Step up for Hopedale 2021

05/06/2021

I wanted to give everyone an update about our efforts to get people to fill needed positions in town. Even though we've all worked for only a little over a month, we now have 8 people who are willing to step up and fill needed positions in town. Our main focus was on the Planning Board, which has 2 (and potentially 3) positions that need to be filled. That has been taken care of and so we shall have a full Planning Board during a critical time. We also have 3 committed volunteers for the Open Space Committee, and (though I will wait for final confirmation here) 2 volunteers for the Economic Development Committee. Crucial positions remain (Housing Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, Capital Planning, Personnel) and the campaign shall be ongoing. Stay tuned for updates about the next steps, but I wanted to thank everyone involved for their efforts. We are already beginning to change things for the better in Hopedale.

04/18/2021

Good news! We now have 2 (and potentially 3) people who are willing to serve on the Planning Board, and 3 people who are willing to serve on the Open Space Committee!

There are many more positions we need filled. Let's make this happen.

Housing Authoridy (1 position needed; ideally a write-in for the upcoming election)

Link for info about the Housing Authority position:
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVII/Chapter121b/Section26

Personnel Committee (5 members):

Info:

https://ecode360.com/15590599

Capital Planning Committee (3 members):

Info:

https://ecode360.com/15590416

and finally, we need to fill spots on our Economic Development Committee (7 members).

Interested in any of these positions? Know someone who is? Interested in joining our organizing efforts to bring more participation to town? Comment here or send us a DM.

Ch 26 [HISTORY: Adopted as Ch. XXVII of the Town Bylaws. Amendments noted where applicable.] Town Accountant — See Ch. 5. Contracts and procurements — See Ch. 49. Finance Committee — See Ch. 79. [Amended 2-11-1997 STM, Art. 12] A committee to be known as

04/12/2021

Hi folks! We have a Google Drive that is designed to be a central location for sharing information related to our organizing efforts here. Are you, or do you know someone who we should add to the list of those who have access to the Drive, who is willing to help out? DM me and I'll reach out to them (you) and give them (you) the spiel. Organizing like this takes a long time, but if we remain persistent we will accomplish our goals. The key is just to not go away :)

04/11/2021

Do you know someone who is interested in serving on the Planning Board? For folks who met in person last Saturday, do you have any updates? Let’s get these seats filled! I will continue to reach out to people personally, but this needs to be a group effort. Please consider devoting time this week to reaching out to people you know who might be interested.

04/02/2021

Let's meet tomorrow at 11 am at the park near the tennis courts/basketball courts. I'll bring something obvious that stands out so that you can easily spot me and the other attendees, if there happens to be a lot going on nearby.

The agenda shall be as follows:

I'll begin by discussing some of the most important vacancies in town, the priorities for which positions need to be filled, the ideal qualifications for the positions, etc. Diana Schindler, our Town Administrator, has agreed to help me with this, and so I'll be relying on her expertise. I'll be taking down folks' contact info (email) so that I can provide them with electronic resources that provide the same basic information.

After that, we'll coordinate who will reach out to whom they think might be ideal candidates.

If we have time, we'll then brainstorm other ways to get the word out and to take action to make sure these important positions are filled.

Let's plan to have the meeting adjourn at 12 pm.

Note that this is only the first step in what shall be an ongoing effort.

Bring masks and your own seating. I'll provide a pen and paper to take down contact info and hand sanitizer. Feel free to bring your own pen, etc. See you all there!

03/29/2021

I'm thinking we have an IN PERSON meeting outside in the center of town to discuss the first steps. People can bring masks and their own lawn chairs, if they have them. What about this Saturday at 11 am? Where would be best? Please let me know if this works for you. I'd prefer it if you just commented here, but a DM is also fine. If I don't get a lot of responses, or this isn't seen by everyone in this group soon, then I'll send out DMs. But Facebook's algorithm rewards activity so liking, commenting, etc. would be best.

03/27/2021

This site is designed to help sustain a grassroots effort to get more people involved in Hopedale's governance. Do not give in to the negativity. Instead, do what you can to help Hopedale through this critical time. Do you have the time to serve your community? If not, are you willing to put in a little bit of time each week, over the next few weeks and beyond, to help find others who can? Things can change for the better if we work together. Sitting on the sidelines right now is not an option. It's time to step up. Stay tuned for more info regarding this ongoing effort to empower the citizens of Hopedale to shape their own future.

03/27/2021

We have crucial positions available for Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Housing Authority, and much more. Are you willing to help out? If you can't find the time, are you willing to put in time to find others to fill these and other positions? Doing nothing about the lack of political participation in town is not an option for us. It's time to take action.