Friends of Concord-Carlisle Playing Fields

In the wee hours of this morning, and after more than five hours of debate, Concord's Town Meeting approved two warrant articles funding a substantial portion of the comprehensive athletic fields program for Concord.  The discussion was long and spirited (and even went through two rounds of votes on Article 30), but in the end the required two-thirds majority voted in favor of Article 30, with a clear majority approving Article 32.

The vote in Concord is perhaps the most important step in a many-year process to address the long-neglected need for playing fields in our town.  There will be many more smaller steps along the way, not the least of which is raising the private funds to balance the public funding committed tonight.

For the moment, though, it is important for all of us to thank the many concerned, involved parents and other citizens of the town who gave up their evening, focused on the issues, and stuck it out through a very long night.  Many believed that every vote would count, and with a very close tally at the end, that was literally true.