going to go ahead and call our board selectman uh meeting for uh June 17th to order. It's 5:30 p.m. Our regular meeting is going to start at 6:00, so this is just a a public hearing. Um, the only announcement I'm going to make for
this part of the meeting is um, this meeting is being recorded by the local scene. Anyone intending to make an audio or video recording of this meeting should notify the chair at this time. Not seeing anybody. Um, all right. I'm going to skip open forum because the public hearing people can talk. So
there's no point for public uh for open forum here. Uh so what I'm going to do um we had presented at town meeting um a proposal to establish a department of public works. Um we got some feedback from folks there that we didn't have
enough meetings that that that there wasn't enough information being uh that had been shared or presented. Um so what we wanted to do is to schedule some meetings um over the summer and in the fall. Um, you know, basically just just informational meetings, getting feedback
from from everybody, anybody who has any feedback. We want to hear what everybody thinks. Um, what what questions people have, what things we need to figure out. Uh, we have some things that we are working on um that that we're not done with, but um, we can address that in a
bit. What I'm going to do is just quickly I'm going to go through the introduction and the slideshow that I presented at town meeting. I'm going to be pretty quick because I want to turn it over to anybody in the public who has any questions or or any feedback. Um, so we're here to present a proposal that
reflects careful thought, collaboration, and forward-looking approach to how we manage our public infrastructure. A proposal to establish a Department of Public Works or DPW in our town. This idea isn't just about organizational change. It's about improving how we serve our residents, how we respond to
emergencies, maintain our roads, manage our water and sewer systems, and plan for future growth. Our goals are not to eliminate the water or sewer commissions, and in fact, we're recommending that we leave the commissions intact. Um, we understand change can bring questions, and that's a good thing. Our goal today is to walk
through why we believe this is the right next step for Kingston, what it would look like, and how it benefits the entire community. We're here. We're here to answer your questions. earn your support. Um, all right. So, if you want to So,
why revisit the So, the timing is right. With the retirement of Paul Bowsler, I think I saw Mr. Bowsler here. Yeah, there he is. Um, it's been a few months. Um, with the retirement of Paul Bowser, a longtime streets, trees, and park superintendent. Before the selectman's meeting, they're
having a um public hearing about the Your mic is on. whoever is speaking right now. Okay. Um not just to fill a vacancy but also to evaluate how we can do things better. So we brought together a diverse working
group including selectman, town administrator, fire chief, water and sewer commissioners and even Paul Basler himself. Um all bringing valuable insight into how our departments uh operate today. Uh next slide. All right. So our current structure and
what our issues are. Uh currently our highway um streets, trees, park uh parks, water and sewer department operate independently. There's limited coordination required um between them and uh you can see in the in the slide we have the board of
selectman town administrator then the uh superintendent of street trees and parks sewer commission with the sewer superintendent and their staff. The water commission with their superintendent and their staff. And there's there's no lines in between. Uh
do you want to go to the next slide? So it it has led to real world issues with with project delays, communication breakdowns as you can imagine where you don't have any lines crossing those um uh those groups um dup some duplication of effort. It's not the fault of of our
hardworking teams. It's it's just a structure. So we're not set up for success. We really have a structure that's holding us back. Um, next slide. All right. So, can you hit one more? Go forward. One
more. All right. So, a Department of Public Works is a consolidated model where critical infrastructure services like roads, water, sewer, and facilities are managed under a single umbrella led by a DPW director. Um, this model is used in many towns across Massachusetts and
helps align operations, um, reduce redundancy and improve responsiveness. All right, next. Uh, actually, I think we're missing the benefits of a DPW. Maybe go back a couple. It might be in the wrong order. I'm sorry.
back one more. There we go. All right. So, by unifying departments, we gain faster project coordination, stronger accountability, cross trainin staff for emergency response, better use of t taxpayer dollars. But it's not just about cutting costs. It's about doing smarter, more
agile work with the resources we already have. Um, and then actually just go ahead one more forward. There we just leave it there for a sec. So the new structure, this is how it would look. Public works director uh
overseeing the daily operations of the highway, water and sewer departments. So the existing teams would remain and you can see them in in all the different groups. So along the bottom left we have the water department, we have the sewer department in the bottom middle and then we have the highway um and transfer
station. Um we also have facilities up to the uh top right. Um so again the existing teams would remain uh with some improved leadership, centralized leadership and coordination. Um the water and sewer commissioners
would continue to oversee policy rate setting and capital planning. Um and this creates more clarity of roles and a more cohesive team. Um can you go forward one? So, just some real world examples, there are many other towns similar to Kingston
that have su successfully transitioned um to a DPW model. Um you know, as towns get bigger, Kingston's not a small town anymore. We're we're we're becoming a fairly decent size. We have a very large budget. Um our budgets are
are are a lot bigger than they used to be. It's a lot more complicated. There's a lot of work going on. There's a lot of road work going on. Um, all right. Next slide. So, what won't change? What's important is is what won't change. Uh, water and
sewer commissioners remain elected and continue making critical policy and financial decisions. Uh, public accountability is preserved. Uh, what changes is who handles the dayto-day. So, giving our elected officials more time to focus on long-term planning and
oversight. Um, but having more of a centralized operational oversight on a day-to-day basis is really what we're looking for. Um, go ahead and hit the next one. So, next steps. Um, we presented the
article town meeting. It failed by 10 votes. Um, we didn't recruit, it didn't pass. So, we didn't recruit hire DPW directors. So, a lot of this is really for um, town meeting. So, where we are today, we want to
work with the community to see if anybody has any questions or concerns, try to address those um concerns um where we where we need to pivot, if we need to pivot, if we need to make changes to what what our approach is. Um so, yeah, I don't want to monopolize too
much time. We have about 22 minutes left before our regular meeting. Does anybody have any questions? I'm sure you guys do, but is there anybody who has a something to say or question? Yeah, go ahead. Adam Sherman 215 Main Street. um after
looking at this um concerns or questions and I just don't understand how it would work. Um the public works director is saying it's going to oversee everything.
Um in other words, if one department has a project and needs some extra help, he can pull from, you know, water to streets to an extent. Yes. Mhm. Um,
does he make the decisions on um hiring, promotions, terminations? It it it is a good question. Um, Keith, can you correct me if I'm wrong? Um when when we met in in our working group, the way that it would work is just like
every other hiring um that happens the DPW direct water department. Let's say water department is looking to hire another worker on their staff. So they would do the recruiting along with the DPW director. And again, this has to be
formalized. This nothing's formalized yet, so this is still all up in the air. But a DPW director would work with the superintendent to recruit. The water commissioners could make a recommendation. Um the DPW director would be the one
making a recommendation and then we would appoint as a board of select which is what we do now. It is that's how it works now. Yes. Okay. Um would there be any union issues involved? Yes. Oh yeah. So it would be and Kim just pointed out
there would be uh job descriptions and and whatnot um for the work that that the folks in the union are actually doing. So there there would be okay anytime a job description is going to change it if it if it relates to any kind of union work it needs to be
negotiated and and bargained. Correct. Right. If we were going to change job descriptions like to trade services I don't think there's going to be any real changes to job descriptions. Um there may be some discussion and changes in the actual collective bargaining agreement. Uh for example, there are
times now where uh if there's a need during a winter storm or some sort of emergency uh some of the some of the departments don't have to go don't have to report to assist public works or streets, trees, and parks. Um if there was an emergency, one of the things that
I think we would look to try to change in the collective bargaining agreement is the public works director could um reach out and utilize all of the employees that fall under the under the umbrella of public works department to plow snow to deal with some sort of a
natural disaster, things of that nature. Um that they don't necessarily have to report to work now for. So in the proposed scenario, the water and sewer superintendent report to the director as opposed to the
commissioners. Um also you say the slide said that the commissioners will be in charge of setting policy for the areas.
So in effect, does the director get his direction from the commissioners? So right now, who's in charge? If Keith goes and asks the the the water superintendent or the sewer super superintendent to do something, they don't report to Keith. They report to their commissioners. They
need to talk to the commissioners. By law, they're supposed to post for a meeting, have a meeting, discuss it, and then give the direction to the superintendent. So that's how it works. What we're trying to do is the day-to-day operations. We're trying
to make that more effective and not require a meeting being posted and a decision being made to have direction. And it would be very similar to the elected planning board and the elected recreation commissioners who have policymaking elected boards but
administratively report to the town administrator. Yeah. And you say that uh the commissioners will work uh you work collaboratively with the DPW director. Again, what does that mean? Who's in
charge? Uh it seems pretty vague and areas of possible contention. Yeah, clear that up. Say that again. We can clear that up. So because we already have seen it successfully work for example again in the planning board and
the recreation commission I think we could we could provide more clarity to how it would work in the highway and water and sewer commissions as well. Right. And other towns we need to get more um information on on how that works with with other towns because a lot of
towns have already done this. I think there's a lot of work to be done. What's that? I think you've got a lot of work to do to iron things out. I don't know. It seems to me that making some modifications um and implementing some efficiencies on
what you're doing now might accomplish most of the goals. So the problem is again you got so let's say you're you're the CEO of IBM and you want your president to bring to have the HR department, the marketing department do something but they don't work for you. They report to a separate
board. You have HR over here and marketing reporting to two different boards. They don't report to you making the decisions. So those decisions can't be made. So you may have responsibility, but you don't have authority. The problem here is we don't officially have
a line of authority. So Keith can ask water department, sewer department to do something. And we have people who are confused. They call town hall with water questions. It's like they have nothing to do. We have nothing to do with them. We don't oversee them.
So you can say we can negotiate better, but that's not a formal definition. If you look at any company, the the the first thing any successful company has is a hierarchy of responsibility and authority. And there we just have silos.
And the silos have caused problems. And you may not have seen it, but we we have. So that's the problem. We don't. Can things be improved? Sure. But they don't have to. That's the problem. There's nothing enforcing cooperation.
Nothing. And if it doesn't cooperate the next election, you can deal with it. But but we have projects that are ongoing now. We have road projects. We have water projects. We have sewer projects. We have three different organizations doing road work. Three
different contracts. That that that's insanity. Do you see what I'm saying? Like we're a little town and we have three different organizations in our town that can do road work and there doesn't have to be any cooperation between those departments. I don't mean to be annoyed with you. I I'm sorry. I'm
just taking out my frustration. I am very passionate. No, I I I hear what you're saying and I recognize the autonomy of a couple of departments. But it would seem to me that there should be a mechanism other than
setting up a whole other department. It's not time to work well together, right? Um well, I would be open to other solutions as well. So, I mean, this board believes that the DPW is the right solution for Kingston. I would love to hear what people think we could do instead that would work better than what
we're doing now. And so, effectively, you're changing the job description and the role of uh the elected commissioners. they would not have daily oversight over um so you're changing the role and
responsibility of elected officials. Correct. So keep in mind though we that we have water commissioners and sewer commissioners who've been in place forever. We can't get people to run for these positions. Bob Erlandson has run for water commission. He's he's new. He's doing a great job. You knowish,
right? Newish. Um but but the point is we have people who who've been on the water commission for decades. They're not going to be there forever. And there's nobody here interested in running water. Water's and we keep hearing water is our most important asset. It is. It really is. So to have
three people who are elected, they're not full-time people to be the experts with a with a water superintendent for sure, but without it it just seems like we're we're too big of a of a town to leave it to chance like that with with three elected people
where we just can't get people elected anymore. Okay. I just wanted to add to what confirm in my mind that you're effectively doing away with the commission. So I think I just want to make sure there's clarity here. So this current proposal, which if you want to do that, that's a different initiative
and that looks like a different structure entirely. So if that's something the community wants to do, that's a different discussion. We can certainly have that discussion if that's what you guys want to propose. But that's not what we're proposing. The only change in the responsibility, as I understand it, from the water commissioners and the sewer
commissioners is not having the day-to-day oversight of the superintendent. That's it. Everything else remains the same. Thank you. Bob, correct me if I'm wrong, by the way. That's just my No, that's okay. Bob Ransen, chairman of the water
commission. Um, a couple questions as well, kind of hypotheticals on the same uh vein there. Um, the water commissioners hire our superintendent with a directive to do what's best for the potable water supply in Kingston. That is how we expect him to make his
decisions. So if there's a DPW person who is giving him a direction that it goes counter to his expertise and our direction, who gives I I I I guess what is it? If it if it's something that there's they're giving him something that's against the law or
he wants to pull staff to do something else, but we have things we need to do. We have leaks we we have uh things that have to occur uh at regular basis, maintenance, uh things that have to happen. and he says this is something that I need my people for and the other
and the DPW director disagrees. I mean who gives how do we handle that now I guess with the planning board for an example because they have a policy meeting and a planner. So I'm just curious how it's handled now. Sure. So I mean ultimately the day-to-day operations would be the responsibility of the public works director and he
could he could assign that work. I think one of the things that was raised at town meeting and you're raising it again here tonight, Bob, is the the operations that go on in currently the streets, trees, and parks, the water department and the sewer department really isn't going to change on a day-to-day basis.
You've got licensed uh employees in water and in sewer whose main role is going to be to work on water and sewer department related um maintenance issues, infrastructure
improvements, whatever that happens to be, that's not going to change. Um the public works director is going to have to work with both the board of selectmen ultimately and uh the water and sewer commissions to um identify and put in
play what those commissions are looking to do on a long-term basis. What he's able to do, I think where that he doesn't have the ability to do now is try to organize uh for example making improvements to to the to the sewer department uh to something to to some some sewer line.
Um, typically we aren't aware, the town of Kingston and the streets, trees, and parks superintendent isn't aware that that the sewer department is going to be making some sort of an improvement. So, we don't have the ability to react and respond and and try to make some some uh improvements along with the wastewater
department. Uh, this this setup would allow for proper planning to disturb the roads less often than than is happening now. Uh, so is is the public works director going to pull a water and sewer employee away from an
important task in the water and sewer department to to fix a drainage problem? I would argue no. Um, that that he understands or they will understand, excuse me, the the importance and the role and and the positions within that are budgeted for in water and sewer
uh for, you know, 99% of the time are going to continue to do the same things they're doing today. But when um a situation occurs where we need to pull all all everybody we possibly can to address some sort of an emergency situation, we want to be able to do
that. Right now we can't um we can't fill we can't fill plow trucks. We haven't got the ability to respond to uh natural disasters the way we the way we'd like to be able to do that. And I think it's we understand that certainly just because the water and sewer
employees are going to have the ability to respond to um down trees in a street if there's a water or sewer issue those that's where those employees are going to go. But if there is no issue with with water and sewer infrastructure in the case I'm using right now, we have
those we have the ability to pull those resources to address the situation that's facing the community in a much better way than we have right now. And I hear the 99% rule, but obviously it's the 1% that really kind of is why this I
would argue the 1% is is right now we are spending more time and more money and we're much more inefficient than we could be at 1%. But with a DPW director who has the power to reallocate resources during the 1% times, we have
equipment that is critical to the maintenance of our facilities. We can't just yank a truck that and put a plow on it. And if all that truck is now damaged now, we don't have a certain truck that we can use that we need to have this. That's why we have a superintendent. That is why we have a superintendent to make these decisions because his sole
focus is on the welfare of the water system. That's why it's an enterprise account. It's separate from it's not planning commission. It's not town wreck. It's not one of those are not critical to the infrastructure of this town. And so to have that independence
to be able to make those decisions is is why I think this is a little short-sighted. If there is a plan that's going forward, it can't just be this vague plan to to hire DBW and figure things out. We need to know exactly the hierarchy, what who's in charge of what, at what point in time does push come to
shove. These are things that have to be figured out. And there's a lot of stuff that we can do in the meantime in terms of encouraging communication between things. We have been very clear with our superintendent. We expect him to cooperate with the town every single time they ask because we're a town and
we are there for each other and he has done that. We want to continue that. But this is something that I feel is going to be a little bit divisive to to to some of the uh the commissions when when all a sudden people are trying to reallocate resources that we don't
approve of. Um, I think in the long run I think a lot of it can be happened uh can be resolved uh by more communication by getting the water and sewer commission together. I know Brian Donahghue, I don't know if he's here at all anywhere. Um uh we've we're going to be meeting to discuss some of the ways
we can be a little more efficient, maybe even possibly combining the commissions uh to make this a little bit more efficient that way. There's lots of things we can do and then we're committed to doing those. I think right now I would I would strongly uh encourage people to to to to look at this a little more critically and and
wait to see what the final output is because right now again it's it's still too too much of a work in progress. This is just our first meeting. We're going to have several meetings over the next few months. though. Um, if you know of other towns that have done this and then it was a disaster, you know, like what
you're pointing out, let me know what towns cuz we can we can reach out to those towns and find out what happened, why why it fell apart, why, you know, why they what the downsides were, I guess. Um, but I would love to see the final a
fleshed out a lot more detail before it comes before town meeting. So, thank you. Thank you. How's it going? My name is Matt Swiki. I live at uh Cedar Lane down Rocky Nook. Um so I've been in public works my entire career. Actually started my
career in Kingston. 10 years ago I would have said um DPW is a bad idea. I think times are changing as Mr. Cron said. I think um things are the town's growing, but I do think this is kind of fitting a square peg and
a round hole. I am a public works director and a neighboring community. Um I think that there are some changes that have to happen. I think there's some structure that needs to be different. Um, I think by the the town should look at possible
milestones in this and possibly creating a public works board and slowly combining the water, sewer and select boards. Um, from what the water commission, the sewer commission have a lot of experience and knowledge and they
understand how those utilities work. Um, but what you're asking director to do is work with four different groups of people. the select board, the town administrator, the water commissioners. I think you just need to slowly combine those with those knowledge bases. Um,
there were also some other things I noticed. If you don't create an operations manager position in the highway department, you're starting that position off with weakness right off the bat because they're not going to be able to handle if you're adding all this workload, these personnel problems, these union issues, they're not going to
be able to manage the highway department the way Mr. Bowser was. um because their their jobs can be taken elsewhere. I don't think that you need to add positions. I don't know, but you need to consider some promotional opportunities within that department. Um I know there's a lot of people here that I know
that probably can't believe I'm saying this, but um just in things that I've seen, I I think that it is probably the right thing for the town to do. Um and there are people that would become water commissioners. So, if you don't do it, if anyone decides to retire, that's that's still something I'd be willing to
go back to. I've been there in the past. Um, but that's all I had. All right. Yeah. Thank you for your perspective. Um, that's Marsha. I don't know. Good evening. My name is Marcia Meakans. I live at 141 Lake Street and I'm a
newcomer to Kingston. And um, I'm not a hard no on this. I'm prepared to be persuaded as a taxpayer, but I'd like to ask the board to do a a little bit more due diligence on this. Um, and I'd like
to hear some numbers to support the claims that uh the current uh failures of communications that occur from time to time um between the highway department and other departments. You
know that they've cost the town a lot of money. I'd like to know exactly how much money it's cost. I'd like to know the frequency of that. How often how often has the public safety or welfare been jeopardized by these incidences of
failed communications? Um, I understand that, you know, in a natural disaster or, you know, an unexpected storm with trees down everywhere, you know, that it's maybe hard to marshall the resources necessary
to respond to meet the needs of everyone in the town. Um, but I can't believe that the people in the water department um or even the wastewater department wouldn't be ready, willing, and able to pitch in and and serve. I see you're
shaking your head, Keith. If there are instances where that has actually happened, please don't answer me now. trying to get out all of my questions so that when you come back the next time, we'll have some real data to work with.
I did a little deep dive, not a deep dive, a little Google search. And um of the towns that what I found 11 towns on the Southshore that are classified as Southshore towns. And of those 11 towns,
six of them have a public works department and five of them don't. And you know, the six that have them have roads seem to be a big issue here that I've talked about or I've heard. um the
lack of coordination between wastewater projects and I you know maybe the town election I I I've heard that that that was a a a poor plan but we only have 80 miles of roads in
Kingston. 80 miles compared to places like Plymouth that have 226 miles. they have a public works department. Or a Hangingham 111, um, uh, Ducksberry 103. All of those towns, they do have public works
departments. They are not all part of a regional school district, however, which really complicates the financial picture for our town. And I would like you to try to tease that out in terms of your argument that it is going to be a
cost-savings measure. I guess my final point would be have you interfaced with any of the towns in the Southshore, any of these six that have one and five that don't and talk to them about what why
they choose to to not embrace this. It's really a modern-day concept. I I agree with you. I'm not against it, but I think to sell this town, you need a little bit more data. And I'd
love to hear what your the result of that. My final question that nobody's answered is who is going to be in charge of the enterprise funds? I take it that that responsibility will rest with the water commissioners
and the sewer commissioners. And it's my understanding that from what I've heard tonight that there's no question regarding the stewardship of the water commissioners or the sewer commissioners.
There's no question regarding their stewardship uh respecting those enterprise funds and how they handle that or anything. It sounds like the issue is one of communication. It it's opera and from the beginning we said
this is an operational day-to-day issue. Okay. 100%. communications that affect your operations, but it's still a communication issue. And I'm really not I think the harder self for me is going
to be I'm not a fan of this centralized managerial approach that this viewer slideshow would would bring us to. I What do you see as a better solution? I don't know. I just barely Do you think
each department doesn't need to report to any part of the town like the daily operations? No, I of course I I support communication transparency, but I think this is a rather drastic
um response to what is a lack of communication, a lack of operational uh cooperation. I've heard um I think the water commissioner spoke beforehand. They're open to coming up with maybe just a
policy, an operational policy regarding the maintenance and protection of town infrastructure, roads. It's really our roads because our the the high school and the middle
school are not going to be part of this. I and maybe the Kingston middle school and elementary school will be part of this in terms of the custodial staff. Are they going to be? No. So there's no cost savings there. So we're not going
to save any money maintaining our schools. So again, just looking for numbers, data, that kind of thing. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Christopher Aaka, 52 Evergreen Street.
You state that there's no communication. They don't work to the departments don't work together. It'd be great to see those examples. I can give you projected. Um we we have a mass DOT highway department that the water department conducted their project on Main Street and there's zero
communication between Mass DOT and the town on digging up the work that was just completed and final paved. There was no communication from DOT. So there's a breakdown right there to demonstrate. Um and but but it'd be great to see them expectations. I mean, I know that the water department and the sew department has assisted the highway
department many times in snowstorms, storm cleanup, other things. And another great thing would be to do is have the board of select or have your DPW committee meet with the superintendents, get feedback from them. Has that happened? You're a superintendent. That's why I'm
asking. I I I never got off an opportunity to speak or comment or feedback or anything in regards to this. So, excuse me. I think that's just kind of a professional courtesy should be extended to those department heads. We said at our last meeting that that we were open to meeting with any staff and
we could do it in person. We I mean uh in an open meeting or we can do it well you had the working group too which the I think it would be great if that working group reached out to those department heads to get feedback and approach and ask the questions that
you're stating there of the lack of communication, the lack of workmanship. I know for a fact the highway department and water department work very well together. We share equipment. We help each other out. We share guys. I borrow guys from the sewer department. We're not short staff. So I think that more research needs to be done on your
research committee before a decision is made and more feedback from the departments that are existing. We absolutely over the next and we said this at our last meeting if if you saw that saw the meeting we ask to to get feedback from all of the staff. So, um,
again, I think Keith, we said that you, you know, we we asked you to reach out to, I think it was the union. I don't think they wanted to meet in an open public meeting. They they wanted to do it privately. So, it wouldn't be in front of the entire selectman. It would be in with one or two selectmen. I'd be happy
to sit down with the the panel or with the border stuck with the town of town town body and discuss many cases where the water department has stepped up with whether it's cutting trees up around town because roads are blocked, snowstorms, anything. Yeah. No. And not once feedback asked from the water. If I
could just real quick, Chris, your water commissioners were invited to every meeting. They're the they're the commission. They're the group that this that that oversees the water department. If they wanted their superintendent to be there, they should have asked them. This isn't a this the the discussion we're trying to have is supposed to be a
collaborative one. Nobody's pointing fingers at you or at the the sewer superintendent, but you there's a public hearing. It was a public meeting. Every one of those meetings were open. You could have come to any one of them. Any one of them from my understanding is appropriate for us to ask someone who
doesn't report to us to attend a meeting. Sure. But it was my understanding when that panel was started it was asked for a member of water commission and member of sewer commission and I feel that maybe it was should have been a a coffee hour with
the department heads to see hey feedback what's your thought what's your angle what's your position on this so there's there's a lot of moving parts from every month that for quarterly samples monthly samples that there's a lot of stuff that goes on you know we have an engineer that specializes in water wastewater has
an engineer that specializes in waste about it to have an engineer that specializes in drain laying isn't going to fit the mold. You're still going to have to have that other engineer that has that background or that knowledge. The we we we discussed that at one point, the engineer question. Yeah. Yeah. So, you're welcome to speak at any
of our open meetings or one-on-one or one-on-one open meeting law. So, you know, you could speak privately with any two of us together and I I'd be happy to meet with you and and discuss uh your thoughts as well. It'd be great if we just got an invite rather than Yeah. And
as as as water commissioner, we directed Chris not to attend with we want to be there ourselves since we are again the policym body. We want him to focus on that part. So we it was our call not to have him. Right. So we apologize for you not being inviting. It was invited. It
wasn't our call. It was my interpretation from emails and communications went along that it was more of the board the commissioner's invitation. it was their privilege to to sit at that table for their feedback as a water commissioner, as the chairman or so forth. So, I just think that it'd be great to get more feedback from the
boots on the ground, the superintendents. They're the boots on the ground. They're the ones out on the streets. They know dayto day. The commissioners, they're not out on the road dayto day. They're there for every other week for a meeting. We give them as much feedback as we can. We can't give them every little nut and bolt that
went on that that week. So, I think it'd be great to get feedback from those department heads to see day-to-day operations. That's all. Yep. That's fine. I I think probably what would make sense is just to meet with like one or two of us. Like I said, unless you want to do it in an
open public meeting, what whatever the best transparency for the public so they get a clear understanding of what goes on daytoday in water and waste water. There's a lot there's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot to keep the system flowing. I get it. Oh, we're happy to have it in public. A lot of people aren't comfortable speaking in this type of forum. So, the I think the point is
your call. You can do it however you feel comfortable. We're open to it either way. We're trying to solve problems here, not cause them. So, if this isn't the right solution, great. But let's fix it. I'm not saying it's not the right solution or the right solution. I'm just saying there should be more research. There should be more discussion before it goes to town town
meeting for a vote. There should be more feedback from the departments and the residents. Thank you. All right, Elaine. I'm going to be respectful of the people who are waiting out there to be honored tonight. So, two things. I just want to say, can we continue this to another
date certain? Absolutely. And second, um, Street Trees and Parks Wastewater has always worked with Paul Basler from day one. He's been on our committees, our subcommittees. So, I just want that statement to be acknowledged that that is unless we missing something, that's
not a true statement as it pertains to wastewater. So, that's it. Thank you, Elaine. We we we absolutely will continue this. We'll meet as many times as folks want. Um, did anybody else have anything they they wanted to say? I don't want to We We can hold off on our
our six o'clock meeting for a few more minutes. Do we have a lot of people out there? Yes. For the for the fire. Oh, whoa, whoa. Okay. Okay. So, we'll go for So, another 10 minutes here. It's your call. All right.
I don't need to. We'll go for another. Yeah, go ahead. First of all, I think we went through a disaster and we did pretty darn good co and I think there's a lot of people here we should be thanking. I I hate to
disagree with the chair. It's all right. However, I do think we are still a small town and we can still pick up the phone. I can call any one of you here and you know it.
I know and and you know it. I I think we have a town administrator who can coordinate this. This may be something we should aspire to. I don't know. But we're not going up, folks. We're going down in population.
I won't deny that all of our departments work very hard, very hard. But I just wanted to bring that to our attention. We did have a disaster and we did do well I think for this town. I
also think I see the chief over there, one of the chiefs and I know he's going to be looking for money. We're not talking about 150 170,000 for this position. There's a lot more. Actually, the position was funded at town meeting. Excuse me. The
position was funded at town meeting because the budget passed. Well, what was it funded for? 30,000. No, but extra 30,000 over what we had in the budget for the super Yeah, it was a $30,000 increase. I I think Sorry to interrupt.
to have just so folks know to have a um an engineer in in that position and and mostly so that you know I think there's a lot lot to look at but mostly to bring this back after a few months after town
meeting I just don't believe is appropriate for this board to do and I think it takes it diminishes all of our attendance at town meeting. We voted something So that's all I want to say. Thanks.
Thank you. Uh I'll go for a few more minutes if anybody else wanted to say something. As long as other uh select members here have made comments. I think I'd like to make a couple of comments. Okay. I wasn't on the board when this uh project
became a a study and a a recommendation to go to town meeting. um I'm leaning towards not being in favor of it. Some of my concerns are that um number one, I don't believe that
it's a cost of only $30,000 additional that we will hire a new manager director for anywhere from $150 to $200,000. We are promoting at least temporarily a
couple of members of the uh streets, trees, and parks to fill the vacant job of um Mr. Basler. Um I find it hard to believe that we will roll back their salaries and roll back their positions when we bring in
somebody new. Uh, one of those positions was well, they're both promotions, so I suspect we may be hiring somebody to replace one of those positions. I'm concerned about the budget impact. I personally like having some independence
for the water department and the wastewater department. And I consider that somewhat similar to we don't have the fire department or the police department reporting to the town administrator. They have some independence reporting to the board of
selectment. I believe that somebody else out here has already hit upon it that the town administrator and the board of selectman have to take some
responsibility for coordinating and making sure that the uh relationships the working ability between the water wastewater and the streets trees and parks are working effectively.
Um if if there's an issue, it's up to the selectman, the town administrator. Yes, we maybe don't have direct reporting authority, but we ought to be able to work together as a town, as a group. Okay. Um
th those are the my main points. Uh, I just wanted to make it clear that, you know, the way we've been talking up here. It sounded like the board of selectman is 100% behind this project and trying to sell it. I just want to
let it be known that um I have not 100% made up my mind one way or another. Uh I'm only one member and you know we'll we'll see where it goes. Oh, my last item was already mentioned. I think it's absolutely abhorrent to even think about
bringing this to the fall town meeting that I don't care if the it was voted down by 10 votes or a thousand votes. Town meeting spoke. Let's at least give it a year before we bring it back to the table. Thanks. All right. Thanks, Carl.
Anybody else? Yes. Yeah. Go ahead. Oh, sorry. I can't tell. Yeah. Was it was it Don? You can take the slideshow down. That was that was Don. Good evening everybody. Uh my name is David Saper and I serve on the Kingston water department
as the treatment plant operator. Uh I've served had the pleasure to serve the water department for 25 years. Um and in that time uh I can't tell you how much cooperation that I've seen personally between departments. Um people have short memories these days. Um, but I
could sit here and talk all night about the endless storms where we all came together as a team. Um, horrible water mane breaks that completely shut down Smith Lane where we all came together as a team. I know you remember, Paul. I know you remember. I know every
department head was out there for that one. Um, I love serving the town. Uh, and I first want to say that I really appreciate the civil uh discourse uh of this. Um, I'm always open to listening to new and better ways of serving uh the
town. Um, but what I can tell you is that in uh my 25 years of service on the water department, um, I've come to discover that um, response and management calls have to come very very rapidly. Uh, right now I'm I'm on 247
call as we speak right now. I have the beeper and I just responded to a call prior to taking uh, this meeting. Um, but my point is that uh one of the reasons I've always loved serving on the water department is because of the management structure that we have. Um,
it's always extremely experienced. Um, Matt Dar knew the system like the back of his hand, was always there for us day or night. Uh, and our current superintendent, Chris Veraka, is the exact uh, same. It's been a pleasure to serve him and I can't tell you how many
times when I've been on call uh I've run into absolutely awful situations and no matter what time of day or night Chris always picks up the phone. Chris has a plan of action. Chris puts it in action. Uh and I've always had great respect for that. Uh truly Chris. Um, I've also
always had great respect uh for the chain of command at the water department and how every single employee uh from our low man right up onto the top respects that chain of command, respects the people that they answer to and are respectful to the people that they
answer to. Um, it's a it's a very very uh effective apartment uh department. Uh, one that I am truly uh proud uh to serve. Um, and regardless of uh regardless of which uh direction the town takes in this proposal, of course,
I'll be uh still equally proud to serve uh both this town, which has been so wonderful to me, and the water department, which has been so wonderful to me. Um, so I just wanted to uh just quickly speak and uh put my perspective out there that um I hope that this plan
in no way impedes that rapid response leadership that we currently already have uh at the water department. That's my only uh concern. Um that that ability to act quickly um streamline decision making um from someone that knows the
system inside and out. It's a very big complex system. It's it's it's just not one of those things where you can just bring someone in from outside and they're up to speed in 3 months, 6 months. It's very complex. And as you mentioned, uh the town has grown an awful lot. When I started in 2000, God
only knows how many new homes have been built since then. And we've had to completely modernize our water treatment and distribution facilities. They're much bigger and more complex, which makes uh competent direct management on site even more important with
state-of-the-art green sand filtration systems, chlorination, the addition and use of chemicals where previously it was just a simple slurry uh to pump the water out. much small much less demand. Um and with that increased demand comes
increased responsibility. And also with that increased usage comes increased breaks and disruptions and you know that kind of thing. And um I I can just speak from my 25 years experience that um the response has always been incredible. Um
and I've always been extremely proud to serve under the management uh that I do serve at the water department. And again, uh, thank you all very much, uh, for this very civil, uh, discourse. It's much appreciated. Thank you. Thank you for your time. And, um, I will just reiterate, I don't want people to think
we're trying to replace anybody. We're not Oh, thank you. We're not trying to replace anybody. The all we're trying to do, we want to keep the people who are the experts in town in place, including the commissioners, the superintendent. This is just an added layer of coll.
Again, we we're not going to get into it again, but it's I think you need to probably have a slide for that, maybe a little clearer. Um, and in terms of the benefit, not only to the day-to-day for folks, but also the um speediness of
responsiveness, right? Is that this would actually make it faster issues. We're not trying to slow it down or add more red tape at all. I mean, that is not the intention other than projects being coordinated. So projects would need to be coordinated across all departments, police, fire, highway,
water, it should be. It should be, but it's not. So I mean, if that's all done, that that's that's what kicked off this process to begin with. And I think what I heard tonight from folks that came was they they believe that it is being coordinated. So if we have examples of
how it's not working and if there are examples of the the cost that is associated with that, that I think would be helpful for people to see. All right. I don't I think he was okay. Yeah. I don't know. All right. So, we're gonna um
What's that? Yeah, we're going to adjourn this meeting. We will have more of these over the next uh several months. So, um but please don't hesitate to also reach out directly to me or anybody else on this board uh with questions, comments, and Chris, if you
want to meet um privately or in in an open meeting, it's it's your call. We're we'll do either. Um, and that goes for anybody. Um, so all right. Do we want to move to continue the public hearing to Tuesday
or what is it? July 15th. Uh, no. At 5:30 p.m. No. Well, you can, but I won't be here. Well, I don't want that. Big 29th. 29th. 29th. 5:30. Okay. So, that's my motion. All right.
All those in favor? Eric. Kim. I. Missy I call I Don I. All right. All right. Um move to journ. Second. All right. All those in
favor? Eric. I Kim I. Missy I. Kyle. I I. Okay. All right. We're good. We're 23 if that helps. Yep. We're going to take about a 10-minute break and then we'll start our regular meeting. going to go ahead and get started. Um I
am going to call our board of selectman meeting for June 17th um to order at 6:20 7. I need glasses. Sorry. 6:27. And we're going to actually start with the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisibley and justice for all. All right. Um we have a few announcements tonight. Um, this meeting
is being recorded by the local scene. Anyone intending to make an audio or video recording of this meeting should notify the chair at this time. I think it perfect. Thank you. Um, financial assistance applications are available on the town's website or by calling the selectman's office. Um, for anyone
interested in volunteering, there are several vacancies on various committees and boards. To see a complete list of the openings, please visit our website at kingstonmma.gov. Also check out our website for any additional events or notices at kingstonmma.gov. Uh we have new townhouse hours beginning
on June 30th. Uh Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. And Friday um townhouse will be closed. Um do we have Don on? We do have Don. So,
let's do a roll call. Um, I have a vote to motion to open our meeting. Well, it's just a roll call vote. Yeah. So, Eric, Eric here. Kim, I here. Missy I here. Kyle here.
Don here. And can you hear me clearly? We can. Yep. Okay. Just want to make sure. While we have a full room, we might as well mention that finance committee is looking for new members. We have three open seats on finance committee and that's an integral part of the town and they review the budget help
uh determine how we spend money and they present that budget to town meetings. So it's very very important. We need people who are interested in how the town spends money and making recommendations. So please consider volunteering or finding um someone that you know that might be interested in filling this
role. Take the opportunity with a full room. Right. Absolutely. recruiting. I mean, there's other openings, too, but that's the one that I'm focused on right now. Anything else? Uh, just music nights. Yep. They start Tuesday the 24th, um, 6
p.m. Chris Ballerini, Dan Felix at Grace Beach Park. Parking is limited and there's info on the recite. Excellent. Did you mention it's transfer station sticker season? Oh, thank you. Due July 1st. Yep. So, as of July 1st, your your dump sticker won't work anymore. It
won't you can't get in. So, make sure you get your new sticker. Now, there is the online sticker. Not yet. You have to go to the highway bar still like like the good old days, but hopefully soon they'll be online um stickers. So, just the clock is ticking. And then did you
want to talk about the planning board um joint meeting? Yes. Um thank you. So, due to a failure uh to elect on the planning board, the planning board and board of selectment are seeking candidates interested in filling the open seat until the next
town election in the spring of 2026. Interested candidates must submit a letter of consideration and qualifications no later than June 25th. Please submit your information by mail to the town of Kingston board of selectment office. Attention Patricia Tucker, 26 Evergreen Street, Kingston,
Mass02364, or by email to P. Tucker at kingstonma.gov. All candidates will be interviewed at a joint uh planning board of selectman meeting on Tuesday, July 1st at 6 p.m.
Um, can we do the pin pinning first and then open forum? I can do open after. Do it however you want. All right. So, our first appointment is a Kingston uh fire department promotion and hiring uh pinnings. Chief, good evening. We're here tonight to congratulate and swear
in Captain Joshua Hatch and four new Kingston firefighters. But before we move to the swearing in, I would like to thank Captain Susan Hussie for her 27 years of dedicated service to the town of Kingston. Soon is Sue is due to officially retire in July and I speak
for everyone in wishing her a long, happy and healthy retirement. First, the promotion of Captain Hatch. [Applause]
Susan, of course, isn't here because she doesn't like public recognition and clapping like that. First, the promotion of Captain Hatch. A competitive assessment center was given this fall. A captain's exam was held in anticipation of Captain Hussy's retirement. The process is made up of
several parts, including a written examination and practical components designed to assess the overall ability of each candidate. The scores are then tabulated by an agreed upon formula, thoroughly reviewed, and results are provided to the fire chief by an independent panel.
Joshua Hatch ranked highest in this process and became eligible for promotion to captain after completion. Josh was promoted to captain on May 27th, 2025, taking Captain Hussy's place on group three.
Josh, will you and your family please step forward so you can be sworn in and receive your badge, as well as Jana, the assistant town clerk, to do so. Josh is being pinned by his wife Stephanie and children, Nora and Caleb. Flip for it.
All right. Please raise your right hand. Do you Joshua Hatch solemnly swearly you will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon you as an appointed fire captain for the town of Kingston in according according to the best of your abilities and
understanding agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Kingston Fire Department, the bylaws of the town of Kingston and the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Constitution of the United States. Excellent. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations, Josh.
Pinningings are a celebration of accomplishment and an opportunity for families, friends, and residents to share in the success of the fire department and the individuals. In Kingston, pinning ceremonies are conducted when either promotions take place or new firefighters complete their probationary period, which is one year
of service and meeting all entry- level requirements. In Kingston, all new members are required to be paramed certified as paramedics prior to being hired. This educational process takes one to two years to complete, excuse me, and includes extensive classroom hours coupled with hospital and field
internships. Once hired, new members are sent to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy for 12 weeks of rigorous classroom and practical training in all aspects of firefighting. Once that is complete, they return to Kingston and commence training in all aspects of the Kingston Fire Department
and the town of Kingston. Tonight we celebrate their success. As we call each of you, I'd ask you to step forward so that Janet can sway you in and your family can present you with your badge. First, firefighter Elizabeth
Ule will be pinned by her wife Lorna and sons Carter and Preston. [Applause] I'll swear in first. Okay,
just one more minute. Raise your right hand, please. Do you, Elizabeth Ule, solemnly swear you will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon you as an appointed firefighter paramedic for the town of Kingston accordance to the best of your
abilities and understanding agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Kingston Fire Department bylaws of the town of Kingston, the laws of the Commonwealth and the Constitution of the United States. Excellent. Congratulations. Daddy picture.
[Applause] Next, firefighter Mark Larry. Mark will be pinned by his father, retired Wayimoth Fire Chief Robert Larry. Mark, raise your right hand. Do you, Mark Larry, solemnly swear you
will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon you as an appointed firefighter paramedic for the town of Kingston according to the best of your abilities and understanding agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Kingston Fire Department, the
bylaws of the town of Kingston, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Constit Constitution of the United States. Excellent. Congratulations. I know, right? By the end, you guys will be able to [Applause]
Next, firefighter paramedic Patrick O'Donovan being pinned by his wife Lisa, his children Liam and Clara. Wait, no. Wait. Please raise your right hand. Do you, Patrick O'Donovan, solemnly
swear you will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon you as an appointed firefighter paramedic for the town of Kingston. according to the best of your abilities and understanding agreeably to the rules and regulations of the
Kingston Fire Department, the bylaws of the town of Kingston, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Constitution of the United States. Oh my goodness, he did it. [Applause]
Next, firefighter paramedic Caroline Reed being pinned by her father, Kingston firefighter James Reed. Excuse me. Oh, before I swear you and Caroline, I just wanted to say I'm here standing in for Paul Gallagher. I spoke with him earlier. He really wishes he was here.
So, uh, raise your right hand, please. Do you, Elizabeth, sorry, wrong line. Do you Caroline Reed solemnly swear you will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties and responsibilities incumbent upon you as an appointed firefighter paramedic for
the town of Kingston according to the best of your abilities and understanding agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Kingston Fire Department, the bylaws of the town of Kingston, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Constitution of the United States. I do. Congratulations, ma'am.
[Applause] [Applause] That concludes our pinninging ceremony. I'd like to thank Janna for all of her work today and all of you for the privilege of your time tonight. Thank
you. Thank you. [Applause] [Applause] We're going to take a recess for just a few minutes as everybody's leaving. I mean, if you want to stay. Yeah. He's on mute. Don, are you still there?
He may have taken a break. All right. All right. We can hear you. All right. So, we're going to resume and we're going to go back to open forum. Never mind. Never mind. I'm canceling open forum. Don't do that. Does not go well. I
thought he was going to take my picture. Hello everyone. My name is Ro Kushman 27 free Main Street, Kingston, Mass. I'm here today to ask a couple questions because I my mom and me noticed the summer street Main and the the Summer
Street and Main Street going up to Cancun. the sidewalks are starting to rip apart. And and my question is, did I I'm kind of mad because you guys didn't take into account that Main Street is
more damaged and and and and I know Summer Street was like and Green Street was second, third on the list, but Main Street is the old one of the oldest streets in town. And I in my opinion that street should get maintenance
before anything else. I know you guys are doing part and pod but the sidewalks the sidewalks are horrible. It's cracked more than summer street. It's and it's very dangerous and I almost tripped multiple times on Main Street alone. Not
accounting that I almost tripped on this street which was my I wasn't watching but but I I feel that I feel that Main Street deserves more attention to the sidewalks than Summer Street
on and from like the part of Main Street on like down by between the Corona where you guys were doing that maintenance on waterway and then down towards the cumies because did you guys ever think about was about that and
what what did you guys think when you guys were planning it because I don't feel summer street was more necessary needing a new sidewalk than Main Street. All right. Thank you. We probably need to get Val. Yeah, go ahead Keith. So just to just to
respond to that. So, the state of Massachusetts Commonwealth Mass DOT is doing u ADA sidewalk uh improvements on along that stretch of road that you were talking about. So, that's not town of Kingston working. That's uh Mass DOT and
the and the and the contract that was hired by Mass DOT. Okay. Well, and also do you know if they are going to be doing the whole Main Street? Because the whole Main Street needs to be redone. I mean like the whole sidewalk on Main
Street has to be redone. We're we're working uh with our planning department to try to identify um the best way to reconstruct all of Main Street, not just the not just the road, not just the sidewalk. So those plans are ongoing. That's going to be a multi-million
dollar project that has to get state approval because it's a state road. So I don't disagree that that's in that's there are certain areas that are in terrible shape. No question about that. Uh but that's a a very very expensive project that we is going to take some time to plan out properly.
Okay. Thank you. Have a nice one. Thanks. Thanks. Roseanne Pratt, 10 Center Street. I'm one of the walkers in the morning and some mornings I have to make sure. Am I
going to poke my eye out with the bushes on Main Street or break my ankle with the lousy sidewalks? This has been going on for I would say 10 years. You've got to address these problems cuz somebody's going to get
hurt. And I hope it's not me. And me. It's a liability. I didn't pay for those two. I didn't pay for that. Susan Sherman, 215 Main Street, and she was a Kushman. Um,
let me let me start by saying that I think the town administrator is now mistaken because Main Street is in fact the town street. It is not a state road. So, with that, I'm not going to get into that
debate now, but I I'm looking for three pedestrian signs. I've talked to some of you. Um, there were three. There was one at the Unitarian Church. There was one at Elman
Maine and one at Green and Maine, which I think we sorely need for calming measures if nothing else. I've been informed by two different people, so I'm putting it to the selectman that um
well, one said uh Josh John I'm sorry. Who's our Baitman? No. Who's our Oh, Sean. Sean. Sean. Sorry. Senior moment. Um, he said that he has two of them. So,
I I don't know what's going on with that. Number two, the chief signage. We have $50,000. Where is it? Can we address that tonight? And that's
supposed to be for um I believe safety and traffic calming measures, is it not? Yeah. So Keith can address both. Couple of things here. First of all, I I you're absolutely correct. Uh it is a town road. It does need to have state approval before any improvements occur.
So So I apologize for my slight inaccuracy. Been said far too many times. I'm sorry. Yeah, it's it's because it's a state. Yeah. That's right. But we own the road. So, with regards to the the signs, two of the signs are town owned. One sign is owned by, I believe, the church. I spoke
to Sean today. We had a conversation. Uh, we're going to have those. One sign is broken, but we're going to have it replaced. We're going to purchase a new one. The other sign is going to go out probably tomorrow. Um, so when we get that second sign in, that sign will be um put together by Streets, Trees, and
Parks and placed on Main Street like it was last year. Uh I don't I can't speak to what the church's intent is with their sign. Uh but we will have two town own signs out there as soon as the second one is able to be delivered and constructed. The $50,000
was something that I asked I believe it was uh Senator Moran at the time a year or so ago for uh an earmark for some sort of traffic calming. My initial thought, this was before Chief Holmes had been hired and and taken his
position, was potentially a um a mobile trailer that would identify people's speeds and help the police department calm um traffic. Since, and I don't want to speak for the chief, but I'll try. Um since that time, we've reached out to
the senator's office. We've asked for uh some discretion, some leeway on on what we can use that sign, what we can use those funds for. We don't need to buy specifically a trailer. We have we can buy traffic calming me, some sort of traffic calming measures, and it's our
intent to do that. Uh I do I I don't have a time f frame for you today, but we will certainly uh be utilizing that $50,000 uh to uh enhance our traffic calming capabilities someplace in town. Thank you. You're welcome.
Anybody else for open forum? Yep. I said no. Jennifer Kushman, 273 Main Street. I'm just going to bring this up again. Can somebody talk to St. Joseph about their bells? They're aiming right for my bedroom window and I get woken up every
weekend, six o'clock in the morning. So we I thought we we had had a conver somebody from town staff and I apologize I don't remember which person it was had a conversation with the church who had indicated they were going to modify the off the times that the bells were
ringing. So I will uh we'll reach out to there before. We'll reach out to the church. We'll ask them if if they can um reduce the the volume or potentially not ring them at six o'clock in the morning. Trust me, he's called me personally and
I listened to him say I'm not getting rid of my bells for about 20 minutes. So, I understand the situation that you're in. I don't believe there's anything the town can do to there's there's nothing there's no bylaw or state law being broken that the town can can require the church to reduce or
eliminate their bell ringing. I mean, it sets his ticks off. I I completely understand and I and I I I I'm just trying to be as honest with you as I can. I don't want to sit here tonight and tell you that I can try to do something when I that I can. There's got to be something we got to can do because this is crazy. I mean, I all I
said to I even said to one person, just take the front two speakers off and yes, they can adjust their volume because they've done it because I've sitting outside and turn them up. I will assure you that I'll reach out to the church tomorrow myself. Okay. Try to have a conversation. If you have a contact and
a phone number that you'd be willing to share, that would be fantastic. and and I'll ask what I can do. But again, I I don't want to mislead you. Okay. Um I don't have any the town doesn't have any authority to um silence. That's what I heard that you
guys don't have the authority, but I'm happy to reach out and and try to have a conversation. I'm not really sure what more I can go to the arch dasis, too, I think, because it's sure it's would be nice to have it not pointing at my house. I've lived there over 30 years and now it's
tempting to sell the place. Was there a Can I just ask one question? Go ahead. Has there been a change in in the the volume or the times that the bells are ringing? That's exactly what I She told you not to talk, right, Will?
Right there. Oh, you get the list. He's got a list going. They They do ring it. They have them. There you go. Well trained. They have rung them at 8:54 a.m. 6:00 a.m. No, 6:00 p.m. Actually, 6:00 p.m. 11:25
11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. 6 p.m. 12 p.m. 12 p.m. 3 p.m. 12 6 p.m. But are they are they is it have they always rung at those times or is it are they more free in the morning? When did this all start? I think is what I'm trying to How Thank
you. the week the Friday before the Friday before the pope died. Okay. And and they did and they would ring it once in a great while back to back which is double triggering from my autism and my
all my disabilities that I do have. Okay. And that is ridiculous. Mom, you must step back to the microphone. Yes. Yes, sir. He's come to a lot of these meetings. It's just I mean I've talked to him and he's been quite rude that he's not going
to get rid of the bells. And one day I was sitting outside on the front porch brushing my dog. He walks across the Y. I swear to God he went in and turned him up. So Okay. All right. So Keith is going to try. Yeah. Thank you. All right. Thanks.
All right. Thank you everyone. Um anybody else for open forum online or it's just Don. Don wants to speak. Anybody else here want to speak? All right. Um, our next item, update on Kingston Elementary School replacement project.
So, um, Mike Lawless, um, who's, and I apologize, Mike, director of facilities, uh, is here representing Silver Lake tonight. Just to give the board an update, the the Silver Lake School Department school committee, I guess, but last week voted to support um
funding the 20% portion of that wasn't Silver Lake, I'm sorry, it was Kingston schools. Apologize. Um replace 20% of of the the roof uh at at the Kingston schools because that's the only portion of the roof that was eligible to be
funded through the Mass School building aid. Um, I got an email from the superintendent asking for the board of selectman support in that decision. So, I thought it was appropriate to have somebody from the school department here tonight just to ask answer any questions
if the board had any questions about why they had chosen um to move forward in that direction. The last thing I guess I'd say, and Mike can can back me up if I'm wrong, the 20% that they're looking at is a is an independent section of the roof. It's not going to need to be
phased in at a later date. That section is a completely standalone section. So, replacing that portion of the roof doesn't impro doesn't impact potentially or minimize the the u quality of the roof installation by having a seam there later once the rest of the roof is
replaced. And I would argue that knowing government doing double the project isn't going to save any money. It would probably cost double the double. So we're not going to see any savings by waiting and put doing it all together. The only question I would have is does
it reduce our eligibility for the other 80%. Sorry, Don. Because I that would be my only concern with doing the 20% now is does it make it so that we can't apply for the other 80% when that turns 25 years old? We can
apply again in 2027 when they open up that uh project again. There's no guarantee that we get accepted again. So, you know, it's in the school committee view that we do it do the section we can do now. And it's a it's
about um 11,000 square feet of roof. Do you have an estimated cost, Mike? I I don't Don, did you have a question? Uh is I guess just to kind of follow up that Kim said what I was going to ask,
but um do we know if it does impact us on that list though? Oh, because we because to me if there's any impact at all, I wouldn't want to do it now. I'm not sure. They just told us that we could apply again in 2027. Um because
that's when the rest of the roof will fall into 25 years from when you apply. So, it's a risk. So, it really it is a risk and I mean it really depends on how much money is in is in the um applications. Yeah, that section is the
worst part of the roof that would be covered. It is it is the worst on the building. So, yeah. Carl, did you have a question? Yeah. Do I understand correctly that we don't have a dollar number how much we intend to spend for this 11,000 square foot room?
I I don't have that. No. I'm I'm reluctant to be recommending something if I don't at least know that it's going to be $1 million and 500k is paid by the state. No. So that's the that's the portion that they're not
going to do. The portion that we are doing the 20% you do have we do have a number for that. I I don't have that with me. I know originally we had a number for the entire roof. I don't know if Keith if you remember what that number was, but now out of the roughly 95,000 square ft only a little over
11,000 square feet around. To be clear, I don't think we're being asked to vote on this. We are just being presented with an update. Correct. No, they're what I was asked for and Mike again, correct me if I'm wrong, but the superintendent asked for the selectman support in moving forward with
with the 20% of the roof because um it's a town of Kingston owned building and we need to give the MSBA um a yes or a no basically tomorrow in order to get everything to fall into place. So we're going to theoretically I think it's we
should maybe do that but again like Carl said I don't know how we say we support it without so just to try to move forward in the process. So if the board does support this tonight we notify MSBA um they've done the due diligence on the type of repairs that need to be done.
They've hired an engineer or a roof expert um who's identified the type of repair that needs to be or replacement that needs to be done. Um what what would happen from this point forward is it it would be bid out the MSBA would
would agree to would agree to what the bidding was going to be. They would determine what that cost would be and we have to go to fall time meeting to appropriate those funds. So um the MSBA and I don't have the exact percentage in front of me but it was 30 something% I
believe 30 35ish% of the total cost of the of the roof. So, I we don't have a total cost at this point because it hasn't been bid out. Um, and we won't know that until later on this summer or fall. And again, it'll
be the opportunity to vote yay or nay is is it at the fall town meeting. Did you say that the 20% that would be replaced is the worst part of the roof right now? Yes, it's the oldest part. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So, one thing to keep in mind, my experience with MSBA, and because I did
it a few times over my career in school committee, Kim, wait, um, but anyways, um, the time that I spent if if you if MSBA approves you and you move forward and it goes to town meeting and it's voted down, correct me
if I'm wrong, but it hurts you when you apply the next time because they're looking at you like, "Yeah, they didn't move forward. You're you're not moving up the list again. So, I think it hurts if we move forward and then doesn't pass
like if we withdraw our support later. So, it's like pull a trigger and keep your finger and and if this 11k square 11,000 square feet, did you say it was the total was 90 something? The total is uh of the
entire roof area is 95635. Okay. And the covered area is 11,650. Okay. So it's approximately 10%. So do we know that the proposal that we sent in was x number of dollars and we could even take 10% of that? No. I can tell
you this though. Um, a couple of years ago when the when the school department had included uh roof replacements for both KES and KISS uh in the capital plan, the estimated cost at that point was $2 million a roof. So those numbers
are old. Um, but you're you're talking, you know, I would say three $400,000 probably. Uh 30 some odd percent of going to be re reimbursed through MSBA. Um, but that's probably the magnitude you're looking at at this point, I would
think. Do we have any other questions or comments? My comment would be I don't like u not having some numbers. Yeah. Um and I if
in fact you know we had gone forward with the total project it being even $3 million and then now we say 10% of that if it was $500,000 I don't have a problem with
it. But if somehow that uh roof had because we had added in doors and windows and things like that that we've done in the past, I'd be concerned that it could be significantly more than two billion. But, you know, we don't seem to
have the answers for tonight. And if if the decision has to be made tonight, so be it, I guess. any concerns? I mean, just the same. Yep. Just that we don't have a number for it. But I do know the MSBA grants
are difficult to Yeah. access and to apply for and to be given an opportunity to have some form of it being paid for is better than not being approved at all. So, and and it's also a sign of the times, I guess, because I'm sure Eric, you probably remember I always like to
consider the grants, the state paying 40 45% and the town paying 55%. You know, but that doesn't surprise me, right? and we and we have no way to confirm
whether or not it could impact us because I mean to me that's a huge deal breaker if this at all could impact us getting another one. So I I think if I could, Don, I I I can't I can't answer specifically, but my understanding is that each every other year they they
allow for applications that are eligible for uh potential reimbursement, and they identify and grade each one of those projects based on need. Um so without knowing who the competition is going to be and
how much they're asking for, right? I think they're completely independent applications. Um, and I would agree with with what Eric mentioned. I think if we if the town of Kingston votes votes either tonight or a town meeting not to support
the state funding, uh, I don't think they're going to tell you that that they may not support it next time, but I think that there's it does hurt your ability to be considered for future awards, at least for a period of time. Yeah, I I I've seen that.
Another issue that you know it somewhat normally when you think of replacing a school roof you're thinking of a bond issue for financing over a period of time maybe 20 years. Well, you know, if this in fact is going to be the town's
portion, let's call it $300,000, then I'm not terribly enthusiastic about doing a bond financing for $300,000. But at the other side of the coin, Mike, is uh if I don't do anything, am I going
to have some leaks there six months from now or a year from now? There's currently leaks all the time that are being addressed. Yes. Yeah. So would anybody like to make a motion? I move the board of selectmen support the recommendation from the Kingston school committee in replacing the 20% of
the roof that is eligible for MSBA funding at the Kingston Elementary School. Second. All right. All those in favor? Eric I. Kim I. Missy I. Kyle I. Thank you. Don. Do you want to vote?
Say Tyler I. Yeah. He's still muted. That's okay. We got Oh, does he vote? Oh, no. I'm I'm good. Sorry. Say I if you want to vote. We voted to. Sorry. Sorry.
Remote is fun, isn't it? All right. Thank you. Next. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mike. Um, next item is uh request the board to select in support of the conservation department's application for a coastal habitat and water quality grant program application
for design and permitting of storm water improvements to Drew and Siver avenues in Rocky Nook. Um Keith, do you want to Sure. Conservation Matt Panella, speaking of being online, is online. Um he's here tonight seeking the board's
uh support on the uh grant application you just mentioned and he'd be happy to answer any questions and provide just a short um informational paragraph on what the application's for. Right. Go ahead Matt. Hey. So, uh, similar to some of
the other storm water work we've done in town, um, this would be something eventually that would deal with, uh, treating water before it ends out in Kingston Bay. Uh, we're focusing on Drew and Sever A. Uh, some of the Sever A residents pointed out to Sean and I, um,
how currently the water just basically runs down the street directly into the bay. Um, so we're applying for uh early phase work, due diligence, design, and permitting. Um, and then in a future grant round, we would have it uh built.
So, it's a 9010. Actually, I'm sorry, this isn't a 9010. There's a no match required grant, but we are proposing to provide 10% match. Um we're looking to get I believe it's about $38,000 from the grant and we'll be providing a mixture of cash and inind services to
cover uh 4200 match. So if you have any questions I can answer. Any questions? Just seems to me that all the storm water in Rocky Nook ends up going into the bay one way or another. So, I guess
we're just trying to filter it or do something before it goes in. Yeah. The idea is that um you know, when your fertilizer company and comes and spreads fertilizer that probably shouldn't be there in the first place and then it rains, it all runs down into
the bay, as soon as it rains. Um same thing with dog waste or oil on the road. Um they call it first flush. So, if you can get that first flush into the ground for most storms, then you're in you're in much better shape. Any questions, comments, motions? Um,
move the board of select and support the conservation department's application for the coastal habitat and water quality grant program application for design and permitting of storm water improvements to Drew and Sever Avenues and Rocky Nook. Second. All those in
favor? Eric I Kim I Missy I K I Don I All righty. Thanks. Thank you Matt. Thanks. Have a good night. All right. Next item is uh presentation from recreation on the use of revolving funds. So um Sue Wood's
here this evening to make make a presentation to the board of selectmen on the um revenues that we collect and go into the revolving fund as well as the types of expenses that are incurred. I know there there were a number of questions and discussions that were occurred during the fiscal 26 budget process. So
to try to be proactive with the board and and u allow the board to be aware more aware of what these funds are collected for and and what they're expended for. Uh, I asked Sue to come in tonight and just make a brief presentation so the board is um and the
public is more aware of how the revolving funds um have been used by the recreation department to offset their their budget and and provide the programming and field maintenancees needed without any tax impact to the residents.
Good evening. Uh thank you for allowing me to be here to share any information that I can with you. Um I can start by just explaining in short detail and then answer any questions that people may have. Um but the revolving funds as
Keith had mentioned partly uh not subsidized but they help support the parks and recreation program offerings. Uh basically they include fees and property utilization uh money revenue that comes in the property
utilization uh applies to the Reed community building and also the athletic complexes that we currently have under our jurisdiction. Funds received for programming includes and in our revolving fund we do have different line items. So it's not just a blanket thing. There are different line items that are
associated with those. Uh those line items include programs for instructors and staff, program supplies, and then athletic complex expenses. Uh fiscal year 25 year to date, we've offered over 335 programs. We've managed over 6,300
registrations. We've utilized over 99 facility reservations and those do not include the facility use of all of the recreation programs. Those are in addition to uh we've had 229 field and property reservations and our revenue
when I did this report was at $586,000 and our expenses at that particular point in time were $532,000. So again, as the money comes in, the money goes back out. So sometimes it will look like there's a big influx of money because a lot of our programming is quarterly or is seasonally based off
of the youth sports organizations uh revenue that comes in as well. So sometimes there's a lot of money in there and then that money will go back out and then the money continues to come back and go back out. So there's always that influx of of the funds going back in and out. Um I can give some more
general overview of the parks and recreation management if you would like that information as well. That also supports part of how the revolving fund works. I'm not sure what else other information that you would like at this time. And any questions? No, I mean recreation is a perfect example of what a revolving fund is for, right? programs
take in fees and then they pay for some of the services that are provided. So, I think it's a really um it's a really great example of what these funds are for, but also we heard from finance committee last year and I think we've heard in prior years that they wanted more transparency around that money just
understanding what is it being used for and where is it coming from. So I think also presenting this when we get closer to town meeting to finance committee will be helpful like the details of not necessarily every penny obviously but we buy you know we take in summer camp fees
and we buy t-shirts for the kids and we I don't know insert expenses here. I'm not as familiar with Sure. And and part of that too is I mean the bill processing is the same in the revolving fund as it is for any other bill expenditures. So there's a process in place that the money comes in. We still
have to process it through our department's bill processing. I have to sign off on it. My administrator writes up the schedule. Then it goes to the finance director's office. And so there's an oversight there as well. So it's it's not it's a funneling process that's the same as everybody else in the
depart in the departments. It's just a different fund. Um, so all of that comes in and that goes and there's reports too that can be printed at any time that anybody would like to see them from Ununice, from Kathleen, from myself that actually will give you the breakdown of every single line item of what things were purchased for. But exactly what you
said, Kim, it's it's to pay for the supplies of the program. Sometimes it's a to pay for repairs of properties, not large capital expenditures, but some of the other things that we might need to do for certain properties and things like that to running the programs. And then the equipment necessary and then
the instructors. Most of our programs are instructor-based. They're not run by town employees outside of our KREC Connect summer program and a couple of other programs, but the majority of them are all run by subcontractors or or private instructors. So again, the money comes in for those programs and then the
money goes back out to support those instructors. And I think it's important to note that um salaries and benefits and things can't come out of a revolving fund. That has to come out of the operating budget for the town, my understanding. Is that correct? looking at the finance people in the room. So the sal the wages for
the summer camp come out of that. No, I mean like the employee. So for instance salary can't come out of a revolving fund. I don't believe. No. Exactly. Okay. Looking at the finance Well, the finance director behind you. Part I mean part-time and part-time
salaries can be kic can be taken out of a revolving account and they are taken out of the building revolving account. Um like camp counselors and lifeguards and those types of things too. part time in contractor, you know, all that type of thing. So, correct. And our subcontractors too for our turf
contractors, different contractors from the uh athletic complex, those can also be paid out of the revolving account as well. Missy Carl, any questions? No, I'm good. Nope. Don, do you have any questions?
No. No. All right. So, is it Can I just ask one quick question? I'm catch I apologize for catching it without prompting pro prompting you for this beforehand. The the new well up and running. Ready to go? Yes, the irrigation system is up and running. It's activated. It's fully activated. They'll be coming back, our irrigation
contractor, monthly just to do some property checks. Um but that is fully functional, up and running. The tennis court project is being finalized hopefully this week or next week depending on the weather, but the paint has just started to go down, so that should be open hopefully by the end of
next week. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Well, thank thank you, Sue. You're welcome. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. Our next item is a request from the Agricultural Commission to use the town property for September 21st,
2025. Um, uh, good evening, John Wel, uh, member of the Agricultural Commission. We'd like permission on September 21st, it's a Sunday, to use the town uh the town lawn and the facilities here for our
annual agricultural fair. It'll run from probably it'll be 1 to 4 and we usually start setting up at noon and cleaned up and out of here before 5. So I if I remember correctly last year one of our questions was animals on the
um front lawn and I think do that. Yeah. And you didn't last year either, right? Yeah. Same layout essentially as last time. Very similar. Worked well. And the only concern of course is always, you know, parking, making sure that people aren't blocking evergreen, which we
didn't have a problem with last year, so I don't anticipate an issue this year. No, the the parking worked out well. There's there's plenty of room here, which is a huge advantage. And we had talked about a sign, too. I was going to bring that up potentially.
I was at the meeting. So, they had um created a a sign to put up front on the right. Correct. Yes. We have a banner that we made and prior few weeks prior to the um the event, we'd like to put it up on the the far right side of the
driveway. Yeah. It's out of the way. And I will I'll check with the facilities just to make sure there's nothing there that we're going to interfere with. Right. Awesome. Sounds good. That's it. I move the board of selectmen approve the request of the agricultural
commission to use town hall property in the afternoon of September 21, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. for an agricultural fair. Second. All those in favor? Eric I. Kim I. Missy I. Carl I.
Dan I. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good night. All right. Now we have a request for one day liquor license. Um, Reverend John Graham from St. Joseph's Parish is requesting a one-day license for the St. Joseph's game night at Our Ladies Hall at St.
Joseph's Parish located at 272 Main Street, Kingston on June 27th from 6:00 p.m. to 1000 p.m. Any questions, comments? You have neighbors who have questions, but that's up to you. Um, go ahead.
Jennifer Kushman again. Um, please don't do that because if they let them drink, you know, they're going to be people out in the yard screaming and it's going to get rowdy. We've dealt with science in the backyard. We've dealt with bells. Now I
deal with the yard sales every year, which I don't care about the yard sales, but you let people drinking in that community center, it's going to get it's going to get loud. 6 to 10. 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Yeah. 6 p.m.
to 10 p.m. Signed off by both chiefs. Okay. Yep. Are there any questions from the board? comments. I mean, I have I always have concerns about, you know, neighbor concerns, but at the end of the day, I I mean, I don't know. We've we've allowed for liquor licenses for other
events that similar time frame, similar density in neighborhoods. I I don't know. And I think if there's Sorry. And I think if there's an issue that comes up at this event, if it does, if we do decide to go forward with it, then I think that's something that we would
want to know about after. Right. I just I know we've dealt with this this every summer. It seems like there's a concert in the backyard in in the parking lot. Oh, yeah. You you need to speak up at the mic. Sorry. And then I'm Well, I I need to ask the
the chief a question. Wait, let me go ahead. Go ahead. Just finish what you were saying. I mean, I've seen them having concerts in the backyard in the parking lot, and that goes until almost midnight most nights when they do that. Okay. It's just they
if you let him get any more, he's going to keep going is my concern. All right. Thank you, Chief. Uh, Chief, yeah. Um, did you have any concerns from based on the application? I don't I
understand the concerns of the neighbors. Um, I have an existing relationship with uh Reverend Graham. Uh, I had a conversation with him about the last matter that was brought up in open form. Yep. Um, if there's any issues with this, uh, I'll have an ongoing conversation with him to act on behalf of the board for issuing the
license. Uh, a game night is contained within the church. It's not going to spill over into the parking lot in my opinion. So, I wouldn't have any concerns about u issuing the permit and I'll continue to work with with the church as a leazison from the board. Okay. All right. Any other questions,
comments, or or motion? I move the board of selectmen approve the one-day liquor license request from Reverend John Graham from St. Joseph Parish as requested. One day license for the St. Joseph's game night at Our Ladies Hall at St. Joseph Parish located
at 272 Main Street, Kingston on June 27th, 2025 from 6:00 p. p.m. to 10 p.m. Do I have a second? All right. All those in favor, Eric, I. Kim I, Missy I, Kyle I,
Con I. All right, we will, you know, if if something happens, if it's rowdy at late at night, you know, definitely call it in. Yeah, I would call it in and also let us know how it goes. You know, that's
I'm the more you let him have, he's going to keep going. Yeah, that's that's the way he sounds. And I feel it's not safe. Drinking and driving is the main thing, right? And if the chief can get that detail during that event, that'll be perfect. Just a detail.
Yeah. All right. We got to stop. It's not really open for him. All right. The next item is a temporary road closure request. Uh the residents of Rocky Nook, uh represented by Rebecca Heert have requested to temporarily close portions of several roads for a neighborhood
event on July 4th, 2025. The request has been reviewed by police and fire chiefs and the superintendent of streets, trees, and parks and their comments are included in the board packet and proposed motion. Any questions, comments, motions? I can make a motion unless someone has a question. No, I I
have a couple of comments. Okay. Um especially the, you know, saying that we're going to maintain a 10- foot wide street all the time. That's I live in Rocky Knock and I can tell you
on Fourth of July weekend, I question if that's enforcable without having a police car driving through there every half hour. Um the second one about the uh do we still have the uh fireworks?
Um police department take appropriate action against private citizens who use possess or sell fireworks. Um I my experience living there for 19
years is half of Kingston comes down to see the fireworks that local Rocky Nook residents are firing off not only on Fourth of July but usually two or three nights before. So again, I I I hope that
if we approve this that it's really enforcable or we're just, you know, putting it in writing, but that we really can't do much about it. And I personally am not fighting against fireworks. I'm not fighting against
having tons of parking down there. I'm just trying to point out that that's really what happens. If I'm remembering correctly, that additional um item was requested to be added by our fire chief
um due to some concerns about illegal fireworks. So being kept in homes. We added that last year. It might have even been the year before. It's been a while um that it's been in there because we needed to have that as a reminder. It might have
been when it was put in that there was one year that the major display of fireworks that goes on for a half hour, 45 minutes was not held. And so I believe that was because uh there has been some personal discussion with this
group. Um now that I think about it, that group no longer lives in the Nook, so that may that one might not be a problem. Well, it just the same. We, you know, the police department will hopefully enforce the laws of the state of Massachusetts.
Any other comments, concerns, motions? I move the board of selectment approve the request from Rebecca Heert to close a portion of East Avenue at Bayiew Avenue, West Avenue at Bay View Avenue, Cole Street at Bagnell Street, and a portion of Rocky Nook Avenue from the intersection of East Avenue at Wait,
hold on, I guess so. At Bayiew Avenue to the intersection of Rocky Nook Avenue at North Street on Friday, July 4th, 2025 during the hours of 7:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m. with the following conditions. One, access for emergency vehicles must be maintained. All
barricades must be placed to allow emergency responders to quickly move them. Sections of closed roads must have a width of at least 10 ft to allow for apparatus access. Two, the petitioner must pick up all needed barricades and road closed signs from the highway
department by noon on July 3rd. All barricades and signs will be created, sorry, erected by the petitioners prior to the event. And I believe Sean Turner said he usually coordinates with them. Um, notification is made, sorry, three, notification is made by the petitioner to the neighborhood residents that are
affected by the road closure. And four, instruct the police department to take appropriate legal action against private citizens who use, possess, or sell fireworks. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? Eric, I Missy I. Carl I.
Don I. All right. Additional items, annual reappointments. In our packet, we have a list of the annual board and commission reappoints with their expiration dates. Um, do we want to make a motion? Any questions? And if not, uh, would anyone like to
make a motion? I move the board of selectmen approve the list of candidates up for reappointment to their boards of commission shown on the master list as presented. Second. All those in favor? Eric. Kim I Missy I Kyle I
Don I All right. I think one of his kids unanimous. All right. Next item is declaring the animal control explorer um as surplus. The former Ford Explorer used as the animal control vehicle is no longer needed by the town. Police department is requesting the board designate the vehicle as surplus. Any
questions, comments, motions? I move the board of selectment declare the former animal control Ford Explorer surplus and approve the vehicle to be sold. If the vehicle cannot be sold, the board authorizes its use for vehicle rescue training by the fire department. Do a second. Second. All those in favor? Eric
I. Kim I. Missy I. Carl I. Don I. All righty. Uh update on the status of establishing a department of public works. We had a public forum which had some great feedback. Um, we want to, um, I think we want to have a
meeting with, uh, the superintendent, water superintendent. Um, if the sewer superintendent wants to meet with us, um, we're more than willing to do that. Um, we can have we can schedule that for an open session meeting or we can do um,
one-on- ones with with no more than two members um, so they can speak more more freely. There were questions raised, there were concerns addressed. So, we can just add that to the list of the things that we bring to the next public um hearing which is scheduled for July
29th at 5:30 p.m. I I can't think of anything else. No, that's that's good. All right. Thank you. Um we have uh Do we have meeting minutes? We did, didn't we? I don't think it were on the agenda, though, right? The April minutes that we still
on, right? All right. Um, town administrators report. Thanks, Mr. Chair. I guess first I'd like to just congratulate the Silver Lake Silver Lake High School softball team for winning the state championship uh over the weekend. Congratulations on that. That was uh nicely done. So, uh sometimes
good news, right? Uh the school department uh notified the town about a week ago that there was a potential $457,000 revenue deficit. Uh since that time they've identified um through a number of unpaid leaves and retirements that they are able to offset that
$457,000 revenue shortfall. So that's good news. Um the the the security cameras to the transfer station uh we're looking to have replaced in the next couple of months. The security cameras have not worked since 2021.
Um it's an important tool to make sure that there's a proper disposal is occurring up there by residents. Uh recently someone disposed of contaminated waste oil costing the town $4,400 to remove rather than the typical $600. So, we're trying to identify um or
have the ability to identify who's who's causing those problems so we can continue to offer those services rather than me coming to the board asking to no longer accept the waste oil because it's c it's costing us $4,000 a month to get rid of. Um
so, those are so Sean is working on on uh on getting those squared away. uh a grant application for engineering services for the intersection for three intersections along Route 3A in Ducksbury and Kingston have has been submitted. The project include route
three at the 3A interchange. Uh the 3A intersection at Route 53 and the 3A intersection at Chestnut and Toby Garden Street. Total request of grant funds we asked for today was $2.1 million. A grant application is also being worked
on now to upgrade the HoverMaster building and town pier um to address um the increasing height of tides. Uh that'll be finished up sometime in the next couple of weeks and submitted for consideration.
Uh want to let the board know that our assistant planner Aaron Benoy has ended her employment uh with the town being eliminated as of June 30th. We wish her well. Uh and last week interviews were held for the assistant treasurer position. We had some really strong
candidates. Uh they'll be meeting again and I hope to have a recommendation in front of the board at your June July 1st meeting. Um lastly, the the fire department uh had had a fire a new fire engine approved at
the spring 2022 town meeting. That was received last week finally, which is great. Um and the public the streets trees and parks department has received one more one more of its dump trucks. We have two more remaining that we expect to have in before snow flies if snow flies next
next winter. So we'll have a all everything we've it's been approved the town meeting will will be in stock and in place. So happy to try to answer any questions anybody else has. Other than that any questions for one last thing uh I apologize. Um you may have said it
during your during your announcements so I apologize. Uh we're clo the the town buildings are closed on Thursday for Junth. Um so please keep that in mind if you're looking to do some business with the town. Um but we'll be re reopen
during normal business hours on Friday. Thank you. Thank you Keith. Any questions for Keith? All right. Uh selectman's comments. Kim, do you have anything? Um just a couple of things for the next agenda. Uh, we had received a potential policy for consideration on
the tax title process. We were going to do that, I thought, tonight, but maybe because you weren't here, we waited. Um, so I don't know if we want to put that on the next agenda if we have room for it. Could I comment on that real quick? So, when we had left, I had asked um or
I thought that the decision was that the the tax title custodian uh Mr. Pike is the former tax title custodian and the and the current and and the I guess the most recent tax title custodian, our current treasur collector was going to we're going to sit down and work through and and try to put a policy together uh
because of uh end of year things. The the um um opening of the assistant treasur position that meeting hasn't been scheduled. I asked the the treasurer uh this morning to reach out to the tax
custodian uh and Mr. Pike to find uh a time probably sometime in later July that we can sit down and uh they can sit down and try to work through uh what was discussed at the board meeting and bring something more concrete forward as soon as they possibly could. But the
challenge frankly is um hours in the day with the opening and the end of the year. And my understanding is they just the state legislature is considering passing something. the board the the Ken sent something out to the board today
about um changes in in our uh insurance rates the insurance I'm sorry insurance interest rates that were charged um which may have an impact on that as well. So, so I think we my understanding is slightly different. So maybe um maybe we can clear that up, but I thought that
so Carl was the representative going to work with the current tax title custodian and the treasurer, but aside from that, we were try trying to create uh at least a shell of a this is the process we're going to follow. And and I thought Carl's feedback was it was a
little too in fact detailed. What I've done is I can actually hand out copies. I actually went through the uh policy procedure and made my eight or 10 minor suggestions for the rest of you to take a look at, which was more about like the
you the the tax title properties get confirmed that they are available for auction then it goes to a who knows department head meeting then it goes before the board and then it goes to an auction or something like that right just so that it's clear of what the process is. I've got that. And I've also
gone through the listing of properties that he was concerned that he could not find that we had the proper documentation, the 18 parcels. Yeah. Now, I have not gotten into the files here, but my intent was to go in and
make sure that these weren't in there, the files that he just doesn't know exist, right? Because remember, I had Ken Stevens do some work, and I think that some of those might be there. But I would agree with Keith that you know if we defer this for another month or
thereabouts except for the if you want to put the policy and procedure on the agenda for next meeting then to approve that that that's fine from my point of view. I just thought they were two separate things like the squaring up of the parcels was one piece of it but
having an overall policy that we're all kind of on the same page. This is the process we would like to see if we need to wait. I I didn't think we needed to wait for state law because that's kind of a separate piece of the puzzle. I would agree that the process policy can stand by itself. Okay,
we'll put on the July 1st agenda. Okay, sounds good. Um that was the And then I just wanted to let you guys know I did go to the Plymouth County Advisory meeting and the executive board meeting. It's not on the agenda for tonight. So, um, if you have questions, we can put it on to another one, but we just as an overview, we reviewed the revenues
comparing fiscal year 22 to fiscal year 26 for the county. Overall, the fiscal year 26 is the least high budget of all of those. So, um, and part of that is a reflection of the of the loss in revenue, less um less transactions
happening, less revenue, so the budget has to go down. Um, and there was discussion of the pond management program. So right now there are four communities who have said yes, we want to participate in a pond management program. Probably more aptly named water
management program because they actually found out that they can um the county could potentially get some of the chemicals that we use in water treatment facilities at a bulk price and work with communities in in the county to lower that expense for water departments. So,
um, the homework for all of us is to try to get more of the 27 communities on board with joining the program because four, we are one of the four Kingston is, but but we need, they need more buy in in order to make it a viable program. Um, that was pretty much it I had from
Plymouth County. I just want to let you guys know. Any other comments from you guys? I'm good. All right. Don, do you have anything you want to say? Uh the only quick thing I would note is uh Keith if there's any questions you have or if there's any specific
information you want me to gather before our next meeting for the do not knock registry just let me know. Thank you. I will. Sorry. We um Mr. Pike, myself and Mr. Hickeyi all went to uh the school building tour last night with school
committee members, members of finance committees, capital planning. I'm sure I'm missing some. Um we looked at uh the administration building, the middle school and the high school and reviewed their uh capital needs for the region. They're working on prioritizing that
scope. It is a large dollar number. So they're trying to prioritize the projects at the schools and figure out how we need to approach that. So now I'm done. Thank you. All right. Um our next regular meeting is July 1st.
After that is July 15th. And I am on vacation that week. July 15th. So you can assign everything to me that week. Perfect. While I'm not here to vote you in for everything, right? Um or just vote on everything. We think he would vote one way the other way.
All right. Uh I would entertain a motion to adjurnn. I'll make a motion to adjurnn. Second. All right. All those in favor? Eric I. Him. I. Missy I. Kyle I. Don I. All right. We are officially
adjourned. Thank you.