e e e noting the hour um I am calling the act and select board meeting to order oh resuming an open session and I just wanted to announce that anyone that is um going to speak uh during resident concerns if you could please state your name your full name um and address and also um if you're from out of town your town uh you'll have two minutes to speak at the microphone tonight um thank you resident comments we have a a a timer that you can visually see that that you have two minutes to [Laughter] speak on your Market set go Scott smyers from 382 Central Street a couple of weeks ago there was a three car accident in front of my house it's a Central Street has a 30 mph just speed limit right around there they the police after years of complaining put up one of those electric speed signs you know they shift it around town they have to recharge it it's very frustrating for me and my neighbors this is the third accident in about three years one of them ended up with somebody dead right around the corner not quite in the same SP PA space but this is the debris that was left just on the street you know it doesn't really decompose by itself but I thought I'd bring it in the plastic debris that was from there the speed sign you know it was missing for like 45 days before going up there they used to charge it have it back in a couple of days now you know we're in such short supply of money even though we got this massive override you figure you could buy some more of these speed signs they're about $3,200 on Amazon you know what I'm going to do if the speed sign doesn't stay up and maybe I'll do it even if it does stay up is I'm going to stand out there next to the road with my cell phone and I'm going to point at the cars driving by and I'm going to get footage of the speed signs saying they're going 55 M an hour and then I'm going to yell something at them maybe but you know I don't want this to happen I don't want to cause an accident by getting people's attention right just get the speed sign and keep it up invest in a few more of them please we can all agree on safety this is a important investment the three cars that act I complained to the police they said oh don't worry speed was not a factor in this accident right how do they know that nobody was there they know that somebody was texting and driving and swerving into the wrong lane and somebody else banged off of them and smashed off stone wall and banged off another car and the tow truck had to come and take them all away they all ruin their days because of their lack of attention around a slightly curvy road so please consider the speed signs as a major as a not even a major investment it's a minor investment for the safety of our town and then you know thank you they didn't do a good job cleaning up all the stuff all right I'll keep it with me thank you online callers hi this is nand Drive I just want to make a comment on the upcoming um you're going to select a voter registar and I gather that uh the one who's retiring is uh Le leing Republican and um it's my understanding that there are three people on the Republican side who are vying for that position and I hope you select one of them uh just for the sake of balance in the town uh I mean I I think there are probably applicants from the Democratic side also but they already have a regist so uh just for the sake of fairness and you know and trust in the upcoming election uh I'd like the voter regist to be selected from the three names on the Republican side thank you thank you is there another Resident they should be able to speak hi yes um I this Tara uh up here in massav and yes I agree uh about the Republican thing just because there are so many Democrats in town I think against anybody just um I like the idea of having as much fairness as possible also want to agreee with Scott about the um signs uh the speed signs have been very very helpful around town and I hope we get more of them um but I really signed on to say um that I don't need to speak later on about the concept of meeting evaluation um but I really think that BR is doing a wonderful job and um I hope that she's enjoying herself um and I love the idea that she's put the topic on the agenda to get feedback from the other select board members and I hope they like the idea of a meeting evaluation and I was always sad that not many people chimed in to help um Jim understand what he could do be better so I uh just support the process and thank you so much I really have been enjoying the meetings lately thank you thank you is that so moving to um our uh 710 um public first public hearing uh site plan special permit Amendment oh sorry oh I have a sorry I completely overrode number two I have a quick chair update um I just wanted to um um say that thank you to Ice House Pond volunteers on Saturday um uh a coordination between the Acton conservation division um ores and um another let's yeah ores they cleaned 45 around 70 177,000 water chestnuts from Ice House Pond um the the object Ive was accomplished with about 20 different canoes kayaks and paddle boards each loaded with laundry baskets overflowing with water chestnuts um I think there's going to be another uh cleanout in the fall and you can contact the Acton conservation uh division for for that information also um the survey for Habitat for all will will be open all uh till the end of the summer so if you haven't already go to the town website and find the survey um it's a great way to engage um in you know the planning of of your town and then I'll move to John with um manager updates sure thank you uh I would actually take a I'd like to take a moment if if the board would indulge in and address item number eight uh that's on the agenda uh we have our town clerk Eva scarat here with us tonight and she uh has recently announced or we're here announcing tonight her retirement uh in September and I just wanted to have her stand up if she would and uh she be [Applause] thanks Eva has been our town clerk for 30 years and she truly puts her heart and soul into this work uh they day in and day out uh big election after big election uh marriage certificate after marriage certificate so uh it's a it's a difficult job she's done it for 30 years and we all wish her well in her retirement and she's got some work to do this summer so she's she's going to be here till September so just wanted to take take an opportunity to do that so thank you for that and I Tom has a an update thank you John um we're pretty excited to to announce that the Acton boxboro uh youth baseball uh Little League team has made it to the uh State finals and they're going to be playing against Andover um this week I believe it's on Thursday at uh 7:30 um they've posted some great information about the team and about the upcoming playoffs so if you have an opportunity to check out the social media uh we definitely invite you to um and fun fact is that there are three wins away from going to the Little League World Series so pretty excited for him we wish him good luck and if uh any body can make the truck up to Andover should be a pretty good game thank you member minutes jim I've got one item um at a previous meeting uh we reviewed the the first round of the Department of transportation's look at the route 27 Route 2 intersection um the select board uh had comments and concerns about bicycle and pedestrian Crossing um and that was I communicated with the Department of Transportation and GPI the contractors and that was answered uh there will be a clear north south pedestrian and bicycle access on Route 27 as it crosses Route 2 and these routes will be uh seamlessly connected to the corridors created by the Kelly's Corner project um there was also a concern raised by the transportation advisory committee about whether about where the data was where the traffic projections were and the traffic counts uh they were concerned about that because they understand that um some roundabout designs are not uh appropriate uh if there's um vastly different um traffic numbers coming from the entry points um so they wanted to understand how the the state came to that conclusion that that a roundabout was a good solution there um that was it Alissa thank you um thanks Fran for mentioning the habitat for all survey I just wanted to remind everyone that every single household in town did receive this postcard um but if you have already recycled it um you can go to the town's website and find the link to the survey I just wanted to let everybody know that on July 9th the habitat for all working group met and we were told that a little less than 300 survey responses have come in and that is compared with one of the most recent survey responses I think it was for South Acton Village um that garnered a thousand survey responses and that focused on only one part of town this zoning proposal which would make cluster development um the default by option instead of a standard subdivision would impact the entire town all 20 square miles um and also inclusion area zoning uh is going to be a possible uh part of that so it impacts the entire town so we definitely need everybody in town to um as many people in town as possible to to get survey responses um because that feedback is really helpful in designing the proposal and I also wanted to announce that the Acton water district has awarded contracts for the construction of the posos uh removal systems for both the South Acton and Central Acton plants and they are planning to break ground next month in August thank you Dean yes just one uh just to let folks know that the acttion 250 committee is continuing with some planning for some more programming um and we're finalizing a really great program that's going to occur on October 1st at the Acton Memorial Library it's a combined event between the Acton 250 committee and the Memorial Library uh this is very close to the date of crown resistance day so we're going to have the act in Minuteman there um some other events inside the Library between um about six and 8:30 and uh most importantly for some of us we will be uh rolling out the Isaac Davis brown ale um this being they're going to start brewing it uh probably next week at derable Brewing so that'll be available for uh for a uh a tasting fee uh in the library so I'll update folks as we get a little closer to the event thank you so um moving on now to number three uh our first public hearing the um site plan special permit Amendment for L Lane realy trust 531 Main Street the act and select board will hold a public hearing on July 22nd 2024 at 7:10 p.m. in the Francis fauler hearing room 204 at at the Town Hall 472 Main Street actin and virtually actin mass.gov meeting mebos on the application of Lane realy trust for an amendment to a site plan special permit under zoning bylaw section 10.4 at 531 Main Street application materials and how to participate remotely are available online and at act in town hall how are you welcome um my name is Warner gosal and Bonnie Gossel my daughter uh I'm the trustee of Lane realy trust which owns the property at 531 Main Street we call it Acton Technology Center excuse me sir can you please speak into the microphone so we can hear hear you I'm sorry if you pull the microphone closer to you and speak into the mic there you go yes thank you okay can you hear me sorry about that um yeah B do do you want see if somebody wants to that's a plan plan of the uh property and what we propos to do so if you can explain to us what what you're planning on doing yes yeah um L Lane realy trust plans to create a new entrance and emergency exit at grade for the second floor of the building nearest to Post Office Square Road the new door will simply replace existing Windows fortunately there is one place with a contour of the lands at at 531 Main Street uh and the uh and the site of the existing building facing Post Office Square Road make it possible to do this the grade is the same the road and the second floor of the building we propose to take advantage of this by leveling the land the land from the roadway to the building uh Paving an access roadway to a new uh 6 foot wide entrance door and a 3- foot wide emergency exit door the two impervious the new impervious area will be approximately 2200 we feed uh providing a safe drop off site for off the street off Street drop off site for people to be able to access wheelchair people be able to access also people that cannot do stairs right now the only way to get to that second floor within the building is either by elevator or by stairs and in emergency the elevator would not be usable because you can't use an elevator in an emergency when electricity is off so this is a an access kind of thing that's really necessary for that floor and we're very fortunate that the grade works out in such a way that we can do it Madam chair can I project the plan for people sure it's a private are there are you Mr Gossel are you um are you all through will you welcome some questions from the board yeah I I suppose we're not adding to the building an an inch of space nothing is being added to the building thank you the only purpose is the access thank you are there any questions from the board Dean thank you uh yeah the uh this particular site plan was uh signed over to me uh I met with the planning department uh reviewed all of the comments the uh one question that I have is the Post Office Square is not a public road it's a privately owned uh I presume that you have an agreement from the uh the folks that own the driveway that we we do okay um that's excellent thank you um for the benefit of the board uh we do have comments from uh building department Health Department fire department um all uh positive the um we do have a memo uh I know the gentleman has uh met with the design review board um they've had some questions they written an advisory memo which I I hope you can take a look at and uh and see if you can Implement some of their recommendations uh they are strictly advisory and uh you know I at the proper time I will be happy to uh to request a motion to approve any other questions Jim David David so I uh just question maybe for for us we can do this after we close the hearing is whether we want to condition this on some of the drb recommendations um maybe maybe we want to go through those after the hearing or during the hearing okay um I just stopped sharing to go look look at that again um so if we're going to add conditions based on the design review board comments I would want to have that discussion while the hearing still open so that we can get feedback from the applicants sounds good I'm scrambling to find that it's in the staff comment section of the of the of the yeah David do you have yes can I ask you to read them yes um um so uh the first one says the drb agrees with a conceptual approach um that think that this was a conceptual design to start with um uh they said the drawing is not adequate enough to to um evaluate the design a grading plan is necessary to show the new how the new Drive will reflect the existing condition for example to ensure that water is not flowing towards the building or onto the street and that the slopes on either side of the drive or not too steep in addition dimensions of the proposed circular Drive are necessary to determine um if there is adequate turning radi for the proposed van drop off it was noted that this could be very tight fit and may require more significant site modification do you want me to stop there or do you want me to read all of them if you wouldn't mind reading yeah I I didn't know whether we wanted to discuss them one at a time uh number three is it was suggested that The Pedestrian area between the driveway and the entrances be concrete rather than asphalt to provide a Clarity between between vehicular and pedestrian traffic since there's no curb the proposed painted line will wear out quickly um the proponent stated that tacted out warnings will be provided on the sidewalk on Post Office Square Road and that uh crosswalks um across the new Drive will be painted but this was not indicated on the plan the Dr uh B recommends this and the the awnings uh finally the uh last one is the awnings seem to be adequate and appropriate thank you uh David yeah so I I I think um uh you know I'm not sure what to do about the detail design and the the uh water I I I assume that this is going to require a building permit and um maybe May trigger some storm water evaluation I don't know um but um if not we might want to condition that here um I completely agree with that since there's no curb that The Pedestrian area should be um asphalt rather than concrete and I think we should condition that and I think we should condition that the tactile warnings will be provided um on the sidewalk as the drb indicated what's it thank you any answer yes I'm not sure I heard what you were saying heard I I after the design review board meeting we had the architect address uh pretty much all of the concerns so that's why we submitted a Vis drawing it shows the turning radius we um addressed there's now a Swale for the any water to stay on our property into the grassy area which will be Rock lined uh we had the paving guy include in his um work the tactile strips will paint the area where the sidewalk gets interrupted by the driveway so there'll be the visual we can't do the concrete because we want to have no lip where the uh thresholds are for these doors so it doesn't catch on the edge of a walker or wheelchair so um we have arranged with the paving guy to have essentially a very smooth transition between the metal Threshold at the base of the door to find grade pavings so that they don't catch the edge of their uh assistance whether it's a wheelchair or a walker or a cane on the lip so concrete you have to make a form and then there's always a little Edge where it meets up against the paving what we worked out is that the paving guy can come up with a smooth surface which is much safer but we've Incorporated almost every uh we addressed all their concerns as we Revis the drawing so that by the time we got to this hearing they their recommendations were included David so it doesn't matter then if we condition it if you've already done it it's done we can still add the add the condition you you wouldn't have to do anything if it was already done um um I completely understand about this the smooth surface for people rolling um into the through the doorway um but the I think the drb's concern is legitimate that um um paint is maybe not a sufficient border between the roadway and the walkway and so um maybe other ideas need to be done there maybe it's not concrete but maybe something else I I don't I don't know um pain no the drb's concern was that paint was not adequate well the the the roads have paint to Define I mean paint also if if it if it uh wears out you paint it again we repaint to Main paint is what is used all over the country to divide lanes and all kinds of things anyway we would repaint it if it wears out or or gets obscured this is a very very small amount of Paving we're not talking about a huge place this is very and the the shape of if you look at the shape of the drop off Zone it's now flat instead of a circle that was here you know the previous drawing uh had a circle CC where it was not well defined but here the the area where the Vans would park and people would exit the Vans it is a straight line so that it's very unlikely that the vans that are coming onto the property to drop people off are going to drive toward the doors they're going to follow the shape of the driveway I I I understand what you're saying it but still the the the issue is potentially there and I you don't need to say any anymore right because the it's there isn't a curb for to to protect protect the walkway and so um anyway um the the dean we did add into the drawing the curb that they recommended where the railings are and we've we've added I'm just addressing Dean sorry oh that's okay uh I very firmly and vehemently agree with the applicant in opposition to the comments made by Mr Martin you know as you all know I have a family member with severely compromised Mobility uh issues and the kind of small lip that they're talking about making the transition from asphalt pavement to um to concrete is exactly the kind of place where slip and Falls occur and since these folks tenants are going to be predominantly in that category um you know I I could understand the issue that drb has with painted lines if this was in the middle of a public street but it's at the edge of a parking lot and I think that the paving markings properly done and monitored from time to time I think are are adequate and frankly immensely preferable to having any kind of a tactile warning um even some of these plates that you put down at the end of a at a crosswalk um you know is good for folks that have uh a visual problem but they can be a real problem with somebody that has chronic tow drop sort of problem so I I see the plans that have been modified I would recommend that rather than go through a list of amendments and conditions that we just accept the plans that have been submitted tonight uh we can probably make sure that there's an a new date put on them and uh and we should be done with it do you have anything no um the only thing that I had to add was that I appreciate the effort um and the plans to improve accessibility and I also appreciate the efforts that have been made to match you know the new doorways with the existing windows I think it looks it looks nice and I'm I appreciate that thought went into that so I agree with Dean that we should go ahead and approve it as as revised and I do also appreciate that you took the comments of the design review board um into careful consideration thank you thank you any David so I you um you might want to call for comments before we close the public hearing okay uh comments from residents um uh will'll hear the online caller call need to be able to speak hi this is Tara call again can you hear me yes hello yes I thank you also for paying attention to drb they're very hardworking volunteers and really smart uh I agree with Dean uh with the exception that if the applicant agrees to repaint you know when it's not visible uh that there's no reason not to include that as a condition or on the plans or something like that thank you so much and also I Echo uh Alyssa's concern um gratitud relative to accessibility thank you so much thank you so do we have a motion I move to close the public hearing second all in favor I yes I David so I'm I'm fine if we want to stick with the paint but now wondering if we want to condition this to say that the paint will always be maintained to always be visible that sounds good yeah Dean so I I would propose a motion that the uh select what approve site plan special per permit application number 6-6 D 202 24- 491 for 531 Main Street um in accordance with the staff comments and the updated plan submitted tonight uh the the site calculation date for the revisions is uh 18 July 2024 and and that we uh accept the mandatory findings 10.4.1 B selectman and considering a site plan shall ensure the use of the site consistent with the uses permitted in The District in which the site is located and she'll give due consideration of reports received under Section 10.3.3 and we find that it this plan is consistent with master plan that this plan protects the neighborhood and the town against seriously detrimental or offensive uses on the site and against adverse effects on the natural environment this plan provides for convenient and safe vehicular and pedestrian movement and that the locations of driveway openings are convenient and safe in relation to vehicular and pedestrian traffic circulation including emergency vehicles on or adjoining the site the plan provides an adequate arrangement of parking and loading spaces in relation to the proposed uses of the premises the plan provides adequate methods of disposal of refu or other waste resulting from the uses permitted on the site this plan will not derogate from the intent of this bylaw to limit the adverse effects of the use and development of land on the on the surface and groundwater resources of the town of Acton if proposed use has obtained a special permit from the planning board under Section 4.3 of this bylaw the requirement of this section should be deemed to have been met and lastly this plan complies with all applicable requirements of this bylaw I could get a second second all in favor are we going to discuss the motion oh let's discuss the um uh I would like a condition in there that says the paint is kept uh in in good repair I accept that as a friendly amendment I accept that any other comments all in favor I yes that's unanimous thank you thank you very much you very much and we'd like to thank all the town board that helped us with the submission and especially the volunteers thank you so moving on to number four um the 720 are second public hearing um the act and select board will hold a public hearing on July 22nd 2024 at 7:20 p.m. in Acton town hall room 204 472 Main Street and remotely by video conference and call-in on the application of NSTAR Electric Company DBA as eversource energy for relocating poll number 45 /38 and install one pole number 45 38a easterly side approximately 594 plus slash plus or minus uh feet south of Massachusetts AV to provide service to two Thomas drive from a computer enter the link ID actin mass.gov meeting select board or from a telephone dial 6468769923 and enter in the webinar ID 503 918 785 telephone users may dial star9 to request to speak after joining the meeting computer and app users may use the raised hand feature to request this to speak are we waiting for is there someone from NSTAR here I I I suspect that the dial in user might be the call-in user might be uh from NSTAR yeah oh sure yeah representing um eversor should be Chris Cosby and I believe she might have a 508 area code number I think she just disappeared maybe she accidentally hung up so you just opened the hearing right okay do you want to try this 978 number see what happens or or we could ask them to dial uh press star n if you're from ever source so the board could continue this hearing um to a Time certain either later tonight and maybe they'll come back or to a Time certain at your next meeting I move to continue the hearing until later in the meeting time just in case you got to do a time I got to do a time sorry 9 o' 900 p.m. does that Monday July 22nd can we do that uh let me send her an email just to find out where she is because she did agree on the time and date so she has all the information to call in is there a way to just put this aside for a minute rather than continuing it yeah why don't we just put it aside I come back to or leaving it yeah leaving it open and just conducting some other business in the meantime y that sounds great okay so number five under new special business uh appoint new member to the board of registers and and uh oh sorry whenever whenever you want some information from your liais on to the board of registrars I'm ready just be there you and here you are okay um so it's new for the select board to have a liaison to um the board of registrars uh but I'm really glad we do um I I I would summarize my findings as as a board we haven't been doing things the right way uh um and we can start doing them the right way starting tonight um so this was um this is an interesting one because I I wrote three different versions of my uh one after another of what I was going to say and finally straightened it out with meeting with Town Council today um so I'm going to go over my thinking about what we need to do I I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it but I I do want at least go through the details so that people understand what's going on um we will have another chance to um talk about the board of registar uh this coming um um January or February when there's another uh position coming due um as there should be every January or February um I'm sorry February or March um coming up um but this one's particularly interesting um so as a reminder um the board of registrars set up by state law law um the the relevant uh law title 8 chapter 51 uh in particular sections 15 and 20 uh are in the packet so if people want to you know try to struggle through the legal language uh there they are um in summary this is the only uh board or committee we have which refers to political parties so normally we're very nonpartisan operation here um and um so the requirement under the law is first of all they there's an elaborate definition of what a major political party is and what the two major political parties are but in summary it's what you expect at this point in time Democrats and Republicans um the board of registar has four people maximum on it one of them is the clerk and then there's three other members um among those four people there cannot be more than two people from the same party um because our clerk um for the last 30 years has been unenrolled um we have that in effect means that we either have two Republicans and one Democrat or two Democrats and one Republican um as a matter of History uh except for a a brief moment uh uh earlier last year we've had two Republicans and one Democrat um one of the the first job we have before we choose a uh a member of the board of registrars is to be clear on which party we are choosing a member from in some cases we are we are forced by law to choose one party or the other and in some cases we have Choice um the headline here is that in this case uh we have a choice uh and I'll go through that reasoning right now um the uh the cases in which we don't have a choice are if it's a regular appointment that is it's it's um it's it's it's a let's see let's get my months right February or March uh we are appoint a regular member to the board of registrars whose term starts on April 1st uh if um if there are already two Republicans uh we of course can't appoint a third one and if there similarly if there's already two Democrats we can't appoint a third one um in this case what we have right now is we have a Dina Ferrara as a Democrat whose term ends in 2025 and we have James Conboy a republican whose term ends in 2026 um so uh on the surface it does appear as if we have a choice um and there is the um here's the thing where it gets complicated um so the the third slot has been had been filled by Tim Shay um he was appointed last year to fill out uh a term of a member who had resigned so that uh that term was running until April of 2024 but wait Tim Shay was serving on the board of registrars in uh in in in May because uh he was critical in the uh recount um so how does that happen well uh every member of a board of registrars Shall Serve until the expiration of his term and until his successor has qualified in other words because we didn't appoint anybody else Tim Shay's uh Tim Shay was allowed or was was was Contin continued to serve on the board uh past that time um but um we still need to find a person to fill a complete term um from now until um 2027 um and so this is a a a this is an odd circumstance because it's not April 1 but this is an example of how uh the select board we haven't been keeping on t top of things so we should have on our calendar uh that that in um February or March we will have an appointment um every year that'll be true um those appointments are done by first uh we verify which party uh is going to be represented there in some cases as I said it's forced in some cases we have an option so we need to have a discussion and a vote and then we ask the the that party's Town committee uh to nominate three people um to potentially serve and then we choose from of those three people um that's the basics um so uh in summary we need to make two decisions first we need to have a discussion uh about which party uh should be represented next uh when we get to that part I I have an opinion and I'll happily express it then but I think I should keep that separate from describing the facts here uh and then uh once we decide which party we can look at the lists submitted by those by that party um and we would also be helped by the fact that we have a memo from the um from the clerk's office uh suggesting which people on each list might be might they they think would be especially appropriate uh to serve um are there any questions before I potentially make a motion about which party I have a question so was Tim Shay's position like temporary since someone resigned and was he appointed temporarily uh yes he was he was appointed to fill out the remaining term um of a member who resigned and that that term expired uh on April 1st of 2024 but they continued to serve because the select board didn't act to appoint somebody else and now we have a regular another regular three-year appointment to and just out of curiosity not that it matters what was his affiliation well that's interesting um he was actually listed by the clerk uh in the memo as unenrolled which creates another interesting dilemma because we're not we're supposed to have members who are Republicans Or democrats um I didn't go too deeply into that issue but it does you know just it's another example of where uh if we were doing our job we we would have we would have you know looked at that and made a determination at that point in time thank you yeah anything Dean yeah so Jim uh I've got one question about the the order in which we're going to do this um town clerk has prepared a memo recommending two individuals and so I I guess my question is is it a mandate that we determine first whether the seat goes to a Republican or Democrat or do we look at the individual plus the party affiliation um my understanding is that we need to decide which party but we could certainly um use the fact that we have lists of names as part of our you know if we wanted to we could use that as in helping us understand what the right way to go is thank you um yeah any other questions well I would happily make a motion then to get us started um I would move that our our um next appointment of a board of registrars be from the Republican Party any other questions is there I guess a second before we discuss I'll second that okay any other discussion yeah um so it's not automatic that it would be Republican but two things persuade me one is that um um I I feel like I need more research and understanding why in the last 20 years we've always had two Republicans and one Democrats except for that brief confusing period when we appointed Robert Ferrara to the board of registrars we were briefly two and one and then we understood that we should not be appointing Robert Ferrara because he was a treasurer of this of of the adtc which turns out to be explicit in the law that we can't do that um so uh I think we probably do deserve to have a nice fold discussion about you know whether it should be uh you know two Democrats and one Republican or or or vice versa uh or whether we want to you know change that from time to time but I think this is not the particular time to do that because this particular appointment is so confusing you know uh the the uh the appointment was U it happened um the opening happened because of a resignation and reasonable people could look at you know section in 20 and say oh resignation that means you always go from the same political party turns out in this case we don't because they were serving beyond their regular term um but I think that's a subtle point I'd rather take the time at a at a future meeting um at a NE at an appointment time when we have you know can consider this with with more um yeah with more time and information would you consider the expirations of when someone serving um I know that if Dina farz term is up this year or this year logically I would think putting someone from the Democratic party make sense and maybe in March um but that's just me well here's what's coming up um oh sorry can I okay okay here's what's coming up in 2025 uh Dina AR's position her three-year term will be up at that point uh if if we appointed a republican now we would be required to appoint a democrat in uh you know January um February or March of 2025 uh the year after that in 2026 what James Convoy term runs out we would then have the option of appointing a Republican or a Democrat any other thoughts Alissa thank you Jim for explaining the many ways that we have not been conducting this business appropriately uh I agree with your sentiment that this is not the time to break with tradition so I'm comfortable uh with appointing a republican member um I would like at some point to understand um so it says that the successors as nearly as possible be representing the two major political parties um we have had folks who are unenrolled I wonder if it's possible to appoint a member of another political party because this doesn't say only so I just want you know some Town Council uh to weigh in on that question and also in the meeting packet were personal statements from the name submitted by the Democratic town committee and none from the Republican Town committee and I would like if names are going to be put forward to have a statement either in writing ahead of time to consider or during the appointment process and if it's possible um to pull in someone who's unenrolled in addition to the town clerk I don't it sounds like that's not possible or another political party I'd like that um to be more broadly advertised but it sounds like maybe only the town committees were notified that this appointment was coming up and that's why they submitted the names but that seems you know what if there are Republicans and Democrats who are not affiliated with the committee but they might like to a chance to serve on the board of regars it would be nice to have a notification made at a select board meeting on the town website news flash ET ET just so that the opportunity is more broadly advertised um I think these are all questions worth researching I will say that the the language as it's written here it does appear that um we need to choose our to choose the members from a list that comes that includes three enrolled members of such party so in other words unenrolled people uh by this law appears to me would not be eligible but I'm not a lawyer um but we do have lawyers that work for us that could help us figure this out and certainly I mean I'm I'm I'm sympathetic to that I mean you look around Acton um you know there may be more enrolled Democrats than enrolled Republicans but they are more unenrolled than either group so certainly if we're trying to be representative it would be nice if there were a legal way of having unenrolled people uh you know on as as possible members of the board of registers but I don't see how to do it with this with the way it's written right here David uh yeah a few things um so I think the law defines a party right so we can't do it another way and I think it requires that um uh the or at least uh puts forward the way to get the nominations from the um the party's Town committee and I'm not aware of any other party having a town committee and and maybe Jim can tell us if there's another party that is um satisfies the requirements of the law um there isn't a registered uh Town committee for either the green party or the libertarian party in Acton as far as I'm aware but that could change right I mean if it changes that that's complet completely fine but it's not it's not the the case uh right now um uh I I you know I'm I'm against uh you know choosing from the Republican party this time for several reasons one is um as you've said we've had it this tradition if you will of having two Republicans it seems more fair to me to take turns here um than it does to do that also the the next retirement is democratic and so the um uh that also uh uh seems more fair to me to uh to name a a democ Democrat now it seems to me that in this process we've done quite a bit of due d due diligence right much more than we've done in the the time that I've been on the board so I really don't understand the argument that this is not the time um because um uh you know the the the work that you've done Jim and the the work that maybe all of us have done here in reading the law over the past few weeks um I think we were we're better prepared now than we ever have have been so um I I don't quite see the fairness in that um so I you know I I would oppose that I just wanted to add quickly too that um in speaking to the clerk's office I think that there's been two Republicans and a Democrat for the past 20 years so that's a long time um I'm a little confused about the logic that if the next registar to [Music] whose term will expire in 2025 then that means that that person needs to be must be replaced with a Democrat yes and or she is reappointed um so I don't understand why it doesn't make sense David um to appoint a Democrat now because another registar will will who turn another registar term will expire next February March so it to me it makes more sense to appoint a republican now because we're going to have to appoint or reappoint a Democrat in in a few months if that makes sense David so um I I don't think it's the case Jim can correct me from his research but from my research that it's not necessarily the case that we have to um uh replace a Democrat with with a Democrat we only have to do that if there are already two Republicans on the committee right and so what we're doing by naming a republican now is locking in republ to Republicans for at least two years right and I think that's not fair you know we were not in this take turns mode I think it's you know about time that we went the other way for a while I'm happy going back and forth but it seems to me uh just you know not it seems to me to be not an argument that we've already had always had two Republicans therefore we must continue to have two Republicans I I don't see the logic in that I have to say I'm in agreement with David um Dean well I guess I'll have to say I'm in agreement with Alysa do we have any more comments should we hear from the public why not state your name and and street at the mic please is this going to be timed Madam chair me to say we keep it short I don't make long speeches so which is fine hi good evening everyone um sahana purohit 13 blueberry path and I'm the chair of the act and Democratic committee it's kind of interesting you know heard the discussion thank you Jim thank you David um a lot of research into how you guys wanted to go with this um for me I think being first of all being the chair of the democratic committee um the logic doesn't seem to hold you've had a tradition a tradition who created that tradition for the past 20 years to just appoint a Republican and um there's an opening now all candidates need to be considered and um I think it's time to break the tradition so um I had kind of prepared a speech but hearing this discussion just about um deciding on the party I feel it's time that you guys reconsider how you're thinking because it cannot something that's been out there cannot keep continuing to be out there you need to think out of the box think something different and maybe it is time to consider um the other party as well thanks thank you hi uh Dave lunger w P OG drive I'm the chair of the acting Republican Town committee uh first I want to offer uh best wishes wishes to the retiring Eva scarc and um for her future endeavors over the many years it has been a pleasure working with you um while here tonight to consider who replaces the resignation of the Republican nominated registrar from May 28th it is worth considering some of the nature and recent history of the acting Board of registrars to be fair I'll note that I strive to abide by the Mass General law statutes and over time correct observed wrongs made at one time or another by pretty much all of us involved we should all strive to follow the intent and the letter of the Mass general laws while town government is generally nonpartisan the four member Board of registrars is purposely and by Statute an exception to this rule each member without regard to party should be objective with respect to the law that said even fair and balanced representation of the two main parties with regard to elections is required by the Mass general laws the day after the May 29th resignation and again on July 17th the acting Republican Town committee submitted three excellent nominations any one of whom would be well suited to be selected by you and serve as a registar and maintain the board of registar committee even-handedness Our Town deserves all along the board of registar committee has been well balanced with two registrars nominated on the Republican side and the other two being a Democrat plus the town clerk uh thus M thus the makeup of the board of registar committee has remained Equitable with regard to party enrollment and or leaning in partisan elections picking from our list of three ensures a continued fairness and balance of the two main parties to summarize I'd like to restate the relevant mgls Mass General law uh 51 subsection 20 States after resignation the election shall be of the same political party as a member whose position he is appointed to fill although unenrolled at that time the resign was Republican nominated and expected then to enroll as Republican I might add that before him was a republican um Tom Beal's uh as far as I know Mass General law 51 subsection 18 states that in no case shall an appoint appointment be so made as the court a board to have more than two members including the city or town clerk of the same political party the Secretary of State Board of registrars guide book reinforces these by stating the board must always contain no more than two members of each of those parties with ass soon to be upcoming September primary and November election thank you for addressing this matter forth with thank you any other resident Janet adachi Simon hap good Lane I am uh not registered as a democrat or a republican I'm registered voter and independent and one of my suggestions is that you appoint an advisory committee Hereafter to decide how to decide these things because I would guess that a number of you are affiliated with one part party or the other um but listening to what I've the facts uh it sounds to me as if if the person who resigned was Republican nominated and then it's logical to replace that person with a republican Republican nominated person just to keep the balance as Dave said I am not partisan partial I'm just looking to sort of resolve what seems to be more complicated than maybe it has to be but I tell you if you're looking for an advisory committee of unenrolled Voters I am happy to help out thank you Janet good evening John Norton Central Street so as I understand right now we have two Democrats and one Republican on the board on the no what's the makeup one uh one Democrat one Republican and the town clerk who is unenrolled okay so we're not supposed to have two and two or we just have three in acting right we can't have more than two of the same party well if it's going to be a republican to make things Square I don't know what it is we got three good names myself Scott SM and Linda Musto so I think we should um keep it fair and balanced especially with the election coming up in November thank you Scott smyers 382 Central Street and I don't want you to get misled by Mr Martin who's implying that we've had this uh you know the the regars have been stacked with Republic an for all these years because we've had more and that the town uh clerk is unenrolled so obviously you're implying that she must be also on the conservative side so that it's been two Republicans and that unenrolled person and just this one lonely Democrat in Acton I mean come on we know this town votes like 75% Democrat every time right the Democrats control almost everything we need some balance of the regist a lot of us just want a simple motive with the registrars make it easy to vote and hard to cheat right and we need that balance in there people could be unenrolled for lots of different reasons there could have been a conservative person that votes Republican every time but they don't want anybody knowing their business they don't want to every time they go they they vote they go back to and register as unenrolled again as an independent you know and there's the other people on the other side that want to register as unenrolled for whatever reason but they may vote Democrat every time right so that doesn't really tell you anything so but if the Republican party in town has suggested somebody who happens to be unenrolled then that's what you should trust from the Republican party if the Democrat Party in town proposes somebody who happens to be unenrolled but is part of the Democrat committee I would trust them for the deciding what's a good Democrat representative right but but you that's disingenuous to say that the the the that the registar have been slanted Republicans for all these years you know that's that's just not what's happening thank you question yes if you can go to the mic and state your name and address John Norton again are you affiliated with either party you don't have to tell me which one but are you affiliated with either Party All you people on the board I'm affiliated with a a party yep Dave you affiliated with a party no yes okay thank you I have a quick question for the town manager so would you have to hire a town clerk that's a Democrat then no I I'm being serious actually under What scenario if there are two Republicans and a Democrat uh can uh that is not something that um I typically consider in in recruiting uh candidates for position so uh we certainly would cross that bridge if we would cross that bridge if we had to and figure figure that out depending on what the board does David yeah or or said the said the other way if um the the new clerk is a republican do we have to uh remove one of the members of the one of the Republican regist right FR uh Dave longer again I wanted to to say what what David you just said is exactly correct you can hire a town clerk Democrat Republican on a roll green party rain whatever but then the uh registrars would have to be adjusted to suit that thank you I'm Kathy from Kathy Lynch from Westford is it okay if I speak yes okay um so the process I have a lot of experience in election Integrity the process isn't that you have to pick party first I just want to make note for the law that that's not the case um also um the intent of the law is to provide equal representation I think we've spoken about that and when you have an unenrolled person you don't really know um how they stand politically because it's kind of like this chameleon you know you don't know which way they go but if you look at their primary pick B for the ballot you can see if they pick a republican Ballot or a Democrat ballot and um the the town clerk for the past 11 years has picked the Democrat ballot so if you want equal representation you would pick two uh Republicans the unenrolled that leans left and then the Democrat and that's how you would get a fair balanced um Board of regist thank you Alissa um thanks I just want to say that I definit don't want the town manager or the select board well especially the select board since we're the appointing authority to have any limitations on who is hired to replace Eva um right and I think that c Kathy uh made a really good point I was actually going to share that I have friends who who are enrolled in the Republican party just so they can vote in the Republican primary but they're not TR truly Republican um and I guess I would be a chameleon because I'm not en enrolled um so I I don't have any issue with having two Republican registar appointed for exactly what we are trying to achieve which is balance because if you have someone who is unenrolled then you know looking at the political lean meanings of this town and of this state we're definitely leaning Democratic so I think that that does bring balance and I just wanted to make a correction [Music] um I can't remember if it was John or Dave who suggested that um that Tom was replaced by Tim it was actually um he was on the register before Jim Conboy actually replaced Tom Beals when he resigned then Jim resigned and was replaced by Bob Ferrara who then resigned and was replaced a new by Jim Convoy um so I just wanted to make that uh correction and and also emphasize actually this email that came to the board from Dave lunger back in February to alert us to this issue um he mentioned it tonight but I was going to mention that chapter 51 section 20 does direct that vacancies need to be um replaced with the same political affiliation so I'm you know even if if Tim Tim Shay was unenrolled he was a nominee from the Republican Town committee and I think it's really important to replace him with a republican uh register member and somebody mentioned the election coming up and I think that it's really critical that we have this balance and we have trust from all voters given the outcomes of Acton elections historically David so I I don't understand how two to one is balanced maybe that's just me right um the the the person who's unenrolled um uh are our clerk uh when someone chooses what primary to vote in um that is just a strategic decision um right um uh I used to be unenrolled and I used to choose different parties in in Massachusetts it's often more interesting to vote in the Democratic primary because there's more candidates in the Democratic primary it doesn't necessarily indicate that someone is left leaning or right leaning and I think it's unfair to that person who has declared themselves to be unenrolled to say that they're left leaning or right right leaning so that person is declare themselves as unenrolled the other two person the law requires that we take them from a party um um the same thing with the the person that we're replacing is unrolled I'm not I don't think we can assume that that person wanted to be a Republican when they are in fact unenrolled and from what all of you are saying um if I'm understanding correctly um is that if we um choose a republican here we are we have two Republicans and one Democrat forever right because you're saying that we always replace the the person with with the same party that wasn't my understanding but that's what um both Jim and Alyssa seem to be saying I I can I just clarify my understanding is that if it's someone who has resigned and you need to appoint someone that's temporary they have to be the same party affiliation right yeah I have the same interpretation of the law that if it's a regular term appointment then it can be either party as long as you're not creating a situation with with more than two from the same party okay that that was my understanding as well right so um okay we're we're we're all all set on that so if we choose a republican today which fine right we're locking it in for two years right because the um which I think is again again wrong I'm not I you know uh Mr smer said I was saying it was stacked that certainly is not the case I did not use that word I did not imply that in any way I just said that in terms of fairness it makes sense to me to go back and forth um it doesn't make sense to me that say fair is two: one right fair and balance is not two: one right and so I I I don't understand that that logic that's all Jim um so to summarize um I I hear a lot of uh sympathy from the board about the notion of moving toward a system in which we alternate that 2: one the one to2 and uh taking control of the process more by by you know following the law um will allow us to do that because we'll know you know when the appointments are and who's serving and and we can have that discussion now of course that's that's this board you know 25 26 27 there'll be a different board a different decision might be made um uh but I I'm very comfortable with that general direction um the uh the reason I I I end up not wanting to make that change this particular time is U is twofold one is that um this particular situation is so confusing with the uh the resignation happening um which which would make a reasonable person think that the had to be replaced with a person of the same party but then you talk to the lawyer the lawyer says no they were they they already finished their term they were just serving because we haven't replaced anybody else and so this is a regular term appointment I mean I I get that a after talking with Nina but it's it's complex um so uh I thought it might be simpler to just go with the Republican this time the other thing I thought I thought that um this this whole question of you know what kind of balance we want in the long run deserved uh a longer conversation uh maybe at a time when we weren't actually facing a particular uh a particular appointment that has a Time urgency because we have you know elections coming up and it'd be good to get somebody on board um you know so they can get get trained and be ready did you say that out loud oh to me M's call Colin a online resident hello yes this ter again can you hear me hello yes can you hear me yes we can the idea of fairness sometimes isn't about um uh doing it exactly as the existing parties the the same percentage but rather to represent or or balance the the conflict between majority and uh non-majority so minorities so in the case of Acton the Republicans are in such a minority and if you look at the you know the party affiliations of people that are serving in very powerful committees it's very largely Democrat and so to me it's a nice gesture to say hey you know the registar all they're going to do is look at votes and you know I think a it's a nice gesture but also that you can go and look at an election and say that's a clean election because you had two you had more Republicans than Democrats and you know of course the Democrat looking at the ballots can cause can um you know raise their voice if they see something inappropriate but I think it's a nice gesture also where the town has been sort of in violation uh for so long I feel like it's a safer Call to um elect a uh Republican at least this time so thank you very much considering this I love the idea that Jim had to have a longer conversation when you're not faced for with an actual task thank you okay are any more conversation I would love a motion I think there may be a motion already okay oh we did and it was seconded yeah yeah okay and because that was so long ago I can recall that the motion was that uh this next appointment be a republican any other discussion uh enen there was a second there was a second few minutes ago I was just repeating the the motion from the past all in favor I I I anyos nay nay so just to say it out loud that sounds three to two sorry three eyes and two Nays the motion passes uh now we have part two where we get to pick a person um uh I I would also uh happily jump start this discussion uh by noting that uh the town clerk um noted that um uh uh John Norton uh has had a lot of community involvement uh and would be an excellent choice for the role so I would nominate uh John Norton to be on the board of registar uh for a term to end um at the end of March 2027 I'll second all in favor I I I I that was unanimous I it's unanimous y moving on to number six approve request for additional Financial commitment from Acton community housing Corporation for $150,000 towards Acton housing authorities mcmanis Manor project so um the the acting community housing Corporation recently recently uh in my understanding voted to approve additional funding to go towards the mcmanis manor project uh as required for expenditures from the a requires also requires approval of this board for that uh funding to be used and that's what's before you tonight I noticed uh a leading member of the ACD in the crowd if there are any questions uh on that topic J Janet oh oh if if there's questions yeah are there any questions I'm hoping there aren't any but no sorry sorry to summon you to are we ready to vote make make a motion oh I'd Happ I'd happily moveed to approve uh this expenditure um that the achc wants to make second all in favor I yes I I I I'm just wondering whether that um the motion could should contain the amount rather than um Madam chair can we remake a motion just to make sure that we're clear yes um uh I I I move that the um the board approve the accc's um uh spending 100 $150,000 um uh towards the mcmanis project from the accc's um uh uh CC account uh the ACD what account it's the and it's just the hc's account oh that's that seems to be exactly what I meant to say thank you all in favor second did we I think we need to amend it instead of making a motion a new I'd like to amend my motion I'd like to amend my motion to say what David just said I will I will second that all in favor I I it's unanimous though can we stop here procedurally that other motion was passed and done we need to make a new motion okay and and um uh and the new motion can say that it supersedes the old motion so now we we have to um I think we're okay yeah maybe we're okay yeah I think everybody knows what's intended don't don't spend that money twice Janet wherever you are I'm just a little concerned about where where emotion has money so nobody seconded your motion so maybe Jim should seconded it I pretended it was my should I try again sure um I I moved that the select board approved the accc's uh request to um uh spend $150,000 towards uh the uh housing authorities mcmanis Manor project second all in favor I I so number seven approve you use special permit conditions for let's roll LLC 930 Main Street so David so I was just going to say Madam chair that um at least in my reading of it it looks to be what we discussed last time and I could move to approve if you would so desire that sounds great yes so before we vote on that I would note a small typo in section 313 add an e to the word laps H very minor but Jim talked about people running laps outside so I I moved to uh uh approve the special permit for um let's roll LLC 9:30 Main Street as edited second all in favor I I yes unanimous I think the manager did initially so tonight approve recruit and app approve town clerk Recruitment and appointment process uh thank you so as I as I mentioned earlier Eva scarat is retiring in September and it is uh the town clerk is a select board appointment and uh just as we did with the town accountant which was a select board appointment that the board made last year um the the town staff and administration did the recruitment and then brought forward a candidate for the board to either approve or or not um thankfully you approved the tunnel count um and so I proposed to follow a similar process here and I proposed to start it immediately um and the reason that I wanted to just uh have this process briefly laid out in the packet uh in the memo that I sent to you today is just to make sure that the board's comfortable with it because in order to do it quickly um I want to make sure that every you're all on board with it before we jump jump in um as described in the memo our our plan would be to uh finalize the job description which which we have done we did um we met with Eva over the last few weeks and talked about you know what her job description said for the last 20 years and if there's anything that it should probably say in the future and we've made those adjustments uh so what we would do is work with HR to get that job posting out hopefully by the end of the week and we' put it on the website we'd put it on social media we'd put it on the mass Municipal Association page we'd connect with the town clerk's Association which is a pretty active group and I think that would be a pretty good place to to send the ads and then we' try to get candidates in and screened uh we like we like to if we get a large group of candidates we like to do a a screening interview which is usually brief um and then we'd like to do that by the end of August and um have more in-depth inperson interviews before um Labor Day uh or whatever if if before September 6th and then uh have an appointment for you to consider uh the your first meeting in September which would be the 8th um what I would propose to is to invite a member of the board to sit in on the second round of interviews um which which would probably be the first week of September and um yeah I look forward to any feedback or concerns you have about this process and if there aren't if there aren't any or isn't any I I look forward to you approving it uh as as outlined Jim um just one question John um could you sort of go over the thinking behind having the position report to the Director of Finance and administration like were there any pros and cons or other options yes uh So currently the town clerk uh Works downstairs as you know in what we call the finance Wing um and most of the other operations there are underneath the director of administration finance and uh Maryann who serves in that role is a strong leader uh and provides good support to departments that that work for her and so I thought it was a good fit uh for that to continue uh the other option would be to have them report to me uh which you know having them report to the director of administration Finance is almost the same thing as reporting to me which just makes that person do do the extra work of of the supervision but we it's a team effort um so I mean technically it reports to the select board and then and I report to you and the whole chain so I think functional supervision is best suited down in administration of Finance just because of physical proximity and also a lot of work that they share um at the counters from an administrative standpoint but I'm certainly open to suggestions if you'd like to see it done a different way uh we like to we like change so we're okay with change no I I I I'm okay with that I just I was just curious to understand it I think um I I think it makes a lot of sense to me I think in the past uh we were in a situation where you had maybe still I don't know but for a while you had so many reports that it seemed like it's been really good to have these new uh you know directors like Maryanne who can you know take take take some of that load so it makes sense to me I just want to make sure we had understood it together Alissa I think that the process makes sense and the job description looks good I would just suggest um under the job duties that number 17 we change Board of Selectmen to select board any other questions I think it looks great Alyssa John did you have anyone in mind for a board member who would sit in on the interviews or is that a decision that you'd like to leave to the board I was thinking the chair or the vice chair if she wasn't if the chair wasn't available and were you thinking one or two uh I was thinking one or two um so um I think I think two would probably be it would probably be okay um we'd like to have a a good team of we usually use this room for an interview like that where we'd have some department heads and um it would be great to have two board members there as well so in that case I would I would again default to the chair and the and the vice chair great for for who I'd invite cool we don't have to make that decision now I'd rather you didn't cuz then it creates a public body yeah um would you like a a vote to approve this process or do you think you've got enough guidance yes please um I I would move that the uh select board approve the uh recruitment an appointment process outlined in the town manager's memo for town clerk second all in favor I yes unanimous thank you so moving on to 10 authorized Town manager to sign central Massachusetts mosquito control project permission slip for water management work on town-owned property at 325 Arlington Street behind so this is a notification that the mosquito uh control folks send out to Property Owners where they are doing work uh on their property as part of their mission of mosquito uh mitigation and so this is not a request for a permit or a license to do this work it's a request to the town as a property owner to do the work that they're charged with doing which they have to get the appropriate permissions to do that which I'm not exactly clear of what those permissions are um but but I don't believe they're through the select board I think it's would if it's D or somebody else they would have to do it that way um I did check with conservation uh and I didn't have a chance to to fully connect with them on that but I think the way I just describe it is the way that it would go so if the board is concerned about that it could consider authorizing me to uh sign it as long as conservation uh is okay with it any questions yeah no questions to comment uh in point of fact that that area has been cleaned out in the past um In My Memory um you know it's pretty much a landlocked piece of property out and back there um the work I'm familiar with the kind of work that do uh it's all just using hand tools uh it's just move removing organic matter um getting down to Mineral soil in the uh in the drainage ditch and uh I believe that that work is actually exempt under the wetlands Protection Law act um but in any case they do it throughout Town um on private property as well with private property owners permission so it's it's pretty much routine and it's from environmental point of view you know they're not using any Biologicals they're not using any chemicals uh they're just helping the flow of water David yeah I I I am in favor of this and I don't think we need the the extra statement that says if the Conservation Commission approves if the if it needs to be permitted by the Conservation Commission they'll have to get the permit but I don't think that this letter we need to um include that include that thank you any other comments Jim um just reminds me that uh I'd love to have at a future uh uh agenda item to talk more deeply about our involvement with the cmmcp um uh and you know they they spraying protocols they their their their Mission process it seems like they should be notifying us in a way that I don't think we've been notified um I mean I know we can go on their website and look but it looks like their their their law says they actually have to tell us uh the select board um so I wouldn't mind reviewing that um I'm not sure it's I yeah I I have a lot of questions about it um so for another time um and I I I I I was I I I did have that concern about it does seem like you know mucking around in a wet lens then you know changing the water level uh changes the you know the ability of that swampy area to support some kinds of life and and you know in favors others and it sure seems like it should have an environmental review of some sort um but I think that can be pursued informally by just you know as as the manager did you know asking asking our super new conservation agent to look into it and find out I think that's that's plenty David um I I I moved to authorize the town manager to sign the central Massachusetts mosquito control project permission slip for water management work on town-owned property at 325 Arlington Street behind 325 second all in favor oh oh online comment yes thank you it's ch again um so thank you for calling on me I believe that um you're right about the exception relative to Mosquito Control um from the Conservation Commission process uh but I'm I'm I wait in right now because because I believe I want to make sure that people know that this is specific to the town-owned property um but I did not see um the language that Dean said that it's only mechanical measures and I hope that if there are any chemicals that we take a closer look at that um and have a specific hearing relative to chemicals because people work so hard to keep their um their Gardens organic and that I don't think we want to undermine that by approving large scale spraying I noticed that boxboro had approved um what do you call helicopter spraying and so I want to know where is it written that it was it's mechanical only um because I would like to see that thank you yeah uh I would direct you to the meeting packet the information in in our meeting packet thank you I I looked there and I didn't see it but it might might it's because the license doesn't work right now so I can't tell but I I'll trust that your motion includes uh only mechanical measures and I would be totally in favor of that thank you so much I got caught up on the license as well it it's working now keep trying all in favor I I I yes number 11 review of uh review status of current capital projects so thank you uh at uh a recent meeting there was a few questions about some things happening around town uh it's pretty busy in the community right now Kelly's corner is is an ongoing um project but there are several other things happening throughout the town and we're going to Tom and I are both going to go through a few things that are happening and give an opportunity for the board to ask any questions about the projects and um we can plan to do this uh regularly before we go to the sides the monument across the street the Isaac Davis Monument we are out to bid right now uh to do some uh preservation work on the structure uh with CPA funding and grant funding uh part of work that we're doing to prepare for the 250th making sure that's in looking really good uh for for that uh those events uh so to get to the other projects sidewalk constructions happening throughout town uh Taylor uh and then we're working towards Willow and Parker uh the High Street bidding has been complete uh um Main Street Corridor we have different things happening um from route two to the center we're preparing for Paving um the main street in Prospect Street intersection the funding was approved for that at town meeting so we're now working on the permitting uh and hope to have that ready for uh next construction season Piper Road sidewalk study we're going to work on that this summer part of Mill road infrastructure for the new apartments that's starting soon that I don't know if you've seen but they started some of the de demolition work on the actual site for where the apartments will go uh and so the work the work that'll happen in the road is going to start happening um this fall uh which includes a sewer extension and and other things that are needed for the utilities to support that project uh the par the parking lot behind this building uh it's continuing to deteriorate uh we do have funding for design to improve that and so that's underway as well and the West Act want not mention here is the West Acton Village complete Street study uh that was just sort of completed and now we're working on implementation we we have been in touch with the transportation advisory committee on um some components of that study that um may need to be accelerated due to concerns near the school um near the new school the boardwalk campus uh so more to come on that and we can have Corey come here and and he he can go on for an hour about all the different things this is just a quick Hit List um next we we have us further I mentioned we're doing a design of the parking lot that had been on hold until we finalize the site plan for 17 Woodbury Lane and now that we've gone through historic district commission for uh initial support and the Conservation Commission for I believe complete support for what what we need we're proposing to do here um we have a design we've done cost estimate it came in we were trying to keep this whole thing under a million because that's just about what we have available it's currently at 1.2 so we're going to work on ways to figure that out um as we go out to bid this fall uh but the project is going to be it's going to be a really good addition to the municipal complex here it'll be a space that can be used by Library users by uh Town Hall users by members of the community that just want a place to um have a small meeting uh indoors or outdoors and it's going to be a really nice way to reuse that site it's we have Federal funding we have $750,000 earmark uh from uh Congressman Lori Tran and several other funding sources in including um CPA funds that are going to help us get that project done uh next we have Gardener field um this is not easy to read um it's very faint but all those lines are pointing to to changes that we've made to the site uh we have a modified site plan that has been approved by the historic district commission and um it's basically changes the wall and if you go to the next slide Tom the uh the wall uh that had been put up there to get the playground installed didn't meet um standards that the historic district commission thought were appropriate and so we've we've redesigned it in a way that um meets those standards and also it works better anyways and I think it it'll be a good change it's just going to create a little bit more disruption uh fortunately the the playground itself has been has remained in service the entire time uh but it will look like a construction site for a while um but hopefully people uh can bear with us uh We've we've ordered a lot of the site Furnishings that are going to help that place uh feel more comfortable we've ordered the granite pillars they're going to be part of the decorative front entrance and the metal Archway is being modified with a metal fabricator to fit with the what they need to be fit with the retaining wall modifications have started in July and uh they'll they'll I haven't been out there in a week or so so I'm not sure where they're at right now uh but it's moving along the site plantings have they're they've been to the nurseries they're not going to plant them in the in the dead dead of Summer um but they will be planning some of those plantings uh as we get closer to the fall and um the stone wall that's uh part of the plan that will go along um as you see here there'll be a stone wall near the sidewalk that's parallel with Main Street I mean um massav uh that will be hopefully we can start on that this winter so as I said it's a it's an awesome playground the kids and the families are using it every day uh but it is going to remain kind of having that uh construction site feel for for for a while so please bear with us uh next we have Main Street sewer extension uh we did secure all the funding needed to do the sewer extension project we had a kickoff meeting recently and they're starting to mobilize uh before the end of the summer hopefully and it'll be under construction through 2025 so that's the same schedule as Kelly's corner so uh through through the end of 2025 the dog park which is sort of a access NE next to the Sewer extension that is at 90% they had been waiting we had been waiting uh for all these things to get finalized before they could finish the design so we've at that point now and so uh that we're just finalizing bid documents and we'll be out to bid I I don't know probably not before in the fall um and then McManus Manor uh we just heard from ACD that they've uh and the board has has provided another 150 ,000 and so I think they're still working on some of the larger Finance pieces and uh their intent is to break make break ground uh within the next six months early next year uh so that's what's going on on Main Street then shifting over to DPW facility uh D DPW facility project the committee has been established which consists of uh a number of different individuals including Dean and myself um we are pretty excited that we've entered into a contract with uh for an OPM and a designer the owner's project manager has been uh selected as PMA who have been fantastic in guiding us through the process we recently onboarded Wesson and Samson as uh the designer um and they hit the ground running um with the intent of having a final conceptual cost estimate for us by November they began immediately working with DPW and different stakeholders and internally to start identifying what that design would look like and really what the needs are of the facility currently and where it's going into the future so um we do anticipate this moving fairly quickly so we'll be in a good position by November um and then We're Off to the Races continuing with the DPW facility the fueling station replacement what you see in front of you is the uh preferred design um really quickly I don't know if you can make it out too much but on the top part you'll see a green pickup truck and a red ladder truck that'll be the town side that has 1 10,000g split tank between gas and Diesel uh below you'll see a passenger van and school bus that'll be shared by uh case and ABR um School District that has a 10,000g gas tank and a 5,000g diesel tank um and the intent of this is to have one-way traffic in um looking into pumps potentially that would be able to reach from one side to the other so you don't have two buses or a bus and a van facing each other you just have continuous flow through one uh Direction so that's currently being worked through um and bid documents are on their way as well 53 River Street the uh favorite project that just continues we are um currently in a soil remediation phas so when the contractor began removing the facilities and the foundations of some of the buildings um and then tested the soil there was Aus containing material found and a large portion and it was found for about 900 tons that was since removed and remediated um that was funded primarily through an additional appropriation from the dam and seaw wall Grant from the state they awarded us an additional $150,000 uh late in FY 24 that allowed us to complete that uh once that was removed uh additional testing of the soil underneath that material was uh came back positive for some other material and now we're working towards uh remediating and disposing that soil that's about 150 plus tons uh We've identified that we're we're probably going to need additional funding and we'll be coming in front of the board at a later date um we on the bright side we do currently have $225,000 that's dedicated solely for construction that consists of $200,000 from CPC appropriation in uh for FY 25 and a generous uh earmark from representative Cena and the FY 25 budget so that has given us a pretty good start on construction uh the numbers that we've received are a little old so once we have this new uh issue remediated with the soil we'll move towards construction and start identifying what that dollar amount looks like uh we have been looking at different grants um we've missed a couple de lines of some of the grants uh by the time we started talking about them they've unfortunately passed for deadlines so we are keeping our eyes open to see if there's any additional funding uh possibilities out there and I believe that's it yes that's it thank you David so I think on slide two you said the uh for sidewalks you said um bidding complete for High Street bidding for high stre Street for what I'm going to have to double check what that means because that confused me when I said it because High Street has a continuous sidewalk yeah unless there's some repair or something which I'm not aware of but um yeah um Let me let me double back lble double check what that what that was intended to mean thanks is there only thing I can think of we did the safety audit maybe some of the intersection there were intersection improvements with the sidewalks anyway I'd be interested to know what that is thank you Alyssa thank you that was fabulous to have an update even if some of it was not so great news um I also had a question about the sidewalks um my question was if High Street is out to bid and Willow and Parker were listed separately does that mean that town staff are going to be working on that as as they did with Taylor or or is that going to be contracted just curious so uh the DPW team I think uses a combined effort for things that make sense for them to work on and and things that make sense to contract I I don't know exactly the plan but I can get back to you on that and I think I do think Cory it would be good to have Corey come back because he's got other things going on that you you'd want to know about too in terms of the work he's doing on traffic safety that we didn't mention here so we could have a more comprehensive update on public works alone okay yeah that'd be good and I and I was also curious if Town staff um were going to be doing the Stonewall at Gardner because they have done a fabulous job with the Stonewall on Taylor I don't quite understand why it's so wide um but I'm assuming it doesn't look like from the the plans that Gardener field is going to be that wide but since they have that um knowhow now maybe we can use that to to do that and Contracting out that is the plan for that is part of how we're able to do it if if they can if we can do it with our resources we wouldn't have the funding to do it otherwise so that is the plan um and then I had one more question um because the sewer extension work is going to be through 2025 as is Kelly's Corner um so I'm wondering when does the route to 27 work begin is it all going to be done at the end of 2020 or are we going into 2026 the Route 2 and 27 work meaning the ramps so that that is very early uh it's not at 25% yet so I think the state needs to take that to 25% have a designed public hearing with with all the public input and then I don't know how quickly it would happen but I'd be very surprised if they started it before this project ended so basically we're going to be in a construction zone in that general area for a number of years any more questions sure Jim um I couldn't quite tell from the diagram where is the new fuel Depot going to be so if you're oh sorry go ahead Tom if you're coming into the driveway to the public works facility now if you if you can picture that it'll be to the left okay um and they've already started some yeah it'll be to the left Jim um maybe this a question for Dean or John um is there uh now that you have a designer for the DPW building um and owners project manager is there an agreed on um of cost structure that you're trying to hit um I mean I don't one reason we took a step back from the project was because it was too much so do we know do we have a are you working with a general idea of how much is enough or Dean so at at this point um you know there was that very detailed feasibility study that was done a couple of years ago and we're some of the internal work that's being done between West and Samson PMA and Town staff is to scrub through the feasibility study see if there's anything that is excessive um and sort of confirm a lot of the assumptions that were made at that point that said you know the the cost preliminary cost estimate we had back then you know now that's two and a half almost three years old so all of those prices have gone up um I think it's at this point it's more important to make sure that we get the right design rather than come up with an arbitrary figure of this is how much we want to spend um I'll point out that in 1968 when they designed the existing building at the last minute the uh select Selectmen at that time um lost their nerve and cut back the uh size of the building by oneir and the building committee at that time w War them that the building would be inadequate before the bond was paid off the bond was paid off I believe probably in uh sometime prior to 1980 we've been living with it since then um so you know that's the problem with coming up with a number first and design later so um yeah it's it's going to be an expensive building there is no question of that uh in the feasibility study and some of the other materials Western Samson put together they looked at similar size buildings done recently and similar siiz towns and uh yeah it's not as much as an elementary school but more than the North Acton fire station so there's a it's a range somewhere between 14 million and 120 million hopefully closer to 14 but more like 40 I think is we start thinking about it any more questions okay thank you for that update that that those were helpful so 13 discuss potential policy regarding Town Council review of Citizen petition articles did did we skip number 12 oh did we skip something oh ah did I do that intentionally no no I'm sorry consider next steps for potential leaf blower bylaw David so um I added to the the the so uh but six six months ago or so um we had a couple rounds uh of a discussion at uh at the board and there was a we made changes to the draft at that time and we're coming back with another uh draft for us to optimize further um that that draft um uh is in the in the packet um uh so uh I I would propose you know that in order to get the the wide variety of opinions here that that are in town that we continue with the process that we had started on um last fall uh and and that is uh make final tweaks at that up to the draft maybe the next meeting and then having you know the the chair willing uh having a a um a hearing here where we can you know get input from everybody um and and and tweak tweak it still further um so um I I think that the the citizens petition did not take into account feedback that we had already heard from various Town committees and and the select board um and so uh I would like to have a more um inclusive project where we where we incorporate opinions from a lot of points of points of view thank you Jim um yeah I I I think that's exactly right um the kind of people we might want to hear from either in written statements or um or you know verbal testimony at a public hearing would include um you know there were at least four amendments that were going to be offered on the floor so the authors of those amendments uh which included members of you know Town boards and committees uh I'd love to hear from um uh Town staff uh either the Departments that would be impacted by by implementing the bylaw or uh uh the staff that might be responsible for um you know enforcing it so both both sides both sides you know have interesting staff uh implications that uh I'd like to hear from staff about and uh I'd love to hear from um uh a person or two from uh you know another town that's already passed the bylaw and is is living with it in case there's you know lessons to be learned um and I'd be happy to help with you know locating one or more of those types of people if that's helpful Alyssa as soon as we're yeah so this draft is dated February 18th so is this the original draft that you brought to the board David and second okay second well I mean the most recent draft you haven't Incorporated any changes um but you did incorporate feedback from Council and green Advisory board if I remember correctly yeah yes and I think two of the Amendments that would have been offered to town meeting are already in this got it in in that draft okay thanks yeah I think that's a good way to go I I applaud Jim saying we should include Town staff with this I think you know that some of our grounds Keepers might have some really practical ideas that we should understand first how a change like this might impact our own operations and also might uh might illuminate some of the problems that contractors might have if this was to be passed um but I I think coming out of this hopefully we'll have a law that will get voted up or down and we won't get into a situation with you know potentially two competing laws on town meeting floor because you know what happens when you do that it just pushes it off another year and another year um I did notice with the draft you sent there I think in addition to the other edits there's probably got to be some timing edits that have to be incorporated as well um just because it didn't happen in May um but you know I I think that's a good way to proceed with it um and you know try to get this nailed down um this fall so that we don't have to worry about it at the last minute um like we did last year thank you any other questions [Music] um we don't have a fall town meeting yet but we there are reasons why we might have a fall town meeting so preparing this on the early side does seem wise to me too so that we would be ready in case we wanted to put that on that fall meeting warrant David does the board want me to continue with this or does someone else want to pick it up and Shepherd it I mean I'm happy to take it Forward um um we know we kind of kind of got preempted by the citizens petition I can arrange for the things that we've you know you you guys have mentioned today um um but or if someone else prefers you know the board prefers someone else to do it that's okay too is there anyone else that would like to take it on or are we good with David continuing Jim are you I'm no I'm fine with David doing this I'm also happy to help if it's I mean I think that David and I had interesting disagreements both on the politics and some of the technical aspects of it so it could be useful to have the two of us you know sort of uh talk those through offline and then come bring back something that's that that that meets the board but we could also do that in public if it's it may be simpler to have one person do the Drafting and what do you think timing for a public hearing what so maybe I can talk with you about the scheduling of that uh offline maybe not in the summer maybe one of the September meetings just to because I think maybe more people would would be uh around um I I would be inclined maybe not to update this draft until after the input but it depending on what you guys want um uh you know I think this is maybe a reasonable starting point of course as Dean says that we can tell people that the the the dates would have to change um but um you know I think rather than us editing again we should wait uh for the public input input that sounds great any more questions Alyssa sorry so gentleman obviously there will be a public hearing I'm very much in favor of that but I don't I don't see why the dates need to change because it's 2027 that's almost three years out so that's the first date January 2027 and then the next one is for residences 2028 Dean yeah one of the one of the dates in there um I particularly concerned about was regarding uh Town purchasing of equipment which you know that would if this passes at town meeting next year the cut off point for town to purchase that equipment would have been 6 months prior to town meeting and we can argue about the rest of the implementation yes sir if you want to come to the microphone and just state your name and your address uh my name is Eric Hudson I live at 160 neok Hill Road I'm also on the green Advisory Board um thank you very much I'm glad this is in discussion tonight appreciate it happening um I think the biggest thing I myself and the green Advisory Board would like to be a part of is to help move this forward um I'm not going to say as quickly as possible but but you know don't want to have it go to the next town meeting and then have something happen where it it can't be um either passed or not passed um so however we can help we'd like to um one of the things I'd like to encourage as well as you know participants in the discussion are you know possibly someone from the Board of Health there as well because we know that's one of the biggest concerns about uh gas powered leaf blowers as well maybe someone who's concerned about noise in the town could come as well um we talked about other Town participants I think it'd be great to have a landscaper who has made the transition come um we know that that's one of the biggest um hurdles is the expense The Upfront expense for landscapers but we also know that two or three down years down the road they actually have a financial benefit from making these Investments um so if possible someone from another town uh who has made the transition and is involved in the Landscaping industry um who could attest that would be great so again any way that um I I can help uh or the green Advisory board can help we're here thank you thank you just a just a quick comment When comparing us to other towns it gets a little complicated because most other towns that have done this have had a noise bylaw and they added this to the noise bylaw and so it's not the same as this um I mean it'd be interesting to know but I just want to clarify that it's not Apples to Apples so moving on policy regarding Town Council review of Citizen petition articles David yeah uh thank you yeah I I brought this up to the the chair for discussion to see if there was interest on the part of the board so previously boards had a con uh the select board had a convention that the Town Council would review um citizens petitions after they were certified by the clerk in order to explain to the town what the effect of the citizens petition would be um and uh you know whether it U the effect was enforcable whether the effect was a resolution or or or whatever um in addition the convention was the Town Council um uh would it you know would not normally assist in the writing of the petition unless the board voted do that um uh I I think it's important that we make that a policy um so that um it's the it's it's what we do rather than a and a rather than just a convention um so for several reasons one is uh Cost Containment right legal work is expensive and um and shouldn't be spent without the board's approval right I you know I don't think it should be as a matter of course that uh Council help um people write their petitions second is fairness to all petitioners um um uh so that uh you know we're not helping some petitioners and and not helping others are helping some and not helping uh others um and also um uh finally uh the Town Council is uh really the attorney of this board and the town manager and um assisting a resident with a petition is odd if this board appro opposes the petition right which is why um I'm in favor of doing that only if the board votes to um have Town Council assist them so anyway um I I think this is important which is why I brought it up and um happy to hear from other members of the board Dean yeah i' I'd like to supplement uh David's comments on this um and I I firmly agree that you know the convention we've had was a wise one and we should um incorporate it embrace it um formally so some of the other issues could be that a petitioner might decide that they want to file a petition that is in total opposition to the stated goals of the select board um we could certainly have a situation uh I think there's a pention one out there now where there's a Citizens petition that might seek to overturn decisions that were made at town meeting and um finally the situation we've had in the past um I think in a recent town meting I think we had something like 10 citizens petitions and just to open up the coffers uh at Anderson and creger and just say well okay anybody who's kind of mulling over the idea about filing out citizen petition go talk to our Attorneys at you know umpty up hundreds of dollars an hour um is just not being a reasonable uh financial decision I think if if folks want the assistance of Town Council they should come before us explain the situation on a Case by casee basis and if we as a board think that it's a a reasonable item to investigate we could put it on town meeting floor ourselves and go through the normal legal vetting process so I'm 100% on David's side on this one Jim um I just wanted to apologize for misunderstanding the board's General policy in this area since I was the person who uh you know sent Paul campus to Town Council via Town manager to look over the leaf plower bylaw which I think I think is what triggered David's concern that this was going wrong uh so I I get now uh that that was not appropriate uh so given that you know I I think this General policy makes sense I had a couple questions about the edges of it uh that maybe David had ideas about um the first one was I assume it's fine for individual board members to give informal advice to people about about because that's not spending Town Council money um the the case in the middle that I wasn't sure how to handle was um uh so somebody is thinking about writing uh a petition and they they they like call you up John or they go into the clerk's office and say oh what what do I do here uh you know what what you know I not some help in how to figure out this out uh we might want to talk through what our advice is about in those situations if we if we need to make advice that may just be beyond what the Board needs to do uh you know clerks and managers can you know do what they want um the other thing I heard you say David I just want to make sure I heard it right is that if the board has a public discussion and decides that that's appropriate then then that could that we could go ahead with that okay which I think makes sense I wish I had done that Alyssa so I think it's a good idea to memorialize that in a policy but I wonder if instead of Simply a policy on the use of Town Council along the lines of what Jim just brought up if we can create a guide to Citizens petition with that information um when I brought a citizen petition a couple years ago I searched on the town website for instructions and didn't find anything other than the petition um so luckily I was able to find a guide on another Town's website I can't remember the town right now but that led me to make an appointment with the town manager and talk with him about my petition and I got some other good ideas about going and and getting endorsements from boards and committees who would have an interest in it so I think that having that information added to the the convention that we hold on use of Town Council and when it's appropriate um and when it's not would be helpful to Residents in town because it just it saves so much time if people know how to word them how to go about getting um folks educated getting support making it better before they collect signatures there's so many headaches for us for staff and for the people bringing the petitions and for town meeting when when there isn't that really good information and guidance we can't make people follow but at least we can provide it in hopes that um it will be David um uh I'm really unboard with that but I would like them to be too separate documents I think the policy is for the five of us um that uh really um and um uh and having a guide to I mean I have I'm sure people ask you know as Jim Jim mentioned it that ask us how to do that I give people advice on how to do petitions it's really hard to do a petition that's a bylaw um without an attorney um uh and you know uh as as Dean mentioned the the ban the bag folks have on multiple occasions come to the board and asked us to take it and we have taken it and brought it forward and um that's kind of what happened with the leaf blower thing except that then it was taken back um uh and um so uh so that one way for do a bylaw is to make a present convince the us and have us bring it uh uh to town meeting um another way is to find um you know an example in another Massachusetts town because then you're pretty sure that it passes state law or um but even then it can conflict with our Charter or other things so it it gets it gets complicated um but I um I I don't know how people want to proceed I would be happy to draft the policy and a guide the guide will take longer um uh the policy I think is one pager um a guide is not a one-pager um but I'm I'm happy to start on it I don't know I don't know how we would want to do that exactly again I'm happy to draft it but there's some maintenance in that you know on an ongoing basis or incorporating new ideas or you know after you go through one town meeting cycle saying oop that wasn't the best way we should change that um so anyway um whatever whatever the board wants Jim um yeah I think it makes sense to do this in two phases to have a simple simple policy that can be done pretty quickly um the guide uh what occurs to me about that is that um the town moderator referred to being most of the way through writing a guide about uh citizen peti s now presumably that was from a certain point of view you know how it works well with the moderator uh so you know we we have additional information to add um but it might be uh before we do any work on drafting that second part I would recommend checking in with Joanne and seeing what she's got ready so far and I welcome your offer to draft it thanks for that offer David for the policy yeah everybody agre yeah and I see that we have a call-in a resident you should be able to speak hi thank you chair for letting me speak um as a person who's done a lot of petitions it's my understanding that the past process was limited the legal review of petition language before Gathering signatures was limited only to the legality and limit limiting Town's risk should it pass so the suggestions that I've personally gotten from uh Town Council were like well can you put a comma here because then it would be more clear in case it passes that all of this use of Town Council um it wasn't me hasn't been me um I've done almost all non-binding um but those binding petitions that I have done um my use of town resources excuse me use of town attorney resources has been very limited to what traditionally has been only to limit the town's risk should it pass so please um consider that in your um your uh policy or proposed or draft policy that you're about to draft uh that the Cost Containment is cheap it's cheaper what I was explained you know 20 years ago was that it was cheaper to get the legal review first before signatures were gotten than to let somebody go off and do whatever without any review and get something and then it passes and then there's complications relative to the language so I urge you to allow that kind of uh review before signatures are gathered without any kind of Select board um need for a select board approval which is counter to the point of a citizen's petition because if the select board were in favor of doing something you wouldn't need to do a petition uh so in other words limit it like so that the um Town attorney is not giving strategic advice and is not helping craft the language but is only suggesting Ed itss uh to make it legally or binding uh so not to assist them with their strategic efforts but to limit Town's liability so and U thank you very much for that uh the opportunity to comment thank you so are we leaving here with David drafting a policy see yes thumbs up moving on to consider adding a standing meeting agenda item called meeting evaluation I put this back on because you know they were pleased to put it back on for a discussion um and I what you don't see here is the votes recorded document which I think um is it was it's it's a helpful tool that I think I'm going to uh continue doing um but let's chat about the meeting evaluation Jim happy to get this started because it's because I brought it Forward while I was chair um so I think it's useful for a number of things um one is that if there are um difficult or challenging parts of a meeting where uh um you know people not might not have felt heard or might have felt that In the Heat of the Moment they said something that wasn't appropriate it's kind of a quick chance to uh to to clear out the connection between us as board members um so I think that's valuable rather than having um you know things linger um uh now's plenty of meetings where that doesn't happen so I think there's plenty of times where an eval is going to be pretty you know brief it doesn't have much to it but I think it's good to have it in there as a habit so when it's needed it's it's helpful um I think it's also good for um uh sort of right at the end of the meeting to say out loud what um what follow-up actions should happen because sometimes we sort of say those in the midst of a meeting without really making sure they're they're they're noted uh so it helps with that and um I think it's also good if we're um you know to learn from what you know what work what worked well and what didn't work well just have a quick conversation about that so we can learn for next time um uh my experience doing that was that um I I I I never felt um you know animosity or meanness in the comments uh you know I didn't feel put down his chair I did feel like people had good suggestions about things to do that I liked learning from um and I guess I would suggest that um you know um uh Fran if you happen to be concerned about getting you know negative or uncomfortable comments I can say that um anytime people spoke at meetings it seemed like they were very careful to phrase thing in terms of you know constructive criticism um not you know personal attacks um it's also a habit that I have with other organizations that I'm a part of and it's become a regular part of the culture that seems to be helpful Dean so some of the issues I have with the meeting valuation um know going through some of your points I think that going in if we have a lengthy meeting you know 3 four hours and an item has been discussed and a decision was made either voted or you know sort of a consensus sort of thing at 8:00 at night and members of the public are watching this and they think okay it's done and then suddenly to effectively reopen some of those items at 11:00 at night I think that disenfranchises the folks that are watching us so I think there's a real issue there um I think there certainly can be a Temptation among some people myself included that you know you realize it you might have said something badly so he want to you know make up for it but you know you again um what you said is on the record and it stays on the record um and you know trying to rephrase things later on to make nice I don't think is a proper thing to do at 11: or 11:30 at night when most of the public aren't watching anymore I think as far as keeping track of the decisions were made and the actions that should be taken next that's why we have a clerk and we have an executive secretary that take very detailed minutes and I would hope that if if during the course of discussion if if I think I've been charged with doing something having a followup uh I make a note of it just as David just did as far as you know he's been tasked with coming up with the an a statement about access to Town Council I think that's something that you should be able to do um and keep track of those things and finally as far as as issues with you know the dynamic between all of us um if if I have an issue with one of my colleagues with the way you carried out you know phras something or ran a meeting um frankly I don't think that 11 o'clock at night is a time to talk about it in a public session I think if I've got a problem with the way you conducted yourself um that's something that should be done one-on-one um I just you know praise in public criticize in private and I think every one of my colleagues here you know I've I've drunk a number of cups of coffee with all of you over the last number of years and you know there are lots of times when we don't agree with one another but I think you know we should be collegial enough to be able to you know talk to somebody in a private setting about how they might have handled something so for all of those reasons I think that the uh bringing this meeting evaluation back I think it's it's fraught with possible issues and I would not be in favor of it Alyssa thank you um so I think that the points that Dean just made about addressing in private oneon-one over a cup of coffee is um that's a really good point I've done that before um also trying to go back and address something that happened or was said a few hours earlier um not a good idea I've done that myself and regretted it so I think that having a meeting evaluation to focus on the last couple of things that you mentioned Jim instead of the first about clearing the air um but follow up because sometimes it's not so clear um and also pointing out um something that was that was instrumental in making the meeting run more smoothly more orderly more effective um so one example that I remember was uh David in one meeting EV valuation you said hey Jim when you said to people anybody who wants to speak against this because it was obvious that we were going to vote unanimously to approve it come on up to the mic and everybody sat back down again so that made our meeting more efficient and and we ended earlier than we would have had we allowed the public to comment on something that we were just going to approve anyway um and I think uh Dean a couple of times I remember you asking the town manager to follow up on something that uh resident had mentioned during resident concern and that's not something that we typically respond to in the moment and I don't know if it's problematic to do it later and it still violates ml but you know when Dave lunger brought the registar um issue to us or when Scott smers brought the the clicker um voting you know I voted three times did they all count um so directing staff to follow up on that maybe they were going to do it anyway but I just I like the fact that it's said out loud um one thing that happened at our very last meeting was when I had asked um for information about town staff time that had been spent on the mcmanis manor project um John said that he hadn't had time to do that but it would be interesting to do if the board directed and then that was the end and had there been a meeting evaluation I could have said did the board agree that that was the direction because I was the only one who said it so it wasn't clear that that was the direction that the entire board wanted so I think that the Jim you said having the meeting evaluation there for when it's necessary is good and there were many occasions when nobody had anything to report during the meeting evaluation but I wholeheartedly agree that we need to be really careful in in how it's used and not to clear the air or try and explain something that was said hours earlier I think that's those were all good points that you made and I just didn't want to get rid of it without having a discussion I don't feel that strongly about it but I do think that it's a very valuable tool when it's used judiciously of course so you know I have to say that I agree with everything that's been said so far I mean not I I kind of agree with what everybody everybody uh said f but first of all I'll say it's the style that the chair if the if the chair the chair if the chair wants this or wants to call it something else I I mean I'm not sure that I would call it meeting EV valuation um at when I was chair I I'm not sure I did this consistently but before accepting a motion to adjourn I would ask people if they had anything else members if they had anything else um you know I you know I don't know what we'd call it but I I do think it comes up you know not only I I completely agree with maybe this isn't the the form to clear the air but not only is there the kind of follow-ups that um Alyssa mentioned um I think during the uh movern site plan special permit it was brought up that we might want to control car dealerships and at the end of that meeting I'm pretty sure that I asked whether we should bring that up separately right and we did we ended up doing that and um so that things can Branch sometimes and we just need to record the branch of course I could have just done that with the chair right could have just gone back to Jim and said this was brought up at the meeting do you want to add it to a future agenda right so it's not necessary to do it unless it it is a the biggest benefit to me and I again I don't know what I'd call it I don't think meeting evaluation is the right thing it's a place to do final discussion on things in uh a a context that doesn't violate oml where it might involve multiple of us to be involved like do we feel that we need to follow up on changing the Zoning for card dealerships if everybody goes no then we're we're done right if if some of us say yeah that might be worth following up on then the chair knows to add that to a future agenda um so um whereas the chair can't go around and ask what do you think about cilious what do you think you know so um um I think there's some value in a final discussion um I'm not sure I would call it the two most important things to to me were the uh the follow-ups and the logistics of the meeting you know the thing with the comments and there were a couple other cases where you know in the course of uh something there's something that maybe we could have done that would have made the meeting more efficient so my reason for removing it was just because I thought it just extended the meeting a little bit longer and I wanted things to run more efficiently what I'm hearing is maybe I should do um a a recap after each agenda item instead of a meeting evaluation because we're still on the topic and we're not rehashing because I I think I just don't think we have to talk about the meeting after the meeting I'm sorry that's just my feeling am I making sense so I need to do maybe rework my chair abilities and I feel like we're evaluating this meeting right now Jim I just wanted to agree with the statement that I I think this is entirely depends on the you know chair style and chair goals um and um so I I understand why I did it and I I think it might not make sense for other people um I agree that it would be very powerful it's not something I did but I think it would be very powerful to have that moment of recap at the end of each agenda item it does it does it puts it at the right time like as you know because I think Dean has this legitimate concern about you know suddenly talking about something three hours later um it's it's when things are fresh in people's mind if there is something about the process or the content or the followup you know this is time to take a breath make sure we've got it said before moving on to the next item I think I think that serves you know 80% of the purpose of a meeting evil by just putting it right there as a recap and um I don't think I availed myself as much as I could have of the you know the oneon-one conversations uh so I'll I'll I'll just put that in my toolbook too it's like oh I'll take a note about you know how you know something I thought and then I'll you know contact one of you and say you know G when you did that thing maybe it helped or it didn't help or you know let's let's I'll let people know if I think it's a big enough to talk about it's fun to pick up the phone once in a while yeah yeah I I hate it but I'm willing to yeah yeah Alyssa oh I I'm not going to continue on with with the meeting evaluation but I I will continue on with the the votes recorded I think that's a useful document awesome I was just going to say I feel like you do often do a little recap at the end of you do because you ask us are are we so are we moving on to agenda item nine you don't say moving on to agenda well sometimes you do but it's it's definitely not a decision by Fran we're moving on you are checking you are that was only tonight you check in with us but having it be called I was going to suggest meeting review but I like recap better so just after each agenda item agenda I think that makes sense yeah and that's what you because we're still hot on the topic and yeah great so to consent items um approve meeting minutes June 3rd and 17th 2024 hold approve executive session minutes July 2nd 2024 approve a one-day alcoholic beverage license application Deborah dorer Nara Park Bath House Pavilion August 11th 2024 accept donation for $150 from Bonnie agar Lobel towards the Acton dog park move to approve consent items 16 through 18 inclusive second second all in favor I I and then Dean you held yes um yeah so very minor change um issue for the meeting minutes on June 3rd item 10 uh let's see one two three four lines down Mr Charter offered to submit comments from board members and felt their con submit comments from board members um I don't believe I was the one that offered to submit them and I know that Jim had uh actually done that so Jim should get the credit that's it we need to move to make that change I would move to amend the minutes to say Mr Snider Grant often to submit comments from board members I'll second that all in favor I I I move to approve meeting minutes uh from June 3rd and June 17th as edited second all in favor I I move to adjourn oh there's a question from Lisa I withdraw my motion um since the representative from eversource never logged back in I recommend that the board uh continue the hearing to August 26 2024 at 7:20 p.m. is that so moved uh I'll second but I have a question yeah um is August 26th our only August meeting yeah okay that's my only question yep so we are continuing we have to call for the vote you moved I seconded you you call all in favor all in favor Sor I was forgetting to call for the vote now I move to a journ second all in favor I I