TOWNSEND — Longtime town official Andrea Wood, a Finance Committee member, was exaggerating when she said hundreds of town meetings had to be adjourned because there was no quorum, but no one seemed surprised when attendance was 15 short of the number of voters needed.
The Dec. 3 Town Meeting was supposed to begin at 7 p.m. Around 60 voters turned up at Memorial Hall.
The Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee were at the front of the room, ready to go.
Throughout the room, many texted or called around to try to round up more people to attend, but by 7:30, selectmen huddled with the town moderator to set a new date.
“If the majority of people don’t think it’s important to come to town meeting, so be it,” said Chairman Sue Lisio.
It was a shame the meeting could not be held, she said, because some of the articles were time-sensitive.
Town Meeting requires a quorum of 75 voters. There are more than 6,000 registered voters in town.
Emergency Management Director Shirley Coit and her guest, Lois Luniewicz from the Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps, spoke about emergency preparedness, giving voters a few more minutes to show up.
Town Meeting was adjourned until Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m.
“It’s too bad,” said Town Administrator Andy Sheehan as people left.
He attributed the poor turnout to a variety of factors.
In the past, town meetings in December have been poorly attended. The weather, wet but not freezing, could have kept people home.
There were no hot-button issues to draw voters in, he said, and having the meeting Wednesday, instead of Tuesday as usual, might have affected the crowd numbers.
The Town Meeting in July was well-attended, Sheehan said, but residents were concerned about the proposed natural-gas pipeline, the only topic on the agenda.
It cost the town nearly $800 for the evening. The assistant town clerk and three people who checked attendees in cost around $150, said Town Clerk Kathy Spofford.
Town counsel, an attorney from Kopelman and Paige, P.C. in Boston, would cost the town $640, Sheehan said.
Many voters in the room serve the town in different functions. Town employees, members of boards and committees, and people who used to serve in those capacities, along with their spouses, made up the majority of the crowd.
“I’m showing up as an engaged citizen,” said Steve Meehan, president of the Squannacook River Rail Trail. His committee had nothing on the warrant.
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