WEBVTT

METADATA
Video-Count: 1
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=agVOoBXYiRo

Part: 1

1
00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:19.680
Welcome to the June 1st, 2026 meeting of the Long Meadow Select Board. This is select board vice chair Veneathy. I'll 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 Zoro >> here. >> Andrew Lamb >> here. >> Shelley Mayor DeWolf

2
00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:34.480
>> here. >> Staff, when I call your name, please respond in the affirmative. Lynn Simmons >> here. >> Mike Barbieri >> here. This open meeting of the Long Select Board is convened in person and via Zoom webinar as posted on the agenda and town's website identifying how the public may join. There's no chat or Q&A

3
00:00:34.480 --> 00:00:50.000
function. All the materials for this meeting are available on the agenda posted on long meadow ma.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 comment section

4
00:00:50.000 --> 00:01:06.080
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 panelist, unmute you, and give you permission to speak. If you join the webinar by phone, dial star 9 to raise

5
00:01:06.080 --> 00:01:21.600
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

6
00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:39.520
not speaking. If anyone in attendance is recording this meeting, please announce yourself now. Okay. And we will now begin with the pledge of >> allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under

7
00:01:39.520 --> 00:01:59.360
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, we will begin with select board announcements. Uh, tomorrow is the annual town election. It will be held uh it will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2nd, uh,

8
00:01:59.360 --> 00:02:17.040
2026. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Additional information and resources can be found at long meadowmma.gov/elections. Interviews for boarding committee annual appointments, reappointments will be held in June. Residents who are interested in learning more specific committees or current vacant positions

9
00:02:17.040 --> 00:02:33.120
can visit the board and committee page on long metmma.gov. An online application is also available on this page. Uh we can now move into resident comment if we have anyone on Zoom. I didn't see anyone. >> No, doesn't look like we had.

10
00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:49.360
>> Okay, good. All right. Um moving on to kudos and plottits. Um, we had a Memorial Day ceremony on the town green. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us on the town green for our

11
00:02:49.360 --> 00:03:05.840
Memorial Day service on Monday, May 25th. Thank you to veteran services director Lena Veluro and our team of devoted veterans and volunteers for running a smooth ceremony to bring the community together to remember and honor those who gave everything. To our veterans in attendance and across the community, we owe you a debt of

12
00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:22.319
gratitude that can never be fully repaid. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. And on the agenda, we included a picture from uh the service. Um any other kudos plaudits? >> Yeah. >> I also wanted to thank Andrew. I thought you did a really nice job uh you know

13
00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:37.440
speaking on behalf of the select board and and recognizing our veterans. And I had no idea about that story. >> Thank you. It was a one of Long Meadow's best stories. The story of Edward Wilin who won the Medal of Honor in World War II. Yeah. Thank you. >> Well done. Um, and of course it was a

14
00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:53.680
rainy day, but we still managed to have a great crowd um, honoring our our uh, veterans. So, um, just want to also say thank you to Lena for organizing that. Um, and then I I wanted to, if I could briefly just shift over to something else. >> Go ahead.

15
00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:10.560
>> So, I I wanted to uh, congratulate the Long Meadow Boys track team. So, they recently um, won their fifth consecutive uh, Western Mass title. And I wanted to uh give a a shout out to uh Nicholas

16
00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:28.240
Rosio who won the division three uh state championship for pole vaultting. He actually >> uh managed to clear 13 feet. >> Wow. >> And so when I was congratulating him and his father, uh Nicholas said um I can't

17
00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:45.840
take all the credit. I have to um thank my teammates but also recognize uh his teammates who also um five of them including Nicholas placed um in the top eight. So at the state um at the state

18
00:04:45.840 --> 00:05:02.240
championship for division three they garnered 26 and a half points which is really unheard of in a uh high school uh pole vaultting competition. So, wanted to congratulate um Nicholas Rosio for 13 feet. In second place was Oliver

19
00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:18.960
Lawrence at 11' 6 in. Uh Matteo Baresi 9T 6 in. Uh seventh place Anderson Healey 9 ft and eighth place Drew Mson at 9T as

20
00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:36.240
well. Um and also Alex uh Sever. He also won the division 3 state championship for the triple jump at 45 feet and um three inches. Um and then so congratulations to them. Um what a

21
00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:52.639
tremendous uh feat to accomplish that. Another great season. And then I quickly wanted to also acknowledge a couple um recent lacrosse all-Americans for the the boys team. Uh one of which is Max Zikatella. He's had a great career. I've

22
00:05:52.639 --> 00:06:07.120
enjoyed watching him over the years. And uh Jack Sullivan uh who's also named an All-American. And uh Jack is going to Bryant and Max will be going to Wesley. So they play tomorrow against a excuse

23
00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:22.639
me um against Awam in the state champion or state tournament and then furthermore um just wishing them best of luck as they continue on. So that is my uh plot for for tonight. But uh congratulations everybody. >> Perfect.

24
00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:38.639
>> Great. And then uh Josh uh is not here right now, but he wanted to uh provide a kudo applaud it uh to a story that I think a lot of us uh know about and has been covered in the news um of a nine-year-old boy in town, Lucas Christopher Farcus, um who received a

25
00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:54.479
double lung transplant out in Boston. Um and so you know it's been covered by Mass Live and other news outlets and I know the whole community had been pulling for him and thinking about him and it was great to see that this was completed and he was you know discharged from the hospital and it was just just a great story and good to good to have him

26
00:06:54.479 --> 00:07:10.080
home. Um great. So after that we will now move into interviews and appointments. So we've got two folks that both app applied for the historic district commission. We've got Emily Anderson on Zoom and then um uh Elaine Dela Fesa, if

27
00:07:10.080 --> 00:07:25.599
you could uh come up to a microphone right here and have a seat. >> And if you refresh your agendas now, that application will be also on there. >> Live. Okay, perfect. Great. Thank you. No problem. >> And Elaine, if we could start with you, uh just start with with your name, uh

28
00:07:25.599 --> 00:07:41.280
your address, and why you're seeking appointment to this commission. Um and then after that, we'll move over to you, Emily. >> Okay. Good evening to the board. Thank you for having me um interview. My name is Elaine Deva Fesa. I reside at 121

29
00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:58.160
Willowbrook Road and um I have been living in that home in Long Meadow for nine years. Um I I lived there with my husband of 25 years and my three daughters.

30
00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:14.319
>> Great. And why are you seeking appointment uh to this commission? So 10 years ago when my husband uh took a position at Bay State and we were looking around to different towns to live and to you know move our family

31
00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:31.759
from Rhode Island. We drove up Long Meadow Street and I fell in love with just the those historic homes. I mean they're gorgeous as we all know. And as we drove up and over to the shops, it just like I just knew that it was a

32
00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:49.600
place that we wanted our family to be in. Although we don't live in one of the historic homes, I drive by it all the time and love it. And uh I'm a designer, an interior designer based here in town as well. And I I

33
00:08:49.600 --> 00:09:06.560
would love to be part of a committee and commission to maintain the beauty, history, integrity of the historic homes we have here in Long Meadow. >> Great. Thank you so much. And Emily, if we can uh same thing, name, address, and

34
00:09:06.560 --> 00:09:23.200
why you're seeking appointment to this commission. >> Hi, I'm Emily Anderson. Um I live at 53 Silvin Place. Um, and this is five years in Long Meadow for me and my family. Um, I am looking to serve on the commission.

35
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:40.560
I'm a former US history teacher, so always been a bit of a history nerd. Um, I also am an old house lover. I grew up in one and I don't live similarly in those beautiful historic homes um, on the green in the historic district now.

36
00:09:40.560 --> 00:09:57.600
But something that's been a passion of mine as we've worked on updating our own home is making sure that anything we do is period appropriate. So, we're focused on keeping the charm, the character of old homes while also making sure that

37
00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:14.880
modern human beings can live in them. >> Great. Thank you so much. Um, any questions from the rest of the board for either candidate? No. Okay, great. Well, thank you so much both of you. uh for joining us and we will be voting on your appointment at our next meeting. >> Okay. Thank you so much.

38
00:10:14.880 --> 00:10:31.519
>> Pleasure. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Uh we can now move into select board comments. Any comments from anyone? Andrew? >> Uh I just want to make sure everyone is aware of the time capsule submission box at the town offices. And uh you know

39
00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:46.959
this is a great opportunity to share what you may love about our town. write about your experiences here. I think we should remember that in 50 years, people who are living in the same neighborhood that you're in, for example, are going to

40
00:10:46.959 --> 00:11:02.320
read with great interest what was important to us and what things mattered to us. You know, you could submit, you know, you anyone could write a letter. Anyone could submit like a a newsletter or or a of your club or service organization. If you're in a book club in a neighborhood, there are many of

41
00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:18.399
those in town. You could write about like put give a list of what books you've been reading or what you enjoy. So just I hope people will think hard about what uh they can put in. Really, you know, the sky's is the limit. Obviously, everything will be checked and vetted, but we're really open just

42
00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:35.440
to make sure everything put in the capsule is appropriate, but um we're really hoping to get a a strong response. The due date is this Friday on the on the 5th. And the event um to celebrate the 250th and put the capsule in the ground is June 13th, Saturday,

43
00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:51.839
100 p.m. So I'm we're really hoping to get a strong showing. We we've had a lot of great submissions, but I really I mean, not that I've opened many time capsules myself, but I I honestly think the more personal stuff is is frankly probably the most interesting more so than like the departmental uh and the

44
00:11:51.839 --> 00:12:06.959
select board letters, which I think are also important, but it's the little things that I think people find the most interesting later on. So maybe some of us will be here in 50 years. We'll be getting the golden cane or something. It's possible. But um yeah, I hope I

45
00:12:06.959 --> 00:12:24.720
hope people will respond and uh just come. There's a in the hallway at the town office. There's literally just a bin. You can just put it in there. Okay. >> Thanks everybody. >> Thank you. >> Uh anyone else? >> I hope we didn't mean being on the select board in 50 years. >> No, I don't know. That would be a record

46
00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:44.639
if there are if there is a select board or town meeting at that point. Who knows? >> All right. Anything else? No. Okay, great. Uh Lynn, we can move into the town manager report. >> Thank you. >> So I'm uh I'm going to update you on the

47
00:12:44.639 --> 00:13:00.000
Massachusetts Municipal Management Association annual spring conference that the assistant town manager and I just attended last week. Uh it brings together municipal managers from across the state for our professional development and peer learning. sessions covered manager contracts, the role of

48
00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:16.720
the assistant or deputy manager, leadership and wellness. Um, we get updates from MMA and ICMA, which is the International City Management Association. Um, we also discussed updates to our MMA code of ethics. We um all participated in a field visit

49
00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:32.000
to the Chattam Fish Pier to learn about municipal investment in a working waterfront um economic development, coastal resiliency, and public access improvements. And then on Friday, I co-presented a hands-on session titled AI Beyond the Basics with the um CIO

50
00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:47.040
from Danvers. The session focused on practical and reasonable or responsible ways municipal managers can use AI to support local government work while maintaining appropriate oversight, accuracy, and professional judgment. Um, one thing I would add is this conference

51
00:13:47.040 --> 00:14:04.639
is um generally um really well attended by managers. It comes at a time of year when a lot of us have just come out of incredibly challenging budget seasons, uh, lengthy town meetings and so it's um, always focused on mental health and that is um, been very well received by

52
00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:19.600
the managers. It's a it's a difficult profession and it's great when we all get to get together and um, kind of just decompress for a minute. um wanted to give an update on DPW grounds because I have been fielding um

53
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:34.480
more inquiries or complaints than um traditionally I get and I wanted to just explain what's been going on. Um so the DPW grounds maintenance um particularly the mowing of town properties, parks and athletic fields has been an area of

54
00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:51.600
concern this spring. Um we are noticing um more tall grass unckempt areas um and then the overall conditions of some of the baseball and softball fields. The grounds has been operating with two full-time employees all spring. Um we have one employee who's been out um on a

55
00:14:51.600 --> 00:15:07.519
long-term medical leave and we have two vacancies. Um this is limited their ability to keep up with the seasonal workload. We do hire additional seasonal part-time employees, but they do not start until after Memorial Day due to their school schedules. They're generally high school or college

56
00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:23.839
students. Uh, and so obviously that um makes the workload much more difficult between March and the end of May when grass is really growing. We did um we have been making some efficiency improvements where we can. They purchased a robotic field liner which

57
00:15:23.839 --> 00:15:38.639
you may have seen. And it looks like um essentially a a Roomba or one of those little carpet vacuums that is robotic. It's a little bigger than that. Um and they've been deploying it at um mostly Wolf Swamp to line that field. It works very well in a fraction of the time it

58
00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:53.759
would take a staff person to do it. So that has greatly cut down on the amount of time that they have to take to stripe fields. Um they've also um been working to replace that 25-year-old sandpro which was used to rake out um the ball

59
00:15:53.759 --> 00:16:09.600
fields. Uh after the fall town meeting, we went to um uh state contract to buy that equipment. It was delivered this spring. Staff had to receive training on it and until that happened um they had been doing the work by hand. So that

60
00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:26.000
also delayed some of just their normal regular maintenance work. Um, and then in addition, the mowing of Wolf Swamp Field has been primarily handled by a contractor because we knew we didn't have the staffing ability to take care of it. The contract is up every April.

61
00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:40.720
When we went out to bid uh and we received responses in April of this year, it doubled in price. And so we looked at what we could afford to do and what we could potentially do inhouse. And we determined that um of both

62
00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:56.800
um uh both the bid specs, one one is for mowing, the other is for um uh turf um application and overseating and um um air tining. Um that is not stuff we could do in house. We could mow in house

63
00:16:56.800 --> 00:17:13.679
assuming we have the staffing to do it. So based on financing, we had to only move ahead with the stuff we couldn't do. And so they've been trying to keep up with Wolf Swamp because that is heavily programmed. Um it's not it's not going great given that we are getting

64
00:17:13.679 --> 00:17:29.280
complaints about other areas of town. DPW um the DPW director has redirected facilities and highway crew to help keep up with the mowing, but that means that we've seen an increase in pothole complaints and custodial coverage in

65
00:17:29.280 --> 00:17:46.480
buildings. So, um we are working to um use the on call contractor for some of the other maintenance assistance. Um and we're going to continue to balance our limited staffing and equipment transition to keep up with this seasonal high demand.

66
00:17:46.480 --> 00:18:02.880
The um uh part-time seasonals employees are about to start. I I believe it's this week. Um and we do have um some one employee coming back from medical leave at the end of the month. and we have all the the open positions posted. So, um

67
00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:17.760
just want to acknowledge that we know that it's not what we expect, but um we're working on getting it to that level again. >> Great. Thanks, Lyn. Um any questions, comments for Lynn? >> Yeah, go ahead, D. >> Lyn, I would I would love to get a copy

68
00:18:17.760 --> 00:18:34.640
of the uh presentation, >> the AI one. >> Yeah, if you if you have if you could send it, I think that'd be great. >> Y >> um Yeah. What a what a So, you were in Cadam. What a place to to go um when we're talking about mental health. But,

69
00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:50.000
uh >> seems like >> um really interesting and you know, we are um a self-claimed group of nerds because we love to hear about how all this stuff works and we ask the most boring questions about the leases that they give to the fish pier operators,

70
00:18:50.000 --> 00:19:06.160
the RFP process, the type of zoning. like it it's painful for someone that doesn't love this stuff. So, it's really cool to hear about something that we wouldn't ever experience out here, but just the process they go through to get there is the same as what we would have

71
00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:21.520
to do for the mowing at Will Swamp Field or or anything like that. So, yeah, it's a great it's a great conference. >> Thanks. Yeah, great. Thanks. >> Okay, great. Thanks, Lynn. Um, moving into correspondence. We don't

72
00:19:21.520 --> 00:19:38.799
have any. Um, old business. We've got our draft meeting minutes. I will entertain a motion to approve our May 18th, 2026 select board meeting minutes. >> So move. >> Second. >> Great. Any further discussion?

73
00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:56.160
All those in favor? Uh, abstain. >> Okay. Great. And uh next on our agenda is uh select board and town manager policy reviews. Um Lynn, if you want to speak to these.

74
00:19:56.160 --> 00:20:12.240
>> Yes. So um we have do we have it broken out? Okay, we have it broken out here. Um as you know um Ian and I took part in the um uh Division of Local Services um best practice uh finance

75
00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:28.640
um policy workshop. Ian has been working really hard on going through that best practice document and modifying it to Long Meadow standards to meet um some of the policies we already have um and then enhance based on the DoD DLS

76
00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:45.600
recommendations. We're um almost at the point where we're ready to share the document with you. I will um caution you it is 120 pages right now. Um but Mike pointed out to me that our current list of financial policies is about 70. So it's not completely out of the range of

77
00:20:45.600 --> 00:21:01.679
what we are already dealing with. Um so we anticipate having that to you uh in a full packet to review June 15th. Um and then at that point uh we hope that we start diving in to kind of go through it. whether you divvy it up and review them outside of meetings or whether we

78
00:21:01.679 --> 00:21:18.960
just start running through it um at a meeting or if you want Ian and I to give you kind of a highlevel summary document of the areas that have changed the most that might be the most time um timely way to do it. Um so I just wanted to

79
00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:35.679
give you a heads up that that is coming. Um and then on the general policies we've done something similar. Um uh we've taken the current policies and we've put them into a matrix matrix format uh that is identifying the areas

80
00:21:35.679 --> 00:21:52.080
that um we think need improvement. Um Mike and I also spent some time discussing whether or not they're some of them are even necessary. um it seems like a lot of them exist from around the time the

81
00:21:52.080 --> 00:22:09.440
charter was going into place. And so some of the policies seem to be more um operational or just like common sense to some extent on how we do business that maybe we don't need them anymore. Maybe they've outlived their life. I think there's a website policy. Um these are

82
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:24.880
things that are just standard practice for our business now. So, um, we will be bringing that back to you, I believe, on the 15th as well, and we can decide, um, you know, same idea. Do you want to divvy them up or I think Mike and I were thinking we would go

83
00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:41.120
through and mark them up ourselves, and then you guys could look at them from there. So, we we should have this whole package done by this end of the summer. >> Yeah, that's great. >> Any questions, comments from the select board? >> Summer reading.

84
00:22:41.120 --> 00:22:57.120
Yeah. I mean, this has been a long-standing project that we've all wanted to tackle for a while. So, I think if we can get this done by the end of August, that'll be huge. >> Yeah. I mean, I think uh seems like it's been a while now. Every month Ian on his finance monthly finance report has been

85
00:22:57.120 --> 00:23:12.960
like, you know, continuing to work on this. So, I know this has been a big undertaking and um you know, long overdue, something I think we talked kept talking about wanting to do and I'm I'm glad that we started working on it. >> If I may too. Yeah. And you'll notice like throughout the course of this past year, you've had the updated buy recycle

86
00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:30.080
policy come by. You've had the mobile food. So, there's been a bunch of new policies that were incorporated, but there's also like to Lynn's point, a few outdated practices that either are not relevant anymore or they just need to have one more hard look in a review. >> Yeah. Yep. Excellent. Um, and then did

87
00:23:30.080 --> 00:23:45.679
you need to speak to the second part, the general policies, or did you kind of capture? That was the part about the matrix that we created to try to break it down so it was easier to understand. >> Yep. Okay, perfect. Um, great. Anything from the board? >> Thank you for doing that because I know that that's tedious and very

88
00:23:45.679 --> 00:24:02.480
detailoriented. So, thank you. >> Okay. Um, we can uh talk about uh the town manager FY2026 annual evaluation. Um on our agenda, the compiled evaluation is attached uh with

89
00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:18.799
all the select board uh ratings uh at different categories for the town manager as well as uh corresponding uh comments and feedback. And I think that taking a look at the evaluation and everyone's comments, you know, they were overwhelmingly positive and you know, as

90
00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:34.799
a select board, we're very appreciative to have Lynn Simmons in this role as town manager. And I think across the board, the things that we highlighted were some of the ways that Lynn has really done a great job putting in

91
00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:48.640
overarching plans. Um, putting in systems uh into place. Um, the way that she is carries herself in a professional way. Um, is able to handle very difficult situations with a steady hand.

92
00:24:48.640 --> 00:25:06.159
um and um is able to um uh manage a whole lot of different areas and and be very on top of things with communication and um and you know, especially I think with the budget. Um I think a couple of different people mentioned that last

93
00:25:06.159 --> 00:25:21.520
year and this year there were there were very difficult budgets that we had and Lynn was on top of it right from the beginning. brought in the stakeholders that needed to be brought in and what could have been much messier and much more difficult. Um, budgets weren't uh

94
00:25:21.520 --> 00:25:38.480
because of the very proactive actions that Lynn took. I know that one thing that I kind of kept coming back to in a lot of my answers was how um how I've really appreciated the way that Lynn is always seeking out new ideas and new ways of doing things and is not afraid

95
00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:54.080
to try new things. And I think, you know, we are seeing so many of the same issues that so many different towns um are all facing and so so much of that is just structural uh just the way that Prop 2 and a half is set up um and and

96
00:25:54.080 --> 00:26:09.840
different uh restrictions that we have. And so this is it's more important than ever for us to be thinking outside the box and how we can do things differently. You know, one example I know is that some of the ways that we took ideas from other towns about how to

97
00:26:09.840 --> 00:26:26.320
fund uh road repaving um and doing water manes and they have made such a significant improvement in our town in just a couple of years uh because of that. And uh you know it just wouldn't have happened unless we had a town manager that was seeking out these ideas and then figuring out how to implement

98
00:26:26.320 --> 00:26:43.039
them. So, um, you know, that is just, I think, one thing that's really stood out to me, not just this year, but in the in the time that I've gotten to work with Lynn and that I wanted to highlight. Um, I don't know if anyone else wanted to add anything or speak to their evaluation. >> I'll just I'll just add a couple things

99
00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:57.679
that was really well said, beneath um covered on a lot of topics. I think one of the one of the things that stands out to me and I I say this every year cuz I go to the MMA event every single year and I go to a lot of the regional ones

100
00:26:57.679 --> 00:27:13.919
and um Lynn is constantly getting praise from her her colleagues and her peers uh you know fellow uh town managers uh town administrators and and they always are saying you have a good town manager like

101
00:27:13.919 --> 00:27:30.240
you you got a good one and t town town being a town manager as we all know being close to Lynn is a very very difficult job. um uh you know, you deal with personnel issues, you have to deal with um the select board and and so many

102
00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:46.240
projects across town. And I Lynn just um she's done an amazing job. And also Lynn has to deal with a lot of um at at times there's you know a small group of people that will be very difficult um and

103
00:27:46.240 --> 00:28:01.679
almost test try to test Lynn and she just carries herself with such um you know high regards and and and class and and bases things off of facts and the relationship that she has with the select board and members of the

104
00:28:01.679 --> 00:28:17.760
community and department heads and um everyone looks up to Lynn um as really um the north star of town managers in in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So, um I'm just personally really uh glad that you're a

105
00:28:17.760 --> 00:28:32.799
town manager and I could go on and on, but um it's a very difficult job and we you know it can be very stressful, but I think you handle yourself um extremely well and um I I think we all I think I probably speak for the board just on our comments, but um it should definitely be

106
00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:48.960
uh acknowledged. So, thank you, Lynn. Thank you. >> Ditto to Venique and ditto to Dan. So I won't take the time over that. But I just being on the board for a year. I think Lynn, it's very impressive to see how you approach your job and leading

107
00:28:48.960 --> 00:29:05.679
the town from a strategic perspective. Even just a year I've seen like the way we're approaching certain topics like budget or each department um different projects. The way you kind of bring it all together and you do it so calmly and clearly. Um, I know I've called you many

108
00:29:05.679 --> 00:29:20.960
times asking for clarifications because I'm learning. Um, just the time you take to deal with everybody individually is cannot be easy. Um, but the way you're helping us just organize the town and drive things forward on multiple levels

109
00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:37.520
is not only impressive, but it's really greatly appreciated and I think you do a fantastic job with it. Um, and I've just learned that in the the one year I've been in this position. So thank you to one but also I just think the way with which you do it in the bigger picture thinking for the town overall is a huge

110
00:29:37.520 --> 00:29:54.080
asset. So thank you. >> I concur. I won't I won't belabor it. Thank you. Thank you especially for the times when I call you and you you answer my questions even though they're probably very dumb questions. So but thank you. >> No such thing. >> Thank you. >> We might as well say Mike does a good job too.

111
00:29:54.080 --> 00:30:09.919
>> Thank you. >> I know. I would like >> I was going to say since Mike is sitting here, I know that um I I I think that a few of us mentioned in our evaluations that we appreciated the way that Lynn was developing town staff and I think Josh specifically highlighted uh Mike

112
00:30:09.919 --> 00:30:25.760
and saying that, you know, Mike is someone that started off in our parks and recck department and was our admin assistant and now has become an exceptional assistant town manager. And uh you know, obviously that's credit to you, Mike. It's also credit to Lynn um for you know >> recognizing talent, investing in our

113
00:30:25.760 --> 00:30:43.440
staff um so that we can see that growth and people feel like they have an opportunity to grow here and make a career here uh working for our town. >> Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you. >> Thank you. I I'm very humbled by everything you all said. Thank you very much. Um and I say

114
00:30:43.440 --> 00:31:00.640
it every single year, but it is so true every single year. I cannot do any of this without the staff and I can't do nearly as good of a job if I didn't have the support of you all. If we didn't work so well together as a team, this none of this would be happening the way it's happening. So, it is a group

115
00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:16.320
effort. Um, and I think that's one of the big differences from what we see in a lot of other communities that um they might be having some bigger challenges because they don't have those working relationships that we have. And I think no matter what we face it, we're going

116
00:31:16.320 --> 00:31:33.600
to um uh come out of it much much better because we do work well together. So that's not lost on me. And when we have these incredibly difficult situations that come up or um things that we were not anticipating pop in and take over our time, um it's I'm very happy to be

117
00:31:33.600 --> 00:31:49.840
working alongside all of you and the team um that's in our offices every single day. It makes it happy makes me happy to show up and do the job. >> So, thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Great. Thank you. And so, um,

118
00:31:49.840 --> 00:32:06.240
with that, we'll move into something that we just kind of touched on, uh, budget and the appointment of a select board member to the town manager's uh, budget task force. Um, Lynn, did you have anything you wanted to mention about this? >> Um, I can just give you a quick update.

119
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:22.799
Uh we concluded our um round of public interviews today, seven people. Um we will be moving on with four of them. The finance director and I have not had a chance since those interviews concluded to kind of get back together and discuss. Um but we will be doing that before the end of this week with that

120
00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:39.039
really um robust goal of trying to get a group together next week. Um I have put out calls to obviously the select board, the finance committee, and the school committee to name a representative. I have not heard back yet from school committee or finance committee, but I will be touching base with them this

121
00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:55.919
week to just make sure that they'll be able to get a name to us by the um uh a meeting date next week. So, we're really looking forward to it. It was a great group of interviews that we had. Really, every single person cares a lot about the town, brought a lot um to the table

122
00:32:55.919 --> 00:33:11.760
for consideration. So, I think it'll be a lot of work, but it's going to be a good good task. >> Great. Thank you. And then um speaking to the appointment of a select board member that obviously needs to be done tonight if we're going to uh start meeting tomorrow. And I I will just say

123
00:33:11.760 --> 00:33:28.559
that when I was thinking about this, I thought that um that and I don't know if you know Shellyley, if you're interested, but thought Shelley might be a great choice for this appointment um as someone that hasn't had a chance to work on task force yet. Um and also I think with your experience in municipal

124
00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:43.519
government prior uh you know in a previous life um and then also uh the perspective you'd bring from that and then being a a newer member and this also being a great opportunity to learn um and and work with some of the folks um you know I I just thought that that

125
00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:59.679
that was just my initial thought that it might be good to appoint Shel for this position. >> Is that a motion? >> Um >> sounded like a discussion. >> Why? I'll make I'll make a I'll make a motion to appoint uh Shelley Mayor DeWolf to

126
00:33:59.679 --> 00:34:16.040
the >> um budget town manager budget task force. Uh second. Um any further discussion? All right. Um all those in favor?

127
00:34:16.399 --> 00:34:35.520
>> Okay, great. Well, congratulations on my condolences. Um, moving into new business, we have uh the ratification of the police chief's contract, which we will take up at our next meeting. Um, so then we can move into the select board letter for the

128
00:34:35.520 --> 00:34:52.079
250th anniversary time capsule. This letter is attached to the select board agenda. Um, I don't know if anyone want to speak to this or um make any changes to it. Um otherwise we can go ahead and

129
00:34:52.079 --> 00:35:08.480
and adopt it so that it can get put into the capsule because it's the it's uh our next meeting is after June 13th. So >> I didn't have any edits when I reviewed it. I thought it was great. It was actually interesting to read it because it made me reminded me of all the things

130
00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:25.200
that have have happened over the past several years and it just seems like so I thought it was a great letter. I didn't make any edits to it because I really liked it. >> Great. Well, I will entertain a motion uh for the select board to adopt the

131
00:35:25.200 --> 00:35:40.880
letter attached to the agenda as our um submission to the 250th anniversary time capsule. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Any further discussion? All right. All those in favor?

132
00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:56.720
Great. And then the select board meeting schedule uh look ahead is attached to the agenda. uh you know pretty standard. Uh I didn't say anything that was out of the ordinary. I don't know if there was anything that we wanted to highlight or >> the only reason why it was included in

133
00:35:56.720 --> 00:36:12.800
again was because typically in June we would set the schedule for the next fiscal year but we did differently upon budget season last year is we set the full year schedule. So now this schedule's good through the end of 2026. But just a reminder as to the summer meetings, there's only two meetings, one

134
00:36:12.800 --> 00:36:29.119
in July, one in August. Um, so this just kind of clarifies those meeting dates and some anticipated business barring any, you know, surprise agenda topics that may come up. >> Great. And then so since we already adopted the calendar, do we need to adopt? >> No, you'll just, uh, it'll be standard to adopt it right around the budget

135
00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:44.400
season when you adopt the budget calendar, you'll just discuss your meetings for following year. >> Okay, perfect. Okay, any comments or you guys see any problems with any of these dates or anything? >> No. >> Okay, great. All right, then. Uh the

136
00:36:44.400 --> 00:37:01.599
last item on our agenda is the uh modernization of town meeting discussion. >> Anyone or >> this Josh had actually to be on the agenda. So I'm not sure if you want to >> Okay. >> This relates to correspondence that you received. Um but I think there's just an

137
00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:17.040
over overall um >> uh interest in having this topic this agenda item. Um I did just see an update today. Uh the attorney general's office has a open meeting law meeting next week. Uh and the bill that was submitted

138
00:37:17.040 --> 00:37:32.480
by Senator Olivivera is on there for discussion which is to do some modernization of town meeting um and overall meetings. >> Um so I'll be looking at that to see how that makes its way through the process as well. >> How long is that process normally? Because I saw that Lynn I know we were

139
00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:49.119
Is that process normally like months long, weeks long? >> Um it depends on where it is right now. I'm not sure if they're taking it up because it was referred there or if um yeah, I don't I didn't have time to look at it that closely. I I don't think that's the only one pending either. I

140
00:37:49.119 --> 00:38:03.760
think there are others. >> Okay. All right. So, before we talk about it or discuss, does it make sense for us to hear what's comes back on those or does that are those completely separate?

141
00:38:03.760 --> 00:38:19.599
>> Um I those are somewhat separate. Uh what I need to do is refresh my memory on what was going on in conquered. Um a bunch of us took part in a virtual webinar earlier this year about modernization of town meeting where some

142
00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:36.480
communities were piloting >> um remote participation at an open town meeting. >> Okay. >> Um it's not clear that it's I don't know where that stands and so I need to refresh my memory on uh whether it truly was just a pilot or whether they have legislation pending. if legislation is

143
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:52.320
about to pass. >> Okay. >> Um I think that's probably where we should start with this because I don't necessarily want us to do a ton of work or get further down the road to find out that we actually can't do any of this yet. >> Okay. >> And then and then Josh maybe had some

144
00:38:52.320 --> 00:39:07.280
more that he wanted >> I think it was in reference Lynn made a comment about the uh correspondence. There was a letter that was received for the last meeting about the same topic. So okay think that's kind of where it's >> Mr. Chansky attended the last meeting and so we were we discussed that we would talk about it more.

145
00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:23.280
>> Um yeah because he has a few suggestions as well just from residents perspective. So yeah maybe that's something is that something we should just like table until we get more information? I don't know. I think we can bring it

146
00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:38.560
back at a future meeting and then maybe if also whatever Josh had in mind too or how we wanted to structure this, you know, he can maybe talk to it at the next meeting. >> Um do you think it would make sense to have the um and I'm not sure how much

147
00:39:38.560 --> 00:39:55.520
she could or should be involved with the conversation, but just getting uh the moderators feedback and she might have she might have some information from talking to other moderators as well. And when I say that maybe she shouldn't be involved in because I just don't know from if that's something that moderators

148
00:39:55.520 --> 00:40:12.160
get involved with that that topic or not. Um but I certainly would hope that she I know she would be very interested in that topic. So >> okay now that all sounds good. Um all right I will entertain a motion to

149
00:40:12.160 --> 00:40:24.599
adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Any further discussion? All right. All those in favor. All right. Great. Thank you everyone. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.