HOLDEN — As the Board of Selectmen prepared for the upcoming Oct. 17 special town meeting, the issue of getting voters out to decide town business arose, as it habitually does.
Selectman Stephanie Mulroy said she was looking at “how to generate more buzz for town meeting.”
Although it has not been so in recent memory, she said that “200 years ago, it (town meeting) was exciting.”
In those days, such townwide legislative sessions attracted — and in some towns required — voters to gather, even though at that time it included only male residents.
Town meeting was often a daylong event. People had to travel to the meeting house from their homes, a process that took a bit longer in the days before cars and paved roads.
Shared community activities were common.
In Paxton, for instance, the top floor of Town Hall featured social activities held in conjunction with lulls in the town business.
Mulroy said that in the early days of the New England communities, people gathered to do their civic duty “and have a great time together.”
She wondered if Holden could recapture some of that spirit, perhaps by holding a special night out after town meeting.
“People could invite friends and neighbors to vote and spend an evening out together.”
Mulroy said she had spoken to several business owners in town who seemed really excited by the concept, suggesting the idea of discounts for those who showed their voting sticker.
She said she would be willing to spearhead such an effort.
“Anything is better than getting only 140 people to show up” to make decisions affecting the entire town, she said.
Selectman Richard Bates noted the town’s seemingly perpetual “struggle to get a quorum,” which can hold up business. “Anything we can do, I support.”
Mulroy said she would like to reach out to business owners.
“Monday night is a slow night for businesses, so it’s a win-win,” she said. “People have their voices heard and people are out in the town on a Monday evening.”
Town Manager Peter Lukes said he would look at the legality of “incentivizing voting” in case there would be issues with the town promoting such efforts. State laws restrict government activity in support of voting articles, for instance, but boards can provide informational sessions such as those held for the articles before voters Oct. 17.
But laws would not restrict residents from organizing such things on their own, such as when nonprofit groups organize babysitting at town meetings to allow, and encourage, parents to attend.
