##VIDEO ID:YJen7PhQUb8## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e I just wanted to see if you'd all look up um the speaker system I don't believe it's turned on yet but I've been told that there's a vehicle in the parking lot 5391 your trunk is open and the state police want to know about the body 5391 what's that they just gave me a plate number body CL that's it it's all you want to know e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e the only white kid on the track to she gets to the western Mass finals and she was number they line them up by speed so she was number five there one girl is faster for and uh so the the uh started goes ready set and he say set I see turn say EXC go off are we all state he wins All State yep we just say could I just we're going to we're going to call the meeting to order in just a few minutes we're going to start promptly at 6:30 with at leas the call to order could I just ask that if you have an empty seat next to you or near you as people are coming in if you could kind of just watch out for each other and guide us to to empty seats we would rather use this room as much as possible before we go to overflow and some folks are saying they're coming in and they can't see the empty seats thanks Leo yes famam 2 the tax rate since we decided to go with just the 25928 what's that yep good have that oh you got something on the back okay where's people in there couple doen maybe not enough here probably not it's close you guys all set Ready Set good evening first and foremost thank you all for your patience as a result of the meeting the continuance to tonight the fact that the numbers are still here this is all that any Community could expect and it's exactly what we should do so thank you and give yourselves a round before we get this thing going [Applause] with a quorum being present I'm going to read The Return of the warrant and we'll get going to either of the constables of the said town of hamon in in said County greetings in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are hereby required to notify and Inn the inhabitants of the town of hamon qualified to vote in town Affairs to meet at thoron W burges middle school 85 wilam Road hamton on Tuesday initially October 29th at 6:30 in the evening and there and then to act on the following articles the warrant was duly posted I Constable for the town of Hampton have on this state posted copies of the warrant for the town meeting to be held on October 29th at 6:30 in all places as designated by the town of Hampton signed Dennis L Hackett Constable of the town of hamon 10924 the warrant being properly served the formal reading is waved and the posted warrant shall become part of the record I would like we would like this is from all of us any in recognition of veterans days any veterans currently active or former military to be stand and be recognized and don't be bashful those same veterans if you would all now if you gentlemen and ladies would please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance the flag is here I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all I would now like to at least give you folks a sense of the people your elected officials and those who make this meeting happen uh you have your Town Administrator Brian Domina your elected Board of selectman Craig revest Donald Davenport and John Flynn perfect that's the best voice I've heard all night your advisory committee the folks who put in a ton of time to make this thing all fall into place Doug Boyd the chair Heather turot Kathy pesano Sandra Sheen Jack Matthews your town clerk is Eva Weissman and her assistant is Sheila slate I would be remiss if I didn't catch Lauren McCormack who is whether they admitted or not the nuts of bolts of everything that works down in the town hall and lastly your Town Council Rose CW Rose Crowley some housekeeping items if you would please silence your cell phones you know it's I just see that's going to get more and more of a laugh as time goes on um we have a pretty full house here tonight so what's going to be very important and the reason this meeting had to be continued was because of the numbers if you can't hear in there he wants recognition oh wait a minute hold on the gentleman with the smallest ego in the room former moderator judge Robert L howorth thank you out of sight out of mind but hope you're happy now you made it back to your room um this gets harder all the time um so let's go back to this is a very important thing if one thing that occurred to me after the last after after having to continue this with the volume of people let's make something very important if there is an emergency if you are in this room if you're forward you can go out that door take a left go to the end of the hall take a right it'll put you right in the back parking lot if you were in the back half of the room you can go out that back door take a right and an immediate left and go straight it will bring you into the same parking lot for those folks over here you can hit that door make a right go to the end of the hall take a left it'll bring you right out into the front parking lot if you're in the back of the room you can go out the back door the way you're used to coming in to vote straight down the hallway to the center Atrium take a right and head out for you folks in the gym if you're the probably the easiest way if you're on the left side of the room you'd come out the door you went in take a left no I'm sorry take a right and an immediate right and you'll be in the back parking lot if you're on the right side of the room you can go to the gym door exit which will also bring you into the back parking lot um the bathrooms are open and they are straight across the way for the for anyone who needs them any question on emergency exit and I'm assuming at this stage that everyone in the other room can hear and at least see the presentation because I'm sure judge howorth will come in here throw stones if they can't he's already there um this is a big meeting and there's some significant questions on it I just want to remind us all that this is a civil meeting we don't always agree and some of us tend to get more fervent in our positions than others a lot of us do a ton of homework and put a lot of effort eort into the recommendations we make please remember that tomorrow you're going to see the guy next to you the woman next to you at the Village Mart the transfer station reads Dunkin Donuts take your pick remember that tonight when you see each other tomorrow all questions must be addressed through the moderator please keep your questions in discussion on point a question may be moved by a member or the moderator or subject to vote at any time or at the moderator's sole discretion this is an important one please come to this microphone to speak even if you're in the other room you need to come to this microphone because the statute is clear that the assistant moderator cannot recognize a speaker also if you come to the microphone and here I'll be able to see how many folks are coming and waiting in the queue and that will do the best we can to make sure everyone has the opportunity to speak one last thing two last things number one the gentleman standing in the back by the doorway herb Foley I have to thank you at every single meeting because without fail you come through to help us make this happen thank you very [Applause] much oh yeah thank you John something new we haven't had before we have a babysitting room um students from minog Regional High School are here with us tonight and they are watching some of the children and for that thank you and again Steve Hail principal and the students from the school thank you very much just one more housekeeping item um I chose not to do it tonight because with everything going on we wanted to kind of keep changes to this meeting to a minimum it's the biggest reason we're not using the clickers um we wanted to be absolutely sure that they would be in a position to be successful we wanted to be sure that both rooms would be able to work in Tandem and we want to give the clickers every chance to succeed and so we figured tonight was it was a big change with a lot that is already going on just a heads up um keep an eye on the town website probably long about January I'm going to start to put some information out there about changes coming to town meeting uh again decided not to put try and put any of them into play tonight so as not to confuse or add more to an already very busy night but you're going to see some talk about things like consent orders where we will be merging the typical or rote questions and trying to knock out those questions all at once there'll be a very detailed explanation before it's brought into play um and we're also looking at um introducing a motion you'll see in the Springtown meeting it's called a moderator motion whereby we're actually going to wave the reading of the question by the moderator simply to go right to the motion because and many times it mirrors it so there's some changes coming that we are hoping will speed up the process while at the same time increasing Andor keeping the current transparency okay it's time to begin article one name change from the board of Selectmen to select board to see if the town will vote to amend the zoning bylaws of the town of Hampton by substituting the term select board for Board of Selectmen and then select board member for the word Selectmen and each and every place shown in either one as it appears in the zoning bylaws and to further amend the general bylaws as follows by changing the name of the chief executive officers of the town from Board of Selectmen to select board and two by substituting select board for Board of selectman and then select board member for the word selectman in each and every place where it appears in the General bylaws of the town of hamton or take any other action relative th to do we have a motion government study committee come on Keith I move that the town vote to amend the zoning bylaws of the Town by submitting the term select board by substituting the term select board for Board of Selectmen and then select board member for the word selectman in each and every place either one appears in the zoning bylaws of the town and to further amend the general bylaws of the town as follows one by changing the name of the chief executive officers of the town from Board of Selectmen to select board and two by substituting the term select board for Board of selectman and then select board member for the word selectman in each and every place either one appears in the general bylaws of the Town second the motion has been made and the motion has been seconded does the advisory committee have a recommendation theard have we're going there next wow I get a Supporting Cast the next thing we do require and in as much as the town zoning bylaws are impacted by this change that requires the two-thirds vote but it also requires a recommendation from the planning board does the planning board have a recommendation thank you I am Pat coin from 20 Southbridge Road and also a planning board member as requested I wanted the community to be aware that on August 14th the planning board held a public hearing case 2024 F on this matter and to note that the planning board is in favor of amending the zoning bylaws and subdivision rules and regulations by substituting the term select board for Board of Selectmen and select board member for Selectmen where those terms appear thank you now is there any discussion on the question see I see a question could you please Connie you got to come on up this room's too big for your voice and as you're on your way up Connie could I just check and see where the counters are we have two in this room and two in the um in the gym oh iy come on up here we got chairs for you and whoever's whoever is working come on ladies come on up hold on Connie we got to get the most important people in place they're the ones are going to do all this work and I do want to thank the board of registrars um we're going to do more counting tonight than we typically do and they were kind enough to volunteer their time and help us out go I would like to just say that board of Selectmen Selectmen has been in use in Massachusetts since 1633 women have had the vote for over a hundred years I don't see any need to change this it's it only makes more work for everybody and it doesn't even sound as good as just Selectmen thank you any other discussion all right this is going to require a two-thirds vote my initial reaction is let's see if we if I can judge the 2/3 if I'm not comfortable we're going to the count all those in favor of the question to change to select board any opposed this room has the 2/3 judge what do you have over there I'm hoping he can hear me over there he couldn't have dozed off already my job is to make fun of him I I've put up with him for way too long really you got two3 then we're going to have to count if you've only got nope that's fine so we're GNA have to do a count so um to the counters if you would please Ladies as we talked before if you'll if you vot if you're voting yes what's this total number it's like I don't know but I don't want to take a chance um so please leave your hands up and ladies count the yes votes I'll count the stage I that look it I spent 5 years in this building I got it great got it if it could have gone to freshman year I might have still been here that's why you got cookies all the reason we can do this is a recall vote wow who' have thought it's a good thing I have a sense of humor no okay now we need to count the no votes ladies so if you're voting no on the question please put your hands up and keep them up yep you yeah you got to do the yeses and the NOS no they're doing great I always I was lost 12 minutes ago you can't help her keep her hand up she's got to do that on her own e yes sir okay 75% are in favor the 2/3 is reached how many Rick um Rick 195 yes 64 no yes guys good over there article two to change town clerk from elected to appointed position M Mass General Law chapter 41 section 1B to see if the town town will vote to change its elected town clerk to a town clerk appointed by the board of Selectmen or take any other action relative th to I move that the town vote to change its elected town clerk to a town clerk appointed by the board of Selectmen is there a second did I hear the second select [Laughter] Board second I did hear a second we've we've got a motion we've got a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation uh advisory recommends unfavorable action right all right this is a majority vote we're going to try and do this on a visual again we are going to count whenever we are in certain so the for both rooms please vote all those in favor have you considered asking for discussion Mr moderator I didn't want to ask because I knew you'd say something I wow thank you so much that's I get two moderators I get all the help I need and it's funny I skipped right on my own discussion question all right we got a motion we have a second we have a recommendation do we have any discussion ah see I knew it Jim yeah Jim come on up you can line up in the queue thanks dick I appreciate the help seriously thank you okay I understand you have a lot of moving parts tonight that you don't usually have to deal with thank you back in my day it was simpler uh my name is Richard patalo I live on chapen Road in hamton obviously and I'm also the elected Town Treasurer uh think I've been had I think I've had that job 15 years now u i was assistant tax collector before that moderator before that I have the utmost respect for the uh for the people from the government study committee uh they worked on this for 14 16 months meaning a couple times a month something like that and I really appreciate the effort they put into it however I do not have any respect for their conclusions I disagree with um um the particularly the next two articles to change the uh tax collector the Town Clerk and the treasurer to appointed positions um I wasn't sure why they got this wrong in my opinion until I read their report a number of times and found out that the one resource that they used the most was the mass Municipal Association and unlike contrary to what its name is the mass Municipal Association is not a organization of towns it's an organization of Selectmen and Mayors so the fact that they conclusion was to concentrate power with the Selectmen rather than to have independent elected positions is kind of a logical conclusion of where they would try to guide the committee um I want to be very careful on this next statement because I am not indicting anyone who's on the stage tonight but since I've been doing this job I've had multiple Town administrators and multiple Selectmen instruct me to do things that were contrary to Mass General laws and which I had to refuse to do and I don't know how that would have come out if I if they held the ability to hire and fire my position uh that bothered me an awful lot um again not reflecting on anybody who's here tonight on the stage in the Village Food Mart three owners ago I guess it was when Tony and Olga owned the market for those as old as I am there was a little sign behind the cash register that said it's very tough to get rich in a small town Everyone's Watching and I think it's a good thing in small town government that someone is watching thank you [Applause] Jim Mr moderator uh James Smith Glendale Road hamton um I'm going to start out I I feel I find it a little ironic uh there's a subsequent question on the um agenda tonight to add five members to the board of selectman uh with the uh purpose of uh diminishing individual power influence uences yet at the same time this puts a lot of power and influence on the board of Selectmen because they're going to be appointing individual members who are currently elected by the community and not appointed one argument in favor and with the Indulgence of the moderator I'm going to touch a little bit on both as as Mr Poo did uh both uh question two and three I'll Grant you some leeway here Jim okay okay um one argument in favor of the um this is that these are administrative functions only uh that uh you know it doesn't matter if they're elected or or appointed and that really is is not uh the case uh for example the town clerk has uh has discretion on things like the wording of um and the uh the wording of town report regarding the uh town meeting also has uh discretion on things like the timing of ballots or at least weighing in on it and there have been instances where there's been some conflicts there and they've they've been resolved but they their you know those differences of opinion do make ano an important uh play an important role I'm trying not to go over something uh that Mr batula already did um one of the things uh is Communications I think some people are intimidating approaching the town of the the town Selectmen Andor the the staff on the selectman but there are people that regularly conduct business with the town clerk or the tax collector that go in there and they express their opinion and they feel free to do so they won't have that freedom of expression if these people are appointed so this becomes a filtering mechanism in a communication mechanism where people go in talk to the talk to the tax collector or the treasurer and that get filtered through the daily interaction in the office of like hear some concerns from the community I think we'll lose that had one last thing here you got a lot on that screen yeah I know you know I I wanted to appeal to the younger crowd so I did it on my phone instead of bringing up a piece of paper um uh the final the final point is that um you know there's an argument that they'll be able to go after a larger talent pool and in town the town's 150 years and my almost 50 years of being involved in town meetings and whatnot I've never seen the situation where a very talented and dedicated person did not step forward for the position uh so I do not think that that's a good argument in favor of it um so in summary I have seven words if it a broke don't fix it thank you Jed was it was it seven cuz I didn't count it was all right but the the contraction makes it difficult all right so Jed Jed Berliner Bennett Road hamen my default my personal default preference in a democracy is checks and balances when policy is being made the the positions of power need to be separated distributed so that there can be vibrant discussion my personal preference is to yield that position when there's a higher goal of efficiency I don't want to see elected dog catchers unless we have one then I do but in this case the clerk has some some awesome responsibilities and deserves my opinion the independent base of a separate election not to be appointed by the select board thank [Applause] you um my name's Laura Goen I'm a nervous wreck I'm on 39 o n tribe you're doing fine I already forgot the discussion come right in no I would I would just like to say that I don't agree with a more concentrated government um I believe a town meeting's been around since you know the 1600s or whatever and I don't see any reason to change it and what is the reasoning behind um implementing something like that I don't understand the reason for even the need so that's all I have to say I know you're next that thank you Keith do you want to address that you have a I mean I don't want to put you on the spot but do you have a the question is what's the reasoning what's the reasoning so a lot of the reasoning is on the a lot of sorry a lot of the reasoning is on our our screen here and it's in the report that we had submitted um back in the spring um so the concerns a lot of the concerns that were being oh sorry go right to the microphone ke so a lot of the concerns that are being brought up are things that we discussed at length when we were having our meetings there were I I share a lot of the same concerns about concentrating power with the board of Selectmen and a lot of what has been brought forward a lot of what Mr Smith said and Mr Bello said are things that concern me too um but in the end uh I I think it's important to for everyone to know that the reason that we're bringing this forward first of all has nothing to do with the people that are in the positions currently the people that are in the positions have been in them a long time we respect them we're not looking to make a change with them the the the change is the process of how we pick the next people um because there were some concerns that uh as you can see on the on the screen the requirements to run for a position like this are minimal you don't have to have any experience in finance to run for treasurer you don't have to have any experience in anything to run for any of these positions and and and we we felt as a board that being able to interview and vet the position and pick the right person to do the job um the benefits of that would outweigh the potential negative effect of either not having someone run or not having the right people um so that that was part of part of our reasoning I don't know I have two other board members here that I don't know if they have anything to add to that or sumed it up perfectly okay thank you Dad Thad clette uh live in a Highland Circle and um I look at this and the next question kind of kind of in the same way because they both deal with two long-term employees of the town that are both being railroaded out of their job the way I see it one of my biggest concerns and and one thing I want to address up there we talk about the talent pool um AA I think is well qualified and she's learned a lot over the years I'm sure as as dick those jobs change okay are we looking for some sort of college educated person in that I certainly hope not okay myself I did not graduate high school but I was a chief operating officer of A3 billion company okay nowhere in this presentation maybe The Advisory board has some talks about what Financial impact this is going to have on the town near as I can tell this is going to cost the town close to $200,000 a year I may be off on that but there's pensions maybe $35 $40,000 a year these guys here don't make what you're going to hire an accountant for you're probably going to spend somewhere between $120 to $150,000 for an accountant that let me just let me just interrupt you for a second let's steer away from the numbers if we're not sure of them because I I would want to be careful about coloring the vote of the room okay so let's let's steer clear unless we have real numbers okay okay you can ask you can if they have it but don't do we have any real numbers and that I do not know um I'm seeing no as for real numbers um so advis B based on having no real numbers I would vote no that's fair okay thank you I can say that the treasur collector salary the average count I'm sorry the average count of 28 Treasurer collector combined salary is $8,498 I I think the question there was not what these folks currently make but would there be this is the average of 28 cities and towns oh I'm sorry thank I I missed the first part of that and I should have um sorry could you do me a favor please come back and just introduce yourself and where you live because we need the information for everyone Donna hatch milroad Treasurer collector salary the average for 28 cities and towns is 8,488 18 okay so it's a it's an estimate based on other communities for comparison for what that's worth combed position okay fair enough come on up yeah thank you Kathy pesano uh chapen Road I've been a resident of hamen for about 37 years um I am not speaking for the other members excuse excuse me of The Advisory Board I'm speaking as a voter and a resident of the Town um while I certainly commend the government study committee for all of your hard work hamen has seen a growth in um housing we have a very diverse population I really feel that there are enough qualified residents in H to run for both Town Clerk and to run for Treasure I don't mean to address both articles voters are smarter than that okay it's regardless of whether or not there's any listed qualifications for the job I think you know we have a direct democracy here which is the purest form of democracy we can have the voters are the legislative branch vote for yes for articles two or three and three move us away from a democratic system to more of an oligarchy and an oligarchy means rule by a few Donna I just want to say that a yes vote tonight just basically puts this on the ballot for 2025 for a townwide election election y I was going to cover that and thank you now before we go any further I just want to remind the folks in the other room hold on one sec then I'm going to get you I promise I just want to remind the folks in the other room that this is inclusive if you wish to address the meeting please come in uh but again if you're comfortable and you're you're following along great that's good it's just that I can't see you Don I'm I'm not speaking Don DAV I'm not speaking on behalf of the other Selectmen but a comment was made about that the PE that the current people in the office are being railroaded out that that is not true the town meeting voted to established a government study committee in October of 2022 they worked for a year they looked at a lot of things and they made their recommendations they're talking about the future they're not talking about tomorrow or the next election I just want to make you understand that I just I took Umbridge to the term railroad because those people really worked hard to try to provide a future for the town and what they thought would be helpful to the town so please came out already this is Tina Duran 100 steeple View Drive um I have a question for the selectman If This Were A yes vote majority yes vote would that mean that are elected officials no longer have their elected job meaning are they going to be reviewed now and now we need to have them appointed to stay in the positions that they were originally elected to do they need to be now appointed and then is there a risk of them not being appointed okay so the question so you got the question do you is it here you go you're gonna one one second I got you hi Rose Crowley Town Council um to address the legal aspect of your question first of all there has in order for the position of clerk to move from an elected to an appointed position for first of all there has to be a favorable vote by this body tonight on this article second of all it has to move to a ballot question in the spring if both of those votes are favorable then the position would become appointed the difference between an elected official and an appointed official is that that official is answerable in the case of an elected an elected official is answerable to the registered voters an appointed official is answerable to the body that appoints them I'm familiar with that okay okay my question is if the town approved this which I'm going to give my opinion and I am against it I would vote no on this but I want to know if this goes to a yes vote after the ballot what happens to our elected officials are they no longer elected and now require to be appointed by the select board so if everything passes um the there will be the office of Treasurer and the office of collector and the office of clerk will be on the ballot simultaneously with the ballot question that corresponds to the what you're voting on tonight if the the elected to appointed passes then those people elected to each of those offices will be in office but only until the board of selectman choose to appoint the re the a new officer so that could be a week that could be a month that could be years so technically the elected people in office no longer have a job until they are appointed unless they are appointed unless they are appointed they they will hold their positions okay my point my my stand on this is a no vote Richard Patell Cham wrad again there's no possible way if this was to pass that the current people can hold their job because this is making mandatory combining the tax collector and the treasurer's job and that's held by two people now so there is no possible way if this passes that the selectman could hire the same people to do the job is is there any more questions discussion okay I'm G I'm not seeing any so we're going to move forward anyway all right so this is very important I want to make sure this is clear because you've heard it in a couple different places in a couple different ways if you're in favor of changing the town clerk from an elected to appointed position you are going to vote Yes if there is a majority of yes votes this question will then move to a ballot in the spring a no vote will bring it to an end so does anybody have any questions on how we're going to vote a yes vote a lot makes the change and sends it to the ballot a no vote that's the end everybody ready all those in favor of the change please raise your hands all those opposed to the change all right let me just see what you can put your hands down I I got it let me just see if um see what we get in the other room please it may take a second two in favor two defeated okay okay scratch that reverse it like Willie Wonka got it the question has been defeated in both rooms the the question fails question three to combine elected Treasurer and elected collector of taxes to appointed Treasurer collector position subject to mgl Mass General Law chapter 41 section 1B to see if the town will vote to have its elected Town Treasurer and elected collector of taxes be combined as a single Treasurer collector to be appointed by the board of Selectmen or take any other action relative there to motion please I move that the town vote to have its elected Town Treasurer and elected collector of taxes be combined as a single Treasurer collector to be appointed by the board of selectors does the motion have a second we' got a motion we've got a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation advisory recommends unfavorable action at this stage is there any discussion on the question um let's start with come on work your way over because we're going to need you at the microphone dad you're going to get there first so D clette Highland Circle um since this is question two was voted down what's the point of having this Hunter can we make a motion to kill this one [Applause] so what we have is a motion to amend the main motion let's I think it's going to be cleaner if we vote it that's the flavor of the room but before we do that that come forward please Andrew Netherwood Genevie Mr moderator I have a question for you yes am I able to make a motion that we can't bring this back up for 5 years so hold on so the answer is no but let me tell you why because I don't I'm not I don't want to be the authoritarian one here um the answer the answer is no because it's not part of the warrant and to me your motion Falls outside the four corners of the question so in order to keep the thing consistent no but your question's well asked don't you know this is what we need to do here so question what's that call the question um gonna call the question you have been great would you here listen just take my jacket in save time um all right we've had a motion we've had a second I do not see any more discussion now again same as the last question if you are in favor of combining those two elected offices into one position you are going to vote Yes and that's going to move it to the ballot in the spring everybody clear all those in favor all those opposed the cafeteria has the question defeated we will wait for the Jim one yes okay okay the question is defeated article four increase the board of Selectmen from three to five members as per Mass General Law chapter 41 section 2 to see if the town will vote to increase the number of Selectmen on the town's Board of Selectmen from three to five members or take any other action relative thet motion please I move that the town vote to increase the number of Selectmen on the town's Board of Selectmen or select board from 3 to 5 do we have a second it's got a second thank you sir um advisory committee advisory recommends unfavorable action discussion Keith you have anything you want to add here um or would no okay um ched Jed Berliner Bennett Road I like the idea of expanding the board the select board for two reasons maybe three one is I want the select board members to have an opportunity to legally and informally discuss issues with the three member board two of them violates the open meeting rule so they can't have informal discussions if it takes place it's illegal I don't like that I like to see five because that will increase public input to the functions of the board the discussions it will make it more inefficient and that's the price of democracy that's the price of having more input more vibrant discussion and in debate and if five select board members are now going to beat up the Town Administrator instead of only three that's the downside of the Democracy we cherish to have more input from the public thank you Jim come on up James Smith Glendale Road I wasn't going to speak until I heard the prior speaker and I i' just like to clarify a point uh the five me five member board does indeed give the ability for two people to have a discussion outs you know informally uh without violating the open meeting law but it also leaves open the ability for a chain discussion person a talks to person B then person B talks to person C person C talks to person D Etc so I do not think that that is a good reason for a positive vote on this I got you come on over Tad Tad Brown can you hear me absolutely you're doing great so I stood over there waiting to to get picked and Jim just said what I was going to say but I I agree that that's the case if you have two if you have these three guys they have to do what they do in front of us every Monday night or whatever if you have five two of those guys can talk to two more guy someone else and you have undue influence this is where you get back room deals the the other last thing I would say is right now Brian has three bosses these three guys are his bosses Lauren works for Brian so right now Lauren has four bosses if you add two more bosses Brian has five bosses and Lauren has six bosses most of us that are married have two bosses and that's that's bad [Applause] enough I always appreciate someone who's willing to take their life in their hands oh don't worry she's going to find out um okay I think we've had all the discussion this whichever way it goes does not proceed to the ballot it is a majority vote if you vote Yes you're voting to increase the board from three members to five if you vote no all those in favor I'm sorry did you I did you understand the the question where we were going I I heard for what so I just want I'm a little so a yes vote will change the board from three members to five that's all so all those in favor of changing the board from three to five please raise your hands all those opposed the moderator declares a majority in this room we will await the the gym I'm having a hard time the way the judge does this yep they did I'm favorable against yeah give us one second keep the coordination moving seven yes the mo the article is defeated Article Five to see if the down the town will vote to amend the general bylaws of the Town chapter 3 advisory committee section 7A revolving funds to create a new electric vehicle charging station revolving fund as shown in the table below so if you've got your questions the table is in there or take any other action relative there to Mr moderator I move that the town vote to amend the general bylaws of the Town chapter 3 advis committee section 7A revolving funds to create a new electric vehicle charging station revolving fund as printed on the warrant we've got a motion we've got a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action is there any discussion on the question John do you want to add anything to that I think we all know I don't have an electric car you could you could ask Michelle though is it working fine wow so I guess I guess one selectman only cares if he has an electric car um no I'm teasing I I get we make a let me make a background here so as you said so Bob Marco our former Town Minister was instrumental in getting a grant to pay for these charging stations and graciously hosted by uh Becky and the senior center um there is at this point there was very little cost of the town and there will be Revenue to it I know I heard from a couple people that used it that it is up and running that money is being accumulated and when the software is fully installed that money will come to the town so there's really no downside to it but we need this paperwork done this the next article and there was a further article that gives an easement for the basically the electric line that ran to the charging station and that makes it happen just before you go I mean just as a point I mean I think we're all aware especially if you've been to annual town meeting for the last ever there are multiple revolving funds within the community and this is where funds are accumulated whether it's at the transfer station or something like this they need a fiduciary account for which These funds to be held and accounted for and bills paid so this is really adding to the list that we have okay please hi Mar Ryan Genevie drive and my question I guess is it says on here that there's no full-time salaries so who is going to be responsible for collecting funds making sure the funds make their way back to the town and then if there's issues with the maintenance who's responsible for that okay the the funding is software based Brian you've been working on this do you have a couple answers for that or that's not live is it no still not live go it's not Memorex it's live um yeah so so the users of the station will pay with a credit card through an app and those funds will be accumulated and then uh sent to the town and our hope is that they be plac in the revolving fund so the revolving fund is an accounting mechanism that allows us to um deposit revenues and pay expenses out of a fund without further town meeting appropriation so it it's uh it's it's a more efficient way to handle the with the handle the Chargers so are you going to be responsible for making sure that we get that money or is who's going to be responsible to make sure that the app is working the money is collected the money comes back to the town again it's a a grant so after the grant runs out and we still have this equipment who's responsible for it there's no position created for it are we going to then create a position for someone to say this equipment doesn't work we don't have an IT department so how are we going to make up those costs yeah my understanding is that it would fall under the Town Administrator subject to the review of the board of selectman that yeah we're good with that please Rich Weber millroad the question is is the electric charging station a break even venture or a revenue making or can we lose money on it well Dr Mor's question I mean there's obviously a concern about wear and tear but we installed it basically had it installed for free so people who get their cars charged and I think they're paying maybe 45 cents something like that there is definitely a profit to the town these are level three Chargers which are very popular in the area so we've seen people already using them on Sundays Saturdays nights they show up on the app that they're located there there is right now they are accumulating money for the town we had no expense in putting them in yes but you have expense to send electricity to the charging station electricity is not free no I understand what I'm saying is the charge that you pay for it there's a profit in there say it was 45 cents and I'm throwing a number out we're paying the electric company 20 cents we're making 25 cents on every 45 cents that you're being charged so is that adjusted accordingly if the electric chump company goes up in rates you charge more I believe so yes that's what I've heard from other communities I think they have met the big why they have them up at the Holio Mall those rates have gone up with fluctuation thank you thank you dick Patell Treasurer um I'm no way Pro Electric charging station I thought this was a dumb idea but these two mod these two articles three articles are boilerplate um basically they're going to bill us for electricity if we don't have a method for taking the cash in to pay the electric bill then we're going to be paralyzed as far as any extra cost or maintenance if there isn't money in the revolving fund the only place that's going to come from is back to town meeting and the town meeting will say this is stupid we we either won't do it or will'll do it so you get another bite at the Apple if the deal that Mr Markle um negotiated is a bad deal so right now it doesn't cost anything to do this and we can at least see if it will turn a profit gotcha hi Gabby Fisk uh Hollow Road just want to say um no questions for you you're off the hook for this one but um the electric charging stations as they are aren't just Revenue generating for the actual system it also brings people into the town that are going to sit there grab a lunch at the Village Market they're going to go and stop at Dunkin Donuts they're going to maybe pick the gym across the street instead of the one in lllo because there's a charging station there so just be mindful that it is not singular and micro to the individual system but to the community in as a whole and that's some from someone who is an electric car driver and does seek those out so and I go out of my way for those systems I think that and that was that was an excellent point clearly this is not a referendum on electric cars whether you're for them or against them that this is simply a establishing the mechanics to handle the money um are there any more questions or discussion this requires a majority vote all those in favor any opposed the majority of this room is declared we'll wait for the other room I think to his credit what they're doing in the other room is they are counting the votes it's a much smaller room so this is I think the Judge is there there he is go got it the article passes article six to establish a spending limit for the electric vehicle charging station revolving fund why did I know that was going to happen to see if the town will vote vote to set an expenditure limit on the electric vehicle charging station revolving fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1st 2024 or take any other action relative there to Mr moderator I move that the town vote to send the expenditure limit on the electric vehicle charging station Revenue revolving fund at $10,000 for the fiscal year beginning July 1st 20124 we've got a motion we've got a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action is there any discussion on the question that clette Highland Circle if this charging station is supposed to operate at a profit why would we have any kind of spending limit whatsoever I thought I I was going to let John answer it but then anytime we set up a revolving fund and all of the revolving funds if you look at them even on the annual town meeting warrants they do have a dollar figure a fix to them it's required by state law typically it's as a cap okay then can we change this to have a cap of like $100 no it's spending that's what I'm saying please thank you yeah please thank you dck no gotcha the whole point of the revolving fund is the nice electric car people are going to pay on their credit card and that money is going to go into the revolving fund and we are going to take that money in the revolving fund and pay national grid for the electricity if we put a $100 cap on we're not going to be able to pay the electric bill they're going to shut off the service so all we all we need to do is establish on any revolving account a reasonable amount that we will likely not exceed um most of the revolving are somewhere between 20 and $90,000 this one's a fairly small one so we don't want to have National grd having a shut off notice exp yeah um go please how's it going uh my name is George Kash I live on Main Street street right down with old Fisher house um talking about grants with Mr marle n that's a bad seed right there um now this other thing is that George George hold on please but where's the money coming from for wait hold on let's just stay with the article and no editorial okay where's the where's the money coming from for one okay now we got solar panels up the street we don't get nothing for it at at all why aren't we getting anything from them and plus with the the charging stations they run on on diesel who pays for that who pays for the upkeep and everything else and why are we always going to be the ones that have to pay for the Brad of this okay so let's um let's eliminate the solar panels from the discussion because we got to stay within the context of the article the explanation given for the revolving fund is that as the folks who utilize the charging station pay into it those funds are used to offset the cost of the operation of it and any overage is swept into the town Accounts at the end of the year which in essence is the profit for the town now we have to pay taxes on you won't pay ta no no no no no you won't pay taxes on it the folks who utilize the system who actually plug their cars into it put in their credit card that's going to generate revenue for the town which will sit in account monitored by the Town Administrator and the bill is so the bill would the bills would be paid each month from the revenue brought in by those who used it the town's not paying for this and then at the end of the year any overage in the account after all the bills are paid is swept into the town accounts and how many electric cars do we have in hon yeah those questions really aren't gerain to this cuz this is the just is simply setting up I'm I'm just trying to find out what what's the real purpose because I see it's not unfortunately a reality unfortunately so the issue here is that the questions you're asking and I understand them and they are important but they are not gerain to the article itself and therefore these folks will not be prepared to answer them they're simply here to set up the accounting procedure for dealing with those funds so I understand your questions but they don't fit with the warrant article all right but if people don't use it what good is it if they if they don't use it then there's no charge to the town it's it's a wash the money comes in and goes out where where are these going to be located they're already in place at the senior center oh that's what those big boxes are yes sir yep that's it okay figed it was some stupid reason all right we got this hey these are all you got to ask the questions otherwise you don't know by all means please yeah it's Laura go from oakal Drive um I'm just wondering if the financing is coming from the Biden infrastructure program if there's I mean where are these funds coming from is it a grant from government I believe these were paid for with Grant with grant money already received by the town so there was no cost to the town taxpayer directly to put them in so it was so where did the money come from the grant it came from Grant a St oh they okay I'm sorry I'm being advised it was a stake rent I want to be careful because I don't want to get in the debate so um gotcha all right so what we're trying to do now here is establish the cap to which can be spent to pay the expenses of the revolving fund you just voted for it has been recommended that the cap be established at $10,000 a yes vote will approve the cap as requested all those in favor any opposed there are this the moderator declares a majority on the question in this room we'll wait for the cafeteria I mean the gym the gymnasium is declared a majority the article passes article s additional funding for the insurance account employee benefits to see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to increase the budget line item 7.2 employee benefit benefits or take any other action relative there to U Mr moderator I move that the town vote to transfer $90,000 from unappropriated available funds to increase budget line item 7.2 employee benefits the motion has been made and seconded does the advisory committee have a recommendation The Advisory recommends favorable action any discussion on the question seeing none this requires a majority vote for the approval all those in favor are there any opposed there is the moderator declares a majority for this room good the article is passed article 8 additional funding for the police department account career incentive pay to see if the town will vote to raise an appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to increase the budget line 57.8 career incentive pay or take any other action relative there too Mr moderator I move the town vote to transfer $7,500 from unappropriated available funds to increase the budget line item 57.8 career incentive pay the motion has been made and seconded advisory a recommendation please advisory recommends favorable action we have a motion a second favorable action does the does the body have any discussion on the question seeing none this is a majority vote all those in favor are there any opposed this is unanimous we will wait for the other room 7,500 the question passes article nine additional funding for the SE Cemetary commission account maintenance to see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to increase the budget line item 21.3 maintenance or take any other action relative there too fine thanks iy thanks hi I'm iy Bond 21 Meadow Brook Lane in Hampton uh I'm a register of Voters so I saw some of you coming in I'm also uh a cemetery commissioner I move that the town vote to transfer $7,500 from unappropriated available funds to increase the budget line item 21.3 maintenance we have a motion we have a second second does the advisory committee have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action any discussion on the question seeing none this two will require a majority vote all those in favor are there any opposed this is unanimous in this room the article passes article 10 Senior Center expansion and renovation Mass General Law chapter 59 section 21 C to see if the town will vote to appropriate a sum of money by borrowing to expand and renovate the Town Senior Center located at 104 alen Street including all costs incidental or related th to and to authorize the treasurer with the approval of the selectman to issue any bonds or notes that may be necessary for the purpose and apply the premium received by the town upon the sale of any bonds or notes there under less such premium applied to the payment of costs of issuance of such bonds and/or notes to pay project costs and to reduce the amount authorized to be Borrowed by the amount of the premium applied provided however that the vote taken hereunder shall be expressly contingent upon approval by the voters at an election of of a proposition two and a half debt exclusion allowing the town to raise money needed to repay its share of the borrowing outside of the limits established by proposition two and a half Mass General law 59 21 C pass any Vote or take any other action relative there to gotcha can I just say ditto yeah that be great it would be uh Mr moderator I moved at the Town vote to appropriate $5 5.96 million by borrowing to expand and renovate the Town Senior Center located at 104 Allen Street including all cost incidental or related there to and to authorize the treasurer with the approval of the selectman to issue any bonds or notes that may be necessary for the purpose and to apply the premium received by the town upon the sale of any bonds or notes thereunder less any such premium applied to the payment of the cost of issuance of such such Bond or notes to pay project costs and reduce the amount authorized to be Borrowed by the amount of the premium so applied provided however that the vote taken hereunder shall be expressly contingent upon approval by the voters and an election of a prop 2 and a half debt exclusion allowing the town to raise the money needed to repay its share of the borrowing outside the limits established by proposition 2 and A2 under Mass general laws chapter 59 section 21 C we have the motion do we have a second we have the motion we have a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action it is my understanding that the study committee has a presentation we're going to talk about um 15 minutes or less I'm I'm sure or less would would do quite a bit um before any questions or any mo by all means open representative meeting in a representative meeting a registered voter who is not a town meeting member has a right to speak subject to conditions prescribed by the meeting and the moderator at no time tonight did you have any kind of prescription allowing for outside res other than resents to speak tonight you still hold to that as of right now I am unaware of any outside residents speaking so sure I get your position on that yeah as of now I'm not aware now typically if the presenter is a town resident a member of the committee typically if there's a question that might be say technical in nature we would defer to a consultant for example back um in '93 when we did the transfer station closing our Engineers were here um it's happened many times since but there if a technical question were to arise the question could be answered but I would not look for it to be part of the presentation the yep you're welcome Gary go ahead all set uh good evening my name is Gary wayer 53 mil Road I'm chairman of the hamon Senior Center building committee why are we back in front of you tonight it's been suggested that we are children attempting to wear down the voters to get our way quite the contrary the committee is a group of dedicated hamton citizens who have been meeting twice a month for two years at the senior center we have seen up close the current needs and determine the future needs of the senior center we are back because the needs of the senior center and the hamton community as well will not go away I ask you to please pay attention because there has been much misinformation concerning this project please make no mistake the committee has heard the concerns raised by at mtown meeting by your Selectmen and by Hampton residences in the last 5 months the revised presentation is not the same old same old but the results of hearing your concerns while still providing for the needs of the center and the hamton community this is our current Senior Center we're not proposing to knock it down it is 25 years old and like any structure or facility it is aged and needs maintenance two years ago when the selectman formed the Senior Center building committee they asked the committee to look at the current needs as well as to try to project 20 years out what the future needs would be when the committee met with the Selectmen in June following the two Town votes they asked us about moving forward the committee unanimously agreed not to quit and asked the selectman for additional monies so that we could move forward selectman approved the funding and asked us to detail a renovation only scenario no expansion leave the footprint of the building alone the committee at its earliest meetings two years prior had reviewed the renovation only option but when faced with the reality of the spatial needs we moved on to renovation and expansion we have heard from some in the community that the senior center only needs to be refreshed and maintained to meet the community's needs so let's talk about renovation only as an option what's the building currently need today it needs a new roof it needs storage these are today's photos it needs an hbac system a sprinkler system it needs bathroom Renovations for the two bathrooms that are available in the center it needs lighting upgrades and window repairs Andor replacement cost of the renovation only option will be between $ 1.7 and $2 million the committee spent many hours discussing and debating the needs of the renovation only option but found it does not address additional storage or the need for private program space for example blood pressure monitoring and nursing are being tended to in the library in fact bathroom renovation would require additional square footage reducing storage or programed space all these Renovations are current needs then they're structural what about program space the senior center is not just a structure but it's a people Center a community center lunch 5 days a week a memory Cafe for seniors with Alzheimer's and Dementia and Bridge in the library nting uh knitting and quilting yoga classes both day and night for seniors and younger members as well we have Night drawing classes which are full up with adults of all ages participating our seniors have personal needs as well the center has blood pressure monitoring covid and flu shots and Foot Care and Alzheimer's programs Becky and her staff have a farm share program that Services 30 people a month a brown bag program that provides 120 people a month with groceries and we have our grab and go dinners monthly at $5 per person the Hampton Senior Center is also a community Outreach Center it is the only social agency in hamon and I like to say that again because I don't think a lot of people understand that it is the only Social Service Agency in handon men women and children are aided many ways by the staff Insurance help for Medicaid and Medicare veteran services as well as snap shine and emergency fuel assistance program 40 to 50 people a month take advantage of the center's emergency food assistance program and the staff provides a healthy food Clinic as well the center can be available at night and weekends for private functions scantic River Artisans are us Center frequently we have dinner dances and recently it was used by St Mary's Church in the hon theater Guild few weeks ago the FBI presented a safety program at night and and just last Thursday over 100 people attended the annual veterans dinner all these programs and functions require space one question that has been asked since the very beginning of the committee's formation is why not extend the senior center hours to 40 hours a week the early opening would not result in additional program space as seniors are not not early morning active participants if you have grandparents and some of your older you know we don't get going as easily early as we used to the afternoon hour is being looked at by the director for future programs and some Cur programs currently extend well into that uh 4:00 hour also additional hours do not provide the additional storage space consultation office space and and health and wellness space the proverbial clipping toenails in the Janitor's Closet one point to be made regarding the average daily use as you can see on the screen the weekday numbers show The Centers well used the weekend numbers are for those events that actually occurred so those were the average on a Sunday and a Saturday uh when events were uh held those are the average numbers were that were there at the center hearing the concerns voiced by hampen citizens particularly the cost of the project the committee reassessed the design working with our Consultants the committee reduced the overall size and cost of the project the new design shown here eliminates the off an office space at the northwest corner a multipurpose room at the southwest corner and in the original design we had moved the vestibule from here to here and opened up this area what we've done in this is the vest the entrance and vestibule Remains the Same in the same place saving cost the proposed design reduces the building expansion by 8800 Square ft about 20% of the expansion that was previously proposed and reduces the cost from 6.6 million to 5.96 million the actual building cost not the soft cost are $44.75 million the new design includes the renovation needs as well as providing for the addition needed storage space over 320 Square ft to be added and the needed office program space and wellness space at the north side of the building the new design maintains the required number of bathrooms to point out people have said that's a lot of bathrooms you got there well the fact is seniors need a lot of bathrooms but but more than that if you looked at the daily usage you know that a men's room and one women's room small in size are not adequate for the needs and also this is your warming and cooling center during emergencies and summer heat this building serves that purpose so the additional bathroom space would help during times of emergency as previously noted the hamton senior center serves its hamton citizens this this slide details a 15-month review done from July 2023 to October 2024 as you can see 2331 individuals came through the doors of the senior center over 27,2 21 people attended events the 2331 people many of them came numerous times as you can see for events and for programs that the senior center uh puts on one other point if you notice 89 volunteers many on a daily basis help out at the senior center a question was asked by a member of The Advisory Board regarding the town demographics over the next 20 years currently there are two ,000 seniors living in the town of Hampton about 40% of the town over the age of 60 current uh based upon the hamton age list supplied by the town clerk by 2044 hamton will still have between 1850 to 1950 senior citizens over 60 this number doesn't include care givers that come into the town for the Alzheimer's patients that come to the center and also New State housing laws passed this summer regarding granny Flats may actually increase the number of seniors who can remain in town remain on their property and use the senior center the friends of the Hampton senior citizens have been raising funds for this proposed expansion and uh expansion sorry they have committed a quarter of a million dollars toward the proposed expansion and will be conducting further fundraising efforts the friends currently have ongoing fundraising efforts including the heart Springs donation box at the uh Center tag sales Senior Center Boutique and on October 25th this past month Geo set aside 10% of their sales towards the expansion finally two thoughts to consider one you should be proud of your senior center in 2022 Becky morard your senior CER director was recognized as Senior Center Director of the year in the Commonwealth Massachusetts Becky and her staff provide tremendous service day in day out excuse me I'm losing it while functioning in a constrained building secondly the Senior Center building committee members are all taxpayers like yourselves and throughout our two years of meetings have never forgotten to consider the cost to young families with children as well as seniors on fixed income however when you consider that the cost of this project to the average taxpayer in Hampton would be less than $1 a day the future needs of the Town seniors and the entire hamton Community it can be fulfilled thank you thank you for your [Applause] patience any discussion Gary you might want to hang a bit just in case um please come to the microphone hi it's me again Gabby FIS collar Road um I I'm under the impression that the hamton senior center is utilized by towns and communities outside of hamon correct okay which leads me to also understand that the tax burden Falls solely on community members within hampen correct even though it's utilized by others thank you what I would like to see I I moved here with my young family specifically because of our community investment I am I am not opposed to this I think this is a phenomenal idea I think we owe it to our community to invest in something like this my concern is that we should really strategically and more aggressively be seeking out C Capital campaigns and additional Grant fundraising for this as opposed to just um what although is in the best interest like not just donation boxes and um smaller fractional uh fundraising commitments so that's my only concern is that we are F you say it's $1 a day per Town resident but it's significant when we talk about all of the other increases that we're seeing and knowing that there are government and Grant funds available for these specific projects um especially when they consider the impact to the larger Community outside of hamen so I just urge everyone to really recognize that this doesn't the burden does not have to fall solely on us and that additional work should be done to seek out the efficacy um of that opportunity thank you so that you know early on the committee reached out to our state legislators they came and sat with us at the senior center C and we asked them specifically about funding and Aid to help us fund this expansion Unfortunately they are looking at a budget that is busted which they pointed out numerous times to us and that there were no funds available with regard to fundraising you're absolutely right and that's what the senior citizens are going to be doing doing with a vote of uh of approval here at town meeting we have started that um and we will be reaching out to the other members in the community businesses in the community before the proposition two and a half vote excuse me one second could we just please eliminate a little bit of the side chatter it's going to get a little tricky for those who still want to speak and for Gary although I think Gary tends to bulldoze ahead anyway no you're good that's a that's a positive compliment finish up I was just going to say the fundraising efforts with a vote of approval will move forward so that we can lower the cost before the prop two and a half vote override R Veil Woodland Drive having volunteered 40 years for the senior center the Council on Aging and the friends of hamon seniors I want what is best for the senior center and also for the town of hamton I attended both public forums this year on the new proposed designs in May and in October and have have I have the handouts from both of those meetings here and from these papers is the following information at our senior center the average monthly participation in May 2024 is 183 in October 2024 is 155 a decline of 28 persons per month these are not my numbers they are Senior Center numbers something is causing this declining enrollment maybe it's the opening of the wilam senior center and should be considered many votes are based on emotion and I understand that but I am a fact I am a numbers person and so here is just one more fact the average square footage for new senior centers is 3.31 square feet per senior of the Town hamon's present building already exceeds that number the recent design is 5.8 Square ft per senior it is way out of line I support the renovations that the building committee stated roof storage bathrooms HVAC windows but not this extensive expansion for millions of dollars thank [Applause] you young lady did you want to address famida Bashar 23 Walnut Road I just want to um ask the $1 thing that you said the um what's the cost for property tax that's going to increase or a percentage for a average family thank you we asked the treasure Town Treasurer to run a number of scenarios of of the cost of this for the average taxpayer if your home is worth $377,000 the worst case scenario would be about $314 a year a better case scenario based on a lower interest rate when they go for bonding would be around 225 or $227 a year a year that's where the $1 less than $1 a day comes from Jim James Smith Glendale Road um first first of all I'd like to um say that I agree with what reil stated about the overall size of the the project I just think that it uh it needs to be reexamined uh in a smaller footprint and and I know a dollar a day sounds like a small number but that's $365 a year and for a lot of people that's that's a big chunk of money a chunk of money they don't have um I want a clarification on one point um recently I was invited to a republican committee meeting in wilam and I said where's your meeting they said oh at the senior center Tuesday night um is this a senior center or is this a community center and will this be open if we if we expand it will it be open to the rest of the town for various groups uh you know uh youth groups um senior groups uh any kind of you know groups that are are are just Civic groups within town will it will it be open for that purpose thank you fair enough Gary thank you Jim I think I touched on the fact that the senior center is open nights and weekends and is open for private functions so that as I say the veterans had a dinner last Thursday we've had the FBI in um certainly dinner dances are conducted uh for um St Patrick's Day and and other events so yes it is open and as we pointed out on the usage it does get used on Saturday and Sunday yes sir oh go goe I'm I'm sorry sorry one other point to be made uh we have been tracking Becky has been tracking since Wilbraham came on board as to whether or not the uh impact of the new senior center in Wilbraham has affected uh the programs and the number of people coming and she has kept track and to date we have not seen a decrease I know that the number that you're pointing out I don't know that where they came from but I do know that the numbers that Becky has been tracking over the course do not show a decrease in usage at at our senior center because of wilham and understand seniors go uh to both centers uh different programs are available so they may be on any given day over in wilam and then come back to hamton to for yoga at night or painting those kind of things yes sir please hello uh Eric vanderen Raymond Drive um so I have a question so I much like yourself I am a chairman of a committee in town the fiber optic committee so what we did is what our job we were tasked I was on the committee for the last two years tasked with trying to do what's best for the community and um I will say for the record I think what Becky and the senior center does for you guys is phenomenal she's next to you just you can't compare her to anybody else she's phenomenal but the scope of this project is so large and so expensive our Selectmen are currently working diligently on getting this very building back and I know you guys know this because it's been presented in town meetings that being said why don't we look bigger stop gaps in the meantime your fot care in closets open a little bit later get that fot care in in appropriate rooms it maybe a little later a little hours whatnot let's work on the small things and look at the bigger picture our town hall is in desperate need of renovation we have lots of capital expenditures coming in the next 5 to 10 years let's combine those efforts and let's look at something bigger like Thorton Burgess as opposed to one massive purchase right now to renovate a building that frankly the other piece of the puzzle on my next question was I see lots of facts about people coming in and out and those numbers and they're great how many percent of those are ham and residents how many are not because I know my parents my mother-in-law go there all the time East Long Meadow and hoio they're not residents so that's also hitting our tax base too so it would be nice to know what number of those folks are from hamon and what number are from not thank [Applause] you thank you um the numbers as we tracked him and Becky correct me if I'm wrong the number of seniors in town that use the center versus the total is around 58 to 60% so that the remainder yes they come from other communities but they understand they come because Becky and the staff offered the Outreach and the programs that fit their Alzheimer's program is the best in the area so that um again there is a there is a flux and by state law senior centers are open to all individual uals over a certain age please Jim Jim are you coming back up okay shorter Mariel and Glover North F Terrace well I appreciate all that the senior center does for hamen and its recent efforts to expand its offerings I am disappointed that after its initial expansion and a renovation proposal Was Defeated twice by Hamden V just 5 months ago we are once again being asked to approve a senior center renovation and Expansion Project rather than respect the will of the people as evidenced by their vote those involved with the senior center have chosen to review their initial proposal and are now back to request funding for a revised plan this is not a radically different plan however and in reality the cost is decreased by only about 10% from the original proposal although the rate at which we get the bonds for this project is hard to predict with accuracy we can assume that the average taxpayer with a $377,000 house will be paying between 250 and $350 per year every year for 20 years by approving the project the average home will be paying a total in the range of $6 to $7,000 and don't forget that a house worth more will pay more also remember that after bonds are paid off taxes are rarely reduced rather the money is usually allocated for another purpose the question is not will an improved Senior Center be nice it is a question of priorities it is not what we what can we afford it is how do we want to spend our money it is not should a small group of residents with special dedication to the senior center decide on its future or should the taxpayers who will be paying the bill decide there is usually a way around the vote of the public but if democracy is to Prevail the vote of the public should rule the day with all the projects facing us we need to prioritize our needs and determine what we can afford have you been to the grocery store recently we do not know what the future holds but we do know that s citizens are not an endless well of money and have made their wishes known on two separate occasions we are morally obligated to listen to the voters they have spoken twice and are clear and are clear on the future they want they are dedicated to using our resources frugally bearing in mind all the needs of the town please vote no on article 10 thank you Jim Jim Jim before you go no no no before you go I just want to we're approaching the half hour mark on the question I am not necessarily inclined to cut off debate I would just ask is if you wish to come to the microphone please do but but please be aware that let's not be let's not be as repetitive the longer it tends to go the more repetitive it tends to get so again you're welcome to come up but just be cognizant of what has been said go I I just wanted a clarification um and Gary thank you for pointing out the the additional activities that are going on at that Center uh the point I was making was the senior center being a community center is somewhat like The Pavilion at the wreck it's available in somebody just contacts parks and W hey I would like to use it on such and such a day here's the group that wants to use it and if it's available they're granted permission to use it obviously uh you know they have to be responsible for it Etc it seems like everything that's done at the senior center now is initiated um from the top down uh or from or from internally and my point about it being a community building is that people in the community let's say the Garden Club wants to hold some sort of event there um would they be free to pick up the phone call the administration and say hey Thursday night such and such we'd like the building for hours and they would look at the calendar and say it's available come on in okay um the answer to that is yes they can do that through the through the senior center that's the way it works now Jim Mr reest before you go the young lady who's behind nope nope come on up no no okay nope that's good all right so John's GNA want to speak you you're both looking at moving the vote um let's hold on we're we are going to move in a second John you go first then there's the gentleman in the back Randy was waiting R all right Randy if it's about moving the question I just want to wait a second all right please Randy rivis South Road uh first I'd like to recognize Mr Gary Wier for his service of the Town appreciate all you do sir thank you well we've heard about a variety of figures in town we've heard about the hours of operation being part-time 30 hours 35 whatnot we've heard about the potential low user counts averaging 3.3 or 7.7 seven users per day depending on the math that's used we talked about the low percentage of Hampton residents that utilize this the facility we've had some questions about private functions whether there's a rental cost to that a lot of question but I do encourage my fellow hamon nights that there needs to be a broader Financial strategy for Hampden while the mission of the hamen Senior Center committee is notable its results for its nearly five years of consultation are in question having potentially missed the mark regarding the original request by the select board and with only a trivial recent cost reduction in its estimate from 6.6 to 5 $ 5.96 million the project is still very expensive and we can only assume that interest on the bond over the lifetime of it will further increase the perceived cost even after cost reduction efforts there is no indication from past performance that the committee can settle on a plan that meets the needs of the senior community and the expectations of the community at Large the projected tax impact ranging from $7,000 to $220,000 per homeowner over time for the life of the bond is undeniable given what we as a town are facing in the future in the form of a multi-million doll fire station a multi-million dollar renovation of twb a multi-million dollar decommissioning of the current Town housee it is also unfeasible it's time to prioritize fth responsibility and reject this unwanted expenditure for a third time thank you Mr [Applause] moderator before you go um I've got a I've been handed a note that the uh babysitters are looking to try and depart about 8:30 um I get it um so um let us see if we can wrap this up um but before I John I know you're behind me and you want to go you were looking to move the question but I see someone who we haven't heard from all night right behind you um Connie I'm gonna have John go do you have something new or is it I just don't want to hit the same themes again okay all right um you're up Mr moderator thank you my name is Joe Green I live at 21 Tall Pines Road in Hampton I move that the town vote to appropriate an amount not to exceed 1,872 th000 to cover the cost of renovating the senior center in Hampton with all the attendent bond issues as already stated okay so what we have here is a motion to amend the original or it is commonly referred to the main Motion in order for us to have any discussion on this point it will require a second this is going to be some more conversation but that's it's it's the it's Robert's Rules and we do need to follow did I hear a second okay so we have a motion to amend the main motion to a new number of I'm sorry could you give it to me again please the original the amendment yes just the number 1, $872,000 not to exceed one so the motion has been made to amend the number from 5.9 to 1,8 not to exceed $1,872 th000 now in order to bring this into play again it needs a second I believe I heard one we have a motion we have a second to change the number from 5.9 to 1,872 th000 at this point I don't believe this requires an advisor recommendation it's got a motion in a second but I'm going to ask you anyway uh advisory recommends unfavorable action on the motion okay that was to change the number the whole number that would be a question for the treasure um we are going to have discussion on this now I'm sorry I I know um but we do have to do this in a methodical way John I'm going to have I would have you raise that question so right now you're set we need so let's talk about where we are right now what we're talking about is simply changing the number from 5.9 to 1,872 th000 this isn't this is an amendment to the main motion so we're going to have now a discussion on the pros and cons of utilizing this number we will then at the close of discussion on that take a vote as to whether or not you accept the new number and that will require a majority vote if it majority passes then we will go to a two-thirds vote on the actual number um on the new number so where we are right now is we are going to have discussion on the motion to lower the number to a million 872 um Connie is your is your conversation with regard to the the like the 5.9 is as as if no Amendment had happened or where are you coming in here all right so why don't we why don't we wait because now we're we're that's what we're going to do now okay all right so it's okay listen so she she was the Connie was not aware that the motion to amend was coming the motion to amend is now on the floor we need to discuss the motion the first thing I want to do is Gary do you do you want to comment on the the motion to change the main motion to a million 872 okay go I got you the I'm not sure where that number came from other than the fact that we did talk that renovation only was $1.7 to2 Million I would point out and I think I spoke to that fact that renovation only does not solve or move the senior center forward and in fact what would happen is that the bathrooms that need to be renovated are going to get bigger so if you don't change the footprint you keep the footprint only and the renovation number as it is the senior center actually loses program space and Library Space by the enlargement of the bathrooms and with that regard uh also um a lot of the programs that now have to share space and and are negated if you will on certain days of the week uh quick example the tax uh people that come in on February March close down the uh room here uh for three days to quilting and to painting anyway I don't want to belabor the point but a renovation only which we looked at would not in uh help in terms of the future but also in the immediate needs of the center would actually decrease the amount of available square footage all right before wait John I recognized a few minutes ago my question about the amendment it's kind of for you dick the language of the original article talks about bonding in the two and a half if there's a lower number does that language change at all because maybe you don't need to or would you still have that Authority in your pocket the way my interpretation is the way the amendment was phrased it would still be subject to a two and a half um override on a ballot and it would still U have give the same bonding Authority the only thing that was changed was the number number and obviously the the number changes the scope of the project but it doesn't change any of the legal Hoops or financial Hoops we have to jump through to get there even though the lower number possibly could have been fit inside the levy but the way it's pH it could been but that's not that's not the question before us exactly right okay not the two all right um yes please are you Tina Duran steeple View Drive um Gary I have a question for you the figure that you're giving also includes soft cost correct no how much is it without the soft cost that's why we sit go ahead the $2 million does include the soft cost the 1.7 as brought forth by the architect did not and that's why I was saying the range is between $1.7 and $2 million with for expansion for the expansion with the expansion oh with the expansion uh most of the soft costs are rolled into the 5.96 with that can can you take the soft cost out hold on you guys what I'm going to need to do is have you step up to the microphone and Gary step back because it can't turn into a conversation between the two of you what is the expansion without the soft costs without the soft cost the cost of the building alone is 4.75 $5 million the soft costs for people who probably are not in the construction end of it are things like uh we need a construction supervisor uh we also need to pay for uh permits and Regulatory fees and and expenses and the architect uh generally builds in a 10% contingency to make sure that we do not go over the budget that the town meeting approves um anybody that's aware of wil Bram understands that the cost of the wilam senior center was exceeded and part of that reason was because the contingency costs were too low for that Senior Center okay I apologize for keep coming back here um I do work for the senior center and I just want to say we the people that come through our doors we're busting at the seams somebody mentioned not to worry about foot care where are you going to put it right now it's in a Janitor's Closet I need to cut you there because you're starting to tread on some of that same conversation about the issues of the building going one other thing I want to mention then is a couple of people mentioned that this was brought up to vote twice and voted down twice there was a lot of of miscommunication both times we had people that left because they thought that it went through if you remember I do okay so that was one mistake anybody could have made that mistake but people just left the building then it went through to the ballot even though we thought it wasn't going to go through so they were people that came into the senior center after the vote went the vote was was voted down and and they were like oh I didn't I didn't know that the vote was going to count so I didn't go and tonight there are a lot of seniors that I spoke with at the senior today at the at the senior center today that said I can't come I I I don't drive in the dark well I know that the friends were offering rights to come to the senior center but still they were reluctant to do that what I'm going to say to you tonight is regardless of how you feel about the expansion about the expansion allow this to go to the ballot allow it to go to a ballot where the entire town has has the opportunity to vote not just after 6:30 p.m. at night when it's dark and it's cold and we have the majority of our seniors that will not come out and to be honest with you I I will accept personally we need to I will accept personally cut your decision yes sir and I think everyone will if we need if you let it go to a vote a point of order hold on hold on hold on let's keep it even yes all right um I I I got it all right now um I know we've got people still lined up Connie if you've got something that's not a repeat JN what are you gonna be on Connie Whit 477 Main Street Mr moderator um there is a difference oh thank you I am short aren't I um there is something different here Mass Commission on Elder Affairs recommends that senior centers have between four and five square fet per senior wait a minute hamen has 4.75 5 square fet if the senior center got a new roof a sprinkler system and the bass done it would should be under one half a million Connie Connie can we please bring this to annual town meeting hold on Connie yes we're good because we're we're we're outside the four corners of the article now I've tried to give some latitude but we need to kind of move forward and some of this is repetitive and some of it's outside the article so I'm going to cut it there John if you've got something that's new and unique because we need to I hope so thank you Rick one quick point and I heard it said before the town turned it down let's remember that the last vote required two thirs so a majority of the people here in attendance in May did vote for it it was successful it just didn't make the documented 2third and then I think as was said it went to a vote afterwards and for whatever reason people weren't sure about the impact of the vote it didn't pass there this is a new proposal the committee which I've been a part of for over two years has worked hard at listening to the questions last time we didn't have enough information the money is too much what's it going to mean to my wallet and that was a great answer tonight the average impact to the wallet not the number that was given out earlier was going to be 7,000 over 20 years that meant that half the people it was less what was stated was it's going to be seven up to 20 and no one said half the people it's going to be less than seven down to whatever be fair about it this is a part of the community that has served the public with and the number was 2% of the budget 30 plus% of the population with 2% of the budget please keep that in mind that this would bring it up to 5% of the budget thank you okay before we go any further what is required first and I'm going to move the question what is required first is a vote to accept the amended number of 1. 1872 so this is an amendment to the original main motion this requires a majority vote so if you vote in favor of this you're saying you want to spend you only want to use the 1.87 two if you vote no then we go back to the original 5.9 are we prepared to vote on the amendment Mr hold on hold on no hold on read if if you're going to do a point order you need to come up here and I need to recogniz Mr reest first yes sir come to the microphone Hey listen this meeting is not going to be bullied by anybody you follow the rules but it will follow parliamentary procedure won't it it will I'm just asking a point of inquiry that's fine you were asked to come to the microphone and you you snapped back no I'm asking you to the microphone Mr moderator respectfully I didn't hear you Snapback and any of the other that were out of the Quorum for procedure so yeah the point of inquiry the question is is it a 2third vote for the motion to amend or is it majority it is a man it is a majority vote on the motion to amend if the motion to amend is successful and it gets its majority we will then take another vote which will be a 2/3 vote to approve and send it to the ballot so all you're voting on right now let me your fair question what you're voting on first is a majority vote and it's to replace the original number of 5.9 with the motion number of 1.87 to does that get it yeah final inquiry can we confirm the dollar amount to avoid a two and a half propop override can we confirm that dollar amount so according to the treasurer and I'm inclined to agree from the moderator's perspective the way the question is written the the the article is written it only provides for the 2 and a half override debt exclusion so even if the number changes it does not change the framework of the article thank you Mr moderator you are absolutely welcome you want to callot we are okay so we are going to so now we are going to vote we have potentially bear with me we have potentially two votes in front of us the first vote again is a majority vote to accept the 1.87 2 million if it fails we will then go backwards and vote on the 5.9 but we excuse me we must vote on this number first so yes sir is it possible to make a motion for a secret ballot for this Amendment it is um so basically what's being asked is that and I want to make sure everybody understands what's being asked is that we do a secret ballot on the majority question it needs to receive a second before we can go any further so you have put that in the form of a motion to go to secret ballot yes sir is there a second Mary Ellen you're going to second that all right so so now what's going to happen is we are going to go to a secret ballot on this and and we will be also then we have to vote the final number hold hold on hold on the secret ballot wait let me do Jack first and then I'll come back what I'm being what I'm understanding is we're being aemotion has been made to use a secret ballot to vote for the amendment and that would be a majority vote point of information request please uh Kathy pesano Chapman Road why are we not being given the opportunity to vote whether or not we want to go to secret ballot I understand that somebody made a motion and I understand that somebody seconded it but don't we as a body have a right to vote whether we want that cuz that's not what you said that's where we're going so we're going to now we have to take a majority vote hold on one sec all right thank you I got one right um listen could we all just quiet down for a minute we have a motion we have a second to go to a secret ballot on the motion to amend so if you vote Yes right now then you want to have a secret ballot you're I'm sorry if you vote Yes you're voting for a secret ballot on the motion to amend if you vote no we're going to proceed to the vote show of hands on the motion to amend all those in favor of the secret ballot any opposed to the secret ballot in this I'm hold on hold on we got to get this right in this room the secret ballot is defeated we'll wait for the other room failed all right there will be no secret ballot on the motion to amend hold on now let's let's quiet down because there's a lot of UNP acing to do here and I get it and it can be somewhat frustrating rest assured it is a little for me to try and keep it straight now what we are proceeding to the vote on is the motion to amend the original motion we are voting whether we want to reduce the number from 5.9 to 1.87 to so if you vote Yes right now we are lowering the number to 1. 1872 yep you need to come to the microphone you're starting to wear them out I'm sorry Tina Durand Ste View Drive okay I have a question regarding if you amend the the the dollar amount down and then you just vote on or and and it it's voted down on this and we go to the 5.9 if the 5.9 doesn't go through is it over or do let let me no no no let me ask you does that mean that we no longer can ask for the renovations which we so desperately need yes I mean that's my this will end it for now I don't so why why aren't we going from the 5.9 first then the amendment nope you Parliament you have to go with the procedure Melanie Joy Cooper Bennett Road I'd vote i' make a motion to vote on this amendment that's what we're going to do right now let's move the question forward so again again everybody hang in there come on we're getting there I know this is not easy the first thing you are voting on and I hate to beat it to death but I want you to understand it because this is not a lot this is a lot to follow through on the first thing you're voting on this is a majority vote to lower the number to 1.87 two million all those in favor of the number as moved this is to go lower those opposed to the new number I have it as defeated in this room the original number stays um we'll see what the other room comes to so as it stands right now this room is going to be voting on the on the original number down it's down okay we are now back to voting on The Original Number this requires a 2third vote I okay this requires a two-thirds vote on the original 5.9 million we are going to count this vote manually so I want to make sure we get it right so so what's going to happen is I'm going to ask everyone to put up their hands the counters will count the yes votes first then we'll do the no and then we'll do the tally if you are in favor of the $5.9 million please raise your hand and please keep it up you guys what one yes C you Doria do they have the sheet from the other room with the yeses or are they going to tally them separate are they just going to bring it all in at once okay thank you if you voted yes you can put your hands down you know why would I expect that to come from you would you like like have sat here till like 1 in the morning that way it's good to see you Jed it's been a long time they're going to bring it all in at once okay all those opposed to the question raise your hands and please keep them up your no votes are now got let to e okay the yeses total 108 the NOS total 172 the percentage is 38 the article fails did you get that okay okay we need to keep going if you are going to leave please keep it down we need to keep moving article 11 what yes 108 no 172 108 yeah 108 yes you're welcome okay article 11 to see if the town will vote to raise an appropriate borrow or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to extend the existing water main from the intersection of Glendale Road and scantic Road northeastward approximately 1,900 ft along Glendale Road to the intersection of Crossroad and further to extend the intersection of Glendale Road and Crossroads Southward approximately 1, 1,50 ft along Cross Road where it will connect to the existing water man on Cross Road located approximately 400 ft north of the intersection of Crossroad and scantic Road and by further extending the existing water main from the intersection of scantic Road and South Munson Road northeastward approximately 800 ft along the South mson Road to the front of parcel ID number number 14- 04- also known as 27 South mson Road and further by extending the existing water M from the intersection of scanic Road and South mson Road southeastward approximately 1100 ft along scanic road to the front of parcel ID 14-20 d004 also known as 148 scanic road map attached as attachment a and to connect additional sewers to the additional users excuse me not sewers big big different connect additional users to the water system or take any other action relative their to good job Mr moderator I move the town vote to appropriate up to 2 million dollar by borrowing to extend the existing water main as described and printed on the warrant and to conict additional users to the water system and that up to $2 million be Borrowed by the treasure who is authorized with the approval of the selectman select board to issue any bonds or notes that may be necessary for that purpose as authorized by general laws chapter 44 subsection 7 and 8 and or or any other general or special law for a period not to exceed the maximum number of years authorized by law and to apply the premium received by the town upon the sale of any such premium applied to the payment of the costs of insurance in such bonds and notes to pay project costs to reduce the amount authorized to be Borrowed by the amount of the premium so applied we have a motion we have a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action before we go any further because there's some discussion to be had here um I just want to let the folks in the other room know that I have a pretty good idea that there might be enough seats if you all want to work your way in here if you're really comfortable there that's good too but just know the opportunity is there um we now back to our original program we yeah well we had a popcorn machine in there um back to back to our original program we have a motion we have a second we have a recommendation anything you want to add not much to add here this is just what we had brought back in the U annual town meeting in the spring this is just an extension to remediate the posos um contamination from the the transfer station um just on that note we did apply for a bunch of Grants um there was a One-Stop Community grant for up to 2.3 million that got denied in October however we have a verbal commitment to an emerging contaminants grant for $1 million um obviously it's a verbal at this moment but we're we're hoping to get that are there any questions oh advisor gave a recommendation already they gave favorable you know you make one mistake no I'm I'm teasing I'm talking to Sheila you're I'm I I owe you a huge thank you so we're good um now you've you've had the motion the second the presentation or the brief explanation are there any questions okay this is going to require a 2third vote because of borrowing um I just I'd like to find out if there's anybody still in the other room if they want to come in I'd like to give him a second at the risk of delaying the vote they're hanging out in there all right so this requires a 2third vote as it is borrowing I we if we need a count we'll take account so let's start with all those in favor of the question please raise your hands are there any opposed this room has the necessary 2/3 they're all in here great everyone's in here so we got 2third the article passes we are now on to article 12 fire station hazardous materials abatement to see if the town will vote to raise an appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to undertake the abatement of hazardous building materials at the Hampton fire station or take any other action relative there too Edward pin Glendale Road Mr moderator I moved out to town vote to transfer $12,000 for unappropriated available funds to undertake the abatement of hazardous building materials at the hamton fire station got a motion we've got a second advisory advisory recommends favorable action is there anything you want to say to this Ed or any questions um this was when we had the Mitchell um report building assessment done this was something that was re recognized as a hazard um that was in the building and Sh the building has become broken up and is lifted tiles have lifted and it's spus so we're looking to have that Abad by a company are there any questions seeing none this is a majority vote all those in favor any opposed the motion carries the article is passed Article 13 fire station generator installation to see if the town will vote to raise an appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to install a generator at the Hampton fire station or take any other action relative there too Mr moderator I moved at the Town boat to transfer $225,000 from unappropriated available funds to install a generator at the Hampton fire station the motion has been made and seconded advisory committee recommendation advisory recommends favorable action this requires a majority vote all those in favor are there any opposed the majority is declared we are on article 14 the electronic voting system purchase to see if the town will vote to raise an appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money to purchase an electronic voting system or take any other action relative there to Mr Moder I move the town uh take no action on this advisory advis advisory recommends favorable action on the no action favorable action and no action never saw so many people about happy about doing nothing this requires a majority vote to take no action all those in favor are there any opposed on no action there you go moderator declares a majority the article passes oh yes I I think no so maybe you want yeah come on over feel feel free make it a party I just want to see making me get up and down up and down the the answer to that is that we wanted to try it out at this town meeting we weren't able to do that so we're going to bring it back as a test again at the annual town meeting before we decide to spend the money we are now on Article 15 thoron bur's thoron Burg's School planning and improvements to see if the town will vote to raise an appropriate or transfer from unappropriate available funds a sum of money to plan for the renovation and repair of the thoron burges Middle School to to make such Renovations and repairs at the Thorton burges middle school and to move those departments boards committees and commissions currently housed in the townhouse to the thoron burges middle school or take any other action relative there too Mr moderator I move that the town vote to transfer $100,000 from unappropriate available funds to plan for the renovation and repair of the Thornton Burgess middle school and to make such repair Renovations and repairs at the thoron Burgess Middle School there you go we got a we got a motion we had a second if if the if the query over there was about I have to read the whole article the motion is inside the article gotcha okay okay so now we have a motion we have a second do we have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action favorable John anything to add go oh we have a question compan address the question come on up Ryan Genevie um as a former school committee member who served the town we knew back then that the building was going to cost over a million dollars for the parking lot there needed to be a new roof there was a problem with the furnace I'm pretty sure $100,000 isn't going to cover that but I'm just curious what that $100,000 is going to cover you answer thank you Mora and thank you for your service on the school committee uh Brian has done quite a bit of work with Ty and bond analyzing the current state of the building there will be a more robust proposal coming back in the spring however there is things we can do right now we need to commission a study for instance of the ventilation system uh look at what needs to be done for doors we all know there's a billion Consultants out there looking for work there also can be things we can apply for Grants but sometimes you need a little money down to get the grant you know you might ask for matching funds this might when we say we're going to get a grant for a million dollars but they require the town to kick in 50 this gives us this latitude to go forward but again this is a step forward Mor is right we know there's a long list of things that need to be done but the reality is look around the bones of this building are in great shape even though Rick and I enjoyed our time here back in the 1800s we still think you know I think we both said 8ighth grade was the best three years of our life in this building so Jim before your time or after your time I don't know Jim 1700s um John I I notic that the most did not include the uh original uh article that had the portion and uh to move those departments boards committees and commissions currently housed in the townhouse to the Thorton burges School uh that's deliberate that's that's not in the motion I just want to make sure yes that that was clear again same thing there have been questions coming up we want to make sure we have a fully configured plan people ask okay how are you moving what's moving and another question what are you doing with the old town hall that's a good question the background on this and this maybe a little deeper than Rick was looking for we had an estimate of four to7 million to bring the town hall up to code and when you're done what do you have you have a building that's up the code and still too small for the municipal operation we needed to do something this is where we're looking more is right this has been on the table since the middle school task force days we've been talking about this and it's time to let's say fisher cut bait we'll use that expression so moderate if I may we had a study done for the school committee for both towns that had all those financial numbers in it given the fact with inflation there's a percentage you can use to increase that why would we spend $100,000 to do a new study for what we already know yeah I didn't it was not a study I'm saying there are certain repairs that can be done like ventilation cleaning things like that yeah Eric fory Ames road is this another nail in the coffin then never to use this as a school again because our we got our kids crowded in wilham and we got a school sitting right here and now we're going to spend all this money it's going to have nothing to do with using it as a school I don't want to speak I don't want to speak for the school committee I think we all saw and more probing answer more the efficiency of using this building in a school environment was not there and sorry no yeah let's not do that yeah let's I mean so this is where we're going to go the school committee has released the building back to the town of Hampton and what their plans are for you'd have to bring up with them okay Eric it's a good it's a good question though and also just as a point of reference if I understood one of the rational for changing the motion would be to give us the having this work done in the interim the study work done but also allowing the town to vote for the future use of the building that's the other reason Jim why it was taken out so that you what this vote wouldn't Corral the town meeting into moving into it it would make the necessary my understanding is make the necessary repairs and do the consultation work and then allow the voters to decide did we truly want to go in that direction and I only say that to Mr for's Question um Mary Ellen um there has been discussion uh for some time or periodically let me put it that way about building a new Middle School in wilam on minog property um and one of the one of the things that that would do is co cost us 25% of the total cost of a brand new building once we reconfigure thoron burges then we're not going to have the option of saying well that's okay will'll just take our kids back to Thorton burges rather than pay 25% of a brand new building we're starting we have to sort of think so I got to stop you there because we're starting to get outside the four corners of the question the question is designed as to whether or not we're going to allow the funding to do the study and the work on this building as it is those other votes are down the road but once we allow the funding we've taken the first step so your choice is not to allow the funding so that's what the vote comes down to I got you okay but I just want to make it clear because we're starting to we're getting a little far a field um yeah yep and I see at least one question I saw one hand in the back you'll need to come forward if you have a question um go I just I just want to reference Mr for's Question the the school committee has sent in 2017 they sent a letter to the Mass state building authority saying that this school would no longer be used as a school building and last month the current superintendent with other direction school committee sent a letter to the state saying that this school this building would be taken offline as a school um all right we got we got two and then I think we're ready to go to the vote please Andrew Netherwood Genevie um one of the questions I got and I see it everywhere all the time is Charter Schools I mean we have a perfectly good building I've seen Charter Schools pay for the entire renovation of a building and then the town collects the revenue of up to I've heard quite a few million dollars and we could use those funds to fix other buildings in town and do a revolving fund with that has that been looked into yeah U it hasn't been looked that yet is the response I got but again it goes back into the in keeping of the actual question itself we're going to vote on that y as I as I Linda de Jenna thank you um as I understand this we're voting on the whole article or are we voting on just the renovations for this building not what we're going to do with it yeah just Renovations just the renovations its future use is not determined by this question all right and back to that other man who said about using this as a school now somebody else said that in what is it the government Circle this cannot ever be used as a school the my understanding of the answer just to save you the walk is that the Regional School District has told the state that they are taking this building offline as a school and that's that comes from the Regional School District Okay the reason we took the in the beginning four years ago was it our kids out of here and put them over there okay was because we didn't have enough kids to fill the building and they didn't look at the future they said well they did they said there will never be enough kids to go yep to the middle school on our street alone this year we have added 10 kids so I don't think we're looking at the future when we say this may never be a school can and that is why they amended the motion to take out and relocate so that the future use of the building will be decided by the voters at a future date this question is only for funding for some currently needed repairs Renovations and or a study it has nothing to do with its future use all right so the future use really needs to come yes and that that my understanding from what I'm being told is that will come at a future date perfect y all right so the point that the chairman brought up is this is now our building they have signed the building back to us effective uh January 1st well they're moving effective July 1 of next year repairs need to be done you make a point the parking lot the roof but there are many other things too we own the building we need to keep it up you're investing in the building you own and if we can use some of the money to apply for Grants and get free money back from the state that doesn't go to wber or wora or Shrewsbury come on don't pick them off just watch that's what we can do following it Kathy pesano CH and Road Mr uh moderator I'd like to uh move the question please thanks you are one step ahead of me um it's time we we've gotten outside of the four corners of the question here and there and let's get to it the if you vote in in favor of this you're authorizing the expenditure of the $100,000 as requested by the selectman this requires a majority vote all those in favor are there any opposed the motion carries the article passes we are on to article article 16 CPA funding article 16 CPA funding for Memorial School Memorial Park scoreboards to see if the town will vote to appropriate or Reserve from Community preservation annual revenues in the amounts recommended by the community preservation committee for the community preservation projects within each of the items to be considered as a separate appropriation or take any other action relative thet there is only one it's labeled a to see if the town will vote to appropriate or Reserve from Community preservation annual revenues in the amount recommended by the community preservation committee the sum of money to be used for the purchase and installation of two scoreboards at Memorial Park or take any other action relative there to CPA I move that we the town vote to transfer $220,000 of community preservation fund to purchase and install two new scoreboards at Memorial Park now there's going to be two recommendations because CPA has to make a recommendation or is advisory doing both um advisory has a recommendation on this and CPA will have a brief report with which is essentially the financials all right that's what okay that's where I was going all right good so does advisory have a recommendation advisory recommends favorable action okay and now does the CPA committee have a report yes the um the the CPA fund uh as of today uh has $572,000 in it this is this is money which uh is sitting in an account has been uh raised as a combin between local assessments on our real estate tax bills it's the CPA assessment you see on your tax bill uh in a portion of it is also from a state match um in the in the the year which just ended the What's called the local assessment was uh just over $887,000 that we raised on our own tax bills and the state matched that with uh just over $32,000 um so we have adequate funds uh out of out of that $572,000 about $50,000 of it or so is encumbered uh for part of it is for the purchase of property on North Road and part of it is for um affordable housing it's not specific product a project it's just encumbered money um this this vote is essentially tax neutral doesn't impact our taxes one way or the other any questions or more discussion seeing none this requires a majority vote all those in favor any opposed majority the vote carries those the same scoreboards that were there when I was there in 74 these AR these aren't manually operated anymore it's like Fenway you get to put the slides in he is older than than me and we actually umpired baseball up there together I was the younger half of the team are you good now you done article 17 here we go Grant of easement to National Grid I'm sorry I have to read the whole thing to see if the town will vote to authorize the board of Selectmen for and on behalf of the town and upon such terms and conditions as the board deems to be in the best interest of the town to convey to Mass Electric company known as National Grid Perpetual right and easement to construct reconstruct repair maintain operate and Patrol and for the transmission of high and low voltage electric current and for the transmission of intelligence and overhead systems lines wires and cables and poles together with all equipment and apperences there to for said transmission installed over across under and upon a portion of the town-owned land located at 104 Allen Street and as identified by tax ID number parcel 17 7- 047 to serve the town's property and electric vehicle charging station and to authorize the board of Selectmen to take any and all action necessary for the purposes of accomplishing such easement conveyance which is approx approximately shown on attachment B to this fall special town meeting warrant or take any other action relative th to what he said should I say select board you can do what you want Mr M I mov the town vote a to authorize the select board for and on behalf of the town and upon such terms and as conditions as the board deems to be in the best interest of the town to convey to the Massachusetts electric company known as National Grid a Perpetual right and easement as described in the warrant to serve the town's property and electric vehicle charging stations and B to authorize the select board to take any and all action necessary for the purpose of accomplishing this we have a second we have a motion we have a second advisory advisory recommends favorable action do we have any discussion John do you have anything you want to add yes basically there's a wire buried the ground and there's that Transformer there and they need easement to have that there uh oh here's a now here's a guy who knows what I'm talking about Andrew Netherwood Genevie for municipal land why are we allowing an easement why aren't we granting them a 50-year lease on it and then an up lease because now we are giving a private entity rights to our property and if you read it they're allowed to do transmission lines they're allowed to do whatever they want it's just not that one piece of wire and the uh I mean they put cell phone towers whatever they deem that they need on there other municipalities only allow leases so he's going to follow back with you one second was yeah I'm okay so this is similar to the easan we did and you were here for that at the uh transfer station last year for the pole transmissions for the solar landfill project these are reviewed by Town Council Rose do you have a anything about Andrew's concerns may have to come up here pleas and thank you thank you Rose National Grid typically requires an easement and um further if you the in the article it's it is restricted to terms and conditions found um acceptable to the board of Selectmen so basically the easement you'll see in your warrant there is a a diagram in the back and it shows the pole that the it will run from to the electric charging stations and so when the easement is act actually finalized and recorded it will be restricted to that run that is helpful yeah but in the future if we ever decide to do anything there you have to rely on them to release it which means they have a hold over town property that is correct and you and I know a lot of other municipalities now are going to the 50-year lease or 100e lease whatever you deem is correct I don't know why we don't move that way because this is public land that's voted on which another private entity has all the say and everything you can do with that chunk of land there that is correct uh I cannot speak to whether or not other municipalities have gone moved to a 50-year lease I have not seen that but National Grid typically does require an ease Mone y all right any other questions okay this oh I'm sorry Marilyn I didn't Mar I didn't see it I believe that the question and the motion allow this um the other two warrant articles don't work because this all goes together all right you better say that because I shouldn't say it okay so we had three warrant articles that dealt with the EV charging stations at the center and they kind of all tied together you agreed that we should have a revolving fund you agreed that we're going to be using that money the profits from it for other projects in town and to make the recharging stations work they have to have a wire run to them from the street Andrew brings up a good point you know but it doesn't take away from the fact you do need power to the stations so that people can plug in and the thing works and to say we're not going to do this then why do we vote Yes on the other two I would I would offer that the and re and rading both all of this you're voting on granting the selectman the authority to negotiate on our behalf so I would like to think they've heard what you said and would incorporate that into their negotiation so part of the if you follow it along it's not cart blanch that they get what they asked for the Selectmen are also obliged to negotiate in our best interest so what you've offered up is something I would like to think they would consider but I want to make sure that was said okay now this involves ton back to the point there this is town-owned land so it is a major it is a 2third vote for this to pass and the selectman to enter in negotiation 2third all those in favor any opposed de clear the 2/3 the article passes article 18 this is to adopt a moratorium for battery energy storage systems to see if the town will vote to amend the zoning bylaws of the town of Hampton by adding the following 7.20 temporary moratorium on batter battery energy storage units section 7 7.2 temporary moratorium on battery energy storage units notwithstanding any other provisions of the zoning bylaws to the contrary the town hereby adopts a temporary six-month moratorium on the issuance of permits for the use of land for Standalone battery energy storage systems effective immediately upon the town vote this moratorium shall not apply to battery storage systems for residential accessory use commercial building accessory use or access accessory ground mounted so solar photovoltaic Energy System projects already approved by the planning board during the moratorium six month the town shall conduct a bylaw review of towns of similar size and character undertake a planning process that addresses the potential impact of Standalone battery energy storage systems in hamton consider the long-term objectives for such systems and their impact on health safety and Welfare of hamton citizenry and determine how the town shall reasonably regulate such systems and finally amend the zoning bylaws accordingly the provisions of the zoning bylaw 7.2 are severable if any provision paragraph sentence or Clause of this zoning bylaw or the application thereof to any person establishment or circumstances shall be held invalid such inval invalidity shall not affect the other Provisions or applications of this zoning bylaw or take any other action relative there to Mr moderator I move what you said I'm I move the town I move the town vote to amend the zoning bylaws of the Town by adding 7.20 temporary moratorium on battery energy storage systems to section 7 is printed on the warrant we have a motion we have a second does the advisory committee have a recommendation The Advisory recommends favorable action this affects the zoning bylaws so we require a recommendation from the planning board does the planning board have a recommendation Madison Pixley amroad a member of the planning board the planning board held a public hearing case 2024 G on August 18th 2024 the planning board is in favor to amend the zoning bylaw to establish a temporary six Monon moratorium on the construction and operation of battery energy storage systems okay any discussion please Randy rivis South Road uh can we get a clarification with regards to residential what accessory use means uh accessory use means if you have solar on your house you can have a battery storage system that's an accessory use to the to the your system and uh currently the reason for this moratorium is that we have no bylaw in town that protects us on the large scale uh battery storage systems that are currently being proposed so what specifically does it apply to if it applies does not apply to residential accessory right does not apply to commercial building what does it apply to it applies to Standalone uh batter systems large um trailer truck size uh storage batteries that would be placed similar to a solar field you know and and and they would draw they draw energy from the Grid on uh on slow times and then return it to the Grid on peak times and a lot of the towns are doing bylaws to protect particularly their water supplies and that cuz lithium bages there's a fire and stuff like that and we have currently have no bylaw one more sir please uh is there a u threshold kilowatt size that we're talking about here or is I notice there's no numerical values the BW the bylaw would have they would have to determine what it is uh you know the bylaw committee would have to determine what it is than you you're welcome s on up sad that Highland Circle so the intent is to make a bylaw yes is it realistically feasible to have one in six months or should this really be like a year moratorium it probably should be a year or more but we need to do it probably in six months because the attorney general has ruled a lot against a lot of moratoriums that are year long because they want to push solar and that type of thing so we thought we could do six months and and get it done we've already collected a number of bylaws from towns of our similar size Okay so we've had the advisory recommendation the planning board recommendation this is an amendment to the zoning bylaws it will therefore require a 2third vote all those in favor any opposed the 23ds is declared we are on to financial transfers Article 19 transfer from free cash to reduce the tax rate to see if the town will vote to transfer from unappropriated available funds a sum of money for the purpose of reducing the tax rate for fiscal year 20125 or take any other action relative thet transfer from unavailable excuse me transfer 67923 from unappropriated available funds for the purpose of reducing the tax rate for fiscal year 2025 how do you feel about your motion you think it's a good idea great I was just waiting to see if you'd clash with yourself is there any discussion you did you oh good thanks no problem we got a motion we got a second we got a recommendation $679,000 is there any discussion seeing none it's a majority vote all those in favor any opposed that oh the motion carries it's it's unanimous I mean I'm sorry it's majority not unanimous article 20 transfer from the general stabilization fund to reduce the tax rate to see if the town will vote to transfer a sum of money from the general stabilization ation account for the purpose of reducing the tax rate for fiscal year 2025 or take any other action relative thet I move that the town vote to transfer $650,000 from the general stabilization account for the purpose of reducing the tax rate for fiscal year 2025 I hear a motion I have a second how do you you're recommend we also recommend this one this this is great all right is there any discussion any questions on this all right now this is a little different than the last one we are transferring money out of our savings account so when you take it out of your savings account it requires a 2third vote so all those in favor of the transfer are there any opposed I see one majority it is a majority 2third pass article 21 transfer from free cash to the general stabilization fund what it to see if the town will vote to transfer a sum of money from unappropriate available funds into the general stabilization account or take any other action relative there to Mr moderator I move that the town vote to take no action on article 21 second I got a second motion second your own recommendation uh we we are in favor of this also you guys are consistent all those in favor of no action on the question it's a majority vote are there any opposed it's unanimous good night yes sir would I be out of order to thank the moderator for doing a good job on thank you thank all of you [Applause] breaking my own Tu thanks man now