Hey, good evening and welcome to the February 10th, 2026 meeting of the East Santo Town Council. I'll call the meeting to order and ask that we stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And I would ask that we take a brief moment of silence to reflect on all of the events going on both here and abroad. Thank you. In accordance with master general law, this meeting is being
recorded by LCAT. And if there's anyone else in the audience recording, if you could identify yourself. Thank you. See no one else. Uh public comments. Is there anyone in the public that wishes to make a comment this evening?
No one in person or on Zoom with their hand raised. Council comments. Is there any counselor with a comment this evening? >> I would. >> Yes, Ralph. >> Um, just want to thank the DPW again for care of the roads the way they do. Um, I
get the opportunity to drive through multiple towns and um, truthfully, ours by far are are done so much nicer, so much better during the storms. Um, I'd also like to give them a shout out. Um, I called this morning. I had to um, I
reported a water mane break on Shaker Road, >> another one, >> and it was inside of a business, and they responded immediately. And when I was leaving, they were looking for the major shut off to the building. Um, but again, they were there extremely quickly
and, uh, looking to help out. So, uh, great job. >> Excellent. Any other comments? >> Okay, great. Town managers report. Hi, Tom. >> Hi. Good evening.
Um, so, uh, attached we have one weeks of worth of reports because of the late report last time. So, uh, you got three last time, you only get one this time. Uh, again, the links on here and for for those watching at home, you can get
updates on the project at you saw me. Uh, building project. Coming along coming along great still. Uh, it's quite quite the project. Um, so at the end of January, uh, Mass
Department of Revenues, Division of Local Services published the preliminary cherry sheet, uh, estimates based on Governor Hilly's FY27 budget recommendation. Um, the town received a 2 and a.5% increase in unrestricted government aid,
1.1% increase in chapter 70 funding for a total increase um of 2.2% over FY26. Uh we did get uh some increases in regional transit and tuition assessments.
Um so we're looking at 262,000 net increase over last year. Uh I wrote modest. Uh that was the word I chose and I'll stick by it. Um obviously this is going to change a
bunch of times between now and the original submission in April and then June and after. Uh so we'll we'll keep an eye on that and we'll keep everybody updated. Uh the capital advisory committee has begun the process uh to formulate the
capital plan for FY27. Uh following the retirement of Diane Bishop. Uh Peter Garvey has uh graciously volunteered to fill her spot on the committee. Uh Peter is director of capital asset construction for the city of Springfield. Uh so we're happy
that he's bringing his talents to that committee. Um he's joined by returning members Ryan Quimby, the chair, uh deputy town manager Liy, uh town counselor Anna Jones, uh Paul Federichi, our old friend, and uh our other old
friend, Rich Fero. Um uh I I want to thank them. Obviously, we get a lot of submissions for capital every year. There's a lot of projects to go through. uh they have a very uh sort of streamlined efficient process to hear
from the submitters um and and sort of go through every project and and populate that plan. So thanks in advance to all that time and work that they will put in. Um Kim and I participated in a regional community roundt uh last week
on Friday uh focusing on budgetary challenges facing municipalities uh in the current economic climate. Uh local officials provided input on variety of topics including health insurance costs which we're all aware of, educational expenses, local revenue, uh and the over
the override procedure which unfortunately uh is becoming more and more uh common. uh in the communities across the Commonwealth. Um the the overall tone and the reason for us getting together is uh the these are
issues that we all have to face all the time. Sometimes it's this year, sometimes it's the next year, but uh everybody's dealing with the same thing and uh to just bounce ideas off each other and figure out who's doing what and why. Um it was it was a very very
good morning on Friday. Uh thank you to Lisa Wong and the town of South Hadley uh for facilitating that. Uh Lisa's our organizer. We all are always gung-ho to get together, but she always makes it happen for us, so we appreciate that. Um
there there is a link to that webinar. Um it's uh at southadley.orgwestern mass roundtable. Uh I think we were together for about two and a half hours. Uh there was th those four modules that I mentioned and uh just some discussion
and Q&A on on what people are doing to sort of deal with these issues. Um I'm pleased to report that the town I'll I'm going to have to change this has entered into agreement to about to because uh right before I got here Mass
DOT updated the agreement and sent it back over. Uh but uh the municipal pavement program which is we've been waiting for an update for uh Prospect Street uh from the Connecticut line to the Rotary um and Summers Road from the
Connecticut line to the Rotary. Uh so they've uh finished all their estimates and the scope of work uh which I provided. I think the the I think the dollar amount in that agreement that you have has changed a little bit. Um, but it sort of provides a good outline for
uh what the scope of the work is going to be and what it's going to look like when it's done. Um, and so uh there's no final timetable, but the the agreement expires uh June 30th, 2027. So I assume they're doing
this this spring. Uh and and we'll get out of dodge pretty quickly. So um but I will keep you updated obviously on on that process. That's it for tonight. >> For now, >> thank you, Tom. Any questions, Ralph?
>> Thanks, Connor. Um, as far as the Mass DOT doing Summer's Road Prospect. >> Yep. Um, if I read the agreement correctly, it looks like they're also going to be doing uh the manholes and the storm water uh the catch basins and
stuff. Um, >> which I know last year we had started running around trying to lift them and replace them and stuff. >> Yeah. >> Um, I mean, did I read it correctly that they are going to be >> So, they'll do any repairs they need to do. You mean because the details and and
the scope were in there to do those things? >> All of it was in there as costs, >> right? Um, those obviously won't be part of the cost if they've already been done. And so they DPW >> No, I realized that. I just this way here. Our DPW doesn't have to run out
and if they're actually going to be contained in the project. >> Yeah, the ones that that they had started on were ones that were already on a list and were pretty bad. Uh, and I don't know that they would have been covered in this project. And I think that was the conversation that Bruce and
Mark at DPW were having with DOT was typically that item would be like down a foot. They're not going to go all the way down and make all the repairs that we might want to make. Uh they're only going to go down to the cover and then maybe three or four courses of brick and
that that would be the end of that item. Anything else would be more. >> Is there anything that we're going to need to do in advance um over and above what they're going to do that we should allocate funding for? It doesn't seem so, but again, uh, they'll have some
sort of preliminary meeting with DPW so that we can sort of like a tailboard like to figure out how the project's going to go. Obviously, that's a long construction site and it's going to be that way for a while. So, we'll have to have a preconstruction meeting with them to to figure out detours and things of
that nature that they're going to want our input on because we don't want to send people down certain roads. I just want to make sure if there's any minor things that they're not going to cover that we should do beforehand that, >> you know, there's nothing worse than to see a road repaved,
>> right? >> And then a month later have someone come through and start digging up, you know, your brand new road. Um, >> when does that happen? >> If we could do anything ahead of time, that'd be awesome. >> Yeah. I mean outside of uh you know the other entities if they have anything in
the roadway in terms of gas or I I don't know I don't know what Mass DO's conversation has been with the gas company uh or what that looks like uh under Summers Road say the entire length
of the street uh but >> they would never get it done in time something like that. I was just thinking curving or something. >> Yeah, I think uh I think that that'll be part of that preliminary meeting to to see >> when that when this we don't even have a
schedule yet really. So >> within two years >> by 27. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> Any other comments or questions for Tom? Okay, seeing none. >> Thank you. uh under communications
correspondence and announcements. Uh the first one that I had this evening um to thanks to him for his idea. At our next council meeting on February 24th, we'll have a discussion about the
recent um news story about the police department investigation that had previously been conducted. But in advance of that meeting, if by next Tuesday, February the 17th, if any counselor has any questions that they want answered or that they think residents might have that they would
want some Q&A about, submit them to me. I'll compile them all and then work with Tom to see which ones we can and can't answer in an open session meeting and then we will discuss that at our next meeting. >> Awesome. Then the second uh correspondence was
just an update that our deputy town manager had submitted the EPA Brownfields grant that was discussed at previous council meetings and that was also sent to all of you as well for your information. >> Viewing pleasure. >> Thank you again, Rebecca, for putting that all together.
>> Quite impressive. >> Very, very detailed. >> A lot of work in a short period of time. Okay, let's see. We are still a couple minutes early. I would entertain a motion to move out of order to financial matters until 6:15.
>> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion passes. >> First order of business under financial matters is accepting a $100 donation from the Rotary Club.
I move to accept a donation in the amount of $100 from the East Long Meadow Rotary Club special someone lunchon on February 14th, 2026 for the recreation department for Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44 section 53A.
>> Second. >> Motion was made and seconded. Is there any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say I. >> Any opposed? Motion passes. And since we still have a minute, we will continue to do an update on the
capital project status. Uh this was something that I had requested at I think two meetings ago. Um when we had a previous financial update, we had a regular report on what the capital projects were and their current balances. uh but just to get more of an
update on what where each project stood in terms of its completion and what might be done um or outstanding. So I don't know if anyone had any questions on that spreadsheet that we received. >> It's a lot better than the mun
detail on it. >> I do have a quick question. Allen Street, the property. >> Mhm. >> Has that been finalized yet? >> No. >> Um we we were very close to uh we had a
signed purchase in sale basically. Uh then the uh attorney for the property owner let us know that he was no longer the attorney for the property owner. Uh and so we we tried to reach out to uh to
the property owner and then started the uh eminent domain taking process again and then we got received a call from another attorney who was representing and so now we're back into a purchase
and sale conversation. So, uh hopefully shortly uh nothing's gone quickly in this whole process. So, uh I'm not holding my breath, but uh yeah, we should have we should have something
soon, but uh I'm hesitant to guarantee any timeline uh at this point. >> Okay. Makes sense. Any other questions on the update?
>> I guess I would say that the I I do enjoy seeing the closed project list at the bottom. Uh there we cranking out a lot of work which is great. Um and we should have another really good set of capital projects this year. uh as I
mentioned we just started that process but uh as our debt has gone down for our policy uh that means the amount of money that we allocate to capital will go up. So we have a hopefully a pretty uh
pretty generous outlay this year uh to do some more needed projects. So that's exciting >> and it is nice to see them all updated as well. I know many years ago that list kept growing. All the projects may have been done. And so it's nice that things
are getting done. They're being closed and funds are being >> moved back where they need to be. >> When I started at DPW, there were some there were some 90s 1990s next to some of those projects. >> Well, thanks for the update, Tom. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay, we are beyond 6:15. So, we will return to licensing matters. So now that it is 6:15, this is a disciplinary hearing for a Toz Food Mart LLC doing business as a smoke shop at 611 North Main Street to consider evidence related
to alleged violations of Massachusetts liquor laws and regulations. These uh allegations are include but are not limited to 204 CMR 2.05 052 permitting an illegality to take place on the licensed premises based on
evidence observed during the execution of a search warrant on January 28th, 2026, including the discovery of individually packaged pills suspected of suspected to be prescription medication offered for sale without authorization.
and Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 138, Section 34, ongoing concerns related to the manner in which the license premises operated, including prior warnings, concerns related to underage alcohol and compliance with alcohol service laws as outlined in
correspondence dated January 21st, 2026. At this time, the procedure that we'll follow for this hearing is quasi judicial in that the town will present its evidence, any testimony or relevant facts that we have and any documents
that we have to these allegations. At that time, the council may ask clarifying questions of any of the information presented. The lency will then have an opportunity to present any witnesses or presentation that they wish may wish to put forth. Um and then the
lency may also provide any alcohol-related policies, procedures, etc. that they may have such as ID checks and training. Then the council may also ask clarifying questions during that portion. Then at the close, both sides will have the opportunity to
present anything further. Then we will move to a deliberation portion at which point the council will discuss any relevant facts and make a decision as to whether there should be any discipline and if so what that would be and then we will clearly state the decision at the
close of the hearing. So at this time I would ask our um folks from the police department to come forward. Good evening, council. >> Good evening, chief. >> Nice to see you. Is this one good? Jamie, >> for the record, this is Chief Mark
Williams from our town police department. >> Yes. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Uh I'm here tonight uh speaking on behalf of the police department and in uh my role to share concerns that uh we have heard and and now observed
regarding the A's smoke shop. Um going kind of chronologically uh and and I do have members of the department here with me. If if the chair wishes to hear from them or recognize them, they are available to come forward. they they all have certain pieces of information more
clearly than I do, but I've tried to summarize it best here. So, just sharing some concerns that uh the police department has heard uh regarding a smoke shop and uh alcohol sales to minors, those allegations and other
things. Uh early in 2025, uh Detective Anthony Deiani received information about marijuana sales happening out of A's. uh he was not able to confirm that in information or those allegations at that time. Around the springtime of
2025, Detective Danny was made aware of an ongoing criminal investigation involving a smoke shop involving both state and federal agencies. Earlier in the school year, school resource officer Michael Healey uh started hearing rumors of a selling
alcohol to underage students. SRO Healey spoke with multiple students and school personnel about these concerns and some students admitted to being able to purchase alcohol at A's without showing an ID at all. Some students also have admitted to buying smoking paraphernalia
from A's that's prohibited to minors. On Halloween of 2025, the Long Meadow Police Department stopped the vehicle being driven by a teenager and located a case of alcohol inside of it. The teenager claimed he had purchased that alcohol at A's. In December, shortly before Christmas
time, a parent stopped in to see me in my office. Uh, and uh, he uh, showed me an alcoholic beverage that he had that he said he had just taken away from his teenage daughter. He told me that she had purchased it at A's and that she and
other kids were regularly buying alcohol from there. He expressed frustration over the seeming lack of enforcement efforts, which I completely understood, but had my my reasoning, and I'll make clear those decisions were solely mine
um uh on the steps that we we took at that time and didn't take. Being aware that there was an ongoing investigation by other agencies and and my desire to protect the integrity of that investigation, I told Detective Diane and Lieutenant Manning and SRO
Healey, we were all discussing these matters and I said we would continue to monitor this closely. I spoke with the town manager about these ongoing concerns around the holiday period. Um and uh in mid January I was made aware of a warning letter that was s sent sent
by uh President O'Shea to A's. Um and at that point we did have uh some of our officers working with the ABCC do a surveillance operation on A's on an one particular evening uh observing customers going in and out. Um on that
particular evening they reported uh during the surveillance period uh it was very quiet and they did not see anybody who appeared to be underage coming out of the store on that particular night. Just some additional police activity that's that's happened there. Um uh
around May in May of 2024 uh we responded along with the fire department for a report of two people in a vehicle outside of Ace who were overdosing on drugs. The log notes that those parties were transported by EMS to the hospital on April 30th of 2025. We responded for
a physical fight between two men outside of A's. Officers found the men sitting in their car outside when they arrived. One of the men was clearly intoxicated. Store management did say that he was not welcome back and requested information on how to trespass him. On November
11th, 2025, police and fire personnel responded as a for a report of an unresponsive person. Upon arrival, officers located the person outside of A's laying in the middle of Barnum Street. Officers observed the obvious signs of an opioid overdose and administered Nlloxxone. The patient was
then transported to the hospital. And now, what perpetuated uh my request for this hearing tonight? Specifically, as as President O'Shea noted, on Wednesday, January 28th, 2026, a search warrant was executed at a smoke shop as a result of a joint investigation by the
Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Alcohol and Beverage Control Commission, United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies. East Long Meadow Police officers assisted with the search warrant execution. During the search of the business, East Long Meadow Detective Anthony Dany observed individually
wrapped pills underneath the cash drawer in the cash register. The initial investigation suggests these pills are a prescription medication selenaphil commonly sold under the brand name Viagra. The packaging as well as the location of these pills suggests to me that they are being offered for sale
which A is not legally licensed or authorized to do. As of this date, I'm not aware of any criminal charges that have been filed related to those pills, and we are deferring locally to the state and federal agencies to pursue any subsequent charges in furtherance of their ongoing investigation.
Nonetheless, the existence of these pills could result in a criminal charge such as possession of a class E substance with the intent to distribute. From a local liquor licensing standpoint, the discovery of this is a possible violation of Massachusetts 204 CMR 20.052, 052 which states no licency
for the sale of alcoholic beverages shall permit any disorder, disturbance or illegality of any kind to take place in or on the licensed premises. The lences shall be responsible therefore whether present or not.
That is what I have for now. Council have any questions related to the information that the chief has presented so far? >> No. I have a comment. Is it possible that um as the chief suggested he was giving basically a summary if there was
anything that he missed that um our fellow officers might be able to add if they were given that opportunity that would be nice. >> Of course. Yeah. Now is an opportunity if if any of them have anything that they feel isn't included in that summary.
>> I think we should hear from Mike. Anything else? >> I'm Michael Healey. I'm the school resource officer. >> Oh, Anthony Diani on the detective.
>> Um, in relation um of being the SRO um I spoke to multiple students um in a confidential setting uh regarding the purchase of alcohol at A's. Um it was very concerning the information that
I was being told. Um at some points the students would be uh at the smoke shop and would observe students um from East Law Meadow High School um going into A's purchasing alcohol as well as students from other jurisdictions purchasing
alcohol as well as um smoking paraphernalia that they are not allowed to possess as well. Thank you. >> He pretty much uh he hit it on the head. Um we did attempt to start a um an
investigation early on in the year, but during that time I was made aware that there's uh federal investigations for felonious activity. So um at that point, uh we kind of halted and we kept hearing more rumors in regards to uh students
purchasing alcohol. Speaking to a confidential source, we were made aware that a a large number of Esau metal students were purchasing alcohol from Zay's excuse me, A's and um same with
Long Meadow students as well. It was kind of like a known thing, but that's hearsay um from us, but I think um the chief and the SRO had hit everything. So, >> thank you both. >> Thank you. Thank you. Further comments or questions?
>> Can we question? >> Yeah. >> I question officer Healey is um in your interactions with the students at the high school, you say that uh you
heard from a number of them about alleged violations and that their they themselves were friends. um had um acquired products from A's smoke shop. Could you for our purposes tonight
approximate how many students may have disclosed that type of information to you? >> I spoke with two students um with Detective Deiani. Um those students will obviously uh be unnamed. Um but these students themselves have made these
purchases. Um I have a good rapport with these students. Um this information was brought to me um while you know we we tried to conduct this this investigation. Um but in speaking and questioning the the students uh they
made it very clear to me that they were not the only ones and that it was pretty rampant the amount of students who were going in and out. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Thank you to the three.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you guys. >> And in terms of other evidence and timeline information for the record, um there's quite a lot of it. There's
close to 68 pages of information. So, it starts back in 2019 when it was technically under a
different LLC and under Zay smoke shop was the doing business as name where there were tobacco compliance check violations and those continued all the way through.
When was that? That was back around 2023 that ultimately their tobacco sales permit had been revoked at that time because there were numerous violations.
While that was under a different LLC and under a different name, some of that original paperwork dating back to 2019 did have Ali Sher as the name who is now the current owner of a smoke shop on it.
And then subsequently around 2023 as well, the ABCC without the town's knowledge at that moment in time when they did it, there was a alcohol compliance check that was performed
that resulted in a violation as well. And then that leads us to the allegations that have been made so far in 2025 and now bleeding into 2026 where we find ourselves at this hearing.
Does anyone have any questions on any of that information? >> The alcohol violation. I didn't see that in here. >> Correct. That was something that I hadn't discovered until last night. So I sent that to you. uh shortly before this
meeting. Um that wasn't something in the the records that I knew of previously um cuz that was something that the ABCC conducted outside of the >> the town. >> And when was that? >> That was in 2023.
>> I don't have a question. Um, I have a comment that I'd like to make as chair of the licensing committee. Um, at the present time, the town of East Long Meadow has 29 active alcohol related licenses in
force. Um, A's smoke shop is one of them. And I would like to tell you that apart from the reason we're here this evening, of the remaining 28 establishments
in the past six years, we've had one violation. And that violation was um from a package store um inadvertently selling to a minor without um checking
for ID. That was um an investigation that was done on the part of the ABCC. And at that hearing, the ABCC issued a a warning letter to
the Lency um and stated that in light of their spotless record over two decades plus of being in business here in the town that they simply requested that the the owner
um re-educate all of it its employees on the proper um process for identifying um whether an individual is over 21 or under 21. That said, we're here this
evening for A's and I'm looking at evidence of in excess of 12 violations since 2019. And we can establish and some of the reporting from our health inspector
establishes that Mr. Sher in fact was on the premise as a worker prior to his um taking over ownership of um the current establishment. So I want to be clear
that though this hearing is about A's um his ai Mr. 's affiliation with his business and with the previous owner Zane Smoke Shop is one and the same. I want to make it clear that this is not
an unsuspecting new owner who had no knowledge of previous violations prior to his assuming the license. >> Thank you for that. Thanks. >> Any other questions from the council at
this time? Okay, seeing none, now is the opportunity for the presency and any representation he may have to come forward. >> Hi everyone, state your name for the record as well. >> Uh I'm Ali uh who on a smoke shop. So
just want to clear a few things. Uh I think on the 29th of what happened in uh January 29th, 2026. So they were uh they have a warrant for Zan family.
So Zan he's uh so he used to own until I believe uh end of 2024 and uh I take over from him beginning of 2025th and uh in like so whole 2024 I was like
uh before I was buying from him so he had a lot of issues with the lessons. So he he was having issue with his tobacco license, beer and wine and I used to go to town like every almost every day actually uh to pay off his fine because
before I purchase from him I want to make sure everything clear because the price he was asking me to pay him I said like if I got lessons I can pay you that much if I don't get lessons I cannot give you like two goodwill for the store.
So right now like I had some paperwork. So on the 26th of January they were here for um in the a moshop uh like I'm not sure I'm I'm allowed to share the information.
So they were looking for Zen family. So they went to his home. they go to all of the business and even though a smoke shop they came and uh on the paperwork I didn't see our name
and uh for the beer and wine uh we have a training from the tips for all my worker and even the myself and uh we are having like a lot of students but they come with a
Connecticut ID and uh I can um think some evidence like they have a Connecticut ID but right now we are working on ID scanner >> some questions that I would is there anything else? >> Yes. So my thing is that like if a lot
of student complaining I I would need help like maybe from police department or anyone like like whoever buying from us soon as they drive away please check their like they should search them because whoever come to us whoever like
from the camera like we check their ID and it it's it's a mostly Connecticut ID under like 30 year old mostly customer who getting under 30 they have a Connecticut ID. And if they're saying like uh mostly
students I will prefer if police department can search them whoever drive by from us buy something from us I will say they should have like search their car and they because they once they walk in we see their ID
and uh even though check uh the uh FBI they took our DVR on those footage you can see whoever come walk to our business we ask the ID and the ask and on the camera we can see clearly. >> Okay.
>> Thank you. >> Uh some questions that I would have. So if what you're if I'm understanding what you had said that the search that was conducted in January was because those other agencies may have been looking for
something in relation to or now the owner of the business since >> November of 2023. Why would Zayn be connected to a smoke shop any longer? No about it but Zan he
like he don't want it so his brother live close by here so they usually one of his brother buying beer wine so he mostly stop by and buy and leave and other his family member they own house on uh Dixon Street uh Springfield. So
the paperwork that I received from FBI they have about by now I'm not sure I'm allowed to yeah show you that or not. >> So I I don't want to get a trouble by by sharing this. So they were having like they were searching. So they go to the
home to their business and uh the paperwork I received it was showing Zan smoke shop and they stop by at my location too. And then the second question I have is do you have any sort of written policies and procedures about your ID and
compliance check policies and if there is anyone that you turn away as a customer because they are underage or present to fraudulent ID any sort of log activities >> right now we have like the all the poster like uh from FDA I received some
and some of them I buy from Amazon so we post on uh on our front door on the counter Almost everywhere we put sticker uh must be 21 to buy that and uh we check ID physically. Right now I'm still working. I'm trying to uh find a device where we
can scan to make sure it's is a ID real or not because by our chief uh he present so the only thing I can do uh I can say that like from today whoever buying from us
like I will say they should search their car and I'm 100% sure they will find ID in their are and we have a camera footage. Whoever walking, we check their ID and and we have a camera right on the counter where
you can read ID clearly from that camera. >> Does any counselor have any questions at this time? >> Just one clarifying question. So, you're you're saying that because people or these students have Connecticut licenses, they're harder to
kind of just trying to understand is that their license just harder to figure out whether it's counterfeit or not because of what that state does. So on the ID on the ID we mostly see 22 to 30 or 31 year old and mostly it's a
Connecticut ID but I don't have any device that I can tell but we can fill the ID it's feel like the same as a Massachusetts but it's a CT and I can read the information that they from Connecticut but the only thing we are
not sure it's a real or not and for that I'm saying if like any like east long metal police they can in investigation who are buying from us they can stop and search their ID like
to to your remark I would say that yes the police can follow up but the obligation rests on your shoulders to make sure that the ID and we live in a world where
with AI you can pretty much make a duplicate of anything that will look real. And I'm not suggesting that's what's happened here, but um I would say that real or not, you're the
license holder, it's on it. You bear the burden to make the decision that it's uh real or not. And if in fact um East Long Meadow students have fake Connecticut IDs, I
think that's irrelevant because an ID a legitimate state ID or driver's license uh regardless of what state it's offered in is uh good. The laws apply across the country. Yes,
>> I have uh in the last two years purchased alcohol in South Carolina while on vacation. And though it's very evident that I'm over 21, this particular uh vendor carded every
individual that came in the store. So, um I'm not convinced that just because they had Connecticut fake or real IDs that that is a a defense that you can use. Unfortunately, No but ID all we
have to measure he or she who are walking we have to make sure they are 21 and on the s uh tip certif like they give us training tool they show us certain uh certain way to make sure it's ID is real but who don't have a ID
scanner so the thing I'm working on right now uh trying to find some like device where we can scan the ID make sure it's a real or And whenever we check ID, it's like Connecticut ID or driving license, we
make sure they are 21. >> And so those sorts of devices have existed for quite some time knowing when you acquired the business that there were a significant number of age related violations in the past and
now continued allegations since you're assuming the ownership of that establishment. Why have you not acquired a device to help you properly identify the age of customers so far? So for the device honestly I've
been um trying to ask my like a rep and I'm from Ward site so whoever I know they own it they don't have it too and I like I'm still working on it trying to find like I if I can find the ID because it make super easy for us so I have to
like read but right now we have a device where we just keep like 21 I need something like ID scanner where we and find it's real or not like not not real like with the star but
the other like they like did they print like somewhere at home or from RMV? >> Any other questions from the council? >> Okay, >> there's nothing else. Is there anything else that you wish to present this evening? The only thing I can guarantee
uh if anybody walk from our store with alcohol, I can guarantee like uh soon as they walk out, anybody can walk in like they can search their car or they can walk in and check our camera and our camera system will show that who check
their ID and even on the camera you'll be able to read their ID information. So, through the chair. >> Yes, Ralph. >> Um, ID scanner. I just Googled it. Um, it comes up multiple places to purchase it.
>> Um, for age verification. Um, and we're talking under $1,000. Um, again, I haven't dug into it, but I I think I think it's on the business owner and
not on our police to verify whether or not someone's of legal age. And just looking at a fake ID and making sure the the age is correct is not appropriate. Um, I mean, I've been to many of uh
restaurants, bars, and stuff that have to verify age. They take my license, they scan it, they hand it back, and it tells them instantly. Um, and again, I I do think it's on the business owner to verify this and and not not for our police to be sitting
across the street and stopping them to see if they've got a fake Connecticut license that fooled you. That's just my thought on it. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Ralph. >> You can get an ID scanner on Amazon by Thursday for $649.
>> So, you know, so right now we just got a um what do you call that? Credit card name machine. So, I'm trying to find like someone like Mr. Say that like I'm trying to find the cashing a register where we can like scan it and I spoke with a couple people
but we still didn't find the right one yet. Yeah, but maybe in the meantime >> I can order that today. Apple. >> It sounds like to me though, you're relying on technology as an excuse, not as a method of verification.
Um, a simple if it's state Connecticut IDs, looking out your window and seeing Massachusetts license plates with someone with a Connecticut ID might tip you off. You got something going on there. So, I hear like you're you're falling on the sword of needing technology instead of using common
sense. So I just want to make that known because all this talk about ID scanners it seems hollow quite frankly. >> So the way our stories are designed who don't have any window the we cannot see nothing in a parking lot. So there's
like a walking cooler and and whoever driving like who don't know what they're driving. >> If you're going to be granted a license to sell alcohol tobacco the onus is on you not anybody else. And it's it's another excuse of why something's happening in your
establishment without sticking your head out the door. If I have 16 or 17 year olds coming in, it should tip you off. You know, there's a big difference between a 16 and especially if there's more than one kid. >> There's a big difference between a 16 and 17 year old. What you're telling me,
the majority of your IDs are 30 year olds. that varies widely >> in the type of person walking in your door >> and then coming back and saying, "I need an ID scanner," it sounds like you're trying to come up with an excuse of
why you're not exercising just confidence and common sense. So, so instead of blaming Amazon, you know, it'd be nicer to hear some accountability instead of scapegoating on some I mean, you don't
pop up on a federal investigation by accident. That's major. This isn't a typical case of someone walking in to buy a pack of cigarettes. If you have state police and federal agent
>> personnel at your door, that to me is a huge red flag and you're stuck about talking about scanners. So that's just my observation on this. It's I'm insensed by it to tell you the truth as a parent.
The only thing I'm saying uh the the a lot of agent the like FBI and all other they came and I have a report with me they were searching for the privacy owner and his family member and rest
they all have a detail but the only thing I I'm not sure I have a permission like >> off of experience I know that to obtain something like that you need to go before a judge with probable cause to go into that establishment they had a
reason for being there. >> Is there anything you wish further to add? Um not not much but uh the only few things we have to change it like because it's a small shop but even though you search on
Google it still shows Zen smoke shop and uh that's what I'm trying to say like they were here for them and the paperwork all the I receive they were saying their name and their business name >> that that may very well be true But um
at your business during that uh search, they discovered what appears to be prescription pills um under the drawer of the cash register. And if you don't have a license to sell
prescription medications, which you wouldn't, only pharmacies and hospitals have those licenses, um, then you're in violation simply because you have a controlled substance on the premises, individually packaged,
which would lead any person to think they're being sold individually. Whereas if you went to a pharmacy to get a prescription of either this in this uh medication or anything else, it comes in a bottle
and all of the amount is in one container. So regardless of scanners, regardless of whether the combined investigation in the search a couple of weeks ago was not necessarily
directed at you, your shop was in possession of a controlled substance illegally. That you can't deny. And on that front too, it would be one thing if if you were arguing that it was in the
container received from a pharmacy because it was whomever that was working behind the counter, was next to their water bottle, and it was >> not in a manner that would be suspected for sale. But the fact that it wasn't in the normal container that someone would receive with their name and prescription
details on it. So, if there's no further evidence from either side at this point, it is now an opportunity for the council to discuss this matter and determine if there should be discipline and whether that discipline should be proportional to the
allegations that were set forth this evening. I'm very troubled by the fact that our resource officer is telling us as well as the chief that in the resource officer's case that students in this
town admit freely accessing this establishment and purchasing alcohol and tobacco products. And the chief acknowledges that parents have reached out to him,
acknowledging that their children they discovered on their own um were in possession of products that they admitted getting here. To me, over and above anything else,
that tells me that this establishment is a public safety hazard. And as someone who spent their entire career in education working with 10 to 15 year olds, I'm insensed
by the fact that these stories are coming forward. That we're putting every teenager at risk in this town by openly listening to this and taking
no action. And in some cases, a teenager may take that product to his or her own house and have it accessible to a youngster. So from my vantage point, I think this
establishment presents a health and safety hazard for this town and this school system. >> Thank you, Kathy. I would add that I agree with the level of severity there that it it's quite
troubling to I think I would be in a very different position to make a decision if the evidence before us was only a couple pages and this was a oops we made a one-time infraction selling to one person by mistake and we promise not to
do it again kind of situation. But that is nowhere close to what is before us this evening with over 70 pages of material dating back quite a few years. Um, and for those in the public that are
following along to this, I do also want it to be clear that it is not as if the town hasn't taken action or taken steps. It's frustrating, I think, to all of us, even as counselors, that it took so long to get to this point. But there are also a lot
of laws and regulations that govern these sorts of things. Um, and so while prior to 2024, most if not all of the alleged violations and actual violations uh
conducted by um the folks that govern tobacco that's governed by a different body other than the council and that cannot be our sole reason for taking alcohol lensure
um disciplinary action but it can help paint the picture about overall compliance at an establishment. And so without there having been alcohol-related accusations up until most recently, that is why the council has not discussed the matter until this
point. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Um Jim stated it the way I would have was thinking it. Thank you, Jim. Um we don't know why you're being investigated by the state and the feds for a criminal investigation,
but as Jim said that they're they're there. there's a there's something that's happening in your establishment or on your premises that has initiated this investigation that in addition to what we're hearing tonight.
Um I'm I'm really troubled. I'm really really troubled for our kids, our community. What's going on? what's go I know you can't tell me but the idea is it has to be something that's very
important otherwise they wouldn't be there and so for that reason alone um I really am not conflicted as to how I feel about this >> thank you >> for the chair um
so I think violations although the liquor um is basically basically just coming to the forefront. I mean, I'm looking at the tobacco. Um I I mean, even after the permit was pulled, there's violations of tobacco
compliance check. Um as late as January 21st, 2026, uh we've received notice, but yet uh the permit for tobacco um was revoked uh what back in 23. So I
I mean my concern is it's not just one thing going on, it's multiple things. It's non-compliance with the tobacco. Um you know, dealing with tobacco without a
permit. Um then you have um the pills that were discovered in the register. Then you have the resource officer talking about uh students. It's very well known. Um, of which I have also heard for quite some
time. Um, I I just think it's a snowball effect. It's not just one thing. It's multiple things happening at this location. Uh, which is extremely troubling. >> Anything, John? >> So, I think I like a lot of what uh
everybody said so far. I think the biggest thing that struck with me is, you know, knowing that we have the technology now, especially compared to some of these institutions, other license holders that have been here for 20, 30 years plus, they may not have had
that technology at that point. It's very easy to be able to kind of check and verify these things. You know, most commonly, we're probably just talking mostly Massachusetts licenses. So, we're not talking about a place that, you know, an area that's
going to have a ton of different folks kind of traveling through. You know, we're a smaller community. Um, knowing that this record was there prior to this change of ownership, you know, I think it was interesting to know that out of
our 29 establishments, 28 of them or 27 of them have had no violations and then one of them had a violation. relative not not with this particular background prior to that violation. Um so that's definitely troubling. I mean
to have you know this long I mean it's not like we're picking on one particular one. I mean we're stacking it up against you know a lot of other licences in the community and I would suspect even beyond going further back that six years
we're probably not finding things to this degree. Um, so yeah, I I think it's quite a breath of evidence and you know, we received this a few days ago, but I think hearing it now all out in the open um definitely lays it even more. Um, so
it's it's definitely very concerning. I think additionally for me is something that has been mentioned earlier, but I think also strike stucks sticks out to me um in what you had said in your defense is that Of
course, while there is a role for our town's police department to play if there are students creating or passing around fake IDs, but that's kind of a separate matter that's not directly related to your establishment.
As the license owner, it is still completely your responsibility to validate those IDs and not just check to see if the year and their date of birth is beyond a certain date. And the compliance training that
you have has plenty of modules in it about identifying fraudulent IDs or things that aren't quite right with them that would lead you to be suspicious about completing that sale. So that alone gives me pause, but again as as all the
other information that we've talked about this evening, it's also quite alarming. Say something. >> Yeah. So obviously everything I think that we have here is enough to bother us
all, but I think your overall demeanor and your attitude towards it is kind of troubling. You know, we're sitting here telling you that there's young kids coming in and buying alcohol and the only thing you can come up with
is, well, we ID them. it doesn't seem like you really care because I think for as a license holder if you can't catch on that there's a bunch of youngl looking 30-year-olds
from Connecticut coming into your establishment >> often you that doesn't kind of say hm why are they coming to Connecticut I mean why are they coming to East Long Meadow why do they look so young I don't think you care you know And somebody said, you
know, check their license plate. Well, I can't see from inside. Well, how hard is it to look outside? I I think that bothers me because this is our town and these are our kids and you just don't care. And that's very troubling.
But on top of all this >> or check the cameras, >> right? So um the camera so we had outside camera but the camera screen it's in office but we can move on uh on the the I mean from
the office we can put on the other way I just ask like we need by because like I'm not saying I done my job now but I I want to make sure like if if something is happening I would need everyone help to improve that like it's not everyone
else it's not everyone else's job it's your job like >> so again just another excuse so like you can keep saying what you want to say but it's not it's not helping the uh search was conducted on the 28th
that'll be two weeks tomorrow if you were that troubled by that search why wouldn't you have gone out and bought the proper technology as somebody said Amazon it'll be here tomorrow afternoon.
It's your argument doesn't hold water, sir. I would agree with councelor Jones. I don't see any remorse here. I see a litany of excuses why, you know, you can't go to the parking lot.
Um, it's a Connecticut license. Um, oh, I guess they might be under 30, but they're really 14. It It doesn't add up. It's hollow excuses. This is not a town that has no regard
for the safety of its citizens. This is a town who issues licenses and expects the lency to be responsible and sell their product legally
and ethically. You are not an example of that right now. >> What I find most troubling is the rationale of check the tape, you can read the license.
That's a tactic that you almost instruct somebody to do. So if you have a compliance check, you can say check the tape, we check licenses. It's willful ignorance. And what I find most introu further in terms of the willful ignorance part, you are knowingly
selling controlled substances to kids that you know are underage and you are knowingly putting kids in the line of danger. And we're almost there. It's February. Prom season comes up and you're selling
alcohol to kids. I worked in the DA's office. I see what happens with kids. No matter what, every single year we had those tragedies. And by your excuses, you are actively contributing to the possibility of kids injuring themselves,
hurting themselves, or killing themselves. So, I think you should take a step back and really question the tactic that you're taking in terms of the excuses that you're making because you're you're quite honestly not catching the severity of it. And some of the the the excuses
that you are using here to me is telling me that you are aware of this and you're doing literally nothing to get in front of it. And it's effectively like I've been on this council for a
year and a half. I've never had anything come before me that I could legitimately say is harming the health and safety of the children of this town. You're the first first time something's come in to one of our meetings where I'm like
through the roof on it. I would also so going forward like you just say for the parking lot like I'm not saying like we are not going to check but the going forward we can put L like camera on both
side we can have a LCD right by the counter so where myself or my worker we can watch them like she said also like we can read the lessons period too so going forward we can improve on those
thing too and for the from the Amazon >> this is a report that we are providing it's 65 pages worth of material I'm a parent of multiple children in this town you are knowingly putting them in danger
their health and their safety that's all I have to say about it I think the summation of of that for me as well is that It's not just a technology problem as some others have alluded to.
There are a myriad of things that you could do even the old school way and just checking IDs manually. There's lots of safety and security features that are built into every single ID across most states. It's holograms, embossing, etc.
difficult things to counterfeit. There are written policies and procedures that an organization should have about what their policy is regarding checking ages. And if you decline a sale to someone logging that down, you've presented none of that
information, none of those policies, none of those logs, none of those procedures that pretty much every other establishment in our town has and complies with. So, it's not just an excuse to say you don't have technology
or even, oh, we could put cameras in in the future. These are all things that should have been done previously and have not been done. I think given all of that uh now that we've discussed our
opinions on the matter to get to the decision-m portion of the hearing I am of the mindset of revoking their license and if it's the council's pleasure I would make a motion to do so.
>> I'll make that motion. I like or >> it's right here. >> I'll make a motion. >> I move that the town council acting as a local licensing authority under the Massachusetts General Law Chapter 138
revoke the off- premise retail beer and malt beverage license issued to a Toz Food Mart LLC doing business as a smoke shop located at 611 North Main Street, East Wong Meadow, effective February 10th, 2026. Based on the findings that the lency violated master law chapter
138 by selling alcoholic beverages to the persons under the age of 21 and 204 CMR 2.05 by permitting an illegality to take place on the licensed premises based on evidence observed during the execution of a search warrant on January 28th, 2026 following the notice in a
duly noticed public hearing. >> Second. >> Motion has been made and seconded. Oh, >> given this, I'll do a roll call vote. >> You second. >> I did. Yeah. >> Quickly. >> Okay. Motion was made and seconded. We
will do a roll call vote. Jim, >> yes. >> Kathy, >> yes. >> Anna, >> yes. >> I'm a yes. Marilyn, >> yes. >> Ralph, >> yes. >> And John, >> yes. >> Motion passes out here. >> Okay. that after a notice and
duly held public hearing, the council has found that by preponderance of the evidence that the lency has violated Massachusetts liquor laws and regulations, including 204 CMR 2.052, by permitting an illegality to take place on the licensed premises and
failed to demonstrate adequate management control and supervision over alcoholrelated operations as required under Mass General Law, Chapter 138. The council further finds that these violations are not isolated incidents, but occur in the context of repeated compliance concerns involving age
restricted sales on the same premises demonstrating a pattern of in inadequate internal controls, insufficient supervision of staff, and a failure to take corrective action after prior warnings. Although the council does not impose this discipline for matters within the jurisdiction of other
regulatory bodies such as tobacco, it does find that the lences overall compliance history is relevant to assessing willfulness, credibility, and the likelihood of future compliance with alcohol laws. Based on the seriousness of these violations, demonstrated pattern of non-compliance,
and the council's obligation to protect the public health and safety, the council finds that lesser sanctions, including fines, suspensions, modifications of conditions, etc. are insufficient to ensure future compliance. Therefore, the council has now effective immediately revoked the
liquor license for this premises. As such in Mass General Law chapter 138 section 23, it is also the case that in the case of modification, suspension, or revocation, which in this case is revocation, a license issued by the
licensing authority being the town, um there shall be no abatement or refund of any part of the fee that was paid for the license. Uh following this hearing tomorrow, the council will prepare its written decision notice which will be certified
mailed to you as the hearing notice had previously been. After the time that you receive that notice, you have 5 days to appeal the LOA's decision to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Um but otherwise, the license is now suspended. As a result of that, alcohol
must not be available for sale at your establishment. It must not be in view of customers so that they think that they could offer or purchase that product and it must be legally disposed of from your property.
It cannot be held there indefinitely. Um it's not something that the council can or its agent being the town police department cannot confiscate the alcohol on your behalf. However, there are through your own legal counsel a myriad of ways that you were legally required
to um get the product off of the property. That could include returning it to the distributor that you purchased it from. You could sell or transfer it to another license holder in the Commonwealth. You could voluntarily
turn it in. There's a myriad of other options that I won't enumerate enumerate on your behalf, but know that it can't just sit there in view of customers for them to purchase it. If you have any further questions, uh once you receive the letter, you could
reach out to our town clerk and clerk of the council or the ABCC. But that concludes this hearing. Thank you. Thank you. Good job. >> Okay. Next on the agenda is approval of
minutes. We have approving our January 13, 2026 open session minutes. >> I move to approve the January 13, 2026 open session minutes. >> Second. >> Motion was made and seconded. Is there any further discussion? >> None. All those in favor, please say I.
>> I. >> Any opposed? Motion passes. And we have approving the January 27th minutes. >> I move to approve the January 27th, 2026 open session minutes. I'll second that. Motion was made in second. Is there any
further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? The motion passes. Next, under old business, we have our recurring 250th anniversary topic. >> Oh, hi.
>> I know something we had brought up at our last meeting was the banners that could be on the utility poles or light poles. Um, and I know Tom had a quick update on that from >> I did. I actually, um, I spoke with, um,
Jim White from Gold Graphics this morning, actually. Um, he's super excited and pumped and, uh, he since we didn't really have a whole lot of conversation about it. uh and I'm a right angle or it's a wrong angle kind of guy. Uh he's going to throw some
designs together and maybe have some stuff to look at uh next time and we can decide what you want to see what if you're thinking the same exact thing as the other one or something way different or uh we're using the 250th that the the state or the feds have already sort of
kind of branded. Um or we do our own thing. I know we had uh historical commission had made up some shirts already about when we did the shot heard around the world ceremony. Um there's that we have something kind of going already. So uh I'll leave that up to the
experts because uh I'm not uh artistic at all I'm afraid. But um I if if you if you have any other ideas or strong feelings about what you think should be uh on there, I'd be gladly to pass them
on to to Jim or just let him sort of uh I don't I don't even really know how the last ones got done if if that was like a um contest or I don't know. >> Any thoughts, Ralph? I would love to see
um we have a certain number of um town residents who were in the Revolutionary War and I'm sure our historical commission has a list of them. Um I'm sure there's nowhere near the same number as polls that we have, but um it'd be nice to highlight their names on
a few of them here >> like So was just do that. No, I'm just at I was just at the legislative breakfast in at at Leo Country Club this morning and down uh East Street. >> Oh, yeah. >> They have all the the the banners of their their veterans, their war
veterans. >> I have not seen that. >> Okay. Is that something is that kind of >> Yeah. I was just thinking, you know, maybe you take one banner with one person's name and then another one like that in different locations mixed in with whatever else we choose. I just thought that'd be a nice way to honor
them. >> Okay. Just a thought I get. >> Oh, that's great. >> Consoles, so there's seven of us, not just me. >> Oh, that's similar. >> Mine would have like a red, white, and blue 25. And then that would be my not that cool.
>> Would you have any sense of what the parade committee might be thinking about for >> we uh last time on Thursday? Uh yeah, we're we we're well Don is here
also um with a with a 250th update if you'll indulge her. I I think she's all ready to go, right? >> Yeah. Are you? >> Yeah. >> Yes. Um we we had to uh regroup uh obviously after Tom's passing. uh the
incomparable Don Starks is here to sort of let you know about a portion of the celebration which is uh I don't know how many of you know and I maybe I've mentioned maybe I haven't but we have a time capsule to open as well this year uh so it's uh fun all around in 2026 in
EL so without >> I'm any further ado Don >> hello everyone >> it's only a little freeze freezing rain out there nothing like an 18inch storm. >> Okay, good. >> We're lucky. Um, for the record, I am
Dawn Stark's 28 Elm Street and I am here representing the Rotary Club of Esong Meadows time capsule of which I am a co-chair. And first I'd like to start with um it is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Tom Behan,
chair of the historical commission and the lead on the time capsule project in celebration of our nation's 250th anniversary. Tom was the heart of the committee and filled our meetings with infectious enthusiasm. His love for his
town and his country was only surpassed for his devotion to his sons. We as a committee are committed to making the time capsule a reflection of the pride he took in East Long Meadow.
Um it was a shocker and I think we're all still a little shell shocked and um I'm not kidding about the enthusiasm. He had so many ideas and he not only had ideas but he took them and he ran with
them um and very pleasurable to work with and so knowledgeable um so we will truly truly miss him. So the time capsule project has three partners. The historical commission which has Bruce
Moore as chair and George Kingston as co-chair. um the Rotary Club which has Dan Burick as co-chair and myself as co-chair and the town itself is a partner um which has been represented in many of our meetings by Tom Christensen
um and we have met post passing of Tom and gotten everyone up to speed because there are a lot of moving pieces to this project. Um, I'm not going to go into great detail, but I'll give you a rough
outline of what is planned. We plan on exuming the 1976 time capsule. We will have a kickoff party to begin collecting items for the 2026 time capsule on May 30th. So, we're
talking two time capsules. We have um plans for an Independence Day parade float, the burial of the new time capsule, and retrieval and ex um examination of what
is buried in the 1976 time capsule. and our intentions are to return any items that are buried in it to any locals who are still around or their families or their businesses. It should be very
interesting and fun to see what was buried there. Um, we've also reached out to some local dignitaries like our 1976 Miss Long Meadow Karen Hand. Um and so
uh we are inviting these people to the kickoff party. Uh you will be invited as well as our state legislator state legislatures and the historical commission has been busy being
detectives and looking at pictures and identifying people. Wow. 50 years ago. Um, many are still around. So, um, I think it'll be a lot of fun. Uh, I
remember bits and pieces. I'm telling you, I'm fairly old. And, uh, it was great fun. The entire celebration of the 200th was a lot of fun. And I think especially for the kids, it's something
they'll remember. And it's a great uh, community activity. And I love community activities. We want to involve and engage everyone, businesses, residents, young and old, anyone who has an interest in this town. Um, so I think
that'll be great fun. Um, so we've been reaching out to uh various community members. Um, and we're we've been looking for donations, be it uh monetary, material goods, or manpower.
Um to date we've received a grant and CPC funds as well. So we're off to a good start >> almost. I think they still need to say yes to the CPC. Yeah. Um we are also planning on um building a
um publicity campaign which one of our building blocks actually uh started with I don't know if you all saw there was an article in both the Republican and the reminder about the time capsule and
1976. So we thought that was a really good start um raise awareness. I don't know that people realize that we do have a time capsule. There are several in town, but we are focused on the 19. >> Keep finding more. >> I know.
Um, so it is buried in Heritage Park. Um, and it has a lovely stone there. Um, and it got cleaned last year. Bruce Moore cleaned it. So, very easy to find. Um, so we're outreaching to everyone. We will get the message out asking for
submissions. And before the question of what can you submit? We are refining that. Um there's only so much space. I saw a time capsule. I forget where it was, but it was opened and they had a car in it. I don't anticipate anything
like that. Um because the burial vault is not that big. Maybe a Matchbox car or something would be pretty cool. But um and we are also encouraging the town council, the school committee, the town manager, municipal boards and
departments alike to start thinking about what they would like to submit to the time capsule so that whoever opens it in 50 years gets a real sense of 2026. Um who was here?
What did we care about? What the town look like? Um, sky's is the limit as long as you uh can fit it into the proper form. >> So, we can't put our OPAB in there. >> Big enough.
>> Um, so keep an eye on future updates and uh we're thrilled to be a part of this. Um, I dug out an old I found it bsentennial cookbook. Um, and really interesting to read all of the businesses. Some are still here, many
are not. Um, and the recipes um, from people names, you know, you know the last names. So, um, a lot of I think it'll be just a lot of fun and we need fun, right? >> Yep. >> Tons of it. >> So, >> thank you.
>> Any questions? >> I probably can't answer them. >> Ralph, go first. Are we looking to bury the new time capsule in the same location knowing that Heritage Park may have a makeover
or are we looking at other areas? >> So, still up, >> right? It will be in Heritage Park. Um, we had that discussion the last time that we need to talk to Bruce because we know, you know, just since the last one
was buried, the road has moved a little. We know that the road is going to be completely redone and the park has plans. So, we will be checking with DPW to make sure that because the thought was let's bury it if we can the same
place. Um if not, there's a lot of land and we'll figure it out. That's for sure. >> Lost the street. >> Yeah. >> The uh the layout for North Main as it sits right now that will remain an open space. So it shouldn't be a problem. And
on the other side is our design for Heritage Park. So if we want to incorporate >> the time capsule in the monument, that shouldn't be a problem. But it's a something obviously that we're keeping our eye on because that's why we're not doing Heritage Park yet because the last
thing we want to do is do a bunch of work and then rip things up after the fact. >> We fancy oursel better planners than that. So when you look at it, you think, "Oh, there's some things to be done." But there's a lot. >> Yeah.
>> Don, isn't there another capsule at Heritage Park? >> Right next to it, isn't there? >> I know there's one at the Little Red Schoolhouse. >> No, because I was involved with the >> with one I'm kind of old that was that was done when I was in the
board of selectmen. >> Yeah, I think the centennial is possibly that. The town centennial is possibly there as well. >> I thought they were just >> it's closed next to each other. >> Yeah. And I don't know when that >> All I know is this one gets open. >> Yeah. Right.
>> That's we'll do a dig safe now. >> Yes. We should become experts at how to It's more involved than you >> Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. >> There's just exuming it, the staging of it, opening it. Um, it's a I don't know
if you've It's a burial vault, so it's heavy. We don't know what condition is anything is in. Hopefully, it has survived. That's the plus. We have to be
prepared for anything though. Um, and um then it will be a process. historical commission um is going to kind of take ownership of this process of the examination and all of that, but we want to make it as accessible as possible. Um
but we will not open it right up and just start looking at stuff at the exumation. We need to secure it and get a process going. Um >> great. Thank you. >> Should be it should be fun.
>> Yep. >> Thank you. Thank you for that and of course thanks for your heart specifically but also to the entire historical commission and Rotary Club for >> just so the word is out that this is the
250th I think overall can be highly participatory for people and give them something to do and think about. Um so >> thanks Don. Thank you Don. In terms of the um banners that we were
discussing too, I agree. I think the um you know highlighting previous service members is a >> is a good idea because that's something that I think I had mentioned in the past that other communities >> like the company was called like hometown heroes and they would put the banners with
>> members on there. So I think that's a good idea to mix those in with whatever the rest of the theme ends up being. >> Okay. Yeah, I think at least for me, I'm interested to see what sort of designs they have and then we can figure out what we like and don't like from there. >> Jim was excited when he hung up the
phone, so I'm guessing he already started. >> Any other thoughts or comments? >> Great. >> Under new business, we had the ADA self-evaluation and transition plan update.
just got it for a bit. >> What did we just get >> the presentation Maryland? That's what I was saying that just so you could follow along if you >> Sorry. Evening Good day. Thank
>> is yours. Great. >> Oops. >> Here we go. >> Oh, she was trying to hear the screen. Um Megan, right now I'm seeing a main
slide, but also I think there we go. That looks good. >> Okay. >> Are are you able to see u an introductory uh PowerPoint slide? >> Yes. >> Uh should we should we just begin? >> Yes, please. Yes.
>> Okay. >> Uh so as uh I I hope you all know the Institute for Human Center Design has been uh working with East Long Meadow to develop a a self-evaluation uh regarding uh ADA compliance uh in the
town and uh Megan Defrain my colleague and and myself David West were here to um talk about that experience. Next slide. So, the ADA uh uh title two, which applies to cities
and towns, requires that state and local governments do not discriminate against people with uh disabilities uh in terms of their public-f facing programs, services, and activities. and state and local governments must take steps to examine their programs and estam
establish a plan for compliance uh with the ADA with the law which is uh part of what we've been engaged in with you. Next slide. Um in terms of the overall scope of work, uh we uh evaluated your program
services and activities. Uh we evaluated u the town's website. Uh we uh surveyed, looked at and agreed a set of uh facilities um and we developed uh this uh self- evaluation
uh which um provides comprehensive information about uh the current status of compliance and uh identifies issues that need uh correction and gaps in policies and procedures that should be addressed. Next slide.
The basis for the self-evaluation first is the uh 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act standards for accessible design uh which uh became effective in March 15, 2012 uh superseding the so-called uh 1991
standards and uh that's a federal standard. and then the state code 521 CMR the uh regulations of the Massachusetts architectural access board. Uh we look to both of these standards. Uh in the very few uh
instances where there's um any discrepancy uh we heer on the the side of whichever standard uh yields the greatest level of accessibility for the residents of East Long Meadow. Next slide.
So, um, in terms of the goals, uh, we wanted to be sure that the town's program services and activities, uh, when viewed in their entirety are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, uh, with the priority of ensuring what's called
program access, uh, with the goal of equal participation of people with disabilities. Um once issues have been identified, the corrective implementation strategy uh should be integrated hopefully into town planning and budgeting. Uh as we'll talk about a
bit more as this goes on, uh many things uh can be corrected at little or no cost, but some things do have a cost associated with them and uh you know the town should plan to address those issues. And uh the overall goal is that all residents of East Long Meadow uh
regardless of their ability feel that they know about and can participate in uh all the public facing programs that the town of East Long Meadow has to offer. Next slide. So uh we provided some executive summary
reports. Uh one of them we call the part B report summarizes um information about uh uh policies and procedures and uh we generated data for that uh report by uh with assistance
from uh people in the town u distributing an online questionnaire uh to the different departments that have public facing programs and uh we received responses from nine departments. Uh we also looked at the
town's uh website for uh information and of course uh interacted with town employees. Next slide. >> Um so uh initial uh good news is that the town has designated Audrey Staples
uh as the town's ADA coordinator. That's one one of the things the town must do. Uh we also found that East Long Meadow has a grievance procedure uh that can be used by town employees and members of the public. uh in terms of uh notice uh
which is um uh declaring that the town won't discriminate on the basis uh of disability. Uh the um uh the town uh the ADA notice is posted online but the majority of uh department respondents
stated that ADA notices were not posted in their departments and and that should be done. Uh next slide please. uh in terms of uh modification of policies and practices and procedures uh when necessary so uh individuals with disabil disabilities can participate in
uh public facing uh program services and activities. The town has taken additional steps to comply with the ADA. Um however uh publicized reasonable modification process letting people know uh what steps to take to request a reasonable modification
um uh would would help ensure that people with disabilities can uh participate fully and uh know how to uh request whatever resources they may need. Uh in terms of employment uh the town's employee handbook refers to a non-discrimination policy and a
reasonable accommodation policy. uh reasonable accommodation. Um the majority of that slips over into title three of the ADA, but you you may know that uh town employees uh may uh who um are covered under the ADA uh which means
um they have a disability that substantially limits a major life activity uh meaning uh seeing, hearing, speaking, dressing, mobility, that kind of thing. uh they can request a reasonable modification at work. Um for example, uh someone who may
have reduced vision uh and works uh in the town hall dealing with u documents and electronic form may request a uh say a large uh print a large size screen to be able to have things displaying a larger font and that's a kind of accommodation that the uh uh town should
consider after engaging in interactive process with the employee. Um at any rate uh half of the respondents uh believed that the town u had developed a non-discrimination uh and reasonable accommodation policy as well as non-discrimination uh in
selection criteria and in the administration of tests but steps should be taken to be sure that uh all public facing departments know these policies and and understand them and know how to implement them and explain them when necessary. um effective communication.
Um it's when you have a public uh facing program service and activities. One that would be key here would be for example a town meeting. Um but you have to ensure that uh communication with people with disabilities is as effective as is the
communication with people who don't have a disability and in this case uh hearing speech vision disabilities are or what are key. Um and the town has to take steps to provide effective uh communication. Uh but from the department um responses, it seems that
clarifying how to how to do that uh would be helpful. Um as part of the uh modification policy, you should be sure that people know how to request services they may need. If for example, someone needs a sign language interpreter
u for town meeting um or they want something there like cart which is uh as you may know basically a large screen that uh has a live transcript of of the proceedings. um you know residents need to know uh how to request those things
uh how much lead time uh they should give you so that you can find say an interpreter or someone who can provide cart um and uh in other instances um you the town should be sure to um uh
speak with uh interact with the person who's requesting uh assistance uh to have effective communication and because usually A person who needs something like that can let you know what what method has worked well for them in the past. Do they uh just need something as
simple as a document in large print or they talking about captioning uh perhaps for um uh meetings such as this one which may be recorded and put up on a website later. Uh at any rate, you need to take steps to ensure that whatever is
nec what needs to be done is done and and uh as I said uh let people in the town know how to make a request for what they need and um when a request is made uh engage with the individual or individuals who are making the request
and seek their input on how to uh meet their needs. Next slide please. Uh, now, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm going to transfer things over to Megan and and she'll begin speaking about what we found with the website report.
>> Uh, so uh we had looked at the website um with um comparing it with WIKAG which is the web content accessibility guidelines and um this is to ensure that it is accessible to everyone. Um, we did
a number of tests with things such as assistive technology such as screen readers and screen magnifiers. Um, and we found a number of issues with the website. This is uh kind of a a short list of um major things that we
found. Um, so all text is obviously um used to describe images for people who can't see the images. Um there were improper heading structures which would make going through the web page
difficult for um a person using um a screen reader. Um as well as keyboard and navigation problems. Um often times images of text was used instead of actual text and so this um can't be read
by a screen reader. Um and so these were some of of the main um findings in that report. We also looked at a number of facilities as part of the project. Uh six municipal
buildings, four schools, three parks, and two DPW buildings. And when we're looking at facilities, we have kind of three strategies that we can um go to to address um inaccessible
facilities. First, we can um decide to relocate any program services and activities in the inaccessible building to an accessible location within the current facility. We could relocate um
these programs to an accessible location at another facility or we could um recommend renovating the current facility to ensure access to program services and activities. And so for each um building or facility
that we looked at, we submitted a kind of a two-part report. Uh the first part is um what we call the the narrative and this will be a basic description of the building and the programs that occur in
the building and um things such as whether it has an elevator, where the entrances are uh different layouts uh and things like that. Um we go on to um describe what the key accessibility
issues are and then um at the end we often give best practice and inclusive design recommendations and these would be um issues that go beyond the code. So, uh they're not required by law, but
they would help make the um facility um usable more usable to a wider group of people. The second part of each report includes what we call a a catalog. And so this
would would be um it's pretty much a table of each issue that we find that is out of compliance or where we're recommending some sort of renovation be um performed or considered. And so for
each of these, we'll describe the location, the room, the floor, um what the issue is, um any relevant measurements related to the issue, and then we'll give um a recommendation for
addressing the im the issue and um a um an order a rough order of magnitude cost estimate for each issue. Uh the other two parts of the self-evaluation and transition plan
include uh a self- evaluation report which has an executive summary of the project and um the transition plan spreadsheets which is the second image on the page. it. This is um meant to be
a living document that the town can use for planning and budgeting purposes. So, it's an unlocked Excel spreadsheet that has a list of every issue that we find in the buildings. Um the portion this on
the blue blue side of the page is filled in by our organization. After we survey, it's exported into Excel. And this is all the same information as was in the catalog um on the previous page. On the
right side of the this screen is um the green section is an area that the town can use to track um renovations and to put people in charge of renovations um for each issue. Uh and so this is um
a good way to track issues as you renovate. And we also recommend, you know, letting the public know um as things are renovated um so that they they're aware that this is going on and um the buildings or sites are more
accessible. So, I was just going to go over a few examples from um some places that we looked at. Um the first is from the public library. Um some of the issues that we found were um excessive changes
in level in the walkway outside. Um we um looked at the accessible parking spaces. Uh some of the access aisles were narrower than allowed and the signs were located lower than allowed. Um so
they might be difficult for some cars to see. Um with the third image on the top um at the exit of the uh library there's lack of a tactile exit sign and this is um
what's required under the ADA so that people who are blind or low vision can find uh the exit doors. Um the first image on the bottom left shows um a stairway and um we often find issues
with stairways. In this case, the handrails were mounted higher than um is allowed by the ADA or the MAB. Um we uh the next image in the middle on the bottom shows a sink and this was in a
public area. Uh, and so it's um required under um MAB to have um to be able to be used by a person um in a wheelchair. So it has to be a certain height and it needs to have knee and toe clearance
underneath the sink. Um the final image on the page uh shows the meeting room uh the community room and there was a lack of an assistive listening system for people with um hearing disabilities.
Uh we also looked at um a few outdoor facilities and this is um these are a few issues that we found. Um the first three are from Heritage Park. Um we found some excessive running slopes that
would need to be corrected. Um we found um picnic tables. So any picnic areas there should be um at least one or 5% of picnic tables should be accessible and located on an accessible route um
where grass isn't considered an accessible route. Um the same is true of um playgrounds need to be located on an accessible route and this could be something as simple as stone dust um or
asphalt but it it can't be grass. And likewise um the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board doesn't allow or doesn't consider um wood chips to be um an accessible surface. And so in
Massachusetts, um, you would need to use some other kind of impact attenuating surface to get to one of each type of play component. Um, we often recommend poured
inplace rubber as it tends to last better and hold up better than other solutions. Uh, there in Massachusetts, additionally, there needs to be a route going around each playground. so that um
parents and adults are able to walk around the playground and monitor their children. Um at at Brown Farm, the final image on the top row, um we found a lack of an accessible route to a community garden.
And so this was also grass and we would recommend some sort of um route such as stone dust um concrete uh leading to the community garden. Uh then we looked a lot we spent a lot of time looking
around Pine Null recreation area. Um we found that there were was a lack of an accessible route to um several key areas including the pool and several buildings. Um and so this would either need to be addressed. I know that there
are significant slopes at that site. Um either roots would need to be built that are in compliance or else some sort of um van or golf cart service would need to be provided um to allow people to um
fully access that program. Uh then I guess additionally um there were there was a lack of accessible spaces. So spaces for wheelchair users to sit um in team and spectator seating areas. And
finally um there was a lack of accessible shower facilities. Um so um we would recommend um that even in gang showers there should be grab bars at at least one of the showers and controls
should be located within reach range. Um, so thank you and we're happy to answer any questions that you have questions. >> Thank you for the uh detailed presentation. That was definitely a lot
of information for to us to digest and appreciate it. >> All right. Well, if you have uh questions for us as you uh begin going through the identified issues and trying to correct them, you can always uh
contact IHCD in the future as well. >> Great. We appreciate it. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Nice report. >> Very thorough. >> Next under new business, we have the
Maple Shade Roof MSBA project. uh to proceed. >> Hey, well, Gordon stayed the whole time, too. So, >> here for more. >> Oh, if you have questions.
>> Okay, great. See, as long as I have Gordon support, I've got it all. Um, so this was um this project uh I think you know um is up for vote at the end of the month here for MSBA which um I don't
want to use the phrase rubber stamp but uh most projects that are accepted into accelerated repair uh the vote um is forthcoming I guess is what we're saying. Um we wanted to keep the ball rolling here
um and is sort of standard practice in the construction world um to do sort of a notice of notice to proceed uh to continue along the design. So the the the uh Collers was was hired to do the feasibility study which got us into the
the program. Um and and in the interest of a timeline um meaning uh to try to get this uh designed bidded um and start construction uh at a at a
in a kind of a tight window. >> Thank you. >> Um i.e. when the kids aren't in school. Um we wanted to keep the ball rolling and again uh this is sort of a standard thing to say give them a notice of to
proceed not to exceed a certain amount of money which has already been appropriated for the feasibility but it was not appropriated by you for the design or a notice to proceed for part of that design. So I didn't want to um
sort of sign that notice of to proceed which I'm comfortable doing. I mean, we we've identified even if MSBA by some stretch of the imagination decides they don't want to participate in the project anymore, um we've sort of identified a
roof in one of our schools that needs to be replaced and we need to sort of continue on the design no matter what. Anyway, uh so there didn't seem too much harm in moving forward uh with the design team to get this design uh to
keep it rolling while we wait for MSBA approval uh with a sort of cap at say $100,000. Uh I think there's still $250,000 left in the appropriation after the feasibility. So um again we would have
some sort of uh cap at whatever it would be like two or like three to four weeks of design work um by the time MSBA approved the project and then uh we would have some sort of motion in front of you um to to do the whole project
with what are we what are we at 58% reimbursement >> 56 >> 56 uh so that wasn't information thanks Ralph Um and uh if you go back to the we had highlighted for you also um back on
the capital sheet uh the money that had previously been appropriated for school projects is going to go to that project uh I think to the tune of $800,000 thereabouts. Um, so again, um, this is
very standard practice other than the fact that I'd like permission to do it because it's not how you appropriated the money in the first place. >> Are there any questions that anyone has about it? >> If not, Rob,
>> so looking through the documents, we're looking roughly 2.8 million total um for the roof. Yeah, if I remember correctly and at 56% it looks like 1.3 million roughly. Okay. MSBA
um 800,000 there. So are we still looking to come up from the town for another 700,000? >> We would Yeah, we have to come up with the balance of it. >> Yep. >> For the for to finish the project. Yes. So the town will be kicking in basically
1.5 million and hopefully with approval from MSBA 1.3 to 2.8. >> Yes. So um which I think uh I think was on the capital >> pretty sure last year but
>> I wasn't sure. Yeah, we didn't appropriate yet because because uh we're going to need that special language >> that MSBA wants and that will come after the vote. >> What is it, the 25th? 28th. >> 25th. Do you want me to come?
>> Sure. Come on. You stayed this whole time. Get up here. >> You don't have many of these left. >> True. >> Trying to make it sound better before I leave. >> You've been doing it for a decade plus. Uh evening everybody. >> Hi.
>> Uh just to give you a sort of a a larger overview. >> Um I think Mr. Christensen said that the overall project uh now with the schematic design being finished is um projected to be 2.89 million with the
MSBA um reimbursing us up to 56.48% of eligible costs. If everything were spent and how they break out their budget, uh, the grant would be somewhere
around 1.626 million. >> And is that for an entire roof? >> Is that a portion? I read >> No, no, that's the entire roof. What they won't reimburse us for is roofing the um modular classrooms. >> Oh, that's what it is.
>> But the in the 2.89 million, the modular classrooms are being roofed as well. >> Okay. They they just won't. >> No. As I was going through, it was hard to understand. It sounded like it was a portion of the roof and I'm like, "That's a lot of money for a portion of the roof." So, no, that's
>> um with the exception of the two peak roofs which were done in 2011. If you remember, >> it was an exciting winter back then. >> I remember that. That's right. >> Remember that was in the auditorium of Birchland Park. We had that special meeting.
>> Nope. Looks good. The information's also known. >> Yeah. >> Thanks for putting information together. >> There's no other questions. I'll entertain a motion. >> I move to authorize the town manager to issue a notice to proceed on the Maple
Shade roof project prior to and in anticipation of approval of the MSBA project. >> Second. >> Motion was made and seconded. Is there any further discussion? I >> think this is a great project. Uh, like I said, I think it's important that we
keep up our schools. Um, so when something needs to be done, let's get it done. >> Thank you. It's, uh, the MSBA has been, yeah, pretty good partners with us. Uh, and we've done this will be our third accelerated repair. Uh, and obviously, you know, that we're doing a core
project with them. So, >> I think we are >> what >> I think they feel that East Long Meadow is equally as good a partner. So, it's a way to go uh when you have that opportunity. >> Absolutely. >> And it's great to see too that, you
know, while everyone had focused on the high school, which was important that we're not neglecting the other school buildings in town, too, they're also receiving some much needed attention. >> Great. There's no other discussion. All those in favor, please say I. I.
>> Opposed? The motion passes. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you very much. >> Thanks, Gordon. >> All yours will be very excited. Okay, thank you. >> Yep. Thank you. >> Appreciate it. >> Next under our agenda was our bianual review of the executive session minutes
we had and whether any should be released or retained or otherwise decided. So, since the last time we reviewed it, uh the ones that previously were green have now changed to gray
since we approved the release of those. Um the red ones remained retained. Um I updated the review date for each of the ones that were retained even if nothing had changed in them history.
But as of this point really everything since the last time we reviewed would remain retained uh thus far. So there's no questions or comments about that. Um
I'll entertain a motion just for posterity even though nothing's being changed since the last time but at least it affirms that we have reviewed them. I move to approve the recommendations relative to the release of the executive session minutes as presented.
>> Second. >> Motion was made, seconded and thirded. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Opposed? Motion passes. Okay.
Next for action items for our next meeting. That is let's see next meeting is February 24th Tuesday. Um we will have some information about the oil transfer
station. Um I know that was originally something we were going to look at for this meeting but Tom wasn't meeting with the DPW for their budget and it was included in their budget submission until the 23rd. So by the following day, we'll have some updates on that topic.
Uh what did I note down from here? Oh, we'll also have the police department uh discussion >> and then as of now that's the only thing that I have noted, but I know that there are more topics.
>> Uh if if you'd indulge me for for 20 minutes or so. Not right now. I mean next week um Kim and I want to have uh sort of a high level budget of course >> discussion uh not only FY27 but FY30 and
40 um so some of our reserve policies um just some some like higher level stuff not not not so much nuts and bolts but um sort of in light of our conversation Friday and sort of where everybody
seems to be going with things and some of these costs that are at this point there's enough historical data that we can project them to be in the atmosphere. Um we we have to start planning for that and we're not one of those communities that is looking at uh
um you know >> an override. Yes. Uh but you know projections four years out without major change we are. So um and I don't mean to we can obviously change things between
now and then but I think it's important that we all see what that road looks like if we don't do what we need to do in the meantime. Um so if if that's okay uh we would love to >> there's a couple other financial things
but yeah mostly sort of high level discussion on just some things and then maybe some uh thoughts on allocation of some of our free cash ahead of uh budget cycle um in terms of it a lot of our
reserves again I don't want to get too far down into the conversation that I want to have next time but um I think it's a good idea for us to move some move some money around and we can talk about that too because I'd love your input on that. >> I'm happy to have that because uh I think a lot of time we're always so
focused about chasing the next budget year that it's good to take a step back and kind of see the long range plan right >> for everything. >> Great. Great. Thank you. >> I have many questions for that. >> Bring it on. Oh, and OPED's on that list, too. I wanted to make sure you specifically heard that.
>> I've heard that. >> Okay. If there's no other action items, I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion was made and seconded. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please say I. >> I. Any oppos? Motion passes and we are
adjourned at 809.