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good evening I'd like to call the city council Personnel committee meeting to order it is February 19th and the time is 7:31 uh we have four items on the agenda this evening so we'll start with order number 25-100 9359 communication from
mayor Dumis with the appointment of Brian Dahan as city com controller treasurer for a three-year term effective March 31st 2025 in addition pursuant to chapter 125 chapter 25 request to start Mr Dahan at step seven
of the com controler treasur salary schedule and Grant an additional week's vacation um Mr DNE would you like to join us as you come up I will read the letter from the mayor dear council president aing and counselors I am pre pleased to submit for your approval the appointment of Brian Dahan as the city
of Mal's City controller under city code 6710 Mr Dahan will begin his duties on Monday March 31st under upon city council approval Mr Dahan returns to malber where he served as a city comp troller under the previous administration he brings many years of
both finance and management experience in municipal government I am extremely confident in the abilities of Mr Dahan and believe his historical knowledge will be invaluable under a new Administration this role will assist with many major projects such as the annual budget Capital Improvement plan
Richer School Westside fire station and others the individual in this position will also pay play a major role in our debt schedule invest Ms and maintaining our AAA Bond rating it is imperative we have a qualified candidate in this position as soon as possible to ensure we maintain our bond rating and strong
financial position in addition to Mr danne's approval as City comproller I am requesting that he be placed at step seven on the city comp controller pay scale as well as provided an additional week of vacation in close in Mr dahan's resume for your review Mr Dahan will be available at a future Personnel
committee meeting to answer any questions you may have please do not hesitate to contact me or my office with any questions sincerely J Christian Dumis mayor Mr dney good evening thank you Council um for a quick note for people at home uh the comproller and
Treasurer is the Chief Financial Officer for our city um the mission of the office is to oversee all Financial activities within the city and to assist the administration in the overall financial management of the city of malor uh com controller coordinates the budget process with department heads on behalf of the administration and assists
the administration in obtaining city council approval of the budget activities include the following assisting in establishing new fiscal policies and strategies that reflect the city's financial goals and analyzing the impact of regulations imposed by other governmental agencies on the city's
financial position strategies and policies now that I have read the web page um I would like to uh welcome you here again this evening um and ask ask you uh to tell us a little bit about yourselves and um also um about the position that you seek to return to um
before we open up to questions sure so thank you so my name is Brian dney um my Major's accounting I've been in Municipal Finance since 2007 when I first came um I went from 18 years at A Private Industry to the City of
Fitchburg I was in the City of Fitchburg for seven years I started as a treasure collector they appointed me Director of Finance Administration uh the city of fitzburg had a lot of financial needs so um for instance when I started they had $30,000 in stabilization when I left
they had 3 .5 well 3 3 million with a $500,000 transfer um under me uh when I was director was the assessor The Collector Treasurer purchasing auditing it um anything with a number kind of
went through there um I happened to be at a conference and I sat with Tom Abel who was the controller here at the time and he mentioned to me that he was retiring and just started chitchatting for a little bit he go send a resume uh you'll probably get an interview so next
thing I know I sent a resume and had an interview um came to malor enjoyed it very much you know I like city government you know that that's what I do best I grew up in the City of Fitchburg that's pretty much all I
know um I was very pleased that while I was here we had a AAA rating we're able to get that um a lot of people had mentioned that that wasn't going to be a possibility because of the demographics in in the community um but you know through the team approach um we were
able to do that um also the best thing to do was we were looking to at a school and if you're going to bond a school with a large item having a AAA Bond rating um was very beneficial so that was a a very good accomplishment again I
was glad to be part of that team um and then an opportunity came to me another community near me was in financial problems it was the town of asham they didn't have their books closed they didn't have free cash certified their
tax rate was over $20 per thousand and you know they had many issues and um to open my doors up to more communities later on when I retired I thought a town would be a good opportunity it also paid a little more which was another factor in my time so
off I went to to town government um I know I'm keeping this kind of short and condensed as we go you can follow B further the questions um so what I thought would take 5 years to get them out of their financial hole took three um that was fine except for my
expertise in what I like doing best is Municipal Finance I was doing more grant writing I was doing more byw review I was doing more um of that type of stuff non-financial so it wasn't quite as enjoyable as it
was when I was in the city of Malboro um which I will say was very very enjoyable uh so when the president changed the enabling Social Security to not have an offset so I use the example of say my
pension was $60,000 back my Social Security would have been $30,000 the two to1 offset I was getting zero Social Security before now I'll get $60,000 plus $3,000 so at the same time that was going on I had noticed obviously I followed the the ads and I know Mau has
looked to fulfill this position to couple times and so I text the city auditor and asked if the position was still open and she mentioned that it was um and I proceeded to ask her what her thoughts were if it
was still open and uh she said apply so I applied and I want to thank the mayor very much for the opportunity uh to come talk to him um to see if he thought it would be a good fit to come back here uh he was a city counselor When I Was Here
we didn't have a lot of interaction while he was on the board we did have a couple of talks here in there I'm I do like to talk to people you know I like to talk Finance you know I'm pretty much an open door policy um that's prettyy much how I I am and and who I am uh so I
appreciate him for that I thought our conversation was about three hours three and a half hours a lot longer than I think either one of us expected um but I thought it went very well um I was was hoping uh to have a contract because it is allowed under Mass General law to
have a contract but after a three and a half hour conversation I left and said you know what I think this will work um and so I appreciate the mayor for putting my name here I appreciate the city council for moving me forward to this committee um some of you are still
here from before which was also one of my attractions to come back here I think the members that are here I had a good relationship with and I think they're very familiar with with who I am what I do um and what my financial skills are great thank you thanks I appreciate that
background um and in in your answer you encapsulated or answered the question that I had which is uh why why are you coming back but also you had the you had the top spot um you know in another community and you're looking to take a more focused role and oftentimes people go the other way and I I think your
answer about uh some of the extra duties is assigned when leading a community Community um I think a lot of people uh would be sympathetic too so I appreciate that um don't tell too many people I know there are a lot of communities out there still looking for Town managers and town administrators so don't don't
let the word up that pay Hefty that is true you know my my goal was never to be a Town Administrator you know that was never my goal I do like Financial challenges um like I said I think coming here the triaa challenge was was one that um I was proud of um and Fitchburg
getting Fitchburg out of their problem you know getting asonam out of their problem um but now I'm at a a point in time uh where I want to enjoy my career and want to stay focused uh with just Municipal Finance because I think after I'm done I would like to continue on in
Municipal Finance um either training people showing people there's not enough people in Municipal Finance um so you know I I think my my skill sets and expertise um Can can help you cities for the most part that's where I prefer to
be um in that goal great thank you um with that I will open up to members of the committee who have any questions councelor duet thank you very much Mr chair ran nice seeing you again sir thank you so you spent seven years working in
Malboro um I think I was those with five with that I was actually upset when you left to be honest because um we have a lot of Engagement with people who work for the city and I know some are in the audience now uh but it it's nice to have
uh authentic correspondences kind of getting into the engagement and you know going through a discussion path to get to an answer to clarify a point on certain things and I I felt that you were very good at clarifying stuff like
that from a financial perspective so um I think you coming back is would be great and um I I'm glad to see a good face from the Past coming coming back so thank you thank you councilor duet Council
Brown thank you Mr chair hi and welcome back um I'm councelor Brown I don't believe I was here when you were here nice to meet you as well um so when I was looking at your resume things that
stand out to me are and you absolutely spoke to this as well is you're somebody who leaves things better than you found them and but not just a little bit better than you found them it it seems
like you really take on big projects and drastically improve the financial situations of the places where you've been um just what you've done recently in Ashburnham with the tax rate and just
um getting it all squared away I think you just said in three years when you had a goal of five I think that's that's huge I like I really love setting goals and you know maybe trying to beat those goals and I love hearing that
quality in you and also um something that I always consider is putting aces in their places and so while I'm sure you're a marvelously effective administrator you have a very specific skill in finance
and everybody is lucky that you're choosing to just focus on your talent and skill and um I don't have any questions that have not already been answered um I'm very impressed by what
I've seen you do and actions always speak very loud so thank you thank you for that comment appreciate it thank you Council Brown um we'll open it up to members of the council councelor orm hello Brian nice to see you back in
Mao um uh in Ashburnham unfortunately they're loss because I with what you've done is amazing in including the reduction in the as just noted the tax rate from $210 to
1487 uh with that some of our challenges right now obviously Capital project projects are coming online school fire department and another issue we've been discussing in finance is controlling our energy resources and
it's difficult to control when the market out there is changing especially as we've heard from evosaur they keep increasing and our increase on gas natural gas has gone out of whack and didn't know if you were challenged on
some of those energy issues in Ashburnham and what you were doing to resolve some of the costs that go out of control sure so aspam we have not aspam has their own municipal plant so they have one of the lower Municipal rates uh
in the state so that's an advantage but unfortunately um that wasn't able to draw business to asonam asonam is definitely a residential Community um and which is fine nothing against them that you know that's who they are but but it makes it a burden on the
residents when your tax rate is $20 per thousand and how to way to go from there so again um as you mentioned I'm fortunate that the tax rate was reduced while I was there but energy is a concern uh we did it with a lot of just light switches you know you leave the
room the timing switch shuts off you know you don't have everything left on you know things of that nature you know make sure the heat's down when you leave um with you know thermostats that can work you know the usual stuff everyone knows in the house sure is really the only the only thing we could do there
and on that note I know our DPW is challenged with it so I think your dealings with the DPW in the past will be helpful in the future as well and find ways to conserve find renewable energies see if there's a cost effect to that you know there's a front up The
Upfront cost but uh hopefully with your position here you can help with some of those energy needs and outside of that fantastic resume I like your longevity wherever you've been it's too bad you didn't your longevity here was only s
years but it may now be 15 to 30 so if you want to work here that long but um welcome back thank you so much thank you appreciate the comments thank you councelor orm um any other comments councelor Irish thank you Mr chair uh good evening Brian it's good to have you
back in the city of maloro um I was a new counsel at the time when when you were the com controller and uh one thing that I thought was such a positive thing for the city and the department you always had this vision of moving forward uh with ideas I remember being the new Council you're talking about the AAA
bonding you're talking about uh uh the opep account stabiliz stabilization accounts um I thought that was just a an important part of the city as we were moving forward into those goal oriented items for the financial part of the city
um I'm not on the Personnel committee but certainly I would certainly support you coming back to the city of Malo and welcome back to the city of Malo thank you thank you Mr chair thank you Council Irish council president ausing thank you Mr chair am I glad to
see you so councilors you you know my forte or passion is having Brian back I can't tell you what a relief that is off of my shoulders because just having someone of that capacity Brian brings credibility
in financial Acumen to the city which it has been missing in our last 14 months this is not to diminish the work of the auditor which has done a fantastic job filling the financial leadership void but Diane's the auditor I need Diane to be independent of the com
controller function and so Diane I thank you for all your work cuz you've been a godsent filling in but we need a comproller and having been at mmma listening to the folks complaining about com controller
positions this this is a winwin for Mal so let me just highlight some of in my seven years the free cash policy so 10% of free cash each year goes to set up free cash has gone from 16 million to 28 million OPB again 10% of our free cash
it's gone from 11 to 23 million this is all under the direction that Brian put these Financial policies in place that I use as my training manual for for the all the new counselors that's part of my document that I give to all the new counselors say this is why we do things
financially Bond rating I can't underestimate or overestimate how important the AAA Bond rating Brian was the first one ever Arthur and I tried for years to get the bond rating and and to Brian and Diane and in council's work
we were able to pull it off and maintain it that Bond rating is huge especially when you think of what we've got coming before us with our uh big projects Bond Council maintaining relationships with Bond Council when preparing to go out for bonds and we got big items right
Richer School Westside fire station the annual capital projects coming down in a couple weeks preparing budgets right not just the department budgets but as the comproller he's got debt long-term interest short-term interest unemployment health insurance City
Insurance workers comp and not just for the city but for the school the sewer and the water departments all fall under the comp troller so you say why was Mike losing his mind for the last 14 months it it's it's you know it's been tough for the administration to find someone
but now we found someone and tell you I we we we've nailed it Union contract negotiations so again this is another one I meet every two weeks with the mayor and we go over all my concerns of which these are many of them you know having someone that with experience in dealing with that back on the city Side
tremendous preparing Capital plans we had a great Capital plan there was a 5-year forecast under Brian's tenure I'm expecting to see that back again and then kind of goes under the radar screen but overseeing the colle C's office and the assessor's office you know having
that adult leadership who's driving the collector's office and the assessor's office right I mean we've got all new if you think about we've got new people in those positions so having Brian back there now to have some permanent leadership in place is going to be tremendous and then the thing I I would
continue to you know challenge Brian you know The Debt Service all right Brian what's our debt service what are our payments this year what's next year he's been able to pull that together I haven't been able to get that in in a format that helps me do what I need to get done so having Brian in this
position immediately improves the administration's ability to work through fiscal issues so I again I'm not on Personnel but I would highly recommend the Personnel committee report favorably on this appointment the salary and the vacation as presented by the mayor thank
you Mr chairman thank you Mr President are there any other questions or comments from members of the council councelor duet motion to approve Brian as comproller a motion has been made and seconded to approve um the
appointment of Brian J Dahan as city com controller treasurer for a three-year term effective March 31st 2025 um and to start him at step seven with an additional week's vacation is there any further discussion hearing none all those in
favor all those opposed it pass three 0 thanks Brian can I ask Personnel Comm look favorably on suspending the rules on Monday night yes any concerns from the members perfect thank you Mr President do it thank you all very much appreciate
it all right next up is order number 25-19 360 communication from mayor Dumis with the appointment of Douglas E Philpot to the zoning board of appeals for a 5-year term set to expire from the date of city council confirmation Mr Philpot would you like
to join us up here while I read the letter from mayor Dumis honorable president aing and counselors I am submitting for your review and approval the appointment of Douglas Philpot to the zoning board of appeals for a 5-year term to expire from the date of council approval this position has been vacant for quite some
time and will fill the current vacancy on the zoning board as you can see from Mr philpot's resume he is a retired engineer after meeting with him I have learned that he has lived in malor for almost 40 years Mr Philpot is the parent of two children who graduated from the malber public school system over the years he has actively contributed to the
community through his involvement in scouting baseball open space planning and Community gardening I want to thank Mr Philpot for wanting to continue to serve his community by joining the zba if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me sincerely J Christian Dumis mayor good
evening Mr Philpot evening um I'll note for um the counselors who are here um we do also have four other um appointments for the zba they are reappointments um that are in committee um and we will bring those folks in um at a date that is mutually convenient in the near
future um quickly the mission of the zba uh for folks at home it the zba interprets and enforces the malro zoning code on a case-by casee basis the zba hears applications for variances special permits requests where the zoning code designates the zoning board as the special permit granting Authority and
appeals of decisions by The Building Commissioner or any administrative official also the zba administers the comprehensive process for affordable housing set forth under Massachusetts General Law chapter 40 B welcome again Mr Philpot um ask you to
give us a brief brief spiel about yourself and uh why your desire to join the zba well I think you pretty much covered my background my wife and I moved here in 1987 um back from up uh two years in
Upstate New York and um moved across the street from councelor aing um I took a job with a large defense contractor locally and then have had various positions since then um as you said we
raised two boys both of them went to Malboro High um I was active with the scouting Cub Scouts and boy scouts uh probably 10 plus years with Malboro Youth Baseball predominantly
with the Babe Ruth leagues I did serve on an open space committee back beginning in 2000s with uh the conservation people and I also uh worked very hard to get sewers up
in our neck of the woods back in the uh mid 90s when Title 5 came through a very sorely needed um addition to the neighborhood and I think they're just finally finishing that project up if if up off of uh Sudbury Street so but that
was that was that was a lot of work um I kind of stepped away as as the boys grew up and travel things took precedent in my life but I'm back I'm retired and I'm looking forward to uh serving on the zoning board of appeals
great thank you very much we'll open up to questions or comments from the committee Council Brown thank you Mr chair um so I did kind of warn you a little bit when I met you in the
elevator yes so I'm an only child but growing up the zba was kind of like my sibling because that's that was what my mother kind of lived and breathed in her position as secretary and so
um with that familiarity um I was happy to see that you have a packet um that shows me that you actually do understand what the zba might do um I've also heard that you have attended um
some meetings just in the audience to kind of gain I did attend several meetings yes yep to gain some familiarity as well from um from that point of view um and so I guess just given the nature of the um types of
cases as EBA um will take before them the only question I guess I would have is do you have that level of comfort speaking with the public and being in a position of needing to potenti deny something if warranted I believe I
do yes yes um I do have the time you know if I see fit to go look at a property ahead of time do do a little research um I'm still somewhat working but that's slowly phasing out but it's U something I'm looking forward to doing
and I do know two of the people on the board from past experiences so um it was it was interesting I think I was actually at one where they did give an affirmative to one of the petitioners so I guess it's not an easy thing to it's
espe with there cut and dry specific yes rules that they adhere to okay well I think you I think you'll take it seriously and you'll do a thorough job and um I appreciate that you want to take on this responsibility in our
community thank you thank you thank you Council Brown Council doet thank you very much Mr chair um so your background was in uh System test equipment is that true yeah excuse me your degree was in
uh test equipment or methodology electrical test electrical engineering test equipment yeah my last 17 years um been doing mostly um satellite work okay mhm testing parts that go in satellites okay qualifying them qualifying them
validating all that okay um so there's there's a methodology for tests you know that's pretty well constraints and I think um as far as there are similarities and methodologies between that type of analysis and Zoning exploration you know there are rules
very strict rules to adhere to to keep certain people very happy yes yes so I think um that seems to be a good way to approach it so I think you've got a reasonable background Engineers are trained basically to solve problems and
stick to the rules and yep yeah good so talking to another one too but yeah okay no further questions thank you great thank you councelor Jet Are there any other questions from members of the council Council warm I concur with Council duet I was going to ask the same question I work
with engineers and pretty much it's cut and dry uh very scientific and zba decisions I feel the same way I'm glad you went to a meeting to see how that function works and I thank you for volunteering your expertise to help us
with the zba so thank you Mr Phil poot thank you councelor orm councelor atin thank you Mr chair yes so um Mr philipot and uh grew up in the same neighborhood well when he moved in I was not there but my mother was but
so we met uh Doug on numerous occasions but his engineering background will serve the zba well and encourage the Personnel committee to look favorable on the appointment thank you Mr President okay I'll entertain a motion Council Brown
move to approve the recommendation all those in favor all oppos carries three Z thank you Mr Philpot all right moving along order number 25-1 19361 communication from mayor Dumis with the appointment of e William Baker to the Community
Development Authority as the tenant representative for a three-year term set to expire from the date of city council confirmation quickly read the letter for mayor Dumis honorable president aing and councilors I am submitting for your review and approval the appointment of e
William Baker to the Community Development Authority tenant seat for a term of three years from the date of confirmation Mr Baker has been on the tenants Association for 5 years and secretary for the last three his background was in procurement for 45 years with his title being vice president of procurement for City Bank
in my conversation with Mr Baker he expressed a desire to become more engaged with his local community Mr Baker stepped up to the plate after hearing that after 10 years Mr Paul sliny is retiring at the end of his term in March I want to thank Paul for his 10 years of service and dedication to the CDA board and it was an honor to sit on
the CDA with him his knowledge and expertise will be missed with Mr Baker's experience and insight gained through his involvement in the tenants Association I believe he is an excellent choice for this role if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me sincerely J Christian Dumis mayor i' like to Echo
the mayor's sentiments and thank Mr sliny for his 10 years of service um to the uh Community Development Authority uh very quickly just uh for folks at home the maber Community Development Authority Under the governance of the housing neighborhood improvements and
assistant programs for the Youth elderly and families the board oversees both Community Development and housing the mayor of malro chaires the mcda Mr Baker welcome thank you for being here tonight I'd like to open it up for you to make a brief statement if you'd like um not going into any great detail
Sur far my experience uh having spent 45 years in procurement and inventory management uh I also owned over the course of my lifetime owned three different condos uh as we moved on U and uh in each one of those three I was on the
board uh because I wanted to be first of all uh especially when you when you you're talking about your own money so you want to control of it uh I'm the same though when when I uh when I my job was you know I had my hands on on the
first strings all the time which is what I wanted I wanted to control the money that's being spent because especially on on a when there's a money involved where uh an employee gets a piece of the action all the more reason you want to pay attention to
what's going on and and that just is carried over to my uh my role here in uh not here just at ncda but in the three condos that I owned um and and I just I like to be active in that I want to have a part of the business folks especially well qualified folks so we we do
appreciate that um like to open it up to members of the committee for any questions councilor duet thank very much Mr chair um so uh William um how long you been living at the uh in the building uh five years so you just
immediately became part of the tenants Association when you moved in or pretty close to that when you first uh the terms they were for every three years and I had come into the second year so after the third year was up by put my name in and mhm yeah so living in a condo association I know exactly what
you're talking about finding people who can be dedicated to work in the service I appreciate you doing this want to be a part of the word yeah and uh also even a secretary which that's actually one of the heavier lifting stuff because you got to take the minutes write the minutes publish the minutes improve the minutes you know that's all on your back
so thank you for that one too thank you so um but what sort of um Insight do you see as far as you like how how do you see what do you see as the biggest issues that are now confronting the CDA at this
point uh well I didn't put it in my resume because it really wasn't a part of my my job but uh when I took over the secretary's position up up here at uh 240 Main Street I was aware of the uh
the uh Housing Organization for the state which uh I made an inquiry to to them as as to what how how do we play a part in that how do we join and they sent three people out to me right away I had three people within a week come out to tell
explain to me what they do how they can help and and uh it's still a learning process right now there's a lot to be to be learned and how the state operates and and how how does it match how we operate here in maloro okay so I'm continuing to to stay in that committee
and I will stay on that committee should I get this position as well in fact it's probably more important that I stay on it yeah um okay thank you for that appreciate it thank you councel duet Council Brown thank you Mr chair um and thank
you Mr Baker for joining us and for um being willing to take on this additional role in your life um it sounds between um the mayor's letter and from what you've just explained that you like to be um active and Hands-On you take great
pride and um you know if you take on a role you're committed to it and um I believe that you're going to serve this role very well and um replacing somebody who would served for 10 years and again thank you Mr s for his service um with
that I would like to move to approve the recommendation okay motion has been made and second to approve the appointment of uh e William Baker to the Community Development Authority as the tenant rep representative for a three-year term set to expire uh from the date of the city
council confirmation um is there any further discussion from any members Council wor he had first okay councelor filla thank you Mr chair Mr Baker I just wanted to say thank you for Cil so appreciate it thank you the pay is
good thank you counselor uh councelor or I'll make it quick uh and same compliments thank you you already have your foot in the door because you pretty much as noted right ing the the minutes for your committee but the one thing that was read by the Personnel committee
chair was affordable housing seems to be a major Challenge and I'm sure you're aware of the long waiting list to get into affordable housing um I'd just like to hear your view on that in respect to affordable housing well that yeah that's relatively new in fact one of the first
uh amendments that that came through this year was the fact that I'm sure maybe you know maybe you don't know that we we get a certain amount of dollars from the state uh per tenant per per unit and it used to be $6 which gave us
$1,500 you would operate to you know various activities for for the tenants well they voted in $25 this year so we we've got a large increase we can do a lot more things with that um unfortunately we we're dealing with
tenants that that prefer to stay with within their own apartment which is okay uh but the money is there if they need anything and all they have to do is ask if it's in the budget which is is bigger now we certainly can accommodate them and we're
slowly getting ideas coming in thank you for your Insight and welcome and thank you more than anything else for thank you committing your time thank you thank you Mr chair thank you Council orm uh councelor Irish oh thank you Mr chair good good good evening Mr
Baker I've had the pleasure of meeting with you multiple times and um I can say you're very dedicated to 240 Main Street I think you'll be perfect for this board um I know how over the years diligently you organize the yearly yard sale to get
funds for that um those are pluses and you seem to be that go-to person sometimes on in 240 Main so I think you'll be perfect and I welcome you on this committee and thank you thank you Mr chair thank you councilor Irish any further discussion okay motion have been made and seconded all those in favor all
those opposed carries 3 to zero thank you Mr Baker all right and our last item on the agenda is order number 25-1 9362 communication from mayor Dumis with the appointment of an mikin to the Council on Aging for a 4-year term set
to expire May 7th 2029 well miss Mikan is coming to the well I will quickly read the letter from mayor Dumis dear council president Ing and counselors I am pleased to submit for your approval the appointment of Anne Mikan to the malro Council on Aging according to city ordinance 161 section
2 members of the Council on Aging served for four years with their terms expiring on the first Monday in May after the appointment the expiration of this appointment shall be May 7th 2029 and has been a resident in malber for 40 plus years both of her children went through the malber public school system
she worked as an education assistant and retired in 2019 she is a member of the senior center and takes Fitness classes Garden Club and the book club in close with this letter is a list of volunteer activities she has done for the community and I want to thank and for wanting to be more involved with our senior center community by joining the
Council on agent please do not hesitate to contact me or my office with any questions sincerely J Christian Dumis mayor hello Miss Mike welcome um the mission of the mber Council on Aging and Senior Center is to promote healthy successful aging and to enhance the quality of life for malber seniors
citizens 60 years of age and old older to that end we strive to provide comprehensive services and programs for older adults and their families um I want to thank you for your willingness to serve and open the floor to you U to tell us a little bit about yourself and your background and why the council un
aging well you've said quite a my own background but you know as my kids were going through school I did things with the Music Association and the PTA um and just was involved with the schools um after I retired I started
going to the senior center and enjoyed some of the programs and as I got to know people you know you're your world expands and I just want to see that as a member of the board like to see that opportunity for other people I want it to be a warm and welcoming place for
people to come great thank you uh open up to members of the committee Council Brown thank you Mr chair and thank you for joining us and um um I really enjoyed reading some of the things that
you've been involved in in the city and you are absolutely an Engaged Community member and um I'm so happy to see that you're going to take the commitment further um in the role at um of CDA I'm
sorry to help in with our senior community and um I think just based on the the things that you've done in the city you're you're somebody who puts themselves Unity probably you know feels are some general concerns and so I think
that you'd be a great person to take on this type of role so thank you great thank you Council Brown um open up to other members of the council councelor orm thank you thank you you have an impressive resume in my
view all the work you've done through your very ious volunteering in PTO MPS music department it goes on and on with IC Church it just amazed at what you've done so I think you will be a good asset
for the Council on Aging and I don't know if I've ever passed by you before but I may have with all these activities you've done over the years so another fantastic choice by the mayor and I look forward to seeing you on the council thank you Mr chair uh welcome an I know
you and I have known each other for a long time having had children go through the public school system at the same time um so I'm very excited to see you wanting to be a part of the senior center and specifically the Council on
Aging I think that they will enjoy your enthusiasm and your smile and um the senior center will benefit and as I've gone to some of the different classes I know some of the people on the board so we have a pretty good working relationship and we've had conversations
so I think moving forward will have a positive influence on the center CU we do have a lovely Center and I'd like to see it grow and become a welcoming Place yeah that's wonderful thank you um that anyone else I will entertain a
motion Council duet motion to approve and M him to the community uh Council and aging a motion has been made and seconded to approve the appointment of an mik to the council and aging for a 4-year term set to expire May 7th 2029 any fur any further discussion
hearing none all those in favor all those oppos it carries 3 to zero congratulations thank you an good night motion to adjourn a motion has been made and second to adjourn all those in favor all those opposed carries 30 we
are adjourned at 8:15 e e e e e e e e e
good evening everyone I'm going to call the city council Urban Affairs committee meeting to order we have one item on our agenda order number 24 10 19317 an application for a special permit from malber Maple real estate
trust for a drive-thru window in an existing building to at a cafe at 420 Maple Street I believe um the petitioner Charlotte Maynard and Christian beran are both here if you want to come and sit in the well that way we can if there
are questions or if you have comments uh the city council did receive the minutes of the public hearing we also received manager comments which I will review we also were emailed and I think everybody
was given a hard copy of um site plan that came so I don't know if you have any opening comments otherwise I'm just going to read the manager comments and we can go through the S the special
permit uh draft language that we have so from Paul dinwoody the Board of Health the Board of Health has reviewed the attached draft decision and has no additional comments from
marbor Fire Department chief Breen we asked many of the same questions included in the draft decision while this plan was at site plan ultimately Marb fire department was satisfied the applicant understood our concerns related to traffic flow and judged a comprehensive sign and striping plan
would help alleviate potential problems from Maro police chief Georgie during the s and review of this application members made comments pertaining to the traffic flow of the parking lot potential queuing in the drive-through area and exits onto Route 85 the
applicant was responsive to our suggestions and took steps to improve the signage markings and flow of vehicular traffic into the property within the parking lot and for exiting the lot I believe that these improvements will make the location of the drive-thru for the business safer
for both patrons and the public Priscilla Ryder conservation and sustainability officer I reviewed the draft special permit for 420 Maple Street and have two minor changes to recommend in lighting number one applicant its successors and or assigned
shall utilize illuminations as currently located at the site all lighting and illumination shall be in accordance with the city code and number two Landscaping the applicant its successors and or assigns agrees to plant and maintain in good condition the Project's Landscaping
substantially in conformance with the final site plans as submitted to the city council which plan is entitled drive-through renovation site planting C d3.1 and shall comply with the city code language requirements and from Tom
depersio city engineer the engineering division has reviewed the draft decision and we offer the following comments during the initial review with the site plan review committee we requested many site improvements related to Traffic signage and pavement markings in order to
properly accommodate the proposed drive-thru into this existing site we also requested that the northern driveway on Maple Street be restricted to a right turn only exit the applicant has agreed to all of the requested improvements and engage civil and
Traffic Engineers to provide design plans we believe the proposed site improvements will provide for safe vehicle movement into out of and around the site during the formal review we will evaluate the need for additional way finding signage or other minor
improvements the applicant has agreed to significant landscape improvements to the existing site enhancing the site Aesthetics and reducing the area of impervious surface I recommend that conditions number 8 and N be rewarded as follows
eight traffic signage and pavement markings the location and placement of pavement markings and traffic directional signage shall be reviewed and approved by the city of marble during plan review in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of the city of
Malboro and number nine parking area rules parking area shall be swept and maintained in good condition by the applicant its successors and assigns as necessary the applicant its successors and or assigned shall be responsible for providing installing and maintaining all
signage and pavement marking shown on the approved plans and as required by the site plan review committee such signage or marking shall meet the standards of the manual on uniform traffic control devices so everybody received a draft
decision from the petitioner uh for the benefit of the petitioners um although there are a lot of us the urban Affairs committee actually five members I'm the chair councilor naban is the vice chair our members include Council preiato and councelor duet and councel Landers would
normally be over there is absent um so we will be the ones making a Rec recommendation hopefully this evening to the city council we have a meeting on Monday the 24th believe Monday the 21th um where
this would be reported out I could ask for a suspension to then refer it to the solicitor who will take a look at what you have given us make sure it's in proper form and then it would be on a future agenda for the full Council to vote on so at this stage we're really
reviewing the draft decision making any changes um I did talked to the solicitor today after some questions from one of the members so I do have some um recommended changes and then the
solicitor may make further changes also so I'm just going to begin going through the draft decision that you have presented to us um we have the findings of facts which talk about the property of 420 Maple
Street and that you represent the joint interest of the tenant Adena Cafe who will be occupying a portion of the property you propose to utilize the existing structure to operate a coffee shop Cafe with one drive-thru window and the site's located in the commercial
automotive zoning District you are here because you need a special permit for the drivethru um in number six is where there may be some suggested changes to the language that you have in connection with the application
the applicant has submitted a certified list of abutters filing fees and at this point I would insert and Architectural drawings by thef frer Architects dated October 31st 2024 because that's what you submitted to the
council when we got the application and a a rolled up plan um a plan of the existing site entitled drive-through renovation site plan dated October 30th
2024 was submitted electronically to the council uh and prep oh sorry was the my notes Here uh dated 10:30 24 prepared by samot Consulting of
28 a Street Framingham Mass 2 01 701 the plan was submitted electronically to the city council so that we have recognition that we have both the architectural plan but we also have the site plan that was
really submitted first to site plan but we now have an electronic copy of it which helps as we look through the the uh traffic flow and where everything is located so that's an easy
change to um make make sure that a date of the plans and which plans we have at this point in time so number seven talks about the plans being certified by The Building Commissioner number eight uh talks about the city council having a
public hearing and number 10 goes into detail about what was presented at the public hearing so we thank you for your level of detail with um it's unusual for that level of detail to be in our description of the site plan I mean I'm
sorry of the public hearing uh so then we get to the findings and facts and the conditions that are specific to this site plan so in the conditions number one is Construction in accordance with the applicable laws it just talks about
construction of all the structures has to meet the building code and the zoning regulations number two compliance with applicable laws it's just legal language where you have to meet um all Municipal state and federal rules both the applicant and successors
number three is site plan review which you have gone to site plan review twice you will go back to site plan if this drive-thru is approved and they will tweak any final details that they may have number four is the modification of
plans that just talks about notwithstanding conditions above the site plan review committee may make engineering changes to the plans so long as as they don't change the use of the project or materially increase the impervious area of the project reduce
the green area alter traffic flow increase the size shape or position of the building or alter the fencing number five is signs and awnings that just talks about the locations and the design of the signing shall be reviewed in accordance with the sign ordinance
number six is incorporation of the submissions so everything that you've submitted the plans the photo renderings the cited valuations all of that is part of the record number seven is the hours of operation so you will have the hours
being for the restaurant and the drive-thru window shall not exceed Monday through Sunday 7:00 a.m. to 2: a.m. there will be no 24-hour operation number eight is traffic signage
and this is where we have one of the recommendations from Mr depersio the location and placement of pavement markings and traffic directional signage I'm going to suggest that we strike I'm sorry may I just I just
wanted to yes I'm sorry councelor n thank you madam chair um on the hours of operation that's not a typo right that it's supposed to be 7: a.m. to 2: a.m. not 2 p.m. I I uh I think it might have been a
typo because I copy and paste from the prior so I believe that is a Tapo so when do you the hours are going to be the regular hours in Fring is until so 7 7 No 5 to 9900 p.m. maybe would be the
most most 5 p.m. okay I assumed that you wanting to be one of those late night nope that's good I I got nervous that it I thought it at 2 p.m. at first and I'm after 2 p.m. coffee person so I was like I really kind of wish they'd open later
than that so that's great right so 5:00 a.m. to again what p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. yes okay 9: p.m. thank you madam that totally went past me and I figured that's that's like okay that's long
hours late hours but if that's what you want all right so we're back to traffic signage um as I said I would suggest that we strike currently located at the site so it's the location and placement of pavement markings and traffic
directional signage shall be reviewed and approved by the city of marbor during site plan review in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations um Thomas suggesting councilor de set thank you
very much Madam chair um just in general I was driving through the space the this evening on the way in here and with the layout of the drive-thru I I have some concerns I think they're I just want to raise them as concerns at this point but
you know there there's a snow bank now that is crimping the space where you've got the drive-thru and then a car has to go by through as well this is something to watch for the future because this was a hell of a storm full of ice and snow which God knows the last time we had one
of these before this one but that it's a real tight spot around the corner of the building and you need to get two large you know worst case conditions you got to get two large truck you know SUVs through it at the same time so that that's a concern that I have I'm just raising it as concern to make sure our
cars can get by especially this time of year with snowbanks okay um yeah I I agree U yeah we because we don't we only need one lane right now we only paid M for plowing of of one okay but yeah when
when we upgrade we will yeah and will be signage to cuz anyone that comes off of 85 if they want to go through the drive-thru have to go around the building right there'll be signage that there'll be signage for that okay that that was the other concern I have and thank you for the time appreciate it all right so number nine are the parking
area rules uh Mr depers suggested that they be changed to parking areas shall be swept and maintained in good condition by the applicant its successors and assigns as necessary the applicant its successors and or assigned shall be
responsible for providing installing and maintaining all signage and pavement marking shown on the approved plans and as required by the site plan review committee such signage or marking shall meet the standards of the manual on uniform traffic control
devices I take it that you got a copy of this manager changes so that you're aware of these is that not true I I perhaps got it and didn't realize that there had been changes in it but I will
go through my email okay yeah number 10 is no overnight parking there shall be no overnight parking at the site I don't know if there currently is parking overnight at the site um if there is it's not by our permission so that's something I can look into but I mean we
don't authorize overnight parking but it's not something that has brought to my attention so if we need to start Towing monitoring I can do that okay number 11 our drive-through speakers the drive-thru window shall employ a pedestal speaker system that automatically adjusted the ambient noise
so as to minimize the noise emanating from the speaker system to levels comporting with the noise ordinance of the city of Malboro the drive-thru audio speaker shall not produce noise at the rear property line of the plaza shown as map 93 parcel 67a on the assessor map of
the city of maror greater than that which would be allowed in a residential Zone pursue it to the noise ordinance of the city of marbor I did go back and look we had approved a drive-thru for the uh um what bank uh a bank that put a
Starbucks on Route 85 and this language is similar and they actually have more residents than you do but there are some houses behind you on Walker Street so I'm sure that there is concern with the
noise number 12 is deliveries in order to mitigate noise concerns for residential abutters no deliveries to the site by semitrailer Shall occur between 7: a.m. or after 700 p.m. lighting uh it was suggested by Priscilla Ryder to change this to read
all lighting and illumination shall be in accordance with the city code number 11 Landscaping this is another one where after talking to this solicitor um there will be some suggested changes so that it would
read the applicant its successors Ander assigns agrees to plant and maintain in good condition the Project's Landscaping substantially in conformance with the delete the word
final and then it would be with the plan intitled drivethru renovation site planting C 3.1 dated 1030 24 or as amended by the site plan review
committee and shall comply with the city code requirements as my understanding is that there may be some additional Landscaping required so we want to make sure it's not the site plan submitted to the council but it's that site plan for site plan review committee so I know I
read that fast but the solicitor um will get notes and this will be on the final draft that he sends to us trash is number 15 the applicant its successors and or assigns agrees to keep
dumpsters covered and to screen the Project's trash area by constructing a dumpster enclosure of a design compatible with the building applicant its successors Ander assigns further agrees the dumpsters located on the site shall be covered no trash pickup shall
occur before 7:00 a.m. or after 700 p.m. snow removal applicant its successors and assigned shall maintain and conduct snow storage and removal on the site and shall store or remove snow as necessary to provide for clear and safe traffic flow on the site so to
council duet's point I think that's where they would make sure that if in fact you need to remove snow you would keep that traffic flow area clear number 17 nonability of conditions
if any of the above conditions is deemed to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction then this decision shall be null and void and number 18 is our standard recording of the decision so I know I went through that
fast but you obviously know the language having put it together are there questions concerns with the members of the committee I'll go with them first and then open it up for counselor duet I saw his hand first so councelor ducet thank
you um item 177 I've is that something new I haven't seen that in any of the prior conditions so it's kind of caught that one I'm sorry which one number 17 17 yeah uh it is something that is not typically in
here I know that um I believe you were given a draft I don't know if whoever you worked with added that if it's an issue the solicitor may I I'd like to get the s's opinion on item 17 if that's okay
let the lawyers find it out okay and I'm sure they will review this and decide if in fact they usually talk to a petitioner if there's a is there a specific reason why you added it that I think it was because it was on the
original draft that that was handed to me by the St so I know that our secretary did give a draft to the petitioner to work with so I don't know exactly what draft she gave but if it was there then obviously it's been on a
special permit but right I don't seeing something like that but I might have missed it from before I don't know something can you read it 17 pleas 17 nonability if any of the above conditions is deemed to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction then
this decision shall be null and void the implications is I if I read this if one thing's wrong it's all it's all n void right normally would be the other way around you'd want to have the the ability I'm yes
that's so like I said let the lawyers fight this one out yeah I I would remove it we usually have for S plan I'm on a board in my town we would have something that does not not that extreme right but actually allows everything to stay in
place if something does change yeah basically like you can pick change right not the whole thing falling apart pick the piece yes all right so I will make a note that we will ask the solicitor to look into this to see if he has a change
in language or if he suggest removing it and if he if he has any questions of my concern have him give me a call that's fine I'm sure he would any other questions from you councelor de councelor naan thank you madam chair um really um just a quick note um I think
this Project's great I'm super excited about it um I am a c coffee addict um and and we already have some locally owned coffee shops in the community and I think there can be always be more so excited that you guys are coming here to
invest also I think it's great um because this entrance to the city which I drive at least two or three times a day um heading out of the city to head to work and then coming back um is not always the best Corridor um it looks like Route One in Norwood um you know
you can't um you can't miss any used cars for sale and so um by having this project before us um that's going to generate some sight improvements I think is great um so I you know I think the city will benefit from that um the you know it really does seem like even since
the um since the public hearing there's been some additional work done I think on some of the entrances and exits for the past few weeks as I've been heading to work in the morning um I am perhaps one of the drivers that people are concerned about who is traveling too fast to try and get through that light
at Walker Street to get on the other side um to try and start the log across um the Sudbury Reservoir so was you this morning it's me every morning counselor um and so um you know I did have some concerns about the left turns um and
people kind of jutting out into traffic um but I have been kind of analyzing that and I think that that some of the work here that's been done for the fir what I would call the first exit um by restricting that turn I think is very helpful both in and out I think that's going to make a big difference um the
only concern I have on the left turn I think like you want to you want people to be able to exit you want people to get out and get on their way you do not want them you do not want to be in my opinion creating a traffic jam on Walker Street that's just going to back up um so I guess my only concern is and I'm
very very happy to see the new trees and the new shrubs um is just to make sure that that line of sight um for that one tree that is closest to the entrance and exit on the southern entrance and exit um just does not intrude with that line of sight cuz I think as much as people
are coming up if they see if you're heading north on 85 coming into the city and it's 5:00 and you see that that light is green some people not me some people um are going to hit a pretty hefty speed trying to make that light um
so that they don't get stuck at Brigham and Walker and so I would just want to make sure that that line of sight for them is good besides that um I think it's a great project um welcome and hope this goes forward councilor pres thank you madam chair um I just had a quick question I was
wondering where you were going to put your uh dumpster where the dumpster is going to remain where the dumpster exists now which is if you look at the site on the it's it's right corner of the property opposite side oh all the way
the way back all the way back we that's a long walk that was the the last iteration when I came in front of when Priscilla suggested that it no longer go on the very Corner okay we had to consolidate I think every tenant had their own yeah dumpster and they made a
recommendation for us to have one communal dumpster for the property got um and that's just the most obvious place to put it that's out of sight out of mine for the neighbors that also like to come for trash off gotcha okay it's the most turning area too for the vehicles get in out of air and not be
affected by parking yeah I've never noticed it on my way through so maybe that's a good thing yeah great place yeah yeah keep it hid great awesome I thought you guys were going to build a new one out in front so that's good news all right that's all I have thank you any questions from other counselors that are here this
evening councelor or thank you madam chair um if you're remember at the hearing I was the one that questioning the safety of the exits onto Maple Street I see that you know you're now having right turn out at the northern
exit the southern exit which isn't too far from the northern exit what concerns me is the exiting to go left onto Maple Street the traffic as mentioned by
Council and naen merges in and quite quickly as you noted accidents down there and it's because it's not not just your business other businesses the Ford dealership is a good example they can go left in as
well and but by then the traffic has merged what happens as the traffic's trying to merge in people stop paying attention to what's in front and who's behind you who might be trying to pass by you either on
most likely on the right side so I think I I I agree I'm sorry if I interrupted you coun I I want to just say I think anyone who wanted to actually take a left turn to get in and use the drive-thru is likely to use Walker
because then you'd be able to get into Walker and be right there for the drive-thru if you were going left I think what that in'll be and more people taking a right off Maple taking a left would make you go all the way around the building where you'd have the the light control to turn left and be much better
and then you're right there at the drive-thru um so I think as long as you have and it's it's not like you see a big Dunkin Donut sign or something like that where you have people jumping in you're going to have more of probably a user that knows this local going in though it makes more
sense to take the left on Walker that the the overall site is going to teach people to do that and that's the teaching is I agree with you and I and they even get a delayed they get an arrow for a few seconds when you're turning left on to very only a few
seconds yeah it's it's true but again it's just it's not your fault that that was a bad design design but it does concern me with the left going in more than the right going the left going out going south onto Maple Street towards South bro and now you know it's wide
open and and more go in and out and we're trying to control it and move it further away um but I do think the majority of the people are going to be now led towards really going in well off Walker and I understand what you're saying and but but you still one
I think the right in if you coming up Maple you you might want if you stop there be able to just jump in and you'd rather go around the building in is fine if you're coming north on Maple Street right in I have no problem with that you know it's the one car coming down cars
merging in sure paying attention to what's behind them to make sure they're not going to get hit in the rear and then all of a sudden there's a cast stop right in front and that's where I've seen accidents before cuz they weren't looking in front of them to see stops the stop lights
so I'm not in favor of a left in at this point and would ask that the site plan review consider that I know they only considered the northern exit but I would ask that that be considered they left out that person's taken it at their risk
but left in is my concern cuz you got a stop car with cars merging into them hopefully it won't cause an accident but I would ask that reconsideration be made tricky to have a let if you don't have a left in you wouldn't have an in and then you wouldn't allow the right in and
that's the challenge I I age I know geometry how to make it work because it's on the other side of kind of a Double L because you want to go left in if you're going north correct how do you prevent left in going south that that my left in going south is the concern hopefully people will learn the lights
the best way I think that's where will become yeah or I think we could debate this all night but iind you that site plan did review and if you listen to the comments from the department heads I'll ReRe chief
breens that the applicant understood our concerns related to traffic flow and striping so they are aware of the concerns they drive these streets the same as we do and they deemed it appropriate they really pushed for that
right turn only on the further Northern entrance exit um so I don't think they're going to make any changes to the traffic flow going forward um our job really at this level is the drive-thru
approval and I was going to end that it wasn't a debate it's just a point of fact what I was going to say at the end is that teaching method if we start seeing accidents I'd say this gets back to site plan review for further review because we don't want to see a catastrophe because we didn't address it
here thank you madam chair all right any further comments councelor duet you have your hand up to you yeah uh just one final comment about traffic cuz you know talking about left turns and everything thing I I immediately think of you know on Route 20 the left turn into Target
that says no left turn and people still do it you know and I don't want you know it it is an accident prone location and I'm concerned that the same thing can happen here so I I think consum brings a fair concern that if if there is issues with traffic it needs to get back to
site plan but I do think having the northern exit on Maple Street being exit only is good and because that blocks any hopefully any traffic turned into that and really there's only one entrance on 85 and you
got to have at least one entrance so I think that's a fair compromise right and I would agree I I know that this um property has a lot of usage it had a lot of usage in the past probably still does have a lot of usage there's always
traffic going in and out of it and I'm sure that if there were issues um in the past they would have been discussed at site plan too so we have 85 with left turns in and out of multiple businesses and we have Route 20 where we deal with
the same issue for left terms in and out of multiple businesses and to be laborate but I would say it's a good thing I I live close to by where that that Target is that's where you should see engineering trying to actually prevent and and it actually I think causes more problems because it's it's
engineered to only allow the right and it makes it tougher for people and they're still stubborn and decide they're going to go in left and I think because of that trying to force it creates more hesitation and movement issues that probably cause accidents because of people's um seate
nature Madam chair councelor n thank you madam chair motion to approve this application for special permit that's been moved and seconded to approve the application for the special permit for the drive-thru for Adena Cafe Is there further discussion
see none all those in favor 1 two three four we are missing one of our members um so as I said I will report this out at Monday's meeting I will ask for a suspension so it can get referred to the solicitor he will go over things that we
discussed tonight and make the changes and make any changes that he feels are necessary I will make sure that he understands our concern of number 17 he may be in touch with you about that whether you are comfortable just
removing it or rewarding it um and we'll go forward from there councilor duet motion to adjourn it's been moved and seconded to adjourn all those in favor 2 3 4 so we are adjourned
at 8:5 n for