Man About Canton: May 21 Preview
By Joe DeFeliceDid you know …
Canton is not alone when it comes to voter apathy. In the recent Stoughton election, only 29 candidates turned in their names to be put on the ballot for the 97 available seats as town meeting members. In one of the precincts, only two residents came forward for 19 available slots. In Hanover, only 5 percent of registered voters turned out on Saturday, May 9, for the annual town election. There was a spirited three-way race for two seats on the school committee, but only 495 voters cast ballots out of 9,594 registered voters. In fact, no one ran for the available seat on the housing authority. Also in the south shore during last week’s elections, the town of Norwell did not have a candidate for library trustee, and Hull did not have a candidate for the planning board. In last month’s annual election in the town of Middleboro, only 312 voters cast ballots, or 1.9 percent of the eligible voters, which is actually up from last year when only 1.8 percent went to the polls. There were no contested races, but a ballot question was voted on. There were also three positions that drew no official candidates. MAC wonders if moving the election dates from the spring to November as has been suggested will bring out more candidates. It’s doubtful because there is voter apathy everywhere.
DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta recently informed the selectmen that this past winter’s severe weather caused structural damage to the town’s salt shed. Trotta said that the town has filed an insurance claim and repairs are estimated at $420,000.
The estimated date to reopen the skating rink is September 2016. Rebuilding the collapsed rink could take longer than anticipated and is subject to many factors, according to the selectmen, which include claims processing, design work, structural engineering evaluation, and construction-related scheduling elements.
The town of Canton received $118,127 in state funds from the Winter Recovery Assistance Program. Funds will be used to provide for the repair of potholes and the replacing of road safety apparatuses damaged by the recent winter weather.
The 2015 Boston Marathon had 30,305 official entries, of which 16,551 were men and 13,754 were women.
The city of Boston’s total snow budget for this past winter was $40 million, while the town of Canton’s budget was estimated at $1.1 million …
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Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=29588
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on May 21 2015. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion.
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