##VIDEO ID:hcDmyVwdQcI## countes like uh good evening uh this is uh welcome to the town of Dion border of selectman regular meeting today is Wednesday January 22nd 2025 as 6:00 p.m. this meeting is in person and Via Zoom at Oldtown Hall 1111 Su in progress D in Mass this meeting is being recorded the listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the chair which may be discussed at the meeting not all items listed May in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by lore uh can we please have a call to order Nicole Melo present Mark Pico present and Peter Ken present I'm going to ask that please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and just for a moment after we have a couple of residents that we lost this week that we would like to acknowledge 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 like I said we lost three of our neighbors this week on sad occasion but um the three neighbors that we have are Charles castudio CLA gransville and Casey oconnell thank you very much uh starting right off with superintendent William Rooney hi sir how are you well you good thank you this is a review discuss and act whenever you're ready thank you very much for having me um just wanted to um report out on the msba process for um the potential project at dayon elementary and um ask your consideration of a request uh on behalf of the school building committee i' I'd like to uh just start off by again thanking you for the opportunity to be here um very grateful for the support uh and the effort of our entire school building committee our school committee and of course um you as a select board um for helping us navigate what is um something that we understand is a concern for um many of the residents because um obviously there are tax dollars involved and um we are certainly sensitive to that uh but we were very excited with the outcome of uh the special town meeting on November 14th and very grateful for the opportunity um to um potentially be moved into feasibility the msba meets um as a board in late February and um we anticipate that they will formally invite us into the feasibility study phase at that point and um so with Mr fito's appointment we need to submit a revised version of the school building committee regardless um because at that point that we submitted originally the Town Administrator position was vacant um but the reason why I'm here tonight is um the school building committee has unanimously voted to ask your permission to expand the membership of the school building committee um it is fairly customary at this stage of a potential project to start bringing more educational experts in into um into the discussion the school building committee the first iteration of the school building committee um has some wonderful volunteers we have um we have former or we have retired Engineers um we have retired Educators but um I did discuss with the msba the possibility of having uh four additional Educators Uh current Educators added to the school building committee comme for the purposes of being able to give us an on the ground perspective of what they are dealing with um on a daily basis at our elementary school and um and the school building committee unanimously voted to um make this proposal to you so the if if you see fit the four new members would be the assistant superintendent um I commonly refer to him as the chief academic officer he is the one who is responsible for um carrying out the educational vision of the district um but also we want representation from our outstanding teaching staff so um we have a proposal in front of you to um bring a special education representative on to the school building committee a um fine and Performing Arts representative as well as one of our um academic curriculum coordinators and um three of those four would be at Dion Elementary on a daily basis they would be able to have Grassroots conversations with their colleagues about um a potential design whether that potential design was u a renovation a rehabilitation uh an addition or possibly even new construction so um that's it in a nutshell we're we're asking your consideration to uh to beef up the school building committee um I'm not in favor of large committees but that's personal um you you don't sometimes you don't get as much accomplished as you can with a smaller group but it's your committee and if that's how you feel you want to go that's strictly up to you uh my biggest concern is at some point votes are going to have to be cast and I think you might be a little administrative heavy with the representation from the school and not from the residents uh why can't the four positions that you ask be brought in as an advisory which would accomplish the same thing as opposed to coming in and and having a vote as to what's going to happen um that's you know that's that's a great suggestion I mean that is certainly something that um I could you know I I could propose back to the msba I I'm not sure how um they navigate that in terms of having folks that are I don't know whether you would describe them as ex officio members or um but it is um when I proposed it to hourly aison at the msba uh she did say that you know this was something that is um you know customary in a lot of districts and I I but I understand where you're coming from in terms of um you know in terms of who is voting and you know whether or not um they are residents right okay uh Nicole do you have anything You' like to yeah I just have um some questions so currently how it stands how many members do you have currently I believe we have 15 15 no I'm sorry 13 because we need seven for a quorum okay um so as it stands now you could have subcommittees correct I know that was one of your um things that you would like to be able to do yes um but as you stand now you could do that it's it's more difficult with 13 okay um and these staff are Educators that you're looking to potentially add on they would be volunteering their time they would be yes um one of them is a Dion resident okay um I know that for a fact the the I know one of them is not my assistant superintendent is not uh the other two I'm I'm not 100% sure okay I shared the same concern as um as Peter as well and as you had mentioned um that having residents is important because they're looking at the dollar value that this is going to be in their pocket um and maybe staff won't be so much um I work in a school I would love to have the best school that I can have um and sometimes maybe who's going to pay for that I might forget yes um and that that's an understandable concern I mean ultimately um it's the residents that are going to make a decision as to whether we go forward with any sort of a project um but it will be you're right it will be the school building committee's responsibility to make a recommendation um but you know um I'm I'm confident that these folks would be objective enough and we would make them understand that they have a responsibility to the taxpayers to make sure that we are being as fiscally responsible as possible thank you so obviously you understand our concern in and um like I said I was wondering about the advisory position and the procedure would be they'd still have to come into to the selectman to be somewhat interviewed and and appointed um I I don't believe we should just it's what we require for all of our positions and the people who are currently on there not so much the administrative end but the residents uh were appointed uh via the selectman uh Mark do you have anything like to add I don't no you don't oh okay um anything else sir no no okay through the chair as a reminder I hate to do this to myself but uh superintendent Roney said uh uh because at the time there was no Town Administrator and and they're looking to uh appoint uh appoint me uh uh appoint me to the committee I think that's already an existing position so if it it is the pleasure of the board I would gladly accept the appointment on sure you realize you don't get paid okay um what would you like to do folks then I well I didn't even think about the option of an advisory um I mean obviously that would be something that Mr Rooney would have to look further into but I would be happier to try to go down that route first um and then Circle back but obviously um whatever you guys are you willing to do that I we we serve at at the pleasure of the board so I'm more than happy to uh reach back out to the msba liaison that I have and um ask her you know how that might have um been handled in other districts sure uh if you could do that then we can table this for this evening sure I mean I don't want to prolong this thing I you know I understand where you're coming from we do have time I mean it's you know it's mid January and and we're not even officially invited into feasibility until late February sure okay uh is there a motion on the floor to table then um I'd like to make a motion to table um the the expansion of the committee for the dayon elementary school building okay second the motion made in seconded any discussion all those in favor I thank you sir all right thank you very much I'd like to make a motion to appoint Ralph vaco to the msba building committee I would like to second that uh mtion SEC any discussion I open forgot all those in favor all right George whenever you're ready sir good evening everybody good evening um so I'm here tonight to discuss the um the retirement of uh patrolman Stephen Ferrera um I spoke to him over the weekend um he sent his resignation letter to me on Monday um Monday being the holiday um I did speak with u the Town Administrator about it and he asked me to come tonight to uh let inform you guys formally that he'd be retiring as of February 1st this is last day well the 29th actually is is last scheduled day on that day okay um um at this point here I would um look to U be able to look for a lateral be able to post something tomorrow starting hopefully um get something posted so we can start the process U looking for a full-time lateral um qualified post certified uh police officer um so that way there we can start the get get uh applications in so we can start reviewing those and then I can put a interview panel together okay so starting officially tomorrow get officially I'd like to officially start tomorrow to open it up yep and uh let let it let it go see what we get for applications applicants okay see what comes in the door and I like to take somebody that's already Academy trained yep that way there um it it cuts down time for you know sending someone to the academy for six months and then Road training Etc right so if we get a lateral over they're already a trained they already know the job they just have to be brought in and be trained under our policies and procedures okay great uh Nicole I don't well I something to I had something that um officer Ferrera had sent me if I could read that um now and bear with me I'm losing my voice it's very very dry um I would like to first thank Chief um McDonald personally for the chance had an opportunity to work for the town of dayon as a police officer with little to no knowledge about a kid formerly from deriva I don't know if I did that Justice or my capabilities including my work ethic he took a chance on me and for that I thank him I would also like to thank the men and women that I served alongside with for the past 18 years at times there were some insurmountable obstacles making things difficult to navigate between the roller coaster of the calls for service or the many personalities or unique beliefs each one of us had through it all we managed to coexist with a common goal in mind the Dion Police Department can be described as a vessel at Sea facing countless storm upon storm that tests its Integrity with a barrage of waves and yet the structure has held true to its form I will take with me some of the greatest friendships I have formed in my lifetime and will cherish every moment my efforts in policing could not be accomplished without the continued support of my community and for that I thank the town's people My Hope Is that everyone in the community views the Dion Police Department as members of your community and not as authoritative individuals at the end of every shift we all return home to our loved ones just as you do with intense scrutiny from cultural groups and news outlets law enforcement is perceived as monsters I've witnessed personally that the community I mean our community has never conceded to that notion our officers of dayon were in the same category did not think they were in the same category as exhibited in the media the trials and tribulations of the job continue to face new challenges with difficulties and uncertainty with reform bills looking to strip away police power and limit effective tools and resources needed for the task at hand I urge you to continue to support your Police Department a good friend of mine always said everything has a shelf life only you can make the determination when the expiration has run out I think I have held on to my childhood dream for as long as I could without overextending my stay there were many personal goals that were left on a accomplish but time simply ran out I can only hope that I have left a positive lasting impression of myself with everyone I have encountered with a chapter in my life is closing with many questions still needing answers in the hope that the next chapter brings Clarity I still remember the moments as a young child in the sheer excitement of the police lights and vehicles I thank all of you who have contributed to my success in the Fulfillment of my childhood dream wow nice very impressive Steve um he's going to be missed yeah I I heard nothing but great things about him and uh he's the backbone of that Force well it's the challenge uh everybody gets along as you said it's a family sure so to try to find that next piece of the puzzle sure it's going to be a challenge so I'd like to start and like I said go through the applications thoroughly and not jump on you know the next candidate just because they ask qualifications is it a good fit right that's what we look at too great you know what are they bringing okay can I just say that Steve was always he was like always a smiling face that I would see um he was the first police officer I introduced myself as the town nurse and the first thing just said to me is when are you going to make us stop wearing these damn masks so um right away I knew that I loved him and I would always look for him in a crowd and everything that he wished for in here he he did it he did it to the community job he did great thank Mark do you have anything you'd like to add I don't thank you okay um again this was a review discuss and act so um I believe we motion to accept yep um I'll make a motion to accept um patrolman Steve ferrera's intention to retire second motion made in second to any discussion all those in favor I I thank you sir oh do we need to make a motion to can the chief just post does he need us um I don't think we need a motion the post right I think if you you approve just you're you're okay with it because fits within the hiring letter thank you thank you thank you thank you sir thank you Lisa you're up okay sure sure absolutely um I'll make a motion to table um Lisa um okay okay motion being seconded any discussion all those in favor I I'm Mr Perry good evening members of the board thank you for your time um what I'm about to discuss with you I've already had a discussion and presentation with the planning board um for some time the uh subject of a bylaw or some sort of administrative uh action to address uh impact fees on developers has been discussed and discussed and discussed I'm making a volunteer statement this evening um I would like to take on the challenge for uh this board and for the planning board of attempting to act as a um information gatherer uh to try to put together the pieces to however administratively it needs to be done put together a uh uh package that will address impact fees on developers and since we're being recorded here I want to be very clear to the residents that are viewing this or may view it um the purpose of the impact fee is to defay the first cost of additional Town Services put another way when you suddenly plop 30 or 40 or 50 houses down over a period of maybe a year or so that has an impact on our primary Services uh the chief police uh fire and probably first and foremost uh the highway department and those things are incremental but at some point in time when you have enough of these dropped into place enough homes dropped into place uh it drives maybe another patrol car and Staffing it drives something in the fire department it drives um another truck and maybe plow on the highway department and I don't and I've had a number of discussions I don't believe it's fair in other places that I have lived other than municipalities have what they call an impact fee that impact fee is a fee on developers that will address that first cost instead of the Town residents who have been here forever uh paying for that incremental increase in a service the first cost could be put into a fund and I'm not suggesting any kind of fund or whatever because that's not within my purview uh but a fund that for inance if the chief comes and says look as a result of our calculations or however he comes to that decision I need to hire more officers and I need another patrol car those monies would be available to take care of that first cost that was driven as a result of development within the town the fee would not apply for instance if you wanted to purchase another piece of property and build your own home that would not apply to people in my you that want to build their own home no it's I'm talking strictly about developers are going to plop any number of houses in on us uh then after year one and I've seen it in other communities the tax collections on those new homes take care of those services but it's that first cost again we want to address and our current resident should not have to bear the first cost repeatedly of the developers and development that's going on in the town and this is not to suggest that we want want to stop development no the development will continue but again going back to all those folks that have lived here at least a year way back when that new development should cover those first costs what I'm volunteering to do is basically I view myself and you have the packet in front of you but I view myself as an information or I would be an information collector looking at other municipalities what they've done putting something together for you and for the planning board and the reason I address you and the planning board it's planning board essentially has the purview uh to look at developments and to do all the things they need to do to regulate those developments I've had some discussions uh with a building inspector and he has seen in other and I'm not speaking for him but in our discussions he has seen other municipalities where prior to issuing a permit the fee is collected by the building inspector and he falls under your purview um so that's what I want to do that's what I'd like to do again I view myself uh as an information gatherer sure and starting to put things together so we can make this happen um Mr Higgins the planning board uh did some uh research regarding uh open meeting laws and if I'm a committee of one subcommittee of one then kind of ludicrous for me to have to post everywhere I'm going no state law says that if you're a committee of one you don't need to post however I would turn to the planning board and to you whenever I put something together for your review and look for your guidance and Direction and suggestions and that's what I said to the planning board too um uh Mr vaco and I have spoken and what I'm really after here is one your blessing and two the ability to uh if I want to make U an appointment to speak with someone in Taunton for instance I could uh say you could call into the selectman's office you can call Mr vitaco to let him know I'm just you know not coming it off the street and U with no purpose but I I'm focusing on a particular issue for the town of dayon okay um acting as a volunteer don't expect any form of compensations for my time uh or travel or anything just volunteering to do this work and um one of the things we'd have to look at is like new businesses and solar fields and I haven't really thought about that yet but um I think if you would concur with uh my volunteer statement I i' ask you to just take it under advisement now and you know think about it um I'd be happy to do it okay great we have oh go ahead no questions no we have talked about this before and I think it's a great idea yeah and I can't believe you want to take on the burden but uh that's awesome you you're a great resident uh a gentleman and I I can't think of anybody better than for you for you to do it um if you have the time and uh willing to represent the town of dayon uh in the position that um that you would be in I I think it's great and I also as I put down here recognize that I have and I'm crystal clear I have no authority to to uh do anything except collect information I want to be very clear about that to the you know the residents and anybody that may be watching that sure uh yeah I think the residents understand by by what you've explained here this evening that it's not an individual cost to them yeah no it says no no cost to the residents at all okay cost to me not for the residents uh Nicole I think it sounds great I've seen the work that Mr Perry has done on the solid waste committee um the work that he's um done researching and collecting data and stuff like that so I think if you're willing to take that one step further that we would really appreciate that I I don't know where it's going to go but I'm going to try sure okay so Mark no I appreciate you taking this on and I feel very comfortable with you doing this work and um no thank you so much and I think you and I may be looking for your guidance and have discussions on the point if you help and work with you I appreciate that absolutely okay great uh this is a review discussion act so we need to give him the authority to um um to do this um I'll make a motion to have Robert Perry be a I guess a FactFinder for impact fees as presented this evening I'll second that motion me and seconded any discussion all those in favor I I um okay Mr Perry You're Still continuing with the name change of solid waste well I you put that under me and Barbara do you want to talk about that also I'll you oh thank you very much um thank you um we had a discussion at the last Solid Waste committee meeting and we thought it more appropriate to change the name toste a solid waste committee waste reduction because and I don't want to speak for the chairman but um uh we had this discussion and uh somehow waste reduction is what we're actually doing sure uh along with with um looking at different ways to reuse materials uh things that people may have that they instead of throwing it away they like to reuse it we're looking at at ways to centralize and do that uh we're looking at pay as you throw um in other words uh if I throw one thing away and you throw one bag of trash away and you throw 10 away I don't want to subsidize you through a appropriated funds so we're trying to uh reduce the amount of appropriated funds that are used for the um uh collection of of our waste Etc and we've looked at um repricing things at the transfer station just by virtue of the data that we looked at and what other towns have done in terms of uh how they've approached this issue and um I I think it's working out well so far we our initial objective when we started off all this was to hit the target and now we're working in towards hitting the bullseye on some of these programs sure but um the name change I think is a little more uh uplifting a little more positive okay and that was essentially the reason for that yeah uh there's a lot in in a name change and it can have a a very large impact so um I have no issues with that at all uh Nicole no Mark no okay uh through through the chair just a just to back up with Mr Perry said and just add to give you some more information on that a just a little bit uh superintendent uh Tom Ferry uh in in His official capacity goes to these different committees and he saw and he saw the waste reduction so he he made that suggestion but if it is the pleasure of the board to change the name to the waste reduction committee I just want to inform the board that there is uh no change to the committee no need to reappoint anyone um it's just it's just a name name change and that and that's all it is so great okay uh so then is there a motion on the floor please um I'll make a motion to change the name of the solid waste committee to waste reduction committee I'll second that motion made and seconded any discussion all those in favor I thank you for your time and I will um have some additional conversations one onone and uh get this ball rolling thank you thank you uh Lisa are you ready okay um so as you may know um or may recall we had a previous position assistant um which we have not filled um and then we came to you and asked if you would be amenable to allowing us to um hire for a minute taker we are now well behind um what we should be we haven't done been able to do minutes since August since we lost our uh assistant so we did conduct we got four applicants and um I conducted the interviews over a couple of days um there were phone interviews um we are happy we offered the position of um clerical worker minute taker to Kendra madas early um she already it actually works for the town as well um in a non-union position for the COA as the Outreach coordinator and um you she's on Zoom right now you you may know Kendra um but yeah we think that this is going to you know compliment us well as far as taking the minutes um once a month for us remotely she does not have to come to the meeting okay um hi Kendra she's on the iPhone oh no she's there she's unmute herself okay Kendra hi uh welcome you sure you want to do this position yes I do love um we typically don't appoint somebody unless they hear which which you are via Zoom um and Nicole do you have any questions no i' I've met Kendra several times she's phenomenal for the COA so I'm happy that she's going to give back in other ways as well sure uh Mark do you have I'm very I'm familiar with Kendra too so very comfortable um but I just have a question for Lisa did you say these were phone interviews yeah so could you just tell me what the who was part of that was there a hiring committee or H who was part of like the hiring process for well the commission voted at an earlier meeting to allow me to do the interviews um so in the interview I asked five questions and um and then um yeah I compared the resumés and the experience and the responses and it seemed like Kendra was definitely GNA provide us with with the the minutes and um she seems like she's going to be very thorough um and um I'm looking forward to working working with her awesome thank you my only other question is um you did mention that there's a backlog of minutes is this yeah position for the stiens going forward or um what's the plan for going backward um we talked about having um the position cover the previous minutes so what we would like to do we already are we're going to use the money from the assistant for this and then after July I think you know Paul had mentioned that we'll use the um Wetland filing fees assuming that that revenue account is set up so cuz we did you know ask you guys to vote at the fall town meeting for us to start collecting our own fees um because right now what we do is we collect the state um the town portion of the state fee so we'll have our own fees which should really help us out as far as um funding and um so yeah so what I had suggested was and um is that Kendra is going to do two sets of minutes a month um to get caught us caught up on those okay until we're caught up right I'm concern this has nothing to do with this evening we should stay in our lanes but I'm concerned that you get that far behind I am too yeah okay I know again this is a review discuss and act is there a motion on the floor um I'll make a motion to appoint Kendra mados early to the position the minute taker for the Conservation Commission I'll second that motion made in seconded any discussion all those in favor I thank you thank you thank you Mark you're up [Music] Sir hello everybody hi hi so thanks for having me you're welcome Yeah so basically I want to talk about um the part-time non-un position of Li page uh just brief background and I realized I wasn't here for the previous meeting I'll take responsibility for that but I'm here now thanks for having me um so the current or I guess former page now um submitted her resignation it was effective early January and the trustees accepted it and then they voted the trust Library trustees did um to approve the position um job description and to post it and so that was the case and and I understand there was there was some discussion at the previous meeting about the position being filled and I'm I'm just I'm here to answer any question and and discuss that and discuss that further so I I initiated the discussion um I F so thank you for being here I appreciate it I 100% understand that the position of Library Pages under the perview of the library Board of Trustees totally get that um but the letter was just was so vague and I I was I had concerns about um FY 26 you know was the board looking longterm um you know sure the funds are in fy2 but I'm concerned about FY 26 and Beyond and um you know so just those those would just be natural questions I would have when you get a you know I found a resignation in the hiring was kind of to different topics for me at least and um so yeah just just wanted to make sure when we get to the budget process we can cover these new position so I'll speak to the um that letter first um in rereading that letter I agree with you it was actually very vague so if I were sitting in your chair I probably would have done the exact same thing you did in question that so that's on me I apolog but I I wrote a little more detailed letter for clarification um I do want to point out I did submit the draft my draft budget already for fiscal year 26 and the draft budget I submitted is is lower than than it was for this fiscal year 25 um it is lower and that includes the page position that line actually decreased as well because that page position I budget for a certain amount when that page resigned um the new page that would be starting is hired at the entry level which which is lower than that and so if with or without um a cost living increase it would still that line will still come in slightly lower fiscal year 25 it was budgeted for 12,36 something like that now uh without a cost living increase it would be 11,700 with a cost of living I'm just going to make it an even 12,000 so regardless um that line is coming in lower and the overall budget is is is is going to be lower as well awesome so I I did want to speak to that just just just again because that wasn't in the letter but that's useful that's useful information you probably should have had and I'm glad you're getting that now I think it's great you came out and let us know and the residents know so thank you that's awesome well thank thanks for letting me thanks for the opportunity do that thank you sure uh Nicole do you have anything no I don't have anything okay uh obviously you go through the process and um and just keep us informed as we go along absolutely this is a review discussion act for the library page position uh is there a motion on the floor to accept this I'm not sure if we need a motion but I thank you okay oh we don't okay no well it's not a motion being an asked I don't believe that's not right he it was more informational I believe right we have it under review discuss act because it was um because I I know it's under the purview of the of the library committee um but it is um filling a um I I know per the hiring letter any position that is vacated it's not an automatic that that it gets that it gets filled but I think just for um just for clar for clarity and consistency if if this board agrees with it they you just sort of give its um e accept you know that the um that the library could go out and seek the page position so then what are we going to um list as the motion just to accept this position as I would say yeah okay I'll make a motion to accept the library page position as um presented okay motion made is there a second okay I'll step down as chair and second this all those in favor I just on a discussion oh oh I'm sorry I apologize nothing against I just wasn't prepared to make any motions on this I appreciate you coming I would have been more comfortable to discuss it with the library trustees is under their purview I think it's great you came out I would support Ron is here on Zoom if if you want if you have any questions I would support yeah if Ron presented it or asset but um no no no offense to you I appreciate you but this is you know the it's going to pass either way so well I'm happy to be here tonight so yeah that's fine yes L yes only can you come up just here for a second please sorry not only are you accepting the recommendation of the Board of Trustees to fill the position as described yes you must know you must acknowledge that this person is an employee of the town of dayon the same way you do when the fire chief makes an appointment under his jurisdiction and exactly what you did when the board of assessors appointed the last employee in our department so you are you are accepting the job description as presented and you are acknowledging the appointment that was uh done by the Board of Trustees so that as the executive board this person is officially on the records as an employee but it's not an employee that we're appointing it's it's just no no no I'm pointing out to you we do this with the fire department because statutorily the fire chief appoints but he always comes to you to to the board and says I'm you know recommended uh I've appointed so and so and the board accepts that you just did this when we hired there's no one on the agenda some in the board of assessors office cuz we made the appointment but then we sent it on to you I completely understand that there's I'm what I'm just trying to say is there's nobody on the agenda tonight to appoints that's all I'm trying to say corre so when is the appointment coming we are starting interviews tomorrow oh thank you thank you thanks sen did we vote any more discussion no okay there's been a motion on the floor it's been seconded the discussion is over um now we have to vote I'm I uh Peter Karen and I anybody upst no okay uh and so you are up to you to continue okay well thanks so much for having me yeah thank you thank you thank you thank you so much thank you and I'll make if this in the future I'll make sure this doesn't happen again great job yeah yeah I'll make sure the communication is there if at any point in the future so but thank you for me here tonight thank you Barbera you're up please this is a review discussion Act recommendations for health agent I'm going to read the letter on this uh dear Board of selectman members the Board of Health would like to recommend Matthew Tannis as the next PDM Health agent for the town of dayon Matthew has been working with the town of dayon for approximately 14 years and has the experience needed to fulfill this role he has served as a board of health member in the past and is familiar with all policies and bylaws of dayon furthermore Mr Tannis has assisted the health department as an inspector of these past few years when dayon was in need the Board of Health feels it does not see a need to repost and interview candidates the position has been posted for a considerable amount of time and has not succeeded in producing a qualified candidate the board agreed to pay a qualified Health agent which dton needs and which Matthew is $50 an hour not to exceed 19 hours per week your consideration in this matter would greatly be appreciated awesome okay I don't have any questions at this stage Nicole do you no it was a pleasant surprise when I saw your name I was like he's in yeah he squeezed out he squeezed Us in Mark uh same reaction as Nicole very excited thank you uh I think uh you're going to be good asset again so thank you for putting the time in circle absolutely y y thank you I'll make a motion to appoint um Matthew Tannis as the health agent second um motion made in seconded any discussion all those in favor I I awesome thank you um congratulations Matt and bobber this is the pay throw program please oh here's the good one yes from the waste reduction committee Barbara I'm sorry from the waste reduction committee yes the waste reduction I I like that name a lot better true and I believe uh Bobby thought of that name too uh D um as you are aware the cost of services supply and demand have increased over the last few years unfortunately the cost for trash disposal has been on the same Trend the price of trash bags has not increased since 2020 however in that same time the cost of disposal has increased over 54% it was $388,500 in 2019 and in 2024 it has jumped to $599,800 landfills are closing and the disposing of trash has become more challenging for all municipalities the oh boy here we go Dion Solid Waste committee it was tight there um and the dayon Board of Health have made a recommendation to the board of Selectmen to increase the bag prices from $20 per roll to 28 per roll for large bags which is $280 per bag and from $10 per roll to 14 per roll for small bags $140 per bag this represents a 40% increase the board of selectman approved this increase on December 11th 2024 with start date of February 1st 2025 even with this cost increase the program is still in a deficit the Board of Health along with the solid waste committee will continue to look for ways to reduce cost by supplementing the program and applying for pertinent TR grants residents can help by reducing bulk and comp composting composting food waste reducing waste means reducing waste be aware of your purchases can you reuse the package you bought the solid waste committee is working with Master EP on implementing a swap shed where residents can leave used items that are in good condition for others to take more to come on this soon residents also have the option to take advantage of privatized trash this option was research and the cost of pay as you throw program is indisputably the best option going forward the Board of Health along with the solid waste committee will be analyzing costs annually in order to be better prepared for future price increases in disposal okay how long has the Board of Health um 2020 when was the last time they even addressed the price increase for the bags I don't know I can look it up though I'm not familiar with it oh Matt would know okay how to get so far out of [Music] whack I guess it's I'm not asking you directly but um okay I think it may have been the change in the boards and um the department itself major Chang a big fact in 2017 the recycling rates went out of control sure restrictions what in place um recycling at the time I don't know what is now but at the time ended up being I want to say probably 40% 50% more than what it was cost us to get the trash and then I think everything's kind of going up offet costs that's we went on the price of trash bags and I think even then it still really didn't sure make the C but it was okay it was a better offset than what was going on what was happening at the time you know the way everything's gone the last four years I can only imagine it's a big expense very big uh this was pretty much just informative uh thank you and um great job uh is there anything else you want to add this evening um I'm going to talk to to Mr Ferry see if he can put that up on the boards um I know we were thinking of direct mailing but we priced that out and it's close to $1600 at this point in us trying to uh save money I think that's a foolish waste of money okay well we can put on the boards I think that would be huge yes definitely and we're going to put on more sites also so around Jon so uh Town Offices too places that sell it we ask them to post this somewhere I mean I don't Hannah Fritz I don't know where you would post this that anyone would see it but at least we can say it was available exactly exactly Nicole great all right yeah thank you very much thank you okay we're going to move on to announcements please um the highway department public notice there is a townwide parking ban in effect from November 1st 2024 to April 1st 2025 no person shall allow any vehicle to remain in the street so as to obstruct snow removal the open space committee currently has two volunteer positions open the mission of open space committee is to identify and make recommendations regarding land which is important to the residents of the town of dayon as open space in order to preserve our rural character protect water resources and wildlife habitat and provide recreational opportunities the Council on Aging currently has one volunteer position open the mission of the Dian Council on Aging is to promote evaluate and encourage new and existing activities and services which will enhance the quality of life of Elders living in the town of dyon anyone interested in volunteering for either position can set an application to Lian um the email is on the pamphlet um applications can be made on our website as well under the employment and volunteer opportunities lastly the dians um Lions food bank will be held next on Saturday February 15th um and they are located at Town Hall the lower level thank you um this is the first of two public inputs does anybody have anything that like to add sure come on up Nancy please from the storm water committee and I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because uh there's going to be a presentation on this but you know we have a grant and we have an engineer from Weston and Samson looking at our entire uh storm water program including the ms4 the changes that are coming uh tomorrow night I'm going to a 10day zoom meeting uh that will discuss the changes in the permit and whatever is down the road uh this is basically for public response to what the EPA is proposing but um again you will have a presentation coming up I think it's your last meeting in February but the uh engineer has sent some periodic reports and I can tell you before it got below zero and snow came uh two other Engineers were out in the field doing um mapping the outfalls and I think Tom told me they discovered a couple of new ones and because all of our outfalls and Maps were all handdrawn by Tom when before he became superintendent so needless to say they've been around a while so these will be actually the outfall maps and the other thing is uh they've done uh outfall testing uh and that's that's checking to see what comes out of these outfalls because one of the things that we have and has to be updated is what is called the idde the illicit discharge uh detection um and elimination program there's too many acronyms um but anyhow this is just to let you know that they are out working in the field um I did get an email with a list of streets and that Mr Ferry had okay and I forwarded it to the two chiefs so that if they got calls or anyone saw a strange vehicle cuz one was using their own vehicle and one was using a mocked Weston and Samson vehicle but if residents saw anybody out there what are they doing around that that manhole or that storm drain or what are they looking at um this is just standard procedure they aren't they aren't um they have they should be there and if anyone's concerned the police and fire department know that uh there are what streets there are and in effect this is work being done under that grant that the town got okay so but you'll get more of this as we move along um I'm really concerned about what I may here tomorrow night because uh I'm concerned that uh now that we're doing outfall testings we may have the the boom load and be told that we have to test for uh nitrogen and phosphorus those are lab tests and that's money uh right now uh the only um identified pollutants that we have are pathogens and bacteria which is basically I believe septic waste so uh we'll just see how this works out going down the road okay okay the other thing just want to give you this is some thoughts I put together following your meeting two weeks ago uh and I'm glad to hear tonight some of these things have already been um addressed um and I heard through the grap Vine that that others have been addressed I think there was statements made that were offensive to some employees to um longterm employees thank you um that weren factual or accurate so I just ask you to read this um there are no names in there and I'm certainly not going to get into a public discussion about it but uh I think it's important that you understand some of the history uh behind the comments I made thank you uh and again I'm doing this employees that when I was AEL probably all so thank you sure thank you thank you any other uh public input at this time I have some if there's no sure so um just for the library page vote I just wanted to I've had a minute to reflect on it and I don't want any individual Department to take offense when we go through hiring of any Personnel um I feel as a selectman the most common concern I get is people's tax bills and as an employee a former employee of the town for a few years we knew that the town was in tough Financial Times and there was a debt exclusion vote that would happen um during my time it it has since failed and I know we have a deficit so I find my job is selectman number one is to look at the budget I'm very concerned about the budget this year um because that's been drilled in our head for for years now coming up that if this fails we're going to be in a a large deficit so I just don't want any departments to take offense we have tough very tough decisions coming up and without the FY 26 budget in front of me um you know I just want to make sure dep departments are thinking long term and even being creative if we can't have all the hours and services we have um you know with the unknowns I just want to make sure we we've hired there was a lot of appointments on our agenda tonight and I think they're all necessary and and they're fine U however I have a great amount of anxiety and concern about uh the upcoming budget process so that's why those decisions that's why um that vote was taken I that's why I voted the way I did it's nothing against any individual Department it's just I look at my number one job is the budget thank you thank you okay yes can I speak yes please um because of the weather dayon does have a warming center it's at the community uh room at the police department okay 247 if anybody loses power it's too cold in their house anything they have a problem they can come right down to the police station feel very welcome there thank you okay that's a good uh good observation to report okay moving on to the town administrator's report okay thank you um just a few things to report very quickly um one is the dayon community electric aggregation uh we received a a a note um about last last week from uh from from good energy and um there's about 20 new residents in the T in the town of dayon which received um an opt out card so the opt out card is for the community aggregation if you do not opt out you'll be signed up for the Dion standard which is um $15.78 a kilowatt uh but I just want to make sure that people who got that card pay attention to it because if you opt out you'll go into National Grid and that's 14 uh 14 I'm sorry 1462 a kilowatt so it's a big it's a big difference so um and and or you could go into dton plus which is 1732 a kilowatt so please if if you know those 20 new residents who got that car pay attention to it um you know it's it's a little more money for the Dion standard so you you you know if you want to make that choice to uh to not take that and go to and go to National Grid fill that card out and you have until um hold on one second February 17th to get that to get that in uh the next up is uh just before continue so opting out is the same as not returning it no no no uh you have to to National Grid you have to return it to opt out if you do not return the card you go no if you do not return the card you go to dton standard which is more okay so if sorry yeah no no return the card if you do not want Titan standard okay uh go I'm sorry didn't no no no as as much as we could get clarity on that or clarification I I I'm happy to do that uh the other thing is that um every year as um we've been doing it for quite some time the um the Town Administrator puts out a waste reduction and recycling statement uh to to the town employees we do it every year uh it's part um um it's part of the retract program and it helps us uh you know it helps us helps the environment but also helps us get points and we get um you know we have that we get that grant money to uh support the efforts of this of the waste reduction committee so uh in your packet this is it's pretty much the same letter that's gone that's gone out uh every year it's just sort of encouraging uh the employees of the town of uh of Dion to buy uh make sure to um when you do buy recycled material but I also uh added an attachment on the back um to for consideration discussing weight reduction recycling the things you could do for Waste reduction there recycling waste reduction uh recycled product purchasing uh it talks about trash and procurement so that's sort of uh an update an update on that policy and we will um submit that um that's you know one of the things we have to submit for the for that uh retract Grant um and last but not least uh the bores Brothers uh trash pickup contract is expiring in June 25th um I Peter Borges is a a tough guy to get a hold of but one we're going do we're going to start uh discussing it um just to let you know it's um trash pickup is exempt of the 30b process so we're looking at the very least to extend uh extend the contract one year so um um you know once I get that going I'll I'll give you updates updates on that sure thank you um suman's reports the um I have two comments uh one being about three uh weeks ago we had a home fire uh and I say home as opposed to a house because people live there and and it becomes their home and the fire department did an excellent job from stopping that fire from destroying the their home uh and sometimes it it just a thank you doesn't seem to be enough but uh in this case it uh we thank them uh for the outstanding work that they did and the second thing is in the um last few days I have driven around many communities and uh Tom Ferry and his crew have done an outstanding job getting this snowstorm that we had uh with they call snowstorm or not um down to be pavement other communities still have uh certain amounts of snow that you can slip uh with your vehicle and I know that from personal uh uh from a personal example because yesterday driving through this one Community um was was somewhat dangerous so I want to send out a big thank you to Tom and his crew for uh doing an next excellent job which they always do uh Nicole no I don't have anything okay Mark no but I agree with you this evening I agree with you on the pavement though absolutely um moving on to Old business please this is a review discussion act cost of living adjustment for non-union uh full-time nonunion employees without contracts uh through through the chair if I could give some background on this as you know this was brought up at the last meeting uh the town accountant asked um asked us uh to um to bring it up I know I had some some discussion I know uh uh for for the first one there was a motion to um no no Cola adjustment unless the employees were with on a contract I did some research and um we cannot um compel uh compel employees to go onto a contract uh the people I've spoken with and and car and I are um and she's done some research on it on it as well uh the best way to go is we um we're looking to put in into place uh Personnel policies and procedures um we reaching out to other communities um we're getting that and it it gives a nice um definition it provides uh guidance and definitions to people who um who are not on contracts and it's more of the trend um in in in municipalities that they're stepping away from contracts and and going towards U these Personnel policies um we're going to start putting that together we have to put together a little uh a committee uh to get uh to get that done we will we will definitely uh keep you informed of that it if um so we are again um we're looking you know as a um to um to to seek direction or or for approval from the um from the board of Selectmen that the cola that we can allow Cola adjustments to and half perc we've gone through the budget um and we've figured that and that's um we could we we can handle that um if it is the will of the of the Selectmen to to look at that again and vote on it um you would have to vote to reconsider the motion from uh uh from two weeks ago and then act on this motion but and I'm available for any questions regarding this uh this review discuss and act okay uh Nicole I don't have anything um so my thoughts are it's hard to make an informed decision when we don't have the budget in front of us I'm not opposed to employees who don't have a contract to get a raise that was not the intent at the last meeting but a raise isn't guaranteed cost of living makes sense of course and it's not to um make anyone feel left out or ostracized or anything like that however um I don't see what the problem is of just looking at the budget and discussing it during the budget process what's the rush to look at the like there was such a rush for these costs of living increas es for us to make a decision sure so I'd like going forward maybe FY 27 and FY 28 um and this is the way I remember it perhaps I'm mistaken but I remember that was you know as a department head you put it in your budget request you discuss it with the Town Administrator and then it would go in front of the fincom and the board of selectman I don't remember this just seems to be such a rust to to get an answer on this and again I'm not it's nothing personal there is there are benef having a Union contract these folks I'm not trying to it's just I need the numbers in front of us again I don't think it's business as usual right now I think it's we're in tough times so I I would like to look at this take this up when we look at each individual Department budget so you'd like to wait on this well um you've been on the board longer than me and this is my first year and my first budget so those are my ideas however I'd like to hear the gr ideas um um if if I may through the chair to add to the discussion um um the the argument on behalf of the of the Town accountant was that without Direction people put in all you know all different numbers right and and what we were seeking is to like you know this is the you know from the board of Selectmen we have through the authority of the board of Selectmen we say it's no higher than 2 and a half% people put in 4% 5% 10% uh so I I think um I think it was more to get you know the direction and the authority of the board of selectman so as we go through through the budget process um you know we could we can account for it and just it makes the the math a little easier for us to do so and you know we could say you know and it gives us uh a better backing to say you know if somebody does come in with 5% we say no the Selectmen are no higher than 2 and a half % so uh that's um just just to share with you the thought process of of of where we're coming from well it's not going to go higher than two and a half% right uh that's yes I agree I have I've been here for budgets where uh 10% and they try to defend the position at uh the meetings and and and it never happens uh I I I don't think there's a harm uh with voting on on a 2 and a half% this evening I don't know if we necessarily need the budget in front of us to do that but if you feel more comfortable with that I I have no issues with that at all oh okay thank you um that's a tough one I yeah it's my first budget process I just feel like like again we can wait back to what I said I mean it's it's not an issue it's unusual times that's okay yeah so uh we can table this uh if you prefer okay it it's it's up to whatever you want to do okay I'm going to make a motion to reconsider okay is there a motion uh on the floor then to reconsider is there uh second um hearing no second uh I will say it doesn't pass I'm I'm sorry was back up a motion to reconsider I think um make a motion to reconsider if we were then going to decide on a percentage okay I misunderstood then um right okay then I will step well I if I if I um if I may um I think you know the the motion is to give people without um without a contract zeros and I think um you may uh it it I think uh um you may vote to reconsider to go through not a flat zero MH but to go through the budget process so so people who don't you know who don't have a contract as it stands now they automatically get a zero okay that's fair yeah okay so there's a motion on the floor I'm going to step down and second that all those in favor I I post okay so it passes uh and it's the same thing with with b um course of living adjustment for part-time non-un but now do we have to give our yeah now you should well not not provide a per but but to I I would suggest if you want to table it or for for future for future budget uh uh to to be determined by Future budget discussion okay yeah yeah because I know you right now you don't want to commit to the two and a half percent right I understand that but you know um so I would suggest tell that Nicole's like well because I was ready to commit to two and a half I would suggest the motion to be um to move that um that for uh non um nonunion full-time uh employees would would be uh um colas would be determined by the budget through the budget process okay because that's that I I get I'm getting sense that's your intent so so you should that's what it should be okay so is there a motion on the floor to as Ralph stated can you state it one more time I'm sorry if I remember so so Cola for non-union or fulltime non-union employees without contracts will be determined through the budget process I would put that in the form of a motion okay there's a motion on the floor is there a sure Lisa well this uh we'll come up to the discussion in just a second but you're going to have to come up here okay thanks um is there a uh motion has been made is there a second okay here we no second discussion my only question was um what about part time nonunion that's that's the next that's the next one sorry uh hearing no Motion in the floor it does not pass can I make a motion for non-union fulltime oh God what is this non non-union or full-time non-union employees without contracts for a cola of 2.5% uh there's a motion on the floor uh for two and a half% is there a second uh I will step down as chair and second that motion made and seconded any discussion do you want anything to add Lisa at all or you're all okay um yes just that you full-time part-time don't add to my confusion okay um I'm not sure will it include theable I I have to look into that because I think they get paid through um cable right right so we'll right okay okay all right thank you so let's back up here there's been a motion on the floor it's been seconded any discussion I have some further discussion sure I'm not going to support this because I don't think it's good practice for the board to takes take pieces of the budget in piece meal so I'm process oriented I think we should take the whole budget as a whole look at all of the numbers and see what makes sense for dyon um so I I can't support these there's nothing against these employees or anything like that but you know why are we taking things peace mail doesn't make sense to me that's all no and Mark I I agree with you um and the reason I'm going this route is just because this is how we've done previously but if we set a precedence that next year this is not how it's I'm fully on board with that thank uh yes nany you feeling all right tonight I get a cold strictly speaking of the budget process yeah not people the Town Administrator has asked for some direction pick a number pick a percentage pick whatever yeah he's looking for a placeholder these budgets are not complete in working on it he's got an area that he's asked for Direction so you need to give him Direction it doesn't mean it's going to end up that way correct you got to go through the budget meetings and fincom and everything but he needs some kind of direction right and if it's tabled it's got to come up again because he still needs a number to plug in a slot right well we have a motion on the floor it's been seconded and I'm just going to call for a row after the discussion ends thank you just to follow up on that discussion I don't think it's unfair for the board to give the feedback to the Town Administrator that that is that is our D that is our direction to the Town Administrator that um you know we will allow the budget process to take its course and we need to see what all the numbers are all the counts are what our revenues are and um we're going to take it at that time so I think that is in future budget years I think that is a fair direction to go okay uh all those in favor I I oppos no okay motion passes um new business sir we didn't discuss we to do part time uh I'm sorry so I am going to make the same motion um to reconsider uh through there there was no need it was tabled so there no yes so no need to reconsider okay I need to reconsider this one um I'll make a motion for part-time non-union employees Cola um of 2.5% okay motion made and I'll step down oh is there a second I'll step down as chair in second all those in favor oh any discussion all those in favor I I opposed no okay um now we can move on to new business thank you guys for putting up with me same here that me thank you uh new business nothing okay um acknowledgements we have two this evening both of them as resignations one from John meager from the uh cable committee and the other one from Jeff cavalo from the D and trails committee so we need a review discuss an act for John is it Meer your guess is as good as mine I'll make a motion to accept the resignation of John meager from the cable committee second motion meeting seconded any discussion I just like to thank him for his time and hopefully he does come back in the future um all those in favor I I post I um then review discuss an act resignation of Jeff Balo from the D and trails committee I have to say I'm really sad to see Jeff go because he's like on point with that um I know when their meetings end because I get a ding on my phone because he's already booked the next meeting and he's already sent the minutes and it's like the guy's are like a machine awesome yeah so um so I appreciate everything he's done he's done a lot with that committee and um I I hope they can still be on point without him but sure thank you Jeff uh thank you Jeff a lot okay moving on uh motion ma in seconded any discussion all those in favor I I uh approval of the warrants okay I'd like to make a motion to approve the warrants paid by January 16 2025 29 a-25 for $12,250 68 in 29 B-25 for $ 22,527 two warrants paid by January 23rd 2025 38-25 for 12267 15460 in 30 B-25 for $ 73,0 24.93 I'll second that motion made and seconded any discussion all those in favor I uh public input is there any more yes Nancy he's getting steps in um Mr Costa the superintendent director at agie made a request that the T Town provide a town flag they're going to have a I want to say Hall of flags similar to what the state has at the state house um there were only two of those right you had said that once before here in the town hall the one at the State House is a two-sided flag okay that's a single-sided flag those were handmade and they were donated uh the stories in the anniversary book so I told Mr Costa that since I'm working on some stuff at BP I would ask them what they could do for us so they asked for a photograph of the flag um it's not going to if they can do it it's not a cloth flag and I believe it's more a banner and it would be one-sided they're going to come back with cost estimates I have not committed anything other than the fact as like Mr Perry said I'll look into it and tell you what the story is sure uh like Lea onto the Berkeley dayon Bridge I'll do all the work I don't make decisions I don't spend money but anyhow I just wanted you to know if you hadn't heard that uh I'm looking into this to follow up on the request of the superintendent director and um when I get something back I'll let you know because obviously somebody's got to pay for it y okay uh thank you to just do a cloth flag custom made out of the question right uh I was aware of the requests I think we all were uh but thank you for following through uh I think the ball had kind of just gotten dropped but um no it's just that everything else is that BP is that I'm working on and they have to fit things in with students but uh the last thing that happened was because I needed a good photograph yeah uh Tom Ferry came in with his camera okay and actually took that um they're hoping they can duplicate the flag from the photo what's the cover that's on the front page of the anniversary book was actually the um graphic arts layout that the person who made those flags had done and done to scale because when the anniversary book was made and I said I want the town flag on the cover at BP they said oh no no you got to have this laid out by a and I went back to the sister because the lady that did it passed she says I've got all that and she brought me all of this material with I don't know what you call it diagram and things that's how they did the cover so they're hoping they can use a photograph of that flag so that's where we are right now we haven't had a big gap it's just that with everything else that's going on okay and the students that are assigned these projects every other week they're in the in the I'll call it the shop Y and then they're in academics so you have these spaces y but anyhow just keep your advice okay thank you I'm going to ask Mark a question does do they need approval from the clerk's office to use that they should they well that the town seal so that is the town seal on there I would recommend that absolutely yeah it would be from the town clerk yeah yes but BP has permission because they've done so much of the Town stuff y okay the the very first um thing that I got involved with and I think it might have been the book I got that from Sumas okay to be able to use and that's why we use it on uh storm water bags and calendars and all that good stuff right so the other thing I will mention that piece of paper I gave you there's a procedure in there that came from David gay it's something that I had to use years ago that if you want information um I can give it to you but isn't something I discuss publicly okay thank you thank you um approval of the suman's regular meeting minutes from January 8th I'll make a motion for the approval of the board of selectman meeting minutes from January 2025 second motion made in seconded any discussion all those in favor I I I in adjournment make a motion to adjourn second motion me seconded any discussion all those in favor I thank you guys table we got done