have a quorum we have Linda sign AIT on the on remote and then Andrew smco Sam Bell Jeff Gates and Carol mu are here in the meeting room this is the community preservation committee meeting of July 17th and I'm ech goinging um so I have an agenda hidden behind here somewhere I have a printed out one oh good so um news news in mail there was no new no new news no new mail U member inputs probably next the only input I have is uh in um conversation with Jim Dugan the town administrator about something else I brought up the clean Lakes issue which is on their radar you know their radar screen and I said you know because they're looking at threeyear budgets I said we will not have the money to fund them for three years and and I I thought about it because of the last meeting when who is the fellow's name he Rob Rob Rob r yeah um he um I think he was trying to feel us out and like well are we going to get the money next year and you know it is fair to start early because we may not you know do it and if they do do it they need to do it with the um I mean if there is money from the town it should go through the you know the what what's the term where you it comes into the CPA and then go you know from but um anyway he was I I don't think he knew the background they're they're dealing with it okay and he is um you know it's on the radio screen he said there's no you know we have a threeyear cycle and there's not you know I said anyway and I didn't and I then I felt by Li I'm speaking out of turn I'm not speaking you know for the committee but yet that's an issue right yeah it's something that I mean the town has to fund but this really isn't a sustainable funding source for it so it's right no I think you should go back to the water department which took all the conservation money well especially if you're starting to do it year after year after year it becomes more of supplanting town funds or whatever that you know you're taking on a line item this right yeah and and then the issue is it's maintenance and that's really not something right you did the initial stuff initial thing yeah then when does it become maintenance yeah so anyway you know I apologize if I toes but I was you know I was there and thought I'd take take the opportunity thank you for doing that yeah especially it was curious when they said that Westford and I I I tried to watch they didn't have as many Meetings online to when they said that Westford stopped funding the clean the and I would have liked to have seen that conversation to see you know where they came up with that because I thought that was kind of interesting whether it was the same thing did they just keep coming back and coming back but they're a lot stricter in Westford well they also have a lot of Ls yeah I mean that I think well whatever so but it is something we'll have to I maybe looking at a little pulled in about the Fletcher Library over there and a little comment they had in there our hours have been cut because budget cuts Westford may be oh yeah I think the override failed there they may be condensing yeah interesting any other member updates to do we have oh um this I'm I'm I'm mixing this up but for Linda's point of view they're beginning to put the clabbert on 12 Robinson it looks so so good good very pleased with um that it's coming along nicely well and that's yeah this committee also you you you bought it to begin with so good job yeah and if anyone wants to watch the roof being put back on the barn it's on lctv on demand it's real quick yeah it was it it didn't take long to it wasn't yeah it was It was kind of anticlimactic it just went up over and they put it on when you have a big crane things are easy [Music] yeah uh what was next one so to Jeff's point of the water department now having complete control over that money isn't isn't there a aren't they trying to get that adjusted I don't know the cell phone TS do you know anything that it has to be budgeted properly or something have to go it's it's not necessarily tied to like the open space Tower money um but yeah it was a i as I I don't know the details as I understand it was a do accounting determination frankly I think we could consider just saying no we're not going to do it that way and we're going to go back to the old way and see what they do they it wasn't like there was a law they just said this is the practice that you should follow oh oh with like the open space money for the cell yeah that's um that was interesting when that popped up but I think we were going to maybe go after special legislation down the road great an account but that was when um Mr Benjamin was here and has that been dropped since she left you know I haven't heard anything about it since well for a little bit okay needs to be it needs to be some needs to be proded again B do we bring it up during our I don't know who would be in you know who would be the the Wrangler of that whether it would be would think it would be finance and some administrator I don't know I I I agree yeah and you know this is the time to bring it up when people are using Long Lake and enjoying it and you know and uh anyway Ruffles some feathers okay well get it back to the regional intent right yeah I mean I I don't think it should go to the water department I mean for their use I don't know if it's necessarily going to them or if they just have less money to play with now well the rent goes somewhere the cell cell tower the cell I don't know I don't know but um but it was New Town Hill that went that was what was coming through CP the C CPA account was the New Town Hill do they still have a do they still even get rent money for that one of them's gone right I know that the the usage or the need for them I think has kind of diminished in a lot of areas so maybe that's maybe it's part of it I know they built a new cell tower over by the Rod and Gun Club you know within the last couple years there was one in the cemetery well do you you know about that one we don't have one in the cemetery but um well it was permitted though was it maybe they didn't bu yeah cuz it was in board of appeals oh wow because that neighbor bought it oh wow yeah I hav heard anything about that I mean this was would have been past five years ago so okay ask the question I will um probably be looking into doing um something at the the Frog Pond next to Long Lake um through us uh probably for not the fall time meeting but the springtime meeting just to repair that walkway over there and to do some uh invasive plant control but going to work with Amy and uh see to see about getting something started it's just getting worse and worse and somebody's goingon to break their leg walking through there it's it's bad but you don't think until spring I think it'll be a little difficult to get it on u in time for two months away from the yeah I know warrant it's coming up so quick yeah it it's just about to I think it's September 14th yeah know was kind of crazy okay you by the time you get the money you wouldn't be able to do anything anyways in the middle of the winter W The Way Way Winters are lately maybe you could okay um what's next on our ongoing discussion of fiscal 25 budget yeah I just leave that on just so we can always talk about money but I don't have anything new I haven't um I haven't heard from Sten nud on anything okay and then the next is Code of Conduct adoption yes I I was on vacation this week and I did not take my computer with me so I missed some emails and things to send out to you but looking at it again I still think I I think Linda you did the same with historical commission just replace the committee and take out that one section that really kind of was more for the select board did we discuss that section at this with CPC I can't remember uh briefly we've discussed it or are discussing it a pling bar you're right there's one sort of middle section that's it's tailored to the select board and uh it has to do with the responsibility to rope in the administration and I was a little confused about it and that's one thing I was talking about D at that time in Mar was there and [Music] um anyway yeah I agree with you I mean it's pretty and most of it's just be nice to one another respect each other don't you know and which I know in our board that timely so um anyway yes um yeah so I think for the I will mark it up and if anyone has any suggestions but I think it's fairly easy and we can just think that the next meeting will and then the is the preservation plan next yes oh do I actually public oh yeah preservation plan um I don't know if anyone had a chance to to kind of go through it and Mitt and I were talking briefly before the meeting about exactly how we want to approach this um he sent um he sent another document to me which I didn't get mailed out which I will have to um I went through like I mean I went through and I kind of just a lot of um you know putting recreation in because this was done before that Recreation piece and I had thought that Littleton Always by policy but I don't see it in here considered Recreation its own separate bucket I mean we do yeah but I think if we want to I think that should be in here somewhere because technically um by CPA legislation it's open space and Recreation but we tend to make it a um its own its own Reserve I was really impressed with the existing one and it was this the type of thing with the code of you know for instance Keith Bergman is the contact um and I we might want to consider not putting a name I had that exactly yeah the Town Administrator and I think actually was the last time they wanted to go to the clerk's office yeah and the clerk was collecting them so we could probably even just change that to the clerk's office um but it talks about the Blended funds uh so you're saying you would add open space and Recreation under the allocation of funds yes we also have un and undes undes which is mentioned in it is yeah yeah and they're calling additional or Blended funds 2% funds is that what we we're trying to get to 2% no we're trying to add 2% 1 plus 2al three okay so okay if there's enough money to put in yeah that additional 2% and get us up to 3% that's the best outcome yeah we could almost say 2% and then in fres but Blended funds for cons because I stumbled over that paragraph myself I had scratched things out um the allocation of the matching funds on the 2% fund so that but the Blended funds I think it would make more sense and we do these designated private funds or gifts do go into you know like a developer fee or something goes into the Blended funds yeah um I was a little inter I think we're on page seven right now um like got um the second paragraph on the top the 2% funds and then I think with the matching funds should be predetermined jointly by the CPC Board of selectman and finance committee but why the 2% funds um yeah the second paragraph says 2% Blended funds appropriated by Tom meeting for the addition to the CPA fund and are not designated for any project shall be allocated across categories or into designated category by vote of the CPC which we do meeting the minimum requirements such allocations as well as the allocation of additional State matching funds shall be predetermined jointly by the CPC Board of selectman and finance committee that's interesting I I that doesn't bother me though because the way that the 2% funds come to us is through the finance committee decisions and the board of selectman's priorities and um but really okay I see that I mean I think that's the way it's working now yeah yeah yeah because they're the ones that are going to find they're pushing this money toward us for you know with a specific purpose is this um this is Mitt um speaking remotely thank thanks everybody is this um when you mentioned page seven is that on the community preservation plan yes right good so I I wonder if this is something that will get clarified when we decide uh what our savings and spending plan looks like because this this is uh something that is inherent to that right yes so is this um speaking of which Carolyn do you do you uh have a place where you a section where you think our savings and spendings plan could be inserted so that it was part of a large ma seamless document well I think on page five on the copy that I have anyways it says fund allotment policy approved by the community preservation I think that is what mit's referring to is back I think it was in 2016 we came up with a savings and spending policy we worked because nobody can find a copy But Mitt found something on his hard drive which I will email to everyone after there um and I was trying to figure out if it had been incorporated into here but if it did that was a long document yeah yeah and it seems more than this just this little section um and that has to do with you know how we allocate buckets and it's that somehow Inc corporate I know we we come up with a policy where we were going to wait until the end of like the cycle and review all projects together and then like decide which projects we're going to get funded instead of like a first first serve I think maybe that was on the B one of the back pages the the schedule which didn't work but it was also I think part of it was and this came out when um I think it was the 300 King Street project Park W had two huge projects one right after the other that kind of just wiped out the CPA funding and everybody was up in arms about it and that's kind of when they started saying you know you said we need to save some of the money not just you know spend it all and I think what the savings and spending plan was supposed to do is like um in in M document you'll see is like like dividing each bucket into two one for small projects that we do one off one off one off and then a part that we keep for tennis sport projects or open space acquisition right um it's just whether that's a lot of counting work and if it's really necessary well that seems like it would be this fund allotment policy yeah that's and maybe you could just refer to that well it says approved by the community preservation committee so I wonder if it was actually approved because the date of approval seems to have like an XA I know and I think it was because I think I had to look it up for someone once and there was in fact I think Linda and and Mitt and I were looking for the actual document and we couldn't find the document but we found where it had been approved and I think it was around that time um we were looking for like the electronic coffee well have you sent this out yet I have not yet so we you send it out well you know maybe meeting we talk about it and you but it seems me that that would be the place maybe that it would go in and maybe we would just change the date to whatever so this is a process that pretty much people keep in their heads um yeah I mean this should be posted to our section on the website for I think that's a well-intentioned process though to to keep significant funds you know available for significant projects absolutely and do we want toate I know for like nonprofits moving forward we're going to have m yeah the grant grant process yes we should put that in process like anybody that isn't Town agency or entity okay when when have they been used recently all the affordable housing trust okay that's right and like if the society needed money or like consu trust a nonprofit that you would have a qualifying purpose for or historical reservation I think it's pretty rare that we do yeah we haven't had that many but I think it's it's good it's good practice it's what they they expected well early on before my time that they made it for the Congregational Church yeah did we do a um the windows one set of Windows Grant process for that or not Grant but yes was designated yeah right good priv there yeah there definitely wasn't like anou though saying like you need to complete this work by this state you regular updates the money use for XY and z and specifics for the project yeah but um yeah if anything else came up like that with the nonprofit yeah we should probably have yeah so we should put another a whole section in about that um yeah let's do that so then I'm looking at the decision guidelines page eight and they they refer to Recreation so yeah which is funny because oh yeah you can see it says new at the bottom okay um so you know that could be taken out I mean the new yeah right it's not you 2012 that's kind of not old news um 12 years ago yeah it's hard to believe 12 years ago and some of you guys have been on this committee that long or MIT I think M mit's our Elder Statesman The Gray beard literally literally and figuratively yes ad mid I think you've been on since the beginning haven't you no not not quite but almost um yeah and then in the back go ahead um in the back like page 10 page 11 there was um like the open space and wck plan that's been updated this is 2003 it's been updated twice since then we can years to updated it this year yeah um and then like Conservation Commission historical parking those were just pretty much mission statements which I think we've actually reworked the concom mission okay I think it's WR on the website we wanted to see it from there yeah this this is Mitt um some of the document maybe it's already been paired down a little bit but um a lot of the references at the end are sort of there as appendices if you will that we can uh and and they definitely need updating as other committees are changing their policies and stuff or plans get resubmitted but I think it it allows us something to point to when an applicant is there um that that we can say you know this this will help you understand our mission and where where the things that you're proposing are legal or not or preferable or not um but they don't they don't really constitute policy there are some reference things are they are they still in there a couple Pages at the end you know the open space plan or whatever yeah open space the master plan which is so you know maybe that doesn't need to be there at all because nobody's reading it if if nobody's reading it then it doesn't need revising so well I I think that the sort of L or the uh notes planning board conservation I mean referring maybe just look at maybe just do that you know just update that and I mean most of you you don't have enough that Littleton conservation trust is probably the same you just have to check the websites but you know it refers to the master plan adopted August 2002 and actually we're starting another round of Master getting funding for master plan so maybe we just update that page which probably wouldn't be that much work and then elate yeah that's a good idea to just put it in a in a index and people can refer to it yeah because those are the constituent boards that right you know we are I mean all you guys are representatives of yeah some of the language too like land it says strictly speaking Littleton is no longer a rural town with an agricultural base and it kind of goes off in that direction I'm not sure if that you know based off of previous open space recre and Recreation plans and the latest one I think we would be more towards like I don't think the town would have that kind of opinion anymore so maybe we could even strike a lot of this old older well I think mit's comment was to strike that page oh yes yeah and then just refer to and maybe the next page and then just refer the page 13 notes and just refer to the website addresses of each of the groups which would be updated yeah yes I double check the links work which they probably don't well because we just did you know the open space and that was a big that was a big issue about how to think of the Town yeah yeah how do the people see it and uh I think the um the overall like that opening statement that we put together I mean that's well the the planner had a really good way of thinking that I've responded to but you know it may not be universally there are people who still think of this is a farming town and just boggles my mind but you know depends on where you came from if you came from downtown Boston yeah well no I think it's mainly Town longtime Town residence but anyway on how cynical we've become well no we have those aspects of it but it's not what's driving the especially the finances of the town and then it goes into like the application process I mean we have the timetable which we know we never we never get to follow um it's interesting watching the the the Westford ones that's what they do is they hear all the projects and then they they they go back later and vote on all of them so they can rank them and yes so but they also had a lot I mean Westford how does that work in Westford because we you know when we get projects it's always like we need to know you know the applicant is we need to know right away so how does Westward avoid that I wonder they get them in January I think they have it the deadline when you have to have them in but we've tried that and it I mean we just have to be hard noosed and say that's it but I don't see it working I think we have too many projects that pop up last second and then we're like ah we got to get this in I mean we can have a schedule but whether you know as a guideline and so if like see like clean Lakes if they came and you tried to say you know you got to have it in by February so that we can listen to it and ask questions especially the complicated ones I mean we've gotten caught a lot of times with you know the warrant closes on Friday and it's Wednesday night and we have this complicated project that we like to discuss and send back well the Webster land was that's a good one in that way and sometimes like Park and wreck have multi multifaceted projects like there's sometimes they you know compact a whole bunch of stuff in it you'd like to parse it out a little bit but you just don't have time um but well we're I know in the Piney BG we have you know we've struggling with that because a lot of applicants feel they can submit something two hours before the meeting and have it considered wow and in the past I think we have end over backwards but the presis board is not willing to do that and I'm not going to fight that because it is really unreasonable I sometimes I don't you know you have to check your email them as you're leaving for that's crazy it is crazy but at least if a new applicant comes forward we can say to them you know here oh look in our plan and this is you know how we like to do it but um I don't see like condensing it any I don't want to make it so that everybody waits till the last minute either yeah it's well maybe you could just give some guiding comments that uh you know because of the town meeting warrant schedule unless you're you if and you want this to happen you need to give due time in fact I should email everybody tomorrow like Park and wreck department yeah conservation say look and finance committee finance committee right we've got you know War closes on September 14th we'll have one meeting well I don't know if our September meeting will match I think it's right afterwards right 14 is maybe 13us 7 it's a Saturday it's second Saturday of the month yeah so at the third Wednesday will be after that yeah at the 18 so technically we only have one more meeting before the warrant closes wow that's crazy so we may have to have something I don't know if anyone's going to bring anything forward either haven't heard anything but I will do that I will email um Alicia and Amy I guess and just you know I think it maybe maybe we have to just be a little more proactive and you know yeah remind people there is a there's a schedule that we have to that everybody has to work with right because it's so hard to get nine of us together on the spur of the moment I mean not that all nine of us have to be here but if we're hearing a project I don't want to have somebody not be also I mean what is the policy about the public talking I mean are they invited to our meetings to talk about they should be they should be oh absolutely yes they should know are they noticed then or no okay it's interesting like I think Acton all their projects are done at a public hearing yeah but we should have like one last meeting for for people to come in and talk about and I know like putting them out on the website I did that but I wasn't getting them until you know the more Clos so I said well if you want to know the projects they're out there but by that time it's too late for anyone to weigh in because it shouldn't be Town meetings if you're interested in it that shouldn't be the first time right that you hear about it yeah that's that's interesting I don't know what to do about that right cuz even like putting it in the newsletter we you know we won't have time to put it in for the next true yeah you know because it's there such a umse yeah but something very vague and and be like hey the warrant's closing in September the community preservation may be considering project keep an eye out for agendas yeah that's that's probably what we should do at least get people thinking about it yeah I mean the attention even if it gets them onto our page and looking at our agendas if you coming to the meetings I mean right I mean basically on this plan it was January 15th for spring and what was it for fall um six months later yeah I think we had like a time sensitive project will be considered for inclusion on the fall some I mean maybe that's maybe you just leave it there and direct people to it and say you know what's your story okay we'll accommodate you or not you know you can just leave it alone then um yeah and then it was like 10 copies 10 I don't think we need 10 10 paper copies well because they used to be distributed yeah yeah so I think I don't even know if we need one I mean I thought I we can print them out ourselves if we want it um I would think just emailing it to the town clerk or I mean because we don't have an email address ourselves and mean like John fulsome I have I know him so he sent them to me which was fine um we have Andrew in the CL know easy but I don't think we need to have print 10 copies of stuff oh no electronic is probably good for us so that's not a lot of changes to this document which pretty excellent no the dates and yeah there were a couple little grammar and spelling mistakes but that's put Lind on the case yes there was one on page seven they monitoring monitoring and responsibility of fund categories yeah the CPC on my copy solely is crossed out but then it should read the CPC is responsible not our responsible oh yes oh yes in fact I have a yet I have scrible yes question oh ex SC ex editing thing the CPC are solely responsible oh yeah are we solely responsible for the property yeah I don't I think it was the solely for the proper administration of funds added to the CPA funds through any of the four sources the town of account will work closely with CPC in providing fund balances encumbered funds within so it was kind of weird to have it solely so I can see why they I I don't know I think that's was specific because there isn't someone else who can direct you know the CBC funds um I I was in that section was just questioning have you really gotten as much C support with the accounting as you need more now after I met with Michelle I feel like in fact I got the um balances last time I I emailed them on Friday about them I think the following Monday or something so I feel like we are having we're getting a little more response with them and then they've been here for a while I think they're settling and I think for us it was just chaos in the department so no I feel like we're getting better better support and they understand the variables that it sometimes there's some variables in our well our buckets are percentages not hardig so they have to figure out the hard figures from our percentages so and it's how it comes in and it seems like it doesn't work but talking to Michelle not that I could explain it to you now but I can see what they're how they they do it so I'm I feel I did feel better after speaking with her the next item was public input I mean I we I'm not sure we're done with that I think it's just the iterations of doing it maybe we can no it's a it's a it's a great document from 8 years ago and again I don't have it in electronic form so I I may end up retyping it oh no no I'll try to scan it OCR scan it and see that's you don't know that one in electronic form I don't the preservation plan I have it right here do you need it do you have it yeah how you get I don't even know well how did we get it I I printed it out from something I I had this in my notebook I found well if I had it it means that I was emailed it and I oh I think I emailed you a PDF okay oh yeah mine's so can't you add a PD yeah you can convert it into a Word document we'll see how it actually they're better than they used to be so oh play around with that and then um maybe do a little bit of editing for the next one and again if you see anything or if there's anything from your boards that you want to um replace or change um and I think we just you know over the winter we just keep doing it and I'll send you what mitt sent to me the savings and spendings plan and you'll want to read it over before we discuss it you think so maybe we can put that on next next time's agenda too Carolyn do you want uh help with that maybe the two of us I'd be happy to take some time sure later you know in a couple weeks if we had a sit down where we could do a little of uh the sewing the two things together like Frankenstein and I'll be you can be Frankenstein I'll be your Igor okay yeah it's pronounced all right that sounds good um we don't have any public anyone else have any comments on anything that we discussed tonight NOP and the next one was minutes I had two of them all ready to go and I didn't get them emailed out okay I know but the town clerks are going to get after us so I will have those for next time but they have an inside I know they have inside eyes now yeah I know know monitoring our every move yeah I can't pretend that I didn't do it but no I am I will have we got some to do so you're Andrew you're becoming like a mushroom that sends out it it's like M rise romes all all throughout the be everything is underpinned by yeah all right so our next meeting is the third Wednesday of August what's the date I'm sorry I didn't hear that August 21st excellent try to get that in so we can get downstairs anything else before we bless you Lindon no historical news sorry I was on I was on mute because I have my air an old air conditioner on um no not no real news I submitted a brief newsletter article for the town newsletter on the barn raising at 12 Robinson but I don't really have other news oh I I have maybe um well were you guys involved with paper Homestead at all okay we had a tour of it yeah yeah go ahead well Linda Linda was as the historic commissioner and it's possible that in the future you know one of the um one of the sort of covenants about that project is that uh they're allowing a a a pathway from shat Street to Castle on the trees through the you know yeah whatever I mean it's it's actually a lot of it SW it didn't because it used to be mod but anyway I I wouldn't I don't know it's a Conservation Commission issue I don't know if there's any to actually construct this there if there's any plans to actually you know to put easements uh but it's in in the intention of that project to do that yeah and I do remember when we initially permitted that there was an noi like maybe it was a long time ago maybe five years ago no it was it was approved maybe not five years ago but at least and I do remember there being a walking path in back yeah I mean we'd have to but that's that's a that's not a reality and um it's really a a a really great thing because it would tie these two major things together and the community there is interested in that they want to be part of the community it was very interesting it's a um it's been a long time coming and it's a it's just a crazy unicorn of a project it's senior housing affordability it's a co-housing project and it's just sort of they they were working on it they said eight years since they started wow and you know so if we could get a a walking path through an easan or well we're supposed to but there's no no one's going to build it unless they come forward [Music] and get money for it uh it's probably a good candidate for Boardwalk right I don't think so there's enough there's enough upin there to uh i' I've walked the potential path really U but it it's not all I mean there's parts of it that aren't underwater so depending on that time here yeah sure but anyway but that's to that may be I don't know whose project that would be Conservation Commission Recreation um both undesignated undesignated yeah well it's good to I mean those are the kinds of things that we could put as long-term plan yeah you know even if we don't even get involved it could show it could be something that you know yeah went through swamp it's not call a swamp is isn't that Turkey Swamp call call the open land or whatever the open land well speaking of a connecting walk to that is the one down over the hill from the back of the Ten basketball courts at 330 King Street what who's oh Bri BR view right is it BR something yeah oh oh cross conservation crust land yeah um is that behind Russell Street or yeah it's going down over the hill from the tennis basketball courts or some of us used to walk regular at school yeah well that's that's the other thing I mean it could be used to walk to school I mean you know anyway so it's there's a lot of possib and and um I don't know who's going to that those would be good projects actually and more Trails for biking and walking especially for the kids you know and you think of connecting the schools have a safe safe way to walk yeah all right M do you have anything before we close off no uh but I do have a motion to adjourn okay I second all right I already I already typed in Andrew as my second so oh that's fine I I see to Andrew I moved that the meeting be adjourned all in favor please say I I oh we have to do a roll call because we have we have remote members um Linda yes M yes Andrew yes Sam yes Jeff yes and carollyn is yes it's unanimous thank you thank you remote people good night Linda good night night