So, it being 7:00, I would like to call the board of appeals to uh to order. Um I note that we have a quorum. Um, if the uh gentlemen would all introduce themselves, that would be great.
>> Nick Gray, board member. >> Uh, Ted Dabber, board member. >> Michael O'Brien, board member, and Mike Brown, board member, >> and Kathleen O'Donnell, chair. Um, so I don't know whether you guys know the
background of this meeting, but um, the board received a demand from a gentleman named Patrick Higgins who, um, calls himself the open meeting law enforcer. Uh, he lives in Alabama.
Um, but he sent a formal request for, you know, PDFs of all the meeting minutes from the Milton Board of Appeals for the calendar years 2023, 24, 25, and 26. And we had to respond with all meeting
minutes both open session and executive session and um and if any were accepted or in draft form and we had to respond within 10 calendar days which was March 19th. Um while my initial impression was
to tell them we don't have meetings, we have hearings, that apparently wasn't going to fly. And fortunately, town council provided us with excellent advice and we we um with the unbelievable assistance of Bill Donnelly. I have to give a huge thank
you to Bill. Hey, Chris. Um for um for getting um for searching out the files and and posting we actually have minutes for the meetings that were then he posted on the town's website. I really we really want to give a huge huge thank you to Bill for the work that he did on
this. Well done, Bill. >> Pleasure. >> It's all part of the job. >> Yeah, except I didn't know we had been, so it was news to me. But anyway, so the uh but I did talk to John Leonard at length um about this situation. Um he
sort of felt that, you know, is just somebody grasping, you know, somebody who clearly needs a hobby, but you know, we still had to comply with the uh with the request, which we did. And so, um, Bill has been posting the minutes, but we have never actually voted on them.
Um, and so we told this gentleman that, um, we would be having a meeting, um, and we would, uh, approve the minutes that had been posted. Um and so um uh that's the point of this meeting
tonight is to just sort of say obviously many of us weren't on any of these hearings. Um and there's I guess a question about whether or not we actually have to vote to approve minutes for this um with this uh board, but um we've already said to this gentleman
that we were going to do it and so we are. Whether we go forward to keep doing this, I'm not sure, but um in the meantime, we'll take care of the response that we had to um prov provide to this, Mr. Higgins. Um so, we
obviously don't have executive session minutes. Um we've only actually had one meeting which was the one we had last fall to you know meet in person for the first time since COVID and um and vote on you know holding meetings um of the
board on a on a set day of the month. Um and those minutes actually had been kept and had been posted with the town clerk but those were pretty much the only ones. So, um I think that uh I'm available to answer any questions that
any of you might have. >> Yes, Mr. Hart. >> I don't have a question. I do have a comment. Um and it's with regard to the absence um of members uh who are now voting for
uh approval of the minutes to the extent that that's a concern. and and um I I only bring this up because it's um followed me in other uh uh other lives as a as a board member in other organizations. uh according to Robert's
rules of order um it's perfectly permissible uh to vote in favor of minutes even when you are not in attendance and that the vote um signals your faith in the good order uh of the process and in the work of the secretary
or clerk who took the minutes. So to the extent that that's a concern um I think it's pretty well established that um it need not be. >> Thank you. Having never read Robert's rules of order, I'm always appreciative of
somebody who has. >> Well, fortunately, you have two members of the board who have had to deal with Robert's rules of order. And I'll second Chris's point. It does indeed reflect the uh affirmation of the
veracity of the taking of the minutes on behalf of the board. So, it's it's it's a vote on behalf of >> Okay. >> Well, that's excellent. I have a copy. I just, you know, haven't read them. I'm waiting for the
movie. >> Uh you uh we apparently Chris and I haven't been so lucky. >> Be a boring movie. >> Section 41, Kathleen. >> Okay. All right. >> Thank you. >> You bet. >> If if Mr. Higgins gets back to me and
asks me that I'll be able to assure him that we were informed >> that this was proper. Uh so um on the um on the agenda we have a list of all the minutes that have been posted. I'm looking for the
agenda. Um do I have to read all that those out loud? Those of you who've read Robert's book, >> I would I would vote to wave the reading of the minutes to the extent it's required >> of the list. >> Thank you.
>> Of the list. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> If that's a motion, I'll second it. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> All right. I'm making that note. So, yeah. Okay. >> Um anyway, so um all that being said and
anybody not having any more questions, um I would take a um uh vote on the motion to wave the reading of the list. >> All in favor? >> I I >> Okay. And then secondly, a motion to
approve. >> I'll move. >> Okay. >> Second. >> Excellent. All in favor of approving the list of minutes that were recited in the agenda and the um uh and and posted on
the website. >> Sorry, just to be clear on the motion. Is the motion the list of minutes or the minutes themselves? >> The mo Oh, sorry. The minutes that were listed on the >> agenda. That's what I want to say. Thank you. Yes.
>> All in favor? I >> Any opposed? Okay, thank you. All right, those minutes have been approved. We haven't heard anything back from Mr. Higgins, but he has sent demand letters to all of the boards and commissions in the town
of Milton. And um perhaps he's sorting through all those responses. >> What is what what's his position or status? >> This was my question. What's his standing to make such a request?
Apparently, he's a person who believes in enforcing the open meeting law, >> but he's not a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. >> He he if we were somehow deficient, he could never file any action to force us to do anything. >> Apparently, he does. He files them with
the uh with the Commonwealth. He has done this in um according to town council in uh several towns on the south coast. Um they he's also targeted the town of Belmont. they were familiar with that because they had to deal with him there. Um, so he is a frequent flyer on
this issue. >> Well, there we are. >> Some people need hobbies, I guess. I don't know. But, yeah. Um, but in any event, we um, you know, as said, thanks to to Bill's hard work, um, we're in pretty good shape in terms of our
response. Um, unfortunately we don't have executive sessions, so you know, most of our work is done and and recorded. Um, and so, um, we were in pretty good shape, I think. I hope. >> Right.
>> Well, as long as we're up to Mr. Higgins's standard, I guess that's that's going to be that's going to be good. >> I'm just hoping he just picks on somebody else as his town council. >> I feel I feel honored. Yes.
>> Anyway, um that is the uh all the business for tonight. >> I move to adjourn. >> I'd like to thank you all for showing up and making this quorum. That's fabulous. And um do I have a second for the motion to adjurnn? >> Second. >> All right. All in favor?
>> I I >> Happy holidays to everybody. >> Thank you. >> You too. >> Take care everyone. >> All right. >> All right. Have a good night everybody. Take care everyone. It's good to see you all. Goodbye. >> Same here. Bye-bye. Coming out.