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Video-Count: 2
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=IL41_Kz1mBA
Video-2: youtube.com/watch?v=6mBahqmFv80

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--------- Good evening. Welcome to the U July 14th, 2026 meeting of the Milton Conservation Commission, which members are appointed by the select board to implement the rules and regulations of the Wetlands Protection Act on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Milton Town bylaw. As a matter of

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formality, we invite all members of the public uh any participant to speak, ask questions, make comments, but we do ask for the open meeting law purposes that you identify yourself. Uh second matter, formality, we introduce ourselves. Let me go right across the top. Steve, can

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you introduce yourself? He may have departed for a second. >> I'm sorry, Steve. Were you talking? He He's frozen to me. >> Here he is. >> Steve, you're back. >> John, you you you went off air.

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>> Okay. Uh, could you introduce yourself? Yeah, my name is Steve Ibis. I'm the conservation agent. >> Thank you. Phillip >> Philip Driscoll, conservation clerk. Arthur >> Aido, conservation member. >> Hans >> Hans Fentlean, commission member.

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>> Tom, >> Tom Palmer, commission member. >> Uh, and John Kieran, commission member. Um, we've got an agenda tonight. Um, it's actually, um, pretty short. So, first on the list, we'll get started right away, is notice of attend Faulnerfield parking lot at Milton

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Academy. Greg, I think you're ready to go. Yes. >> Yes, I am, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. >> Good. >> Um, good evening. For the record, my name is Greg Hawkmouth from Epsilon Associates. I'm here representing Milton Academy. Uh, here with me tonight also

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is, uh, Ned Corkran, project attorney. Uh Cameron Campbell, project engineer from Burke Civil Site Engineering, and Steve Zenino from Milton Academy. Uh if I could share my screen, I'll jump right into it.

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>> I don't see Steve I don't see Steve. Is he visible? >> He He may be running a little late, but we can we can move forward without him. >> Okay, go ahead. Thanks. >> Yep. All right. I'm going to send a request to share my screen.

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Steve, you got that? >> I sure do. I just allowed them. >> Thank you. >> It's great when all this works. >> Can everybody see that aerial image? >> Yes. >> Yes. >> All right. I I think everybody knows

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where Milton Academy is. Uh but just to give you an idea of the the uh portion of the campus we're talking about, Randolph Al Avenue is to the right of the screen here. Uh, Center Street is along the the top of the screen and this yellow parcel that you

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see outlined here, it's about 15.3 acres. Um, it's just south of the Caroline Salt and Stall building which is over here near the outdoor pool and Gunhill Streets across the street. We're talking about the parking lot in the uh

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southeast corner of this this parcel. There's an existing paved parking lot there and it's it's in disrepair. The pavement's crumbling. It's in need of resurfacing. Um and it's within the commission's jurisdiction. So that's

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that's why we're here. Um I'm going to pull up the project site plans here. Can everybody see this plan? >> Yes. Yes. >> So this is the parking lot we were just looking at. It's in a slightly different orientation on this plan. north is to

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the right of the screen. Uh Randolph A is at the bottom of the screen and that's how the parking lot is currently accessed. This is an existing conditions plan that you're looking at. Um there are bordering vegetated wetlands that border onybrook which are shown here in

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green along the uh left side of the parking lot. Uh they pretty much follow the tower slope. They do creep up the slope in a couple locations. There's some skunk cabbage and some other obligates mainly up in the the top portion or the west portion of the

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parking lot. Uh and there's also bordering land subject to flooding which is this blue line that you see here. It's a zone A FEMA flood plane. So elevation undetermined u but it seems to follow the wetland edge plus or minus the toe of the slope

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that's there. So I think they got it pretty close. the 100 foot buffer zone. Um, you can see it's this dashed gray line that creeps out into the into the parking lot. So, I would say half the parking lots within the commission's

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jurisdiction. Um, in addition to resurfacing the parking lot, there are some um improvements proposed outside of the buffer zone up in this location here. Uh, the school's

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been having an issue here. It's it's a main uh a main drop off location for buses >> and parents dropping students off and of course folks using the tennis courts and the Faulner Field Complex. >> So folks come in here and just let

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people off wherever. There's really no flow. The you can't see the lines anymore. It's a free-for-all. So while the project is uh being contemplated, they they wanted to dedicate a drop off

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location in the uh norththeastern portion of the parking lot up in this area that I'm circling here. It's outside the buffer zone, but they're proposing to bump the pavement out slightly, which you'll see on the proposed conditions plan here.

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And the purpose is to allow traffic and buses to come in and turn right and have a counterclockwise flow pattern and give students an area to uh stand and wait. There's a sitting wall

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proposed here. There's a a paver patio proposed here where the students can wait for their their parents or the bus. They can get on and then go around. There's also four electric vehicle charging stations proposed as well as

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two um accessible parking areas here. They're outside the commission's jurisdiction, but I did want to point those out because that's a major part of the renovation here. The positives that I want to point out for the commission are no pavement is proposed any closer

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to the resource areas than currently exists. There's a reduction in imperous surface within the 25 foot no disturb and the 100 foot buffer zone. It's small. It's 140 square ft reduction in

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the 25 and a 356 square foot reduction in the 100 foot buffer zone. But I always like to point out the positives. And another uh major positive here is the project engineer which can talk about it in more detail than I can has

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designed a storm water management system where one currently doesn't exist. So there's a a double rim catch basin that would be proposed in the northwestern portion of the parking lot. The parking lot will be recontoured. It it goes that

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way now, but it's going to be recontoured so that the water flows into the catch basin. Um, it will go from the the deep sump catch basin into a subsurface infiltration system which is proposed under the parking lot which

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will be comprised of uh 56 pre-cast concrete galleys that will allow uh storm water to infiltrate. And then there's an emergency overflow that will come out uh to this location here. You're probably wondering why it's way

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over here. Uh we located it over here to keep it out of the 25 foot no disturb zone. There's a little jog in the um wetlands that allows us to comply with your 25 foot node disturb zone um requirements.

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So no vegetation removal proposed in the 25t no disturb zone. uh storm water management upgrades. Um project isn't any closer than the current existing paved parking lot and overall I think this will be an improvement over existing conditions.

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Um let me see if I missed anything. Um no I think that's the gist of it. I know I just threw a lot at you. Uh but I'd be happy to answer any questions the commission might have. Uh we do have a file number and there were no comments from DP and I should also mention we're

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not in an ACC area and the site's not mapped as estimated a priority habitat for uh rare and endangered species. >> Uh Greg, I've got a a question for you. I know that in your narrative you indicated you thought this was an intermittent

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um and you you cited the USGS U maps. One of them clearly shows well you acknowledge that one of them shows from Gunhill on it's uh perennial and we've considered uh you know we've done projects from the police station all the

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way down and it does um go underground under Rachel Road and right by Science Lane center lane uh that it it uh daylights out you know on the academy property. Um I I just point out this is not a USGS map, but if you look at your

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figure five, that's exactly what how we think of it. If you look at your figure five and uh attachment A. Um >> yeah, let me pull that up. Oh, I went too quick. >> Yeah, >> this one here. Yeah, that I mean I know that's not the USGS map that you're

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referring to, but we've I've certainly looked at this and by the way, I was there I don't know 20 years ago when we did the parking lot the first time or maybe the second time, but but I remember this uh and how close we were to the 25 foot. >> It's not going to make any difference, but I for one am not willing to call

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that an intermittent stream. um at least from center street on it's it's questionable you know when it's underground going from the police station because we put two rain gardens in at the police station and that's kind of you know part of the headquarters of aquity I know it starts and Tom Tom

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Palmer will tell you exactly where it starts >> but I don't know Tom you've got a view on that I don't consider that intermittent in the academy property >> so I can walk you through real quick my analysis here and >> and I I definitely hear what you're saying. Um, so just to give everybody

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their bearings, the parking lot we're talking about, it's right in this location here. >> Yes. >> The the pond that's between Randolph and Gunhill, that's the pond that you see here, >> right? >> And the landfill that we did some work on with you guys not too long ago, uh,

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is right here. And you can see the difference in the line width. There's a thin blue line here and there's a thick blue line here. And on the USGS maps, that's how they differentiate between intermittent streams and perennial. But even if it's shown as intermittent, it

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can still be deemed perennial. You have to run USGS stream stats on it, which which we did. And we had a a 0.35 square mile wershed. It would have to be at least a half square mile shed with other parameters to be uh deemed

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perennial as far as the state's concerned. Um, but it's clearly perennial from the pond all the way down. Um, but it's this little little tail here that's shown as intermittent that we ran the stream stats on. And that's the report we included.

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>> Yeah, I know. I got it. I got it. And I also got the D notice to us and all commissioners in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that uh in the drought period even the stream stats don't work uh for determination of perennial. And we we just got it two months ago. Well,

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that I think what that's referring to is you you can't document a you can't document no flow during a drought, but you can still run stream stats. The wershed doesn't change. Um, and we're not claiming that this was dry or there was no flow. We're just simply uh

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walking through what's required in the Wetlands Protection Act, Gregs. >> But to your point, >> we're we're familiar with it. We've been through this a thousand times. I don't think it's going to make a difference to you, but I for one will not accept your um proposed conditions on that map

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calling it intermittent. Um if if if we want to go through it and have an issue on that, I don't think it's going to matter to you. >> That intermittent at that stage. >> So maybe the commission just chooses not to make a determination on the status of

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the stream. And and I can explain why. You can see this see this shadow underneath here. Mhm. >> That's the channel. And when I was out here, I flagged the bank of that channel just cuz I wanted to see where it landed. And if you measure from this

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channel, it's about 170 ft to the edge of pavement. So all of the activity um if if that was a perennial stream, the riverfront area boundary would fall short of our buffer zone boundary. So in other words, the riverfront area wouldn't project any further out than

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the buffer zone. and where we're staying within the same footprint. You're 100% right. It wouldn't matter, >> right? It doesn't matter. I'm just I'm just telling you that I would not approve that as an intermittent stream based upon the the D guidance that we

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all got from uh Alicia Galen about two months ago. Um, and and plus my I grew up there, so I I know the I know it pretty well, the street, you know, actually right just just north just uh what would be east west of that. Uh

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there used to be an outdoor skating rink with wooden boards there in the woods. It was buried. >> You can still see the uh the gate where the boards used to go because I I flagged that wetland too for another project for the school a couple years ago. and the the the splashboards aren't there anymore, but you can see where

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they could be installed if somebody still wanted to. >> Yeah, that's the old days. >> Anyway, the other thing that I I had a question uh on uh going back to your narrative attachment a project narrative. >> Um I I I note that and I heard what you

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said about the decrease within the 25 foot non-disturb of uh 146 square feet and within the buffer 356. I appreciate that and that's important. But what I noted was that you had for imperous surface um second full paragraph 22,191

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square ft. But I I don't see post I I don't see what the the net change is. >> You go you go through everything, but I I I just don't know what what's the final impervious. >> Yeah. Yeah. So I only pointed out what was in the buffer zone. Um,

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Cameron, is that a number that you have handy? >> Uh, yeah, I can. If you just give me a second, I can find it. >> Sure. >> Yeah, there there is going to be a slight increase just for that uh bus drop off area uh where their kids are

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going to be able to stand just off the pavement. It's just loading. Sorry. All right. And this may explain I I had a question. Um and the last paragraph that uh under it starts portions of the project are located three lines down it says the

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work however is confined almost entirely to the footprint of the existing paved parking lot. Almost entirely doesn't sound like an engineering term and that that's why I was so curious about the the difference and is that difference in what you just

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mentioned that bus turnaround? >> No. So it that that sentence that I put in that very gray sentence was um to allow uh me to talk about the installation of this this new head wall

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for the outlet to the subsurface infiltr infiltration basin because that is outside the footprint slightly but it's not it's not paved. It's activity but it's not pavement. And so I I have the number where it's an

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increase of about 2,000 square feet of impervious total, but the increase is all outside the buffer. And I didn't point out either there's a reduction in peak flows or uh the the

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two 10 25 and 100year storm events also. So that's another positive. But but the calculations um uh I mean do they do they include that 2,000 square foot increase

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>> in terms of the water run because the water is going there it's going back into our jurisdiction even if it starts outside of it. >> Yeah. So that the calc that's that systems size to uh treat and infiltrate an inch over all of the impervious area

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on that parking lot. That's that was what my questions related to. >> All right. >> Yeah. So, it's based on the total impervious of the proposed conditions. >> Got it. Okay. Um,

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and there is some Can you might be able to point me to it on the proposed conditions and can you uh use the is that the proposed that's up or is that existing? >> It is. Yeah. >> Okay. Can you just show me where you're in our 25 foot? I think I see it. It's

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not much, but it's on the left hand side as we look at this. >> So, this is the 25 ft here, >> right? >> Um, it gets so up here, this is where the existing parking lot and existing shoulder is

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within the 25. We're actually cutting out a little pavement here. That's where the reduction in the 25 foot is. Um, but the edge of pavement that you see here is no closer. It's actually further away

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than uh existing conditions. But this is the activity in the 25. >> Got it. >> And the head wall we put here because you can see what the 25 foot does. We want it to stay out of that because I

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know you you'd ask us to. >> Right. Okay. again. No, I I remember, you know, whatever it was 20 years ago that that it was close to the line. I went over it and I remember the discussion we had on site. Uh but it it seemed to work. So,

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I'm not suggesting that's a problem at this stage, but it's just um it's something that's important to us that we we kind of honor that restriction if we can. >> Yeah, of course. >> All right. Questions from commission members.

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I have a couple. >> Can you hear me? >> Yes, Tom. Go ahead. >> Yeah. Um, I'm curious about the storm water subsurface utility. I trying to understand what it

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is. As I look at this plan, it looks like it's sort of a checkerboard. I guess each of those squares is a unit of some kind. >> Is that right? >> Yeah. So each of those squares is a 4x4 concrete uh chamber. They're they're 4x4

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concrete chambers with holes on the sides of them and then you put a 6 in stone base below it and then 6 in uh 12 in of stone around the entire thing. So you have 56 of the 4x4 concrete chambers and they all butt up right up against each other. So they create a big chamber

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underground and then you surround it in stone. So, so would you say they're even though they're 56 pieces because they have holes in them, they're acting like one big >> Yes.

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>> bucket kind of. >> Yeah. Yep. >> Okay. And um when they go in, there's nothing inside them, right? >> Yes. They're they're empty. You just have the stone on the sides and the bottom. >> What do you cover them with?

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They have concrete covers and then you put a little you put a little bit of bit of stone on top and then back fill it to the grade for the asphalt. >> Gotcha. And uh you call them infiltration devices. What do you mean

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by that? So they they infiltrate. So the water goes from the catch basin down that pipe into those uh chambers. And in those chambers allows the water to kind of slowly infiltrate back into the ground.

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>> Are there holes in the bottoms of these? >> They're they're open bottoms. There's there's no structure on the bottom. >> Yeah. >> I didn't understand that. All right. So >> yeah. So they're they're made to fill up. they they fill up from the bottom up and then we have a and then so below

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that there's an outlet pipe at a certain elevation. So all the volume below that outlet pipe allows for essentially an inch of volume over the entire imperous area. That's a regulation. You have to you

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have to infiltrate an inch or treat an inch. So we have a volume equivalent to that an inch of rain over that entire parking lot >> before it before it overflows. >> Yeah. Isn't it so that in order to

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infiltrate the storm water, you have to have a kind of soil that can absorb it, right? >> Yes. Y >> and but I don't remember seeing any borings in the plan that describe the soil as underneath here. There was

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mapping of soil, but I think it said it was Udorphans. It didn't really wasn't really specific what kind of soil it might be. So, >> yeah. >> Go ahead. >> Yeah, it's mapped. It's mapped as you uh

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we used a B soil uh classification to be conservative. Uh and I there's a note on the plan since the parking lot's being used now. We didn't want to rip a big hole in it because it's just a hazard. Uh there's a note on the plan that before those

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chambers get installed that the soil get uh witnessed by a soil a licensed soil evaluator. >> Class of B means it's like medium permeable or something. >> Yeah. So your class A's the best class A

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is like beach sand and that does about >> 8.27 in per hour of infiltration. A normal class A is 2.4 4 in per hour and then your class B is 1.02. So, >> okay,

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>> we're we're accounting for an inch pretty much an inch of water being infiltrated per hour. >> Um, I understand what you're saying. I think I I would say that I have seen installations that didn't work because

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the soil was inappropriate and what happened was the structure filled up as it's supposed to and it just stayed full because the soil was way too tight all around it. And

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uh to speak plainly, it was a disaster the next storm because it was already full of water. couldn't accept anymore. >> And that's just the kind of scenario I was thinking about. But I'm more confident now now that you're

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telling me about the situation, actual situation here. So I think I understand the scheme now that all the water runs to the far end where the catch basin is that roots it to all these voids

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and if they should all fill up then there's this overflow pipe that you were talking about before. >> Yes. >> And that would be a storm of a very large size. So, I think I get it now and

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I think you answered my questions and I think I know something more than I did before. >> Yeah. And it's and with with the the note we have on the plan, the soil should be evaluated. And if if it comes back that they're not what we expect and

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they're worse, uh they'll have we'll have to look at a redesign and we'll we'll bring that in front of you if if that's the case. And we you can and we we'll accept that as a condition of the approval if that's okay with the board or commission. I mean, sorry.

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>> It would make me comfortable if that was in there just to sort of tie it up. >> What What words would What words would you suggest, Tom? Well, if the soil testing finds that the soil does not infiltrate to class B

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standard, then the proponent shall come back and propose a redesign to make sure the system is accurate. >> And that's that's doable, Cameron. >> Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, we just didn't

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want to rip it up now cuz it's still being used. But once they once they get started, uh you want to we'll do a test pit where where the uh system's going. And I'm a licensed soil evaluator and so is Jim Burke. So, one of us can go out

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there and witness them dig a hole and figure out what type of soil is actually there and uh go from there. >> Right. Cameron, another question. What what's the um uh the distance the elevation of the soil on top of the

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chambers? >> So they have to the ch the top of the chamber has to be a foot below the finished grade. >> Okay. Now, and I'm not looking for problems because I'm sure things have improved, but when uh two Granite Avenue went in,

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>> we had some under parking lot underground chambers and the parking lot collapsed because the chambers collap. They were concrete chambers. >> Now, I don't know if that was a defect in the chambers or if it was just a bad design, but is that something that you've calculated that this will sustain

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the weight of cars and there might be buses there? You said that, you know, this equipment there. So the the way the chambers are supposed to be installed that you get that 6-in stone base that's compacted and then you install the chambers and then you have that that foot above and that that's the

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recommendation based on the manufacturer. They they rate it for H20 loading which is like a heavy traffic load. >> Okay. Do you remember that Tom Tom Palmer when uh in back of that parking lot in back

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of two Granite Avenue collapsed? >> You know that's all rush down there. So all kinds of hanky things happen when you build on it. >> Yeah. I mean we we we propose them all the time and we've never had one collapse that I know of. That's why we

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we stick away. I mean, even they even let you do the plastic ones under the pavement with a foot of cover, but typically we try to keep the concrete ones under the pavement. They're a little bit more robust. >> Good. Okay. >> Um, John, I don't remember seeing that.

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Did a car fall in there. >> I think it was an oil delivery truck. >> I shouldn't be laughing. >> True. >> Yeah. Not not a good scene next to the marsh, next to the river. You're right.

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All right. All right. Questions, comments. Um, I can't see everybody. Arthur, >> I thought this was very thoroughly done and I want to compliment the team that put this together on the preparation of the materials. I found it very, very helpful. >> Thank you.

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>> Thank you, >> Hans. Anything? >> Nope, I'm good. Okay, Steve. >> Um, very good. I'm very happy with this. >> Yeah, very nice. You had some good compliments here, Greg. Uh, Ed Cameron.

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Uh, and, uh, Philip, any thought? Anything? >> Nope. I'm good. >> All right. So, we know we've got one special condition there, um, that Tom just stated, uh, that seems to be acceptable to the applicant. Uh, that

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would be one. We we have a u a standard special condition that you can't store overnight any heavy equipment, motorized equipment, and you can't refuel within our jurisdictional areas. But you've got plenty of space in the academy that that

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that should not be a problem for your contractors. And the only other one is to remove the designation of intermittent stream. Just white it out. So we're not adopting it. Uh we're not we're going to dodge that issue. Okay, >> understood.

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>> All right, that's pretty good. So, were those special conditions any any other special conditions um from commission members? >> Not here. >> All right, sounds sounds I can't see everybody because screen sharing, but so

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I don't see any uh I see a hand raised, but Greg, that's yours. It's >> uh Oops. I didn't mean to. >> Okay. No, I just I just want to make sure I don't miss any comments or questions. Oh, good. Okay. So, is there such a motion to approve this u order of

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condition with those special conditions as outlined by Tom and by me? >> I'll make that motion. >> Thanks, Hans. As >> more comment, John. >> Yes, sir. >> Um, we haven't review these well lines, have we? >> No, we haven't. And that, you know, I I

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should have asked that up front. I I've been there. I mean, I grew up in the area and I've been there for when it was done 20 years ago and we've been I've been back a lot since then. Um but if you feel um uh and it is our standard, Greg, it is our standard to actually

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approve those lines um as drawn. So I I should have said it's just that I was so I've been there so frequently that um >> um they look okay to you, John. I I don't feel like I need to, you know, go

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there with you. John, I'll say that also helps to avoid the perennial intermittent stream issue. I mean, if we stay away from the the resource characterization. So, um I've worked with Epsilon in the past. I know that

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they do very good work. Um so, I'm pretty confident that the that the lines will be accurate. >> Okay. Arthur, >> I'm fine with >> I just want to make sure everybody's comfortable. Steve. Steve. >> Um, yes, John. I've worked with epsilon

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many times and I want to make sure that everybody understands that these lines are pretty much to slope. Is that right, Greg? >> They they are. There's one spot that it creeps up a little bit from the slope and it's just in the corner. >> Yep. But otherwise, John, it's to slope

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stuff. >> Yeah. Yeah. And I was there. I got it. >> Yep. >> All right. Well, with that discussion uh people comfortable voting on this without further discussion,

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>> I'll put it the other way. Anybody object to voting on it without >> hearing? None. We'll take a vote. Uh it's a voice vote. Individual Arthur, how do you vote? >> Yes. >> Tom, >> to approve the order of conditions, right? That's >> Yes, you are correct. >> Yeah, I vote yes.

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>> Okay. Hans, >> yes. >> And I, John Kieran, vote yes as well. So, we're good to go. >> Thank you very much. >> Great. We always seem to do better when I don't have anything to say. So, >> how unlike you, Ned.

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>> Have a good night. >> Glad you were there. >> Have a good night. >> All right. Thanks, guys. Good night. >> Good night. Now, thanks. >> All right. Next on the agenda is uh 515 Blue Hill Parkway. who is presenting.

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>> Hi. Yes. Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Garrett Tunison from Tunis Environmental Consultants. I'm here on behalf of the client. Um I submitted uh some more information, a little bit more detail on the invasive plant species removal as

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requested. Uh I also sent off some pictures of some of the work we've done before and how it's done. So there would be some visuals. Um and uh the plan should have the full the the plan now.

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So I'm more looking for from the commission if they if you have any questions for me. Would you like me to answer? No, I'm I'm uh good. I don't think we've been back there, but I'm I'm looking at your um 3 point 30. Hang on. So yeah, 30

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ecological restoration and I'm looking at the uh the cut trees, the size and the type. Um and that it, you know, it conforms to my memory. I I don't have the specific measurements, but I accept what you you've presented. Um so tell me

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about the replanting. Can you do it all on site or are we going to have to go elsewhere? >> What we put is uh what was available? Um, I believe if I remember correctly with your calculation there may there may be some that are not on there, but

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we we got a lot. Um, I'm trying to remember what it was off the top of my head. I remembered the last during the last meeting, but I'm forgetting forgetting now. Um, we did get the we got the bulk, but there's still

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>> but it's a mathematical formula. I mean, it's if if you can't fit all the replacement trees on the property, >> we still have to put it in the fundament that has to be paid >> and and there was some there was some um and the numbers are on are on the plan.

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See if I can bring it up. >> Got 112 shrubs and 46 trees. >> Yes. >> Yeah. and and those are the varieties of species that we discussed earlier. >> Yep. It's uh all the natives that are

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found in the general area of the site. So, those are the ones that I uh wanted to utilize because they're already there. Yeah. And they fit with the um landscape. So I think they'll they'll uh

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the restoration should be successful. >> Okay. But the restoration with all those I I I see on page 11 of 16 um that you've got 112 shrubs which is what 18 something um >> yes

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>> trees because you get six shrubs per tree replaced. Um although we don't have a caliber for the for the tree replaced. Uh and then the 46 trees, but I don't know if the 46 trees translates into the sum of the

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circumference and or the sum of the diameter. Doesn't matter which one you use. They just have to match. Yeah, they're pretty small. So they would be probably half an inch if that's probably the size of the tree. So this the ones we're

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planting, you don't want to go too big. I mean, we could go bigger. Um but we >> Yeah. Well, yeah. It would take you a a month of Sundays to to plant 100, you know, the the I don't know what the number is. I

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see it on page um three of 16s, but you >> 12.5 58 um 49 19 42 41 that I don't know what the total is, but that's a big number. >> Yes. >> No, if you're planting half inch trees, that's a lot of trees.

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>> Yes. Yes. But >> we're accustomed to having, you know, >> large trees. Yeah. Oh, the large. >> Well, I don't know what you call large, but you know, two and a half inches >> for ecological restoration. It's better to go smaller just because you lose this

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the survival rates much lower in success due to shock and especially with all the droughts we're having, but we could go larger. Um, so >> well, I I I I don't want to interfere with your your expertise on survival rates because that's important to us. as

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our uh performance standard is 75% after two years. >> Yes. Well, I think we get the two years, but after that is usually when they start to peter out unless they're I just did a Army Corps restor uh 38,000

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square foot rest uh not restor Well, yeah, it's a wetland replication and we had uh quite a few go south, but that was because of all the droughts. It was about three or four years in.

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So, but that happens. >> Well, as part of your restoration plan, do you have a maintenance program at least for the first two years? >> Yeah. Well, yes, they'll be monitored and if there's an issue, they'll be replaced. Yep. >> But monitor and replacement I get, but

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what I was talking about really is yes, >> it says in the it says in the plan that if anything looks stressed would recommend watering. So that's when we do the monitoring or whoever's there would have to do it when we're not

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well um what I'm I I'm still stuck on the actual number because our performance standard is to replace the number that I'm looking at. Um I don't have a let me see that's um 70 and 50 is >> if we if we do

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>> 120 140 >> 200 >> we did 2.5 we got a uh one uh 115 uh inches if we do 2.5 caliber with 46 trees.

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>> Yeah. But yo, well over 200 Well over 200 inches. >> Yeah. >> On what was removed because I I'm looking at 12. That's 70 and 50 is 120. 140 is another 80. That's 220. Another

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65 is 285. 290. You're over 300. >> Yeah. That's a lot of trees unaccounted for. >> Yep. It's 185. >> What's 100? 185 over

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>> if if you take 300 and subtract 115, it's 185. >> Um, if you look at section 4.2, two, there's a planting table where it lists the trees that are going in, but

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it doesn't describe them in diameter. It describes them in uh >> height. >> Yeah. Gallon container. >> Yeah. That's usually how nurseries That's how the nurseries do it. Yes.

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>> Yeah. Well, I think we kind of understand what we need to do. We need to take the trees on 3.0 which have all the diameters that John was trying to count, get a sum for them, and then match that against what you're proposing

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to plant and see if there is some still to make. Um, does that sound right? >> Yeah, I think I have to up it because that'll never work at at um a half an inch or less in in diameter. So, I'm

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thinking we do have to go with 2.5. So, if I go with 2.5 caliber for the 46 trees, we will come up with 185 in that's unaccounted for. >> Got it. >> And then those if those are

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>> have to go in the fund, I guess. >> 3inch trees, that's another that's another 60 90 another 90 trees that's a that's a lot >> we could go >> this is this going to translate into I

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mean these are big trees that they that were removed as Hans will remember um these are giant trees that were taken out by the homeowner >> yeah I would recommend >> going with a a two two and a half inch caliber tree to the extent you can um we

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may be able to consider some of the other plants like the silk So, I'll go with maybe the witch hazel if you can find ones that are are larger size. >> Okay. >> Um may be able to to partially count

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those towards um >> well the shrubs count too >> again. So, but I mean the silky dog wood and the the witch hazel, I mean those are those will grow to larger size.

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I'm just trying to work with them. So, I mean, you you're you're pretty short on the on the number and so I mean, if you're welcome to bring that to your client and and suggest they make that up to the tree bank. Um,

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>> okay. I would say that the table of cut trees, the two largest ones, the only ones that are above 40 are two weeping willows, one at 58, one at 49. Now,

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it's sort of sad that they're all gone because it may be that one of the other was dead, but now we can't tell because they've been cut. I would just say that photos I have seen of them show that

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well maybe one was dead. I don't know. I just I just think uh you could make an argument to take one of those trees off of this cut list. If you can argue that it was dead when it was cut. Not that

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>> be a tough argument to convince me. Tom >> I stood on the stumps and they look pretty good to me. >> All right. Well, okay. I'm just to me that's sort of a an unanswered question, but you're answering it. >> So, the other piece I mean there is

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still room to plant on site. Um, you you've hugged the 25 ft buffer. >> Yep. >> Um, and that was actually one of the comments I was going to make is that you can back fill the up to the 50 a little bit more. Um, I wouldn't go as dense,

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but you know, you can use that as as kind of a visual. Um, I would also focus on the area that's within the 200 foot buffer on the on the lefth hand parcel. >> Okay. >> Um, and and potentially, you know, that's where I would I would

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>> The reason why I didn't come up further, I was worried about the um storm water system that's going in there. So, if we start when these things start to grow, I didn't want to break it up. So that was the only reason why I tried to keep the extra 25 ft back. But I guess we could

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move it forward. I guess >> I would be fine with planting anywhere on the lot, not necessarily at the buffer. I don't know if you looked at it that way. >> I would I don't see that as being within jurisdiction. >> Well, we're we were saying you can put

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money in the bank and who knows where they will be planted here. They will at least be planted on the lot, but some might not be in jurisdiction. I I I don't really see why that would be a problem for us. What we want is trees

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planted and uh I think spreading them over the lot is appropriate. Well, um, it's all going to come down to a like a like a calculation. And what you just said, you you can come

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up with 115 for the trees and you get what another for the for the shrubs. We generally, you know, we we would count like a three-inch tree, but you get six six shrubs equals

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um one tree >> inch tree. >> So that's what 60 that that 185 is going to get reduced by the shrubs. >> Yes. Yes. >> Okay. And then then we can do the the

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calculations because it's $700 a tree. >> Yep. I I do recall that. >> And you're uh you're basing the replacements at two 2.5 to 3 in, correct? That's that's like the regular size. >> Yes.

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>> So, okay. Makes sense. >> Isn't it so that we don't have a preference on the size of the trees so much as they sum to the required inch uh total?

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>> Okay. 56 56 in. Yeah. I I think even if if we're looking at the with the shrubs you how do you do that? Because if I look my god half an inch diameter shrubs I come up with I

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have 112 shrubs at half an inch. So would that still be considered a half an inch towards a tree or would >> six to one. >> Six to one. Okay. Yeah. Then that doesn't it's not going to do much. Okay. Okay.

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So, it looks like we're still going to come up pretty pretty short here. 18. So, we're going to take 18. Okay. So, it still looks like we're Yeah, we're still down around 16

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something for looks like 167. I would still have to make up uh inches, >> right? Because I I just added up the uh on page three the um cut diameters and it's 339.25. 25.

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>> Dr. Sam, John. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> And what do we want to take 185 from that? Is that >> you would come off the 185? Yes. >> Yeah. So, the 144.

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>> Yeah. >> Well, I'm sorry. the that the the the 339 is now is minus the 115 which are the trees if they are 2.5 caliber according to Garrett.

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>> We could up them to three but again I I think that they're going to be harder to survive but we if we planted them in the fall maybe they have a a shot >> um plant them like in mid o uh midepptember to early October.

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I I know I defer to you on that one, Garrett. Um >> Yeah. Well, I'm saying that would be the best solution for survival. >> Yeah. And I think that's that's the key. We're looking for trees. >> Yes. No, I not that's what I'm saying. It's just I I like to like to go smaller

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because they seem to be less get less shocked and I've had better success with smaller plants, but um in this situation smaller is not beneficial. So trying to figure out how the best way to get them to to survive. So yeah, um >> I think it's all the same to us whether

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you plant one 3-inch or three one inch trees. >> Yeah. As long as the numbers work out, >> right? >> Right. So, but there's only so much space. So, >> we we don't have to figure it out now.

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It's just the it's the performance standard that we need to include in the order conditions that the >> Yes. >> the sum of the circumferences has to be replaced whether in kind or by financial contribution. >> Yep. Okay. Yeah. Because um it looks

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like I come up with 2011 and then I can knock it down with the shrubs a little bit more. So, but it's still still pretty high. >> Yeah, it is. >> It is. Okay. Other other issues? Uh, commission members questions.

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>> I'd just like to mention that I did listen to the last hearing where Mr. Tunis talked about his invasives control schemes and I have to say I was pretty impressed by his knowledge and experience

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and um my overall conclusion was respect his expertise and approve his plan while I haven't really drilled down into it very deeply. I just thought it

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seemed sensible and knowledgeable in its larger sense. Okay. Um what else what else do we have? I mean by way of issues that because this is a notice of intent. He's looking for an

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order of conditions. Um >> so it I don't mean to nitpick but both the plans that you provided but you know thank you but they both say existing conditions on them is can you get rid of that on the bottom of the pages because that's not

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>> Yes. I it says on the cover sheet that it is the plan provided that we used provided from the engineer which was the existing conditions but I can I can clean that up. >> I just want to make sure that we're not >> and maybe proposed conditions. Is that

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right? >> Yeah, that's just >> okay. >> Just Yeah, if you just take me Yeah. either clean it off if you don't mind. There was a lot more other stuff on there. So I cleaned off. So, I got a base plan.

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>> So, if I take that off, it should be okay. It's So, I'll I'll do that. >> The heading of the plan is fine. That's >> I'll take off the assistant. >> Okay. And um what did you find out anything? And and I know

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we discussed this before, but the demo part of this I I just wanted to make sure that the removal >> Yeah. I I didn't hear back that they were out of the country, the owners. They came back. Then I just got an email saying, "Everything's all set. What's

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the situation with conservation?" Because we got the I think they got the building permit. So, I think that's where they're at. >> All right. Well, the demo is the one that I was concerned with. >> Yes, I know you were. I didn't hear I

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didn't get I didn't hear back from them on that. So, um, I'll have to check again, I guess, because I have not heard back. >> Well, we we can just make it, you know, conditional upon compliance with the building department's demo permit. And

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Philip, can you check tomorrow with permit eyes and see whether or not you can find in there >> a permit for the demolition? We're gonna it's a state rag, so we're not going to require anything different

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>> than the building department is going to require. >> I just want to make sure that, you know, somebody's requiring compliance with the the state um asbestous containment component of a demo permit because I'm assuming just for the age of the house

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that it's got asbestous in it. >> Single family homes are exempt from the asbestous, right? There's >> exception for single family homes. >> A demo. >> Yeah. >> Um I heard you. I'm I

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I don't know. I'm I'm thinking to myself, I've had so many cases, but they But you're right. They're not single family homes. But I know it's it's a hot issue. You're saying that there's no requirement to restrain or or contain

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>> not under NHAP? >> Not under >> uh asbesus rights. >> That's under the EPA rights. >> Boy, I I don't I I've had homeowner contract.

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I've had all kinds of cases where people come in and remove ceilings and they get asus dust around the house. um then all hell breaks loose. Um >> yeah, for for demolition permits, I'm I'm specifically talking about in terms of demolition permits. So um management

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of fireable asbestous or or if there's a release, it's a different story, but um for for demolition purposes, you're not required to get demolition permit for a single family home. >> Okay. Well, >> I can send you the breaks. >> No, no, no. That's fine. But I I I think

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we're protected as long as as we say that in in full compliance with uh I know there's a permit that's required. What the >> there's a demolition permit but >> right and that's I I assume that that would >> it's not under the asbesus ranks.

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So, I think we're safe, conservation commission is safe if we put in a condition that the the homeowner or the applicant comply with the uh terms and conditions of the demolition permit issued by the building department.

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>> Okay. I think I think that covers us. >> Yeah. Considering the house is actually within partially within buffer. >> Yeah. So, we can condition it ourselves. By what? Having some kind of a

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containment containment or dam some of it's as simple as if it's you know dusty you spray it down so it doesn't blow away. >> Dust mitigation plan is something that is often included something like a swip. So

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mitigation fugitive dust. >> All right. Then why don't we do that? to say compliance with the the uh building department's demolition permit uh to include uh but not be limited to um and dust

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repression whatever the >> dust control. Okay. And then Garrett you I think you know that we've got regular special conditions in terms of uh keeping heavy equipment motorized equipment out of our jurisdiction storage overnight. No refueling within our jurisdiction. So

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that'll be in there as well. >> Yes. Okay, good. The standards. Yep. And >> all right. >> Feel free to remind the homeowners that I live across the street. So, >> you got eyes on them. >> Yes.

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>> All right. Any other special conditions, Tom? >> Um, I think we haven't really settled the um diameters yet, have we? I mean, >> well, we've got the numbers. So all all we do is in the in the condition it is

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you have to have full compliance with it either by replanting on the site or making a financial contribution uh the equivalent of those trees to ensure that the replacement number equals the sum of the circumferences of

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those trees that were removed. >> All right, I I get it. You're saying we can write it right into the order and >> we're covered. All right, I I buy that. >> And then we'll have to have a like an as build and we won't wait for for an

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asbuilt because Garrett sometimes people wait years before they can ask for a certificate of compliance. So we should probably write right into that that we need u when the certificate of occupancy is issued by the town then we will need a a

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reconciliation of the replanting plan andor finances. >> Okay. >> All right. I don't know. Steve, did you get that or or Philip or others taking these conditions down? >> Yes. >> Okay.

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>> We're approving the uh the restor invasive species and ecological restoration plan, right? >> June 9th, >> right? >> Yes, that's correct. But it's not >> Okay.

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>> It's also the the notice of intent for two houses. Yes, >> we're not approving tonight, are we? Or I'd rather >> That's what the order of conditions is. >> Well, >> I mean, I'm sorry. That's what the notice of intent is. I'm sorry.

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>> But I'd like to see the updated what the final numbers, how that's going to work out on the plans, what the decision is if we're keeping if you're keeping the the numbers of the trees >> where they are. I mean, we u I think at this point I

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think the homeowners would just like to keep it as is because I think they're looking they're looking to move forward. So, I I would I can keep this as is and say it'll be 3-in caliper for the trees. Um, and I think that's that's fine.

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That'll work. Odds, is that satisfactory? >> Well, I'm just looking at the spacing. Basically, you're planting things on top of each other with larger trees. >> There'll be a little less spacing, but I

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don't think the size will be that significant. I I've done this before. It'll just be a lot of plants. You're you are correct. I I leave it to the other commission members on that decision whether they want to proceed as is or if we'd like

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to. >> Well, the spa the I presume the spacing now is designed to anticipate that the trees even if they're an inch or two inches, they're going to grow at the same they're going to grow to the same girth, so to speak. >> I assume that the plan the spacing is is

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going to work out whether it's now or 10 years from now. A two to three gallon container is this. >> Yeah. >> A you know tree that's two to three caliber you can barely put your arms around it. So >> Oh, I I get that. But I'm just

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suggesting that the that the landscape plan as designed by Garrett and his team would anticipate that the trees will eventually grow. If they start in a five gallallon bucket, fine. or if they start as a three-inch caliper tree. Okay. But

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the spacing, I'm assuming, is designed at full growth. Is that is that correct, Gary? >> That's correct. >> Okay. >> Okay. But that that'll this will allow them to to move forward now. Um but it

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won't change the result in terms of replacing the trees that were lost. >> Okay. that that will be a that's just a mathematical formula. >> Arthur, any any questions? >> I'm in total agreement with that.

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>> Okay. Everybody else, >> I would just say that >> this is an ambitious plan, this invasive removal and restoration plan. So I think we can vote it approve it tonight but we

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sort of have putting a little responsibility on ourselves to see if it is done as it's proposed because it is a significant amount of work and uh it will be wonderful if it

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happens but if it doesn't happen then it doesn't happen. I'm just saying >> that would take three to five years. Yeah, it will take a while. >> What we can do though is ask for um not necessarily a certificate of compliance

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because we won't have the two growing seasons for the survival rate of 75%. But to ask for an asbuilt at the same time that the certificate of occupancy is issued. That'll keep us a breast of you know what the plan is and what the

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financial compensation is going to be. and it'll still allow uh period. It so the as bill will be here before we can actually issue the certificate of compliance. >> So what's the timing of the funding of the trees? When does that have to go

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>> at it's it's usually at the end of the project but that's why I suggested the certificate of compliance that day. I I I'm sorry I I missed occupancy. >> That's why I suggested the certificate of occupancy, >> right? >> Because that would be substantial

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completion plus you know we can move in leash on it. >> Yes, >> this is Steve. Um, it might be useful for us to have a little report at the end of each growing season on the

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success of the tree growth perhaps. So, we know that the trees are in there and doing fine. That's all, >> Steve. That should be that's covered in my reports if I'm doing the work. So,

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yes. >> Right. Very good. >> Okay. That's in addition to not in lie of that asbuilt plan at the time of the certificate of occupancy. >> Yeah. SH report. >> Yeah. That's all.

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>> Even if this is going to be a condition, if I may, Mr. Chairman, um do you mean do you mean growth or livelihood? >> Both. Well, you got so many different species,

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you're going to have to measure the growth of >> you can estimate plant elf pretty easily. >> Yes. Uh and we typically estimate has it grown three inches in this past season, 5 in. So, we'll typically include that

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and whether it's chlorotic or whether it's you know been there's uh browsed upon by uh animals or insects. you know, well, animals. So, yes, uh we usually put all of that information in photos,

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>> uh aerial, uh you know, survey of of the whole area and then sample plots, standard DP. That's typically how how we do it with lots of photos so you can see what I see. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome.

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All right. Any other special conditions? All right. with those special conditions that have been mentioned and hopefully recorded by uh Steve. Then is there a motion to issue the order of conditions? >> So move.

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>> Thanks Tom. Is there a second? >> Is that a I I saw I saw the hand moving that was a yes. Okay. Second. >> That's pending receipt of the information for the the plan updates we requested. Correct. >> Yes. Oh, absolutely correct. Yes,

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that's correct. Any further discussion? All right. Um, individual vote. Arthur, how do you vote? >> Hans, >> yes. >> Tom, >> yes. >> And I, John Ken, vote yes as well. All

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right, good to go. And look forward to getting that uh revised report and getting underway. >> We'll do. >> All right, Garrett, thank you very much. Appreciate it. >> Thank you everyone. Have a good evening. >> All right, you too. Good night. >> Thank you. >> Bye. >> Okay. Next on the agenda is um

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alterations to wetlands 45 Riverside Avenue continued from June 9th. Uh I see three names here. Hi. Hey. Good evening. >> Uh good evening. Can you guys hear me? Okay. >> Yes, we can. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh, so, uh, yes.

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>> I'm sorry. What What is your name? Because I I I can't see you, but we've got a this is an open meeting law, so you have to identify yourself. >> Okay. Um, this is homemoon. Let me turn on the camera. You can see me. Wait one second.

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Just bear with me a minute. >> Okay, >> the computer it just got froze. I don't know why. Just wait one second here. Okay. We can see you now. >> Yeah.

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Sorry. Just >> And thank you. And and what is your name? >> H. Just please give us your name. >> Hon. Okay. >> Yeah. >> And your last name? >> Win.

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>> Okay. And is there somebody else with you? >> Uh uh no. I think one of the person was supposed to be with me, but um they actually have a schedule conflict. So I'm I will be um take the lead. So um just want to say um thank you so much

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for the opportunity to like re-evaluate the um um the work that we discussed on June. So, uh, before I actually go back on the background, I don't know if you guys have any question before we I I I I go

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back to the the conversation from last June. >> Sure. Um, I I do I see your notice of intent. >> Um, but I'm I'm not sure what the project plan is because the only thing

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that we um received with that, well, we received two things. One is a a a letter a June 1st letter. >> Yep. >> That references on presumably on June 1st it references

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a conversation we had on June 9th. >> Yep. >> But putting that aside, um we also have a a plan that's stamped by a professional engineer. Um, and that's Tun V. Yuin

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um at 1248 Randolph Avenue. Is that a family member? >> You can set that the name again. >> I'm mispronouncing it, but it's it looks like uh Ton T u middle initial V and

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last name is >> T U A N. >> Yes. And when? >> Yes. The last the last name is spelled N gu. >> And what's the address? I don't think we

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have that. Is that >> I don't think it's a part of the neighborhood. >> You gave it to us. >> Oh, you mean the map? Yes, that engineer guy. I'm sorry. I thought it's a part of a family. I'm like, wait one second. So sorry. Yes. >> Yes. Well, isn't that the same same

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spelling as as your name? >> Uh, it's same last name but different family. We we are big big family. >> Okay. >> Um Yeah, it's um we we we all come from Vietnam. So, uh when it meet here, so uh

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so yes, he the um our contractor uh engineers. Yes. So, >> so I I I noticed on the plan >> Yep. >> that it didn't have the It's not a building permit plan. I'm not sure what it is, but it's dated.

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>> Yep. >> August 6th, 2025. >> August 6, 2020. Oh, yes. So, I just want to let you know that we we have a uh building moment. Um I sometime previous I can't recall the

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date now but um and we initially as I'm writing on the memo on June 1st we didn't know that we are actually in the wetland and we did not get the notification on that at all. No one us

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I I understand your argument. You made the argument last month and before that. >> Yeah. So, but I just want to make sure is what your question is. >> My question is real simple. >> Do you have a building permit? >> Yes, we do. We have to have building

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permit. We do. You want a copy of that? We can provide you that. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> No problem. Because you you asked for the date. I didn't remember on top my but we do have a building permit. >> All right. And did you submit plans? >> Yes.

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>> With that application for the building permit? Yes. And we got approval. >> All right. >> But I need to get a a copy of that information, right? Yep. >> Yes. Next question. >> Yes. >> Did you submit the plan that you

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submitted to us with your application for a building permit? >> Um, we get a I'm getting a little lost here. Like you mean like you need a copy of the building permit when I submit the

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LOI or it's different interpretation? >> No. When you asked for a building permit, did you provide them with a building plan? >> Yes, we do. Yes. >> All right. I we need to have that filed because I had asked Philip

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>> um Driscoll. You see him here tonight? Philip Driscoll. He's a conservation agent. So I I asked him >> to the building department computer record >> to see if there was a building permit issued for 46

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>> uh Riverside Avenue. >> Yep. >> And and what did you find, Phillip? >> There was nothing on file current. Five. >> That's what they said when I went to the inspectional service department today.

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>> That's ridiculous. >> I spoke to Bill Dley. >> Yeah, let me check on that. >> Okay. >> Because our our engineer the guy doing that, the the builder guy doing that, not us. So, we have to check on that. Well, in addition, the plan that you

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gave with the notice of intent form, >> u that's it would be part of what we need, but what we need is a an engineered plan of the house >> showing showing the distance to the wetlands,

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>> the marsh >> right across the street. Oh, the fun the fun and the fun of the the house, right? >> No. >> Uh, no. It's it's a it's it's an engineered plan of the parcel of land.

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>> Parcel of land. Okay. >> It's like an aerial view. If you were looking from the sky down onto the top of the house and the top of the piece of land you own, they would show you driveway, the street, and the marsh. >> We can get that for you. I can ask them

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for that. Yeah. >> Yes. That that would be required by the by the notice of intent or as part of the notice of intent to show where the wetlands are.

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See, there there are two things going on at the same time. One, you didn't ask for permit from the conservation commission to do the construction project. Some of it is inside the house, some of it is outside the house. And it

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appeared to us that some work was done on the foundation um as well as inside the house. You've now submitted a plan that shows an outside staircase and apparently a deck. I I don't remember seeing a deck

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in the back of the house. But has this has this been built? >> So this I'm talking about the plan that you gave to us. >> Yeah. So the plan you send it to us is the one that you you come in April is is

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is oh the building plan they already viewing that we already have that in the plan and the day I I don't I can't recall but um when you come into us I think we already have a frame um on that uh rear deck. I don't know if you happen

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to see it but yes >> I I didn't see it. I don't know many other commission members here. I don't remember any deck in the back. I'm looking at this plan here. I You probably can't see it, but you gave it to us. Um and it says

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proposed rear deck. >> Yeah. >> Is Is there a deck on the house or not? >> Yes, there is. There is. >> Okay. And when when did you build the deck? I think it's um

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uh I have to call back for the timing. It's it's spring timing. I I can't recall it's before after the timing we made at in there. So I can't recall because it's Yeah, but I can't remember exactly timing but between March of April, but we we meet someday in that

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there day. So >> all right. Where where do you live? We live in um uh 33 TW. My parent there. >> This and and do you have a relative at

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11 Riverside Avenue as well? >> Um the uh the 11 Riverside is just our cousin. >> Is your cousin? >> Yeah. >> All right. And you live on Thistle? Yes. And >> who owns the house?

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>> Uh we are. >> Who's we? me. >> You're the you're the deed owner. >> Yeah. >> Okay. And did you sign the um notice of intent? >> Yes.

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>> Okay. And who is on the last page of the notice of intent? >> That's me. Um, who is

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Joseph Dooka? He's the one that um that doing the the engineer at the building. >> He's the engineer for the building. All right. Who is Jay?

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Bulo. >> Hey, let me look back because I'm not good with the name. Wait one second because I I have the copy with you. But let me see. >> It's page eight of nine. >> Yeah, I know. I'm not good with the name, but that is what I what I write

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out is exactly information, but I'm really messed up with the name. So, wait one second. I just want to make sure I I provide you the the right information because those two people I mess up with the name. I'm not good at a name. Wait one second. So yeah, the people that I

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put down that is the right information. >> You gave the right information. Great. But who are they? Who is J Bulo or Bulier? >> Wait. B. Just wait one second.

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>> I thought I put the title name on that the people. It It's It's your It's your notice of intent. You signed it. >> Who else? >> Wait one sec. Wait one second. >> So paid H

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>> eight of nine. If you look at the lower right hand corner, it's >> Is it Is it a D section? >> It's uh D. Yes. >> Yes. So yes that is prepared by uh the

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name of that person and the size standby that is um the quincy I forgot the title of the person I forgot the name that is something handled by my builder so um I don't remember the uh by by the title

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but I do um I do have a right information because I got that from the permit copy of the permit sorry >> from the building permit >> yeah That's right. >> So, Joseph Dooka. >> Yes.

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>> Is he somebody that you retained or is that somebody from the building department? >> I think he is something from who actually that it actually directly from the building department. Uh yeah, from the um the Quincy department.

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>> Quincy. >> Quinzy. Why? Why? >> I'm sorry. Milton. >> Milton. >> All right. And and the other fellow, the other name to the right hand side is it says J. >> Yeah. >> He the builder. He the builder license.

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>> He's the builder. >> Yeah. >> Okay. and the what what's the relationship between Joseph Duca J below who I guess is the builder and the engineered plan that you

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gave to us for the back deck who is um I guess a relative to one Newian. >> No, they don't have any relationship. So why did you where did you get this engineering plan for the back deck from?

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Where how did you get >> so so engineer because we got introduced from the the a friend of us who designed for us. So we we get that from one of our friends for the designers. So we just got the connection they just

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introduce in terms of builders uh they just recommend us. So that's why we just love le the information from the the designer. So yes >> um >> in term of their relationship I have no

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clues on who have the relationship with who I only do the business um work with them like hey help me out with doing this how and I you know I mentioned to you guys I don't know about the wetland mermaid require and my my parent living

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here for certain years a lot of years so we we we know we we haven't heard about wetland and there's no sign so we didn't know If we know the first spray, we we already like do it in forehand. We we don't want to become a non-compliant. You know what I mean?

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>> Yes. You you said that before and you put it in in the letter. Uh who actually wrote this this letter to us dated June 2020. You wrote this. >> Yep. >> Um >> my Wait one second. I need a charger. My

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laptop is down. But in case you need a screen for my but I'm I'm I'm free to talk. Just kidding. >> Okay. Okay. Um so I I'm I'm stumped. Uh what I really need is to see the plans from the

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building department, but there's no evidence at least according to >> I can get that to you. So, I can get that to you, but I need I probably need to scan in because I don't know I have a copy handy right now.

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>> All right. This this has been going on for quite a while uh since we first made contact last December and we've had you on the agenda each month since December of 2025 and we haven't made much progress. Yeah,

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we we understand that and I just want to let you know that because I asked Philip like what do you guys really want and he already reveal for me and I didn't know in term of the building moment you guys want to entire the inside graph to I so

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I don't know that because like that is I confirm with him before I'm just want to make sure we don't miss anything but it seem like if you guys feel like missing I think we you guys can reach out to it we can reply before this meeting, but now I know. So, I don't know what the

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next step is. >> Do you get us the building plans that you should have given us to us eight months ago? Um, we'd like to see the building plans. You've got a contractor so you know who to call. Get the

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construction drawings from him. you need to produce um a a plot plan with the distance to the wetlands because remember one of the issues is that you or your husband cut trees not only in the wetlands but on our

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land. >> Yeah, we know that we clean up and the next thing we know we that is he he didn't know anything. He just like like he's in culture and the next thing he know I'm like we we didn't know what we didn't know and I tell him we're going

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to make sure >> we're going to make sure we going to be comply on those like replanting the tree like as request um department your guy request we're going to replant it if if you guys request because we are non-compliant we accept that

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>> that that that fact so we want to try to iron it out so we Just want to make sure that have been picked out of. >> Um, okay. So, we're going to need a plan. >> Yeah. >> That shows the distance of the wetland. >> Yeah.

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>> And I understand you didn't you say you didn't know >> about the importance of protecting the wetlands. But did you know that across the street was not your property? >> We know. We I know. But my husband

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didn't know. He didn't. The thing is he's he's you know he I have to say he didn't really know American law. So that's why the next thing when you guys come I'm totally surprised because I thought he just spring cleaning. We I didn't know and he said he just he just

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cleaning outside and he some some of them are dead tree. He didn't even touch them. So I have no clue on what happened because you know in the in the winter time it's dying. I don't know is it's dead tree. So how can I know? And then the next thing you guys say like we like

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plant the tree but my husband say he just clean the br uh cut down the branches and so I don't know what to know but as I said at what you guys haven't been seen I'm accept the responsible for replanting the trees

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back on those dying tree I don't know but this if if that is a fact and if what we have to accept we we want to make sure the compliance so That's why I think it's a hit fall. He touching is not our land. So is is our fault. We

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accept that fact. So we as a family, we want to make sure we responsible for that. So yes, we plan to replant the tree as department request. >> So things to do. We're going to put you on for next um I'm sure there'll be other questions from other

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commissioners, but we're going to put you back on for next month. But y this time you really do need to provide the records. >> Everything that you got department, >> all of the construction drawings and

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plans that you gave or received from, you either gave to or received from the builder, >> architect, the engineer. >> Yep. >> Everything that went into the house and the project with the house. >> Yep. >> And importantly, remember now we need a

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plot plan. That is a description. It's an engineered drawing >> of the property. >> Yeah. >> Which would show us the distance, you know, the location of the house, the location of the street, the distance to the street, the distance across the street. >> Yeah. >> And those are all

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>> wetlands. >> Yeah. >> Across the marsh. It's it's easy to to figure that part out. >> Yeah. Got it. I going to make sure my engineer got that. I think he he should have that copy. Yes, I hope.

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But uh please have them submit that as early as possible because you know the fine is building. I know you >> Yes, I know. I really tried to address that but for this K though for the permit are we going to get it next month? I I got that. But for the plan,

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can we get some agreement today if because we haven't been back and forth and I'm going to be responsible for what happened next. So I just want to make sure we're going to do replan it and what your guy request. We just want to understand we try to resolve the

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outstanding issue as is go. So whatever is come first is come first. >> I I'm not sure what you're asking me. >> I think about the tree. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So I don't know what you guys going to be have any like um

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>> Yeah. >> plan for us for that one. If if you were listening to our last discussion, you understand that you have to replace the sum of the circumference

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>> and since the tree is cut, the circumference has to be measured at the base. So you have to at the base because >> yeah, >> we measure it at rest height, but that's you can't do it because the tree is gone. So you have to measure that and then you have to replace um however many

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trees uh would sum would equal the same sum as the trees you cut. >> Okay? >> Replace the trees. So you have to add up all either diameter or circumference either one. Yeah. >> So

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my question is do we have a tool like um provide you the screenshot like what we did for our next meeting or on the trees or or or how how we we handle it. We just want to try to make um meeting the

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expectation. >> You can go out and measure them. I mean we I don't know if we've got the measurements but we can we will uh get somebody to get the same stumps so you'll be able to see it and measure it and we can do the same. >> Okay, perfect. So um so you guys can do

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the same. Okay, so because the thing is you guys are experts. I don't know if you guys going to do that and let us know. So we make sure we we fill them in correctly. >> Typically you want we want us to do that. >> Ma'am, >> I don't know. Whatever. Easy. We can >> listen to Hans, please.

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>> Yeah. >> Ma'am, >> typically you find and hire an environmental consultant. >> Oh, that's good to know. Yep. Environment >> will do all this for you and assist you through the compliance process. They'll do the research.

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>> They will determine what or or they will make a decision on what you need to do and then you bring that to us. >> Okay. >> We don't do that for you. >> Yeah. Thank you. So sorry. I didn't know about the process. So that's good to know. Thankful. Yeah, we'll do that.

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>> Okay. >> All right. And and don't please don't wait until the last minute because we need to have this information before the meeting so we can review it um and and we'll be familiar with it at the next meeting. And the date for the next

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meeting, Philip, do you have that? >> August 11th. >> August 11th. And um just a quick question. Um, do we have to refill the no um the noise in intense at all or we just submit what we left? >> Say say that again please. Do we have to

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refill um fill out the notice of intents again, the form again or we just need to submit what we missing with the um envir uh environmental consulting information regard to the trees and the uh the pilot

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plan that um you guys need to see um the the whole picture entire of what what insides. So, we just want to check that. Make sure we don't miss anything. >> Departmental consultant can assist you with that. >> Yeah. >> Oh, okay. They they gonna have access with us. Okay. That's

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>> Yes, they will know how. >> And uh I just wondering like do you guys have like any like recommendation or we just going to figure out oursel, right? I I we have to be very careful about referring you to environmental

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consultants or engineers. There are certainly lots of them around. Okay. >> And maybe uh you know, Philip, you could give them a list, >> but yeah, that could be helpful. Thank you. >> At least at least three. >> Like we're trying to direct you to any

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particular >> Yeah, we just want to make sure we we do the right thing. Thank you. Will you Philip can you just get a a number of them? At >> least three. At least three. >> Yeah. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Well, >> Steve, you you could do the same. Steve Ivis. >> Yes, I I would help I will help Phillip.

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Perfect. >> Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Sorry for taking such a time, but yes, that's what happened. All right. >> And um >> go ahead. I don't know what any um anything else that you guys actually my end missing this um meeting. We just

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want to make sure like at the next meeting we at least we cover your question. So we just want to make sure that this is all you guys need. >> Uh yes understood. >> Okay. But I I have I have to tell you in

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reading your letter, you are bright, articulate. You you know what's going on. >> Yeah. I have to try because the thing is my husband doesn't speak English and you know it's my home and I don't want to get other people like engineer people

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involved but because it's not their issue, it's my husband issue. So I'm like I'm like I'm really going to that is out of equation and the next thing you guys know is wetland is my parent live there for 20 years we like wetland we don't even heard about it in term of

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like oh and the next thing we know is we out complying and we we total sock but hey we have to complying with the the law and the thing. So it's it's too late but hopefully it's going to getting um addressed. So we we we lesson learned here but we we won't make it we won't

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we'll try to make it through because it's our very first home and we we really we didn't know it's like it's we learned the hard way but we we try to make it work you know. >> Good. Thank you very much. We look forward to hearing from you. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. Thank you for so much uh for

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you guys time. Yep. Have a good night. Thanks. >> Bye. >> Uh next on the agenda is number four. It's approval of conservation restriction at 88 Milton Street. Um that's we're going to defer kick uh continue into the future. Uh we'll put

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it on the agenda for next um August. Did you say the 9th? >> 11. >> 11th day. Just put it on the agenda, please, for next time. As of today, we received back from the state their um

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EOA. We have to submit to them our conservation restrictions and the last time we did it back in 2014, we thought it was all done. It was submitted to the conservation

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commissioner for approval. This is 88 Milton Street. It's the same issue and that's 12 years ago. We approved it. We sent it to the select board. They approved it. And then we sent it to the state and they sliced and diced. It's

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like they put it through a veggomatic. You know those things that chop up vegetables and and it's been sitting uh under consideration for these last whatever 12 years. So we did it again. John Flynn is working on it. He's put a ton of time into this. Steve has done

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the base report. Um, I think John's going to ask for another iteration of it. We finally sat down with um, Dor Bagnal, who's the owner at 88 Milton Street. And we thought we had resolved everything. We came to an agreement.

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We're ready to go. We had the base report. We satisfied uh, Door's concerns with he wanted to know more about the ACE, which clips a piece of his property. Um, and I thought we were done and then John

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submitted it to the state. We got it back today with oh some very very s very serious uh revisions redlined things like we had please submit to the the

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town of Milton at 525 Canton Avenue and they revised that. They said, "Oh, no, no. Please re, you know, remmit your your uh comments to 525 Canton Avenue, town of Milton." They just reverse. I I

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I I'm going to shoot myself. I I think those are the re Some of the other ones were uh important and I have no idea why they were revised, but the red lines with and that's this is going back to John Flynn. I think John Flynn is going

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to commit Harry Carrie or something. U but we're we're working diligently trying to get the state and the town and the homeowner to agree. Um which we agreed to not just in principle but in detail in 2014

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and here we are 2026 still working at the language. So, uh, hopefully we'll have those revisions done and maybe we'll be ready to approve by August 11th. I certainly hope so. Um, that is

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so we're going to continue that one. The next one is approval of conservation commission uh Arthur Doyle to serve as climate action planning committee. Um, Arthur was our designate from what three years ago, >> correct?

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>> Okay. Three years ago. And so term has expired. Uh he's done a good job. I know it's an active committee. Um and uh I would recommend that we approve Arthur as a continued

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um designate for the climate action planning committee. >> So move. >> Good. Second. >> I'll second. >> All right. Good. Thanks. Um any disc you want to make a speech, Arthur? Just

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happy to do it. >> Good speech. >> Done. >> Good. All right. Um, any discussion? Hearing none. Um, how do you vote, Tom? >> Yes. >> Hans, >> I vote uh an emphatic yes.

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>> All right. And you get another emphatic yes, too. I don't know if you have to recuse yourself or you can vote for yourself. Why don't you vote for yourself, Arthur? >> Yes. >> Okay. Good. So, unanimous. Thank you very much. um under new business

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um litigation wise, you know, we've we appealed to the superior court, the 648 652 Canton Avenue. Um Kate Connley is representing us um from Murphy Human

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Line and uh we we've we started the process of the appeal and just today we received uh a notice from Comprehensive Land Holdings. That's the Temposi family though. That's the applicant. and they

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have asked us to ascent to something uh andor they will file a motion to remove our appeal from the superior court to the land court. Um I have no idea why. Um I mean I can read

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it and I'll I'll forward it to you tomorrow. I just got it this afternoon and I talked to Kate and I said, "Kate, what's going on?" And uh she said, "Well, she had talked to Dan Hill." Now, Dan Hill is the attorney that represents the neighborhood group that's also

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appealed to the superior court. They've opposed this move to the land court. Um, I'll I'll send it around and my instinct is that you resist pressure. Um, in my brief reading of the memorandum in

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support, they say that the land court preempts the superior court and I don't believe that is accurate because the superior court has original jurisdiction over 30A appeals. This is a

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chapter 3A appeal. 3A is just a statute that sets the protocol and procedure for appealing a an administrative court hearing and in this case it was O AR that's office of alternative dispute resolution. It's part of the division of

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administrative law appeals in Massachusetts. So it's all governed by 30A and 30A provides that the original jurisdiction for an appeal goes to the superior court. They're now claiming that the land court preempts that. Um,

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and I am I I've never heard it. Uh, I'm unaware of it. I don't believe it's accurate, but um, it's up to Kate. So, Kate and I talked about it today. She's going to talk further um, with Dan Hill, who's already opposed the move to the

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land court. And just coincidentally, and keep in mind that the land court was the court that issued a ruling against them for using Mgewood Road or Mgewood Lane that that's the private way that goes up

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right next to 700 Canton Avenue where they, you know, remember that they put up that uh fence, >> fire, >> what's it called? Tyreek. >> Yeah. They they were using that for their fire, their their emergency address.

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>> Yeah. Yes. You're right. Yeah. 648 and it was uh it's called overburdening an easement. So the land court ruled against them and said you cannot use Mwood uh lane as the emergency access because it's an easement to 652. It is

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not an easement to 648. And because the project is located on both 648 and 652 that's called an overburdening of the easement. So, they are currently back somewhere between the ZBA and the housing eligibility appeal board trying

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to redesign the project. And it looks like they're going to have to do like a a double entryway um into the project from Canton Avenue, but we haven't seen that. The ZBA has not seen it, but it's apparently underway

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on on the design board. So at this juncture, it looks like we will join the neighborhood group in opposing the transfer because the, you know, the open and obvious route on appeal is to the superior court. That's what chapter 3A says. Um, but I'm just getting you up

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to date. This is fresh off the press. Just happened this afternoon. >> John, I just looked it up and AI says the Massachusetts land court does not strictly preempt the Massachusetts Superior Court. >> Well, there you go. AI's got it. >> AI's got it.

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>> Instead, the two courts operate with concurrent jurisdiction over many real estate and land use disputes. >> Yeah. >> This means a plaintiff can generally choose which court to file their case in initially. >> Right. >> And preeemption is something that I'm

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I'm kind of focused on. I had a case out of the third circuit that I I took to the United States Supreme Court on preeemption. Um, so I as soon as I saw preempt, I don't think so. Never never heard that. Um, but anyway,

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I I'll defer to Kate on doing the research uh to follow up on that. But that's the current status on it. And that's that's all I've got for new. No, no, that's not true. I've called everybody uh to see if we

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could have a special meeting on July 28th because from anformational perspective, the uh board of park commissioners wants to come in. The park parks department wants to come in because what they're trying

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to do is rehab the fields at uh Flatly Field. There are three playing fields and back in the 80s actually Tom Flattley conveyed to the conservation commission

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um the conservation restriction and the conservation is is very specific and it says the purpose of this is to provide youth sports recreational facilities in particular playing fields so that they can play I think you put everything in

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there you know football soccer, lacrosse, whatever you could think of, they're all there. Um, and it's to be used for that purpose. And this conservation restriction is in perpetuity. So, the park department would like to come in and rehab the

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fields. The problem is, I guess, drainage. So that the way the the fields are um laid out that they need to put some more soil uh on the surface of the grass to bring it up so that it's level

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or it's at least it's level to play on but by the same time it'll tip towards the appropriate drainage uh facility. Um but the way the original 1984 conservation restriction said you can't put anything on top of the fields. Um so

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the theory is that they'd like to be able to put some soil on it to you know raise the level of the field. They would also like to um make one of the three fields a u artificial turf because it will triple the usage um for the town

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sports or the youth sports. So that's in there as well. So they'd like to be able to do that and they're trying to figure out how to do that. um because it it looks like you can't put anything on top of the um the ground as it currently

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exists. So there there are different ways to do that. One, the parks department was thinking about and was going to request us to do a land swap, but to do the land swap, you have to it's article 97 land and you have to have non article 97 land to replace if

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we were to swap it. But I'm not sure that would change anything because even swapping ownership from the conservation commission to the parks department, it's not going to change the conservation restriction. So we still need to get I believe a court

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uh interpretation of whether or not it's okay to maintain or enhance those fields by a you know putting more soil on top of it to change the elevation surface uh or b using an artificial turf for one of the three

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three of them are grass fields now. So I my view is that you got to ask a court for permission to do that. Um, so the originally they were coming in on the 28th to ask for a land swap, but we're trying to figure out well a do you need

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to do a land swap and b um does it do anything to the conservation restriction even if you swap ownership of the fee the fee simple. Um so between now and the 28th uh we're back to the or the parks department is back to the drawing

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board on how best to achieve this goal of enhancing and preserving and protecting uh the playing fields. So >> John keep it on for current current purposes on the 28th.

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>> Can I ask a question? >> Yes. Um, what's the best way to obtain a copy of the conservation restriction? Uh, >> it's it's in back of me right now. I can I'll sc I'll be in the office tomorrow, so I'll scan it. It's it's um lengthy,

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but I'll I'll send it to everybody. >> Okay. Um, and does their proposal, well, does their proposal do anything to improve parking there

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or is it just limited to the field? >> No, it it it did initially. Um, but that's an issue. >> Parking's been a huge problem there for >> I know that was part of their original plan on

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>> Yeah. Um but that's not enhancing the fields. So we got to be very careful about privous versus impervious. >> Absolutely. >> Um >> and that would that would go towards it's called the cyp prey doctrine. It's

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a court allowing the original intent of the grtor or the donor of the uh conservation restriction. So, a court would have to reinterpret what Tom Flattley meant when he said, "I want playing fields for the kids."

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>> Yeah. >> Um, so that's why I I I think that's the way to go. I'm I'm not sure about a land swap if that would change anything or not, but yes, parking was u an issue. >> Yeah.

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>> But it it it's going to impact directly on the conservation restriction. >> Yeah. Okay. Any other thoughts or questions? That's justformational at this point. >> All right. And I and I know I know you

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know about the parking problems and you're right. It's an issue. >> Yeah. No, I mean that town would be better off trying to negotiate something with the hospital. >> The No, the the uh skilled nursing facility. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, you're right.

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Right. And I I actually thought that they still owned it because when Tom originally gave the conservation restriction, it was only for the like the almost four acres that are the playing fields. >> And so the the skilled nursing facility

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kept titled to the land and then later on he deeded the land where the conservation restriction was to the town. So the town owns the land but the conservation restriction is owned by us. Okay.

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>> So, it's it's an interesting dilemma. And there is something on isn't it on Milton's? No, it's on Deposit Valley Parkway, I think. Isn't there a parking lot up there? >> There is. There is. >> You take your life in your hands when you try to cross it. Just

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>> not a very safe crossing. And it's not there's not there's only a couple spots. >> Phil, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. >> No, that's all right. That parking lot in Brushville Road, the one at Nonsa Valley Parkway is owned by Fuller Village.

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>> Is that far? >> Yeah. The parking lot at Nepona Valley Parkway is owned by Fuller Village. >> Oh, it is. >> Okay. Okay. So, where's the parking lot on Brush Hill Road?

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like at the intersection of Nepona Valley Parkway and Brush Hill Road to the right. >> And Milton Street, they all come in together. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Yeah. That that's a dangerous place. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. That's what I'm talking. >> All right. So, we'll know more about

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that by the 28th. Um, and I'm not sure that we're going to have anything definitive at that time or they will have anything definitive at that time, but we're trying to figure out what's the the best course to keep the open space, keep the recreational fields up and running. >> So, I should still post the meeting,

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John? >> Yes, please. Yes, please. >> If we have to, we'll cancel it, but keep it posted. >> Okay. >> As of this afternoon. Yes. Okay. So, any other additional business? Um there's a Zoom meeting tomorrow night

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that you may have seen the notice for to discuss the proposed weekend closure of Chikatabler and Watug roads IDCR and uh they're going to present and they will talk about the Rotary and they will

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talk about the reasons for the proposed closure which will run from July to early September according to the materials and only on weekends. So I think >> wait a minute Sunday night.

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>> Say that again. What's only on weekends? >> The proposed closure of Chikataba and Watuk roads from Route 28 over to Willlet Street. >> Yeah. No, but why why would they close

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it on weekends? I should think they would close it for the Rotary for construction. No, it's not really related to that. It's more about conservation, namely the rare species that cross that road.

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>> What's that? >> They cross the road on weekend. >> A second. I'll be right back. >> Okay. >> Um I don't understand. Uh yeah, at any rate, the the rare species

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are the pit vipers, the uh ral snakes and copperheads who get squashed on the road, but they're only protecting them for two nights, right? Friday. >> Why would they Why would they close it on weekends?

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Um because there won't be I'm I'm guessing there won't be the major objections that there would be if they propose closing them during commuting hours because many commuters use those roads

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and there will be fewer of them on weekends. >> Right. From the recreational open space perspective, the environmental natural resources, the weekends are when people enjoy it, >> but they're actually making the park

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bigger by closing the roads because anybody can walk in there and enjoy walk all the way up to the reservoir down the other side without worrying about getting run over. In other words, >> parking. Parking where? Well, parking is

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um first come, but at any rate, there will be a lot of parking at Sha Rank in Quinsey and um that's a place you can access both those roads. I just have experience with former closures. They

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have done this before and it really felt to me like there was a lot more park once there was no cars whizzing up and down these roads. I felt like I'm in the park a lot quicker because I don't have

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to go up these roads and find a parking space. I'm already there right at the border. Now, other people might look at it differently. I'm just saying that from a park user perspective, there's a

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they do this in Cambridge. They shut down Memorial Drive and it becomes a walking park which a lot of people in Cambridge appreciate and support the closure. And this is the same sort of

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idea that a large open space normally given over to cars and lots of cars now becomes for walkers, bike riders, joggers, all kinds of recreationists who don't

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happen to be in cars. No, >> I get I get the concept. I don't have a problem with that. I I'm just hung up on parking and I know there's not a lot of parking at the top up by the the stone tower there. Um

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>> you can park curiously places along Route 28, not many, but there are some um the the situation admittedly is much better in Quinsey where you have many SP.

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>> Yeah. Um, so John, you have a point, but on the other hand, some of these people may not be driving to get there. They might be on bicycles to go to the park or they might be walking

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>> on Randolph Avenue. God help. >> Things are getting better bit by bit in many places. I know this cuz my son rides a bike a lot and he's certainly pleased with the more attention that bike safety is getting along. Well, Ran

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A is safer for bikes now after they did the repainting. So, I'm just going to um probably speak on my own behalf in the Zoom and say this is good for the

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rare species and it's good for park goers. And myself, I would love it if they close those roads for good. That's probably unlikely, but they weren't built in order to be

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commuter cutthroughs. They were built to allow people to enjoy the reservation. >> I agree with that. Do you have a link to that uh Zoom? >> Uh yeah, I can uh forward you. >> Yeah. To everybody. >> And who's this? Is it a DCR sponsored?

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>> Right. And they are talking about the Rotary, but mostly it's about the proposed weekend closure of Chikataba and Wabatuk roads. They call it a pilot closure. And I guess they want to see

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how it works out. I will have to I say that they also have the responsibility to protect us wildlife and you know that we approved the Rotary but they needed a permit from Heritage and they needed that because they were

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taking a habitat that's now part of the park will be eaten up by the Rotary. So Heritage had to find mitigation for the loss. This is all you know their obligation under the law. They had to

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find mitigation and I think this closure is part of that mitigation. >> So protecting species on the weekend is mitigation for the rotary.

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>> For what? >> Mitigation for what? >> And you're saying that's with a straight face. You're saying that? >> Well, the habitat is being lost and snakes cross the road every day. >> So, they do. >> Yeah.

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>> Well, I'm not saying that it's a perfect solution. It would be better for the snakes if it was closed every day. But if it's only closed 25% of the days, maybe they will be more likely to cross when they don't hear the cars going back

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and forth. And incidentally, who gets killed on the roads this time of year? It's the males because the males are a horny and are cruising around looking for girls which they can

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follow by scent trails. So typically a couple of snakes get killed every year around Labor Day and typically they're male. You may know that the state paid big money in the last few years to try

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to find out how many of these rare animals are left in the reservation. They studied both the rattlesnakes and the copperheads. And the numbers were not large. In other words, they were small enough that you could make an

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argument that saving one or two snakes will be significant. So these are the sorts of things that are playing into this picture. >> Here's the overview that I was able to look up. Chikataret Road in nearby Wampuck Road in the Blue Hills

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Reservation is undergoing a seasonal weekend pilot closure to vehicles from July through early September. The roads are closed to cars from Friday evenings through Sunday evenings to curb reckless driving, drag racing, and excessive

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noise while remaining open to pedestrians and cyclists. Because this is an ongoing pilot program, the exact times and dates of closures can be adjusted based on community feedback, uh, etc. And then if you'd like

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information, contact DCR. That's the >> they know what they want to do already and uh they know that if there's an outcry sufficiently large they won't be able to do it. But here are here they

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are testing the water to see what the public thinks about this. Um the people who respond to such an imitation are a small group and they won't really find out what the public thinks until they close gates. But you have probably seen

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them close before evenings or maybe when they tried this earlier. They did this last year, maybe the year before. >> Oh, yeah. They've periodically done it over decades. You're right. >> Yeah. Yeah. But I I I don't know how they're going to spin this, you know, let's save the

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copper heads and rattlesnakes because Tom, I remember back in 2011 when we were doing the the handicapped accessible trail around Turner's Pond, one of the opponents said, "Oh, you can't put a pathway in there because uh

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that's a habitat for a copperhead snake." And that's the pathway that the kids take to to glove a school. I I al do you think there any do you think there are any copperhead snakes at Tennis Pond? >> I don't and I didn't then, but I

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thought, "Oh my god, this the person is saying we can't put in a handicapped accessible trail to save the copperhead snakes where the kids walk. They're they're going to walk there whether it's, you know, handicapped accessible or not." So, I'm just saying from the public perspective, if they spin this as

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a way to save the copperhead snakes and rattlesnakes, I'm not sure that's going to resonate with a lot of members of the public. >> Well, you notice they didn't mention them in the uh posting. No, they're not for them. >> Public access, you know, pedestrians and

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and bicyclist, that's perfect. But I'm not sure saving the rattlesnake is going to resonate. >> Well, you know, there's a conflict here between their legislative charge, namely to protect public resources. >> Yeah.

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>> And what you're saying, the impopity of the species they're trying to protect. But John, you are not a young man. People look at things differently nowadays. It's true. You might have a hard time finding a young person say

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let's go kill the snakes. >> You know that doesn't really say kill the snakes. >> Well, they're saying don't worry about whether they die off. >> All you said that it wasn't mentioned. >> What's that? >> All you said, John, was that it didn't

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it wasn't mentioned in the in the notice. I mean not specifically but that is part of the background. Take it from me. >> Okay. Gotcha. >> All right. Thanks. And and please send

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that around and I'll send uh the uh conservation restriction for Flatly Field. Any other additional business? Anything? We're good to go. I think >> perfect. I second it. All in favor? Hi.

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>> Hi. We're done. Thanks. Good night, guys. >> Good night. >> Bye, everyone. >> Good night all night.

Part: 2

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Thank you everyone. I would like to call to order tonight's meeting of the Milton Select Board uh Tuesday, July 14th at 700 p.m. And I'll ask you all to rise and join me in the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of

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America and to the republic for it stands. One nation, indivisibley andice for all. Thank you everyone. Open it up for public comments. Have 21 minutes in

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public comments. We have three minutes individually. I saw one name on our inerson Mr. Joe B. I will let you know when you have a minute left. >> Minute left. I'll make it quicker.

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>> Thank you. >> Good evening. Uh, my name is Joseph Byron, president of Milton Firefighters Local 116. U, before I begin, I just want the record to show that it's been exactly 380 days since our CBA expired. And, uh, I believe that we've been more

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than accommodating and moving the pro proverbial needle. Um, I'm here on behalf of the firefighters of the Middle Fire Department because no one is a bigger advocate uh, for them and their families than me. I'm here tonight to talk to you about something that doesn't show up on a budget line item. Uh but it

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should weigh on every decision you make about your Milton firefighters. Uh what it cost us as human beings to do this job. Uh when the emergency tone drops in the fire station, we don't know what we're walking into. Sometimes it's a car wrapped around a tree. Sometimes it's a

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family pulled from a burning home. Sometimes it's a call involving someone who has harmed themselves. a scene no person should ever witness, let alone carry home with them. We see we see things that stay with us, images that don't leave when the shift ends. We

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carry them in the apparatus bay at the dinner table in the middle of the night when we can't sleep. It's not just what we witness. Cancer rates in the fire service are rising at alarming pace, tied directly to the toxins we absorb scene after scene.

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That's a threat to our health and it's a threat to our family's financial future because none of us have the privilege of knowing whether we'll make it home the next morning or whether our families will be provided for if we don't. And yet after that the most difficult calls,

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we show up to the next one with the same respect and professionalism that our mil residents deserve at their most vulnerable and frightening moments. We do this because we chose to serve this town. But that choice comes with a weight. And that weight doesn't go away because our shift ended. That's why

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financial security isn't a luxury for your Milton firefighters. It's a necessity. When the firefighters worried about making rents, affording therapy, providing for their kids, or what happens to their family, this job cuts their life short. That stress compounds

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every trauma we already carry. But this isn't only about dollars. It's about feeling valued and respected by the town we serve and the leadership that manages it. Knowing that the people we protect see what this job takes from us and stand behind us because of it.

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You do not ask us to be strong for this town and then leave us financially fragile and feeling forgotten. Supporting our firefighters respect what we carry. And by doing that, you support the families waiting for us at home and the families we may leave behind. In

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closing, I want to say this directly to the members of this board and to our town administrator. Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, hug your spouse, kiss your kids, sit at your tables, and be present. Because in this line of work, some of us don't always get that chance.

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Again, we ask you to remember that when you decide what your firefighters are working, thank you. Don't see anyone online. I don't think we have anyone else in person. >> Thank you.

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I would like to close public comments. >> Uh next for discussion, town council join us. Good evening. >> Good evening. >> So I think this is to uh continue or to add some light and context to a

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conversation that happened at town meeting regarding personnel. >> Exactly. Exactly. Um So, I wanted to kind of give an overview of sort of a summary of what your the pre-long personnel bylaw provides. uh

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also what the town administrator act provides in regard to sort of personnel issues and then we can have a discussion where there may be some inconsistencies and potential things that could be cleared out from a bylaw amendment

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potentially you know some ways to maybe clarify the special act a bit and really what direction the town wants to go in. So um obviously uh you have the town administr the town administrative special act

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along with the personnel bylaw that provide sort of various authorities and responsibilities in regards to the town's personnel administration. Uh the problem as we talked about is the documents are not entirely consistent with each other. Sometimes maybe even

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overlapping in ways that cause some confusion. Um, and even you know what you want to avoid happening and to my knowledge hasn't happened yet is you run into a situation where the town does take some action, personnel action which can have a lot of different

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repercussions and an argument come up that whoever took that action didn't necessarily have the authority or didn't go through a procedure that may or may not be applicable or mandatory in in the personnel bylaw. you like to, you know,

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I always say doing this for 33 years is I see many more cases that win or lose because the proper process was followed than because the town did the wrong you do have those occasional cases or maybe

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the town didn't act properly. I don't mean this town any any city or town more often it's a mistaken process. is a mistake in due process. So you you want to keep those things as easy to follow and clear and concise as possible

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because that that elim you know that minimizes the chances for that happening. Um so the other issue that you have and it's my understanding that the personnel board has not been filled in five years though

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>> several years >> several years. So that begs the question, well okay, you have a bylaw that talks about all these different personnel most responsibility have a personel board. Um and you know that would render I would say for the most part many of those provisions to be

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directory rather than mandatory but you know that's my position of opinion mean somebody else couldn't have you know fighting the town or with a different opinion couldn't make an argument that you know that there's plenty of things that it says the personnel board shall be doing and they're not doing it

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because you don't have a personnel board. So, what are some ways we could we could fix that potentially? One obvious way is to fill the personnel board, but I will say many towns that I've seen over the years have similar, not exactly the same, but they haven't

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filled the personnel by for a number of reasons. A lot of these personnel bylaws are pretty old. They go back 20, 30, 40 years. And let's face it, you know, town, municipal government, especially, you know, human resources become much more complex. getting your work forces

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probably looks very different than it did 25 30 years ago. So, is it feasible to have a board of of volunteers, not elected officials, but of volunteers um contribute in a significant, meaningful

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and legally effective way, you know, meeting for two to three hours a month when you have HR personnel needs that need to be met on a daily basis, you know, become a big part. you know, Milton is luckier than a lot of other places because you actually have a a

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full-time HR person in addition to, you know, you know, the town administrator, the assistant, town administrator. So, a lot of places don't have that. So, is is is the model of the personnel board even the one that you want? Is it in the best interest? That that is that an effective

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way to deliver personnel, human human resources in a lot of places. You're not the only town that has a personnel board, but it hasn't been built in a long time. I've seen other places 10 20 years and they eventually clean up their their special act and they tried to you

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know some of these places they tried to build conditions and put the person on board and they just couldn't get people that were willing to do it. Um so I will note before I summarize sort of the bylaw for uh chapter chapter sections

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108 to 108 of 41 which is what authorizes the town to have a personel wage and classification plan and a personel bylaw. One thing that should be clear it does not require that there be a personnel. It provides an option. The town may through bylaw, which you've

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done, provide for a personnel board, but the but the but the laws that allow you to have a personnel bylaw and allow you to have the weight classification. They do not require the town personel gives you the option to have. So summarizing,

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I'm going to try to move through this pretty quickly while hitting on the key points. What your personnel by provides in summary is that it applies to all town departments and position except for the salaries of elected officials. Uh school positions are excluded from the

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personnel bylaw and all laws including the town administrator act and union collective bargaining agreements which supersede the conflicting provision of personal violence. So your personnel bylaw says AB and C. Your police union

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collective bar agreement says deenf will prevail over anything in conflict uh under the personnel. It provides for a personnel board of five members who will be appointed by the moderator for a term of five years. Obviously currently we don't have

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uh it provides that the personnel board and the town administrator shall administer the the personnel bylaw and determine among other things equitable rates of compensation. It says that the personnel board shall from time to time establish rules for the administration

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plan which shall include uh specifications for minimum requirements of the reclassified position. shall from time to time review job classifications and job descriptions covered by the plan in the salary schedules provided in the plan. The reason I sort of include that

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is is that something you think should be done again by an appointed personnel board meeting a couple times a month maybe not even that often or obviously your administrative team would be hired you know to to to run the task. Um and there's also we'll get into sort of what

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what the town administrator's authority personalizes under under the uh town administrator act. Um it states that the wage classification compensation plan shall not be amended except at the annual town meeting but the personnel board upon the recommendation of the

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town administrator and appointing authority may add abolish or reclassify positions of the plan and uh change salary rates. all such actions uh would be effective until the final adjournment of the next town meeting. Why that's important is you decide in

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the middle of the year to be in the position or you can't hire somebody into the position at at your your rates and you deem it to be such an important position that you you have the appropriation to offer more. You can make those changes to the classification

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plan, the wage plan, but then it needs to be ratified and amended properly at the before the end of the of your next town annual town special town. So again, in August, you decide you need to hire somebody at a different rate or you need

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a new position or you're changing a position. You no longer need this title, want new title. It gives right now the way it's stated it gives uh the personnel board upon the recommendation of the town administrator uh to add

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those positions and those would be effective until formal you know amendments are made to to to make that part of the the wage and classification amendments that needed. Now again, I think this is one of those provisions that causes some confusion because

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it probably has been done in practice by the town administrator or the employment authority administrator is the important positions and I think that's probably the way most cities and towns intended to act that the personnel board should be advisory but it shouldn't take the

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decision like things still need to move quicker than that usually right like if we need to make a decision you know the person may not be So again, is that the best way to sort of run these things? That's a decision for the town to make. Uh the personnel board shall maintain the employee

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classification and salary schedules. Again, subject to the collective barges, which shall take precedence. The personnel boards authorized to advise the town administrator during collective bargaining planning process, which shall not participate in those bargaining sessions. The select board shall

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establish and periodically review affirmative action and equal employment goals and guidelines from the town while the personnel board would be cooperation the town administrator shall monitor and strive for diversity in the town workforce. I think everyone agrees with the second part of that but now you have sort of three different potential

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agencies you know setting these policies and trying to to you know establish these protocols. It's just a you know so that's you know can be that can slow things down. Uh the personnel board sh personnel board shall report annually in

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writing to the town prior to the annual time meeting on the classification salary schedules and the efforts of the town to achieve the goals of this chapter. And then it says uh notwithstanding any other provisions, the town administrator shall be entrusted with the administration of the town's personnel system which shall

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include but not be limited to personnel bylaws, personnel policies and practices, rules and regulations and employee performance review of the CBA. Now again that provision is a little bit more consistent with your town administrator act but I would argue maybe a little inconsistent with some of the other provisions I just sort of

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summarized and went through. Uh it does say the town administrator shall appoint, supervise and direct all department heads uh and town employees except for the consolidated facilities director who are under the jurisdiction of the select board and the town administrator shall also prepare and

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keep current a plan establishing the personal staffing requirements for each department. Uh no person shall be employed to the town unless in the opinion of the town administrator such person meet such requirements. the town administrator and other and other appointing authority shall ensure fair

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treatment of all applicants. And then really just one other provision I want to highlight is uh it states that the town administration fix the compensation of appointed officers of employees within the limits established by the appropriation of town meeting including

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without limitation employees who serve under or uh under elected or appointed town boards, commissions and committees. This is a provision I want to highlight and I do think no matter what is decided I think it's problematic in instances

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where an appointment is recommended uh to the town administrator by an elected appointed town board commission and committee. Such appointment recommendation will only be altered, returned for further consideration or denied when the town administrator determines that a town personnel policy

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or practice has not been allowed. That provision is problematic to me in my opinion because one, it it's I think inconsistent with town administrators appointing authority state in other places, but it's also far too narrow. There might be a number of different reasons the town administrator might

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select a certain candidate. That would be certainly much broader than just the town administrator determining that town personnel policy practice not follow. So like that's a provision that I'm guessing that'sision

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probably a while. It needs to be updated at the very least. Um so without going through every part uh it it then goes on to talk about you know different types of personnel issues and how the plan is

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maintained the wage hospitalation plan is maintained and ultimately amended by town meeting. Um, it does state that the town administrator may start such an employee in a higher step than prescribed and the town administrator concurs with the written opinion of the department head and special

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circumstances warrant such action. It does state that the signature of the personal chair is required to evacuate such action and again I think that's problematic in my opinion and obviously not the current practice because person

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um all right it does provide for dispute resolution process which does keep the final decision um with the town administrator. So the town administrator act is a b is a bit more succinct on these issues. It does supersede the

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bylaw to the extent that there is there's inconsistencies. It says the town administrator shall supervise, direct and responsible for the efficient administration of the town's day operations. Town administrator shall appoint, supervise and director all department heads except for the consolidated facilities director. Town

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employees who are under the jurisdiction again town employees are under the jurisdiction of board selectmen with respect to department heads only. Such appointment shall become effective on the 15th day following day in which the notice for the appointment is filed with the board of selectment unless that

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15-day period uh unless within that 15-day period the board of selectment by majority vote the select board apologist by majority vote has voted to reject the appointment they soon voted to firm. So basically when the when the department head is appointed it goes notice goes to

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the select board they have 15 days to disagree or to to overturn basically that recommendation otherwise it becomes effective either at the end of that 15-day period or if you meet sooner than that and say we confirm the town. This

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is the department head. Um it does say that the town administrator uh may enter appointment contracts with the fire chief and police keep the deputy chief and the town accountant and that the town administrator may suspend and remove any person appoint that he appoints he or she appoints with and that with respect to any such removal of

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that person is the department head administrator first inform the board of select with respect to that. Um and then it just kind of goes in a bit more succinct way to say the town administration have been entrusted with the administration of the town personnel system in conjunction with the personnel

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board which I include but not to personal policy practice and basically go through all the different the different personnel issues. Um it does say that the town administration shall fix the compensation of all appointed officers and employees with the limits established by the appropriation of the

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town. So obviously as I said at the beginning there's some overlap and some inconsistency between the special act and and and the laws and you know obviously the main decision is does the town want to have a personel they do

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they think that's the best want to have because if that is a decision and I'm not saying it is you know you don't want to just have it unfilled for that you have a person that's presumably supposed to be filled and that personal reports they're giving

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given a bunch of obviously authorities and do these due to some consistency problems. So, you know, obviously if the direction is to not have a personnel board, the best thing to do would be to amend your personel bylaw to

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obviously centralize those functions with the town administrator's office, make it very consistent with the special act. And obviously, you know, remove the personnel board from the bylaw. I mean, I know in some ideas, you know, you could just go without a personal board

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completely if that's the, you know, the direction wants to go. And another sort of maybe middle ground area is don't have a personnel board, but maybe have like a human resource advisory board. And you know that would I think obviously once the bylaw sort of amended

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to be consistent would clarify that you know the authority you know lies with the town administrator um subject to limitations in the special act. But there would at least be a human human resource advisory board for the town administration to tap into as

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needed that could do some of the things that would be helpful. That may be a more appropriate course or maybe volunteer appointed board as opposed to you know having real decision making authority be part of a process that may not really realistically line up with

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your personnel needs. Now, um, a couple other sort of thoughts I did have is my understanding is the way that the special act has been interpreted is that for

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positions that fall under other elected groups, not just that the town administrators, the appointing authority, the u non-EP department head employees in those departments

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but that the department head of those departments would be the appointment of of those. So I have that correct? So uh so that could be further clarifying. It's a little ambiguous as far as what

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happens with the employees not the department heads that work under or in the department to which you have another elected board. So to me, if that's the practice that the town wants, I do think that that the special can be further clarified just to make sure that that

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there's no, you know, it just it can just be a little bit clearer. I think the currently is um you know, I can certainly make some other suggestions if if there's personality by law

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clarified. You know, I have done to some regard Um, I do think rather than keep saying that the collective bargaining supersede, I would just exempt collective bar employees covered by a collective bargain agreement. I think it's a much cleaner

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way to do it because it does beg the question like, well, every time we get a new contract, we have to update those pay scales and don't apply to them anyway. So, I just think it's cleaner to just accept them. You know, that way you don't have to their collective bargain is going to

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fail anyway. So rather than say that three or four times, just exclude them like you can disclaim would be a suggestion to have. So that's a lot I know to digest. Um I didn't I was trying to give a good enough summary

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of a ninepage bylaw. So you got the gist of it without you know taking two hours to get some of that. All right, it is a lot. I will open it up to the members.

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I just want um Darren made a a few good points just to in terms of the exemption and how collective barley is tr and just so the board and anybody listening understands that and in Milton we have uh mostly all of the employee positions

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are covered by collective bargaining agreements because we have the Milton Professional Engine Association which is kind of a catchall association that captures a wide variety of positions. So other communities where there might be a large number of non-union employees in

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the professional roles at the department levels here in Milton a lot of the department that's their assistant department that's um in public positions are are also collectively bargained or part of an association. So the number of employees that are truly covered by the

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first is much smaller than it might be communities that aspect of it because so many like I said so many positions are so we have a larger number of positions that would be

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thank you questions or thoughts or members Go ahead, ladies. First, >> no, please. >> How long this board has been no members? >> I should have gone back and done the

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home. It's been a couple years, I think. I know I and I met with the former moderator at some point to talk about some recruitment efforts. Um, and so it's been I'd say a couple years. I can nail that down a little better. >> Been doing pretty good without it,

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right? No, I just think there's more committees. It just gets to be, you know, you got to appoint people, you know, they got to appoint someone, they got to meet >> in the real world, things move pretty fast. And plus, you got a human resource officer, right?

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>> Correct. >> Which you didn't have years ago, right? >> Correct. >> So, well, that position's been around for a while, >> but we've been kind of going pretty good without this committee. So during your time you haven't had it.

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>> I believe they met a few times since I've been here. U mostly around establishment of new positions several years ago that was something that Darren thought was during the course of >> um just maybe backing up what John said.

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I think seems like things have been going fine. if there's very few people that this is covered by. And to John's point about moving fast, it does seem like we need to be lighter on our feet. Everything moves a little bit faster these days. And if we have to take something to personel that just might

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slow down or we might lose a good candidate. So I I think makes sense to kind of think about whether or not keep it an update online. >> You know, I just want to add that um

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close to 90% of the town's budget is personnel and it's we have a fiduciary responsibility to the town as a select board. Um and we oversee the town administrator.

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So I think it um structurally in terms of governance for the town um keeps makes it easier to um evaluate the town administrator's performance.

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if um he and his human resources department are primarily responsible for making decisions on the posting of positions etc. >> through the chair. Thank you. The one thing I did forget to to say too is if

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you follow sort of the natural progression of things that in 2016 when you adopted the town administrator act it obviously centralized a lot of the functions in the town administrator you know if that had been in place first

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right do you think you would have then later adopted the personal bylaw we currently have and I know there were some amendments made to kind of make it more consistent but you know I'm not I'm not Sure if the T administrative act existed first or you had that form of government whether you would have you

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know you would have done after that fact oh no we we need we need a personel group because it it's not the way I've seen things developed in other places mostly were you know developed a long time ago and just don't work as well

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today but especially where you know the town did go through some pretty adopted legislation to really centralize those functions. So, does does a personnel board make as much sense post 2016 as it did pre 2016? I guess

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question. >> Are you are you seeing any trends with with other towns in to to move away or toward it sounds like not towards more personnel? Is it >> I do

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>> I have to say that I I'm trying to think of any towns I'm working that have an active person. >> I can't think of any that I'm currently working with, you know. And if I'm wrong, if I'm forgetting, >> I'm forgetting like one. I'm not forgetting two. I can think of some that

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have since um adopted legislation that that do not have a personal. You know, there's one town in particular that, you know, they didn't have personnel for years and years and years correcting the violence

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maybe special legislation removed it. So there wasn't sort of, you know, some confusion because it just wasn't active. I will say that place they just literally couldn't get I I know I know another town it just couldn't get people to fill the positions. It's it's a hard

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board if to do it right takes a lot of time and you know it just it's a it's a hard board to do two hours a month. So you need to find people that really put in the time. Yeah, it I don't see it as a common common board anymore.

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>> Just one followup well different question. And this might go to the topic of whether there's any value in something like an HR advisory board if we went away from the personnel board. I poses to you and Nick or Cody. I mean,

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are there are there any checks and balances or other benefits to the personnel board that we might miss? I mean I mean I know it's been vacant so maybe it's tough to say because they haven't been functioning but is there anything at top two or three things that

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you guys would suggest that we'd want to try to salvage from what what that sort of advisory group could bring to the table let's say if we didn't have such a fantastic time administrators we do today you know >> I I'll go for it I guess I kind of look

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at it two ways I think if we had more positions that were covered in under the jurisdiction of the person plan then it might be a different answer but where there are again so many of our positions covered by department agreement um in

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terms of advisory role you know we're we don't we're not perfect we could use and updating to employment policies and other procedures so I think that leaning on talent in town who want to you know understand an advisory role and want to

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participate in you know, write and draft. I think that is a place where you know obviously grab that where possible. So I think that would be my perspective.

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>> I was literally going to say almost exact same answer. I mean I I think there's value if you get good people obviously to to helping you know some of those things that are harder to get to maybe clean daily. of all the things

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they do offices have. I I think where I would really shy away from is having them involved in the personnel decisions or setting salaries. I just don't know if that's the most effective way. I don't think it's the most common way anymore. And you know it could you gave

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a very good hypothetical you need to hire somebody. They have two other offers. they may not wait for the personnel opportunity to confirm the town administrator's recommendation on a change of cells. So I I that's I think if you're going to

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have a board personel HR advisor, it should be just it should be an advisory, you know, to to give advice on things that maybe the administration ask for some help and not be a decision or even

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confirm um pertaining to the advisory board or or any board in general. Um I in in my professional experience where I've seen more of these boards deployed,

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it's been more for the purpose of position control. um if there were too many um too much hiring or too much personnel spending. Uh but we I would also just like to note that we don't

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particularly have that problem with this town. Um today we discussed um some of the FY26 closeout and uh we had um some turnbacks

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uh from you know unfilled positions you know unbudgeted positions. So we don't uh on the town side especially don't have um any

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any overspending pertaining to salaries. Um, I would say if anything, we need positions posted uh quickly and we need hires to come in more quickly so that our uh our spending

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our estimates on spending are are more accurate. Um, so I would say that, you know, to attorney Klein's point that, um, we we definitely wouldn't want to do anything

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that would, uh, cause a slower process. >> Thank you. >> Um, this conversation, what uh, comes to me is that feels not just about the personnel board but uh time for us to

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maybe revisit updates some of our HR practices whether it's a light up time administrator act or whether we're just thinking about moving more efficiently for our needs now and this gives us a chance to revisit that the personnel board is a feature of the past no longer

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serves us then let's decide if it's the advisory board or there's another uh way of instruction structure that actually gets us to faster hiring, more efficient. Having the um support for the town administrator and the town staff is necessary, but it doesn't need to be um

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kind of the old way. Um particularly the idea that you surfaced there about the department heads and who they report to where whether they're reporting to their elected boards, who's reported to the TA and making sure that that's explicit and known. So that if we you

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know perhaps we've been lucky in the last few years, we haven't had any issues that have been uh elevated and caused any problems. And so now we need to be really efficient and sort of uh head off those issues. So, um, nothing

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for us to take a motion on, but perhaps the next step is, uh, figuring out what we look like with with how the personnel works or what structures work best for us now and taking those steps. >> Yeah. I mean, I think I suggest happy

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work doing amended personnel by that would obviously improve the the personnel board and set up in the situations

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version and I can work through what things he's looking beneficial process. It's escaping me the exact process but whatever the process is the right way >> we would follow. Also,

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this was a question. Was there was it standard practice that the moderator handled the appointments for the personnel board? >> It's actually in your um bylaw. Oh, is that standard practice in other areas? H I've seen

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I I I I do recall maybe seeing another personel bylaw with the town moderator making the appointments, but I think probably just as many would be the select board. There aren't a lot of personal personnel here.

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>> Would you Can I just ask one more for action item question? Would that proposed revision, which sounds good, get to the issue we were talking about of really sort of a orchart structural, I think,

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critical thinking we need to do that that you kind of mentioned there about, you know, sort of reporting channels and clarity around that. I mean, it seems like there might be some tricky issues we have to think through there

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potentially. Um, and I'm not sure whether that draft would get to that or I'm just thinking how do we tee that up for further discussion. I think the one area to me that was less clear than other areas was

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the appointing authority for the non department heads that work in department. I think like I would just want I would feel better for the town if that was just further clarified. There's a practice in place. I think it's a good

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practice. I wouldn't suggest changing it. I just would want to take another look at your special act and viol clarify that just to avoid any questions that come up that that's what jumped out, you know, in relation to what you just asked.

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>> Great. So next steps for >> Yeah. collaborate >> again suggestion obviously you have a process for your warrant articles and you have to buy amendments >> follow that process you know follow the

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process >> thank you >> right thank you >> thank you very much have a good night try to stay >> somewhat Thank you. >> Couple days.

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>> We're going to move to item five, which is discussion of the wild agreement, but we're actually going to move that to our next meeting on Tuesday. So, with that, we'll move to item six. Our discussion with our town treasurer

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and collector McCarthy. Welcome. >> Thank you for joining us. >> How are you? >> I noticed me is not here tonight, so she's missing the phone in person.

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Um, thank you for giving me some time. I know the other department heads have come in here and provided an update and um and that's what I'm about to give you from the treasure collector office. So, Nick's got a couple slides here, but I

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just wanted to quickly touch on um a quick overview of the department, a little bit about our org chart, um and and who is where and what we do, uh some recent accomplishments we've had, some current priorities on our plate, the

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challenges and the opportunities that I see happening right now, and then a little bit of a vision into the future and what I'm looking to do. um moving forward. So uh the first thing I have here is a department mission statement

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that we came up with. Um you know largely I'm not going to read all these slides to you if you guys can yourselves but um this is largely just kind of uh pointing out our fiduciary responsibilities to the financial assets of the town to

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um to the collection and the cash management and the customer service roles that we have. Um and ultimately our focus being on the residents of the town and taxpayers of the town. Um this is a little bit about who you would find if you walk into the treasur

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collector's office. So um I'm the treasure collector. I've been here three three years, four months. Um, and I I think you all know prior to that I I don't have uh specific experience in the

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municipal world or nor the treasure collector world. So, it's been um a a three years and four months full of learning lessons and um kind of coming up to speed on prior practices and also trying to make some improvements along

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the way. Um I do have a manager on the team. uh she's the assistant treasure collector. Um she has been with us for six months. Um and and currently she hasn't been doing too much of that management role because she's been

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filling in as payroll clerk. We have the vacancy in the payroll clerk position which you will also see on this or chart. Um and I'm happy to report that we have a payroll clerk starting next week. Uh so we're thrilled about that

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and and our manager came back to the assistant treasurer collection collector role that we hired her for. Um the other three three persons in the department, a deputy collector and two senior admin clerks have um various years of tenure

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with the town, not just in the treasury collector office but in other other departments as well. um some tenure and senior um you know seniority in the the senior admin roles. Um

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they're currently mostly all collections focused and uh and our con our customer service fronts for any residents or taxpayers who come into town hall. Um we're often the first place to stop for

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a question. So we're like engineering's upstairs or dog license in the town clerk's office. So um we we we're were we're often fielding a lot of um people walking through the door and that's largely the job of of these three

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individuals in addition to data processing and um and you know other administrative duties. So the next slide has our core responsibilities on it. I um I am a treasurer collector. So other municipalities have treasure

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collectors. They have a treasure or they have a collector. Um in this town we have them combined. And so both of those functions sit in the office. Uh so the treasur side of the office um from that vantage point I along with team um manage the cash and investment accounts

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that we have um in in which we hold all of our financial assets. We process receipts turned over from all the town and the school departments. So, think about things like building permits. The building department and inspectional services will bring down those receipts

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to us. Uh park and wreck fees, council and aging class payments, any grant monies we get, state aid, all of that comes into my office. So, all of the money comes in that way. Um the treasur side also remits all town payments. Uh

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so we work closely with the accounting team in doing this but um we remit payments in in large part to employees on a bi-weekly basis. We we fund payroll and we process payroll uh for all town and school employees. And then um the

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other form of payment is to vendors. So, uh, you know, any anywhere from the copier rentals to large, um, you know, vendor payments for construction that we have going on. Uh, all of that comes through my office. Um, and and, you

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know, we work, like I said, inter interconnectively with the accounting department and facilitating all those payments. Um, the treasurer side of our our department also issues the debt. uh as I think you know we have a plan to do so in the fall um and thankfully that's

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not on a very frequent basis because that does take a it's time intensive and there's a lot of work associated with that um again working closely with other departments in doing so. Um and then I guess the last thing I'd say on on the treasure side is reporting. We have uh department of revenue reporting TLS

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reporting. Um, you know, I will often report and ad hocs to to uh Nick to the select board finance committee. Um, and I work with the finance director on other types of reporting that's necessary. Um, so on the collector's side of the house, that's where we're taking in all

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of those real estate and personal property tax and motor vehicle tax payments. Um, we accept commitments and what that means is the assessor's office will commit bills to us or commit tax amounts to us to bill. Um, we then print

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and mail those bills. We don't actually do the printing. We have a printer that does that and does the mailing of that. Um, we then collect and process all the payments that we receive on those bills. And, um, we maintain all the account records and the receivable balances for

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the accounts. So think tax accounts but also think utility accounts as well trash um and all of these responsibilities like I said we have upstream and downstream partners in departments all across the town um

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heavily you know connected with the accounting team the assessor's office and the water department for largely collection outpost or collection flows. So, this is a this is a little laundry list of various services we provide. I

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thought that this would kind of be interesting information. There's a lot of bills that we send out. You might know this because you might get these in the mail from us with frequency. Um, we have about 8,700 real estate tax bills that we mail twice a year. We collect

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payments quarterly on those. uh 280 personal property tax bills, you know, anywhere from 22 to even I think we we've seen closer to 25,000 excise tax bills and that's for vehicles in town.

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And the interesting part about that is it says over seven commitments largely we we send you know the most of those tax bills go out at the beginning of the year and those are for any vehicle that's registered in the town as of January 1. But obviously people and sell

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cars throughout the year. Um so any new cars that people get um and own or register I should say uh they will get a prorated tax bill from us uh throughout the year. So we have seven different kind of cycles in which we send out bills.

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Uh the office collects all the utility payments for the town. Um that's water, sewer, storm water once a year and trash once a year. We have lots of daily inquiries. Um I I done a little bit of kind of back of the envelope on this and

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it definitely ranges with with you know due dates of bills but I would say we get about 125 telephone calls a day. We get about 70 people walking in the office and we have about 40 people emailing the general email account or me specifically.

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Um the next the next bullet point here is uh talking about MLC requests. Those are municipal lean certificates. Uh municipal lean certificates are usually request requested when there's a property sale or transaction or um

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refinancing that happens attorneys during those processes. Uh they will request a municipal lean certificates are owed. Um but it's a legal document that you know it's a state form that I sign and send back to them. Um, it's a,

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you know, it's a process. So, it's one of the other ones on there. We sell trash stickers in the office. We, we make sure that different stores around town have trash stickers available for our residents to purchase there. Uh, we do that bi-weekly payroll processing I talked about. So every two weeks

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about,00 town and school employees get um a pay direct deposit and we also coordinate the tax payments and deductions associated with that weekly vendor warrant payment issuance. So those are all the payments that we send out um to vendors. This could be

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about I don't know 75 to 300 checks a week or maybe five to 10 wires a week. um we have custody of some Milton High School scholarship funds and um I just

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put that on there just to kind of make note of it. We do have one and a half million um in in uh different fund accounts right now for uh scholarship issuances and that typically happens in late spring. Um and we also provide uh in in the office

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notary services for the residents of the town. Let me do other stuff too. Uh so the next slide I have is recent accomplishments, things that we've done lately. So one is that we converted our collection system um for tax accounts

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and we were working off of if you looked at it you would be like this is the this is the DOS based system of you know the 1990s the the previous system. So get off of that. Uh have not a lot of

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functionality. Um and we're on a a new Windowsbased software. Uh and and it it speaks to and coordinates with our accounting software. Um and we are able to import payments into it which is quite nice. Um and so that was a big

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lift. Uh and you know we're still that was um probably nine months ago. We're still kind of you know approaching our first year end with it. And so we'll see how how it all shakes out, but um I think we're just happy with it overall. We've done a a big tax title account

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collections effort. That's uh properties that were in um had a tax lean on them and they were either in land for foreclosure or they were years and years of existing balances for kind of hanging out there and just wasn't great for the

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taxpayer because they were sitting out there with the 16% interest rate slapped on it. Wasn't great for us because the cash was not in um in the town's accounts. So, we've I've done a a collections effort there. We've taken in

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about $3 million of um outstanding balances in the last college four months. We've migrated to a single banking block box, which is a PO box uh for people to pay their bills, which is quite nice. You send in your remittance copy of a

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bill, you send in a check, and it goes right to the bank. um we'll get in a download from the bank of all the accounts paid and we can pull that right up into our system which is is helping us move towards the future here rather than kind of keying in individual

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payments. Uh we've put some payment protection safeguards in place to prevent fraud uh mainly with check fraud. We have positive pay verification but we also have developed you know electronic payment policies that are best practices. So when we're acquiring

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funds out of the town, we're doing that appropriately. We scan checks in our office rather than we treasure heading to the bank every day. Um we've redesigned the bills to highlight and and encourage people to pay online. That's the easiest way to do it. So for anybody listening out there,

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please please utilize that UNIP pay site. Um we've been doing some interest rate capturing and account management. So, um, when interest rates are are high and and, um, and when we have various opportunities with various accounts, I

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will move funds around in order to maximize that. So, the best of our ability, we even now have a credit card swipe at our office counter. So, once people come in and they say, we've traditionally said it would cash your check and they're like, I have a card. We now are able to accept a card in our office. Um, the weird part about the

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card, just to let everybody here know and everybody in the public know, is that um, when you use a card at a local store, that store will will take on the ownership of the the fees associated with using that credit card swipe. The town obviously can't do that. So, the

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town actually will upcharge the the the payment based on the the amount paid so that the fees are attached to that. So, if you come in, you buy a $35 sticker, you might have to pay an extra$150 a piece, but that's what that is. Um, next

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slide has our current priorities. So, the things I'm working on right now, we're finalizing a fiscal year 26 year end, but I think you're going to talk more about that in a bit. Um, and from my vantage point, that's just ensuring all cash is reported, bank accounts are reconciled. We're onboarding that new payroll clerk. Can't wait for her to

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start next week. Uh we're assuming some of the DPW billing and collection responsibilities. So I'm working on transitioning that up to my office. We're migrating the utility billing software up with that gold DOS product onto that new um cool Windows based

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product. Uh and it's going to be all kind of under the same umbrella of the current collection system. So we have sort of one software provider helping us with this. Uh I'm working with other departments in town to select and implement new fuel HR software product.

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Um Amy spoke a little bit about that when she came and spoke to you a few weeks ago, but that's uh that's at the top of many of our lists. Um and then of course we have all that issue that's coming up and and I just want to spend a little bit of time next on um some

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challenges and opportunities that we see in the department right now. So under the challenges column, I'd say staffing and recruitment. Um I found the prior uh discussion item very interesting. Um and and let me just say from a staffing and recruitment

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perspective over the three years I've been here, we've had some vacancies on on in my office and and in you know tangential offices around town. Um and it's difficult to recruit people to come

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in to the roles that we have and under the positions that we have. So again my prior experience is all in the private sector and that was a different beast in its entirety. I work often with our town administrator on and and our HR director

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on talking about kind of how we can make these positions um you know more marketable and more attractive to the right uh to the right people. Um and we're going to continue to have to do that as we march down the future here

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and as we see um future vacancies in in our you know finance teams. So, it's something I'm It's challenging, but uh we're working through it. We're we're doing okay. And um you know, like I said, we come out the other side with

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a few tech next week. So, I'm thinking about that. Uh we have technology upgrades and needs. I've talked about those already. Um those continue to be challenges and and anytime you onboard something, it's, you know, there's bugs and there's things to figure out as you're doing that. So, it's it's it's

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never a smooth path, but we've um we've made some good progress thus far. Uh I would say that we've got lots of manually intensive work still. Um you know, there's deposit slips that still exist in my office. There's like, you

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know, uh carbon copies of things. Um we keep a lot of paper. That's my last one here. There's paper everywhere. I'm just going to kind of work on thinking about how we can reduce that. I we have a archive um room down in

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the lower floor of the town hall that has a lot of documents that need to be retained and archived. But it's just an insane volume of paper that's down there. So, uh we need to think about that. We need to think about that as a collectively as a town, but I also need

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to think about that as my department, right? We there's a lot of things regarding tax records and payroll records that we need to retain and we need to think about a way to do that so it's not overwhelming. Um we but all this like you know brings about

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opportunities. We can streamline some workflows as we're doing this. We can utilize some technology and and something I'd like to focus on is just public facing enhancements. Lots of people come in with lots of different suggestions at all times or email or or

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call us with suggestions and um and I really do welcome them. You know, I often will they'll they will, you know, there will be themes there and we'll try to implement those as best we can and I I want to make sure that we're doing that, you know, always with a focus on

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making it easier for residents and taxpayers. So, looking ahead, I just um on my radar screen, I would say my 12 month radar screen here, um continue to maximize collections and and our revenue with

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notices and with demands. Um once we get that new payroll system up and running, I'm really looking forward to employee selfservice for payroll and benefits. Um it would be something akin to kind of you know changing your direct deposit information yourself, changing your

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withholding rates yourself and not having somebody key it may review that and oftentimes needs to be keyed in a couple different things elsewhere. Um the third bullet here is bill presentment for residents. So that is where you know the actual bill that you

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receive in the mail would be available to you online. So you'd see the bill rather than just the amount you know that is owed which I think would be very helpful and you know when people are requesting payment histories if you're preparing your taxes in March um and

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you're trying to go back through the last calendar year it's you get a lot of increase at that time frame how many how much did I pay in taxes last year? If we were able to present bills and make them available to our residents online that that would be helpful. Uh, I want to do

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specifically some casual planning. I've talked to Nick about this um a lot that I want to be thoughtful about. I I should say I want to do more of it. I do it on at a very high level now. But I think the town could really benefit from

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um understanding what we have from cash balances and understanding where we when we will need to um potentially, you know, do short-term borrowings to cover us through a long-term debt issuance or or if we have enough funds to get us through, you know, a certain period of

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time with some visibility into interest rates as well. and really trying to maximize the amount of money we can make and and hold at one point in time. Uh so capture interest rate opportunities is it's always up there. And then you know just finally from an employee standpoint

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I'd love to cross train throughout the department make sure that time off you know time away from the desk is covered um and and help to develop skills through training. the the role that I have has a great um you know peer

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association. Massachusetts collector treasure association has lots of classes and lots of has a treasure school I'm going to go to in a couple weeks. Um that's what you want to do in the middle of August. Uh so there's lots of learning opportunities and I'd love to

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like promulgate that throughout the department and and ensure that you know that everybody is well trained and well versed on new master laws or you know new industry guidance. Okay, that was a lot.

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What can I answer for you questions and discussion? How can I help? >> Anything you want to add to the color? >> Yep. uh very grateful for all the work uh that Sar does and grateful that she called that random day three years ago

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to say what is the role of the treasur I might be interested in potentially running for that office so um no time's unfortunate for Hagerty second you're you're in first with your hand up >> thank you um so Joanna I really just

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want to thank you for all the work that you've done over the past three years to professionalize um the office. Um it looks easy when you do it because

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you've just got so much um experience and leadership and accounting um in the private sector. Even though you you're new to the public sector, it feels like you've been here forever. Um, and I just

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looking at the slides and I I kind of knew this, but I was really just struck, you know, the amount of transactions that occur with such a small team. It is breathtaking. Um so

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um thank you and we're lucky to have you and your team and you know what just let us know how we can continue to support you in your efforts to make um this vital function more efficient. Um, and I

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also would state that over working with you all in the budget over the past year, uh, it is, you know, the collector treasurer's office, um, is one of the unsung heroes of

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of the budgeting efforts. I mean, the what what you've what you've been able to put together through, you know, the investments and being able to collect has really helped the town uh navigate

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through some tight times and and will continue to get us there into the future as we as we continue to weather uh fiscal pressures. So, um thank you and that's that's all for me.

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Miss M. McCarthy, your team does a great job. I don't know where you're going to fit the extra employee. >> No, I know. >> We're going to create bunk beds at something. >> But when Ms. Dexter was here, there was talk of maybe looking into a payroll company. Is that proceeding at all? So,

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what what we're doing, and we're working Cody, our assistant town administrator, on this, we're putting together a request for a proposal for a a payroll software provider. Um, so it wouldn't be fully outsourcing payroll. I don't I I

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don't think that that would work. I I don't think we're necessarily against it, but I do think that having a a system that is um supported, right? Like payroll software

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right now is not technically supported. Um it's sunsetting. So we don't have a lot of support technically behind the scenes from that. I I think um I think having the software with have increased functionality so it doesn't require as

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much like manual input but it can be more systematized and that it also can connect into something that has an you know a front-facing portal would be leaps and bounds. So, um I don't mean to kind of skirt the question, but I think

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that like what we're looking for right now is a product that will assist the efforts of the payroll and HR administration. Um, and I think that that would be enough. Um, you know, I'm not sure that the the the price point would get the most bang for

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our buck if we went any further than that. >> Thank you. But I enjoy I enjoy going to your office. are very nice ladies and I like paying uh that's taxes. The bank's not paying them no more. >> So, I enjoy it. So, u >> that's often a trick when when that

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happens for people and it's great. We say, "Congratulations, now you're going to forget to pay your real estate." >> Make sure I say it way ahead of time. >> That's great. >> The only thing is like I'll have 24 excise tax bills. >> Oh, well, you have a lot of me. >> I know. I know. I know. But is there any

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way just putting all the bills in one envelope >> cuz there's 24 then my family's got three vehicles. There's like 27 >> get a lot in the mail. >> No, I mean save it or probably be heavy postage cost. >> Yeah, I think we're I I will look into that. But I do think we're required to

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mail them all individually. >> Um but something I am sort of thinking out there and I'm going to do some math on this in the next collection cycle is well does everybody need a return envelope? Some people you some people I bring them back to you. >> Yes. So we often get them back in the

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office. So that will be one. >> But you have a great staff and a great office. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Just thanks for the presentation. I knew it would be great. It was exceeded. >> Thank you and thanks for all that you do.

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>> Um just a a question on the the looking ahead slide. I mean the the type of question I was going to ask here it was about you know financial opportunities particularly around collection and you sort of touched on it with

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one or two items on there not just about collection but just creative revenue or collection and I was just wondering if you'd say a line or two about when you you talked about maximizing collections and then separately about um

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you capitalize on interest rate opportunities like if you could speak to sort of like the magnitude of the opportunities there. >> Yeah, probably not, you know, enough to avoid future overrides, but um but and and my friends on the select finance committee

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know this. I'm very hesitant to ever, you know, uh budget or increase a budget on a interest line like I I want to continue to be very conservative on that because we just don't have the

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visibility into future interest rate environments, right? Um, our investment policy for the town restricts my ability to, you know, invest in market rate securities in in many respects. So, um,

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so what we're really talking about here is just utilizing CD rates, utilizing government bank products, um, government money markets, uh, you know, uh, negotiated

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agreements with banks, particularly bank where we have a payment lock box. if they're if we keep a minimum balance in that lock box, they'll increase the rate on the money market that's attached to it where I can transfer funds, that kind of stuff. Um, but it does add up. I mean, I think we'll talk a little in a

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little bit about the fiscal year 26 number and you'll see that there's we came in well over budget, which is great. Um separately on the collection side uh we have some abilities for folks who don't pay their bills in town to um

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to ensure that they ultimately do get paid. So uh if you if you do not pay your water, sewer, storm water, or trash bills in town, uh they will be leaned over. It's kind of a verb. People get scared of the noun

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word of that, but the the mean those amounts, those balances overdue will be leaned over into your real estate tax bill the following fiscal year. So, um they will roll onto your tax bill and ultimately the real estate tax bill must be paid. If you do not pay your real

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estate tax bill, the town can put a tax lean on your property. Um and that's a protection that the town has to make sure that we collect those funds, right? So, that's why revenue collection isn't always going to be straightforward. There are people that forget to make a payment or there are people that are

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delinquent in payments and um you know acknowledging you know we try to do our best to remind people to say like this is not a fun interest rate. You don't want to be sitting out there with this balance. When you pay we're going to pay off your um your uh most overdue amounts

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owed to the town. So that we're you know it's in your best interest if we do that. Um and and notices and demands are things that we can do where we're continually prompting taxpayers and reminding them that they have balances. So oftentimes, you know, we do mail

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twice a year. You guys know this. Um we but we collect taxes on a quarterly basis. There are oftentimes people who might forget that second second coupon payment. Um so for instance, we just mailed your your tax bills due the beginning of August and the beginning of

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November. And people often pay the one in August, maybe put that bill aside and forget it in November. And they say, "Why didn't you email me?" Well, why didn't you tell me? And I we can't like we just because you missed a payment, we're not going to notify you um each and every time. So, there's interest on

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them until they get their next bill. Um I just want to think about ways that we can do reminders. I was traveling through my hometown during the um prior tax billing season and I saw like one of those flashing light signs reminder

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taxes are due. Such a great idea. Um so things like that I think could be helpful. more notices and and things like that. Yeah. But uh I do think that that to the extent that

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um we can capture those interest rate opportunities and continue to do so will be helpful in um and in casual planning connected with that, right? to ensure that we're we're making sure that the

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we're analyzing the interest rate that we can earn on that money versus the rate that we pay in debt service, right? Um and I just want to be as thoughtful about that um from a fiduciary standpoint moving forward as we're doing

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some budgeting. So, I think that helps. >> Thank you so much for watching every penny that gets used by our town. I I I I appreciate these sort of creative ways that you're doing that too, especially with the the interest the interest rate piece that you guys have all discussed.

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Um, if you had a magic wand, what would you kind of fix immediately going to be? >> What would I fix? Um, Nick's scared right now.

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Um, >> find some money to get a better air conditioner for him. >> I like I'm fine with this. Um, it's blowing right on me. Uh, I would fix

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I would I would, you know, if I had a magic wand, I would want everybody to pay their bill online. That's much easier. and um and it requires much less effort on everybody's part at the town

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um in order to process those payments and they go right into an account that makes a lot of money for the town and um and I I mean I you know there's other things that I think um

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make sense but I I I think yeah I guess it's that I guess it's that I want you everybody everybody listen um yeah but there's I I do think um

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there's just unique challenges with cash right and and we need to be from equity perspective we need to be willing and able to accept cash payments we need to be able to accept accept money orders and checks and people walking in people

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driving up to our drop and dropping it off. Um, so we want to be as nimble as possible. Um, you know, something I'm thinking about is this silly penny like, you know, the US Treasury doing pennies. What the heck are we going to do with,

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you know, change in the office when there's pennies? Um, and when tax bills are when you have to pay $1,000 23, like how are we going to make that happen? So if you know I think there's little nuances of things to figure out but

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yeah I keep all my streamlining very well. >> Thank you Jo. I don't really have much to add. The questions I was going to ask have kind of been surfaced throughout tax careers as well as investment income. But I think um

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I want to say thank you for the work you've done the last three years. has been a big part of our fiscal stability. Um, cannot downplay how smart you've been in using markets and the investment rates to allow us to have more revenue

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time when that comes up always, but how can we generate more revenue for the town? We'll see later when we discuss our general fund revenue. A lot of those overages are due to your ability um to work in the best possible way when it's

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time. And so um folks may not have a lot of insight into the work that you do dayto-day or the impact that you have, but it cannot be overstated how important in the time I know. So >> thank you very much. >> Thank you. Thanks for giving me the time. I appreciate it and I'll stick

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around if you have any questions. >> Sure. So when the website goes down and I can't pick, >> you just give us a call. >> Very helpful. >> Yeah. Um, no, I appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.

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>> All right. Item seven, fiscal 2026 closeout. >> Uh, sure. Thank you. Uh so I will share a couple things and just talk through our preliminary results for revenue. Um how we closed the books up on the expense side and a couple action items

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related to appropriations transfers and expenditure limit. Um so we shared this update both with the line committee last night. Um Amy and I attended their meeting last night and we met with the finance committee this morning. Um so in

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terms of revenue results this is still preliminary as we're working to close up books but um as you can see here we have projected about $45 million in revenue and through u the end of fiscal 26 on June 30th weeding $ 149.5 million

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approximately over budget a couple of the places where we were significantly over budget were motor vehicle excess tax which is a place where we've seen higher than kind of the five to sevenyear historic

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average will tell you we were expecting land and we did increase the mortgage excess tax forecast so it captured that in our planning uh penalties of interest were $678,000 in the budget as the cler just noted um

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largely due to continued work on collection of outstanding tax accounts from tax bills. So the revenue from real estate taxes would be reported on the real estate property tax line interest

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that was charged by the town on that tax line. So as those longer outstanding tax issues are closed out, we wouldn't expect to generate as much revenue here in future years.

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Uh the other one I'll flag is uh licenses and permits which is largely building permit uh fee revenue. Um you know $950,000 over budget. Uh I'll just note that there are three permits that

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contributed close to $780,000. So three large permits for larger projects. Um significant swing permit fee all over budget. Uh just goes to show uh that again this is not necessarily it's not onetime revenue

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because we've had a couple of busy years in the building department but it's also not revenue that we come up bringing in $2.4 4 million in building permits in fiscal 25 as an example since these larger projects permitted in this year.

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We would expect to potentially issue building permits for memory care project on Highland. Um that building permit application is in a 648 652 camp project that um potentially could um

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have received approvals to proceed this year. that might be another place would be a large fee. Uh uh there's a building permit for the 40 on access road 72 that they already got a partial permit but haven't so there

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are a couple of larger ones 27 but that would wrap the large projects that have been regulatory by the last couple years and so our longer term outlook for building permit uh that and then lastly

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again just kind of building the conversation we just had investment income which is really interesting come on the town's earnings,000 over budget um is again that's it's not necessarily been done a long time because we've been receiving strong

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returns on our interest rates in the last couple of years. However, you know, the broader economic conditions change keeping those revenue investments. So again, bottom line is about $4.2 million above what budgeted 26 subject

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to continue out on the revenue side. I can um go through the expense side of transfers. Uh so we have um what we'll talk about next is is first um transfers related to

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stone ice deficit to um close out our deficit stone ice and then a description of the broader appropriations transfers for the various departments of budgets and all this information is packet. Uh the reserve fund is um appropriated as part of the operating budget on an

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annual basis. held by the warrant committee. Um transfers out of subject warrant committee has approved transfers out of the reserve fund of the entire reserve fund as displayed on screen. $277,000 went to the tax.

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$500 was for the audit budget just in this calculation of what the fee was going to be. similar calculation on the retirement system appropriations for the family. So the entire reserve plan has been transferred out of the reserve fund into

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the rest of the sized deficit. This is a summary that just shows for fiscal 26 we appropriated $160,000 but spent 1.65 million. Um so operations, salts, um contractors,

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etc. um deficit budget of $1.49 million and the transfers down below demonstrate how that deficit was addressed uh through or is proposed I should say proposed to be addressed through additional transfers. So the first one is the reserve fund $277,000 we just

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described. The second is the DPW budget itself had savings and other accounts that the snow account throughout the year they say average six to seven um vacancies in the upline operational staff. Our town

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engineer position was also vacant for just six months. So there were u vacancies within the department that contributed to savings on our overall budget as well as overspending in other accounts u waste u some of the general expense lines. They did not spend all

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the money elsewhere. So budget was able to absorb some of that impacted and then uh four additional transfers from uh proposed from departments to DPW select board again in our office with vacancies in the planning director

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position assistant planning director position assistant administrator position uh for much of the fiscal year. So we had significant savings in our budget that was able to propose transportation legal budget similar and expense legal.

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So that our general insurance line our premiums are just lower than we had expected it to be. Um and this is a budget account for the current new fiscal year where we have to drop that budget uh year over

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year just to to reset it up to adjust lower Then lastly, we had $282,000 in debt service account that we did not spend due to a change in our game plan around issuing long-term debt that is coming up

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early. So overall, the stone ice deficit has been absorbed by these transfers that are approving each other for approval. uh despite you know working to absorb

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this um deficit we also have another 1.6 to 1.8 million in other departments and budgets that were also spent. So um we have had you know a good year in the sense that we have

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still have significant turnbacks throughout the town budget beyond just these ones we identified here largely due to vacancies vacancies in the fire department. Um and then because we did not settle there's $59,000

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since we didn't settle any of it all that goes on. So that contributes to additional um so that's snow and ice in the reserve fund and then again I already passed out and included other appropriations transfers um these appropriations

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transfers that are listed including the pocket are moving money from within departmental budgets. So we're constrained to the budget that's supported by town meeting or every line that's supported by town meeting. So move money from salaries and wages to

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general expenses requires an appropriations transfer approved by the community select board. The balance of these transfers already being departmental budget is just moving from one line to another. I can take any questions if there are any specific ones but otherwise that's uh where the close

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out stands for fiscal 26. Um and then lastly, the other um request we're making is related to increasing revolving expenditure limits. And as included in the packet, we have our evolving funds with ease library. Um

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and they're they're having issues with their sewer line. Um they contracted with uh contracted to replace the sewer line. Uh we had issues locating the sewer line. uh ran into rock as well and became pretty intensive project. But at

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the end of the day, we replaced the sewer line entirely. While the trench was open, we replaced the water line. It just became a much more expensive project. So ended up being $50,000 over two days of work. Uh the Milton Art Center paid $12,000 of that expense and

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the revolving fund paid the rest of the expense $38,000 against their annual schedule of 25,000. So the revolving fund just after these expenditures has a year balance of $127,000 and I'll just note that all

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these payments were built into this revoling plan and it's explicitly set up for maintaining repairs to the building. So it's a it's a big expense. It was a big project that took place um early

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last fall. However, now we got you know last as long as most of us are around and um the the money that we used to pay for is meant to make improvements and investments. So that's the corporation's transfer

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reserve fund. Happy to answer questions. Um, we talked about this this morning at the finance committee meeting this any questions from the board on any of the numbers the appropriations

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transfers. >> This might be off topic a little bit, but can you remind me what we budgeted for snow and ice in FY27? We increased the appropriation of fiscal money budget is budget at $250,000. It's a $90,000 increase, which is the first

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increase in many, many years, but it's still kind of well below where cold will lead us, but it's an increase. If there are no other questions, I will accept the motion on the appropriation transfers and the expenditure for

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library. U move to approve the appropriation transfers as submitted by the finance director and approve FY2026 expenditure limit for the East Milton Library Revolment Fund of $38,000.

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>> Second motion made second call votes. >> Yeah. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. Thank you. Okay, we'll move to item nine, the

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select board goals and objectives. Um, I will just surface this right now for uh any discussions on points like to have added or anything we saw in what was shared that we'd like to have changed and then have it for approval in our

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next meeting. So, any points We'll still have another few days for anyone to further review ask questions in the very next meeting for approval. >> Thank you. We'll now move to item 10,

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library college acquisition and review. Maybe best for us to start here with you all. Any updates you'd like to share since our last? Uh just a few uh points that we've communicated with the um we've had a

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conversation with president college uh been in touch with the broker and the attorney collaborate um continuing to reerate reiterate the town's interest the town's commitment to making the offer um they've said that they are looking for office by the end of the

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month u are I've checked in with the land vest the department that's condal library 24 July 28 so we'll have that considered that you know

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and their understanding of our interested. Uh the school building committee has meeting on Monday, July 20th to pick up the conversation around um the site and the building in terms of it how it lends itself to the school

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projects. Um and so July will be their next discussion with the architect team around the school project concept and we'll be sure to share that information as well. Um

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those are two updates on the appraisal progress expected deliver and so for us with the calendar on our appraisal land rest being expected at the end of the month we may need to have a special meeting for ourselves the last

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week July discuss step forward to that uh last week where we probably offer in subsequent weeks. Uh so

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I think hopefully we'll get it before 30th we're leaving the country that happens before then. Uh Monday the architects went to the school building committee and I believe Tuesday they'll be they'll be presented to the school committee. So we will have at least

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hopefully by the end of the month our um appraisal school buildings plan presented to both of those bodies and give us a much better idea of how we can move forward with this project with LA. Um I will just reiterate what Malano

335
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said. uh we have made it expressly um clear to the folks who have that we are very interested in property and we want every so you know it's very clear about it like

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thoughts from the numbers >> just on my understanding of the school building committee dates. I think it I'm just raising it in case there's any, you know, acceleration we want to

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impress, but I'm not sure there is. Um based on the the meeting on the what was the last meeting on the 6th with the architect and the school building committee they overviewed sort of the timeline the deliverables and that

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there's a meeting on the 20th for the school building committee. So this upcoming Monday where there's going to be um a draft report surface of school building committee without I think pricing attached to it yet. I think around that time it's going out to the

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pricing estimator too. The architect indicated a final report with pricing to the school building committee um the week of the 27th. So and and then they were planning on a presentation to the

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select board on August 3rd. So it's probably the best we can do, but hopefully we can get our hands on that report. um last week in July and just kind of impress on the timing. I I mean I think we're trying to be nimble either

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01:36:56.080 --> 01:37:12.960
way, you know, no matter what we have from the school building committee at that point, but you know, it just would be a shame if it like came two days after we have to make the call. So, you know, maybe Nick, we can try to just kind of press a couple days this way or

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that on the timing of all that. >> Yeah. Great. I think that remind >> Yes, we we had we had already planned on meeting and at the same time we will follow up

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with provide them up expectations as far as if they're you know they're okay with a week later. I I um you know like objective A is to

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just do everything we need to do to put ourselves in a position to handle the next the rest of the month properly. Um I think we are um thinking past that. It's kind of a point

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I've been making in prior meetings, but I would be in favor of, you know, continuing to plan beyond that if things go our way with the bid. Um, I'm thinking in terms of almost like a

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2.0 0 of the the roadmap document we've been working on today which kind of set forth um you know what the school committee would be doing what the school building committee would be doing what the select board would be doing um I

347
01:39:07.520 --> 01:39:23.040
think you know there's probably we might be coming up on kind of an need to kind of enhance that or update that a little bit to kind of take us through just so everyone's kind of clear on continuing to you moved. I'll give you two examples

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01:39:23.040 --> 01:39:38.880
and you know I don't know if they end up in if we do a 2.0 if if this all needs to be in there but um starting with the school analysis, you know, we we heard from the superintendent

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and um select school committee chair last meeting that there's a few items from their deliverable that they need more time on. And it makes sense to me that they do. You know, it was sort of the whole qualitative feedback to us

350
01:39:56.320 --> 01:40:11.600
around, you know, how this option really compares to MSBA option. Um, you know, once they kind of see the deliverable and pricing and all that. I just want to kind of keep that rolling so that we we know kind of I have no doubt they'll be

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on top of that but I think it helps just from a coordination and transparency transparency perspective like so we know okay that work will continue is it in August September I don't know um and then I I I again we we've been over this

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a little bit but I think we could start to map out what we were talking about the planning board last week or excuse me last meeting around that other use diligence. Um, I think it could make sense to think

353
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about where do you want to be with that by October town meeting? I don't expect it to be done, but do you do you want to start to map that out? Um, I I just I think there could be value in just keeping moving with some of the planning

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while we are, you know, I I think time will be of the essence in sort of each phase here. I think if if we're fortunate enough for um our bid to be accepted contingently, then that's going to be another tight window, you know, between that and town meeting. I think I think October sadly

355
01:41:16.719 --> 01:41:31.840
will kind of sneak up. So I I would be in for just trying to kind of keep, you know, evolving that roadmap document and I'd be happy to help in any way with that, but just wanted to put that out there from like a planning perspective. What

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are you thinking about seeing on that? >> Um, off the top of my head, I wouldn't I probably wouldn't add too much to the opt, you know, what we were referring to last meeting in the option

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A scenario other than just clarifying the understanding of like when those other school committee deliverables will be coming back to us. Um, so I might just try to, you know, almost us speaking to the school committee to each

358
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other about aligning on expectations of when that sort of critical work will be happening. Um, I would think about enhancing the plan B planning to

359
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think about. So, so if if we go down the path where we were talking with the planning board last meeting, you know, I think it was um you it might have been a combination of Sean and Cheryl who who said that

360
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um they would probably, you know, town would probably need to leverage an outside consultant to really work up, you know, a framework around potential, you know, use options if it weren't a

361
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So I might I would be in favor of scoping out almost, you know, identifying sort of who's going to be working on that. Who do we have sort of between the boards or staff

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to sort of be thinking about that, pursuing that? I wouldn't suggest hiring consult until we or you know until we know we want to spend the money. i.e. get the property, you know, you know, bids accepted.

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But, you know, I think the document could say, for example, spend August and September doing X, moving that along so that there's a little framework around that thinking to kind of guide the town

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meeting discussion. Um, I think it's a delicate balance of like distracting from focusing on the school effort and, you know, making sure our bid goes in smoothly. But I think we probably want to utilize, you know, week to week here.

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Just one more like I I I'm almost envisioning like just as an example to be refined like a task force with a few select board members and a few planning board members and the town administrator and town

366
01:44:17.280 --> 01:44:35.360
planner to um almost you know start you know thinking through that option sharing expertise perhaps that's the group that oversees a consultant if we bring one in to sort of be reporting

367
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into us. Um, and you know, we were talking a little bit last meeting about if someone else gets the property, we want to sort of be nimble to react to that, too. And and that might position you to already kind of have the room of

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experts to be um there to think about that, too. Um, so I guess part of it is just having that right forum available for the right people to keep talking about this. Um, I'm on the side of trying to like structure that a little

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bit, but if you guys think, you know, that can just happen more organically outside of that structure, you know, open to that, too. But that's sort of the best I can kind of think about how to move it along. >> And I'll just say I think the um

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the options outside of the school are just a much longer process. Whereas if we are working with the schools and school building committee which is what I think we're trying to find in the next two months right it's

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our end of the month and all the reports that are coming in so that we have more information that being our plan A and that coming in if if and when those items come back from the architect building from our um

372
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appraisal and all the other pieces and we say yes this is the idea that we should go ahead I think it lessens the need for the plan and that we are focused on schools work we have to go to town meeting in

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sections anyway the fall town meeting just purchase of some use perhaps with the story in the plan for how we work with schools I'm trying to think of when it would trigger us having a separate

374
01:46:33.440 --> 01:46:49.920
body that's working on a different idea. Not not I'm not trying to say that it's a it's a bad idea. It's just like when would we pull that group together as we're trying to figure out the school idea as well as with purchase. Now if we get the stuff

375
01:46:49.920 --> 01:47:06.719
back from the schools and it doesn't seem like it's going to work and I think that automatically triggers us thinking about that that's that secondary piece. So maybe it's just at the end of the month when we go through some of these reports we start thinking about is this really feasible because right now I

376
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think we're still operating a little bit in the dark in terms of we don't know what stuff's going to cost we don't know um the designs you know schools are working in best efforts but what comes back and says it's not exactly how it

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points and say, "Okay, let's start with secondary plant." So, that's all for us to get into July, August, we have more information. >> I mean, I I think that's fair. You know,

378
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a couple weeks here and there. Um, I think we, you know, don't need to exhaust A before sort of starting B, but I think we will have a few more data

379
01:48:00.960 --> 01:48:17.119
points later this month to help us probably think about the scope of B for sure. you know, I'm I'm not expecting that based on the enthusiasm of the architects to be, you know, a deal a dead on arrival

380
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kind of report back. But, you know, who knows once we start attaching pricing to it, but >> other thoughts from the members? All right. To item 11,

381
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special election state questions, which I think is less important to us now except for I believe the fire station building committee is still working towards their goals. But we've already kind of seem to

382
01:48:50.719 --> 01:49:07.920
be moving towards special election for um if things go well that way. I don't have anything to add at this time. I just will continue to track those for the next two meetings in case decides to add a question to the

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November ballot that is to have that delivered to the secretary of state office by the end of day. >> Great. Let's go to item 12 discussion approval of potential articles. Mr. W just walk us through any updates on your

384
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>> uh yes, a lot of these are um in draft form. So we'll have a few more drafts up for potential approval at the meeting uh next week. The one committee certainly antsy to get articles sooner rather than later as their timeline to turn around

385
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recommendations and comments. Um really hands them in the first or second their work. Um so we're looking at a very truncated timeline towards meeting. Um I'll just note that of the articles on the list a library college

386
01:50:05.199 --> 01:50:21.199
acquisition appropriation and school building committee appropriation are kind of um tied together and our fire oper you know that an article for that and building committee so that will be kind

387
01:50:21.199 --> 01:50:37.760
of up here for a while as the chair mentioned the fire building committee anticipating the 21st of July or 28th of July um to map out where they'll be in times for October um and kind of their

388
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date plan on what their timing would be foresting the appropriation being ready to make that request. The appropriation for water replacement is a DBW engineering project. We're just working through the financing of that uh a little bit more detail. So, we should be

389
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prepared to speak that directly on this Tuesday. Short-term rentals. Uh the planning board met and discussed it at their meeting last week. They continue to work on it. Another draft was just distributed by the planning director um

390
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early this evening u for com that starts to flag comics for work internally. So we're continuing to work on that. Um again just worry generally about some of these timeouts to get to so that their

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01:51:27.360 --> 01:51:50.800
next meeting. So um we'll have something or not by August and then uh the two after that the local option occupancy and the community are tied to a

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short-term rental. So those are a little bit more straightforward and We have some finance housekeeping related surplus bond proceeds that we will present next Tuesday. And then lastly, not on the list, community preservation committee is potentially

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going to submit an article related to um the Tucker playground project which has been progress. Um they're meeting on July 20th to consider bringing a project out of their normal schedule routine uh to the fall town meeting. to try to tee

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that project up for as much construction that summer as possible. And then if suing move forward, CBC has also been asked to make appropriations to the Apple project for the historical

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components of that project. Then lastly, we have a local historic district study committee which we talked about in our last meeting and I'll be working talks in our quest. So that's uh status on each of those um

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more clarity and more um complete drafts by next Tuesday and then I would do our hard. Um, so no motions for us on this. We'll have drafts for next Tuesday's meeting

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and motions for Tuesday questions. Seeing none, move to item 13. license agreement with Coastal Ambulance for use of the garage and landed in DPWR for temporary ambulance storage and crew quarters. Um believe this is related to

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Coastal um having to leave their current residence under steel and ride and then leasing with us until September 30th then which point we'll figure out happens across from that. Any thoughts or questions from the members or

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anything you'd like to add? Uh, no. The license agreement has been updated with a monthly payment of $7,300 for the short-term duration that's supposed to be down there. They got the trail on

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located at W. Um, so they have been um their lease has been ended at their prior location. Uh, they're continuing to search for a new long-term option in Milton. Uh, we are going to license

401
01:54:42.159 --> 01:54:57.760
space with the approval of the DPW who's been involved from the getgo that this does not affect their operations where it would affect operations once we get into the winter months which is the reason for the September 30 deadline on the lead license agreement. However,

402
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he's indicated that probably keep it until October as possible. So we may look to extend it but uh right now we're you know keeping this September 30th day from now look to extend it to October 31st continued search around town um and as I

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mentioned to the board they were walking town. >> They are striking up they've been there for a while. Yes. Correct. >> So town facilities if if there's town facilities or if there is other land in

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01:55:41.520 --> 01:55:57.040
town that um we might be willing to put up that's that's kind of where they they've returned to after exploring a lot of different or trying to explore different private options. Um they expanded a lot in recent years and they're landed in communities that have

405
01:55:57.040 --> 01:56:22.000
a lot more options for them. It's just I just don't see options other than firehouse, but there's no room there for them for the duration. >> We're I mean, we're going to play this kind of we're doing this for a couple

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months. See how it goes. See how everybody plays along together and if it works out. There's always the option to continue to extend it. Um if it's not interruption, if there's no interruption to uh operations, generally speaking, we certainly would

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want them more centrally located in town than even where they were before or at the station if they end up being on that on that site. Um so in this general site is is a good place to be. So we'll have to see how

408
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>> just a real quick question. What's what are the um what are the use the minimum requirements for the space that they need? >> Uh they do need um the ambulances under the under the state agency OEMS to they

409
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do need to be garageed. So they need physical shelter for the ambulances themselves and then they need quarters for four employees who work 24 hours shift. >> Okay. stay with Coastal.

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>> Let's move to item 14. I'm sorry. I'll take a motion to approve. Move to approve license agreement with postal ambulance for use of a garage and land in DPFWR for temporary ambulance storage and crew recorders until September 30th, 2026 and

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authorize the town administrator to extend the license agreement with the approval of the Department of Public Works. >> Second motion made second. Member Hagerty >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. and myself.

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Move to item 14 approval payment for the Curry College. Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Curry College submitted a pilot payment early this year $10,000 payments and so as always we appreciate that

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contri I'll take a motion >> move to approve the pilot payment from Curry College >> seconded member Hagerty. >> Yes. >> Mr. Driscoll, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes.

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>> Myself. Yes. >> Okay. Moving to the pilot paper from the academy. >> Uh, yes. Milton County submitted a letter of transmitted in the package that shows um what their payments were and contributions were to the town

415
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general fund as well as few other departments and their historical. So they contributed $245,000 as pilot general fund as well as 12,500 to increase the fire each and then $7500.

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So annual contributions in fist 26 to $285,000 which is a $10,000 increase over the entire year. Um, and I'll just note that Heidi Brown who has been CFO at Milton Academy for at least as long as I've

417
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been Milton. Um, so we will need contact on their radar. Make a motion to approve. Oh, I'm sorry. Anybody want to say anything? >> I think you're good. Actually, >> make make a motion to approve the pilot payment from Milton Academy.

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>> Seconded member Hagy. >> Yes. >> Driscoll. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Snow. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. >> Right. Item 16, letter to the commission on pilot for stateowned land regarding potential changes to this pilot program.

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letter um as you're also drafted here regarding the state potentially changing some of the pilot calculations which would directly affect >> m Mr. Chairman I'm going to um recuse myself from this discussion to avoid the

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02:00:59.040 --> 02:01:24.560
appearance of a conflict of interest. My employer has stateown land in the town. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'll kick it to you, Nick. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, so as you me see, there's a letter that we

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02:01:24.560 --> 02:01:39.920
have drafted um to the commission which was established last year. Um for background, this has been an ongoing issue that the state has considered largely because uh communities in western and central Massachusetts um

422
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feel that they are largely left out from the benefits of the pilot program. Um Milton uh receives the fourth most funding of any community uh in in the state through the stateowned um pilot

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02:01:56.080 --> 02:02:14.239
program. Um I will spare the details of the calculation that goes into that but no certain benefits um because of the um because of the land within the Blue Hills reservation and calculation that places seem to be value on state in

424
02:02:14.239 --> 02:02:32.800
Milton uh to the tune of 1.57 million um this year. Uh and that is that represents about 2.8% 8% of the total state appropriation. Um so as you can imagine any fluctuation or recalibration of this of the um

425
02:02:32.800 --> 02:02:48.480
calculations that the state uses to distribute those funds to affect Milton significantly one way or the other. So if the program's appropriation benefit under this current program however if this commission recommends

426
02:02:48.480 --> 02:03:05.520
certain policy changes to the program um that redistributed money um under the program rather than expand the pool of money negatively. So, um, the letter essentially encourages the commission to

427
02:03:05.520 --> 02:03:20.719
consider reforms that expand that money as opposed to redistricting funds across different communities and potentially pushing from one community to the next. Um I would also just add that this is

428
02:03:20.719 --> 02:03:35.679
consistent with um several reports from the state auditor which has called for a hold harmless provision with any policy change to ensure that communities have consistency going forward. Um so I think this letter is a good opportunity for us

429
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to emphasize the value of this revenue to Milton uh given the sign significant impacts of state land to Milton and obviously questions. That's a massive change for us.

430
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>> Yes. Oh, yeah. It could be. Yes, it could be a change depending on what the commission recognizes. And I'll just note uh The members of the commission and the directive of the commission are specifically to study the impacts of

431
02:04:25.199 --> 02:04:44.520
equity across Massachusetts members that are on the commission are largely western mass representatives mass representatives on there. So it's definitely teed up to recommend changes. just they hear from us as well as

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>> I think we're definitely at risk here if the pot stays the same, but I think the letter is fantastic. I think you did a real nice job with it, Cody. I think there's um some good substance to it. Um you know, I don't I don't have any comments to the letter. I think you did

433
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a real nice job. >> Thank you. I'll take a motion. >> Move to approve the comment letter to the commission on payment in L of taxes for stateowned land and authorize the chair to sign the letter on second.

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>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. >> All right. We move to our committee reports and member Hagert is back just in time since the first two committees. You are the general so take us there.

435
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>> Yeah. So um for select board finance committee I think uh town administrator Milano pretty much covered what we discussed recently. Um but in for the budget coordination committee, we are um

436
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we are gearing up to um initiate the budget planning process for fiscal 28 in August. uh which is which is going to be um earlier than we've um typically started the process

437
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at the suggestion um of a few members of the group and in order to get um a proposed budget submitted to the warrant committee earlier. Um it's just part of our improvements to making the budget

438
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process work uh more smoothly. So, um these are all good, uh changes and um we look forward to more activities starting up in August. >> Committee.

439
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>> Um just another line, I mean, we largely talked about the recent meeting which was pretty substantive with the architects on July 6th. Um really impressive firm. They met with us, the school building committee, after I think that morning they met with

440
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um with Superintendent Failen and Bernardet Butler and Sean work to sort of talk learn more about sort of the space needs and and sort of think about planning future

441
02:07:21.440 --> 02:07:36.639
space needs. Um, we talked one thing I just wanted to I mean just a couple things that stuck out to me from their sort of update after they've done their sitewalk basically of property um they were really pleased with the

442
02:07:36.639 --> 02:07:54.960
structure the building um you know of the building the classroom you know building C or whatever that's called um um you know so some real you know promising findings as they're starting to sort of look at the viability of that building Um that we we did talk a little

443
02:07:54.960 --> 02:08:10.560
bit about like what are you reviewing, you know, in the timeline that you have and what is for consideration at a later date as you kind of really nail down um you know what the cost of a building, you know, school building that would

444
02:08:10.560 --> 02:08:27.360
cost and um you know, are there any sort of I think they use the word like hiccups to kind of come across like what hiccups are we kind of identifying ruling out now versus later. Um, you know, so they kind of reinforced their their

445
02:08:27.360 --> 02:08:41.840
um satisfaction so far with they're looking at structurally. They did say, you know, there would be, I think, a deeper structural review, you know, at a later later phase. Um, you know, you look at traffic later, engage the

446
02:08:41.840 --> 02:08:59.520
community later. um the big tree situated on the property would which is I think you know important to the neighborhood let's just say would be the location of a potential addition to school. So

447
02:08:59.520 --> 02:09:14.480
there's we're just kind of talking about like what are we getting from you this month and what is for consideration you know that has to keep happening. So um you know that was helpful. I think they're deliverable to us this month

448
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will be um include some different scenarios which I think will be helpful like one with you know trying to fit the classrooms in the building as is um and one with an addition. So I think hopefully that provides some pricing optionality just to you know keep

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educating us but really helpful meeting. And John, >> nothing new to report on the housing trust. Uh just last time we met was the last week of June, first week of July and we awarded some money to Miller. We

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haven't met since unless they threw me off the committee. I don't know. >> They were reorganizing so might not have made the new one. Uh, thank you all. Um, the next few are motions for committees.

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Um, if there are no questions or issues, I think it's best for us to take it as a single motion. >> Take a motion. >> Move to approve the board and committee reappointments as they appear on the meeting agenda. >> Second.

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>> Motion made second. Member Hag. >> Yes. Mr. Driscoll, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself, yes. >> All right, that will bring us to item 19, one day liquor license historic New England use estates.

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I'll take a motion questions. to move to approve the 1-day liquor license historic New England uses estate located on 1424 Can Avenue for October 17th, 2026 from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Victorian spiritualism for the Victorian spiritualism party in the

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>> Victorian spiritualism. >> You will have to attend to find out. >> Motion made >> second. >> And seconded, >> yes. >> Mr. Driscoll, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Snow. >> Yes. myself. Yes. And then I have to go

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>> Bridgetton. There we go. There it is. All right. >> 20. Uh, application use the town green and baro. Take a motion for all questions. make a motion to accept the application to use

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the town green and Baron Hugo Gazebo on on Sunday September 20th 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for international overdose awareness day sponsored by Milton Coalition.

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>> Second motion made second. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. To item 21 application to use county on Sunday

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for business. Take a motion. Move to approve the application to use Manning Park East Milton Deck on Friday, September 4th, 2026 from 400 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the back to business event sponsored by the Milton Art Center and

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the Milton Chamber of Commerce. >> Second Motion made second. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself, yes. We along 2022 application common

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Victoria license. >> Make an approval application for a common Victoria Victor license pizza company located at 538 Adam Street Milton Mass. >> Second motion made second.

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>> Yes. >> Mr. Driscoll. >> Yes. >> Sh. >> Yes. >> Stolen. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. Item 23, meeting minutes June 9th and June 17th. Take a motion.

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>> Um move to approve the meeting minutes dated June 9th and June 17th, 2026. >> Second. I'll second that. >> Oh, okay. I could do them separately.

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Okay. be um move to approve the meeting minutes dated June 9th, 2026. >> Secondity. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. >> And then move to approve the meeting

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minutes dated June 17th, 2026. >> Second. >> Secondity. >> Didn't hear you. >> Yes. >> All right. >> Yes. Shower. >> Yes. >> Stolen. >> Yes. >> And myself. Yes.

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>> All right. Brings us to the town administrator report. >> Keep going. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, speaking of the use of the estate, I um was invited up last week to visit and see the work that they've been doing with CPC funds.

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Um I joined Tom and Pete Jackson for the tour and um a very very very deep dive into um masonry practices order and stone work. So uh I've learned a thing or two. Uh but appreciate the time to go

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up there and I learned and I did not notice I don't know how I did notice that the front building that can't have as office and some of the employees of historic New England work. So um I had no idea about that. So appreciate the opportunity to see the entire state and

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see the house and visit. Uh Declan wear started on the week before July 4th. So in specific date as the new director of veteran services for the Randall Veterans District u was previously uh in that same position in the tower with it.

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So uh he's been here. has been um right at work um getting stuff done in terms of veterans who receive benefits to the town as well as VA benefits and claims our hometown program. So he's he's dive right in right

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to Milton. Um he'll be working in Milton on Tuesdays and Thursdays as he's been custom out of the council on aging balance. uh the um we posted about it um shortly before the July holiday, but uh thanks

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to DW for uh planting uh joining what has been a bit of a trend of planting a commemorative tree for so that tree um is now located outside on town closest to town hall tree recogned

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to space that um in addition the the stage on the deck can be spons um just a small um structure that came together a few days construction for pulling that out and

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again probably 100% by state air marks uh lastly a new um police officer family started a couple weeks ago with the town. Um she previously was kid with us went to transit police and has returned now this officer so training. Um but uh

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unlike normal hires where they're high extensive training she's um already at that point. So we expect to um work in division much soon. In addition to that, three new

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firefighters slated to start believe later this week before heading to the academy that next week. Um and lastly as Jo mentioned as well so starting to post positions

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various departments that's all right uh chair's report not much we haven't want to thank everyone for these landing and the 25

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combination of citizens as well as workers. So much appreciated from everyone for their work. Also, Milton Music Fest, which I think is now run by Milton held their annual event on the Hill, which I feel was really well received. I was not able to attend an

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airports to continue with traditions in town. Still never even sure why we have archery set up up there right now, but we'll figure that out. Uh those two are for me and I will just uh then members

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through. >> Yeah. Uh, I want to thank Lynn, the DBW, and your office for decorating that deck. I got a lot of phone calls and I tried to tell them I had nothing to do with it. After the third one, I just took the credit, but uh, it was greatly well decorated. A lot of people

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appreciated that. And, uh, I don't know, like four, five weeks ago, me and my wife went out to dinner Friday night. were up on Randolph Vavs, you know, going creeping along the people using those turning lanes up past Hillside Street going to the light,

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>> going towards Randolph. I mean, one after another, one after another. I did call 1212 to the cadet was very nice, >> but uh they got to watch that, Nick. >> Okay. >> You know what I mean? They're going right up the middle

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and they're cutting right in when the lights green. >> Okay, that's good feedback and feedback from Sheriff Mascot as well in terms of any engineering options, but I'll share that with the chief in terms of just continue enforcement.

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>> Well, thank you for me. >> Nothing from me. Oh, but we got one up on the T. We got that police officer trained. >> Better job here. >> Uh, public comment response. I want to open this up for anyone. Anyone else

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know to share something as well from the firefighters that came in. I will just say um we are limited in what we can say um around collective bargaining, but our firefighters are heard. Uh we are dedicated to not only public safety but also um good compensation for public

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safety workers. Uh negotiations are never easy and we are also very very uh encouraged that we would end in a good space with our firefighters and others when this come up. But thank you um not only for their work but coming in uh

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tonight. Um I have friends in in the fire service not here with those spaces. I also have friends who have passed from occupational cancer. So I do hear those numbers like that. >> I just want to echo that a little bit. I want to thank Joe Byron and and the

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other firefighters who not only showed up tonight but for the work that the whole team does for the t town. It's um it's seen and you know we heard you tonight. So >> yeah and I I'll just double down on that triple down on it. I appreciate the

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firefighters coming in um this evening and really shows their dedication and >> and I agree with all of you. >> All right. Uh future meeting schedule next Tuesday and then Tuesday, August 4th. Um I don't think I'd be able to

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make any other Tuesdays in August. So we have to scrap the 18th and back on the 8th. Uh what also intended to be would be the last week of July get these reports back for us to meet discuss last week July 27th

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future agenda items. Um I think we have to get um traffic subcommittee on the agenda. Um I mean looking at our goals, goal 3.2

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um is draft and adopted charge and composition for you know oversee the implementation of you know the tool design study. That work is kicking off. So I think um time just to kind of

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finalize how that work is going to be overseen from a committee perspective um you know should should probably be on the agenda next week if we can get it. you know, I know I've been trying to move the ball on that um and and had really good conversation with, you know,

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different potential stakeholders in town about how that could look, you know, from from Nick to Liz Manning to Tom McCarthy to um who am I forgetting? But so I think we can maybe just try to finalize our

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thinking on that. I don't know, Nick. Matt, I don't want to put you on the spot, but do you think that we could be ready to kind of talk about that in next week's meeting? >> Sure. Yeah, definitely. I think we can distribute something. >> Okay. works. >> Um, the only other one I was thinking of

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is if we've at some point we may want to think about if we've had like any updates from Mass Dot in terms of followup on thinking about how they might be able to help think about cannav calming measures. Um, you know, I know

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that was sort of an action item from May. Um, so maybe we might be coming up on that soon, one of these upcoming meetings if if we've heard anything from them or if there's anything we can help with. >> Great. That's great. So with that,

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I'll move to enter executive session to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property laboratory college 03 Adam Street based on I believe the discussion of this matter in open session effect on the negotiating position of the select board. The select board will not return to open session.

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I'll also move to enter into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining. Milton unit of the southeast public employees association, Milton Professional Management Association, Milton Public Employee Association, Milton Firefighters Local 116, Milton Police Association, Milton Superior Officers,

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Milton Library Association based on the belief that discussion of this matter in open session may have a detrimental effect on bargaining position of the select. This is not turn. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Second. >> Second. >> Hey, second. Member Hagen. >> Yes.

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>> Mr. Driscoll. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Myself. Yes. >> Tojourn. Mr. >> Second. >> Second. Member. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Yes. Yes. >> Myself.