IPSWICH — It went down easy in places like Marblehead and Swampscott — but the Ipswich Town Meeting choked on a move to provide harsher penalties for using marijuana in public.
Meanwhile, a move to tighten control over trustees who manage an endowment for the Grammar School passed easily.
Promoted by police Chief Gavin Keenan, the anti-pot bylaw was meant to cover what some see as a loophole in last November's successful statewide ballot measure designed to decriminalize possession. With a $100 fine for having small amounts of the drug, it left some police officers uncertain of their legal right to deter open drug use.
Town officials, however, were anything but united in support. Residents groaned audibly when they learned the School Committee unanimously opposed the measure. Meanwhile, the school administration offered strong support. Only one selectman balked at backing Keenan.
"It would not give police the power of arrest," said Keenan of the bylaw, which would have provided for an additional $300 fine for public use.
"It's a measured and reasonable approach," he said.
It drew several speakers and every one opposed the measure. If some claimed double jeopardy, noted Bill Williams, "They could sue. That would cost the town a lot of money."
"It's another law," said Adam McNamara, "however well meaning. I think it sends the wrong message."
The article failed by a voice vote. "We'll continue to do the job," said Keenan. "This would have given us more enforcement authority."
In other action, a member of the rail committee discussed train noise in verse, parodying, in turn, Longfellow, Poe and Dr. Seuss. But while "Feoffees" might sound like residents of Whoville, they are actually trustees for a unique endowment formed in 1765 and meant to pay for the Ipswich Grammar School.
It's been a controversy for most of the 250 years since, and it sparked heated exchanges last night. Lawyer Bill Gottlieb led the opposition to an article to have the town petition Beacon Hill to reform the Feoffees, who have in the past gone years without contributing any money.
Gottlieb, meanwhile, is in the midst of a lawsuit, representing Little Neck residents, whose rental properties are controlled by the Feoffees. "This vote is all about money," he said. A plan to sell 168 lots worth an estimated $26.5 million is on the table. "Allow the settlement to go forward," he pleaded.
"If the case could have been settled," replied Tom Murphy, "it would have been settled by now. ... It could fall apart tomorrow."
The trustee system should be rewritten, said Harvey Schwartz, another attorney. "Their meetings should be open, their books should be open."
The vote in favor was 295 to 148.
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