Meetings Ahead
Meetings in Truro are often held remotely. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for an agenda and details on how to join.
Monday, Dec. 2
- Zoning Task Force, 11 a.m., Town Hall and online
- Conservation Commission, 5 p.m., Town Hall and online
- Charter Review Committee, 5 p.m., online
Tuesday, Dec. 3
- Budget Task Force with Finance Committee, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall
- Board of Health, 4:30 p.m., Town Hall and online
Wednesday, Dec. 4
- Climate Action Committee, 10 a.m., Town Hall
- Planning Board, 5 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starter
A Start on Town Seal Change
Four members of the select board voted on Nov. 12 to approve the draft charge for the creation of an ad hoc town seal committee and appoint member Stephanie Rein as its liaison. Vice chair Bob Weinstein abstained from the vote.
Rein thanked town staff for creating the charge. “I think this is important, and I’ve had a lot of constituents approach me about this,” she said.
Voters had recommended the creation of the committee at town meeting, and the push to change the seal, which was designed in 1900 by Edward A. Wilson, comes after years of criticism of its inaccuracy. It depicts a Native American with a feather headdress next to a pair of teepees. Neither were used by the Indigenous people here.
“The committee will be charged with correcting the cultural imagery of the Wampanoag tribe on the Town of Truro seal and offering a revised seal for future consideration by town meeting,” Town Manager Darrin Tangeman told the board. He added that it would be vital to incorporate input from the tribe during this process.
Member Sue Girard-Irwin asked if it was possible to include funds for the change in this year’s budget cycle. Assistant Town Manager Kelly Clark suggested that once the committee was established the town could look in the existing budget for the funds, propose funding at town meeting, find grant funding, or engage a design professional willing to do the work pro bono.
Michael Forgione asked if the town had reached out to other towns that had gone through a seal change. Clark said the town had looked at the processes undertaken by Yarmouth and Andover in drafting the committee charge. —Aden Choate
