WENDELL — With the 71 voters in attendance at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting expressing varying viewpoints, a citizen’s petition article to declare Wendell to be an apartheid-free community was defeated in a 13-40 vote.
Residents made quick work of the 30 warrant articles, with most producing limited discussion and resulting in unanimous votes. The apartheid-free community resolution, however, sparked the most debate.
Wendell resident Anna Gyorgy helped obtain the signatures of 104 registered voters to get the proposal on the warrant. The citizen’s petition cited the forced displacement, movement restrictions, systematic human rights abuses and discriminatory legal regimes faced by Palestinians, and proposed affirming the town’s “commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for all Palestinians and all people.”
“This nonbinding measure represents the will of the residents of Wendell, who wish to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and build an apartheid-free world, starting with our own town,” the resolution noted.
Though the resolution specifically referenced the Palestinian people and pledged to work to “end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime,” Gyorgy, in presenting the proposal to voters at Town Hall, spoke of its broader application. She described the resolution as “a moral statement against apartheid, against exclusion, against oppression,” and an “expression of support for all people.”
“It can be used for the situation we have now with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the oppression from our government,” Gyorgy said.
Resident Steve Gross expressed strong opposition to the proposal, noting that such a vote isn’t “fit for Town Meeting,” a venue for discussing town operations and finances.
“When you do something like this, what are you trying to accomplish?” he asked. “Where is this going to go? Who is going to care about this and to what degree is that actually going to represent the people in this town?”
Though Gross suggested tabling the resolution, as he was the first commenter, Moderator Kathleen Nolan opted to ensure others had the chance to speak.
Resident Chris Queen, similarly, agreed that people attend Town Meeting to vote on town matters and argued that “we are already an apartheid-free town because we are Wendell and we would not put up with apartheid.”
Others, however, considered the resolution to be a positive step.
“In the present atmosphere, we need to be standing up and saying, ‘This has to stop,'” commented resident Paul Richmond. Though he expressed skepticism that the resolution would do anything, he added, “If you don’t stand up to speak for something and build that momentum, then nothing happens.”
“One small town means nothing,” added resident Court Dorsey, noting that he objects to the United States sending funding and military support to Israel. “But a small town here, a small town there … it begins to add up. … For me, it’s a step in the right direction.”
Opinions varied as to whether the resolution would inadvertently result in greater antisemitism, division and fear — all elements it was intended to eradicate.
Circling back to the idea that a broader pledge of solidarity is necessary, resident Nina Keller said “Wendell Town Meeting has been ideologically committed to not pointing to a person” and the resolution, as written, “points to one country in a world where there is vast abuse, to women, to girls being kidnapped.”
“I think it’s a poorly devised resolution,” Keller said. She recommended that the 104 resident signatures “be taken to the right venue,” suggesting that residents could find a way to work with and support peace activists in the Middle East.
Though an amendment proposed changing the article’s language to replace Palestinians with minorities throughout, and to remove the reference to Israel, the proposed revision was defeated in a 16-29 vote. The original article also failed in a 13-40 vote.
Dump truck replacement
Aside from the apartheid-free community resolution, Article 23, asking voters if they agree to borrow $140,000 for the purchase and related expenses of a Ford F-550 Super Duty dump truck for the Highway Department, was the sole other article that failed to pass, after Phil Delorey, who chairs the Wendell Road Commission, proposed that Chapter 90 funds could be used instead of borrowing money.
“I’m proposing that we can buy this dump truck, also out of Chapter 90 funds, at no cost to the town,” Delorey said, noting that the town also uses Chapter 90 to pay for gravel, paving and line painting. “The offset to that is we have a little less money for paving. … It’s about three-quarters of a mile, equal to the value of this truck. Paving is very expensive.”
Wendell will receive $342,000 in Chapter 90 funding in fiscal year 2027.
Delorey added that it would be more expedient to buy the dump truck using Chapter 90 money, rather than having to wait for a ballot vote authorizing a debt exclusion, which Finance Committee Chair Meagan Sylvia said would likely be in September.
The vote came down to 30 in favor and 27 against, meaning that the borrowing request did not achieve the required two-thirds majority needed to pass.
Other articles
Wendell’s total expenditures for fiscal year 2027 are $4.45 million, up 5.6% from fiscal year 2026, according to Sylvia’s budget presentation. The stabilization balance is $518,659, a drop of about $100,000 from the start of FY26, with Sylvia noting that some is being used to offset the tax rate.
The budget and all remaining warrant articles were approved, with the town pledging its support of legislative initiatives “to improve equitable treatment in regard to PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) reimbursements, trust funds and regional representation of the Quabbin watershed towns,” the warrant reads, and Medicare for All in Massachusetts. The meeting dissolved at 12:17 p.m.
