Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music]
The Steamship Authority is a proud partner in many Falmouth community events, including town meeting coverage. And for good reason. Not only do we have a terminal and offices here, about onethird of our employees call Fmouth their home. We always work hard to serve our neighbors, friends, and the traveling public. We recently put seven
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session for uh MGL chapter 30A section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining AFSCMEA local 1636 unit A PM various administrative technical and maintenance
staff closed PM and MGL chapter 30A section 21 A3 review and consider approval of a proposed workers compensation settlement for a school employee. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second.
Second by u all in favor uh by roll call. Brown I Richardson I. Goldstone I. Scy. Read I Okay, thank you. We will be back after executive session. Okay. Good evening. Uh this is the
select board meeting of July 14th, 2025. The select board had adjourned and went into executive session which has concluded and we will proceed with the uh with the agenda as uh as posted. Uh I will turn to assistant town manager
Peter Johnson stop to uh discuss uh executive session with respect to the AxME contract. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm pleased to report that the town and AxMe unit C union have reached an agreement on a
collective bargaining uh contract for fiscal years 26 through 28. Uh the board voted its approval this evening. uh and we're looking forward to um working with those folks for another three years
under a contract that is well received by both sides. Thank you. All right. Please uh join me uh with the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Uh the next order of business, I'm going to turn to Mr. Reid to uh read a proclamation for the
wonderful. Thank you. All right. Proclamation. Whereas the Cape Cod Cape Verdian Museum and Cultural Center, Inc. was established as a new nonprofit organization in December 2019. And whereas the town of Felmouth
welcomed the Cape Cod Cape Verdian Museum and Cultural Center, Inc. to serve our community and celebrated their opening of their first physical building on the site of the historic Emerald House at 67 Davisville Road, East Falmouth, in June of 2021. and where the
Cape Cod Cape Verdian Mu uh Museum and Cultural Center is the only one of its kind at this time in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which focuses its historical and cultural education and tours to visitors from all over the world, primarily on the contributions of the early immigrant experience from the
West African archipelago of Cape Verde, which began in the 17th century with whaling and continued to itinerate farming, aiding particularly to the industrialization of the local creme. cranberry bogs on Cape Cod and where such venerated Cape Verdians lived
and/or worked in the town of Falmouth such as Marina and Tony Andrews and family, former owners of the Tony Andrews farm. Pino Rodriguez, former Falmouth police chief and veteran of the US Army. Virat Vinnie de Medo, former
Senate Senator family of Liz Miranda, current senator of Boston, whose family still lives in Falmouth. Whereas the Cape Cod, Cape Verdian Museum and Cultural Center, Inc. partnered in 2022 with the Felmouth Public School System to bring all second grade classes on
field trips to the museum and has now educated over 600 students and teachers about the rich history of Cabo Verde and the Cape Verdian residents of Felmouth Mashpi born in particular and Cape Cod in toal in total on the same year
beginning a quote sister school program end quote partnership with EALCV English language learning School of Cabo Verde through a shared partnership with Pedro Piers Institute for Cape Verdian
Studies and whereas the Cape Cod Cape Verdian Museum and Cultural Center Inc. received a medal of merit in culture presented to them by the prime minister of Cabo Verde on July 3rd 2024 on behalf of the government of Cabo Ver. And last
one, whereas the Republic of Cabo Vera will be celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence on July 5th, 2025, we would like to commemorate this historic significance of this by declaring July 2025, Cape Verdian month in Felmouth. In
witness thereof, we have here in two set our hand and and caused the great seal of the town of Felmouth to be affixed on this the 14th day of July, 2025. [Applause]
[Music] I I believe uh Alice, you'd like to say a word or two on behalf of the council. Can you use the bar at the bottom? Bar at the bottom. This here. No, no, hold on. Let me I'm going
to do a demonstration. Okay. This earlier. So, what you do is you do this. So, we'll leave it like that. Okay. Raise or lower. I would love to be able to raise it,
Peter, but I only am going to get shorter as I get older. So, first of all, thanks to the town of Falmouth for this recognition and acknowledgement of the Cape Cod Cape Fidian Museum and Cultural Center. It is a gem of a place
and please make time for a very special personal tour with Barbara Berggo who is here. She's a part of a three member board of directors with Wesley Leight uh and Roy Rose and they do an amazing
amount of work and I'm here on behalf of the cultural council to say that we have awarded the Cape Cod Cape Verdian Museum and Cultural Council with four grants since they opened. Um they've done
documentaries on their elders oral history. um which they did in partnership with um the Fmouth Community TV and they've done um a program with Candida Rose about um uh Cabo Jazz which
is also a celebration of culture through music and this year they are going to do a documentary that will really archive that. But if anybody in this room has a nana,
you have to go and see nana's kitchen, which will make you realize that something about cooking is also about culture. It is really a gem. It's not only the only one. It was really the
right place and the right time at 65 Davisville Road in East Felmouth. Please take time to visit it and please support their work. Thank you. Thank you, Alice. Barbara, uh, we have the proclamation. We're going to take it back and process it and I will
personally deliver it to the to the museum so that you can, you know, have it properly displayed. If you'd like to say a couple of words, uh, more than welcome to. Thank you very much for this. Um, the
world is watching Falmouth because we have been to Cabo twice last year and showed the documentary about Cape Verdian's A Legacy of Service, which was actually edited and assisted so much by
your FCTV folks. And so, of course, they're on the credits. The Minister of Culture invited us back again this year to
replicate parts of this museum, not only in Pria, which is the capital on Santiago Island at the University of Cabo where Rector Breto works. I'm
sorry, Rector Barto works. and he has invited us last year to start a cultural center and exhibit there. So everything will be replicated. Falmouth gets the credit for being such
a wonderful town to us to offer us to we know we wrote the RFP and I wanted one year rentree if you could because we had no money. And then somebody said to us, "What would you give back?" And it was a
professor friend. And I said, "The wonderful culture of Kate Verd. What do you what else would it be?" But then I'm smart enough. My degree is cultural anthropology. I'm smart enough to know I also worked at the state house. What
tangible what give back to the town could we do to make sure that it's a quid proquo? It's a win-win situation. So I said we would charge no admission
price. Okay. First I started thinking for anyone in Falmouth and then I thought what am I going to do? Ask for your license to be the or a bill to see if you and then I realized also you get such a huge amount of tourism in the
summer. So I thought a win-win for us would be if you gave us that opportunity then everyone would be able to come in admission free. There certainly is a donation box. But why I'm saying this is
it has been a better win for us than I ever imagined. You folks gave us actually 2 years rentree. We started the sister school program that was adjusted a little bit. Should have been adjusted.
We saw the students again in April. So 800 students in their teachers have been there. And the two years rent free allowed us to get up to speed with donations. We are not going to bring Nana's kitchen
idea over to Cape Verde. They say Cabo ver cuz Portuguese is still the main language. We don't need to bring Nana's kitchen there because we got those ideas that came here to Cape Cod 150 200 years ago
with your residents. Okay. And all of Falmouth helped. But I know that they would love to hear see the documentaries that we have developed and some of what their ancestors
um accomplished here on Cape Cod. So I would like to also say that we I didn't put it in there because I'm not positive yet. The Cape Verdian Club on Sandwich Road. I am still researching and it
appears to be it might be the oldest of its kind still running in the entire country. It is. Yes, it is. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Thank you. So Felmouth has done a great
job um welcoming us, supporting us and I know the whole country and all of Cababo which reaches out to the international diaspora of Portugal and Luxembourg and
in um Spain. Um everyone's watching Felmouth and we're doing a great job. So I I'm immensely proud. Thank you very much. Thank thank you very much. We we're all aware of the the all the good things that you do and and and the Cape Verdians have done for the town of
Felmouth over the 150 or 200 years. So, thank you very much. Great. I'd like to see you all come in there. Even if you came in the beginning, we've been four years kind of adding and adding and so now I think you'd love to see it. I'm building packets for all of you. I had had five
done, but now I see an extra. So, I'll leave them on the side table when I go so that you get a sense of what we're up to. Thank you very much very very much. Okay, we will move on to recognition. Does anyone on the board have any recognition that they'd like to uh
mention? Quick one. I understand the library did a phenomenal job with their annual book sales. Maybe it was in last week's meeting, but over $80,000 sold. That's amazing. Well, they always do. I uh uh as far as
announcements, I have two. One is that uh there is a flyer on our website uh and we have discussed it, but there will be a meeting July 23rd from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. here at the Falmouth Senior Center to review the draft requests for
proposals with respect to the disposition of town owned lands for affordable housing. Uh the the other matter is you may remember that at our last meeting we had a uh an update from Mr. Lannon our uh
our water superintendent with respect to the drought situation and we were just advised today that the d the drought has been um reduced. Uh Mr. McCanny is here if he wants to say something but uh
there will be something posted or is posted on the website. So we are now not at level two anymore. We were at level one. Uh so there will be some irrigation in your properties permitted I think on an even uh odd kind of situation. So uh
uh I think that's wonderful news. I don't think it had anything to do with our meeting the other night but uh u here we are. Peter, you want to add anything to that or no? Okay. Well, thank you very much. Uh so uh we'll move into public comment. Oh,
but I should mention again, I forgot the last time and I forgot again. Please silence your cell phones and please notify the chair if anyone here is making a video or audio recording of this open session meeting. The placement and operation of the recording equipment
should not interfere with the conduct of the meeting. Uh, okay. Moving on to public comment. Public comment may be made on routine matters not on the agenda this evening. Comments are limited to two minutes.
Please introduce yourself. Since the matter has not been included on the agenda, the select board may not participate in the discussion of the topic. Is there anyone who would like to speak to public comment? Yes, sir. Please come to the microphone and identify
yourself. Good evening. My name is Michael Fineold and I live at 88 Palmer Avenue here in Phelmouth. I also want to talk to you about a win-win situation. We have a huge opportunity to extend the Shining
Sea Bike Way by removing the Falmouth secondary line. To the extent a new rail line is deemed needed, a new state-of-the-art track could be laid along MacArthur Boulevard. Everyone wins in that scenario. The 6 and a half mile extension of the
Shining Sea Bikeway would run north from the current terminus of the path to the Cape Cod Canal Pathway. That extension would not only be a worldclass multimmodal pathway, but would get pedestrians and cyclists off the road.
Aside from that game-changing safety improvement, the extension would drive revenue from residents and tourists alike, just as the Shining Sea Bike Way does now. A new state-of-the-art track could be built as a straight shot from jointbased Cape Cod to the Cape Cod
Canal rail line. It would be inland and away from the environmentally sensitive coastline now traversed by the Falmouth secondary. That line capable of higher speeds might even lead to increased use of rail. The
Felma Secondary is likely used only by a private company for disposal of construction debris. There is no use of the track by any of the four upper Cape towns. The recently increased funding of the military and the extensive work to be done in connection with the
replacement of the Bourne Bridge affords us a great opportunity to build a new track. To achieve this win-win, we must act immediately to realize a huge opportunity that we are about to lose. Thanks to the CCRTA, we have up to 25
million in federal funding secured to build the extension. The one and only condition for that funding is the removal of the Falmouth secondary. Railto trail is the only realistic approach to building the extension.
That is an action that must be taken by the governor as the railroad railroad right of way is Commonwealth property. Unfortunately, as all of us in this room know, the current administration in Washington has been clawing back funds left and right. If that were to happen
with the CCRTA's funding, which we believe it will, and is likely to happen relatively soon, we will lose the ability to build this worldclass facility at no cost to the Commonwealth. So, I'm here today to encourage this select board to advocate for the great
public interest served by the removal of the Phalmouth secondary. I urge you to ask the governor to remove the Falma secondary, extend the shiny sea bikeway, and support construction of a new track in land. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Anyone else for public comment? Okay. If there is not, we'll proceed to the consent agenda. I will read out the various matters. If anyone uh on the select board wants to hold the matter, please uh please let me know. Number one, consider a vote to accept a
donation from the Ticket Civic Association in the amount of $600 to the Veterans Department donation account to be utilized for purposes of supporting Falmouth veterans in need. Number two, authorize the town manager to file
applications and execute agreements for SRF loan for Great Pond TASA phase 1 sewer project. Vote to ex vote to execute a sewer system infrastructure easement between the town of Fmouth and the owners of 32
Pearl Lane. Number four, consider a vote to appoint the Falmouth Elks Lodge number 2380 nominee Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth S. Sweeney as representative to the Veterans Council Committee. Five, consider a vote to appoint the Veterans
of Foreign Affairs nominee Ahmed A. Mustafa as representative to the Veterans Council Committee. [Music] Number six, consider the approval of a letter of support for H3391,
an act relative to government surplus. Government surplus supply. Hold. Hold. Okay. All right. Uh, other than number six, which Mr. Richardson has asked to hold, do I have a motion to approve the
consent agenda? Motion to approve. Second. Is there a second? Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I I Okay, Mr. Richardson, you've asked to hold number six, consider the approval
of letter of support for H3391. Yeah. the uh the only reason uh I'm holding is I wanted to first commend uh the advocates for this bill for the outreach they've done to us and to other members of uh local and state boards across the Commonwealth and to Representative Mopley uh for his
leadership. Uh it is a terrific bill. I know he's worked closely with the inspector general on it. Um and I I just wanted to to commemorate everyone who's encouraged us uh to support this bill uh before approving it. Um, so with that I I make a motion uh to consider the
approval of the letter support of HR 3391, an act related to government surplus supply. Okay, we have a motion. Is there a second? Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second with respect to the approval of a letter of support for H3391. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor?
I. I. Okay, thank you very much. We will now proceed to public hearing and I'll ask Vice Chair Goldstone to read the public notice. Colin Reed must recuse himself. Okay. Mr. Reid is recusing himself.
Mr. Chair, I am having an issue with my agenda software. Do you have the hearing notice in front of me? I believe I do. If you can wait one section. All right. Hold on.
Uh, can you There you go. Okay. Thank you. All right. All right. Public hearing notice. The Fmouth Select Board will Please, please sit. If you're going to have conversations, please take them outside. Thank you. The Felmouth Select Board will hold a
public hearing under section 240-14.8, 8 wetlands regulations of the zoning bylaws of the town of Falmouth on Monday, July 14, 2025 at 6:45 p.m. in the select board meeting room Falmouth Town Hall that has been amended to uh
senior center um on the application of Woodsole Oceanographic Institution for its complex for waterfront access to for to exploration and research or seawater project which will require dredging and filling in connection with the replacement of the existing waterfront
dock. Construction of a new waterfront building and associated site amenities at 86 Water Street Woods Hole area affected is Great Harbor. Interested parties may review the file on this application at the office office office of the select board per order of the found select board.
Thank you. I just wait a moment while Mr. Johnson Stab gets everything teed up for us. I have no idea what the password is. That's unfortunate. Um I need to find the password. Sorry, I
don't know the password. a minor delay when we're in an odd spot. Okay, I'm going to be I need to be in the palette. [Music] Oh, I see it. I got it. I got it. Thank
you. Right. usually doesn't go to sleep. He did. Yeah. All right. So, this Yeah, I think I got it. This one here. And you can use the arrows or the All right. We apologize for some
technical delays here. We're not usually here at the senior center. So, uh so bear with us. Uh Mr. Johnson, do you have any comments with respect to this hearing to lead us off? Um just very briefly this is a big complicated
important project not only for the Woods Hole institution but for the Fmouth community in the region. Uh and there was quite a bit of work done at the conservation commission in connection with this project and these permits. Uh
the town did hire a consulting engineer to do an independent review and there were some adjustments made to the plan based on that process. Um, and with that, I'm happy to turn it over to the Woodsole Institution. Okay. Thank you. Please introduce
yourself and floor is yours. Thank you. Uh, my name is Rob Munir. I'm the vice president for marine facilities and operations at Woodsole Oceanographic Institution. Uh, I'm going to introduce the project and I have my team here with me, Liza Cox and Dwight Dunc. Uh and um
this is a project that has been before the board several times uh over the last several years and it's about the redevelopment of our waterfront. Uh and the specific ask tonight is a is about the wetlands uh special permit. Um the
town has supported this project in the past. We've gotten two Seapport Economic Council grants uh five or six years ago that we partnered with the town that allowed us to conduct feasibility studies about how this project might be undertaken. Uh we did then have been uh
involved in the design work and the permitting work and we're at the very tail end of the permitting process and so hopefully tonight will be one of the last final steps uh to get there. And also want to introduce Mike Barrett who's in the in the uh audience with us.
He's our project manager and I mentioned Liza Cox and Dwight Dunn. So tonight we're going to talk a little bit about uh just a little bit about who we most of you uh know us pretty well. So just a little bit of background there. Uh then Liza's going to give an
overview of why we're here about this special permit. Uh and and also indicate the permits that we've already achieved. And then Dwight's going to talk specifically about the details of the wetlands uh permit and the impacts and the mitigation efforts that we have. As
this project is critical to our mission, as Peter mentioned, uh it really is an enabler for us to have access to the sea, which is how we do our business. In other words, it's the infrastructure that allows us to take ideas and tools
and people from our laboratories to see. And this is the the primary interface that allows us to do that. And this project's been going on for a while. It has evolved. It's going to continue to evolve. Uh as I'm sure you're well aware, we're in the midst of a unusual time relative to academic and
research funding. Uh and so we've had to adjust how we're approaching this project previously and now we're going to continue to do that. Uh particularly in light of funding and the ability to get the resources to do this. So our approach is going to be a phased approach which still falls under within
these uh permits that we've achieved. So last two permits tonight uh the uh wetland special permit and then will be before the zoning board at the end of the month. So a little bit about who lots of words here. We're a research institution. We
do research. We are engineers. We conduct operations by going to sea and we have an education program uh most notably a joint program with MIT for PhD in oceanography. Our business model is we're independent, we're private, we're nonprofit uh and we uh our revenues come
from uh competitively awarded uh grants primarily from the federal government which is why we're in a very unique and interesting and challenging time frame. Uh culturally we are entrepreneurial in order to allow us to to operate with that model. We're what's called a softmuddy institution which means that
all of our researchers have to raise the funds in order to do their work and the infrastructure and the administration really provide the tools for the researchers to do that. About 1,200 employees 450 affiliates so a total population of around 1500 which makes us
the second largest employer on the cape uh next to the uh the hospital. six academic departments. I mentioned the joint PhD program with MIT and a very large operational component which is what I'm responsible for which is the operation of ships, underwater vehicles, all the tools necessary to uh take our
work to sea. Our annual revenues are about 350 million in and 2024 2025 was looking on a similar trajectory although that it could be uh could be a little bit different by the time the year end comes because awards of grants through our normal uh awarding agencies have
slowed. lots of economic impacts to our community and to the greater Massachusetts and southeast New England area. A little bit about the uh site itself. This is a kind of a bird's eye view looking from Seawward. Uh we are talking
about redeveloping this waterfront area. Uh one of our uh ships is tied up there. It's the Neil Armstrong. Uh it's a general purpose research vessel and it's typical of the of the vessels that come. Uh that one we operate. There's another
one called the Atlantis that we operate and then we get a lot of v visiting vessels from all over the country. And then there's specific uh elements of the waterfront that are also about conducting research right there on site test well. We have autonomous uh vehicle uh laboratories
uh and we and we really do a lot of research right there on the waterfront. So in addition to being sort of this interface with getting to see uh it is a site for research in and of itself and as everybody knows Woodsole is an incredibly unique place. We have 70 ft of seawater right in this uh very small
harbor. So it allows us to bring you know global class research vessels in and out of our of our home port. The buildings are that are shown there in the background are research labs, shops and places where our work is done. Uh
and all of this is in our long-term plan to be redeveloped. Why do we have to do this now? Uh this is a 56 year old facility. It was a designed for 50-year design life. It is deteriorating. We're still functioning at it. uh but we need to be replacing uh
it for the for the next for the rest of this century and and build in for the kinds of work that we anticipate doing over the next 80 years as well as to address uh things like sevil sea level rise and climate impacts. So this project seawater is called the complex
for waterfront access to ex exploration and research a plan view this is what's there existing now what's in shaded in blue is the existing dock and you can see that the bis the building called which was the one in the background on that photograph is half on the dock so
once we have a dock project we have a building project and so that it really cascades into the notion of redeveloping our entire waterfront when we're all done, which could be end of this decadeish. Uh we're going to have the new dock and
we're going to have a new series of buildings. The buildings, you might note, aren't going to be on the dock. They're going to be adjacent to it. And we'll be planning into the design our ability to respond to uh sea level rise. So, this is sort of the the vision for the endgame. And we see this being done
in a series of steps, a series of phases. And the first phase is the the work on the dock, which is really the purpose of tonight's discussion. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Thank you, Rob. Good evening, members of the board. For the record, my name is
Eliza Cox. I'm an attorney at Latanzi Spalding and Landrith in Orleans, and I've been involved with this project um for at least the last five years uh to assist during the permitting. Um, I wanted to uh just take a moment following Rob's uh general overview of
the project and before I introduce uh Dwight Dunc from Epsilon to walk through the technical aspects of the wetlands work that are within your jurisdiction, um I just wanted to take a few moments to orient you as to what we're looking for and why we're here this evening. Uh,
as was indicated in the public hearing notice, um, Hoie is seeking a wetland special permit pursuant to section 240148 of your zoning bylaw. The, uh, triggering requirement for this special permit is the reconstruction of the
dock, roughly within its existing footprint, and a small amount of dredging that's proposed at the West Berth. Um we uh respectfully suggest to the board that we think this project is eligible for the requested special permit. Uh this project has been very
thoroughly and thoughtfully planned and designed over a long period of time to minimize impacts to the wetland resources and also any environmental impacts to Great Harbor where it's located. Um it also includes uh appropriate
mitigation for the impacts which uh Dwight will highlight in just a moment. Um before though I turn it over to Dwight, I just wanted to uh update the board uh regarding the permitting that's occurred to date for this project. So both the landside work and the wateride
aspects of seawater have been uh thoroughly and extensively reviewed by numerous boards before we arrived here this evening. All of which have jurisdiction over different aspects of the project. Um to date every permit that has been requested has been
granted. Uh this slide shows those permits. So at the federal level you can see we received recently from the US Army Corps of Engineers a section 404 Clean Water Act authorization. Um at the state level, we've received approval through the Massachusetts
Environmental Policy Act, um from Massachusetts D for chapter 91 licenses and also water quality certification approval for the proposed dredging at the town level. As uh was indicated in the introduction, uh this project
undertook a very thorough review by the town of Falmouth Conservation Commission where the uh commission did hire a peer review to uh review our design. And as uh Mr. Johnson indicated, uh changes were made as a result of that uh review process. Um ultimately the conservation
commission issued an order of conditions approving the wetlands aspects of the project. We've also received uh from the planning board uh site plan review and special permit approvals for uh mostly the landside aspects of the of the development. um here tonight of course
for the wetlands special permit under the zoning bylaw and as Rob mentioned at the end of this month we will be before the zoning board seeking a special permit for uh aspects of development within the flood plane. So at this point I'm going to turn it over to Dwight and then happy to answer any questions that
you may have at the conclusion my glasses. Okay, great. just um we're my name is Dwight Dunca, principal with uh Epsilon Associates in Mayard in similar to Eliza. We've been working on this project for about five years with with
HOIE. Um securing all the environmental approvals that were just identified. Um it has been a very thorough review process to date. Um and the work that's within the harbor um which in the
conservation commission world we call it land under the ocean. Um we have dredging at the um west and that primarily is uh rip wrap and boulders that have sloughed off the boulders that were placed the rip wrap that was placed
50 or so years ago. Um that is uh abutts the existing bulkhead. So, it's to remove those boulders and some of the other debris. Um, so it's about 420 cubic yards, uh, 4,800 50 square ft of
area that would be dredged. Um, the bulkhead needs to be replaced. Um, it was identified that there's been an order of conditions and an amendment to the order of conditions. The original order, the bulkhead was going to be replaced outboard of the existing
bulkhead. Um upon further review and evaluation by the uh design engineers, it was determined that the replacement bulkhead could be um installed inboard a landward of the existing bulkhead. So some of the work uh and fill that had
been approved by the conservation commission went back with an amended order uh seeking an amended order to remove that uh fill. Um and then the uh bulkhead will be replaced in kind and in place. Um and and overall the um project
results in less fill in in the uh in the harbor because some of the realignments of the bulkhead. Um there's a notch a triangular notch that juts out into the uh channel that will be removed in some of the realignment for the small vessel
port. Uh so we have you know actually a reduction of fill that was uh historically placed in the harbor. Um we have a reduction in uh the number of piles because of the change in the design and um and there is illgrass on
the east and west birth that we um observed when we were doing our marine surveys. Uh we worked closely with uh the division of marine fisheries and the US EPA to develop uh an avoidance and mitigation plan uh for for that eel
grass. Um jumped ahead of myself a little bit. So, we have the eelgrass. Uh we also have time of year restrictions um because of the winter harbor, winter flounder that um that use the area. Uh
we've worked with the division of marine fisheries and um there's a time of year restriction. That means there's a period of time which no windwater work is allowed uh to avoid having sediment uh turbidity uh generated that could smother eggs. Uh but one of the options
that we can also do because it's a large scale uh project is to install the silt containment devices outside of the time of year uh when there would not be any fish or egg masses in there and then the um work can can occur um in board of
that containment barrier and um you know so that's the the use of the silk curtains and the debris. Um so o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o over overall I think the project results in um like I said le less fill within the harbor and we've um received
all the uh approvals and the mitigation plans that have been accepted by the state and federal agencies. Miss Goldstone, Mr. Chair, uh excuse the interruption, but um I'm going to recuse myself from discussion on this issue out of an abundance of caution regarding perception of conflict of interest.
Okay. Thank you very much. Um so uh thank you for Mr. Chair. This is um a special permit. So, we actually need four out of five votes. [Music] Can only be so cautious. Um that's a pickle.
Yeah, certainly. I was going to mention that. I thought that that would I wonder if that was going to be an issue. Um, okay. I'm going to try to get more on the phone, but I don't know if you want to take a fivem minute recess or take up
another item. Yeah. You know what? We're going to uh we're going to take a fivem minute recess. We're going to try and contact the town council with respect to this. Uh I'm personally not absolutely sure that vice chair Goldstone has to recuse
herself, but that's her decision. Uh but we will take a fivem minute recess. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Uh, as you can see, Vice Chair Goldstone has uh has rejoined us, so uh I will turn it over for to her
for a second. Thank you. Um, and again, apologies for the interruption. Uh, uh, my husband is an employee of Woodstoll Oceanographic Institution. his employment is not uh related to shipgoing operations. Um I recused myself out of an as I said an abundance of caution of perception of
conflict of interest after consultation uh with town council. It was deemed that there is no actual conflict of interest and uh my husband and I will both be filing uh the perception of conflict of interest paperwork following this meeting. Um and uh with that I hope we
are able to proceed. Well, yes. Thank you and thank you for your consideration uh and uh and your thought about about the issue. Council, do you want to any more comments or uh that that concludes our presentation, but if the board has any questions, we'd
be happy. Yeah, we'll see. Mr. Chair, I just wanted to um could you ask folks to uh silence their cell phones just because a lot of people came in. All right. We had asked at the beginning if you would silence cell phones. If any of them are going on, please uh please silence them. Thank you.
And Mr. Chair, I do actually I do have a question. Yeah, please, Mr. Richardson. Uh, thank you. Um, so you did mention um ability to react to sea level rise and I think the group that studies the ocean is probably equipped to that. Um, but I was just wondering what you know, what does that look like if you know at this
time not only sea level rise but you know worsening storms as well. I am concerned with its proximity over the water. Um, thank you. Yes, thank you. Um so our plan is to uh initially uh to be able to raise the level of the dock a total of four feet
over the lifespan of this uh facility and we would do it in stages uh based on the experience with sea level rise. So initially uh 2 and 1/2 ft and then uh as you experience severise an additional foot and a half. So we're going to be building it that to allow us to be able
to to go in these series of steps. So that's the basic premise. Uh and then when the buildings are built, they'll be built uh with a extra ceiling height so that in the future when we add to the deck level, we still can do our functions uh with the that higher deck. Thank you.
So what do you think is the life expectancy of this? We dealt with 50 years and we're here in year 56. You know, what do you see as the useful life of these improvements? So from an engineering perspective uh we're engineering it for an 80y year design
life and obviously that will be somewhat dependent on the experience with sea level rise. If 4 feet turns out to be sooner than that then uh we could be have a shorter design life or service life but we we were designing it from an engineering perspective for 80 years.
And one of the reasons is 50 years went pretty fast and it's taken us almost five years to get to the point where we are right now where we're getting close to be ready to do construction. Plus the technology is much improved that allows uh these types of facilities to be built for longer time spans.
Okay. I just I just want to mention that I thought the mitigation attachment that you you know submitted is very helpful and it's you know we expect that you know an organization such as Woods Hole would would be uh aware of those things and we would certainly appreciate it.
Anyone else? Miss Goul? Uh two questions uh if I might. Uh the order of conditions from the conservation commission as I read it extends for three years. Uh will that be an issue with the construction time for the project? Um,
no it won't. We have worked with the conservation commission. The um state law and the bylaw allows for ongoing allows for extensions. Uh, the conservation commission does one-year extensions. So, we um have discussed this with um the commission and the and
the natural resource department that we will be seeking um extensions to go forward to allow this work to proceed. Out of curiosity, will we be seeing you back here for each of those extensions or is that an administrative extension through the conservation commission? Yeah, uh great question. So, it's a little confusing. Um your special permit
falls under the zoning bylaw which has different uh provisions as it relates to the validity of a permit. So, the conservation commission permit requires you to complete construction within that period of time. Zoning permits require you to commence construction within that
period of time. And then there's no end date on the zoning permit once you've commenced construction. Excellent. So our our hope is that we wouldn't be coming back to you frequently for extensions of your permit. Great. My second question is with regard to uh the green space that's built into
the plant and how that will be ex or if it will be accessible or how that would be accessible to the public uh given security concerns when when ships are in port. So the uh green space that is shown on the drawing is uh allows us to eliminate
some green space on the other side. Uh and uh the ultimate goal is to have public access. Uh but as I showed you that sort of fully built out uh drawing, you know, that's sometime in into the future. And so that will be time
dependent and sort of phase dependent when that ultimately gets uh gets finished that part of the project. We're still going to have a secure uh access which is actually seawward of that where that green space is shown. Okay. Um the whole green space is the green
space idea is benefits from the new buildings and the new and the opening up of that aperture between the community center and the new building area. So that's, you know, a little bit down the road in terms of timing. Uh, but we still will have a secure uh location
seawword of that. So that's just a shift in where the gate is. More or less where it is now. Actually, that green space is actually on the shoreward side where the parking lot is right now. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Doc. Mr. Brown. Um, so I'm
curious about the uh work plan, the phase, is there going to be a phase approach with the dock first and then the building or the one thing I'm getting at is will you secure funding for the entire project before you do demolition? I'd hate to see you get halfway into something and have some rug
pulled out from under you. Uh we were in line for some very significant federal funding up until about six weeks ago. And I think you can all sort of surmise uh what may have transpired that caused that to change.
So I think we have to uh we are looking at ways that we'll phase the project to make it so that we can afford it in each of the phases. So what I would have I would have answered that six weeks ago and how I answered that tonight are are somewhat different. Right. Um we're not going to get ourselves into
a position where we start construction without sufficient funding for what the particular goal is for that phase. So in all cases we will be able to start and finish the phase that that we start based on uh funding that we've gotten in hand. That's a that's a uh a hard
criteria I've been given by the board of trustees. You know we have to have the money in hand before we can dig. So it would be the dock first and then see about the bill. Yes, it is dock first. Uh for sure. Uh, and if you you've been around long enough that there was a uh a time when we first looked at this project that we
thought we would do the buildings first uh and then take the docks down, but uh that that was a over well over a hundred million dollar project. Uh and so we ratchet it back to say okay we have to focus on the most urgent thing first which is the dock because the dock is the thing that is beyond its uh service
life. Uh and so we are in a dock first approach. Great. Thank you Mr. Richardson. Um, as you see, we got about a quarter of the village of Woods Hole uh in this room uh tonight. Um, there were concerns related to traffic
related to a different issue, but I was wondering with the construction pro plan for this, will work be done in the offseason. I'm concerned if work is done uh in the summer season and the on season we're going to see issues like we are right now with a different project.
That was a setup. Um the plan is to do much of the work on the dock from sea. So bringing most of the material in, but we're certainly not going to be able to do everything without bringing equipment in by by
land. And so there'll be a certain amount of congestion associated with it. Um we haven't really developed the full construction plan um and because we're actually sort of refining exactly what we're going to do first. Um, but we clearly have to have in mind the whole
issue of traffic and how we will and we've done a traffic study somewhere along the way. I can't remember what the exact uh details were, but looked at how we might uh do the construction process to mitigate that. Thank you, sir. Yeah, that would be very helpful to have that type of a plan in place and we'd
appreciate that. Uh, anyone else on the board? Anyone in the public have any questions or comments that they'd like to ask the applicant? Miss Bumpus and then Miss Le So I'm Katherine Bumpus. I'm president of the Woodsville Community Association
and I'd like to thank Jack Richardson for his question because um I've been following this project since the very beginning. I've spent a lot of time with Rob and Liza on it and others. We've seen changes. We've seen um much
more public access was offered in the beginning and things have have come about and things have changed and I very much appreciate Rob's comments that most of the construction will happen from the water side. Um, I hope the town
continues to encourage them to do that as this project moves forward because as you can see, a project that's off to the side of the village which is causing a lot of problems is causing a lot of problems and doing something right in the middle is going to be even harder.
So, um, I understand better than most people their need for a new dock. I completely support it. Um, but I do think there are going to be a lot of hurdles and it will take a lot of good communication to keep it moving in the right direction.
Thank you, Miss L. Can you hear me? Uh, I I think you have to come to the microphone or we'll bring one to you for the FCTV. Thank you so much. Uh, my name is Judy Ler. Um, I'm a citizen of Woods Hole and
I also run the Woods Hole Film Festival. Um, my office is also directly across the street from where this project is going to happen. So, I very much support this project. I know it has to be done. I wish it could start now. Um, I know
they're anxious because it really, you know, implicates the future of Hoie and it implicates the future of Woods Hole. But I would ask um I don't know if it needs to be in a permit, a special condition or something, but that a very
detailed and wellthoughtout traffic plan um for during the construction period be attached to whatever permit is given so that when we're all talking and things happen, we're not just relying on our memory. We have something to look at.
And I think would benefit the community to have that kind of planning happen because that kind of planning should be required for um projects of sign of of significant impact regardless of what kind of project it is. So that's my request.
I don't know if that can be attached to this. Well, we we'll discuss that, but thank you for your comment. U any other comments? Uh, seeing none, then I'm going to uh have a motion to close the public hearing.
Uh, one more comment. Uh, or can I comment after you close public hearing? No, I can't. Um, can we add that to uh the traffic ban? Can we add that on this application or will we wait for a further time? Um,
my my preference is Peter, do you want to add? Yeah. So I I think a you know a traffic requirement is probably more relevant in connection with a planning board special permit than a wetland special permit. I'm not I'm not sure it's really gerine to a wetland special permit.
Thank you. Not a lawyer. Yep. No, you know, I think the applicant has heard us. I think they're certainly uh you know their their reputation and and willingness to work within the community of Woods Hole is uh is is
pretty evident over the years. So I am sure that they will develop such a plan and uh hopefully and and mitigate any of the traffic uh issues. So uh I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing. Mr. Brown second.
Okay. All in favor? I I Okay. Oppose. None. Uh okay. Any further discussion amongst the board with respect to the application? No. No further comment about it. It's something that needs to be done and I think they've got everything in order.
Okay. Just say I appreciate the amount of work uh with our conservation commission with uh state officials uh to work out the mitigation plan and all the details of this because um it's a lot. So, okay. I I agree and I commend them for a
very good and thorough presentation. So, okay. Ready for a motion? Is anyone prepared? Can someone make a motion with respect to the public hearing? You have the motion. I'll make a motion. How's that for uh that the board approve a special
permit pursuant to section 240-14.8 of the zoning bylaw for its complex for waterfront access to exploration and research pen seawater closed pen project which will require dredging and filling in connection with replacement of the
existing waterfront dock. Construction of a new waterfront building and associated site amenities at 86 Water Street Woods Hole in the waters of Great Harbor consistent with the application filed here too. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any
further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I opposed. None. Unanimous. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. For your final copy of this presentation. All right. Thank you very much. Okay. Okay. The next order of business
is to discuss concerns regarding traffic congestion and other public safety matters related to the Steam Ship Authority Terminal Construction Project. Mr. Johnson, stop. Would you like to tee us up here?
I would be happy to. Um, so the uh the the board and the town manager's office have received a number of concerns from residents of Woods Hole about the traffic situation in
connection um with the construction at the steamship authority. Uh the town has taken some actions to mitigate that. The public works director retained a traffic consultant um who made some
recommendations which the town has implemented with respect to relocating some Jersey barriers. And um the the citizen group SMART also initiated uh funding for a police detail for the
summer period to help to mitigate the traffic. Nevertheless, we continue to see some uh you know, some real challenges in the neighborhood with respect to the project and its impact on traffic. And we invited tonight uh the
uh director the um executive director of the steamship authority to participate in a constructive dialogue about what further actions might be considered uh to help mitigate the traffic during the construction process. Uh yeah, thank you. Just a little
background. I think um the board was considering you know sending a letter to the steamship authority expressing those concerns that uh that many of us have and uh I suggested to Mr. Renshaw that he extend an invitation to Mr. Davis to
come before us uh and and speak with us rather than sending a letter and and just letting it uh lie there. Mr. Davis uh graciously accepted the invitation to come here. We appreciate you being here this evening, Mr. Davis. Uh I just want
to preface it by we've gotten a lot of emails and I know there are a lot of people in the audience that are concerned with this particular issue uh that's on the agenda and many other issues. Uh the discussion tonight is going to be limited solely to the
traffic, parking and safety issues resulting from the construction of the terminal. Uh, and you know, not nothing else is going to be discussed tonight. Uh, I'm also going to permit some public comment, but I'm going to request that
that public comment not be duplicative and that we don't have a people coming up and saying the same things. We've heard you. We know your concerns. That's why we're here tonight to have a constructive dialogue with Mr. Davis and the authority to see if we can make some
improvements going forward while the construction project is is going forward. So, uh, with that, I'm going to ask Mr. Davis to come up to the podium, uh, along with your staff, introduce whoever you'd like to. Okay,
Mr. Chair. Yeah. Okay. I think The second item in a row here is what is it? Where are you?
Do you see it? Is it trying to get to the folder? I know. There we go. I'll let you watch. So again, thank you, Mr. Davis, for
coming. I'm anticipating a discussion, you know, by you and your staff. You know what we're concerned about and we'll have the opportunity as board members to ask some questions, get some response, and then we will allow some limited public comment. Uh and um we
we'll go from there. Okay. Um first off, I'm Bob Davis. and the general manager of the Steamship Authority as most of you know. Uh with us today is Peter Jeffrey, our board uh member from Felmouth. Uh along with Mark
Eson, our COO, Allison Fletcher as our director of shoride operations and Sean Driscoll as our communications director. So I want to thank the board select board for inviting us here tonight to discuss the concerns regarding traffic and safety matters uh at the steamship
authorities Woodsole terminal. As you know, the reconstruction or as you may know, the reconstruction of the steamship Woodsole terminal began back in 2013 with the initial feasibility study. At the time, staff had had
identified that stop gap measures to address the physical condition of the facility uh was not prudent in the long run and that a larger reconstruction project was necessary to address the vessel bursts. It all started with the vessel bursts.
As a consequence, it was quickly determined that the existing terminal building would a not withstand construction around it and b interfere with the slip uh alignment. In June 2014, following multiple public
meetings and presentations, the then Felmouth board member Katherryn Norton moved that concept E be approved and the board voted unanimously in favor of that. Concept E with some uh approved modifications along the way is
essentially the project that you see now. With that being said, what we're here today is to discuss the traffic and the safety. And it's been a situation since physical construction began in late 2016. The safety of our patrons, employees,
and visitors has always been a priority. While we were able to cordon off the construction zones for the slip reconstruction in the earlier phases, doing so uh doing so during the terminal building reconstruction presents its own unique challenges.
While the contractor has a defined limit of works zone, that zone is in the middle of the terminal property. To adjust our operations to create a safer environment, the steamship authority has
where there we go. Uh we worked on rec uh repainting crosswalks and and defining new crosswalks at our property. We created uh a new designated pickup and drop off area um for for um people
in ride share and and the like. That's behind the the temporary terminal building. We extended the pedestrian safety zone that's in front of the temporary terminal. We segregated the bike path on the Steamship Authority property by
installing jersey barriers to minimize the conflict between pedestrians and cyclists in motor vehicles coming from the back lot. Uh we added a golf cart to be able to move mobility challenge patrons around.
Uh we're currently limiting the intercity buses Peter Pan and PNB to only one bus on the property at a time. We we uh assigned a designated location for the CCTA bus on steamship property.
Um there's been occasions where we've been able to use the back uh back uh back booth and that gets five or six more vehicles off Calgary. And we have a planned repositioning of the entrance booth uh that will allow u
our buses to be able to go around it uh without interference with the uh construction fencing that's there. Uh we've been adding additional directional wayfinding. We've added a number of police details,
both state police, environmental police, and the town of Falmouth. We've been ramping up our uh customer communications. So weekly e-newses are sent out advising of no standby. It's reservations only. And this was something that we did back in the fall.
We went to a reservations only uh in anticipation of uh with the construction uh zone where it is uh to do reservations only. No standby. Our reservation confirmations have been modified to include more detailed arrival information.
Emails are being sent the prior day um shortly afternoon uh to vehicle reservations uh reminding the customers of the arrival times and that there's no standby. That's approximately 2,000 a sentent each day. Uh the variable message sign that we
have on route 28 Maca Boulevard is changed to have a message that no fairy parking in Woods Hole. Uh and the sign at Palmer A lot is indicating no fairy parking in Woods Hole. So, um, another another, uh, issue that
I didn't put on the slide here is that, uh, we do have on our website, um, on the front on the homepage a banner that reads, "No parking is available on site in Woodsole terminal." So, um, again, I want to emphasize that the safety is a top priority for everyone at
the Steamship Authority. Uh the the steam the terminal is currently a construction zone as many transportation facilities often are but it is a temporary condition. By this time next year we expect a new terminal to be open and operational.
While the other site work will follow most of today's current concerns should be addressed once that construction is is over with. So, with that, be happy to answer any questions. Uh, before we do though, I'm just going to ask Sergeant Oliver if you would just
come up and give a little bit of an update on on the police details down there and how that's working and then we'll open it up to some questions from the board members. Good evening. I'm Sergeant Oliver with F Police Department. Uh I'm head of the traffic
uh group and we have started using some of the embarkment fees for details down in Woods Hole. Uh we've been having two to four officers a day down there helping with moving along traffic uh along Lusk Water Street, Railroad, A and Crane. uh officers have been down there
trying to keep the loading zones clear and also uh keeping traffic flowing in the manner that it needs to. Uh a big issue they've been running into is a lot of the the ride share dropping off, taking up the loading zones. So, it's a constant battle between trying to allow for people to get dropped off to make
the boats they need to and keeping traffic flowing. Um they've been doing a pretty good job with that. I feel uh there have been quite a few tickets issued for uh people that just blatantly will not move when we tell them to. So, they're working in a good direction. Uh we're hoping that I actually spoke with
the steamship just before the meeting about some technology they could possibly use to help move their line along faster. Um so, I'm going to bring them next door after this meeting and show them uh some of the handhelds that our parking attendants use, hoping that will help speed up their processes. And what are the hours of the details,
Sergeant? Uh, so the chief has actually gave kind of a wide range. Uh, he's allowing them to start at 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. depending on what the officer wants to do. Uh, the 5 a.m. ones would be more to be down there during truck enforcement and for the freight boats and everything like that to watch for
idling and for people parking before the uh, meters kick on that are using handicap placards that shouldn't be. Uh they're also so they're starting between 5 and 8 and then there's another one that starts between 12 and 3. So and they're an 8 hour detail.
Okay. Thank you. Uh okay. I'll open it up. Mr. Reed, do you have any questions or Mr. Brown? Whoever wants to go first. Well, I have a couple. So Mr. Davis, it's I seem to recall that there was a discussion about staging at Palmer
Avenue during the construction time. Does any of that planning materialize? Am I right about that? Was that something that was offered as a solution? Yeah. So, that was something that we were looking at um as a as a possibility. We're also looking at it in the event of a of a storm or where to be
staging uh the customers that have been displaced by cancellations. Um right now we're actually uh looking at um because of the use of the the Palmer parking lot for parking. Um we were considering whether it uh it would be out of Katama
lot that we lease out there or not. Uh it depends upon the severity of the storm and the number of cancellations that we would have. Um that it we want to keep that as flexible as as possible. Uh and then also I remember um Mr. from
Malcolin at one of your meetings said that during uh the height of summer that construction on the exterior phases would be halted and you would just work on the inside. Was that just a thought or I thought that was the plan? No. So for the other phases of the
project, we did limit the work to being in the offse from um uh September 15th to May 15th or the roughly in that that time frame. uh in order to try to um minimize and
accelerate the the terminal building um because the shell of the buildings were going to be done before the summer season, we were going to allow uh the contractor to continue work inside the building on the basis that there'd be no large pieces of equipment coming and
going. And so they they do continue. They do have electricians, plumbers working on the on the utility building which is on the south side of the property. Um the stone um the stone exterior on that I believe at this point is completed. They're working on the the
metal um uh the metal siding that's that goes on that building. That building will be done by the end of the year. Uh we'll be able to occupy that building. Um, so the work that's being done right now in the terminal building, which is in the middle of the property, they're limited to the work being with inside
the construction fencing. And whether we had them working or not, that construction fencing was going to stay there. And so we're able to accelerate the overall uh time timeline on the completion of this uh significantly by allowing them to continue to work
through the summer. Do you see any opportunity to uh implement that staging plan where you could park more people at the uh Katama lot and then have more opportunity to stage people so they can go directly down and into the boat
rather than waiting in line and try to get to the ticket office. Yeah. So the issue with the staging and one of the things that our you know our terminal people re report and Allison can as a former agent down there will can attest is that there's a significant
amount of people that regardless of the highway signs that we have out there or the sign at Pomeav on where to be parking. People ignore that. They want to come down. They want to see if they can they can get parking. So there's a significant amount of people that come down to the terminal just to park and we have to turn them away and we keep
trying to you know what we can what can we do to try to eliminate that our website mobile uh mobile website signage on the highway signage uh signage there. We're looking into uh whether we can get additional permits to put uh some additional variable message signs up on
MacArthur Boulevard as well to try to get the um you know get that message across to people that there is there is no parking in what's for steamship authority operations. The sign says no ferry parking and so we don't we're hoping that sea streak and island queen
and high don't come down and try to park but um it is for our customers. So Mr. Chair, if I may. Yeah. Are you Are you done, Mr. Brown? Yes. Oh, okay. So, yes. Follow up off that. First, thank you all for being here. You have a
job perhap with more public reception perhaps than most politicians. So, I applaud you for taking up your work. That being said, based on that comment, do you think that the issues with traffic are more due to people looking for parking in not responding to your
requests? Is that what you believe is the issue? That that's an element of it. It's not the only element. Um we are looking at the the construction zone whether we again whether we were doing work or not that would have stayed in place. The agent
the terminal manager um have looked at that and they have the same amount of staging area that they previously had before that building was in place because we were able to move some some of the other areas that we had designated for passengers um
next to the temporary terminal building. Um, so the parking parking is one issue. We're also looking at our schedules and um the u the arrival times of a couple of our vessels. They're 20 minutes apart
from one another. Um we feel that that may be causing a problem. So we're looking at the sailing times to determine whether we could move one of the sailings by even 5 minutes. That may be, you know, uh provide some relief as well. So, we're looking at that, but we have to look at what does
that do in terms of harbor crossings and what what happens there. So, um it may with the the four vessels that we have running right now, we may may be able to do that, but we we still haven't vetted that fully.
Good for now. Yeah, I'm I'm uh I guess first question, I'm still back on the construction because I would swear that I've seen multiple times construction only interior during the summer in order to alleviate congestion on the site. Um it
why is it not possible to to do that to to keep the construction interior uh for the next six weeks um as we we get through this this peak season? Yeah, at this point the the construction is limited to inside the buildings or they
were actually just finishing up the roof and but it's within the construction the con the construction zone that we've that we have designated. I mean I I will mention that there have been reports that notwithstanding that there has been construction that was
going on on the exterior, but uh you know we'll take your assurance that that's not going to be the case going forward. big season with the rest of the season. Yeah, there was some, for instance, on a utility building, they're installing the the windows on the second floor of that
building. Uh but that again was within the confines of the the construction zone that we we had uh worked out with the contractor uh beforehand. Go ahead. Yeah. Um do you have any sense of how
many ride shares are are coming through and utilizing? It looked like two or three drop off spots. Um, yeah, there's four uh drop off spots plus two handicapped accessible spots behind. Um, I'm not sure um Allison as a former
agent may have a better sense as to and it it all depends obviously uh whether it's the commuter boat uh trip coming back in the evening. Um there's quite a few um that utilize a ride share, but there's also um the ride
shares will just come down and I don't want to use the word loitering, but they'll sit around without having customers hoping that someone coming off the boat go, "Oh, I need my Uber. I need my lift go in. They'll see that their pickup could be right there in two minutes." And they grab them that way.
So, we do have a lot that are in the area that are constantly just driving around hoping to pick up somebody, not the ones that are actually have someone already picking up. So, those actually the ones that don't already have customers are actually causing more of an issue for the ones that do have customers because then they can't do their pickup. So
yeah, I guess with with um transportation to get get folks from the parking lot down to Woods Hole uh by the shuttles, um I'm wondering how necessary it is to to have ride shares, dropping people off as well and and that additional traffic. I've also noted more
than once um people doing their own ride shares, if you will, um uh in the road and and I don't know how that's handled in the inside the parking lot if people are coming to to drop off. I was down there earlier today actually down in Woods Hole and there was a couple gentlemen down there that had their
iPads and they were sitting there and they were organizing ride shares for people. They were just they had other cars in the area just circling around and then when someone needed it, they'd call their friend in to come pick up and go from there. And I'm sure that's not really helping out with the traffic in
either. If I may, have you tried to engage with the ride shares to try to develop some type of a program that would minimize the effects? I mean, you know, the steamship authority benefits certainly from the ride share
opportunities for its passengers, right? And um you know, I do think there's some responsibility on the part of the authority to help alleviate this problem. So I'm just curious if there's been any outreach to the ride share
operators about the problem and you know early on at Logan you know when this whole ride share thing started you know they started talking immediately with central location figuring it out and so forth. So just wondering we our agents on duty they do work
fairly well with the ride share especially the ones that have pre-arranged pickups and drop offs. um it's the ones that are down there trying to find that last minute pickup drop off that seems to be the ones causing some of the congestion on the property and we've tried speaking with some of them.
Um unfortunately it's not always the same individuals and it's not like you're dealing with a taxi company where you have that one central dispatch that can deal with everybody. It's it's kind of a freelance on your own thing. Um but you know they have been working with them as much as they can and for the
most part they've been slightly receptive towards it. So and I do actually have a comment uh customer feedback from um one of them. So I'm going to be getting back to you probably tomorrow. So So thank you. I mean is it fair to say that you understand that this the steamship authority has a certain
responsibility with respect to this ride share issue and the traffic and the congestion? Yep. Absolutely. Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. more question or more more comments than questions. Again, I'd like to echo Jack's um Mr. Richardson's thanks for
you coming out here. I think fostering better communications is absolutely necessary um especially given uh the sensitivities involved on both sides. You being here is a good first step. I think we need a continued um emphasis on
that and commitment to that from the steamship authority. We receive hundreds of emails uh from citizens but not so much from you. So I think it would be helpful for us to have a renewed commitment um and have you have regular communications and better
communications. You outlined nice ones here. I think uh a step up for the community would be great. A joint traffic flow study uh might be helpful here uh beyond what we've already done. And then I'd like to piggyback on the
ride share. Uh, airports have figured it out. I don't know if it's in your long-term planning, but ride shares aren't going away. Four stop, four parking spots probably are not enough. I think in your long-term plans, we're going to have to have some kind of
holding lot for parking. Um, within your confines where we can get these people off of the road. given the fact that my office is on Water Street. I'm seeing these folks just plug up an already plugged up area because they don't know
the area. They don't know how to get through the pie in the sky uh area. They don't know how to properly do a three-point turn to turn around where legal. Um so I would emphasize figuring out a ride share opportunity. And since we're only talking about
traffic and parking, we'll leave the other questions there. But Jack, so if I may, um, in the in the final, you might need this rendition of the terminal, it's not going to be after the terminal building. It's going to be there's a one more phase that comes after in which we are
going to be installing a uh a bike parking area for close to 200 bikes. Um, and then working on um the corner um over by um slip three on the northern uh portion of the property. Um, but as as
part of that, there's I want to say there's 15 or 16 pickup and drop off locations uh in the final design. So, we we are this is a temporary condition right now that we're limited to the the four plus the two handicap ones in the
final design. It's somewhere in the 15 or 16 uh spots that we have. Are are those in the back of the tournament where where they are currently? It's going to be expanded back there. So, there's going to be a combination. There's some that are going to be on the south side of the staging
area. Um, uh, that will be um there's six or seven there. And then on the north side, uh, adjacent to uh the the bic uh the bike parking area, uh, there's seven or eight spots there um
that we have that we have designated for pickup and drop off. Could you lift the mic just a little bit just in case how it's getting through? Sorry. Yeah, Mr. Chair. Yeah. Um, Mr. Richardson, thank you. Uh, we're not here to discuss
and we will not discuss the 530 freight, but I I've just looked at a video of multiple trucks passing a stopped school bus uh before the 530 freight trying to make it. Uh I've received from multiple people serious concerns about the speed
of some of these vehicles entering the village uh earlier in the morning. What steps are you looking to take to mitigate that uh portion of the problem? Well, again, this a little off track, but we do any vehicles any uh customers
that have a reservation for that 5:30 trip sent a notice on as to the arrival time as part of that. It's uh requesting that they adhere to all traffic laws and um I fully encourage Bmouth police or
the state police to you know cite those site those individuals because you know that's not acceptable and um I'll leave it at that. We will be discussing later this evening a letter with respect to the 530 uh
ferry you're free to stay around for for that discussion. Um uh I'm going to ask Mr. McConny, I know that uh there has been a suggestion with moving some of the Jersey barriers possibly to alleviate some of the problems. Would you uh you know just want to spend a
moment or two and you know tell us what your anal analysis shows with respect to that? Peter and maybe it's something that the authority will consider. Peter McCanny, director of public works. Um yes, we as was uh noted earlier that
uh we had a traffic uh study done by a consulting um company and what we did is we reestablished the intersection of Laskam and Railroad A with the Jersey barriers. I do believe that one of the barriers up where the bike path opening was moved once or twice but they were
put back into place. So our intention is to leave that the way it is. it does keep the flow on Luskam and Railroad um to flow better. And well, we have noticed and I think the uh police can confirm is that there are a lot of Ubers
that still park on that corner. Um and I think that the police push them along when they when they see them. It's just a bit it's a busy area with the oneway of Luskam and a oneway of railroad. It's a busy area with the park vehicles, the automotive place, and the uh the
restaurants. It's uh it's just very busy in that area. So, we intend to keep those jersey barriers up. I know that Mr. Wrenchure had mentioned possibly moving them two feet onto the asking the authority to allow them to be
moved 2 feet on to give some more uh access for bike and pedestrians. Yeah, I I apologize. I was talking about the Jersey barriers on Lascom Railroad. I wasn't clear in what I was asking. Yeah, the J the the Jersey barriers that are on steamship property um a bike path
a typical shared use path is um minimum 10 ft wide and that allows for 5T in each direction for for uh for bicyclists and pedestrians rollerbladers to pass each other down there. We've taken some measurements of the area and there was
seven to eight feet. So, um if those barriers could be moved further south 2 feet to put the the the edge of the um barriers that are on the bike path uh opening to the yellow line is basically
four feet instead of putting the back edge of the barrier on the yellow line. If they can put the front edge of the barrier on the yellow line, that would allow for 10 ft. And um I do believe that there's there's area down there to um be able to have the vehicles bypass that other area. I believe that there's
jersey barriers down by one of the construction trailers that might need to be shipped over two feet if that moves over. But a typical shared use path um is 10 ft and typical of our bike path it's 10 ft. Um in some areas it gets wider but minimum is 10 ft.
Okay. As a design standard. You know we certainly appreciate the authority considering that as a as a possible uh remedy for uh for the bike and pedestrian people. Thank you. Uh, anyone else? Mr. Richardson,
I have uh one more comment. Um, just I think it would go a long way for the community. Just an acknowledgment that to some degree the uh construction in this season has had an impact on the traffic. I think that would go a long
way with the community. Would would you be willing to make that acknowledgement? I think in ter in terms of the construction, yes, we've had to adapt our um method of operations on the on the terminal and um there's a learning curve. I think we're getting better at
that and keeping keeping it moving. If I just may, in terms of those jersey barriers out on the corner on Railroad A, I think they were the ones that were moved was because our buses actually hit them and moved them and then our people used a forklift to put try to put them back into place. So, um, and then as for
the but the jersey barriers along the bike path, I believe the the, um, the lease I'll have to go back and look, but the lease for the back lot required it to be an 8ft path, not a 10 foot. So, we'll have to look at that. All right. Well, we'd appreciate you considering it. Thank you.
Um, okay. If there's no more comments from members of the board, as I said before, I'm going to have public comment. It's going to be limited to 3 minutes per person. And I'm going to request uh that uh that that you honor our request that that the comments not
be duplicative and that they be specifically related to the construction project and the conccomatant uh impacts on uh on parking and traffic uh in in in Woods Hole. So uh I know there are a
number of people probably want to speak. So queue up at the middle mic maybe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If you want to queue up at the at the middle mic and uh sir, you had your hand up first. So go ahead. Excuse me. Thank you very much. I'm
happy that you're here because it's the first time we've actually had an open discussion where you've responded to questions. Anyway, I'd like to point out that you've made contradictory statements. Doug actually Doug Brown. Could you identify? My apologies. Damian Kler Woodall.
Okay. Been a resident here since 47, long before the Steamship Authority had it enabling act. In response to Doug Brown's uh question, you said contradictory there would be no construction outside the building, but then you converted it to no construction
outside of the construction site, which is the fence. Those are two entirely different and contradictory statements. You have a crane inside the the fence working on the roof, but you're that's is that inside the building? No, it's
inside your chain fence. That's not the same thing. Entirely different. If you remove the fence, which you could do, you'd have much more space. The other is you started by a rosy picture of how much excellent work you've been doing, such as putting up the sign which says
no ferry parking in Woods Hole, Steamship Authority. However, that sign only changed yesterday. All of your state opening statements sound like you've been working on this for decades. However, all of the actions have been really taken only very recently. Your
learn, you talked about a learning curve. Your learning curve seems with the traffic seems to be almost flat. You're just now getting around to figuring out how to deal with this. So, where's the learning curve? We're facing this massive problems. I was went
through the uh site the other day. It was chaotic. There is no You might have put down yellow lines, but there still chaos there. Still danger. I'm not impressed by the u the actions they've taken there. All too little, all too
late. And they indicate that there's been no forethought in how this project was going to be done. And in a $und00 million project, you'd expect much more to have been done. you just referred to you'd prefer an 8-foot, but we just heard that appropriately should be 10
foot. Your persuasion seems to be contradictory to helping the community solve its problem. And if unless you have uh good in access to and from the Uber or parking lot, having x number of
slots will not help when they have to drive in back out. It's going to be a slow and chaotic process. Thank you very much. Thank you. I I I think what Mr. Davis said was that the the current agreement required an 8ft uh 8ft path, not a 10-ft
path, but that they will consider possibly uh making some changes to that. But thank you very much. Yes, ma'am. You All right. Um thank you. Um and thank you for letting me speak. Becky Lash,
resident of Woods Hole since 1977, summer kid before that and teacher at the Children's School of Science in Woods Hole since 1977. And my big concern, I mean, they're huge
concerns villagewide, townwide, but mine that I'm going to speak about has to do with safety. We have children from the ages of 7 to 16 and we run classes for 6 weeks from 8:30 in the morning until
4:30 in the afternoon. Ever since forever, our classes have visited Juniper Point with buckets, nets, binoculars, saves, all kinds of things. We've gone
to out to the airplane house to the Meeks. um air uh Mig's Beach, Crane, um Toad Rock, Vine Pond, and our latest absolute favorite collecting spot is at
um right next to the Coast Guard and it's a town beach. It's town property. It's a very small beach. There's a little floating dock out there and lots and lots of awesome um marine
life there. So to get there from our school, I've asked the teachers to stick with the crosswalks, which is always a good idea anyway. So to get there, they cross a crosswalk here and then a
crosswalk there and then a crosswalk there and another one there and then another one there. and they're walking through that really, really incredibly dangerous congested area. Now, we've
been doing this maybe since 1913. Um, and it is feeling quite dangerous, not safe. And yet these are
some of the only great field trip sites within walking distance that we can still visit with various changes that have happened in Woodsole with construction and private property. And um we had an incident
last week where one of the classes, seven, eight year olds, little kids, nets, buckets, teacher, um two teenage assistants getting over there to go to Coast Guard
dock. They call it Coastg Guard dock even though it's a town dock. And there were a couple gigantic trucks trying to make some kind of strange turn um because they obviously couldn't figure out how to get to where they
needed to be. Big trucks. The kids said really big trucks. And so there were two of them and they were trying to get past each other and trying to turn and get out or something. And all of this was happening where the kids were right
by the Coast Guard dock. Need to ma'am, I'm sorry, but you're three minutes up. We're going to have to conclude. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. I just want to remind uh anyone who is recording this uh session,
I I believe someone in the back maybe. Can you please identify yourself uh so that we're aware of who's recording the uh the program? Hi. Yes. My name is Eric Hines. I'm a Woods Hole resident in the summer and I
was just recording this. I'm a member of the board of the Children's School of Science. How many people here know about the Children's School of Science? How many people here love the Children's School of Science? I'm sure we all do. It's very important. And so I want to
use my time to continue uh what Becky Lash was talking about for the children. This is something that has come to our attention this summer. Okay, this is related to the construction project and only the construction project. We're not talking about other issues that have been going
on in Woods Hole with respect to the authority for years. I will say that right now we're talking about well you you uh Becky ran out of time and she was talking about the trucks that were parked on Juniper Point and she was making the point about the unsafe incident that happened and we've had
children taking walking tours of Woods Hole for 112 years and this is the first summer that teachers and assistants have come to us to the board saying that it doesn't feel safe to be walking around the town and so we are coming to you and asking not only that you think about
what's going on in the SAA property, but that you think about all of the overflow traffic that's happening on Juniper Point specifically and on School Street. And I'm here to make the point that this is directly affecting the children that Becky was talking about. And I just want to put an emphasis on that. Thank you. I
I could assure you that we are aware of the issue. We're aware of the concerns. We've spoken among ourselves about possibly even uh possibly having a meeting down in Woods Hall to hear some more of these issues that are longstanding with respect to the
community. But tonight is not the night to have that discussion. So this is a question about safety related construction of the terminal. So it is time to have this discussion right now. Absolutely. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Had his hand. This gentleman over here, please. He's
been waiting. Yeah. Well, I deal with all the other day. My name is Adam Me and I own Felma Taxi and it's been a company in FMA since uh what 1943. So, I do have an issue with your poor parking spots in the back. I get more
calls than that from each boat a day. I can't even get to the back of your ticket office. The line to go over the bridge to get to the back not happening. the Ubers are crowding down there because the simple reason is the only way they get a ride is if they're the closest one. That's how Uber works. It's
an app. Whatever car is the closest to where that person is looking for a ride, that's how they get it. That's why they're going to be sitting there. That's why they're going to be walking around. That's why they got an iPad trying to stand as close to your boat as they can. It's ridiculous. Um I mean, I
have accounts with Martha's Vineyard VA, Council on Aging, this and that. I have nowhere to park. Josh Oliver. The officers down. They got to do their job. I get it. I'm not following as much as I can because I'm not going to drop off an 80-year-old woman at the top of a hill
and tell her to walk. I'd prefer he write me a ticket. I'll fight it in court and waste the court's time, too. But it's ridiculous. Your barriers you have here, you showed in your picture your nice crosswalk. You didn't show how those berries went all the way there. Well, you have your bikes right now.
What happened to the 7 ft to the right when you guys first built your dock? That was my cap stand for 60 70 years. But did you guys give them the land? Cuz where those barriers are, if you move over 7 ft, that was a cab stand in this
town. Let's see. I've been at FA taxi 30 years. I've owned it seven. Disappeared when you built your new dock. Where is it? Simple fact is it's not safe. I pick up veterans that are missing limbs, people with disability,
and seniors who can't even make it to your back parking lot. I have not seen your cart. Ask anybody for a ride. Sorry, it's not happening. But I can't even get to the back of your building. So, where do I pick people up? Pie in the sky. Yeah, I'm part of the problem. Sorry, folks. Clogging up your street a
little bit. Cuz you guys don't give me access anywhere. You guys blame the police. The police tell the town. I've been to you twice, didn't hear back from you. So, you're just as responsible, right? Been to your office twice, we
talked once to you. So simple as this isn't a solution. You guys haven't come up with anything for safety. But if you're telling me in a 80s something degree heat with humidity, an 89y old woman should have to make it all the way from the boat to a parking lot. And if those four species are filled up, how
far back does it go? It keeps going ways, doesn't it? Correct. in the in the back parking lot. If I have to stage up back there, it can go back a ways, right? You It's only for our permit holders to park in the back.
I need a better solution. I am actually not an Uber or ride share. I'm a licensed company in town of Felmouth. I pay fees to the town to have a license. I pay for my meters to be done. I have my drivers go to the police station every year to get fedally fingerprinted,
a law you guys made in this town. I need help from you. Okay. I asked you if like on Main Street we have a peg nun park is a cab stand and a commercial loading zone right there next to the lead side. I just want to sign for a little while so I can safely pick
up seniors and veterans and disabled people. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Ma'am, thank you. Please identify yourself. [Applause] My name is Suzanne Kofer. a longtime resident or
uh came to Woods Hole for many years and now I'm a resident of Woods Hole. I have a message from the Steamship Authority Citizens Action Group on the vineyard. They have more than 130 members and they
have written some comments, but I'm going to paraphrase them in order to meet your request to just talk about safety. Thank you. Okay. So, that makes my comment very short, but they support. So, this is the group on the vineyard.
Yes. And it's it's reasonably new and we're it's just heard about it the other day myself. So, welcome. Okay. We're very happy to have allies that are using the ferry on a regular basis and have come to understand over
time um what the impact of the ferry service is on the community. and they mentioned trying to solve the problems which we've been talking about for quite a while and expanded hours would not be
a solution that would work um it to mitigate the safety issues or the congestion. And we'd like the steamship to find ways that work well for both the Woods Hole Fmouth community. People even
as far as born need um your assistance and stopping the congestion and the problems which will also be there after the construction. But in any case, um we do have their support and we talk to them
and um if you want to talk to them further, I'm sure they'd be happy to certainly appreciate the uh the support of the people on the vineyard with respect to the issues that we're facing here in Woods Hall. So, thank you,
ma'am. I'm going to take uh three more comments. And uh my name is Mary Musakia. I live at 12 Wilson Road. That's where I have my home and I have been here before to address this com board. But I wanted to start
off by saying and reminding everybody historically the enabling act is for the necessities adequate transportation and necessities for the island. And we've gone far beyond that. The construction exacerbates every
problem that is going on in Woods Hole. So the traffic, it's not just parking. It's not just people circling, which they shouldn't have to do. It's not merely the four spots that have been put behind a building that every time I go,
which is about twice a day, they're empty. They're not used heavily. Why? Because anybody who wants to use them for dropping off or picking up, isn't going to sit in the line all the way back to Little Harbor while they're waiting to get in there. So they're just
going to whirl get into town and circle. So a lot of the things that you're doing, while I can appreciate that you think they're helping, they're not. They're not making any difference whatsoever. The sign out on Highway 28, I came down from Sandwich 3 days ago.
That sign is way out on 28, which is good, but there needs to be another sign and another sign because you're looking to modify behaviors and there needs to be not little signs that are 3x3 or 2x two. And this Palmer Avenue sign needs
to be a big sign that really says stop, go no further, no parking for a ferry in Woods Hole. And so the steps that are being taken aren't really solving the issue that is happening in Woods Hole partly because of the construction, but
really let's talk about the obvious. Woods Hole is a small physical space. There is no more room. And yet we have been expanding ferry service for decades now. And I've been coming since 1952. So I've
been around a little bit of the block. And that's the problem. You can't keep trying to put this many people, this many cars in this space. And construction is just exacerbated and put
a bright light on what's going on. and this board. When I begin to think about the safety issues, cuz it's traffic and safety that we're talking about tonight, those children on the bike path, my grandchildren wishing to cross right
there at Luskamman Railroad, that is a disaster waiting to happen. And everybody in this room knows that. And so therefore, everybody with authority has a responsibility and a potential liability if something happens to that
intersection because it is known. And narrowing the bike path when everybody knows they need to be wider so bikes can go in two directions, that's a safety hazard that was created for all the pedestrians and the bicyclists trying to come in or leave Woods Hole on that
path, children and adults alike. So again, I appreciate that you're trying to do things, but this is really a day late and a dollar short on everything that should be being considered here in
Woods Hole. We have so much going on. So I'll wrap it up, but these are things that you all have a responsibility to this community. You said safety was number one for your employees and your visitors. I note that the community was
not involved in that statement. The community isn't your safety in interest and you've exhibited that for decades now. That the community is not your concern. You'll say it is and I know you will, but it's not because your behaviors speak louder than your words.
Thank you very much. We're going to take two more comments and then uh and then we're going to just uh conclude. So, okay, Donna Hammer's Woods Hole Road. Um, thanks for being here everybody. I took a ride on the ferry boat the other day to Martha's Vineyard and it was a
wonderful experience, but um I am very concerned as a employee of the French bakery. I ride my bike along the bike path and then it is so narrow and it's a curve and you're trying to get on the bike path or come off the bike path and other people are coming on. You crash
into each other. There's pedestrians coming from the ticket booth that are trying to decide if should they go to pie in the sky or go to the French bakery and you we're crashing into them. Um, and then where we have to bring our bikes to park our bikes, we have to go
into the road because the there's no ramp on the sidewalk. And then we have to fight our way through the traffic and the buses and the shuttles and the pedestrians and the barriers and then find this little narrow entrance into
the place that where the bike um place is. So, it's very dangerous and confusing. And I am a m a music teacher in the village and I really care about the children. And I have witnessed elders trying to get to the boat and barely being able to walk and I actually
came right out of the bakery and helped a lady and went into the ticket booth and got a wheelchair for her. Um it's just really cons concerning. Um customers come in and call it death alley. So I hope that we can all make better
improvements. Thank you. Thank you. One more comment. Judy Ler from Woods Hole. I'm here both on personal my personal behalf and the Woods Hole Film Festival. So, I'm not going to repeat comments that other people made and I sent you um earlier
today. Thank you. Thank you. Um, but I do want to point out that this board has the authority and I hope that you will use it to request and require the steamship
authority to give you proper planning to give you a safety plan that actually works on behalf of the community that we that we live in. They may not have the capacity to do the type of planning that we want. Therefore, it's incumbent upon
us to tell them what we expect and what we require. And that plan needs to include everything on the site, but also the impact of what's happening on the site of the community immediately around it, but the greater um town of Woods
Hole of Felmouth as well. The other thing is, you know, as somebody who has a business on water street in Woods Hole, we are greatly affected not just by the safety issues that happen on the site, but the perception that Woods Hole
is a different difficult place to come to because of the traffic problems that they've created and that our nothing is really happening except when the police are there um to solve that. We are a small nonprofit. The Woods Hole
Film Festival starts um not this Friday, but a week from Friday. If people think they can't come to Woods Hole, that puts us out of business. All the businesses on Water Street I know um and not just Water Street in the village experience
the same deficit due to the lack of planning, foresight, and care about those of us who live and work here. So, I'm here to request that you as a select board uh continue this conversation, demand to
see proper planning, demand within a very short period of time to have something implementable that can solve this problem right now. We can't afford to wait for their construction. It's our time that matters, not theirs. Thank
you. All right. Uh Mr. Davis, do you have any concluding remarks? Uh At this point, we appreciate your being here. You've heard the community. I'm sure you've heard them. And hopefully this is the start of that constructive
dialogue that we do want to have. My understanding before my time that the general manager did come along with the representative, the Fmouth representative, and speak to the board on a regular basis. I hope that your
successor once he or she is in place will will make that a uh you know a regular course of business because I think we can certainly make some progress if we have a constructive dialogue and listen to the community and
try to make some improvements. So, but thank you for being here. Appreciate your time and if you have any further comments otherwise we'll conclude. Thank you for inviting us. Mr. Chair, I I would like to have one more. Sure. Chance before we close. Well, then go ahead.
Okay. So, Mr. Davis, uh, given some of the comments about the construction zone and the cranes and all, do you see any opportunity to make that area smaller and improve your staging, improve your ride share access? Anything that you're taking away from this meeting that you
feel like can be implemented right away? Yeah. So, so the construction zone itself, uh, even if the the fence was pulled back, there would be, uh, needing paving and is still doing, um, the underground utilities and things like that. So, I I don't think that's
necessarily an option that we that we have in the next couple weeks. Uh, we'd be happy to work with the town in terms of uh, pickup and drop off area. There used to be a spot on Luskam that we had um allowed for that to occur on our property, but with the with the
barriers. So, not not you. I just didn't want discussion out there. Please go ahead. But we'd be happy to work with the town on on that if they if they feel that that's a a better situation to instead of having them circling around. Well, I'm just, you know, thinking back
to the comments that we heard from Mr. Malcin about curtailing construction during the summer. That's what we were anticipating. And so now we're not seeing that and we're getting to the crisis point here. right in the middle of summer, these businesses are going to be suffering and looking for some
relief. I just wonder, can you get creative? Can you come back to us with some some things that are going to change in in terms of the whole construction schedule? Um, again, it something we we'll look at
again, but uh I don't, you know, at at this point, I don't see that there'd be um what the benefit would be, whether it'd be a noticeable benefit at all other than prolonging the construction period into the fall of 2026 instead of
the finishing up in uh May of 2026. So, I'm not asking you to stop everything. I'm just saying that if you can think of some creative ways to improve flow. I mean, the traffic flow is is worse it's ever been this year. And it's just it's not just a coincidence that the
construction's going on now. It's just I mean, there's got to be some relief that you can come up with. There's got to be some creative solution. I know you want to continue construction, but can you modify the site somehow to improve the flow? is I'm just looking for some
kind of suggestion what you've got here tonight. Yeah. Um you know again anything that you know we've been trying to you know um adapt as I said or earlier um we had in anticipation of this we wanted to go
to a reservation only to try to minimize the number of vehicles coming down at any given point in time trying to get into standby to get on an earlier boat. Um in the past we've only had that on um reservation only on weekends. It's now
at this point it's 365 days a year. Um so um but continuing trying to get the messaging out in terms of um you know where to be going for for parking and um again I know the terminal manager works
with the construction company to make sure that you know they're keeping um you know out of the out of the operations end of it uh as much as possible. I don't know whether we can continue to try to work a little bit closer with them in terms of uh assisting that. But
and is that uh pushing those barriers back to create that ride share maybe on the side of Luskum? Would that be something that would be a creative help or the taxi? No. M. Yeah. Can can Mr. Yeah, sure. Sergeant,
you can use the middle mic if you want. could use the steps though. You know, it's the winter weight's still on. Um, so as far as the Jersey Bears go, where the parking used to be for the cab stand. Um, it worked when you had people that actually parked down there civily and parked normal. The issue is with the
ride share programs, they started stacking in and parking backing into it to fit more cars in there for the ride shares. This then in turn put the vehicles out into the roadway causing an unsafe condition for the vehicles that were trying to travel around that corner. Um the only feasible way that I
see that we could do that is where they have the bike parking now. The old taxi stand used to actually run into their property there and it was off the road and in their property and separated and didn't allow for the vehicles to stack up in the roadway. if we could go down there and possibly look at the the site
itself and try engineering something into that area for the ride shares, which would then put them coming out in front of slip three, right? And they could then exit the property, keeping them on the road by pushing the barriers back, we're going to run into the same problem with the Ubers. As soon as the officers leave the area or their
staff leaves the area, they just stack up however they want and we're going to keep causing that same traffic pattern if we do that. Okay. Thank you. I'm afraid we're finished with public comments, sir. If you have comments that you'd like to submit to the select
board, please do so and we'll take them under consideration. But we really do comment right now. Well, you'll have to send it in writing, sir. I'm sorry. Any more questions? Why are you eliminating comments? Everybody came out tonight and you
really limited the comments. I don't respect I think we've made it, you know, as open as it possibly can be. We have other matters that we have to discuss. Uh and uh you know we're going to cut off comment at this point. You're free
to submit comments to us and we'll take them under advisory. Something very important from this today. Cut them off. No sir. No sir. No sir. Thank you. Thank you. It's part of the agenda is concluded. Thank you.
Thank you Mr. I can do anything. [Music] Want to take a two-minute recess to clear the room? We're going to take a fivem minute recess. Please leave the room. Take your comments and discussions
outside, please. I'm glad we had the discussion and uh I think it was very uh very helpful for us to hear the concerns of the residents and I urge any other residents who want to make any statements please send them to Fallet Select Board and they will be
part of the record and we will take them under under uh under advisement. So, uh, the next matter is a report of the affordable housing committee. Mr. Garrison, if you will, everybody. [Music]
So, Chair Mscali and members of the Fmouth Select Board, my name is David Garrison. I'm the chair of the affordable housing committee for Felmouth. I thank you for this opportunity to make a few comments about our committee's work. You have my written summary for of our committee's
activities the past 12 months. But in the spirit of our of your newly reconstituted board, I thought it might be useful for me to focus on several aspects of the affordable housing challenge we face that I urge the board
to consider. First, I should acknowledge the strong and shared commitment each member of the select board has professed to addressing our town's serious lack of affordable housing. Our committee's role is to identify opportunities for the town to
expand its efforts. And I congratulate the board and the town manager again for authorizing and funding increased staff capacity in the housing coordinator's office. The pos the position being posted now is only part-time, however, and we are
convinced that it needs to be made full-time as soon as budget resources permit. The ability of housing coordinator Kim Fish to successfully manage her expanding, everexpanding workload will depend to a considerable extent on the
opportunity to delegate assignments to her assistant. Kim is doing an excellent job and she receives invaluable support and encouragement from town planner and community development director Jed Cornac. But Kim needs a full-time assistant.
Essential to the town's ability to encourage and enhance the flow of housing projects with deed restricted units is having sufficient resources in the Falmouth affordable housing fund to provide the critical subsidies required
to fill part of the inevitable funding gaps that these projects must address. The housing coordinator reports that there's about $4.5 million in the Fmouth affording affordable housing fund at the moment. If the town agrees to subsidize
uh the one project that's in the works and another one that's about to be formalized, the balance in the fund will soon be down to about 1.9 million. The next influx of resources is nearly a year away.
At the current $150,000 subsidy per unit ceiling the town is using the 1.9 million balance could support about a dozen units. Meanwhile, our housing production plan target each year is for 80 units.
We need more money in the fund and soon if we are to have any shot at getting to this annual target. The key to keeping our momentum of approved projects up is having regularly
recurring revenue sources such as the annual transfer funds from the hotel, motel, and Airbnb tax receipt buckets. These two sources have amounted to less than a million dollars a year. Clearly, we need other such recurring
transfers. Last year, the town sent a homes rule petition to the state legislature asking for authority to establish the real estate transfer fee with receipts to go to the affordable housing fund. The legislature failed to take up the a
general authorization of transfer fee programs for all municipalities in the state last year. We should remind our state legislators that Falmouth needs this additional tool and needs it soon. A real estate transfer fee could bring
in upwards of a million dollars in some years and thus would approximately double the annual flow of tax receipts into the fund. Mr. Richardson, I gather every once in a while you bump into the senator. I hope you mentioned to him that we're still on that case.
Next, the board and the staff need to seriously consider seeking a waiver to allow Falmouth to be named a seasonal community. I know there are some key decisions the town would have to make once the regulations are finalized
before asking for a waiver. At least on paper, this new program promises access to a bundle of useful tools and resources, and we need all the help we can get. Happily, the town is now moving forward with the development of RFPs for the
four town parcels that this board and town meeting authorized be made available for affordable housing. There are more town parcels that could be released for this important purpose. We urge the town planner and this board to keep at the process of bringing
forward other properties, especially parcels that can accommodate either either or both rental and home ownership units. Now, of course, the affordable housing problem is a regional challenge, not just limited to our own town boundaries. The discussions going on between the
joint base and the town of Borne about the possibility of making a large area available up there available for housing including a number of derestricted units is an important opportunity for the region and for Fountain. I know the town manager's office uh sits in on these
discussions and I'm confident that we are expressing our support. The select board should be sure to stay a breast of these discussions and weigh in when doing so can be helpful. Now, last but certainly not least, I should note that there are a number of
organizations in town, including the Fmouth Human Services Department, that work together to address the needs of homeless and disabled residents. Progress has been made in setting up systems to address the housing and social service needs of this population,
but much more needs to be done. The effort of these organizations are perpetually underfunded, often relying on herculean armies of volunteers to carry out programs for folks in need. As we all work on programs and projects targeted on
families and individuals at 60%, 80% and 100% of area median income, we must not lose sight of how we're dealing with those with little or no income. So, thank you for allowing me to share these thoughts with you tonight. I'm exceedingly grateful to the board for
its support and encouragement of our committee, and I'll be glad to answer any questions. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Garrison. Mr. Chair, yes, Mr. Riches. Thank you. Um, I will let Senator Fernandez know. As you know, um, you
know, when I campaigned for the seat, one thing I said, uh, after every one of these, I'm just going to simply ask, what would you like us to do? Um, you had mentioned the real estate transfer fee. You know, we can provide letter support for that. Can't actually do that. But what other steps beyond funding would you like this board to to
take? Well, I I I I'm not for for me anyway, it's all about resources because in order for us to make progress, we need to get the scale to do larger undertakings and for that we need money. So, I don't see any way to go at many of these programs if we
don't have taking on these issues unless we have resources. So to me it's about resources and and until we're serious about the resource question um much of the rest of what we do is going to be at the margins not producing enough to make
a difference and and we have to make a difference. This problem is going to eat us up long term. Um this not just Felmouth but all across the Cape and and you all know that. So, um I'm I'm looking for action that that moves
us along more quickly and for that we need resources and this is the board that can help us with that. Thank you. Yeah, Mr. Garrison, uh lovely to see you here. It's been a joy working with you
previous to my uh uh election here on the slug board. Uh appreciate the question Mr. Richardson said regarding uh top priorities. I think you outlined four of them very nicely. We're heading into our strategic planning come September. So question, aside from your
top priorities and the resources needing, what's the best way to engage with you and with all the housing entities so that we can truly update our strategic plan in a uh cohesive consolidated way so we're all rowing in the right direction.
Well Well, Mr. Reed, you have the the advantage of having done a housing production plan a year and a bit ago, a thoughtful comprehensive effort, produced a array of proposals. You have sets of strategies which are being carried out
to some extent already by the town in year one, year two and year three and so forth of the housing production plan. So you you have the makings of a of a of that conversation already. I I I don't think you're lacking for for data or
direction. I I don't think that's where you are. But it is important, I agree with you, to to to capture the flow of that conversation on what is surely the one of the most important issues facing the town and build it into your strategic plan. That's essential to do.
But I would I would point you to the plan you have already approved. Great. If I could, Mr. Chair, Mr. Brown. So, yeah, I think you're right. Our fund is low, but also our limited number of projects is, you know, reflective of
that, but we're going to have to take our own initiative to come up with projects because now that we're in safe harbor, we're not going to have a lot of developers coming. So, we're going to have to really all work together to identify what are the next projects.
Maybe we can rehabilitate some building or, you know, we're gonna have to really get creative here. Well, you know, I'm I'm not sure that uh that that we're not going to have, you know, developers. I think we're just going to have to approach them in a in a bit of a different way and maybe in a
more collaborative way. And we have the housing work for working group that uh that I sit on, you know, dealing with some of these lip applications and so forth. So, uh, I would hope that, uh, that we remain a community that is
looking for developers to come and sit and talk with us and come up with some innovative ideas with respect to affordable housing. Well, and and Mr. Brown, the the extent to which the town is able to identify town owned parcels and puts those
forward, the town controls that conversation. So, 40B is not an issue any longer. And you can you can set terms about the number the percentage of deed restricted units across a wide range of incomes. You have a lot of uh juice there which you don't have on the
40B conversation. I agree about that. So so that's one of the reasons why we're excited that the town is moving forward in this and there's more to do. Right. Agreed. Miss Costa, you have any questions? No. All right. Mr. Richardson,
just one more question. So when I when I talk about affordable housing with people, they they see it as two buckets. Rental units. Thank you. You know, uh and and and you know, how are we going to get families here? What do you think is, you know, for me the biggest gap
we're failing to address is is we should look more into multif family home models. Do you think that's something that we can replicate here in Falmouth? And right, Mr. So there they're all towns in order to function properly. All regions need to have
enough dynamism in in their housing market so that people can come and go. They can they can move into the town. They can find a place to to rent first and then ultimately buy. They send the kids to school. So our town effectively has no rental market. There is no rental
market. It's a practical matter. So, we're missing a a major part of that story about how families are formed, how they get started, where they go first before they become homeowners. So, yes, we need to get into the rental market in
a serious way. Uh there are some big projects that are coming along in the town which are going to produce a number of units and that's helpful surely, but we need to do a lot more. And it again, it's one of the we discussed this in Felmouth terms, right? because that's
our job. But this is a regional issue. We don't really care whether the person that need that we need to work at the at the hospital as a nurse lives in Mashby or born or found. We don't care that we just want them to be able to be close enough. So it's not a long haul across
the bridges to get here. Right. That's absolutely. So for me it's this broader conversation that's but that's the reason I meant the mentioned the joint base because that's a conversation as Mr. Johnson stopotes which at least theoretically could get us to scale at least on a set of multif
family uh buildings right thank you okay thank you everybody all right thank you Mr. guarantee it. Okay, the next report. We're getting pretty good at it. All right, the next uh is a report of
the solid waste advisory committee, Alan Robinson. Thank you. Well, while Peter's getting me queued up, um let me start. Um, thank you for the opportunity to address you. Here we go. Um, Peter, um, which way do I
arrows? Oh, either either of those. Yeah. Okay, great. Um, Sway's advisory committee is now a nine member committee. We're very happy to be here tonight to make this presentation. Uh, and and to two new board members.
Congratulations and we're very happy to uh be have the opportunity to work with you. Um, we really have three elements. Who are you? Oh, sorry. Thank you, D. I introduced him when he was approaching the podium. I'm Alan Robinson. I'm chair of the solid waste advisory committee.
Thank you. Um, our roles are to take a leading role in helping the town maintain and enhance its solid waste management program to encourage sound means and methods to reduce trash tonnage by smart recycling, greater reuse, food scrap separation,
and reduced packaging. and to operate the swap shop. It's been a it was it's been a really good year and there's a lot of more good things happening. Um I put this in the past tense, but it's really it's really ongoing. I had I had a hard time
figuring should I make the most exciting biggest thing first or last? Say save the best for last. Decided to save the best for first and that is the transformation of the Thomas Landers Road Waste Management Facility. The DPW has been working on this for some time,
but the the the the velocity of change has really increased over this past year. Uh the there's now a gate house. There's now a new uh garage and office building. Uh they are very good-looking. They're in operation and it's that has
made a difference. the area of the paved surfaces both on the lower level and the upper level are so much better than they were um a few just a year or two ago. Um other improvements are going on. It's
really just you know solid advisory committee has been talking about the need for this a long time. Town meeting years ago passed approved monies for these improvements. uh with Peter's leadership and Jim Grady, it's really happening now and I know Peter was here
I bet in 2014 making a presentation about these improvements and it took a while um but it's happening and it's much appreciated and the swap shop now is the next piece of the transformation. The swap shop is starting to migrate up
to the upper level where there'll be so much more parking. will have much more space under roof. And the the pick chicks, our volunteers who uh who run the the the greatest swap shop on the Cape and and perhaps in the state of
Massachusetts are thrilled with this. So, it's a real it's a real achievement. I know that uh we talked about I talked about town meeting of having a celebration when it's ready to go. I know Jim Grady wants to get all small additional pieces together uh to have
that, but Peter, we will have that um because it's really something for you all to see and you don't have to wait. Go up there anytime you it's open and see the changes that have been made if you haven't seen them already. Um our schools are the only school district in
the state that have universal uh um food scrap composting in all the schools. Um uh Mary Reether working under you know Peter Peter's direction is working very closely with a very fast well not fast
moving but progressing uh effort for a regional composting facility at jointbased Cape Cod. Uh the county is leading it. County actually is moving on this and uh we have hopes that within a couple years there'll be a regional facility that we all can use, both
businesses and the uh the communities in the upper Cape. Um and since 2018, the town has reduced their curbside trash tonnage by 5%. And that's with an increase during that
period of population of 10%. So really, it's a 15% decrease. And we have a graph and it's I think it's it may be hard to see from here, but 2018 is an important year because the state has mandated uh that the
communities within the Commonwealth reduce their trash tage by 30% by 2030 compared to the level in 2018. So we're 5% but really when you take take into account that our population has increased by 10% or so, it's really
a reduction of about 15%. So we really are making progress on that and uh these curves demonstrate that. Other other highlights um we DPW and the solid wastist advisory committee have
introduced new means to recycle hard to recycle objects most notably uh styrofoam. We've had two full-scale styrofoam events this year uh with a third one coming up in September. And in those two events, we've collected 4,000
lbs of styrofoam. That's 4,000 lbs of nothing. I mean, just think about styrofoam. It weighs nothing. 4,000 lbs. Two trailer truckloads worth that residents over 400 residents of our town have come to these two events. And uh we also have drop off at the waste
management facility uh for for rigid plastics like trash can barrels that you don't need anymore. Um, that's something that's been introduced by DPW this year. Um, we've established a third community food scrap dropoff at East Fmouth
Elementary. Uh, last calendar year 12,196 swap shop patrons, which was a new record. Uh, and the swap shop volunteers, uh, the PC chicks were named the the the VIPs partner of the year in
support of the Clipper Closet. And if you're not familiar with the Clipper Closet, it's a program that was established by folks at the at at the high school uh for clothing and personal products and school goods for for
students who have some need and would benefit by the opportunity to have some free uh items of of very of good quality. and the stop the swap shop has stepped up and is a major uh component of those materials available for the
students and it's now spreading to the uh the middle schools as well. Uh there'll be three of them in operation uh once the school year starts. Um, Solid Waste Advisory Committee partnered with Compassionate Care ALS, which is a
locally based but regional um, nonprofit supporting uh, folks with and with ALS and people who support people with ALS in a paper shredding event as a fundraiser. Um this is the first event we did to actually with partnering with a
nonprofit to raise money for you know for the good and so that the town would not bear the cost for this. The town had no there was no cost for this paper shredding event. It was very successful. We had 80 patrons and we think it we can with more publicity we'll double it when
we do this again next May. Um, the town was again awarded a large grant from the MADP recycling dividend program and as I mentioned we expanded our committee thanks to your approval to nine members and we are all it's a very very active
community. We've got a number of fall events coming up. Um, a styrofoam event on the 13th. Uh, on the 20th is something new. It'll be our first family's first latex paint recycling event. Um, we're planning to
do it as a fundraiser in partnership with Recolor Paints and benefiting Habitat for Humanity Restore. We'll be doing this with a requested donation. We haven't set the amount yet. Um, it'll be at Felmouth High School. Um, this I
think I think all of us, almost all of us anyway, in our basements and our garages have, you know, used latex paint sitting around. people have been taking it to the hazardous waste event and it's very expensive to the to that event and to the town for uh disposal of latex
which is not hazardous. So we're doing this event we're doing it as a fundraiser and uh we think it's going to be very very successful and again it's expanding our recycling within our town and that paint will be reused. It will be recycled into paint and actually sold
at the restore. Um, we're continuing our very successful textile events that where we get six cents a pound that comes back to the community and we've had various groups from the high school that have benefited from that. And we're also
going to be hosting our first fix it clinic in October in October 18th at the library. Uh where residents can come in with uh with uh sewing machines that are broken or um lamps that aren't working
and they can get them fixed rather than having to throw them out and getting something new. But we are falling short. Our message is not reaching the majority of fmouth households. At the styrofoam events, we've done surveys and we've surveyed
everyone in as they their cars came up and we asked them how did they hear about the event and we found that 70% of the patrons learned about it from the foundmouth enterprise which is fantastic. The found the found enterprise is a treasure. They
are very very supportive of our efforts. Um but what about but only maybe a third of the population reads the subscribes to the enterprise. So we are missing a lot of people. It's not just we the solid waste advisory committee that are missing but it's the bikeways committee.
It's the it's the water quality committee and so forth. We found that um we found has the notify me system which is is a good system and potentially it's a valuable system potentially could be so much more valuable. Um, there's no
direct link to recycling events. If you log into this and wanted to find out about recycling events, um, we've talked to the town manager and I think that's something that's being worked on. Only if roughly 1400 individuals are signed up for news flashes for the waste management facility. So, we're not, you
know, when there are things that are going on waste management facility, a lot of people aren't hearing about this. um only and it's beyond this again only 2,200 people are signed up as individuals for community alerts. So we've got this
system. It's you can get onto it via the website. Um but I don't think that many people are aware of it or if they are aware of it they may have be finding it's hard to use it or they're not finding what they're doing. Um and the website itself has a wealth of information. It's been upgraded for the
for waste management but there's we you know there's I don't know how many people are using that website to get the information. So we have our asks these are our critical needs and our focus for f for 2026.
One is and these are cover a wide range. Some of the things I haven't talked about is the our our curbside recycling and trash vendor NSET has approached the town, approached the the administration and the DPW with a proposal to uh modify
the contract uh to provide for uh automated collection similar to we have for recycling and to provide c uh standardized carts. um and they wish to extend the contract additional years. I know it's there's a
a cost element to it and I know that you know the town has limits on available money but I'm hoping that the administration uh and DPW can find a way to make this happen whether maybe the carts don't happen to happen this year but by next year because I think
there'll be something that will be very much improved in terms of waste collection in our town. While we do that, we have to consider um establishing trash regulations. We don't really have curbside trash regulations and um in terms of the the amount of
trash that people put out, how they put it out and so forth, particularly if we go to standardized carts, uh we will need to have some regulations. So then again, something that that our committee will certainly work with, but work with the administration and department of public works and board of health with
regard to that. Um we we would like the town uh as you're developing the strategic the update updating the strategic plan and the comprehensive plan not only to include solid waste and solid waste is included
within those plans, but to actually have a a standalone element for government town government community messaging and engagement as a priority element of these strategic plans, not as a subsidiary element of each of the components of the plan but making making
communication and engagement an actual stand major element of those plans because I think we as the statistics we had from doing from doing those surveys we're not reaching and you're not reaching all the people that I think you'd like to reach and uh I think
that's a really important priority. Um and then finally uh we we are very fortunate. We had the our committee worked very hard for many years to get a recycling coordinator, recycling and waste management coordinator. We've got
a very good one. the role that the coordinator is filling is substantially greater in in responsibility and uh productivity than the position that she
currently has. So we respectively ask as the DPW and the administration is working on the town budget, the operations budget uh for the um spring town meeting that the give consideration
to to raising the level and the position level and the matching the salary associated with that uh for that position. We think we it's a very important position and it should be taken care of and we acknowledge and
appreciate a lot of people and a lot of organizations. Um and I won't go through this but um we are very fortunate to have be working with a department of public works that is very active is very engaged and is working very hard to uh you know make the town continue to make
the town a better place as we are all together. So thank you for this opportunity to talk to you. Thank you. Any questions of Mr. Robinson of the members? Miss Goldstone, I'm curious. I'm It's great to see that
our trash tonnage uh per capita is dropping, especially given that uh every single time we have a fabric recycling event, the trucks are stuffed over full and the
bins around town are constantly stuffed over full. given that we turned up 4,000 pounds of styrofoam like is how does Falmouth compare in terms of waste production per capita to other towns? Do do we produce
more waste overall? It's a little challenging to to come up with that number because we have so many second homeowners. Um, and so if we if we were just the the 33,000 folks who are have found those
are primary residents, we could answer that question. But if we do but but we do look at what we're doing in the wintertime where it is mostly that 33,000 and you know we're seeing a reduction. I mean the the fabric is a great example. It's mand mandated by the
state that it be recycled separately not on curbside. And uh the tonnage is about 2 and a half% of our total tonnage of waste. So by taking that out of the trash and and taking it to hand in hand
or to the various drop offs um we're making a difference there. Um, styrofoam doesn't weigh a lot, but it takes a lot of volume. And you know, those you know, any of you have who have bought something that has come with packed with styrofoam, you know, they do a amazing
job, but fills up three and four trash bags. And we want to eliminate that. And the more people who are aware of the styrofoam event, then more people will come and drop it off as opposed to dealing with curbside. And particularly if we go with standardized carts, we
eliminate the problem of overflow from standardized carts. So I think we're doing a very good job as a town as as as as residents. Um I think they're factors I think going with the larger recycling carts. It's giving more opportunity put them in the recycling carts as opposed to in the trash. But there's still
recycling getting into the trash. There's still recyclables getting in the trash. We were dinged by the state when one of our loads was dumped at the at the Bourne landfill because there were too many bottles and cans in our in our trash. So, we you know,
we're not perfect and we still have to work on improving our recycling. Thank you. Anyone else? Just very quickly, um I think a common theme that I'm hearing, this is more for our board than it is for uh solid waste, but it overlaps, which is the communication
needs of the town. Um I think we've talked independently with one another about our website and figuring out a way to either, you know, upgrade it, renew it, add some AI, do something so that we become like a Google internet search
engine for Fmouth. And I think that could really help because uh to one of your points that you made, Mr. Robinson, is that we have a combination of full-time and a lot of part-time residents and it's not getting across to everybody because not everybody reads the enterprise like we do. So, we're
going to have to tackle that as a select board and as a town and figure out the best way forward for regular communications and a sing in singular point to that. Um, I also want to commend you for just the really creative solutions that you've brought to uh what could be a very large problem. Uh, the
Fix It Clinic, uh, there's a great one up in Bedford, Mass that does it full-time, not just once in a while. My mother-in-law uses it all the time. Uh, so keep going with that. It's awesome. And then, uh, one other point is regulations are a slippery slope. I I do
understand why you want to do that, but sometimes we overregulate. Um perhaps it's a small percentage problem than a larger one. But um before we jump down policy and regulation, maybe look more at implementation um of existing policies before we create
new ones. We agree the the you know it's it can be a slippery slope. At the same time we have um in our contract with with NSET it says 64 gallons per household and we know we did and in fact we've done a
survey together with DPW and we found that I may not be re recollecting accurately but something either 90 or 95% of folks have 64 gallons or less. Um but then there's the folks that have greater and there may be re and and if
one has a policy one has a policy that has some flexibility to account for very large family size or multifamilies living together but I think it's something that would be helpful because if we try to enforce our regulation or try to enforce proper sound management
without having a regulation we may not have a leg to stand on. If I can just add one thing with regard to the communications thing, a suggestion to consider that the administration might consider, you all might consider is uh sort of an ad hoc committee, not a town
committee, but a working group called a working group with folks from the administration from it from some of the committees um and uh and maybe some of the public to look at the the the notify me system to see how we could make it
such that more people would use it and maybe make it a little more user friendly because rather you know it's it's it we've been using it um in solid waste and in notification at these events and we are finding that more and more people are getting it but just not
enough I think it's something Peter and I have talked about it a little bit um I think I think I think there's some lowhanging fruit if we work together but that's why part of the making part of the strategic plan as an explicit element of the plan not as a subset of everything else.
Thank you, Mr. Brown. Alan, I think that one thing we need to do is uh get some stickers to go on the lids of the recycling bins to say no food, no plastic bags, you know, just some simple red circles to just
universal language so everybody can be get reminded because I see a lot of plastic bags being thrown in recycling at rental properties and so forth. And it's just like I just don't get why people don't know. But if those stickers were on there, maybe that would be helpful.
Are you doing permanent stickers on their things, not just the people who are who are Yeah, permanent sticker that we can just That's a good idea. Give to every, you know, put put one on everyone. Maybe have public just put them on when they do the trash or something. I don't, you know, that's a good idea. Okay.
We probably should have got them when we bought them. Um, something we can look look to do. Yeah. One more comment, Mr. and then we're going to uh yeah, I'll just give a brief uh thank you and I I echo Colin's comment and your comment where I think that
communication along with a lot of these issues is what's a key part especially with our seasonal community. It'd be interesting if you had percentages on how many seasonal people are coming to your drives that you're doing. Uh if you have that data or perhaps Yeah, we haven't asked that question. Gotcha. I think that would be important
to notice like how how are we missing these people? My guess is yes. uh and what we can then decide on how we can better do that. But thank you very much. Okay, we do know there these are the people are coming to the swap shop. Thank you, Alan, as always and thanks for the good work you're doing.
Uh okay. Uh D, discuss and consider a vote to approve fiscal year end transfers. Mr. Mr. Johnson, stop. I'm approved. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um we're going to move forward a little more quickly here. Every year uh at the end of the year we have some uh accounts
that run over and we have a lot more accounts that are underspent. Uh we have about 140 line items in the budget that is voted by town meeting uh which makes our challenge to when we're trying to accurately predict our budget 18 months
in advance. um to not overbudget in every line item and and not have a lot of deficits at the end of the year is a huge challenge. Um this year again we have great results. We have um what the
number of transfers is about a dozen and the total amount of those transfers $325,000 represents 0.2% of the total operating budget. Uh so I want to commend our department staff and
the finance staff for doing such a great job with the budgeting process. Um we do try to overall have enough cushion in all 140 aggregate line items so that we can handle these deficits um without having to go to a town meeting for a
supplemental vote. Um so again this is a this is a great outcome and we are asking for the board's vote to approve these uh dozen transfers to settle the year end. Okay. Thank you. Any questions?
No. No. No. Okay. Someone want to make a motion with respect to year transfers? I move approval of the transfers as presented. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Uh any further discussion hearing? None.
All in favor? I I Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Peter. Um so I'm going to hold on um on the next two items. Uh and go to G discuss sewer betterment policy
for the great pond phase one sewer. Miss Low. Go talk to Laur. [Music] Thank you. Sorry, just a moment. Got to get my presentation on there.
That looks like mine. It sure does. I pulled up the wrong thumb drive. Just a moment. Do you have still have a thumb drive in there? Oh, so maybe that's mine. Yeah. She's okay. Thank you.
I need a step stool up here. Hi, Amy Lol, wastewater superintendent. Um, so I'm gonna get right into this. It's late. um here to talk about sewer betterment options. I gave a presentation about this a couple of weeks ago. There was
more there. I'm just focusing on the betterment uh this evening. Um the there are two uh betterment method options. One is a fixed uniform rate which is based on lot frontage andor area. The other is a uniform unit method which is
based on sewer equivalent units. sewer equivalent units is consistent with Falmouth's previous projects and uh better reflects the contribution of each property to the need for the sewer system because it's more tied to wastewater flow uh or water use of the
of each property. Um, as far as betterment allocation, um, the there are we're going to classify parts of the project as whether they're special benefit facilities or general benefit facilities. Special ben,
excuse me, special benefit facilities will primarily serve properties in the sewer area. And the ones that um are obviously included in that category are grinder pumps and the collection system which includes gravity sewer mains, low
pressure mains, laterals, etc. Those are in we're going to be bidding this project as two construction contracts and it and um that collection system contract is one of those two contract contracts. The other um general benefit
facilities will serve the particular sewer service area, but they will also serve future sewer service areas. Um and that includes the brick kiln lift station and the force mains from there to the wastewater treatment facility. Allocation of um construction,
engineering and police detail costs. those so those don't uh neatly fit into special or um general benefit facilities. And I'm I'm offering that there are two ways that the select board could consider those or could allocate
those costs. Option one is what I presented in the last presentation and what's actually in the tables that are in this presentation. And option one is allocating all of construction engineering and police detail costs to the special benefit category which will
then later get split in uh 7030 between 70% going to the um properties in the in the sewer service area through a betterment and 30% being paid by the town. Um the option two uh is to
allocate the construction engineering and police detail costs in um in accordance with the contract 2 cost as a percentage of the total construction cost. Contract two which is um the um
the collection system cost uh of the the gravity mains the low pressure and the laterals is estimated to be about 60% of the total construction cost. Uh so option two would decrease the betterment cost for the individual property owners
uh but it would increase the cost to the town. So it increases that distribution uh so that the town would be paying a bit more. Um so this table I will not go through in detail. I had a very similar one in the last um presentation but it
shows the total project cost and the breakdown of $60 million. And then that breakdown um by many of those line items are um we will get 25% loan forgiveness from the state revolving fund. Uh so the
total after loan forgiveness is about $47,000. Uh the cost applicable to the service area. So this this first column is the is the is the last column from the last table. The second column is this cost applicable to the service area. So
here's where we're allocating all of contract one. Um, I mean, excuse me. We're allocating all of contract one, which is the general benefit facilities to the town as a whole. So, you're not seeing it under the service area. That's a zero. Contract two is the collection
system. We're allocating all of that cost to the service area. Grinder pump procurement um is entirely for the service allocated to the service area. The subsidy is not that is allocated as a to the to the town side. construction,
engineering, and police details. Here, I've allocated them 100% to the service area. As I've said in the footnote here, that uh cost will be of course lower um if uh if you if you allocate 60% to the
um to the bettered properties or excuse me, if you allocate 60% to the service area and 40% to the town. Um, so if you reallocated that con that police detail and construction engineering cost, uh,
you can see at the bottom there that this would reduce the total cost applicable to the service area to about $30 million. Um, cost paid by abuing property owners. This t this table just shows that uh this the that if you take 70% of that
cost applicable to the property owners, you get 20 about $22 million uh that would be paid um by a betterment among those property owners. Uh here's the cost to be paid by the
town. So, um, with with that split that was shown on the previous three slides, um, the the property owners would be paying about $22 million and the town would be paying about $24 million.
Um, the resulting maximum estimated betterment, uh, so the again the total estimated total to be paid via Betterment was about $22 million. There are about 830 uh or a minimum of 830 sewer equivalent
units in that area which provides a maximum estimated betterment of $27,000 which would be paid over 30 years by the property owners um with 0% interest at which is about $900. This is an
estimated maximum because almost 19% project contingency is in this number at this time and the final number of seus is expected to be higher when we finalize that number and if as I had mentioned previously we'd applied about
60% of the construction engineering and police detail cost to this um the number there would not be 27,000 it would be about 25,000 and uh so the final number would be about $840 per year.
Um, a little bit more about sewer equivalent units. Under the uniform unit method, one sewer equivalent unit is one single family residence. Uh, multif family and commercial SCUs are based on residential equivalents.
Uh the recommendation is that we apply sewer equivalent units for the great pond area in the same way we did for all for the little pond project except for commercial properties. Uh for the little pond pond project, one SEU was assigned for each commercial use
no matter the wastewater flow or water use except for the two biggest users which were um um where SCUs were based on the flows in their administrative consent orders from the D. The suggestion in this case is the same as at my last presentation is that we base
commercial SEUs on average metered water use over the past 3 years. And that would be one SEU per 135 gallons per day. And the reason for that number is that 135 gallons per day is the average water used for a single family home in
the Great Pond sewer area. um we would have a minimum of one SEU per commercial equivalent unit or per commercial unit or property. Uh so this table is the suggested SEU allocation.
It's the same as with Little Pond except as I said for this commercial allocation. Um, in the future after the Betterment is assessed, the town sewer privilege fee can be applied for future redevelopment of properties where uh the
change a change in use results in increased water flow. Uh, so here's an outline of a potential future vote. I know the the goal is not at tonight's meeting to uh vote on this, but I wanted you to to just have an idea
of what the vote might look like. Um so the first opt first point would be to vote on the method of betterment and I'd recommend that the betterment be based on the uniform unit method. Uh and then the cost allocation. Um the costs
applicable to the service area uh I recommend include the cost of the collection system which is contract 2 and the grinder pumps as well as either all of as discussed or about 60% of based on the percentage of that contract
as a percent that whether contract to what that percent is of the total project construction project cost um for construction engineering and police detail cost and then 70% of that cost applicable to the service area will be
paid by property owners via betterment and all remaining property costs or all remaining project costs would be paid by the down town and then seus would be assigned as in that table six earlier in the presentation um betterment steps I don't think I need
to go through this because we've gone through it a number of times this is um but just a reminder of the overall steps and then I'd let you discuss it. Just one question, this little Yep. the uh the go back two slides if you
will and just the uh the second bullet point. Yep. How was that handled uh at the during the Little Pond? The way you're recommending it here, or is this different from what was done in Little Pond? Um in Little Pond, um the engineering
and police detail costs were covered. Um 100% of those were covered as part of the project part excuse me part of the betterment. So they were included in the 7030 split. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Anyone have any further questions?
I I was I'll just qualify that by saying in the little pond project there was not as big a component of the project um that was serving future sewer areas. Um, so that's a difference between that
project and this project. This project has this larger lift station and the dual force mains that will serve other future areas. And Little Pond didn't really have uh as big a a future component. Okay. Thank you. Any questions, Mr.
Brown? So Amy, the um total if we keep the police details and the engineering in, we're at 27,135. If we take them out, what was the number? Do you have that?
25,210 approximately. I mean, that's given the numbers that we have right now. That's that would be the estimate. And that is in that is again a maximum uh that includes all this contingency and a and a the minimum number of sewer equivalent units.
Okay. Thank you. Okay. U Miss Miss Goldstone. Um so can you go to the uh SEU assignment table please? So yeah, what I what I wanted to look at
again um was the multif family assignment. Um, is the multif family five bedrooms or more different than I guess there there can't be a single family uh in this area with
five bedrooms with with additional bedrooms that would would fit that same quarter of an SEU per bedroom. So we are we are defining anything that is zoned single family um or um anything that's
zoned single family a residential unit as as one SEU. So that that does mean that some properties could have you could have a single family home with three bedrooms that is one SCU and you could have a single family home that existing theoretically that has five or
six bedrooms that would be one SCEU. We're we could make this in really complicated by looking at the number of bedrooms in every single property and we are not doing that. We're focusing on number of bedrooms in the fewer in the
much smaller subset of properties that um that have uh multif family um use. I certainly understand the workload issue. I'm just looking at it from an equity issue and
thinking about the disproportionate impact potentially on smaller multif family units that are paying, you know, potentially six or seven bedrooms in a a multif family unit as opposed to a single family um where that they're
not being assessed that that add additional cost. So the multifamily is they're paying only 0.25 a quarter of an SCU per bedroom whereas the just to
put it in perspective the the average single family home often is not um it would would have fewer than than four bedrooms um and and may not be occupied as consistently. So that's a consideration
as well. Um I guess the my other question you mentioned the um the ability to use the sewer I can't remember that. Sorry it's late. Um whatever the fee is for after the fact. Um
privilege fee. The priv sewer privilege sewer privilege fee. That's the word. Privilege was the part that I'd forgotten. Um we kind of touched on this during our last discussion, but accounting for growth in the area, whether that's addition of density or development um of
additional lots. Um first of all, there's the issue of the engineering of the project to make sure that it has the the uh flow capacity for kind of full whatever full development of that area would be, but additional development in that area. How are those
is that still that same sewer privilege fee if you're adding an ADU? If you're building a new home in those areas, is that part of that process? So, the let's see,
I'll I'll start with the flow neutral bylaw applies to all sewer areas and does um to does apply some limits to redevelopment with any sewer area. Um, so for example, for single family homes,
um, it limits the total number of bedrooms to four. So if somebody's going to put in an ADU, sometimes they end up reducing their bedrooms in their existing home to add a bedroom in their ADU. Um, there is a variance process
through the um through the um flow neutral bylaw and that can be that the proponents can go and and make that case to the select board. Um, as far as charge, so uh I'm sorry, you're going to have to
restate the cost part of that question. So in I mean I think what you had put up here is that if there were redevelopment that that added bedrooms that would have the sewer privilege fee assessed at that point. If there's actually new
construction in this area, are they assessed a betterment after the fact? Is that just part of their construction costs? How is that? You can't you can't you can't assess a betterment later uh because a betterment legally is to pay for the cost of the project but you can
assess other fees or costs other fees that are related to other impacts like the impact of the additional flow on the treatment system and the the overall collection system and operation and all that. So the sewer privilege fee is intended to allow the town to do that.
Um, so the sewer privilege fee is relatively new and hasn't been applied a lot. Um, my primary thinking on it so far has been that it is um I I'm we haven't we haven't done it and
I'm not imagining it so much for adding a bedroom. The the idea is that the flow neutral bylaw is intended to limit single family homes to to four bedrooms um or you know they're limited to what they have existing or to increase up to
four bedrooms. But if for example a a a vacant lot is assessed uh for one uh one SCEU because it's it's zone RC and it and it could um under regular zoning have a single family home and it's
instead developed for three that's it's two duplexes or three duplexes. You could then um assess the sewer privilege fee to account for that change. Had that happened in the little pond area? I
mean there has been redevelopment. There have been ADUs and all of that. What has been the the experience? So the little pond project, the sewer privilege fee has only been in effect
for a year or so and it came after a lot of the redevelopment um that occurred in the beginning of the Little Pond project. Um, and it's part of what made me push for this privilege fee for ADUs.
Again, we've we've the goal has been to keep the number of bedrooms within the single family residential properties to four. Um, so there hasn't we haven't been charged. The idea is not to like charge people so they can do more than what's allowed in the bylaw, but if they
are permitted by to to increase flow from the property, then this is a way of recovering that that additional cost to the town of that flow. Okay. Yeah, sure. That's clarifying clarifying question on the same thing. So then a developer
comes in, buys a property that has one house on it, tears it down, puts up multif family with 10 units. Can we then charge 10 uh sewer equivalent units as a privilege fee?
It it's not exactly the same. Um, so we can look at increasing the sewer privilege fee to be more equivalent to the cost of a of a betterment. Um, um, but
it is not it's it's lower right now and and it's not phrased exact it's not phrased exactly the same way. Um, but but yes, it is intended to try to recoup some of that cost of redevelopment. Not exactly, but yeah. Okay. Thank you.
Yep. Any more? Anyone in the audience like to speak? Are you are you accepting public questions? Uh yes, sure. My name My name is Yes. Grace. My name is Tom Dnis. I'm from East Felmouth. Um
a town meeting member from uh precinct three. And um I I think I'm maybe a little confused. I'm sure you can clarify this for me. At the u April um town meeting, there was considerable discussion even with questions from some
different board members about this 7030 rule, which appears to have been flexed perhaps in your option two to a 60% and the town is now picking up 40%. If I remember correctly, at that meeting
um there was a lot of discussion about equity uh not in the national sense equity of paying taxes for sewers. Um in that historically it was always 7030 town pays 30%. Um property owners pay
70%. Um other side presented at that meeting was well that's a lot of money you know um we want it I think somebody even said 60%. Uh I don't know why it's just 60% in your discussion and not 6040
but I'm going to guess it's 7030 for option one and 6040 for option two. I'm wondering um what happened? Do I do I have it correct or are you convinced? Well, the
town's got to pay more. So, I'm sorry that it's confusing and uh I understand this. I would love for this to be simpler. Um and maybe we can work on that for next time. But the
part of what is different about this cost is as I mentioned this project part of what's different about this project is as I mentioned earlier there is a component of this project which serves a larger area of town future sewer areas
and that was not the case in the last project. So we're struggling a bit a bit with how to fairly accommodate that. So the first step is to decide what costs are applicable to the service area and and what town meeting voted or at least
that was certainly the intent of town meeting uh as as I read it was that 70% of the costs applicable to the service area are paid by the property owners in that service area and that 30% of those
costs be picked up by the town. There are additional costs. Oh, I'm sorry. That benefit um the additional area or benefit future areas and those would also get picked up by the town. So, the percentages vary based on what you're
what total what part of the project you're looking at, but the but this the town meeting vote is being honored. Here I pulled up a table that lists in the in that middle column costs that we've discussed being applicable to the
service area and then the 70% of that is the is the column on the right. Um so that's that's the honoring of town meeting vote and I apologize that it's confusing. It it is what it is. If I
could I think that maybe it was because of the 6040 relating to the engineering and y so that's a different matter right and it's it has to do with um these two parts of the project so there's there's a
I outlined in the presentation which you know this presentation and you had this ahead of time the select board has an option here which is how they how you um account for the construction construction, engineering and police details. These other things are are
relatively easy. You know, the lift station, the force mains are general um are applicable to future service areas. Um and the collection system is is much more applicable to the individual property owners. There will be construction engineering and police
details for both of those contracts. So that's why we're talking about this allocation difference. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Walth. Did you have some questions? Yes. Good evening. Tom All precinct captain
from precinct 3. Um I would just say on that 6040 and I think Amy was getting to it as well when uh Mr. MScal, you had asked about, you know, the little pond and I think one of the huge differences is the amount of
work that's going to be on Route 28 uh and the juggling act of getting all that done, which is certainly going to require a lot more police detail than on Mirror Vista Avenue as an example and some of the side streets. Is that correct? So, the Brickhelm lift station, that's
that's contract uh one in this project. The Brick Hill lift station will serve this project area and future project sewer areas to the east. The lift station or excuse me, the force mains that will be constructed from there to
the plant will go down Brick Hill Road um all the way Brickilm Road west to service road and then up to the plant. that again will be used. It's designed and sized and will be constructed to serve areas further to the east. That
kind of component was not in the last project. So that's what you're getting at right. Got it. Yes. Correct. Okay. Thanks. And then um same as two weeks ago, I would just urge right the select board is to
uh do whatever you feel is fair and equitable to all of the folks in this uh phase one of Great Pond. Hopefully we can get this thing going, get it underway, and then start rolling into phase two, which be the other side of
Great Pond going down at Capescuit. Um, and I know it sounds that you're probably going to be coming to making a vote in two weeks at the next select board meeting. So, I would just urge you if you have any questions, certainly utilizing the skill set of uh Amy Lol.
So, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, and I do think that is our intention. Anyone else? Yes, Jeff. Jeff Thomas, um, precinct 3 town meeting member and resident of Ticket Path. I'm
about to be the pride proud owner of a grinder pump, but I have a question. I was talking to somebody in a little pon sewer area today and he said, "Make sure you talk about the details behind the grinder pump." um for that area. I guess
they have a finite lifespan. And the discussion when we did Little Pond was uh the town agreed to take um to cover those in perpetuity. Is that the same scenario in our area? So when I last
spoke here, there was another component to the presentation that was all about grinder pumps and the select board will need to vote in the future on a grinder pump policy going forward. The last grinder pump policy said at the top of it little pond project. All right. So it
needs to be addressed again. Um and that is up to the select board how they handled those issues. So I can tell you what was done before, but the determination has not been made yet for the next project. Not on the G.
So I'm a little confused. So So we're not really I mean we're not really discussing the grinder pump tonight necessarily, but it will be something we'll be taking under consideration at the vote. And if you have any questions or comments, you
know, send it to us on email, but it's really not part of the discussion tonight. the grinder pump issue. Okay. But it will be resolved when you do the vote in another two weeks. No. No. That not particularly. Okay.
Okay. So, what kind of forum would address that aspect? We will be having a forum after we vote the policy. Amy has has gone out publicly and said there will be a public forum for questions. I assume
with respect to this question as well. So, uh there is a public meeting coming up at the end of July that's a public or it's an information meeting for property owners that I had not seen that as a forum on
grinder pump policy. I I saw that as as you know public information what we know now. Um the the since the decision-m about grinder pump policy in the end lies with the select board. Um I so I I
had assumed that that would be a select board um vote in a select board discussion. But if I if I might chair, so Amy, I I I had it in my head and I may well be mistaken that there was less time pressure on the grinder pump policy
decision and we were not planning to seek a vote on that on the Jul on July 28th. Is that accurate? Right. We are not we have so the grinder pumps will be p so people can't connect to the sewer until the sewer is
completed, right? which is projected right now for the end of 2027. So more than two years from now. So that's if the town is going to buy the grinder pumps, which is what they did last time, the town will go out to bid in um late
2027, mid to late 2027 for those pumps. And the decisions about the pumps can, you know, then are not quite as urgent as the decisions about the betterment. They are important. Um, I recognize that they are very important, but they are
not as time urgent because they are not they're not part of the the general construction contract that we'll be going out to bid on this fall. They are part of a later procurement and later process. Okay, I understand they are important questions uh as far
as the cost and the um impact for everyone. Okay, I'll make sure that I pay attention to it when the time comes. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Uh, this doesn't require any board uh
board approval or or board action. So, if there's no further discussion, we'll move on to the next agenda item. Well, we don't have to vote, but are we going to get like a sense of the board for I mean, I feel like we should do everything we can to reduce the cost because there's such a difference
between the cost of this project and the last project. So, I'm I'm just voicing my opinion that I'd like to take out the police details and the um engineering and get it down to that 25,000. That's just my feedback for you.
So, make the the have each have each part of the the costs have the um the grinder the uh construction engineering police detail be divided in accordance to their their proportion of the of Sorry, it's a little late. having
trouble finishing it sentence. So I guess I would go ahead maybe I know making it more complicated but in my mind police detail is public safety. It is general good 100% general good. The engineering
I think your 60/40 split makes a lot of sense where you're allocating as we're doing with construction cost you're allocating the engineering cost essentially to the portion of the projects. And so I would lean toward a 604 60% of if I've got yes 60% of engineering costs
go into the betterment assessment but no police costs and um I I think it's helpful to get everyone's thoughts but we're not going to make any decision on it tonight. So I'd rather just move on to the next item and we've
got two weeks to to think about it and discuss it probably at our next meeting. Yes. I just the only thing I've said is I just think the police details should be a non-negotiable. I agree with Vice Chair Goldson's point. I think we should cover that. Thank you. Okay.
Any more questions otherwise? Thank you. All right. We are kind of late here. So item H. We can uh What's the next item? Arts um Arts Felmouth fee waiver. Arts Arts Falmouth. Do you want to uh
mention that uh Peter? Waiver. Sure. fee. Yes, Mr. Chair, the um Arts Falmouth has taken over the sponsorship of the market previously run by the Falmouth Art Market and they are seeking a fee waiver
for the special event permit fee for artisans at the harbor on the Benshell side of the marine park on Thursdays from July 3rd to August 28th. And uh in your packet you have the details. In accordance with the approved fee
schedule, the permit fee for this event is calculated based on a formula. And I won't read the formula um but you see the results of the formula. Um with the discount uh first and last day $400, 7 days $750.
Um so we we do have the board does have a a precedent for how that discount is applied. Okay. Thank you. is the applicant here. If she will you want to approach and identify yourself and tell us a little
bit about Arts Felma Inc. Um, first of all, we really appreciate the town yourself. Our application to do the um, identify yourself, ma'am. I'm sorry. I can't hear you. Please identify yourself. Sorry.
Just identify yourself, please. I'm sorry. Just your name. I just want you to say who you are. Oh, Marilyn Roland. Thank you. All right. I know it's late, but it's late. Marilyn Roland. president of Arts Felmouth. And this is Diane
Frecort. She's the coordinator of the artisans at the uh Harvard. Thank you. And also a member of Arts Felman. Okay. Okay. Do you have anything to add to uh to the discussion other than as Mr. Johnson has
laid it out? I just wanted to say I appreciate the town uh approving our application special events permit to do the artisans at the harbor at the last minute as we took over. Um
right now um our finances are such that we're just breaking even. So the $1,800 would um make it very difficult for us to continue this market. and we hope that you will allow for that waiver.
And Mr. Chair, if I could clarify my previous remarks. So for the past four years, the board has fully waved the fee and prior to that, the board had approved a reduced permit fee, but that was for a slightly different uh
event as as I understand the waiver. Um I'm not sure if the I think the the organizer of the event is different but perhaps the uh the sponsors could explain if the event has changed from prior years. The name changed um because of the
situation that happened um earlier in the year and we almost lost the market. Um you Arts Felmouth Yeah. If you could introduce yourself and speak into the microphone, please. Arts Felmouth um was was great to just come come forward
as a nonprofit and sponsor what we're now calling artisans at the harbor which is formerly Felmouth Art Market. So the name has changed. Um the artisans are pretty much all of the same artisans. The committee um group including Marilyn
and myself um and a few other women are all the same committee that was the Felmouth Art Market. Um, we just I just want to say the cultural council voted not to continue the art market and a number of vendors wanted to continue
it and so that's why we took it over. Okay. Thank you for that clarification. Anyone have any questions on the uh on the board the applicant? I'll make a motion um motion to approve the request from Arts Faith Inc. to wave special event permit fee for the
artisans of the harbor event at Marina Park from July 3rd to August 28th, 2025. I'll second that. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I I Thank you so much. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Greatly appreciate it. Very good. All right, we're going to move on to the Falmouth Country Club RFP. [Laughter] Peter Johnson, staff, assistant town manager. Uh, at our last meeting, we
reviewed the policy goals uh for this request for proposals and lease of the Fmouth Country Club Golf Course. Um, I'll quickly sort of gloss over those and then we'll get into a discussion of the options for the lease payments for
the request for proposals. So, these are the goals that we talked about. Uh, really the the bottom line is what's good for the town is good for the community. We want a highquality operator that provides good customer service and is successful with their
business um and can share a reasonable portion of that revenue with the town so we can cover our debt and pay for some capital improvements. At the last meeting, the select board gave us direction to pursue a 10-year lease with a 10-year renewal and to uh
make the lease the financial requirements of the request for proposals more flexible to asssure that we do in fact in fact attract some quality biders. The challenge here is finding the right balance. We could of
course go to one extreme and just not have any minimum requirements and allow the uh respondents to bid whatever fee proposals they want. Uh in that event we would have no assurance of you know the amount of revenue that we would generate
and uh you know covering the cost of our debt. Um you know could certainly uh we could fall short and uh and also you know the town conceivably would not get fair market value for its asset. So, we're trying to find the right balance
of having minimum financial requirements for the uh potential biders, the golf operators that assures the town with a reasonable return, but aren't so ownorous that they're not attractive to the uh to private firms that might be
interested. And we we get no biders, which is what we had the last round. So to start to provide some context of what that might look like, what I've laid out here is I've taken the actual revenues
from calendar year 2024 2024 and and then from that revenue looked at what the current one-year lease extension financial terms are. Um, so last last year the total revenues
were just shy of $3 million under the current 2025 one-year lease. The uh that I'll say that the operator has been kind to give us a a pretty good sense of what they estimate their expenses will be um
for the 2025 calendar year. and they have indicated that those costs in aggregate uh the direct operating costs are going to be about $1,775,000. Um the current lease with the town requires a base rent of 400,000 and it
has two tiers on revenue share which I'll identify more specifically later. Um and under this new lease, they will be required to pay the town full property tax, real estate um property tax to the town. So the the once we
deduct all of those costs to the operator, um if the revenue for this year is exactly the same as what it was last year, then the net revenue to the private operator, which is now True Indigo Sports, would be $495,000.
And that's about 40% um of the net operating revenue. So the another part of this sort of puzzle of finding the right balance is what do we think the revenues are going to be over the next 10 years of the golf
course and um you know the the disclosure disclosure that financial investors make comes to mind here. Um this these are the past revenues and past revenues are no guarantee of future performance. Um but if this you know
this it tells a a fairly interesting story. The revenues were incredibly flat from 2006 to 2019 and then as you as we've talked about before once COVID happened there was a a real spike in the revenues and it just kept growing from
there. If we look at the average if we calculate the average annual increase over this period of uh of 18 years it's a five you know a really healthy 5.7% average annual increase. However, if you
look at just 2006 to 2019, the average annual increase was less than 1%. So, I don't think it's at all reasonable to assume that the next 10 years average annual increase will be 6%. I have no
idea, you know, honestly, what it's going to be. Um, so what I did was, um, I I looked at three revenue forecasts. I did a a low, a moderate, and a high revenue scenario. The low scenario
assumes that the FY their calendar 2026 revenues, next year's revenues, would be 5% less than they were in 2024 and then from there grew at just 1% per year. So that's the that's the low forecast.
That's the dark blue line right here. The moderate revenue forecast assumes that 2026 revenues are the same as 2024 and then grows at 3% per year. And then the high revenue forecast assumes 2026
revenues again starts at the same point as 2024, but instead of growing at 3%, grows at 6%. What this chart shows on the very bottom in light blue is a forecast for the
operator costs growing at 3% per year. So you can see depending on which revenue scenario you're looking at that expense starts to get a lot closer to the revenue on the low as compared to the
moderate or the high. So that's all context for again trying to find the right balance. Um this is a a busy chart. I apologize. It is similar to one that you saw um at the last meeting. So the the first column here is
the are the terms that we had in the last unsuccessful request for proposals. The next column is the current lease, the one-year lease for this year. And then I've I've created two options for the board's consideration for minimum
requirements for this coming lease. So, just to go through one row at a time, the base rent for the last RFP was $400,000, but it had an escalator on it of up to 2% per year. That base rent
would grow, assuming the revenues grew by at least 2%. The current year is a just a one-year lease, so there's no escalator factor. It's a four same 400,000 base rent. And in the two options that I've identified for you, um, option number one has a
modest increase to the base revenue of $425,000, uh, over, you know, as compared to the 400,000 that it has been for quite some time. Option two is has a a big increase in the base rent all the way up to
$550,000. Now where these two options really uh differ is option one is structured a little bit you know is structured similarly to the lease that expired in 2024 and the prior RFP which
is to say there's a base rent and then there's a revenue threshold above which there's a revenue share and in this particular case after you know I ran a number of different options in terms of what the revenue threshold would be and
what the revenue share would be and forecasting that operator cost at a 3% increase to try to find that right balance. Um, and I I felt like the this mix with a $425,000 base rent, a $2
million revenue threshold, so same as the revenue threshold for the one-year lease, and an escalator in the revenue threshold of up to 3%. And I think that's important. um so that as revenues grow the operator keeps more
of those revenues to cover their increasing costs. That I think was one of the key issues that I ran into where we were too aggressive on the last RFP because the town was taking too much of that revenue growth and not leaving enough of it for the operator to cover
their increased uh in in costs. Peter, excuse me. Yes. So what what you're saying is that under option one there'd be a $2 million and then over $2 million we would get 30% but that $2 million would increase
3% a year over the 10-year period. Exactly right. Okay. Thank Thank you for clarifying that. Yep. And then on the second option, the logic was let's just make it really simple. The town just wants to cover its debt and 550,000 is not quite there. Actually,
the town's debts about 620,000 per year. Um, but increasing it all the way up to 620 is, you know, really probably not viable um given the potential volatility in revenues and the um and expenses as
well. Um so on but in that for that option two where the base rent is higher at 550,000 there is no minimum revenue share. So um you know so it's it's predictable
it's simple um and then this slide shows what happens in um and again I I apologize it's it's a little bit dense this chart but the top half of the chart is looking just at year one
and looking at the low revenue moderate revenue and high revenue outcomes for just year one and for year one and this entire slide is option one. Um so we're we're looking at option one where we have that 425,000 base rent and then a
20 um a 25% revenue share and I apologize this 30 right? No this this one should be 30 I reduced it to 25%. So, so this is looking at a 25% revenue share.
Um, and in year one, everything looks fine under option one. Um, and by that I mean the town is covering its debt and the amount of the revenue that the town is receiving is in that 40 to 60% range
which is which is doable. Um, however, when we look at year 10 under this option one, the low revenue scenario, I've highlighted in purple sort of the problem areas. So, the town's revenue is only 528,000. We're not covering our
debt. Um, but at the same time, the town share of revenue at 76% is too high. So essentially what that's saying is if the low revenue scenario happens, there's just not enough money for either side.
But if you look at the moderate revenue and the high revenue scenario uh scenarios for option one, they actually again they work pretty well for both the town and the private operator. So let me pause there and see if you have any
questions on this slide. Okay. So now let's compare same comparison for option two. So now we're looking at the 550,000 base rent with no required revenue share. And I should say the in all of these scenarios, the
biders could bid more than the minimum. Right? So where we've got a 25% minimum revenue share for option one, an operator could bid a higher higher revenue share than 25%. They could also do two revenue thresholds like we have
with the current one-year agreement where there's a um a what is it? It's a 35% revenue share for between 2 million and 2.5 million. And then after 2.5 million there's a 50% revenue share.
So the you know the biders would have that flexibility and they'd be paying the taxes every year. Yes. they would be paying the town's property taxes every year in addition on all of these scenarios. Yeah. Okay. So, back to option two, the higher
base rent with no required revenue share. Um, again, the uh year one, everything looks good. The town's a little short of the 620,000 debt coverage, but but close at 604,000.
Um, when we look at year 10, again, we have a couple of problem areas that I've highlighted in purple. Um, in this case, the town covers its debt, but the net revenue to the, uh, operator is only $74,000. So, to look at it on a percentage basis,
the town's taking 89% of net revenue. That's probably too high. Um, now the moderate revenue and the high revenue, they're in, well, I should take them one at a time. under a moderate revenue scenario with this 550,000 base rent.
The and looking at year 10, the town's covering its debt. The private operator is uh is bringing in 894,000 and there's a really nice 51% share. So, we're looking really good um for that um
striking the balance if under a moderate revenue scenario. But under a high revenue scenario, now it flips the other way. the town just barely covers its debt. The private operator is taking in 2.1 million. Now the private operator is taking 78% of of the revenue. So that's,
you know, arguably not a great deal for the town. My takeaway here is that um option one is better um because under both the the moderate and the high revenue scenario,
we we have a reasonable share. Um and even on the low revenue side, it's actually a more reasonable share under option one than it is under option two. Um so just a couple points. Uh I alluded to this earlier. There are some flex
there is some flexibility for um for the biders. They can bid above the minimum 25%. The operators can bid a second revenue threshold. Um and they can uh bid a revenue share threshold escalator of less than 3% if they choose.
Um I want to touch on so so those that's really those are the key decision points for the board. Um I did want to identify some of the other important elements of this RFP that we have touched on earlier. Um, subject to the board's input, we are
proposing that operators in terms of how we handle capital improvements that the operators um are going to be invited to dialogue with the town over the capital plan and to have a possible sharing of
costs for those capital plans and but it's not going to be written in um the town. It doesn't make sense for the town to make, I don't believe, a firm commitment on capital spending in the RFP itself. Um, and based on what we've learned, there isn't enough revenue to
ask the private operator to make a firm commitment to um contribute to capital improvements uh in the RFP. I should say the town will need to invest in some capital improvements over the next 10 years. And that's, you know, we can take
a a hard look at that. What I'm saying here is it doesn't need to be baked into the RFP. What we want to um communicate to the potential biders is that the town will be investing some level of capital improvements and we'll dialogue with the
private operator. And that dialogue, you know, can start in year one, but it may be different in year five. you know, maybe by year five, if the operators had five great years and everything looks like it's going well, maybe they're more inclined to contribute um something, you
know, sub significant to capital improvements. Or, you know, on the reverse side, if it if it's been really tough, then, you know, they're not going to make any capital improvements. Um capital improvements, I look at it in two separate categories. One is equipment, the the turf equipment. So
that's, you know, the operator has to have that in order to run their day-to-day operations. And the proposal here is that the private operator will have to pay their capital uh equipment costs after receiving the inventory that the town
provides. So the town has built up an inventory because we've been purchasing $50,000 a year for the last 15 20 years. Um or maybe it's maybe it's 10 or 15 years. Um, so there's a decent inventory and from there the private operator will
will be responsible for whatever replacements or supplements to their fleet that they feel they need. And then in the last three years because we want to be in a similar position again at the end of this lease to provide the next operator with some inventory so it's not
a huge barrier you know a huge investment required of the operator in the first year to buy all new turf maintenance equipment that we would start to replenish that um that inventory that the town would own um for the next lease. So that's how I'm suggesting we we handle the the rowing
equipment, the turf equipment. This is the timeline. We're um I'm looking for your feedback tonight on these uh these two options and any of the other elements that I've highlighted so that we can have a uh an R an RFP to
be approved at the next meeting. Could you u explain how the renewal option that you mentioned the 10 years is going to actually work? Cuz in prior discussions, it didn't sound like there was really an option. it was kind of you
know if both parties agree then we'll go forward. So maybe you could explain what you envision as being the terms of the option for the next 10 years. Yes. So it is um the way that we would um that we would address it in the in
the lease is the same that it uh the renewal options have been in the past and it is just as you said it would be by mutual agreement. So, if the operator gets to the end of 10 years and says, you know, this hasn't been a good deal for us, we don't want to continue, they
can. Um, if the town says, you know, we're not happy with the operator or we're not happy with the arrangement for any reason, either party can decide not to renew. However, if the um if both parties are happy, it's it's been a good
arrangement, a good experience, there is an opportunity to um modify the financial terms based on the economic realities. So, um so there can be a negotiation between the private operator and the town to say, okay, we're
interested in a renewal, but what are the terms going to be? So the only reason to have that renewal provision would be to obviate the need to start again from scratch with an RFP. I mean that's really the only reason you
would have it because otherwise neither party really has an option, you know. I mean if if it was a true option on the part of the operator, it would say that you know they have the right to extend it on on certain terms or or whatever.
So it's really that uh desire to do away with having to do a whole new RFP. The parties can agree amongst themselves at the end of 10 years to modify the terms and go forward. Right. That's that's exactly right. I
mean we if you you know you could potentially uh frame the options differently as you said more rigidly to give the private operator more assurance that they would get that renewal. Um but it it sort of
takes the benefits of of the renewal. You know you start to ask, well why have a renewal option? You know why not just make it a 20-year agreement? I I guess you could make it an option on the part of the operator and not on the part of the town. But if the town's not happy
with the arrangement, then you know, maybe you want to have a um a no fault divorce, if you will, option at the end of the 10 years. So, you know, so, so one reason to have it be a renewal by mutual agreement, one is maybe we're not
happy with the private operator and two is maybe the economic conditions have, you know, have changed a lot and, you know, we want to rethink the capital responsibilities. We want to start with a new and maybe look at a 20-year and and put the capital responsibilities on the private operator.
Okay. You know, I for one think option number one is a is a better option. I think uh golf will continue to be a a popular sport and as I've said before with the ultimately something's going to happen with the Cape Cod Country Club and that's only going to you know be be
overflow to uh found the country club. So some share of excess revenue I think is probably the way to go. That's how I feel. Anyone else? Yes. So, I'm a little concerned about the lack of uh addressing the capital plan
and um how will the say a prospective RFP respondent doesn't know the club very well. Is there going to be a list of equipment that's on hand and the dates of Yes. Okay. Yeah. So, we had that in the last RFP. Excellent point. Yeah. We will have a an
inventory of the equipment as an appendix to the lease. So they they know and they will of course have the the right to inspect the golf course. Um so come down, get in a golf cart and ride around and have a close inspection so
they know the condition of the of the course as well. And there's also an analysis that was prepared as to the future needs of the golf course that'll be available to the biders. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, that's that's an important point as well. So also in the appendix is this independent
review by a consultant that evaluated the condition of the bunkers, the fairways, the irrigation system, recommended capital improvements that are needed. So there's a lot of good information to provide to operators other than True Indigo who might be
interested in bidding. Okay. And maybe there could just be some language that says the town understands its commitment to capital improvements along with this lease or something that could be encouraging. Yeah, I I agree. I think we need to, you know, be careful not to
um make a promise that, you know, that we could be sued over. Um but yeah, you know, a general a general statement that um the town uh is, you know, recognizes the need to maintain the asset and um we'll be, you know, looking at a capital plan because the way it's framed now
with just investing in the last eight and nine, you know, year eight and nine. It's kind of it's non-committal to the the first seven years. That's the way it looked to me from Yeah. amateur point of view, right? I I I think I think it's easier
for the private operators to plan to purchase their equipment because the useful life lines up a little better with the lease. It's, you know, over the 10 years to the extent they need to buy equipment. It's going to it's going to um it's going to last for 10 years and
they're going to get the the asset life or close to it of of a lot of that equipment. Um, I think it's more, you know, the private operators are going to be, you know, they're going to be interested to know is the town going to, you know, fix the clubhouse, you do any clubhouse
improvements. That's probably not the highest priority. The highest priority is going to be is the there's a a section of the irrigation system that, you know, probably needs to be replaced over the course of the next 10 or 20 years. Um, you know, golf bunkers, uh,
TE's. So there, you know, some areas that would be a benefit, certainly it' be a benefit to the private operator if they were improved. Um, but it's it's again I'm I'm I think the best way to approach that is
to have a partnership with the selected operator to identify which of these improvements are the most important and you know is there any ability to share the costs or is it all going to be on the town. Thank you. Anyone else? Yes, Mr. Goldstein.
Um, yeah, given that as uh Mr. Brown has mentioned multiple times, we already have an extremely large uh capital commitment over the next 10 years. Um, and that's additional capital
investments that are already in there. Um, thinking hard about how we're going to um meet that um is important. Um can you just help me understand uh a little bit of your thinking? Uh both the previous and the current um leases
include a revenue share from uh food and beverage as well and that was not included in any of your forward-looking options. Yes. Yeah. Thank you for um pointing that out. So the the revenue share uh was 10% over 200,000 in the past. I
think that generated $13,000 in a good year. So, my thinking was I I know that a lot of the resident golfers would love to see a better um you know, some enhancements to food service. And my thought there was if the private
operator is retaining 100% of the profit, maybe they're more inclined to invest in the, you know, the the product the you know, whether it's equipment or the food or the staff um to provide it. um small you know a very small part of
the total revenue and uh yeah create more of an incentive to improve the quality. The uh you know just the the the makeup of the the the facility doesn't really lend itself to having an active food and
beverage concession at at the club. Yep. Are you just scratching your head, Mr. McGreed, or do you have a question? Lot lots going through. What are what are what is our requirement tonight as a select board? Do we have to vote on
something? We're just kind of giving Mr. Johnson stops some some direction and we'll vote on it at our next meeting. I guess the questions that come to my mind is we're looking at your graphs. You're looking at golf revenue excluding
food and beverage and you did show quite a an increase over the last four or five years. Um, but there's no mention of to what capacity has been or what the metrics are for the golf course. Are we at capacity? A golf course can handle
two to 300 golfers a day, right? And I read in the previous minutes that there is a um desire to keep golf rates where they are or competitive, right? So trying to increase revenue comes from
either capacity, increasing your greens fees, uh enhancing food and beverage, or adding more events. We're not prescribing that in any of that. We're letting the the RFP responder decide how
they're going to increase to meet the goals that you've put out in the three different scenarios. Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. And uh my my general sense from talking to the current operators is um we're not and
and perhaps uh Carrie Murphy would speak to this. He's more knowledgeable of the day-to-day operations than I am, but my sense is we we may not be at maximum capacity, but we're in the peak season, which is where most of the revenue is, of course. Um we're getting close to it.
Gotcha. So that means it's got to come from other spots. And I just worry that increase in green fees will have an adverse an inverse effect. I've seen that in my, you know, in the town that I grew up in. Um because then that also plays out is you're not going to sell
any food and beverage if nobody's showing up. So it's very delicate dance that we're going to have to do here. what you're saying. I'm just at the end of the day, we as a town have to cover our bills and we also have to
provide recreational activities. So, how much do we want to how much debt do we want to take on or not is the question. You know, I I I I think uh you know, the best deal in town still is the green fees at at Fon of Country Club. It's a
It's a good deal. Uh, you know, I think it's probably inevitable that they're going to have to go up at some point over the next 10 years. Just Well, that's that's inflation, but you know, it's not an $85 golf course, you know, right in current conditions. No
disrespect to any of the stuff like there it's it is the best deal and there's a reason why it's the best deal. So, I just caution we could outpric ourselves if we if we're going too high. Okay,
Mr. Murphy, would you care to add something to the discussion at this late hour? How are you? I want to thank Yeah, thank you very much. Another late hour. Um, Peter's done a tremendous amount of work. He's worked with Carrie Murphy, chairman of the golf advisory committee, has worked with a couple of members of the committee, with myself and the
committee. Um, two points to Doug's point about capital. We own those buildings. um we own the cart barns, we own the buildings. So part of the capital program as we move forward is to is to engage in that mutual um program about fixing up the clubhouse, making
sure it's structurally sound and legally there. Um I think that the question about where they are, they're kind of at their maximum be honest with you. I mean, I think they took um a sort of a more aggressive approach with memberships in the last few years. In
the last past few years, they've kind of backed off that. Um but right now, they're close. And to Bob's point about Cape Cod possibly converting to a solar farm, may migrate some people over. We're not sure about that. My own
personal opinion, I hope it doesn't turn into a solar farm. Um, I think we're losing a huge asset additional asset to Fouth Country Club, but that's another that's that's another discussion down the road. Um, but right now the course runs well. We've been blessed with a good operator for 20 years. I think
Peter's put a tremendous amount of work in this. And the first the first slide he shows you was that balance and he and I talked about that a lot. You know, just that that balance needs to be there. The operator's kind of not doing it. He's kind of doing us a favor by being there. And the fact that we've got a quality operator that we have has been
a has been a blessing. And it's been a to me for the last 20 years that course has been a home run to the point where you know they lost money and now we're making money. And to the benefit of the new members of the board, we're going to retire that note in 10 years. So the
$630,000 is going to be again, you know, I I lost the I lost the argument on the 10 and 10. I wanted a 25 to 30 year lease. I lost that argument with the committee and with Peter, but at the end of the 10 years that net net note goes away. So the numbers are going to change and you will have that benefit at the
end of the 10 years to adjust that. But um Peter's done a tremendous amount of work as as his staff. So thank you. Thank you. Any other question? So Mr. Richardson. Yeah. Just to uh thank you just to Colin
referenced it reiterate my past comments which I know we talked about finding a way to find the balance between not restricting it and making sure that uh the course fees do for residents don't increase beyond whatever an amount that can be discussed
I think is important for me uh because I think you're right with the balance of one making sure that it's affordable and people are actually going uh and using the course, but two, not restricting the devel uh the operator or whoever wants to bid uh from making enough revenue. Um
is just my my only thought I have at this time. If I could just um I wanted to respond to um some of board member Reed's comments. Um thank you for those. Uh and
what I wanted to note is the minimum requirements that we're now proposing are substantially less than they were for the 10 years um that were just completed. So the the revenue share threshold was a million4 uh and the revenue share was 40%. So now we're at 2
million and 25% is what we're looking at. So you know having learned from the last RFP where we got no biders, you know, we've really backed it off. I was really surprised that we didn't get biders the last time for that same reason because the last RFP we were at a
million750 and 40% minimum revenue share and I thought well that's a much better deal than what just ended and trun said they're still interested so if they're still interested they must have done okay but I I get it I've run more scenarios on the expense side so I have a better understanding where they're coming from but I did I did want to make
that point that I I hope I think with the mix that we have in option fun. We're not putting too much pressure on the on the operator to raise fees and price ourselves out of the market. Sounds good. All right. Thank you. You have your uh
what you need, Mr. Johnson. Stop. So, I'm I'm taking away a a consensus of the board that we're heading for option one, not option two. Not the the not the 550,000 base rent, but the Yeah. option one with 425 and a 25%
revenue share. So, thank you. Thank you. Uh with respect to item J, uh we were going to discuss entertainment license regulations. Is there anyone in the audience that's interested in that? Because if you're not, I think we're
going to just put that over onto our next or a future agenda. Uh, the next matter is to discuss and consider reaffirming the select board opposition to the steamship authorities continued use of a 5:30 a.m. ferry service. Mr.
Johnson stop, would you like to give some context there? Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, this is uh a matter that the select board has um been asked to take up a number of times by um
residents in Woods Hole. We have received a lot of feedback over the years about the disturbance that the 5:30 uh a.m. ferry uh causes and we have a letter in your packet that was drafted
by some of those residents to reinforce a position that this board has previously taken uh in opposition to the 5:30 a.m. uh ferry early fairy start.
uh and um I have circulated amongst the uh the members a slightly uh edited uh version of that letter uh and u I direct the members to take a look at the redlinined
uh version uh I I can assure the people uh that it in no way uh lessens our position with respect to the 530 30. Uh it it's really only a kind of
a messaging changes with respect to you know the select board and our position uh and and um in in in particular as as the um you know the couple of different I don't
want to go over all of the edits but uh there was mention in the original letter about broken promises and so forth and uh you know I I've changed that language or suggested that that language to just say of note are the following examples
of issues that are of concern to the community resulting from the maintenance of the 5:30 a.m. ferry and list all of those items. Uh I did not want to I did not think it was in my opinion appropriate for the select board to be
talking about broken promises and things like that. So, it's little minor edits uh about that uh that uh that are in the red line version, which uh I find to be a a better letter conveying our strong
opposition to the 5:30 a.m. Ferry. Mr. Chair, can you just clarify? We did send a letter previously. Um this is essent this is the pro as of that letter promised more detailed letter that we are sending as as supplement essentially
right okay we wanted to go on record because we weren't sure when the you know when the hearing would be closed we wanted to reaffirm that opposition and said that we would work on a further letter outlining specific examples and specific
issues which we have in the in the draft and in the uh redlinined draft. Yeah. Is there any other discussion? Because if not, I would be prep prepared if I could speak to move approval.
Okay. Can we clarify on uh bottom of the second page, the town of Tammoth is identified that's going to be stricken. So the beginning of the sentence starts with several possible solutions. Okay. Got it.
Yes. And again that's in keeping with what I think our position is. We haven't really identified them. I think these are they have been put forward. They have been put forward and that's all and that's all it's saying. And that's why I I think the edits such as
that are in our best interest from the select board's position. Good. There is a motion uh motion to uh I guess approve uh the letter as amended reaffirming the select
board's opposition to the steamship authorities continued use of a 5:30 a.m. ferry service. Second. Okay, there's a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I [Music]
thank you. Okay. Uh moving right along to uh and the uh annual November 2025 annual town meeting schedule uh very quickly, Mr. Johnson.
Sure. The uh proposed schedule for the 2025 November annual town meeting uh is in your packet. It aligns with the the charter and bylaw requirements of course and it aligns with the select board schedule adopted um for the calendar
year. Um it is very similar to what we've had in past years. Um although again um looking at the select board schedule which was aligned with some holidays some religious holidays um there is it's a little earlier than it
um the the final product should be about a week earlier than it has been in the past. Okay. Do we need any action or this is just an announcement? Are we approving it? Said okay. So, uh, someone want to make a motion with respect to the, uh,
November 2025 meeting schedule. I move approval of the date schedule as presented. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I.
And last but not least, I certainly commend your patience. uh and and uh you know I know we were trying to accommodate your schedule and it uh I apologize that it's taken so long to get to your application but uh we have an
interview and consider a vote to appoint uh Carrie Shanahan to the recreation commission. Miss Shanahan, thank you. Thank you. Is there anything you would like I mean you've been here this long. Tell us more about yourself, please. Um, in 1990 I
was an intern at the Fmouth Recreation Building at the Gus Kanty. In ' 91 I was um, hired part-time at the WCK department and then later full-time where I worked till 1998 where I took a job with the school system. U, both my children went through the WCK programs.
I've been a volunteer coach. Um, I have a degree in recreation as well as teaching. And I believe that it's time that now my kids are a little bit older and I have more time on my hands. I like to get more involved with the recck department, so that's why I'm here. I I know it's late, but just curious, do
you have any specific thoughts or ideas about where you would like to see the rec committee go in the next year or so? Well, fortunately, I have worked with Julie before, so I think we have a lot of the common interests and goals. So, I think it'll be a good partnership. Um, playing fields is obviously a big
concern of mine, as we all know about the baseball field currently. Um, and both my kids play a lot of sports, so I've seen beautiful facilities all over the country. So, I'd like to see um us work on that here in Fmouth. Okay. I was also on the committee that built
the turf field at the high school. Anyone have any questions, hand? No, I'm I'm It'd be pretty funny if we voted no. Hi, Mr. Richardson. Hi. Uh, it'd be pretty funny if we voted no, but I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to make the uh make the uh
the motion so we can get you to bed. Uh I make a motion to appoint uh Carrie Shanahan uh to the rec committee. I'll second it. Okay, we have a motion in a second. Any further discussion hearing? None. All in favor? I thank you very much. Thank you very much.
Thanks for your your patience. Um let's see. Do we everybody okay with the minutes? Have you looked at it? Yes, perfect. Make a Is that a motion, Mr. Brown? Second. Okay.
So, we are considering a vote to approve the minutes of the meeting public session June 30th, 2025. We have a motion in a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I. Thank you. Uh, do we have a supplemental report, Mr. Johnson?
Not at this time. Not at this time. Great. Great. Good. Any select board reports, Mr. agreed. We skipped item E. Not that I want to extend our meeting, but we ex we skipped Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, we we we're going to hold E and F and we actually uh
Okay, alerted uh our director of finance to that. I'm sorry. I didn't mention that before. Roger that. Thank you. Yep. Help that. Okay. To report nothing any reports. Now, I'll just briefly report that uh Peter
and I attended the intermunicipal um woy bay meeting with Mashb sandwich and Falmouth. I don't think that any other towns were there. So, uh just moving forward sharing information about what is happening in Walk White Bay and what
we can do to address it. Mashbby had originally thought they were going to be uh moving forward with sewer planning around Walk White Bay. Now it looks like the Wake area is going to be more promising for them. They're having really challenging uh discharge
promising every promising means it's more practical for them to do the Wake area before the Walkway Bay because maybe because of the discharge. I didn't get that clear, but I know that they've changed their path from doing Walkway
Bay first. And um so maybe we're going to have to come up with some creative solutions to address walkway bay a little bit earlier at the water quality management committee on June 26. There's a really big crowd of people that were very concerned about the July 26th.
No, the one that happened already June 26. Yeah, we haven't had July 26 yet. And so uh the um the the room was filled and the water quality management committee entertained folks to talk
about what quite bay and the turnover that happened. The people from Webner came and explained that it was a turnover event where the temperature difference causes sediment to rise to the surface and uh it was earlier than it's ever been recorded before because
of the warming temperatures. So just you know uh now it's a renewed effort I think on the people that are around the bay to get some action. So maybe we might in the future rethink our our course of of planning for Walkway Bay,
but we'll see. I did send an email to the water quality management chair just to alert him that maybe it's time we think about a different tact. Maybe there's some other way we can move more quickly because it's at the end of the line and who knows how many years it's going to take to get there and it's
really in bad shape. Um let's see. Uh Chair MCAI member Brown and I attended the opening of the Hasheville Fire Station uh last Tuesday. Um that was
very well attended and I'm glad that that's finally open. And then uh Chairman Mscally and I attended the 300 committees annual meeting that we made the proclamation for. It was very well attended. I read the longest
proclamation I've ever seen from the Senate. Um I think it was like 12 wherehouses. So what I said was is you only get to that many wherees if you have a big enough impact on the community. So I feel like we say this every meeting, but shouts out 300 committee. And in the interest of time,
that's it. Okay, let's go. Uh, I attended the most recent human services uh committee meeting um where one uh significant point of discussion uh was was around um
just the uh interest uh and need uh that our multilingual uh social worker has been seeing uh since she uh came on board uh earlier this year. and still working through uh you know how best uh
to reach people, what apps uh what what ways of of getting to um the community members who most need her support. Um but she's uh certainly finding uh no lack of of need. Um so I think you know all told for for just being a few months
into this um during a period of of pretty intense need going pretty well. Um but definitely glad to to have her on board. Yep. Um, so I apologize. I had hoped to get a matrix of your recommendations or your thoughts with respect to committee
lay on assignments. I haven't gotten to that. Hopefully I will at our next meeting. Uh, does anyone have any future agenda items that they would just like to throw out there? U, I miss Mr. Richardson,
I think it might be worth uh I'm not sure the precedent or the policy, but I think it might be worth, you know, if you guys can remember 5 hours ago uh the first comment of the evening about the uh potential extension to the bike path. I think it with the federal funding
situation that they're facing. I think it might be worth reconsidering. Consider that. Anyone else have any ideas, thoughts? Uh I will just remind Mr. Brown and Miss Goldstone to get me the evaluation reports because I would
like to put that together and have that on the agenda. I've spoken with the with Mr. Wshaw and and uh we'll try and get that on the agenda for the July 28th meeting. Mr. Chair, were we expecting um goals the the town manager to share the goals
that he's been working with over the past year? We had discussed that at our meeting and I do expect to to get them from Mr. Rential when he returns from from vacation. That that's currently the the key piece missing from from your Okay. All right.
Um Mr. Brown, it's not really in my report, but it was pretty impressive that the uh Cops and Cars annual car show raised $54,832 for Tommy's Place. Really? That is I should have put that in recognition
maybe next week. And and I'll add um my family used to own the Elmer March in that's now um Tommy's place and you know when I'm visiting um family it's it's every weekend it's full and they really do a tremendous job uh for our community and and they've expanded it now to Austerville and I think there's another
Centerville and I think there's another location too popping up somewhere. Um so we couldn't have sold it to anything better than what it is and it's really great place in our community. Okay. Well, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second.
Okay. All in favor? Thank you very much everyone for your patience this evening. We got a lot done. Uh and uh thank you and order. Okay. [Music]
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