The town’s voters will decide Sept. 8 whether to block migratory barn swallows from entering the Goss Farm barn. They’ll also decide whether to overrule the Conservation Commission’s decision to close several public trails and make changes to how its members are selected.
All four warrant articles, each stemming from citizen petitions, were debated during a testy deliberative session July 29 at Rye Junior High.
About 400 residents, representing opposing views on the issues, packed the school gym for the first part of a two-step special Town Meeting process.
The deliberative session was an opportunity to amend the articles before they go to the Sept. 8 ballot. Many residents spoke out and things got heated at times, but only minor changes were made to each article.
Articles 1 and 2
The Conservation Commission this year decided to prevent barn swallows from entering the Goss Farm barn, citing the accumulation of fecal droppings, while a second petition seeks to protect migratory birds and allow their yearly migration to continue to include Goss Farm.
Article 1: This article essentially supports the commission’s decision to block the barn swallows, asking Rye voters if they approve designating the Goss Farm barn as a wildlife-free public building with “nesting, roosting, habitation or occupancy of wildlife” prohibited inside the historic structure.”
One proposed amendment asking to change the article to make it a study only failed.
The article will appear on the ballot as written with the final sentence removed, which would have said the article will “supersede any enacted town ordinances, policies, resolutions or votes inconsistent with this vote.”
Article 2: This measure seeks approval for a bird conservation ordinance that would protect birds and their habitats within town-owned lands and structures, in opposition to barn swallows being locked out of the Goss Farm barn.
The only amendment was to include a migratory bird ordinance in the wording of the article.
Articles 3 and 4
Article 3: Approval of this article would make the seven-member Conservation Commission’s seats elected offices, rather than positions appointed by the Rye Select Board as they are now. The elections would start in March 2027 with a mix of one-, two- and three-year terms before going to all three-year terms in future elections.
Article 3 advanced to the election with no changes.
Article 4: This article calls for a near-full reversal of the commission’s decision to close numerous public trails, except for a red-markered Cedar Run trail that would be re-routed off private land and onto town-owned land.
Article 4 also advanced as written with no changes.
Citing protecting wildlife and preventing habitat disruption, the Conservation Commission voted 4-3 in late April to begin decommissioning several public trails in town. The commission hired ecologist Rachel Stevens to produce an assessment of Rye’s public trail and wildlife system before voting to close some trails in accordance with some of the author’s final recommendations.
Shawn Joyce, chairperson of the Conservation Commission, said in a July 23 statement the commission is working toward potentially opening new trails that would not impede on “sensitive habitat” in town.
The vote on the articles will be Sept. 8, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Rye Elementary School during the state primary election.
Town did not have attorney present for deliberative session
Residents debated whether to postpone the deliberative session before it started because the town’s Select Board had decided not to have an attorney present. Select Board Chair Rob Wright said the board made this decision based on the advice of Town Administrator Matt Scruton.
Keriann Roman who is a resident and a lawyer, not for Rye, said she felt it was important to have an attorney present. She said a town attorney works for the town, meaning for all the residents, not just for town officials.
One Select Board member, Suzanne Barton, who said she was speaking as a citizen, said she felt having an attorney present was common sense.
The lack of an attorney at the deliberative session was cited numerous times by residents, with some calling for the final articles to be reviewed by an attorney.
Ian Lenahan contributed.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Karen Dandurant.
