this government meeting is brought to you by eastworks and our local cable subscribers welcome to the samton city council meeting for Wednesday April 17th the meeting tonight is being recorded and broadcast by edia on shatter channel 193 and live streaming or their web page is Hampton media.org cons Consolers are participant in this meeting are gathering in hybrid on the or order extended until March 20 2025 which allow us to do so I remind both the member of the city council and the public participating remote remind mute on the recognize by the city council president also for the members of the public please remove your camera for the direction of this meeting unless you are participating in public speak time or the public hearing thank you this meeting is now called to order Barbara Connie Dam here s Derby Gomez here JP kazinski Tom Peak here Brad Riley here Tamara Smith here JT Terrell here ow and pres please stand up for the of to the flag of the United States of America and to the it stands indivisible for I would take uh motion to approve the minutes of April 3r so moved second I have a motion and a second to approve the minutes of April 3r any further discussion see none Barbara Connie denam hi Omar Gomez Tom Peak hi Brad Riley obain all right Tamar Smith hi JT Terell hi and Owen Zer hi motion passes public speak time this is the opportunity to address the conso regarding any Topic in all list on the public hearing if you are here to communicate anything to the council please go to the Ping you're going to have three minutes state your name and address for the record for those ones who are here to talk about the resolution this is the time to do it because it's not a public hearing that's going to be at the end of the meeting so if you want to participate about uh the resolution this will be the uh the time to talk to the council thank you which resolution is that okay hi my name is Kathy wizinsky I live at 22 Overlook Drive I am one of the co-founders of East Anam active citizens we have formed a group because there are many citizens that are concerned that no matter how many times they speak up about something their concerns are basically ignored when information is brought up at public hearings like at the new city hearings or at the about Main Street or any of the other developments the city just goes along and does whatever they choose to do rather than what citizens are concerned about um we are encouraging citizens to participate and we hope that you will start to listen thank you thank you anyone else couple of raised hands on one second on the being recognized by the city council president I'm going to let people in person talking first and then the people that are uh participating remote I will call your name okay hi I'm Carol broer at 72 Oliver Street um I reiterate what Kathy has brought up eastampton active citizens um the Facebook page that's a good communication but again we also we are starting to realize and um that we need to have a voice and we want to be heard I find it very confusing on the website I find it very hard to find the information of when meetings are um where they are it not all of us go can go to the east hampton.gov page and even if you go to that it's very difficult to find it and very difficult I don't want to keep doing PDF files to get alerted so I think there needs to be a better way if it just came right on the eastampton page that these meetings whatever the meetings are the bees this you know everyone that for the public that would be much better because we don't know we would have a bigger voice and a bigger uh turnout and a bigger um presence if we knew and I think that's needs to be corrected um and I want to encourage anybody watching online to go on that page as a way of communication but also each of you have your your email addresses public and you have your phone numbers public and I want to encourage people in your own districts and your own your own precincts and things contact you all and we expect to get a response and if we don't get a response I think we need to follow through with that um writing emails to each of you in our Precinct or at large and calling we want responses that would show respect to your public that vote you in um so thank you thank you [Music] hello hi my name is Cassie Trager um I'm the conservation agent here at this city uh working with the Conservation Commission but I'm here today to speak in relation to the um resolution proposed to become a b City designation for the city and um the Conservation Commission submitted a letter of support for that measure um but as the conservation agent I also wanted to put forward my support for it and mentioned that the um climate action plan that we've been in the process of developing through the public Outreach that we've done for that many people expressed an interest in having more resources related to what be becoming a b City would provide for us um so I wanted to highlight that was not something that the Conservation Commission would have included in their letter uh was that support that we saw through the public Outreach for the development of the climate action plan and then the last piece I wanted to add is that um the planning department is named as the staff liaison for the B City designation and that I am ready to take on that role um as a design from the planning director when it was still Jeff bag um but if you have any other questions please let me know but otherwise I just want to say I support it thank you thank you good evening I'm Genevie goldleaf I live on Brigs Street in East Hampton and I'm also commenting in support of the B City resolution um I'm an iological landscape designer with a background in environmental science I am an East Hampton homeowner who is working on converting my yard to Native pollinators and I'm also a member of the bees committee um I'm excited that we have this opportunity to implement so many of the recommendations that emerged through the pollinator action plan and the community process that Cassie just spoke about um I think this is a a really wonderful way to deliver on what participants in those meetings brought up um as a Committee Member using the structure and the resources that the B City program offers has already been really helpful for us to identify our priorities and I think having the designation on record will help us communicate what we're trying to achieve and how community members can be a part of that effort in addition to the value of Wildlife and pollinator habitat that the resolution outlines so clearly I also wanted to mention that one of the most effective ways to combat climate grief the sense of futility that a lot of people understandably feel in the face of the urgency of the climate crisis is finding ways to get directly involved in positive climate Solutions and see the impact of that work um creating beautiful and inviting and educational pollinator and wildlife habitats I think are one of the many positive and joyful actions that we can take and getting our community motivated involved and connected is in itself an incredibly important strategy to address climate change in addition to the more concrete outcomes of reducing fossil fuel usage water usage pesticide usage and all of the other ecological services that again the resolution outlines um approving the B City designation and this resolution is an important step towards implementing practical climate mitigation strategies with concrete and visible results towards cultivating Community connections and towards building a more resilient and livable future in our town and I would encourage the council to support the resolution thank you thank you anyone else g hi my name is Jean pow Wilson of 377 Main Street and I wanted to comment on the Main Street rotary traffic I was just driving on Main Street today uh going north on Route 10 and as I was at the intersection I noticed that there was a fire truck coming through uh the opposite direction going towards the rotary when it came to the intersection it uh had to Veer into because of the car in front and it wanted to go to its place very quickly it uh moved into the intersection and then back into that lane going towards the rotary it just made me think today what this week has been the traffic has been fairly light because of vacation but it just made me think about how uh what happened if this is a very crowded intersection a crowded time when all the lanes are full of traffic where would that emergency vehicle go normally the bike lane has a little allowance for cars to Veer to the side to allow the emergency vehicle to pass in this case it just went down that down the one the one uh Lane where I was at near that intersection with Big E but it will get crowded as know as e stampton is very popular so just wondering about that where where is that vehicle going to go if it's just one lane and there's no room with a bike lane on the other side because of those dividers there's no allowance for that little leeway I just wanted to bring that up as a question regarding that traffic plan um to consider given the current configuration with the dividers thank you very much thank you it please I'm anyone else that door is locked I saw a few hands before I don't know if the people was waiting online want to participate in Poli speak time anyone Sean I'm sorry if I mispronounced your name yes Sean Abbott I live at 21 simmer um I am also here in support of the um bcity USA resolution um although Jenny has already spoken lot more eloquently than I am going to be able to um but we are along with the climate crisis we are currently undergoing the sixth mass extinction which is the aprene extinction and a major reason for that is simply that um plants and animals don't have enough habitat anymore we have basically taken over everything um but this is actually as as Jenny was pointing out something that we can have an immediate marked and visible effect on in our own world and our own places where if we just resume planting native plants which is say plants that like evolved in those spaces around all of those other insects and animals um we can provide that habitat that like really helps mitigate the um the extinction that's happening right now and it's uh and being able to see the effects of your actions um is very powerful as you know in order to mitigate sort of like climate despair um and it really helps motivate people to take action so I think it's like very important thing to do by joining in on the zers society B City we gain guidance we gain Community we gain a lot of other folks that will help us figure out how to do things um well and uh and better than we per perhaps could do on our own um so I think it's a it's an extremely worthwhile thing to do allows us to put up signage allows us to join this community of people that are are taking these actions so um I highly uh support the that we become a bity USA uh and uh oh and just one other one other comment we've had in the past a few folks that were concerned that it was you know about honeybees which are actually not a native species and it is very much generally about pollinators so thank you thank you anyone else right have a minute um communication from elected officials boarding committee conselor in him yeah just wanted to let folks know that um we president Gomez and I are going to have the um offer the municipal Leadership Academy again we had it offered but there was a spike in um covid um so we put that on hold and so it's going to start May 9th and we will will work with the um it folks and we will have that application up uh we are uh tomorrow we are still waiting for confirmation from um department heads on the dates that we offered but uh we'd like to move forward with with this particular schedule so that we can have it uh running um uh just after uh and partially during when we have uh budget uh meetings so so that um folks it's information is fresh in their minds so that will be up tomorrow uh and then we'll um move forward with that thank you thank you ccor Riley thank you Mr President um so I wanted to take a moment to congratulate all the students at the East Hampton High School who competed in the annual We the People competition um like so many years past they won the state competition and they just arrived home from Washington DC where they finished 10th place in the entire country um sometimes it feels like we're on the brink of a dynasty with how often uh they perform at this level and um you know though it may seem cliche it really does take a village um so first I wanted to say thank you to Miss Brown for teaching the students everything that you could possibly imagine about the history of our government um and then next I want to say thank you to the student mentors who return year after year to help Miss Brown teach students about what's required to compete at such an elite level um and then I also want to say a very specific thank you to the Bruff who through their philanthropic efforts in leadership in eastampton make the finances of national competitions possible year after year um and then lastly um thank you to the students who compete year after year um your dedication to understanding how governments work uh and how they've evolved over the last few centuries gives me hope that the next generation will be able to hold seats like we have right now and guide our country through tumultuous times with poise Grace and Brilliance um so well done and we're so proud of you thank you any other counselor see none I will take a motion to open public hearing second I have a motion on a second to open public hearing any further discussion see none Barbara Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith hi JT Terell hi Owen Zar hi Connie denim hi motion passes cons um thank you Mr President um yes so the first thing we have uh well the only thing we have in front of us from Finance is uh a request uh to appropriate $70,000 uh from uh Capital stabilization uh to uh the uh to to to improve uh the Ada uh features on the uh Council on Aging parking lot so uh it's an aging parking lot it's uh it has some uh serious problems uh and uh it's honestly probably a uh a very lucky thing that nobody has been uh injured or falling over uh in it uh so uh it's uh I think it it's uh I'm sorry brain it's a good thing uh we voted uh 3 to Zer to uh improve it uh our uh director uh Terell is here if uh if uh if you want to give any more information on it but uh yes we voted 3 to Zer to approve this appropriation and it's a matching CR you want to add something I was wondering if I could actually share screen can I do that if I'm not a co-host um if you're not a co-host no okay um by the can you please your name and your position in the city so that way for the record Cynthia Terrell Council and aging director um so the Council on Aging is asking for funds to supplement a grant from the Massachusetts office of disability for municipal Improvement project Pro as many people know the city's buildings and sites were evaluated found lacking in various areas of accessibility when we had the opportunity to apply for a grant we picked the most doable possible thing in the shortest in a short amount of time which as you've heard councelor Peak speak to is a parking lot and signage project um the we hoped the grant would cover the whole amount and whenever you go out to bid cost go up um there were more things that contractor and we didn't think of until the engineer could really dig into it and a site designer and so we know the project will cost more um and the importance of basically pointing people towards the few accessible features that we have can't be overstated so many times first of all people come into the building asking to buy postage because it really still says US post office across the top better signs will help with that but more importantly better signs will point to where the elevator is and where the parking for the elevator is and then where Van accessible spots that will be newly laid out will be so that's the that's the project thank you any consel I have any questions I just denim yeah thank you um Mr President I just wanted to ask again and I asked this question the other day but I just think it's an important question for the community to to know that so often times um when we in our own homes have construction workers or contractors come in um sometimes cost ends up being much higher than we anticipate um Etc and there is a I know that the the bid went out and people bid on a particular timeline and sometimes those things don't always happen the way that we think they want to or that we want them to um and so it has to be done by a particular date and so how are we going to manage making sure that we have the receipts in in order to make sure that we're not losing those funds because we didn't meet the deadline right the the bid timeline that was developed by the procurement um Department states that all of the receipts must be in by June June 14th and we can submit them to the state by July 9th the work has to be you know completed by in in a timely way that's written into the the um proposal and then in terms of cost overruns there's um according to DPW engineering um and the others involved in planning this out there's contingency built into this um so it should come in under the 70,000 plus just under 33,000 of the Grant and then any funds remaining would go back for city council approval to go back into Capital stabilization thank you any other coun anyone from the public have any questions or comments about this appropriation um pleas Carol broer 72 Oliver Street about Council of the Aging um I just I recently joined the the Council of the Aging thing um and I want to say one thing about that handicap thing because you can't tell where the elevator is I was new to going there and new to the parking lot I didn't even know there was parking behind there and I was think where the heck am I going to park I can't walk from Big E over there um but so the elevator thing and then where of the elevator it was kind of scary going in there cuz it was like oh my gosh I'm out here back nobody's out here but also um trying to get in and out of the handicapped parking lot in the back it's so tight back there so that's all I wanted to comment that I agree with the signage thing thank you anyone else in person before I go remote uh Leslie you're muted still muted and I don't have the ability to unmute people here so yeah she know it's on the bottom oh is it off now yes okay good thank you um my only question or remark is how many spaces are we going to lose with the ballards and the um I assume van spaces um as it is we impose on Big E all the time they have allowed us to park in their overflow I know that a lot of people just normally go and park in Biggie's main lot um how many spaces are we going to lose and is the Department of Public Works going to actually remove the snow that they put in the parking lot and block off two to three spaces every winter Cindy okay uh So currently there are 10 very narrow spots in the back and what we are going to have is eight spots plus the van access lanes and then there's a little tiny triangle at either end of that row that will um that can't be a rectangle anymore so those little triangles will be striped as not parking spaces so um and then on and then if the whole project is done around the other side the Big E side where the staff Park that will go down from three plus one tiny unusable spot to three spots plus striping for pedestrians to get in and out of the built room for them to get in and out of the building since that's also a fire exit and then the van spaces we have two van spaces on the corner of Union and high and we have two van spaces along the guard rail those will remain for the vans so in total we will lose two spots in order to create what is true Ada parking which is to have a van Access Lane that van Access Lane will also allow people to have a way to back into a spot that no one's allowed to park in which right now that's an issue if all the spots are full there's no place to turn to back into and get out easily more easily and then the ballards are not taking up any parking spaces the ballards are to protect the building where people have been hitting the building and also to extend there's a guard rail and with ballards um at the end of the guard rail it will be clear that this is not a vehicle access in into the Big E uh parking lot you can't leave that way it's definitely not perfect um there's only one Ada access spot in front of the council and aging on Union Street it'd be great if there were more but um and then the other thing to note um to be completely transparent so right now there are number of quote handicap spots that are signed as such but they're not done properly we will end up with two handicap spots of the eight that are done properly and so there will be fewer handicapped spots and the reason for that is that once you go down to fewer spots if almost all of the spots are now handicapped most of the time people with no placards won't be able to park in most of the spots so this was the Compromise that was made yeah thank you anyone else see none she already spoke um Leslie I give you already the opportunity so sorry I was just going to ask for clarification but that's fine Tom peek all right I'll make this request in the form of a motion uh request is hereby made for approval of the following appropriation amount requested $70,000 to be transferred from Capital stabilization $70,000 to be transfered to fiscally year 24 Municipal Ada Improvement Grant the amount requested will be used for the following purpose Council aging parking lot improvements Paving and striping site design site installation expenses for which exceed the FY 25 Municipal Ada Improvement Grant of 32,7 $797 second I have much second to the supplement appropriation of $70,000 for from the capital stabilization for consulant aging parking lot Improvement any further discussion see none Barbara Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith hi JT Terell hi Owens ER hi Connie denam hi Omar Gomez hi motion passes thank you councelor Peak um councelor s thank you Mr President we have a utility poll request uh for you utility poll Enthusiast this is probably not as exciting as the one we discussed in our in a recent meeting but it's pretty simple and straightforward uh this is a request for a jointly ow pole uh by Verizon to be moved about 100 um about 33 feet from its current location uh this pole is situated uh right next to a curb cut at the site of the future Dunkin Donuts at the end of East Street on the route five side um and for I believe a variety of reasons as well as to uh provide reliable both power and Telecommunications as well as um to uh provide better line of sight uh and other issues surrounding the construction there uh it's being requested to be moved 33 ft West which is basically just at the other side of the the curb cut uh and there's a stake there uh the poll has the poll currently is where um it it currently lies has not yet been installed uh we met on this uh there are only two members of the uh property committee present at that time uh and we recommended made a recommendation that the city council uh vote in favor of this 20 uh there is a representative here right now from Verizon Mr fer is on the line uh Mr President I'll turn it back to you any Cel have any questions or comments about this uh poll location see none anyone from the public have any questions or comments about this poll location see none celor s uh thank you Mr President um I moved to approve the petition filed by Verizon New England Incorporated NSTAR Electric Company doing business as eversource energy to relocate a jointly owned midspan pole number t.1 15E e121 to a point on the north side of East Street approximately 170 ft Westerly from the central line of Wilder Avenue the new location will also be approximately 33 ft west of the Pole's current location and also that the petitioners agree to reserve space for one cross arm at a suitable point on each of said polls for the fire and police telephone signal wires belonging to the municipality and used by it exclusively for municipal purposes that's a motion second I have a motion a second for the utility poll location request any further discussion see none Barbara Brad Riley I Tamara Smith hi JT Terell hi Owen zeret hi Connie Denham hi Omar Gomez hi Tom peakes denim thank you denim thank you Mr President um so this is a hold over from well not a holdover the process was started last term into this term looking at emergency message centers um and we had recently had a joint meeting with the um planning board um and they passed um the this amendment to the zoning ordinance um unanimously uh but essentially this is to expand the use of electronic message centers into the downtown business and um Highway business areas um there was concern about the brightness of the message centers which uh standards were to follow the Federal Highway standards but um after discussion given the fact that some of these might be in um potential neighborhoods with the use at a at a church uh they moved it to changed it to U Mass do standards um and then the other important piece of this is that um Electronics mess Center shall not um Market off premise goods and services and so that was um something that um was uh important for um this particular Amendment although um we will be working with um organizations businesses that have these to um for opportunities to make public service announcements um and they will be coordinated uh through the city for those particular um um messages as needed if if in an emergency um but uh we have um associate planner Dylan Maxfield here who he can provide additional information um for the community Dylan uh yeah that was a pretty much summed it all up the only thing I'll add just um the uh language in there about not allowing for the off the sale of off- premises um merchandise was uh we didn't want to see uh electronic signs essentially becoming uh Billboards for rent somebody could put it up there you know if nothing otherwise says you can't so the idea is to relate to services that are being provided there or um public messages but to uh to not allow for these signs to become um uh General Billboards essentially thank you that's yep that's it and so the uh committee uh voted 3 to zero to approve uh the same language that the planning board thank you any celor have any questions or comments before going PE I just want to say as a former member of the ordinance uh committee I'm glad to see this finally get out I think this was kind of a glaring uh an issue that we when we first noticed this there there was there was some issues where it had we were using these things but they had been broadly banned so in order to bring ourselves into compliance with the rule we quickly um allowed municipal use of them but it never really sat right with me the idea of the city being allowed to use them but nobody else and I knew that there were Community organizations that were interested so I'm grateful uh to the ordinance committee for uh resolving this and uh it's just one L thing we have to worry about so great job thank you cons s yeah just thank you to the audiance committee and everyone who worked on this for bringing us into the 21st century um often times previously with manual signs there was it be you'd have to put letters up in manually as the name would imply um this makes it much easier for businesses as well as improves visibility um and easy turnover of messaging um so especially as the highway business district has become more and more developed and denser it's more important that signage is easily more easily produced and visible so thank you thank you any other conselor I just have a clarification question U especially this is for the public when we're talking about down downtown What that particular Street means that is going to be main uh Union in cottage or that include another Street we didn't go by streets um but I think there is the opportunity of Beyond those three uh streets but planner Maxfield might have some more information I wasn't a part of some of those initial conversations uh yes so uh specifically what it means originally um it allowed only for signs in the mill industrial but now this will allow the mill industrial downtown businesses and the highway business district so anywhere uh that's in those zoning districts we'll be able to have electronic signs perfect thank you anyone from the public have any questions or comments about this public hearing sorry I really didn't plan this uh Carol broer 72 Oliver Street um I just am very concerned about these electronic and the lights and neon things and and um defining those you're talking historic districts and you talk we we all these things we're doing for pedestrian safety and bikes and stuff you have all these lights electronic lights and signs and neon signs and you're distracting a lot of drivers and you're taking away from the historic uh the history of our our buildings and things um and I think it opens a can of worms for the right to have them anywhere else you to say oh you can you mentioned something well just the cities you know we had just the city was using them we didn't feel right was the public didn't get to use them well now you're saying a certain Area Public can use them I think you're opening a can of worms for a lot of other areas um and signage and a big distraction of the driving and the safety that's all thank you qua you want to answer um yeah so to my knowledge in regards to Historic uh buildings and areas and things like that that has to go through um the historic commission so to be permitted Etc so that that's something that if there's concern about historic buildings and whatnot then that's something that will have to be um also go through the um historic commission to be able to address some of that cons Peak it's also my uh recollection unless something has changed uh when I was working on this that uh these things uh they won't be you know flashing neon signs or the advertisements or whatever it'll be t Tex the text can't animate it'd be like you know sort of like the ones that you see uh for construction saying uh you know the construction ahead or whatever that it's it's text and then the text could change to another block of text but it's not you know going to be like a little dancing cowboy trying to get someone to come into a a bar or anything like that I don't mean to make light of the situation I just saying this because I wouldn't necessarily approve of something like that but I think if the church who was the one who brought this forward I believe was the congregation's church wants to have a sign out front that just in plain text says what events they're doing uh that week that to me is not as much I I I I do absolutely I hear uh your concern about that but for me that that made me feel better about it that it's not going to be a lot of flashy animated things it's it's just going to allow people to display animated text where they uh previously would have to put the letters up on the board any other conselor celor Riley um yes just to kind of uh piggy back on what councelor Denim and councelor Peak were saying um you know when we also started working on this um Amendment proposal um we took into consideration the um the measurements of the amount of light that are emitted on these signs um I mean it is an archaic I think measurement style but it is by uh candle light per foot um which is literally if you were to hold a candle in front of you how bright would it be for the candle flame um so these kind of measurements were taken into consideration and then um you know we also um you know questioned how safe will these signs be for people who have um you know disabilities whether they have neurodiversity issues where the lights can be triggering um people that have um epilepsy for example so you know we really looked at what these signs would look like and we actually drove around into communities where these signs exist um so this one may be a little more elaborate but it would be less than like if you were to go into Northampton where the Academy of Music is and then you know they just have that little um mark Key Bar that's um just below their sign so even less quality than that so um I I hear what everybody's saying um and these were all of my concerns as well and um and I know that the uh the zoning board also had met with us multiple times over the process um so lots of eyes on this to make sure um that it doesn't turn into you know what I think right exactly it's right it will don't engage with them yep sorry it will not be like that thank you thank you yeah just one last comment so this hasn't changed from the original ordinance so um in terms of kind of scrolling nothing Scrolls whatever is on the screen has to change to the next screen right and it's in unison so nothing rolls so you're not trying to like read it it's just a change in langu or whatever the language is it's a it's a full screen change of what that next information might be so it's not a scrolling or I oops I missed it it's just a solid change anyone else from the public anyone from the public participating remote see none cons denim thank you Mr President so this is in the form of a motion um to amend section 10.0 sign sub subsection 10.04 M to allow electronic message centers in the downtown and Highway business districts to strike 10.04 [Music] M13 and 10.04 M5 and add a new section 10.04 M5 to allow for public service announcements with the discussed Amendment to include 10.04 m one two to change brightness standards to Mass DOT instead of Federal Highway standards and change 10.04 M4 to disallow advertising of unrelated Goods on EMC electronic message center signs second I have a motion on a second for the Sony ordinance Amendment any further discussion see none Barbara Tam Smith hi JT Terell hi Owen zeret hi Connie denim hi Omar Gomez Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hies um consar um thank you Mr President I'm going to with your permission I'm going to go a little bit out of order in the way it's listed here okay so we have a couple uh requests for amendments to appendic traffic rules and orders um I'm going to start with a a request that was brought forward to both increase uh handicap parking finds as well as uh General no parking fines um I'm going to start with the handicap parking fine in in isolation um essentially currently the handicapped parking F in the city is $50 um this was seen to be low by both public safety law enforcement and uh the three counselors brought this forward um it's not considered an adequate deterrent and as we continue to have ongoing conversations about accessibility and specifically um uh accessibility to handicapped parking spaces uh we need to make the fines have a little bit of teeth uh in order to uh uh deter people from inappropriately using those spaces um and so the committee met and discussed this and recommended uh 30 to change the handicap parking fine uh to $250 any conselor have any questions or comments about this particular one that is about the handicap [Music] one celor Riley thank you Mr President um yeah so uh you know I just want to say in terms of raising the fine for doing this um and and and to a greater extent the other findes as well um this has never been about collecting Revenue um honestly the city does not care about collecting revenue from parking violations um this is at the root a human rights issue um there are people who need access to these parking spaces and in the past we have tried um you know public engagement um you know making messages uh and city council announcements to ask people to be more mindful of not using these spaces and there are just people and I don't know if they're residents or if they're visitors or whatever the case may be but we need people in East Hampton who need access to these parking spaces to be able to use them and the people who violate this are violating someone's civil and human rights so this is really just to say please be better but if you're not going to be then then there will be Financial consequences for it thank you thank you conselor Riley any other conselor anyone from the public want to participate in this public that's why we're here I'm sorry I I you don't have to say sorry that's that the reason we are here Carol broer 72 oliv on that issue what's the enforcement though that drives me absolutely crazy is is okay that but they have stick they have the handicap Placer for one thing they're not supposed to be driving keeping that handicap that drives me crazy in their rear mirrror that's against the regulations of having it I I have a handicap sticker you're not supposed to have it you supposed you can put it up there when you park but not to leave it hanging so people are abusing that they're using their family members or their friends car to get that sticker that's the abuse there but if the police aren't enforcing it who's enforcing it no one's forcing it they're not saying can I look at your handicap sticker because it's supposed to be identifiable if it's asked with your license that you're the driver or you're the person in the vehicle so enforcement of that my other issue um the other woman brought up to M Terell I don't I'm sorry I don't know any about the handicap parking and the snow removal or someone did uh you stopped using the East Hampton the right used to be right a it's Walgreens the handicap there the snow removal they pushed the snow on the handicap spot the one spot there is that enforcement of moving that snow you couldn't get out of if you did Park in it they left it but you couldn't get out of your car people that are more handicapped their abilities than I can't get out with a walker so forth so my the enforcement of it you can put all the finds you want it's the enforcement of it so let's start with this first issue is uh about the parking L and Warg greens that's private so um so and and that one um I I guess we have to have a a conversation with the police department and the owners there um about the other ones what we're looking for is the people who Park illegally in in those spaces uh without the tag that's what we addressing and I guess it's the police department who have to um enforce it right cons Riley um just something that I would I would like to tell the council that I'm committed to do is um I can also reach out to the leadership of the commission on disability um because I think even fines aren't going to be enough there there always needs to continue to be conversations about um issues like this so you know I know that um you know the the leadership on the commission on disability are committed to having these conversations and I'd be more than happy to follow up with them to see what we can do to improve that thank you anyone else I just want to comment I think you're right right enforcement is difficult right and I think that our one of our biggest challenges and not to Target people who have disabilities but we also don't want to you need to prove to me that you have a disability right and I and I think that that then is can be targeting of that individual and sometimes people have disabilities that we don't know we can't see and so I think it's a it's a it's a slippery slope right because we don't we don't want to Target people and and people have the right to be treated humanely and not to prove that they have disabilities right and so I hear the enforcement piece and also um as a person in this world I don't I don't want to be a part of targeting anyone or making people prove to me that that they're deserving of of that particular thing so I just I just want to acknowledge that any other counselor anyone El from the [Music] public anyone remote see none cons uh I have so many here uh do you want to make a motion for that one first and then we move in yes if it's okay I'd like to do these pce meal let's do that one first um and and this is actually a combined so I'll make the motion if you have any concerns you can tell me I move to amend traffic rules in order appendix a section 1-33 section d uh to read $250 in Le of the current $50 fine and to correspondingly change uh section 1-77 penalty penalties code 16 also to $250 second I have a second to amend the city ordinance appendix a traffic rules and order to increase the handicap parking fines to $250 and for the discussion see none Barbara JT Terell hi Owen Zer hi Connie danham hi Omar Gomez Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith hies celor s thank you Mr President so the next item is another is is additionally it was deemed the all of our non-handicapped parking fines are currently $20 um it was again um considered that this was not enough of a deterrent um to keep people from actually um parking illegally uh obviously as previously noted these do need to be enforced to actually do anything uh but it was brought forward to recommend that these all be raised to $50 um for the most part as we discussed in committee um if you are getting a ticket for illegal parking in East Hampton it's because you're parking somewhere you shouldn't be parking to begin with with a few exceptions that I'll go into once we open up discussion um and so uh the committee recommended uh 3 to Z that we raise the fines from $20 um obviously with the exception of handicap parking to $50 um there was some conversations that have emerged about a few items and a few violations that actually um involve parking somewhere legally but parking somewhere legally in a way that um then violates the uh intention of that parking such as parking in 1 hour space I could I will go into that once we start discussion but uh to properly represent what the committee discussed we did uh we did recommend 30 to ra raise all those funds to $50 thank you any consors have any questions or comments no I do no wait I do uh cons Smith I will recognize you but can you please use the digital hand that way I can see you I mean now I know that you're going to you want to say something but that that way I can see you is will be easier for me thank you uh but before you let me say something uh as a one of uh the co-sponsor of of this particular issue uh we we never look to increase the people who legally park uh that was not the intent the intent is for the people that illegally parked in zones that are not supposed to be parked parking um that's when we have the conversation with the police chief and the other conselor who was sponsor of this that was the main idea uh that we never to to try uh uh to do that I I think the people who Park legally um of course if they spend the whole day there they should have a fine too but no as big as $50 um consc Smith my biggest concern about raising the price from $20 to $50 if you're parking um wrong is we just were hearing about that there's a um problem with parking at the senior center in the middle of the city my concern is that um I don't know why people are parking illegally it'd be one thing to say they're running into a shop and instead of finding parking they're doing this but before I know whether or not that is really the majority I have trouble that that's a big jump and this is the kind of thing where my teenage kids who would be likely to park in the wrong place and not know and 20 uh compared to 50 on this one I just find 50 to be too steep um I understand it when it's um you know when it's an accessible uh handicap spot and we want to make sure that that stays open but I I'm really concerned about this one I I think it's too big of a steep H too steep of a jump thank you cons Smith I I not necessarily disagree disagree with you I think the the biggest issue here is safety and $50 is not enough of losing a person um we we can have a really bad accident because someone is blocking uh crosswalks or parking in the in a corner the then the the people who are driving would not be allow to see pedestrians walking I think that's a big issue that's the main reason that we're doing it is because the the safety of the people but I hear you I I when we bring the $50 was a starting point um not necessarily Con G is attached to the $50 uh definitely we have I think we should increase it uh because I think 20 is is a little too low when when some people are probably spending a lot of money in some businesses in town but I hear you I I think that's a legit concern celor Smith I hear saying I I just think going more than double in one fill swoop is a lot and I at the same time since we've had a lot of changing in the um parking recently um just with some of the new designs I noticed as someone who's driving in the city a lot more parking signs than I saw um previous and I would rather I I would rather go a little more um slow with this I feel like we're putting a lot of rollouts with new parking patterns at the um at the intentional slowing down of traffic and again that's just my opinion I I think we see a lot of things that we're currently trying to change um while I'm okay with an increase in the price I think going from 20 to 50 in one move is really a lot and um I I just think it's too much okay uh going Riley um so you know I I originally voted at the committee level to uh recommend increasing the fines from 20 to 50 but I also recognize what uh councelor Smith is saying and um I would be open to amending this recommendation or our motion to maybe go to $35 if people are okay with that or or I would be open to having a conversation about what we think would be more appropriate okay thank you cons Riley cons Smith um do you have a an amendment for this when we have a motion or no yet do you have not yet okay okay I just want to be before we take the motion I just want to be sure the cons PE um I apologize I probably could know this information if I had participated in these meetings but if somebody would uh when was uh the $20 parking find set uh it 1972 yes I was 1972 so just I have the inflation calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that which he always does in $20 $20 in 1972 had the buying power of $152 today so when that was set that was what we were talking about in terms of the power of like the the weight of that fee was a 100 $150 uh ticket now were people back then too heavy-handed I don't know maybe I'm not necessarily saying that but I am saying that at this is you know when time passes wages go up buying power goes up if fees don't keep up with that then they eventually become somewhat trivial now if if folks wanted to settle on a different one I don't have a really strong opinion about about this but I just think that that's relevant information to know this you know even a $50 fine would be oneir of the inflation adjusted fine that was initially levied in the 70s not saying those people were right about everything but that's where that's where it stood that's what it meant when it was initially implemented thank you c s so first of all I hear the councilor's concerns but I I I want to um I want to um just bring attention to what the penalties are and also this might be a good time to bring into the conversation some of the thoughts that have evolved following our committee meeting about maybe uh creating uh kind of different levels of fines so the types of things that they're current that you currently are considered parking illegally are parking in an intersection or on a sidewalk um and on a crosswalk um there are are also some parking violations for um um what overtime or meted violations so essentially parking at 1 hour parking and and going over those are the ones that I had indicated earlier in some other conversations I think we should consider either not raising sub or not raising substantially um you know um blocking a road so well well I I had the same thoughts as as the counselor from Precinct 5 who spoke um in terms of you know parking's at a preium we're having a lot of conversations right now about parking and we have to really be thinking about um making making sure it's it's being made available um even if it's being redistributed as we talk about new projects and such um but uh as we discussed in committee most of these main violations are absolutely parking somewhere you shouldn't be parking at all and so my re my recommendation would probably be in those cases that um and to the to the counselor from Precinct 3 point we're actually it's actually a bargain to be $50 for like parking on a sidewalk but for instance I think if you were uh uh codes uh 12 13 and uh 8 which are um meor violation overtime and uh between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. so basically parking somewhere you should Park but going over I would say we should only raise those to maybe $25 um so those are recommendations um but I I just wanted to kind of fill in the conversation and and kind of contextualize what we're actually writing tickets for in the city thank you conselor any other cons cons um thanks Mr President um I think here's my struggle I I don't know what the right amount is but what I do know is that people want to feel safe and I think that we've had people come in here numerous times talking about various intersections that that they feel unsafe um I know there's streets downtown where I've had to nudge out slowly to try to be able to see around the cars that are parked there illegally and if somebody hits me that's kind of C cost a whole lot more than $50 um and if if people don't care about $20 then what is the amount that they're going to care about um because people are are are fearful of of crossing the street in our downtown areas and I think that we have to do something and if it's $20 and we're only going up a short bit are they going to care about that or maybe they are going to take notice if it is a little bit more of a jump and and and I and I don't I don't know what that answer is but we have to do something that's going to jar people into understanding that what they're doing is not okay and people in our community are feeling unsafe thank you any other consors anyone in for the public you already say something sorry can I I think is good um let anyone from here Kathy wasinski 22 Overlook Drive I I would actually agree $50 is a good amount um we have seen um difficulties with parking and pulling out as as councel denim has said is is challenging the other challenge though is people double parking or parking behind other people um particularly on Main Street and I think with what we've done on Main Street now we've just made that a higher likelihood of people parking illegally over there with so few spaces so I think the $50 fine is great I think we've I think we need to pay attention to the safety issues I think we've made Main Street less safe um and I think we need to really pay attention to that um issue um as we're talking about increasing safety and and moving um increasing fines I would also like to see fines increased for pedestrians that are walking unsafely and crossing unsafely and cyclists who pay no attention to um traffic rules and um are causing very unsafe situations thank you thank you um cons Smith I'm going to let Leslie to talk first and then you okay okay Leslie thank you um Leslie sh 22 nanic Street it's a question instead of just having a fine which one of the counselors has said would be you know really hard for her child to pay let's go from 25 for your first offense to 50 to your second offense to 30 you know to 75 for your third offense the people who are writing our citations I assume our police officers who have access to a computer so they can look up if that person has received a parking citation in eastampton Prior and just make the f increase each time that they AR illegally that's all thank you leslee um cons Smith I guess um I hear what everyone is saying I I just still I'm concerned about the price point and I'm also interested to see whether or not we see any difference in the data of um traffic incidences as a result of the the um different um traffic designs that are coming out right now as part of the project and I know in the room there's mixed feelings about that project and whether or not it's safe but I just feel like we have a lot of different things going on when it comes to traffic right now I'm more in favor of pointing out where additional parking is and having it as more of a pedestrian friendly um City those ways I said I'm not I'm not convinced my kids are gonna all Start parking wrong and like I'm not so convinced that this is going to hit my kids but I am convinced I I am concerned that the people who are more likely to park in the wrong areas are people who are not necessarily familiar with East Hampton um who may not live in East Hampton and are coming into town for entertainment and on top of already having a hard time finding parking to feel like they're being um I if they Park in the wrong place and say I'm never coming back to East Hampton again because that was too big of a fine um whether or not it's too big of a fine compared to 1970s I certainly understand the role of of inflation and everything and compared to then I understand what you're saying that this is a a good deal however it's a big jump all at once and while we also have all these parking things going on in swn to me I I just think that's a lot to focus on when it comes to parking all at once that's just my my thought so that's what I have to say thank you C Smith mad mayor um thank you Mr President for the opportunity to speak on the issue um I would I absolutely hear the concerns and feedback um the point that councelor Smith Smith just made on data is also a body of information I'm looking forward um uh to see I had grave concerns about doing the um tactical urban exercise on Main Street when we're uh Paving Union Street uh foia those emails and you will see exactly what I said was very pointed um massot really sets the pace for Union Street and I wish we could have separated that because I do think we're going to get some clouded data um I I do I I just feel like I really need to pick up uh uh speak up on the parking tickets I'm full support of increasing them I think it's a safety issue um concerns about people getting a parking ticket and not coming back I I disagree with um people right now are parking illegally police are walking up to them in all parts of the city and saying you're going to get a parking ticket and the people say back to them how much and they say $20 and they said worth paying the $20 um I I do I am also worried about about everything happening at once I don't know where the committee is as far as or the request was of when these parking tickets go in like when it takes effect um I would uh ask that the city council and ordinance um think about it going into effect um towards the new fiscal year in July because I think we're going to see one more um typical SE seasonal traffic we might have less congestion on Union Street we're supposed to have a binder more of parking spaces by Memorial the other is um and I do uh counselor Smith comments about um how her kids might Park I I just feel that pain I I actually think about what my brother and mother will do with parking and um them yeah getting parking tickets that's going to happen that's said um we don't charge for parking here it's one of the things that people love about East Hampton it is probably one of the biggest compliments comments that City Hall gets that the tax collector gets the police the fire as a result though the um enforcement of what we do have is super important because people confuse oh it's free parking to I'm going to park my car two feet from the Willison Union Street intersection and it's gonna be okay um so I I I I have no intention and would uh strongly resist any attempt to have um uh parking meters parking whatever um I think that it's sure it's a revenue stream um but I think it's one that we should avoid because it's a part of our culture not to it the tickets on the other side I think that we can do some corrective action around that um two more things one to graduate the tickets like to go up to a ticket amount um is it's reasonable in words um our T parking ticket system is literally the police put a ticket on a car the person mails it in and and we um and if there's an appeal they work with the leas sometimes with the tax collector but to know that somebody does or does not have a a ticket um a second first or third ticket is not data that the police would carry um and if they're in the process of an appeal you know rightfully so they're say well actually I'm appealing my ticket you know and now we're doing refunds which currently is is an administrative burden um a great administrative burden so I would I would ask that um uh consideration uh here as as well um lastly uh for for folks there is an appeals process um and uh we are writing more and more parking tickets and folks are have asked a couple of times like I parked here I've always parked here what's going on um and you know that is well heard in City Hall and we're we're working with with folks as that does happen and we will continue to do so and certainly um if this is pass at those rates work with um members of my family and um the the concerns that councelor Smith has and I know that's a burden on the public but I did I just wanted to put that out there thank you thank you mayor anyone else from the public before I take the motion um Mr President if I may um I'd like to get a sense from the council in terms of your statement earlier and and kind of some of the the uh some of the things that have come to light following our last meeting regarding uh lower lower fines let's say $25 for spaces that are legal but parked in in such a way that that make them illegal in other words exceeding an hour an hour no parking I think that's a different level of of egregiousness and so how I make the motion uh would probably affect that so or or I could make a motion and recommend an amendment it's up to you I would defer to yeah I I prefer if you make just U make the motion for the illegal parking first with this caet and I think we should make another motion just for that particular issue the people who legally park and then we okay perfect uh before that I saw your hand control Peak oh yes I was just going to say that I think if we're going to get too deep into Weeds on that stuff it might be a good idea to bounce it back to Committee just when I've seen these things when we get really technical in the amendment process is often when things get kind of silly so that's just uh I'm just I mean I'm good with this I'm happy to vote for it but if if we start getting into some amendments that seem to stray too far from the original language that would just be my recommendation is that that we they go back and you know Workshop a little bit in committee yep that that's why we're going to take two different motions in case the second one will hard we send it back to sense and I have two prepared yep okay denim sorry I just do we have data on tickets that are over an hour versus tickets that are parked in the wrong location I mean do we have that information cuz I'm going to admit it I've stayed in a parking spot more than an hour um and never worried about that we don't have people who are marking tires monitoring that or anything like that and so are we do we do we even know if that's I know there's a sign but is it a thing okay um the the quick answer is yes is some data out there if the question is how much the police uh enforc this I will said I don't know that answer because uh we don't have um a particular officer they can take a look of that constantly so we need to uh keep the city safe as a whole and some officers instead of just looking that they look other stuff uh that's probably that's why you never get a ticket but I know for sure that some people get tickets before okay so I know it's happening I don't know how often it's happening but it but it happens thank you okay so I'm going to make two motions okay so the first is um move to amend traffic rules in order section 177 establish penalties to change codes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 145 to $50 second I have a motion and a second to um amend the city ordinance appendix a traffic rules on order section 1-77 any further discussion um Barbara Owen Zer yes Connie denim hi Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi tamber Smith n n n no I don't know the we got it JT Terrell hi motion passes I'd like to make a second motion uh to move to traffic rules and orders section 1-77 establish penalties uh to change codes 8 12 and 13 to $25 second can we add oh I'll I'll make a I'll make I'll make a third motion for thank you a second to amend the city ordinance append 8 traffic rules and Order section 1-77 any further discussion seeing none Barbara Connie Denham hi Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith I JT Terell i Owen Zer I motion passes one more motion thank you for reminding me um uh I'd like to move uh that the uh current changes to section 1-77 established penalties um go into effect July 1st 2024 second I have a motion on a second U to amend the city ordinance append 8 traffic R order to start in July 1st 2024 um any further discussion see none Barbara Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith I'm I'm so sorry I couldn't hear the the motion on the table can I have that repeated yes the motion is to start the new fines at uh July 1st 2024 okay um I JT Chell i Owen zeret I Connie denim I so as part of as part of this conversation also there is there were also recommendations or requests brought forward to uh remove or or modify some no parking signs um that uh are particularly around the Main Street you Street area um we discussed this in committee it uh became apparent that the way that these are written in the traffic rules in order and the way that they actually manifest physically um are too slightly different stories um for instance um there are a series of parking spaces on Main Street um as you're approaching uh where it veers off in the into Park Street right in front of one of the churches there it's actually a fair amount of spaces I think it's four or five um but that parking is only um available on Sundays and one of the original recommendations was to make that a no parking at all times and we realized that that would be a large loss of Po potential parking volume um as a contrasting uh example another one of the spaces is on Union street right when you turn from Main to Union uh that is only available on Sundays but because of the location of where cars would end up parking it becomes a significant safety issue um uh there's another sign that appears that that might not even be in the traffic rules in order and then there's another one again which uh the way it's worded um we need to reevaluate it so what did happen in committee was we did make two recommendations in the interest of transparency one was the no parking sign on Union Street the Westerly side from the intersections of Union and Main for a distance of 214 ft in a southerly direction is currently no parking at any time with the exception of Sundays from 8 8:00 a.m. to 1: p.m. we recommended making that no parking at all times uh subsequently the one that I had mentioned uh as my first example on Main Street southernly side from the intersection of man Union in a Westerly Direction to the intersection of Main Street and Clark Avenue uh no parking any time with the exception of Sundays from 8: to 1: we recommended actually making those uh removing the no parking restriction altogether because that's that's a fair amount of spaces for the city those are the two recommendations we actually made three to Z uh with no recommendation for the additional ones um and my recommendation outside of discussion here is to allow the community to synthesize this a little bit more have a um have another meeting about it which would include a site visit and bring forward some more uh distinct and clear recommendations to the committee so that that's that's my report I just have to point my computer thank you um any cons have any questions or comments no anyone from the public want make a comment anyone particip in remote see none celor s um so at this time what I'd recommend is continuing this hearing to June 1st um we will be meeting on May 14th uh for Public Safety um and we will uh have a regular meeting in our uh within 50 pacin but also as part of that meeting we'll have a site visit June 5th June 5th sorry the first June meeting um uh and um we'll we'll be able to bring I will um report this out May 15th um and with we should be able to have a a best uh informed and clear plan at that point if that's okay with the council yes uh we have to make a motion to continue in the public hearing for those items I'll make a motion at this time to continue the public hearing to June 5th June 5th I say 15 these Chambers 16 these CH we have a motion on a seconds to continue the public hearing on this items for June 5th at 6:15 these Chambers any further discussion say none Barbara Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith hi JP JT trell hi Owen Zer hi Connie Denham I Omar Gomez I Moes that's concl thus concludes and move to close the public hearing second I have a motion on a second to close public hearing and if this question see none Barbara Connie denim hi Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith hi JT Terell I hi motion passes thank you so much um may your communication good evening uh president Gomez and members of the city council I am um at the podium tonight to uh read into record my budget Le uh my fiscal year 2025 budget message and um at the conclusion of that uh the link with the full budget will be emailed to all of you the department heads um school committee boards and chairs as well as being available to the public um on our website if you subscribe to the notify me text service you will get a text with a link on your phone and you can just clink it and the whole budget book is in front of you uh tomorrow at some point um there will be a hard copy of this budget at the public library uh the Council on Aging and in the city clerk's office for um review that said as Federal covid recovery funds award started I I pursued an aggressive funding of our stabilization accounts preparing for the year when federal dollars would end creating a gap between expenses and revenue fiscal year 2025 is that year with combining Financial forecasting and intentional saving the city has a prepared solution to this budget Gap I'm grateful to our department leaders for consistently practicing sound fiscal policy and strategies in the preceding years They carried out my fiscal approach and as a result freed up money to fund stabilization accounts to Historic levels these actions now present the city with Funding Solutions the financial departments diligently tracked local Revenue while responsibly expanding services to meet Community needs I established a weekly meeting to review Financial benchmarks capital expenditure and Appropriations fire police Parks planning and DPW operated with in strict Capital budgets while actively pursuing grants and I might add successfully the building inspection services assessor and tax collection departments focused on capturing growth allowing us to forecast Revenue es and flows the city clerk and electric uh elections ensured smooth conduct of Municipal elections that were were many in in the past year our Council on Aging increased programming and support services Parks and Recreation provided High recreational values at resident friendly cost while rebuilding our beloved nck Park Pool and yes we have lifeguards all departments have a plan or met the goal of funding all Grant funded positions within the operating budget my proposed expense budget keeps our commitments to our residents and employees this budget funds clean energy climate resiliency public infrastructure community-based support services and engagement initiatives our remaining canvas stabilization funds will offset arpa funds in the health department These funds will continue the robust Outreach and engagement programming with our veterans youth elders and residents of historically under representative communities and local government collaborating with the school department uh leadership I propos to fund the education department at the level voted by the school committee back in March using a realworld perspective the number of qualified and interested job Seekers for city jobs is shrinking making Recruitment and Retention crucial my budget recognizes this Reality by funding Personnel expenses per established pay schedules and Collective bargain agreements without any staff reductions I have long prioritized worker protection and I am glad to have voluntarily recognized three new collective bargaining units in the last year the city's Insurance employee benefits increased more than we expected but we did not change the premium split we all have also increased robust financial and wellness employee programs to further demonstrate our commitment to our city public service servant I am proud to say that East Hampton is one of seven municipalities to enact a parental leave policy per home R Rule Charter the mayor must present a balanced budget by finding Revenue to cover expenses to meet that exact mandate for the fiscal year 2025 budget the city will need to use other funding sources to support the budget or make some really tough choices working off the auditor's recommendation my expense budget looks to apply General stabilization tax rate stabilization and cannabis stabilization accounts with the respective amounts of $1.8 million $600,000 and $57,000 local receipts will be calculated on the basis of the actual number of permits applications or licenses issued with new rates for fiscal year 2025 my fiscal year 2025 budget assumptions are as followed one requesting a $600,000 appropriation from certified free cash to the tax relief stabilization fund to lower all taxpayers burdens in the face of rising property values expectation of higher fiscal year 25 local receipts given planned postco increases in parking tickets inspections and permit fees increased water sewer rates to cover the Enterprise expense and avoid that expense coming on to our overall tax rate creating an Enterprise stabilization fund to set aside retained earnings once they are certified for state and federal mandates that are mostly unfunded continued use of Appropriations as a control on uncertain Department expenditures such as overtime retirement payouts expenses that grants may not cover or Grant overages legal cost outside of typical City business restructuring our clean energy profile to hedge against utility increases by negotiating Collective energy contracts leverage our solar credits increase EV in hybrid vehicles as well as pursuing solar array expansion the 8% in healthc care premiums will while maintaining an employer employee split of 7525 5% increase in dental insurance premiums while maintaining an employer employee split of 50/50 following the eastampton Retirement Board voted funding level recommendation so we continue to move forward on fully funding our pension obligations completing financial and Software System transitions for increased efficiency and accountability restructuring Capital expenditures by setting aside funds for major infrastructure local matches Capital items and projects in keeping with my promise of delivering a budget reflective of East Hampton's values my intent is to my intent to bond to close out the Mountain View school is unhold given favorable interest rates on short-term notes short-term note rates have proven more reliable than long-term borrowing over the last year as such we will continue to monitor the municipal bond market to negotiate competitive Bond terms in the next two years I must point out that the city's fiscal pability comes only with historical city council support for robust allocations to reserve accounts and a thorough review and welcoming of requested Appropriations outside of the past expense budget the council realizes economic uncertainties and these votes show items like fund Federal funding reductions inflationary gaps sudden grant opportunities with local matches unforeseeable overtime and retirements with this realization I am happy and grateful to have your partnership to hedge against these Financial dips well in advance current economic and social political factors weigh heavily on a resident's quality of life we have seen that in increase rates of public participation at these very meetings fiscal year 2025 is not the year to pull back Services we committed to for our residents during postco recovery in the face of continuing and some may say increasing uncertainty my proposed budget keeps promises to support our city and all residents we've prepared for this Gap we saw it coming while laying out fiscal strategies to avoid future gaps with savings efficiencies and prudent spending East Hampton deserves a government that does not abandon them when anticipated gaps arise where their remedy has been 3 years in the making I look forward to robust public review um and conversation of my fiscal year 2025 proposed Revenue budget and respectfully hand the budget over to the city council thank you thank you madam mayor uh by now by soon I should get that budget in my email so that way I can uh avoiding or uh excuse my informal in informal informal comment um but I believe Lindsay is on the meeting and so Lindsay please hit send thank you because that way we can move it to a committee if we have it yes yes I I'm guessing and I hope the linsy is just click sent that I have it in my files and I will take a motion to move the uh fiscal year 2025 budget to the finance committee so moved second I have a mo seconds to move the the uh budget of 2025 to the finance committee any further discussion see none Barbara Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamar Smith hi JT Terell hi Owen zarett hi Connie denim hi motion passes I guess that was all for the from the mayor uh correspondent announcement for the president at the vice president um I want to start saying to the public the memorial Day parade is happening again so it's going to be May uh Monday May 27 the route is going to be a little different they're not going to use Union Street I don't know why um so they're going to use um Cottage pisan and then go into Main Street that will be start at 10:30 a.m. so bring your kids and your family to watch the parade um I think it's going to be fun after not having the parade for a few years um Main Street it's a survey uh the web page if you like it or you don't like it or you have a have you can uh go to the web page is a survey there um please go there make a comment that's the way the DPW will know if you have any concerns or issues about um mainstream and the potential changes in the future I just want to say that this is just temporary uh this is just a test um but yeah you have the opportunity to go to the to the web page and do a survey um public meetings uh again you go if you go to the samton ma do uh s.gov um you scroll down all the meetings are going to be there you scroll down there's a bunch of information there you can look for dates and you can find all the meetings supposed to be posted and should be posted 4 48 hours before the meeting if the meeting is not posted before 8 48 hours is they're not supposed to have the meeting um and that's my report uh report from standing committees Finance celor Peak thank you Mr President uh so uh we met last week we discussed the $70,000 for the Council on Aging uh we are not going to be meeting at our regular time this coming Wednesday we're going to give ourselves a small break before our uh our our uh budget hearings uh which I will uh lay out when they are what we're going to discuss uh right now so the first budget hearing is going to be on Monday April 29th at 5:00 pm at that meeting we will discuss Revenue General government and CPA second meeting will be Tuesday April 30th at CPM or 6 pm. that will be Public Safety Human Services and unclassified which is mostly insurance and whatnot uh after that the next week Monday May 6th at 5:30 p.m. uh we'll be discussing Public Works Enterprise cultural and Recreation uh the next day Tuesday May 7th at 6 PM we'll be discussing education debt and interest and finally Monday May 13 at 5:30 p.m. we will be taking our final votes as a committee and sending it back uh to the council uh for a full vote uh so uh it's going to be a busy next few weeks for finance but uh that's uh where we stand uh if anybody has any any questions or anything that you think I should be asking uh by all means reach out or by all means come and participate uh this is an important process and it is frequently a poorly attended one so um just uh throwing that out there uh everything else on our agenda the quarterly report from our auditor and the uh we're we're probably going to get back to that after budget season and um the review of salaries from elected officials and appointed committees we did get the Callin Center study uh back uh we considered meeting uh to discuss that uh next week but just given the sheer amount of meetings we're going to have over the next few weeks we decided that we will resume discuss discussing that uh after uh budget season has concluded I think that's it so that's concludes thank you consel P public safety consel s thank you Mr President uh we met um we just met last week uh that was the 9th at 6 PM uh we pres I presented as you noted earlier uh some of the items uh that we had in our agenda uh particularly the changes to amounts charge for parking violations and we will continue to review section 1-25 parking prohibit on certain streets during certain hours um actually at this time lest I forget I'd like to request a 60-day extension I'd like to make a motion for 60-day extension on that item since it looks like we will have some sort of resolution on that by June that's a motion second I have a motion on a second to extend this item for 60 day any further discussion see Barbara Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tamara Smith hi JT Terrell hi Owen hi uh Connie denam hi Omar Gomez hi mes C we did not have a quarterly report from a department at our last meeting we did um get to the ordinance Review Committee final report um and that's already been reviewed by that prior committee as well as the prior uh Public Safety uh committee as well uh we discussed a number of items on that report briefly uh there is an ongoing discussion about how exactly to uh responsibly um and safely uh uh inforce which I don't even think is I think educate might be a better term uh wearing helmets uh for individuals under um uh 18 um we're continuing to review that uh we did agree with the uh prior committee's recommendations of removing uh two items at section 6-8 loitering by certain miters during certain hours and section 6-9 discharge of dangerous weapons uh those are uh either covered by current state law or outdated um uh we have agreed three as a committee to strike those Al together um and so at this time I'd like to set a public hearing for or do you have a preference Mr President any just the the next meeting okay then yeah U um uh so May 1st uh at 6:15 these Chambers to uh have a hearing on striking sections 6-8 and 6-9 in the current ordinances that's in the form of a motion second I have a motion on a second to the to schedule a public hearing May 1st 15 the chambers about the ordinary Review Committee final report any further discussion see on Barbara Brad Riley hi Tamar Smith hi JT Terell hi Omen Zer hi Connie denim hi Omar Gomez Tom Peak hies we also reviewed some language that is U somewhat complicated but also in its complication has some problematic structure to it that may have some use for law enforcement but we agreed and the prior committee had agreed and the orience Review Committee had agree that need to be potentially Rewritten and with consultation uh by the relevant stakeholders and the City attorney those are sections 8-4 and 8-5 which have to do with obstructing uh the sidewalk or other public ways there's definitely First Amendment issues there we want to make sure we get it right uh so we'll continue to discuss those um as I noted earlier we will be meeting on May 14th um the second Tuesday on the month at 6 p.m will we have conference room one I don't know in in in a in a place yet to be determined um and also on that date we will have a site visit to the various uh parking spaces um on Main and Union Street uh so dress appropriately those who wish to attend um and let me just make sure I asked for that extension um thus concludes thank you Cel s appointments Cel Riley thank you Mr Mr President um the appointment committee last met um yesterday um April 16th at 6: p.m. um so just a point of clarification we did have a mayoral appointment um but that person is actively vacationing in France um and asked if there is a possibility for um a future date and we do have the ability um to extend that out to May uh May 18th um so uh we will be meeting with that mayoral appointee um at our next meeting so in the meeting that we had um we basically discussed the current status of the um appointment process um so I know God I think it was September of last year when I introduced that as a measure um so I just wanted to put a big thank you out to the clerk's office to the mayor's office um you know that I've been working with over the last few months we're actually in the process now of building out a handbook for the appointment process um once that is complete it will be um given to whomever is the chair of appointments um to city council president to city council vice president to the clerk's office and the mayor's office as well um this is just to ensure that everybody is operating off of the same set of information um and that if the public is interested uh then we could also send a PDF link out to the public as well so that work is continuing um and then I think yeah so we will be meeting on May 1st at 5:00 p.m for our next meeting I know that's a little unusual um additionally this is new business that we will get to um later on but we will be reappointing the um well the auditor and the assistant auditor will be up for reappointment corre um and so instead of doing the you know this uh typical process what I'd like to do instead and I I've reached out to the auditor's office and they agree to do this is instead of engaging in a typical Q&A process to see if they're eligible for reappointment is to do a 15minute presentation on the work that the auditor's office has done over the last 3 years um so I would invite any of you to attend if you'd like to um it's just going to be an informational session to demonstrate the um incredible work that they've been doing um and then yeah so May 1st 5:00 p.m uh right here in conference room 2 behind city council chambers um thus concludes thank you councel Riley ordinance CC denim thank you Mr President um we haven't met since our last meeting um so our next meeting will be April 23rd at 6 PM in conference room 1 it will be hybrid so people have the opportunity to participate remotely at that meeting we will likely spend most of our time discussing um the municipal opt-in specialized stretch code we'll have um a variety of different people there to uh discuss it including contractors a few contractors um and um so I'm hoping it will be a robust conversation um and then in terms of the temporary moratorium on use of sewage ledge fertilizer um we are in process of just kind of individually gathering information and speaking to um various constituents uh about the impact of that um but that will probably likely be more discussed at the meeting following that so um as I said the next meeting will will largely focus on the municipal opt-in specialized stretch code and that's everything that we have to offer the council today thank you C Denham property coun s thank you Mr President we covered our sole agenda item in the public hearing um and so no more no further report this concludes thank you celor saret um we have no rules and government committee um consor Kinski is not here we had a meeting last Wednesday um we uh discussed the potential um petition that the city will send to beon Hill about Ranch voting multiple choice and um the committee didn't make any decision yet um it's a potential different language the that the committee will recommend the council to pass and send it to the legislators for uh the committee is still working on it our next meeting is going to be uh the 24th at 6:30 room number one and that is that's conclude with rules um no business conselor s uh thank you Mr President so uh before before you in the agenda packet is a request from immediate attention to uh uh affirm a resolution to establish e stamp as official xery Society B city um this is a U part of a process that we initiated um I believe that was 2023 I don't think it was 2022 uh that started with the city committing to a pollinator action plan um in conjunction with the Conway school and working with the planning department um that uh led to this agenda item to become a be uh a xerx society B city which basically means that the city commits to uh certain policy items that will support support native plants and therefore pollinators and by doing both of those supports the entire Ecology of our city and our region all the way up the food chain um the this is a step five or six of a process that involved uh first forming the uh the bees committee uh last year um the committee has met to review the uh resolution which again outlines specific policy steps um and then that had to be sent to the xery society for their review uh and they have approved it and so now it is it is back before the council um uh for affirmation today uh as mentioned when this was initially recommended a year ago um this idea of making sure that we're creating sustainable spaces as well as creating policies around native plants in the city uh is supported obviously by organizations like the xerx society uh the native plant trust um autobond Society uh we had conservation speak earlier they all U understand and supported this uh this isn't to my understanding a direct di on the climate action plan but it's definitely tential to the work that we'll be doing with the upcoming climate action plan um and um I can read it now or I could take any there yeah um any conselor is um have any objection of having this resolution tonight see none okay I will now read the resolution let me just find that I'm sorry I I switched devices apologize this is it okay a resolution of the city council of East hon Massachusetts designating East hampon Massachusetts as a b City USA affiliate whereas the mission of bcity USA is to Galvanize communities to sustain pollinators responsible for the reproduction of only of almost 90% of the world's flowering plant species by providing them with healthy habitat rich in a variety of native plants and free to nearly free of and free to nearly free of pesticides and whereas thanks to more than 3,600 species of native bees in the United States along with introduced honey bees we have very diverse dietary choices rich in fruits nuts and vegetables and whereas bees and other pollinators have experienced population declines due to a combination of habitat loss poor nutrition p pesticides including insecticides fungicides and herbicides parasites diseases and climate change and whereas pollinator friendly communities can benefit local and Regional Eon uh e economics economies I almost need reading glasses sorry through healthier ecosystems increased vegetable and fruit crop yields and increased demand for pollinator friendly plant materials from local Growers and whereas ideal pollinator friendly habitat a is compromised of mostly native wild flowers grasses Vines shrubs and trees blooming in succession throughout out the growing season to provide diverse and abundant nectar and pollen since many wild pollinators prefer depend on the native plants with which they co-adapted B is free or nearly free of pesticides as many pesticides can harm pollinators and Andor their habitat C comprises undisturbed spaces leaf and brush piles UNM fields or field margins Fallen trees and other Deadwood for nesting and overwintering and D provides con it between habitat areas to support pollinator movement and resilience and whereas integrated Pest Management IPM is a long-term approach to maintaining healthy Landscapes and Facilities that minimizes risk to people in the environment by identifying and removing the causes of pest problems rather than only attacking the symptoms the pests uh employing pest natural enemies along with cultural mechanical and physical controls when prevention is not enough and using pesticides only when there is no other meth no other method is feasible or effective and whereas supporting pollinators Fosters broad-based Community engagement in environmental awareness and sustainability and whereas eastampton Massachusetts should be certified as a BC USA Community as the Natural Evolution of its already existing efforts and plans to address the impact of biodiversity loss climate change and other environmental threats within the city and its commitment to support and sustain the health of local ecosystems and now therefore in order to enhance un uh understanding among local government staff and the public about the vital role that pollinators play and what each of us can do to sustain them East Hampton Massachusetts chooses to support and encourage healthy pollinator habitat creation and enhancement resolving as follows one the East anthon planning department is hereby designate as the bcity USA sponsor two the planning director or their designity within the city is designated as the bity USA liaison three facilitation of eastampton Massachusetts BCD USA program is assigned to the biodiversity environment and ecological sustainability committee for the biodiversity environment and ecological sustainability committee is authorized to and shall a celebration host at least one educational event or pollinator habitat planning or restoration each year to Showcase East Hampton's commitment to raising awareness of pollinator conservation and expanding pollinator health and habitat B publicity and information install and maintain at least one authorized bcity USA street sign in a prominent location and create maintain a web page on the city of East Hampton website which includes at minimum a copy of this resolution and links to the National bcusa website uh contact information for your BC USA liais onic committee reports of the pollinator friendly activities the community has accomplished in the previous years and your recommended native plant species list and integrated Pest Management plan explain below C habitat develop an Implement a program to create or expand pollinator friendly habitat on public and private land which includes not limit to identifying an inventory East Hampton's real uh property that can be enhanced with pollinator friendly plantings creating a recommended local native plant list to identify wild flowers grasses V shrubs and trees and a list of local suppliers for those species and tracking by square footage and acreage annual area of pollinator habitat create or enhanced D pollinator friendly Pest Management create adopt and integrated Pest Management IPM plan uh designed to prevent pest problems reduce pesticide use and expand the use of non-chemical Pest Management meth methods e policy and plans established through the city a policy in the pollinator action plan of East Hampton's comprehensive plan to acknowledge and commit to the BCD USA designation and review the pollinator action plan other relevant documents to consider improvements to Pest Management policies and practices as they relate to pollinator conservation identify appropriate locations for pollinator friendly plantings and consider other appropriate measures F renewal after completing the first calendar year as a bcusa affiliate each February apply for renewal of E BCD USA designation following the format provided the BCD USA including a report of the previous year's BCD USA activities and paying the renewal fee based on East Hampton's population that is in the form of a motion second I have a motion on a second to to pass a resolution of the city of Isam massachusett designating Isam massachusett as a BC USA Affiliated any further discussion just I just really wanted to quickly to thank uh everyone who everyone who's helped us get this this far that includes the city council informing this uh this uh new committee uh certainly the mayor's office and planning office and supporting the this directive uh the be the bees committee um the enthusiastic residents of East Hampton as well as those who um participated in the pollinator action plan which has formed important framework for the work that we're going to do going forward um unlike many of our resolu soltions this actually lays out a road map and is in some ways a anou uh to ourselves that we are committing to you know pretty some pretty substantial uh policy development as well as um um uh uh PR work and um and interaction education with the public so uh there's a lot of work to be done from here this is only one step of the process but it's been really rewarding so far and um I'm really pleased that um there's been great support thus far thank you any other counselors see Barbara Tamar Smith hi JT Terell hi Owen Zer hi Connie denim hi Omar Gomez Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Mo bazes um we have two reappointments conselor Riley uh thank you Mr President um so in accordance with the East Hampton home Rule Charter section 2-8 a the following individuals are are presented for reappointment by the city council um before I make the motion I want to say as an extra reminder these two individuals are employees of the city council so I think it is really helpful if you would come to this meeting to hear the work that is being done by the people who we employ um so in the form of a motion I would like to U Move the city council appointments of hadle H City auditor and Kathy Smith assistant City auditor to the appointment committee with term expiration dates of May 5th 2027 second I have a motion a second to send those two reappointments to the appointments committee any further discussion see now bar JT Terell hi Owen zeret hi Connie Denham hi Homer Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tam Smith hi motion passes I will take a motion to move to to the public safety the request to refer to the public safety review and language and the traffic rules and order second so move so move I have Shana seconds to send the request to the refer to the police safety review they we in the traffic rules and order to the um Public Safety Committee any further discussion see none bar Owens ER hi Connie dham hi Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tam Smith hi JT Terell hi motion I take a motion toov second I have a second to Bar hi Connie Denham Omar Gomez hi Tom Peak hi Brad Riley hi Tam Smith hi JT Terell hi ow hi Mo buzzes have a great evening see you see you tomorrow byebye bye for