##VIDEO ID:GZOoO0Azp7s## [Music] good after good evening actually it is Monday September 23rd at 6:06 and I'll call it to order the board of Select meeting um so tonight obviously we're here for a couple of celebrations so we're gonna we're going to start with Mark joose um so I just want to say a couple quick little things um you know 44 years with a town is no easy feat um multiple roles and uh based on this audience shows you know the appreciation for the two people that we have here uh to honor tonight so on behalf of the town I really do want to thank you from the bottom of my heart um so first I would like to call up uh kayn as well as Mark um to the podium over here just for everybody's information the meeting's being recorded oh yeah I'm sorry and will be available on our Town's YouTube page I I apologize I was so worried about what was actually happening that I I skipped the that piece of it thank you Deb um so for those who don't know me my name is kayin Joe's I'm a sergeant here at the Freetown Police Department and I was asked to say a few words tonight uh on behalf of my dad and his years of service to the town of Freetown um first and foremost I speak for the two of us when I say thank you to the board of Selectmen um Town Administrator Deb Petty town clerk Cheryl Estrella executive assistant Lan Souza and for all of you here and attendance uh for being here tonight and for his recognition for the past 35 years my father has served as a Harbor Master for the town of Freetown he was first appointed as the assistant Harbor Master in 1989 and was appointed full-time two years later prior to that he served as a call firefighter EMT from 1980 through 1995 a position he held with honor and pride to this day his fire helmet remains on display on the top shelf in his office welcoming all who ENT there we come from a family of public service and for four generations each of us have proudly served the town of Freetown and various capacities each one of us learning from our predecessors in hopes of fulfilling the legacies they've Left Behind values such as honesty integrity and hard work have been instilled in us with a strong emphasis on community never forgetting where you came from and helping out your neighbor when it all possible it takes a village recently after an unexpected diagnosis our family has been reminded just how strong and vast our village is we are truly grateful for the continued support of our neighbors near and far and appreciate all of your acts of kindness encouraging words and well wishes although the decision was difficult my dad chose to resign from his position as a Harbor Master to the town of Freetown after 44 years of combined service Dad I know this next chapter isn't exactly how you imagined it but I hope it includes nothing but relaxing porch naps NAIC adventures and healthy scans I hope throughout the remainder of my career I continue to make you proud and promise to serve those same values you instilled in me many years ago from all of us here tonight and the residents of the town to Freetown we thank you [Applause] I just want to thank everybody for the recognition coming out tonight thank you very well said um Mark we have a certificate here from the selectman in the town of free toown honoring your 44 years of service walls of FL thank you wonder see right here I have a couple of Representatives that would like to come up and uh also honor you sorry then go on this side and leave this side for come on over here right center stage that's where you belong you my name is Morin Clan again and it's my honor to represent state Senator Michael Rodrick and it's my honor uh to uh present to you the citation from the state senate it's an official citation be it known that the Massachusetts Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Mark a Joe's in recognition of your 44 years of dedicated service and commitment to the town of freet toown and be it further known that the massachusett Senate extends its best wishes for continued success that this citation be duly signed by the president of the Senate an attested to and a copy thereof transmitted by the clerk of the Senate signed by Karen spilka and secretary Michael Hurley and Senator Michael rodrix thank you so much for your [Applause] service this might be the last time I appear before for the uh Board of Selectmen it's been an honor to serve uh Freetown for 12 years I always tell my friends in Westport that Freetown and Westport are just alike uh only difference is you've got your forests and we've got our beaches both towns are small towns they want to stay that way and they're filled with people really care about their Town they're filled with people like your family who are willing who have served for generations and uh you know public service service isn't always the easiest thing to do we all know Chief Rose Chief Ashley and all the others who are here uh that we get calls in the in the middle of the night and we get second guest all the time and that and that goes with it but what other job can you have uh when you wake up every morning knowing uh that you're going to serve the people and uh Mark I think you exemplify uh that service to others and so it's an honor for me to represent to you a citation from the house of repres Representatives um and we offer our sincerest congratulations to you and your 44 years of service thank you I would like to say that uh my colleague uh representative Fiola uh who has also signed the citation uh is here in spirit she got called away she couldn't make it her new legislative Aid Carly madas welcome Carly is here representing uh uh Carol so uh mark from both representative fol and myself thank you thank [Applause] you all right thank you what time is it all right well let's continue on with the party well the good times good vibes and the next person we're going to discuss tonight or congratulate is Miss Linda ridz who I consider a friend so if I may have Linda and chief Ashley to the podium please come on up [Applause] I should have used bigger font so I didn't mind but um well thank everyone for for being here tonight I was asked to uh say a few words regarding Linda's uh time with the town and fortunately I had uh Chief Abbott had done a lot of the homework for us so I didn't I didn't have to do a tremendous amount of research because he he'd done a great deal of it for me ready so um so I'm just going to I'm just going to outline what uh Linda's time has looked like while she was here with the town of free toown uh Linda began her employment with the town as a dispatcher in 1974 my first involvement with Linda was in 1985 when I became a call firefighter she was then serving the police and fire departments in the community Communication Center uh in at that time uh calls at night for the ambulance were by telephone we had a standby crew it was called and uh you I can I can still hear Linda's voice in the middle of the night um Harry hello this is Linda at communications I'm sorry to wake you but we have a medical emergency I mean that's like the kindest dispatch message you can ever have right just I'm sorry you know just was just always always upbeat and just a a great person in 1988 Linda added uh part-time clerical positions for the soil board the Conservation Commission and the finance committee in 1989 she left dispatch and became the senior clerk for the building department in b h uh roughly a year later in 1990 she moved across the hall to become the Senor senior clerk for the board of Selectmen and she held that position until she was promoted to Administrative Assistant for the board of selectman in 1999 are you remembering all this I know you do uh she served in in that role until her retirement in 2010 um at that time she spent roughly seven years probably enjoying the best job that either one of us has ever had and that's being a grandparent so she spent she spent the next seven years uh helping Liz out with with the grandbabies and I I know she enjoyed that immensely um and then in 2017 the fire department had a vacancy for a part-time senior clerk so as Chief syia can attest Linda was a natural fit for that position she always loved the the fight Department in the police department so that was just a natural fit for her uh I'll say that Linda literally knows everyone in town if if someone if she doesn't know you she knows your parents if she doesn't know your parents she knows who lived in your house before your parents that that she's just an encyclopedia of free toown our history and the people here and it's just it's an amazing thing and it it's a quality you don't see very often anymore uh she's still currently serving on the parade of fireworks committee she's also served as the town's procurement officer Parking Clerk assistant Grant coordinator delegate to sered Citizens for Citizens Advisory Board election worker local emergency planning committee Emergency Management member emergency preparedness committee and the historical commission so that's there's the history right that's that's how she knows all these things um and like like the world around us all things change with time uh the the fire department is growing immensely our demands are growing immensely and we've outgrown the part-time clerk position um so that position is trans transitioning to fulltime and so Linda is retiring again I I've worked with Linda to some extent for my entire adult life um she's the kindest person you could ever work with I I will say that um She'll always be part of the fire department family um she helped me with my transition to the chief's office I'll always be grateful for that um so she spent seven years with us and I I think I speak for everyone here especially from my department uh thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your service to the town of freet toown and especially the fire department so in recognition for you're seven years with us we have a we have a little award here fire helmet senior clerk oh my go recognizing me S years service okay [Applause] oh thank you so much you thank you from the bottom of my heart really this was beautiful thank you so much thank you everybody for being here thank you don't go in it just yet okay all right in my turn consolation prize you get to hang out with me for a few seconds how you doing congratulations we also have a couple things for you all right one is a plaque ourselves I like yours the one you have now is very nice as well right this is been the tal free town right that's wonderful 42 years thank you 42 years thank you so much thank you enough come here this this town like Chief said he said a lot of things about you a lot of a lot of roles you held over the years so this town in many ways has been Shak by you all right you will forever be in its veins in its heart thank you for everything you've done right thank you and on top of that I know the the Senator's office and the Representatives Office going give some certificates but again not as not as Grand grandious as the one we have here in Freetown I still foret telling you pretty much same thing that we care and appreciate your 42 years of service no I am blessed I am so grateful thank you hold it here so so you don't have to keep holding it down okay Senator and representative's office come on down right here the way so I had an opportunity to be able to come up and talk one onone with Linda and congratulate her and thank her for her service and beg her forgiveness because her citation is sitting on the Senator's desk in the state house so I apologize for that but um the sentiment is um expressed sincerely from um me to you on behalf of the senator for an unbelievable career that you have um I always enjoyed it gifted everybody obviously you like to be in the middle of things what was going on in my life it really did it was wonderful it's wonderful and and uh what a wonderful gift to this to to the town congratulations thank you very much you're welcome thank you Linda come here one of the uh greatest Pleasures I've had in serving is with the other public servants that I've worked with folks like all of your friends in town and folks like representative Fiola and most particularly Senator Rodricks I've had the Good Fortune of serving with him for 14 years U we've tried to do the right thing for the communities we represent High amongst a high on the list of public servants that I treasure would be you Linda oh thank you so much we think the world of you too well I that mean that means an awful lot to me sinc it means an awful lot to me and I think of all you've done uh for free town and I would add to the list uh that you had had of of your official titles I think of you as being the chief cook and bottle washer of the BFW am I right about that John yeah you've you've we have a lot of fun there yeah we sure do have a lot of fun and uh I've just enjoyed it here there so I it's it's a it's an honor miss you to present you with a citation from the House of Representatives with with all my heart and with all my appreciation uh many thanks to you thank you so much oh I'm I'm so grateful thank you very much I could never have [Applause] so want if I grab a photo with you no so so we're just going to actually if we can if we can take some photos yeah with with Mark and everyone as well so we can do some separate some together um you know and then um we'll take a okay so if we want we can start with Linda we can do both we it really it's nothing all right yeah [Music] you want me to turn this around so you can see the awards does maybe everyone want to hold one of Linda's many awards star that's Ace picture here's K grab the other on all right got want to take a picture I will to thank everyone there's some um Refreshments in the back of the room help yourself feel free we got to hear the one thing the first agenda thing congratulations looks better yeah just [Music] I need you one I apologize I am just going to entertain a m motion that we go in to recess um in for probably 5 to 10 minutes make i h motion made I will second all those in favor I I all right everyone back to the to the meeting so um we're actually on agenda item number one so agenda item number one discussion and vote whether to approve but not release executive session minutes from 99 924 uh so with that I will entertain a motion to release executive executive session minutes from 9924 I make that motion I will second it I'm sorry did you make a motion to release or not release I'm oh I'm sorry discussion about what I make I I ENT excuse me I entertain a motion to not release the executive session minutes from 9924 weing I'm sorry but we're approving them right yes sorry approv but not release wow approve but not release I make that motion I will second it all those in favor I I agenda item number two discussion and vote whether to approve the Surplus list from the Council on Aging and the transfer station supervisor on what to do with the list of items and attachment a um so I have what I think so it was a bunch of like filing cabinets and um just bear with me because I should have had my computer on before this um do you have yep it's uh 11 cans of paint a small table some old desk phones eight keyboards five desk printers car table 73 blank of War plx uh typewriter Max machine baby monitor four old processors from h p and Compact and an air conditioner yeah so um I guess you know some of the stuff can would pretty much I don't think there's any value to any of that right I don't see any value in anything that was just listed many of them are broken yeah so I I think we could send it over my recommendation would be to send it over to the transfer station and you know let them put it in the the correct bins I mean um I'm sure and they have the swap shed on the bottom of the the list there okay yeah I apologize I wish I had this no the swap shed is a good idea some some of these items might might do well in there bottom okay oh yeah yeah swap shed which is old and not salvageable so so yeah so um the only thing that we show is having any value is a you know a paper sorder and then the for for draw filing cabinet well I guess if it's not not really worth anything we'll get a little bit of money out of it from the uh the scrap value of the metal so um so I guess yeah I mean I say that we just you know send it all over to the transfer station and right there there's no point of holding on to it sort of sort through the process and get rid of it and uh move on with our day I'm sure there's some value there somewhere mhm all right so with that I will entertain a motion to approve the Surplus list from the Council on Aging and transfer station supervisor um and send it all to the transfer station for disposal I concur I make that motion I will second it all those in favor I I thank you Debbie uh agenda item number three discussion and vote uh whether to approve and revise the snowplow owy rates and remove early sign on bonuses for winter 2024 and winter 2025 there's no snow no coming anybody to move so so yeah so um you know we have we have Chuck here who can speak a little bit more to this but um you know last year as an incentive we we put out an an incentive bonus to get people on early um basically I don't think it got anyone extra I think we got one signed on early but it didn't fly like I thought it would mh5 bump no other towns that I canvas have come up with their current rates uh but they're all leaning towards some kind of bump so um I'm I'm thinking a $5 increase will at least maintain the staff that we we have mhm totally up to your discretion yeah listen uh you know we we hear over and over again how good you guys do right with our roads and how they they they leave our town and they see it one way and they cross the line and and I don't want to say I just hear it I see it so um you know my hats off to you guys and if it's based on anything the way it's been five times zero still zero so knock on wood we don't have anything but we do need and I I say it half jokingly but we really do need to be competitive with the surrounding towns correct because there is some people who are very loyal to the town but uh there is also a lot of people who are going to find out that they can go to the next town over and make a lot more money and that's what they'll do so we do need to stay competitive in the market so correct I don't think $5 is going to make or break the town but it could make or break um you know some of our season flow guys absolutely so absolutely Chuck how many how many did you have last year and how many do you believe are coming back this year just ballparking I'm not to hold your feet to the fire I don't know we might we we might have hit 28 uh subcontractors last year um it's too early to tell I haven't touched base with anybody quite yet we've been so busy um hopefully we can get at least what we had last year but the last two seasons have pretty much been a bust for our subcontractors so they've shelled out a lot of money on their equipment on the insurance on everything to prepare for the season and they haven't recouped the money that they've invested so a lot of them you can do that a couple years but for our subcontractors I kind of hope we have a heavy winter MH you know just so they can get revitalized you know they're like wow I can make $10,000 uh where last year I think last year we plowed three times but you know the it was all small amounts um so yeah I think a $5 increase I I know other towns will pay more I know there's other towns that pay less without being conceded I think they like plowing for us because everybody wants to play for the best and honestly I snow operation with Eric's help and all the guys um I don't I think anybody can touch us so like I said $5 you know a normal call in a 4 Hour storm it's an extra 20 bucks so yeah you know if we have a heavy winter it's going to add up but I I I think I think you have to do it just to stay status quo yeah and I um I also will without dragging this down a rabbit hole but you know they we did have to increase their insurance against them right because of what we're we're having to do it's nothing personal to them but so to your point there's more money out of pocket to them so you know the guy who's plowing who doesn't own a business and just out there plowing with his truck uh you know there's a lot of upfront cost to them and so with risk needs to come at least some small reward and this can corre help it so like I said for an average quick hit storm four hour storm you're going to pay them an extra $20 you know to to run a truck it's not an astronomical request I don't believe M yeah I I no what you two are going back and forth on a spot on you know we do a lot of interviews in town and the primary thing that we keep finding is that we're competing for the same resources town to town right same people are applying for multiple towns so getting ahead of it now September versus last minute ditch and let's say November trying to find out we can afford it or not I'm thinking I'm thinking five may be too low if all the towns are doing the same thing and fighting for the same resources we revisit this again in a couple months well we might have to R have to right but I'm I'm hoping that our Core Group comes back no matter what and they're happy that they get a a $5 bump and and uh I I didn't bring it up because Chuck did start by saying that you know they they were unable to get quotes right because it's too early of what other towns around us are doing so it might come back to us that every town around us is paying that much more and we have to do something but I feel like this is at least a good start to give them to show them you know we do care we are paying attention and look we're early to the game to your point right so we're we're we're probably the first one coming out but what's going to happen inevitably unfortunately is probably people say oh well free toown went up five so now we need to go up six and well that's what I don't want I also don't want that scenario turning into Major League Baseball or something and just we pay more more you know I understand that's how project but but it's so tough to say what that number they would go up to so it's I think that this is a good incentive so I agree um all right so um with that uh I will entertain a motion to approve the revised snow plowing rates and remove the early sign on bonus for winter 2024 2025 I make that motion I will second it all those in favor I I to item number four uh discussion and vote on establishing a speed limit for the asona Bay shores um so was someone who lives there um you know a lot of small tight roads and um the understanding is is that there was really never a speed limit set so um we have the chief here I'm not sure if he has anything he would like to say about it um the only thing I I could probably say is that we're Fielding to regarding some of the recent activities in the general area and I think it can be identified with a very small minute amount of residents in that general area currently we do have one of our traffic devices on one of the streets in the Bay shores just collecting data right now just to see what's actually going on in the neighborhood but um regarding setting the speed limits in the general um area I know know the town had had passed uh an adopted uh statute uh giving the selectman the ability to um regulate certain speed limits in the community um I am not completely fluent in that process and I wasn't able to get the answers that I was looking for today through Mass do so the only thing I would question and um be hesitant is to if we're going to go down that road I would suggest that we get some clear Direction whether it's through Mass do or another community that has done it properly and give me a little bit more time on the proper way of or how the town can properly post uh a set speed limit that's authorized by the board of Selectmen okay that's my recommendation and and I appreciate that we had this uh article from uh special town meeting in 2017 was article 10 um and I'm just going to read it quickly to see if the town will vote uh to accept the provision of mgl chapter 90 section 17 C and inserted by insert inserted by section 193 of the so-called Municipal modernization act chapter 218 in the acts of 2016 allowing the board of Selectmen to establish a speed limit of 25 miles per hour in any thickly settled or business district in the town that is not a state highway or take any relative actions there too so this was approved so um I don't but I would be a fool to argue against what you just said as well as I don't want to jump to conclusions and then have to have us go back so um I I mean I guess my thoughts are is maybe do we table this while we wait um I don't Debbie do you have any what do you think I I apologize yeah I I mean I I read this and assumed that we could that the Selectmen can um enact uh 25 miles per hour in Thea bore area just I mean the reason for this is we've had multiple complaints there is no established speed limit as of right now so it's hard to enforce um anything when you don't have an enacted speed limit but I I mean I don't think it has to be done tonight we can do it at the next meeting um everything leading up to a Sona Baye Shores just so you know from turning on Narrows Road all the way through the causeway road is 25 with the exception of one little area sort of in front of across from Crystal Springs it goes up to 30 for some odd reason so the vote that I would might be looking for is B everything from n Road through Bay shores would be 25 but if you want I can uh vet this a little bit further um put and put put it on the next meeting yeah I guess I I don't I have a hard time believing that this won't stick but I just the last thing I want is for us to to go out there and put up signs and have truck putting up signs and doing different things to have you say that we need to go against this because God forbid we have to change it um and then we find out it's supposed to and I don't think it would go to higher is kind of my thing I don't know yeah I don't know I guess I just don't want to rush to a conclusion what do you what do you think Carlos tell me I I thought of that then I look then you read article 11 which allows us as part of SEL to establish a 20 mph Zone which we did us right up the road M using a similar statute SE chapter 90 section 18b versus 17 194 versus 193 so same act um so I'm wondering if one applies to the other so once we have the information I think establishing a speed limit and posting it is the best way to go because as you said we've we feel some frustrations from the residents as well right and we passed them on to the appropriate departments so Su will this solve everything probably long long term Pro maybe short term probably not but it's a step in the right direction but I think it and chief correct me if I'm wrong it does give us a little bit more strength behind you know stopping cars going after Speeders right what what absolutely so when we have areas in towns that are not posted and approved by Mass do we rely on the basic speed of the so what that is is areas in towns that are are considered to be thickly settled or business area we rely on the 30 m off speed limit for the basic speed limit law the areas that are not thickly settle or not a business area then it's identified as a 40 m m Zone but everything else um the signage has to be approved the old way was by mass do what is do that mean the roadway had to be properly engineered it has to be analyzed the uh the the information was then submitted to uh Mass do for approval and then they would give the blessing of whatever that posted speed Li would be up to 2017 now you know appointing authorities have the ability to you know create these speed limits under those regulations so there's now a second way of doing that but um yeah so I just I guess I'm very unfamiliar with you know your ability as a board to be able to post in those areas and doing it right but well I guess so to to my my Outlook on it is is okay we have to wait a couple of weeks um to to get that clarification we haven't had one forever there right so if we have to wait a couple of weeks to make sure that we go about doing this the right way I'm okay with it um you know you bringing awareness to the neighborhood is key right we have officers in there right so we you know Fielding calls there you know your offices might be in there a little bit more we're putting up different stuff so I think that that should hopefully and I as someone who's lived in the neighborhood for I don't know 12 or 14 years now you know I don't see a huge problem with it but all it takes is a couple of bad eggs right where we you know it it then becomes it seems glorified where there's a couple of people who create that so I don't I I'd rather wait I guess is my point so um at the end of the day I you know admittedly I don't really drive around the Sun base shores as often as I'd like um it is a beautiful area but you folks do right so um if you say there isn't a sign there for all these ages we have to wait a little while longer to make do do it right the first time yeah I agree with that that's uh there's no rush it's let's do it right the first time so now abolutely backtracking all all right so um plus we'll give you some time to get your neighbors off your back so so all right so we're going to pass on four um and then also agenda item number five I'm going to pass over for tonight because we have um some stuff we're still looking at and trying to work on that so we're going to move on five uh just so we're going to go on to agenda item number six discussion and vote uh whether to close the transfer station on 10224 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for training training which um this replaces the canceled training date originally set for 9917 um so you know pretty straightforward we've already talked about this a lot but unfortunately it had to get canceled so now we have to move it um so I'm just going to reiterate what we had said originally the first time which is you know was try and do what we can to get the notice out to the good people of Freetown and let them know so yep you have any else you want to add to that no that's it's great that the training is still on yeah all right so with that I will entertain a motion to close the transfer station on 10224 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for training which replaces the cancel training date originally set for 9:17 I'll make that motion I will second it all those in favor I I agenda item number seven discussion and vote whether to approve the following policies a cell phone policy B Motor Vehicle Tax reconciliation and C motor vehicle delinquencies so um you know you you've been pretty heavy in this Carlos right we we're trying to um update a lot of the policies procedures stuff that's been um either non-existent or extremely old and Antiquated so you know I've read through this stuff and it's it's pretty straightforward I don't feel like it's going to be um something that people are going to look at and you know really worry about so um right no these are all common sense things that it hurts to say common sense I know but these are run-of-the-mill standards across the industry for everything from cell phone policy you know while you're driving or in office to you know your motor vehicle taxes it's there's better ways of doing things and I understand that we're an Old Town we've done it for x amount of years this way but it's okay to look outside the box every so often and see what needs to be improved that's what we've been doing for the past few years is improving policy policy making sure we're up to 2024 and Beyond so this is just a continuation of that M all right so um so yes so I think that you know enough stated with that one so with that I will entertain a motion to approve the following policy cell phone policy Motor Vehicle Tax reconciliation and motor vehicle delinquencies I make that motion I will second it all those in favor I I agenda item number eight discussion and vote whether to approve the ambulance abatements and write cost for August 2024 in the sum of $1 16,540 uh it always seems crazy but it kind of is what it is right so um it's a good sum yeah so with that I will entertain a motion to approve the ambulance and abatements and write offs for August 2024 in the sum of $1 16,540 I second I'm sorry second I make the motion I will second it all those in favor hi hi uh agenda item number nine acknowledge the memo detailing the spending of 25,000 in federal Opera funds for uh Road striping so um Chuck who's no longer here is you know was doing a great job they have a lot of roads that they've repaved and um thank you Town Freetown for that and um you know but one of the things is now he's been out striping roads and um in order to apparently I I just learned this was that it's very tough to get the company here so we have um the company finish the the roadway in order you know while we have them here so that we can finish everything and we're not having to try and get them back to do you know a few roadways so um so we were we were fortunate and we have Federal Opera funds right and we were able we're able to use the federal harer fund so uh no direct payer no direct taxpayer dollars so so yeah so um that that's just an acknowledgement so there's really nothing to vote on there agenda item number 10 discussion and vote whether to approve the proposal for vertical Communications at the Council on Aging phone system um so you know I I look this over once again it's it's pretty simple it's you know it's what we needed to do in order to kind of what we were just talking about bring everything up to yeah this is a great example of that how much I want some stats here I think we could provide them the amount of money saved on this alone is unbelievable going from outdated system they take all the materials back with them or they whether either refurbishment throwing in the trash whatever they they buy the equipment back and then we get better if not same or better communication in return for less money per month mhm yes abely see so I don't know what we were we were spending before so I only have um the total um you know what we have now but yeah so it's I think 120 it'll be I think there was seven lines at $20 it was 120 or 140 so you saving $50 a line that's what you're saying I think we're also adding a line another line for the yeah I think we're saving about um say $70 a month but we the problem is they're right now through Comcast who will no longer support the phones so when we're having problems they won't they won't help us they won't come out they won't deal with it so we're sort of forced to update the equipment so um vertical is who we use at the Town Hall and I believe here at the fire uh the police station so we ask them and they're they're cheaper and so it's an allaround win so they and they'll support the line so that's why we we're doing that so so there we go so all those reasons and Y the proposal will be on that's pretty straightforward so yeah anything else call us on that no all right so with that I entertain a motion to approve the proposal from vertical Communications for the Council on Aging phone system I make the motion I will second it all those in favor I I with that I'm going to turn it over to you so I'm going to be out of order I know we have some folks here so um how to best do our time Jessica if you don't mind I'm going to leave you for my last one that way we can concentrate solely on you all right um so that said I'm going to move over into number 14 discussion and vote how to proceed with the Harbor Master shellfish Warden vacancy so welcome let's talk about some shellfish and some some and some boats water and everything in between um if someone could summarize it better than I can U essentially we have an opening we have a a retiring HB Master we just retired today we have a slip or a dock or I think it's a slip or a moing sorry a moing and there's another moing a secondary moing correct and the question was is that moing one in the channel if it is great if not we'll figure that out deep water at least right or two is it on the same property right so we're trying to figure out what's the the best thing to do for the town and for our town residents right so um I know we have a lot of opinions and a lot of uh a lot of facts as well so I know we saw some charts from Noah right um and they you know they're pretty clear where where things are so who would like to add more information so that people at home understand what's going on yeah but this is this is really just about the oh is it I thought we're discussing the whole thing so I think that um what there there there wasn't a situation where I was asked to if if a Mor could be placed in the in the Sona Bay shores um at that time I I wasn't able to communicate with Mr Joe uh so after some time and some questions I tried to find if we had rules and rs of course the town of Freetown doesn't have any written rules or Rigs and I tried to find out what the Baseline is so at that time I I I allowed the person to put in a moing and said if if it's in the wrong place you'll have to move it but it was all U on the up and up and that moing went in it's been a a concern to one of the neighbors and unfortunately Mr Jose has retired so I'm faced with how do I resolve a situation where I don't have a Harbor Master so I I reached out to uh Mr ganam from Somerset he's been the Harbor Master for 34 years 33 33 and I asked him if he would be able to maybe help us and guide us because we don't have rules and Rags he he I believe has worked on them or crafted them for the town of Somerset he's very knowledgeable and I've asked him if maybe he could help the the town moving forward now we had posted the Harbor Master position and we've gotten some letters of Interest we have three letters of Interest right now but given that we don't have perimeters really in place I I think for the town moving forward and I Mr again had mentioned so that maybe the way that the h m position is going to change in the near future that maybe he could give you guys some updates on how that might look in a few years and that might help how we move forward hopefully maybe we could get somebody that would help shape our harbard Master rules and Rags get some foundation in place so that as our we move forward and hire a Harbor Master we know what we're looking for and what the right person is for that for that position does that does that make more sense and and what what we're trying to do so my first question would be are you willing to adopt some rules regulation so somebody the next Harbor Master has something to go by abolutely when I took over 34 years 33 years ago the town of Somerset was in the same position no rules and regulations so I went and talked to other harb Masters and I actually brought copy of mine my regulations for the town of Somerset and I got a copy of Four Rivers Four Rivers is a little overboard for something this size you should probably take a look at my regulations send them to Legal you guys tweak them whatever way you want add delete whatever but for the next gentleman that or person that's excuse me is going to come in as the Harbor Master will have something to base his decisions onh because when I took over again I I didn't have anything to go on um so the first thing I would do before I even think about a harb master is try to get some rules and regulations amended in the town the Harbor Master position itself is changing drastically and if the police chief is still here that's the gentleman that you're going to want to get involved because over the years Harbor Masters were always grandfathered from going to a police academy those days are over the way the police departments are getting scrutinized nowadays Harbor Masters have all the powers that a police off officer has on the water when we hit land we're we got nothing but on the water we can arrest people and so on so a lot of towns right now a lot of towns in this area have switched over to the police department M and the actual Harbor Master is a police officer or if you get somebody that if the doesn't end up being a police officer they they're required to take a full Police Academy training before they can qualify I basically fall under the environmental police all the rules and regulations that I enforce are based under the environmental police so the environmental police are here I'm here you know I I deal with the police in fire all the time but I basically answer to the environmental police and they're not going to allow Harbor Masters in the future just to be resident of the Town let's say you need to be trained uh have some jurisdiction the backing of the police department it it all it's all Fallen under the police department not that he probably needs any more headings but um you know it they have the grip on things because when the bottom line of something goes wrong they're going to go back to the police chief and say did you know this guy could do this or he was they're doing it so I'm not making any recommendations but Swansea fora dyon is in the process of it right now the Dion harber master has police officer with them all the time um Portsmouth Rhode Island his police officers right now so I'm like a Dying Breed I'm like the only one that's been doing it with a you know grandfathered you could say um I'm not sure if the police chief has heard anything like this from the past over the years as um an assessor for the Massachusetts police accreditation commission I have visited number of police departments throughout the state and um involving this topic of Harbor Masters um it's a flip of a coin um some of these entities are within the scope of the span of control of the police department some are not but what I can tell you is this once it's under the Police Department there's going to be a serious expense that comes along with it just the training alone of dealing with an officer is pretty expensive um and then meeting all the requirements of the accreditation standards gets very involved this is just not as we as he mentioned that you know moving forward if that's the direction of the town that where we want to go with this it's going to be very very involved and you know to me right now with everything that I'm dealing with I'd rather have offices on the street than putting them on the water because the need is more on the street than on the water I'm working on grants to get extra officers to deal with some of those resources now so I will say this that um the the grants that I recently applied for the 2024 cops Grant the Federal grant um it was outlining a u Beach and boat enforcement program if we were able to get that money and it supports that I can see how that could be enveloped in with the Harbor Master because that funding for three years to go directly towards this full-time officer position could support that but that's pending on the Grant I don't want to subsidize my patrol Force to deal with the Harbor Master issues but I just think the town's got to have a thorough understanding that this can impact the budget I can't work it within the budget it has to be supported with fun MH all right anybody else thinking you going to need a bigger boat no I was in my head the whole time I was like I got to say it do you guys have a boat no well the fire department the fire department has a I know because I mock used to call me if they needed something and you know go up in my boat and I I guess you know what's let's look at what we're currently dealing with right and right now is what we have is an open space we have not no one right other than I guess environmental police and the police once it you know hits land based on what you said and you know jurisdiction so um you know I think we need to figure out what we can do today and I I first of all I I can't thank you enough for coming here right because you're here on your own dime trying to help us so I do could not appreciate that more and I I hope you know that I told Debbie that in the meantime while you looking for somebody I could assist you I can do if anything was to go on they can don't hesitate to call me I mean because you know again mock used to call when they had an issue or something like that or he needed assistance in some way or whatever the case may be um and and that's even more of a reason to thank you and then you know I guess my only question concerning is is you know once again gas isn't cheap nothing's cheap I mean you're using your own time so I think we'll have to find out figure out a way to to give them some sort of compensation so it's at least not costing him a dollar to come here right I mean there's not a again I don't take I mean I don't think there's a lot going on in Thea River uh as far as where you need somebody patrolling the thing or something or no I don't think of patrolling more I think of what you know the the the stuff that came up initially right where there's there's like concerns and there's something to be said about your value through your Insight through through your I wouldn't want to jump in the middle of that just discussion unless we had rules and regulations or we can sit down with both all parties and find out what the issue is MH I'm not even sure the entire U problem but again uh from my experience you know I can do what what I how I handle them in Somerset MH uh and again I don't have any jurisdiction in Freetown mhm unless the harb master who in other words for me to do any patrolling or anything in Freetown I need permission from the harb master or the selectman to say we want you to you know back us up for the time being and I'm more than willing to do that yeah and I guess that's what I would want to do right is have you back us up you want somebody to get hurt or somebody go missing or whatever and you don't you don't have somebody that can um mhm yeah you can respond mhm I mean like he says the fire department's going to respond the police are going to respond if there's an incident but if it's just an everyday problem I'm I'm willing to help you guys till you guys resolve your issues and like the chief says what direction does the town want to go in so is it something you willing to be like an interim Harbor Master while we were working on the rules of RS and help us I've been here three and a half years I've only had one call about something to do with with the with it's not again you don't have a lot going on it maybe a couple of moing issues but we can resolve those I mean I have the same thing um but I register my Moorings you know we never had registered moing um right now I have like roughly 150 registered Moorings in the town of suet we don't charge for Moorings like some towns we just want the moing owners information contact information what kind of boat's going to be on it it's more of an informational type regist ation and I brought copies of the stuff that I do that I created and then in the meantime it gives you we're going into the winter so it gives you like an offseason to try to resolve all your issues and in the meantime I have no problem um I have boats on the water year round if my boat's not available I call Fall River Fall River assists me it's a pretty close Network you know when it comes to the har Master like any town the police department if they need assistance they you know the other towns I can do the same thing until you guys we's come to some type of resolution I appreciate that I would like to entertain his offer to sit down with the the gentleman and any people that have any issues that we can get this discussed you know and come to a resolution it's been dragging on way too long yeah so we have to get we would have I mean I guess you know we can have them sit down as you know just a a well not even a resident as a you know someone with a experience but I think the best thing to do would be for us to appoint him temporar temporarily and then that way we can say you know he's our Harbor Master and then that way it it holds a little bit more weight on both sides so right it's even better as well he's an outside Source right it's not a familiar face it's going to come in in objectively through the law right with that he knows it right until we adopt our own so as far as your paperwork you that in word where uh document yeah I can be I got a I just brought a copy tonight but I can email it to Deb and um you know just she can or you can take it right offline if you go through the town of suet website my rules and regulations and applications are right online perfect so so would we have to have another on our next meeting to appoint him if he's willing to be appointed as the interim um Harbor Master you could either do that tonight or we can put it on the next agenda we have an agenda coming up next Monday right we could always throw it on that agenda that way it's it be cleaner to do it that way rather than trying because it's not I just don't want to I guess my questions I don't want to overstep right this I think either way I think this is I just read this I think we'd be fine either way but we're going to have a meeting on Monday he doesn't need to be there for us to app that's fine I don't I I again my only I would hold off because when this video gets out and stuff you might start getting a lot of phone calls about an outsider coming in I'm not sure I'm only speculating I mean if we appoint you interim through junee 30th where all our appointments end on June 30th of 2025 I mean that's literally 7 eight months it'll help resolve current issues it will help us work through the um rules and regulations that I can get working on soon um and then I think we do have interested people but there you know when we're reading you in your package you'll see all the trainings I I don't know there's a lot to it right more than I think I thought in the beginning of how much you need to and basically it's a somewhat of a volunteer position so people's going they're going to have to put a lot of time in for the training and then they're going to say you know I'm doing this as a volunteer you know um right I think we've discussed possibly um adding uh like an inspection fee like if the HB master has to come out and inspect a moing it would be so much of a fee and so that's one of the things that we we will need to put um an article on town meeting for this that's coming up so that we have the funding to do that it's not you're not going to get rich at that but at least it's a way of saying you use your gas to come over here and and we can at least some pay you on some level um but we can also talk further about that but I think going forward anybody that has to have that amount of training to be the Harbor Master is going to want to get some compensation even if it's only on an as needed basis that's enely up to you you guys so so with blessing I say that you know we'll we'll put you on the agenda for the next meeting to appoint you and then that and through uh June 30th like Debbie said and I'm sorry call because this is like but I'm just trying to to talk how loud as we talk through it because I think that's a good call and I I do think we should wait till the next meeting only because then it keeps it clean so yeah I guess it also gives me a chance to read what you what you have I want to see these laws and and what the proposals are see how it'll benefit the folks down Ona base Shores and anybody transversing the channel and everything else so having that is going to be invaluable um I'm not a big fan of Adat your police force there Chief um I'm okay with it yeah so he's okay with it as long as we give him the money and and the extra person right like and that's the part it's not not for nothing I I say it half jokingly but it is it's that I have unions to deal with yeah that's right right we'll table that but it's good to know that's on on the horizon potentially and but ultimately solves a not a immed issue but it it gives us a clear path moving forward we need some rules we need some better guidance to what's there now so that we don't have this issue in the future especially if it's changing that much so okay I think the what has has gone on the issue that we have currently is because there are no rules and rs mm there's nothing to follow hard to enforce when you can't point at something so exactly yeah I had that same situation 30 years ago you need something to in writing y so Bob thank you again thank you thank you thank you because it's you shows a lot I'll get that so I'm going to leave you my card and that way if anybody had any questions my cell phone my emails here when's your next meeting Monday we have a quick meeting Monday morning at 9:00 so so yeah you have any questions in the meantime uh I don't think I have your email but I'll give you mine maybe you can just shoot me an email okay I will and then I'll send what I have for the town and then you guys can look it over and like I said change it any way you want that's going to fit your needs for a sonic yeah I I really appreciate that I appreciate your time and I you know I do appreciate you coming in definitely learn a lot from from all the emails back and forth and reading about what's going on and it's yeah crazy I'm give you it that was my segue like when the whole thing came up it was like okay it's we talking about the hover mask but there's also underlying why we were discussing that's why I wanted to discuss it so thanks for appeasing me all right discuss the boring also no I think we'll probably entertain a meeting I'll give you a call in the next we get all parties together and have that discussion together yeah that' be good as neighbors and everything else and that way we can resolve that I think at least or at least get everything out in the open then you can maybe inspect the mo once you're appointed and then follow up with a report or something just let me know and we'll do whatever we need to do to resolve that issue what you guys want to get together just all right Perfect all right perfect thank you again thank you be deleted it's it's okay you know it's coming right no I know anything to say before we move on any question all right you know Jessica how you how you doing today well thanks how are you good i' like to go I like to uh have a couple words with you if you don't mind come on down so once again I'm going to be out of order I'm going to um item agenda personal Board number 16 that is um doing an interview with uh Miss Jessica vanover for the part-time human resource director so hi welcome back to another Freetown uh building um so this is Jared Jared zagger is one of our Selectmen meet you nice to meet you we still probably still remember a Debbie see you again May and Lola um and I'm still Carlos Lopes your Personnel Board chair um so we're here today because we've done some interviews and by look at the interviews and a lot of great people that came before and after you um a lot of great discussions had as far as what the position is and how to we move forward and after many discussions we decided to bring you in and talk with us once again um appreciate it same setting be yourself um um we want to know who you are and and and um your resume brought you here but um you going to be working with individuals so those individuals want to know who who you are um especially an HR role position so um welcome to the board of selected meeting and uh we have a few questions like last time okay that sounds good thanks for having me all right so just like last time we have questions and we asked all the candidates the same questions if we decide to move forward with you uh then we you'll hear from the same channels you've been hearing from with our executive assistants and whatnot um but we have some questions it's the same thing as it before it's hard for us to ask you questions while I have a panel looking at you and then you responding back deep breath we'll get through it together I promise um but I'm sure people are curious to who you are so if you don't mind tell us a little bit about who you are sure so my name is Jessica I've lived in a Sonet for roughly eight years now um born and raised in Cincinnati Ohio uh the reason that we moved here to Massachusetts was my husband was stationed here um he was in the Marine Corps for just shy of 10 years he was stationed to support the Fall River Swansea area moved to Fall River happened to stumble along a lovely home on the lane and um we fell in love we did not think we were going to be here long so um his military career actually came to an end because we fell in love and we wanted to put down roots and start a family here so now I have two girls um one just turned to on Friday and one will be four in October and this is birthday yeah I'm excited and and I wouldn't want to raise them anywhere else but the lane so um we're so lucky to have found this place and it just feels like home for us so that's why we're here and that's why we're staying I love it welcome as a dad of two girls I love it I'm so I'm I'm in the same boat as your husband they keep them he a little bit older than yours but yeah thank you Jessica um Jessica where did you begin for those watching from home where did you begin your HR career your your your path in the HR World great question because I never saw myself being in the HR really career field I started in healthc care um always had a passion for helping people and wanting to be in healthcare when I moved here I had a work from home position um not knowing anyone I needed to get out of my house so um I found an opportunity at blun Fine Foods fabulous company um I was able to slide in there in a wellness role so I took my passion for helping people in healthc care and it aligned with HR so I reported to the HR manager um when I was at blown I was there for over five years um I had an opportunity to work alongside different folks within the HR field so we worked with payroll we worked with generalist um it really exposed me to what people in human resources were doing each and every day people here HR and they typically run or fear they're going to be fired or something not as positive as I wanted it to be so I really hated that feeling that oh you work for HR oh I'm sorry like no I love it and I love helping people um so being able to have the opportunity to have that Wellness part of it educate people and trying to find a way to um I guess balance a culture to where we're here to help you we still have to drive the business and the business need but we're here to help as well um my goal at the end of the day is to help employees bring their best selves to work so um I'm thankful for blatting that opportunity and it exposed me to all the wonderful things that HR folks really do behind the scenes that people just don't see each and every day so that's why I am here today yeah you're absolutely correct some people think HR and they automatically think they're in trouble or there's something wrong with my pay or there but there's so much driven in the background that's HR field driven that people sometimes don't realize right you really are the person in the background right making sure that we're doing exactly what we're supposed to be doing in the mission of that company or in this in this situation the municipality of free toown right so um so great explanation great way to explain that to to folks abolutely and it's a to me it's you're an environment Builder right because through you they can you know there's a lot of different different things that are done through HR and make people feel better about showing up to work each day you know it's it's there's a lot that was brought up initially about what's HR and everyone thinks negative everyone not everyone a lot of people head in the negative direction or they head into something wrong or whatever and it's not all it's it's almost never that right there's a lot of positive things that come out of HR um and I see it with my company we always joke when you walk into my office a very large office when you walk in there's the wall of HR when you first walk in and but they're always the first to say hello and you know whatever so it's it's just a good environment so yeah abolutely very well I definitely think um you can shift people's perspective in you know that culture amongst being welcoming listen to actually listen and not to respond to people um and having that empathetic ear I think is important you have no idea what people are doing when they get home and the hardships that they're facing each and every day so if they need to come and talk I'm here and um hopefully to give them the black and white in the policies and you know how can we help and what does this look like sometimes they get overwhelmed by it so talking through that with folks perfect thank you so I can only imagine Jessica over the years that you've amassed some certifications some some plaques on the wall right some some some humanized training in this field uh do you currently possess any those certificates or specialized training if so probably don't want to list them all but do you have any that you off the top of your head you can think of so I did not get my um my undergrad or my graduate in HR I started with my um my bachelor's in public health um and that's what kind of drove my initial start to my careers but I have done a few certifications so I did a course at BCC for professional supervisor course and then I was a part of a Bryant University course at Blount find foods that they offered on site um and then as well I'm in the last year hopefully of my masters and that's through southern New Hampshire and that's for organizational leadership thereafter I do have a goal to get my shm certificate um just trying to put things in the right order I guess so you that's that's a lot so how's school going it's a lot with two little ones I was so I was going to follow it up with because you have two little girls at home what did I do I should have done this 5 years ago and you're currently working full-time on I am yes correct so in this position Jessica um you you may have to do some of the following things so and I'm going to ask you do you have any experience in these areas of expertise in in that area wrri drop descriptions or employee discipline right um You probably heard these things right over the years doing HR work employee grievances in or complaints uh maybe some workman's comp claims uh FMLA management right and also workland comp management those sound like things you've handled in the past I think I checked the Box on all of those um my day today right now is heavily in FMLA and leave of absences as well as recruiting um we are a growing company right now where I am um so I can't say that I create the job to descriptions from scratch but I do use my teammates and supervisors and managers of those departments to come up and draft these job descriptions to get them to the approval process uh typically we use indeed Andor LinkedIn to do most of our recruiting I think currently right now I have probably 10 to 15 I would say openings that I'm solely responsible for anywhere from hour hourly to salary performances so I do have um the recruiting I all aspects of it I do the offer letters we do the onboarding the orientation pretty much start to finish with recruiting that's that's that's a lot um I've been involved in that part of the the business getting everyone up front doing all the doing all the trainings and face to face and shuffling back and forth and Mak sure everything's done correctly it's a lot of coordination a lot of moving Parts lot of resumes to review right yeah not all resumes are created equal yeah know I have a question um I can you briefly tell me what your experience is with HR software yes so we have we utilize right now what's called UL Pro or ukg so within that that is the employee portal peray all of their personal information lives within there their tax their paychecks benefits it's an um a tool that they can utilize at home or in the office um we do all of our onboarding through the ukg portal so once we hire somebody we would launch an onboarding they complete their direct deposit they do all of their um policies and procedure sign offs and they're already in the system when they start with us so it makes that process smoother we got rid of a lot of paperwork um and and it's much quicker and easier for the applicants as well and you're proficient in that yes and as in my on a different side because that's one my company uses we use that same exact software for my company so when we get like uh yeah so we'll get like emails that say oh they there's been an update to a policy and we have to go in and it's it's that simple it's not like someone's calling you emailing you separately it's a mass email that goes out we send I can come on and there I am and it gives me everything and I have to acknowledge definitely a direction that the town needs to go in with the amount of all these policies that we now Drafting and writing and solidifying that now we need to make sure that sort of everything everybody has training through it right so we have you can do reports to say okay how many folks have not signed off on this training yet and then you can Target them so to speak with those emails and because it does help with the the manual aspect of all that right that's good information to know to know and have you you sat here most of our meeting today and you heard we talk a lot about policy procedures we updated a bunch of them today and in in this world HR world it is one of those almost grab bag type of scenarios like you're a brand new employee uh currently at this current state you're a brand new employee and you have to go to office to office to office the office sometimes no Rhyme or Reason we're just here's your paperwork next next next um and they do the best they can in it right based on that's how we we've done it for so long but efficiency wise it it it must you want to kind of want to bang your head on the walk like going from office to office when you can all do a One-Stop shop like you discuss right doesn't have to be diff to on board an employee right uh unfortunately our Poli and procedures right like we've discussed during the initial interview um need to be one of those things that need to be looked at um almost immediately right well and a lot of those things um again because it's a a portal for the employee to access so now they're responsible for their time their vacation sick time everything's very transparent um you want to access the employee handbook well you you click on that you can load everything to that homepage uh you could put updates every day every month birthdays whatever it is they know where to go to get information yeah when we when I sign on to mine it tells me everyone who has an anniversary that month and how many years and then um you know it's yeah so there's a lot and then it tells you each day like I can go on there right now and it tells me how many vacation hours I have left how many sick hours you right I mean I'll get you a piece of paper and show you that so it's all it's all help you you don't need the piece of paper right and it's so it is it's very in depth and I'm sure to your point is that there's even more than what we're my company's utilizing I mean we're we're ra rather large in size company but still I guarantee there's parts and portal of that portal that we're not even using so yeah benefits benefits we have to go I mean you it's not even I mean you have to go to three different departments to get pap in the town hall but not only that we each have a different we all three departments have an employee file it's not even all kept in one place so if I want particular information I got to get it from the treasurer or if I want to know benefit questions I have to go to Isabel so there is that's just so disjointed in the way it should be handled which is why I asked the question because they definitely have been trying to digitalize and move more in these more becoming more efficient because it's there's just so much more room for error when you have multiple people into multiple um um into the file and you know handling yeah so I I think that's probably one of my initial things and as you know I mean you talk about having an employee hook well we don't have one of those just yet but we're working on that as well so um yeah there there there's going to be a lot of growing pains and a lot of things that need to be sort of evolved slowly over time but to get us I think where we should be in in in for for 20 24 right so so Jessica I have one question getting there oh sorry no please so um do you have any experience in Municipal world and in the sector or no I do not no and that's completely fine the only reason I ask is someone who walks into this side myself four years ago and trying to understand why certain things are done the way they're done right where your business right now you're given something and you need to get from point A to point BH you take a straight line and you get there in this there's a lot of different little nuances we'll say that cause things to happen along the way so it's completely fine I'm just asking because it is it can be very different right and we have Debbie over here who's a wealth of knowledge as well as these two other fine ladies that they have a lot of knowledge in the way things need to happen or why they need to happen but it's definitely a learning curve with that so I have no doubt intimating too I didn't know if I wanted to dabble in the municipality and my mom is a police clerk um so she you know had a few comments to share about some of the challenges that she sees and um I'm I'm up for the challenge I think to my last question really is so it's been several weeks since we sat down and had our initial discussion and interview right we were pretty upfront and honest with you the state of of how things are today and know you ALS you ask some great questions similar to today as far as what we see ourselves in the future so it's been several weeks so I can only imagine you you formulated some questions in the back of your mind right as far as the who's and the what's and the wins so that leads you to my last question do you have any questions for US based on the interview the position um anything really Moon the sky I'll get into it so I think to Debbie's point it's um a lot of foundational work that needs to be done upfront before really even dabbling with the folks right um and being the face of HR the job posting set up to 20 hours a week I believe um with that being said I don't know you know if my hours are restricted to the to 4:30 if you were to decide to move forward with me but uh my thought was would you spend a lot of that time maybe uh slowing down making sure the foundation the employee handbook was done policies and procedures are done before kind of ramping up those hours I I think definitely we need to start with a foundation right um and I do think that there's things that we have to iron out I I don't know I think we probably mentioned before we're very limited in space and we haven't fixed that problem we going to P Jessica think she lives like around the corner I know so I think there's some conversations to be had on how we're going to start the process and when because you currently have a full-time job you've expressed that when your kids get to school age you want to be more part-time so that you can be more Hands-On with them so I I mean I we're you know when we start I think we can work out some more details um if the board wants to give me the authority to negotiate or or or or um selectman Lopes is usually around too that we can meet and kind of okay if the board wants to move forward with hiring you what does that look like and where do we go from there and I don't necessarily have the answer but I'm certainly I think together we can come up with a plan that works for us all um funding wise here's the here's where the municipal part comes in I'm only funded for a certain amount of money through the end of the year so it has to be those hours just because we're not totally funded for more hours so there's where the municipal ties your hands you can't just and I have to go to town meeting to ask for more money it's not like I come to the selectman and ask for more money it has to go before the town and say Hey I want to have this amount of money and they have to approve it absolutely um so that that structure but I think these are the things we can work out if you're still interested in the the position I definitely think there may be um in out of the gate there may be some ability to work from home and get some you know work on policies and work on how we're going to come up with some plans before you are thrown into the town hall and um although I would love for you to meet meet the staff we have wonderful staff I think um I think you might be welcome there and I think you might be a breath of fresh air for them too I think um but there's there I do think we need to do it in a methodical order just like the harb Master right we don't have any rules or RS it's hard to enforce something you don't even know what you you don't have right and hearing that today kind of reinforced like he's brings up some great points yeah and what we don't know right so we're going to rely on you to a certain extent for your knowledge right because we're we're not HR professionals you are so we have to rely I mean we'll we'll do our own research into things and make sure we make the right decisions but at the same time you know we are going to R on you to help with that um and I I just feel like what we talked about before the foundation is key so to Debbie's point is yeah do I want to get you into town hall to meet everyone absolutely but do I want you sitting there and just trying to work with the the good Folks at Town Hall yes but I also really want you to focus in on getting us some good standards at what to go by that that to me is a no-brainer I can Envision you sitting somewhere at the cup of tea trying to put a timeline together of things to do and what order to put them in and there there's some bootstrapping going that's going to be need to happen that's going to be some you know long Halls as far as building that Foundation right um there are things there there are things in place but you have to go maybe go look and find it pull it together and re re you know lives here now versus living there um figure out what roles are better suited for the officers we have now right make sure they're working to the best potential M maximizer back and forth right or minimize the back and forth maximize The Experience so if you're like me this is a challenge right I'm a big puzzle person I like challenges and this and this is not going to be an easy feat right to any any whether you or whoever whomever else sits in that shoe or that table this is a challenge but it's a worthwhile challenge right because ultimately you everything com gels together at the end right like those hard days of working going through paperwork and making sure we're doing it correctly at the end of the day that's a sense of accomplishment and you you live gosh. one mile from town hall right you use just skateboard scooter downhill to town hall if that were the case right right and that is a sense of feeling that you're helping out your town and it that would be an immense tremendous help as far as making sure that we're in compliance with everything that the employees deserve right in town abely I think that's what I want most is to get back to my community in a way that I can use my skills of my experience and at the end of the day feel good about it um but I do know once you get that direct phone number or you're officially like sitting in an office somewhere I know the footsteps don't stop so that's that was my thought is am I going to have time to build the foundation before I think we definitely can work on that we do have somebody working on the handbook so that something that um is is sort of underway but you could probably work with that person just to have some input but yeah I think that my first thought is to work on getting the software and really I I have to figure out what that cost and what does that take to get that set up um that's huge I think I I really feel like that's going to be an immense help to us so that in itself is a pretty big undertaking we don't have it you're going to have to stop from scratch I have no idea what it looks like I don't know what it means but at least you're proficient in it um and then yes there's going to be some time to we got to lay the ground rules because we haven't had an HR position so this is new for you it's new for us too in terms of how we divvy up you know I've I've I've done certain aspects Lan's done certain aspects treasur has done certain aspects the accountant's office done certain aspects so there's always that you know everybody when change comes it's hard it's difficult so it's going to be slow or people are gonna you know not be like what's going on what's going on so we want to make sure that we talk to all departments and see what their thought process are and what what will work for them as well like it's not going to be just okay all right everybody relinquish all your duties and just it's now we're going to handle that it's it's going to be too much for you you'll get over it'll be so overwhelming it won't be effective it's not the way I handle things I like to take one piece we start with piece a we'll get we'll get to Z it takes a while and and I expect that that sounds fabulous people are afraid of change sometimes and especially when they feel HR again that fear comes back that hesitation instead of collaborating as they push away and I not the environment I'm not going to lie to you I have my own like I've been handling it right so now so there there's going to be angst with everybody right so I I think we definitely will handle that slowly um I always try to I I try to have the soft Landing for things sometimes you can't always operate that way but you try to so yeah we have a lot of groundwork to cover aome which is it's good because we don't have an office for you anyway so nobody's going to be coming complain because you're not going to be in there they got to find me first right that's right so that is something we are working on finding a place Jessica how you feeling it's easier as you go go along right yeah nice easy discussion um you have any more questions for us not at this time okay well I don't have any more questions for you thank you all for your time I appreciate being here this evening thank you honestly it means a lot Welcome to our beautiful Community First Time at the police station and is gorgeous so yeah so this is our newest building in town obviously um so a few years old now but literally only a few years old versus Our Town Hall which is when I moved here was not here so big p rock pretty amazing yeah so we're fortunate thanks for being here yeah thank you thank you we will probably on the next agenda make uh you know deter have them negotiate and make their decision whether they're going to hire you or not hire you but so okay yeah like everything else in the municipal world we we talk talk talk discuss discuss discuss and then we do everything live on camera very good thank you again thank you again hopefully you're home before bedtime sh the out my father-in-law hit a deer this morning or D hit him so be careful out there it's all the way outside of town in a Sonet I know right I got a long commute thank you so much thanks again have a good evening you all right all right let's uh resharpen our pencil we're going back to agenda item 11 on the Personnel Board uh for the following resignations all right so a Linda H reides for senior clerk fire department effective 920 2024 again thank you Linda for 42 great years with the town of Freetown uh last seven with the fire department thank you Linda and now the next three uh b c and d um Jeffrey Amal um Brian omita and Amanda Barlo all three are from the open space Recreation advisory committee um and they resigned effectively on 917 and 9 18 respectively I want to thank Jeffrey Brian and Amanda I started this is one of my first committees or advisory committees here in town a lot of great work has been done by that committee getting to where it is today um a lot of great team a lot of great memories so congrats to your accomplishments and everybody on that committee let moving on to agenda number 12 discussion vote to approve uh GL c41 111f injured on on duty status effective 98 2024 um this is one of our First Responders uh injured himself in a line of duty so we wish him well but for hippol laws and everything else to protect protect him and and his um his healing so uh chapter 114 is 111f is uh there for a reason so um have you had a chance to read it and see what occur and everything else yeah um pretty straightforward um needs to be done so it needs to get done so that said I turn the motion to to approve the GL c41 111f for the officer injured on duty status effective 98 2024 I will make that motion U um all I second all in favor I I all right item agenda 13 it is discussion and vote to approve the memorandum of agreement between a town of Freetown and a public employees union local 272 Luna Freetown highway department for a successor collective bargaining agreement effective 71 2020 4 through 6:30 2027 all right multiple one more uh Union that we've negotiated with and um like like everything else you know some changes that needed to be made and um I believe you were the the selectman on this on this one so like all bargaining units we make sure we're we update everything up to 2024 standards making sure that our employees receive a fair wage based on their counterparts from other towns and um this is on the agenda so we succeeded in that everyone agreed to it yes so here we are MH absolutely anything to add to it or no no I think you you know you kind of summed it up right there there was certain things that they it's it's always an agreement right where you have two sides who have to come together and neither one's happy in the end if neither part's happy in the end mission accomplished so um you know I think I think they were given a fair deal um I I think they feel like they were right in the end so um yeah no I mean that's just really it perfect excellent all right well I entertain the motion to approve the memorandum of agreement between a town of freet toown and a public employee union local 272 Luna fre toown highway department for a successor collective bargaining agreement effective 71 2024 through 630 2027 uh motion made I second all in favor I I all right item agenda 14 has been scuttled for future meeting um 15 discussion in vote where to approve the following appointments a theia c fansa as full-time clerk senior clerk fire department effective 924 2024 through 6:30 2025 b k as failed as Department assistant effective 910 2024 through 1218 2024 and C Kelly CRA has planning a land use admin effective 108 2024 through 6:30 2025 so we know kly she's a a returning employee and the nersa and Kelly were all interviewed and went through the interview process and they were identified as the highest rated Ones based on our criteria so two great additions uh everyone's excited to have them coming on board um and I don't see uh foresee any issues or see any issues why we don't move forward with their appointment absolutely either do I so that said I entertain the motion to approve the appointments listed a b and c on item agenda 15 um motion made I second it all in favor I I all right interview all right 16 has been done so back to you so I'm pretty sure we don't have anyone ask any questions so that I'm going to sign unless Debbie do you have anything I you can go over anything if you want while we're signing good no I'll I'll update you just on you know fire stations underway see that the frame is going up I saw yeah so that's exciting the highway Department's done an awesome job working on uh getting the site ready for the Pod at the COA yeah you get them the while they sign I I'll keep talking um so that's that's what's going on with the Pod um I'm meeting uh the fors guy out there tomorrow morning to there's a wall that needs to be poured with Chuck Chuck screw's been crazy busy as roads and striping roads and um that's what's going on there Cheryl of course is getting ready for the big election the door is in at feso gymnasium the I don't believe the handicap ramp has got railings on it as of yet but it's there it's in place oh they've already uh put all the concrete and everything else yeah the concrete's there just not the railing that's on order and it's supposed to be here in 3 weeks so that should be done for the big election um excellent the fire the fire strobes were complete at the school and up and running in fact they had a fire alarm over the weekend that was notified there was no fire but everything worked as it should uh what else do we got going on we have a lot of stuff going on the radio project is near in completion they're just working out some minor bugs but the you know the majority of the radio communication um project is done so that is good um working on the bridge project I had a meeting with mot and because the federal funding comes through mot so I'm working on that um I don't know I think what else I can't even think of all the other projects we get going on you know what I just heard things getting checked off the list yeah that's and it's a great feeling to have a lot of things accomplished and removed from the said list yeah we're we're moving um some big projects are getting complete right like the radio community ation that's been I don't know two and a half years three years in the making yeah there was a lot to get that where it is today so I'm super excited I'm I'm waiting for them to tell me it's 100% complete because I'm I'm going to be over the moon but the fire station you know to get it to the point where it's framing that there's a lot that happens prior to and I'm super excited because now this is actually the easy part um and then the pods we've struggled with that as well with the engineers back and forth and we're finally there we're finally like okay I all the answers are the questions are answered and we can move forward with that project so um fundings in place we're on track all projects U which is also you know good that we're not over on anything we're not looking for additional funds so that's just while you guys were signing I give you the update that's where we're at that's it huh that's all we got sure there's more I forgot about I know I know but it's it's just it's a test those are the big ones right that you can see people drive around they can see that those things are happening that they you know these are the things they approved at town meeting two years ago but now they're happening you know oh that's a very valid point right so the money they they were gracious to give us the money that long ago and now we're finally able to do something and it's not not for lack of not for lack of effort I want to make that very clear so so yeah so so thank you to be honest little man it's a team it's a team I I I have to I take credit but I I have to say my team both Lola and Lan we work as a well oiled machine and I I don't think we can operate without one of us it's it's just it works and it is a well oil machine at this point I I I'll say it and I I said it a million times before I'm going to say it a million times again so thank you from the bottom of my heart so second that all right so great um with that I entertain a motion to adjourn motion made I will second all those in favor I I