TRURO — Moderator Paul Wisotzky made it clear at the top of the meeting: no clapping, no booing, no laughing, no “oohing.” But the mood under the tent outside Truro Central School on May 4 and 5 was frenetic; the monthslong anticipation leading up to the doubleheader town meetings oozed as more than 600 people converged on the ballfield.
Heard among voters bundled up on the chilly Saturday morning were announcements of concern and survival tactics: “Is this going to be a superspreader?” one voter asked. “So far, no protests,” another said. “I have gummies in my bag,” a third voter said to her neighbor. The Independent didn’t follow up, but by Sunday at 4 p.m., after a two-day, 12-hour civics marathon, the bag was surely empty.
The nervous energy was palpable. Hot topics like a revamped DPW facility and the town’s plans to develop affordable housing at the 70-acre Walsh property had simmered for the last seven months, and the time had finally come. As voter Kolby Blehm later put it: “Town meeting is starting to feel like a dreaded Thanksgiving.”
Among the milling crowd, town officials and town official-hopefuls were dressed to the nines: select board candidate Tim Hickey wore neon green as he stood sentry over a bump in the field, alerting passersby not to trip. Select board chair Kristen Reed, celebrating her last hurrah on the board, donned a staggering coat made of a Pendleton blanket and yak fur (sheared, not slaughtered).
People knew they were in for a marathon: backpacks brimming with snacks were passed around, and the Truro Central School Family Group’s concession stand was busy all day. (Child care meant back-to-back movies inside a warm classroom, much to the envy of this underdressed reporter, who overestimated the heating capabilities of the $75,000 tent setup).
Wisotzky did his best to keep the meeting moving: “Just because you have three minutes doesn’t mean you have to use three minutes,” he told the crowd. “Many a hit record is under three minutes long.”
But voters were there because they had something to say, and they had a lot to say about housing. After Morgan Clark spoke about the importance of the Walsh project, Jon Slater moved indefinite postponement.
“That’s a delay tactic,” someone muttered from the audience. Former Walsh Committee member Betty Gallo went to the microphone to say that Slater’s motion was “incredibly disrespectful” by trying to cut off debate before it started.
Slater’s motion was swiftly defeated. But next in line was Karen Ruymann, who moved to take the vote by secret ballot to maintain “civility, honesty, and transparency,” she said.
“The discourse in our town is fraught,” Ruymann said. “I have heard from many townspeople and some business owners that they are reluctant to participate in town meeting, because they are disgusted, tired, afraid of bullying from citizens on the floor or town officials, or even fear of retribution from town officials.”
Hickey backed Ruymann’s motion, agreeing that some business owners are “living in fear.”
There were three ballot booths in the corner of the tent. Town Clerk Elizabeth Verde estimated that if the 630 voters each took 30 seconds to vote by secret ballot, the process would take over an hour and a half. The crowd groaned.
Ruymann’s motion was defeated, and the ballot booths went unused (unlike the six porta-potties outside the tent).
Proponents of housing at the Walsh property stated that Truro’s population is aging, and young families are struggling to remain in town. “Many of them are in this tent, trying to hang on,” Mara Glatzel said.
Candida Monteith took offense at what she said was ageism in many proponents’ arguments. “It hurts,” she said. “If I said that 60 percent of this community is gay or transgender, would that be OK?”
It wasn’t just the young struggling to afford housing, said Keith Althaus. People “with my color hair are having trouble,” he said.
When the time came, the vote to approve the housing recommendations for the Walsh property passed overwhelmingly. The audience erupted in applause, much to Wisotzky’s chagrin, and a sigh of relief permeated the tent.
But that was only midday on Saturday — Article 5 of 57 to get through. As some voters fled, others settled deeper into their seats. For the hardcore democracy devotees, it was just the beginning.
