okay well I guess if Thomas hit the record button then surely it's time to start the meeting so let's see um this a virtual meeting of the act and select board beginning at 8 in the morning on Friday April 12 um we are all here all five of us um so I'll call this meeting to order um and because um because we're not meeting in person Lisa didn't hand me a paper copy of the agenda so let me just scan over here oh yeah okay like usual um we have a residence concern section uh comments up to three minutes it's important for us to hear from you uh and uh is there anyone that would like to speak at this part of the meeting for Resident concerns give a minute to see if anyone will raise their hand it doesn't appear that anyone is raising their hand so we will move on um updates um well I I don't have anything in particular I just noting that we're in the the roller coaster time for local democracy with a special town meeting on the 17th elections on the 30th the regular town meeting on the 6th of May um a busy time for for staff and committees and um we're doing what we can um let's see my committees um the on disabilities uh is is is is beginning to um figure out how to how to manage agendas agendas and minutes um after the departure of of Bry Osman uh and we're we're it's working out we could still use another associate member um but it's it's the commission is coming together again um I think that's all I got is there any U manager updates yeah thank you uh I will be going over to the senior center after this for uh my monthly job with John program and if you're not able to join and you don't want to go out because of the weather it will be broadcast live on acting TV as well so um that starts at 9:45 today and we we have a special guest uh which will be a surprise you'll have to go to find out who it is and um it should be good I look forward to speaking with folks and um giving some updates one thing I'll tell them is that uh in addition to the festivities that happen every year related to Patriots Day which I think there's information about that on some of the local sites um our team here is planning an Arbor Day celebration on the 26th of April and I think this board doesn't meet again until after that so I just wanted to mention now that would be Friday April 26 at 9:30 a.m. at Nara Park it's a collaboration with public works and the library and wreck and so we'll have um uh tree planting U and proceeding that we'll have Story Time and crafts and uh we'll give out saplings which people seem to like so check that out thanks um any any members with stuff to report Dean a report from the uh DPW building committee uh the uh architect submittals were received yesterday I believe there are five submittals that have come in so Town staff and PMA our owners project manager will be reviewing them over the next couple of weeks um 250 committee uh last week we had a speaker program with John Bell um talking about the precursor events to the uh Battle of Northbridge was very well attended there were probably well in excess of a 100 people in the room for that and uh the 250 committee merchandising uh site is up and running and uh we're uh got a little Revenue starting to trickle in so that's all good news as well that's all for me thanks so much how does one get to the merchandising site well it's kind of a little bit of a trip uh but if you start with your um on the town website there is uh at least the last time I looked there's a link there you could click on um or you just put in uh Google act and 250 events um and you should be able to get to it that way um most of the uh materials are being produced locally or at least can be picked up locally as well at uh up on ledge rock way so um it's an interesting assortment of odds and ends there for sale thank you anyone else hi Alysa good morning um I have a few announcements the actin exchange which is our local news source launched a brand new website it looks a lot different from the old blog format um it's very professional and they are able now with that website to expand their offerings so you can find obituaries and you will soon be able to find letters to the editor um and it's election coming up so I encourage folks to to write to the act in exchange if they have anything they want to talk about uh with candidates or the ballot question or or anything else um I I think you probably have already heard this because I failed to mention it at our last meeting during my member minute um but the health insurance trust uh met in March and learned that in February we had a spike a very large spike in claims again over $2 million so they're um concerned about the cash flow um considering uh requesting the two entities the town and the district to prepay claims they would not ask that of employees obviously um but just we need to keep an eye on that since we will need to continue um dealing with run out claims um over the next two years after we switch over to m uh the the budget materials which are printed slides from presentations to this board and the school committee are and as well as the tax impact table and the FY 24 tax relief program um those materials are available in binders and um will be in the Memorial Library they were provided for folks to look at who came to the override Forum last night at the library so if people miss that they can watch a recording or go flip through the materials um at the library and finally the Water Resources advisory committee I wanted everyone to know that they have um dove into dived into research on the storm water utility so they've been following conquered process because conquer is bringing the creation of a storm water utility to their annual town meeting um doing some other research industry research um as well as inviting our engineer to one of their upcoming meetings so they can they can get their questions answered so they are making progress on that task that we assign them thank you um any other member minute no okay um um the next part of the agenda is to review the annual town meeting warrant and assign select board members to articles and consider voting recommendations we've done most of this already um so so far uh the ones that I know about that we want to look at um are um I'd like to talk briefly about number one because that relates to what's going to be in the warrant and how the process is going to go for uh citizens Library trustee election and and then we have the the the four articles that we haven't uh formed a recommendation about yet uh the three the four the four zoning bylaws 10 11 12 and 13 and um the citizens petition article 16 are there other um articles that people want to make sure that we discuss today are the collective bargaining articles not ready ah great question they are not ready and um it will be a it'll be a last minute U item if if they do get finalized okay uh Alysa did you mention the school assessment vote oh thank you uh no I'd also like to review uh review that again um that's number seven thank you um so starting at the so those if those are the ones we're going to be looking at um let me know if any others come up in your mind but we'll start going through those um so for the uh citizens Library trustee election as you know there's um one one slot open because of the ending of a one-year term um and Alyssa has been working with the moderator on the the mechanics the logistics how that would work and Alissa maybe you could review that with us sure so um the moderator's plan is to um have in the warrant which I think it currently is in the warrant a list of uh trustees to elect at town meeting and at town meeting she will read the names of nominees and uh if there is more than one nominee um we will go to clickers and the names will be put up on a screen um but right now the plan is to not list any names when we print the warrant yep um this the the seal trustees have not voted a recommendation correct we do have and we do have one nominations so far so if that's if that if that situation stays the same that person's name Linda viir would be read by the town moderator at at at the meeting okay and then um and then someone could choose to take that uh item off let's see is that oh no that's not that's not even on consent okay so we would just go through that and if someone wants to make additional nominations that'll be called for right at the uh at the meeting okay are there any questions or concerns about that process okay great thank you um the next one item seven the Regional School District assessment Alysa asked us to um go back over this vote and Alysa maybe you can describe what your situation is and what what might have changed sure so I've received advice from the state ethics office not to vote on um any item that is related to the school because I am a School employee so um I received that advice after our previous vote so I asked Jim if we could take that vote again so I can recuse myself okay um then um I would move that we vote a revote a recommendation on the article 7 the Acton box for Regional School District assess um and sorry has a concern and John has a concern uh thank you and I don't I don't know if this is a Robert's Rules or whatever it is but I thought there was a requirement that the person that made the motion has to ask to be to be reconsidered is that not the case and I don't know who that person I'm ignorant in this matter and I'm happy to proceed that way so Alyssa you have you'd like to make a request to wait are we John is do you mean that that is whoever made the motion last time maybe maybe that's I'm misremembering but I thought that's how it works that the person that moved it initially would have to move to change it or again may please correct me if I'm if I'm misremembering that that's that seems like a sound process the challenge would be remembering who who moved I believe that was you Jim okay this was that's right this the part of the meeting where I was just making a series of motions about yeah okay um so uh I I would I would move that we reconsider this vote uh so I would so there I am as the Mover and then then does the seconder also have to agree to uh reconsider or I'll second nonetheless okay uh Dave could could I just say that just just to make this clear that you move to reconsider and um and uh that that we recommend because I want to or or do we need to reconsider first and then that's one vote and recommend is the second vote um I think I think two votes okay so first we have a movement to reconsider the vote based on this new information from Melissa um are is and I'm I'm making that motion and Fran is seconding it um this is a roll call vote because we're virtual so that cler could call the role okay uh on the motion to reconsider Mr snid Grant yes uh Mr Martin yes M Arsenal i m nickel maybe she's not participating because she wants to recuse herself okay Mr chter also I four with one exstension okay um okay now now that we have agreed to reconsider I will make a motion that we uh recommend article 7 the act in boxboro Regional School District assessment second and David is seconding is there any discussion before we take a roll call vote no okay uh well the clerk please call the ru Mr Snider Grant yes Mr Martin yes M Arsenal hi M Charter nay uh Miss nickel is abstaining I believe great that that's one and one yep um Alissa has a a point of concern just no not a concern just want to um clarify that that was a recusal not an exstension because I am not voting so it would be three zero three to one yep sorry three to one thank you uh Mr clerk does that does that Accord with your with your understanding of the situation here as well it it does yes right okay um okay that's number seven um now let's move on to number uh 10 amend the zoning bylaw vehicle sales rental uh I would make a motion that we recommend this article second and there's a second um there might be discussion see seeing no particular discussion and seeing No Hands raised um will the clerk please call the role Mr SN Grant yes Mr Martin yes M Arsenal I miss nickel yes Mr chter also yes five Z unanimous thank you um the next one is number 11 I would move that we recommend article 11 to amend zoning bylaw and map assabet River overlay district and Powder Mill zoning District second great um is there any discussion H well David so I just think uh this is important with our uh the process we've been going through with Maynard right it's been a Cooperative process for well over a year and so um uh there have been lots of input on this and and I I I'm you know the I personally I like the goals in this in this uh um overlay district and everything I mean including the whole Corridor and including the mayor part but our this is our part of the M part our part of the whole MH um yeah yeah I'll add that we did get um uh The Memo from the the the the planning department noting that the planning board uh voted to recommend these article this article as well as well as the next three articles after this one um and that we delayed voting on this at our last meeting because we were waiting for the planning board's recommendations to come through any other discussion okay um will the clerk please call the role Mr snid Grant yes Mr Martin yes Miss Arsenal hi Miss nickel I miss chder also I 5 Z unanimous great thank you um the next one number 12 uh I would move that we recommend article 12 amend zoning bylaw and map MBTA overlay District great okay it's been moved and seconded there might be discussion Melissa thank you um so I am very conflicted and have been conflicted about this particular zoning article um zoning proposal uh I respect that it is a select board short-term goal I I did not personally assign any points to it during our goal setting process but it did make our number 17 on our very long list of 17 short-term goals um I I've heard from a lot of folks that um it was very important that Acton not engage in performative compliance um so not um choosing Parcels that were already um welldeveloped and had little chance for for redevelopment or didn't include any developable land um I I would actually be okay with that because I feel that Acton has met the intent of the legislation if we all agree that the intent of the legislation is to increase multif family housing in massachus um because Acton has uh more multif family housing than any of our um comparison communities surrounding us 30% of our housing stock is multif family we also have um a couple thousand units that um at least from the most recent data that I could find which is a few years old now uh that meets the income requirements of 30% 50% uh 80% area median income uh many of those units just don't count to our subsidized housing inventory because they're not they're not um it's so early in the morning they're not limited um to income eligible so there could be people who are living in those apartments either um renting or or owning but they don't meet income eligibility requirements and they're not deed restricted so there's no guarantee that they won't become unaffordable um but we do have a lot of naturally affordable housing um currently in Acton um Massachusetts is the third most densely populated state in the nation um it's also the third uh highest home value in in the nation so so we do have a housing issue that's that's definitely not something that I would argue against I just have um doubts that new construction is going to resolve um either the supply problem or the pricing problem and we've heard a lot from residents recently about concerns about displacement and I think that you know the folks that are saying that there's no risk I don't think that that's true um the state did recognize that the legislation created an incentive for the replacement of commercial uh for residential in its place and so they changed the the guidelines and allowed communities to require commercial in in these overlay districts um so I think if we if the state recognizes that incentive to displace commercial we we have to if we're going to be honest recognize that there is a risk of say um replacing a large historical home on a large property with higher density newer development as well as displacing folks that are in tiny homes like capes and little duplexes along Central Street or even um tenants um all of that said uh I am reluctantly going to vote to to recommend this um because Acton has a lot of other um constraints uh on housing we have um limitations to not only sewer discharge capacity but also septic discharge capacity we have you know hide water tables um there are a lot of on-site systems in town there are a couple of projects that have been permitted but have not yet been built so Grand View was a multif family senior housing project on Great Road that was permitted four years ago and it hasn't begun Construction Powder Mill Place is facing infrastructure constraints um with with water infrastructure in that area of town and they haven't so I think that there are a lot of other um limitations you know posos and and any other emerging contaminants are are a limitation for building in town um so while there's no risk I think it's very very small and I think the greater risk is the town losing the ability to bring in outside funding from from state grants um you know couple million dollars a year is is too much to risk especially given our financial situation right now um but I'd also like to take the opportunity now to encourage us all to think about ways that we can get Folks at the table um who despite the incredibly robust Outreach effort did not make it to the table um you know we have an organization attendant advocacy organization that's been speaking to this board and other boards and town staff for the last couple of years and a simple email um to share this information with your distribution list of however many email addresses they have or you know can we come to your next meeting and present this information um so I think that we can we can always do better with Outreach and people may not show up but at least we need to make a more considered effort to do that thank you Alissa there might be comments from other board members uh David yes thank you um so uh I want to say first first and foremost for this the you know Eastern Massachusetts is probably um a couple 100,000 units short of the housing need um uh so I think it's important that uh you know we we we support increasing um hous housing start uh starts I think the the process um has been um excellent and the plan has changed over time based on input during the during the process um I I do agree with Alyssa that you know going forward there are other ways that we can do Outreach and we should you know cons consider those uh um to make make sure people are involved as as early as as possible um most towns um have supported this by far in way most towns have supported this including recently uh Lincoln um uh you know personally I don't want to have um uh a solution imposed upon us like the uh U you know the Attorney General is uh suing Milton to to impose a solution I think that's um that that wouldn't be in our best interest I mean it be it remains to be seen how that will come out but um uh I think it's that that would be a big risk and and and finally um uh um uh I'm not not concerned about the the eviction of of uh people in existing units and in fact one of the changes made during the process was to take um the the uh Parker Street Apartments out of the um the plan and one reason for that is they would have been a big risk of of replacement so um the the attempt was made in the plan to uh to adjust the plan to reduce that risk thank you Dean yeah I uh I acknowledge the uh the issues that Alyssa raises about uh you know the possible unintended consequences of this but I'm going to be voting in favor of it uh there is certainly a housing shortage in Eastern Massachusetts and we see it every day uh with our local businesses and our local government attempting to hire employees because the uh the cost and the accessibility of housing is just out of sight for lower paid employees and I include frankly almost everyone that works for the town of ACTA and for the school district under that category of lower paid employees pleas um now in public works anyway we have a substantial amount of our Workforce commutes in from places in Garder um it just makes them not available under emergency situations it's certainly a uh a tax we all end up paying because the salaries we pay these folks have to go up just to subsidize the cost of their commute every day um so I well there's no restriction certainly some of the new housing that's going to get built is going to be beyond the reach of of that category of employee but I'm hopeful that if we increase the General stock of the uh of housing as far as numbers go uh some of it will probably be fairly expensive and some of it might be more affordable so I think from a point of view of of Workforce Development um I think it's important that we do whatever we can to provide housing and I think this is a good start so I'll be voting in favor of it thank you Dean um let's see bran I agree with everything that everyone has said um and I agree with Alyssa's uh point about Outreach to the community and having a seat at the table um I'll be voting we're voting to recommend this article right so I'll be voting to recommend um I think we've all heard over and over again the housing crisis and um this is the governor's way of uh you know putting some pressure on to alleviate some of that so thanks uh this is this has been really helpful to hear all this um I agree with the points that have been made um let me add a couple small ones um the um I I think I really appreciate the way the planning department um took the requirements of of the MBTA zoning act and uh used it to further goals that Acton has in a real I think in a really thoughtful way um uh we'll see that a little bit more in the next article but the way that the South Aton zoning and the NBTA zoning work together I think is is is is well done um in terms of the concerns about displacement um I I having talked this over with a number of people uh the the main thing that stays with me is that in Dober Heights for example um there's currently 71 units on that on a three Acre Site uh so they're really at just about the the 20 the 25 units per acre um so a change that allows for building at 25 units per acre doesn't create an incentive to tear down a building that was already at that density at that maximum density and replace it with something identical um so for me the the effect of the zoning bylaw in that area is that there could be uh an additional development of uh you know similar density housing um and I I I I agree that we have we have Workforce housing issues and we just generally have a housing mix issue we just have too many in a in in on a proportional basis we still have too many um you know single family large single family homes that um are appropriate for a relatively narrow percentage of the people who live in Massachusetts um and not enough smaller units and uh the 10 units per acre and the and the 25 units per acre in the different zones um create housing that's you know is is going to be is going to be smaller and naturally uh lower priced than the large single family homes and I think that's the right direction for um the you know the the housing mix and acting that we'd like to see um there's always the need for more um housing at you know 50% of Ami and 30% of Ami but what we've learned is that that requires um you know a different process that's not done by zoning that's done by the hard work of groups like The achc and the AHA um in creating you know uh subsidized housing to to bring together the subsidies that that create housing at at at those levels um and you know we'll continue to do that it's still way too difficult and slow to do that but we at least are making progress um see let me check over on the attendee list and see if there's any hands raised no okay um if there aren't any more comments then we can ask the clerk to call the role go ahead okay Mr Schneider Grant yes Mr Mar I miss Arsenal I miss nickel yes Mr chter also yes five to zero unanimous thank you everyone it's very very thoughtful comments I can see we've all been been you know wrestling with the prosen cons of this one um the next article that I'd like us to talk about uh I would move that we that we recommend article uh 13 amend zoning bylaw and map South and Village districts second and there's the second there might be comments from board members David so you know we've been trying literally for decades to reviz South act and a number of things were were done I frankly I think that this zoning um helps with the most important impediment impediment right I think that the the structure of the the the proposed districts here um you know basically in other changes we had in the past like you know adding sewer in the area or whatever um those weren't by themselves going to make huge changes and I'm we're know obviously not sure that this one will either but I think this is the um the strongest attempt um to be able to uh Revitalize Health act and I'm very much in favor of that thanks um any other comments from board members okay um oh yeah Fran I just have a quick comment I I agree I think this yeah I think this is it goes hand inand with the MBD ta um propos zoning and I also want to make a shout out I'm I'm still tired but our planning department a and planning board they get beaten up and they are implementing and getting Town input um and it it's incredible the amount of of um I can't find the right word objections they they face and they just keep going and I think that's completely impressive thank you FR um uh let's see the most common question I've had about this about this one uh is people look at the map and go wait there's this District running up and down River Street um how could there be you know are we going to start having uh you know commercial buildings with residences on top on the Riverside of River Street that couldn't be and what I explain is that the intent of the MBTA zoning and the South Acton Village zoning together is to You Know cover that entire area and this is part of the historic district which we wanted to make sure was covered by special um you know the South Acton Village um uh changes not the MBTA changes um so it's it's it's legally uh would be legally in the district but our standard you know Wetlands protections both the state and local protections would prevent um you know anyone from attempting to squeeze in a you know um a coffee shop with a with housing on top uh somewhere between River Street and the river which is it's all that's all that's all within the Wildland protection area it's not it's not going to get there's not going to be a sudden Spate of development there um any other comments from board members yes Alissa um I just want to add that I'm also in support of this overlay District I think that it brings in some elements that will help with the revitalization um the parking is addressed um as well as the floor area ratio that has been significantly lower than in West Acton Village um and just adding on to the way the MBTA and South Acton Village works together uh David mentioned in our previous discussion on the MBTA article that Parker had Parker Street Apartments had been removed because of the risk of displacement there um there's a lot of uh good Synergy between these two proposals um like you just mentioned Jim the historic district is not in the MBTA Zone also South Acton Village was protected um the the commercial entities were protected um and also further up uh on Central Street some of the older historic larger homes were left out of MBTA um so sort of following up on what Fran said there were so many changes that were made and it was a result of direct feedback from from the community um Grace uh was was removed because of feedback from the community as well as the fair housing analysis so I I agree that you know nobody is going to be completely happy um but I think that this these two proposals um are the best that we possibly could have reached with all of the different objectives from people who are interested in the environment people who are interested interested in the historic elements and people who are interested in in housing production it's a good compromise um so that's comments from all select board members I'm looking at our attendees and I don't see any raised hands um so um Dean why don't you go ahead and um call the role on this vote to to um recommend article uh 12 no sorry Article 13 Mr Grant yes Mr Martin I miss Arsenal I miss Nicholl yes and Mr chter also yes 5 to zero unanimous in favor great thank you um I believe we now have just one more uh article to talk about uh which is the citizens petition um I I had a I have a document here about the differences between the the the last version of this that we got um brought To Us by select board member David Martin and the version uh that was brought by citizen petition and I'm wondering if Tom or John or David if someone could put that on our screen okay and can you like make it wider yeah thank you um so just briefly this is some of the differences and I I ran I ran the the differences uh by um both uh David and uh the petition writer Paul campus they they agreed that this seemed to cover the differences um I I think the the key things uh not much on this page although it is true that the select board version actually defined what Leaf blowing is um and the citizens petition doesn't so I didn't think that would be a big deal because I don't think there are have been confusions about what a leaf blower is but this this that there is that difference um next page um I think uh an important difference here uh is that um that the the bylaw applies um the bylaw treats the town's uh use of handheld leaf blowers the same way it treats commercial leaf blowers um whereas the ver version we got from the select board uh for the select board uh specifically excluded Municipal Employees but then had a different then had extra requirements for uh the town's use of leaf BL so made it s made it a special case um the um the dates as we recall were different um basically a year a year different um or six months different um and the petition article follows some of the other uh leaf blower bands that we've seen in surrounding towns that start with a seasonal restriction year and then have the bands where we had uh you know a a sort of a a simpler you know first commercials and then everyone else um and um what else I think that was the key stuff on this page is there is there the last page yeah okay so these are these extra Municipal requirements um so that um you know that we would stop buying leaf blowers um and we would allow we would be encouraged to create educational materials and maintain a list of contractors um so I mean I think the last two thing are things we could apply as a matter of policy if we dis if this passed uh and we decided these elements were important um and the the other the big difference was the uh the enforcement agency although these became closer as as versions uh continued to come forward um the uh the the this the the the select board version had enforcement done by police officers or the health department and the petition version has Department of Health or design with assistance from the DPW and police department um so those two versions are closer than they used to be uh they both have um presumably based on a little bit of time spent with Town Council uh have identical language about the authority um and that's really it um oh no yes there's sorry Sol of the page you're right um so yeah so the fines were structured differently in the selectboard version there was a it was laid out what what the fines would be um the the petitioner version is just up to $300 per incident and then leaves room for policies to be evolved afterwards um which would you know spell out the specifics um certainly no one want a situation in which um you know it's entirely up to the discretion of the you know the person who happens to go out on an enforcement call you you want you need and want um you know specific regulations it's just the difference here is that the regulations would have to come after the bylaw was passed rather than be written down in the bylaw um yeah the others I think are minor technical points um so with that being said um I I'd like to move that we vote to recommend um article 16 why don't we stop sharing thank you um and then um I think we could have an interesting discussion I'll second that motion for a second right okay thank you uh comments from board members um um um Alysa I have a question um for David David you mentioned um at the meeting where we withdrew uh the version that you had created that you had done some research into other towns bylaws and you had also spoken with staff I'm wondering if you had also connected with the petitioner to um craft that original version that you brought to us so uh I think the uh in in I don't know who the petitioner contacted originally I know the that he contacted Chim but he also contacted me many many months before it came up at a board meeting um um and so I I had email exchanges back and forth with him and and indeed um uh you know a number of the things that were important in uh from the partitioner were included in the in the draft um Al along with feedback I got from the green Advisory board and the economic development committee and um and this board um with in our discussions um so um and did you work did you work in concert with with the petitioner um I think that the board had D that was our general direction was work with the petitioner because after um yours was brought to the board Paul came back and had a list of things that he suggested we change and I'm just wondering why that happened at a board meeting rather than in in a discussion with you outside of the meeting so there there wasn't very much back and forth after that process started right I I used his input in the in the beginning um um but also a number of things that were important to the with to the petitioner uh D directly conflicted with feedback I got from the green Advisory Board the EDC and this board and so in all those cases I I took or I shouldn't say took I mixed in the the uh you know the feedback I got from the town boards so um and so I um you know I I I didn't do do that and I I think there are some well you can finish your remarks and then I'll make my remarks I think Dean had some remarks that was just a question from me to understand better what the process was Dean yeah I I'll be voting against this um primarily because I think the implementation in the uh citizen petition is too rapid uh I think even the proposal from the town side our our draft would have been too rapid um you know a lot of people um not just businessmen but homeowners um have invested in gas powered leaf blowers they have a fairly long lifespan especially if it's a homeowner um owned unit it doesn't get a whole lot of use um and frankly the new electric ones are still considerably more expensive than the gas powered ones and there's also uh some weight limitations as well um to have enough battery capacity in the uh in the electric ones um compared to the weight of the gasoline powered ones so I still think that like certainly I'm frankly annoyed constantly in my neighborhood because you can hear leaf blowers start at 8:00 in the morning and they go on till 6 o'clock at night as the landscapers work their way down the street but I still think that this is a too fast an implementation schedule um also the uh as far as the proposal to eliminate the or stop the purchase by Municipal entities of gas powered relaf blowers I think that's ill-founded when we're trying to save whatever money we can uh to pay effectively double for a unit like that um also I think leaf blowers whether they be electric gasoline are really imperative to be owned by Municipal entities because we have such a limited Workforce and we've had very little luck um hiring new people U years ago when I was first working for the town we would have to go out and hand rake the entire town common in time for April 19th and you'd end up having to deploy basically the entire Highway Department there' be eight or nine people out there for a full day hand raking that common um at that point we had not only leaves but we also had sand from deicing operat but it was just a huge project and hugely expensive and I don't I'm not convinc that moving to electrics are going to be the proper way to to move ahead at this point uh with the development of the technology I'll be voting no thanks Ste um David so uh very reluctantly I'll also be voting no I you know I I had wanted to to support this effort um but I was you know in our Pro in the process that the board started um we recognized that there were a variety of opinions in town on this issue and we were trying to thread those you know uh and and try to come up with a a thing that uh Mo many people could support I don't think that the petition uh does that um one of the Fe pieces of feedback I got from the ET EDC especially was about the um uh you know a a simple implementation date th this the petition has cleanup periods multiple dates and it even has this sentence that says leaf blowers powered by fourstroke engines and leaf blowers attached to tractors or mowers will be allowed on larger Lots than one acre during the Spring and fall cleanup periods now who could possibly enforce that right uh you know it it's that's you know nuts to me um the fines Jim you mentioned it says up to $300 we'd have to find a way of adjudicating you know how the fines get um uh um done uh all the feedback I got from this board um uh from the EDC even the green Advisory Board was that the law not be heavy hand heavy-handed $300 per instance is heavy-handed the the one that we were developing had a warning period and said once you got a warning you couldn't get another um uh you were kind of immune from further action for some months after that I forget the number of months right now um and and though you know the period of months we could we could have adjusted uh easily um this doesn't doesn't do that and finally I think enforcement is messed up here right our health department is an inspectional service and it says of course that um uh the health department can designate someone else but that's not the way it works right our departments don't designate another department the town manager does that and I I I hesitate to encode in law something that is the in practice is not the way it's going to happen and so um I I object to that and very finally that um I should have mentioned this on the last one with with fines there there's another bylaw where that is our enforcement Authority for fines that needs to be modified this this doesn't do that and so that would be another town meeting action um to do that it's just it's not to together enough for me and so I reluctantly will not vote to recommend thanks thanks D um prin Bo I in theory believe this is the direction we should be moving in I had I think that the fines are really punitive and I think the the whole I don't know if those could be worked out I mean I I would vote to recommend just in theory of of the health side of using gas powered blowers but I think this needs to be reworked thanks um oh yes Alissa um so I I support this um I wish that that uh the version that was coming from the board had had a little bit more or had um some collaboration with the petitioner um so that he didn't feel that he needed to bring his own version um because he wasn't directly involved in the creation of of our version um I think that the petitioners version has enough uh open-endedness and flexibility I I don't think that the up to $300 fine is um is a is a deal breaker because you know fines are in place to encourage compliance not to collect money um from from entities uh you know the town a lot of of find on the books for for violations of the bylaws and very rarely are those are those collected um I think that there is a role here uh well it is a role of the local government or any any level of government to protect public health and I know that a lot of folks support gas powerered um Lawn Equipment banss because of the um emissions and the climate carbon issue I support this wholeheartedly because of the of the public health issue and and in terms of commercial entities I think that that one of the roles of of the local government is to protect the employees that are working whether it's whether it's um you know the owner you using this equipment or or migrant workers um or low-income workers so I think that if there are additional changes that need to be brought to town meeting in order to to um resolve those those conflicts um we can we can do that at an at another town meeting obviously we cannot do that for this town meeting but if there are tweaks to be made i' I'd rather um not send the message that that this board does not favor addressing it in in a very timely manner because this should have been addressed years ago it's it's not just the air pollution but the noise pollution um and there is so much blowing that happens around town that is completely unnecessary um it's a it's a way for them to fill hours in a in a contract with with homeowners and businesses um sometimes they're out blowing pine needles um and and dust from you know mulched garden beds and and it just it causes a lot of a lot of health issues for not only the people that are using them but everybody who lives here and works here thanks um so my comments um I'm I'm in support of the of the petition uh um I'm comfortable with the notion that if there are adjustments that need to be made that we can make them in a subsequent town meeting um to to specific issues uh in terms of the the use by the town um the town uses their leaf blowers uh relatively heavily um you know more than a residential leaf blower uh and in those cases the much reduced operating cost of uh electrical leaf blowers uh will compensate for um the you know the additional investment relatively quickly um so I think it's not a um financially foolish move to have the town switch over um it's it's I'll note that it's in our in in the draft osr P that we'll be talking about in a in a few minutes um that that there be such a switch in that towns um you know operating uh from gas leaf blowers over to Electric so I think it's it's a notion that staff at least the staff that o the osrp are comfortable with um and in terms of the fines um yeah I think there's two there's two points there one is that um that after the passage of the article regulations should be developed that um would make that make those finds not punitive the the three the up to $300 would only the $300 finds would only be in the most you know egregious repeat situations um and that there would be um you know appropriate um titration of the of the finds starting with just plain old warnings um and that if there are uh you know uh adjustments need to be made to further bylaws um that that would have been a isue that would have been an issue with either version um uh you know they both both both versions called out the general Authority we have to have have such fins um but you know we might as as David was mentioning we might need to adjust the uh the BW that you know that basically lists the fines that were were you know allowed to charge and I think that that that's another sort of tweak that could be done in the future and I agree I think it sends the right message uh that we're you know that we're in support of the increased uh the the the health effects of of stopping these um and the climate effects of stopping these uh is worth supporting uh even if adjustments need to be made um and that this the the petition version bylaw was was was closely uh matched by bylaws from other towns that have successfully you know gone through this process already um guess that's it um quickly checking attendees don't see any hands up um any final comments before we uh take a vote Dean why don't you call the role Mr Snider Grant yes Mr Martin nay Miss Arsenal I miss niichel yes Miss chter nay uh three to two thank you um we also left open the question of um who would represent this article um and I think that's important because we have we have a closely split board so we're going to want to make sure to represent both the pro and the con um in our in our statement um uh my recommendation is that uh is that uh since I voted with the majority that I be the person who is the contact person but I would be I I I will make sure to be um you know representing what I hear tonight about concerns and and questions and I'm wondering if the see did we were were we doing these by votes on uh who was presenting um does anyone remember what process we went through before to approve I think we just had a com uh verbal consensus there wasn't a vote okay let's not do that to Lisa okay so um I guess in particular David would you be okay with my yeah that that that's fine with me I think it should be one of the three people who voted in favor okay and you're and you're very fam with this issue so okay that's then that fits for others guess I'm looking for nods or something okay great we're we'll we'll proceed that way thank you um John or Tom are there additional warrant issues that uh you want to make sure that we discuss before this thing goes to press uh just to note that there are recommendations for articles that are placed holders and I think that was just the board trying to be efficient at the last meeting and we can keep it that way I just wanted you to know that it shows up as a recommendation for an article that's not not in the warrant yet so and if you want to change that that's fine if you want to keep it that's fine too I just want you to know that okay so are we particularly talking about item three the budget transfer and then the two collective bargaining agreement yes okay um if if members would prefer I i' be happy to reconsider those and change them to defer and then we could decide at a meeting you know the the usual meeting right before town meeting um uh or we could keep it the way it is um did people have wishes on this Alyssa and David I think that it would be wise if we deferred um I don't feel comfortable having recommend on something that we haven't seen or discussed and David is saying the same thing um so but now I know how to go through a a re a revote of a of of a recommendation which is let's see if I was the original mover uh I would I would uh move that we reconsider our votes on articles three 17 and 18 there and then the seconder should or do we need a a FR is seconding that if we need a second okay um Dean could you call the role on the question question of reconsidering our votes on 317 and 18 okay on the on the vote to reconsider uh Mr Sneider Grant yes Mr Martin yes Miss Arsenal I miss nickel yes Mr Charter also yes unanimous okay so let's go back and reconsider these um I would move that for article three we uh defer a Rec recomendation do we do actually is defers is that the default action if we don't take a vote or is it better to explicitly vote to defer does anyone have an opinion about that I I I think that is the default action um but maybe in this case it's confusing since we just reconsidered our vote but I think you could do them all together if if if board members don't want to hold one of those okay um I'm comfortable with that process so I would move that we uh change our recommendation on articles 3117 and 18 and that it be represented in the warrant as it defer and then we can reconsider this again at a future meeting second okay um any discussion on this okay uh can the clerk call the role hey Mr Snider Grant yes Mr Martin I miss Arsenal I don't think we heard from you yet sorry I froze for a minute there okay Miss nichel yes M chter also yes unanimous thank you everyone okay so those will be re-reflected as defer in the in the next draft um and printed that way um um Mr Man is there any other warrant related stuff that you want to make sure we discuss no I'm seeing a shaking of the head okay good um okay that means I'm going to go back to my agenda um the next item number four is called approve recommended plan for the Main Street sewer extension project um Mr manager can you take us through the changes in the last all the the news in the last few days and what the recommendation is yes thank you so this project is the um sewer extension that would take sewer under route two and connect it to the new mcmanis Manor uh 41 units of housing that the Housing Authority is developing uh this year uh we received the massworks grant to do this connection unfortunately when we opened bids in March the bids were much higher than the funding that we had available and so we uh have been working on ways to uh address that issue I think we we talked to the Housing Authority uh the plan that they have they had intended to connect to sewer uh it's simplifies things for them uh from a construction standpoint to just tie into a pipe rather than having to build the whole septic system it also uh avoid some issues that uh we would have with site work related to other projects that are happening on the properties adjacent and so it's in addition to being a good project to begin with it has a lot of uh good benefits if we can continue to move this forward so we talked to our state delegation we talked to uh executive office of Economic Development who've been very supportive uh to us throughout the process uh giving us extensions Etc and uh at this point our course of action is uh we're going to rebid the project uh we do not have the funding and we need to make a decision on the bid by like tomorrow and so we're not going to know tomorrow whether we have the funding or not so the best course of action is to do some value engineering rebid the project uh we'll be able to have the bids returned before the Housing Authority has to make final decisions on their um big project uh because they're out to the uh construction Marketa now trying to get their general contractor um so we can line it up so that we'll get bids back in mid or till mid to late may have an answer on whether it's within our budget or not and uh make a decision in about a month but what I'm asking the board uh for support where I'm asking the board to support here this morning is that I believe that even if we go out to bid it's likely that it's going to exceed the funding that we have um I hope it doesn't I hope that the value engineering that we did uh Roose is a project enough to get us in within our appropriation but I believe there's going to be a need to continue pursuing an amendment to our Mass Works Grant in general when we're asking the state to pitch in more money to a project a local match goes a long way in in helping them decide whether it's a good investment of their limited resources and so uh what I'm asking the board to consider this morning is reallocating um 175,000 of arpa as a grant match from other sewer sewer related projects in town that um not uh progressed the way that they did when they were uh first laid out the two that I'm referring to are the private system um that supports neog Park uh they received the ARP allocation to do a $300,000 project they changed the scope and it turned into a $80,000 project which is good news um they had requested using balance for something else so that's something the Board needs to decide and and then the other sewer related project is the board had allocated 500,000 to uh support investment in the South Acton Wastewater system by uh increasing capacity and other things uh We've determined that the best use of that funding is actually a change in scope which focuses more on inii work and more on additional feasibility study rather than what we had intended to be a half a million dollars worth of design to to build a new rib which which is not feasible so in the end there are two sewer related projects that are going to return funding and I'm asking the board right now not not officially but to say that it's interested in committing at least 175,000 of arpa as a grant match if we need it um next month to be able to keep this project alive because because if we don't have a match and the bids come in and we still need a supplement from Mass works and we say we just we just need more money can you help us they may say I'm sorry if there's no match we can't make it work and I don't know that but I have a feeling that that might be the case thanks ch um uh just I'm I'm assuming that there's going to be some questions here because we've just heard a lot of numbers uh and the the facts have changed quickly um but just to be clear after we get our questions answered it looks like what you're looking for is uh a sense that the board supports uh having a match for uh the extension project and that that then that match funding would come from arpa funds to be reallocated in a more formal vote at a future time is that am I getting that right yes okay so questions or comments from board members uh David yeah uh thank you John for you know thinking through this creatively and you know coming up with a potential solution here um can you uh there may not be these numbers yet but I was just curious if you have a sense of how much um of the 175 would come from each of the two sewer projects um or do you not have a sense of that yet well the revised scope that we have in mind for the South Acton Wastewater System project frees up exactly 175,000 uh and and the board may decide that it it doesn't want to do that so I I so generally that's where that 175 comes from but if the board also wants to reconsider the the neog uh investment some of it could be used from there but we could avoid using that if if that's the board's desire great and that's and that those details could be settled later but it is helpful to understand the amounts and the options um David did you have a followup question no thank you that great um did I start seeing Fran's hand I I just wanted to add that I'd be in favor of this I think that a lot of time and effort um has been put in by you know the Housing Authority waiting uh the dog park waiting um so I was curious if we did reallocate money it does that in the future there might be other money to go toward these projects is that something maybe through grants or something some some other money don't we have money so no I think I think the only the only funding that we you know we don't have C general fund money we don't have Capital funding the only funding that we have that is anyway going to be ever possible for projects that need support is our and the board had a really wellth thought out plan that you that you invested $7 million I reported at the last meeting that we've spent about half of that and the rest of it's allocated to projects in progress as with as with many projects some of them will change and there will be funding that will need to be reallocated there are projects that need more support that I'll be planning to bring to you the Child Care Subsidy program needs another injection to to to uh maintain that for for another a half a year uh a few of the park projects could use some extra support um so there there will be decisions that need to be made uh before December 31st which is when we have to have all the money under contract and as I said before we're not going to leave a a penny of that on the table so we're going to reallocate every last penny uh of that uh with with the board's support and so it's a process that we're starting now uh we'll continue to finish projects and we'll continue to realize that some may be freed up I mentioned last time the co response funding which I believe we allocated um 20 or 50,000 that is not something that we have a need for right now um and I think that's something that can be reallocated to another of these initiatives that uh the board supports it's just something that I'm ask I'm going to ask you to do when we have the full picture which is why asking you to commit now to 175,000 I thought it would be a little bit neater to have it from an existing sewer project so it doesn't change things in a way that are too too much different um from some of the other options that you'll need to explore next month or there's a chance that we'll be in the same position uh at the you know end of May right so or when the are you know when the bid if we get a bid we could be in the same position so if we open bids and it comes in exactly under budget then we don't need to ask M works for anything and we don't need a manage right okay but if it comes in higher we're going to have to try to figure this out I I just would love to see this project as projected go you know go along um other comments or questions um Dean yeah I'm I'm very much in favor of uh John's proposal on this I think when we do come to the point of deciding which of the two pockets we're going to take the money out of I I would be inclined to take it out of the the proposed failed project in South Acton I think there's a lot to be said in favor of uh of helping out neog Woods Al I'm not generally in favor of taxpayer subsidies to private entities but I think since uh it doesn't look like we're going to be getting uh Municipal sewers anywhere along Route 2A anytime in my life span uh this this is probably a nice way to uh to try to extend the life of their project so but that's a decision from another day but I I strongly recommend that we uh we follow along John's recommendation thank you Dean um Melissa thanks um so I absolutely support um allowing naog to use use the leftover funding to replace the pump I definitely support additional I and I work that's really important to the operation of the the current existing system um I this is a tiny amount compared to the you know $24 million $25 million price tag of mcmanis Manor that's subsidized um heavily I just want to point out that the town already has has um contributed a great deal of money um from Community preservation allocation from the acting community housing Corporation from arpa from wave sewer privilege fees um also the purchase of the land um which we got a little bit back from from CPA funding so that the Acton Housing Authority could pay the town a million dollars it was more much more than aill million dollar um so we've we've already uh contributed we've already matched um a couple million dollars and then some lost you know revenue and I I also was not I wasn't on the board but I wasn't in favor of adding this parcel to the Sewer District because one-third of the parcels that are in the sewer district have not yet hooked up yet and we are limited in our allowed discharge capacity by the state so you know adding even these 40 41 units um takes away capacity from from people who were in the in the um existing Sewer District before this was was added so it it limits um their options 10 20 30 years from now so so even though it's a small amount I'm not in favor of of um adding any more money the septic was already designed is a is an option for the Housing Authority project I know that it does not um allow for the design of the dog park that proponents would like to see the more attractive um design the the slightly larger amount of space for the dog park um but I just for all of the reasons that I just mentioned I can't um vote to support that um thanks everyone um I'll I'll add this comment that um um I I think this is a I think this is a wise Middle Ground uh in uh support for the possibility of you know allowing the the plan a for um uh the housing authority and the uh and the dog park um but I I'm I think that it's it's carefully phrased in the sense that we're not we're not saying we want this to work at any cost um we're not saying that um you know that we want to spend more than this um we may end up being willing to spend more than this but I I I I I sense that we're we're we're approaching that point where spending more is is uh is not what the board is interested in um so but I I think it's fine to proceed with the with committing the the you know the 175 as a match and that it comes from arpa funding um if if necessary uh after the [Music] rebid um I see at least one comment from the public um can someone let Acton dog park committee have their three minutes okay you should be able to looks like you should be able to speak now all right good morning thank you Mr chair this is Tom gispie current chair of the act and dog park committee thank you so much for working this issue just a quick question in terms of um exploring the possibilities if the matching Grant uh or I'm sorry if if the town match for the additional request to mass Works goes through and the bid comes back with a a little bit closer and we basically feel we can um you know uh close the gap with that um John or Tom do you have any rough sense of how long it takes Mass Works to sort of come back and agree on any increase in the allocation given the match and everything else so we looking at hopefully a a few weeks small number of months or is that going to be a protracted uh time so we would we'll need to have a decision U by the end of May for the housing authority to keep on its schedule so that would be the goal all right very good thank you so much great um seeing seeing no more comments from the public um it seems like we want to put a motion on the table which is uh to uh to approve approve the potential allocation of up to $175,000 from previously allocated arpa funding as a potential match on a massworks grant um for the South Acton for the sewer extension over over route two is that am I saying this in a way that's useful John yes um move to move to approve next steps for sewer extension project which includes reuting the project seeking additional Grant funds and committing a approximately 175,000 from arpa relocations as a match for Mass Works funding if the amending requesting additional funding is approved that's exactly what I meant to say let's let's say that I said that is there a second second FR a second um any more selectboard comments no Dean why don't you call the role Mr Snider Grant yes Mr Martin hi Miss Arsenal hi Miss nickel I will abstain and Mr chter also yes okay there you go go off go off to the senior center all right thank you I gotta run yeah um okay and we have one more item that we can cover ourselves with Tom's assistance potentially um and uh here I am finding the agenda again okay um discuss letter of review for 2024 2031 open space and Recreation plan and Alyssa and I had some uh text and email exchanges about this so Alyssa maybe you can review what what what we're up to today yes thank you so um uh it was decided at our last meeting that I would draft the select board letter of review um based on prior letters our discussion and then we would uh vote to approve that letter with any changes that are suggested when we discuss it on April 29th so today um because we've all had the draft of the updated open space and Recreation plan uh we wanted to make sure that you have a chance um however many pages you've read at the Point um because it's over 200 pages long um to provide some some feedback to assist me in drafting that letter is that does that cover everything Jim um yeah so to summarize what we need to do there might be comments we want to make out loud at this meeting about the um about the osrp that would be reflected in the uh in the letter of review um and that after that there would be a a after that our the next opportunity would be at the meeting of the 29th um to to suggest changes to the draft that we want to avoid uh um you know exchanging ideas between now and the 29th so we continue to do this in in Open Session um and uh I guess the only the only thing I would add is that you know if there are like you know um you know e editing you know copy editing kind of things those could go directly to to to to the planning department and they don't need to uh go through a formal review process with with the rest of the board so that having said um were there were there comments that people wanted to make sure were reflected in the review um okay I'll add a couple um most I I sent a note to Nora uh at the in the planning department but almost all my comments were were just um you know copy editing um and you know like misplaced diagrams and little you know little little text editing things uh the only thing that seemed to be of substance was um there were times in the osrp where they led up to I thought uh reasonable places to mention the town's work on MBTA zoning and um and I wonder if it would be wise to add something in the osrp about how the town is you know working to fulfill its obligations um and uh so that was that was the only thing I came up with and it could be that people have thoughts about that or we could just let it sit out there and um you know see what happens with it Alyssa so I I can't recall exactly where it is in the plan um but it is mentioned oh great that that um that the town is working towards that of course by the time it gets printed it could be that that's old news yeah it'll have to be artfully phrased because yeah it won't have the latest facts um okay yeah I'll uh I'll I'll double check that before I uh I'll double check that I just saw I saw a reference to 40b uh development and I didn't see the the MBTA zoning Alissa so I have a couple of comments that I think um if anybody you know disagrees that this is a general consensus of the board's view um before I write it in the draft one thing that I noticed um relative to Prior iterations is that uh climate change um you know increased flooding um that is prominently outlined in this in this osrp um as well as there's more emphasis on groundwater and surface water protection so that is something that I see as as um new and I was going to make note of that unless there are are objections to that yeah I noted the same I appreciated it and I think it's a great idea to call it out in our letter of review um other other uh review comments from board members no okay and I don't see any hands raised in the public so Alissa I think you're on the hook now for okay so we'll get a we'll get a draft review letter before our meeting on the 29th that'll show up packets like us thanks everyone um back to our agenda we have a couple of consent items um so uh say say hold if you want to step more discussion on either of these uh or read them uh number six uh approve special Farmers Market Winery license to sell applications Bliss Point metery act and bux World Farmers Market June 16th through o oober 13th 2024 and November 24th 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 1: p.m. and number seven appoint patina AB as a full member from associate member to the open space committee with a current term to end on June 30th 2027 um move to approved consent items six and seven second it's been moved and seconded um Can the clerk call the role Mr SCH Grant yes Mr Martin I miss Arsenal Miss nickel yes M Char also yes great um and uh any any meeting evaluation comments I I again I continue to appreciate that we can uh have votes to disagree uh without being disagreeable I thought people were were were stating their opinions in a way that was very very respectful and and listening well to each other any other thoughts I I don't like virtual meetings as much as inperson meetings but I appreciate that I didn't have to be there at eight in the morning my I thought the meeting was so riveting I did leave for a second cup of coffee you can do that now I Mo I moved to a Jour second let call the rooll on that one Mr Grant Snider Grant yes Mr Martin I miss Arsenal I miss nickel hi Miss Char also I we're adjourned thanks everyone bye see you around happy Friday yep