<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">The Norwell Board of Appeals does not recite the Pledge and never has to my knowledge. I’m with Georgetown and Chelsea on this one! (BTW, Chelsea, I had to recite the pledge through junior high and high school!)<div><br></div><div>The Select Board does at their meetings and at the Annual Town Meeting (that includes a nonsectarian prayer!).<div><br></div><div><br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfMessage"><div>
<div>Lois S. Barbour, Chair<br>Norwell Board of Appeals<br>781.826.0497 (H)<br>781.248.3757 (C)<br><a href="mailto:lsbarbour@gmail.com">lsbarbour@gmail.com</a> </div>
</div>
<div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>On Dec 19, 2023, at 9:04 AM, jwdpro via MassPlanners <massplanners@masscptc.org> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto">The Chelsea Planning Board does not recite the Pledge. It's never been brought up as an issue in the 30+ years I've been serving as the staff to the Board. If the Board directed me to, I would add it to the agenda, but isn't the 7 years of reciting it each morning in elementary school enough to show my allegiance?</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">John DePriest</div><div dir="auto">Director of Permitting & Land Use Planning</div><div dir="auto">City Hall, Rm 106</div><div dir="auto">500 Broadwaye ee</div><div dir="auto">Chelsea, MA 02150</div><div dir="auto">617-467-4182</div><div dir="auto">jdepriest@chelseama.gov</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div id="composer_signature" dir="auto"><div style="font-size:12px;color:#575757" dir="auto">Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone</div></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br></div><div align="left" dir="auto" style="font-size: 100%;"><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: "Danielson, Stephanie via MassPlanners" <massplanners@masscptc.org> </div><div>Date: 12/15/23 10:55 AM (GMT-05:00) </div><div>To: Harry LaCortiglia <hlacortiglia@comcast.net>, massplanners@masscptc.org </div><div>Subject: Re: [Massplanners] Question about becoming the least patriotic town planner in... </div><div><br></div></div>
<div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Couldn’t agree more…</span></font></p><div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";font-weight:bold">From:</span></font></b><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces@masscptc.org>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">On Behalf Of </span></b>Harry LaCortiglia via MassPlanners<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Friday, December 15, 2023 10:32 AM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> massplanners@masscptc.org<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Massplanners] Question about becoming the least patriotic town planner in...</span></p>
</div>
</div><div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Hi Thom,</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Our Planning Board doesn't do a pledge before, after, or during our meetings. We're elected officials. </span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Shortly after being elected we pledged to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth when we were being sworn in by the Town Clerk,.
</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Seems to me that a Pledge of Allegiance before each and every meeting would be somewhat redundant given that we've already all done it, at least once.
</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">One would have to ask...</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">If the pledge needed to be taken before every meeting that we hold, does that mean the pledge somehow expires between meetings? At what point does the
Pledge expire? </span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Do Pledges of Allegiance have half-lives? </span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Are they only good for the duration of the meeting and then need to be renewed at the next meeting? What about when meetings are paused for only a few
minutes? Do we need to "re- pledge" if an intermission is of a certain length?</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Good thing it's a Friday...</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Before anyone asks, we do not play the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of the meetings, either. Nor is it softly playing in the background during
the meetings.</span></font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">(Our upcoming meeting may have a Mariah Carey holiday tune playing in the background though...)
<a href="https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=fRyhqobl0sk">https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=fRyhqobl0sk<br>
</a></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">H. LaCortiglia</span></font><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br>
</span><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Georgetown</span></font><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p><div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">On 12/13/2023 12:45 PM, Thomas Bott via MassPlanners wrote:</span></font></p>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
<div>
<div id="ydp2dca9aefyiv2436818400">
<div>
<div id="ydp2dca9aefyiv2436818400ydpe342686dyiv1939201495">
<div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Dear Planners:</span></font></p>
</div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The Board in CranberryLand USA is still working on finding their way. We have had some very
interesting conversations about the Agenda recently. My question might just make me that most unpatriotic planner in Murica, but sometimes we have to ask the tough questions.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
</div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Does the Planning Board that you work with recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning
of their meeting? I have been in the process of updating the Board's Operating Procedures <a href="https://www.carverma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4221/f/uploads/pb_procedures_revised_6-29-2016.pdf">https://www.carverma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4221/f/uploads/pb_procedures_revised_6-29-2016.pdf</a>
and there are no pledges noted in the policies nor on their Agenda, nevertheless they persist. No pledges including a Pledge to the Zoning Bylaw nor a Pledge to the Subdivision Regs not even a pledge for a Nina Toten Bag <a href="https://shopnpr.org/this-is-nina-totin-bag">https://shopnpr.org/this-is-nina-totin-bag</a> are
cited. </span></font></p>
</div>
<div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
</div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">It seems like a regular feature in some communities for the Select Board but these folks
selected the Planning Board for their public service. </span></font></p>
</div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I would be much obliged as well if you wanted to share any of your policies and procedures.</span></font></p>
</div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Thanks much,</span></font></p>
</div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">TBott, fellow traveler? </span></font></p>
</div>
<div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
</div>
<div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Thomas Bott Carver Town Planner</span></font></p>
</div>
<div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></font><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>
</div>
<div><p style="margin-bottom:12.0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><font id="ydp2dca9aefyiv2436818400ydpfb687fb8yiv6753380931yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1519652102965_53160" face="Times New Roman" color="#4c76a2" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#4C76A2;font-style:italic">Practicing
Planning in the Commonwealth since the last Millennium </span></font></i><i><font face="Times New Roman" color="gray" size="2"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:gray;font-style:italic">#TownPlannerSilverJubilee</span></font></i><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br style="mso-special-character:line-break">
<br style="mso-special-character:line-break">
</span></font></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>-- <br>MassPlanners mailing list<br>MassPlanners@masscptc.org<br>http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org<br></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div></body></html>