we like to listen to and do. So, >> what was the inspiration between using the fake voice for Henry? >> Um, so that was actually it wasn't going to be like that originally. Um, we were just going to have like his his normal voice, but we needed it to be under 30 seconds. So, we had to speed it up and
because of that, his voice ended up being like a lot higher. So, >> yeah. Excellent. It ended up it it kind of added a humorous element to it that I think helped you guys in the long run. So, I think that was a good choice. >> Um, >> thank you. Oh, I know. The final thing was just sort of like, was it fun to make? >> Oh, yeah, definitely. Um, we just went
inside a classroom that was right next to where we usually go and got together some props and it was really fun. Uh, we just kind of uh threw out all of our ideas that we were having uh when we were talking about it in the class and then started filming it and yeah, so
there was some stupid stuff obviously in the video. um you've seen it, but it was just really fun uh overall and I feel like it allowed me to kind of greater understand like oh this is actually like helpful for me like listening to music and it's like
>> uh and we also like had this stat in it or whatever uh the statistics. So, I feel like that was just kind of uh helped me out to understand more like this is like how music helps me not just like to have fun um recording a video with your friends like but really
>> on a deeper level. It's like it helps you out, you know, and that's like the whole point of the contest. So, it was cool for sure. >> It was really well done. So, congratulations. I have a gift card for you from Batch Ice Cream. >> You guys won third place. Um, it was a stiff competition, so this is hard
earned. So, I want to present that to you today. >> Oh, wow. Thank you so much. >> And thank you so much for coming on. Um, we're going to take a minute now to actually watch Henry and Nico's um video on his natural high, which is music. >> I hope you guys enjoy. >> Oh my god, my life is just so miserable.
Like, I hate I hate everything. Like, let me let me throw my AirPods. Let's see. Let's see what happens. [Music] Wow, I I really needed that. That was great, man. This This is how I know music is my natural high. I wonder if other people can relate.
>> Oh, yeah. It says right here, "Listen, relaxing music significantly reduces stress levels with participants reporting a 61% reduction in anxiety." >> All right. Now, I'm here with our second place winners. We have Audrey Kimble and Angelina 2 who are pretty good friends
and not surprisingly did a PSA on friendship. Um so same questions as I asked our third place winner. Can you please tell me like what um how did you hear about the contest? >> So we were actually in the same class as Ano. So we heard about it through Miss
Gross the communications teacher and it was during winter and it was an assignment. >> Yeah. and we were just told to submit it and like see where things go. I don't think we really expected to like place anything, but um it was honestly a
surprise, but I'm glad we did. >> That's awesome. Now, uh remind me, what grade are you in? >> I'm a senior. >> You're a senior. >> And I'm a junior. >> Junior. Okay. And are you as good a friends as you seem to be on the video? >> Yes. Yeah. >> Yeah. It was very like candid. >> Yeah. Um and we are going to show it at
the end of this clip, but it is it's very cute how you guys connect over that video. Um, the other thing I wanted to ask you is, so Miss, it was Mrs. Gross who introduced it to you. Um, what made you actually decide to enter the contest? >> Um, well, she said that there would be a
reward. >> So, we were trying to just like see maybe. >> Yeah. It was just like um like why not? >> Yeah. And how big of an undertaking was it? Like did it take you a long time to come up with a video? >> No. >> No. We actually didn't know what to do,
so we just like and then we started laughing about something like, "Oh, we should just do this." Because we didn't really understand the assignment at first, like natural high, like what can we even do for that? >> Yeah. >> And that's good feedback for us to hear because it means when we advertise it again, we should probably make it a little bit more clear cuz the whole point of the contest is natural high is
just sort of like what do you what are you drawn to? What do you feel passionate about that when you do it, you feel good about it? And sometimes people think it has to be this big thing, but as you guys like demonstrated so well, hanging out with friends is one of them, you know, and as Nico did, it's listening to music. Like those are the things that you come back to over and
over again. So that's why we chose your video as a second place winner. Um >> the other thing I wanted to ask you before we go is um did you have fun making it? >> Yes, we had a lot of fun. Like all the laughs that you see were real. >> Yeah. >> Like we were just sitting there together
just talking. >> Yeah. I think we recorded ourselves for like just eight minutes straight and just kind of cut out the parts. >> Yeah. >> Like to make it um fit the requirements of 30 seconds. >> Yeah. And then was it hard? Um the other part of the contest was like find a statistic that backs up what you're
making your video about. Was that difficult to do or >> No, we kind of decide on what to make the video about and then after we made it, I just Googled like I was like, "Oh, this like fits the theme." >> And you were right. You're right. Yeah. like having friends like people that you can rely on and people who like stand up
for you is like one of the biggest protective factors that keep people like you know tied into the goals and the things that they want out of life. So, so congratulations you two. >> Yeah. And now we're going to get a moment to see your PSA. >> Thank you. [Music]
So, without uh further ado, we are now sitting down with Ava Collins, who is our first place winner of the Natural High PSA contest. Congratulations, Ava. >> Thank you. >> How did you hear about the contest? Um, I heard about it from my teacher, Miss Gross, but I've also heard about it from
the TVs around the school, and it was an assignment for us. So, um, I submitted my video. >> Nice. Nice. And what was it that, um, inspired you to choose the topic that you chose, cuz from what I learned from talking to you offcreen, it's something that you've been involved in for a long
time. >> Um, I chose cheer because it has a big impact on my life. I've been doing it for 10 years and I wanted to show the viewers or audience who are watching it um that you can do like a sport or
exercising and it can really make you focused and change your mind off the negative things like choosing sports over alcohol. >> Nice. Was it fun to make and did it take a lot of time to put it together? Um, it
was really fun to make because I love cheerleading. I make a lot of videos about it and it didn't take that long to make. Probably only like 20 minutes or so. >> That's not bad. Yeah. >> And the footage of all the cheering, were you in them? Like cuz I didn't I'm
only meeting you really today. So, is that footage of you? >> Yeah. All those videos are me at my competitions. So, I'm in it competing and the videos are from like it's on Varsity TV. So, those are where I got the videos from. >> Nice. And you're a senior, right?
>> Yeah. >> And you're planning on going to college next year. >> Mhm. >> How is cheer going to fit in once you're in college? >> Um, so I also plan on doing um Allstar cheer, which is what you see in the video. So, that's called Allstar Cheerleading, and I do at Northstar
Athletics. So, I'm gonna plan on doing that again next year since I'm staying local. I'm just gonna do it there, but I'm also gonna do it at Western New England, which is the college I'm going to. >> Well, congratulations again. It was a really well done video. It was so nice
to have somebody who showed such a great example of like what a natural high looks like and what a passion really looks like. That's good for you. Um, so we're going to take a moment now to be able to watch her video on Shar. And before we do that, I also wanted to just say um thank you everybody for joining us. It's been really nice to meet the
students who put all the work into these PSAs and um have a moment to just acknowledge all of your hard work and accomplishment. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> You're welcome.
[Music] Heat. [Music]
Heat. [Music] monkey. [Music]
Yeah. [Music] All set, Josh. >> Yep. >> Stand by
in five, four, three, two. >> Uh, good evening everyone. Welcome to the Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 meeting of the Long Meadow Select Board. This is a hybrid meeting. Uh this is select board chair Josh
Lavine. Uh Mr. Friedman, you can wait until get to public comment. This is select board chair Josh Lavine. I will be confirming that all members and persons anticipated on the agenda are present and can hear me. Members, when I call your name, please respond in the affirmative. Dan Workoff >> here. >> Venith Mavathy >> here.
>> Andrew Lamb >> here. Shelley Mayor Dwolf >> here. >> Staff, when I call your name, please respond in the affirmative. >> Lynn Simmons >> here. >> Mike Barbieri. Uh Peggy Shelton >> here. >> This open meeting the Lomo Select Board is convened in person via Zoom webinar as posted on the agenda and town's
website identifying how the public may join. There is no chat or Q&A function. All the materials for this meeting are available on the agenda posted on long memma.gov. The public is encouraged to follow along using the posted agenda unless I note otherwise. This meeting
will feature resident comment. For residents attending the meeting in person, please raise your hand when we get to the comments section of the meeting and I will call on you to approach the microphone. For residents participating in the meeting via Zoom webinar format, please use the raise hand icon at the bottom of the screen. The meeting moderator will promote you
to panelists, unmute you and give you permission to speak. If you join the webinar by phone, dial star9 to raise your hand and star six to mute unmute. Residents who wish to speak will identify their names and addresses only. Each individual is afforded three minutes for comments. Please note that this meeting is being recorded and that
some attendees are participating by video conference. Please remember to mute your phone or computer when you are not speaking. If anyone is attendance in attendance is recording this meeting, please announce yourself now. Uh seeing none uh we will move on to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Uh first up we have select board announcements.
[Music] I clicked uh packet so I didn't I didn't have links. Um September 9th special town meeting and September 30th special town election. The special town meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9th at the Long Meadow High School Gymnasium
at 7 p.m. to vote on project funding for the middle school building project. This will be followed by a special election on September 30th to vote on a proposed debt exclusion. For additional information, please visit the middle school building project pa p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p page on long meadow.k12.mma
us. The warn the meeting can also be found at www.long meadowmma.gov/town meeting and uh for those following along on the agenda uh those are available as links.
Uh, first up we have resident comments. If anyone uh Kurt, go ahead. [Music] >> Good evening. Uh, Kurt Freriedman, 24 Ridge Road. The following information was obtained
from the National Association of Realtors website some 23 years ago. Why Johnny can't walk to school is the title of a 2002 report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation which explains why fewer children walk to school nationwide. Over the past 70 years,
schools have become significantly bigger and there are fewer of them. Since 1945, average school size has increased five-fold and the number of schools uh has declined by 70%. And schools are located farther from the families they serve. Consider this. In 1969, 87% of
students live within one mile of their school. By 2001, only 21% live within a mile of school. The environmental and health consequences of school building and sighting decisions made over the last 70 years and the impact on the quality of life in surrounding communities have
been enormous. Policy decisions that promote car bus dependent uh communities. Neighborhood walkable schools are being replaced by larger schools in more distant locations that are only accessible by car or bus. Traffic congestion and emissions
associated with transportation to and from school have become major problems. The focus on car dependent infrastructure and the replacement of historic neighborhood schools with larger, more distant schools contribute to the problem. The number of students living within one mile of their school
has significantly decreased with private vehicles becoming the dominant mode of transportation for youth. The cost of busing students is a financial issue facing school boards around the country. Less walking and physical activity contribute to the rise of childhood obesity. The shift away from walkable
community centered schools erodess the vitality of neighborhoods that these schools once anchored. Experts advocate for policy innovations to support this creation of healthier, more walkable communities, including supporting community centered neighborhood schools.
The renovation of our neighborhood schools, Glen Brook and Williams Middle Schools, is in the best interest of the academic performance and health of our community's children. Please visit www.saveourschools.org. Please vote no on September 9th. Thank
you, >> Mr. Deio. Sorry, >> Bill De Julio. Uh 8 Woodside Drive. So, uh, I'd like to make some comments, um, concerning the, uh, consolidated middle school and in particular, I want to talk to, uh, the future of the Glen Brook
property and, um, what the future may may be for that particular parcel of land should the uh, the school uh, get built in the Williams site. So, we've talked to quite a few people um and we've canvased on on in the Glen Brook and Wolf Swap neighborhoods and it's
pretty clear to us that um a major point of concern for a lot of residents is what is going to happen to the Glen Brook property should this project proceed. And I know we've asked the middle school building committee, possibly select board, various um
members of the uh the town government and the the consistent response I think has been we really don't know or that no decision has been uh made yet on that you know the future of that property.
So, I started doing some digging into um the Affordable Home Act that was passed on August 6 of last year by Governor Healey. And I'm sure you all the mandate uh of this particular act, but it mandates that all communities in the
state of Massachusetts maintain a minimum of 10% of the available housing stock be affordable. And you also may be aware that Lawn Meadow um is wolffully behind. We're currently at 4.7%.
And what that does is it opens up the town to a particular risk. And one of the repercussions of not meeting that mandate, and I'm going to read directly from the act, is that it puts communities at greater risk of having
developers override the local zoning requirements and build developments that are opposed at the local level. Now, I'm not claiming I'm not making any predictions about what will happen to that piece of property. I know less than
you all know and perhaps somebody in town does know what the future of that property is. But my point is that I don't think anybody should be voting yes on this consolidated middle school until they know what the plan is for the Glen
Brook property. It's only fair to the people and the residents who live in that part of town. If they choose to vote for this project, they should know that they're also voting for the future of that parcel of land. And they deserve to know what the plan is. And this town
has a long range planning committee. Uh I've seen five-year plans. I've seen all kinds of capital plans going out 5 years. I find it hard to believe that no one in this town has any any idea what the future of that property is. Thank you.
>> Thank you. My name is Teresa De Julio. I live at 8 Woodside Drive. Um, I just want to say that you are the select board. Long Meadow Select Board's authority and duties are defined by the Mass General
laws and the town's charter bylaws. There are, in my opinion, a lot of laws being violated here. So there are
quote end quote engineers, professional engineers that are doing studies that have been done but they have not been done properly. And you all know this
have been traffic studies done on sunny beautiful days, not inclement weather days. I don't know how any one of you can sit up here and face us and tell us you're doing your due diligence. That's just one.
So I think you all need to come back to the drawing board, go to the town's people and see what the town's people really want. You are violating so many of your own laws that you're supposedly
standing behind. >> Uh, anyone else? Spur. >> Hi, I'm Cameron Burke. I live at 25 Wer Street. I'm an ab to uh the Williams Middle School potential project. I am a graduate of Williams Middle School as does my mother and my daughter just
started sixth grade there. Um I am not in favor of this because I'm a parent. I'm in favor of this because this is the right thing for our town fiscally. It's the right thing for our town's community. It's the right thing for the education. Uh it's the right thing to do. I understand the process that has
gone on. I was in the high school as I think Dan was when the high school is about to lose accreditation due to how it was physically in the building. Um, and you know, I saw what the town did. I've been a resident here most of
my life. Um, the due diligence that has gone into this cannot be discounted. the engineers, the project managers, the architects, everyone that's been involved with this uh did their due diligence, the communication from our town manager, from the select board,
from the school building committee, everyone has been a breast as much as they want to be. We've all been involved. When questions have been asked, we've answered them if we wanted to. It is on us as the town voters, I
think, to um engage with the select board, with the school building committee, with the school committee, the finance committee. Anyone who's asking questions of us, we should fill out the surveys. We should do everything. And those of us who are engaged have had a lot of communication about what's going on. I think it's the
best thing for our community. Um, you know, I've seen all the support that the other committees and boards have given and I hope you give the same. Thank you so much. [Music] Uh, anyone else in the room? Mr. Ray,
>> Arman Ray, 96 Shadyside Drive. Um, also chair of the Long Meadow Middle School building committee. Um, next week we have a important vote in town. I just want to make sure that everybody understands that they should get out and vote regardless of their position. um
that if they need more information on the project, it is all there and transparent on the website, middle school building committee website. Every meeting that we've had with all the minutes, all the notes, all the discussions we had. And if anybody cares to even go further back, they can look
at uh finance committee meeting minutes from probably five, six years ago where we discussed how we would position the funding for this project to make sure that it fell in with the some of the bonds coming off and some of the bonds coming on. Um so the the the perfect uh
the planning was done years and years in advance. This was started over four years ago with a meeting in November where we initially funded the the initial studies. Uh the studies all came back. Again, all that information is publicly available. So if anybody has
any questions whatsoever without conjecture, please go to the website, read the papers for yourselves, and if you have any other questions, any member of the school building committee would be more than happy to to answer any open questions. But most important of all, please get out and vote next Tuesday.
And uh thanks to Lynn for the logistics on making this uh I think with an event that uh we tried to make everybody as most comfortable as possible. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anybody else in the room? No. Uh do we
have anybody online? And I'm not seeing anybody. Okay. So, we will uh then move on to interviews and appointments. >> Yeah. First up, uh Carol Muchi.
>> Okay. And she's online, looks like. [Music] >> Hi, Carol. Are you able to hear us? >> Yes. Can you hear me? >> Yes. Can you please introduce yourself? >> Uh I'm Carol Maruchi, 18 Fairfield Terrace.
>> Okay. and you've applied for the audit committee to be reappointed. Uh can you uh tell us about your experience and why you're reapplying? >> Yeah. So, um I was appointed to the audit committee about 3 years ago. Um it was my first time serving on a town
committee. I've lived in Long Meadow for 9 years. Um but my background is all in finance. Um my work I oversee um an accounting department. I've always I worked as an auditor before I worked um as an accounting manager. Um the
industry I happen to work in is governmental power. Um so I don't work for a government agency, but I do work on behalf of municipalities that uh have their own light departments. Uh Long Meadow is not one of those, so there's no conflict of interest. I know we just voted a light department, but that's specifically in fiber, which my
organization does not work in fiber. We we serve electric. Um so like Holio Gas and Electric, Westfield. um would be uh customers. But anyway, I worked there for 16 years. I'm very familiar with municipal financial
statements. Um and that was what drew me to the audit committee in the first place. And now I've served on the committee for three years. Um I'm secretary, so I take the the minutes. Um the audit committee is is a pretty quiet uh committee so far. Um, we meet a few
times a year to review uh the the audit plan for for the town and thankfully uh I think the town's financials have run very smoothly and that that's a credit to the team there even with the transition of the old finance manager going out. So there was a lot of focus on that um in in my tenure on the audit
committee. Um but I would like to kind of keep working on that. it it I believe I know that there's somebody who's being appointed today um that's interviewed but I believe uh we're basically just out of quorum so uh in order for the the
audit committee to keep meeting we we all need to stay on so I would like to keep working on that role >> fantastic thank you so much um any questions from rest of the board >> all right I guess uh you said enough thank you very much
>> thanks I appreciate Thank you. >> All right. Um, next go ahead. >> I presume it's the gentleman scrubs >> with the um Greg Bla 67 Elie Road. Uh, or sorry
67. Yeah, E. I think I moved from so um I'm at four and a half years I think on the committee um on the slack board or the um board health I should say. Um, I was appointed during COVID. I did a one and a half year term and did a three-year and I am being nominated to
be the secretary because I think um, uh, other people would like to switch off that role. Um, so I'll be the nominated secretary hopefully in the future. Um, I had enjoyed my time with the providers that are on um, would like to keep on. Um, my background is a heart failure and transplant cardiologist at Bayate. I'm a
professor at UMass. Um and um I think I have the requisite experience so I'll keep it as succinct as possible. So questions. >> Uh how are you finding the is the board functioning well? >> Yeah I mean we have um we lost one
member from moving um that is a um a non- voting member which I think would be probably likely to move into a voting membership role. Um I think um we probably you know could use um uh another member after that. So but the
board functions well. We all three of us work together at Bay State. So we all know each other very well. So >> you can find any other doctors that live in Long Meadow. >> We have plenty of physicians in Long and the board here. So >> um Carl, thank you very much. Any questions from the board? >> No. Thank you very much. We appreciate
it. >> Bye. >> Uh Mr. Mala. [Music] >> Hi there. Uh Rick McCulla 281 Converse Street. >> Okay. And uh you're sorry I lost my place on the agenda. Are you currently
serving on the on Com? >> Yes. Yes, I am. So, uh, started last year and, uh, just sort of getting adjusted into it. Uh, uh, it's an interesting board. Uh, lots of new
terminology. Uh, my background as a, uh, builder and realtor. Um I think I I've talked about last year when I was before you. Um you know I was looked at it from a different angle and uh uh you know so
far I've uh enjoyed it. Um probably don't have as much as some of the other members do uh with their experience and uh but uh you know I've been okay with it and would would like to uh continue on. Have you completed any of the uh the
training that Lyn is there are there requirements for training or it's all optional >> uh for conservation I believe it's optional >> I know there's a lot of state has a lot of training available that not everyone does but some people spend a lot of time on it so
>> and that's I can I can tell that with the people that I'm with and I I have not completed that training but uh um but uh no I my I think My core reasons for joining
uh were concerns about like our current what we have like Bliss Park Laurel um Turner and the preservation of the things that we have now in town. Um and that's you know it just came from
walking my dog over at Bliss Park. So um every day I enjoy it and um you know that's where I'm coming from. We'd be discussing a bit more about that uh later in the meeting. Um any questions from any member of the board?
Okay, great. Um well, thank you for your continued use. We appreciate it and uh we'll be voting in a couple weeks. >> Okay, thanks so much, >> Mr. Cap. Uh my name is Katherine QCAB, five Summit Avenue. Uh I'm currently chair of
the tree committee and I'm looking for reappointment. Um we've had a lot of things going on. Uh finally we've had two years that we didn't have terrible storms to be knocking a lot of trees down,
but um you never know. You just never know when a tree is going to tumble down or uh what's going to happen. So we really want to take good care of the trees. They're such an asset to the town. Um
just a couple of things that uh we did last year. Uh we had a terrific Arbor Day program. They brought in a fellow who was a wonderful actor and he was
entertaining the kids while teaching him about trees. It was a wonderful program. We were so happy with the way it went and with the way the kids um enjoyed it. We had uh tree planting with boy scouts
and their families and that was great. Uh the boys the tree committee itself only went along to advise the boys got right into it. Uh the parents were terrific. They they were all wielding
shovels and doing a great job and and we hope to do that again this fall. We also attended the future planet fiesta and we had trees to give out and surprisingly the trees did not go but
that's never a problem. We can tuck them away in various places and use them the next year for other activities. uh regarding the uh future planet fiesta, we decided that after all these years, we needed a sign that said Long
Meadow Tree Committee because most people don't even know we're here or what we do. And so we had one of those made up this year. There are only seven of us on the committee. So, um it's a really nice situation. We all pretty
much agree why we're there. And um let's see. Um, oh, and uh last year uh DCR um puts out a calendar
for um the kiddos. And last year we got um quite a few kids in the schools to participate through the art teachers. They did a great job. a a number of the
Long Meadow um pictures were in the calendar and the calendars were then handed out to the schools thanking them for participating. We do that every year and we do the best we can to get people
to pay attention to the trees and I just I can't say enough. We've been before you for other things and we we think it's really really important to get the community behind us. And uh next year we
have two we're considering two possibilities. We're considering a small arboritum on the town green which would include um buying a lot of things. We would just be labeling the trees that are out there and uh providing some information about them so people on
their walks could look around and see uh what's out there. And the second one is perhaps having a small nursery that we've just started talking about. So, there's not uh I don't even have much information on that yet, but another
chance so that um if we could get some trees growing, if a tree fell down somewhere, we'd have one ready right away without having to um uh go out and buy a new one. But that's that's in the future. I've enjoyed working on the tree
committee a great deal, and I would like to continue doing it. >> Great. Uh any questions on that? No, >> thank you so much. We we appreciate uh all your work and your continued interest. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. Uh next up on our agenda, um the appointments. Uh you want to give us a motion? Um, so the first motion I'll make uh because Miss Marti just um applied and interviewed, I
do think that she should be receiving the full three-year term on the audit committee. And so because of that, I will move to appoint uh Clifford Scott to the three to the vacant three-year
term expiring on June 30th, 2027 uh to the audit committee. >> Have a second. Second. >> All right. Anything further? Seeing none, all those in favor? >> All right. Unanimous. >> Great. >> And I will move to appoint Anthony
Martin to the three-year term expiring June 30th, 2028 to the board of assessors. >> Second. >> Okay. Uh, anything further? All those in favor? All right. I will move to appoint Kimberly Ketchum and Caitlyn Cronin to
three-year terms expiring June 30th, 2028 on the cultural council. >> Second. >> All right. Any further? All those in favor? >> Shel. >> Are we? We're good. >> Good. >> Okay. Um, next up, I will move to
appoint Richard Bontempo and Carly Peard to three-year terms expiring June 30th, 2028 to the Conservation Commission. >> Second. >> Second. All right. Any further? All those in favor? >> And uh I think all of us were impressed
by Amelia Dilva, but I know that she is I think a rising senior. And so I don't know what her plans might entail after she graduates from high school. So uh I think because of that it would be appropriate for us to appoint the other three to the three-year terms and uh and
to appoint her to the two-year term that's left. So, I will move to appoint uh Ameilia D Silva to the vacant three-year term expiring June 30th, 2027 to the DI committee. >> Second. >> Anything further? All those in favor?
>> And I'll move to appoint Ronnie Levit, Nal Patel, and Linda Preston to the three-year terms expiring June 30th, 2028 to the DEI committee. >> Second. >> Second. >> All those in favor?
>> All right. And I will move to appoint Connie Ryder to the three-year term expiring June 30th, 2028 to the Historic District Commission. >> Second. >> Nothing further. All those in favor. >> And finally, Oh, sorry. >> Shel.
>> Yep. Um and finally, I'll move to appoint uh Susan Shepard and Richard Bontmpo to three-year terms expiring June 30th, 2028 to the Recycling Commission. >> Second. Uh nothing further and all those in
favor. Okay. Uh thank you to everyone who applied. Congratulations and uh or congratulations again on reappointments and we do appreciate it. Uh moving on to select board comments.
Uh anyone want to go first? Dan, go ahead. >> Thanks. Um, first I just wanted to thank the uh Long Meadow Police Department for uh all of their work that they did to uh apprehend the suspect in the bank recent bank robbery um at Country Bank about a
week or so ago. So I know there's a lot of work involved with Chief Stocks and and uh the rest of the team at the police department. So I wanted to thank them for that. And also um I was reminded because our madam moderator is
here um to Mr. Thomas Townsen was uh appointed uh as justice to the superior court in uh Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So um if there was ever a power couple and you could read that in the in the dictionary um I think it
would be Madame moderator and her husband honorable uh Thomas Townsen. So congratulations. Uh welld deserved. That's all that I had. >> Uh anybody else? Pete. >> Yeah. Uh thank you Dan for mentioning
those two and it's echo echo everything that was said there. Uh I just wanted to uh quickly talk about and this shows up in the correspondence what was happening this past week and over the weekend with mass priorities and door knocking in town uh across Long Meadow. So, Mass
Priorities is a dark money pack that's funded by Comcast. And we've seen Mass Priorities uh conduct these kinds of operations and towns that are moving towards adopting municipal fiber. And I think when you take a look at some of the tactics that they're using, some of
the misinformation that they're spreading, it really says, I think, everything that you need to know about what they're doing and what their priorities are. Um, you know, it it's it's it's kind of humorous to me that when they need to take steps to spread
misinformation or to kill municipal fiber that, you know, last year they had phone bankers from Russell calling into Long Meadow spreading misinformation. This past week, they've had door knockers in town knocking on people's doors, spreading misinformation. But if you are actually a Comcast customer that
needs help with your service, then you have to either talk to a robot or you have to talk to somebody in a different country. And that tells you everything that you you need to know about their priorities and what they care about. And in some of the literature that they're passing out, I mean, the amount of misinformation in there is it's really
astounding. Uh, one of the things they talk about is a an upcoming November vote on fiber internet, which is not something that is scheduled or any of us know anything about. So, they've created this imaginary vote just to create an or to create an opportunity for themselves
to uh deploy scare tactics and to create confusion and to create more misinformation. Um, and they also in their literature talk about how if municipal fiber comes into existence that fiber spring would have full control over it and town residents wouldn't have any say or any control
over it which is obviously couldn't be further from the truth. This is the whole point of municipal fiber is that we would be able to control the rates. The town would own the network and we would be able to decide when upgrades were made and how the network was actually functioning. And you know, it's
interesting that what they're describing is actually what Comcast does is, you know, that's what's the reality right now is that Long Meadow doesn't have any say on what the rates are or what they're doing. And so they in creating the scare tactic are basically just describing themselves at this point. And
this is just another attempt to create confusion and misinformation. And what we will see throughout this is more of these types of attempts. And we've, you know, spoken to other communities like West Springfield, uh, Westfield, other towns that have gone towards municipal
fiber and they've also saw these same attempts, uh, to create confusion and misinformation. And the town of Long Meadow is going to continue to see this because I think what Comcast knows as the same thing that we know is that if Long Meadow Fiber becomes a reality that
it is not something that they can compete with. um it's simply going to be a better price, a better offering, better value. And in a community like South Hadley, which has now just is just now 5 years into this, they are already
at a 53% adoption rate throughout the entire town. Um and I think with Long Meadow, we would see something that's comparable or maybe even better. And so, um for, you know, folks in Long Meadow, this is, you know, I think going to be annoying, um that we're going to continue to see this. But I think um you
know if folks have questions about what's going on or what's uh planned to just please reach out to the select board and you know we'd be happy to answer any questions either of you. Okay. Uh nothing from me today. Thank you guys. Um if we can move
on then to the town manager report. >> Thank you. Um so several meetings ago uh you had a presentation from um our consultants who were hired uh for the Koulie Brook project and they spoke about the next phase and we had applied
for an MVP grant to fund that next work at Koulie Brook and unfortunately we were not successful in that application. We do have a meeting with the grant um overseers in a couple weeks to talk about our application and what we could potentially do to strengthen it for the
future. uh sidewalk and road related updates. Um there's a lot of work going on as anybody who's driven through town has noticed uh Long Meadow Street and Converse uh water and sewer work is continuing. Slip lining of the sewer has
started and sewer line replacement where needed. Uh much of that has been night work to avoid heavy traffic during daytime hours. Uh road resurfacing is being done by Caracus and Palmer Paving. They've been on Long Meadow Street doing um restoration and driveway work on
Shaker and sidewalk removal and installation is going to take place on Bair this week. Uh the second round of paving begins the week of 9:15. Town sidewalks went out to bid. That's what I um spoke about at a previous meeting, but bids are now due on the 4th
and a work schedule will be developed after the contract is awarded. This work will likely carry over to spring of 2026. And Eversource is also um through their contractor NPL doing work uh along the area of the town green and they're
hoping to finish that as quickly as possible. They've told us they'll not o they will not occupy the road on the east side of the green, but there's some work that they will need to do on the northbound lane of Long Meadow Street. They um will work around school pickup and drop off times. Uh and then they
also have another project which is a class two gas leak at Long Meadow Street and Converse Street intersection. This will also be night work and will start on or after September 5th. And um they need to avoid our contractor Lelo Construction who's also working in that
same area. And all of what I just said for scheduling is subject to weather and any construction unknowns that come up. And u Mass Works infrastructure grant update in November of 24. I had announced that we had received our first ever MassWorks grant in the amount of
$285,000. As a reminder, this grant will fund essential intersection and roadway design improvements from the Red Fern Drive and Williams intersection to the intersection of Williams Bliss Court and Bliss Road. The design will include upgrades to create more accessible and
safe environment for motorists and pedestrians. It encourages foot traffic and promotes local businesses in keeping with the goals of the renewed complete streets policy. Uh the project's also going to address storm water management issues that we already know are plaguing that area uh
specifically during heavy rain events. Initial design drafts are going to be reviewed by the town staff and then we're going to set up opportunities to gather public input uh on those drafts. We're just shy of having 25 25% design documents completed and then after
getting that public input the it will be incorporated uh where feasible into the drafts and then we will work with our design contractor Fussen O'Neal to submit documents to fund construction in the next Mass Works grant round. Uh and
then lastly uh town offices will be closed on Wednesday September 17th for a full day of professional development training. Some programs will remain open at the adult center, including the daily meal meal service. Training is going to include a session on civility in the workplace, cultivating courtesy, reduce
rudeness, and create a healthy work environment. And we will also have a presentation from our employee assistance program on mental health, and a legal update and training from the town's labor council on sexual harassment and discrimination. That concludes my report tonight. Happy
to answer any questions if you have any. >> All right. Thanks, Lyn. So on the MVP, I was obviously um saddened to see that we didn't get that grant didn't get uh accepted and I remember from that presentation that the idea would be to
fund this all with grants if we could. Um when uh this is a great example they don't always go through. When we are looking at that project going forward would it be
like would we get a grant for the first third of the work and then we can't fund the the other two-thirds or is it are the grants for complete projects like pieces of it so we're not leaving things undone? >> Um a little of both. But it depends on
the type of project. If if there's some that we can do phased approaches to, we would do that. Um we have been successful in patchwork patchworking grant funding together before. On this project, it might be a little difficult because so much of it is specifically
construction, but uh once we meet with MVP next week, um I'll have a better idea. And then also Fuss and O'Neal have been great partners in identifying other grant opportunities that we can easily submit for. We've done it once, so it's not a heavy lift to, you know, change
some pieces of the application and resubmit for something else. >> Okay. So, this isn't the end of the story, >> right? >> Okay. Great. >> Uh, thank you. Anybody else? Um, in regards to the Mass Works infrastructure grant uh for Williams uh Redford Corner, have we received any
information or is there any coordination with the Kulvis group about their plans for that property and us kind of, you know, being able to redo that intersection before they have that fully developed? >> Yes. So, one of the reasons we were successful in applying for the Mass
Works grant is because of that uh development that's that's on the horizon. They wrote a support letter uh for our application as did the Long Meadow Shops. Uh and so it's integral to being a successful application to have an economic development corridor as part
of that and then having support from those businesses is key. Um we would not do anything without uh keeping in mind what's happening at the shops and at um certainly Big Y but also the Williams Place Mall and the Covest parcel that's
going to be redeveloped. There is a traffic study that's about to start for that section of town related to the study or I'm sorry related to the redevelopment plans. Um and so all of this will work in concert with each other. >> Thank you.
Just a quick um thing to update residents. You've told me offline, but I some people have been um wondering about the um consultants report on the town buildings. Some people have asked me, you know, they thought it would be out by the end of August. Do you mind just
explaining what's uh when when it can be expected? >> Yeah. So, thanks for asking. We um we had originally planned to have it by the end of August. The consultant uh reached out to DPW last week and asked for two more weeks. So, we should have a draft to us by the end of next week, uh, which
will likely, um, require us to review it and then provide some feedback or comments before it's considered final and then it would come to you for a presentation, which likely would be sometime in October. >> Anybody else? Thank you, Lynn. Um, moving on to approval of meeting
minutes. Uh do we have a motion to approve the August 18th, 2025 minutes uh as amended by any changes made by members? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Uh anything further? All those in favor?
I have a motion to uh approve the August 19th, 2025 remote special meeting minutes. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Anything or all those? I'm sorry. Nothing further. All those in favor? Great. Uh, next moving on to the
September 9th, 2025 special time meeting discussion. Miss Townsen, please come up. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Rebecca Townsen, 160 Road, town moderator. I am very excited about the
meeting that is going to occur on Tuesday, September 9th at 7 PM. If I may, I'd like to share some of the preparations that uh I I've been doing with the town manager's office and the school department to give folks an idea
of what they can expect, what will be the same, and what will be different. We are expecting a large turnout for this meeting. Uh the last time we had a a school vote was in 2010 and we had over 2400 participants at the meeting.
We have about a thousand more voters than we did at that time and so we can expect closer to 3,000 people at the meeting. Because of these expectations, we've had to make some adjustments to
the way we normally do things so that participants are comfortable, that they uh are able to enter and get seated as quickly as possible, and that we can get to our business promptly at 7:00.
Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. People are encouraged to come early and there will be baked goods available for those who do arrive. Uh some booster clubs in town for the the uh schools
have uh agreed to sell some some goodies. Uh and there will be music provided by young people throughout the school. So when you wait, you'll be able to have some food. You'll be able to enjoy some music.
As you enter, you will not use the main entrance. The big difference for this meeting is that you're going to enter through the pool entrance. This is on Grassy Gutter Road. It is akin to a side entrance. So, as you're facing the high school,
it's to the left. The reason that we're using the pool entrance is because we anticipate there will be a significant line and we'd like as much of that line to be indoors in case of inclement
weather. There will be ushers greeting people at that main entrance and asking people to turn to the right if they're headed to check in. At 6:00 p p.m. there will be a little little voters lounge available
for young people who are pre-registered to go to that lounge. Those parents or or guardians will take a left, drop children off, and then return back in line. They will head toward the library. The check-in desks will be not be in front
of the auditorium as they usually are. They'll be in front of the library. And this allows for a straight line straight through. And much like uh many retail shops do where there's um cashier number one is available for you. And you're
directed to a particular cashier. We will have an usher say, "Okay, pull pad number one is ready. Go to pull pad number two. Go to pull pad number seven." We will have double the number of pull pads. And I'm grateful to the town clerk for that planning.
We're aiming to keep that area in front of the clerk's staff as clear as possible so everyone can hear easily enough and there's not a mad rush for people trying to keep it orderly. the folks who get their voting credentials,
the electronic voting uh devices that we have. And for those who have not been to town meeting in quite some time or who have never been, you should know that we are voting by electronic devices about the size of a credit card where you'd
press one for yes and two for no. And your vote, your vote is recorded and tallied with other votes close to immediately. So it allows for some privacy in the voting. So you'll get your your voting device. It'll be on a lanyard. You'll
put that on and ushers will direct you to the gymnasium. People will we will have people stationed at the door of the gymnasium. There will be one door open, not two doors as normally because we are trying to make sure that we are staying within
the fire code regulations for how many people are in each room. So there will be somebody counting roughly counting as much as possible not just the voters but the people who are entering because there may be some people entering with some non- voters
and we'll count the the amount of people once we get close to uh 1100 thereabouts we will we will open up an overflow room after the gym is filled we'll direct people to the overflow room, the first
overflow room. If that gets filled, we'll direct them to overflow room number two. If that gets filled, overflow room number four or three, four, five, etc.
down the line. We only open up those overflow rooms when the other rooms are filled because we want to make sure that there's a a careful accounting of who is where. There will be assistant moderators in
each of those overflow rooms. They will be sworn in and have all the powers and duties of an assistant moderator according to Mass General Law. And I am training every one of them. So there will be two assistant
moderators in each room and a support person for them in that room and the rooms will be connected with audio and visual. By law only audio is required but we are making an effort to make sure that people can see what is going on in
those other rooms as well. So that's the flow of people into the into the area. Uh we have some uh accommodations that we'll need to make
in speaking after the invocation and pledge of allegiance. I want to note that if there is a significant line, I am not going to accept a motion. I will have a small recess of about 15 minutes to see if we can't process the
people who are in that line. promptly. So, there may or may not be a pause at the very start of the meeting because I'd like for as many people to be in the rooms as possible. Uh, that said, we do have to get on with things
and so I really do encourage people to arrive early if they are able to. We will hear uh a main motion from the chair of the school committee. We will hear uh a speech in favor. Uh we will hear a recommendation from
this board, the the select board, from the finance committee. Uh we will hear uh from the oppo opposition group to this article. They will uh have equal time as well. And then the floor will be open for discussion.
Familiar town meeting voters know that we have a microphone in favor, a microphone for questions and motions, and a microphone for uh those who are speaking in opposition. We will have that. But I will note that we must allow
for a rotation among the different overflow rooms. So if we have people in overflow room number one, I will ask if there are any speakers who
wherever we are in that turn. If we're speaking in favor, opposed, etc. Um, if there's any speakers in that room, the assistant moderator will ask the folks in that room and they will come to the front at that point, state their name and address and then they will be able
to speak from that room. >> Can guys ask a question now? Is there >> video between the rooms of the speakers in the different rooms? >> Yes. >> Wow. Okay. And this is where I again thank the town staff for their amazing
collaboration. It has been a lot of work and it's not gone unnoticed. Uh there are still some more details to be fine-tuned. However, we're confident in this plan. We have a backup for this if this fails
to work or if there's errors, if there's problems. Um when it comes time for a vote, I will note that we have uh receivers for the uh the voting devices in different locations.
And yet what my experience, what I have heard from other moderators who use Meridia and from Meridia themselves, they are the makers of the uh technology that when there is a large meeting that it takes some time to allow for all
of those votes coming in at once to connect with the receivers. It doesn't mean you vote more than once. You just vote that one time and the signal will be sent to the receivers. to ensure that we capture them all. I'm
going to be leaving the vote open. So once I vote, once I say the vote is now open, then people may press yes or no before if I if they do that before I open the vote, it won't be received. Once I open the vote, I will leave the
vote open for about three minutes. Yes. Um depending on whether we are using a particular overflow room that is some
distance, we will have to get the tally from that receiver and add it to the one in the gymnasium in the main overflow rooms. So, and I will let folks know whether we have to do that or not.
Um but I would caution folks that they if that is the case where we have to have this separate set of receivers that are not connected to the main uh m the um the main room
that I will say this is a subtotal. We're going to add the other one in to get the final total and I'll announce what the vote is. Then we'll have a motion to dissolve and I'll ask for people's orderly dismissal through any exit they find
and they can go home and have a good night. I'd like to address any questions or concerns that you have. Uh but first, let me thank you for your collaboration as well. >> Um thank you very much. We appreciate all your hard work and everyone's hard
work on this. I I wasn't here for the high school vote. Um I was here for the uh the co outdoor meeting which seemed like uh that that was an undertaking but this seems like a whole new ball game. I I had a couple a few questions. Um one
is uh the logistics of parking which I know that uh do we have LPD there to to help with crossing? Uh I I know that I don't remember which meeting it was. It might have been last fall uh that people were
late and could not the parking lot filled up no problem. People were parking down the street. Do we have any are we directing people anywhere or is there any thought or what are the thoughts behind that because there could be a lot of people I'll probably walk but um
>> we encourage walking. >> Yeah. >> So that's the first piece of it. But for for those who do want to drive but >> I looked into shuttle buses but we don't have those available. I was looking into them for for the from the senior center, but that's not available. >> Um, and I will ask for the town
manager's assistance with regard to the specifics on police. >> Yeah. Um, so staff, volunteers, uh, uh, anyone attending that's really familiar with town meeting, uh, will ask to park in the lot behind the high school close
to the track. Um, that'll that'll absorb a good bit of space. Uh and then certainly if you have ability to park at Blueberry School and walk over uh and police will be assisting on site that day for traffic, we will be putting up
no parking signs along one end of one side of Grassy Gutter so that we can make sure we maintain access for u vehicles or emergency personnel as well. Um but yes, it we are anticipating a very large turnout that will um likely
have some just strain with what we're used to. >> Okay. Um and I my next question is on when we first were starting with the clickers uh to make people understand the system and to feel good about their vote counting. We did audits. Are you
doing audits for the other the different rooms >> if so with an audit we would be auditing the the system? So, we would have somebody from that room. We would pick a number that um of the clicker that is
probably in one of those other rooms. The way that we're structuring things will allow us to determine that. >> Um so, yes. >> All right. Great. And then my last one is uh more of a town meeting time question, I I guess.
>> Uh are there limits? I I know on amendments we have the 545 against same rule. Are there limits on amendments or is it if you let's say I I know you can roll things out of order but if an amendment comes up and then a slightly tweaked amendment comes up are uh is
there a limit on how many times those can be brought or is that up to your judgment like this amendment has already been discussed or something like that? So, so for I think if I'm if I'm correct, you were talking about a motion to call a question with five or you're
talking about amendments, >> right? I I know I've heard from people that there is interest in amending on the floor, which >> Oh, >> we can't that it's essentially nobody. I would encourage anyone if they would are considering any
kind of amendment to contact me yesterday as soon as humanly possible. Write to me, call me, let me know what any proposed motion that you'd like to make on anything, particularly an amendment,
would be. Uh in this particular case, we have a a unique situation in which um many amendments would be out of order. Uh the I'm going
to be speaking with somebody at the mass uh the MSBA uh regarding this and I'll be speaking with town council to confirm. However, there is a almost minute level of possible amendments that
one could make without um making this a kind of a virtually impossible uh matter to go forward without protracted litigation or problems for the town. Yeah, we talked about it at our last middle school
meeting and the >> the conclusion there at least um it was from somebody from Fontaine Brothers who's at these votes a lot and then correct me if I'm wrong and he said if there's any change it's a no vote it will not it it
>> not according to their literature it in in reading a PDF that I um received pro it was from the MSBA but it was sent to me there's a discouragement of amendments.
While not impossible, they're they're close to impossible. >> Okay? >> It would have to be worded just so and on a very very very small range of potential topics.
And so, chances are it would be ruled out of order if it's something that's thought up on the on the fly. Um, that's why I would encourage people seek the advice in advance. I do not disclose to
anyone what a proposed amendment is. I keep that very close to the vest precisely because I want to encourage people to come forward to let me know, hey, I'm planning on doing this at town meeting. What's the process? How would
you rule? I want to make a very important um something very clear. The moderator's ruling at town meeting is final. Uh there may be some who perceive that town council has authority over this. That is
not so. Town council does not serve town meeting. He serves the select board and has absolutely no authority over the moderator. Okay. >> The uh courts have consistently found that as long as a moderator is trying to
do something with good interests, they're not trying to be malicious, they're not trying to be harmful, that the moderator's ruling almost always stands. And so that's in court precedent after court president. I have also consulted
with fellow moderators in the mass moderators association regarding MSBA and amendments. And so I'm feeling on very confident ground here when I'm uh reporting to you that there is a very very very small
range of possible amendments. I would not accept something that's just on the fly. And depending on what the scope of the amendment is, I may rule it out of order and it then becomes a waste of time.
>> Great. Thank you very much, Andrew. >> Just because it's always it's never a bad idea to think of worst case scenarios. I was wondering, you know, if technology fails us, like has this company ever had total glitches where things fall apart? In medicine, it
happens not infrequently where the electronic medical record goes down and you're like, "My bad day just got terribly worse." So, do we have any contingencies like if we had to do some sort of hand or paper vote where you know whether we have the cards where we raise our hands
and count or even little ballots? I don't I know everything we do is a lot of work and expense but have we thought about that? >> Oh yes, many times. >> Thank you. A and it has been planned for and uh I I did one training today. I'll do another training tomorrow and I'll
train. >> Is it just going to be voting cards or paper? >> So So first let me try to reassure you. >> Thank you. >> That the electronic voting devices are a secure and effective means of voting.
They are accurate. The company itself will be there that night to troubleshoot any heaven forbid issues that crop up. >> If there is something catastrophic that even the experts who created the system
cannot fix within a reasonable time frame, we will switch to one of two methods. There is the card raising method and prior to using electronic voting
devices. We used card raising. I had been challenged on a few of my called votes and we h what happens in a challenge is we have to do the hand count. In all challenged votes, my calls were
upheld. So, I'm confident in my ability to sus out what is in the room. I am working with assistant moderators who will be working with a much smaller size of people in the in the room to to
a call out if this is an overwhelming majority far exceeding twothirds. if this is too close for them to count or if it's um those those would be the only options is it's overwhelming
or it's too close for me to call. And based on their findings, we would either immediately go to a paper ballot situation um or the
counting one by one. My preference is counting the rowby row, but people do like the privacy of paper ballot. And so if someone made a motion for that, it would take significantly longer
to do than a standing count or it's oldfashioned called a standing count, but a raised card rowbyrow count. Um I don't anticipate those. >> So are you actually printing paper ballots in case we have We've always had them.
>> We have them like a stock of them. >> Yes. >> We always have them for any town meeting. >> Okay. Great. >> And I have been assured by the town clerk that we have sufficient for this case. >> Well, thank you so much. >> Sure. >> It's impressive.
>> It's a lot of work and I appreciate the collaboration. Um, if I may add a couple of items. Uh, one I forgot to mention. Um, we usually have, you know, questions that are offered. I would like to make
sure that voters know that questions will be limited to one minute. So, if you are have a question or I have multiple questions, you will ask them all at once within one minute. So, that means there's no preface. You will come
immediately to your question. If I don't hear a question, I will ask you to come directly to the question. If you failed to do that, I will ask you to sit down. So, I want people to be direct to ask their questions. We're not going to have
a back and forth. It will be asking your questions. If you don't get the answer to your question, you should consider that the person did not answer your question thoroughly and make your judgment uh based on that. Um, and we do
have a bylaw regarding uh when a motion to call the question. This is what I thought you were getting at earlier. Uh, we cannot I cannot accept a motion to end debate prior to at least five people
speaking in favor and five people speaking against. Questions and answers do not count toward that tally. >> So, that's important to keep in mind. I remember that bylaw because I got it wrong at our last meeting and you uh you shaved me.
>> I wouldn't have done that. >> Well, I felt I felt the shame. >> Oh, that's But you remembered it. >> I got it. Yeah, I got it now. >> Um so, you know, we we do have this bylaw in place. Uh and I will say at the
very beginning some of the housekeeping rules. If people would like to extend debate, they can make a motion to do that as well. So, it's people's preference about how long we're talking. >> How does the motion to extend debate? Is that you up the the numbers, say 10 on
each side? >> You you could do that. You could say for a fixed amount of time, that kind of thing. >> Okay. >> Yep. But I can't accept any motion based on bylaw and a town meeting vote threshold. It can only add to it.
>> Got it. >> But I think that that would be that would like when you call the question, the group is voting on whether to take it straight to a vote. So that would basically be the determinant. If they wanted to extend the debate, then they just say we don't want to end debate. Right. So that would be
>> it would be a separate motion. If somebody wanted to extend debate, they could start off the meeting with I say they >> Oh, I see. They can say at the beginning in advance. Interesting. >> Yes. And I always make mention of it in the housekeeping and it's always kind of a chuckle cuz
>> who wants to stay longer, right? >> You never know. >> It is the people's prerogative. So they can do that as they wish. Um >> it sounds like it's very important that we get have people know that they should come early >> because this whole idea of like oh it's
7:00 let's show up at 7:00 is going to be a disaster. >> Yes. So I think >> well I hope it's not a disaster. >> It's going to be a very complicated situation. It'll be it'll be like flying these days. It'll be just a headache. >> So I mean do you suggest maybe an telling people an like if we speak just
with one voice like are we suggesting people come an hour a half an hour early like >> well if you come at 6 then 6 becomes the chaotic point. I mean it's >> come early. >> Yeah. >> Come early. If doors open at 5 again there'll be food. There'll be music to
keep you entertained. >> Yeah. >> Have a date night, the town meeting. Enjoy the seats of the gymnasium from comfort. Um, you know,
this is a pretty impressive feat that the town is dedicating itself to working through difficult problems to ensure that people get their voices heard. And I appreciate you as elected officials,
as my partners in helping to make sure that happens. I appreciate Lynn and Mike and the town clerk and all of the other staff, those involved in the Litter Voters League. I especially thank the volunteers. I've asked for more
volunteers and they stepped up. This builds community. It builds uh issue knowledge and it builds consensus around a decision. And when a decision is made,
it is the result of many people coming together to make that decision. It may make you happy, it may make you sad, but it's the voice of the town. And so I appreciate you uh playing the role that you do in the legislative function of
our town government in ensuring our direct democracy works. and I appreciate you and look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday the 9th. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. We're lucky to have you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Uh so next up on the agenda,
we have a position statement on the middle school building project. And uh I hope everyone was able to take a look at this. It's very short if not. Uh so the
to date the school committee and the finance committee have both voted on the whether they support or not uh article one of the special town meeting. Uh Beneath suggested that we put on the agenda for us to vote which I think was
uh a good idea. Um and we ran it by No. No you didn't. >> No you wondered if we could. No. Um, you did something else. >> Yeah. Well, thanks anyway. Um, so I put this on here and uh Lynn and I just uh talked
with town council about whether we this is permissible. Um, because generally I think that at least in my mind we put things on the town meeting warrant and whether we support it or not is not always clear. I think it's implied a lot
that we support it because it's on. Um but we asked town council whether we could do this and the answer was yes. The answer actually the answer was we could even use our resources to promote it which uh we don't have any resources
uh necessarily. So that's uh so we haven't um but uh so I thought that we'd put on the agenda uh we can vote and people in town can uh hear from us on uh and state our position and uh can vote
on this. Um, so, uh, Peggy, if you want to pull this up, uh, from the agenda. >> There it is. Share screen. >> This one. [Music] [Music]
>> Uh, one more down. One more down. >> Right below that. >> Yeah, right there. uh nine. Yep. Uh so and the reason I I wrote this out uh today is because I normally when the finance committee has a takes a position
on uh a warrant article uh on a big issue, big ticket issue especially, they will read a statement. Uh so I thought that I would uh draft this and of course we can make changes if anybody wants. Um but so I'll just read it out. Uh Long Meadow Select Board supports Cons
Consolidated Middle School. Uh dated today, uh the Long Meadow Select Board supports funding the construction of Consolidated Middle School at the site of the current Williams Middle School. Both Williams Middle School and Glen Brookke Middle School are nearing the end of their useful lives and will require costly repairs in the future,
which will inhibit the town's ability to maintain or exceed level services. Constructing one consolidated middle school is significantly more cost-effective than renovating both schools, can be done in a more timely fashion, and has educational and operational benefits. The Long Select
Board therefore recommends article one of the September 9th, 2025 special town meeting. Um, so I we want a motion or we can discuss uh or we can discuss now. Um, so it's it's up to everyone the rest of the
board. Um, but I would entertain a motion to uh adopt this statement and recommend article one of the September 9th, 2025 special town meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Um, all right. Uh, yeah.
>> Dan. >> Uh, I can't tell which one's coming first. Um, all right. So, we'll move on to discussion. Um, Andrew, go ahead. >> Uh, you know, I I've I think this is a really momentous um occasion. I think everyone here is taking it very
seriously. I'm very proud of our town and grateful to everyone who's worked to get us to this point over the many years, especially everyone on the middle school building committee, including Arman Ray, Josh as well. Thank you and everyone on your committee for putting all this work in over the years to get
us to this important vote. I think that, you know, it's very important that we recognize there are definitely valid points to both sides of this issue. Um I I do see some things on Facebook that I that sadden me in the sense that like people
are kind of be making it personal, but I think that both sides absolutely have valid points. I absolutely support this project. Even though I know how expensive it's going to be, it's going to be very expensive and all of us will make sacrifices for that. I think that
there's, you know, no matter what anybody says, there are downsides. There's going to be traffic along Williams that's greater than it is now. But on balance, when you look at the whole picture and what this can do for our town and our kids, it's it's a it's
not that hard a decision in the sense that this problem is not going to go away. If you vote no, it's not going to like the problem of these middle schools needing to be improved is not going away. We are getting $50 million from the state that
will go away if we don't avail ourselves of it. I I think that, you know, if we make this middle school, the reputation of Long Meadow will be, you know, people will be coming here even we'll be even
more motivated to come here. We'll definitely see that demand in our home values and it will just, you know, it's it's just going to be something we can be really proud of. I've been here for the high school, the adult center, the
DPW, and I look at this high school and I remember what it was like before and I I think we still look at it and we're so proud of it. I I mean, it's something that everyone sees and we can all be very proud that we have this even if our kids don't go here. It's something I
think our proud our town I've sensed our town is very proud of. And um I think that if we say no, we'll we'll be spending a great deal of money kind of patching up the schools we have that I really do not think this town is going
to stand for those uh continuing for more than you know a decade. It's not these schools are not going to be here for 50 years which a new middle school would. So, those are the kinds of things I have balanced in my own personal calculus and I am glad that we are
reaching this point and I'm appreciative of everyone who's helped us get here. I respect those who may have a difference of opinion but um on balance that's that's the way I view it. >> Um, >> thank you. Uh, and good points, Andrew.
Um, I've I thought a lot about this issue, but from very very early on it's to me it's a no-brainer. um someone who grew up in town and went to the schools and all the way from center school to the high school. Um I got to see and
witness a lot of different uh projects over the years, whether it was whether it was the uh connection over at center school and then the the new high school as well. Um but to me, this is all about opportunities for the for our students,
for our teachers, um for the town. If we think about the possibility of what we can have at a town in a town like Long Meadow um where we're really stuck when it comes to um taxes and and raising money, we have an opportunity here um an
exciting project at at Glen Brook as well. Um so that opens up that opportunity for everyone across town. It also um as I mentioned for our students currently there's a ton of inefficiencies um with Williams and Glen Brook and
safety issues. We've all tooured the the schools. Um some of us have attended these schools and if you look at Glen Brook there's really a large amount of safety concerns just walking into that building. um you know, you see all the crazy headlines that are going on across
the the United States and and it's hard not to think about safety issues for our students. So, to me, that's paramount. Also, if you look at Williams, there's uh fire suppression issues. The same um parts of the Williams Middle School
building exist from when I was there, and it's in need of repair. So to Andrew's point, um the funds that we're going to be getting from the from the state, this is an opportunity that we don't get um every single year. If we wait down
the road, number one, we might not get the funding. Number two, the school project is going to cost so much money that we might not be able to have this opportunity. So for me, it's a no-brainer. But at the same point, I do respect everyone's um you know, input on
both sides. I think these can become very heated issues. People get very uh you know passionate about these issues. But, uh, to me, I think it just makes sense for Long Meadow, and we value our, uh, education, um, significantly. And
overall, when this is all said and done, hopefully we have that, um, consolidated school. And I think all of the members of the town are residents are going to benefit greatly uh, for the the new school with the efficiencies um, that it's going to bring across the town. And
to Andrew's point about the the traffic, I I'm not so sure that there is going to be more more traffic there. I feel that based on designs and the layouts and talking with um folks that have been doing the actual research that currently
the school is designed in a way that is is is difficult for for traffic and drop off. but they've really thought through this to make sure that um we're going to ease traffic concerns uh while having a school that our children and teachers can can truly thrive in um moving
forward. So, in closing, uh 100% um on board with this project. I want to thank Josh Lavine as well on on our board for um you know, all all the time, the commitment you've put not just on select board, but also for the uh school uh uh building committee. And Mr. Ray, who's
here as well, the the chairman of the committee, um, and Mario and the school committee. I just really want to thank everybody for everything, all the effort they put into this. It's not something that just happens overnight. It's many years, many conversations. Um, so with that being
said, I think this is an opportunity that that we should really be taking advantage of. And, um, I want to thank everyone for their participation and and please uh, show up even if you're opposed to the project. I'm for it. um on one vote, but I really hope that uh
we get everyone out here from the town to to uh have your voices heard. Thanks so much. >> Thank you. Just to be clear, I'm not against this position statement. I was just when I saw the agenda, I was just questioning whether the select board could take the step and after talking to
uh to Josh and and understanding that was vetted by town council and everything, I was I was obviously completely fine with it. Um but uh you know I'm I'm also uh would be happy to support this position statement and and support the new middle school project. The vote on Tuesday a week from now is
about consolidation. It's about one middle school. But to just kind of talk and it's not about renovation and renovating the two schools at all. It's just about one one school. Uh but to think about renovating these two uh middle schools, the state that they're in, where they currently stand, to me is
just not a realistic option uh for the amount of money it would cost, for the amount of disruption it would cost in the years to come. And for an example, you could just take a look at what we talked about at our meeting at our last board meeting. You know, most of the Long Meadow High School um was, you
know, a a new build. The pool was a renovation and at our last meeting we were just talking about how the pool is going to cost $350,000 for us to repair. How it disrupted a a whole swim season and was really close to disrupting a
second swim season. And if you are going to be trying to renovate these buildings that are already 60 years old, these are just the kinds of things that you're going to see over and over and over again. And that is not the type of schooling uh that our children deserve.
That is not uh what our town deserves. And we have this great opportunity right now. I know that $100 million for the town sounds like a lot, but this is really a great opportunity with us getting upwards of $50 million from the state towards this project. And I think
at one of the uh recent middle school building committee meetings or maybe it's school committee meeting uh Fontaine Fontaine brothers shared uh some of the um you know data with other towns that had this opportunity with MSBA funding that failed. And in those
towns where the vote failed, they still have not most of those towns still have not gotten new schools or have not renovated those schools. and they really missed out on these opportunities and are way worse off now because they did not take advantage of that opportunity.
And I really hope that in a week this town does take advantage of this opportunity. Uh and to think too that this is a project where we might be opening doors to a new middle school in three years. I mean that is something that is you know very exciting and
something that will be transformational for our town. Um and then also all the people that have you know gone all the work that's gone into this has been mentioned Mr. raise here. Uh Josh, other members of the middle school building committee who have spent so much of their own time. Uh you know, despite
some of the things that have been said, there has been such due diligence throughout this whole process. I, you know, some sometimes I get sick of hearing about some of these details because it has been, you know, it has really you've g has gone through we've gone through every single step. There
has been so many presentations, so many tours and um there has been a tremendous amount of work by resident volunteers uh towards this project. And uh it's really been um such an encouraging thing to see. And then also with town meeting
next week, I just wanted to also say uh thank you to you know all of our town staff to to our moderator to our town manager. And I I definitely agree with what the town moderator said in that this is it it's so uh uplifting to see
the town dedicate so many resources to make sure that every resident that wants to participate can participate and that their voice will be heard uh for such a consequential decision for our town. >> Sure. >> Thank you. Um newest member on the board. wasn't here for all of it. And I
won't reiterate what my colleagues have just said, but um I do agree and support the statement from the select board. I also personally support the uh funding of the consolidated middle school. I think it's absolutely vital and crucial for the town of Long Meadow and for the
future of of of our town. Um I'm also really encouraged and excited by the vote coming up on the 9th. I think we'll have a big turnout, which is great. It means a lot of people care and a lot of people care about our town. um regardless of of how the vote turns out,
I do want to thank everyone who's gotten us to this point. I think there's a lot of um important information that's been shared and um I just want to say thank you and I am in support of this. >> Uh thank you. I I'm glad everyone uh my fellow members have been paying as much
attention as I have to this. uh you you all spoke really well on this and it it shows that you are hearing from people and having conversations and uh really have weighed the the arguments that we're hearing. Um and that really uh you
know I have been steeped in this or have been steeped in this um but everyone in town is really paying attention to this and I think that that's fantastic as uh our town moderator uh mentioned and uh it really this I've never experienced something
like this where everyone in town is really talking about something. There may be bits and pieces but not like this. Um, and I'm I'm incredibly proud of my work uh on the middle school building committee and it's a fantastic group that has really worked incredibly
hard on this. Um, and Linda is also a voting member on it and uh we've spent just an incredible amount of time making sure that we're doing this right. Um, I will not I'm not an educational expert. Uh, there's been talk about that. The
school committee has talked about that a lot. Um, but what I I think when you're considering this, if you're on the fence, there's 20 minutes of our last meeting, uh, the last middle school building committee meeting towards the beginning where we talked about what
could happen if this doesn't pass. And it's really the to me the most important moment was not we can't renovate. That's not a question here. Um, and that I think that's been discussed a lot by my
fellow members. What the biggest moment to me was what happens if we vote no because it's not like uh Vene mentioned, do we go right back into getting a renovation? Absolutely not. Is it going to happen anytime soon? Maybe not. I asked at the last meeting, well, uh,
Nick Jorganthis, our facilities director, what happens if we what's our cost going to be if we just leave the schools as is? And the blood just drained out of his face because we cannot even guess how much it'll cost.
Uh, the schools need new roofs. They they always need HVAC upgrades. Some things will keep breaking. These schools were not meant to to last for 100 years. they've reached the end of their useful life and we will keep spending money on
this and it is not we're lucky now that we have the opportunity to make a one-time payment that we're getting roughly a third of it back from the state for money that we already paid by the way as part of our um sales taxes.
uh but we are able to do it in one fell swoop and to spend that money now and have it as uh outside of uh Prop 2 and a half. So it's money that we can do in one fell swoop that we will pay over time. But otherwise we are going to make
to make those repairs for uh out of our operating budget. And as anyone on this board can tell you, we do not have room in our operating budget for $10,000 $10 million a year, $5 million one year. Absolutely not. That's what will happen.
This the roofs, the two of them together are that's a $10 million project. If we had to absorb that into our operating budget, we couldn't. We'd have to bond it out. We would not exempt it. um it
would be part of our uh we'd have to pay interest on it as we go forward. It would us. And everything else aside, that is the reality of what a no vote means. It means we would get we would continue putting
band-aids on these aging buildings and it would us. Um, there are lots of other reasons, but I think that is what I keep coming back to as someone who every year has to look at our budget
and say, "Wow, we're it's we're fighting to get level service again." And that's not something we'll be able to do. Um, so thank you to everyone for uh their uh comments and uh there's you can watch
plenty of other meetings where I blather on about this stuff. Uh so I'll stop talking but um and we'll go to a vote. Uh so all those in favor of the motion. All right. Thank you everyone. Um, moving on next to
select board liaison assignments. Um, so we don't have that >> water contract. >> Oh, wow. Did I skip two things? Yeah. Uh, Springfield Water and Sewer Commission seventh agreement extension. Uh, Lynn, go ahead, please.
>> Thanks. Uh, so this is pretty much a a standard um renewal at this point. Um, as you can see, you're on your seventh. Uh, this has changed over the last um, two renewals in that it's coming to you.
Uh, in looking at this two years ago, um, it had come to the DPW, different directors had signed off on it. Um, I think potentially town managers had signed off on it, but really this is an agreement between the select board as the water sewer commission and
Springfield Water and Sewer Commission to supply us with water. Um, again, it's just a renewal off of the original agreement and um, we have talked with Springfield Water and Sewer about revising the full agreement itself, but
that is something that um, is a is a much bigger project to tackle and they um They only want to pursue uh amendments right now. >> And so what happens if we don't enter into this amendment?
>> Um eventually uh we we could potentially not have a water supply. This is where we get our water supply from. That would be the most extreme. >> Sure. But they have us uh fairly stuck
is what we're you're saying. Yeah, >> Andrew. >> So, just so I understand, the only thing changing is like we're renewing it basically. There's no terms that are changing, right? >> So, how often are these amendments necessary? >> Every year. >> Okay. >> We're on a year to year. >> And you've requested three years or
>> Yep. in a full update. >> So, it's been seven years since the last substantial agreement. >> Yes. I think it's Yeah, it could be longer. >> That was like changed or significantly new. >> Pretty all of us. um including Lynn. >> Yep.
>> So, is there is this something that could theoretically be helped by the legislation going through on an advisory committee? >> I would think so. I can't imagine it would hurt it. >> Yeah. >> Lyn, do we know if other towns are
asking for full revisions as well? Because I would imagine we're not the only town. >> I don't know. That's a great question. I'm wondering if we could collaborate with other towns to put maybe apply a little more pressure to get that that agreement looked at.
>> Yeah, great question. I'll find out. >> Thank you. >> Is it odd that it's dated the 22nd of May and not more >> a lot of the date and we're already halfway through? Well, not halfway, but getting closer to halfway through. I mean, we're operating
already as if this has been signed. >> Okay. All right. So I will move to authorize the town manager to sign the seventh amendment to the town of Wong metal water supply agreement on behalf of town of WA. >> Second.
>> Any further? All those in favor? >> Thank you. Next we have revisions to select board rules and procedure. Um so this is we discussed this in June I think.
>> Yeah. And we had some we talked through live and uh Mike and Peggy kept notes and now there has been uh some changes based on our last discussion.
Um so are there any other does anyone have anything else to say on this? Go ahead. No, I I think that um Mike and Peggy, you all did a good job of capturing what our discussion was at the last meeting and I think uh taking a look at it, I feel like it accurately reflected the changes that we had asked
for from the last meeting. So, I feel comfortable with where it's at now. >> To my mind, really this whole thing was a cleanup except I I changed the order of the agenda and there are some things that I don't think we'll notice here and
there. And if you remember, I also just wanted us to look at this again because for instance, it's we're supposed to give a copy to new members and I I think it would be helpful for that to happen in the future. So, um yeah, I agree it it was accurately covered what we talked
about, our concerns. So, um if there's nothing else, I entertain a motion to adopt the amended Long Meadow Select Court rules of procedure. So moved. >> Second.
>> All right. Um, anything further on this? Okay. All those in favor? Thank you. Um, moving on to I'm worried I'm getting it wrong again. All right. So, now we're on select more leaison assignments.
Um, okay. So, >> I notice I have the most. >> And uh Shel's a little late. >> Yep. >> So, let me take something. >> Um so, we have building demolition
committee. We have discussion on that as well as is that there any discussions? >> Yeah, I asked Mike what that was um today. couldn't recall exactly. Um, this is a very inactive group. >> Yes, >> the demolition delay.
>> Yes, >> I do know about that because it would sometimes come up with historical district commission things. It's essentially if there's a building that is a certain age like prior like a century or 1920 or something, it cannot be demolished
um or we get a permit for demolishment unless it's been approved by the demolition delay committee. That committee does not have the right to stop a resident from demolishing a building, but could delay it. I believe it's like 6 months or something like that with the hope that if it's a
historic structure that efforts would be it would give people more time or more just motivation to hopefully find a way of preserving it whether it's like sometimes like if it's a barn in in town um it could maybe somebody would buy it
and move it or something like that. So it has been very rare >> but it has met um in the past. Interesting. >> Um >> I mean if that's if that's something I'd be happy to add that >> to mind if it's not a big burden or anything. No, I
>> I know something about it, but >> I was mostly tongue and cheek when I was talking about numbers, but is there anything you you're interested in that uh anyone else has? Um, >> I mean there's a couple that are that are interesting um to me if anyone wants
to take any off. I mean I have um experience with conservation commission. I also think the DEI advisory committee um planning board of assessors I mean if there's anything anyone has >> I think DEI would be a good one for you
to take on especially if you have some more uh corporate background than I do that might be helpful uh and I think there >> can I attend those meetings um as well that the committee has just as a a resident so I find them interesting so >> uh I think that would be great if we
move that over. Thanks. >> Yeah, and I was just gonna say that u mine is also I think on the lighter side the I talked to Lynn about this some of the task forces like the missile fiber task force and I think there's a number of other task forces that are listed on our website are you know defunct at this
point and I think maybe at a future meeting we just have to take a vote to kind of officially close them down to just kind of get everything cleaned up. Um but you know I think that leaves me with four um assignments too. So you know happy to take something else on
>> as well. >> All right. >> The cable advisory committee does not actually even have any members right now. So they don't meet. >> Maybe we should stay quiet. >> Do you want to take assessors? >> Sure. >> Yeah. >> That just went through a lot of changes
too. So that could be good. >> Yeah. I'll take board assessors. Okay. And then do we um I don't I don't recall. Did we vote on uh the PVC PVPCO or PVTA? >> Uh I don't believe you voted. Uh we talked about those.
>> Okay. >> You can absolutely do that. >> Yeah. I entertain a motion to appoint Tim Keen to the PVPC Metropolitan Planning Organization as a liaison. >> Tim Keane. >> So moved. >> Second.
>> All right. Uh, any further? All those in favor? Entertain a motion to appoint Lynn Simmons to the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority as the select board liaison. >> So move. >> Second. >> Any further? All those in favor.
>> Congratulations. >> Um, and they I believe they both already were attending those meetings. Uh, so it is a good natural fit. I think >> I will. >> Oh, you will. Okay, great. Tim has been at all the PVPC MO meetings, but um Mark
Gold had been the select board rep to the PBTA, but I'm happy to take that on. Um and then the other was Scantic Valley Regional Health Trust. >> Oh, okay. He was he's on there, but he wasn't already appointed. >> Okay. So, I entertain a motion to appoint Eden Conington uh to the Scanic
Valley Regional Health Trust as the select board liaison. >> So, move second. Any further? All those in favor? Thank you. All right. Uh, anything else on this while we have it? Great.
Um, so Shel, you when you're appoint now that you're appointed, you'll want to reach out and introduce yourself and go to meeting if you'd like. And >> Sounds good. >> Okay. >> Can I just ask a question? Um, please. until the charter change goes through for capital planning. It's technically
capital planning and then another committee is permanent building committee. So is that both of they're not really meeting right now but >> well hopefully in November that will fix but we can always revisit if we need. >> Okay. >> Yeah. and I was the capital planning uh
liaison. So I'm happy to like stay on with that until the charter change goes through. >> And beneath I could probably talk to you and get your little background on that as well. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Yeah, that sounds good. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um so next we have a mobile food
vendors on town property policy. Uh I know Mike put this together. Lyn, do you want to introduce it? >> Yep. Uh, so Mike looked at drafts from other communities and put them kind of all into one. So primarily this is the town of Sharon and the town of Wilberham,
uh, and tweaked it to really kind of meet more of what it seemed like your discussion was centered around, not that it would be a per event basis or per day basis. It would be more of a blanket annual policy. Um, some of the
communities did require the mobile food vendors to schedule through the select board or the town manager's office each time they were going to be at a different location and then that office was um had the responsibility of making sure there were not more than one truck
at a certain place at a certain time. We do not want that. Um, we don't want to be tasked with scheduling that. That seems like a nightmare. Uh and so this is uh developed more as a overall policy um with setting some parameters around
it. Um we both felt like this was a a really worthwhile exercise to go through because there's a lot of things in here that we really should have in place. Um, and so it's really just a starting point for you to decide what you want to keep,
what you want to edit, um, or give us some feedback and we can continue to modify it and bring it back to you. Eventually, this may be something we want to craft into a bylaw. Right now, we have it as just a select board policy. >> Um, okay. Yeah, I think this is a a
really it works really well. I think um my and this is a question for the board. Um and I I can see why Mike didn't put it in. One of the things we discussed was do we want to have it official that there's not two in one spot or that it's
not two of the same type or given that there's not exactly people pounding down our doors to try to get permits. Do we want to do that on a case- by case basis and let that uh play out when when we
get the next application? >> I personally I I I think we should um go based on a case by case um basis and and just let it play out. I think we're still fairly early into um just this policy in itself. Um, but
yeah, that that's just I mean that's just my opinion right now. But I I agree with what Lynn was saying on the like I said last meeting around the scheduling. I don't think we want to be taking that up that responsibility up for the town um as well, but I'm open to hear what
other members want to say. Yeah, Mike and I talked about this when he was putting it together and it especially at this point, it does not seem worth the time to do that. And even if it w if if there was enough that people said, "Well, I want Bliss Park this day, I
want that day." >> I think we could permit people for those days rather than >> Yeah. >> coordinate because that's just that's not something that uh you all are busy enough already. I don't think we need that. Yeah, that's the part I was looking at was the permitting part when you
mentioned not kind of I thought I saw something here that could help us with not having two of the same vendors or two vendors at one spot. I I think I was looking at that um section three around our ability to permit
cuz if I'm thinking of the coffee vendor like we just had that come before us how would that help us there right? Um because when we talked to Soal and poor over coffee um that was one of the stipulations, right,
that they couldn't be at the same site. >> Well, they they're permitted for different sites, >> right? That's what I was thinking that that's when I when I saw this section, I think that helps us prevent that. >> Yeah. >> But to your point, I was I was trying to go through I'm thinking out loud mostly of like how we could not put ourselves
in a predicament with others applying Kobe, >> I agree with uh Dan that I think for right now it probably best to just do this on a case-byase basis, but I do think this was a worthwhile exercise. This is great to uh have all this laid out and to know kind of what we should
be thinking about and looking at as new permits come in. I also think that because we're at the stage that this should stay a select policy for now, we should not move towards turning to a bylaw or anything until there's really a need for that. >> Agree. Okay.
>> The only the only question that I have and maybe Josh or Ben being lawyers uh because we're talking about it says mobile carts um soal coffee they're not it's not mobile right it's not like poor things and I'm just using the coffee as an example so would the wording have to
would the wording have to change a little bit and again this is early stages of like a policy but just so it applies correctly. I think it says mobile food vendors in some vehicles, right?
>> Mobile food vendor then does list out trucks. >> Yeah, when you say mobile, to me it's a it's actually like a a truck. It has wheels, but >> it does say on foot too under hawker or peddler. >> Yeah, maybe it's worth checking that out a little bit more.
>> Yeah, I think it kind of covers soal. >> Yeah, I just, you know, I don't want to overthink this. I'm glad we're doing it. And if it becomes an issue, I I think it I would love if it became an issue >> and then we can address it that right now. >> Yeah. >> Um my only remaining question um
and uh have we heard back? So we issued the so-called permit. >> It was pending LPD approval, but yes. >> Has LPD gotten back to us? >> Not to us. Yeah. It's on them to do it. The motion was made for them. It was pending their Yeah.
>> Oh, okay. We should check in because that if they if LPD says Arnold parcel is no good for them, we should probably take it out of this. Um because my concern for there is not particularly that it's a coffee place, it's just whether it's safe to have it anything
there. Is this uh and the other town property is one is by uh the old Raldi which is that's town property but I don't think that would be a good spot. Is the one is the parking
lot in front of uh Mason Trombllay? Is that that's not town property, right? >> Um some of it maybe the the right of way likely it's pretty wide that area. So, I would have to double check, but >> yeah, that would be the only place I I can think of that.
>> So, I remember when Poor Things came to us, they had previously gotten permission from the owner of that parking lot to be in that parking lot until they got permission from us. Okay. >> To be on town properties. >> Gotcha. Okay. All right. Um, great. So,
uh, so, so this is if it this is going to be our select board policy, uh, we do need to have a vote on it. Um, so if anybody would like to move to adopt the mobile food vendors on town property policy >> and this is the first night it's in
front of you. >> You can no well >> that goes against you just adopted right? >> Yes, but it's on your own business. So that's how you got me. >> Okay. >> All right. Fine. We'll talk about it next time.
>> I'm ashamed again. Um, okay. >> But sorry. Would we be adopting this policy if we're still going to look at this on a case- by case basis? >> Well, yeah, I think so. The case by what I mean by case by case basis and Shel too is >> Yeah.
>> The competition issue is what we were talking about with poor things. So, we had two coffee places. What if next time comes up it's a burrito place? Can we have a burrito place at the same place as a coffee place? Can they both be permanent at Bliss Park? Something like that. That that's what I meant by case
by case basis. I think it is good to have a a town a policy on this so people can look at it and say okay and when they >> call Peggy or Mike now they have a list of where they can even look.
>> Why do you think Anthony? >> Um well I I think so if if we're looking at 3.2 two, it says, "Unless specifically approved by the select board, mobile food vendors shall only operate at the following locations." So, I think if I
were a new food truck coming into town and looking at the policy, I would look at this and say, "Oh, like the select board is saying that I can be in all these places just right off the bat." And I think then it would make it more confusing if they were to come before us and then we were to say, "Oh, well, we can't have a third coffee truck. Um, so
we're not going to let you be in these places." Well, I would uh this hypothetical person I would encourage them to read the entire B uh policy. Uh yeah. >> Okay. >> We might need to clean up some of the language maybe to make it a little more >> if we got any edits. I mean Shell should
be May there, I guess. >> Yeah, >> I see what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. So, well, it's uh as has been pointed out to me, this is old business. So, or this is technically new business, so we can talk about it uh next time. So, if there's any edits, uh, we can definitely address it later. And,
um, you know, outdoor selling season is almost over anyway, sadly. But, um, okay. Anything else on this before we move on? >> Great. Uh, bottle shop annual liquor license update. Jeff, you want to come on up?
Uh so if we could you could bring us up to date from the town manager's office. We have extended this a number of times. Uh the the license what is our current deadline? >> Um how do I say great question off the top
of my head? I believe it's I don't I I have to go back and look. Um I know we quickly are approaching renewal season. Um >> Okay. Yeah, Mike and I were talking about that today. So, uh, Jim, why don't you tell us your update?
>> Jim Thomas, 28 Tomoth Road, owner of the bottle shop. Um, I have been in contact with the puns or a representative of the puns through my lawyers at my expense since our last meeting
weekly if not every 10 days. Most has been ignored. They were in China, extended the trip to China, couldn't communicate. Lots of reasons why they have not communicated. As this deadline has drawn
near, there has been a flurry of activity. [Music] Um there is a letter of intent that has gone out. Uh it's contradicting everything that we have tried to work for that I've tried
to work for with the with the buyer and continuing the lease at at the uh Shaker Road Plaza. I think they are ready to talk. >> What's happening with the lawsuit? >> Waiting for damages. the the the lawsuit
really depends on damages to the bottle shop ink >> and there's really not been any damages at this point. >> So has it been
well the the case was to ex honor the lease, >> right? >> So tell me what you mean by damages. At one point they asked for the for me to create a lease, created a new lease. They surveyed it over a 3-week period
and didn't respond to that and said that we don't want to deal with James Thomas. They want to deal with the prospective buyer. So, the damages would be the
not renewal of the license. Uh, we're probably getting into thinking about some damages because we won't be able to would anybody won't be able to open a business for the holiday season. Uh, >> all right. I
>> I have I have an update. Um your June 16th meeting, you move to extend the liquor license until September 3rd, 2025. >> Thank you. >> So I I know I'm using my lawyer brain here.
>> You have a lawsuit to enforce the lease. I'm looking at your docu right now. There is there's been nothing since January except for a an attorney withdrawing in July.
Has a court a court has not ruled that the lease has been terminated lawfully. Correct. >> Correct. So why why are you looking at dam what where is this damages discussion coming from
>> uh that the business would be terminated uh with the license being turned over to the town >> who but the jud has but no judge has said this lease is no is no longer valid. No. No.
>> Okay. So, I I just I'm probably >> Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying. I That doesn't make any sense to me. >> And I'm not a lawyer, so I don't And I don't I I can't Josh, I really can't answer you clearly because I don't know. >> I I understand that. So, why when I was
I was thinking about this today, and I'll I'll tell the rest of the board and maybe this is still the case. I want to see I my thought has not changed that I don't want you to get strong armed here
and I would be willing to continue with this on until the case is resolved because if a judge says your lease is terminated and that's that then there's no there's no lease the the
>> okay >> the license has no home at that point that hasn't happened yet. I don't know when that's going to happen. The was a pre-trial conference was supposed to be uh July 25th. I presume that didn't happen.
>> It did not happen. >> So, I don't know. I just This is in limbo and that happens to cases. It It's going to cost you a bunch of money. It's going to cost them a bunch of money to continue going on. I'm not a judge, but judges always imply
it's in everyone's best interest to resolve this without continuing on. >> Correct. >> In in court, so I'm I'm lost here. This is not what I expected you to say. I >> No, I'm I'm I'm not sitting here happily sitting that I've been able to get
nothing done. >> No, I I understand you're trying. >> And this means a lot to me. Yeah. >> You know the numbers that are involved in this. >> Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And that's that's why I'm not >> Yeah, >> until this gets resolved by somebody, I don't feel comfortable saying, "Hey,
sorry, Jim. Too bad." Um because as I said, I repeat myself a lot. I don't want the puns to dictate who's the next liquor store owner in Longman. Um but I
I feel we are at an intractable problem that I understand. And I will also tell you somebody could tell somebody could make a complaint against the Long Select Board for allowing this to continue to go on. Uh I don't ABC doesn't I don't
think anything would come of that but they could. And so we're so Any thoughts from the rest of the board? I'm hogging the hoging the floor here. >> My My only thought is uh like the more that we're talking about this. I I don't
want to I don't want to hurt uh you hurt your case and and so I'm I'm kind of hesitant to say much about about this because I don't want to open this up into a situation where the other side is listening and and you're in a tough spot and vice versa.
And I I just don't I don't feel too comfortable about that. It's a very odd situation that that we're in here. And I think you're doing everything that you can on your side. And I don't like the fact that what Josh is saying as well in terms of the the the puns
um essentially like pushing you around as well. So I I just feel uh in a very strange um situation as well. That's just Yeah. As as am I. Uh to answer you, Josh, I guess
I could ask the law firm to ex to start looking at the suit and pushing the suit forward and getting a timeline on that and getting that report to you. >> Yeah. And this is
you're with uh Bley Richardson. Yeah. Um >> yeah, I >> the associate that was handling the case has moved on. Um >> Okay. Yeah. You can a litigator can >> kick the can and or kick the tires on
the on the court >> can say no thank you that's fine >> Liz Zuckermanman has taken up the case >> okay no and so she can ask to move things along and the court can say sure >> she has been more than frustrated in the past
>> okay um so we have a renewal coming up that we signed mid November, >> but November 30th. >> November 30th. >> Uh, I don't know. We're just This is never going to end unless somebody makes it
end. And I think that the from what I can tell that's the judge. The court has to rule on this. And I would encourage something to happen before that. I think it's in everyone's best interest, but
I don't feel comfortable taking action here without the court weighing in. >> Okay. >> So, that's uh you know, and you could lose, you could win and get appealed. It could continue going on, >> right? >> But I that's where I'm that's where I'm at
right now. What do you think, fell lawyer? Well, does the lawsuit need to resolve for the puns to sign a lease or buy it? Right. I mean, it seems like hope there there is some forward of momentum right now. There is some discussion happening. Absolutely. >> And
>> and I also agree with Dan that I think sometimes the things that we have said or discussed with you during these meetings has probably harmed your position in negotiating this as a private business owner. And
um I would be in favor of voting for another extension here, but I do just want to get some uh clarification. So the renewals are need to be submitted by November 30th. >> Um so
is so what what that do we need to consider in providing with Mr. Thomas providing Mr. Thomas with another renewal? Like can we only provide him November 30th and then but we can just kind of keep going.
>> Licenses are calendar year. So the current license he's operating on is for uh 2025. What he'd be renewing is for 2026. You would vote on that renewal in December at your meeting in December. You can decide to to renew for 30 days,
6 months, 12 months. Typically you do an annual renewal, but you don't have to. >> Okay. So it's kind of like what we did last year. >> Yep. Yeah, we've been setting artificial expiration dates essentially, >> right? >> Okay. Um, so like really the November 30th it doesn't really matter if we can
keep setting extensions as we please. >> Yeah. Right. >> Yeah. Um, >> there is a renewal fee that is paid. So that sometimes comes into the equation if you >> which we were waving but I I don't know if we can have continued to wave. don't
believe you have continued to wave it. >> No, it's been waved. I've not paid it this show. >> Okay. Okay. >> All right. So yeah, be I agree with you and I there's more I could say that I I won't because of your position, but I
also think that in as the licensing commission in town, we have a duty to the residents of this town to make sure they're served and which is by having competition and by
having stores that are convenient to people. And so my I don't think my our duty is just to make protect you. >> No, I'm not I'm not looking. >> No, I I just want you to >> No, I understood what you're saying. Yes. >> Obviously, we have done a lot.
>> There's no doubt about that. >> Yes. Um, so I guess I would ex I would recommend us extend through the end of the year and then we're going to we have a natural vote coming up on what will happen next
year. And I will tell I will say to the rest of the board, I'm not going to vote to pull this license until my hand is forced. I guess um and I think my hand would be forced by the court and so
as Vene said that can get resolved much more easily if the parties shake hands across the table and so that is what I to me I I want to tell you I'm taking I want to take the pressure off
>> and so you can get this thing done >> done. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I agree with that. That that's my position as well. >> Okay. Would you like to make a motion? >> So, should we um
Okay. So, I I'll move to extend uh the B shop annual liquor license to November 30th. >> Okay. Uh until um December 31st, 2025. >> Second.
>> All right. Anything further? >> Dan. Sorry. Y All right. All those in favor? >> All right. >> And I will definitely keep Mike informed as I go along. >> Yep. All right. Thank you. Yeah. Good luck. We're I'm rooting for you.
>> Yeah. And and I will say that so we extended until December 31st. So our meeting before then, >> uh last meeting before then is going to be December 15th. Okay. >> So we're still running to some problems, right? Yeah. Right. Okay. >> Thank you, board. Thank you.
Okay. Uh, next up we have under new business ratification of Department of Public's works collective bargaining agreement. Lyn, >> thank you. So, this was u an executive session topic that should have also made it to open session um but we just missed it on the agenda. So, it's back here to
you tonight to vote on an open session. This is uh a ratified collective bargaining uh memorandum of agreement with the DPW union uh to cover FY26, FY27 and FY28. Uh we spent considerable time talking a
lot about uh the issues that have been plaguing that union in terms of um staff retention and vac long-term vacancies. And so we made significant steps toward trying to address that uh with a cola of
2% for FY26 and then a modified pay scale again um looking at market rates for the types of positions that we're trying to fill and comparing us with other communities. Um there will be if this is voted on successfully tonight,
there would then be a uh warrant article at the fall town meeting in November to fund that pay scale adjustment because I do not have funding set aside in um the prior article that generally funds collective bargaining agreements. This is over and above that. Um, but we I
felt like I was comfortable taking that step forward given the issues that we've had with um those positions over the last few years. Uh, and then most of the rest of the language that was agreed to is clean up from just old contract
language. We spent a lot of time um nitpicking the contract overall to just make sure that um the language made sense, was still accurate for um reflecting what the uh union is now and what the department, the DPW itself uh
needs. Um so I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. Uh and all of this will be incorporated into a cleanedup contract and posted to the town website. Uh we discussed this quite a bit at an executive session uh our last executive
session. Any questions for Lynn in open session? All right. Thank you, Lyn, for your hard work on this. Uh DBW staffing is a a hot topic. Um and we appreciate your work on Okay. Motion.
I make a motion to ratify Department of Public Works collective bargaining agreement. >> Second. >> All right. Anything further? All those in favor? >> Great. Um, okay. Next up, we have the middle
school building project ballot question. Uh, Lyn, what do we need to do on >> Thank you. So, um, this is the language that's been approved by MSBA. Um the town clerk will be waiting to order ballots until after the September 9th meeting. Uh September 10th, the order
would go in assuming a affirmative vote that night and ballots will get ready. On September 15th, the actual election warrant will come to you to sign. It needs to be done 7 days before. Um but we don't anticipate any issue with that.
Uh and so I just we put this language on here. You don't need to approve it. Um, but we put it on here for you to uh to see it. >> Okay, great. Um, next up we have one day liquor
license applications. Uh, we have three for the LACCF [Music] and there there's no limit on months. It's just annual. Right. >> Right. >> 50 a year. Okay. >> I don't even think it's that many. Oh,
really? >> I don't think so. >> They come very close, but they don't they have not gone over. I I feel like it's >> 30 or something. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> All right. I will move to approve the Long Meadow Adult Center Community Funds
1-day liquor license applications for September 4th, 2025, September 23rd, 2025, and September 25th, 2025. >> Second. All right. Any further? All those in favor?
Okay, I will move to approve Oneway Brewing's 1-day liquor license application for September 7th, 2025. >> Second. >> Any further? All those in favor? >> And I will move to approve St. Mary's
Guild application, one day liquor license applications for September 25th, 2025 and October 29th, 2025. >> Second. Any further? All those in favor? Okay. And then finally, we have a street
closure map for a small portion of Winona Place. >> Yes. Uh so this um was uploaded to the agenda. I believe the final version was uploaded today. >> It was the signed version today um by
chief docs and the maps attached. Here it is. It's all set. >> Okay. And this is for Saturday. >> Um and it's in um Virginia Penola Place in front of um
just lost it Margaret Grac's uh driveway >> and u just >> Maggie was a a lovely lady. Um she had a an accident and it's uh really tragic her and she's got some a really loving
neighbors on um on Winona and Greenacre that are doing this event for her. So, I I think it's fantastic and um yeah, we're sorry to see her go. She was a great lady. >> A longtime seasonal employee of the Department of Public Works as well. So, it's it's very sad.
>> Mayor of Green Acre and a pumpkin queen. Um All right. Do we have a a motion to approve the the block party application? I will move to approve the street closure application uh submitted by Jill Stewart
for September 6th uh 2025. >> Second. >> Anything further? All those in favor? >> Um anything on correspondence? All right. See none. Um we have a motion
to adjurnn. Well, the only thing for the country bank, didn't they are they asking us if we can they can put signs up or was that just the notification? >> This was a repeat from the last took care of it or >> Yeah. Oh, I knew that sounded from Sorry,
>> guys. You were persistent. >> I was like, "Hey, didn't we do that?" Okay. Thank you. >> Sorry. Go ahead, Josh. >> Oh, just I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> All right. Oh, Peggy wants us to keep going.
All those in favor >> I believe