guys are good to start thank you it's being 6:30 call this meeting of the St elect board order yes Brian yes Kathy yes aners yes John yes okay the first order of business is public comment on non um agenda items is there any public comment in the room or online on non agenda HS are we on the agenda I believe we're we're here to talk about the parking placards okay and I believe that's on the agenda unless it's been okay um this I'm going to give you a very no I was going to uh Chairman's report um just one not so small thing um as you all know I think sou Thorne is moving out of town and we're going to have a party for her and I would like us to consider at our next meeting um declaring that June 12th 2024 with Su Thorn day in Manchester by the Sea um there will be a party at tax point from about four about six what's the date on that June he has served the town for several decades and and always with good temper and Good Humor okay I'm not sure was she the clerk no Sue was um On The Board of Health she was on the CP Community preservation committee she was the chairman of the board of selectman I know the name was very familiar she she she's um she's she's spent I think 30 probably 30 years yeah on the various committee okay um our first uh article our first agenda item is to review the Articles and um the motion makers and oh wait there's one other thing we do I always forget the action items um I think everything no um we were supposed to have a National Grid U followup today and I guess there is no followup from the National Grid I know that on the transformer for the new Compost Facility um still waiting for it to ship and I I'm sorry I don't have an update on the rebella street situation let me let me follow up with them yes So to that didn't we um give a provisional approval to them the yeah yeah okay think we did yes that's I just want all right good the other um thing I had a question is um I had requested that we have a discussion on the uh 911 Center that review at the same time we have the fire and police chief it sounds like based on the action items that that's getting delayed because we're trying to invite members of the 911 Center to join us is that how I read this right you can do that for a subsequent meeting I just want to make sure that doesn't get pushed out too much because if they're bringing it seems like they're bringing on another town um North Reading I think you just have that obligation to review what's gone on uh I I am a little um I'd like to understand the process for bringing on other towns I thought we had to approve that as an existing town so there's some clarifications there I think we we need to have that meeting with them and I prefer it not get delayed past May um if for some reason they can't join us during the month of May I would like the board to have a discussion on it anyway if that's any other okay um we we normally have um someone from the select board make the first the bookkeeping motions yes okay yes so those first two articles typically yes who would like to speak one I will there's not much of a comment to made on the first two um who was second second article two second article three which is um the nor Reg yes I'll do that I'll second and then Jeff Del who's our yes need to cons answer question um article four um is the the bud the budget um so typically that's the pair for both boards okay so I expect that um Sarah melish will move and I will second and we can both speak or vice versa okay so ana um Article Five is the capital budget probably the same typically that is the same um article six Madam shair excuse me um do you want to speak on either four or five um I will speak briefly S I want to speak at more length since she's the chairman huse finance committee she she usually makes her statement on four um you you the chair of the select board normally makes a statement at the opening of the meeting you want to you want to make a statement on article four as well I think I we can pass on that sorry I couldn't hear you um sorry um I will not make a I will not have a statement on article four okay um article six um is a very long article um but it was intended to be the the motion will be for um the town to purchase a portion of the Mason's property okay I'll second so Brian Brian thank you um Brian will you also speak on this yeah I think so need to usually the Mover is also the speaker and Shaker and speaker so an on this particular article um someone brought to my attention that we have some language in here which may be undesirable um um because it would authorize the select board to acquire by eminent domain as well as purchasing and in the past when we have discussed um Partnerships we have explicitly not included eminent domain us to not SK so that language is in here and I I think it was unintentional on our part and it is the traditional language that we use when acquiring property right and and it has been used before many times and it is you're right it it has it is a reason for people to be upset yes and so I'm just bringing that up because as part of moving the question if we would state today that we intend to eliminate that language on the floor make a motion with Greg to write make a motion that motion St because I know a you know um Allan likes to understand who's going to make a motion yeah no I'll be I'll be working close with Greg to get that from uh the wording correct right so the motion will will do just purchasing a portion there no REM domain thank you Madam sherff I could ask Greg a question what's the source of funds there Greg um it's appropriation and um transfer from the stabilization account so 500,000 in appropriation and 500,000 from stabilization thank you if anyone um in the room or um online hands a comment please put up your hand and and you like to hear um article seven is laun service um and for those of you who don't have it in front of you the idea is that the town will buy two boats from um Tom Baker which he has used for a launch service and run them and and set up a service where people pay in advance for the season and that those prepayments pay will pay for the Sal there is money in there there is money in this article because we have to have the money allocated to pay people even though the they will they will be paying for it and it will going back into our accounts but we have to be able to pay people in on day one MH so that's that's why we're simultaneously saying that it would be fully funded by user fees and there's um a little more than $50,000 in in um operating so regarding this one though we also gave by on a deadline to get those commitments and it's my understanding that has not been met so the um he have met the commitment in terms of expressions of Interest terms of actual payment no um about 75 people have have signed up only a dozen or so have actually paid um you know I know that the desire was to have that payment in hand prior to town meeting um and a lot of people said they'll pay once they know that town meeting has approved it so there s is time after town meeting to yay or nay it whether or not those funds have materialized I know that is different than what you had expressed earlier so are we suggesting a different deadline I I just am not comfortable supporting this without and leaving it open-ended yeah I think the deadline has to be that those funds have to be in hand I would suggest the deadline has to be in hand those funds have to be in hand prior to the start of the service in mid May um in order to start the service you have to buy the boats right okay so the purpose in my mind was to make sure we have enough cash right it's not just the um amount of cash but the human commitment the the number of customers was important because that would signal whether or not we will have the right number of customers in the following years um if we if if you're proposing a new deadline what's the deadline end of the month April 30th is another two week well so it gives a week after the town meeting um a little would you have to purchase the boats um because I I would this I'm trying to understand the process here if we're talking about changing the process we can't the boats until July one is that correct no because the funds would come from fund balance right that's my conern those funds would be available right away um you know so so realistically you you need you need at least two weeks to to gets get are all in order um so so it be the it' be basically the first of May and how long does it take to get don't they have to be Coast Guard inspected and approved and and the one already is and that is transferable to municipality yes okay yes please give me name and address Laurel bavendam Hampton in New Hampshire I'm one of those people that said yes I will sign up and made a commitment to um Bay on but it has never been expressed to me that there was a deadline that it had to be paid by I would gladly have paid it if you had articulated and communicated to and I think that that's probably that situation with a lot of people who made the commitment thank you that's important information sir yeah Mark struss um moring permit non-resident Waring permit holder since about 1989 and uh certainly if the launch service were available with parking uh we'd sign up in a minute thank you any else I second that's another issue that point of order point of order yeah we don't do cross talk sorry and additionally that's not what's being discussed at this point on the agenda so we should not be discussing anything out of order yeah we have we have parking coming up later um so question so you really we really need a certain amount of time between when the money is in and then when the boats are really in the water and set the go seems to me that's got to be at least a week yes or maybe maybe two weeks so it seems like I don't know May 15th and a Memorial Day start or something is about the best it's about the best week can do I mean realistically and we know how Mayan operates he's very enthusiastic guy and to the comment that was made yeah he probably said you're in and there wasn't any timeline and it's just you know wasn't intentional that's just uh the way it happen uh some sort of a note has to go out to everybody yes in 24 hours yeah no I agree I I will talk to Bayer tomorrow so I I I think we um need clear timeline that you mentioned a couple of different dates in writing um something that we could talk to at town meeting um but I would hope that the boats are not purchased and the service is not launched unless there specifically after town meeting we want to make sure those people have actually paid and it sounds like there was some miscommunication here about popular a two-year-old will do anything his grandfather question yes but to identify yourself Johnson Wilton New Hampshire so I'm not resident um do you have the data from the past performance from Manchester lach service how much money did last year yes there's a business plan on our website you're welcome to look at it it's on I I'm not making this decision it's not my money being directly spent I'm just asking if you have that information already yes and it's available to everybody on thats that seems pertinent to the discussion and I think the number of Waring the number of registered users has to be more this year than it has been in the past exactly that that's my concern about making sure we don't leave this open-ended so yes we have verbal commitments but until people actually pay sorry it's not a commitment and I understand there was some miscommunication there so I do think extending the deadline is fair to make it very clear that there's a payment deadline and the message out to the potential customers should be that if we don't get X number of customers paid and signed up by this date there will be no launch service that's the clarity I think we need to send out to the potential customers because this is not going to be this will not be tax right and I think that's also that if you paid it will be refunded that's right if not enough people sign up and you've paid it will be refunded so all that language that we put in the plan it needs to be I thought that had been communication but anyways I would suggest potentially new dates of May 8th would be the deadline for payment with the target date of starting the service on on the 22nd so will we then give the final go-ahead from the select board so you meet a meeting prior to the what would it say 22nd right so you meet on the 6th and the 20th be your normal meeting so May 20th the select no go decision okay okay and then May 22nd would be start of service is it Our intention not to buy the boats until that date so it seems right because that's what I'm getting at we shouldn't be buying the boats if we're not gonna I understand so that that wouldn't that doesn't Ian we can't wait till the 20th to decide to buy the bo no right so do you want to pull in the deadline so um you had a May 8th deadline May dead so we we could make it a May 6th deadline rep payment you can do it that evening that gives two and a half weeks it's a it's a you know it's not quite two weeks after the town meeting that's okay but so here's here's the thought if tomorrow Bion sent a clarified message to everyone hey it wasn't clear we need your money now or there will be no service right the language you just discussed and we gave a deadline of may you know 3rd or fourth you know sometime before our meeting on the 6th by noon on the 6 by noon on the 6 great by noon on the 6 we have to have you know 70 people paid in full where there will be no service does that give so we do have no go decision on May 6 does that give us enough time to buy the boats to start okay okay after all of that Charle conversation I guess I'll be doing that okay and so May 6 buy the boats and then service starts when on May 2 25th aing aing for fire just before memor sometime I think we said the Thursday before the 23rd 23rd May 23rd give an opportunity to work The Kinks out so 58 is the 56 so I'm sorry so Kathy's making I'll move who's gonna second this I'll second second second H okay that's our meeting okay and I assume that Kathy will speak no easy T no one else is going to okay okay article 8 is um $7,550 for Capital Improvement to the um water and wastewater system um a lot more details I can move that okay you know we're lining up boy girl to boy girl I'll second that if you'd rather I'm done never going to volunteer again great sure thought about two years ago okay um the article nine is um um okay I guess I need to back up a little bit um I'm not sure that we have made our position clear on um article uh seven the the launch do we suggest a voting for is so we did vot I just with the caveat subscribers yes yeah article nine um we will make our recommendation known on town meeting floor this is um we we appropriating $150,000 from the library accessible bathrooms to um the matching portion of a grant for a facility for for a feasibility study for an expansion of the library I'll speak to that okay I think that however as a board we have to we have to take a position take a position cannot you all before you yes position please so my name is Dave Lum David lumon I live on 18 woodc Road I'm chairman of the library trustees and I can tell you all the library trustees and as well as the American diabet the Ada um advisory committee have both unanimously endorsed this article approved this article and both committees HED that your committee recommend unanimously um M Davis David David no I'm sorry yes hi sorry this is Sarah Davis can you hear me yes okay sorry to have to zoom in thanks for thanks for making the time I know I had sent some materials to the select board in the last couple days just to make sure that you guys had the same background that we presented to fincom about the grant process um if it would be helpful just literally 60 seconds I can just give you an overview um you you probably know we were accepted into the state Grant round about this time last year to um prepare our application which we've been working on with our library director um Cynthia who I think is in the room very diligently as part of the application we do need this town approval for this warrant and the very specific language that talks about accepting funds um for the town to spend the 150,000 for this initial planning and design phase which would be working with an architect if we're selected to advance um so so again the 150 only gets spent if we're selected to advance and the state matches with 100,000 so that about 250 would be used to um engage with the architect on on the plan and then hopefully if we're selected and we're moving along the construction Grant is is significant um as the materials show if we it would be about 50 or 60% of eligible cost that the state would cover and we have modeled out how it would work if you assumed a a $10 million new building just for the sake of having an example um and when you factor in the state Grant the library trust funds which is both the the um funds we hold in the library and trust and the library Foundation which has um formally made a motion to support the project that we would get to a point and in private donations we would get to a point where the town portion would actually be as low as 20% um so we just want to make sure you guys had all of the facts I know that um we have it thank you very much um there have been some discussion of of having someone from the library write the motion I think that's inappropriate y um Greg and with the aid of our uh moderator and and cwn attorney uh can put this in a in the format which is which is appropriate and I think they have all of the material they need yeah I think our only our only request was just to move the language around the reappropriation because it kind of comes in the middle and it makes it a little bit hard to follow thank you um you can discuss that with Greg here after we the Motions are not yet written okay they are but they are not yet engraved still okay is there further from the board on this we still need to take a position we need to take a position right we can take it on we can't really take it on the floor unless we each right so this is our really our last check we could we could put it off and have a meeting just before town meeting but I think we have the information we need yeah I I I personally found Sarah's uh email very helpful um the table you know how I guys like to how I like ta that helped me understand the puts and takes um my only concern about the article or or the project is timing certainly if you can get the majority of money um for potential $10 million renovation from another source than tax revenue that's a good deal um my concern is around timing um and what would happen if we don't get the Grant I don't want to leave the bathroom conversation you know dead in the water is there some contingency plan for what happens if you don't get the grant it's been two years since the request was first made to upgrade the bathroom so what are we going what are we going to do so those are just my open questions and also additionally um I have concerns about the wording in that it doesn't really discuss looking at other locations I know we don't have anything in town but um we have so many major infrastructure needs coming up and the monies that the millions and millions of dollars for these very currently critical issues I I I'm concerned about not putting those as the primary focus I think at 10 or 12 years ago there was some discussion of taking the parking lot at the corner of Brook and Norwood um and putting a library extension there so it's not that yes please that's that's not on the table for now but you ask a question first um what happens if we don't get the grant can Cynthia our library director answer that question might help to clarify things okay was my question that was Kathy's question okay yes please no um we don't get the grant Our intention is to still try to um find a way to move ahead uh with this opportunity but if we cannot move ahead with this opportunity we would have to look at other situations other ways that we could do that it it would require the town to take on more of the funding of the project and that's what why we want the grant right now because we're we're hoping that that's the case I do understand there's a lot of competing needs in in the town um but I think this is an opportunity if you look at it it's an opportunity for us to possibly get a very large amount of this paid for by the state um we still need these Renovations we need that bathroom we need more than the bathroom actually um and so so that's why we're pushing to do it right now the timing is is such that it would be two years from now thank you um to some of the information that's been forwarded to us um talks about and I love the library I am a library user I used to own co-own an independent bookstore I'm a bibl aile from way back but I'm on the select board and and as such we have to look at present and long-term concerns for the town one of my con some of the information we received was talking about the need for more uh space for students and we have a wonderful new elementary school with media space our high school has media space um and we are going to be having a senior center which will also be providing some space um as well as some other potential options my concern is when what we have to look at is hardening up our wastewater treatment facility which is pretty much the lowest point in town and in need of repairs we have we have a lot to look at and I think that we need to keep that in mind and you're saying that if you don't get the grant you're looking to the town it's that's one of my concerns when I'm talking about this is that we need to focus money on critical to infrastructure to um Echo Becky's concerns in a vacuum the library looks like a great project in a what in a vacuum as as a single Standalone project looks great but we have this wasn't I think this was even on the facilities master plan uh list all right that was how long was did I take to put that together I think that we have to look at the bigger picture here and take a look at what the needs are wastewater treatment um water moving to DPW moving DP public safety building the flooding fire department no these are all goes on all issues and I think they have to be addressed we have a school coming we have a school I yeah I got a comment I understand the money the money situation here I'm looking at it from this perspective this is a pre-design or a design step that's involved here and the risk in terms of money is fairly low all of the other Capital items and we've been through them are 80 a million $100 million it's a lot of money this is at most 150 and it's probably less than that because our s our situation here is not a really elaborate type of expansion sort of situation that would suck up a lot of money it's of course if if we don't if if we aren't selected the money doesn't go anywhere it's still in our pot but if it does it's at most $150,000 which is not much and that's something that has to be done in terms of Library expansion one way or the other now I know that the expansion itself is five to seven years down the road and I'm not sure what money are going to be needed for what capital items then but I know that we're going to be spending money in five years and seven years for for Big Stuff um how that fits together in all of this I'm not sure but I know that the timeline always is not what you think it is it's longer it always is longer and to take this first step puts us in line for construction one way or the other now whether we actually go the next step right away or we go the next step in you know six years down the road as opposed to four this Step at least has to be taken and then we see see how things play out but the library I've spent some time there over the past couple of weeks just sitting there doing some reading doing the crossroad puzzle for like a half an hour who's walking in who's walking out it's everybody it's no particular uh no particular group um and I would have to say that you know the expansion idea that's planned here is something that the library really needs to support its programs in particular people with preschool kids and probably I don't know the library Cynthia would know I don't know if you're half your programs are angled at early you know younger people and as young parents of course they're looking for things to do with their kids and the library serves a very important part of that but it has to go lots of different places for that I I'm certainly in favor of trying to consolidate more of those types of activities within the building Madam chair I have a suggestion yes so I think what bothers me about the current excuse me language on the table is that it it feels like it's presupposing a particular solution okay when we tackled the runda challenge we asked a firm to come up with multiple options that the town could then say this option is 20 million this option is 25 million gave the town a choice if we could write the motion to require that a minimum of three options come out of that design effort give the town flexibility and then we can determine you know we can integrate these thoughts into the facilities master plan and we can all decide what's in the best interest of the town that question terms of the process appreciate that that uh that request um we are very tightly the language needed for the warrant article to be accepted into the application for the grant um is is quite specific and would not allow for that to be the case now I I also want to say though that this is a first step it's a first step for a possible design renovation project the town would still be voting before they would take any construction project on so if we receive the Grant and we go ahead and we make the design there's then another whole process of we present that design to the town and the town says you know now is the time now is not the time we present how we believe we're going to fund that we would have a capital campaign Also let's let's not go much Beyond we understand what happens when you have a big construction project let's let's not fund the construction yet but you have a chance to say no then I guess is what I'm trying to say I was I was correct me if I'm wrong Cynthia but I I thought the the library process the grant program is similar to the school process and we required to look at multiple options is that not correct we're required in our building program which is a piece of the application to look at at least two sites okay so it's a s neutral two sites is different it's different different from and this I think you all are going to get people concerned about that when um they're being asked to pay for out of tax dollars or so many things as opposed to an option of looking at repurposing the current space no which you do all the time and for right now you have a bubble of young children with people bringing them in swap out some space for another just I think you need to be aware that that there will be these questions coming up um from people at the meeting and why they're not I mean this this this is for expansion that's what it's talking about it's not talking about exploration exploring other options um it does say Renovations expansions or take any other action but at the end right it's I mean it's still when I read when I read through the grant it's it's focusing on expansion and that concerned me just from the standpoint of monies that will be being asked for you hand up I'm Sorry stret by he's elevating but I'll jump in to say I think I think it is prudent to look at multiple options as as you go through this process and I think if the trustees are willing to commit to that I think that should be stated yes at the meeting we have to commit to it that's the state requirement and so that's that was my understand one I I think I was confused by the comment about multiple sites or multiple options multiple options at the same site is what I'm looking for you know because there are different ways to attack a renovation and they can have wildly different I just want to make sure we're we're not get why but why not look at oh I'm not suggesting we shouldn't I'm I just I'm concerned about um making sure we get multiple options whether it's multiple sites or not you know that's fine but I also think there are multiple options within the the given site and it would be nice to have that all of that information be brought back to the town that's the that's the purpose of the pl planning and design I I agree with you C so it doesn't feel that way based on the language that's why however the motion is I know the motion is what counts and when we go in front of town meeting and that I can definitely support um you know this this study stud this design study it but it needs to come back with multiple options so that the we can then do that integrated plan figure out the timing and make sure the town and that needs to be conveyed to in the motion in the discussion and in the discussion just so that everybody's on the same understanding page Beth hey has her hand up well please your can you unmute yourself can I can I say something while we wait don't you I know you have your hand up and you've had your hand up for some time um I'm going to ask Beth to try and unmute herself I think I think I finally did oh sorry okay good please um uh my concern is that if we don't go forward with this we're going to end up with status quo leaving us with the lack of space for the handicap bathroom and which I believe they've been looking for some solution for that for quite a while and that they're not going to have uh enough room for the story hour which I think you all got my letter I don't know how many times and how many people cannot attend story hours with their kids their grandkids whatever and because of lack of space I mean it's such an important program for kids um who are preschool and that is that won't work for um I know that it was suggested that we could use the school for that but story hours are during the day while school session is in session so that wouldn't work and and also the uh space for the teenagers to go to that right now they have to they have that teen Loft but that is not handicap accessible and it's not fair for some kids not to want to participate out of embarrassment or whatever for um not being able to access that Loft so I really urge you guys to go forward with um supporting this article um Sarah Davis do you have new information yeah I just I just wanted to reate on the timing and and going back to what um was said about the different demands on the town because that's certainly something we address with fincom um this as you probably know the library has had a lot of physical problems if you been in there anytime recently there's a giant uh plastic covering because the ceiling fell through during the rainstorms and again I know we have lots of infrastructure costs coming down the road but as as Cynthia says we will have the opportunity in April 2026 to vote again on whether or not we actually want to do the construction so this is just for the 150 and between now and when this building would occur in July 2026 2027 I'm pretty sure the library is actually going to have some maintenance repair projects that would be close to the $2 million portion that we would be asking for if we ultimately made it to construction so I just think in terms of when we are considering Town Town priorities of course we're not going we we understand past and all of the important um other resources in the town but we do have a very we have an old building as well and we just want to emphasize the opportunity to have a 60% match that won't come again for seven years thank you has her hand up yeah I think actually that may have just answered my question my it was that need name and address please oh sorry Gretchen wood 19 Brook Street um I I thought that the last time that the state offered this type of Library money was 2015 and I may be wrong about that but my other understanding was there's no um set time for them to offer it again they offer it when there's money but it it could be five years seven years it could be 10 years down the road and that for that reason it seems to me that this is really important for us to get on to this band Dragon right now thank you um we are we are running really late um I think this has been a valuable discussion um but I think it may be time to ask for a motion and is there a motion to approve um the expenditure of $150,000 recommend approval recommend approval I'll make that motion I will second John yes an says yes yes K says yes we just for study yes yes okay is that a yes for you that's yes for that is a unanimous yes thank you very much please thank you let's move on Madam chair so okay oh yeah I am and you can speak to it I'm happy to did you set for for the motion I'll do both make it easy for I will speak yes will speak okay okay who is the seconder Kathy Kathy thank you okay um article 10 um establishes a um seate fund for the op opoid settlement stabilization um it's money that we are getting from the federal uh government and we need to put it up V it's actually from the oh I'm sorry settlement from the settlement from the sorry speak with Todd's help okay um who's speaking uh Becky Becky and Bri Becky is moving and Brian is seconding and Becky speak to it um is the Regional School District um and so typically that would be the school committee that would be the school committee so and them alone yeah and the next is the feasibility study which I think was also going to be the school committee Article 13 um is the fields and I think I would like to move that I'll second the only complication here is is it's been suggested it to be funded in about 12 different ways and and I think we deserve the the voters deserve to know that this is really the last one um article 14 is the community preservation funds Brian I'm going to volunteer you for this one we want CPC oh you weren't volunteering you all right being you're being volunt told up now Cathy sure a second speak to this too yes I think that Joan McDonald was planning to McDonald they do have members of their committee to speak on each each BL all right you move it you don't have to talk absolutely okay um let me I think I think McDonald is I think Joan McDonald is the Mover so would Brian be the seconder sure St um Article 15 is an easement um on the Manchester housing authority property um we have an easement um something was built on the easement we have an agreement to put in an easement that doesn't have a building on it and give up the easement that currently I'll move that one okay second Kathy I think this probably needs a little bit of explanation sure I I will I will speak on this one thank you article 16 um correct um an under budgeting of legal expenses um that sure I'll second have to speak to it I'm okay will Becky speak to it as well sure I'll give a little some I'll talk doesn't need much I'm sorry no 30 the next article is 17 um see the town will appropriate $300,000 with OP um job okay I will take that we need to speak to that that's pretty much a I'll second a bookkeeping activity yeah there's there is a a letter in the finance report you could grab a two step okay all right I will there hasn't there hasn't been any discussion of that in years so I think you can fine I'll second that okay so John and Becky um 17 for 17 18 um is the revolving funds um for the Board of Health and um the parks and w that's a standard one I'll move it anybody willing a second Article 19 is to remove specific language from our Board of Health regulations about tobacco so that they can rely on the state recommendations Becky second Brian article 20 um this is a Citizens petition article um and the intention is to allow advertising on school property and on County property under the control of the town in the case the town property and the school and the change of school property the intention is to be able to raise money for um sports teams and athletic department um I sure that that um Donna will make that motion Alan do you know if if D has a person to second that one I I don't know if she does I'll second it we have not taken a position on it and it's a slightly complicated situation because we have been allowing um paid advertising on Sweeney field for some years and nobody's noticed and the building inspector has said it was sort of okay he Tre he treated it as a temporary sign is seasonal yeah well they're Al but it's still off premise I it's yeah and this is the advertising on Highland field will be very visible so just has has um the school committee the school committee is looking at their policy to look that they will need to change their policy in order to do this but they have their policy committee has it on their schedule and they are they they the committee was generally in favor of this um as a way of raising money for the I have no problem I think it's just like selling naming rights and if can do anything I'll sell anything it helps call this you know s Tom Hall start selling jerseys yeah with then um is there a motion to recommend this so mov second discussion Becky some cells me yes Kathy an say yes joh yes and article 21 is a housekeeping article which we will probably vote to pass over um I if if it has to be moved I'll move it typically be you and Sarah yep from from the finance committee y okay right then the next next issue are the ballot questions and we have slightly rised version passed out on the tables um just some in mind of word smithing but is slightly different than what I sent out earlier um the titles for each one are a little clear so the the first one because of our special act in embeddedness over a million dollar requires a ballot approval and so this relates to article is it yeah this relates to article 8 so this is the second step in that approval process so it has to be approved at the town meeting to borrow the 7.55 million then you have a town ballot article approving the same and then question two says if if we've approved the booing are we approving excluding it from the limitations of proposition to amend so it's a debt exclusion meaning the dollars needed to raise it are outside the limits of about two and a half so question one is because of our special act anything over a million has to go to ballot question two is the debt exclusion approval for that borrowing question one one and then question three is a is a separate type of exclusion it's a capital expenditure exclusion which is being proposed to pay for our share of the feasibility study the school fusibility study so it's raising 660,000 as our share of that study and again this tied back to question 14 no question 12 um so again question article 12 there's two parts the one at the town meeting and then a follow-up question at the ballot seeking permission to have it as a capital expenditure exclusion again that 660 taxes to raise that money are outside of the limits of two and a half and where's that money coming from the 660 would be basically a Sarge on a tax be time okay so that's increase just over two percentage points that's not coming out of free cash or anything that's going to be a calculation that the assess will make correct procedural question so because these are ballot questions um what's the deadline for finalizing the ballot so these these ballot questions have to be finalized this evening okay and then they go to town clerk who ask add these to the um officer election ballot the reason for my question was what happens if the citizens do not approve areas of the budget and these exclusions these these are just moot the results if people bother to vote it doesn't count so it's no one void if it's not approved at town meeting okay it would still appear because of the time confus so you have to do the ballot questions 35 days ahead of the election so by moving that's the one disadvantage of moving town meeting a little later yeah but it's a lot of towns do it this way okay um we we need to vote so a motion to approve the bot questions okay recky yes Brian yes yes answer yes yes okay um you got this done in 20 minutes yeah I um the next article item on our agenda are quarterly reviews for the police chief the fire chief and the Town Administrator and I'm going to recommend that we delay the Town Administrator um because because so that the people who don't have to be here till the end can go home eventually um yeah I don't mean I don't mind if you want to take me out of order and get everyone else out first that's fine with me so people outside okay we probably to do number why don't we move to uh number three which is the police um comfort dog um question proposal yeah proposal sure yeah or we can do the pting first whichever family Associated activity oh oh oh oh oh I was thinking the people were the people who were going to be talking about the dog but no this be a SL let's let's take the pinning first yeah I think that's a good idea you guys they got take Ahad of well do walk in bring bring in your right so I would like to uh introduce you guys to the I want to say the newest members of the department but they're returning um but we'll start with the the newest uh Mike goinging uh is a Korea firefighter he just graduated the academy about a month ago he comes with a background of uh being a medic for over a decade so he com do a lot of pre Hospital EMF experience uh and then next up Rick Curran um he's returning callif firefighter lives in town and he's also an EMT and then we have Dylan Waltz uh who is also a returning callif firefighter um and he lives uh in Ola and then we have Mark Bruno who's a new call firefighter he's also a career uh Lieutenant paramedic with the Asbury fire department I can tell you that the call department has been successful already uh just in the last couple days every one of these guys have done calls so it's it's worked out very well um so I'll have Mark come up first and then have Mark's uh Family come on in so Mark's wife Rosanne and his two sons Anthony and Dante you can't come stand right up go right up in front there you go try not to sticking into his chest could we move the people in back so see the person being don't worry spill blood we have some the time do congratulations we'll do Mike going and then since he's on duty Lieutenant Cavender is going to do his pinning and not cause any damage no problem easy you guys didn't practice this early all right thank you and then Dylan his girlfriend ashle is going to do the pinning they did practice Us in the put more pressure worry Everyone's Watching Dylan you graduated school here right yes oh daughter was in class with you Betsy J oh yes y 100 years ago oh he's not thank you Jo and Griffin you guys practice that's a nice sweatshir he's got he's got the new uh recuit coming and just uh to be on record uh Phil sakala who also is a returning call firefighter he's um on the job but he works officite shifts and everybody else so was like hting cast TR we congratulate him as well um we have in our packet the Comfort dog team yes I just want to say that I think it was brilliant the picture of the dog in here no can say no to a cute do um not actually I can give you you log in to the [Music] meeting so you can do log in and you can do it yourself or you can give it to what I don't know so if I lo I don't think I have zoom on my did Mark send you the PowerPoint sent it to packet you have access to the packet so we skip the PowerPoint and you guys have it okay yeah they have so they can follow all right that is is this where you want me or it's fine fine fine okay so I'm Lieutenant McCoy and um so I'll give you a brief background on how this came about um two freshman students did a short presentation for myself and the chief about the benefits of having a comfort dog um in the school and in the community so that kind of snowballed into US looking around other departments in the area have comfort dogs and um it kind of took off so the benefits of having a comfort dog is um Mental Health and anxiety of school AG kids but also would would benefit the police and the fire uh going through um traumatic events any other crisis that we may come upon or just everyday stuff that happens within the police and the fire department so um I I I guess since we've read the presentation and we're running very slow yeah you don't have to read back to us all right okay most of us are literate all right so are there questions I I I do have comment and question first of all I love that the students brought this to you all and um approaching the SRO which is always reinforces what a good function and job you have and do over there um so first of all thank you and I love that the kids brought that young adults brought that forward one question is what about any animal allergies if is how does that because the dog that is being looked at um it's not hypoallergenic absolutely one I want to adopt as well but um so how do you all work with that um I think that is going to be something hopefully the middle school and high school aged kids or young adults know that going into a situation um and then it would be put out to the elementary schools kind of like um nowadays they do it where you can't take their photo and post it on social media and things like that so it would be um some sort of Google form where parents can say my child in room X has an allergy and we would just skip that room or the I I can actually speak to that SL because I was at the school committee meeting when they discussed this they currently have a policy of no dogs correct so that and they need to change that policy and they were discussing ways that the school policy would isolate some rooms and still allow the dog to be available to kids who are not allergic so the school school committee is in favor of this the school committee is generally in favor is is in favor of this I don't know that they voted exactly that they wanted it but they are taking it on as a policy question just add to that we are meeting with the school committee miday May 21st yeah May 21st so and then another example is that um during the summer playground we had Ace the Comfort dog from Gloucester come a bunch of kids and the kids that knew they were allergic to the animal just stayed away thank you um John yeah I have a question so the portfolio of activities as I read the uh explanation here is a little broader than just the school obviously got community but you also I see Elder Affairs support now I assume that's not something that's you really been involved with at Le certainly not with a dog I guess no I and your plans so I've spoken with Nancy Hammond Hammond she's in full support of this and um love the idea of having a comfort dog maybe come to the Council on Aging and community room the community room at the PLS in Newport Park so okay so I assume a schedule will kind of get put together yeah for all of this stuff not only school but everything else and going to be a very busy talk yes so that's uh that's that that's great will and and will there be like a say a monthly report of all of the activities I mean usually that's part of policing anyway to know what you've done and how things are going you're not your Baseline is well it's zero now yes and and they'll be a social media a lot of social media will be happening the dog will have its own Instagram lot of Facebook stuff own patches everything Becky had another question which jogged my memory when when you said that um as the SRO you have a school resource officer you have um a schedule over there and the dog would be with you and only you as as the Handler cor so um how how would that schedule work in with other potential uses for the comfort dog um so it is a police dog not just a school dog um it will accompany me to the school but at the end of the day it is still a police function so if there was some sort of incident where she was needed then we would you know leave the school and head over to whatever was happening okay thank you I'm sorry um that all the time having had some recent experience um I think you may underestimate the that costs so when I spoke to Dr Lamb I asked him to give me an estimate okay because we were putting together a proposal he however then was leaving for Africa so um he I think was giving me the rough estimate cost of whether or not some of his Services would be volunteered I'm not sure but the cost he gave me is where we came up with that picture I suspect that if will the dog be spayed when you get her I do not believe so however that will be happening so actually I know that she is not so okay that will be something that will um okay um do you have extra funds in case yes okay that's I don't want to have this dog yes and then have to figure it out after the fact we do have money to cover we have applied for Grants um and then we will be doing fundraising excellent question actually one question I met with the officers um last week on this to go over some of the numbers I forgot to ask about insurance there is such a thing as health insurance there is yes and I was wondering if you had discussed that with other departments do they have health insurance for their comfort dogs some other departments do they use trianion or other ones um us as a department hasn't necessarily covered that basis but um usually it's I believe like4 or $50 a month if we were to get it now as opposed to later young right so that could be something I think once the fundraising starts and we do come and figure out the grant money and then that's something we can explore then another question yes just uh so right now this dog is like it's a family dog staying with you right it is yes staying with me but not like family in that well yeah I mean not yes it is staying with me staying with you so your schedule is kind of the dog schedule correct is there is there another person that really man will be around and manage the dog when you say you're on vacation or out for whatever the reason is or it's just that's not a dog day do you want it um so yeah that will all be figured out I that the first picture is my daughter and my current dog who's one um Rudy um so we use a boarding service K9 Edge out of danverse um where we Bard my dog if we were to say go to Florida or somewhere um so I've already spoken to them they would be willing to board if need be um I don't have any trips planned in the near future um but that is something or I could give it to one of the other officers like we tant McCoy um but I would probably board her before I would just give that responsibility to somebody you know that isn't like trained with dots okay and we we do have other officers that have volunteered to okay a dog and be back temporary they say that but then it may change so I know I know it's going to be 31 minutes well his wife already volunteered care of the dog well she's been ready for another dog okay like a grandp and the dog back and that I am slightly concerned that the school policy process is fairly slow so I I assume that there'll be some training for the dog and so you wouldn't expect the dog to be in the school until September is um so the meeting for the school committee is May 21st so then once they were to approve it we still would have like three weeks left of school so if they say yes then we can move forward and see how that looks um the training that she and I would go to is in July so that's the two weeks right after the of July July 8th and 12th I believe um but then yes we would start fulltime in September other any questions I guess just specifically or logistically is there something specific you need from us tonight to approve or is it just a general consensus from us that we support what you're what you're doing I think we just leave your final approval okay just to move forward I think if you give your final approval need to be contingent on school schol right so that's why I'm wondering the timing um you could wait until you get final approval for well I'm worrying about a four and a half-month old dog who is homeless right correct however if the school committee were to say no there is officers who would like we put together this working group there are officers who would like to then step into this role and we can or would transition the dog to one of those because again it isn't a school it's not exclusively a school dog correct it belongs to the police department in the town so my my concern is not that the school committee will turn it down but that they will have a policy and then they the policy will requ some period of time to um be appro the policy is presented and I they may take two meetings to approve it's just for modification yeah yeah just want to make sure that there is some plan so that this dog isn't wandering the streets lonely and crying yes um so if well in that case I we can paint spots on it and cheap cheap um okay so so if the if the school committee says no Then I think we don't want to go ahead with this I think or or do it well it's again it's not just for the school purposes and I I like the idea of a comp dog um for other purposes as well I think I would ask uh okay either Chief have there been thing times in the past you you think a comfort dog would have helped in any situation absolutely abely I think it would be a huge benefit to the public safety personel yeah so I I you won't give to I um I mean literally every College every school has these this is this is not a new thing um so I definitely support it I just would like a little Clarity I'm a little uncomfortable with the oh the dog can go here what's the plan if the school says no who's going to be the Handler where where is this dog going to be where is its home um I just would we're all concerned about making sure the dog itself is well cared for and not passed around like a you know a hot potato so I just want a little more clarity as to if the school says no I still support bringing in the comfort dog but who's going to be the mommy and daddy so we have officer Sidell is our backup Handler so if it school doesn't approve it officer Sidell has volunteered to be the second Handler is there a motion um to endorse the addition of a comfort dog second Becky yes Ryan yes Kathy yes Ann says yes John says yes okay thank you very much you and and thank you for being does she have a name um I had told the students that came up with the proposal and they like the name Daisy come up the name AR Bella anyone like to put in there two second I like and name it Bella for short but name it after our belt Dr Bel Daisy really Daisy still a lot of confidence but she's be and sweet absolutely thank you thank you very much I have a dog name graci so what am I talking me um okay reverting to our agenda um we have the quarterly review for the police she y you have my memo yes thank you sweet um as we know accreditation is uh on our Forefront with the June Mark and then uh October actual re re accreditation we're working on the parking enforcement as we've talked about in the past um if you see the sticks or the the flags on Beach Street where the sticks will go um they were put out there last week by DBW uh see Emergency Management we had a successful shelter drill uh there's a video and a uh press release coming out probably tomorrow on on the uh actual drill itself uh we're working with MPC uh and six other uh local communities on a regional shelter plan a good college has been designated the uh uh a possible lo location for that um so we're working on that and then we're having a table toop exercise for a category 3 hurricane coming through uh capan uh the tenative dates May 20th so I'll be sending out an invite for everyone uh that would want to attend um and you heard about the Comfort dog nice picture and then we're on to the budget that was really unfair and then we're on to the budget and then last quarter we had some staffing issues with about 23.5% of our workforce out either on light duty or uh for other reasons and we've been transitioning trying to save a little overtime into the safe lobbies and that's been working out really well Mark's been managing that with the with the schedule and in conclusion I'm still sitting on the mass Chief School Safety Committee um the obviously uh emergency preparedness is the top priority for the town for me and um going to the chief's legal update uh in a well we went to the chief Leal up date in April and then going to the iacp conference again in October and it's actually held in Boston this year good can can you speak just a little bit without going into any identifiable detail about the use of the safe Lobby so the safe Lobby was when uh there's no one in the station and we have two officers on the street and that was uh so typically we have three people working we have one officer in the station uh from 8:00 a.m. to uh midnight but du to the Staffing shortages we've been running the safe Lobby and when people come in they can talk to the regional dispatch through the uh through the uh intercom system that's set up so people actually have been coming in people have been coming in and using it yeah it's been working out really well so have you gotten positive feedback from the residents who are the people who have used yeah I mean I haven't heard any complaints so that's a good thing you would improve yeah I would have heard yes she would so I I just want to say I appreciate the progress on the parking enforcement that's been a really tough nut to crack and I I hope this pilot will bear u fruit um also the the tabletop that you're um that that may happen in May is that a multi- toown tabletop so it's going to be all the kpan communities so the four kpan four kpan communities down and I have a special guest that will people will be surprised to see hopefully he'll be able to make it okay and so it's going to who is mapc running the MC is yeah we have a uh planning meeting on Friday so mapc will host it and facilitate all meeting with with M with with me okay great awesome look forward to thatting I just have one question I want to just ensure that uh with the new parking sticks going up we have made allowances for the uh moving two parking spaces further up Beach Street and there'll be a crosswalk yes yes for the for the new crosswalk yes that that reminds me I'm sorry back up on the the parking stick um the one that's up that will be put in front of town hall for the no parking Zone and near the was it the fire hyra um will DPW be marking the yes the parking and I've been working with Sean Johnson on science okay but on the street here's where the okay so there's no that's awesome yeah they're actually going to do some painting I think out back as awesome fantastic thank you yeah uh just just a question to go back see your staffing has been a challenge over the last quarter and so you've you've taken some time from the safe Lobby which as as I recall normally it's uh you have three folks around all the time so now you've been doing some midnight to 8:00 a.m. with just uh well midnight to 8: a.m. is constantly too it's constantly too but it's been been hours before that during the day the day in even oh in the day right dropped down to two Okay TR all right so that's interesting I I could understand dropping down to 8:00 pm to midnight but you've gone even during the day even during the day yeah there probably AR isn't anybody showing up at pm to midnight very often sometimes there are but yeah that's pretty rare it is difficult not having someone in the station during the day uh because because the phone rings constantly they transferring calls down to us yeah okay because they you know unable to provide the information all right that's good so so you're getting some information about how the how the safe Lobby would work when there's stuff going on and it's it seems to be working uh and I will say uh with we had accident over the weekend that we transitioned the off the third officer from the safe Lobby to the accident so that extra pair of hands is is is vital in those situations right right okay well I'm glad to get that information and but you're still even even by taking some of that time from the safe Lobby you're struggling with the the budget because because of the because of the shortage one in the academy too so G given given the structure we've got with Staffing Etc safe Lobby becomes a kind of a pressure relief yeah at that situation that's great as I recall that was part of the last year's proposal Staffing and the added officer was to have that uh flexibility to leave yeah yeah so it's working well even in that instance but in some instances I you intentionally said we got nobody here yes because they only got two people mhm and so that's fine but you're right there are instances where that third person is and even so though your percentages are fairly similar simar last year they so with the yeah so good one last question is there anything else you need from the board uh not right now I think everything's running pretty smooth and thank you for the approval for the for the dog I think that's going to be a huge assap to us look forward to meeting thank you thank you thank you thank you oh you again me again um so I've actually gotten some great feedback from everybody on the um monthly update so I think everyone's kind of up to spee to uh where we're standing currently uh over the last quarter some of the bigger um you know notable things is Car 2 medic twos and service um which allows us to keep our ambulance in town uh if it's paramedics requests out of town uh did go over to help Gloster cover during one of their funerals for one of their firefighters recently so that was a big help uh I went out to Minnesota with two other uh staff members to do the final inspection of the ladder truck uh that went very well it's now in Indianapolis at a big conference and then it's going to make it start making its way East and we should have it by July one one is much better than July 5 right they they they they H promised but they said they were they trying got new spotted dog on it right yeah exactly uh software upgrades completed um you know mik I had to go and graduate the Academy the call Firefighters are working out exceptionally well um I it's um I have to eat crow I didn't think it was going to work as well as it did and um they've been um training side by side with the career staff so everything is working uh flawlessly uh during the weekends when we're more short-handed than others uh they show up they show up at 1: am um so it's it's really really working on how many do we have now we have four yeah do you have any thoughts about expanding that so we have on the budget uh for Ju to do another form um I think eight would be a good number it's just finding the right candidate within the right um mileage um to really fill it because all these guys live close uh the two career guys Phil and uh Mark they work opposite shifts so that means when one's at their career job the other one's usually around so you know it works out very very well um I can't say enough about uh the inter agency or inter departmental uh work with the uh police department the harbard master um everything is working awesome our joint drills our joint trainings um you know working with Todd on a regular basis it's easy uh it works really really well uh we recently did the D boat drill uh and was there as well um it ran really well uh it was multi- agency drill uh simulating an oil spill in the harbor we went through some classroom reviewed equipment um so that was really fun we did an active shooter drill this weekend uh with uh the police Essex police and fire uh that went really well well um as well so we've been doing a lot of uh co-training and it just makes us stronger as a community uh last year or towards the end of last year we've uh got so far about $220,000 in Grants I've applied for five additional grants which you guys saw in the monthly update and other than that uh training that's been going on we've been doing firefighter training just to get the call Firefighters to speed with our equipment and we've been doing some EMF simulation training um as well so everything's going well um Lieutenant Cavender who was here this evening he was on light duty for a little while so we were able to um leverage that to send him to a command class while he was on light duty so he took a train the trainer class so all the officers will be trained in it coming up and then uh we'll kind of go through the staff as well so everybody in Essex County is um starting to transition to a different type of incident command uh they finally teaching old Dogge new tricks and everyone's kind of jumping on board with it so it's um it's going to be kind of a regional um approach so it's going to work out well uh budget wise everything is going as good as it can be um I think we're in a good spot probably in a month from now I have a better idea of what the forecast is for end of May uh and June but so far I've met with Greg a few times and um it's looking better than years past so I had a question on the uh first of all thank you I I think it's going great I'm really pleased about the call firefighters and thank you for being open-minded enough to to pursue it cuz that's that's really great to see um I had a question about the safer grant that is that you're going after for the threeyear Y um labor coverage is that to overhire in the anticipation of retirements yes okay so that is to overhire overhire and then during that time I can also use that as a study period to see some different services we might be able to offer um and recoup some Revenue so it'll give us a good trial uh that's free of cost basically because it's always touchy if someone is applying for a job and oh you only got money for three years right but if you're over hiring with the expected attrition strategy okay thank you so to that end the safer folks know that that's a strategy that a lot of a lot of departments will use y okay yeah so you know when I did the saf of Grant I was like front that said during you know it's going to be used for uh to up staff during that up Staffing we'll try some different um sharing of resources and then I did say that I'm going to put it in my budget to uh for going forward but obviously there's no promises that were given okay I'm just curious that was awesome right I mean but if you're overstaffing y That's typically a temporary thing because we're not talking about increasing headcount permanently but over staff in for a short period of time to ease out um you know a senior yeah person that that makes total sense right which is what we want to do with transitioning ex just you mentioned a um that Bruce tar was involved with uh Regional ambulance yeah so um I think Greg and I are going to be attending a meeting uh last Friday first Friday and May um where the uh capan Community is going to get together look at the uh EMS Services uh see what each Community is providing how we can help each other and see if there's a different type of approach um and kind of see where the shortfalls are I think we're personally in a good spot but you know if we can leverage certain things and and offer certain things you know I think there's some good conversation to be had certainly um same question is there anything else that we can do you no I think everything's going well um obviously the one thing I've brought up a couple times concerned about was the overtime uh but um you know I think you you know kind of seen we've curtailed it as much as possible uh contractually um so it is what it is um we do have a little cost savings we had one firefighter leave that we weren't anticipating so we do have some base salary that we can kind of shift around so that's why I don't really know what those numbers are going to be until probably a month from now I'll have a better idea um with the with the um Harbor drill y did you have people watching it was actually we had a decent amount I was there Tiffany was there I wish I wish I were here to be there but um did you get any calls or um people concerned about what was going on no I think you know we had put uh some stuff out social media we had some um signs up that said we are training um so I think it actually work pretty well there's some a lot of people over at Reeds Park that were watching and you know it and the rain held off for the most part so uh question just kind of Remind Me Maybe maybe everyone where are you with all of the training for everyone in the department where they're away for several weeks which was always always putting pressure on your so for the Academy training yeah and all and the medical training what I guess most of that is weekends but so the medical training act were fortunate enough that we could do a lot of it house okay um so because I own a medical training company so it's because of Ethics issues we can't charge so the the town gets free Sim labs and things like that uh so it actually works out pretty well um for the fire academy everyone's Academy trained that we have a the um full-time spot that we advertised for we had 11 applicants uh three of which were Academy trained paramedics from other departments uh one has since backed out and he's going to a different department but we have have um interview scheduled uh Brian's helping us and then Tom Parkins from the finance committee is helping on the interview uh panel and we're doing that Thursday and Friday so uh with any luck um you know depending on how those interviews go they were already trained firefighter paramedics on that list so we do very well on that Accord thanks any thank you very much you're welcome thank you than thank very nice to have this okay um food truck yay um this is we've agreed already that that there will be a food truck the question is just where to put it and we have two at least two things in the packet one is a picture of where 100 50 ft is and um the other is u a recommendation from our to Clerk and um it says um and doesn't get anywhere U the food truck arri I believe the food truck would arrive at at 4 o' yes from 4 to 8 so 4 to 8 so it's after the school schol is empty which and just just to name and address oh yes oh yeah Tes Malden 42 maso Street thank um where would you prefer to see the truck I'd like to see it as close to let me let me let me actually make this a little easier for you ah you have it okay good great so looking at the um the Inner Circle this is whatever you know 149. the parking spaces that are next to the tennis courts that are outside of that yeah circle of the big circle um I think that would be a great place to any spot there would be I just want it to be visible more visible than it was for the primary and yeah I mean we'll have a lot more light it'll still be 8:00 we still have sunlight but I think just as closer to be great um I saw a reference somewhere to a tennis tournament I think there's a tennis match that afternoon okay so that'll just be more cars and more people so it would it it whereever it is we're goinging off early right be necessary right and um Captain Todd did that for us in March had a few cones um anyone have um so that's in line with what Diane was saying right that she just wants it outside of that 150 ft she doesn't necessarily need it to be across the street okay okay um can you show it yeah so so you're proposing take one of those parking slots the first parking slot in that row of parking places probably outside yeah well there two part part okay you yeah for the truck and one for customers basically okay yeah put on theend yeah I guess then you can do that yeah and it being a town I mean the whole idea is to encourage voter turnout I don't think that we're going to get 100% voter turnout in May would be lovely if we did but I think there'll be lots of empty parking spots even with tennis yeah fine so let me propose that you and chief Fitzgerald um work with this diagram um and find a place that's outside the circle and close enough and make sure that it gets blocked off so that we don't have to call people from voting to move their cars okay that's acceptable to you okay um thank you so move to approve parking outside the 150 Circle second Becky yes Ryan yes Kathy yes yes Sean yes okay and I will say it was delicious last time excellent thank you very much and thank you for persisting through all of this pardon me same grilled cheese the same truck melt yeah lot of options I will thank you thank you all thank you okay um president holder par um see correspondence um Greg can can you just remind me what we currently have so um during the course of the winter You' had many conversations about parking and the parking policies um one of the changes you discussed and then ultimately approve was um making a couple changes to the to the mo holder policy for non for non-residents um one was to increase the price U for the season the second area concerned overnight parking and because it's a limited resource particularly here behind Town Hall um your thinking was that we needed to not take up spaces for multiple nights in a row for overnight parking and to limit the use of this area for boing holders to um daytime use you said 8 to 8 to six in your policy realistically that that means 8 until the evening we we stop enforcing at 6 um you could modify 8 to 6 to say 8 to 10 or or something mid or something but your goal was to avoid piing up the few spaces that are here with overnight parking and instead make it um official that overnight parking contain take place at tux Point um obviously for people who have a vat here in the Inner Harbor parking overnight at tux Point requires a bit of jiggling ride and picking up people or whatnot um so we've heard from some of the morning holders um that that is difficult to deal with and they wanted the opportunity to um to speak to you about it and see if there are um other options or or not um and and to me the the the solution means coming up with different areas for parking and I I don't know where that could be um it's just such a premium in this area um but if if we could work something out with I don't know if the nation or the legion would be willing to do something behind there lot you know half a dozen spots I I I'm speculating I'm thinking out loud I haven't had that conversation um whether or not you could do something on the weekends at the sewer plant again I'm just trying to think a little creatively and where we might come up with a few more spots if if you wanted to go that route may I just add one more thing at the same time that we were doing um changing the parking regulations we took away seven longterm parking spaces from residents at the at the Norwood right slot so this is not that we are specifically targeting we have pight parking downtown right and and we're trying to make the best use of it that we can and that was one of my comments as well I I found it unfortunate and insulting that it was that we were it was said that we were deliberately targeting specific people which couldn't be more far from the truth um we do have very limited parking for the residents even and um I wondered um I know that manchest Marine offers parking um and that is not just limited to people who have votes there um do we have have um what are our liability concerns if we provide parking and there's damage to Vehicles left long term that would be for our insurance carrier to Fair it out well that's I have a question great the way these me very few exceptions is that we talk it out and then we go for questions so as long as we have things to say yes John all right so prior to this change what was the policy back here with regard to out of town so ming holders with with those parking passes were allowed to with PLS with PLS were allowed to park overnight okay so before that and they could park anywhere no it was designated along the um the seaw wall here near where it has which which has been a challenge and I I know it's come up a couple of times you know five years ago and how many spaces are there there eight spaces or something like that you you taken a couple Police Department we had to at the end yeah yeah but those should be the only ones at this point okay so in other words prior to this the placards entitled you to essentially kind of unlimited parking so long as it was in those correct eight or 10 spaces correct and outside of that the placard didn't give you anything so they also work at damasco well I I'm talking about that here okay I may I no just just we will give you a chance okay but and and if that's a question it's a question would you would you would you may I accept an answer yeah you may because you probably have used it I have and I believe in the P Johnson Wilton New Hampshire thank you um I believe in the past there were actually two kinds of parking placards associated with boating one was for people using the launching ramp that I believe was associated with the spaces along the fence and as I recall the parking placard non-resident moing holders last year it did allow parking in some of the spots behind the town hall separate from the spots along the [Music] fence the chief is anx Diane know better but that's not my understanding um any other comments I would um I think question I don't know maybe the chief can speak to this I'm going to guess that with the new smart sticks that park behind Town Hall start to fill up with okay uh so to because people don't want to once they realize how that works okay they're going to hide behind time Hall people who we're going to a new kind of parking enforcement along Beach Street so people going to the beach will be be their license plates will be photographed if they're in place for more than two hours and they'll get a $50 tick so people who are going to the beach are going to be going back behind Town Hall which means that that space is going to be even more congested I have a um a question um GRE could you refresh my memory approximately how many nonresident more in holders do we have or what percentage of the moing holders um it's over a third over a thir so 38% thank you so 38% of the Ming holders are non-resident and we have only eight spaces in the back somehow all those people find a way to get to their Wars without using on on a sunny July day when almost everybody wants to be in their boat there's only what six or eight spaces out back here with boting pla GRS but lots of people are getting to their boats so I'm trying to understand what other there there must be other parking options right that people are actively using to get to their vots if they're not a resident and I'm curious as to what some of those are yeah well I can probably comment because I I was trying to do the math here we sell 80 pla s now if that's a third of the moing that's a couple hundred moing more than that it's 250 anybody who belongs to the Manchester yard Club anybody out in tux point doesn't get a m placard you can park pretty much anywhere you can go out in your boat nobody ask questions so some some folks who who use the tux point do access their boats they will have a placard par there do they need one yes yes technically for Manchester the who's walking around out there I understand overnight I'm talking about just for the day during the day it's anybody shows up it's just so because the point that's the point I'm Mak all right so I I think that if I were to look at those 80 placards the vast majority of these people are right here because they they need they need access somehow so I I think that's what's going on so when you say you know 38% and I I I believe that a big chunk of them are not necessarily here but um it's the ones here I think that um the CH Betsy hi um Betsy Betsy wear 262 witch TR Road South bwick Maine good to see you all and thank you for having this discussion um I'm representing my partner Robert Levens and me as non-resident Waring holders and also members of the Manchester hover boat club we're also members of the baker's Island community but we are not speaking on behalf of the baker's Island community um I also spent the first 40 years of my life here so uh my parents owned a house on Walker Road so in actuality the Pres the former policy was a bunch of parking spaces along the wall adjacent to the ramp and you needed a boting placard at $50 a pop for the boting placard one plac per Waring holder that also allowed you to use tux point and there was um parking at tux point and you could park overnight for an extended period of time so what on March 4th the policy changed to limitation of from 8 in the morning till 6: at night behind the police station along that row and three nights maximum at tux so um a number of us have some concerns about that um the new policy doubles the price of non-resident parking placards and it significantly decreases the allowed parking behind the police station and seriously limits the parking at tux point now a number of us go offshore whether we're fishing or on an island or um elsewhere and we're away for a month or two um so in actuality how how we work the system is that we put our boat in the water we will park a maximum of a day behind the police station but if we're going to be longer than a day we understand that there's a parking problem in the center of town so we go to tux Point um so um there's a number so the numbers are there's 665 Mings in Manchester Harbor of those moing 403 are residents and the remaining 262 which is 38 to 40% are nonresident voters um there were 882 placards sold last year the Boer pla placard number indicates that the 265 non-residents are basically scrambling around to find other sources parking now a number of us use Manchester Marine a number of us use Crockers um I don't know where else people use but um both of those facilities now that they're expanding more they may be further jammed um in terms of availability of parking also we understand understandably have to wait for boats to be put in the water so that there's a place to park so it's always um May June is always kind of a little bit of a scramble um on that um so the policy is um of this this recent change we don't believe um reflects the spirit and and intent of chapter 91 which is the states law that provides access to all Waters of the Commonwealth so keep in mind that Manchester waters are under the jurisdiction of the town but the tide Waters underneath the water are held in public Trust by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts so that's so for example the Rotunda the all of the new docks and things that are going in those are all subject to chapter 91 license which requires some form of Public Access so some scenarios based on this new change some scenarios for non-resident Boat Owners might be a boater who wants to cruise the coast of Maine for a month and no longer has a location for parking and vehicle in Manchester they can't get private parking or maybe that's not an option um what option does that Boer have particularly if private parking isn't available um the fisherman who wants to leave Manchester at 4 in the morning and return at 8 at night um that situation is not a matter of recreational boating it's a matter of making a living I don't know I mean there used to be a fairly good size Lobster Fleet in town um I don't know what they do for parking um so and a non-resident boter who wants to travel from Manchester to Ptown for the weekend for a week of vacation there's limited parking options um so the three-day parking limit in tux Point poses certain other issues in that um if there's an event at the Chowder House that and and at the yacht at the same time there's no guarantee of parking so you paid for your parking placard that's the only place you can park for a longer period and you may get Iced Out of parking because there's events there so um that really puts kind of an undue stress on parking at tux um and maybe it's something that if there's a Boer placard if you don't change your policy that the boting boting placard could be applied to the high school parking lot or Memorial School um so for example um in your packets for um the March 4th meeting there was discussion about um the fact that Rockport provides remote parking so that's something that maybe could be considered um now there was reference earlier tonight to the launch service um with almost 40% of non-resident voters who use the harbor harbor we may have participated in that but now we don't have any place to park for any type of long longer time period than three days um so it seems like the non boting Community the non-resident voting community in Manchester is being punished for their use of the harbor uh I mean we pay excise tax taxes on our boats we registered our vehicle and our boats with the state we pay moing fees we pay dredging fees um the dredging fees we pay every year so that's a quarter of the dredging fees I mean a 40% of the dredging fees um we use local marine services we uh support the local economy everybody shops at Crosby and goes to local restaurants and um so particular from April to October we were supporting the local economy um and in other months as well um so I think what Robert and I our approach would be would be to ask you to revisit your policy on the hours behind town uh the police station and also your period of time that you would allow at tux Point um potential have potentially have another remote location for placard Parkers um I also think that there would be a group of us who would be willing to sit down and try to work out the logistics of all this um because it's you have a number of chapter 91 licenses you have a certain the town has a certain obligation to make the harbor and make the accessibly so um and we're more than willing to work with you on that so I thank you for the opportunity than you uh nice presentation I do feel that we're not limiting access to the the how water okay I mean we have limited resources anyone has access to the water okay it's how you get get there and what do you do with your vehicle when you get there and I I don't know if that falls in the prview of chapter 91 but it's certainly not limiting access to it because we have we have issues we have to deal with and so I I just wanted to make that um so I do um the change that we made to the policy I did not think that in any way affected commercial fishermen so I would like clarification we do do the commercial fish in town we know who they are do they require a boting placard because I would not want to in any way um so in the past with the commercial fisherman Bion and I have identified them and give them a commercial fishing plard that we decided not to do that this year and they're GNA have to buy a business so they will they will have a placard that they can use so their their business is not negatively impacted by our so um I hope that will alleviate the concern that was that was raised we're not impacting commercial vment um regarding um scarce resources parking in the downtown the town hall lot is a scarce resource and just general economics when a resource is scarce it the price either goes up or um you have to manage it carefully um and I'm about to make a comment as a non-resident Boer in another town I I don't have a moing here my boat is somewhere else um I cannot imagine a scenario where I would leave my car in that other Town overnight I just can't if I go on a trip and and take a plane I either get um you know a car a ride to bring me to the airport or I pay $35 a day at Logan to park my car just expecting to park my car overnight for a a very small free all fee all season I just it's a concept that I struggle to understand uh I would never do that and and my son who uses the boat he doesn't live in the town where we have our boat he takes a cab he takes an Uber he he bums a ride from a friend there's ways of getting to our boat that have nothing to do with that other Town providing me with a special spot so I'm just kind of struggling to understand um this concept as a non-resident Boer [Music] um and it's it's become even more of a problem to provide parking for anybody I mean tux Point as you well know is routinely packed with on the weekends no When Chow House or I've had trouble um and and um the hours before the prom and by the way chief sherald that has been handled very well in the past few years yeah and I appreciate it a lot um um well when I go to tux Point Park I frequently have a hard time finding a spot and that's my personal experience um I suspect that the number of long-term Parkers is much smaller than the number of people who just come in for the day um and there may be some particularly nasty muy part of couch um my feeling at the moment is that it's getting on toward 9:00 we have a hard problem I would like to hear from everybody who's here to talk about it um and I'd like to think about it yes our next meeting is in early may but I think we will come up with a better solution if we hear from people and think about it and perhaps you could talk to the Mas the the um Legion about the and and the other places that you thought about yeah I mean if the school feels like a viable option the school certainly worth pursuing the school might be a great option offsite um it's also a re Revenue generating opportunity I mean there are apps like spot herrow where the owner of a parking space can offer it up for a fee okay so the legion could do that I don't know if the school can do that but it's very easy and that's a revenue generating opportunity offsite let's look at all the options we want to but in the center of town I just I I just I don't understand and the other um with the school is it's not an option when it's in session right so that's you it's it's and for the people who have votes from May to October yeah but peak season is really right you know after the end of June Min Park um there's I I think that's totally underutilized for Ping after the that's another option right now and then so I mean I'm not opposed to finding op okay I I wonder if the district will have a problem that's they have to make that decision with the schools that's not that's not our decision I agree and I agree with for Town owned property the one that comes to mind is Sweeny Park after the middle League season but that's something I think we would need to ask inut from shks and R so I I agree with that I with the caveat though that even for the offsite parking because we just took away the long-term parking for residents right I I don't believe we should be offering a parking spot for anybody for a month I mean there's other options out there um you sir yeah Mark Mass longterm nonresident morning think to John's question on how people access the boates I think the majority go through the Y club and when you look at 260 people uh 260 moing holders there's a potential Revenue scream there that the town really isn't looking at and I know parking is a problem and it's been a problem for a long time for residents as well as non-residents so I'm all on board on that but um you know coming up with a longterm plan for parking maybe maybe something temporary at all those places we just mentioned would be great but um you know as a long-term plan for non-resident moing holders uh I can throw out some numbers from Manchester Marine there's a potential Revenue stream there that could come through the town I'd much rather pay the town than Manchester marine or for the American Legion for the and have that water flow through the town and right into the harbor to support the Waterway or potentially support Parks and Recreation where the parking may be done to that point I think the question Still Remains is where where yeah well ideas I think again for the town to generate something we have to be like swing let's let's I think tonight need to gather information and then we need to think and we can come back with Solutions next time yes sir gu Johnson wion New Hampshire I just would ask that you consider more than the previous year's history go back a few more years when um for example we could park at masconomo during the day in the center spaces I'm a day sailor I'm not an overnight sailor um so right now it sounds like eight out of 200 40 odd non-resident Ming holders can park during the day and the non-resident Ming holders ability to park has been consistently restricted and the restriction has been increasing over the years I'm asking that you back off a little bit and I'd like to say a comment to that um a lot of the um way the parking has been addressed is business owner driven um and and they are they object to longer term parking because they say they feel that impact where longer term is two more than two hours exactly and so that that is driven a lot by local businesses so I just you know it's not not the town saying there's any one demographic we don't want it's not about that and U one other thing and maybe the chief is the voting voting has just since Co has just taken off so now we have uh those issues again five or six years ago there might not have been as many me it's since 1990 that I've had a moing perment in Manchester the point is that now we have try service more people so right I've had a Waring here since I need your name oh Laurel bavendam Hampton New Hampshire I've had a moing here since 1974 I've been a resident so I know you know the differences and the changes that have occurred Through The Years um it is there are different types of Voters and the day Deboer is a different person from person who may go off and actually cruise and for those of us who do actually go off and cruise tux Point has been the place where we leave our vehicle but do I leave it there for a month no I get somebody to come in and pick it up it may not be in two days it may not be in three days but in four or five days somebody comes in and takes my car out of there just for the safety of it but my responsibility for what happens to my car there um many of us know you got to be there before 9 o00 in the morning if you want to park at MC Masano is it Masano Masano and um if you want to go for a day thing um well but now it's only two hours now two hours so you can't use that um the problem is that there has been a fee in crate which seems like a profit motivated thing for a a small group of us who have difficulty accessing our boats um it's been a long time and we gladly pay the parking placard and I would gladly pay the $100 parking placard as long as I wasn't going to get ticketed for staying in at tux point for perhaps a week instead of the 3 days because it takes me that long just to get to where I want to to be the next Point get back and pick up my car um there is no one sort of boater no one parking situation works for everyone but we need to be able to access our book boats um it is difficult with the parking at the at the schools and everything to actually get down to your boat when you're traveling light do you do you hire a taxi I don't know I don't know how it works but it's it's making it more difficult um and it feels like um you said that there's no hostility towards out of town is but I have felt being an in town person living here and being an out of towerer I feel the difference thank you um yes I I don't name my name is Robert Levens I live in uh South D and um I live with Betsy and um she grew up in this town her father was one of the founding members of the Manchester Harbor boat club um I'm not suggesting for one second that the People Like Us object to paying what it's worth for us to have some place to park that's not at all the issue now it has been the issue for me I've been in this I've been in this Harvest since I was born um I've had a moing out of town moing older since 1995 in the time that I've had a v of black out of town m v of black I've never once violated its terms I know there are people that do and I knew I know that's a problem and um I don't think that that issue is limited to any one single group The violations but there are groups that do I'm sure so I'm just putting that out there for your consideration mam CH yes I just want to uh the intent here is not to exelate or uh stick a finger point your finger reality here is we're trying to make more parking available for more out of town uh more by limiting the extent of the time there's been people AR uh taking these parking spots I think I mean I I I not that I take offense but I don't think we're actually trying to accommodate more people by uh spe specifically I would say maybe the day boers or something like that but I think by limiting the parking time we're making it more uh available to more people that's the the intention that I that I have where hi um that's you where s with name um in 2022 The Bakers Island Ferry sank and we were doing a mad scramble to try to figure out um how we could get people on Baker's Island who did not have who relied on the ferry to um get out to their cottages and it ended up that we have a number of Baker's Island voters in Manchester Harbor in the Inner Harbor and um we talked to I talked with Greg and eventually um the school department was very helpful to us in that they allowed us to use the upper parking lot at the high school for the summer and there were a couple of weekends or whatever that we couldn't and I was the the parking lot Monitor and um it actually worked out incredibly well um and we were all very grateful for that opportunity um the um BFW does allow for parking or they did and um on a daily basis um and you could go in and they were trying to um um do that um the both marinos also sell parking so I think the fact that there's 262 or three um non-residents and the fact that there's only a sale of 82 placards indicates that people are finding Alternatives but um those Alternatives um are likely to get um eaten up with the expansion of both of those so um but but it parking is a bill um I thank all of you for coming I thank you for your reasoned arguments and for sitting and listening to two hours of stuff that didn't bother you didn't affect you at all um I it is now almost exactly 9:00 um feel free to email um any of us all of us um with suggestions that you become to you um and we will put this on our next meeting um and try to get to it a little earlier when we are less likely to get caught in some sort of Loop and not get um thank you again now we get to go on to notary service guidelines thank not at all thank you I would like to stand up for just a moment ask them to their conversation all over that do you want one John thank you got to move those along well I was trying to listen to presenter thank I brought them to give the presenter their full attention thank you that's because you're good I was trying to that was good person is an intractable problem big word this is still a meeting being recorded no deliberation while those three of us in the category no good deed goes un she brought out she knows where the stash is like that I'll take thank you yes on Sat night I trade myself next next um we have proposed rules for notary public services and um jic the comparison with other T um John I can see the red ink on the page yeah I was doing some math what' you say 62 so far in the first quarter 62 a quarters all right so that's 248 and that's 248 with limits um compared to what they used to do where they did everything right okay um I'm trying to figure out I think that still means there's a little bit of grow I don't think very many people come on they've got Deeds and wills and that sort of thing they're probably sitting with an attorney somewhere they they used to we used to see quite a bit of that but you know we've been turning people away okay well I I mean my my my opinion is is I I think we should offer it a buck 50 is an irrelevant number that's too hard to right yeah deal with nobody's collecting a150 you know you've got these restrictions I guess my question what kinds of things what are the top three things people come into notorized but it's not on this list Diane is online Diane would be back to answer that hi I'm here can you hear me we can okay um we notorized uh a lot of Corey forms for people who are getting jobs for some reason they need to have it notorized we do a lot of parental travel um permission slips that has to be notorized really you're traveling International out of really okay we also do a lot of um apartment parental God I can't think I'm so tired I'm sorry you know when a stu college student gets an apartment the parent has to sign off we notorized that okay passports um today I did a patent application um just a lot of different things but miscellaneous stuff okay okay but nothing that is super labor intensive it's just okay this is what you need and you you go through correct a one a one pager yes the the real estate deeds and all that other stuff is multiple Pages that's multiple Pages takes up your time okay all right I'm in favor of um going with it just a question um I thought I saw in the camera was this package or the previous package that some towns require an appointment um was are we considering either requesting an appointment or having like office hours Notary hours you know so that it's a defined period of time so that people aren't just walking in any time to that could cause a disruption because you know normally when you're talking about introducing a new service with existing labor either people have extra time in their day or you you run the risk of this isn't a new service this is a restriction of an existing service okay so that that helps I thought I understood that because the bank was no longer doing it that we were seeing an inrease an uptick up okay so I guess my point is I I do feel we need to bound how many of these we do in some way shape or form I don't want to dictate that but um if we publicize this too much I fear it could increase increase significantly and become a distraction so like I said just operationally good operational management would indicate that you you set some sort of boundary either request allow for you know X number of appointments a day or just office however you want to do it but not leave it open-ended so that it could grow outside the capacity of the current team because we don't want to be getting Staffing increasing requests next year or the year after because all of a sudden this has become a very popular service well then it can be Revisited right yeah I I I'm expecting on that but I would advocate for just like hours you know yeah like but what is I'd like to hear what Dian yeah hours hi it's me again um that's funny to set hours because everything in our my office is so changeable by month what we do we do on the website ask for appointments people um maybe 50% of the time call and ask for an appointment and we usually accommodate them it's nice to have know that someone's coming but a lot of s people just come in just like they want to get their resident sticker or they want to buy a DPW sticker they just come to the office but if it's just the one again if it's just a basic notary it's fine you know it's just a service and we're only doing it for residents which is helpful um that I don't think it will become any more of a problem than it's been so I think I hear you saying Diane that with these new guidelines in place you think it's manageable until it's not yeah well which point we Reit I agree yes okay okay she said it's okay right as long as we don't see a request for an increase in labor to to to offer this service just continue the service exactly do you want a motion yes I make a motion to approve um the modified notary public services as presented second further discussion Becky yes Brian yes Kathy yes answers yes John says yes okay um so continue with Diane you have the early voting proposal right yes and you ask for statistic from previous election I think we've got them all right so the recommendation is to have two Consolidated to two days of in in person early voting Saturday May 11th from 10: to 3 and then Thursday May 16 from 9: to 6 and of course there's always mail and early voting by Ma or voting by mail which is always an option as well two on a motion so moved second yes yes answerers yes John yes okay um thank you Diane thank you Diane thank you guys very much yeah rest do we need to approve the candidates or that's all value you you'll you'll see the election warrant at your May 6 okay fine right and and the police coverage yeah we we'll include that in your okay um I think we are um at the point for Leon updates and um not to know the planing board hasn't met their next meeting is uh Thursday evening and we have our meeting yeah John Becky ordinary that's the Board of Health I think but you were at the meeting last Thursday the meeting last Thursday okay and I did in fact review a few of the minutes a couple of days days ago of the meeting in January because there was a lot ofs that you knew going into that meeting and a lot of it was of course of course repeated there were probably about I'd say 20 20 people there I think every person from loading play Road was there but they of course they have their own water right down the line and Scott horley also appeared um um uh on on our behalf or I should say the uh the Water The Town and the water task Force's behalf to provide testimony with regard to um irrigation primarily the the use of irrigation there were a lot of questions that were asked and I will say that the Board of Health in general took it all in and there had to be 4050 questions I think that uh at the end of the day they have a a lot to answer to there Dr Han was not there and I know he has opinions on on this particular issue but he was not uh in attendance um I will say there was equal concern about testing associated with um with drinking water as there was about irrigation and irrigation being subject to um to uh restrictions and drought drought restrictions there was there was both of that but it was it was apparent that there were an awful lot of questions that should have had some answers that were not and they they will go back to the drawing board in that in that regard I think that there may be a consultant that will help with that or there has been some talk about that the number of questions and the sophistication of what you had to know to answer those questions is not something a lay person is going to be able to do you really need some help with regard to dealing with that and there there was some discussion after the meeting I chatted with several people and I think it's a prudent approach that they pull together the questions and issues and work with a consultant and maybe that's Corley he'd be a prime candidate he would he hits the ground running on all of this but know exactly uh how how to respond and uh so that they can have a full picture of what's going on but there has been there will be a next meeting when May 9th May 9th is that the next hearing is is is the next hearing I'm not sure that necessarily all of those questions will be answered by then it's possible but did someone write down the question yes yes I I will say there are two folks that were writing down all the questions this taking copious notes they were they're keeping up as fast as they could and there were an awful lot of them okay but um I don't know how many people showed up at the January meeting but in person there were probably 20 to 25 and online prob a similar number similar number how was there at the uh January where were you how many people at that meeting 20 short time yeah yeah yeah at least 20 yeah okay so um they really need answers and and I don't think they got very many answers I'm not sure what questions came up in January from looking at it there were similar topics that came up obviously but the answers were not there uh not much uh I see the fence has been they're not planning on putting any fencing up there right just the uh pickle just that's just they can hang the uh theying there's no I don't think there's any uh any plan of putting any mesh in there just that was just I assume so the the barriers will be coming in May yeah that uh to cherl 1,200 wat on tags have been sold already this uh this month how many 1,200 to the beage nice I don't know what that is that a lot I don't know what the Number yearly year to year little under a third generally we're up around three four okay okay I spoke with her and she said it was all seemed to be going really well what I got um there was a bike and P me meeting yesterday that I missed that but um I do know that they plan to coordinated with Alan Wilson uh just um have a handout at the town meeting to um make residents aware of their committee and um the committee's activities and um you know website information where they can follow up so they're trying to do a little community outreach so you can expect to get a out on your way into town meeting um downtown Improvement meets tomorrow morning so let's go um let's see uh the school I talked some about it already um the the big thing is the feasibility study that's coming up um and the first part of that is to nominate a building committee and when you working with msba the building committee is the authority um and they they can take they can hear from the school committee and anybody else who wants to talk to them but it's it's the building committee so I would be very interested to see who other than andyman is going to be on it um the feasibility it's it's expensive it's it's 1.5 million um which is about I think certainly at least twice what the high school was and but that's the way those costs go they do a lot of work and they're going to have a lot of work for Essex because Essex has a good different a different good spot for a school and there will be pressure from the people in essics to move the school um they will actually be doing a lot more site work than I think um pretty low lying where it is now it's pretty low line it is exactly um and I think the feasibility process is going to take about a year and a half yes yes at least and it won't get started really until the fall so and and then they go to um they they will have a a schematic at the end but they then they need to get the architect working on full details so and then it takes a year and a half to build a school so and the school commit school committee has been encouraged to draw things out um because in six years some stuff is going to be coming off and in 8 years more stuff will be coming off and and keeping so that's you may hear about their the school redoing its budget um and it doesn't the town votes only on the total amount we don't vote we have no control over where they spend their money so that they can redo the internals of their budget and and that's just up to them the reason that they're redoing it this time is the miserable turf field funding problem um because they will be taking in whatever a million dollars at least for the fields from from the towns reimbursing them for the field work that will look like revenue and and if they don't redo their budget it will fall out as what we would call um free cash free Cas they call they call end deficien has rules about how much if you have enough excess end you have to give it back to the towns so they want to redo things so they don't have to take money from the towns for the Turk fields and then give it back so um this may never come up but if it does that's what's going on and and they're taking the money from the choice fund they can't put it back to the choice fund because it's not Choice money so it will go into um their um oh God it's the word that begins with an S and means emergency the fund that you have used to be two3 vote to take money stabilization stabilization yes sorry you had me stabilization yeah so they they have to take it they've taken it out of choice they have to put back into stabilization and they have to do it in a way that it doesn't look like right so that's so it's Laing what it's laundering it's it's laundering but in fact it's not Revenue exactly anyway um the uh mbpa zoning is has moved from we have gen there's a general agreement on where the zones are going to be um basically from um yeah right the Housing Authority down Pine Street um across behind Central Street uh and over to powder House Lane um and then another that starts at Allen Avenue with the the um dead his vet and goes along weaving across both sides of Summer Street to the gas station um and another it starts at um the dentist I think and goes out um lower Summer Street across the Valentines no it's no that that one starts at the the other gas station sorry it starts at the Richdale and for beach and then goes along Summer Street um and picks up down and that puts all but about seven acres of the um area that's going to be um have overlay zoning all the seven acres is is actually downtown um which sounds as if we're just trying to cram everything in where it's already crammed in but in fact if you change something from a one family to a three family you pick up two families if you start in a place where there's nothing every new building is a whole new whole new unit and the feeling of the task force is that the town doesn't want a lot of new units that's where that's going the zoning the acreage is um it's you're using the base Zoning for the the Zoning for the base zoning District um those districts are I think those areas are all either general or D1 D1 D2 um now the trick is to balance going parcel by parcel how dense each thing has to be because we have to average 50 units per acre but we can have denser areas and we can have less dense areas and that's a mathematical nightmare but fortunately there's a spreadsheet that does it all for us and all we have to do is plug it in and that's where that is um and kudos to mark for hurting that particular bunch of cats that's what I have to say um the consent ofenda well let me uh I just want to add one one thing here on the uh historic uh District commission that's the only one I need to comment on and they won another Grant last month to expand on the survey they had a survey is underway has been underway for several months to survey the entire town with regard to historical houses but that really just becomes a listing or a to-do list shall we say of okay what about each of these sites or structures and now um about about two or three weeks ago they won another Grant from the Massachusetts historic commission and now start to go through that list and I think the Grant's 15,000 or 30 I think it's 15E which you'll get several houses out of that and the town or the historic commission gets to decide which houses are appropriate um and we'll start to work up I think School Street and some others that have significant properties but it's a it's a renewable Grant I think each year you can apply for that and this grant was was awarded even though the survey is not complete the survey won't be complete until the 1 of June but then can automatically roll into uh sorry Mr J what's the grant for is it to enhance historical properties or to enhance the inventory the inventory yes it will provide both a structural and historical story behind building pick a couple of houses you're talking about deep diving on the history of a got it okay right and which would uh you know enhance its qualification to go on the National Registry Etc and you know the long-term possibility is that the historic district expands so this is not limited to Historic District at this point no it could be houses anywhere and that's what this survey was doing and in fact the consultant has divided the town into I think seven neighborhoods but we all know the neighborhoods that you started yes and I will say to compliment this he's also aware of the historic marker program that's been going on for several years there are 75 histories that have already been written those are not houses that we would say we want under this grant to do because all of that information has already been researched and pretty much done by the Robert Boo and others who have been working on that but there are plenty of other houses that we don't know anything about so that'll be happening would you like a motion to approve the consent agenda yes I did send some um amendments to the minutes so um I would say motion to approve the consent agenda with um submitted amendments to the second discussion yes ran yes yes yes yes okay um actually you've talked about most things here um go a little bit more while your Li that joh did a nice job with that um I'll just close by saying that you have a form planned for Thursday as informational uh public for to talk about the Articles at town meeting and people want more information as they prepare and come to town meeting then Thursday would be a good evening to come at 7 o'clock here to or on or on Zoom to um review and answer ask questions that people may have about the different articles so how many folks going to be at we all going to be able to make that I'll be here I'll be here I should be here yeah I may be a little late I have you got MBTA zoning right oh is that no I'm I'm going to blow off M MBTA zoning I will be there for the first half hour of that if they want to argue about how many houses can be built on a the head of a pin can do that themselves um but um I've got an appointment sure trying to get back will you be here in person or in Zoom or should be in person yeah okay so besides that town meeting Wednesday the 24th yeah I in the past we used to schedule a meeting a board meeting immediately before but I don't see any reason to do it this time yeah I don't think so either I think I think you're in pretty good shape obviously as you work up your thoughts on your particular article let let me know if you need any [Laughter] I expect you're right [Laughter] behind you already said you would yeah motion to adjourn second all in [Music] favor thank you very and so school budget was S6 is e for