##VIDEO ID:MlsveggWfig## sounds great all right good afternoon everyone it is Thursday August 8th at 505 and I will call to order the board of Select meeting um please note that this meeting is being recorded and will be available on our Town's YouTube page um so we're going to go right into item agenda number one uh pres presentation of the hazard mitigation plan um which is also so I have to read the public notice so I'm just going to read this public notice real quick before we allow anyone to stop presenting uh the town of Freetown has been working over the past year to develop the first Hazard mitigation plan for the community this plan is important because it helps the town plan and receive funding for projects that reduce the risk of injury or damaging to property from natural hazards H Hazard events such as flooding winter storms and hurric public hearing to consider the above matter will be held on Thursday August 8th 2024 at 5:00 p.m so um here to present um we have Craig Pereira so uh I'm gonna hand it over to Mr Pereira thank you thank you I'm going to share my screen and share the presentation can you all see that yes great so thank you you um so you know as we just mentioned uh the town's been working over the last year on the development of the first has mitigation plan for the town of Freetown um and we are at the end of our process this is the second public workshop and our final presentation after today uh the public comment period will end on tomorrow on Monday I believe um and uh we will send the plan to MIMA uh Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency for their review and approval and then they will send it to FEMA for their review and approval um and again so this is the first haard mitigation plan for the town of Freetown uh a hous mitigation plan has a five-year planning Horizon so once the plan is um approved by FEMA and adopted by the town the plan is then active for the next five years which means that that the town of Freetown will then be allowed to apply for any state and federal funding to implement mitigation actions that are included in the plan um so it's exciting to be at this point and to be presenting the first plan for the town um I don't know why it's not advancing okay so we had a Freetown local Hazard mitigation committee that has um met over the last uh year or so uh it's typically folks from uh Department uh Municipal departments the chairs um and then there's also um myself and my colleague Kelly King who also assisted with the plan development so why has mitigation planning uh the disaster mitigation Act of 2000 requires that all municipalities um have an in place approved a multiple hazards mitigation plan in order to be eligible to apply for federal funding uh through disaster mitigation grants um they also um identify or Define hazard mitigation as a reduction or elimination of long-term risk to life property in the environment and they also Define natural hazards as any event or physical condition that has the potential to cause fatalities injuries property damage infrastructure damage agricultural loss damage to the environment Interruption of business and or other types of harm and or loss um so the first one of the pieces that we did take a look at was identifying a mission statement for the plan so the hazard mitigation committee developed this uh mission statement uh the purpose of the Freetown haard mitigation plan is to preserve the quality of life property values natural historic and cultural resources by mitigating current and future natural hazards impacting the community to reduce loss of life losses of economic natural and historic resources to foster a sustainable future for freet toown we also identified the five uh goals below um these goals are intended to be overarching and Broad brush the details and the finer points really come in the mitigation action strategy which I'll get to um in a little bit so the five goals include protecting the Public's health safety and Welfare reducing property damages caused by Hazard impacts minimizing social distress and economic losses and business disruptions mitigating existing and projected impact impacts of climate change towards a sustainable resilient community and providing an ongoing forum for the education and awareness of natural Hazard mitigation issues programs policies projects and resources so there are four steps to the hazard mitigation uh process there's assessing risks establishing goals identifying projects and actions and updating and maintaining the plan so over the last year or so we have a project web page on the town's website that's been maintained uh we keep all of our information there we have um information from previous uh uh presentations we also have uh contact information in case anybody from the general public wants to reach out um and we also have our current draft plan posted there because we're in the in the midst of our public comment period so the local house mitigation committee we met five times the first time was in May uh 2023 we met with um just with Victoria uh at the time just to kick the project off and and identify some um schedule uh limitations um but we had four regular meetings of the committee um at specific Milestones throughout the project we had our uh public Workshop number one which was back in November and we had an online community survey that was open for just about five months with 39 responses in total so the first piece is the hazard index and this is um these are all the different categories and Hazards within those categories that we looked at uh Mima and fima require communities to um assess or evaluate all of the hazards that the state haszard mitigation plan uh evaluates and that state has a mitigation plan for Massachusetts was updated in in September of 2023 so because we had started uh prior to that we sort of had to go back and revisit our approach to the hazard uh to the hazard index um so you can see that there's specific categories flood related hazards Winter Wind geologic Etc and then within those different categories there are specific hazards that we um evaluated or we consider we call it a profile uh where we look at the historic occurrences of those events we look at any damages or damage assessments that been that were reported and then the local Hazard mitigation committee identifies the hazard index which is the column to the the final column to the right um by looking at the frequency the location and then s so this is what we came up with back in I want to say summer of last year and we presented this at our first public Workshop um this just gives us a snapshot of the community based on the different hazards that have been profiled over time and every time the town updates their plan every five years this Hazard index has to has to be uh Revisited and updated so one of the next steps that we did was We performed an economic vulnerability analysis so right now we are looking at the um figure A1 the flood risks and repetitive loss areas so essentially um part of the economic vulnerability analysis is to take the um Hazard scenarios and overlay them with the parcels data set as well as with the critical facilities and vulnerable populations data set so this is a GIS or a geographic information systems electronic mapping plat form that we utilize to do this and it's a series of overlay analyses coordination that Victoria conducted with the um State flood plane coordinator included the national flood insurance insured Properties review So currently there are 74 uh flood insurance policies within the town of Freetown with just over $1 19.2 million of coverage there are also currently two repetitive loss properties and those can be seen on the map there's a a red uh ellipse um and the two a repetitive loss property is a is a a lost property that has suffered flood damage that has um totaled over 50% of the total assessed value of that property so the first Hazard overlay uh was the femur flood Hazard zones where we looked at the 100y year and the 500-year flood zones the 100e is the light blue color on your map and the 500y year is the orange brown color um the overlay analysis that we developed uh showed for the 100 Year there are just over 1,000 Parcels with uh assessed value of 6 just over $690 million um the 500 year there are 187 Parcels impacted by the 500e flood zone which just over 81 million um dollars in in potential impacts the next vulnerability analysis that we did or the hazard overlay was the impacts of coastal flood Hazard so we utilize the Massachusetts Coast flood risk model as our Hazard scenario which was is the the most recent and best available data set developed by the Woods Hole group uh I think two almost two years ago now um and you can see that the majority of the impacts which are very limited uh for Freetown come in through the Taunton River um so the it's the 1% annual exceedence chance for 2030 has 3177 Parcels impacted just over $292 million the 2050 scenario has six Parcels that are impacted just over $2 million and the 27d scenario has 18 Parcels at just over7 million so these are just intended to show the potential impact from these different scenarios in the projected future so that the town can then if you know as a town is having uh planning meetings and making planning decisions about where they should put critical facilities or vulnerable populations or any new development you'll be able to see where those projected impacts are are located or projected to occur and you can um hopefully the town can avoid utilizing those specific areas and then the final uh um economic vulnerability analysis that we did for the hazard scenario was taking a look at the Sea Lake and Overland Surge from hurricanes um or the slos inundation areas so again you can see that it's mostly coming in through the Taunton River and impacting the community the um yellow color is the category one hurricane um I'm sorry I don't know why that advanced uh the um category two is the pink light pink color category three hurricane is the orange and category four is the red so we have just over 204 Parcels or $163 million for category one 102 Parcels impacted just over $43 million for category two Category 3 is 72 Parcels just over $111 million and then category 4 just uh 33 Parcels just over $14 million in potential impacts part of the vulnerability analysis is also to look at the social vulnerability impacts from these Hazard scenarios uh we took a look at the public infrastructure and emergency lifelines um drinking water system uh the town has a heavy Reliance on individual Wells Transportation Systems there are various uh roadway segments that are intermittently impacted not necessarily completely shut down but impacted by the three different Hazard scenarios that I just showed there are some communication systems impacts there's a cell tower in the 100-year flood zone town hall is located in the 100 500e flood zone the Massachusetts flood risk model for 2030 uh the Sea Lake in Overland Surge from hurricanes category one um the fire station number one is also located in FEMA flood zones as well as the flood risk model for 2030 and the Sea Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricane one and two zones there are also multiple populations or facilities that are classified as vulnerable populations so either um schools or places of assembly where people congregate um there are various impacts as well and those are all detailed in the draft plan so the mitigation strategy which is really the reason why we're here tonight and really the the bulk of the or the meat of the plan um we identifi mitigation actions for consideration and inclusion from the local ha mitigation committee meetings that we had from the various plan studies and reports that the town has completed over time that we reviewed and evaluated and mentioned risks or natural Hazard risks we had that online survey and then also just from horsey Wht group The Firm that I work for based on our best practices working in other communities the mitigation measures are organized into these six different categories planning and prevention property protection natural resource protection structural projects emergency services and public education and awareness we put these into these six categories because it's our our goal and our our focus is to really make sure that the ha mitigation plan is a living document and is userfriendly and does not sit on a shelf and just get Dusty so we try to make it as streamlined as possible so that when there is a funding opportunity available to the town you can sort of navigate that plan fairly quickly to get to the information that you're looking for fima also requires that we conduct a prioritization process or the staple method uh which is essentially an abbreviated cost benefit analysis looking at the seven different t uh areas here uh social technical administrative political legal economic and environmental so we had our final meeting with the local haard mitigation committee we took um the score sheet and we had to evaluate the costs across all seven categories and the benefits to come up with a a total number um and that is similar to what the town would go through once the plan is approved and in place and adopted and should there be a funding mechanism available and the town sub would submit an application for funding the town would have to go and complete a full-blown cost benefit analysis so it's a very timec consuming um task it's the process that we use for the hmp which is the requirement is a much much more simplified process uh fuma also requires that we identify time frames for the mitigation actions so we have short medium and longterm again recognizing that a hazard mitigation plan has a 5-year planning Horizon so you know long term would be 18 months to five years that doesn't mean that we're not factoring in mitigation actions that are longer range than that it's just um we have to assign a time frame we also have to uh assign a cost range to that so some of these um action items fall under just someone's Municipal role in the community um it could be cost ranges from minimal to moderate to 25,000 or more and then this is the 2024 mitigation strategy and you'll see that the topic area is listed up above in the cap all capital letters we have um the action items numbered and then in the red font um I typically show where the actual mitigation action comes from I think it's helpful for folks who are reviewing the plan to know exactly where these actions uh stem from so action one is uh comes from the regional projects addendum to the Lakeville Rochester Freetown MVP plan which was done in 2019 the MVP plan is the municipal vulnerability preparedness program which is offered through the executive office of energy and environmental Affairs um the town completed the planning Grant process um and then since then the town completed this Regional um update as well it was a regional update so the action itself is to promote awareness of vector born disease tick and mosquito related as well as tree related pests and diseases through enhanced education and additional resources and I just want to step back one for one minute also so anything that is relative to an MVP plan whether it's the original MVP planning Grant or this uh Regional addendum or update to the MVP plans there are two different this represents two different funding mechanisms now there's the MVP action Grant mechanism through the state of Massachusetts and now that we're carrying this over into the HM negation plan there's hmp funding as well so it's a benefit to the community to carry all of these over into this plan um so that the town now has the flexibility of either seeking funding through the Commonwealth or funding through the federal government I do want to um note that mvp funding is much more flexible and forgiving than and uh than a Federal Grant application would be um but nonetheless the funding is there and if you can find the capacity to um put together a a quality application I highly recommend um going through MVP first and then going through uh hmp after that through the federal government um I also do recommend that once this plan is approved by FEMA and adopted locally by the town and in compliance for the next 5 years any other plan that the town works on over the next five years should incorporate these mitigation actions as well the more that the town can show in your application that these mitigation actions have been vetted across multiple demographics and multiple platforms the stronger your argument is and the more teeth your application has in being selected for implementation and funding so that being said action two comes from our 2024 has mitigation plan development and the risk assessment so ensure that critical facilities are adequately protected against multiple hazards uh there's that cell tower um and then the town hall and the fire station within the FEMA flood zones and several of the slash zones as well action three also comes from our this process ensure that vulnerable populations are adequately protected against multiple hazards so there are various churches and other community facilities where folks congregate that are also located with the FEA flood zones the mcfm for 2030 and then the slash zones as well the next category is public education and awareness so Action Four comes from the APC or as aamet ponds complex and the masket watershed management and climate action plan as well as the 2024 hmp risk assessment review so this is to um uh coordinate protection efforts to reduce flood risks um to people property of the APC with regional planning Partners Lakeville Freetown middleb New Bedford Taunton local stakeholder groups and state agencies across shared objectives and actions to address ongoing challenges and increased long-term climate resilience including um creating a volunt buyout program and are prepared to participate in potential state-run programs to acquire properties for flood storage restrict Dev development encroachment into the flood plane by requiring special permit review in the flood overlay District identify and prioritize areas where nature-based Storm Water Management may have the greatest impact on mitigating storm water and flooding restore natural Wetland habitat and functions so that these lands can act like a sponge to hold and slowly infiltrate and water uh filter water water under natural resource protection action five also comes from the APC um watershed management and climate action plan uh coordinate protection efforts to safeguard public drinking water supplies of the APC with regional planning Partners across Shar objectives uh to address ongoing challenges and increase long-term climate resilience utilize a multi-platform approach to notify the public of restricted water use periods and conservation measures including web page uh social media and roadway signage boards also regularly evaluate and update drought protocols and backup Supply plans uh there are various groundwater resources identified to be impacted by the 100-year flood zone as well as the flood risk model and slash zones action number six also comes from the APC watershed management climate action plan again coordinate protection efforts to preserve wildlife and habitat of the APC with Regional planning Partners across shade objectives and actions to address ongoing challenges and increase long-term climate resilience so adopt Andor update forestry management plans that improve Forest Health and resilience to climate change action number seven comes from the Freetown MVP summary of findings so flooding resilience and septic system management for Long Pond and APC stewardship uh review existing management plan for APC and conduct a study of flooding impact Ta on water quality while conducting engagement with neighboring towns and exploring Grant and Loan funding for septic system maintenance action number eight uh comes from the 2024 local ha mitigation committee or our process um complete repairs and improvements at the Town salt Barn to minimize runoff and salt intrusion into adjacent private drinking water wells specific actions include repaving the yard to control and restrict runoff on site and and install drainage to control and restrict runoff on-site moving on to the structural projects action number nine um also comes from our process and the risk assessment here uh to develop an implementation strategy strategy to address property and streets subject to flooding associated with the Sonet River so determine what mitigation activities whether it's maintenance monitoring structural replacement or pavement management can alleviate the problem or create a benefit to the community so essentially addressing roads that are um part of the time's evacuation route first then main thorough phases for evacuation purposes for the following roadways the causeway leading TOA Bay shores yep Oh I thought someone had a question um Beach Bluff Road leading to Hemlock Point Dr BR Road Fallbrook at Chase Road Flume and the Culvert um onfall Brook at chipaway Road I do want to mention that FEMA funding does not um qualify for maintenance um that falls on the individual Community it also does not um apply to Pavement management which is also considered an ongoing maintenance issue but it does um qualify under structural replacement so that's why we're including this here moving on to Emergency Services um action 10 also comes from your Freetown MVP summary of findings from 2019 um just improving emergency communication practices developing materials and presentations appropriate for a range of demographics action 11 uh comes from the that Regional projects addendum to the MVP plan uh develop greater Regional capacity or facilities to serve the area during or post climate disruption related events including facility improvements backup communication and communication capabilities adequate transportation services for vulnerable populations and then capacity to shelter pets and livestock action number 12 comes from the 2024 local has mitigation committee um working with Mima Regional director to reestablish freet Town's local emergency planning committee action 13 also comes from this process from 2024 to work with the town of Berkeley to better understand recruiting and retainment strategies and developing a citizen's Emergency Response Team so aert team is just um comprised of local volunteers that um there's actually free training that the town can apply for um to get folks who are volunteering for the C team um and they just provide additional assistance during uh local emergencies to um typically police and fire person Personnel under planning and prevention category now action 14 Freetown comes from the free Town MVP summary of findings from 2019 the conso line aging infrastructure and Senior mixed use Housing Development improvements so review the existing management plan for the APC and conduct a study of flooding consider building improvements such as developing a larger COA facility adding showers and improving improving electrical infrastructure also ensuring that 55 plus or age restricted housing is prioritized in zoning regulations addressing resilience issues action number 15 comes from this 2024 process and the risk assessment I do want to preface this by saying that the with the update of the Statewide Hazard mitigation plan in September of 2023 and the changes to federal regulations and guidance there are new um funding opportun unities for high and significant Hazard dams within the community um and with that new regulation and that new guidance it requires that the towns all conduct a robust review of the dams that are in town so there's quite a a number of action items that are um suggested towards uh improvements to some of the dams phase one inspection reports as well as to the emergency action plans and the whole point behind that is because there's this new funding mechanism specifically targeted towards high and significant Hazard dams so action 15 uh coordinate with private Dam owners to ensure the completion of recommended improvements identified in the most recent phase one inspection report for the following dams Brown pond dam Monument pond dam Stillwater pond dam and Tisdale pond dam so a there's one inspection and evaluation report for significant Hazard dams needs to happen every two years to be to be in compliance for a high Hazard Dam every five years and a low Hazard Dam every 10 years that phase one inspection and evaluation report is conducted by a um uh licensed um professional engineer um who identifies and evaluates all the different improvements that have to happen to that Dam to maintain that Dam and good um operational water action 16 uh coordinate with the city of full River to ensure the completion of recommended improvements identified in the most recent phase one inspection report for the Terry Brook Reservoir Dam action number 17 uh comes from the that Regional project addendum or update for the MVP plan assessing the Integrity of roadway infrastructure and the green infrastructure surrounding it action 18 uh comes from this 2024 Pro process to coordinate with private Dam owners to develop Andor update where noted the emergency action plans for the following dams for brown Pond Monument Pond and Tisdale pond dam so any Dam that is classified by um the office of dam safety in Massachusetts through the uh DCR requires that any higher significant Hazard dams have an emergency action plan developed for that structure those emergency plans are required to be updated on an annual basis which is actually a fairly quick and simple process it's a checklist um so again it's really just essentially just updating residents and property owners who fall within the wet weather and the dry weather failure inundation zones so that when they do have that call down tree should there be a breach at the dam they'll the town has all of the specific um residents at risk who can be contacted for that action number 19 also comes from the 2024 process to coordinate with the city of Fall River to update that emergency action plan for the Terry book Reservoir Dam as well the one caveat statement to to that applies to private dams or dams that are owned by other uh municipalities the town really doesn't have the town of Freetown doesn't really have any enforcement capacity with that um it really comes down to just coordinating with the private Dam owners or coordinating with the other Municipal owners of these structures reminding these folks what they're um what they're required to do as far as the phase one inspection reports or the emergency action plans as well um some communities that have the capacity to do this would typically either do the phase one inspection report themselves and then seek reimbursement from the private property owner or from the municipality While others just again try to coordinate on an annual basis where folks are falling outside of compliance action 20 also comes from the 2024 process to coordinate with private Dam owners to complete a phase one a current phase one inspection report then ensure a completion of recommended improvements identified on the updated phase one inspection report from Monument pond dam and then finally action 21 also comes from this 2024 process um to identify alternative storage location and our strategy for critical Town records documents and operating equipment so that is the 2024 mitigation um strategy we have our draft update which is available for public comment right now um until Monday August 12th the plan is available on the project web page hosted on the town's website um once we do get comments back and we have the end of the comment period I will uh present all the everything that came in from either the town or from residents and Property Owners to the local hous mitigation committee and we will evaluate which ones we you know are going to be addressed and which ones we can um not consider sometimes we get comments from residents who don't fully understand that has a mitigation purpose and process so sometimes there are comments that are necessarily not necessarily applicable and then once we do uh address those comments and update the plan we will send the draft plan to MIMA by August 30th for their review and consideration typically um Mima has a 45 to 60-day CU for that review period so we we could potentially be looking at two months before we get memus approval they have not been taking that long they have been Expediting reviews very quickly um once the plan is approved by Mima they will forward the plan to FEMA FEMA also has a 45 to 60 day Q to review and and and evaluate that plan for um completeness um once FEMA reviews that and and deems it um approved pending adoption they will send a letter to the town letting them know that the plan has been approved pending adoption and from that date forward the town Freetown will have one year One calendar year to officially adopt the plan through resolution um and then as soon as that plan is adopted through resolution the letter will go to MIMA who will forward a copy of the letter to FEMA and then the town of Freetown has five years uh moving forward where the the plan is in compliance and is eligible to apply for FEMA funding um if there are any questions or comments after the fact um here's uh the town administrators contact information as well as my own um I'm going to stop sharing now and see if there are any questions that folks might have uh Craig can you hear me yes go ahead J car please go first talk uh Craig great presentation thank you that's lot lot of information um my concern looking at it from the town perspective is your your take on well the Committees take on private dams phase one action there to right so these private dams what are we talking how many of these private dams do we have in the free toown area or those that are impact free toown under phase one I'm looking more of a liability in case something goes wrong you know tree falls into the dam destroys the dam now there's uh more water coming into our town what's the liability on the property owners on the private Dames so they would be fully liable um I did have a conversation with the local ha of mitigation committee at the I think it was the third meeting that we had it could have been the fourth meeting I'm not I don't I can't recall but I'm wor I was working in another Community where there was a damn failure um and the town actually had just recently purchased the the structure not doing their due diligence and not realizing that there had not been a recent phase one inspection report that there was not an emergency action plan for the structure um and was sort of backpedaling and trying to figure out what they should do moving forward um at the Freetown local haard mitigation committee meeting I I'm fairly certain that I followed up with Victoria some language that you could put into a letter to these private property Dam private Dam owners reminding them of what their requirements or their the required compliance is being the the owner of that Dam and what that really means um I can certainly forward that information onto on to Deb again um but I would certainly advise you to get those letters out to those private Dam owners and so that you have a record making sure that you're notifying them that they have responsibility as a dam owner and what those impacts could be to the community of Freetown um so that would be my my recommendation moving forward is to definitely whether it's a phase one inspection report um or an emergency Action Plan update to make sure that those get done that those letters get sent out and that you maintain copies on file with at the Town um you know just because a fears one inspection report is current and in compliance you know whether it's a a two-year period a five-year period or a 10-year period the problem really lies in accountability so once that phase one gets developed the prop the property owner is responsible for making those improvements and that's where things sort of fall short it's not a matter of updating the phase one inspection report it's a matter of actually conducting the work or the improvements to make sure that that dam is maintained in good operating order and safe operating order no have you ever come into a situation that the this Mass this mitigation plan that we're creating or have created Property Owners can't sustain or refuse to comply what's our course of action from that point I don't know that you have any teeth with that um I think like I said I would certainly put a letter on file to the property owner reminding them of what their what their requirements are as as the owner I would also um copy the office of dam safety on that um there's a couple of folks I think Emily Caruso is one of the contacts at the office of dam safety under DCR I would certainly copy them as well um you're going to find if you dig deep enough that there are actually structures that are owned by the state that are out of compliance with phase one inspection report and eaps as well shocked so um I would just say to cover your to cover all your bases I would do the letter to the private owner and copy the letter to the office of dam safety and I think that way liability falls off the shoulders of the town thank you Craig you've answered my question appreciate it sure all right uh Craig I so first of all you know great job presenting that that's a lot of information yes um that can affect a lot of people so uh you know a bunch of us that Debbie as well as myself live in an area that was dealt with a flood you know about 15 years ago now and was unaccessible uh except for by special vehicle so so we get it and it's a real concern um is by us putting things into perspective and saying okay we're gonna do I don't know the fire station and then we have that in there as uh you know over $225,000 but in a major project are we saying that we what's the liab is there any liability to us moving it or doing something to help mitigate that problem within the fiveyear period so a has a mitigation plan I should have said this up front a haszard mitigation plane is not going to accomplish anything specifically it's going the only thing that it does accomplish is establish a road map for future efforts so anything that's included in the hazard mitigation plan does not hold the town liable or responsible for accomplishing any of it you should be looking at it as a a giant wish list should there be funding available and again that situation that I mentioned where with the MVP program versus the hmp program having multiple funding mechanisms offers a little bit of flexibility to the community how you want to apply and where you want to apply um but it does not hold the town liable to do or complete any of the actions at all if there are other actions that come into play after this plan is approved and adopted by the community and already in place the town can update this plan by simply um updating the plan if it's a if it's if you're changing an action item and just revising language if you're adding mitigation actions the only thing that you the town would have to do is just update the plan to include that information or include the revised information send a copy of that to the state to MIMA and you'll get a letter from Mima and FEMA saying that based on your suggested or your proposed uh revisions your plan is now compliant as well so there's flexibility in that you don't have to go through the whole update process when you do revise your plan during the fiveyear compliance period And there's no liability oh sorry so who makes that decision how is it voted on uh you know who who has the right to to make that change to say that we want to add ab and c and remove D from it so it would most likely be well now that Victoria's moved on it would probably be Deb um and you would the whole point of the of section five is like plan implementation and maintenance and that's where we um specify in the plan that the town and this local Hazard mitigation committee that I've been working with for the LA over the last year will meet on an annual basis to review the plan or more frequently if needed um so and then also if there is a significant event and there's a disaster declared um either within the state or the county or the community the town should really consider revising the plan and updating the plan after a significant event like that as well so it would be whoever is in charge at the time and then working with the the local haard mitigation committee to make those changes I like the idea of it going through Deb the committee that's a great that's a perfect answer to me because um you know they they're the ones who are are living this stuff right they're the ones who've been involved since the beginning right it's really the people who are in the know in the town so I I think that's a perfect answer but I just didn't know who and what and how many people and you know because you said okay well you can just a after this initial plan's adopted you know you can make changes and send it off and then okay it gets gets adopted and then no one really knows about it and came on us we had you know we had someone do it and then no one else knew about it so that was my concern so thank you clarification of that sure I have one question H me Craig yes I to know we talked about funding MVP funding and hmp you know funding do you know if you can piggyback them I I don't know for certain I don't believe you can and I I the mvy you know there's all with the hmp funding there's typically a match there's usually a 25% match a financial match um so I know that a lot of communities try to piggyback on both and use one for the that Financial that 25% and I I I'm fairly certain that the Commonwealth and the federal government's kind of caught on to that um so I don't believe that you can piggyback I do know that if you were to have uh a mitigation act there's there's several mitigation actions in the plan that reference a regional approach that is one way for to identify some cost efficiencies um and then as well as some the 25% match burden share cost share as well um and I do know that uh the MVP program through the Commonwealth but also the hmgp um they they look at Regional Partnerships favorably um and they look at it as more of economies of scale and um so I would certainly consider that I do think I do want to state that if you can if you have specific actions that you that rise to the top that are really important and really critical to get done start working on those now start developing your payer trayal of damage assessments of impacts in the community critical infrastructure downtime things like start building your case now because when what happens is is that should there be a disaster declared and there's funding available you'll get notice that there's funding available but there's typically a quick turnaround time and when you have limited capacity and Manpower in town to actually turn that application around especially knowing that you have to do a full-blown cost benefit analysis a lot of communities end up moving away from that because they just don't have the internal capacity to pull it together so I would certainly start working on your high priority actions now start to develop that background information if it's a if it's a if there's damages there's damage assessments um photographs there's so many different ways that you can put yourself in a position so that when there is a funding opportunity that comes about you're ready to to submit that application or that you have a good start to it and a lot of times when there's money left on the table after that funding round mimo will come back around for a second a second ask there's a little bit more flexibility at that point when there is a second ask um but again there there is money left on the table and the the the the primary issue with a funding application for FEMA is that based on that cost benefit analysis the full-blown cost benefit analysis that you have to do you have to achieve a cost benefit ratio of 1.0 or greater in order for it to be considered a competitive application so what typically happens is is you do it's a actual computer software that you can utilized to do that cost benefit analysis if you don't get to that 1.0 um you can still submit your application just in case there might have been like light traffic at that point in time um but you you're going to want to go back and revisit that and utilize the services of Mima and the planner at Mima to help you expand so you might want to expand your reach so if it's a flood study or you um uh you had mentioned selectman zegger mentioned um you know flooding in a specific area in town you might want to add one or two neighborhoods onto that so that your your reach is larger your impacts are greater and your that drives your cost benefit analysis ratio up further I I did I'm not sure you can give me the information but in the beginning you talked about um properties that had multiple losses I think they were severe repetitive flood loss properties I couldn't I can't see the map very well so I didn't know what those were because I hadn't I wasn't aware of that so that is information that is um considered sensitive information so that's so I'm not allowed to actually get that information Toria was the one that had to request that information as a Municipal Employee and we show that information on the map um as like a a very loose nebulous kind of blurb because it's a it's um against the law to show and state the actual physical address because it diminishes the property value for those two homeowners I just know that there's grant funding there's grant funding available I've seen grant funding that can mitigate right these repetitive loss properties on whatever that looks like whether it's the town buying the property and and removing the property or whether it's the town funding to raise the property bringing it up into you know so that's why I was asking because I have seen those grant opportunities yeah and there's actually one of the federal um programs is um is open space AC is acquisition of those flood Throne properties the only thing is is that if you apply for and receive federal funding for property acquisition of a repetitive flood loss property that what happens is is that that structure would be demolished and the property would have to remain in open space in perpetuity so it comes off the tax rule um but it also it can flood and it can be okay to flood because there's nothing there right yeah so that okay thank you yeah yeah all right so um L do we have any one ask on waiting to ask questions so you can see nope no okay uh I guess you know uh I I I really want to thank you Craig for your time and uh you know I think this is a good step in the right direction uh you know so I really do appreciate your time unless anyone has any further questions I'll I'll let Craig go no questions here all right perfect great all right thank you for your time sir thank you thank you for the opportunity and um Deb I will be in touch with you um on next steps um yeah and that's it thanks for your time everybody I appreciate it correct great job all right take care get yes um I'm just going to ask that we go into a five minute recess um that I'll back so uh I'm going to entertain a motion that we go into recess I I motion made I will second it all those in favor I I Lan you want to do roll call you're you're muted selectman Lopes yes selectman Zager yes thank you see everyone in five minutes minutes um I I should call we're recording all right thank you so um thank you everyone for that brief pause um the meeting going again uh so we're going to move on to agenda item number two um so agenda item number two is discussion and vote on whether to approve the Open Session minutes from 7:29 2024 with that I entertain a motion um to approve the Open Session minutes from 729 2024 motion made I will second it all those in favor i i y you're on mute sorry sorry selectman Lopes yes Selman Zer yes we're a little bit Rusty at this apparently which I know I thought I hit the button but I guess not so agenda item number three discussion and vote on whether to approve the sales order and sales agreement from National Van builders Inc for uh the new parat Transit van for the Council on agent um so there was an updated just getting to it um and I know saw that Rebecca's on here but uh There Was You know the sales order for the dollar amount I believe was what it changed um so 7835 yes yep so I mean it is what it is that unfortunately fortunately whatever the the things change but the good news is we're we're moving in the right direction and we did get some money yes so two grants uh there was an earmark last year that we got for I think from Senator Rodricks for 25,000 and then uh Rebecca filed for Grant application and got another $25,000 so 50,000 of this was funded by Grant or other funds so the reality is town is getting a ban for a brand new V around 28,000 and change so absolutely I you can't can't get better than that right $288,000 so so thank you thank you Rebecca um you know appreciate everyone's hard work because that's a it's a lot of money saved um so and and I know the seniors will appreciate it so you have any questions or concerns welcome well my my first question was going to be what's the amount because in my agenda packet I don't have a total figure so saving $50,000 I'm all for it yeah the total amount to cut you off $ 78,3 54 so you're looking at a cost to the community to the town $2,354 I'll take the $50,000 savings so it looks like looking at the schematics you have a three Ada passenger vehicle when the seats are up and it looks like six to8 or six to n when they're down yeah I think nine nine perfect I think you can have um you know some seats are up some seats are down you can it's it's a combination it's a brand new vehicle so there's a lot going on now I know the concern prior to this was to make sure we have a lot of residents that go to like places like new Beford right City new Beford that have low hanging parking garages will this van accommodate the low ceiling low requirement as we discussed in previous meetings yeah so it's actually going to be a medium height roof uh which is great we're not going for um the high roof and and also um it this van is going to be able to fit in parking spaces which has been huge um our drivers have had a lot of challenges not being able to park in the parking safely in parking spaces so this fan can also just actually stay in a parking space that is a plus I see there's like a a ramp that comes out I'm assuming that's for the wheelchairs to get it in and out to the front yes on the side excellent all right stuff Rebecca fantastic any questions or comments from you in regards to this sorry to put you on the spot I just want to make sure that you're okay with it and you know if you have any input on it me I'm sorry I didn't hear that yeah no I'm sorry I can tend to mumble too so no that's okay so I just wanted to make sure if you had any questions or comments or anything regards to it I don't think so um we're pretty excited that we were able to get the additional uh 25,000 through mcoa um so that was something we had gone out for a few months ago um and we are very happy that this you know we were able to get that from from mcoa so thank you I'm excited about it my only question was Rob Rebecca do you know when you might expect the B I don't nope nope that is something I can follow up with him about the guy that the sales um rep that i' had been dealing with was on vacation um so I can follow up with him Andrew and uh find out if he has more updated information for me thanks thank you so much again yeah thank you guys appreciate it so um with that I am going to entertain a motion to approve the sales order and sales agreement from National Van builders Inc for the new power Transit ban for the Council on un aging motions made I will second all those in favor I hi Selman Lopes yes Selman Zager yes agenda item number four discussion and vote uh whether to Au authorize the Town Administrator to sign the sales order and sales agreement with uh National B Builders so something Debbie's got pretty good at these days is signing for us that we approve so so this one kind of can't be any more straightforward so with that I will uh entertain a motion to approve uh to authorize the Town Administrator to sign the sales order and sales order and sales agreement with national V holders motions made I will second all those in favor I I Selman Lopes yes Selman zagger yes uh n number five discussion and vote on adding cameras to the transfer station so um you know we have um couple of different schematics that I I don't really I can't really go through what it is but um you know for safety concerns obviously and security but um you know we got a lot of talk about adding some cameras for safety reasons and stuff down the transfer station so um you know we we have some different things but um you know some of it I don't think at this point really makes sense um based on work that will need to be done uh for as far as electrical so uh caros do you have any comments or concerns with this U pyb off what you said Jared you're correct the the cameras we have there now they're just outdated um it doesn't cover all the angles we have a lot of um missing areas um you know it's a lot a lot of stuff going coming in going throughout this transfer station uh from from Hazard mitigation to uh sales here and there we just want to make sure we're we're covering everything uh so we know what's going on at the transfer station this is just upkeep in a sense um like like I said the cameras that are there now they're based on an old infrastructure system that we have in place and it buffers out it we're just not getting the coverage we need uh we all went out there took a look we we brought the expert with us and kind of try to get all the blind spots that we had in place and this is just to make sure that one our employees are safe the public is safe and two we're following all federal and state mandates required for a transfer station that's as simple as that there's no there's no secret sauce in this one this is just U unfortunately the cost of doing business with the transfer station so so right now I mean I guess the keep simple do we want to try and approve for all three but I really don't think so I think that we only go after the ones that really makes sense which at this point is just uh item number one on on the list and you have any issues with that just because well how I started this with is I don't want to say okay we're going to put cameras somewhere where there's no electricity um you know so what's what's the point um you know we can come back to is we you know we get electricity to some of these areas or whatever or other issues it's not just electricity there's other issues right so um are you an agreement with that no your your logic is correct right now we don't have electricity in place in the main camera that we would need uh for the vehicles coming and going into the transfer station towards the main site as you pass the uh the main driveway in a sense right so fixing the ones we have there now absolutely and then once we get electricity swing back to this and add that camera after the fact so I'm agreement this with you let's let's let's fix what's there now let's get the electrical where we need it it's there it's there now we just got to make some adjustments so that we can get a you know weatherproof boxing and casing make sure that the all the the equipment is protected then once that happens then yes we can swing back and then um reconvene with this vote again yeah and and I guess I I don't want to drag this on all night but I do want to you know reer reiterate what you had just said is that you know the equipment needs to be updated that's what this is all about and you know I I don't want people to think you know we're negative this is you know helping out our residents and and the employees and safety for everyone so so you know that that's really it with this so um yeah I I agree with you Jared this is no nefarious reasons there's nothing going on this is just hey we're using 1995 cameras in 202 2 a simple way of looking at it yeah so um with that um I'm going to entertain a motion that we approve adding uh list number one uh of cameras to the transfer station motion made I will second it all those in favor I I selectman lops yes fman Zager yes all right right uh moving on to agenda item number six discussion and vote on whether to approve the road opening permit for 182 brilley road to run uh water to a mainous per setic system plant um so this is something that um you know contractor had come to us with during the end of the last meeting and we had you know talked about it with them they had they had approval but you know they were up against some some tight time frames so we had approved it and now putting it into you know the regular meeting um you know I think as long as they had you know they had the sign offs from everyone this was an approved plan U you know I think this is pretty straightforward you know is there any issues from you say no after reviewing the plan and listening to Mr Petty at the last U open public session uh pretty straightforward I'm glad this is back in our agenda kind of following up so this is a day-to-day business okay very good thank you um so with that I entertain a motion to approve the road opening permit for 182 Bry road to run uh water to the main house per the septic system motion made I will second all those in favor I I fman Lopes yes fman zagger yes then item number seven discussion and vote whether to allow exclusive use of the band stand and to the town library children's musical program on 8 2224 from 1: to 300 p.m. uh I think this is a great idea and I you know we we talk about it all the time and I love all the the community involvement we've had over the past couple of years and this is just another little step of what what I'm talking about we're all talking about right as a group and uh as a community so um you know I nothing but excited for this I think it's pretty straightforward so uh anything caros before it this is one of the simplest things we do throughout the year uh approving two great uses right one public land and two for the town library and now it's for children and music winwin win so yes yes and yes all right so uh with that I will attain a motion to allow exclusive use to the Bandstand at the town Library children's music program on 82020 822 2024 from one I will second I will second it all those in favor I I San Lopes yes selectman zagger yes uh agenda item number eight discussion and vote on um and awarding the paving and Milling project for howand Road and a Sona Bay shores um so we've got the quotes in one second uh and we all obvious you know the lowest bidder um came in at PJ Keaton company um for just about $547,500 there nothing standing left that we need from them um so you know this is all all approved and ready to go so you know as long as we have everything and it's really a no-brainer to just move on with the poest company so yeah no I agree with you this is over three little over three miles worth of uh Road from what I see and it lows bitter so let let uh again we do this every year he says it cost doing business as a town make sure our roads and and walkways are up to date and this is part of it all right so um with that I entertain a motion uh to award the paving and Milling project for Harland Road and ason base Shores to PJ ke company motion made I will second it all those in favor I I selan Lopes yes Selman zeger yes agenda item number nine discussion and vote on whether to approve the contract between the town of Freetown and PJ Keaton for the paving and Milling project for Howland Road and ASA Bay shores so this is literally you know the contract that we have with them so it's just a you know follow up that we're approving to sign it uh I didn't see anything wrong with it you know pretty straightforward so with that I will entertain a motion to approve the contract between the town of Freetown and PJ Keaton for the paving and Milling projects for hland Road and Sonet Bay shores motion made I will second all those in favor I I fman Lopes yes fman zeger yes agenda item number 10 discussion and vote whether to authorize the Town Administrator to sign the contracts between PJ Keaton for the pave with PJ Keaton company for a Paving and Milling project for Road and Son B shs so this kind of our general theme always is having Debbie sign everything for us so you know another straightforward thing so uh with that uh I entertain a motion to approve uh I entertain a motion um to authorize the Town Administrator to sign the contracts between PJ Keon company for Paving and Milling project for Howland Road and Sona Bay shores motion made I will second it all those in favor I I Blackman Lopes yes Blackman zagger yes agenda item number 11 discussion and vote on declaring the following items as Surplus and disposing of them a a standup desk from the town administrator's office which is broken uh we'll send off to the transfer station and B uh radar trailer a surplus outdated no value and donated to the town of Berkeley um you know two straightforward things and the town of Berkeley has said that they have a need for it so um rather than throw it in the trash we you know can do something good with it and you know donate it over to the town next door so it's been a great partner with us so I think it's pretty straightforward I just got a question on this so I understand the broken uh the broken desk from Lan I'm glad I'm glad no one got hurt all right uh but B the radar trailer looking at the notes it says that they have the finances to fix the trailer or update the trailer for their own use is that something that we can do uh I know these trailers cost you know thousands of dollars if they get updated town of Berkeley is that something we can do as well I'm more of a question than anything else it's is it not worth our time is it is it cheaper than buying a new one those are the questions that I have on that one right we already have them but we always could use more as well right so so in two three years five years from now when when the chief comes back to us say hey I need a radar trailer is this GNA come back to say hey we should have kept that one and just fixed it it's it's a 1999 radar trailer it's 25 years old they use um uh software in them to do work and this one isn't compatible I get a grant um I don't if it was last year or the year before to get a new one and so they they don't need this one and it it doesn't always work it it they have trouble it's it's large um and that's what the chief was requesting I I don't know if Berkeley's going to use it for parts or they going to update it or they don't have one and this is you know a step in the right direction since they're a mutual Aid town with us you know they help us and we help them um so to answer your question I mean the the Chief came in and they don't use it it's it's really not working for them the software is a big piece of it because it's not compatible at this point with the software that reads the the speeds and whatnot that they use with the new uh Speed trailer we we got more than just the the speed trailer uh with the grant we got two you know two of the speed sides that go like you can just attach to a tree or a pole so we have three now that and they they all have uh data that you can collect from them so I think that we just have more updated equipment at this point that this one will be used because of sort of a dinosaur at this point and and I think you know and Debbie said exactly what I was going to say about you know a lot of this stuff and it's not just a free toown thing it's everywhere right you drive and they have the speed limit signs they attached to poles that's really where that's going and is if right now if you're driving past uh the as of like two days ago I was driving uh by the forest and this this sign was out there right their radar trailer was out there but it was conveying a message about being handsfree while driving so I don't think they're using that as much for that as more as they're using it for messaging and stuff so I don't know that they're you know if they're saying if the chief is saying hey we don't need it and someone else wants it I really think it's an old- grain it to put it into that direction um you know something that's 25 years old um you know so it's it's you know how it is technology and how long it last so I I do and I my question was more directed towards the uh afficionados and the uh online Hawks they gotta be asking that question down the road and we might as well get that question out of the way now and because and I'm an agreement with it's it's a you know just because it's 25 years old I wouldn't call it a dinosaur but in the age of technology I I agree it's a little outdated um and we've UPG upgraded our systems quite a bit that you're right this does not fit our needs any any longer longer so I agree all right so so um I think we're both in agreeance now so well happen so so um with that I will entertain a motion um to declare the following items as Surplus and dispose of them uh the standup desk from the town administrator's office and the radar trailer um from the police station motion made I will sec I will second all those in favor I I Blackman Lopes yes Blackman Zager yes agenda item number 12 discussion and vote on whether uh the community program director can sell sell the town cookbook and funds going into the roling funds so um we have Kylie on um but you know obviously this is a i Kylie how you doing and I'm good how are you good thank you so um you know this is another step in the process of things you're doing to help with involvement and you know and you're generating money at this point right for through this so I'm not sure if there's anything you want to talk about with it in regards to it and like you know what you're trying to accomplish yeah Nicole and I haven't even decided if we want it to be put to sale I just want to have that option just in case it becomes popular um I also just want some type of Revenue to help keep programs free for the future um I really enjoy having all these free programs especially in this day and age it's it's important that families are able to go out and have a good time without having to worry about costs um so something as simple as$ five dollar can go a long way towards helping future programs so I thought this could be one way of achieving that I I I I appreciate that right because to your point you know this was something that was funded at first and then you know where where you can pull from it but we eventually have to you know we have to get the funding from somewhere nothing unfortunately is free so so if we have something that the public wants and we can give to them at a fair price and you can get a little bit of money back that can help generate things so that you can continue on with concerts and you know different things in town that you've been you know working diligently on um you know I'm all about it and it's someone who can't cook that well and I'll take any cookbook I can get so I appreciate it sure yeah I'm all for um you know the first item I saw in there was the pie right apple pie whatever I was like that's that'd be great for uh the pie eating contest against against all the Selman so uh all for question comes down to um make sure we have the the proper funding mechanism to make sure we can allocate grab the funds and and put them into the right uh account account and everything else I know we have that for like the pre and fireworks is that set up in the background make sure that's done the proper way so there's no you know there's no questions down the road other than that that's my only concern uh other than that this is a great idea I completely support Community program director and all the functions that she's doing uh working with different departments different different places and what what a great response we we getting unfortunately tomorrow night it's a little rain out um I don't know what happened to yoga today um but hopefully it all worked out it's it's it's you know it'll it'll work itself out the question revolving fund is set up so we are um able to collect the money and put it in the revolving fund um it still requires a town meeting vote for K to actually spend that through the community community program director you know next year but it it sort of will continue to revolve right that's why it's called the revolving fund so our mechan Ms are in place and we're ready to roll with uh collecting any funds that we think is appropriate for the for the functions that uh or selling bookbooks or whatever it is that kye's working on thank you I appreciate that so um Carlos bear with me here for a second trying to get back in hold on okay all right thank you I was going to say I don't have a quorum without him soos we needed you I I touched my ear I'm sorry I hung up oh it's all good you're back it's all good all right so so um you know I think uh you know once again I'll just say you know hats off to Kylie and and the group and the energy that everyone's putting into it you know it's it's it's the general theme right we were just talking with Rebecca and talking about our excitement things that she's doing um you know I just I I love the excitement that's happening in this town so let's keep it rolling um with that um I entertain a motion uh to approve the community uh program director can sell the town cookbook and all the funds will go into the revolving fund motion made I will second it all those in favor I I Blackman Lopes yes San Zer yes agenda item number 13 discussion and vote on on adopting on adoption of the 93 2024 State primary warrant and direct the town clerk to have said warrant duly advertised and posted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the bylaws of the town of Freetown um so something not as quite as exciting to most of us um that we have to talk about versus cookbooks and stuff but cherl I I you know I'm only half joking or joking really but um you know I do you have any questions or anything or anything you'd like to state in regards to any of this sorry can't hear you Cheryl oh sorry I'm I'm putting her on the spot now we can't hear technology at its F us if you don't have anything Charlotte you you can you're good okay all right so we we'll take that I'm sorry um so yeah you know I I know it's pretty straightforward is you know things have gone on you know over and over again and you know just another routine that we have to call out but um you know I I just wanted to you know I want to afford gereral right to say something that so that's all so I do apologize for even trying to her into it so um all right so uh with that I am going to entertain a motion on uh adoption of the 93 2024 State primary warrant and direct the town clerk to have said warrant duly advertised and posted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the bylaws of the town of Freetown motion made I will second it all those in favor I I San Lopes yes selan zega yes agenda item number 14 uh discussion and vote on asking the board of Selectmen to approve a sufficient number of police officers but no less than one at every polling location and designate the police chief the authority to assign specific police officers according to scheduling and availability in constellation with the town clerk for the 93 20204 State primary um so you know kind of the same thing it's you know it's the can task us but the my biggest concern is obviously that we're getting the input of the town clerk um you know because she's the one who has to live and breed this stuff as well as the police chief um you know and I think uh it has to be called out in there as such because unfortunately you know sometimes they have a harder time getting officers there so then you know we have to have the chief police chief of police have the flexibility to make sure that we have an adequate number of police officers on location once again I know Gerald can't say anything so so but um do you have anything well I know that we've talked in the past unfortunately show can't um speak but you know one and I hope I don't miss state things but one police officer has to stay with the ballots or stay with you know certain stuff so um I I think I'd like to have two police officers if possible because there's just there's just a lot you know and this I think this year is going to be a lot of contention and a lot of a little bit height heightened um issues I think so I think if we can afford to have two and I don't mean financially but physically just be able to get the extra polias I would I would like to have at least two and then maybe maybe you vote to leave it up to the discretion of the police chief and and and the clerk I yes Cheryl had typed in a comment um let me just read that for you she um said we are required one police officer inside she would like to see the board slman require at least another one outside for both September and November if not additional two okay um you know one one of the things is is you know we've had an issue where we've talked about uh the school but the school will be shut down for all of those right so we don't have to worry about you know that was my and I I'm seeing it knowing it but the you know that were because we're not going to have children at the location at the time of voting um so so I do think um with Cheryl's blessing I do think that two is good but that being said you know if the chief who am I to to vote if the chief says he wants a third there then we 100% allow a third to be there so uh you know we can leave that up to to Cheryl and the chief um you know to to deal with on their own um you know and just obviously keep us informed but you char did also say in the chat this is a highly elevated election especially in November so but no I concur I know in years past we had you know potentially different groups that were discussing things online and the police chief decided they need extra extra officers so that doesn't change the police chief is going to dictate what's needed based on the threat design or mitigation that's needed um our elections need to be safe and secure everyone needs to come out and vote we have 10,000 people registered get out there and vote um but I do have a question after we vote in the schools I'm glad that their schools are be shut down my question is going to revolve whether that those secondary doors will be installed prior to these votes just just I kind of know the answer but I want to make sure everyone listening knows the answer as well so she's saying no Carlos but I would I'm just saying that we if we're going to discuss it we discuss it before we vote so um you know I I think you know to your point is if we're you know that she she kind of answered it but um and Cheryl do you have any I don't want to just call out two specific dates I think that I would want to call out the vote that we have two officers there um with the discretion of um leaving the discretion to uh Cheryl and the chief of police um because I you know I understand her outlook on it that um that her outlook on it that you know these are twoo heightened times but uh we don't know what can happen for any other election and I would hate to to restrict ourselves on a vote now and then have to go back and revote it and do things I just think it's cleaner to vote that we have two officers there at all elections for 2024 and then allow um the town clerk as well as the chief of police um to to change you know to moderate the numbers of P so does that work for you Cheryl yes okay she did note on here that she's looking for the safety of our voters residents and election workers and she would like to go uh election by election this is just September right now she will come back in October for an additional vote at that time okay perfect all right and I just want to say uh selectman Lopes was asking about the doors we are diligently working on getting those doors cut in as we speak we've um procured the contractors we have completed all the paperwork I've I've spoken to them they are on it so let's cross our fingers that there will be this second door um at least cut in whether the the handicap ramp is probably the piece of it that I'm still um working on but I think everybody is on board that by this uh by this day this should be done which is also I believe is the first day of school I'm not sure but um I think that no the day before the first day of school right yeah well that's good so but I do think the door maybe there if not for this by the next one so fingers crossed we are diligently working on it okay thank you and that's encouraging so um all right so um I do have another comment from Cheryl um she said or we could do that I agree at least two for 2024 September and November elections if there's no handicap accessible for September we can't use it right cross for November um so so to to her point because of and I in shame on me for calling it out as I you know talking about the overall year um you know we're really talking about this one which I think is a very valid point on on you know for her so um you know I'm I'm just going to call out for just this one election and then you know we we'll come back and do this again in a couple of months so so look at that big smile on her face that says it all so uh um with that I will entertain a motion uh for adoption of the 93 2024 State primary warrant and to direct the town clerk to have oh wait I'm sorry I just I just lost my place um I'm on agenda item number 14 yeah sorry so so um with that I will entertain a motion uh for tasking the board of selectman to approve a sufficient number of police officers which will be two um at every polling location and designate the police chief and the authority to the specific police offices accordance to the schedule and availability of the Constitution with the town clerk um for 93 2024 State primary motion made I will second it all those favor I I slman Lopes yes slman zegger yes agenda item number 15 discussion and vote whether to authorize uh the Council on agent to utilize FY 23 formula grant monies for a a new printer for $1,597 B uh Constitution constitutions for the Tuesday wow for the Tuesday lunch program of $5,000 um that's it so um you know I think this is something that they they've received right so there no no no burden on the town um you know they were they were given this money and obviously if you need a new printer you need a new printer and uh the Tuesday lunch program is an overwhelming success from what I've seen when when I've been there and you know Rebecca's showed me and stuff so uh Rebecca I Can Only Imagine how many people you're up to now um so uh we're almost up to a thousand meals awesome since we started yeah wow that's that's incredible good and sad all at the same time and I hope that most of the people are there because it's a a social aspect you know yes very much so actually good yeah that that that makes me happy yeah so so um so that I will entertain a motion uh to approve um to I'm sorry I will entertain a motion to authorize the Council on agent to utilize FY 23 formula grant monies for a a new printer for $1,597 in the constitution of the Tuesday the lunch program for $5,000 I agree with it my only question is it says FY 23 but we're in fy2 I'm assuming it carries over yes it does we just finished fy22 with some of the things that we've done um and now we're merging into FY 23 we haven't even touched FY 24 so actually we're in we have about 28,000 left in fy22 and we have about 34,000 in FY 23 uh yeah FY 24 I'm sorry your math checks out yeah we're doing okay so yes you're right it is fy22 um and the printer was for my room it it didn't make sense to replace the one that I had with the the old parts that they wanted to replace it with so we bought one off lease and um the Tuesday lunch program we're only going to use that money if um we don't get any funding from Senator Rodrick before um this was just kind of an encase situation so if we don't use that that's a good point so don't get the money from him which hopefully we do um will the money go back in unused money will it just stay what will happen with the funding of it it will go back Y no it'll just stay in the formula grant and we'll use it for something else we'll use it for chair yoga or drums alive or one of our other programs coming to the pods or and I'll ask you guys again but yeah no if we get it and I also went out for another Grant so if I get the money in any which way or form for the food program then um it because the formula grant is so broad um so it'll just go back into fy20 well just stay there awesome it's good to hear I wanted to make sure it wasn't use it a lose it thing and then you know than Rebecca for explaining that to everyone listening at home and uh clarifying it for us as well um I I make I make the motion to to uh Jared's uh entertainment will stck in it all those in favor all right hi yeser yes sorry you cut me off and I'm glad you did I start it uh agenda item number 16 discussion and vote uh to approve entering uh the lease agreement for two Dodge Durango police cruisers with the All-American uh Investment Group LLC so um you know this is something that we have to do um you know these these Cruisers um for lack of better wordss take a beaten and um you know we we try to keep up with them lo you know we just need to make sure that the officers are um ready to go so this is pretty straightforward this is something that we've been doing for a long time so uh you know I looking it over and you know look straightforward as it goes um so oh she have something yeah my only question is one why Dodge the ring go not a uh sedan uh two are these cruises replacing damaged Cruisers from accidents we've occurred or this is just you know wear and tear things like that I didn't see that in the the the notes so those are my questions this is part of the program like the rotation of the cruises that we do consistently I do know that one of these I believe will replace um detective Shane's um vehicle that vehicle is going to be repurposed to the um that'll probably come before you but the plan is to get that to the ACO whose vehicle is just about you know uh not functioning at this point the engine lights on so um and and but the these are for wear and tear not nothing's been damaged they just they just have excessive miles on them and they've got a lot of wear and tear but just keeping the rotation so that everybody's the vehicles don't ever get that old they just keep rotating them in and out and um you know I and to answer your question about the sedans the reason why I mean you got look at what we we just started this with right with you know having all these potential threats in town for damage and everything so I do I think it really makes sense to put an officer in in a car versus that you know we have a lot of roads that are you know you know during the winter um I I don't I I understand why you're asking but I do feel like that it does make sense you know that's really where we bought you know the town hall vehicles to we're bringing everything to because it does make sense based on where we live so next step we just need some more some more snow during the winter time well no we don't want the snow because then it helps it makes it it makes it easier for us but yeah so budget wise no but as far as Aesthetics it's aesthetically pleasing see some snow on the trees yeah and the kids love it I got you so so um so I keep losing my spot because I'm going back and forth between so H yeah I might take it that might make it easier yeah she's she's giving it to me I'm sorry um D um with that I entertained a motion uh to approve entering into the lease agreement for two Dodge the Rango police cruisers with All-American Investment Group motion made I will second it all those in favor I I seleman Lopes yes seleman zeger Yesa item number 17 discussion and vote to authorize the inter Town should be the Town Administrator to sign documents related to the lease for two Dodge Durango police cruisers from All American invest Group LLC so for the third time tonight we're calling out a vote to have Debbie sign something so um you know as straightforward as it goes once again so uh with that I will entertain a motion to authorize the Town Administrator to sign documents related uh to the lease for two Dodge Durango police cruisers from All-American Investment Group LLC motion made I will second it all those in favor I I San Lopes yes selan zegger yes agenda item number 18 discussion and vote uh whether to approve utilizing Bristol County arer funds for the match for the D Asset Management Grant in the sum of $45,000 um so Debbie there anything like to say about this one yeah so this is a grant that I got for the water department that's going to map all of their in existing infrastructure so I've been working with the water department the the water sewer water Commissioners on this but the grant requires a match in both employee hours and a little bit of uh funding so they have voted and we voted at town meeting to use their money out of their uh Reserve fund but as you know Bristal County APPA will fund water sewer Broadband projects right so I had told them that I would try to get the actual cash piece the grant was for uh I believe $200,000 but the actual cash that we have to put in is around $445,000 the rest is Grant monies and um employee hours so this is just taking oper money um to to put to meet that match for the the water sewer infrastructure uh because some of the soup though I'm sorry the water lines are old and outdated and they they not they're old lines they don't know exactly where they are so this is going to give them a really good asilt plan um and locate some of the structure so moving forward if they have an issue they know where everything is so it's just a match piece of it so so the money that the $45,000 will then stay in there revolving fund is basically because even though the town allocated it we still they'll just stay in there Revol yeah it'll stay in their Reserve fund R earnings I think is is what it's actually labeled as um so that they can have it there in case they have they have a break and they need to have funds uh but in order to get the grant we had to obligate the whole amount that's typical with a grant process we have to say we we have all the money to pay because of course it's a reimbursement Grant so we have to be able to pay up front to get reimbursed and that's how 90% of the grants are so that's all this is and and and Bristol County APPA requires your vote in order for me to even apply to them to say Can you give me this money for this project and and you know to to to your point is you know we're we're restricted on what we can use the money for and you know so this is something that's within that purview and you know their money can stay within them so um you know I think this is you know already been voted on by the town is something they want to do and spend money on so this is you know this is a straightforward uh vote to me so anything from you call before no you hit the nail on the head the T the next few items actually the town's already said yes to so this is just cleaning everything everything up and going through the wickets of the ABCs of uh municipality all right so um with that I entertain a motion to approve utilizing Bristol County arpa funds for the match for the D Asset Management grant for the sum of $45,000 Mo made I will second it all those in favor I I lman Lopes yes Selman zeger yes agenda item number 19 discussion and vote whether uh to approve using Bristol County ARA funds to purchase a fire truck in the sum of $85,000 so so let me just tell you what's going on with Opa the last two applications I put in with Bristol County Opa were denied so we're running out of time all of the money through Bristol County ala has to be allocated by September 30th and not only ocated but under contract so I'm running out of time to get the applications now because and it took them um almost three months to deny one of my my applications so I'm really running out of time so what they have said to me is I I I went through everybody else's Town applications and they they're they're funding fire trucks they're funding ambulances so I am trying to figure out how I'm going to spend this money there's about a half a million dollars left and get it all done at a certain time so you'll see like this one is one that again was funding was approved at town meeting but if I can get the funding from apaa and we can then that money will be reallocated and thrown it'll be put into free cash and we'll we'll vote to use it some other way in the future I'm trying to just not lose our Opa money at this point so this one the ambulance was also one approved at town meeting which is one of the next ones I know the ambulance is a Shore ringer for the Opera money so I may just put in for that so that I can get the Opera cleaned up and done and then the article money will be we we can vote to reallocate it or vote to Res send it and it will go into our free cash and our cers for the future so that's why you see all these different Opera things because I'm running out of time I need to get the applications in and one of the ones I put in was $300,000 for the municipal fiber they turned me down for that one although they said I could reapply under a different category and then I put him to demolish the red building because it's blight and it has a hazardous waste you know with the asbest they turn that one down um so I'm just trying to make sure I don't lose the money for the town and I I I'm not 100% sure which angle I'm going to go so I want to sort of get approvals from the select so I can just apply when I need to which will happen over the next few days and I thank you for that clarification um because I I do appreciate the last thing we want to do is lose the money right so I I appreciate your active look and saying stuff you know these are things that to your point we've already the town's already said they're willing to spend money on and that we need and you know so if we can get money in another source and put it back in amen it's a win win so it's sort of like a showell game at this point just trying to make sure I secure the money we may which prodct comes out of may change but almost like it's done by Design at the Bristol County level deny deny deny now we have a 60 dig window to get things through when they take three months every play so uh I I see your train of thought here and it and it makes sense so let's get all the free money we get not free money it's taxpayer money let's get as much money we can for the town without taking it directly from our residents so absolutely right so um thank you for the clarification I do appreciate that uh so with that I will entertain a motion uh to approve using Bristol County arper funds uh to purchase a fire truck and the the sum of $85,000 motion made I will second all those in favor I I lman Lopes yes San Zager yes agenda item number 20 discussion and vote whether uh to approve using Federal oper funds um to purchase an office trailer in the sum of $75,000 um so this one so this is federal oper right but one of the things obviously we've been talking a lot about is space and how limited our space is here and whether we're going to use the fire station too to put some offices in and of course we're working on getting a office a temporary office trailer for The or pod as we call it for the COA and I said maybe we can get a used office trailer uh so we started looking at that call myself wi and we couldn't really find a used one but we found a new one that's around $71,000 the one that we were looking at is 12 by 40 it would house two offices and we could put that possibly on the side closest to the schoolhouse and it may help alleviate some of our space issues here would not have bathrooms in it the whoever the officers were there they'd have to come into this building to use our brand new bathrooms which are wonderful um so it's just and then a residents who come to the town hall it doesn't alleviate parking issues clearly but they wouldn't have to travel across town and I just may alleviate some of the egges to months employees who don't really want to move um and be away from other departments and it is we all work into we all are intertwined on some level um so it was another thought that we had and we have the Opera funding to do it the federal Opera funding so I thought I would ask your permission originally K and I were going to go to Oxford and look at a couple of trailers on Tuesday um but then they don't have them there right now so uh you can weigh in on what your thought is on this um it it's not as much of an emergency as I thought it was going to be because we have a little more time but just your thought process of would that solve that will definitely help solve our space issues what what not solve it tell it's not going to solve our space issues going to make it a little bit easier and I think that um you know we haven't learned anything in the past it's that buildings take a while to build right so this to your point is it put kind of puts a Band-Aid on something um and and not for nothing it keeps the employees happy and residents right because what did we you know the last meeting we really had a lot of conversation in regards to what departments can we possibly move over to the fire station because it's on the other side of town and we didn't want someone coming in here to find out that they needed to go to another department that's you know 20 minutes away 15 minutes away um so this keeps everyone here and accessible uh and then you know I think it it will help us one of my big upsides to all this is by putting a couple of departments in there we maybe can rework some stuff and then some of the Departments that are upstairs that aren't handicap accessible it makes them easier so right now we have you know Carl having to go downstairs because someone came in and they can't come upstairs um you know so this this helps eliminate some of that and I'm not saying it happens all the time but unfortunately it does happen um and so I I do see this as a win a temporary win yes um but nonetheless a win and the only downside I see to it is the Aesthetics of it right unfortunately it's a trailer that's on the side of the town all that a lot of people take pride in myself included and the schoolhouse but unless someone has a way to get us a building built and done and for a very small amount of money really fast I don't see that happening so I just think that this is the best option no I agree I I I we have a space distraint we've been saying it for years we tried different methods from buying Corner lots to renting or Leasing Office Buildings and everything else uh my only question comes up I'm sure some might ask the question so I'll ask you for them is there any other use for that $75,000 other than this office space can we use it for anything else oh sure I mean there's always a use right it's the municipal that right we we we we've talked about many different uses for the money um so yes uh I have applications that I haven't looked at everything but I I mean we have applications for a loader we have um applications you know we've talked about doing improvements to Parks uh there are definitely other things I would like to have all the files digitalized which will cost some money so yes are there other things that we could use the funding for sure are there other things more important than this I don't believe so I think that um spaces I it's become very critical and when you talk about putting a bandaid I want to say no it's like a turn because we're bleeding at the seams here if we don't come up with a solution I don't I don't I don't have any other solution for the problem and it's getting worse I mean you can't even walk in our basement it's so full and the basement's in the flood plane it's damp it's wet we have our equipment down there Cher can't put any files down there it's not it's not conducive for that um anywhere else is not conditioned so there are vital uh Records that can't be stored and so places we recently have moved um the planning down to the first floor so that at least that now that attic space that's not conducive for uh office is now at least some storage so we were're able to get that uh accomplish but we're just I mean think about four people in an office that's about 12 by 14 trying to talk on the phone and all at the same time it's just not conducive to business people the the employees of the town of rown I have to say have not really complained to the extent but but they're they're putting up with it and we want to show them that we're trying like we are trying I am trying I can tell you I am trying I understand but they they do it they're they're Troopers they keep on plugging along but there becomes a point like literally we're sitting on boxes what what do you do I don't I I don't know so this is something that both K and I thought oh this might be again short-term fix you know Municipal world five years but um and even one office trailer won't give me everything I need no and just so you know like Carl he measured it there it's 100 by 24 is the space over there so the trailer we were looking at is 40 by 12 will give us two offices I mean I if I could find two of them I would like to put two of them over there and and because that's how much space I need and I still don't think it would solve all of our problems but it would make breathing room for some of the employees I and I I agree to your point that you employees can only take so much for so long and it's not fair to them to to you know live amongst clutter and I say clutter because it's they have no else to put the stuff so it becomes clutter um you know and and I look at it as a wi you know I don't want to keep going back on my own know what I just said but you know we can make it more accessible for the uh Town residents you know we we do have an elderly population that you know will come here if they need something it's not fair to make them climb up these stairs yeah so uh it's well as handicap accessible you know and it's just so that stuff there's no easy fix and then you know we we've looked at stuff and you know you know as we had just talked about the fire chief did give us some you know he was gracious enough to say we can take over that space but that will even more expensive and take even longer so and still push the people to the other side of town so I I just see this as the easiest cheapest way to solve a problem that needs to be fixed um I I like I said my biggest problem with it all is Aesthetics right from the the looks well it's really it's two things and I'm just being honest it's Aesthetics and it's parking something you just mentioned right um you know this time of year this isn't a big of a deal but during the winter and stuff if employees are having to park off site or residents it's not fair to them to have to walk through the cold or the snow or ice you know whatever so um even the rain right I mean you know employees have gotten used to parking outside here and walking in and now you know they're having to Parkway up the road because unfortunately we do Park some Vehicles over there so you know we're going to there will still be some other this isn't this isn't the end all be all that's for sure I just think it's a a way to put a tourniquet on it you know now is this is this under the September 30th deadline as well um fcal year for the fedal Government Federal offer is um has to be obligated which means we have to have a contract or a purchase order by December 31st not the same deadline but still nonetheless a deadline that we need to hit and use it or lose it so right you hear my talk you hear my heartstrings I'm a hater of stairs myself so uh anything we can do to avoid stairs especially for the individuals such as our elderly and and handicapped individuals uh people with disabilities I'm all for it um yeah it doesn't solve everything but it gives us uh some breathing room for offices and everything else versus going offsite so great solution great way of using Federal Opa funds uh to our advantage all right so that's I think that one's good so with that I will entertain a motion to approve using federal arer funds to purchase an office trailer in the sum of $775,000 motion made I will second all those in favor I I fman Lopes yes zman zeger yes agenda item number 21 discussion and vote whether or not to use Bristol County oper to purchase a new ambulance in the amount $500,000 so I really don't need to go into this one because Deb just gave us a great explanation as to why we put it in there as such so um with that I will entertain a motion um to use Bristol County ARA funds to purchase a new ambulance in the amount of $500,000 motion made I will second all those in favor I I sopes yes San Z yes agenda item number 22 discussion and uh vote whether to authorize the Town Administrator to utilize the balances in Bristol County and federal oper funds at her Direction a discretion rather so um you know once again to what she just stated was really you know to I think so that we not holding her to a certain one or another she can you know mix and match mix and match and say okay I'm going to use some for the ambulance I'm going to use some for uh the fire Tru but at the end of the day do everything we can to make sure that we use the funding so um you know I I don't have a problem with it I think we've we've beaten all these things up so much in the past and you know as a town a and um you know as a board B really with what needs to be done and you know these are this is pieces of equipment mostly right that's coming to lessons it's stuff that's going to be needed so I I don't have a problem with her using her discretion and she's obviously always been you know very open with us as to what she's doing she's not trying to just do something on her own so I don't have an issue with this at all yeah fact of the matter is we we've discussed this at length right we have time constraints between Bristol County and federal arpa uh we've been denied different applications having her given her the authority and discretion based on pretty much what's on our whiteboard right behind right in front of you pretty much we're trying to get through here and having one less step you know we will still have some oversight well oversight on it because she she works with us hand and foot every single day so removing the the burden of having to come to us prior to submitting an application is um great way of doing business and moving things forward especially when we have a less than 60-day timeline for the pral county absolutely great call out and I guess that's why I was trying to say it was I didn't want people to think that we're just you know handing everything over to her and you know whatever so so so and not that we can't but it's just saying that you know it does make sense to do it as such so um with that I entain a motion uh to authorize the Town Administrator to use utilize the balances in Bristol County and federal oper funds at her discretion motion made I will second all those in favor I I Blackman Lopes yes San zegger yes agenda item number 23 discuss and vote whether to authorize adding space to the map room at the Town Hall um so so to dev's point you know we've had um the people who are upstairs on the third floor they're now down into the map room but there's a a jog in of how much roughly about 30 inches I think 30 inches so yeah so almost three feet two and a half feet and um you know I I think if we can do anything all we're doing is taking a little bit of space from the hall and it actually continues the wall going straight rather than jogging in um right now that office is only housing one person but uh down the road will probably house two so 30 in is a lot of additional space um and we'll take any square inch we can get in this building based on all the conversation we've already had right and it's as simple as moving a wall so um I see this one as a no-brainer um to to make it happen and it's a cheap enough fix right it's literally moving a wall so it's not not a big deal no yeah you're absolutely correct this is one that gosh I think from day one as a Personnel chair more space more space more space and yes let's use the space we have available to us to make room for actual employees and not just files so yes yes and yes all right so so with that um I attain OT to authorize adding the space to the map room at the Town Hall motion made I will second all those in favor I I Selman yes Selman zeger yes I'm going now gonna it over to select M Lopes for personel Bo thank you Mr chairman all right item Agenda 24 discussion and vote whether app Point Conor P Bailey as signal operator fulltime effective 85224 through 630 2024 um Connor Mr Bailey um is a person that went through the hiring process and was selected to take on his position um so everything looks good applications in place uh this is just adding to uh the robust team we have there now so I'm happy to have them on Bo so my only question is should that be 63025 because right now we're saying he's being hired for negative time good yeah you're correct on that good catch good catch on that so um yes I'll when I make the motion entertain the motion I will make sure to update that to 6:30 2025 great and that's why I called it out so that we we didn't do it and then have to come back to redo it so thank you perfect um I Ed motion to appoint Connor P Bailey as signal operator full-time effective 85224 through 630 2025 motion made all in favor uh you get a second it second it all in favor I I sopes yes lman zeger yes thank you Jared all right so item agenda 25 discussion whether to hire another truck driver for the highway department so for those out there listening along we hire we retire we everything in between of all those things um you know everyone always tells us how great our Highway Department is and this is why because we're hiring individuals for need versus wants uh this is a need um and and um H surveyor has come to us asking for another truck driver and here we are questions discussions one of the reasons why I put that on there is the makeup of the highr department has been like traditionally a little bit different a couple of labors a uh maybe one truck driver a couple equipment operators he's not asking to hire um another labor he's asking to hire a truck driver so he's got funding for it because somebody had left so that was all I just want to make sure that the makeup of the highway department is okay that's straightforward to me I mean I think one of the problems is snow plowing right we don't get the the independent contractors like we used to so he needs a truck driver to work throughout the year but also to help snow plow so he's got the extra hands on De yeah that snow all right seems like we're we're in agreeance here so let's entertain the motion to hire another truck driver for the highway department uh motion m i second all in favor I I Selman Lopes yes selectman zeger yes s m were you saying something no no I I almost said something and I stopped myself so I apologize All Roger that all right moving on item agenda 26 discussion and vote where to approve the drop discretion for of special police officer known as SPO so as you see from the the the agenda pack we received it's quite of a detailed description and one of the things we struggle with I hate to say struggle one of the things we we we come come across our death from time to time is Staffing of uh details uh from different things we do in town earlier we talked about having uh events and things like that so this this is one of those areas that special police officer could fill in as a detail um versus having a on duty or active duty police officer so it's very pretty pretty well described as far as who can and can't be a SPO or a special police officer you know one you have to be sure you're you're a former police officer in the town of Freetown or former police officer so on and so forth that so that you're qualified your arms qualified so you're maintaining everything that you've had while as an active duty police officer but now the biggest difference is you're retired now you can come back and work for the town uh during special assignments such as traffic Duty and things like such as summer cant series or you know P eting contest between the selected so on and so forth I'm gonna keep pushing that until say you push that any chance oh I'm doing in my office we're gonna have pie I'm all for it I'm all for it uh Deb did I miss anything on that it's pretty pretty straightforward description as as far as what we're looking for uh uh Chief Rose has done a great job putting description in place for the SPO and this is just helps alleviate the burden of uh work work life balance between our officers and life right they all have families and having the SPO program in place alleviates some of the the burdens of trying to take on too much overtime take on additional duties and also try and carry on the town and making sure all these events that we're putting out there happen happen safely that pretty much capture everything yeah it's it's an old brainer right like we just talked about when we just we were in here talking about uh the elections and different things and having to how we had to put that in there because of getting police officers right and they're human just like us and they they only want to work so much and so if we have someone in there that can do something to help eliminate some of the the stress from them so to speak you know I'm all about it just straightforward to me so yeah likewise all right well I'll the motion to approve the job description job description of special police officer SPO uh motion made I second all in favor I I blackan Lopes yes blackan zeger yes all right moving on item agenda 27 discussion and vote whether to approve the drop description for Town planner so for those of you watching along we have discussed a lot about all these arera funds whether they're Federal brussell County uh the Council of Aging different F so all these funds require someone to manage these funds getting the funds is the simple part all right anybody that's ever read the grant will tell you getting the grant is the easiest thing in the world maintaining the grant is the hardest part and this is where the town planner really comes into play is to make sure that these grants are not only functioning but on time on delivery and make sure that now we getting penalized anywhere down the road as far as a financial burden right um does this come out of the cost at the Town sure we're adding an employee but really we have it's at this point it's needed right we having we're having the Town Administrator taking away from her her her day-to-day operations to make sure these grants are are working 100% having the town planner is better suited for that position versus the Town Administrator which is everything under the sun advising the board of Selectmen and and all the other boards and committees in town having a planner um again this is for job description not saying we're hiring anybody this is for the job description for the planner um is I think is a necessary need for the town I I I couldn't agree more and you know this this does a couple of different things it allows you know because not to take away from what they're doing and getting the grants because the grants aren't always just you know clearcut you know you fill out this information you get it as Debbie just alluded to she applied for stuff and here's someone who's done a lot you know generated this town millions of dollars in grants and um you know we're still getting denied on stuff right so so having someone there that can take care of this stuff and have that be their main focus as well as follow up um and to your point and you know something else that I really look at is how do we take stuff off of her plate let her focus on what her job's supposed to be I think giving clear direction to people and to your point this isn't this is just a description this doesn't mean that we're hiring someone for this position but it's just a description but it's I think it's positive step in the right direction so I'm all about it I read the I read um the job description and you know I think it's great so yeah no I agree uh yeah right now we're not only you know we talk we talk a lot about office space as far as being a need the work balance is is not really balanced right it's it's work work work work work there's no balance and having what this position in place it were to come to FR ocean the road creates some equilibrium a little bit of balance between the grant process like you like you alluded to we have millions of dollars of Grants out there millions right that's helped save the taxpayer here our residents here at Freetown millions of dollars but things that we need right but having someone there managing it is is the proper way forward and Deb's far too busy with a million other things um to deal with this on the day-to-day she'll still be involved but not to the level she's at now um again it's all about balance and this this creates that balance yeah so yeah I'm agree with that all right I the motion to approve the job job description for the town plan motion made I second all in favor i i f Lopes yes selectman Sega yes um so so this is is is a a little bit awkward in a sense but because we're virtual but I am in town hall so I'm actually going to sign documents now on camera um you know uh so yeah you guys get to watch me sign documents so War for the election de to sign the least de to sign Bailey's job um appointment we did that a lot of me to sign because we knew it was going to be a virtual meeting right we appreciate you coming in J yeah I I really didn't have a choice it was a a technical glitch so so there was a panic in a in a run down here thankfully they were here oh yeah they pling that broken desk before it kill someone the police department item administrator to sign the paving in [Music] [Music] uh trans trans advant all right so I think we're good any other last final things from anyone no all right so thank you and I entertain a motion to adjourn is I motion made I will second it all those in favor i i s Lo yes Lear yes thank you and have a good night buddy thank you good even everybody