Town Meeting Authorizes Land Deals, Keeps 'Bottle Ban' Afloat in Concord

Article 1 Land Acquisition -- Knox Trail in Acton

What It Asked: Article 1 sought authorization for the Board of Selectmen to purchase about 6.5-acres parcel of land off Knox Trail in Acton, which abuts the 80 acres in Concord owned by the WR Grace Corp that Town Meeting has previously voted to acquire.
What Happened: It passed 
What It Means: Wednesday's vote to acquire the land represents a move toward keeping in-district school transportation for the Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District. Concord's school committees propose to utilize a portion of property for a transportation facility, which would keep school busing in-house -- a prospect that appeared bleak after annual Town Meeting this spring. However, the approval is not the last step in the acquisition. According to officials, the town has yet to reach contractual terms with the seller, whose partner has declared bankruptcy. As Selectman Jeff Wieand explained the process moving forward: “If so authorized by Town Meeting, we will endeavor to acquire the property as expeditiously as possible.” With that said, a failure to come to terms on the Knox Trail property would result in outsourcing of school transportation. 

Article 2: Land Acquisition -- State Land on Commonwealth Avenue 

What It Asked: Article 2 sought authorization for the Board of Selectmen to purchase about two-thirds of an acre of land across from MCI Concord on Commonwealth Avenue, for the construction of a parking lot to support users of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.
What Happened: It passed 
What It Means: More parking options for cyclists and other users of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, which state funds have been authorized for the construction of in fiscal 2016. 

Article 3: Repeal of Bottled Water Ban

What It Asked: For voters to repeal the town's bylaw banning the sale of unenhanced, unflavored drinking water in single-serve PET plastic bottles of one liter or less. The landmark bottle ban, which Concord has voted on five times in the past four years, was approved in 2012, took effect Jan. 1, 2013 and survived an attempt to repeal it at annual Town Meeting earlier this year. 
What Happened: It failed, by a wide margin 
What It Means: That the bylaw banning the sale of unenhanced, unflavored drinking water in single-serve PET plastic bottles of one liter or less will remain in place.