtree Lane

Yes: Chapin, DiMarzio, James Connolly, KolodziejAbstained: Bezanson

From the minutes

“Motion by Mr. Connolly to adopt the order of layout for Crabtree Lane, seconded by Mr. Kolodziej, 4 ayes, 1 abstention (Mr. Bezanson) (attached)..” (Motion: James Connolly, second: Kolodziej)

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Oct 6Approve Articles 18 and 19 of the Special Town…Motion: Articles 18 & 19Passed 4–0 · see note

October 6, 2020: Approve Articles 18 and 19 of the Special Town Meeting warrant (Board recommendation)

ApprovePassed · 4–0

Articles 18 & 19

The minutes give only the count (4-0-1), not how each member voted.

From the minutes

“Articles 18 & 19 were approved by a 4 aye, 1 abstention vote..”

Read it in the official minutes, page 4 (PDF)

Sep 28Open the STM warrant (Discussion and possible vote to…Motion: To open the STM warrantPassed 4–1 · No: Chapin

September 28, 2020: Open the STM warrant (Discussion and possible vote to re-open STM warrant)

ApprovePassed · 4–1

To open the STM warrant

Yes: Bezanson, DiMarzio, James Connolly, KolodziejNo: Chapin

From the minutes

“Motion by Mr. Connolly to open the STM warrant, seconded by Mr. Kolodziej, 4 ayes, 1 opposed (Mr. Chapin)..” (Motion: James Connolly, second: Kolodziej)

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Jul 27Approve Special Municipal Employee status for Planning Board engineering…Motion: To approve Special Municipal Employee status for Planning Board engineering consultantsPassed 4–1 · No: DiMarzio

July 27, 2020: Approve Special Municipal Employee status for Planning Board engineering consultants

ApprovePassed · 4–1

To approve Special Municipal Employee status for Planning Board engineering consultants

Yes: Bezanson, Chapin, James Connolly, KolodziejNo: DiMarzio

From the minutes

“After discussion, and referring to KP Law memo, motion was made by Alex to approve Special Municipal Employee status for Planning Board engineering consultants, seconded by Jim, 4 ayes, 1 opposed (Kevin)..” (Motion: Bezanson, second: James Connolly)

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Jul 13Nominate Alex Bezanson as Vice ChairMotion: To nominate Alex Bezanson as Vice ChairPassed 3–0 · see note

July 13, 2020: Nominate Alex Bezanson as Vice Chair

AppointPassed · 3–0

To nominate Alex Bezanson as Vice Chair

The minutes give only the count (3-0), not how each member voted. The count does not add up to the 5 members listed as present.

From the minutes

“Jim Connolly nominated Alex Bezanson as Vice Chair, seconded by Tim Chapin, 3 ayes..” (Motion: James Connolly, second: Chapin)

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)

Jul 13Appoint Andy Burbine from alternate to voting member, Zoning…Motion: To appoint Andy Burbine from alternate to voting member, Zoning Board…Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Bezanson

July 13, 2020: Appoint Andy Burbine from alternate to voting member, Zoning Board of Appeals; Ellen Delany to Affordable Housing Committee; Richard Smith from associate to voting member, Conservation Commission

AppointPassed · 4–0

To appoint Andy Burbine from alternate to voting member, Zoning Board of Appeals; Ellen Delany to Affordable Housing Committee; Richard Smith from associate to voting member, Conservation Commission

Yes: Chapin, DiMarzio, James Connolly, KolodziejAbstained: Bezanson

From the minutes

“Motion by Kevin DiMarzio to appoint Andy Burbine from alternate to voting member, Zoning Board of Appeals; Ellen Delany to Affordable Housing Committee; Richard Smith from associate to voting member, Conservation Commission; seconded by Mike Kolodziej. Discussion ~ Alex Bezanson - wants ZBA to be more friendly toward applicants for variances to bring commercial development into Abington, and to residents. A lot of the present commercial development would not have been possible without variances. Tim Chapin agreed. There is one alternate position on the Zoning Board that is available. Vote ~ 4 ayes, 1 abstention (Alex)..” (Motion: DiMarzio, second: Kolodziej)

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)

From the Abington Select Board’s (formerly Board of Selectmen) official minutes, posted in the Select Board minutes folders on the town website. We check every vote against the members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos of current members: Abington News candidate articles (Emery, Eddy, Cormier) and Abington CAM candidate videos (Bunker, Coyle). Former members show initials.

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