heat Heat [Music] [Music] [Music]
Good evening Chadam Welcome to the April 1 2025 meeting of the Chattam Select Board Please note this meeting is being recorded and will be available shortly hereafter for scheduled and on demand viewing on any smartphone or tablet
device If anyone else is recording the meeting please notify the chair Seeing no such notification I'll proceed Um pursuant to um a um a a
signing of a new law extending COVID 19 measures adopted during the state of emergency suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law general law chapter 30A section 20 until June 30 2027 This meeting of the Cadam Select
Board is being conducted in person and via remote participation Every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings as provided for in the order A reminder that persons who would like to listen to this meeting while in
progress may do so by calling the phone number 1508-9454410 conference ID 203386491 pound sign or join the meeting online via Microsoft teams through the link in the posted agenda While this is a live broadcast and simalcast on Cadam
TV Xfinity channel 1072 despite our best efforts we may not be able to provide real time access We will post a record of this meeting on the town's website as soon as possible With that my first order of
business is to establish a quorum Mr Meadows present Mr Dykins present Miss Davis present Mr Shell is present And Mr Castro present Um this evening we have um a modest agenda here Um two sets of
minutes Um the usual public announcements and agenda item hearings agenda item requests We have a public hearing um with respect to installing a new um handhole um or base
pole um from um I guess that's uh who's that um I don't know who it is It's not here In any event um then public comments on business the business agenda Business agenda we have six items Uh we
have a request for the use of town roads We have a special one-day alcohol permit application Uh we have a presentation from the Cape Cod Aqua Fund Director Alice Ryan uh per the request of select board member Davis We have the annual
review of the intermunicipal NSA beach agreement uh we are going to discuss the charge of the economic development advisory committee and finally we will consider appointment and reappoint interviews process With that I'll take a
motion on the meeting at the minutes from the meeting of January 21 So moved Second Uh any comments uh all those in favor mr Niccastro I Mr Shell says I Miss Davis
Hi Uh Mr Dyikens Hi And Mr Matters I and February 11 So moved Second Uh any comments mr Mccastro Yes Just one Mr Chairman on page 14 the very bottom where it says the the board thanked Mr
McMillan I think we should also insert Dr Carpenter So the board thanked Dr Carpenter and Mr McMillan I think we can do that Um with that amendment um I take it the motion stands and the second stands All those in favor Mr Niccastro
hi Uh Mr Shell says I Miss Davis hi Mr Dykins hi And Mr Matters Hi Thank you Um next we have um public announcements and agenda item requests First from the board Anything from the board nothing
from the board Staff Okay um from the public Yes please step to the podium if you would and uh introduce yourselves Hello my name is Natalie Coleman Fuller and this is Sherry Buren and we're on the board of the Friends of Chadam
Waterways Part of FCW's mission is to educate the public about ways to improve the quality of Chadam's waters which ties in directly with the two with two of the objectives from the select board water management goals reaffirmed last
October For over 25 years FCW has helped conduct water quality testing in our salt and fresh waterways from two dozen sites in Chadam's ponds harbors and estuaries and this publicly available data have been used to inform Chattam
sewer and road runoff management plans While the town's management ma uh water management efforts are critical the data remain alarming showing continued degradation of our salt and fresh
waterways And as Rob Faley reported last month Chadam is experiencing a level two drought So clearly more conservation efforts are needed throughout our community So what can we do during Earth Week FCW will be
launching the Chattam Water Pledge Through this educational program we aim to improve the health and quality of our fresh and salt waters by raising public awareness cons to conserve water and reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides
The pledge is to skip the fertilizer avoid pesticide conserve water and grow a cape friendly lawn And more information can be found on our website chadamwaterways.org Each pledger will receive a yard sign for their yard and
we're looking forward to seeing these signs pop up in people's landscapes all over town showing their commitment to improving the quality of Chadam's waters We will be launching the Chattam Water Pledge campaign during Earth Week at the Oreium on Wednesday April 23rd at 10:00
a.m Free of charge We will be showing the Saving Our Ponds short video series produced by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute followed by a panel discussion by Rob Bailey and Renee Gagny as two of our four panelists So thank you for the
opportunity to make this announcement and I'm happy to answer any questions Thank you very much Anything from the board looks great Sounds great I think it's wonderful Great Great messaging Absolutely Great graphics
Uh anything else from the public yes ma'am Yes Hi How are you hi Good Thank you How are you um my name is Cheryl Wolf and I'm here with Brendy Riveri We are handling logistics for the um third annual walk for home in Chadam and uh to
benefit the homeless prevention council and it's going to begin at St Christopher's Church um on their private property Exc time Um I think you're on the agenda Oh at a different place Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah No it's okay
It's okay We you're you'll have a whole segment of the of the agenda by yourselves Thank you Okay thanks Sorry about that That's okay No problem Anything else uh I don't see anybody either online or on um in the room So we will
move to our public hearing And I'll ask the clerk please to read the public hearing notice Sure Uh Town of Cadam Select Board public hearing notice The Chattam Select Board will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m on Tuesday April 1st 2025 in the large meeting room in the
town office annex 261 George Ryder Road Chattam Mass and remotely via Microsoft Teams platform to consider a petition from NStar Electric Company doing business as Eversource Energy to install a 41 ft plus or minus
1-3 in PVC conduit encased in concrete from from new handhole 27 over HA16 at the base of a pole 27 over16 to customer installed handhole 278 over HB16 to
provide new underground service to the customer located at 156 Cross Street The public is welcome to attend the meeting in person or participate via link in the meetings posted agenda All interested parties are encouraged to participate on the select board Thank you And I I see
our uh favorite uh NSAR representative you have the floor please Thank you very much Marissa Jackson again with Eversource So I was in communication with the Department of Public Works the
director and he did advise that there's a moratorum along this roadway Additionally there is a gas man So at this time we would like to um request to cancel our petition and
we've gone ahead and redesigned the plan to install a pole on private property with the approval of the customer Okay I don't think we need to do anything other than say um uh thanks for that and uh we'll see you at the next
public one Thank you very much Have a good evening Good evening Uh next we have um consider a request for the use of town roads the for the 7th annual walk uh for home on June 21
You're on Oh forgive me You're not quite on I I I meant to uh I skipped No that one's on me Um public comments on the business agenda in the room
Anybody online uh Miss Gibbs Yes thank you very much My comments refer to E which is the dis uh the charge of the economic development It appears an operating uh premise is to increase tourism in shoulder seasons and
to be a full-time community at the same time It's not just this committee but the mission statement of the select board and town manager and many other committees I'd argue we cannot be a full-time cohesive community that attracts families and continue to encourage more tourism throughout the
year Chattam's becoming less conducive to families with children They're an afterthought in practice We're becoming a self-imposed transient community Catering to tourists at the expense of full-time year-round residents uh is what is occurring More tourism in my
view is a band-aid a quick fix We receive revenue from the hotel motel tax and the meals tax We do not receive any revenue from retail by state law Many retailers don't own property or live in Chattam The revenue we receive plus
ancillary permits that they may incur for the beaches generates about 4 to5 million in revenue But what does tourism cost us we've never done a zerobased financial costbenefit analysis of the hard and soft costs of tourism and I
believe that should be a priority and we should be ruthlessly objective about recognizing what we have done to Chattam because of tourism Tourism has required larger municipal buildings increased staff parks and wreck public works in
the harbor master increased police and fire and rescue personnel increased water and sewer usage Because of tourism during pre periods we have built wider roads resulting in more pavement and fewer trees and green space Bike paths
on major roadways are everywhere All of this is for tourists West Chattam Malone has 200 directional signs posted and on the pavement George Ryder uh road north is the poster child effectively now a
three-lane road of pavement now without trees because of a bike lane cheap crooked fencing and retaining walls instead of trees We have major traffic congestion and backups for miles Day trippers come when it's raining and when it's sunny We are the destination on the
Cape No question about it We don't need more advertising The electric uh vehicle charging stations are planned for every beach every playground park and ball field the community center the fish pier and every parking lot The stations at
Eldridge are shocking in size color and number taking up eight spaces along there when parking in Chattam is already a huge problem If you haven't seen them you have to look at them and imagine them on our most beautiful locations
littered throughout town on our beaches everywhere with our most spectacular views All for tourists It is a travesty We spent $480,000 with no public discussion to renovate the town hall bathroom When we
have bathrooms at every downtown restaurant the Eldridge garage Kate Ghoul Park Oyster Pond Beach the community center all for tourists how many bathrooms do they need shopping in Chattam for basic goods and services for full-time residents has become
non-existent with inflated prices All are now very expensive gift shops and dress shops and restaurants catering to tourists We are required to go to Orleans or Hyannis for our very basic necessities The Bank of America Sander and Rockland Trust have closed A
full-time community cannot function when the focus is tourism is the answer With no high school the Chattam Elementary School and the middle school need millions in repairs The town is creating as many affordable housing units they
can jam in to the available space with very few threebedrooms for families so that they can check off the 10% required by the state at the expense of families who deserve a yard to play in No one who
knows school conditions or limited housing opportunities planned would choose Chadam to raise a family Wear and tear on our infrastructure is incalculable Water and sewer usage rates are going up Cost to meet sewer and drinking demands will be in the hundreds
of millions Encouraging more tourism is not the answer Tourism costs the town money and negatively impacts every aspect of our quality of life for a sustainable full-time community Chattam is becoming unrecognizable We are losing
its unique character that drew people here in the first place If you ask town meeting the question do you want Chattam to be a full-time community with children or a tourist community they would choose the latter We cannot be both Thank you very much Thank
you Uh anybody else i don't see I don't think I see No I don't see anybody else online Um now we can move on to the first item Um and I'm not kidding this time um the
uh use of town roads for the 7th annual Walk for Home on June 21 Welcome Hello Start again Uh I'm Cheryl Wolf and this is Wendy Riveri and we are handling logistics for this year's um Walk for Home to benefit the Homeless Prevention
Council This will be the third year that we're holding it in Chadam and it's becoming more popular every year and it's nice to see It'll begin in on St Christopher's Church property where we'll have some tables set up Um
Saturday June 21st is the date We're going to start at 9:00 a.m in consideration of the shop owners We had about 58 walkers last year We're thinking 75 or maybe even a little more this year Um we have been in contact with Lieutenant Sarah Harris and we'll
get a police detail if she determines that we need that We were going to contact her about two weeks before the event and give her the number of people who were coming Um I think you all have the map of the route Um I can read that
out if you want me to Um start on Main Street to the Chadam Lighthouse right on Silver Oak then a left on Water right onto School and a left to go on to Main Street going back to St Christopher's Church will end on their property and
they've been very um gracious with us We can set up all our tables on their property and when people sign in and get their t-shirt it's you know on their front lawn So it's worked out great so far and we were requesting permission from you to hold the event again again
on the 21st at 9 Thank you Um questions yeah go ahead I don't have any question but I'm going to make an motion if that's okay That's okay I move to um I move that we approve the use of town roads for the homeless prevention council 6th annual walk for home to be
held on Saturday June 8th 2024 at 10:00 a.m 21st 21st I see the typo Yeah I read it and I read it wrong Um let me just um change that to June 21st
2025 at 10 a.m 9:00 a.m Yeah 9:00 a.m Oh boy we had we Okay Did you get that sorry that was my fault I apologize I have it But you got it Okay All right Thank you Hold on We're not We haven't voted yet Saturday the 21st
Yeah 2025 9:00 a.m at 9:00 a.m 9 a.m Okay Well we're all stumbling and fumbling here So uh second There you go All those in favor mr Niccastro I Mr Shell says I Miss Davis I Uh Mr Dykin I
And Mr Meadows I All right Thank you very much Thank you very much And I I hope everybody will sign up and and walk and you'll get to 100 You're welcome to form your own team Okay Okay Thank you Got it Thank you Uh
next we have the uh one day alcohol permit uh for Meet the Fleet Jen Jen Allen Hi it's Jen Welcome Hi I'm H Sorry I was bumped so I had to call in
Um thank you so much We have our first meet the fleet of 2025 for the Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman's Alliance on Wednesday April 16th And we are um featuring Cadam Kelp Company And we are
requesting a one-day alcohol permit so that we can have our um first 30 minutes as a reception before we move into the program um for the rest of the evening So the the service of um of of alcohol
will only be for that first half hour or so Yes it's it's always the first 30 minutes and then um it is the rest of the program Questions mr Chairman I move to grant a special
one-day alcohol permit to Bridget Krug of the Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman's Alliance for the Meet the Fleet event being held on Wednesday April 16th 2025 from 5:00 p.m to 7 p.m at 1566 Main Street West Chatam
Second Uh all those in favor Mr Niccastro I Mr Shell says I Miss Davis hi Um Mr Dyken hi And Mr Matters I Thank you very much Jen You're all set Thank
you so much Thank you Next we have um a presentation from Cape Cod Aqua Fund Alice Ryan Welcome Wonderful Thank you Alice Ryan I am the program manager for Cape Cod Aqua Fund
formerly known as the Community Septic Lo Pro Loan Program Uh we are located down at the Barnstable County Courthouse We are in the health and environment division We work very closely with our friends and counterparts up on the base
mastec uh you may have had some of those folks out recently to help you discuss some of the systems and the sewering and all that stuff Um so what I'm going to do here this evening is I'm just going to kind of give you a quick overview of some of the facts of the program and
then at the end if you have any questions I'd be more than willing to answer those So a little bit about Cape Cod Aqua Fund Um Cape Cod Aqua Fund provides lowinterest betterment loans to Cape Cod homeowners faced with the cost of
repairing replacing failed septic systems upgrading to what we call IIA systems and as well as connecting to town sewer The goal of the program is to help as many homeowners as possible with
financial assistance for these repairs and connections as they can be somewhat expensive So some of the questions that we see are what types of projects are covered under Aqua Fund So up here we
have some of the examples So we cover septic system repairs If somebody has a problem with the leeching field but the tank is fine that's something that we could help them out with Um septic system upgrades IA system installations and of
course uh town sewer connections Uh we see this question a lot A lot of people want to know what types of properties are eligible under the program Uh currently we only do residential properties We do not do any
type of commercial or small businesses In the past the program used to do a commercial property Uh but that has since changed So we do work with single family homes multifamily homes
duplexes condominiums and apartments Um and just a note at the bottom that just a reminder currently right now we do not do anything with commercial properties So here are some of the interest rates that are offered by the program They do vary depending on
whether you're a traditional title five if you're an IIA system or if you're a sewer connection Um currently right now the program does offer zero and 2% interest rates for sewer connections
only If you are looking at a title five replacement or upgrade or an IIA system installation you would be looking at a 4% loan And we also work with homes that are on the market So if the house was on
the market or going on the market in the next month or two that would put you at a 5% interest Um and hopefully as time goes by um and more people come online with the sewer and watershed permitting
uh we're hoping that we might see some type of change in the guidelines from the state and the clean water trust funding as it pertains to the zero and 2% for sewer connections Um this is just an example of some of the projects that are covered
in the loan Um a lot of times people ask "Well you know my yard was torn up They dug it all up Can I have it receded?" Yes Um they had to tear up a section of the driveway whether the driveway might have been rocks or asphalt you know can
we repair that yes Um sometimes we see with the sewer connections that there's plumbing outfitting that has to be done to the house You can do that Sometimes with the septic systems um if a well may be too close to the system the regulations have changed that the well
might have to be moved further away from that system So well relocation is something that is also covered Um we do not cover any type of incidentals that make upgrades to the property Um so
that's just something to keep in mind So some of the quick program terms and conditions It is a betterment loan meaning there is a betterment agreement that goes on file with the B Barnstable
County Registry of Deeds It is basically considered a tax Um there's a 20-year repayment term Um sometimes we see with houses on the market that you know we do the loan but
then they sell the property in two months if there's a loan taken out and the property is sold within the first year there is a $400 prepayment fee if the loan is paid off in one year Um and
those are just some of the the broad conditions And the last slide I have this evening is just some of the contact information Uh for the folks at the office I believe you may have been handed or emailed this presentation So
you would have that Um and then if anybody has any questions Shireen thank you for the presentation It was really informative to our citizens and town residents My question is uh how much money is in the account currently there's 13 million So the county just
went through funding with the Clean Water Trust and we were just approved for an additional $13 million in funding And is that a revolving every year it is a replenishment how many towns are are are do qualify for um for currently we
work with all 15 towns on Cape Cod um you know every town is in a different phase of their watershed permit or trying to put together their plan Um so we do work with all 15 towns and we work
with all homeowners Do you foresee that um with all the towns ramping up their sewage do you foresee that this 13 million is just not going to be enough money there's the potential that could be but
with our state partners Mass D um and the Mass Clean Water Trust we have been assured down the road that we'll get more money will be there Yes The the actual funding or I'm just thinking if do we need to start advocating for more money for this program that that's where
I'm I mean that would certainly help I mean I can't predict what may happen down the road at the state level Um but like I said we work very closely with our state partners and for the foreseeable future they don't anticipate a and and currently um that 13 million
is it um how do you deplete the the funds every year or uh I mean how it it really depends There's not a true way to gauge that because every project cost is different So how fast we go through and
loan that money out really depends on market conditions You know what's being charged for the install you know what's being charged for labor Um currently what we're seeing right now is that the demand for connections for IIA systems
for septic is far outpacing the contractors and the engineers Um unfortunately we do have a crunch on the cape for engineers Um you know we're even hearing from some of our homeowners that there's you know a year wait list
just to get get on the list with the contractor or an engineer So there's a lot of different factors that go into the actual pricing and and what a contractor you know would quote an individual homeowner Great Thank you for all your information Um yeah uh thanks
Shireen Uh Jeff Ellis that was great It's very informative I just might I might have missed it but is are the is the 13 million an uh an annual fiscal expenditure from the state and so does it run till June 30th or is it a year
it's revolving It is revolving Is it replenished with every budget though um pretty much what we do as we forecast out in our modeling how fast we're going through the money we can approach the clean water trust at any point in time
So it's not within the regular budget cycle It's something that's it's revolving and ongoing with the clean water trust That's correct That's the sole source of the funding for the program Yes Yes And they're great to work with And then and looking in a rears have you run out how many times
you have to go back and ask I just I think you're right You're absolutely spot on with with the from the respect that the engineers are there too few engineers and right even contracting firms to get this stuff done We're even seeing contractors and engineers come down from the Northshore Yeah Yeah You
know so it's it's a Yeah There's an opportunity on the Cape for a huge opportunity Yes Very much so Um I just don't want to run out of money This is this is very informative This is this is going to be and another part to kind of keep in mind too is you know aside from
the funding from the Clean Water Trust you know as people are making their monthly payments back in got it you know we're then able to keep loaning back out as well Got it Very good Thank you Very informative Thanks Um yeah Go ahead Yeah
Go ahead Cory Oh just a more just a quick question So um going back to the slider I said what type of projects were covered under the program and you list them IA system installations not IIA system um repairs or maintenance That that would be the maintenance is a
totally different subject right because I systems um I think you know initially they have to be inspected quarterly and then I think it eases out to every six months It depends on the systems and everything else but I mean there's there's a lot of details in these
systems Yes Right Right So when it comes to the on andm on the IIA systems that is something that's not rolled into a loan with Aquafund that is something that's after the fact but the installation andor a repair to an IIA
system that is something a homeowner certainly could come to us and we would work with them to help them Okay So so repairs are included or or an option and engineering as well We get that question a lot from the different homeowners you know can I roll my engineering into the
loan or you know I've paid for half of the engineering but you know I still have to pay for the other half So you know they can roll that in Uh an important piece of information as well is that all of the payments are made directly to the contractor or the engineer We don't make any payments
directly to the homeowner De thank you Thank you for the presentation No I have some questions Oh sure Um sorry Uh thank you Thank you For the record I have a couple of questions too So not a problem So the the
distinction between 0% 2% is that need-based or It is And it's also currently right now just for sewer connections So for sewer connections you could potentially qualify either for a 0% or a 2% In order to qualify for the
0% for a sewer connection you would just have to be at 100,500 If you go over that dollar amount that's this annual income Correct Okay If you go over that then that would bump you up to the 2% But currently zero and 2% are strictly just for the sewer
connections right now How many um sewer connections sewer connections to date do you have an idea how many you've done or how many you're doing currently oh gosh hundreds Hundreds of them Okay Um and
that's Capewide Have you done any in Chattam yes Um how many participants in the whole program not just sewer connections are there currently How many borrowers do we have
probably somewhere in the range of 15 to 1,800 currently Okay Um and in the past year we've lent out just shy of 65 million Okay 65 Just shy of 65 So that past year has
been a record year for the program And is there a limit on loan amount how does that work no there is no limit So if I'm doing a sewer connection and you know I've got a grinder pump and everything else and that would be included Yeah
let's let's say it costs 10,000 and my neighbor's gonna it's going to cost that that neighbor 20,000 They can borrow the full 20 that fell right and that's where it comes in We recommend to all of the homeowners to get three quotes because the pricing that we're seeing in current
market conditions is extreme So we always tell anyone when they're first applying with us always get three three quotes from three different contractors the homeowner is able to choose who they would like to go with Um but because of those price extremes like you said
somebody could have 20,000 somebody else might have 15,000 you know and you want to shop around and do your homework for the best pricing And you pay the contractor correct all invoicing is submitted to our office and then we
would pay the contractor Do you see the contracts do you see that yes Yes Yes What's the um is the payout period 20 years for every loan correct Okay All right Thank you You're welcome Well I have fewer
questions than I did a minute ago but um I I just heard one of my questions was going to be the uh the eligibility criteria I I heard you say that 100,000 is the cut off 100,500 for the zero 0%
sewer connection And then over that for the zero to go to the two for sewer connections It's over that And what's the level at which you're no longer eligible honestly we work with everybody because we're trying to meet the clean water goals Oh so there's not a an
income eligibility um limit that um so you know to put it bluntly rich people can get these loans as well We work with everybody Okay Okay And that's good I understand the logic of it But I I had been under the impression that that would just change
where you fall in the interest rates Okay Okay So um I I was interested in just following up a little bit the questions that Shireen asked H how many do you do you have any idea how many loans andor how much money you lent out
last year in total just in one year last year we were just shy of the 65 million Oh that was the 65 It was the record year for the program Okay And do you know how many loans currently we have about 1,500 to 1,800 loans That's all of them outstanding but I'm trying to get a
handle on how many for the year Yeah I'd have to go back and look Honestly I don't have that off the top of my head Okay And then um we we haven't designed our need-based program Um but it will be tied to people will only be eligible if
they have been qualified and and granted a loan from from you folks Um the question is how can we be helpful uh or or what would do you have any suggestions about how we might structure
our sort of add-on program um that would be um helpful that's a wonderful point of view Wonderful suggestion Um we do know of a few other towns currently on the Cape that are trying to implement or have already implemented like what they call a grant
or a subsidy program right um I know the top of my head Orleans Yeah Orleans I think is certainly one Yeah Um so in that particular instance the town kind of has stricter guidelines
um than what we do We do not do any credit checks at the program So we ask homeowners to provide a copy of last year's tax return a copy of the mortgage statement right um you know we're not doing credit checks or anything like
that Um and what we recommend to some of the towns is that if there's a way that they can help offset some of the cost upfront for example engineering where we're seeing that big backlog of engineers the engineers are now coming
to the homeowners and saying "Well you have to put it down a deposit of 50% but we're not going to get to your job for 10 or 12 months." Right so that would be an excellent way to help the residents get the process going get them on the
list get the engineering you know started because that is the first step in in the process right um I know some of the income requirements some of the other towns have kind of discussed are a little more stringent Um but certainly
they've also discussed that you know them approving something you know you would have to go through Aqua Fund or have approval from Aqua Fund Yeah And I I think part of the reason that we have that requirement Whoops Um is because we
want to piggyback on your administrative infrastructure We don't we we would actually have to staff up uh uh uh to to to deal with the eligibility assessment um beyond what you do So that's something we'll have to deal with right
um if we decide to do it that way Um so uh I think that's um I think that's all I had but um thank you very much This has been extremely informative and I'm sure we'll be hearing more from you as we work on our project
Oh yeah Um is that Ann Ryan on uh who's would like to ask a question yes it is Yeah she's a member of the water and sewer advisory committee I think we'll we'll we'll we'll ask her to go ahead Yes please Thank you very much I just have a quick
question I assume these loans are secured loans Um and you file a lean against the property Is that how that works that is correct So we actually have the homeowner sign what is called a betterment agreement And once we have that back that betterment agreement goes
on record at the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds And then of course once the loan has been paid in full we then file a discharge for that agreement at the registry as well And if the homeowner suffers some sort
of financial reversal and can't make the payments what happens then do you foreclose or what no No The county is not in the business of foreclosing on anyone That's something we have not done And we would do everything we could to
try to work out something with the homeowner to try to keep them on track But of course if the property is sold whether it's because you put your house on the market or there was some catastrophic event like that the loan would need to be paid off at closing
just like when you sell your house now Okay great Thank you very much That was very helpful Thanks Ann Um thank you very much Appreciate you coming out this evening Um next we have
um oh the annual review of the intermunicipal NOS beach agreement Um I don't know if we have anybody presenting here Ah there you are Welcome Mr Berman Thank you Greg Berman
your director of natural resources Um just a followup We had our last meeting on October 29th Uh that was the annual review in which the board took a look at the agreement decided that you know
nothing needed to be changed at that point This is the um expiration of the previous three-year agreement is going to be June 30th This would potentially create a new agreement very similar to
the previous agreement that would extend it another three years Um I provided you a redline copy There's really only two differences if you would call it that One is we don't use ATVs out there anymore We use uh pickup trucks So we
wanted to take that language out to you know show compliance The other is just to specify that during the annual review it can happen independently or jointly Um which is kind of how we read it We just wanted to clean up the language Um but basically things are working very
well out there right now Uh we worked well with Orleans whether it's the beach rangers whether it's natural resources the sticker office Um so yeah basically we recommend that you know we keep it going
Any questions or thoughts mr Chairman if I might Shireen and I uh Shireen and I have been involved in this in the past There's really nothing changing It the beach is being extremely wellrun in a collegial manner I think uh Greg's getting along well with uh Nate over
there in Orleans and they're communicating well and the beaches are running really well So I I recommend and we recommend that that we just sign this agreement and continue for another three years and when it ain't broke don't fix it So I I I appreciate your efforts Greg And uh um things are going well Beach is
being managed Well good Sounds good I'll take a motion Move approval Second All those in favor mr Niccastro I Mr Shell says I Miss Davis Hi Uh Mr Dykins Hi And Mr Meadows Hi
Thanks very much Greg Thank you Greg Yep um the economic development advisory committee charge Um do you want to start Katie sure Thank you Mr Chairman Um so just in
anticipation of upcoming interviews for um potential appointees to the economic development advisory committee um staff wanted to provide some information to the board members uh for consideration Um if you recall at your
December 5th meeting uh you began to discuss whether or not a change to the charge was warranted and at that meeting it was determined that perhaps recruiting new members um would be appropriate first um and then perhaps
revisiting the charge Also at that meeting um Kathy had mentioned to the to the board members that we had done some research on um what other communities uh economic development committee charges were and so we wanted to provide that information as well Um so if the board
is so inclined to want to have a discussion tonight that's fine It was just we wanted to make sure that this information was provided for upcoming interviews Mr Yeah go ahead Shireen Um so thank you for all the different towns uh charges I
think for me I'd like to get the committee up and running and do some recommendations but I I really want to make something clear about what economic development actually means in in terms of Chattam Um I I think we'd all agree that it's not just about tourism It is
about the economic development and welfare of the town including infrastructure um and various uh um needs that uh yearround um businesses need I I know
the chamber's been working very hard on um redefining their charge into a more year round sort of aspect We as a board have been working on that and perhaps that's something we're gonna we we need to talk to the economic development about in in the past They have done very
needs-based specific projects for for us um particularly on uh on water um rates and charges and things like that Chad's a year-round community I was looking around Um you know people don't they have to step back for a second and look
Every single neighborhood in this town is has a year- round component to it Um North Chattam is thriving as a yearround community Uh South Chattam has um restaurants that are open year round now and small businesses Um West Cadam as
well as downtown um I don't consider an economic development uh committee um to have it to be about tourism and I just wanted to make that really clear because you know working uh with community sustainability is something that's really important in my world and I think
a committee like this could have some great benefits to looking at um how we achieve those goals Thanks Anybody else uh Corey I just want to put my two cents in on this process because I I feel
I'm getting I've always been a vid ad big advocate for getting people to volunteer for boards and committees Okay I'm sorry I've been a big advocate for for having members serve on boards and committees all throughout my my terms here Um I'm a little confused First of
all I didn't realize that we had four active members on the EDC I didn't realize we had enough for a quorum because I I've been under the impression for quite some time we were short on membership So that was an interesting little tidbit in the packet Um you know unfortunately the EDC has not been
active for for years for years and I really want to do something to kind of set a a fire and getting this committee going in the short term because if we're not going to get it going in the short term I don't want to keep spinning our wheels I want I want I would I would love to see the group up and going again
but we've been talking about this for a couple years now in this board Um and I if if we are successful I want to be crystal clear on their charge when we get to the point if there's enough members who who are committed to serving on the committee that we the select
board crystal clear what the charge is for them Um because one of the kind of criticisms that I I believe has been out there is some of their work overlaps a little bit too much into other other boards and committees and we want to keep it um constructive and productive
So um if we can get a couple more members to step forward and want to serve on this committee wonderful but I don't want to keep spinning my wheels for for too long of a time um because we've been talking about this for years Shireen Um I I agree that we've spun our
heels and it's been our responsibility We need to charge them with some projects and we have tons of things that we can be looking at that we have um on our plate Um you know and and I think
that it would be helpful to um get encourage more people to be part of this committee I think there's some interest in a couple of people that have called me and um get them up and running and let's really think hard as a board What are some of the things we want this
committee to be working on um specifically that would inform us to make better decisions housing water um you name it I mean I we have committees looking at that From a dollars and cents side I think it would be really helpful
which is fine philosophically but mechanically if we have four members who are who could have been meeting there's no urgency from the members So do we have a clear understanding if um the four members listed in this in this packet still want
to serve are willing to serve are eligible to serve i'm going to ask answer that qu as the liaison I have been informed and I honestly don't remember exactly with respect to whom of these people that not everybody is in
fact eligible Um but I've also been informed and we were informed when Luther came in front of us now two years ago I think it was that there was a you know just a complete loss of um well not only direction but but
energy to get together and do anything Um and I think there was an element in that conversation that he brought to us um that of of disinterest or or uh being disabled uh on the part of the the
existing committee But I I so I I I agree with you I I want to push back a little bit Corey on the notion that we could convene these four people and have a meeting uh tomorrow I I I question whether that's the case Okay because I've had conversations and I I'm under
the impression one is possibly not eligible which and right I don't know which one but I have that impression and and and and another one um may not have a desire for a long-term commitment um and then other whatever it'd be nice to kind of understand our foundation first
before we get too ahead of ourselves I guess Fair enough Um yeah go ahead Dean Yeah thank you Mr Chairman So what's before the board tonight is to discuss the charge of the committee Last time I checked it's been a while Um the committee hasn't met since I think February of
2022 Um and I know that previously as as is evident from the material in the packet the committee weighed in on some issues that were before the um the the Cadam 365 task force and a lot of those recommendations
were adopted and implemented Um I don't know how you populate the committee but if you look at the model we did with the on Lydia's Cove Committee we populated the committee first and we said to them come up with a draft charge and come back to us And I think that's what I would like to see
done Um I do want to say something as I listened carefully to both what Shireen was saying and what um Miss Gibbs was saying earlier and I think there is an there are elements of of of of accuracy in in both sets of comments
and I would hope that the charge I'm looking at the existing charge which which does make reference to um um uh quote without creating significant adverse impacts on our community character or natural natural environment And I think I'd like to see
a charge that's expanded a little bit to make very explicit that we're supporting um the year- round character of the town uh and year- round uh sustainability of year- round residency in the town And you know we certainly welcome tourism uh
and it's important for the community Um but we also have to keep in mind the the potential um impacts on um our infrastructure to support the tourism That's always there's always a tension there So I just really wanted to throw
that out as an idea But back to the process my my suggestion is that we uh try to populate the committee I don't know what it's currently seven people and I don't know if you're going to get seven but if you can fine and then task
them to uh to come up with a a draft charge and present it to us and thank you Mr Chairman Thank you Jeff sort of populate the committee Just to follow up do we do we solicit interest or do we kind of prompt it with and seed it with with a model like Dennis where they had
they appoint you know one member of the planning board and member of the chamber con I mean so and in terms of what the charge is in my mind the charge to this committee is to promote um support um and build if you will um yearround economic development year round not not
not just summer but year round That means attracting business That means building business It means creating jobs That that's always been at the core what I thought the EDC was Now it was wonderful to go back and read the materials in the package when Luther was chair and the kind of stuff they got
done and the interest and the intelligence of their reports We we implemented a whole bunch of that stuff or a lot of it and the reporting was excellent But to Shireen's earlier point we gave them a specific project to sink their teeth into and they did It was
also a function of Luther being an active and intelligent chair that wanted to get something done So populate it Great Let's populate it But who we got who's it you know do we solicit interest or do we throw it out there we we've been at this marker before We've had
this very conversation before So you know I have some idea I mean we we should talk to some business people too and to young people and yearrounders Dean I just wanted to respond to your suggestion I I I I think it'd be a great idea if we if we uh in included on this
committee um you know represent a representative of the planning board for example maybe some other boards because one thing I was always concerned about with Luther's presentations as as brilliant as he is Yeah is they were
sort of working in a silo on their own And I think it's important for this committee to understand you know the the implications of what's going on over at the planning board in terms of development in the town and and and in other boards So I
think it's a good idea to have representation and maybe we can sort of start to populate the committee with some of those folks Anyway that's my thought Yeah I I um I'm going to try to synthesize what I like about what I've just heard here
from from pretty much all of you Um I first of all I you know to me I I I I guess the place where I start is what happened with Aunt Lydia's Cove We had a lot of conver we must have had three or four meetings in which the issue was are
we going to disband that committee and just do away with it um and we went from there to a point where you know we have and thanks to recruitment efforts on this board we have very impressive
people we have clear leadership there um we have you know a functioning committee that came back to us with a charge um you know it's it is up and running um that that is the model that I have in mind for economic development
um I I I think I mean you know you can talk about getting somebody from planning or you know any of the committees around the the the town but you still have to go recruit that person and and and get input from them and and and an
understanding for them of what it is that we're looking for And we're in a conceptual realm here at the moment And could I you know it's definitely about jobs It's definitely about year round Yes it's Why is it year round among
other things because we want more kids in the schools and you don't get that without wi with with seasonal people Your point Dean about the tension is is clearly the case But I think we have to recognize I mean we all talk about this is a ours is
a seasonal economy and that's how people feed them That's how people make a living here And we can't just completely ignore that I'm not saying that we want to you know emphasize that or try to grow that um to the to the uh detriment
of of the character and and and and the feel of the community But we do have we we do want to have a viable um economy that will keep people uh able to uh live a decent life And we're not
for everybody We're not quite there yet And part of that's housing part of that's jobs um etc etc So um I'm sorry Just the impact of our decision making Yeah No that's right the impact of our decision making and how it how it how it
how it impacts the the everyday person And and we want kids who go away to school and and acquire skills and acquire um capabilities um not to try to drag everybody back here but we want kids to come back here and and build a life here
as well So that to me you know that those are all things that I think go into what we would hope would be coming from the economic development committee But I start with the fact that um we have we have to find some people with
the energy and the vision uh and the and and just to get up and go to say "Yeah I want to be part of building something here in the way of an economic development committee." and have them tell us what they're thinking as well I I I think that's a very much of a
dialogue before we get to the to the to the last um you know to the to where we think we are the way we are with the Aunt Lydia's Cove or what its new name is which I've forgotten now But um and I will say I I have one person who's
originally volunteered You've met her um Corey uh who I think is is terrific I think she's on next week we have another um uh uh candidate that's going to come in for an interview And I think among our all the things that we do here uh
one of the things that we just have to do is be out recruiting and try to build that committee out And if it has to be only five so be it But I would much prefer that it stays at seven because that's just that much more energy So those are my thoughts Okay Yeah
Thank you Next case Um next is the um Oh the you're you're on Kathy So it's that time of year Um we were just talking committees but um we're looking to kind of discuss what
the board would like to implement for the reappoint interview process for those committee board commission members whose terms are expiring June 30th of 2025 Letters have been sent to all candidates who are up for reappoint I am
slowly hearing back from them expressing interest There's so far been two that are going to be stepping down Two are considering and everyone else so far that I've heard from is expressed interest what you have before you is past practice and I I'm trying to better
coordinate on um from last year's experience keeping in mind um how to kind of coordinate the interviews that the board would like to interview I know one committee does have someone who's expressed being reappointed but also a new candidate who would like to be
considered in that instance based on what you have in front of you The board would have to schedule that interview I'm currently also going through the files to make sure there are no other candidates who may need to be considered for any other seats But um if the board
would like to determine who you would like to interview what how you would like that all to work so that I can kind of start preparing that and get that done before June 30th this year Um that is the goal C can you tell us what the
committees are that are that have a couple that have people saying that they'd like to retire certainly Um one is I believe actually hold on let me just filter my list here Uh cultural
council and council on aging One member on the council on aging has indicated uh they will not be seeking reappoint And then I believe um so yes Council on Aging and Cultural
Council and then the traffic someone on the traffic safety committee is still thinking and another member of the council on aging is also up in the air as to whether or not they'll be seeking reappoint So it's a potential of two council on aging new members um and one
cultural council member that you would need to find But we you have one who's interested in COA no Oh you don't have any this time no it's uh the Cemetery Commission I believe there are three There are three
on the Yes there are three up on the Council on Aging I've only heard from two of the three so far Letters only went out the end of last week So over the weekend my email was populating with yes please consider me So I'm keeping track of who is responding And um again
typically the board has looked at regulatory boards to reinter um anybody who's interested in being reappointed to a regulatory board Any pending applicants to regulatory boards and then um any advisory or
non-regulatory board where somebody else is pending in addition to that person has typically been what you've done But again it's up to the board's discretion Any any thoughts uh Dean Yeah I mean you've laid it Kathy
has laid this out very uh carefully in terms of what we've done and we've sort of hashed this around multiple times and I think I'm okay with the way this is set out I just had a question When do you anticipate we would actually
take votes because I have some thoughts on that Um I'm open to your suggestion Well we have two you know I I brought the the committee handbook with me that Tim Roer actually revised many years ago and and um we have all these committees
and some of them are purely advisory committees and others are called statutory committees which is essentially the regulatory boards and a handful of others that are set forth in statute like the airport commission um the council on aging the parks and wreck
uh the affordable housing trust um cemetery Cemetery I mean I I think that uh if we I just posit that we could take votes if we have everybody
interviewed and so forth and uh as soon as it's ready uh for for those particular cases in in regards to the advisory committees but I would I would I I would prefer that on the statutory committees that no
appointments be made until the board reorganizes on May 16th after the town election Um we have you know I I think that's a fair fair thing to do I I don't recall what we've done before I really don't whether we've actually made
appointments to all any kind type of committee before um the board reorganized or not And um if others remember I I just don't remember what we've done Typically we've had such a backlog of
interviews that that we find ourselves in June late June or even early July before the 4th of July and we've made some appointments But I just wanted to throw that out I mean I don't have I don't feel strongly about it but it just seems to me the appropriate thing to do
Thank you Corey I think our past practice really hasn't been consistent every year to be to be from my memory Um and I do remember years that we've been scrambling to you know getting interviews at the very end
and it's been pretty tedious to be honest with you Um and I think that's where we had some previous conversations because we've you know interviewed the same person for the ninth time you know the Frank Minenix clause you know um you know it's so
um I just want an efficient system I what I the one my only two cents for the interviewing process especially for a lot of new candidates is that um you know we kind of give them a clear understanding this is when they're going to expect a a kind of a a response with
to their applicant because unfortunately I think there's been times I can't recall the specifics but we've had people interview and then another person interviews in like another month and it's like it almost gets drawn out and that initial
applicant is like am I in am I out are you considering me so I just want to keep a efficient system from that perspective um and try to you know not overdo the interviews but regulatory I think I think the the
system we've have in place is what we should keep because we I don't want to short change that process or change that process So um I think what we've been doing is is worked and um and as far as I know another question further into the
notes here is you know regulatory if we can all make it that's the preference some of the advisory I mean two if there's at least two of us I mean preferably on the advisory at least there's two of us we I think we all try to make as many as we can so we haven't
had an issue with that so what is what is our standards right now are fine Um so I don't think there's any need for a changing that perspective So just a question are you talking about not making any appointments until after May 16th
only for statutory Oh okay Okay Because I I mean we just had a conversation about EDC Let's get on it No no do something And uh I would Yeah I would draw the I would suggest drawing a distinction between statutory and and which is essentially the regulatory and a handful of others Yeah Yeah So so I
guess I want some clarity on Dean if a if a a commission member or uh a board member is up for renewal their term expires June 2025 are you suggesting that we wait for their reappointment their nomination
reappointment until after we reorganize or are you saying that I I've never I've never recalled us doing that ever no I don't think we've ever had a rule or anything like that I know we haven't I I I don't recall what our practice has been Yes that's what that would be my suggestion but I I don't I don't think
we need to do that I I I I don't I'm not sure I I'm clear on what the purpose of that is The only other comment I have is is Corey mentioned it and it's absolutely correct the Frank Msina rule I mean we we some of us have literally interviewed Frank
you know five times I mean and if he's up for reappoint and he wants to do it and you know we really need you want you want to bring him I know we all love Frank right but there has to be an accountability factor that that we do hold a standard to right that's why I
think we need to interview people um especially when it is on a regulatory committee This is no reflection on Mr Mscina at all No no It just sometimes I think we're rubber stamping We're we're taking up time when we didn't we needn't to Anyway I'll be quiet I think I think
this is fine Um so just to clarify so statutory and regulatory boards you would like to continue with interviewing anybody who's up for reappoint Advisory committees if they've expressed interest and there are additional candidates reinter them along with the new
candidates If they're an advisory board but no one is looking for a seat are you okay if I put together a slate for reappointment so you can do all of them in one Is that acceptable c Can you do a
slate and then if any particular board member has an issue with the or concern we just pull it out and we'll address it I was just thinking that might help with that process and help streamline it a little To your point Castro I think it does I think it would Kathy Okay No I
think that's fine Okay Thank you We would still require three members at a regulatory interview Yeah That's what we've done We abided by it And I guess one other point of
clarification currently I've been scheduling for Tuesdays before your meeting which is allowed for two Do you want me to continue with the Tuesday but maybe start at 4 where possible do you want a different date time i know Tuesday seemed to work best for the
majority of you So I I'm I mean Coran is busy too I if we can keep it to Tuesday I will make an earlier schedule work rather than trying to split the time I just it's just too much Rather than go to another day Yes So do you when you
say earlier you mean maybe like 4:30 as opposed to 5 yeah Yeah I mean we are we should be able to get you and I think the interview process can be streamlined too I think we can we can you know we can ask pointed questions and you know
uh allow for like a brief you know just to frame it up a little different so it so an interviewee does not have to go on for 20 minutes right if it unless we want them to But um I think we we we control the narrative and the questions
versus Yeah Okay Um thank you Okay Anything else on that uh I would then to motion to adjurnn Mr Chairman Yes Second Uh okay Mr Niccastro
Hi Mr Shell says I Uh Miss Davis Hi And Mr Dyken Hi And Mr Meters Hi Good night Chadam We are adjourned at the very early hour of 6:42 [Music]
[Music]