I will um kick off the fincom meeting on April 8th 2024 cin thank you for taking notes uh and I will just um Jillian has much more fancy language than I do to check this but I will just go around the room and make sure everyone can hear me that your devices are working properly um and take a um roll call of who is um in the meetings so I will start with who I can see so Cavin great Linda Kadija maybe maybe kadesia all right I'll I'll skip to Peter while she she gets herself on here oh Nathan just pop Peter I'm here ah great all right uh Peter's here also great and now I see Nathan hey Nathan blue all right so I think we're good I think we have everybody um and just as a reminder this meeting is being recorded so make sure not to screen share anything that you don't want to be um in the Public's eye and we'll just jump into it so tonight it seems is just mostly on going through the articles that have yet to be voted on and get that done and then go through our draft comments um and it looks like we have a visitor that might have some information for us as well um on one of the citizens position petitions I believe um no no no I'm wrong oh you're on mute sorry tree committee oh great okay awesome thank you thank you so I'm gonna jump into sharing um our let me go into screen share oh no I can't screen share really it has disabled me from sharing hi Katie um I found that if I log in um on the zoom rather than click the agenda you can um be the the host and then you can screen share so I need to log out and just log in directly from Zoom yes so I logged in from Greg Wilson's email and you used and you used his passcode and that they Supply you yeah yeah I was told to if I'm hosting a meeting to log in from zoom and then then you can host all right I'm gonna I'm I'm going to try okay so I'm going to leave and come back and we'll take it from there and if not I guess we can actually I'm not sure how that'll work but all right to be announced and Katie you're muted it's not letting me share and I I did it from Zoom it let me enter with the passcode um so does anyone else I feel it might just be Jillian does anyone else if you go to screen share give you probably not authorization maybe did someone join the meeting before I did I got post to prohibited screen sharing so I believe it's just Jillian do we want to are we able to continue with most things without screen sharing or should we um hear from uh lee eer uh hopefully I pronounce your name correctly uh hear from Lee iser and then possibly a journ early and reschedule at the earliest possible time when we can get screen sharing working yeah and I I can read the articles as well as much as you know maybe we could get through some of them [Music] um so let me um Lee while you are visiting with us let me pull up my what I would share um so for tree committee those are articles let me get to them do you know that numbers off the top of your head there's only one article oh yeah in public shade trees yes yeah so yeah well yeah feel free to um talk to us on this article um well um I'll tell you the basically the comments that we um uh submitted uh to go along with the uh warrant article uh for town meeting um we talked about um not only has this been a very long process and a process of learning um with our tree Warden Justin DeMarco who's also the DPW director um we uh spent a lot of time reviewing the material he suggested that is on the website of the state DCR Department of Conservation and Recreation and uh followed their guidelines about the development of a bylaw we also reviewed bylaws of many other towns I think at this point there are 110 other cities and towns in Massachusetts that have bylaws some of them uh first uh approved many years ago and uh some of them much more um comprehensive uh than ours will be um ours is limited particularly to public shade trees nothing to do with private trees at all um it um costs no money to the town uh the town as you know uh has no budget for tree plan and very limited funding for tree removal and tree pruning um the funds uh spent on removal and pruning are almost exclusively uh Hazard mitigation and I know that there was some question about whether this uh uh the efforts of the tree committee and the planting that they've been doing actually cre creates a financial burden for the town and the truth is really that the small trees we're planting are the least likely to create hazards uh in the next couple decades than the mature and at this point dying uh Norway Maples that constitute the bulk of the trees in town um we uh are very very very keen on having this bylaw passed because it will give us the opportunity to apply for funds from the state uh from DCR they have a program called uh urban forestry and the requirements of that program for a town to apply uh include having a bylaw having a tree Warden which is actually a statement mandate but not every single town has one and a number of towns have a combination uhe of DPW and tree Warden uh our tree Warden is a certified Arborist um and uh that the another requirement is that the town uh become a tree City USA City I'm sure you've seen signs in other towns and I hope you've now seen the two signs we have up in Maynard uh they are at the both at both ends of Great Road we are very proud about this uh it doesn't just mean that a town has trees in it um it's a rigorous uh application and renewal process every year um and they require that a certain amount of money uh be spent uh by the town on a per capita basis but that that money can be translated from volunteer hours into a federal um hourly rate and so while mayard is poor in funds it is rich in its volunteer work um this past year uh we spent about 750 hours combined between the tree committee and the tree core on the work and the tree City USA uh designation is an acknowledgement of effort and time put into uh tree work as well as actual dollar spent by a town so having a bylaw uh takes this one step actually the final step we need to be able to apply for uh planting funds through DCR great thank you and we had already um it looks like voted on this one as a finance committee the pre previous week and we had recommended it um so it was just important to hear your I feel background Nathan signed up to um work on the comment on this so this is potential um just additional information to help him um draft that comment um does anyone have any questions for Lee while we have her on here um so the tree Waring you refer to is Justin correct correct okay so Justin is a c certified Arborist he's a man of many talents yes so I was a little bit surprised to hear that and um and just uh do you know how many um volunteer hours have gone you know let's just live to this year how many volunteer hours have gone this year into um servicing the public trees um the word servicing uh um I would say well that if you're talking about maintenance um very few if you're talking about planting and nurturing and watering um and the efforts to fund raise to um get those trees to plant um and the designs that had to be developed to be approved by Justin for our planting plans it's about 750 hours last this last year that is that is a lot of work and we we appreciate all that work that went into it the goal the goal is then be if you have the Spas to get grant money to to cover the costs correct that is one goal um it also um spells out uh the duties uh of and uh uh wishes for things to happen under the tree Warden and it also spells out uh the particulars of the tree committee the committee has existed for the last almost three and a half years as an ad hoc committee um it is um scheduled to um go for vote to be a chartered committee and therefore in Midstream um well actually when we were working with Bill Coleman and the bylaw committee we learned that it was going to be uh put forth as a possible chartered committee and so therefore we had to um redo the section on the tree committee about terms of office and how that all worked and the fact that there's um a statement in there that there may be a student non-voting member of the tree committee is an idea that was uh there from the beginning offered I Believe by Our Town Administrator Greg Johnson Peter you had a question can I yeah can I ask um I'm sorry uh thanks for coming um I understand you said no or it's only public trees that this affects can I just push around the corners of that so I'm looking at the definition of public shade tree that says all trees within a public way or on the boundaries thereof shall be public shade trees so does that mean uh trees in someone's yard along the road are public shade trees um see it's well for example I live on Great Road the house directly across from me has no sidewalk there are no sidewalks on the south side of Great Road where I am I'm up by Ericson's Ice Cream um they once had a line of Norway Maples that were probably uh 4 feet uh from the edge of the road so because there's I mean it's clear when you have a public tree if it's on the little strip between the road and the sidewalk that's those are definitely public trees where there's no sidewalk um there's a uh a measure a measure that U the state uh uses in defining what public space is and it's from the center of the road into the grass at the edge of the property so with my with my neighbors across the street there was a Norway maple that needed to come down they called the town and the town came and removed it they didn't plant it um it was part of the uh line of Norway Maples that once uh lined the street up there so I'm sorry I didn't understand that answer was were those public shade trees then yes um okay I can tell you from the experience town meeting has tended to get very hung up on specific definitions of what bylaws cover and um I I don't know if you were around for the fence debate for the for the what I'm sorry for the fence debate we tried to do a bylaw on fences blocking views on corners and stuff no sorry I think it failed two times so um I think it would be good to have very specific examples that town meeting members can understand to say this is what's covered and this is what's not actually um you're right on Target because um we realize that we need to have a further conversation with Justin to be as clear as we possibly can be about this point uh I am not I am not the expert um he he is um and I hear you and I appreciate your your comments yeah I mean people in general have gotten very concerned about potential you know town right to say oh you can't cut that tree down for instance so people are really gonna want to know very specifically you know what if I have a bush on the corner what you know exactly how big does it have to be before it's covered I mean and all the and we will go on for an hour on this I bet at town meeting so well um I I hope we will not you should be prepared um well no no I I think there will be endless questions about exactly what's covered okay and I will say that um sometimes uh people um take down a tree that they believe is theirs when uh if the property line is reviewed it turns out to be a public shade tree um you know it's a it's individual property by individual property where the demarcating line is and people who take down trees who assume that they're theirs they are not um going to um have anything happen to them by the by the town um I mean there is a state law about um fines but I think those have never been uh instituted in mayard so and just to be clear this bylaw isn't changing the definition of what like a public tree or a private tree is it's a that's in Mass General law the bylaw is just kind of copying those definitions over right absolutely um and the definitions um are from specific definitions come from the the DCR State um definitions um which come from the state law okay so when you say has not been instituted in mayard um are you referring to enforcement by the executive branch or is there a requirement that uh for legislative action before um you could actually like hypothet before the town could hypothetically like act on like finding someone for cutting down a a public shade tree well I'm not an attorney and I haven't reviewed that that section for months now but um I think there what I'm remembering is is that there there is like a minimum fine of something like $200 a day if you um cut down a public shade tree um but um Justin once told us and please don't say that I quoted him because I'm not quoting him but said that it's more work to go after some somebody um to uh pay a fine then it's worth the trouble of doing it so um that is that is not the that is not a practice in mayard okay so it sounds like the the burden rests upon executive action as opposed to town meeting action oh it's I'm sorry it's not town meeting action it would be um DPW yep okay so it's when you say you know we have it acted on it I think to be precise what you I correct me if I'm wrong but I'm understanding that to mean like DPW chooses not to enforce those state laws um okay yes um uh yeah all right that's fine y I just want I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly ly what you mean if you know you know if we get another you know I I'd rather say you know the possibility exists to find people but that the town's policy and procedure doesn't um act on it yeah so I mean this is all this is all in the executive branch which is which is you know understandable I think you know any reasonable executive as you point out is not going to you know go after a $200 fine as you said is it's probably in all likelihood more trouble than it's worth right all right any last questions for Lee before we move on to different articles Nathan do you do you think you have enough um substance to okay I think I do um Lee I had one last question though uh for the I understand that it it's defining the role of the tree Warden um what powers does the bylaw give the tree Warden that are not already provided by Massachusetts General law none um it it says the tree Warden may do this and that develop a a a uh tree uh planting plan or may do certain things but but um when we first did a draft we were hoping to uh require the tree Warden to do certain things and uh that was not possible um uh we are not um in any way um overseeing or regulating anything that the tree Warden does and uh the uh amount of time Justin has told us that he is able to spend on tree Warden work is a minuscule portion of his job um but he on the other hand has been just so so helpful and supportive in our efforts to develop a bylaw um he uh knows that um this is something that will help the town and uh has been uh behind our efforts to do it great thank you okay and last all set I think we're good thank you Lee so much for hopping on and and giving us information I know this was an unplanned meeting and we're just trying to squeeze it all in before I know the town meeting so thank you we really appreciate thank you so much I will go now all right have a great night thank you all right so I know I can't share but I can go through all the um articles that we haven't voted on at least and start there feel we can still have discussions on those items so um unless anyone has other feelings or thoughts on that I gu have a procedural question on that um sure have copies of the control articles but do they need to be like read into the meeting in order for us to like officially vote on them um I don't I don't know that question Peter yeah no I don't think so um I mean so the uh draft articles have been posted on our on the board docs website they're available to the public they're free to discuss them without you know we can just describe them as control C control K you know as we know what we're talking about we don't have to do anything else cool thanks okay thank you Peter sure um so I did get I got a couple um of draft comments or um finance committee comments from Cadia I think had three of them Peter had two of them one for free cash one for another um but and I don't think we voted on those ones yet so it looks like on um C article C which is certified free cash appropriation um Peter wrote um comments on that and I did get I didn't even read them were recommending it it did it doesn't say it I feel we haven't voted on it did we vote on it can't answer that I don't show so on Jillian's last um oh Linda maybe maybe not um I can you hear me I can yep okay um that we deferred on that and it was I was concerned that there was nothing in the scene Center but we looked into it and they're they're really not ready to put anything in in the free cash for this year they're working hard but not ready to do so I think we deferred voting on until evening okay um I'll read Peter's comments and then maybe we take a vote on it so this is again certified free cash appropriation um so passage of this article would appropriate the excess cash flow that was generated through town operations from fiscal year 23 to various Town priorities the Massachusetts Department of Revenue recommends as best or as a best practice that communities try to have a free cash balance of three to 5% of their operating budget our operating budget for fiscal year 23 was 48 million blah blah blah and free cash is um 1.3 million which is 2.8% of the budget the town's Financial policies recommend use of free cash for Capital items funding stabilization and oped accounts and snow and ice defaults this article proposes spending in line with these policies we find the deficit in snow and ice and add 185 odd change to stabilization accounts we spend 105,000 on alumni bleacher rental and replacement design and cover 28,000 in change he's very specific on it um of a funding deficit related to unreimbursed covid costs the balance of 750,000 in change is spent on various capital projects as prioritized by the capital planning committee including spending 450,000 in change on the route 27 intersection that will also receive 500,000 of State funding of note there is not funding reserved for a senior center which has been discussed at a prior town meeting Town Administration believes the plan for a senior center is still being developed and other Capital needs outweigh the desire um fund an unspecified project to fund and unspe sorry about my typo there but oh I will change that as I'm in here outweigh um desire to fund I'm gonna desire fund to fun all right I added that in I feel that was a very well written Peter um does anyone have mostly copy from last year but but you were specific the amounts and um and that's always and there was note of the sen um I mean we haven't really voted on it but assuming we're going to approve it um the last two sentences which are the of note and the there is not funding reserved for a senior center um I had some question about whether people wanted to put that in or not I mean um somewhat contrary to what Linda said I don't know that I mean I think we certainly could reserve money for the senior center out of free cash and the lack of a specific plan doesn't mean we don't know they'll need money for it um so it's not really that it's not ready to be funded but more you know Greg is saying I don't recommend it at this point um it's because you know he needs the money for other stuff tough really um and given the discussion at the last meeting um I just thought I thought we should call it out and say you know this seemed to be the will of town meeting and we're not doing it um so but there's no real reason to put that in there except to call that out so you know other people should Express an opinion on that so I think oh go ahead Kevin I did not hear Linda clearly um maybe someone could could help me out if Linda could restate that again but I did someone reach out to the um Council on Aging to get their take on this yeah I believe Linda did um okay and they the issue was that their plan was not um because if you remember from the last time they were asking it from free cash and free cash is too uncertain um and so they had to come up with a better ask from the town or not better but um a more defined if I if I believe right and so they haven't yet and so the the town couldn't allocate funds to them until they did that yeah and you know so I I think it was possibly due to the Future free cash so recalling some of the issues that we had with the citizen petition for the senior center I think the biggest one is that it was allocating from future free cash of which we did not know what the specific amount of free cash was going to be so it was from an uncertain funding source um that was concern number one I I think now that we know what the free cash is hypothetically you know were we to have you know ass a a petition or someone to say you know why could we we could spend free cash on oh well we have to sign a lease that's the thing so I think it's you know either coming up with a plan of action we could fund but signing a lease might be difficult to fund via free cash because that is a multi-year payment thing unless we put up the all the money up front for single year right and and I think Peter's last like two right your point is just we're acknowledging that we're acknowledging that we're not funding it that it's a town concern so when people come up to talk about it at town meeting we've acknowledged that it's a concern um I right I I believe that's the point yeah yeah yeah and but I thought the council sorry go ahead finish so I I think what town meaning voters would like to hear I know like there's funding challenges but if we could I if there's a plan you know to move forward with this that we're actually moving on this and we're acting on it we're not stonewalling it as a town um I think Town meaning voters will hear that um so I I'd be interested to hear from Council on Aging uh whether there's a plan and whether they're moving forward with things there's not a plan we know this I mean wait where have you been they're doing the study right now yeah been on many meetings yeah yeah so so there there we go so they're doing the study we have a plan that plan does not involve free cash free funding this with free cash we're doing a study to create a plan we're doing the stud but sorry we have a road map right we have a road map you know study come up with the plan and then start to execute on that plan but we're not we're not just like we as a town are not just dismissing the senior center we have a plan it just does not involve free cash or we have a road map it just does not involve free cash I should say yeah Peter I think it's still good we included in I'm I'm a fan of including that in in my opinion would you have what was your thinka well I was just going to say that there there is no plan because they're doing a study so we can't really allocate money unless we know what the allocation is specifically the amount and what it's for but I think adding the statement that we're thinking about the senior center is is important and you were very clear Peter in saying the capital needs outweigh the desire to fund an unspecified project um so we we acknowledge it's not clear yet right yeah I guess I would I I mean just to be clear I'm not sure I support changing any free cash allocation but we certainly could set aside some of this money even without a specified plan right we could set up some kind of you know could either put it in the general stabilization fund and say we're kind of earmarking it for a senior center we could you know put in the capital stabilization fund and say we're earmarking it we could create a new fund um I think it's more that town Administration you know mostly Greg are saying without a specific plan he can't justify not doing these other priorities and you know I if you're a fan of the senior senator you might disagree with that um but so be it so I I would propose we recommend this article but um I I think there will be people who feel we should be putting some of this to a senior center so I also come up with the um Financial policy that we have of not using free cap to you know it's a guideline but we generally don't use free cash to fund operating expenses I think if we were to have as straightforward a discussion on this topic of whether to fund the new Senior Center the most straightforward discussion would be to say like this is going to come out of our general budget the funding would come out of our general budget and I think it's a little bit cous to talk about funding the senior center out of free cash I think it does it it kind of for town meeting voters it complicates the funding picture um it makes it obscures really you know what the financial piters be is that in in reality if we're going to have if we're going to be leasing a senior center that is going to be an item that's going to come out of the general budget that's going to be an annual thing that we have to fund and it's going to come come out of the general budget which means that that is going to be competing with all of the other General budget items it's going to be competing with police it's going to be competing with schools or it's going to necessitate an override and I think that is this ultimate discussion we need to have about the senior center is okay how many voters you express the desire for a senior center here are the tradeoffs that you will need to make in order for that to happen I don't know that we've gotten to that point yet without the study being done yes right like like I do agree totally I 100% agree but as far as our comment goes this early in the stage I don't know if we're at that point to make that comment yeah I just think we should be careful in not in suggesting that like oh yeah like free cash is like the way to go with this I think it's it's not the way to go I would say I would I understand the desire and the concern from our residents to have a senior center um but I just want to make sure that we don't complicate the over complicate the picture nor mislead them and mislead tell me or create a misleading impression um I think the proper way I feel like the proper way to do this as I out is as I outlined before so are you looking actually I think that's a oh go ahead Peter sorry Katie no you're fine I think we're saying the same thing well maybe um I think that's a pretty good point and makes me reconsider putting that note in because we do I mean it does create the impression that oh we think free cash is a good way to do this and I mean I agree with cin I don't think it's a good way to do it right yeah I'll say I'm sorry now I can speak um I'm out of the car but I I agree because the there is the UMass study is ongoing and then the senior center committee now has a subgroup working on financing and it won't I I don't think it'll come from it'll be you know what we need in an operating budget and how we're going to how what they're going to the senior center committee will propose to the town um what they what they're recommending for a shortterm and a long-term solution for the senior center so I think um so do you want to just ask that last paragraph I think we could ask the last one yeah that we did note it but it's not I I think that we could just actually not um include it at all include it at all yeah because that was really our recommendation at Springtown meeting was that that was really not the appropriate place to fund to fund that activity it's consistent with the where we didn't recommend it that citizen petition article in the spring right okay I yeah all right I'm I'm fine with changing it I agree with so I just deleted it out of our um drafts that all s to Jillian after this meeting um so I know you can't see this but basically Peter is just reiterating what the passage of this article would do and the percentage amounts that were still within um very low percentage of um using our free cash balance um and what we're spending it on nothing is included about the senior center um just to kind of get there can I make a motion to recommend yeah this article all right so I I move that we that the finance committee recommend the uh control C I believe the free control c yeah I second I will you beat me great so Peter first Nathan seconded and I'll take a roll call vote um so Cavin you're in my top left corner I'll start with you yes all right um kadesia yes Nathan yes Peter yes Linda yes and I am a yes for six to zero great so I'm I'm going to put um let me type in this so Peter 1 um Nathan 2 and it was 60 okay I'll clean that up but that's great and are we good on the um draft comment I feel you were very detailed about it Peter so I think it's good so we're asking this we're the statement about the the senior center correct y I deleted that out of there all all right so a b c we did D we did e [Music] um f is ambulance G we're good on just going through this list really quick um J was removed Linda were there any um edits to the Sewer um K that needed to be made in calculations um on k k is the sewer enter Enterprise fund budget and your numbers were just a little different yeah so um I'm GNA go back to my word document in the um K uh let me just look at K here yeah because there's one where my P my percent change was different and then one where Justin um they agree there were some typos the original one that we looked at and he corrected them but did we get the corrected one no I have not received anything from Justin I don't know if J and there was then there was one where um I'm sorry there's a there's a number of them and I just want to find okay my draft comments there was one where the town is using a different formula for calculating percent change and what they're doing is they what I did was I take the new minus the old divided by the old times 100 what they're doing is in the denom Ator they're averaging both costs and then and then doing the percentage so to me so they're taking like if if the budget went from 100,000 to 150 in the denominator instead of saying you went from you went up by 50 divided by the old 150% increase they averaged the two numbers 150 and divide it by 125 and so there that seems so odd that does that's why but that's what that's the formula that that we explained so I would I would stick with our numbers and I um um so there were two issues and I'm I'm sorry I'm just um I got to go back because there was uh a couple there was SE several of those and I just got to see which one was k um so k i I can read so you wrote passage of this article at adopt the propos two Enterprise fund budget blah blah blah and blah blah blah well the 377,000 is in direct expenses appropriated through the town general fund budget this amount is reimbursed by the sewer fund um sewer Enterprise fund fincom supports this increase um as 4% in align industry um infl INF inflationary drivers so you had in purple not I calculate increase of 4% but selectboard has 3.9% I use the numbers of this and this um so theirs were a little off yeah and they're doing this other this other calculation um where they're averaging the two years and dividing by that so i' I I'm I'd never seen that done before um but there is a note here that typo updated total revenue to um 3, 668,000 they did they fixed the typos and they agre they agreed that those were typos and it's just that in the select boards narrative the percent change is a little different than what we have and I'm not sure um and they they gave the formula um Justin gave the formula and that's why it's different so how do we V on this going forward do we um you know vote to just use our 4% versus 3.9% um as a committee so we generally do not vote on comments okay we come to consensus on comments and just go forward and I would all right and this one hasn't been voted on yeah okay but then on the actual number I would use our number yeah I call out and say the toong town's using the wrong number or maybe we don't really want to do that but I'm fine with using our number and saying and you know let them explain why their number's wrong it's not that it's a different it's something use it's wrong so it is what it is so I can I we got an email back and I should probably respond to the email that this we're using a different formula and this is a more conventional form in my view it's a more conventional formula because there their percent changes are always going to be less by averaging the two numbers yeah I'll send in I'll send an email back all right so we have to vote still as a committee to um recommend the SE sewer Enterprise um fund budget so um we'll we we'll put out anyone who wants to First that a quick question what's the TIC what's the control yeah so this is um sewer Enterprise fund budget so um it would just I'll read it to you passage of this article would adopt the proposed sewer Enterprise fund budget for fiscal year 25 totaling 3,816 th000 in change and appropriate um 3, 439,000 for direct expenses um while the 377,000 in indirect expenses is appropriated through the town general fund budget this amount is reimbursed by the sewer Enterprise fund supports this increase in the sewer Enterprise fund budget of 4% in line with industry inflationary drivers I move to recommend all right and I will um second that so could you read just read off for the record um who who said it who second yeah so Nathan um first and I Katie seconded thank you yeah you're welcome and I'll now take a roll call vote um so this is to recommend um control article okay so Kevin yes all right Cadia yes Nathan yes Peter yes and Linda yes I a yes so having that six to zero and I will update that on the notes for K all right so we also um have to vote on L this one has not been voted on so L is similar fashion is the water Enterprise fund budget so Linda wrote passage of this article would adopt the proposed Ed water Enterprise fund budget for fiscal year 25 totaling a big number almost 3 million 2,994 th000 and other numbers and appropriate 2,517 um dollars for direct expenses while the 476,000 in indirect expenses is appropriated through the town general fund budget this amount is reimbursed by the water Enterprise fund the finance committee supports this increase in the water price fund budget of 11.3% acknowledging the need to spend on water infrastructure to support New Growth we must also support the growing water capacity demands I like that L um she also put here she's getting different percentages so the same thing happened on this um this one as it did the last one I think she got 11 Point article States 10.68% and we got 11.3% yeah so it's like a0 5% difference but still same same as last one any concerns or questions on this before we make a motion all right I'm not hearing things so I will um motion to recommend um article control are they articles or controls they're controls when they have letters articles when they get to be numbers are actually in the warrant thank you so control right now I think they letters all right so I'll make a motion to recommend anyone wants to second that I'll second I'll second Peter so Katie Kev first Peter second and I will take roll call V so Cavin uh yes and kadisha yes Nathan yes Peter yes Linda yes and I am a yes for six to zero um all right great so M we voted on um so Nathan are do you feel confident um the next one without a comment is in which is the public shade trees do you feel good about making a comment and emailing that over yes I I sent you an email oh awesome so let me pull that up and I will here we go all right so the passage of this article would define the role of tree Warden and established an official tree committee making mayard um eligible for State funding through a department of conservation and Recreation grant program for urban forestry These funds could be used for planting new trees preserving mature trees and removing hazardous trees in accordance with the town's Tree Management plan the definitions in language in the proposed bylaw closely follow Massachusetts General law and the current practices of the Town while respecting um a distinction between public trees which are overseen by the tree Warden and private trees which remain unaffected effected the proposed bylaw represents a unique opportunity to bring in supplemental funding for the town's environmental goals without placing additional demands on the budget or the taxpayers I like that I think that's really well written any comments on the comment so I will copy and paste that into our um word spreadsheet that jillan has going Nathan thank you all right so we got that um o which is Cavin um the rooster article so I know Greg and it was dispersed to the rest of us great um here's Bill Coleman someone sent something um with questions and comments did you all get a chance to read that so any more discussion or thoughts on this one I'm not I'm not sure I saw that where was that an email or it was from Jillian and it was attached with all the documents for tonight's meeting um maybe a week or so ago so it might be buried in one of the emails but it sounds like it's not necessarily an isolated incident they just want to um be able to control noise um and yeah need to refresh myself on on it just as well it sounds like that it's not going to be strictly enforced that if people happen to have roosters it will be on a complaint basis um that if a neighbor complains then they can enforce it um the reason it doesn't go through the bylaws and it goes through this is because it's noise and noise falls under a different category [Music] um I was surprised that the the um the you that I'm reading which is from Jillian from um Bill Coleman Bill Coleman it said we don't we don't have a noise ordinance which I was I was surprised I thought we did have a noise ordinance but um evidently we don't he says you're right mayor does not have a noise part yeah we don't have a noise bylaw yeah what can be enforced now for the chief of police is disorderly conduct um so late night parties fall into disturbing the piece some people have come to the bylaw Committee in the past about that um about power tools or leaf blowers but because there's um yeah yeah that is interesting um and then he said just a few few more things to note this isn't um an acting a totally new bylaw currently chapter 18 section 15 states that it's unlawful to keep any domestic farm animals defined as goats sheep pigs or cows on any residential property less than one acre in size um all this change does is add the sentence it also is it is also unlawful to keep Roosters on any residential property so it's just adding that to it um um Katie I I do I do think you may have slightly miscategorized the bylaw um the sheep cows goats that's on a lot less than a certain acreage in size the rooster band yeah un Less on one acre a size so if I were to buy a big plot of land in mayard that was like a previously a farm I mean I know there's so few of them but I mean we still have to think about those people who wish to purchase large plots of land specifically for the point of Hosting livestock right um you know if I if I pull out the money that I buy enough land you know for that livestock you know I could have that livestock the rooster ban is I feel very blanket and it applies to any residential plot uh and as you point out um I know this is anecdotal but you you had neighbors that kept roosters and you did not have a problem uh so my feeling on this is that this is best addressed via noise ordinance that covers the actual nuisance itself rather than trying to obliquely adjusted by a blanket ban on all roosters because I imagine not all roosters are loud just like you know this would be the same thing if like we tried to enact a pitbull ban for example we're not addressing this bylaw does not address the nuisance Behavior IT addresses um a correlation to that and I fear that were this bylaw to pass a lot of in innocent roers would be caught up and be forced to be separated from their owners oh the poor little roers I I feel number one answers that too it says also the time of year can come into play the main reason to ban rooster is the crewing cro in the morning in winter time that comes later in the morning and how are sealed up so no noise doesn't penetrate and wakes people up come spring and summer um that's not necessarily the case because windows are open um so the bo is not going to go around checking on people who have chickens who might be roosters um you know but but they may check um to see if the chickens are being kept in a sanitary condition for their health and the people around them um but I don't think you need a permit to keep chickens um so how will they know but yeah I I do not I I'm hesitant to have well-functioning laws be dependent upon executive discretion I think our job as town meeting is to produce well-founded bylaws uh as opposed to creating these blanket prohibitions and then leaving it up to the executive branch to selectively enforce it and I see Mike Stevens has popped on here you might have com m yes hello yeah sorry go ahead I want to say something first sorry sorry Mike I'm a member so I I want to disagree with Cavin um I'm not a victim of the rooster Lobby um sorry um but yeah I I I don't have any problem with this I don't see this as some vast overreach I think there's very little place in a town like mayard to say oh you know we really they going to have roosters around um and so I'm fine with this bylaw yeah there's probably not many roosters but M Mike did you have anything you wanted to add I just want to make sure um Kevin that uh the there is a difference between roosters and hens and and I that there are very few roosters as we understand it around town and this does not affect people who can um maintain I think it's up to six hens um at a time lame hens and they don't need a rooster uh surprisingly um to to lay the eggs so I just wanted to make sure that point was was understood the women can do it [Laughter] all and and I I do feel just from personal experience some people don't know they have roosters and sometimes it's a surprise that oops this one was a rooster um you know and then they just have to find a farm for it but and I'd like to say it only applies to residential land and not is not farm land right so if you were zon farming then it of any size it wouldn't apply right I I'm not sure if that if that happens in mayor but it's only residential oh there also Right to Farm too so we you do have the right to keep livestock at residential plots of land it's actually kind of a development especially in this area to um raise your own chickens raise your own livestock but I don't think we're a right to Farms May isn't I don't think May we're not a right we're not a we're not we're not we're not a right to farm community but you know we do have the prohibition we do have the ability to within our law to to raise livestock of residential plots but again I think I think this this bylaw is oblique it's blanket it's non-specific and addresses a correlation to nuisance as opposed to the actual nuisance itself I think the proper way to do this would be to have a noise ordance in our bylaws and thus that would cover roosters that would cover any other situation when we get it in instead of trying to address it peace mail well even if you you're not unanimous do we want to take a vote on this one sure I'll I'll move to not recommend since I'm the most vocal on it I'll second that all right I'll take a a roll call vote to not recommend go ahead Nathan you're seconding sorry you're seconding to not recommend correct okay okay all right so um roll call vote Kavin yes kadia no Nathan yes Linda no Peter no and I'm a no for for so would this change our recommend because it didn't pass no uh uh can I make a motion that we recommend this article let's just do it that way so I'm making a motion that we recommend this article hold let me let me just get the vote total so that was um two two four and four against correct correct all right sorry for the interruption no you're good so now Peter is motioning to recommend um control o and Cadia seconded yes um so this is Peter first Cadia second um and I'll take a roll called V vote so Kevin no kadisha yes Nathan no Linda yes Peter yes and I'm a yes for four to two so I will update on the sheet as well um Kevin you um are the one do you still feel comfortable making comments on this one um I could I mean if you if guys feel I think I could um you know I know my point of view um I think maybe it would be helpful to hear someone from the other Viewpoint I mean I could play Devil's Advocate but um I'd be interested to I I think I I I would need to hear from the people who voted for it their reasons for voting for it and the reasons we're giving the recommendation um roosters are noisy and they're a nuisance in the morning and the art I would say the article's limited to residential not agricultural um zoning zoned areas and it just takes I mean this isn't to write in there but it just takes a complaint so if you have a rooster that doesn't cause complaints it doesn't cause complaints but if you have a rooster who wakes people up in the morning I get that and so I'm gonna say you know roosters are a noisy and a nuisance and the article is limited to residential zoning only um and the minority descent I will just say the minority felt that this law was a blanket prohibition that would prohibit non nuisance roosters or that would blank that would blank it break a Prohibition that would sweep up in its ban innocent roosters and the and addresses a correlation to the nuisance and not not the actual nuisance itself we're gonna get Peta involved here sounds good to me yeah that sounds good do you agree with that categorization of the minority opinion I I I would add in that would be better addressed with a noise ordinance rather than a uh the bylaw yeah yeah I think that's good to know all right and if you email me that Kevin I will add that to the draft so no pressure um I will move on to see what time is it 81 we're still good [Music] um all right there's no comments I don't know that this got assigned to someone uh this is control R establishment of aset Valley Regional Vocational Technical School stabilization fund so we voted to recommend it was anyone given this to make comments on no there's a few of these so um does someone want to um assign thems to make comments on this one so again this is establishment of the assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical School stabilization fund I can write the comments on that one this is Linda y Linda yep so are sorry we did vote to recommend this already we did we voted um seven to zero Linda first Kevin seconded and it was seven to zero do you want me to read should I read the comment the aset comment no okay all right so I will put your name next to that one um and then also the mayor Golf Course receipts transfer we recommended um Nathan was no on this one um but the rest of us recommended it and this was to transfer the sum um to the from the mayor Golf Course receipts reserved for appropriation to pay for Capital Improvements to the golf course this was a conversation that we thought like is it really going to make a difference um but it was money that they had earned that we had voted on appropriating no one is making the comment on this yet though so this is control s does anyone I can do that one if nobody else wants to all right Peter it's all you so that's control s um we're good for control t we're good for control U we're good V we're good W [Music] um oh we need to vote on x so X is to amend the zoning bylaw section 3.12 7.2 and 11 Firearms business and shooting ranges so the finance committee comment so far is that currently there are no Town Bila zonings for firearm businesses and shooting ranges if this article is passed it will amend town bylaws by adding firearm businesses and shooting ranges by special permit process from the planning board this will not supersede federal or state laws or regulations and I think that was important to add this bylaw would allow the town planning board to have oversight of new proposed businesses and gives guidance on the how new business owners can get established in town kadia I think you did this one what was that did did you write this one Firearms no I think that was Jill oh maybe it was okay so we have to vote on this one it has not yet been voted voted on any um comments or or discussion that we want to have on this yeah I'm just I'm just want to like revisit our conversation about this with uh Chris from the planning board is that right that what I remember him telling us is that right now if a Firearms business wanted to open up in May it would just be slotted through like retail and there's like no other like regulations on it so this this would be putting like additional checks and like safety measures in place if somebody wanted to open that up he also said there's not currently a Firearms business that wants like that's like negotiating with town the town or anything um but it was just like kind of like a gap in like our bylaws is that everybody else's understanding as well yeah that's what I remember too yes I agree so I would be in favor of recommending um this amended zoning bylaw because I think it gives us Extra Protection and measures in place um so I will will first what what's the control number on this um this is control X after you I will second night night so that's um I first um Cavin and Nathan seconded and I'll do a roll vote so Cavin yes Cadia yes Nathan yes Linda yes and Peter yes yes sorry and I am a yes for 6 to zero Kevin and so the next one is also a zoning bylaw that I believe then Jill made a comment end so this is to and we have to vote on this to amend zoning bylaw section nine this is the Powder Mill overlay District in MBTA communities oh kadesia this was you um so kadiro this article is in compliance with the mayard master plan the Powder Mill Road Corridor and allows mayor to be in compliance with the MBTA communities act mgl and she cites it uh it provides adequate control to allow Manor to grow in a thoughtful manner financially beneficial to the town thank you for that kadesia any discussion on this one so I will make a motion to um recommend this is control Y correct contr right I second that sorry who wants to Second it Nathan you won Nathan did all right uh roll call vote Cavin yes and kadisha yes Nathan yes Linda yes and Peter yes and I'm a yes for six to zero mat is on why oh we got a few more devot on all right so next one is z as in zebra and kadesia wrote this one as it's about Summer Street so this is about the um disposition of 6163 Summer Street and she wrote this article allows the select board to sell property at 6163 Summer Street formerly the Fowler School on the terms and condition it deems most advantageous to the town the former school had outlived its educational purpose more than 20 years ago it needs major Rehabilitation for any Municipal purposes and to continue to allow it to remain a town property is a negative position for the town the first step is to sell the town the first step to sell um the property is to declare an obsolete asset while controlling future development through an RFP process the RFP process will allow the town to develop it within the the main and master plan the finance committee recommends the sale of this property which could be a financial benefit to the town also very well worded any thoughts on that I don't know if you want to add anything about it being a historic property but I didn't want to go on too far so hi don't and would actually prefer that it not get mentioned I I just think it'll confuse the issue um I'll move that we recommend this article then all right so cin this is um control Z okay Keeter moved Peter first I will second and roll call Vote pavin Yes and kadisha yes Nathan yes Linda yes and Peter yes so that is a and I am a yes for six to zero all right great um I don't think we have anyone oh maybe we do so Nathan you're assigned to this one um this is yeah I the cemetery one uh I email I wasn't really sure what these two control articles were about I don't know if anybody on on the finance committee can speak to them um I emailed Greg about it because I didn't see any similar transfers in previous years so I wasn't sure if this is a new thing at the cemetery or if this is a regular transfer but it happens you know periodically rather than every year um does anybody know what like what the purpose of these transfers is I feel they're on every year um Peter correct me if I'm wrong I feel the sales and yeah there's a trust account and they just have to be shifted to the maintenance account I like I looked at the Town warrants for like s uh for the town meetings since like 2020 and I didn't find anything that was exactly the same there were Cemetery transfers but this is like a larger sum and it seems like it's emptying um the sale of graves account and putting it into two different accounts one of which is for like immediate maintenance and one is some sort of like trust fund trust for like the future maintenance um I just I I couldn't find anything exactly the same in previous years yeah um I would recommend we not act on this and maybe Katie or Jillian could Echo Nathan's email yeah and I would be blunt and say wait why is this coming up now why what's different from prior years I can't believe these I think the sponsor comments are very inadequate that you know it puts it there as though this is just a routine thing we always have done and's right we haven't done this before so what's new what's different why are we doing it now we give a real explanation and would that be to the DPW uh I would put it to Greg and let him assign it okay Greg did email me back and said that he or Justin would you know respond but I you know I haven't seen something since then um okay and I I just emailed him last night but yeah oh anyway yeah I we we can recommend we can do our recommendation at town meeting yeah um for that I mean this is a new thing and um all right so I will vote well it's not a vote but that will curb for now AA ab and AC um well ab and what's no no sorry AA and AB AC is different yes yes okay so a and a all right so AC um Linda this this was you and you may have I don't know if I I got anything this was water Enterprise retained earnings transfer for Capital Improvements so I did email the comments but just to Jullian I didn't email them to you Katie so I can um do you want to email them to me and then I I'll read them and we could take a vote yeah yep let me just there there's so many controls this year all right um let me go to my email I'm going to uh okay I gotta email I gotta email this to you Katie um new mail KY touch oops don't know if it's from looking at a screen or the eclipse but I'm like are my eyes damaged just feel a little buggy all right I just emailed all right thank you I will refresh okay here we go thank you that came through fast so download so Linda wrote that um this article would transfer 180,000 of water retained earnings for the DPW to use for Capital Equipment perment These funds would allow for the purchase of a new truck to replace a 15-year-old truck this will allow the Department of Public um waste to properly service the town's water operations and repairs maintaining an aging Fleet of vehicles can add additional cost to the town through vehicle maintenance repairs finance committee supports this transfer to strengthen the dpw's fleet as rates will not be affected thank you for that sorry just double checking and I maybe I misheard it but I thought you said Department of Public Waste yeah I think that should be water you did so it's was it's waster right water yeah I'll change that right now thank you good catch yeah I wasn't sure if it was waste or water so yeah okay and I and I said waster so it's even a word so as amended is water yeah so we have to vote on this one I feel still let me go back to my controls yes we have to vote on this one so I will um make a motion to recommend I'll second it so Cavin I first Peter second did this is control what's the control AC and you said Peter was first um I was first Peter second all right Katie first Peter second and I'll take a roll call vote starting with you Kevin yes and kadia yes Nathan yes Linda yes Peter yes and I am yes for six to zero all right great and I will copy and paste those comments thank you Linda um all right we need to vote on AE which is um draft control um AE acceptance of private roads so I'm not sure who made this comment maybe it was Jill at the special town meeting October 10th 2023 voters approved this article that allowed for the taking of these roadways but a layout hearing was not yet complete completed at that time to accept these roads as public roadways after this layout hearing they once again are appearing on the ATM warrant this article proposes to acquire Fletcher Street Heights Terrace and Allen Drive as public ways unaccepted roads are surveyed yearly for potential Town acceptance following the pavement management plan by the DPW unaccepted roads are not allowed to be improved as stated in town bylaws these roads are used by residents throughout the town and by Public Safety service so I feel I cannot vote on this one right I I'll move that we recommend this article then all right so um kin this is a e is an elephant I'll second okay AE Peter first cesia second and I'll take a roll call vote Kevin yes Kia yes Nathan yes Linda yes Peter yes and I have to abstain I imagine right I'll abstain yeah so five five to one abstain all right so great um oh our cursor is almost to the bottom all right so then we have AF which we did um all right so there was two that I had to write a comment on we'll see how my comment is um so this is and we have to vote on this this is a g g is in guy um and this is emergency notification um draft control so I said the passage of this article would allow the town to negotiate the best rates possible regarding an emergency notification contract not being limited to a shorter contract term this would be in the town's best financial interest um so this one if any if they're trying to negotiate a contract more than three years they have to get Town approval so it's anywhere from three to 10 years that this allows them to negotiate a contract which could potentially give them better rates sounds like more stability in financing too right I will say I reached I reached out to someone I know because she feels that they um that potentially some rates were locked in too high too long so that at the same time if if rates like the for the Verizon contract or the you know that that not getting in a um fiveyear or 10year contract would have been in our better interest so I guess it depends what it's regarding um but you know potentially they can get better rates the longer the term of the contract it sounds like as well and so this first one is just regarding emergency notification and I'm not entirely sure what that involves but um maybe for the town to get like you know powers out or I'm not sure examples of that but it didn't sound too complicated any questions or concerns on this one so again it just allows the town to negotiate contracts more than three years I I move to recommend control AG Nath yeah no thank you Linda Linda second K you got those yep Nathan who is the second first Linda second all right my my Square shifted so Cadia roll call vot yes oh you're muted yes okay Nathan yes and Linda yes Peter yes kin yes and I'm a yes for 6 to zero the next one I almost copy pasted it's the same thing but for information technology so it um the passage of this article would allow the town to negotiate the best rates possible regarding an informational technology contract not being limited to a shorter contract term than three years this would be in the town's best financial interest so we have to vote on this one I will make a motion to um recommend ah I [Music] second yeah you do it okay no kadesia you won yeah all right um roll call Vote kadesia Yes and Nathan yes Linda yes Peter yes and Cavin yes all right who's who's the who's the Mover who was the second I I yeah I was first and kadesia was second and that was 60 yep um is that's it so I think we voted on all of them well there's AA and ab yes so those we're going to curb so those are the cemetery sales um so I at our next meeting I know that's going to be too close to potentially print in the um in the materials we can just have comments ready to go at town meeting correct yes okay so we'll meet prior to that so we we can tackle those at that meeting and maybe I'll make a note that we want to talk to Justin right or I can email him that we have questions on those yeah I'm interested that uh Greg referred it to Justin oh you're right Greg y Greg and I kind of let's see what they say I mean we'll have a couple of meetings before actual town meeting right but just where it's in regard to the finance and moving money before between funds right I almost think it's probably more Greg than Justin but maybe I'm wrong right so I'll email Greg and see what he says and we can take it from there um [Music] any others that you would like more information on I think we voted on all of them and we have comments on all of them except those particular ones looking through for the new comments we can just email them to Katie you and Jillian Katie is that the best way the draft comments yeah that's what people have been doing and whoever's on it just has been copi pasting it into the um word doc we have going on okay I mean Jillian has been managing that I just added to it this last round great that was good good job guys um I I think that was all the purpose of tonight was to vote on the um ones we haven't voted on so I may notes on them and I'll update all of them and then I those are the only two we don't have comments on and we can wait till our next meeting for that I'll email Greg um and see if he defers us to Justin again but at least get some comments from him on it um I'll State specifics that you know what's new why now the amount seemed um much different than in previous years what is the reason for that um well I think it's that it didn't exist in pre previous years we can recollect or find so last year there was a $50,000 transfer which is like kind of specific to one of the two funds um and the year before that and the year before that I didn't see any any article about it and this year there's two different articles and it's emptying the account splitting it 50% into one into the one that got $50,000 last year and the other 50% is going into um like another account for like immediate spending I think um yeah so it's maybe like they're trying to get rid of fund potentially yeah I don't know if it's just like a restructuring thing or what but because I because it wasn't obvious to me after like looking at the last few Town meetings I think we should look into it a little bit further what was the total dollar amount Nathan let me see it is 12,000 or so oh yeah that's much more than the previous year yeah split 60 into each art each article okay I know we're meeting so our next meeting is I need to look that up I don't know was not APR 22nd right because we're on April break April 22nd yeah okay so April 22nd at 7 is there anyone that other than asking Greg about that you you know those questions that we have anyone that we wanted to invite to that meeting that I should let Jillian know about or do we just want to tighten up everything that we have as far as comments and whatnot I believe there was now that I'm thinking about it there was a question um to Natasha about the school let me find that um yeah so to meet services in fiscal year 25 the school department plans to draw on various reserve and revolving funds we were concerned about them drawing down their revolving funds and Jill was checking with Natasha on how to properly properly describe these funding sources but I don't I don't know that she has to talk to us um regarding that Katie we have to have a hearing before annual time meeting is oh we have one booked we have one booked yeah I'm trying to think is that our next meeting or because annual T meeting is the 13th of May and so when that's what I have on my calendar but I I have it as the 20th of May and the 13 20th of May hearing okay so the 13th is our public hearing okay finance committee yeah public hearing okay thank you public hearing and then May 20th is the town meeting so just I mean our typical practice would be we would probably meet April 22nd and then meet May 6 as regular meetings we would meet May 13th um to do the public hearing and probably nothing else and then you know really May 20th council's a meeting because it's town meeting right um just so people know the schedule now we could opt to skip May 6 um you know if we choose the next meeting um if we finish everything on then yeah y okay great so April 22nd 7 PM have it on your calendars um okay and I'll I'll give all these updates to Jill and and let her see what you know if she wants anyone to come to our next meeting but we might just finish everything up that will take enough time are there any um announcements I guess announcements isn't the right word but updates from any um Liaisons that that you felt important to communicate tonight I don't think there is any meetings that I knew of all right so no comments should we wrap it up call tonight all right so I will make a a motion that we adjourn so it is 8:43 Kevin and I will make a motion that we adjourn 840 three motion to 843 motion to journ I'll second that motion all right and I'll take a roll call Vote ksha Yes and Nathan yes Linda yes Peter yes and Kevin yes right we are six to zero awesome I think we got we got a good amount done for not having screen sharing so thank you guys for letting me read those and I think we're still productive um and have a great April break and we'll see you April 22nd