Good afternoon. Today is Friday, February 27th at 12:30. It's a meeting of the Accession Board of Selectmen. Is there a motion to call the meeting to order? >> So move second. >> All those in favor? >> I motion carries. As a reminder, this meeting will be audio and video
recorded. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
>> All right, just by um we kind of condensed a couple meetings that we were supposed to have this week into one meeting um because we didn't have an opportunity to meet obviously because I have a blizzard. We had a blizzard. And uh while we're here, I
think it would be remiss if we didn't thank um our public safety units. We have a number of police officers here in the uh audience um to thank you and and your team and interim chief copper for the work that you guys did. We'll talk a little bit about that later on the
meeting. But again, I'd be remiss if I didn't say thank you to those that are here and to your colleagues. um not easy work, but we appreciate all that you've done uh to do to get us through this. So, with that said, we do have
uh looking at police chief interviews, uh presentations with the possible appointment of a chief. Um as you know, we've gone quite some time. Uh we had an interim chief, uh Tom Karu. Thank you for your work.
When we did that, he moved on and then we appointed Sergeant Gary Coppa who served as who's served as the interim chief as well. And Gary, you've done, you know, an outstanding job during that time. And so
we the board uh kicked off an assessment center where uh three candidates decided to put their name in the ring and go through that process. So for those three uh gentlemen, thank you for participating in that process. Um, and with that said, uh, there was a ranking
that took place. And so, uh, we have we have two 203 that are here, uh, today. It's an opportunity for you to put your yourself forward. The board may have some questions for you. Um, so with that said, gentlemen, if it's okay, I'd like to, uh, unless there's some comments or
anything, I'd like to have uh, Gary Copper approach the the stand microphone. I think uh Gary um and I guess you know this is a little bit different from the last time I wasn't here for that where
you served as you're serving as a provisional um but um you know last from what I understand last go around it was it was an open season right there was three candidates who put forward um there was no provisional at the time right if I remember correctly
>> correct okay >> good so with that Gary if you could uh introduce yourself, tell us about you, your background, your um your career, um why you decided to participate in this process.
>> Well, good afternoon. First of all, um for those of you who don't know me, my name is Gary Papa. I'm a lifelong Christian resident. I am married to my wife Relle for nearly 25 years. Uh together we have two children. My son Brady who is in graduate school and my
daughter Kiana who's in her undergrad. Um I guess my journey started in public safety when I was 18 years old. I joined the Christian fire department as a firefighter/ EMTT. Uh I worked as a desk officer for the fire department and
covered some of their vacant shifts. I also worked at St. St. Luke's Hospital in the emergency room as emergency rooms uh assistant while I was putting myself through school. Uh I graduated in 1996 from Salvina University with administration of justice degree. Uh that same year I was appointed a reserve
intermittent officer at the Christian Police Department. Um I served that role until I was promoted to a full-time officer in 1998. Uh I graduated from the Plymouth Police Academy in 1999, the winter of 1999. Um,
as a patrolman, I took on extra roles. I was the deco officer for the department. I was the liazison for as the seizures rep. Um, I was also a field training officer and, uh, was a firearms officer.
Uh, in 2005, I was promoted to rank of sergeant. Um, as a sergeant for the last 20s something years, I have been in charge of the detective division and all three patrol ships. Um during my career
as a sergeant, I was the case officer for the 1986 homicide of Marty Lockan. Uh that investigation led to the arrest and conviction of her murderer nearly 22 years after her death. In 2020, I was I
returned to the firearms division as the firearms offer officer and I served that role until September of last year, 2025, when I was appointed provisional uh chief of police and that's what I currently am right now. Um
during my career, the dedication I've had to this town's um public safety is I feel I'm very proud of. I can't think of a better way to end my career than being the leader of the police department. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, gentlemen. Any uh questions
or comments? >> Uh Mr. Chairman, if I may. Um >> Gary, uh I haven't known you that long, but I feel um very comfortable with you along with everybody else in the department. And I will say that, you
know, I'm not really superly concerned with typical interview questions because I feel like I've known each of these candidates for a long enough time where I could, you know, judge based on character and personality. Um, I will say that your level of communication to each member of this board, I can't speak
for them, but I can speak for myself, um, is is paramount. It's topnotch. Um, you've done a fantastic job in the role that you're in, and I appreciate you just showing up for this town. >> Thank you. I've had a lot of help though. The department has been excellent. >> I know. You have. >> Great. Well, I'll say this. Um, I got a
soft spot for Salv Regina is that I uh spent a year there in my uh in the in the 1980s. And I'll just give you an aside. My grandfather owned a mom and pop grocery store on Belleville Avenue. And he was dropping me off in 1978 1987. He said, "Look at you from Belleville
Avenue to Belleview Avenue." Right. That is the major thoroughare. So, good for you for doing that. And I echo u Mr. Hinckley's uh thoughts as well. I mean, I think you really showed your your chops during the storm and the level of communication has been outstanding. So,
so for that, thank you again for for going forward in this process. >> Thank you. >> I I would just repeat exactly what Mr. Inkley said. Great job, Chief. >> Thank you. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Next uh next candidate is uh Mr. Jeremy Fox.
>> Yeah. Thanks, man. Man, Sergeant France, I'm having a flashback uh when you first came before the board is what you know, probably uh how long ago was it? 20 years ago? >> 2003, I get there, >> man. All right. Quite a while ago. >> All right. So, same process. If you could introduce yourself, tell us about
tell us about you and your career and your journey, why you decided to go through this process. >> Absolutely. Great. Thanks. Uh first, thank you guys for the opportunity. Um I'm not going to be as polished as Gary. I got to read my paper a little bit. So, I apologize for that. Um, it's an honor to be here. Before he was a candidate for the position of Police Chief, I
truly 20 years ago didn't think that I would ever be in this position right here. Um, but for those of you at home that don't know me, I know this is wash. My name is Jeremy Fonts and I think it's important to explain how I got here in 2003 as select. I just uh pointed out I
came before you guys seeking appointment as a part-time police officer. And if I remember correctly, I wasn't selected at that time. So, I was given the uh advice by some of the chief, excuse me, the chief then to go gain some experience, which I did. And that created probably one of the biggest turning points in my
life where I had to overcome defeat and come back and try again. So, since then, I've graduated from the full-time police academy in 2006, and I've tried to contribute positively to the department and community. Everything I've accomplished professionally has been a result of teamwork and collaboration
with some of the dedicated officers you see here now. Uh throughout my career, I've never hesitated to step forward and I've accepted difficult and thankless assignments with the department when they needed someone to do that. I was proud to serve alongside selectman Gaspar and Monar as the police
representative on the building committee for our current police station and that facility today that we have is something the town could be proud of and I was proud to have a small role in that. I've also served for many years as a union representative and currently hold the position of vice president for teams local 59. And in that role, we've
represented about 1500 uh labor uh members. That position has put me in some difficult situations where I've had to have some difficult discussions with members of this board. However, I'm proud that those conversations were always honest, respectful, and productive and has strengthened my
ability to listen, negotiate, and work towards fair solutions. And I think those are skills that are essential for a good leader. And within the department, I've served in every nearly every role. Patrol officer on all shifts, firearms licensing officer, field training officer, detective, and
currently detective sergeant. and I've worked alongside outstanding officers, and we've been able to bring justice and closure to victims of sexual assault, recover significant amounts of stolen property and money, investigate violent crimes that resulted in offenders being held accountable in our courts, and some of them are still serving significant
jail time. As a result of that, I was asked uh to join the United States Secret Service Cyber Crime Task Force. And through that assignment, I also served as a special deputy US Marshal. and those experience really helped uh expand my perspective and strengthen the partnerships that directly benefit the
town. As some of you may remember in 2016, I was involved in two significant incidents that deeply affected both our community and myself. Those experience reinforce an important truth for myself that policing impacts not only the public we serve but also the well-being of the officers who who are performing
the work. In response, I joined the regional critical incident stress management team in 2017. And today, I serve as a coordinator. And in that position, I help police officers, including members of our own town, manage commu cumulative stress of critical incidents, build resilience, and continue their careers with pride
and professionalism. After being promoted to sergeant in 2020, I made a personal commitment to finish something I had started many years earlier. And I returned to school to complete my bachelor's degree in criminal justice, which I had begun in 1999. I'm proud to share that I graduated from Fisher
College this past year with a 4.0 GPA and I completed the goal that was not only important for me but it was important to show my children to finish something that you started. So outside of my professional life, I'm a husband. I'm a father of two. My wife of 15 years works locally at Titus. Her support,
patience, and understanding have made my career possible. Despite the demands of this profession, family remains my foundation and I've been fortunate to stay involved in our community through school events, coaching youth soccer, attending touch my son's travel soccer games, watching my daughter's theater
performances, and just being present. Um, part of the preparation for this was the assessment center. I just wanted you guys to know that uh that probably started the day that Chief Richmond left. So, I accelerated the completion of my degree. uh sought the advice of
some area chiefs, past chiefs, one that's here today, and just tried to prepare myself that even if I wanted to do this, and that's why I'm here today because I personally decided that >> maybe it's something I would throw my hat in the ring and give it a shot. So, here I am today. I appreciate the
opportunity. Sorry for stumbling through and thank you. >> Very good, Jeremy. Uh great presentation. you know, you've been a pleasure to work with over the years, and I am glad to have seen firsthand your development and your professional and personal development. Um, and you
you made a mark made a mark on the community everywhere you go. You know, we've been we've had some battles at the negotiating table, but we're always able to uh shake hands during and afterwards, and there's never been any hard feelings. So, I think that's a that's a great testament to you and, you know, how you approach and how you do
business. So, thank you for putting forward. >> Thank you. Yeah. Know, incredible. Um, Jeremy, I've gotten to know you over the years. Um, I've known you for quite some time now. Um, and you know, it's funny cuz whenever I'm out in the public and I'm
talking to residents, um, your name pops up, you know, and and it's never in a bad way, right? Phenomenal police officer, you know, kudos to him and everything. And I remember back in 2020 when we were able to promote you to sergeant. Um it was a very proud moment
for myself as it always is when I get to promote to somebody a patrol to a sergeant's position. So um to you and I got to know your family a little bit in in that time um span. So um to you to Gary Copper I don't think this board could go wrong no matter which decision
happens. Um you're both two phenomenal individuals for the police department. So, thank you both very much for taking that step um and stepping up for the department. Right. That's that's what it really matters, right? >> Exactly. >> Be team players. >> 100%. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um Jeremy, I
will touch on a personal note here. When I first got elected, you were one of the first people to introduce yourself to me, and I considered that pretty pivotal in in meeting people around the town. Obviously, I go through and I meet everybody else and I I feel like I've
developed a friendship with you. >> Absolutely. >> And I want to just point out part of part of this, you know, it's a thankless job here. Thank definitely a thankless job where you're at a lot of the times, but anytime there's a community event,
you're one of the first people there smiling and talking to people and it means a lot to me because I can tell that you appreciate this community as we do and it's a big deal and I don't know if anybody ever tells you thank you for that and same thing to Gary. Uh it's it's a huge deal to be involved with the
community, whether it's filling a bus, setting that up every year and making sure you're here at cruise night or you're at Apple Beach and you you know you're you're participating in the community that you serve and it's huge. >> Thank you. I appreciate for noticing it. >> Thank you guys.
>> I didn't know you were a cruise night. >> You keep flying on the radar. >> Exactly. Since it's passed, I figured I could bring it up. >> Right. >> Well, thank you guys. Great. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right, gentlemen. Um,
how do you want to uh move forward with this? I know we went through an assessment center. What I understand Chief uh interim chief copper scored first. Uh, Sergeant Font number two. Mr. Darl, who is not here, um, was in third
place. And so, um, what's the pleasure of the board and how we want to move forward? So we would have to then go into we have an opportunity to go session designate and then go into
>> similar to what we did last time. >> So how would I word that? Uh Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion to designate and advance >> into negotiations >> into negotiations Mr. Gary S. Kappa.
>> Okay. Second. All those in favor? >> I have an I. Right. Unanimous vote. Congratulations, Gary. For all of you who are here. Congrats. All right. So, we have a couple of
executive sessions that we have to do. So, uh, Chief Copper, um, Gary, what we're going to do is we're going to go into executive session. The board needs to just come up with a strate, you know, we're going to talk amongst ourselves and then we will invite you in uh to to
talk about contract and hopefully we'll be able to to come out and, you know, memorialize this. Um, so with that said, gentlemen, we do have also uh our designate for the town administrator. He is here on site as well. But I think
same thing we can go go into exe go into both executive sessions talk about the police first get our act together do that dismiss and then have the the second negotiation talk about it amongst ourselves invite the designate in our
hope that we'll be able to get this stuff wrapped up um or not. You never know. So with that said, is there a motion for convening executive session Mass General Chapter 38 section 21? Can I say a few? >> Yeah, of course. I'm sorry. Sorry about
that. Feel remiss not to say this. I might have to read off of this. We'll see. There's a few people that I would like to thank uh for basically helping me through the last 6 months and throughout my career. But um first I
want to thank you guys for trusting me to to this appointment. I would like to thank my family. Um they've made it possible for the last 30 years to be a police officer. I thank them for that. I would like to thank the town department heads. That's why I'm over here. They
showed me the ropes and there was very little hazing with the exception of maybe Tommy father once in a while. Um, I would like to thank the former chiefs of the town of Aushet, Chief Rushman's here. The other chiefs, uh, Chief Pitus,
Chief Als, um, they've been supportive. They've helped guide me through the last 6 months, and I do appreciate that. I would like to thank the area chiefs. Um, they have taken me under the wing. They have shown me the ropes as well, and they've helped me through the transition. Um,
I would like to thank the chief of police administrative assistant, Rebecca Brager. She has helped not just myself, but Tom Ku through this um, transitional period, and she's gone above and beyond for both of us, and I thank her for it.
But mainly, I want to thank, sorry if I get emotional. It's >> okay. >> I want to thank the men and women somewhere here of the accusition police department. For 18 months, we had no permanent chief, but they continue to provide top level services to this community.
It's an honor and a privilege to be appointed your chief. Hopefully that happens, but I thank you for what you guys have done and that same level of commitment and leadership will be done under my leadership as well. So, thank
you guys. That's all. >> So, thank you. Thank you, Chief. And um you know I was always taught that the fine print of every contract is the relationship and the human aspect of it. And you just showed that. So thank you for that.
>> All right. With that said, is there a motion to go into executive session, Mass General Law, Chapter 3A, section 21A, subsection 2, to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-UN personnel, police chief, or to conduct collective
bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with non-union personnel and to come back into executive session. Is there a motion? >> Come back into open session. >> Come back into open session. Sorry about that. Is there >> So moved. Second >> roll call vote. Mr. Gasper, >> yes. >> Mr. Hinckley, >> yes.
>> And I'm a yes. Second executive session is a motion for convening executive session mass general law chapter 38 subsection 21A2 to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel. Town administrator would conduct collective bargaining
sessions or contract negotiations with non-union personnel. The board will return to public session at the conclusion of this executive session. Is there a motion? So moved to second roll call vote. Mr. Gasper, >> yes. >> Mr. Hinckley, yes. Yes. We'll now have an executive session to discuss those
matters. All right. We are back from executive session and is there a motion to reconvene open session? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. Motion carries. All right. We've got some good news. Um, as you all know, uh,
we've identified a a finalist and a candidate for the next town administrator's position. Uh his name is Mr. Adam Lamontaine. Adam, if you would uh approach the podium and we are pleased to announce that uh we've come to terms uh with Miss L Mr. Laontaine
and Mr. Gasper and Mr. Hinckley. You know, we're obviously impressed with your credentials and sort of the spirit and energy uh that you bring uh that you will bring to the position. I think it's something that's uh not to be understated. That's an important part of
the job, but also um your level of expertise. And so we have negotiated a contract in the terms. Mr. Gasper, if you want to uh not um announce that. >> Yeah. So I'll just make a motion to ratify the town administrator's contract as negotiated in the first year salary
at 139 with a start date of April 1st. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I motion carries. Congratulations. >> Congratulations, Adam. >> Thank you, Adam. You want to say welcome to the town of >> words. Well, thank you. I want to really ple I'm really honored and I I feel like we're going to have a really excellent
relationship. Uh one of the smoothest negotiations I've ever had. So I want to thank you for taking the time and all the work you're doing on behalf of the residents of the Kushnet. I think we're going to get a lot accomplished. I'm really looking forward to check out that golf course. And Jamie um looking forward to the transition. I've already
started watching meetings trying to understand what's going on, what needs to be the revenues and the like. So uh thank you for your time. Thank you for your consideration and your trust and confidence in me in this new position. I really appreciate it. >> Right. We'll um we'll work to put
together an onboarding plan for you. You know, as we discuss and ideally, you know, we realize you've got a responsibility to your current employer and we would never want to put another town or another, you know, municipality at a deficit. Um but if there's a way that, you know, we can create some
onboarding opportunities for you, um before you start, um I think that'll be helpful. and you know, we'll figure out a way for you to be at least participant in some shape or form with our f in our finance committee meetings to observe. I think that would be really important as
well. So again, thank you. Um, thank you to your family and we look forward to working with you. Best of luck. >> Thank you so much. Cheers. >> Thank you. Welcome to the South Coast. Thanks. >> All right. So, um, let's see what else we got. So, something we are going to
have to address is uh you know, we've got Mr. Kelly who's working with us. Um you one of you know the things we had discussed about to insist with the to assist with the transition is still having being able to tap into Jaime's
level of expertise um for a period of time. Um you know, we don't want to create a security. Sometimes throwing somebody into the deep end is always best, but we do think it's important to have uh some level of institutional knowledge that you can tap into. So, we've got to kind of figure that out um
to make sure that that we're not missing anything along the way. Um so, gentlemen, I don't know where we want to go with that now. Um or if we want to Jamie, what are your thoughts on Well, I know you've got a debt there.
>> As of the close of business today, I am uh retired and so I can't be on the payroll without an agreement. >> Okay. So we've
uh if the board wants to take up something next Friday, but uh that will mean it will be a retro okay agreement. But technically my employment with the town of Aushnit
ends at the end of the day unless I have a an an agreement coming up. >> Got it. Okay. >> Because the Bristol County Retirement Board steps in at that point. >> Got it. Fair enough. Okay. Um
I don't know gentlemen what you uh I think my pre preference would be to have you around obviously right we got to come up with some something um you want to take it under adisement see if we can work something out between me between now and next Friday um I think we can
easily do that okay all right >> I think it's just a question of I really have to check with Jen to make sure >> that we can do. >> I mean, and we I think in fairness to you, we want to make sure that it's it's
um it's orderly. You know, we know what your expectations are and vice versa. Um and so I think we can work that out between now and next week. My I would hope unfortunately this next week is going to be a wash for me, but if we can meet as a board next Friday, uh that
would be great to get all this stuff uh wrapped up and um >> you and I have a meeting on Tuesday. >> Get that moving. So, uh, with that said, I don't know that we have anything else other than, uh, Mr. >> Can I can I just to try to accommodate
the situation that we just discussed? >> Maybe if if we have a a draft agreement from Mr. Kelly presented to the board that we haven't been able to review yet, but maybe if you're not going to be around earlier on in the week, >> you guys can work it out and I'm I'm available >> if if you have if you want to look it
over because I I told Mr. Kelly had a hot stuff at 3. I was just texting my girl um letting her know that I'll be done soon. >> Um if you can do any comments or anything concerns that you have with that draft before we walk out the door today. >> Sure. >> Mr. Kelly can share that with Mr.
Hinckley and I and then maybe we can just as long as two members of the board sign it, he'll be set to go. >> So you know that is your consultant template. I didn't reinvent the wheel. I just
plugged my name in. >> No, I I I get it. We'll review it to have the discussion of what what we >> I took it from your accounting office. That's what >> all the consult is done. >> I'll be I'll be active today. I'll take
a look at it. If I have any issues, I'll say say what I have to say. >> Right. >> Mr. Gas or Mr. Hinckley can pick up the torch while I'm unavailable. >> I just didn't No, I'm saying to make you whole. >> Yeah. this Mickey Mouse retro stuff. If
if we Mr. Inkley does something on Monday and I can do something on Monday with you, we can two people sign. >> When I said retro, I mean the fact that not retro pay, but if we can do the date set the date is effective on Monday.
>> Yeah. Okay. We can get it worked out. >> Okay. Very good. Thank you. So, I guess the next order of business, we've got Chief Fallen, if you want to come up. Um, and I wish Chief Copper was here. Um, and I know Dan's out working. So, on behalf
>> still doing behalf of of the group, Chief, I mentioned it earlier when our uh, uh, police department majority of the folks are here, but heartfelt thank you to you. Um, I know Mr. Gasman, they can speak for themselves, but um, one,
your level of communication um, was outstanding, gold standard. Um, you know, we were working closely and you were with Representative Sylvia, Representative Wulette, Senator Montgney to try to get resources down from from
Mass DOT and the National Guard, but um even, you know, a resident who was having an issue with uh Eversource. It was a neighbor to neighbor squabble you were involved in, and I'm sure there's probably some stuck cats and trees that you were dealing with, too. But I just I
can't say enough of what great work you did, Tom Fallen, and your leadership, but also the folks that report to you. So, >> absolutely possible without any of them or Dan and his crew or Gary and his >> um it was a >> for the chaos that it was. It was a pretty welloiled machine all things
considered. Um we had some struggles the day of. Um, but once the snow stopped falling, we were able to, uh, within 24 hours of the snow finishing, every road had one lane down it. Um, and I believe where to the point where with Dan's work
clearing the roads and widening them since, >> um, where we're definitely the I would say the best community on the south coast right now, >> uh, this far out after. The one thing I'll say is, you know, sometimes when you call people and it's like the 10th time you've called them and you get
what? Every time I call Chief Follow me, hey Dave, how's it going? Hey Dave. I'm like, wow. All right, this guy's pretty chill. So anyway, great job. Um, anything that you need like talk about reimbursement. I know we talked about MIMA and getting reimbursed
like that process. I got the notification yesterday um that and they sent out the template for the beginning stages of filing for a federal disaster declaration. Um so I actually was able to send an email out yesterday to all
the important department heads including uh Jen and treasurers Jamie V upstairs. Um we have a a deadline of next Friday to submit this back to MIMA. we have um limits that we have to hit as a county
and as a state. Um in my opinion, we're going to have no problem meeting those as a county and as a state with all the other communities that we uh uh share the county with. >> Um so once we get the preliminary numbers down, it goes back up to MIMA. They chew on the numbers. They work with
FEMA to dig down even deeper and kind of they'll exclude some and accept most of them and all that. And then from there it gets signed off by the governor. That's a request that goes to the president's desk and once he reviews it and FEMA reviews it um hopefully they agree and they can issue the disaster
declaration and and kick in some of the reimbursement funding for the snow cleanup. >> Anything that we could do like any learnings like things are there any gaps and this isn't meant to be critical. This is just like looking at things like could we advance >> I haven't really met with Gary and Dave
yet Dan yet on that. Sorry. Um, it's something that I want to do that I was talking with Chief Kappa earlier that we want to do next week is try to get together with everybody and just to see how everything went. Um, there wasn't much in the way of of that. Just it was
such an epic proportion of a storm that you can play until you're blew in the face and you're not going to plan it properly. Um, so we'll go through all of that. Um, really wasn't much we could do. We we handled
what we had to handle to the best of our ability given the obstacles. >> Right. So I know you know you and I had spoke about this and I asked a question just I don't know if we we pay attention to it or not but like so when the crews are out and you people are there like how are we feeding people like what do
we do do we do a grocery run ahead of time or how do we make sure that >> so typically once a crew gets assigned before the storm and they know who's going to be at what station they'll work together communicate together and some they take shifts somebody will bring in snacks somebody will bring in dinner
somebody will bring in breakfast for the next morning it's all done. >> All right. So, you guys, but I just, you know, you're in a situation it's tough to get out and restaurant, you know, restaurants or places are closed. >> Just something to think about like, you know, for future time if it's, >> you know, going to do a grocery run,
something just we want to make sure people are getting what they need and, you know, >> go to the fire department. They got grills. >> Yeah. Well, if you don't have nothing to >> Well, they're under four feet of snow right now. So, why the outdoor us? >> So, but anyway, I just want to that's it. And then, you know, I guess the one
thing um just is trash, right? I know that was a big issue for a lot of people. Um and so just something that the board and the town needs to think about. Yeah, trash is important. Is it the most important
thing in a blizzard? I don't know. You know, I know some other communities suspended trash pickup until next week, and that just may be something to think about because the juice isn't worth the squeeze. all it just is end up pissing people off if they missed the trash pickup or they put it out there and I
mean I drove around I saw went from no barrels out I saw barrels like up on snow banks on their side and it's like you know I know that's important to people but we just got to I think it's something to think about. Uh on an another note,
Chief Farland and I have discussed and uh we are going to be working on the fact of dividing all these costs up among cost centers and what we can get
reimbursed with and what we can't and how we've got an ice and snow budget. we can overspend, but there's some other budgets that we might not >> be able to overspend that we're going to have to come in either to you folks and
FinCom for the reserve or in the spring come in and replenish some of the funding uh through the May one transfers or free
cash. And we've already have started that discussion and uh it's going to work with the accounting office, town administrator's office and chief farland because it's
you're going to have to take multiple pots of money and start moving them around to cover everything because ice and snow doesn't cover some of the public safety stuff. Correct. You're talking about the reimbursements that we're trying to submit to MIMA, right?
>> We might not get those. >> What I'm saying is if let's for everybody at home watching, let's not get too alarmist here, but if it was a $100,000 hit, the storm, okay, all equal, all thing all in. Say it's 100 grand.
>> MEMA is not going to reimburse us. That doesn't come for what? Six months. >> Yeah. There's a it'd be a lad delay. And that's what you're trying to say is that 100 grand is going to come from different pots. >> And then obviously when that reimbursement comes, it'll flow to free
cash next year. Correct. So >> um >> we got to balance the books by >> Yeah, I got it. >> June 30th. >> Okay. >> For lack of a better, >> right? >> For lack of a better phrase, it's Robin Peter to pay Paul in the meantime until it comes.
>> Yeah. Well, it's to be expected, right? We got we got we got here >> Paul to have Mima pay Paul. >> It was a it was it was a beast. >> Okay. And I said to the chief of police at the time, "This storm has the
potential to be a itch." >> And I had another letter at the beginning of that itch. >> All right. And it was. Oh, >> yeah. >> This thing knocked us out cold. Okay. >> We started off at a slow start. I'll say
when the when the snow's coming down for the longevity of the snow just for all you folks at home because I feel a lot of phone calls and a lot of aggravated people about roads being plowed. So I want to try to educate a little bit on this subject matter. When you get blasted the way we got blasted for the
length of the time this storm is was in place, that's when you're going to lose the the roads. Period. There's no way to keep up the amount of snowfall that's coming down for the length of hours that that snow came down. There's no way in hell you're keeping up clearing those
roads. And at some point after 10 or 12 hours of a storm blowing and the snow coming down the way it is, snowplow drivers get what we call snowplow driving fatigue. Okay? You literally start to see things that aren't even there when you're out in the snow plowing that long. Trust me, I've done
it for a long time. All right? you do start to see things or you think you see things but they're not really there. That's snowplow fatigue. We cannot have drivers out for 20 24 hours. Just by the time they they get from one end of the road to the next end of the road, the road's back covered back in. At that
point, you might as well just kill it and say we need to just wait, everybody go home, sleep, get rest, and then we're going to bring everybody back. Um, so with that said, chief, I can tell you right now, I echo the terms that the chairman just said about the staff, public safety, yaw department, police
department. Um, I want to thank Dan Manad, DPW, um, and, uh, the clerk and in the office. She came in um, when she when we closed, she came in and worked those hours um, on behalf of the town's people
and and the DPW and Trippy. I'm getting you our maintenance crew, but but most of most importantly, all our snowplow contractors. I mean, I I I had to go to certain houses after speaking to some of
our contractors to speak to the residents because they literally chased snowplow contractors down the road yelling and screaming. Okay. Um I I put out a couple of those fires, no pun intended, because you're at the podium. Um, but we we we all need to learn to
have a little bit more patience. I know it's tough to be in your house. So be it. It's a major storm. You need to stay home for 24 hours. Stay home for 24 hours. Um, and and again to all our snowplow contractors out there, thank
you very much for the job that you did, the amount of hours that you put in. And I just do want to note that I got a phone call from the de president of PJ Keening, Derek Hill, and he offered up a loader and an operator to the town of
Aushin. Not only did I get one, we got two for one day to go over and clear out those schools. >> Mhm. >> The parking lots for those schools. And then subsequent days, we got one loader. But the first day I got two loaders in here on me from PJ Keing. So, and I
think that was really a big morale booster to all our snowplow contractors, our DBW staff to know troops were coming in to help out, right? Um, it was a big I know it was a big morale booster. I've spoken with them folks. So, they were they they literally found a new wave of
energy and said, "Let's go get it and clear out this town." And I can tell you something right now. I spent some time driving in the city and driving in other towns. >> There were I have pictures in my phone where roads were just abandoned. They literally just stopped plowing the road
and like went somewhere else. I'm like, "Wow, this abandoned roads everywhere." So kudos to a cushion and team a cushion because in my opinion, we rocked that storm. We started off slow. Yes, we we lost a lot of roads, but we came back and we came back strong. Everybody came
together. It was actually a a good feeling for me anyways. I think it was a great feeling of teamwork, right, and camaraderie between everybody and that that's really what we're about with Aushin. So, kudos to the town of Aushin. >> And following up on that, you mentioned
the the cooperation that we got from PJ Keating. That is something that it won't help us right now, but between now and next winter is something we can look into on the emergency management side of things. We can work with town staff to enter intous
with private companies like that for the event of a major storm like this where we wouldn't have to be begging borrowing. We can just be like, "Hey, we have this agreement in place. We're calling in on it. We have a few a few companies in town that we could enter. We could, you know, approach and try to
come up with those so that way we have it in our back pocket. Not to use for every storm, but something like this." >> Yeah. No, absolutely. I I already had the start of that conversation with with the president of PJ Keating um chief. So, you know, I'd be glad to keep um that conversation going and I know the
president I'll be happy to keep that. He was the one that offered it up. I was like, "Wow, this is really cool of them." Right. Um so, we'll get there. But, you know, we we >> don't just think snow, >> right? >> Hurricanes, right? Exactly. You're going to trees coming down. You need lotus to come in, get these things out of the
way, um clear enough power lines for the power company to come back in. So, it's it's great to have that reserve, we'll call it, right? >> Absolutely. >> I think Mr. WA always says the bench, >> chairman, I also would like to call out
a thank you to some of the folks who work at Eversource. I know one of them called me back when he was on the ground at a gas break in Taton
>> to keep me informed of what's going on. >> Is that Anthony? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Anony's Anony's a rock star. He's good. Bob, I know. >> I think you guys did a a really good job of covering all the bases. Uh but once again, just to reiterate, thanks, Chief. um first person to text me in the
morning, last person to text me at the end of the day. Um you kept me informed quite a bit and it helped out and um big thanks for getting Matt Trip that lol because >> watching him struggle with multiple small pieces of equipment trying to get
town hall lot cleared get COA especially >> um >> he he like Mr. Gasper said earlier like the re-energizing >> of him >> to to hit each town building was awesome. Um I made sure I checked in on him because I knew he was getting a
little beat up on Monday night and uh I brought him a coffee on Tuesday when I could finally get out of my street and he looked beat up. So to see him re-energized and he did really good work along with everybody else. Um, and I'll reiterate the same thing about Dan, the
entire DPW, all the contractors. Um, and especially, um, I'll bring this up again because I had to say it last time and last storm. I want to remind everybody in the public that any calls in the town hall are recorded for quality assurance.
And I have recordings of people treating that extremely kind lady offensively, and she's the last person that deserves that. So, I will tell everybody if you have a complaint, you can call me directly or get a hold of me
directly. She does not deserve to be treated the way she was treated with 3 ft of snow on the ground and being one of the only clerical employees inside town hall during a blizzard. Unacceptable
and did a fantastic job as well as the rest of the town. >> Very good. >> Anything else? parting uh shots. >> All right. Great. Well, again, Chief, thank you very much. Thanks to the crew, everybody. Chef's kit. >> Thank you.
>> Um, put plow frames on the new ambulance. Okay. >> I got a pickup truck at fire and a pickup truck at EMA. All I got to do is buy the plows. >> Nice. All right. Uh, I guess there's room further business. We're looking to meet next Friday. That would be what? March
I know what day is 6th. >> 6. >> Meet next Friday. March 6th. Um, we can keep it as a regular, you know, as much business that goes on, try not >> 12:00. >> I'll have to dive through my schedule after I go through so I can send you
>> I can make any time that ever works for these gentlemen. So >> 11 to 2:30 swim from 12:00 to 12:15. All right. Um, I guess that's it. So is a motion to adjurnn. So move second. All those in favor? I motion carries.
Heat. Heat.