This government meeting is brought to you by Eastworks and our local cable subscribers. Good evening. Welcome to the East Hampton City Council meeting for July 15, 2026. The meeting tonight is being recorded and broadcast by E Media on
Charter Channel 193 and live streaming on their web page, eastampton media.org. Councilors and participants in this meeting are gathered hybrid on the order extended until June 30th, 2027, allowing us to do so. I remind both the members
of the city council and the public participating remotely to remain muted until recognized by the city council president. Also for the members of the public, please remove your camera for the duration of the meeting unless you are participating in the public speak time or the public hearing. Thank you.
This meeting is now called to order. Maryanne >> JPinski, Connie Den here. >> Tamara Smith >> here. >> Felicia Jadzik >> here. >> Tom Peak >> here. >> Jonathan Schmidt >> here. >> Amanda Newton >> here. >> Caam Jamro Mcuade >> here. >> Nathan Marquee >> here.
>> Great. Thank you. Uh at this time we will take a moment of silence. Um please do whatever you need to do in order to prepare yourself for this meeting. Uh and or um think about any individuals uh
that you would like to um remember at this time. [clears throat] Thank you. At this time, if you would like to participate in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, now is your opportunity to do so. 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. >> Great. Thank you so much for that your participation. Um, at this time we have
some meeting minutes from April 22nd, 2026. Um, I will uh entertain a motion. >> So move second. I have a motion and a second to approve the meeting minutes from April 22nd, 2026. Uh any further
discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? Opposed? Abstension? [music] Motion passes. >> Uh at this time, we have public comment. We will have public comment until uh 6:15. Um, it's an opportunity for you to
uh speak to uh the council about uh any items not uh on our agenda with the exception of the uh resolution. Uh if you'd like to speak about the resolution, now is your opportunity to do so. Uh as I said, you will have 3
minutes. Uh when you have 30 seconds left, you will hear an alert. Um and then you will hear a second alert when your time is up. And when your time is up, please wrap up any last minute thoughts. Uh and we will move on to the
next individual. Also, if we have more individuals uh that who want to speak, uh we will continue the public uh we will continue public speak after the public hearing and before the resolution. Okay. Uh, so
if anyone would like to speak, please uh go up to the podium and state your name and your address for the record. >> My name is Sarah Weinberger and I live at 359 Main Street, Unit 11B in East Hampton.
>> Thank you for letting me speak. ICE agents murdered Lorenzo Salgado Aaho in Houston and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero in Bifford, Maine less than a week ago. They didn't even cordon off
the scene of the crime in Baifford. So Cash Patel's FBI won't bother collecting evidence and another ICE agent won't be held accountable. On July 1st, the New York Times reported that ICE arrested
10,000 people in five days. With another 70 billion dollar allotted, ICE has more funding to kidnap, murder, disappear, and tear apart and tear apart even more families. On Monday, it was Bitterford,
but it could have been East Hampton. They are pausing traffic stops and expanding body camera use among ICE agents. Another tactic to quiet the masses as the election draws near. The only thing that is going to change this
murderous madness is to hold ICE accountable. And that's why I support the East Hampton City Council resolution in support of holding federal immigration agents accountable for violations of Massachusetts criminal law. Many people shrug their shoulders
and say, "What good is a resolution that's not legally binding?" I say this means that city officials must understand that federal ICE agents cannot disregard state and local criminal laws. The resolution asks the
mayor of East Hampton and the police to support investigations of suspected illegal acts by federal agents and that includes making sure to preserve a crime scene. I want to live in a city where everyone can have trust that we won't
collect data from flot cameras and other license plate readers to share with homeland security where it can be used against immigrants, protesters, or anybody else that they declare a threat. And I want to live in a city where anyone can seek help from the police,
knowing that under no circumstances will the police cooperate with ICE. This resolution is an aspiration to be an even more welcoming city than we already are. And that's why I'm asking that our city council not only pass it, but act
courageously to realize its goals. >> Great. Thank you so much. I'm going to uh rotate between folks in the room and online. It's been brought to my attention that sometimes uh people online also have accessibility needs and sitting through long meetings can also
be challenging for them. So, I just want to acknowledge that. So, we'll just rotate between here and online. So, uh next up would be Kathy Wisinski. Uh please unmute yourself, state your name and your address for the record.
>> Kathy Wisinski, Overlook Drive. I am here to speak against the resolution. I do not believe the city council should be spending their time and our funds on
virtue signaling and resolutions. Your role is not to represent your own opinion or a small minority of residents. I ask you that you consider the broad range of people in your districts, in
your precincts, and across the city and their perspectives. There are too many um individuals that are harmed by illegal aliens in our country and ICE is
doing the job that we've asked them to do. I do not see resolutions against the harm that is being done to the people being murdered by illegal aliens like the state trooper that was hit down
south a few weeks ago. Again, I ask that you attend to the business of the city. This is a federal matter, not a East Hampton matter. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, someone else in the room
who would like to speak? Oh, yeah. Okay. So, please state your name and address for the record. >> Sure. My name is Diane Paladino. I live in East Hampton, 49 Huckleberry Lane, which is um
anyway 49 Huckleberry Lane. Y So, I'm going to repeat Lorenzo Salgado. I'm going to repeat Juan Sebastian Guo. We need to say their names. They are the most recent victims killed by ICE. ICE wasn't even looking for
them. They just saw men with brown skin and they shot them and killed them. I'm the chair also of the Valley Interfaith Refugee Action Group, which acts on behalf of refugees, immigrants,
and undocumented individuals. We have 16 member congregations from churches and synagogues and other religious group non-religious groups working to protect individuals from the excesses of ICE and the federal government's abuses.
As of March 2026, there have been over 7,000 brownskinned people taken from the streets and courts in Massachusetts whose fates are unclear. Some are in private ICE
detention centers with no way to contact legal help or family. They are being held by ICE for deportation. The Trump administration wants 2,000 people detained each week with no charges.
I ask that you support the proposed East Hampton City Council's resolution because we all have a duty to protect our neighbors. And we can do this by ensuring that our public safety officials, police, sheriffs, and the
district attorney stop any and all support for ICE. Yesterday, our governor said, "This has got to stop." and I agree with her. So again, I ask
that you support the proposed resolution. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh we will go to online John Bonafas. U please state your name and address for the record.
>> Yes, my name is John Bonifaz. I live at 30 Harris Street in Ammerst, Massachusetts. I'm a constitutional attorney and I serve as the president of free speech for people which is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to defending our
democracy and our constitution across the country. We were involved in helping author the resolution which the Ammerst Town Council passed in February which I know has served as a model for the resolution you're considering tonight.
JD Vance has stated that when federal agents engage in their actions across the country, they have absolute immunity. That is a complete legal fiction. There is no such thing as absolute immunity. The supremacy clause
of the constitution makes clear that federal agents have immunity when they conduct lawful actions across the country. But they do not have immunity to commit murder, to engage in assault and battery, to kidnap, to engage in
illegal detentions and other crimes. There is no such immunity. What this resolution does is state very clearly that when federal agents commit crimes in the state of Massachusetts and in our communities, they must be held
accountable under state criminal laws for those violations just like anyone else. I urge the resolution, this city council to pass this resolution, to join the town of Ammerst, the city of Northampton, which have already passed
such a resolution, and to call on our state and local officials, including our state attorney general and the local district attorney as well as local police force, to enforce state criminal laws against federal agents when they
commit crimes in our communities. Donald Trump has used ICE is using ICE as a paramilitary force to terrorize our communities across this country and it must be stopped and the state criminal
laws is a form of accountability for ensuring that these federal agents are not able to engage in committing these crimes. Thank you for taking up this resolution. I urge you to pass it. >> Great. Thank you very much. We have time for one more uh in person. Awesome.
Great. So, please state your name and address for the record. >> Hi, my name is Kay Collins for Carol of East Hampton. Um, just a quick note to say that there have been as of July
15th, 2026, 22 publicized deaths in ICE custody in 2026 alone, as well as two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Patty, that were killed by ICE officers. And we do have laws in the United States
to prevent killings of American citizens by anybody, including ICE agents. So, I did just want to put that out. We do have criminal laws that do um take care of that. I'm gonna quote something from a writer Judith Dale. Um there is an fbomb in that. So, I'm going to drop
that because I did consider editing that, but I do believe that the situation right now is so severe that I'm going to drop that fbomb. What the [ __ ] are we doing? Too many people have hidden behind the word politics. It has become the excuse used to avoid making moral judgments. Calling out cruelty,
corruption, dishonesty, abuses of power, or the erosion of democratic norms isn't just another political opinion. And it never was. This has never been just about politics. It has always been about morality, about what kind of people we choose to be when power rewards cruelty
instead of compassion, loyalty instead of integrity, and blind allegiance instead of truth. Every generation likes to imagine it would have recognized the moments in history that now condemn that history now condemns. The truth is that
history isn't written by people who recognize those moments afterward. It is written by the people who refuse to normalize them while they were happening. Every time people in positions of power excuse something because it's politically convenient, the
line moves. Every time institutions decide that character matters a little less than power, the line moves. Every time leaders explain away corruption because it benefits them, the line moves. Every time cruelty becomes entertainment instead of a moral
breaking point, the line moves. We keep telling ourselves someone somewhere will finally draw the line while watching the line disappear in real time. So now I'm done pretending this is complicated. Some things are simply wrong. The world only becomes this way when people allow
it to. Not all at once, but one excuse at a time, one compromise at a time, one rationalization at a time, one institution deciding accountability at weight. Does a resolution matter in terms of what we can do to prosec prosecute murderers? Maybe not. But it
does show that we are standing up against what is inherently wrong. >> Thank you. Um, >> no more comments. Uh there will be more comment after our public hearing. So, but I have to we have a public hearing at 6:15. So, we're
going to go ahead and we're going to start that. Um so, I will take a motion to open the public hearing. So, move second. >> I have a motion, a second to open the public hearing. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? >> I opposed abstension. Motion passes. Uh
I will turn it over to Chair Quisinski. >> Thank you, Madame President. Uh we have two requests uh tonight to consider. Both are for new polls. [clears throat] Uh we do have a representative of uh
Eversource here if there are any questions. Uh I think it's pretty straightforward. The property committee did meet to discuss these two uh and it uh made recommendations that the council approve uh the polls uh like but let's
start with the one on uh Greenwood Court. That was a request for uh a poll in front of number 20 Greenwood Court. Uh that's where uh Williston has a large building when you come in off of uh uh
the uh right in front of the where where the skating rink is. >> And so they were hoping to divide their part of where they get their service so they could shut down the site for the uh
uh skating rink and still have power elsewhere. Uh right now they're they're linked together. the power comes through the drink. Anyway, this is a request for a pole right in front of their new their building which is relatively new uh at
that location. Uh the site plan is available if anyone would like to see it. Uh it's been in the it is in the agenda. Is there anyone here who would like to hear from Eversource regarding the matter? Uh
>> I'd like to hear from I just I just have a question for you. Uh not to bring up a sensitive subject. Have these polls already been put in place? >> I'm glad you asked that question. Uh >> uh and that we did discuss that at the
committee meeting after we went through and we were pleased to say that the polls were not in place. >> All right. Thank you. >> So they were not in in in place. the the for those of of you who may not have known there was a situation where polls were placed
without coming before this board. This enables the uh community to have input as to where and when poles are are constructed, what types of materials are used, how it's taken down, uh and also
uh whether or not if there are trees that have to be removed. Sometimes there they there there are in this case [clears throat] none of those situations apply so no polls I'm happy to say. >> Great. >> Uh >> does do any counselors have questions
for Eversource? Uh councelor Schmidt. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um >> are they are they here or are they online? >> If you if you could stand up, please. [clears throat] So why don't you come up to the to the podium here.
Great. And if you could just state your name and Sure. >> Hello everyone. Uh my name is Jesse Martin Hadley. >> All right. Great. Uh so councelor Schmidt. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um so I know this comes before the council uh time to time. uh this is my first opportunity to
sort of see it happen and so uh on some level I'm just looking for some general kind of edification around this uh first and foremost you know noting that uh there are um you know poll polls in place already um I'm just curious a
little bit about the the process of determining when a new poll is sort of uh strictly necessary for a project that's coming up um and sort of um what goes into that kind of decision-m rather than trying utilize what's already there. >> Sure. Uh in this instance, uh the the
line is deadended right right in front of the building. Um there is a three-phase riser on the existing pole that feeds the transformer that uh takes care of the rink and the physical plant building. Like like uh JP said, they want to split the services so that the physical plant can continue to have
power when the ice rink needs maintenance. So um with the equipment that's on the existing deadend pole, we I can't put transformers on that pole. So, we're going to extend it one more pull to uh install transformers to feed the building. Great. >> Great. Uh Council Schmidt, followup
question. >> Um I have an additional question, but just to clarify, are we speaking only about that u one poll and then we'll move on to >> We're talking about 20 Greenwood Cohort. >> Great. Um this question kind of spans both things, but I wonder if you could just explain the uh distinction between
a uh solely owned and jointly owned pole. Mhm. Sure. So, um the the one agreeing with court in question is a solely owned pole because only Eversource um uh utilities will be on that pole. Uh when we um when we want to
install a new pole, we you know, we have to share most of the time with Verizon as as our main customer. So, reach out to them with a a form that we a standard form that we use. They rejected it. They they have no use for being the extended pool. So, that one is solely owned. The one on Nipra is going to be joint owned
because it's a crossover pole feeding new um residential apartments and it's going to have communication services on it as well. >> Thank you. That's all for now. >> That's all. Great. Any other questions from counselors? >> Great. Thank you, Mr. Martin.
>> Welcome. Appreciate you. Um chair, >> anybody from the public? >> Oh, yeah. Uh anyone from the public? >> I didn't anyone online? >> Anyone online? Right. Seeing none, Chairwinski,
>> I would then make a motion to approve the petition filed by NStar Electric Company doing business as Evers Source Energy to relocate and/or install poles, wires, cables, and fixtures, including [clears throat] the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures along and across
Greenwood Court and to install one solely owned pole along Greenwood Court on the southerntherly side of the road, approximately 18 ft from the road center line and 50 ft from the existing pole 71/7.
Also for permission to lay and maintain underground laterals, cables, wires in the above or intersecting public ways for the purpose of making connections with such poles and buildings as it may desire for distributing purposes and that the petitioners agree to reserve
space on for one crossarm at a suitable point on each of the said poles for the fire, police, telephone, signal wires belonging to the municipality and used by it exclusively for municipal purposes. >> Second. and said pole to be erected substantially
in accordance with plan filed marked 267-62289- 80561079 >> second >> I have a motion and a second to install one solely owned pole um for the purpose
of providing electoral service to the building at 20 Greenwood Court um any further discussion um council Schmidt. >> Um I actually thought of an additional question as we were reading through that. Um I just wanted to double check that uh in terms of delaying of
underground laterals um any construction that would be required in that. I just want to make sure that that is an expense that uh the company is paying for uh versus a city expense. >> Those would be expenses that the company would be paying for as part of the work.
And if I'm mistaken, I would look to the expert here. M Mr. Martin. >> Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry. >> Any contradictory evidence, but uh that that's the case, >> Mr. Spartan. >> Hi.
>> Uh yes, if if that were necessary in this project, it would be a cost of the company. Okay. Great. >> Thank you. Welcome. >> Thank you. Any other further discussion? >> Seeing none. All those in favor? opposed abstensions.
Motion passes. Chair Kazinski, >> we do have a proposal for uh Niper Avenue uh and that uh is at 32 Nipur. There is a construction uh underway at that site. There is temporary service to
the site. The pole would be near where the temporary service is currently located. There are no driveways that are clearly distinguished [music] or marked. So there isn't any interference with line of sight as far as the public ways are concerned that we could determine.
The committee recommended three to zero to the council to approve. >> Great. Any questions from councilors? >> Uh councelor. >> Uh so really it's just the same question as sort of the first question that I asked. Um and and I think this is really
the one I was more curious about because it's more of a residential area. There are I think uh it seems like if I'm un understanding the map correctly more poles in the vicinity. So again just kind of the the process of deciding when this is necessary. >> Mr. Martin.
>> Yeah. Um it's necessary in this instance because the customer is doing an underground service. So um a crossover pole avoids having to cut the road back the road etc causing more bumps. Um, and uh, yeah, that's basically it. Um, just
gives them a service point to to feed the new residences. >> All right. Thank you. >> So, I actually have a question. Sorry. >> Uh, since you just said cutting the road, is this an expense that the >> or not cutting the road? The pole the
pole creates a connection point to to avoid cutting the road. >> Okay. Sorry, I thought you said cutting the road. I was like, >> all right, great. Thank you so much. Any further questions? Seeing none, uh, anyone online or in the room have questions regarding this poll?
>> Seeing none, Chairwiski. I will make a motion to approve the petition filed by NStar Electric Company, DBA, Eversource Energy, and Verizon, New England, Incorporated to relo to relocate and/or install poles,
wires, cables, and fixtures, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures along and across Niper Avenue, and to install one jointly owned 35- ft utility pole approximately 18 ft from the road center line, 48 ft easterly of
the pole, 91 1/b14 and 30 ft westerly of pole 91/B15 on Hitler Avenue. Also for permission to lay and maintain underground laterals, cables, wires, and the above and intersecting public ways for the purpose
of making connections with such poles and buildings as each of said petitioners may desire for distributing purposes. And that the petitioners agree to reserve space one for one crossarm at a suitable point on each of the said poles for the fire, police, telephone
signals belonging to the municipality and used by it exclusively for municipal purposes. And that said polls be erected substantially in accordance with the plan filed marked 25774535-8547208. >> Second.
I have a motion and a second to install one jointly owned 35 ft new utility pole uh that will extend facilities uh across Nifer Avenue to a new home at 32 Nifer
Avenue. Um all the any further discussion seeing none all in favor >> opposed extension [clears throat] motion passes. Great. Thank you, Chair Quisinski.
>> Move to close the public hearing. I >> second. Second. >> Have a motion and a second to close the public hearing. Um, any further discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstensions. Motion passes. Great. So, I will again reopen public
speak. Um, I see Morai CamL on the line. Um, please state your name and address for the record. >> [clears throat] >> Morai Camil 359 Main Street, East Hampton.
Uh, Madame Chair, I am speaking in support of the resolution with a caveat that this revolution is woefully insufficient historical terms. The question has already been spoken to
in terms that are relevant, which is the terms of morality. Are we going to be bystanders or are we going to be upstanders? We have a Gestapo running loose in this country which is as bad or worse than
the one that ran loose 80 years ago in Germany. If we do not rise and act as devoted public citizens, then the future will be looking at us as
saying, "How could they just let this happen?" Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone in the room? Great. Please state your name and address for the record. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Ellen Cotine. I live in Huckleberry Lane in
East Hampton and I'm also a member of the Valley Interfaith Refugee Action Group. I want to thank the council for considering this resolution. East Hampton was first settled by European immigrants beginning in 1664. In the ensuing 362 years, many thousands
of additional immigrants have called East Hampton home. Personally, I call East Hampton home, and I am an immigrant two generations removed. The vicious attack on immigrants today by the current administration is ugly, deadly, and cruel, beyond anything we
have seen in this country since the internment of 120,000 Japanese in 10 concentration camps during World War II. Right now, the United States maintains the largest immigration immigrant detention camp infrastructure in the world.
As of February 2026, ICE reported using 225 detention centers and holding at least 73,000 individuals in custody, the highest level since it was founded in 2003. [clears throat] People of color have been particularly
targeted. Two men in Maine and one one in Maine and one in Texas, as have been previously referred to, they were not even the the men that ICE was was looking for. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although
people of color are at greater risk, we are all at risk if we protest, speak out, or stand up for our neighbors. More than 7,000 immigrants have been arrested in Massachusetts since Trump returned to office. Of this total, only 19% had any
criminal convictions. 81% had no criminal convictions. Obviously, the 7,000 were not the worst of the worst. This resolution sends a number of messages. Members of the city council are speaking to the residents and visitors to this
city. We welcome you. We value you. We'll do what we can to protect you. We say that ICE and other federal agents do not have immunity when they assault, kidnap, and murder you. Members of the city council call on all local and state public safety officials
to protect the residents of East Hampton and all residents of the Commonwealth from unlawful actions by federal agents. Members of the city council call on the attorney general and the northwest western district attorney to commit to investigating any evidence indicating
that a crime has been committed by federal agents and to enforce state criminal laws against those agents when they commit a federal crime. Members of the city council call upon the governor and lieutenant governor to immediately cease all cooperating agents
agreements with ICE. I call upon the city council to unanimously adopt this resolution and send these messages. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else? Yep. So, please state your name and address for the record. >> Hi, I'm Sarah Carr and I live at 161st
Avenue in East Hampton. Um, others have already quoted many, many valuable statistics and spoken much more eloquently to this than I will. Um, but I felt like I I wanted to get up and say something. It feels really important to
me. Um, I don't know about you, but I feel very powerless around this issue. And as another previous speaker mentioned, this feels woefully inadequate in terms of action. But what I do believe in is
that when people start to stand up together, there is a reverse domino effect. And when people stand up together, it does send a message. And it does send a message to ICE that they
cannot come and act the way that they have been acting in this city and in this state and assume that they will not incur any consequences for that. I don't know what those consequences will look like. I don't know who will do
the prosecuting. I don't know what kind of position that puts our police officers in, our district attorneys. But I do know we have to start somewhere. And when I saw that Amherst adopted this resolution back in February, I
immediately wrote to our city councilors and asked them to do the same. And I'm asking you to do that tonight because it's a it's a start. It's a standing up start. Thank you. >> Thank you. I don't see anyone online. Uh
next, so please state your name and address for the record. I'm Ellen Ley Pile from 28 Lazy Dive Precinct 2. Um, I'm supporting the resolution.
Um, our municipal police operate within mass laws and department policies, but sadly federal immigration agents do not. Our municipal police are better trained than federal agents. East Hampton
residents need this resolution to assure us that federal agents can't commit crimes and violate our residents rights without a full response and investigation from our own police, our own DA, our own attorney general. We are
all at risk. There are people attending this meeting tonight who could easily be attacked by federal agents for exercising their First Amendment rights. Massachusetts has a history going back well over 250 years [clears throat]
of town level action of small cities and towns resolving to stand against tyrannical destruction of rights. We need this resolve from our town government tonight. Thank you for considering it. >> Thank you.
Uh next >> good evening everybody. Miriam and Sarah, 359 Main Street. So, why should the East Hampton City Council pass a resolution like this?
Well, before I talk about that, what I want to point out is that this is not the first time that this city has faced potential backlash against immigrants.
Except for people who were brought to this country in chains and except for the people whose land we took were all immigrants. And in the 1920s, the population of East Hampton doubled with immigrants. And these were the people who worked in
the jobs nobody wanted in the mills. And while they were essential to the town's economy, and here I'm quoting, they faced intense nivism, economic exploitation, and a massive surge in regional Klux Clan activity that spoke
that stoked widespread anti-immigrant fear. So that was the 1920s and I think uh I've heard quite a few people in this town who are a minority express views against our new recent
immigrants who were part of those communities that came to East Hampton, made a home here, faced intense discrimination, and fought for the right to be here. But why should we pass this? I want to remind people that this is a
continuum of work that we have been doing as a community now since 2015 I'd say 2014 when a group of us many of whom are here in this room now and some
of whom were on the city council worked for three years to collect hundreds of signatures that led to the consideration and passage of the welcoming city ordinance, which is the law of the city. And not only that, when Trump came back
in office, well, for heaven's sakes, uh when Trump came back in office, some of us went to our then mayor, our city councilors, our chief of police, and said, "Will you stand by this
ordinance?" And this ordinance says that we will not allow federal authorities to come in and trample on the rights of our people. We won't do it. We won't permit it. And this resolution backs that up. And we have reaffirmed that time and
again. And not only that, many in our city's government have now been trained by Lucay and the ACLU in observation and uh correct ways to
protect our recent immigrants and their recent immigrants cuz we're all immigrants. Well, except for a few of us to to protect our recent immigrants. And so what this resolution is is another step in that process. And so I think it's
logical that we pass it tonight. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Next. I don't see anyone online. Please state your name and address for the record. >> Monachi ward 1. I am an immigrant. My
family came here in 1989 to the Birkers. And when we began our new lives, we very quickly joined a community of other immigrants who were also newly arrived. Some of us documented, some of us not documented, some of us in the midst of gaining documentation.
And what me and my friends found was the difference between us as children, whether we were perceived as children, as actual human beings, or vermin, burdens, or filth, were pieces of paper and little plastic cards.
pieces of paper and plastic cards that are not handed out based on the caliber of your character, your good deeds, or your integrity, but based on if you have money. And that's what decides immigration. Money. Those who don't have money can't pay to
play. And when we went to school, we learned many things about the wonderful history of America, including that inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. One of the things inscribed is Emma Lazarus's the new poem, The New Colossus, which reads reads in part, "Give me your tired, your poor, your hung huddled masses yearning to
breathe." And when we spoke to people or heard from people who hated us, from one side of their mouth, they would talk about how we were a problem and we were a burden. And from the other side of the mouth, they would absolutely spare no minute in regaling you with how their
forebears came with the clothes on their back, tattered coats, and a few dollars and cents in their pockets. No mention of papers. They were allowed a chance to create new lives here. Um, they were allowed to create new lives here. Is that still true or is it
now void were prohibited and while supplies last? The US has engaged in egregious destabilizing actions in countries around the world for almost 100 years, leading to scores of people fleeing their homes. Many of whom have had to flee here to the country that has caused their suffering. We have an
opportunity to do right by them, to do right by ourselves and to the country that we are in that ostendably stands for freedom, liberty, and the opportunity to build a new better life. This resolution is a step in that direction. Let's begin to go in that
direction. We say uh excuse me, let's begin to go in that direction. We say is what we stand for. Please pass this accountability ICE accountability resolution. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, >> Carolyn Cushing, Main Street Precinct 4.
Uh thank you to the community members who worked on this resolution and the city councilors who have brought it forward so we have a channel for our grief, rage, and horror about the killings carried out by federal agents. the latest ones and the ones we haven't
forgotten. Agents of the federal government are killing us. They are killing us if we are undocumented despite being integral members of our communities like Lorenzo Salgado Aruo in Texas. They are killing us even when we are here legally like Juan Sebastian
Guerrero in Maine. They are killing us if we are citizens like Renee Good, Alex Prey and Keith Porter. They kill us and lie about it in the immediate aftermath. Then they open up criminal cases to investigate the victims, not those who were the killers.
Those of us they don't kill, they detain without due process, so illegally in a sprawling for-profit private prison run detention system. Here, corporations like Core Civic and Geog Group lock up people, adults and children, even
toddlers and infants. and the less they feed or provide services, the more money they make. The state of Massachusetts should have no connections to this corrupt system, which is why important that the resolution calls out the 287g agreements
that lead to cooperation with ICE. Massachusetts is the only Democrat-led state that has one. We shouldn't need this resolution. It should be obvious that all, including federal agents, must follow state law, but we do need it. Please pass it. To close, I have a poem.
portrait with monsters just out of view. A neighbor claims kindness, clips cruelty, cuz she knows not to call the cops or look for insurance when the man who dinged her car is crying, unable to
say why without enough English, and maybe imagining the door lock click on a room full of fluorescent glare, so unending. He draws the silver myar blanket over his head. Under there, he
imagines his daughter, the kindergarten graduation he'll miss, her black braid shining over the pink dress he bought her last week, or imagining the plane taking off with his body in it, but the thin sheath of his self forever laid
flat on the tarmac. Is he imagining this steep price to pay for one bad luck bang? Thank you. >> Thank you. [sighs] [clears throat] Next, >> Mike Caru on 10 Line Street.
>> Um, any loss of life is tragic. Absolutely. Okay. be sure to talk to the >> and but yet nobody has mentioned the state trooper who was killed by the name of Michael Pahira.
Michael's just doing his job when a individual who was not here legally was issued a driver's license by the governor of this state where
may not been able to read or write the language drove a vehicle tractor trailer into that trooper killing him. There was no proclamation calling on the governor or the DMV
to stop issuing driver's license to people that are not here legally. So the thing I want to say too in regards to I know that gentle people have brought up other people of Prey and
Renee Good. I've just seen recently where that information from the DAOJ has been provided to the state of Minnesota. So, it is now in the state of Minnesota's hands to do what they feel. If any of those agents, even the one in
Maine, and any agent that does anything illegal or unscrupulous in the state of Massachusetts, should be face the laws of the state of Massachusetts. I agree with that. Nobody is above the
law. So to pass a proclamation, why not pass a proclamation against the governor? No more driver's license issued by the DMV in East Hampton to people not here legally.
So ICE came into existence in 2004 after the 2001 bombing. There's been three Democrat presidents and there's been two
Republican presidents and they've all used ICE. But in 2020, a large flow of individuals came across the southern border, not vetted, not checked. I'm sure if
somebody would break into your house, you would want them arrested, you would want them prosecuted. The same thing, somebody broke into our state. They should be arrested. They should be
prosecuted and then returned. That's just common fact. That's how you keep the country the country. And again I reiterate any loss of life is tragic. Be it somebody who not here legally or that
state trooper and we can also talk about the other individuals that nobody mentioned who were also killed by people that were not here legally. So again passing the proclamation is really not a use of the taxpayers's
time or money. >> Great. Thank you very much. Uh, next, if would you like to say something? Please state your name and address for the record. >> Hi, my name is Julie Slavit. I live at 14 Nichols Way in East Hampton. Um, I want to say one thing really quickly
that um it has been proven that um immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than um non-immigrants. Um, and I think that is the truth and we need to we need to realize that. I know I'm
supposed to be looking at you. Um so the first thing I just wanted to say is that um my grandparents were refugees and um one and to and just to talk about the the illegitimacy and randomness except for money and hate um in terms of our
our immigration laws. Um my grandmother was born in Boston and she married my grandfather who was a Russian um alien um who was in the process of becoming an American citizen. Um there was some
really disgusting anti-immigrant legislation that was passed in the 20s um that prevented um that took away her citizenship. She lost her citizenship because she married someone who had not
yet been naturalized. And um her son, my father, a first generation immigrant, fought in World War II. He was in Normandy on D-Day 6. He was at the Battle of the Bulge and he
was furious for his entire life because his mother had to reapply for citizenship [clears throat] after he had served. So, I think going back and talking about the way immigration legislation has been and what's legal and not legal um really opens a lot of
questions. The other thing that I wanted to say is I'm a new immigrant to East Hampton. Um and at the first Indivisible East Hampton event that we held, um someone yelled at me from this community who I know has immigrant roots like many
of the folks here um and I really respect that. Someone yelled at me um to go back to Venezuela. And I think that um sort of coincides with what Mona Shotti was saying um and Mary was saying, which is that um we
need to respect each other. We are all many of us are immigrants and um we need to listen to each other's stories and respect the commonality that we all have. And I'm very proud to have heard the kind of things that people have said
here um about this resolution and that the city council is taking it up and the shoulders that we stand on and I ask for you to pass it. It's really important. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. I don't see anyone else.
All right. So, a closing public speak. Um, items for immediate cons immediate attention. Resolution in support of holding federal immigration agents accountable for violations of Massachusetts criminal law. Uh, Councelor Jam McUade.
>> Thank you, Madam President. Um, so, um, I'll try to introduce this eloqu as eloquently as many members of the public have tonight. Um but uh as was mentioned um councelor Denim, councelor uh Newton and uh myself worked together with
members of the community um who were interested in taking that next step. Um I know that we had done a um a resolution affirming our welcoming community trust ordinance earlier this year, but this felt like a natural next step um to uh create something that has
a little bit more teeth to it. So >> great. So thank you for that. Councelor uh General McUade. Um at this time, because it is a resolution, any councelor has the right to send it uh to committee uh for further review or if
nobody does, then we can vote on this matter this evening. Um do you have a question? >> Yes. When are we supposed to read into the record to statements to us? >> Oh, yes. Uh sorry. That's not We had
some um statements sent to us. >> We had some statements that needed to be read into the record. Um we can actually do that now. So I apologize. Um we can do that. Um councelor Newton, I know you have one. Councelor Schmidt, you have one. And Vice President Jadzac, you have
one as well. >> Question. Point of >> I give it to you. >> Point of order. >> Point of order. Um, if those statements have to do with the resolution, I think we we should deal with your issue first as a matter of
rules in terms of order. If a counselor did I don't I didn't hear whether a counselor had objection that should be dealt with first before further discussion. >> Okay. >> Deliberation. >> Uh, we can do that. I was just going along with the public comments. So, in
the same vein, but that's fine. We can we can we can do it that way. So does any >> if if they were being read by a member of the public, I think that would be a different matter, but they're being read by a counselor. >> Okay. >> I I think that's a gray area. >> Okay. Yeah. Yeah. No, I hear you. I hear
you. Does anyone have any Would anyone like to send this to committee? >> Okay. Seeing none, um uh so councelor Marquee, >> I do have a question. I wrote a brief
statement on this as well. I'll be allowed to uh >> Yep. You can do that when we get to uh any comment about this which could be now. Um but [clears throat] also we can also hear from the comments. Would you like to start with comments?
>> I I'm comfortable with reading my statement after the resolution is read. >> Okay. So we can do that. Um would councelor Newton would you like to read your statement at this time since we are going to move forward with the resolution?
>> Yes. Um so this statement is coming from Janelle Triion at 13 Louise A um in East Hampton. Okay. So it says, "This statement asks the councilors of East Hampton to follow the model Ammeris has set for our region and the country as well as the precedent
we set have set in enacting our welcoming trust ordinance in 2019 and renewing it in 2025 by passing the East Hampton resolution to hold ICE agents accountable. The resolution sends a clear message of commitment, care, and
liberation to our immigrant friends and neighbors in East Hampton, especially at a time when many of these members of our community have been forced into hiding out of fear. Unfortunately, this fear deepens every day that ICE continues to chase down, abduct, abuse, and murder
with impunity. In just this last week, ICE fatally shot Lorenzo Sagato Arao during a traffic stop in Texas and Johan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine Guerrero in Maine on Monday morning. Mainstream news outlets have emphasized the legal
standing of these men and the likelihood that neither was the intended target of these operations. These statements offer tacid justification for the violent pursuit of those who might be undocumented or intentionally sought by these lawless officers and for the
federal system that backs them with unlimited monetary and material resources. In addition to doing everything in our power to seek justice for all those who have already de been devastated by DHS since its inception, we must also proactively hold ICE agents
accountable for their criminal behavior. I ask the Stampton City Council to support this resolution, protect our community, and lead by example. >> Great. >> Thank you. Um, Council Schmidt. >> Uh, so I have a statement here from Anne
Chase and Lynn Troy at 359 Main Street, Unit 8B. [clears throat] We just learned from Kelly Brown's presentation at East Hampton's 250 celebration about the influx of Polish and French Canadian immigrants who more than doubled Eastampton's population in
the early 1900s, thus becoming a central part of our community. It seems particularly apt based on that history and our coming anniversary that we should continue to support immigrants by standing with East Hampton's welcoming trust ordinance, which was just
reaffirmed in 2025 to prohibit federalizing any part of city government, including the police. We want to strengthen our community's commitment to the safety of both residents and visiting immigrants by making clear that ICE agents must be held accountable for their actions under
state law. This is in keeping with the supremacy clause of the US Constitution which provides no immunity to federal officials who violate state criminal laws. Given this, please note our support of the resolution in support of holding federal immigration agents accountable for violations of
Massachusetts criminal law and Jason Lroy. >> Great. Thank you. Uh any other comment by councilors before I turn it over to uh councelor Janquade? and you'll also have an opportunity to say something afterwards as well. So,
uh, Vice President Jac, >> thank you. Um, [clears throat] I do want to note really briefly that Jean Einstein did email us and would like to go on record with her support of this resolution. Um, so I wanted to just note that into the record, but um, personally, I'd like to also make a quick comment. And so, I think some
people know, but many people may not, that my mom is an immigrant from India. And I have many members of my family who are also immigrants to this country. On my dad's side, they are also immigrants, although going a little further back on the Polish side. So, as really has been
spoken together here tonight, um we all in some ways are immigrants, whether to Eastampton or to this country. And I think that for me, reading this resolution really and just being in this moment in this country right now really brings to mind the feeling of this
country after the 9/11 attacks when not for the first time in my life, but for a very um pointed moment in my life, I felt the spotlight of what it is to be brown in this country. Um, I felt and experienced what it's like to be pulled
aside going through airport security. Um, always having to assume that I'll have to build an extra time. Um, being targeted. Now, this is not about my experiences, but I want to name that because I think it's really important that resolutions like this, yes, they may not mean anything in a larger scheme
because we are a small city, but this is where we are able to do things that really impact our neighbors and ourselves on a day-to-day basis. And so just like representation is important, statements like these are really important as well because they tell each
other, they tell us, they tell our neighbors that we belong here, that this is not right, that these [clears throat] agents need to be held accountable for breaking the law and for murdering people. So I just want to say I'm fully in support of this resolution and I'm really looking forward to voting yes for it.
>> Thank you. Appreciate your comments. Um, Councelor Marquee, >> thank you, Madam President. I'm just going to read my statement now because it seems like an appropriate time. [clears throat] >> Um I want to thank I want to thank um councilors K Connie
Denham, Amanda Newton, and Caim Jamrock McUade along with members of the public for bringing this resolution forward. Though I support the rule of law, I consider eyes a rogue federal agency. This should be abolished unequivocally. There will be a time that the Trump
administration will not be in power. And when that time comes, if not before, ICE agents will be held accountable if they violate the laws and the constitutional rights of the United States of America. The time will come and legal actions will be prosecuted. Lastly, I wholly
support this resolution and intend to vote for it. Um, though I support it, I don't feel that it goes far enough and I don't believe that we should rest until ICE is completely dismantled as it currently is. Thank you. Thank you, councelor. Any other
comments? Again, you'll have time after during discussion. Uh, councelor Jen McUade, I will turn it over to you to read this in the form of a motion. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um, so in the form of a motion, this is the East Hampton City Council resolution in
support of holding federal immigration agents accountable for violations of Massachusetts criminal law. The Trump administration has weaponized the federal government against our neighbors and community members in an unconstitutional overreach and violation of basic civil liberties in service of a white nationalist political agenda
targeting immigrants, communities of color, and queer people. This violence is happening across the country with at least 14 detainees killed in US immigration and customs enforce enforcement ICE custody since the start of [clears throat] 2026, including including Joseé Guadalupe Ramos Solano
and Alled um Damian Carbonel Bedin Court. Um, we have seen it here in East Hampton with eyewitnesses reporting ICE abductions of at least four individuals from our own city streets. Whereas, East Hampton is home to a thriving community of immigrants that form an integral part of the Eastampton community. And whereas
East Hampton values the contributions of all its immigrant re residents and seeks to treat them with dignity and respect. And whereas the Trump administration has indicated it will continue to weaponize federal agencies to terrorize immigrants, communities of color, protesters, and communities in which the
elected officials oppose Trump and/or his policies. And whereas the Trump administration has insisted, contrary to the clear letter of the law, that federal agents and troops have absolute immunity from any state prosecution up to and including prosecutions related to assaults, kidnappings, and killings. And
whereas the US Department of Justice DOJ is refusing to investigate in good faith the crimes committed by federal agents and instead in coordination with the Trump administration has adopted a functional policy of non-ooperation with local law enforcement when federal agents kill, assault or otherwise injure
residents of the United States. And whereas the DOJ in coordination with the Trump administration has undertaken unlawful investigations into the protected speech and associations of victims of ICE brutality in violation of the First Amendment rights and further demonstrating that the DOJ is not acting in good faith to protect the people of
the United States. And whereas the sworn duty of local law enforcement is to protect all residents against criminal acts and uphold the laws of the Commonwealth and the Constitution of the United States. And whereas the use of section 287G agreements has diverted taxpayer resources away from public
safety into immigration enforcement and has led to gross civil rights abuses across the nation, including abuses against Massachusetts residents across the Commonwealth. And whereas in May and September 2025, the Trump administration began operations targeting Latino and immigrant communities in Massachusetts
with most with most of those detained having no criminal record in unconstitutional retaliation for the perceived political affiliations of Massachusetts residents. And whereas as of March 10th, 2026, 7,030 people from 100 countries have been arrested by ICE
in Massachusetts. nearly five times the uh 1470 immigrants arrested here in the final 415 days of the Biden administration. They have been abducted by ICE in courts, the federal courthouse in Boston, [cough] police [clears throat] departments, and the streets of Massachusetts. And whereas public
reporting indicates that federal officials and agents have admitted to illegally targeting residents by their race or color. And the federal courts have taken the position in Vasquez Peromo Vnome that racial profiling is acceptable in policing. And whereas such in incidents may be crimes under Massachusetts law, including but not
limited to assault and battery, kidnapping, violation of constitutional rights, and assault and battery for the purpose of intimidation and conspiracy, which may involve senior federal officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. And whereas the supremity the supremacy clause of the US
Constitution does not grant a license to federal officials to flout state laws with impunity and provides no immunity to federal officials who violate state criminal laws without legal authority who did not believe their actions were necessary or proper or whose actions were not objectively reasonable. And whereas there's a wellestablished
history of state prosecutions of federal agents and troops who commit crimes in violation of state law. And whereas the East Hampton Welcoming Community Trust Ordinance affirms that East Hampton is a welcoming city and seeks to ensure trust between employees, officials, representatives of the city, all residents of our city, and visitors of
our city, facilitating dialogue as well as effective law enforcement and public safety. And therefore, be it resolved, we, the Eastampton City Council, do hereby condemn the unconstitutional actions of President Trump, his appointees, and federal agents engaged in unlawful operations to attack people in Massachusetts communities on the
basis of their perceived race, ethnicity, sexual preference, gender identity, language, or political preferences, and call on other communities and public officials to join in this condemnation. And be it further resolved that we call upon state and local public safety officials to take affirmative steps to protect residents of the Commonwealth,
Hampshire County, and the city of East Hampton from unlawful from the unlawful actions of federal agents, including but not limited to the Massachusetts Attorney General making a public statement confirming the principle that federal officials and agents are subject to state criminal jurisdiction. The Massachusetts Attorney General and
Northwest Northwestern District Attorney committing to beginning investigations where evidence indicates that a crime has been committed by federal agents. the attorney general and district attorney's offices issuing uh guidelines to state and local law enforcement to preserve evidence, especially in cases of federal non-ooperation with the
investigations. The mayor of East Hampton committing to support investigations with police and other public safety officials of suspected illegal acts by federal agents by collecting and preserving evidence of potentially unlawful actions. The mayor of East Hampton working with other Massachusetts local officials, including
police and other public safety and municipal leaders in cons consultation with legal partners to swiftly develop and implement protocols for protecting the safety and civil rights of all local residents in the event of a federal immigration enforcement action. Be it further resolved that we call upon Governor Mora Healey and Lieutenant
Governor Kim Driscoll to immediately cease all cooperation agreements with ICE, including ending the 287g agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and any informal agreements that may be in place. And be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution will be sent to the offices of State Representative Omar Gomez, State Senator
John Visas, Attorney General and Andrea Campbell, Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, as well as the office of Lieutenant Governor Kendris Skull in the office of uh Governor Mora Healey. Second. >> I have a motion and a second to approve the East Hampton City Council resolution
[snorts] in support of holding federal immigration agents accountable for violation of Massachusetts criminal law. Um, any further discussion? Um, I saw councelor Kazinsk's hand first.
[snorts] >> I would love nothing more than to not have this sort of resolution before us. It would warm my heart. It would remind me of the days if I don't know if anyone saw the All-Star game last night, Major League
Baseball All-Star game. It was really heartwarming to see kids and adults riding their bikes to the park and being able to participate and share in an experience that we all could gather behind.
But when you see our government, our federal government putting no cordoning off after a death in the streets which occurred not through an action, an accident. This was
a potential crime scene, an area where someone ought to be investigating. And no effort was made to do an investigation. You have to lose lots of confidence in the federal government if you had any
left. If you had any left. And then to hear opening criminal investigations against people who were killed by agents
in the past. That's unheard of. How can one possibly think that we're in a society where we don't have an obligation to stand up and say enough is enough. Not here. We won't
stand for it. We will stand against it. So I stand against this in against this type of activity and actions. I stand with the people who stand up for our immigrants. And I look forward to the day
[clears throat] where we might have a society where we can go to baseball games and enjoy items of tradition that warmed the hearts in the past because going back to Nazi Germany
is not warming the hearts of the past. It is absolutely imperative that we stand up and speak now. So this is, as far as I'm concerned, maybe way too late. We should be doing
this and standing up in every way possible, and I encourage everyone who lives here to do the same. Take note. >> Thank you, Councelor Kinski. Um, Councelor Jamu.
>> Thank you, Madam President. Um, so I just I want to speak as someone who um is a second generation American. Um, my birth mother was an immigrant from Korea. Um, as someone who has been deeply shaped throughout my life, um,
both by people who are documented and undocumented. Um, who sees people in our community who are immigrants, both recent and and historical, that are integral members of our community. Um, I just I want to hold space for the fear
and the trauma that the current administration is is putting on us as a community. I think that that's it's like um Councelor Wzinski said, it would be great if we didn't have to take this action, if we didn't have to stand up, we didn't feel the need to organize
across individual municipalities to push back on this abhorentt use of a federal administration. Um, that being said, um, I think what's really relevant with this resolution, it's that's about accountability.
Um, I think we we can't wave our magic wand and bring these people back from to bring them back to their families. You know, we can't wave a magic wand and take away the trauma that has been done
to children to to communities to to families. But we what we can do is we can encourage our government to hold people accountable to say no one is above the law
and to push back on this assertion that these agents have immunity to to run rampid in our communities. So, I I just wanted to mention that. Um, I also wanted to thank um Sarah and Ellen and everyone else who came to spoke uh who came and spoke
tonight. Um, and thank you for pushing us on this and keeping us accountable on on getting this this passed. It's incredibly important and um I think especially in the light of what we've seen this past week, it's um it's very important that we're here tonight. So, thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Any other comment? Um, just quickly, I um I'm taking my um 88-year-old father to Ireland next week. Um and
we are going to visit his uh great great or his great uh grandfather's um uh the city where he came from and when he immigrated [cough and clears throat] to the United States
uh he fought in the Civil War and here was an individual uh who immigrated to this country uh and fought for the ideals that he believed
that the United States stood for um and the message that that went out into the world. Um and I'm really happy that I am able to share that with my
father. But it's also not lost on me that because of the color of his skin. I've as a um two generations removed um have had
privileges and opportunities because of that. Um, and so, you know, I recognize that I have an obligation, um, to the members of my community, to my friends,
um, to people I don't know, right? uh to speak up when I see things that are I don't even have the words, you know, unjust, [snorts] um tragic, um inhumane. I mean, I think
you could find any number of words to describe the the horrific situation that we are in and how immigrants are treated. Um, and I I take my responsibility
as a resident of of this community, uh, to speak up and to speak up in solidarity, not just with the the folks who also want to take action, but also with the people who don't have voices, the people who feel silent, the people
who have been silenced. um to remember them and to and to do this in the honor of their memories and to make sure and to hope and that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
>> So with that Oh, Councelor Smith, >> um I'd like to say one comment as well. um I think that a lot of the violence that has been um that has happened um at the hands of ICE
is really reminiscent of a lot of the racial tension that was occurring um during 2020 era. I think this is all part of a larger picture. [clears throat] I think anytime you have someone who is
um with a weapon and with anonymity, the possibility for that interaction to become um [clears throat] unnecessarily violent and really um really taking away the rights of the
person who is oppressed. There is something that is really terrifying. Um it's really terrifying to watch some of our community members be scared to come out of their homes. >> Um most of the people in East Hampton
will never have that experience. Um you're safe in your skin. You're safe when you walk around East Hampton. having children who are not and living in East Hampton, I'm very aware of a lot of the discrepancies and comments and
hurtful things that people are mentioning that have been said. This has been my children's reality just standing in our front yard with people going by in my own neighborhood saying things to them, emboldened to say things to them
because of the shade of their skin. So then when we have things happening at a federal level that has weaponized people in masks and also taken away accountability,
that safety for some of our residents is much more acutely at risk than others. What a privilege to not have to worry about this, to not have to identify as someone who could be targeted. However,
that is not the case for everyone in East Hampton. And at this particular time, we are seeing a lot of what we are seeing a lot of violence. And while the violence may have been in other regions of the country right now, it is coming
precariously close to East Hampton. And the only way to protect against that kind of misabuse, the abuse of power is to have a cotification of something that says we don't abide by this. I know a
lot of people within my precinct um would say that resolutions and have said that resolutions are unimportant and a waste of city funds. And again I say what a privilege that you don't need this protection from your city. What a
privilege. So I really appreciate this coming forth. Um I do not feel that this is um something that is unique to this historical time unfortunately. But I do think to not say anything or to try to
back it with any sort of resolution at this time is akin to saying nothing. And um I agree. Traditionally as a council we have not done that and I don't want to be in a council that does not do that at all. So that's what I have to say about this. I will be voting yes in
support of this resolution. >> Thank you. Um any other comments? Seeing none. Uh all those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstension. Motion passes. [applause]
Uh next we have on our item uh communication from elected officials, boards and commissions. Uh Steven uh Desoners. >> Very good. That's a tough one. >> Chair licensing board regarding resignation of the previous licensing board clerk.
>> Hello. Um my name is Steven Dier. I live on Pleasant Street in East Hampton and I am the chair of the licensing board for the city of East Hampton. Um, first of all, I'd like to commend the council and my fellow citizens for your eloquent remarks. >> Sorry, Mr. Chairman. If people could
just hold it down a little bit. If you want to have a conversation, please exit and have that conversation. Just want to be respectful. >> Thank you, Mr. >> Chairman. >> I want to commend the board and my fellow citizens for their eloquent remarks. Um, and on the decision to pass
that resolution. It was a that was really great and heartwarming. Um but um I'm here today to talk about the recent resignation of the licensing board clerk and it doesn't give me any pleasure to be here. Um I'm honored and grateful for
the opportunity but I I really not happy. Um why am I here? So there's a the licensing board is a a three member board. It's um not paid. It's volunteer.
and we have a clerk that's usually um nominated by the mayor who does most of the work and that work is quite a lot. It's it's it's a significant amount of work. Um when so
the this our clerk has been doing this for free for months. Uh and recently, just for the benefit of the public, the mayor came before the council uh and the finance committee and requested a $1,500 stipend to cover the
work. Uh an amount that is ridiculously small, that doesn't even begin to cover the scope of work that the clerk of the licensing board does. a a a board that I might add brings in last year over
$80,000 in in monies to the city. Uh I first heard of this when uh I got his resignation letter and um I was curious as to why. So I watched the meeting, the city council meeting
where uh this all went down and I couldn't figure out exactly what was happening. Two things I heard. I heard not much discussion about why. Oh, and then I'm sorry that the the board the the city council decided that it wasn't worth 1,500. It was more like
1,200. Uh I didn't hear any real discussion about why that uh number how that number came about. And I also heard some language um from members of the council that uh called into question his
job performance of a city employee. Um made reference to uh complaints about his performance that are non-existent in my opinion and uh called in question his character and his loyalty. All of which are reprehensible
and should never have had any part of that meeting. I'm speaking to the entire council now when I say those who made those comments are just as culpable as those who did not jump up in defense of a city employee. It should never have come into the to
the conversation. Had nothing to do with how much that job should be compensated. Um, so I didn't really find anything in that first meeting. So I I uh I found out that this $1,200 number came up uh
during the city council's finance committee meeting, I believe. And there I heard the only reasoning, if you would call it that, as to why the $1,200 was suggested. Now,
before I begin there, I just want to say and I'll try I'm going to try to be brief. Uh, and I'm going going to try to be respectful, but I'm going to be blunt and frank. uh before the mayor came before the board and mentioned and just
to give some context in his remarks that the city council had previously not too long ago discussed this matter and that uh they had the debate had gone on to a to a point where they were discussing um amounts of uh compensation
uh and the lowest was $5,000. The the highest was 10 and they were in somewhere in between. those people had a an a real idea of what the scope of work of that job was. It is somewhere in between that number. The fact that $1,500 was being suggested
uh was it it's it's more of a almost an honorarium. It has no bearing on the scope of work. Um, and anyone with even a passing knowledge of what that job entails would know that
we're getting off cheap. That the clerk of the licensing board was taken one for the team because of the financial situation we're in. $1,500 is nowhere near, not even close. And he agreed to do it. And I think that speaks to his
character and his commitment. Anyway, getting back to the where the only substantive discussion and I would use that word loosely at committee. Um, this is what occurred. The council, a
member of the council, this is the reasoning the the reasoning per this per the for the member of the council. They took $1,500. They said there's only 11 meetings a year. Um, and I've watched some meetings and
they are never more than an hour long. So, if you take $1,500 and divide it by 11, it's $136 an hour. And no city employee gets that much money. That was it. That was that was the that was the debate. That was the discussion.
Thankfully uh the chair of the committee was also there and he had had recent business in front of our board and had a much clearer understanding of just what this job entails. Um he first pointed out quite you know
quite rightly that um the 11 meetings a year um the work that's done to prepare for those meetings is the tip of the iceberg and it was an apt metaphor because the job is a lot of work an awful lot of work. Uh to quote the
chairman of the finance committee a significant amount of work. He had just um come before the committee um because his an organization he was part of, not part of city government, uh was seeking to get a license uh transferred. That's an awful lot of
work. It's just like applying for a license. The they're that thick. It's it's intense. And he said from the start of the process to the end, 20 or 30 hours for one one license.
Um, and that just seemed to go into thin air. Um, and a motion was made to reduce the already ridiculously small amount of 1500 to,200. Uh, now I'm not sure that was it. That
was the the sum total of the debate. Um, and first of all, I would say like why are there only 11 meetings? Can anyone tell me? not 12. Why only 11? Because um part of this job is cyclical,
meaning that there are certain parts of the year that are really busy. It's busy all the time, but it's certain amount times of the year are very busy. November is the time we don't have a meeting because the clerk is so burdened by the uh all of the new I mean the the
the all of the licenses being um what's the word? chart. So, >> renewed. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. [laughter] Renewed. Um that they don't have any more bandwidth left. So, we we can't even have a meeting. They can't they cannot take on any more work. It's
that that much work. Um and so that's why so this you know this Neverland notion of dividing 15 by 11. I don't know where that come from. still don't understand it.
Um, it's just to give you and no one asked me, no one said, "Hey, maybe we should ask the clerk, I mean the the chair of the board what they think this should be, what this number means." No one asked the previous clerk what they thought,
you know, how much how much extra work this is. I did uh I spoke with the previous clerk and they estimated for the first two or three years it was about 20% of their time at at the job. Uh interestingly why two or three years because the learning
curve for this job is so steep. You have to know a lot. You have to be bright. You have to it the the clerk of the licensing board is the city liaison to the state liquor board. Everything goes through that desk over that desk you and
you have to de develop and maintain a good relationship with that board and that means you don't ask them a lot of questions that you should be able to answer yourself and that means you have to read be able to read law for example one of the many things the skill set that is required by this job I'm I've
written and and read a lot of contracts and um reading laws that were written maybe 75 or 80 years ago in legal ease and it it's it it's a plaud and you have to learn it because I know from
conversations with the ABCC they they're very good about answering questions but if you come back with if you haven't done the basic part of your job where you can't read the statutes and it's all statutory language which you're all familiar with very can be very thick
hard to pull um the pertinent um message from then they're they're just not going to take your call or they're just not going to call you back very soon or you know when your when your licenses come up you just it's it's a really important job. Um [clears throat] recently we had an a city council I mean a a a board
meeting um and you know we had we didn't have a a clerk so nothing was prepared. So I in my arrogance I thought well I'll just get access to permit eyes and uh I'll
I'll get the the materials together and I was very soon disabused of the notion that I could do this job in or figure this out in even a week and I'm I'm no I have no fear of technology or software programs.
So the clerk, the former clerk, I went down to city, I came down to city hall and I said, "I need your help." And they graciously agreed to create these materials. And on the agenda for that meeting, just as a an example again of the workload, was
our first open license. We hadn't had one since I've been on the board for a few years that we just had the city hasn't had one. Um it was the first open license which is the same as a a transfer the same amount of work again a a pile of papers this thick and uh I sat
down and watched what had to go what we had to go through and it wasn't a matter of collating a bunch of forms of which there are many the list of documents that were required for a license for the state is a page long single space with
checkboxes next to them it's extensive You can't just get that from a a a citizen and [clears throat] then send it into the ABCC because they are going to send it right back to you. If a eye is not done, if a te isn't crossed, I
mean, if anything anything is out of order, it's sent back and that's another two months for that citizen to wait to weigh in and get their license, which, you know, could mean the end of their business or whatever. So I sat down with the clerk and uh it took about 45 minutes to go through all these
documents and I've done this before um I go before I sign off on that I read through them but just to to watch the process and to say that and we found something that wasn't right that would have bounced this thing back and we've
corrected it in time. It's that it's an intent the attention to detail that you have to have for this job is intense. you just can't not be on top of your game and do that job. Um, a job he's been doing without pay for months and doing quite well, I would add. Um, I'd
say it to hit the ground running. Um, again, I go back to the former clerk's mention of a 2 to threeyear um, ramp up learning curve. He said, meaning about 20% of your time is taken
care of is is this job. And after you sort of uh you know the workload doesn't slow down, it doesn't decrease but you're better at it. So you have to spend more time. That's just how that works. I've mentioned um the cyclical nature of it. Um this is a forward this is a
constituentfacing job. Um it was made mentioned that you know why I don't I still I don't understand how like you know this is a why are we giving this person money when it's doing a job during work hours. I
was like there's no other way for this position to to to work. They have to be at city hall when city hall is open for constituents to come in and ask the myriad questions um that they have. Uh it you're you're shephering every piece of of of
licensing um through a very intense process to the state and you're you're helping the citizens of East Hampton uh in in a very important way again in a job that generates $80,000
plus in revenue every year. Um, so, um, and that's a little bit I hope I've helped to give you maybe a better idea of what that job entails, why $1,500 was you were you were getting the
clerk for a song, why $1,200 was insulting, quite frankly, uh, and the lack of any debate or or curiosity in the part of the council or the the finance committee about asking anybody
who might know a little bit more about the job what what they think it should it should um be making. So now we get to get to the hard part. Um it's a two-part question here. I guess what I'm what I'm what I'm going to ask of the council is
that a you uh give 15 the $1,500 um for to the to the clerk. um for not just for the work that he's going to do, but for the work he hasn't
been paid for. Uh it's it's a criminally small amount, but we all understand, the clerk concluded, that we're not in a position right now to be throwing the money that previous councils have assessed was adequate $5 to $10,000.
Um one other thing, um the speaking to the previous clerk, she said, uh that it was it was really a part-time job. I mean, it was it was it's that much work. Um, so on one hand, uh, there's two things and and again, getting to the
hard part of I'm asking that you you you put that $1,500 back. That's the it's it's pennies for what you get for the return on your investment. It's not enough to cover the work. We have a young man who's willing to do it. I don't know who
you're going to find to do it. I wouldn't I wouldn't take that job for $1,500. Not. No way. Not at all. Now we come to the part where uh [sighs] the reason I'm here um he uh because of what was said at this council and what
was not said, I might add, by the rest of people who didn't speak uh led to the resignation of our clerk. his job performance was publicly dis discussed
this in in in a way that should have nothing to do with the matter at hand. And I don't know that is it common for the city council to to criticize public employees at a public meeting. I wasn't I was shocked shocked [snorts]
to hear it. There was a claim made that there were complaints. There had been complaints about his job performance. And as far as I'm cons a aware, none came from the licensing board and none are sitting in a file at in human resources. I'm aware
of none. That claim was made. That claim is false. [sighs] Then his character was called into question. And I still have watched this film, watched the the council, this particular part of the council uh meeting
several times and I still don't understand what was being brought up. But apparently one of the council has was watching one of the meetings and some sort of like leadership thing was mentioned and it was interpreted and
publicly stated that if the current clerk is loyalty lies with the mayor again I don't even know what this means then maybe the money for this position should come from the mayor's budget.
So you you [sighs] publicly criticized him. You made false claims of official complaints and you questioned his character and his integrity. Any self-respecting person would have resigned the next day, which
is what he did. Um I'm asking you, um I don't know who you're going to get who the mayor's going to get to cover this job because essentially you've shut down a part of city government. you and that money that comes in that 80 grand every year that faucets's off. So
next week when we get permits and applications and that money comes in it's not coming in. No one's doing anything. We we we we've effective you you have rendered that board inoperable. Um I think decisions was was incorrect.
Um but that can be fixed with a with a motion with a simple motion. Let's let's put this $1,500 back for the work that hasn't been paid for. and in recognition of the fact that this person is doing a job that requires far more compensation
uh and because he understands what we all understand the city's in a bit of a bind right now financially. Now the the bell that can't be ungrung was the language used to criticize him and quite frankly vilify him um in front of the entire city. Uh I don't know what to do
about that. I don't know that except well I I I have suggestion to make um that the entire council issue a formal apology to the city employee. Um I think that's the very least you can do. Um I'm just I'm
pretty steamed about it how how we and I don't I don't think that that's I'd like to think that's not how we run things here. Um it was it was just the wrong place. It didn't have anything to do with the the matter at hand. The
matter at hand was was not handled well. Um, and the only thing that you can do, I think, at this point is realize, okay, we messed up. Both those who spoke and both those and those who didn't speak up when
this person was being just slandered quite frankly. Um, a public formal apology by the council, I think, is in order. And then maybe maybe we can get this young man to come back and be our clerk, which I
would have no problem with. I don't know why he would after what he's been put through. I don't know why he would. You might have just given him the the best out of it of his career, you know, like why would I go back and do that job for this little money after
how they how I've been treated? Again, I wouldn't take that job for 1,500 bucks. You You're going to be hardressed to find someone to do it. Um, I don't know what the form is. I've never been here before. Um, do I stay here and answer questions or or or is my
public speak time done? And that's it. I'm again, I'm formally requesting that you reinstate the $1,500 and that you issue a public apology for the way you all treated that young man. >> Thank you.
questions. Uh, Council Mar [clears throat] >> Thank you, Madam President. Um, correct me if I'm wrong. I believe that a council has to put forth an act. Then there has to be a public hearing if there is a request for um funds to be
added to the budget >> by council or chair peak. We we couldn't independently initiate that, but given the information for if the council was in um was inclined to do so and the
mayor initiated a transfer to that uh budget, uh we could bring the funds back in, but the c the council's not in a position um to independently initiate that any any expenditure from
the city once the budget's in place. It's something that we could do, but the the mayor would have to initiate that process. >> Yeah, we don't have any say over the budget. Do you have a followup? Do you have a follow-up question Marqu if if the um
I don't forgive me. I am [clears throat] a new counselor, so I'm I'm still If the mayor were to bring that forward, I certainly wouldn't be opposed. [clears throat] >> That's all that's all I have to say. Councelor Kuisinski, >> I just wanted to follow up on Councelor
Peak's statement to say the law, not only are we not in a position, the law prohibits the city council from doing so. And that's important to understand. There is no possibility of that measure coming from the council as initiated by
the council. So to my understanding, you're saying the mayor has to bring >> the mayor must initiate this and then as councelor Peak had had stated the city council >> you can reconsider >> can can reconsider the matter in in in an appropriation. >> Fair enough request.
>> That's that's that's fair. Uh, councelor Newton. >> Um, I think during that meeting I was under the impression that Evan, right, his salary >> Let's keep his name out of it. We've
already done enough. >> I'm sorry. The I'm sorry, the clerk. I was under the impression that his salary was cut and then that money was then put into this new position, but it was making it
so that it seemed like his salary was cut. But like that's where I was confused or I I didn't feel confused at the time on my decision, but I but now I'm feeling confused because I was under the impression that the previous clerk
was making a much higher salary >> and that's why they were doing that position unpaid because it was during business hours. >> Mhm. Um, so I would not be opposed to raising the assistant salary.
>> So that's not an item that's for discussion. >> No, I know. But that's why I didn't think that we should be paying that position because it was a >> Yep. >> It was not a position previously that was being paid. >> I might ask, excuse me. Just one second. Oh, sorry. Sure.
>> Just one second. So again, the We have to be careful what we're talking about right now. We're not deliberating on an increase in salary, right? We're we're having the conversation regarding this, right? But we can't deliberate on making a decision about next steps, right?
>> And I was just only going to say that um to your point um not really to your point. Um but uh it it it's a it's a it's a nominated position and traditionally the mayor has nominated somebody to be the clerk of the of of the board. it it and and in for whatever
reason that part of the job because it's not it's not guaranteed that the nomination will be accepted is not not part of the renumeration if that makes anything clear. It's not a it's a it's a nominated
position. It's a non- voting member of the of the board. So to make you you can't guarantee uh that he's going to be accepted, his nomination is going to be accepted and make that part of his pay. >> He's appointed by the mayor. Another question. >> He's appointed by the the the city
council and the and the board, right? Yes. He he he he's allowed to nominate that position. So you can't really have the money as part of his salary. in in the past [clears throat] how you know in the past has there been someone who has served as the clerk that was not also in
the mayor's office? >> Yes, >> madam madam. >> So just one second. >> Uh I believe that the uh finance director sat in that position before. >> Hang on one second. There's two hands
over here. I think I saw counselor Pete's hand [clears throat] first. >> Sure. Uh just to councelor Newton's point, my understanding of the the situation here, and I could be wrong about some of the details, but my understanding is that um the previous
executive assistant to the mayor, who also served as licensing clerk, that was a component of her job description. So when the when when the current I believe his title within the mayor's office's
office manager was brought on, there was a question at that time about who would serve as licensing clerk. And as such, that additional work was not included in his job description. And yes, the between those two positions there's a
substantial salary differential only part of which could be would would be explained away by the additional licensing clerk duties. So the point is that there was work being done that was not part of somebody's job description. So the idea was put forward to to issue
a stipend which there are other city employees who are beneficiaries of a similar situation um who I won't call out by name but there we all know that there are people who have their day job and then there's other work outside of that job description that they are paid
a stipen for. So that the idea was to do something like that and you know whe >> can you tell me what just for the public what you don't have to give names but what positions >> um well I believe the clerk of the council right >> yes but that's a part of our that's a
part of our charter but who else >> well let's start with that one but that the point is that that's a this the clerk of the council doesn't always have to be the city clerk no the job the the the responsibilities that come with being clerk of council. Many of them are done during the day.
>> Yep. Yeah. So, I'm passing. So, >> I believe that there's also some within the school department, people who are teachers, but they also have the title of excoordinator. I think this was a thing that came up during the budget process. People were talking about like the diversity coordinator as if that's like a position when in fact that's like
a teacher who gets perhaps a stipen or perhaps not. Maybe it's just a an honorarium or something to take on an additional amount of work that's not just directly in their job description. >> Yep. >> I'm just for the public wanting provide that clarification. >> Madame President,
>> hang on. >> Point of order. >> Yes. >> I believe the council is out of order in discussing the financial matters that are at hand and whether someone is paid as an employee or what. That's not what
we're here on the agenda. What we're on the agenda is to hear information from the chair of the licensing board regarding the resignation and that has been delivered. I believe if we have questions about the resignation that's in order. So I ask for a ruling by the
chair. >> Yes, that's what I'm trying to to get us to but things were being said. So I just felt it felt like it was very [clears throat] confusing. So, councelor Smith, did you have a hand up >> related to the topic?
>> I just want to acknowledge the frustration. Um, I hope that in the future the administration um would consider the difference between
a stipen versus a salary point. Mhm. >> I as a counselor hearing that this job takes up 20% of an employes's time does not feel responsible to say this should all be done in a 12 uh 15 $1,200 or
$1,500 stipen. As a counselor, I am limited from saying this person deserves more in their salary. Um, however, I do feel very concerned about the amount of work that is being put into a stipen
that is any stipen simply because there's such a likelihood that that person is going to be taken advantage for their hours. And that was my concern in the vote. And I'm only stating that simply because you were asking directly
for that information that would say if we didn't say something directly there, what were we thinking? And I just think as a member of the public um want to answer that. That was my [clears throat] rationale behind that. Not to say that there's not a problem here, but I don't
think a $300 raise was really respectful of the amount of work that the employer was putting into it. and I didn't think that was the appropriate solution. >> And to just briefly say that the the 20% job again, I want to um reiterate that
for the first two or three years the the previous clerk said it was about 20%. >> The again the workload doesn't shrink, you just get better at your job, right? But it's that much of a learning curve so that you get good at it. >> Other questions? Uh, councelor Newton.
>> Yeah, I just want to say that what um, councelor Smith said is like the same kind of conflict that I was having during that time. Um, >> yeah, there's a lot of talk about whether it should be this or whether it should be that, but you know, at the end of the day, it's not enough money and
and and you've you've you questioned his character and made a public comment. It's not you. >> I didn't. >> Not you. Not you. Some people did. >> Yeah, I >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not you. But nobody no one defended it and that's why I'm so angry and anybody I defy anybody to
watch that meeting and not come up with the same conclusion. >> Great. Any other questions? Councelor Schmidt. >> Yes, please. Thank you. Um my question is uh after the the stipened um after we changed to uh this approach
of providing a stipen for the work um after the position was eliminated that it had been previously folded into. Were there other individuals uh who did the work for that stipen? >> There was a there was a time before uh the the our recent clerk um where we had
I I believe one of the assistant clerks came in to to cover a couple of months um before they started. Yeah. So it's it's not you know anybody can do the job. It's not you know if that's your question. Yeah. But there have been
other people who's done the job. Councelor Schmid, >> that is my question. Thank you. Um, were they paid for that time? >> Yes. Uh, as I I'm pretty sure I have this number correctly, but there was two there were two months two meetings that
were held, two months of work, and they're paid $800, $400 a meeting, which is a little closer to where it should be. >> Great. again make sure we're staying focused. But councelor Schmidt,
>> um my next question is not strictly focused on this particular point. So I will withhold it. >> Okay. >> Councelor Kazinski. >> I just would like to speak to uh the chair and thank you for bringing this to
our attention. Uh I will rewatch the meeting for one counselor. Uh I I can imagine that many of my colleagues would like to do the same. Uh at least I hope so. And I also would like to reach out and say, you
know, feel free to call me. My telephone number is 413-575609. I would like to speak with you personally about this. And I think that's the appropriate way to proceed with this matter. >> I I I very much appreciate that comment.
>> Great. Thank you. I reached out as well to have a conversation with you as well. So I'm happy to >> Yes. And and and now that I've had said my piece, maybe that these that conversation will be fruitful. Um to the point of a public apology. >> That's one of the things
>> I'm requesting the board publicly apologize for. And now you don't have to do it tonight, but next month we're going to have a meeting at of the licensing board that is going to be dysfunctional where no business will be done. Which means just for example, Polish the Poco party, the Polish picnic
will not get their one day license. Just a little thing like I like that event. I like going to that. >> Sure. >> Uh and it's not going to happen. >> Great. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you for your time. >> Other comments. Okay, great. Uh correspondence, seeing none. Mayor's
communication not present. Uh president, vice president. Uh just want to remind folks that we're really at our midpoint of the year. Um so if folks can uh do what they can to get their meeting minutes up to date before we kind of the
next half um just so we don't get behind. This is typically when we start to get behind. So would really appreciate if folks could have their meetings. There's obviously more more items coming. Um, so it would be greatly appreciated if you all can set your meetings so that you can attend to the
business as well as address meeting minutes. Um, because I think that as we talked about before, residents have a right to to that information. Um, also want to extend uh some gratitude to our clerk uh Maryanne uh for all of your
hard work related to the um both the election uh and I didn't do this at the last meeting because there was a uh a recount that was coming. So I appreciate all the hard work that you and your uh
volunteers did and and staff uh for that in organizing that. So, you are very much appreciated in in all that you've done for kind of getting that in in order and and whatnot. So, thank you so much. I appreciate that. >> Yeah. Uh Vice President Jadzac, I have
nothing to offer tonight. All right. Thank you. Uh we have council communication announcements, standing committee reports. Uh councilors, uh councelor Jan Rod McUade, do you have an announcement? >> Yes. >> Uh thank you, Madam President. Uh so I just wanted to share that the Empton
rent study committee has released a survey um as sort of a an extra way for the community to provide feedback. It provides a lot of the same information that was given during the listening sessions that we held earlier this year. Um but for people who weren't able to make it, we just provided um a format
for people to enter feedback and um that will be open until August 14th. Um right now it is on uh Facebook, but I'm going to ask for the city to put out a press release. So, just look out for that in the next few days. >> Good. Thank you so much, uh, Councelor Marquee.
>> Um, thank you, Madam President. Um, the East Hampton Tenants Union will be meeting here and in city council chambers tomorrow, Thursday, July 16th, at 5:30 p.m. They will have a special guest, a congressional candidate that is running
in the Massachusetts first congressional district, which is ours. Uh, the main topic of discussion will be housing. All are welcome. Um, again, please join them. Please join them again tomorrow, July 16th at 5:30 right here. Thank you.
>> Awesome. Councelor Smith. >> Okay. Thank you. I wanted to give an update about the cell phone tower that is being proposed for one Cook Road. that is a lot that resides in Southampton that is immediately adjacent
to Pomeroy Street in um in precinct 5. So the we went um pause for a minute. Uh, Councelor Kisinski and Councelor Dunham and I all
attended the Southampton Planning Board meeting on July 8th where they discussed the placement of this particular tower. Um, the tower was initially proposed to be
right on the border of um, kind of right across from 27 28 um, Pamay. it would be right in their backyard. Um, at the first public hearing for this in Southampton, the company that's
constructing the tower, Verizon, um, looked at other areas on one Cook Road to put the tower instead. Um, so they've moved the placement of the tower from about halfway down that street to the
beginning where it meets um more closely to line road. So if you're familiar with that precinct, it's essentially people on one part of the road would have been affected by the tower and now that's just moved to their neighbors a slightly
more up the road. Um and it there are some important dates that are a continuation of this that I want to make sure people are aware of. Um the first is that when the cell phone tower is going up, they have to give notice to
a butters of what that would look like. And so what the company did last time and what they're going to be doing again is they erect a balloon that is going to be to the same height as where the tower would be. So the resident's visual is,
you know, notification that this is where a cell phone tower will be. Um, it's going to obstruct your view if you can see that balloon. If you can't see the balloon at all, it's not going to be in a place where it would affect you. So the balloon is going up on July 18th,
Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 12. So I strongly urge precinct 5 residents um particularly those closer to Pomeroy and Line Line Street in Cook to look in the air on that date to see if that would
obstruct your view. There are conflicting opinions as to whether or not that would be set back enough. Um, and I just want to also say that they were concerned with the balloon that it requires a sunny day with very little
wind because [clears throat] they don't want the balloon to, you know, fly around in the air. So, they make that determination at 700 a.m. the day of. So, it's possible if there's no balloon out on the 18th, they will try for the
19th from 9 to 12, the same time period. And if that weekend doesn't work weatherwise, they're going to try again for the following weekend. Um, and again, that is just so people can see where the tower would actually be constructed. Um, the next hearing for
this, the next public hearing will take place on August 19th at 700 p.m. in the Southampton uh town hall, which is at 210 College Highway in Southampton. But this is the opportunity for residents
who see the balloon or are concerned about the cell phone tower um to come to that se that hearing. Um if you can't make the hearing in person and you would like us to deliver correspondence on your behalf um certainly can do that. I will be attending the August 19th
meeting as well. So I just wanted to make sure that people knew that was happening. um es especially since this is happening in Southampton rather than in East Hampton um aside from the abutters there's not much public notice
um to ours to to East Hampton so that's my announcement >> great thank you uh committee reports uh Chair Peak it looks like I haven't seen finance this uh sparse and all a little refreshing [laughter] um yes no report
for tonight I've got There's stuff to talk about when we get to new business, but till then. >> All right. Thank you. Uh, public safety chair Newton. >> Uh, yes. So, we met um on July 5th. July 4th. No, July 7th. It was July 7th.
Sorry. >> Sometime in July. >> It was last week. Today's only the 15th. Okay. It was July 7th. Sorry. Um, we met with Chief Norris and had a great presentation from him. Um, we also worked again on the bike ordinance and we feel we're getting to a place where
it's almost ready. So, we would like to request a public hearing for the second week of second meeting of September. >> Second meeting of September. So, we are talking about >> 16th. >> Uh,
oops. Sorry, Jul. You said 16th. Yep. So, is that in the form of a motion? >> Yes. Second. >> Um, so we have a motion and a second to set a public hearing. I'm sorry, a public hearing for >> for the ebike ordinance. >> So we have a motion and a second to set
a public hearing to discuss the general ordinance uh for the ebike regulation and use uh any further discussion or for September 16th at 6:15 in these chambers. Um any further discussion?
>> Seeing none, all those in favor? I >> I >> opposed. Abstension. Motion passes. >> That concludes. >> All right. September 16th. Uh just checking, checking, checking. Okay, great. Uh appointments. Chair Smith. >> Uh thank you. Uh the appointments
committee hasn't met since our last meeting, but we have several appointments coming up, so we'll be meeting then. And um also we'll be looking over the ongoing agenda items. Um
and that concludes. Great. Uh awesome. Thank you. Uh ordinance chair jam quuade. >> Thank you, madam president. Um so ordinance committee last met actually last night on July 14th. Uh we discussed three u agenda items. The residency
requirements on boards and committees. Um that one will uh still needs additional work and um councelor Smith is leading that effort given her position on appointments as well. Uh we also discussed the proposed cryptocurrency ATM ordinance. Um again that's there's still more work to be done on that. Uh we're going to send
that over to the city solicitor and get some more input um from the police chief on that. Um and then the last thing we discussed was the request to add a new pay plan position of the recreation coordinator. In that we were able to get sort of all the information we needed and uh vote uh we voted unanimously to recommend that approval to full counsel.
Um for that item though, we do need to set a public hearing. So, in the form of a motion, I would like to set a public hearing for the uh request to amend East Hampton City Ordinances exhibit A to add new pay plan position of recreation coordinator for September 2nd at 6:15 p.m. in these chambers. >> Second.
>> So, we have a motion and a second to amend exhibit A to add new pay plan position of recreation coordinator uh of public hearing for September 2nd at 6:15 in these chambers. Um, any further discussion?
I do have a question just for the public given all of the financial kind of situations. Is this to actually uh hire this individual in the near future? >> Um, yeah, thank you for the question. So
my understanding and um what director Mason uh let us know during that meeting is that there is no immediate plans to hire that individual but as with other uh positions in the city it we need the placeholder in the paid plan in order to set that in motion. So I think there was
an idea that um we could cover some of this position with grant funding and um and cover you know potentially park fees that kind of stuff. Um, so yeah, and I'm sure when we have that public hearing, um, director, uh, uh, Mason will be
there to to give us that information. >> Yeah, I just wanted to address that now just because I know it is a a concern of folks. Uh, all those in favor, >> opposed, abstension. Motion passes. Um, so our next meeting, our next
ordinance meeting is set for July 28th at 6 PM uh to handle some of that other continuing business and as well as some of the new business that we're getting tonight. Um, and we will need to meet fully remote that day. >> Great. >> Uh, concludes. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, property chair. >> Thank you, Madam President. Uh, the
property committee of course met and did the poll locations and, uh, that there's no further report at this time. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, Chairwazinski, rules and government relations. >> Rules and government relations have a
couple of items on the agenda and I expect that uh we'll be meeting either the week after next or in early August to deal with those. That concludes. >> Okay, great. Thank you, Councelor Kuzinski. Uh, we have no old business,
new business. Uh, I will turn it over to Vice President Jedzac. >> Um, thank you. I will defer to Chair Peak for the first item. >> Okay. uh first two right. >> Okay. So the first one's a first reading of a supplemental appropriation.
Um so uh I would like to do this first reading in the form [snorts] of a motion and also set a I am sorry when is our August meeting? What date? >> August 5th. >> August 5th. And also set a public hearing uh for this item for our August
5th meeting uh at 6:15 in these chambers. Um request is hereby made for approval of the following appropriation. Amount requested $102,080 to be transferred from capital stabilization $12,080
to be transferred to Mass Trails Grant Program Revenue $12,080. The amount requested will be used for the following purpose. Uh this funding will serve as a match uh funding for the FY27 Mass Trails Grant Manhattan Rail
Trail Pavement Restoration and Repair Project. >> Second. I have a Okay. I have a motion and a second uh to um for the supplemental appropriation of $102,080 uh from capitalization to mass trails
grant program revenue to send this to finance as well as set an August 5th public hearing at 6:15 in these chambers. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstension? Motion passes.
>> Okay. The second one's a little unusual. We only do this once a year. Um it's an interdep departmental transfer. Uh that is just sort it's the end of the year transfers. So we don't have to send this to committee. We don't have to have a public hearing. We can we only the only
time we're allowed to do this is the first 15 days of the fiscal year which ends today. Um but basically once the budgets are closed out when there are cases where there had been something
that was slightly over or underestimated um the city under Mass General Law Chapter 33B has the authority to um make those endofear transfers to just uh close out
certain accounts where something might have been under or over uh estimated. In this case, the city is requesting uh the transfer of $2,12,955 to the from the reserve fund uh to cover
a handful of salary and mis miscellaneous and pro uh professional and technical services. That always is a tongue twister for me. uh items um that had uh that when they were closing out the books, they they realized they
needed uh a little bit of extra money to make those items whole. Uh if you have any questions about the specific reasons that these items were calculated the way that they were, um I would probably direct you to our auditor to answer
those. But, uh, essentially that's what this this is is it's an end ofear closeout thing that's, uh, allowed and that we do, not necessarily every year, but it's pretty common that we end up doing this as a result of, uh, just
things that come up after we pass the budget, after we close out the fiscal year, as we're closing up the books. Sometimes things like this come up. >> Do people have questions for Auditor Patel? I'm not even sure if she's on the line. >> She is. >> Is she?
>> I thought so. >> Oh, there she is. Do you councelor Quincy, do you have a question for Auditor Patel? >> I I think for transparency purposes for the public and since there are salaries here and that one of the amounts is $135.
Uh, I think we'd be remiss not to ask for an explanation. Councelor Patel, can you provide explanation for the auditor's salary >> for the May I clarify? I thought I was asking for an explanation of all the salaries
quickly if there seems to be something that is similar uh as simple as well the calculation could be an adjusted >> week a partial week or partial day that wasn't included. I don't know what the
>> So, Auditor Patel, can you speak to all all the various salaries? >> Yes, I can. Um, the first the $135.7 has is my salary. Um if you remember
last year my position was at the 70 70 hours bi-weekly budgeted then restored the hours for 80 hours till for six for 6 months till December 31st and then it was restored again. I came in front of
the city council with an estimate that this is going to be the calculation plus the backlog. Uh there was an overtime paid for the position. I thought that I won't need that time, but I needed a little bit extra time. So that's what lead into this $1,35.7.
Other two for the assistant saluditor salary and part-time clerk salary. It's um it's and actually city clerk assistant salary. It's a rounding difference for um when we do the calculation during the budget time, we
have decimal plus four digits after the decimal points. U in the payroll system, but when we do the calculation for the budget purposes, we only use two digits after the decimal point, which always creates a rounding difference in the
budget. Um I had more than these kind of transfers but they other departments had enough money in their expense line which I was able to transfer to uh with the mayor's approval which allows me to do it as per the city charter. I have no
fat in my expense budget. So I had literally no money to transfer to my salary line. That's why I'm asking for an appropriation. um city clerks. Um it seems like it's a partial rounding, but there was also
some money was transferred to take care of the um the election cost or the advertising cost if I remember this correctly. Um that also resulted into a little bit of deficit into that calculation and
I'm asking for the to cover this expense for the end of the fiscal year. Great. Thank you. Any other questions? No. [snorts] Um, so we have a motion.
>> I haven't made it [clears throat] yet, but I can. >> Okay. Yeah. So that's what we need. So we need motion. >> All right. So request is hereby made for approval of the following appropriation amount requested. $2,129.555 to be transferred from reserve fund.
$2,12955 to be transferred to auditor salary $1,35.7 auditor assistant salary $51.14. Auditor, part-time clerk, $27.34.
City clerk's uh salary, $488. City clerk assistant salary, $143. City clerk miscellaneous professional and technical services, $115. The amount requested will be used for the following purpose to cover end of
year 2026 budget deficit for various departments. >> Second. So, we have a motion and a second for an FY26 interdep departmental transfer of $2,12955 to be transferred from the reserve fund
to the affformentioned um accounts. Um any further discussion? Seeing none, um all those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstensions? Motion passes.
Uh Vice President Jadzac. Thank you. Um, next we have a city council action request to amend zoning ordinances to include section 10.11 temporary moratorum on data centers. I'd like to make a motion to refer this to the ordinance committee. >> Second.
>> So we have a motion and a second to amend zoning ordinance to include section 10.11 temporary moratorium on data center data centers and send that to ordinance. Any further discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor? Opposed? Abstension.
Motion passes. Our next city council action request is a review of the affordable and fair housing partnerships zoning ordinance recommendations sections five and six. And I'd like to make a motion to also refer this to the ordinance committee. >> Second. >> So we have a motion and a second to send
the review of the affordable and fair housing partnership zoning ordinance recommendation sections five and six to ordinance. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? Opposed? Abstension. Motion passes. Our
next city council action request is to amend the composition of the rent study committee to increase the total membership from nine members to 11 with at least four members being renters in East Hampton. And I'd like to make a motion to refer this request to the rules committee. Second. So, we have a
motion and a second to send the item of amend the composition of the rent study committee to increase the total number total membership from nine members to 11 with at least four members being renters in East Hampton to the rules committee.
All those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstension? Motion passes. Next action request is to address traffic and pedestrian safety concerns on East Street. And I'd like to make a motion to refer this to the public safety committee. >> Second.
>> I have a motion and a second to uh send the item of address traffic and pedestrian safety concerns on East Street to public safety. Uh any further discussion? Say none. All those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstension?
>> Motion passes. Um next we have a number of mayoral appointments pursuant to our home rule charter section 3.3. Um, I'll read each of these out in the form of a motion to refer this to the appointments committee. First is Marcus Jones to be appointed to the EDIC
committee with a term expiration date of December 31st, 2026. Fred Pela to the Commission on Disability with a term expiration date of December 31st, 2028. Thomas St to the Eastampton Cultural Council, term expiration date is 3 years from appointment. Scott Reid to the
Veterans Council with a term expiration date of December 31st, 2027. Maxwell Swisser to the planning board as an associate member with a term expiration date of December 31st, 2028. Chuck McCulla to the public library association with a term expiration date
of December 31st, 2026. Megan Taty to the Public Library Association with a term expiration date of December 31st, 2027. And Meg Colenbach to the Board of Health with a term expiration date of December 31st, 2029. So, we have a motion and a second to
send the following or the the mentioned eight appointments to the appointments committee. Uh, any further discussion? Uh, councelor Jam McQuade. >> Thank you, Madam President. Um, I just want to note that I will be abstaining from this motion just because I have a
personal connection to someone. >> Great. Uh, any further discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor? >> Opposed? Abstensions. >> Abstain. >> Motion passes. Uh that is all the items on our agenda. I will take a motion to
adjurnn. >> Second. >> I have a motion and a second to adjurnn. All those in favor? Opposed? Abstension. Motion passes. Thank you everybody. >> Thank you.