--------- [Music] yep Might as well go live Okay Good evening everyone Um before we begin I'd
like to have the ZBA introduce themselves I'm Gaffle Bronner chair I'll go to the right Steven Nally member Dakota Richards member Harold member Brian Tronkey member Thank you Um and um one piece of
business before uh we open uh the public hearing or as part of our first step what I've disseminated just so that we get this done the minutes from our last meeting from February 18th 2025 As I shared there was no changes from
the draft that I emailed all of you Couple typos I corrected Um and could all are in agreement Could I get a motion to uh approve and accept i move that we accept the minutes as presented for the February 18th 2025 meeting
Second Second All in favor i Okay That was simple business done Um what I'd like to do the our next step is to read um the announcement uh for this um for this
hearing and then we will begin Okay The Graanby Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Tuesday April 4th 2025 commencing at 5:30 p.m at 259A East State Street Public Safety Complex
meeting Graanby Mass to consider the following petition applicant 185 West State Street LLC is appealing a determination from the Graanby uh building commissioner zoning officer that the outdoor display of goods and
wares is not permitted in the GB general business zone and within the mixeduse overlay pursuant to the town zoning bylaws regarding 185 street and known as um as assessor's map 3-d1 1.1 in the
town of Graanby in above in addition to the above hearings the board of appeals may conduct other agenda items following said hearings as time rem permits This notice is given pursuant to chapter 40A
and chapter 39 section 23b of the Massachusetts general bylaws area And before I um we ask the applicants to present your case I wanted
to share two things Um that as I know you had joined us when there was a joint meeting with the planning board oh gosh in February 18th Yep Okay And in prior to this meeting well I've
spoken to him several times but just before this meeting I confirmed uh with uh town council in regards to the bylaw as it is now written which is 3.5.19 outdoor display of goods and
wearers And when you look across um it does not grant the zoning board of appeals any authority um to override the um uh the Grandby
building commissioner We have no authority to be able to do that as it was stated in the last the February 18th meeting Now having said that I you're still welcome to present your
case Um I'm just as chair and speaking to the to confirming with town council that was his advice and his councel Um but you're welcome to continue to present your case But what we wanted to
share with you is if you are not approved the special permit and if you don't secure the votes to grant the special permit you have to wait two years to
reapply You are welcome to withdraw your application without prejudice meaning you could apply at another time Um and So that that's an option We wanted to share that with you Um
and you could move forward We may not grant it Um or it I can't speak for the other members I can only speak for myself as chair Okay Whether I agree with it or not it it's where our hands
are tied on this bylaw Okay the um is to work with the planning board The ZBA I can't see through my glasses I know you know uh the ZBA is
not um uh charged with um rewriting bylaws We can we're consulted that we can be you know we've had those conversations you're part of the last meeting on identifying once we wish to have updated and the chair of the
planning board welcomes our input but it's not our charge So we it it's the planning board's chart to craft and draft bylaws Okay Updates Okay So
that falls over there Um and the process and Steve correct me if I off speak because he's is that um a bylaw this bylaw can be identified
updated probably to be more current and business friendly because it doesn't give us any option Okay Um then the process is I think they have to hold a public hearing and then is that correct
Steve and then to um for anyone who wants to have any input on one bylaw or the multiple that needs to be updated and then it goes to town meeting Correct Do you need twothirds to approve uh typically
twothirds Yes Twothirds of the town uh to approve new bylaws So I just want to give you the sense of the process So now we have um as you may be aware of some town town meetings and town issues coming up um special meeting
but um and then the annual meetings in May Correct I'm not sure that we that the planning board has enough time to move it that quickly I just trying to be honest with you So in the event the applicant chooses to move
forward and it's denied or approved whatever the board chooses here and the bylaw is then changed by the planning board it wouldn't need permit Okay that's a chance That's not predictable But they get they they have
um if we deny them it's two years before they can reapply for a special permit to us Okay If the bylaw changes right that could very well negate all that You know what I mean special permit at
that point It may or may not be depending I guess Yeah or it gives us authority right to be able to address it Right Right Typical grand lot of unknowns It's true It's true So and and if we say we went
forward with it and we approve it is it even legal because it's not allowed that That's the issue That's what I was kind of digging in with tools proving something that's you know because I talked about uh grandfathering Okay Yeah
Because the SAT harmony has been there a long time It's had many different businesses with the idea of grandfathering Yeah Apply He said no because this is a new initiative not the same owners you know over the years Um so
this would be and it's not an existing ongoing business because this is a new initiative that you're starting out selling jets and and that So it's not grandfathered in per his opinion The other point I'd like to bring up too Yes please is that part of the
discussion we had at that last meeting uh was um the topic as the minister reflect that we were discussing uh the situation about goods and wares on display and uh we researched the bylaws at that point in time to see what was
the definition of goods and wares and then uh we made the comment that because it was not mentioned in the definitions that it would be up to the CBA um refine that definition as to what that would be done for goods and wares
The problem is is that the common the common definition if you were to uh look up in dictionaries or Google or whatever um basically is pretty broad is the research that I have done indicating that u tangible personal property uh
that is for sale by individual business or or company um covers a whole gamut of things and it's easily could be construed that you know personal property would include
merchandise such as sheds or things of that nature So I think that the ZBA would be hardressed to refine that definition to include certain items right so yeah that's a that's a good point you
know um and for my opinion um this is a bylaw that needs to be updated I mean it's it's and or
allow applicants have a way to address and whether um in granting special permits and who are who is that authority whether it's a ZBA with a special permit and site and approval by the planning board Um you know um or do
we change the language allow it in business areas or multi-use areas and so forth um so so I just wanted you know we've been doing all the talking You're happy to present Um
but I just wanted to be fair and transparent that if we do not grant it you know it short changes you have to wait two years to reapply
for a special permit If nothing changes on this bylaw but if the bylaws changed that negates that Correct Right Right And the question is I think that The planning board at our last meeting uh concurs with uh the issues that that we
outlined uh including uh the section regarding goods and discipline um that they are favorable of changing that right the question really is as the chair has mentioned it's can be a lengthy process they have to go through public hearings and town meeting and
everything else so that's months probably I don't know what the progress they have made on I don't know I I don't know Um but what we're trying to say is we don't want to hamstring you in terms of getting in a position where you ask
to perhaps a more lengthy period before the wild could change That's what we're trying to communicate I um when we met with the building uh inspector and he gave us the
determination Yeah Um we had been advised by numerous people that if we didn't put this appeal in within 30 days it was a fatal decision and that is the language It is fatal So I think we have no choice but to present today Okay And
I think my wife will continue and read unless you would prefer if I did Um okay And yes excuse me if I can Sure Um that's partially correct Okay All right Um by withdrawing your petition doesn't change the time I see Okay Okay Okay
Make sure Sure You're not shooting yourself in the foot Sure Okay Um and my suggestion and recommendation would would be for the applicant to withdraw without prejudice their application because you don't know nobody knows when
this bol is going to be changed And if you get yourself in a position where you can't reapply within two years is probably a much longer period of time if you want to wait Well we um I I went back and watched planning board meetings on YouTube Yeah Okay I haven't seen them
They they're a great group of people They're very business friendly and they've been nothing but cooperative with us some of our tenants and going back two years they said "We need to amend this We need to change this." I mean they have a
long list of things on their um you know going back to what you said a second ago about um what is a goods and where and like what is the definition of that does it represent personal property I mean the guy across
from our property yesterday the tractor trailer for sale on the side of the road Now does that does that fall into the same rule that we're struggling with here it could very well I would imagine it does Is that was it a private home
across from you I'm not sure But the problem is a commercial vehicle Yeah There is no question in certainly in my mind and I'm I'm certain of the planning board yours and the rest of the is that the bylaw is
ridiculous because there's you know countless number of parcels in town that have goods and wares being displayed for sale and that doesn't make it any more palatable Sure It certainly is not fair Um and we are sympathetic towards that
The problem personally that I'm faced with is like I say researching the definition the general definition whether it's addiction or whatever is extremely broad you know and uh that doesn't is not conducive to your cause
is my view sure well I think we would like to proceed I have questions ahead and you forgive me oh no no no please so to be clear we have a choice of proceeding Right And you will all have a
vote as to whether or not we can or cannot proceed with what we want to do Granting a special permit Right Correct If you grant us we just walk out the door and we move on and we do what we want to do within purview like Okay If
not we're stuck for two years before we can reapply unless the bylaw unless the bylaw changes which could take two years Yeah Or or more We don't know We don't know We don't know So there's no guarantee for that So
this is a struggle for you and I understand that Yeah All right And again withdrawing your petition protects your right of bringing it at any time That's true That's a very good point All right So if something changes within a month
or so let's just then you are free to reapply for that petition All right but again I don't want to encourage you that things are going to change in a month's time because that's not likely Um my I'm
hoping that the planning board can find its way to make these significant changes to the bylaws as quickly as possible But again even if they were to do it tomorrow it would still be probably a couple of months because they have timing issues public hearings and
things of that nature And and just to add I've seen and I can't speak for the planning board but I met with Jim Frank a few weeks ago and and that was following the February 18th meeting and and what we did was to sit down and
identify the bylaws that like the top five that need to be addressed right there's this one There's the whole barn issue you know and other Um and I do know um and I would
encourage you to outreach directly to the planning board that they do have a consultant that they're working with Um and I think they got some grant money So they're very in tune to getting this work done So I I can't say what their
timetable is because I'm not sure what else they have going on Um but I know it is part of the chair's priorities to address Okay And you also mentioned that you had spoken with council and council told you
what about this particular Okay This particular bylaw So if I can is let me show you It's easier if I can just I've I've seen that Okay Fine So okay So under the the grid it gives
you the granting Yes or no yes or no so it can be ZBA or the planning board so forth Okay If you look at 3.519 outdoor display of goods and wares
there's no granting authority So it's not as it's written now it's not allowed and it doesn't allow any of whether it's the ZBA or the planning board Sometimes it's board of health whatever
um the ability to override or adjust that bylaw because it it there is no and that's where I was talking to council about Um and he goes "Well no it's no no there's no one at
this point Um no one has the granting authority to grant a special permit or variance or depending on whatever you needed." Who's supposed to be overseeing this who's supposed to be overseeing and enforcing this
the building He's the zoning officer He's a zoning officer And and just to be clear Marilyn uh does her presentation and at the end of it am I clear that you folks could make a determination have a vote and make a
determine whether we can or cannot proceed that's that's the purpose of the hearing That's the purpose of the hearing So that in the normal um course of a hearing um is for the applicants to make their presentation Sure Make the case and and
sir I'm not sure if you're in a butter Okay Okay So if there someone's in a butter you know we invite anyone who has vested interest in the property make a comment trow or sometimes con And after we've
heard that um the members can also ask questions We then close the public portion of the hearing Um and at which time we open the ZBA meeting and at that point is when we take the vote or have any other
questions But at that point once we go from hearing to meeting public discussion ends Okay Okay So what Steve and correct me I don't like putting words in Steve's mouths though So what Steve is suggesting is if
you before we go through that process close the hearing and as far as I know we'd have to take a vote one way or the other continue it we could continue it but that's but there's no reason to
um is for you to consider withdrawing the application without prejudice meaning that you could reapply at any Once the process is started it capacity finished Yeah I just have a question
just not on this wellarian do but yeah on that general general business district where where does that run down 202 does it start at five corners someplace or I'm just wondering because maybe there because it's agricultural
but uh the grain store and our property is the last business owner They're uh they're displaying there's plenty of people in the same district Yeah but I mean I don't know if that's the same business district So I
guess before we move forward did you guys want to step out and talk conversation i would like Okay let's go You want to take have a private conversation no take your time Go ahead I move that we take a recess for five minutes 10 minutes Sure Not five is
perfect I don't think we even need five I support that All in favor recess Five minutes Thank you Thank you Thanks Steve Thanks for helping us That's all right Yes All in favor to reopen hearing I
Okay Okay I'm going to read my letter and I'm going to proceed Okay Sure Okay I appreciate you sharing all the information with me Okay Okay All right So bear with me No this has been a little bit of a meeting
here So No no take your time Good evening Members of the zoning board of appeals thank you for your time and for your service here to the town of Graanby I am here this evening seeking approval to sell pre-fabricated sheds green houses and structures on my general
business zone property within the mixeduse overlay district despite the existing bylaw that states no goods or wares may be sold outside We have already presented to the Graanby Planning Board which was in support and approval of our venture Further to this
the members of the planning board also attended the zoning board meeting on February 18th to raise this matter and discuss the conflicting zoning bylaws directly Their involvement and support underscore the practicality and appropriateness of this request
While the original intent of the bylaw may have been to preserve the town's aesthetic character and maintain order this case my case presents unique and practical circumstances that I feel justify approval Nature of the goods the items
in question sheds green houses chicken coops and such are outdoor structures by definition These are not products that can logically or effectively be displayed inside of a building Customers need to see them in their intended use
environment and placing them indoors would undermine the integrity of the sale and c consumer confidence These structures are manufactured offsite in Massachusetts by Old Hickory Buildings and Sheds which is a highly reputable and wellestablished
company Old Hickory Structures uh has been in business since 1987 almost 40 years and they construct engineered certified structures that meet or exceed state building standards The company has successfully operated over 1,000 dealer
locations across 37 US states and seven Canadian provinces further demonstrating its track record compliance and quality Uh as far as uh step two here agricultural relevance Graanby has
historically and fundamentally been an agricultural community Structures like sheds green houses and animal shelters are not only common here but they are essential to farming operations The ability to purchase these types of structures locally serves the needs of
working farms and homesteads and aligns with the town's longstanding agricultural identity Our property is zoned general business and selling outdoor structures is a use that fits naturally within a commercial zoning designation This
activity does not alter or expand the character of the zoning It merely reflects a logical extension of its permitted uses As far as precedent and comparables comparable businesses such as nurseries garden centers farm equipment sales auto
dealerships routinely display merchandise outdoors due to the nature of their goods This proposal is neither disruptive nor inconsistent with existing commercial practices in Graanby economic and community
benefit This new business venture will provide critical financial support for my family and business during a time of economic instability It offers a path forward for us as business owners by diversifying
our offerings and increasing traffic to our property At the same time it benefits our many long-term tenants all of our tenants by drawing in new shoppers both from Graanby and from neighboring towns many of whom may not
even know our location exists This increased visibility and foot traffic will help strengthen the overall business ecosystem on the property In addition the sale of green houses and similar structures support sustainable living practices such as
home gardening and food production which are of massive growing interest across our country I'm going to read on you Okay I'm fine All right Number six unequal enforcement of the bylaw We are approaching this effort
respectfully professionally and as stewards of the town of Graanby Yet despite these good faith efforts this process has been a hurdle especially when we observe the numerous other businesses throughout town whether located in the business or
residential zones openly and continuously ignoring this exact same bylaw From pool toys and bottle water to coffee mugs firewood pet food sweatshirts t-shirts and more it is clear that the sale and display of goods
and wares outdoors are occurring regularly and without consequence These violations seem to go unnoticed or undressed while we have chosen to go through the proper process openly transparently and by the book Property maintenance The display
area as well as our entire property will continue to be kept orderly and professional Structures will be thoughtfully placed and the grounds maintained to ensure visual order and safety The display will not generate any noise require any additional lighting or
be obtrusive or offensive to passers by or neighboring residences It will be located at the furthest east end of our parking lot and several hundred feet from our closest neighbor Our property includes approximately 700 ft of road frontage on roughly five acres and three
exit and entry points providing ample space and natural buffering from any adjacent properties or traffic flow In conclusion this request is not an attempt to bypass the bylaw but a call for a rational interpretation of
its application in a specific context My intent is to engage in a legitimate commercial activity that aligns with the town zoning My business Chateau Sheds will serve the agricultural residential and business needs of our community and reflects a
common sense use of a business zone property while also helping local business owners our tenants and my business to thrive And I thank you for your consideration Thank you Sorry
No take a breath Take a breath Madam Chair before we uh move forward just that we're in uh we're moving forward with this I have to make a disclosure Yeah Um pursuant to master law 268A section 23B3 um I'm just
disclosing that I've represented a tenant of theirs at the said property but I have not um I have not uh represented them Okay So I couldn't get the words out of my mouth Tenant but not the applicant Correct But that is on
file the town clerk as well Okay Very good I'm taking this down And um further questions for the applicant and I know we have we have a Yes Um would you like to u say your name and address
and any comments yeah My name is Glenn Glenn Martin M A R T I N Yeah And I'm at 177 West State Street Uhhuh So almost within sight or within sight and um my
interest in being here is not specific to this application but rather specific to this bylaw and I want to understand the status of of this bylaw Okay So it's not for or against what you're doing It's more that I want to see where this
bylaw is headed Okay Okay Well thank you Um as just to answer your question and and you've heard our discussion earlier is as the bylaw states now um that um
put my glasses on again um outdoor display of goods and are not allowed in the bylaws Now just to as to add to that if so like say if you're looking at Sapowskis or um Dickinson's which is
agriculture that has a whole different set of rules So I just wanted to add that yes as for agricultural it has you know is allowed and I know go ahead I was also in a planning board
meeting Yes specific bylaw as well Uhhuh And um that was a number of months ago Okay And um anyway I understood at that time that they were working with town council to understand where it's all headed So
anyway that's that's Oh okay Well thank you Thank you for your interest Um you know um good questions by the board members for the applicants or comments only if the u the applicant has concluded their
presentation Oh then I move to close the public hearing portion of this meeting Have you concluded your presentation is there anything like you'd like to add i think uh Marilyn did an outstanding thought Yes you did Been waiting on her all day
More than today Okay Um Yes Do I have a second to close the public hearing second Second All in favor hi Hi Okay Um so we are are now in
the deliberations and part of the ZBA public meeting Okay Um it breaks my heart and I'm I'll speak first and then I'll please turn over to you I I I feel your pain You did a great
presentation Um Um and um it's However whether as ZBA planning board or any infrastructure of the town committees that can support business growth for the community I wholeheartedly support
um because that type of economic diversity and traffic only enhances our town and the vibrancy of our town But having said that our hands have tied
is my perspective on this particular bylaw Um that it that we don't have the authority to grant a special permit because it's not allowed There's no out here
Um having said that I'm um will be pleased to outreach to the chair or the planning board to see I can't speak for them but outreach to them and to share the importance of taking a look
at this particular bylaw and if possible moving the processes as quickly as possible There's no guarantee how quick it can be but I mean I would be happy to to pledge to do that Um so that's that's
my opinion Sure Okay Anyone where do you start where do you start um we're in a tough situation
Um I guess I tend to look back at other towns and how they do stuff surrounding us um to kind of get a feel of if they're advanced further than we are at certain things I know we probably can conclude
what the rest of that should say Yeah Um I guess my biggest thing is it happens everywhere It's and I understand the process I understand speaking out loud my thoughts is that um Even if they were to attempt to get a
permit to do this if they had a giant warehouse would that change anything not that I'm saying it'd be cost effective whatsoever but it's not they could take these and put them inside if they wanted to Um I'm not quite sure it's going to be
any it's not going to be detrimental to any of the surrounding areas anymore than anything else either Um I don't know Yeah I I feel the it's very vague in its wording Yeah Outdoor
display of goods and wares Does that mean offense or art what does that doesn't really even define what a good is or a wear is right So but it seems like we're not really given the authority to that's that's
where I'm stuck I mean I you know I think selling sheds is great It's great business I think it's an area that would support it but it looks in in my opinion the bylaw is extremely vague right but and but even with that I don't see how we I don't my personal interpretation is
I don't see if we have the authority to even move forward with this your um Steve's I guess I want to circle back to the 18th February 18th when we had our other meeting and you both have attended it along with the planning
board You made a comment about deciphering You've been around the block a lot longer than most of us at the table and you had mentioned something about you know interpretation of the bylaws you were reading somewhere at some point
Um did you ever ask council about that um yes I did And um because of the way that um
under the authority to grant or to address various special permits or such is not given to this by law it's not allowed So given an interpretation Brian
attorney didn't see that we we as a ZBA had that authority for that interpretation whether for right or wrong If you look at how this is stated
Mr I just I just wonder if there's a little bit of a precedent set over the past years in that area where the grain stores and all these other places are displaying things and I I'm in favor of
it Uh I I I just wonder if we were to grant this and then they changed the bylaw in six weeks then it would all be solved But you know Yeah if it could be happen that fast But similar
to the Maximillian Drive scenario with the additional dwelling unit prior to legalization Yeah In the new in the new state mandate We moved we moved to issue the permit and it was up to him if he wanted to record it because the applicant has to record at the registry
of deeds Um from my knowledge of looking into stuff the only way to reverse a special permit is to have a private party contest it in court Yeah Something that takes over you have to appeal it and and they have to
spend time and money on that Like and I think if any of the abuters were opposed to it they'd probably be here I agree or they have the you know the chance to be here right so I don't know I think it's a good thing to do
there I mean that business has been there forever I mean I remember when it was a banquet hall Yeah Good restaurant Yep It was the place to have your wedding there back in its day We have some old pictures if you ever
want to see them Madam Chair Yes Um let me begin by saying no good deed goes unpunished Um the applicant has made a compelling
argument and personally as Mr H said uh I I think it's a perfect perfect situation in terms of bringing business to this town However the problem lies in the poorly
written poorly thought out bylaw uh that prohibits the display of goods and wares And even at our last meeting uh we've tried to look up the definition as outlined in our zoning bylaws and the
definition is not determined So that brings us to the ZBA has the authority to look at what the definition might or might not include Unfortunately what I've discovered and I've looked at more than a half a dozen
various sources for the good of definition and wares Every one of them is extremely broad in its in its scope meaning any personal property tangible personal property and even intangible
personal property um that is for sale by individual or business Um it is so broad that it doesn't exclude this particular uh situation for sheds and green houses and so forth It puts the zoning board
appeals at a very our our back is against the wall We can't hang our hat on any specific definition of goods and wares that would be favorable to to your operation And it pains me quite frankly
um that um I believe the town council is correct We can't in good conscious conscious um reverse the decision of zoning enforcement officer because the language is so broad and
vague Again yeah and and and Steve just to add to what you're saying is I agree with you on the language but even if the language was as
broad as it was listed if it allowed some authority whether it was by the planning board or the ZBA to address it that that would I we'd have the hook We have the hook we would have a little
hook but we have no hook The the biggest problem is the definition Yeah All right If if the broad definition was for example your argument that you can't put these things inside the building easily because they're big you know it's a very logical argument But if the broad
definition if you were to search any dictionary or Google or whatever the case is if it said something to that effect that you know was not say that goods and was limited to clothing or food or something like that more specific then you'd have a shot at this
I think but because every definition I've been able to determine is so broad you can't possibly justify excluding uh sheds and green houses and so forth uh again your presentation is well
crafted well thought out you're passionate about this and I share your compassion because I think it's a perfectit I know I do too I do too What's the point of being able to appeal the commissioner's decision if it comes to
us it's not in our perview Well that's not well quite factual I mean basically the job of the zoning board first of all the building commissioner and the zoning enforcement officer are the the the enforcer of the laws okay the
bylaws And whenever a person in any fashion for any reason Uh their only recourse is first to the zoning board of appeals for relief We can only grant relief when the relief can be justified In other words um if the decision using
the definition example um if it's not defined in there then we have the authority to research what the common meaning is for whatever the words are And if we found a perfect example where says good and wear and goods are
you know grocery items or clothing and limited to those two things then we have the authority to interpret that say the building commissioner made an error in his decision to include sheds and and green houses as goods and wares
unfortunately we don't have that luxury the definitions are very very broad so the recourse then is um the zoning board of appeals if they can find something to interpret the correct meaning of what the bylaw means then we have the
authority to reverse the building officials decision Unfortunately again in this case that opportunity doesn't allow us to do that and and uh Dakota just to add too is
that even though if the bylaw states that we do not have the authority okay um and because I again I checked with council applicants have every right to appeal to appeal or to present their
case even knowing that it may not be positive but that we can't deny the applicants their ability to present their case right u in all
fairness um that's what it is okay am I allowed to say anything nothing Um are we any other discussion madam chair if there's no
other discussion I move that the zoning board of appeals decline the petition of the applicant and uh uphold the building official zoning enforcement officer's u conclusion
Okay Do I have a Do I have a second is there discussion i should say first right a second Second Second Second Any discussion any further discussion
okay Could I have those all in favor of um Mr N's motion to decline um all in favor i'm in favor in favor and those opposed Thank you
Um so your application has been declined because for it to have been uh approved it would have to have been a four positive four out of
five So um what we will do is I'll write up the notes and if I may I'd like to give you my email so you can email me your notes because I would like to include it include that include that
with the record if you didn't mind So her her presentation she can just give it to you Yeah Oh that would be great because I would love to It was so well done Well done I would like to include it for the formal record So can we speak now like as part of the
process one second Okay Sure Okay So what I'd like to do is uh so our next steps is that um I will uh we will complete the
standard forms for the outcomes and notice of the decision This will be filed with um uh town hall tomorrow I'll drop everything off Um it has been declined Do they is there still a 20-day
period if we've declined or declined is declined We've declined Declined is declined So um because the ZBA has formally declined um your uh application for a special
permit um to formally uh reapply is a two-year period as we stated in the beginning of the meeting Now having said that um as I said earlier I will outreach to the
chair of the planning board share the outcomes of this meeting and um I would encourage you to outreach to the planning board and you have our support and you have
your our support to outreach get on get on get on the agenda I'm not sure what their meeting schedule is um and talk to them Um I will I'll reach to the chair and let him know the outcomes of this
hearing Um and uh because the updating the rewriting of the bylaws uh it falls under the planning board So uh Mr Trumpy um and his and his board will have to address this So I think if
anything um I won't speak for Jim but this might spare this on to get this this process going Um so it's with a heavy heart but our hands were tied in this particular situation Now I just have one question since it
was denied Yeah If they change the bylaw if they change the bylaws is there's no issue Oh that's my point Yeah good point You don't have to wait Yeah So if they change the bylaw update the bylaw whether it's allowing it or giving
authority to any of uh special permit process special permit process whether it's the planning board approval or us for a special permit you're good Do you think it would be helpful at their business to uh start a
petition and have customers sign it for to present that in support no I'm not going to speak for the planning board No but I mean but I always say um the way things are going to stay advocacy is always a good thing You know advoc
advocacy can affect change Yeah If there's no other business yes Then I move to uh adjourn our meeting Yes All in favor i I There we go Part: 2
[Music] evening everyone the time is 6:32 p.m. on April 1st um I'd like to call this meeting to order and know having a
budget meeting is not an April thought about that we going to think we're kidding all right Mary Jane take it away okay um last week we presented uh two scenario budgets um but since that time we really had the opportunity to work closer with the town
and um the budget we're presenting tonight will be the final budget based on the information we receive from the towns so I'm going to go through the slides a little bit more abbreviated than I did last time but I did want to uh for the folks that didn't see it the first time let them see where we stand and how we got where we are
today so I just want to every time we create a budget we continue to visit our strategic priorities um you know fostering relationships and looking to meet the needs of all students and really making sure that we're getting um we focus on the whole child and develop
a community that empowers every student so and we also look at our core values and we Vis we revisit these core values almost every time we have our district leadership team to make sure that we're continuing to follow these values when it comes to um all of the the um
discussions we have at school so the students come first always and really it's about building relationships and being respectful um communicators and um you know making sure that we're a Solutions based um district and we really really try hard to continue that
in our core values these were our budget objectives for 26 which also reflect back on those core values and the Strategic priorities so we always look what's best for our teachers and students instead of trying to do what's best for what we have and I think the budget this year really has um
done a really good job of trying to um hone in on that we collaborated with Town leadership so the town did a really nice job helping us um get where we are today so I'm really excited to say that they've been very helpful and uh we're it's been a great relationship looking to provide high quality instruction and
uh making sure our students get their resources and materials they need and again making sure that we have all of the um menu of services we can based on our our restraints and continue to grow our technology and looking at the infrastructure of our
buildings so our budget development starts in the um late fall and with that means researching what we need what the Departments need what do the teachers need you know what what are our priorities and um our needs for the following year so then we analyze everybody's needs take a look at you
know where our priorities lie um what resources do we have and and what where we see some of our um deficiencies or where we have some holes we need to to work on and how we can continue to grow with that we create an action plan which really works with our district leadership team to identify you know
really hone in what do we really need what do we need to be successful so we want to make sure that students continue to get high quality instruction and we do that by creating a budget that's manageable and creating the resources the materials everybody has and again this process starts in the fall and
really ends up in uh January February and are today so it is a cyclical cycle we visit this stuff quite frequently um this year is a little different because we are not starting with a level service budget uh level service budget is defined as the same
budget as last year but last year we didn't get a level service budget so it's really hard for us to say that we have that so um our proposed budget this year is less from 25 than it is from 26 but our current budget proposal is a reduction in services for the school
community but overall um we're pretty happy with what we're seeing this year so how did the past two budgets impact our school so as you know the last couple of years we've had to um reduce some services in PE social studies library media specialist special
ed Bandit instrument although this year we did bring back uh in 25 we did bring back uh the music teacher at the elementary school so we were able to grow that um and cutting a little bit of our contracted Services uh administrative assistant and then Fair professionals so again this is where we
started the year with these um reduced services from the previous years so when we started the budget this year our initial budget deficit was 1.4 um 1,486 n45 so we did we had a little bit of work to
do so we got this through a bunch of factors all the next couple slides we'll talk about what that looks like we are a minimum Aid District that means that we are um a district that gets the a foundation enrollment budget based on each student it's multiplied by $30 in
26 um the state contributed an additional $104 per pupil so this is what we talk about for S SOA student Opportunity Act we get about $48,000 so that is we're a minimum a district along with the other 233 districts in the
state so we don't really get a lot of money with that so we have to include that in there for FY 26 our state funding did increase um by 1.98 but it also required that the required local spending be increased by 6.6% um as we see special education
costs continue to increase every year um and you can see that the increase from um 22 to 26 has um grown and specifically in the Years 24 and 25 you've seen a significant increase 26 is down a little bit so we are trying to
create programs to make sure that we um send less students out of dist and try to create opportunities for them here so you can start to see these numbers where some of our deficits are um Foundation budget is the budget that
um is the budget that is allocated to the schools and the foundation budget is in blue but the inflation rate is actually in Red so you can see that the state's money that they allocate to the districts is not keeping up with the inflation rate um there a couple
instances 20 you know during the pandemic you see a little bit of increase in 23 I inan 24 but overall the inflation is definitely outpacing the money that we are getting um in the district so as of all districts um slow rate slow growth rate um with increase
of money does not do well with an increased inflation rate so that that's where we are these are our expense drivers again we talked about infation Transportation has really been a big um component to our budget um that talks
about students who have special needs mckin vento students students that we send out to Smith voke and other non um standard runs that we that we do we have to really take a look at what's happening at the high school a lot of the systems and structures and the
building itself is very um old so improvements have to be made so we have to really keep that in mind when we're creating our our budget to make sure that we continue to have resources to um make sure that building is maintained special education costs continue to grow and that also includes our need students
with high needs so these are our expense drivers now this is our budget for 2026 this is where we started if you take a look at I think I have to get up because I can't see too far away for me I need to take a
microphone oh I pick you up okay so if you take a look at the um increase in Chapter 70 budget this year you can see that it increased by $96,000 1.9% increase um our required
local spunding spunding also went up to $422,000 um good news is when we created our inine expenses this time um when we created our budget for last two scenarios we had we overestimated or we
were conservative in with our in kind um estimates I guess right so um that's where we able to find some some additional funding so that um that increased by 2% and then our offsets for Grants went down a little
bit 26 but again the offet and the grants are still in the in flux you don't know what that's going to look like pie chart of where the vast majority of our funding comes from you can see that the state only provides 30 35% of the funding for um districts the
districts are required to really uh our funding stour about 26% plus an additional 4% so 48% of the school with that so you can see that's for this district for this District that's this District yes
yeah so after we did a little bit of work uh we found out that uh we had a deficit of $335,000 so that being said we had a little bit more work to do so how are we going to get to a Balan leg so we work
with the town leadership and I must have missed it but the town did agree when we started the budget presentation that they would give us the additional 600,000 they've been giving us the last um three years so that's how we get 3 it's coming up coming up
okay so we did make some strategic but Cuts due to Personnel supplies and services and really where we had some flexibility circuit breaker revolving accounts and we had to make some difficult decisions if we have to do with 30035 so getting to our reduced service
budget this is a little chart of how we got there these are some of the cups we made 25 26 just that went through all every Department C the exception of the know Athletics and the nursing department um you know we really did
some uh either not increasing or C some of them for the most part we incre just for this is how we break our budget up into um how spend in the v is Staffing
and facility so East meow High School is special ed cost 70% of our Budget Transportation technically transportation is only 11% of what's that little teeny tiny sliver between Athletics and
District Athletics and District yeah this little red no Athletics is blue what's the red need get my active chart I didn't notice
that or if the little red one is athletic then what is the blue so the red one is the curriculum Department okay thank you you're welcome if we could identif the chart itself won't produce it because it's too small all
right too small I can make so we were able to P the deficit of the town that they can provide us our additional $600,000 of women requirements but that has be approved to the town meeting and the original budget uh we built in time was
um very conservative so the fin kind estimate is 270 270,000 less than the original govern can we just go back to the town leadership thing yeah um are they were we told that they're breaking out the 600,000 as a separate item no okay so it's just going to be part of
the it yes it has to be approved but I don't want people to have the wrong idea it's not going to be a separate warrant article it's going to be within our fully itemized budget that extra 600,000 so we have had to go on to floor and ask
for additional um money at times that needed to be approved by the two-thirds majority of Town's P of Town's people at the meeting so this is um in a different way it's part of the the actual budget actual
budget okay I just want to for myself and for others that's a good point because right there's a different number on the floor that's when you would have to do that but yeah this is part of that actual perfect thank you do you if we clarify for folks who might be listening what the what the chargebacks or in kind
Services include things like health insurance uh maintenance of fields um the school resource officer uh retire retirees benefits um Services provided by the town Administration so
pay part of the payroll services um processing W2s um those are really the bulk of them okay because we do our own filing now correct we do our own filing but they the town will take care of the storm drains in the parking lot they
will sweep the the sand from the uh winter some of those things as well as uh the mowing some of some of the Mowing and some of the field maintenance and so this is sort of are we a year behind with the chargebacks or do you come up
with an agreement at the beginning of the year those I'm provided with an estimate for the upcoming fiscal year from the administrative okay buil right into the budget
okay so um the total costu the total um 7,326 74 326,000 cut original bug submitted in December you what we talked about in our budget discussion so there'll be a
reduction of 8.5 ftas so that requires some and resignations for elementary teaching positions PA professionals social workers special education teacher and some administrative assistance of Ro of administration so we reduce some funding for professional development
reduce supplies and materials we eliminated some stiens um reduce category two funding for technology reduce our contracted services in special education and rely to some technology repairs and reduce custodial Supply so these are some of the impacts
um that we made to get us may I ask a question here um how many Elementary teaching positions FTE are we looking at reducing we have a retirement retirement but what will that then do to class size
because the kids have to go somewhere doesn't uh so we didn't need to we were concerned that we were going to shift that grade level position depending if our kindergarten numbers were big enough to Warrant an additional classroom but they
aren't so we're able to maintain the class sizes um with not filling the retirement and what's the kindergarten class size is 35 between multiple classes right yeah there's two classes one of 17 one of 18 it's similar next year okay so I think
it was the third grade it was a uh second grade I second grade and where are the par professionals what what's the FTE there um be districtwide we're looking at IEP they do so much work yeah no we we have the ability we worked with
this with the staff and making sure the special Department you know looking at some of the Staffing um that we had some students no longer need one to one sometimes they're two to ones those types of services so we're not eliminating pair Professionals for students who need the services we we've looked at students IEPs where can we
combine U maybe a two to one for for students or maybe even a three to one um those we're also developing a classroom um where we can help students who have some some needs and really get pair Professionals in that area instead of having um so being able to be supported
by that program teacher along with a couple of I'm using couple as not the hard and fast number of pair of professionals rather than those students uh having oneto ones going into other classrooms that it wasn't the best situation they weren't getting the best
Services okay so this it becomes a bit more of an efficient model to deliver services and that's where I was getting to with my questions because with the reduction of the elementary teachers the Paris of social we don't know where I don't know where the special ed teacher
is is that districtwide so that's part of reorganizing through a resignation it's not an elimination of it it's a reorganization of okay okay because the kids needs as you all know
are not less every year they're more every year I just as before start talking all of the teachers these positions are going to be reduction none of these teachers will be um RI gu Rift not RI this year right so that's a that's a positive that
is a positive find other ways to to get the services we just try to make a little more stream old and without without sacrificing the services for the students and I was happy to look and see today that gry was not on the list of districts that had not yet fully spent
the Esser money oh oh no we were on that Hallelujah we had no choice honestly we were using it for to supplement our budget for since it's been available well and so that's what most districts did I just look at the district to our
74 million how does that even happen they probably didn't need it in the first place is my guess probably with the SOA mon s s OA money that's true so if anyone is willing to
donate will happily accept some again IDE we'd love to get back to a level services but we are really um really making the most of U DT um special life department for from really worked hard
to make the impact as least um the impact is left thank quick question before we move on the reduction of the 8 and a half FTE this year that's in addition to the 10 last year so it's just for the people
watching the schools have lost 18 and a half positions in the last two years last this will be the third year third year so 18 and a half service okay it's a reduction in
service we did bring back music well music's important to kids yeah you know hopefully through um you'll start system retirement in a few years and maybe there's some way that we can try to to to get us back where we need to be but and to say it again for
the people in the back no reduction in force this year no pink slips no I mean you guys have done an a phenomenal job getting us to the point where we didn't have to um hand out any ping slips for for anybody that is it's phenomenal
because it was daunting initially and I want to thank the town because they're really they really worked really well with us this year and and I think that they uh they hurt us again we always want more always want more of them want for our students but so we're really
glad to I I think teachers are feeling really good we had we met with our leadership and we met each schools and we told them that you know we were hopeful they pry have so this is just um where we reduce
the budg initially from the initial budget and you can see we didn't touch three departments Athletics um nursing and conation um so you can see that Transportation went up um well it did
quite a bit out of our curriculum but we um realized that um we have we brought up last year we have a lot of materials for the new um map and we're able to um negotiate some new some new things with that so um that does significant but everybody was really good to work with
us and see what what can they do to help us support this question so this is where we are so this year gry will be asking for 12, 450,000 12,450 413 for the total operating increase
from fy2 at 3.37% and an increase of $45,000 that's what's going to be in this yeah to say Well done excellent excellent excellent job you guys have put an incredible
amount of work into this and um I I appreciate it to especially um that ours of work is unfathomable to the outside person I'm sure we seem to be in better shape than
some of our um neighboring towns um we've been having not our first rodeo no being a tough times number one number two we've been running a lot leaner than a lot of
other places so I think a lot of um extras and bonuses and nice to haves are starting to catch up with people because the loss of eser money and things like that we we were predicting this when Co first started
your first year we were making these adjustments because we knew as soon as the Esther money ran out we're going to be potentially in a lot of that's that fiscal cliff we've heard about for the past three years and folks should have
been planning for that right um I'm grateful um on behalf of the students and the teachers that not only you all worked so hard um but that the folks on the town side were so willing
to see the need here um because the schools the community is only as strong as the schools that are in it and it's critically important so I'm very grateful for that work just barely hanging out of here we are again this is not you know we're we
want we definitely would like to see some growth in but compared to other districts I guess it's a win and it's a win that every everybody has is secure in their job next year which is is uncertain for lots of folks so I have to say I'm proud that that we're able to do
that thank you um not that they want to jeopardize anything but I'm worried with any of the um current Administration changes to Department of Ed are we confident with I
know you said something that you were doing something with the grants like we were keeping them where we're at so I'm using the same estimates I have based on enrollment so as our enrollment declines a little I'm reducing those C federal grants that we have um to not over
project right um there is so much uncertainty that I don't want to predict what may happen with the title title grants for education and no one knows it's it's not like we're you know so every every every District in the Commonwealth is on the same page like we
can't you know we have to vote in a budget everyone have to have it done so correct and yes it would take a significant lift to re-evaluate where we are if those federal funds uh don't exist next year and we won't find that
out until we're yeah August as we're approaching do you see the guidance that came from uh the federal level today on the title one money we don't know what the final number is going to be um but in reading it over and I'll forward it to you it came through the national
school boards Association um it looks like by and large they're at that it's coming to the states to go to the school districts um and it's asking school districts like it's a big like it's a big new process to do things
we're already doing to help kids access things through Title One money that um maybe they couldn't like dual enrollment um like tutoring which is happening through that money anyway right I think massachus already have those as part part of our our process
and so that's where I was hopeful I don't want to approach budgets they're much more concrete than hopeful hopeful but in that Massachusetts already had that framework in place uh to provide for the students needs um
so that as long as desie maintains its approach its current approach that distribution should be similar um and so we do have to wait obviously for that to play out but I think we have the structures in place to maintain the
services for our students excellent so this will be on our April 11th for vote 15 15 why don't keep saying the 11 that's oh that's a statement of Interest date we to many
different things so April and then we will send it to the town uh so it can be prepared for the ma May annual town meeting even though it will likely be acted off in the part two June meeting but has to be there for the
May has to all be compiled yeah okay um any questions or comments on this no I have to say wonderful job from the administration side that was really fantastic and uh I think the only bad
thing about this budget is now the surrounding towns know that we have a very good fiscal Administration so they'll be trying to poach you hopefully you stay well verted yeah you know he graduated go Rams he he beds Grammy bird
just like me all right if there aren't any other questions I will take the motion to U make a motion to adjourn have a second second all those in favor I excellent thanks everybody