Speaker 1: Welcome to the Thursday, July 9th select board meeting. We have a number of appointments to various boards and committees. I think that we have about eight. Eight. Okay. And I'd like to begin by calling the meeting to order at 6:04 PM I, I have one announcement and then I'll open it to the board. If you guys have announcements I, this Saturday, Kristen will be at the Farmer's Market for our regular office hours.
I'll be there also. So we, it'll be nice to, if you have any questions, you can stop by, say hello. We'll be there from 10 to 12. Are there any other announcements from members of the board? Okay, public speak. Any individual may raise an issue that is not included on tonight's agenda and it will be taken under advisement by the board. There'll be no opportunity for debate during this portion of the meeting. Due to the requirements of open meeting law, this section of the agenda will be limited to 10 minutes and any individual addressing the board during the section of the agenda shall be limited to three minutes. Is there anyone in the room who wishes to address? If you could come to the podium, introduce yourself. Sure.
Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Jamie Bason. I'm a town meeting member for Precinct eight. So I just wanna reiterate to the board how important the sidewalks are for downtown. I feel like wider, wider sidewalks would be great for the economic development. It entices people to come and walk around and eat and shop. It's also accessible for mobility and for handicap accessibility. I haven't heard that mentioned at all, so I would love to hear more about that when a wheelchair and a and a stroller pass or a large group of people, I think that's really important.
I feel like we've had updates on sidewalks because of that issue. Also, parking, as people have mentioned, is really big issue. And if we take parking away, I feel like that will sort of have a ne negative impact, especially because we can't afford the parking garage right now. And who knows when we will, if ever. So that's another thing that's very important, especially with the aging community. As people have stated, people are gonna need the parking, they're need, they're gonna need to park close up, and people are driving probably 98
to 99% of people are driving. So I think driving through downtown is very important. And for the bicyclists, you know, a wonderful part of Natick is that the network of streets all parallel behind Route 27 and next to 27. So people can use those streets as bicyclists to get to the same spot. Perhaps the town could implement some signage that sort of shows bicyclists exactly what streets they can use to either get to Washington Street
and the rail trail train station downtown. And that will alleviate Route 20 sevens congest congestion or competition for the roadway. And also, I feel like neighborhoods would appreciate bicyclists over traffic, high speeding traffic. So those were my thoughts. Thank you. Thank Speaker 1: You Ms. Bason. Yeah. Is there any other person in the room that wishes to address the board during public speak? Is there anyone online? Seeing none. We'll move on to appointments. So, because there are so many applicants for
so many committees and we're doing it in one night, what we've decided to do is something a little bit different. The board members put together five questions to ask the applicants, and those questions were mailed to each of the applicants. For those of you at home who want to know more about the applicants in in the agenda packet are their, their applications and their resumes. So rather than going through a a get to know each other, what we're going to do is call up the, the applicants in the order in which they are on the agenda. We'll ask them the questions and then we'll have three minutes for the board to
roughly three minutes plus or minus to discuss, ask follow up questions and things like that. This app approach is a lot more equitable than what we've done in the past because every candidate will have the same questions that they'll answer and the candidates will have approximately two minutes to answer their questions. So we'll start with the Economic Development Committee interviews. The first one on the list for members of the board, we have four applicants. Joseph Smith and Vanessa Showy have withdrawn their applications. And we will be voting for two, two people
for terms expiring at at the end of June in 2029. So if Ms. Love is in the room or is she online? Online. Speaker 3: Online. I Speaker 1: Don't, it's to the right. Oh, I see. Ms. Love, could you unmute yourself? Speaker 4: Yes. Hello, can you hear me? Speaker 1: Yes, you can. Let's, let's do what we did last night. So Bruce, if you could start us off with the first question then, Ms. Slager, then Mr. Jacobs. I'll ask the last question. Mr. Copier number four. Speaker 3: Okay. Thank you Madam Chair. Welcome Ms. Love. And as you are an incumbent, I think this one's gonna be a fairly
easy question to answer. Have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 4: Yes. Speaker 3: Okay. Succinct. I like it. Speaker 5: Hi Ms. Love and thank you for reapplying. So the second question are, what are the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 4: I believe at this point the biggest challenges that the EDC faces is making sure that we're relevant in the path moving forward for the town, and making sure that we're providing real kind of input and draw to enhance our abilities in an economic development way downtown.
Speaker 1: Thank you Ms. Love, Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah. Thank you for applying or reapplying. I guess next question is, what business development experience do you have? Speaker 4: Sure. I spent about 10, I guess 10 years in sales doing B2B sales, which is relevant in the sense of understanding kind of how to talk to people and understanding kind of main street sales. I did a lot of that. So actually work worked with a lot of people in small towns, understanding what kind
of elements faced challenges that they had. And then of course working for the Natick Center Cultural District. That's my primary role. I work with them trying to do our best to provide support, input and activities and such to support our downtown. And then of course, being on the, on the committee. Speaker 1: Thank you Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: Awesome. Hi Ms. Love. Thank you again for reapplying. My question is two parts. What do you feel are the most common reasons businesses don't choose Natick for their business? And what's being done to alleviate,
or what's being done about those barriers? And then conversely, what do you think are the most common reasons businesses do choose Natick? Speaker 4: Sure, absolutely. I feel that, you know, I think that there are some past stereotypes about how folks work with the town that are still kind of top of mind, have stayed in people's heads about how to work with the town. I think that Amanda and Morgan have done an excellent, if not beyond, can't think of the word, unbelievable job changing, just
zoning laws, reconfiguring, you know, kind of all the bylaws. I think there's, that's been a really big barrier that I think that they have been taking down. So I, I do think that that has been really helpful. I do think that there continues to be a little bit of a stereotype, though. I think that, you know, because of the structure of a town, not necessarily a city, we do struggle to move things through the pipeline in a fast way. And I think that as businesses want to come to town, they wanna do it quickly and succinctly. Speaker 7: Thank you. And just to tap on that question of
why do you think that they choose Natick? Speaker 4: Yes, I think they choose Natick because of the potential. I think that it's the same reason, quite frankly, I moved here in 2013. There's an unbelievable ability to access public transit, education, variety of activities. I think that there's just a huge potential. I think people want to be here and they're seeing that more and more people are moving here. And so they wanna be here too. 'cause they wanna follow folks who are leaving the city and moving to the Metro West. Speaker 1: Thank you. Excuse me.
What decisions or projects in the EDC are currently stalled and what does the EDC need from the select board to move them forward? Speaker 4: I think that really, we've just been kind of segues a little bit into question number six, which is regarding kind of just how, what do we look like moving forward? What does the EDC mean to the town? What does it mean to the select board and what does it mean to our constituents? And kind of trying to figure out what the best structure is and what we can do to kind of amplify our voice. But I'd say that's kind of the main project
that's quote unquote stalled, if you will, at this moment. Speaker 1: Thank you. The, the last two questions. You talked a little bit about question six, and then question seven was, is have you applied to any other committees other than the EDC? Speaker 4: No, I have not. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you so much. Members of the board, do you have any questions, any follow up? Speaker 6: I had, I had one follow up question. If Speaker 1: Yes, go ahead. Anybody else does? Speaker 6: My follow up question is just on your application you wrote, I feel that many of our policies
and structures are outdated for the current situation we find ourselves in and believe that change is needed. Can you elaborate a little bit? I mean, obviously like, you know, that could be an extremely long thing probably, but just in a general sense, kind of what you, what you might be referring to there. And I think you touched on it a little bit in some of your answers, but just to clarify, I'd be curious what you mean by that. Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I think that I, I, I'm a big believer that economic development is a huge driver that can really provide a lot of amplification of other things and help other things. If you have good structure and good policies around economic development,
I wholeheartedly believe as an economics major that it will trickle down into the educational system, the parks rec system, public access, you name it. And I think that we as a town have really struggled to put a ton of focus on that. I think that we've done a really great job as far as, you know, what I mentioned previously about regarding the bylaws and kind of the, the nuts and bolts. And now it's kind of a matter of like spreading out from that nucleus and kind of going into, for lack of a better word, meat and potatoes of like, okay, so
what do we, how can we actually relate to some of these large employers in town? We have some really, really big organizations that I think that we could absolutely grow our partnership with and make sure that they're not only just here to, you know, utilize their, their property and their building, but also make sure that they're, you know, working with the community, giving back to the community. We're working with them, we're providing opportunities for, you know, anything from, you know, knowing who they all are to, you know, involving them in, you know, the high school,
you know, career days, you know, providing opportunities and outlets. We have a really good base of economic development and relationships with businesses beyond kind of the, the regular ones that we've always had and expanded. I think that there's gonna be a lot more opportunities to come to us as a town. And I think that's just something that, you know, is easier said than done. But I do think that there's a, a large opportunity for growth and if we can just put some effort behind it, I think we'd really see a lot more come out of it. Speaker 6: Okay. Thank, thank you. That's very helpful. Appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Any other questions for members of the board, Ms. Pope? Yes, Speaker 7: Thank you. I did have one follow up because Ms. Love, you have the background of being on this committee. Is there something that you could maybe share with the public that they don't know that maybe you're excited about that is happening, you know, in Natick Center that, you know, is, is coming down the pike and perhaps the public would know about that, but, but you're excited about it that would be economically beneficial? Speaker 4: Well, I think that, you know, probably from what everybody's seen, just all these new buildings and all these new businesses potentially coming in, I think,
you know, I, I got a text from Sunday, somebody today saying, oh, such and such is finally open. And, you know, being excited about it. And I think there's, without putting myself in a position of, of saying something that I shouldn't say, I think there's gonna be a lot of opportunity for more folks to see what they wanna see in downtown ick that I've, I'm pretty excited about. But I also am just excited about the potential for the EDC, quite frankly. I, I think that we've done an incredible job as a group trying to kind of put together a mission statement. And I'm really hoping that with that in mind,
people will start to see the benefit of investing in economic development and making sure that it's a priority and understanding that, you know, if you put some effort behind it, it really can help not just businesses, it can help people, constituents, you know, all sorts of aspects of our life here in town. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: Thanks. Thank you so much Ms. Love. Ms. Sullivan, could you come to the podium? Oh no, I have to get up in front, front of everyone. We need you to speak into the mic. Okay. But just, just lower the mic so that you,
your voice gets picked up. Speaker 8: How is this? Very good. Okay. Hi everyone. Speaker 1: Good evening Mr. Evans. Speaker 3: Sorry, I get the same question. My question is, have you attended meetings or met with the chair of the EDC? Speaker 8: So I have been to meetings in the past. And is the chair still Andrea Lomas or is that outdated? Speaker 3: That's, it's, no, it's Paul Joseph. Speaker 8: Okay. Paul Joseph's the chair. Speaker 1: And then, Speaker 3: But Ms. Loom is, is the director of Community and Economic Development. So. Speaker 8: Okay. So I've not met with the chair.
Speaker 3: Okay. Speaker 5: Thank you for applying Ms. Sullivan. What are the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 8: So I had to get up to speed on your, your vision statement. So obviously I'm not completely up to speed like Mrs. Love was, but I really think the biggest challenge is gonna be collaboration. And I think it's gonna be marketing. You know, we really need to market this town and collaborate and work as a team among all
of the different organizations in this town and schools. You know, I think it's important for the, the, the school leaders to have voice as well. My son was on, you know, the school committee. He was, you know, I, I would like to see more kids involved with, I was on a town board for eight years, nine years. And I would like to see the, the future of Natick kind of step up and be more involved with our meetings. So for me, I think bringing in the future kind of collaborate with the present
and the past, I think that's gonna be a huge asset. Okay. Speaker 6: Thank you. Thank you for Yeah, thank you for, it is me next. Right. Thank you. Thank you for applying. So the next question is, what business development experience do you have? Speaker 8: Sure. So I've been unfortunately doing real estate for 26 years. Started in Boston and I worked for commercial real estate as well as residential. I've worked for Garrison Square Management, which is back Bay, Newbury Street.
We moved out here 'cause I was finding somebody a house about 11 years ago and discovered Natick. It was a very undiscovered kind of town for us when we were looking to move out of the city. And I think now I've spent the last like nine years selling this town. So I work with a lot of reloads, a lot of people coming from Boston and migrating here. And I've successfully, this year, you know, we've moved people from other towns, Sudbury, Wellesley, Westin. So there's a lot of migration to Natick.
And for me, you know, you don't wanna lose Natick either. It's like, how do you change but stay the same? And I was on the Natick Historic District Commission for about nine years. And so I, I just love the history of Natick and while you don't wanna change Natick, you want it to evolve. I mean, it's evolved 10 years. It's been crazy since we moved here. So I, I think, I think, and I also run a team. So now we are, I was the largest team in Natick at Wellesley, now Wellesley, but at William Res real Estate.
So we run a team, we have about six people. So yeah, business development, we do it all the time. So real estate. Thank you. Yep. That was a long-winded answer. Sorry. Speaker 6: No, it's, it's okay. I appreciate the details. Thank you. Speaker 7: Hi Ms. Sullivan. Thank you for applying. My question for you is, what do you feel are the most common reasons businesses don't choose Natick to house their business and what's being done about those barriers? And then conversely, what are the reasons that you believe businesses do choose Natick? Speaker 8: And I think this has been the biggest question forever, right?
Especially, I mean, I feel like everyone's answer before because I have, you know, businesses that come to me and, you know, the answer has always been the numbers don't make sense here because of the seating. And now I spoke to someone earlier, I think it was Billy Walsh, he's on the call. So I, I spoke to Billy earlier, I just wanted to confirm. And he, you know, he confirmed that they did change that. So there they are evolving. I just don't think a lot of people know about it. And there's a huge disconnect between commercial real estate, realtors and residential.
And I'll, I'll be honest, I've been in this town 10 years, I don't know, one commercial realtor in Boston. We were all a team, you know, and may mainly because we had to be, because the buildings were mostly mixed use, right? So we always worked very closely together. Here, I've helped my neighbor started Bailey B, which is a small business during COVI and I was helping her with the lease and sorts. But there's just, I, I can tell you there's a huge disconnect between realtors and commercial realtors in this town.
I couldn't name you one off the top of my head. I can name you seven in Boston. Yeah. So it's very interesting because they're not reaching out to us either. So I do think that there's a huge gap and they're not selling this town. They're market. I mean, they're putting a sign up, they're putting it online, but they're not marketing it properly, to be honest. So yes, I, I think that is, that's been every, and you know, I, I sell this town daily, so I, I feel like they, there's so much information they don't know. And I feel like nobody knows that they've changed the liquor laws and the seating.
So I feel like getting, going back to those people and really trying to sell that is huge. And also the parking. But you know, there, there should be some sort of communication with everyone on what, what the options are. You know, our, you know, our office is right downtown Natick and you know, you have the banks with all these parking spots and then you have the small businesses that get won. So there would be a nice collaboration if you could work with all the different stores
and hours and that sort of thing. So, you know, I, I think it'd be helpful just to get a collaboration. Speaker 7: And then to the, the second part, conversely, what do you think that businesses, why do you think the businesses choose Natick? Speaker 8: You know, it has a strong community. You know, I do have to say I'm not from here. I know Jamie is, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that are original. And I love that. I think it's a really good, strong community. And I think they're super friendly residents, especially to outsiders. It's close to NBA, you know, for the obvious reasons. You know, it's walkable, likable, good schools.
But yeah, I think that's why they like us. I think there's not really an anchor that brings us here. There's, this is not really a destination. I think we have a lot of random things, but we don't, we're not known for one thing besides the mall, which really, I feel isn't even that relevant to the residents. I feel like it's more of a, it is a destination place, but when I, when I live here and I walk around, I wish that people would find something here as a destination place to the locals, not just from mall setting. Thank
Speaker 7: You. Yeah. Speaker 1: What decisions or projects are currently stalled and what does the EDC need from the select board, in your opinion? Based on having read the EDCs vision statement of March 12th, what do, what do you think the EDC needs from the select board to move forward? Speaker 8: And again, I am, I could be totally wrong, but the way I'm reading it, it sounds like they really need to work on the rezoning for downtown as far as parking and then purchasing commercial space for the town.
So we would have an opportunity to kind of control something and offer, you know, popups and community things. So I could be wrong, but that's my takeaway. Speaker 1: I appreciate that, Bruce, you wanna take question seven? It's little meatier than the ones you've been fielding. Sure. Speaker 3: Okay. Have you applied to any other committees? And if so, which ones and which would be your first choice? Speaker 8: I sat on the, the historic district committee. So a lot of the projects that were, you know, I was, I I,
I was after the tecan, but I was part of, you know, the Johnson you know, builders and, you know, everyone would come before our board, people in the, the district, anything they wanted to do for changing that sort of thing. So we did see like a mixed bag of residential and commercial. So I was on that for quite a while and I, I did, I loved it. And I just wanted to really just get to know this town and I'm a history nerd 'cause I came from Boston, so it really fascinated me out here. So I do have a, a good handle even though I'm not local
about what created this town. Speaker 1: Have you applied currently to any other one? Like right now you applied the EDC, but did you apply currently to any other ones? Speaker 8: No, this was the only one that really inspired me. And I feel like I have a passion for it because of, I just see an opportunity because there is such a disconnect between the two real estate worlds. And obviously I sell this town daily, so it's very important to me to have a lot to sell. And you know, we're, we're making huge progress and, and there's going to, you know, this town's going to change, it's going to evolve,
but you want it to stay the same, but you also want to make sure people are aware of what we have. So many people don't even understand what this town has. They just think of Natick Mall. So I, I just wanna make us a lot more than that. Speaker 1: I appreciate that, thank you. Yeah. Members of the board, do you have any follow up questions? No. Mr. Jacobs, thank you. Thank you very much. No. Okay. Speaker 8: Thank you Ms. Sullivan. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Lewis. He on ah, hi. Good evening. Let's take the questions from the other end of the board first. So Ms. Pope, could you take question one and we'll go this way? Speaker 7: Hi, Mr. Lewis. How are you? I'm
Speaker 9: Good. Yourself? Speaker 7: I'm well, thank you. My question to you is, have you attended any meetings or met with the chair of the EDC? Speaker 9: I did meet with Paul over coffee at Bagel Table back in May. I, my wife and I just moved to Natick about a year ago. And so I was eager to sort of learn what the EDC was about and find an opportunity to help build the town that we chose home. And not to belabor this question, but what actually stood out to me beyond Paul and my conversation was how connected the EDC is in the community. Because in just, you know, the 90 minutes we were chatting,
multiple people came and talked to Paul about their life, their initiatives, their adventures, their work. And it really just showed me that the EDC helped shape the place that our residents work and eat at, and shop at and dine at. And I was eager, that sort of convinced me that this is, this is something I want to explore further. Speaker 5: Thank you. Mr. Jacobs, could you take two? Speaker 6: Sure. Well, sorry, let me get back to that a page in my tabs here. Alright, number two, what are the biggest challenges that, you know, obviously are coming at it from the outside,
but from your perspective, what are the biggest challenges that the, the EDC faces? Speaker 9: And I wanna approach it from like a couple different perspectives. I think one is economic development is inherently difficult. I feel like, you know, it's not just about attracting businesses, but it's creating a place where businesses choose to invest and residents choose to live. And the town can actually support those initiatives and those services that our residents value. And I think it's especially hard right now with, you know, the current economic climate inflation layoffs,
ai, all of these things. And I was doing a little bit of research and you know, I was looking at the the 2027 budget and I think it showed that long-term expenses in the town were gonna outpace our revenues until something like 2031. And I think that just shows how hard it is to continue to develop our, our economy here to, to keep pace with everything that we want to do here. And to get a little bit more granular, I think Paul touched on this with me, I think the last candidate sort of mentioned this as well, but it sounds like right now there's limited ability
to market natick. I think, you know, there sounds like this is a volunteer committee that has limited funding and authority in some capacities, which means it's harder to proactively recruit like some of our neighboring communities. Were able to. And then the last piece I would add is, you know, something from my perspective that I noticed Albe as a new resident, I think a challenge is community engagement. I think you see online that residents, you know, just go on Facebook, you'll see residents have very strong opinions on this town, but not,
or not expressing them in the most constructive way. And even when I have told some of my neighbors I was going to apply to this position, they were very eager to tell me the restaurants and the green spaces and the companies that they wanted to see here. Speaker 5: Appreciate, Speaker 6: Thank you Speaker 5: Vo thank you for applying. My question is, what business development experience do you have? Speaker 9: So I, my background is different than a realtor, a developer, a zoning planner. I think there's some things that are still highly applicable. My undergraduate was in engineering, but more recently I completed my MBA
and I had concentrations in strategy and marketing and business and entailed courses in economics and finance and accounting and all these sort of learning opportunities that will gimme a good foundation to have, you know, well-rounded discussions around economic development. And then professionally, I work as a senior product manager for a baby company. So think car seats, strollers, cribs, and I'm responsible for the technology there. And so as a product manager, I'm regularly dealing with the strategy, our budget, our finances, our
whether we're meeting our numbers, trade-offs, all these sort of things dealing with cross-functional leaders. And I think that means every day I'm, I'm sort of making these data-driven decisions and balancing priorities. And I think a lot of those things are very similar challenges that the EDC faces where again, balancing the needs of businesses, residents, the town department and overall town needs, I think takes similar skill sets. Granted not in that industry. Speaker 5: Thank you Mr. Lewis. Speaker 10: Mr. Bruce, Speaker 3: Thank you Mr. Lewis for applying.
What do you feel, this is a two part question or two sided question. What, what do you feel are the most common reasons businesses don't choose Natick for their businesses and what's being done about those barriers? Conversely, what do you feel are the common reasons why businesses would choose Natick? Speaker 9: So the first part of the question, I think there's strong competition around us in surrounding towns, Framingham, Wellesley, Marlboro. And they might offer some things that we don't, again, I'm not necessarily in, in deep here, but whether it's costs or commercial spaces
or like I've sort of mentioned earlier, ability to actively go out and recruit. I think those are, from a competition perspective, a, a challenge that NATA competes with. And I think one of the things that makes NATA great is it is an established town, but I think that also means it's largely built out. And so a lot of the opportunities for these businesses are more in redevelopment than in, you know, sort of breaking ground on, on new opportunities. And I think that can be a challenge for someone. And then the last thing I think a couple people have noted this also is while we have really great stores and shops
and businesses, I think at times there's missing sort of these anchor businesses that would create sort of foot traffic and bounce people from a shop to a restaurant to tecan and you know, just bring someone in to then explore the rest of the town. I think those are some of the why they might not choose Natick. I think why you, they do choose Natick, you know, I think comes down to two things. I think it's the people and the place. I think from a people perspective, you know, we're a fair,
we're a pretty educated town. We're, you know, a relatively affluent town, but yet more affordable than some of the surrounding towns that neighbor us. And I think that sort of brings in a community that has residents who really desire to be here, but also really desire to make it better. And I think that's a strong selling point for businesses. And then just to touch on place, I think I sort of mentioned, I've heard people call us a postcard town, right?
Like we are a beautiful town with a great town center close to Boston, and those things make it attractive to employers and the employees that work there. And I think we have a great foundation and there's still opportunity to, to keep improving on that. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Lewis. Sure. Have you read the EDCs vision statement of March 12th, 2026? And if so, what are your thoughts? Speaker 9: I did, I heard Paul talk about it yesterday actually. And my, my biggest takeaway actually is it, it felt more than a vision statement. It kind of felt like a overarching strategy.
And I appreciated its focus on sort of the entire business life cycle of, of businesses starting up here. And I think, you know, it is talked about starting with planning and that's permitting and zoning and being flexible, but not necessarily flexible from just mixed use spaces, flexible in the sense of place, also what businesses belong in Golden Triangle versus South Natick versus Main Street. And I think when you figure those things out, it leads to the attraction and retention that the,
the vision statement highlights. And I think it also talked about reinventing quickly. And I think, you know, the Johnson School project that came up yesterday, I think is a, is a great example of that where how do we act on that? And I, it ended with transparency and trust. And I'm gonna quote something that Paul said yesterday that I think really resonated with me. And he said, we're asking business owners to make expensive investments here when they're opening a business and we need to support them. And I thought that just really resonated as
what the EDC can do to make doing business here easier. Speaker 1: Thank you. Have you applied to any other committees for now? I mean, like I have not you currently. Okay. Thank you for that. Members of the board questions follow up? No. Okay. Thank you Mr. Jacobs. No, I'm good. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Lewis. Mr. Andrea OTOs, we will start with you Ms. Pope. Okay. Speaker 11: Hello. Speaker 1: Good evening. Speaker 7: Good evening. Thank you so much for applying. Thank you. My question for you is, have you attended meetings
or met with the chair? Speaker 11: No, I have not. I just did, I just decided very recently to give something back to the town that he given me a lot the past 56 years. Speaker 7: Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah. Thank you for applying. Of course. What, from your perspective, what are the biggest challenges that the Economic Development Committee faces? Speaker 11: Well, I think we have to sell what Natick is. Nobody out there knows who we are and what we offer.
In my business, traveling all over the world, attending conferences, I was in the medical field, everybody was selling something, they were selling the people, the town, what they offer. And I've never, all my professional life have seen something, somebody to pave to, to pound the pigment to sell what we offer in this town. And that was my main, my main issue. Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you. Speaker 6: Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you for applying. What business development experience do you have?
Speaker 11: Well, I started in 74 with Becton Dickinson in their, they're the needle company, the syringe company. I work in their blood draw projects, the vacutainer, as they call it, in, in the hospitals when you go to, to draw blood, that was one of our designs. And after that, Dr. Drake and Dr. Willock called me in to work with them. They were the forefathers and the developments developers of the modern hemodialysis machine. And after that, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals came calling to me
to work in their new implantable drug delivery system for liver cancer that specifically methotrexate and FUDR. So I was working this project from idea to a product development to the market. So I worked in everything, you know, the economics shareholders bringing money in, where are we going to, you know, create the product. That's where a lot of towns countries came to us and they were negotiating what we offer you to come
to our town or to our country and here's what we offer. And that's where I started taking the experience how to, you know, how to do things. Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Evans. Speaker 3: Thank you for applying. Excuse me. What do you feel are the most common reasons businesses don't choose Natick for the business and what's being done to break or, or about those barriers? Speaker 11: Nobody knows about Natick, where it is, where they are out there in, in the general business.
When I tell 'em where I am from where I grew up, they have no idea. It's beautiful town. Yes. But what do we offer? I think the biggest thing we have to offer out, there's the people tell them, you know, because I have seen in 56 years, excuse me, the town has changed a lot. Yes, it's beautiful town, but it's the people that makes the town. It's not, you know, it's not only the trees, the beautiful streets, you know, and everything else. It's the people. And the people is what I want
to get out there and sell because nobody knows who we are. Okay? We're in Boston, beautiful schools, beautiful places. That's nice. What does it mean? You know, what does it mean in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? That's what it's missing. You know, we have to get out there and tell 'em, yes, we have the brain power, we have the people, we have, everybody's working together, which we are. Okay. And tell 'em, you know, to show them that yes, we work together and that's how we'll do it.
Okay. Everybody has to offer the same things, but what is different? What makes us different? That's what we have to sell. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 1: Have you had an opportunity to read the EDC, the Economic Development Committee's vision statement? Speaker 11: Unfortunately, no. I have not, to be honest. Speaker 1: I appreciate the honesty. And have you applied to any other committees? Speaker 11: Yes, I have because of my qualification of, of experiences, I want to see what I can offer because it's time to give back something, you know,
because I have to admit, since I came here in 1969, and I don't know if you know Mr. Christie from co corporation and I, you know, the first person I met and I had a lot of talks with him, I learned a lot and I have to give I whatever I'm your disposal in anything you feel I can give back to. Speaker 1: I appreciate that. Any questions from the board? No. There's one part. Yes. Which one's the
Speaker 6: First choice? Speaker 1: Oh, which one? Go anywhere. I just figured that was answered. Maybe do you, do you have a first choice? So we have you for Speaker 11: I, I do not have any preference. As I said, you know, I have, you know, experience in all of them. Okay. I, to offer experience, I want to offer opinions, I want to offer suggestions. I don't want to offer it. That's the way it is. No, I want to offer opinions according to my experiences, you know, from the past in the medical industry,
which is a tough industry. Speaker 1: Appreciate that. Thank you. I Mr. Jacobs, did you have a question? Speaker 6: I did. I just had one follow up question about your application. Yes. I, in the application it said there was a box to check, like have you served, have you previously served on a Natick border committee and and you selected Yes. And I'm curious about which or Yes, Speaker 11: It was Box Speaker 6: Yeah. What you've done before. Speaker 11: Yes, it was, I think it's the Wide Town Water and Sewage committee. Okay. That was in late seventies, early eighties, I think,
which I served just for, I don't know what happened. It was dissolved and I just attended to about four meetings in one of the garages downtown. And that was Speaker 6: Okay. Fair, fair, fair enough. Thank, thank you. I appreciate, appreciate it. Thank you for clarifying and thank you for applying. Of course. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm gonna describe the voting process, and before I do that, I'd like to thank everyone in the room and online and who applied for the jobs, who took the time to fill out the application, upload their resume,
prepare the questions, and for your interest in serving the town. As one speaker noted, there are a lot of very strong opinions in town and sometimes they're not constructively engaged, but knowing that you took the time to come out and serve as volunteer or want to serve as volunteer is, is, this is to be commended, so thank you. The way we're going to vote is by ballot. Mr. Jacobs is out of town, so he will text his two choices to Mr. Walsh, we'll fill out a ballot, we'll hand them down and then we read in our choices. So it's so that it's on the record. So board, if you could do that,
Speaker 7: Madam Chair, I just wanted to add one thing. I don't think in my years being on the select board, we've ever had a separate meeting for interviewing folks. And I think that's due to the, to the slate, yes. To how many people. And I went through, you know, to on my agenda of how many new people, you know, to these committees and just how many new people are coming forward. And it's really encouraging. I think one of the things that we've, all I know I'll speak for myself, campaigned on is engagement. You know, getting people engaged, seeing new people come to the forefront, be involved.
And it's really encouraging to see so many people considering that we are a volunteer run town. Step up to volunteer. Speaker 1: Thank you. Ditto. Yeah. Speaker 6: Yes. And to add to that one, I, I would also thank Jay and, and, and actually, you know, and actually the chair for pushing, pushing this out very heavily. Speaker 3: And Billy. Speaker 1: And Billy, yep. Speaker 6: Yeah. And Billy, yes. Sorry. Of course Speaker 1: We did do a massive push this year in terms of sending out, so I'm, I'm glad that we've gotten the candidates we have Speaker 6: Paying off. Yeah. Speaker 1: Mr. Walsh. Speaker 12: All right, so the vote, vote,
the tellers as follows. Katie, love five votes. Melissa Sullivan, three votes. Matthew Lewis. Two votes. Speaker 1: Okay. And if we could, starting with Mr. Bruce, Speaker 3: I had Katie Love and Matthew Lewis. Speaker 1: I had Katie Love and Melissa Sullivan. I had Katie Love and Matthew Lewis. Speaker 7: I had Katie Love and Melissa Sullivan. Speaker 1: Okay. Speaker 6: And I had Katie Love and Melissa Sullivan. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Mr. Walsh will be in touch with you about next steps. You'll need to do an ethics, an online ethics test, and a conflict of interest with the state
and some other various formalities before you can vote on a committee. And Mr. Walsh will be in touch with you. Speaker 3: Madam Chair. Yes, a question. Sorry. Is there an opportunity for on the EDC to, I know I'm gonna botch what the heck it's called, but to, to be an associate member and to learn on it. Speaker 1: I, I would say Speaker 10: That anyone can attend the meetings. Okay. Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you Ms. Algo. Speaker 3: Okay, thanks Speaker 1: Mr. Walsh, could you also ensure that the persons who are voted in tonight get a copy of the boards and committee norms?
I appreciate that. Thank you. Next up, I, I'm gonna take this a little bit out of order. There's been a request from a candidate and so we're gonna, next we're gonna do the commission on disability interviews. We have three terms expiring, five candidates. One candidate was interviewed last night because he had a conflict for tonight. And so tonight we're gonna hear from four candidates and it's gonna take me a minute to get those questions up. Here we go. Ms. Pope, would you start us off when you're ready? Speaker 7: Yes, we are. Speaker 1: I have to call somebody up first. Sorry. Carson. Carson Kingsbury. Carson,
if you could unmute yourself. Speaker 13: Hello, can you hear me? Speaker 1: Yes we can. Thank you. Speaker 13: Thank you Speaker 1: Ms. Hope. Speaker 7: Good evening Carson. Thank you for applying. My question to you is, have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 13: I have not. No. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: Second question Ms. Wilger, can you take that, Speaker 5: Sorry, I don't have it up yet. Oh, Speaker 3: That's okay. I can do it if you Speaker 1: Want. I thought had to step away for a moment. Speaker 3: I can do it. Ready. Could you, what do you know about a DA compliance and have you taken any training, training classes from, oh, I'm sorry, the mass office on disability? Speaker 13: I have not previously taken classes
with the Mass Office on disability, but I'm relatively familiar with a DA and a DA procedures. I volunteered for the Plymouth Center for the Arts when I was in high school. And there was a lot of work with balancing a DA requirements with historical building requirements. I also did a lot of disability advocacy while I was an undergraduate student at Lasell University. And that was involving a lot of working one-on-one with other students to make sure that they understood the rights and rules under the A DA that was accessible to them. As well as also just working with the accessibility office
to communicate with students. I also have a master's of public health from Tufts University and a DA requirements were covered kind of throughout my courses. So I'm relatively familiar, especially with urban design and planning with the A DA requirements. Speaker 1: Thank you. You wanna Speaker 5: Go? Yeah, take the next one. Thank you for applying. What do you think are the biggest areas for improvement when it comes to accessibility in Natick? Speaker 13: Yeah, I think they had two major things that came up for this question. One is that Natick has some great opportunities
for third places, both indoor and outdoor, but they can be relatively siloed both from each other and from the residential areas. I think just making sure that those areas are well connected and that those connections are also known about and able to be utilized across the board is something that I think Natick could focus on. I also am an Alzheimer's dementia researcher currently, so I know that having areas that all ages can use and that foster multi-generational community interaction is very important to brain health and aging.
And as someone who's very interested in population and public health, I think making sure that we have those areas in Natick that are accessible regardless of your age or your ability to support the community health overall is something I'd like to focus on. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you very much for, thank you very much for applying. My question is, have you applied to any other committees and if so, which ones? If so, which ones? I guess I'll just ask that first. Speaker 13: No, I did not apply to any other credit. Speaker 6: Okay, then I don't need to ask you the second part of the question. Thank you. Speaker 13: Thank you. Speaker 1: I just lost my question.
Massachusetts General Law chapter 40, section eight J states that quote, a majority of said commission members shall consist of people with disabilities. One member shall be a member of the immediate family of a person with a disability and one member of said commission shall either be an elected or an appointed official of that city or town. Just yes or no. Do you or an immediate family member have a disability? Please do not reveal what that might be. Speaker 13: Yes, Speaker 1: Thank you. And will you be able to commit the time and regularly attend meetings? Speaker 13: Yes. Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Thank you.
The next applicant is Alan Steinberg. Mr. Steinberg, Speaker 11: Her suggestion is make room for a disabled person to be able to come up here without having a chair moved and having my wheelchair in the car. Speaker 1: Noted. Thank you. First question. Speaker 7: Good evening. Thank you for applying. My question is have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 11: I have spoken to the chair when I saw the vacancies were her. And you were looking for volunteers? I did get her name and I did have a short conversation with her.
Speaker 5: Thank you Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yep. Thank you for applying as well. What do you know about a DA compliance and have you taken any training classes from the Massachusetts office on disability? Speaker 11: No. For five years I worked for a law firm and we were doing commercial construction and in those years I was more involved in that. I haven't been since, I've been practicing law for 40 years out here, five years in Boston and you know, most of my prop deals are residential.
So don't come in. Contacted, becoming much more aware of them since I am now disabled and suffering every day with it and learning how to cope with it. Speaker 5: Thank you Mr. Steinberg. Ms. Wilberg, thank you for being willing to to serve. What do you think are the biggest areas for improvement when it comes to accessibility in Natick other than here in this room? Speaker 11: Well, we just start here. I think we have to realize that their senior population is growing in this country.
And even though we have handicapped parking, as much as you think there might be a lot being handicapped, I can tell you it's in more need for it. And I think we should look at that, whether it's by, you know, new buildings going up and requirements. But I think there is a lack of it and I, I go to the supermarket and you know, sometimes it's hard and believe it or not, I won't park in the handicap space if there's a space available. I always think about this, someone
that could be worse than me. And it's also very difficult because you can't confront the person when they get out of a car in parking in the handicap space. You don't know what their disability is. Yes, there is abuse to it and I would like to see somehow the town in force that restriction a little more. I know Wal them did at one point at Market Basket and they had a couple policemen up in the parking lot and you know, they would get away from it. People would park go in
and when they came out they would check number one, the disability card that's in your car. I don't know if anyone that walking the street, whether it's policeman or parking authority, people can read it. And there are a lot of them that are outdated and there's no requirement for those to be turned back to the registry. And so as a result, people, even when you renew your thing, you don't have to send it in. Which I think is a mistake because people can take it.
I go to Mass General frequently and it's amazing how many pickup trucks with all the construction going on at the hospital, pickup trucks that park there all day long with handicapped parking. And one of the benefits, if we can copy and handicapped is you don't have to pay for parking. You don't have to. You're not limited to a 15 minute parking regulation. Having gone to college and law school in Boston, it's a pleasure for me
to be able to park and enough put money in the meter. I can't tell you how many tickets I got over the years. So it feels like it's a little payback. Speaker 5: Thank you Speaker 3: Mr. Evans. I got the long one, but I think I know the answer already. MGL chapter 40, section eight J states, a majority of site commission members shall consist of people with disabilities. One member shall be a member of the immediate family of a person with a disability and one member either Shelby
an elected or appointed official of that city or town. So just yes or no acknowledge that you have a disability. Speaker 11: Yes I do. And I don't mind saying what it is. I'm a full-time cancer survivor, all unrelated. This is a effect from chemo and neuropathy and it's getting worse. It's now above my knees down so I don't have feeling in my legs at all. And you know, I've gone through this, I, I drive, I went through hell because I two years ago decided
I wanted to put hand controls in because I could feel this getting worse. And I went through hell with the registry and the driving school, which if I can ever help a person and I think that's where I can be helpful 'cause I've gone through so much. If I can help one more person get through it, that would be my goal in life. Now I have done one great thing in my life. It's very small and I hope no one ever has to see it. But if you go into the Newton Wellesley Hospital into the cancer center, there was a bell there.
I donated that bell and I hear such wonderful stories. We actually did have a disagreement with some of the doctors 'cause the doctors felt that with chemo you don't necessarily end it. And many people never end. There are people that go in for treatment like I did for six months, but you know, after six months you get up, you want to say something to the nurses that you've been spending, you know, three hours a week with and you know, you will wanna say, well goodbye
hope I never see you again. No offense. But you know, that's what yours. So when I saw the bell when I was going through radiation at Mass General, I decided to give the one to the hospital again that some of the doctors didn't like it. And I said to them at the time, my feelings are, you gotta look at the patient viewpoint. And I think we get lost a lot with our medical care now the patient, you know, dollars and cents, not necessarily patient's needs.
And I think, you know here, I said to him, and I understand what you are saying, but you're not understanding what I'm saying is a patient. So we came to a compromise by putting it outside as you come into the cancer center and I hear such wonderful stories of families coming, you know, ringing that bell all the time. It's amazing. I mean, you know, you count the days and that's what the doctors don't see from the patient perspective. You know, if you got 12 months, you know, you say one month down, then it's an eighth,
then it's a quarter, it's a half and you look forward to that day that you can actually go ring the bell. People say to me, am I in remission? It's a bad word to me. You know what, what is remission? Unfortunately we hear too many people that are in remission, then they're not in remission anymore. Okay. To me, let me tell you, my life is spent going to doctors and so far with all the testing, everything, I'm fine except for the neuropathy and I'm seeing a nerve specialist on Monday. Speaker 1: Good luck with that. Just one last question. Yep.
Will you be able to commit the time and regularly attend the meetings? Speaker 11: My wife would love me out of the house since she's not working any longer. Yeah. After 60 years of being together, one of us always being at work. It's a new revelation. Speaker 1: Yeah. You don't have to sell me on that. I'm, no, that was pretty quick there. Yeah, no, I, I completely understand. Thank you Mr. Steinberg. Welcome. Thank you very much. Mitchell Greenblatt. Speaker 14: Well, I'd vote for this guy. Speaker 1: I'll tell you Speaker 14: That Speaker 1: We do have three. We do have three positions. Positions. Alright.
Speaker 15: I just, if it came out the two of us, I'd say that's the guy. Speaker 1: Okay. Ms. Pope? Speaker 10: Yes. Speaker 7: Good evening. Good evening. Thank you for being here and thank you for applying. I have my questions and I hope I didn't close it. Let's see, it's Speaker 1: This evening. I can take it if you want. I can Speaker 15: Do remember the questions. I'll, Speaker 1: I'll throw it to you Bruce. Alright. Speaker 3: First question is, have you attended or thank you for applying first of all and you're welcome. Have you attended meetings or met with the chair of the Speaker 15: I have not. Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you. Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you for being here and thank you for applying and thank you for being gracious to the previous applicant.
What do you know about a DA compliance and have you taken any training courses from the mass, mass office on disability? Speaker 15: I, I have not, but you know, I know about a DA and you know, it's obviously a DA is to maximize people's independence is the general goal of it. And it does it by having requirements for, for buildings and that kind of thing. So I'm very familiar with it. I wouldn't know what the measurements are or what the slope of a ramp is or how big an elevator has to be,
but I know the purpose of it and so I'm familiar with it. Speaker 5: Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah. Thank you for applying. Of course. What do you think are the biggest areas for improvement when it comes to accessibility in Natick? Speaker 15: Well, I think that all the areas that are accessible need to be maintained properly. So one of the things that I think should happen is a survey of, of all the areas where curbs are cut or elevators or ramps to make sure they remain in compliance. Having them in place is one thing,
but making sure that they're working properly is another. So I'd say that would be one area. I think that Natick does a pretty good job though with the rail trail and other things I've seen. And, you know, I'm, I'm proud to be living here and thinking that, you know, the place does a pretty, Tom does a pretty good job in that. There's always room for improvement of course. Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Jacob. Thank Speaker 6: You. Speaker 7: I got my questions off you. Thank you for your patience. Have you applied to any other committees? Speaker 15: I have not. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: And I, you heard me, both of us
or a couple of us reading Mass General law and just to save everyone the the pain, could you tell us yes or no, whether you have a disability. Speaker 15: I do not. And you know, mainly I, I'd like to say that I applied for this volunteer position because of my background and experience. For 50 years. I worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the Department of Disabilities. And so I know quite a bit about people who are disabled, the opportunities that they need. I mean, they're all different. The people aren't all the same. But again, that's, it was much more on an individual basis
to make sure that people had the freedom that the rest of us have. And they're not restricted by not having a bathroom or going into a restaurant and not being treated in a dignified way. So I have 50 years of working for the Department of Disabilities in a variety of different capacities. I was director of Social services. I have, I'm a licensed independent clinical social worker, and I was director of the Social service department, which had 40 social workers that I supervised. And one of the main things that we did is we took people
who lived in an institution and moved them into communities. And in that process, you had to make sure that there weren't any things that were, were barriers to that. And also all sorts of ways of being creative. Someone was moving into a house, it was on a busy street, and it was hard to pick them up. And getting the people who owned the property to put a circular driveway in so that they didn't have to back into the street, it made it a lot easier. And it was sort of one of the access things that some people don't think of. So made plenty of mistakes in 50 years and hopefully learned from, from most of them.
And I recently retired, I stopped working in, in April. And so it looked like an opportunity for me to use some of the experiences I've had. And this is my first approach to town government. I lived here for seven years and I live at the mall, you know, and I guess it gets a lot of negative feedback, but I love live, I love the Natick Mall, and it's, it's, it's an ideal place for me to live. So I'm enjoying Natick that way. Speaker 1: Thank you. Okay. Will you be able to commit time and attend the meetings? Speaker 15: Yes, I will. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Really appreciate.
Okay. Your time, Ms. Gottlieb. Ms. Gottlieb here. She's online. If you could unmute yourself. I'm right in the middle. Yeah. Speaker 16: Okay. I am, for some reason I can't un get the video to open up. Speaker 1: That's okay. No worries. We generally don't, don't do that for security reasons. So you're, you're not alone. Speaker 16: Okay. Okay. I'm here. Speaker 1: Ms. Pope? Yes. You ready to kick us off? Speaker 7: Yes. Okay. Good evening. And thank you for your service thus far, and again, for reapplying. Have you, well, I don't know
that I need to ask her this question. Has she attended meetings or visited with the chair? Because Ms. Scott is already on. Oh, she's, yes. Yes. She's a for re, re line. Why don't you do two? Okay, I'll do number two. What do you know about a DA compliance and have you taken any training classes from the Massachusetts office on disability? Speaker 16: I am quite conversant with a DAI have taken actually through MOD, their disability disclosures and EM employment series and also the a DA training series.
A lot of my professional life was spent around Title One, title One, title two, and Title three. I worked, one of my work experiences was, was with what was then the Office for Children. And I worked with the team that wrote the regulations that said that childcare programs had to accept application from children with special needs and make the required accommodations that would allow them to effectively participate. So I, I'm very conversant with a DA
and with its provisions and with the challenges that it is now facing. Speaker 7: Thank you, Speaker 1: Mr. Mr. Jacobs. I, Speaker 6: Yep. Thank you for applying. Of course. My question is, what do you think are the biggest areas for improvement when it comes to accessibility in Natick? Speaker 16: You know, can I call you Cody since I think you're my representative? Speaker 6: Of course, of course. Speaker 16: I feel like I've gotten so many letters from you and, and whatever.
Anyway. It's okay. You know, I think we've done quite a good job with physical accessibility. It's been really great to see, you know, the door openers that have been put in and the, the hand waving, which is very cool. And the curb cuts and the, the things that have happened physically where I'm focused these days is on community inclusion and on really making Natick a community that people with disabilities want to live in
and feel like they're welcomed to and wanted. And I think there, you know, we talk a lot about this on the commission about how we're going to think about and make happen programming that's inclusive and how we're gonna get the word out that Natick is a welcoming and inclusive community. And I, I think that's a real challenge that we haven't, we don't have a whole lot of answers and we don't have a whole lot of programming that meets
that need, whether it's, I we're doing better for children. We don't do that well for young adults. We certainly, as a number of people have mentioned, don't do that well for elders and we don't do all that well for families. And I'd like to see us really put a lot more energy and creative ideas into that. Speaker 6: Thank you very much. And, and apologies if I sent you too much mail, but thank you. Speaker 16: No, no, that's okay. Speaker 5: Okay. I'm, I think we'll skip the, the question on apply to any other committee since you're an incumbent, and we'll go on to the last question about Mass General Law.
And the question about just answer yes or no, do you or an immediate family member have a disability? Speaker 16: I do not, but I am the parent of an adult son who is disabled. Speaker 5: Thank you. Speaker 1: And the last question is, will you be able to commit the time and regularly attend meetings? Speaker 16: Yes. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you Ms. Ms. Gotlieb. So we are through the four candidates. What I'd like to do is ask the, well, I'm sorry, did anybody on the, on the, on the board have any questions or follow up for Ms. Gottlieb? No. Oh, okay.
Speaker 6: I don't have a follow for Gottlieb. Oh, I, I for Ms. Gottlieb, I, I did have a question to ask you about the procedure. Speaker 1: Yes, go ahead. Speaker 6: So my understanding is there's three spots available for this, but then there's also a appointed, there's, there's one that we're sort of a appointing on our, like, kind of as our official representative on the committee. So is that, does that mean there's four spots or are we still just doing three today? Speaker 1: It's, it's three. So yeah, I'm just about to cover that. So Speaker 6: For, oh, sorry. Go ahead. That's Speaker 1: Okay. That's okay. So for the board and the public's knowledge, the current composition
and disability status of the commission on disability, the statutory requirements are met. So what that means is the current composition has the five statutory required individuals with a disability. There is one person other than the current candidate who has a child with a disability. So that statutory requirement is met. There are three positions left that we'd be voting for. Two of them will be for just regular members. And then the, the last one needs to be either an appointed or an elected official. Since this board has so many liaison appointments, each
of us carry a number. I think, Bruce, you're on five committees. Other than the select board, we've kind of agreed that we don't have the capacity individually for ourselves to be a member of the, the commission on disability as that statutorily required elected or appointed. So what I'm going to ask the board to do is to vote on their, on your ballot vote two, and then two individual members, and then the one that you want to be the, to serve the statutory requirement of appointed or elected. We will appoint that person to be a liaison to the board,
and that person will report back to the board quarterly. Speaker 3: Okay. And is it for the same duration? Speaker 1: The same duration? Yes. There's, so there's three terms expiring. Remember that you have four names in front of you and Eric Knight from last night. Three terms expiring, and they end in 2029. Are there any questions from the board? Cody, does that make sense? Speaker 10: Yes, it does. Speaker 1: Okay. This is hard. Speaker 10: That's where we get paid the big bucks. I know. Speaker 3: I'd have to hold it, but then you'd have to jump, Speaker 10: Right? Speaker 3: Got to, Speaker 10: Yes. Yep. Speaker 12: Okay. So the vote is as follows, one Vote for car. Oh.
So this is for the two, the three terms expiring in 2029. So one vote for Carson Kingsbury. Four votes for Alan Steinberg, two votes for Michael Greenblatt, and one vote for Susan Gottlieb and one vote for Eric Knight. Speaker 1: So we'll need to revote this. Did, did, did members of the board indicate which they wanted to, which person they wanted to serve as a liaison? Yes. And what was that? Speaker 12: It is two, two votes for Greenblatt and three votes for Suzanne, Speaker 1: Two for Greenblatt, and three for Suzanne. All right. Board, I'm open to suggestions.
Speaker 5: I think we already have, so we already have one. We have the liaison, we have, we have the liaison. Speaker 1: So we have the liaison, which is, and Speaker 5: Then it would be then the next, Speaker 6: And Steinberg already got four votes. So that that person would be, he would be in, and it would just be between the two people who only got two votes, which I, I didn't hear who those were. Speaker 5: It's the same person. Speaker 3: It Speaker 1: Is. Okay. So what we have then are Mr. Steinberg and Mr. Greenblatt had been appointed to the Commission on disability. And Suzanne Gottlieb will serve as the elected slash appointed representative on the board.
Speaker 3: Correct. Speaker 1: Okay. We, we are going to start the CPC interviews in about, we're gonna take a, a two minute recess and we're gonna start, wait, Speaker 6: Wait. Do we need, do we need to actually do the vote part though, where we say like, who we're voting for? Speaker 1: Yes. Oh, yes. So, sorry. Yes, of course. Thank you again. Rich Sydney, where are you Speaker 3: Lot going on a lot of moving parts. Speaker 6: Lot of the, the rich Sydney in my head was like, something's missing. So yes, Speaker 5: He's in the audience. Cody. Speaker 6: Oh, he is. Okay. Speaker 3: There's the, there's therapy for that. Speaker 1: All right, let's go. Mr. Mr. Evans. Your votes.
Speaker 3: Sorry. My votes were for Ms. Gottlieb as the liaison, Mr. Steinberg and Mr. Greenblatt. Speaker 5: Ditto. I, but I'll say it. I voted for Ms. Gottlieb as the, the liaison. And for Mr. Steinberg and Mr. Greenblatt, Speaker 1: I vote for Mr. Steinberg. I voted for Mr. Greenblatt Greenblatt as my liaison. And, and Ms. Gottlieb, sorry, can't read my writing. Speaker 7: I voted for Carson, Mr. Steinberg and Mr.
Greenblatt as my liaison, Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: And, and I voted for, for Ms. Gottlieb as, as the liaison. I voted, and then I voted for Mr. Knight and Mr. Steinberg. Speaker 1: Thank you. So we're gonna take a literal two minute recess, and we'll be back in two minutes with the CPC candidates. Okay. I have, we're back. Next up are the Community Preservation Committee interviews. We have two terms expiring at the end of June, 2029. There are five candidates. We'll start with Ms. Hannah. Sarah, if you could come to the,
and we will, Ms. Hannah is up for reappointment, so some of the questions will be irrelevant. Let's start with question two, Mr. Evans. Speaker 3: Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for reapplying Ms. Hannah, what are the biggest challenges the committee faces other than lack of money? Speaker 17: So we're, we're still a relatively new committee, and so we are still refining our processes and our procedures. We are actually have had conversations of we wish more people seem to know about us.
So, you know, I'm, I'm probably gonna regret saying that because we'll probably in the next cycle get absolutely deluge. But I would say that just continuing to refine our processes and, you know, making sure that the community is aware of us and, you know, the relevant groups know to, to be able to approach us to ask for some funding. Speaker 3: Okay. Thank you Madam Chair. I just need, yes, just remember that I should probably divulge that my wife is the planning board representative to the
Community Preservation Commission, was appointed by the planning board and will continue in that role. Speaker 1: Do you feel that you can make an impartial decision? Speaker 3: I totally feel that way. Speaker 1: Yes, I think so too, but I wanted that to be on the record. Thank you, Mr. Evans. Ms. Slager, Speaker 5: Thank you for reapplying Ms. Hannah. As you know, the committee has a set of evaluation criteria uses to assess projects, and I'll change this a little bit. How do you evaluate competing funding requests when the CPC has more worthy projects than available funds?
And then the second part is, what criteria do you use to assess whether a project represents a good use of CPA funds? Speaker 17: So, to date, we have not had the problem of having more funding than, or more requests than we have funding for. We have, as I said, kind of continued to refine our, our process based on one years of experience. We, we've made some changes to the process, but we try to balance many considerations, how many people will benefit from a project, but it's not just strictly, oh,
more people will benefit from this than another one. It may be the case that a small number of people might intensely benefit. So that might be something that, that we would take into consideration. Is it a unique opportunity for the community or is it kind of duplicating stuff we already have? How much is there other funding of that this, that a project could get, you know, are we their only source or is there something else they could do? So again, you know, without a specific project in mind, I'm, I'm sort of throwing out some general, general things that we would consider also, as I say, you know,
is it again, back to who would be served, is it something that might serve a, a purpose for a more underserved community? Either a part of town where there's, say not a lot of recreational or open space opportunities or something that would benefit people with disabilities or, you know, a sort of a subset of the community that might need a little bit more help or services in town. Speaker 5: Thank you Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you for reapplying.
Thank you for your service. What draws you to continuing to serve on the CPC and what relevant experience do you bring to the role? Speaker 17: So the CPC hits on kind of several areas that I have always been interested in the open space idea. I've been a hiker, I worked outdoors. I, I, I really do care about open space in the town, affordable housing. Toward the end of my career, I did a lot of work reviewing environmental stuff for investors
that were lending money for affordable housing tax credit. So it's something that's kind of been on my radar for a long time. And historical preservation. I've been volunteering at the Historical Society for several years and working in their third grade history program. So it kind of, it kind of checks a lot of boxes for me in my professional life. I was a project manager, so I feel like I have experience in understanding how budgets are put together, timelines and, and getting a, a project done on time and under budget. Speaker 1: I think the last Thank you. Oh, sorry. I think the last two questions, I'm gonna kind of,
have you applied any other committees at this time? Not Speaker 17: At this time. Speaker 1: And can you talk a a bit about your familiarity with the community Pre Preservation Act? So not so much the committee, but the act that, Speaker 17: Yeah. So, you know, certainly I've read through the ACT as a committee. We've been had some training from the Community Preservation Coalition, which is a, a really good resource that we use some of our administrative funds to pay dues for them. And they can, they can give us support if we have, you know, a question of like, Ken, is this allowed under the law?
And we can't, we're not certain about it. We, we do have that as a resource. So, so I'm not an attorney. My whole career was driven by regulations and understanding them. So, you know, I do feel that most times if, if a question comes up, I can dig out the regulation and figure it out. But we do have the, the backup of the coalition to help us if we need it. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you Ms. Hannah. Next up we have David ResMan. Mr. ResMan is also up for reappointment this time. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, I'm, I'm sorry. Just gimme a minute. Did any member of the board have a follow-up question for Ms.
Hannah? I am all outta step tonight. Apologies. Speaker 6: No, I'm good. Speaker 1: Mr. ResMan? Yes. Good evening. Thank you for reapplying. Let's start with Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: I will go onto question number two. Yes, good evening. And thank you for reapplying. What are the biggest challenges that the, that the committee faces? Speaker 18: Well, I want you to know, Sarah and I did not compare notes, but the, the single biggest one is really getting the word out and getting more people to understand what it is that we do to encourage applications.
We want to have the opportunity to bring monies to where they're most needed in town, vis-a-vis the mandate that we have in the areas in which we can give money out for projects. However, I think there's a misunderstanding with some of some folks thinking that our committee brings forward projects, we bring forward nothing. We are a recommending body, so we are looking for applications to consider and then recommend what we think are the most appropriate projects to town meeting. And ultimately town meeting is the body
that decides which projects go forward. So I would say awareness is the biggest single thing that challenge that we have. Speaker 7: Madam Chair, can I ask a follow up question? I didn't ask this of Ms. Hannah because it, it hadn't come up a second time, but because it's come up a second time, I just wondered, what do you think Mr. Crisman we can do to build that awareness? Speaker 18: Well, we've talked to our director of, I, I forget how Jay is communications, communications director of communications in town, to try to get some type
of awareness out. We did a postcard campaign two years ago, I think, to help people again, be understand we exist, they're giving us their money, and we want them to know more about what we do. So it, it is a real challenge in order to do that. But we also know that the people on our committee who represent various bodies in town, recreation parks, historical commission, they, they're also charged with talking to their folks about what it is
that they might wanna bring forward to us. So it's a challenge that we're working on, and I don't have a single answer for you as to the best way to do it, but we're still trying to get the word out. Speaker 7: Thank you. Sure. Speaker 1: Mr. Cody, Speaker 6: Thank you. And thank you for reapplying, and thank you for your service. Of course. So the committee, well obviously you know this, the committee has a set of evaluation criteria it uses to assess potential projects. How do you evaluate competing funding requests
and what criteria do you use to determine whether a project represents a good use of CPA funds? Speaker 18: It's a great question. We've really struggled with this since the beginning of our committee. And initially we had a scoring process to try to score in a numerical fashion in a very objective fashion, which project, you know, how a project would be looked at in terms of funding that really didn't work so great. There were too many, i, I guess,
vagaries as to how that really worked. So the committee decided to move forward in a little bit different direction. And I would say that ultimately that there's two factors. One is financial. We only have so much money we'd like to give money to. Every project that we feel is apply is in, in concert with our mandate. And it's pretty specific what we can and cannot give money for. And if we can, and we look at it that way, we also look at it across nine committee members who bring very, very different perspectives
to the different projects that come before us. So at this point, yes, as, as my previous, as the previous applicant talked about it is how many people can we affect positively in town with what we're doing? Are there community areas that need more attention than others? But ultimately, I think for me it is what is in the best interest of the town. Where can we be most helpful without being a cash cow for the town administration,
that's not our purpose for them to come to us to fill in gaps for them. Okay. Although we are very sensitive to trying to do projects which the capital budget may or may not be able to address. So it's, it, it is going to be a decision across nine people bringing different perspectives, trying to understand how best to apply the funds that we have to do the most good in town. And really, that's how I look at it. Speaker 6: Great. Thank you. Speaker 18: You're welcome. Speaker 5: Ms. Aka thank you for reapplying Mr. Kranzberg. Sure.
What draws you to serving on the Community Preservation Committee and what relevant experience do you bring? Speaker 18: Well, I bring three years of committee experience. I'm the vice chair and I've worked very, very closely with the great chairperson that we have, bill Ramage and also a terrific bunch of people that work well together on the committee. I serve on the safety committee. I've been on Tom meeting for 25 years. I was on the cultural council. I've served at SAS and Trace early on on their supporters organization,
farm in town here. So, you know, service is something that I enjoy and something that I believe is very important for citizens in town to engage in. So that draws me to doing this. But also it's a wonderful opportunity to help, as I say, fill the gap here in project work and in areas of service to, excuse me, I'm getting off track of, of the things that we are asked to fund are very interesting. The historical Commission wanted money to
preserve the muster roll from the 17 hundreds. We're working to help with the park and the Dames, you know, with South Natick Parks. We have been asked and, and across the board affordable housing. So the interest is in all of these areas, and not specifically because of the area in which they are, but because they are going to be of great benefit to the town. And that really draws me to this work along with the volunteer work that I just find so important in general. Speaker 1: Thank you. Okay.
Mr. Evans, I would kind of maybe smosh those last two together. Yeah, Speaker 3: That's, I think we really don't need to ask. Well, I'll, I'll ask this one first. Is the second part, I know you're familiar with the Community Preservation Act, having served for three years. How do you feel that Natick, C-P-A-C-P-A funds have been used to date? And you kind of started down that? Speaker 18: Well, I'm very familiar with the awards that we've done, that we've made, and I, I'm very proud of them. I think from a committee perspective, we have debated
these projects that come towards us, and we have awarded the funds in a very responsible, financially responsible and also from an equitable point of view, very, very well. And we've supported public affordable housing, historic preservation. We have a recreation and o space. And so I think that the committee has done an excellent job. I have not personally received any negative feedback on the work that we've done.
As a matter of fact, I, I think the work that we've done as the committee has received a lot of positive feedback from the folks that I have, have talked to that I, I respect. So that's my answer for you, Bruce. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Okay. Thanks Mr. Sidney. Speaker 19: Thank you for the chance to be interviewed. Yes. Speaker 1: Should I start? Yes, please. Speaker 7: Okay. Good evening, Mr. Sydney. It's good to see you. Thank you for applying for this committee. My first question to you is, have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 19: I have not. Speaker 7: Thank you
Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Hello. Always good to see you. So, and thank you for applying. What, what are the biggest challenges that the CPC faces? Speaker 19: I, I don't think I'm saying anything the other two haven't already said, but I think that one of the biggest challenges, communication with the community about both the process that the committee uses to evaluate and what rules the pro what, what rules projects may or may not qualify. And, and also how the committee goes about presenting those projects
to the, to the public and to town meeting. And as a citizen, it's not necessarily obvious how to present a project. And I think the committee, it's, it's another communication issue is it could be useful to, you know, maybe get the word out. And as I heard, I think Mr. Cressman say, not sure who which one said it. Working with Mr. Ock is probably a good way to do that. Speaker 6: Great. Thank you Speaker 20: Ms. Mo. Speaker 5: Good to see you Mr. Sydney. Thank you. Even though you're on the wrong side of the room,
the committee has a set of evaluation criteria it uses to assess potential projects. How would you evaluate competing funding requests when the CPC has more worthy projects than available funds? And what criteria would you use to assess whether a project represents a good use of CPA funds? Speaker 19: Well, assuming, assuming there are multiple projects that exceed the available funds and are, are, you know, according to whatever the criteria are, you know, the scoring system that, that we saw, if, if they're relatively equal,
I would start to elevate a couple of the other criteria. For example, I would want to elevate a criteria that says this is a unique thing that can only happen now or right. So if it, if it can only happen now, I'm gonna give that a little big bit of a higher score and in, in, in making a decision. The other, the other thing I might look at is, you know, are there actually resources to accomplish the project? So almost every project that the CPC is gonna see
is gonna involve it some, in some way, town resources. And if the town doesn't have the resources to put into doing the project, I think that one probably gets deferred until such resources are available. So there's a lot of sort of second layer criteria I would look at when sort of comparing different projects. And I'd certainly wanna look at once in a generation projects at a higher, right. So if something can only happen now and it's gonna last for 30 years and it, you know, if we don't do it now, we're never gonna do it.
That one's gonna get a little bit higher elevation in, in my judgment. Speaker 5: Thank you Speaker 20: Mr. Evans. Speaker 3: Thank you. Always good to see you. Mr. Sydney, what draws you to the Community Preservation Committee and what relevant experience do you bring? Speaker 19: Well, as you all know, I really care about this town and I, there are only, there are only a couple of ways I think that I bring good experience that, you know, where both my caring
and my knowledge of how the town works and the things I'm driven to in service really apply. And this is one of them. I understand a lot of the town and I think that I also bring a pretty balanced viewpoint. And I'm not saying the committee doesn't have that, but that's just one of the ways that I would, I would be able to contribute. Speaker 1: Mr. Sidney, how familiar are you with this, the Community Preservation Act and how Natick has used its CPA funds so far?
Speaker 19: I, I am actually very familiar. As you know, law is one of my, one of the things I'm drawn to and I have been following, I've been in conversation with a couple of different committee members about, you know, the kind of process they're doing. So I'm pretty familiar with the kind of process they're using and, and I've been paying attention to what they've been putting forward. And, you know, they, they projects, the project requests they haven't gotten. So Speaker 1: Appreciate that. Members of the board, do you have any follow up questions for Mr.
Sidney? Just the ask the last one. Speaker 3: Oh, on the, on the committees Speaker 1: Have you applied to serve on other committees and have, so which ones Speaker 19: Also applied to serve on the Council in Aging? And in combination with that, I would like to kind of throw my support to the two incumbents on this, in this interview process. I think they're both doing a great job. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Sidney follow up questions for members of the board, no additional follow ups. And so we will hear from Michael Poman. Is he in the room or online?
Speaker 3: Poman? He's online. Speaker 21: Yes. Yes it is. It is poman the j's, like an I and I am, I am online actually calling from Chip Wall Lake, Ohio. Otherwise I'd be happy to be there. But I'm happy to have an opportunity to be interviewed for this, although I realize the two incumbents, incumbents are strong candidates to renew their terms. But I'd like to express some opinions about the committee and my possible role in that, either now or sometime in the future. Speaker 1: Well, we'll interview you now and Mr. Evans, we'll start the questions.
Speaker 3: Hi Mike. Good to hear from you. Have you attended and thank you for applying. Have you attended meetings or met with the chair of the CPC? Speaker 21: No, I haven't. Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you for applying and thank you for your comments at, at the outset. What are the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 21: Well, I think they've been pretty well covered. I would just add a little color to the, getting the word out. I think a lot of that will be an ongoing problem, but that'll become less of a challenge as the committee exists for longer
and it, its success spreads around the town more people will understand what the committee can do, what the money can do, and various organizations or groups of people will present ideas for how it might be helpful to them. But the, what I'd like to add a little to is the something on follow-up communication. I think that will somewhat take care of itself too. I know some of this is being done, but I think it'd be finding, continuing or maybe increase ways to let people in general in the town
know the successes of what's been happening. If they follow town meeting, they see about the muster roll. If they drive by the bacon free library, they may see the restoration of the historic fence, but they may not connect the dots if their ordinary citizens. And since it's the taxpayers that are primarily funding this, I think it's very helpful for the taxpayers to know that this is really being used in a productive way for the benefit of them as well as the town in general. Speaker 5: Thank you Mr. Jacobs.
Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you. Of course for applying. Mr. Cuman, my question is, the committee, as as, as you may know, has a set of evaluation criteria that it uses to assess potential projects. How would you, you know, in light of those criteria, how would you evaluate funding requests that come before the CBC? What criteria would you use to assess whether a project represents a good use of CPA funds? Speaker 21: Right, as, as Mr. Sidney said, I would consider time sensitivity. It may be that a project that doesn't have
to be done now could be rolled over if, if it's possible for an application to be resubmitted for the next year, that that's well known. Also the broadest impact and the best use of funds. But I'd also focus on seeing whether the four different things that the CPA are addressing. Let's say you had three that addressed open spaces and one for two for historic preservation to make sure that all four various areas are being addressed if possible, when you have duplications of proposals
that may fall into one category. I think it's important that that continuing concern for affordability, historic preservation, recreation, et cetera, all of those are being addressed each year if possible. Speaker 6: Sorry, thank you very much. Speaker 1: How familiar are you with the Community Preservation Act and how Natick CPA funds have been used so far? Speaker 21: Well, I've, I've read it over. I think a question I'll be asked is I'm the president of the Native Historical Society and I'm also on the historic commission.
And I've been a resident of the town since 1989. But through my presidency of the Na Historical Society, I was very aware of the muster roll and, and since our residents, our, our, our museum is in the basement or the lower level of the bacon free library I've been following. We have a joint committee with their trustees. So I've been aware of what's happening with the restoration of the fence and also some of the other projects. So in, in that regard,
I'm very interested in the historic preservation, obviously, and the work the Historical Society has done. We submitted the application for the muster roll and we're thrilled that that was received well and made it through the process. Speaker 1: And then the last question is, have you applied to serve on any other committees, and if so, which ones? Speaker 21: I have not. Speaker 1: Thank you members of the board. Do you have any questions or follow up? Speaker 6: I just have one follow up, I have one follow up question. It was actually along the lines of something that was just mentioned. I was wondering if, if you were to be appointed to the, to the CPC, would you plan
to still continue serving on the historic commission? Speaker 21: I would, if that's, Steve Evers is the co-chair of that. I know he's on this committee. If there were a vote that was a conflict of interest, I would redact, sorry, recluse myself, but I redact pretty something late. Speaker 6: You don't wanna redact yourself. I think you just, cus is price sufficient? That would be fine. Okay. Nope. Thanks. I just wanted to check. Thank you. Sure. Speaker 1: And so we will move on to Brittany Chernoff. Thank you Mr.
Poman. So Brittany, if you can unmute yourself. Good evening. I'm gonna ask Good evening. Can you hear me okay? We can, I'm gonna ask Bruce to kick us off here. Speaker 3: Thank you for applying. Brittany, have you attended meetings or met with the chair of the Community preservation committee? Speaker 22: Thank you. And, and thanks to the board for the opportunity to interview today. I did exchange emails, not with the chair, but with Amanda Loomis as the town CPC website, directed her as sort of the contact person for questions about the CPC. And she provided the background on meeting cadence
and time commitment and the, the committee's current priorities. And I have not attended any live meetings, but I have watched a meeting on Pegasus and I was able to learn more about what being a committee member entails in her by watching those videos. Speaker 5: Thank you Ms. Thank you for applying Ms. Turnoff. What are the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 22: Yeah, thank you so much. I, you know, I recognize that as a new member, we have, you know, I I would have a lot to learn about the realities that the committee faces and, you know, it's easy to, to criticize from the outside versus from the
inside when you're faced with sort of immense competing priorities. And I am truly impressed by the committee's work to date and would come to this role with that humility and, and curiosity. So that's how, you know, I think I anticipate, you know, on top of what others have said, I anticipate that this year in particular, at this moment, given that this is the first year, the committee will simultaneously have to be generating and evaluating as others have noted more higher, high quality, you know, more, more interest in and, and more proposals, new proposals this year they'll,
you know, simultaneously have the task of monitoring and reporting on progress for those that were approved at the fall town meeting. So sort of doing, doing both that sort of ongoing monitoring and reporting and transparency back to the public while also going through new cycle of proposals, I think will be a lot to, to juggle at the, at at once and require sort of prioritization. And I think, you know, speak on the topic of, of competing priorities, you know, I think awareness is, is, is is definitely an important aspect.
I think one thing to consider is sort of how can, how can the process be made more efficient perhaps, you know, how do you weigh thoroughly and rigorously the, the many really important priorities that are laid out in the community preservation plan and do so in a way that doesn't, you know, that that doesn't shortchange any of those priorities, but also perhaps streamline the process a bit to reduce the burden on both the applicants and, and the committee while at the same time maintaining the rigorous quality.
So I think those sort of weighing those, those compet priorities and as well as sort of the, both the ongoing ongoing monitoring and the new project generations would be challenges that I would anticipate facing in the coming year. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yep. Thank you very much for applying. Of course. So the committee has a set of evaluation criteria that it uses to assess potential projects. In light of those criteria, how would you evaluate competing funding requests and what, you know, what criteria would you use to assess whether a project represents a good
use of CPA funds? Speaker 22: Yeah, so, you know, I was going to say that the evaluation criteria that, that's linked here, when the questions were sent out, there was an, an example application that was shared, has a, a quantitative sort, sort of scoring rubric. Although I just learned from Mr. ResMan a few minutes ago that that process turns out it didn't work so well. Speaker 6: I just learned that from Mr. ResMan too, so don't feel Speaker 22: Great. You know, I maybe, you know, I'll speak to this a bit more in, in the next question, but I, I bring about eight years of experience in federal government where I did a lot,
read a lot of proposals and were had to do so under sort of, you know, strict scrutiny and, you know, rigorous, you know, stewardship of, of public funding and doing so in a fair and efficient way. And, you know, we not, not to say that what worked in federal government will work in, in local, which I, you know, I'm, I'm certain that things are, are quite different. You know, I'd be always found a way to make sort of the quantitative scoring work and I wonder if there's sort of room for improvement within that. 'cause to me it does, it does come across as sort of the most fair and, and equitable
and sort of, you know, way to do so that reduces the risk of sort of complaints or, you know, problems later. In terms of fairness, questions about fairness of the process. You, I love looking at the rubric that was shared with us. It looks like each of the criteria were, are equally weighed with a maximum of, you know, on a scale of one to five points. But I did look at the community preservation plan itself, which indicated that certain criteria were, you know, meant to be considered as higher priority than others. And so one thing that I've used in the past
and my federal government experience is sort of a more weighted scoring method where certain criteria, you know, are worth more points, like up to 10 points for, you know, for X and up to five for, for y. And so that's, that's one, one way to sort of better incorporate the, the priorities laid out in the community preservation plan and really implement that in the, in the scoring and evaluation itself. And that would sort of create a clear way to, to compare apples and apples. One other thing, you know, I've, I've heard one of the early or candidates speak about sort of budget management
and I, I think, you know, there was a guiding principle as well in the community preservation plan around prioritizing greatest impact for costs. So I know this idea of cost benefit ratio, something I'm, I also have experience in, in as well in cost effectiveness and looking, you know, all else equal looking at the budget compared to the impact or the scale. So how can we have the biggest impact for the, you know, the biggest bang for our buck. I think if things are really coming out at a dead tie, that is always a, a good place to look to be consumers of, of taxpayer dollars. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you very much Ms. Pope.
Speaker 7: Thank you Brittany, for being here and for applying to this committee. How familiar are you with the Community Preservation Act and how Natick CPA funds have been used to date? Speaker 22: Yeah, so I, I have followed along as a resident. I, I moved to with my husband in 2022, now have two, two young children, 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. So have been, have been busy but have now since, since the, since you know, it passed in the town back, back in 2022. I have reviewed many of the documents
that are on the town website. I've looked, I've reviewed the community preservation plan and the latest annual report and have sort of, yeah, come up to speed on the, the seven projects that have been, been funded to date and look forward to, you know, to seeing how those unfold. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 1: Have you applied to serve on any other committees and if so, which ones? Speaker 22: I have not. Speaker 1: Did we skip four? Was Speaker 22: I, I think we may have skipped four. Okay. Speaker 1: Yes, I And, and what draws you to serving on the CPC and what relevant experience do you bring? You, you mentioned a few things. Speaker 22: Yeah, I think, thank you. You know, I am,
I consider myself a public servant at heart. Having, having recently come from eight years in federal government, I'm really looking now to my own community. I believe strongly in importance of, of local government, local governments and, you know, strengthening the ability of people to see that their, their, their taxpayer dollars are being put to, to good use for the benefit of, of their community. And I bring a background in community development, public engagement, and grants administration, and really passionate about directing funding to the most strategic and impactful priorities that are, you know,
that are also most relevant and, and sort of important to, to, to a community, to the community as a whole really resonate. The, the, the committee's guiding principles really resonated with my, my personal and professional value. You know, I, I talked about already, but you know, my, a lot of experience in, in government evaluating community development grant applications and believe really deeply in that sort of transparency and, and efficient process. That, and,
and also a particular passion for meaningfully engaging community members throughout the process. And especially those who are, who are most underserved and who perhaps are harder to reach. You know, I think getting beyond sort of the usual suspects and, and, and that sort of community awareness that others have spoken about requires a real, real deliberate plan to, to reach out to those who have been most underserved and perhaps that stands to benefit most. I also, you know, have a strong background briefly in that continuous process improvement
and adaptive project management, cost effectiveness, and a strong background also in social impact. Both, you know, the positive side of social impact, but also managing the risks and mitigating unintentional negative social impacts as well. So I look forward to bringing those skills to the committee. Speaker 1: Thank you. Members of the board questions, anything in follow up? I do not. Thank you so much and we'll go ahead and vote. While Mr. Walsh is tallying the votes, I have an announcement to make and I'd like the I to, for the board to weigh in.
Mr. Andrea Satos had to leave due to an emergency, which I'm not at liberty to disclose, but it is sufficient enough that I think I want to put it before the board as to whether or not we considered he has app applications for 1, 2, 3 other boards. And I'd like feedback from the board on whether having met him and having heard his interests and his desire to serve on a board. We have two options. One is to not interview him. We simply cannot put off these four boards interviews given
our schedule in the next four, six months. So the choices before us are to have interviews, continue to have the interviews and have him be considered for these boards or alternatively, strike his name from consideration for those boards. Mr. Evans, Speaker 3: My opinion, we should continue with the interviews. So we, we got a good sense, or at least I did of, of his interest in serving on any of these committees, four committees that he is applied to Speaker 1: Ms. Lov. Speaker 5: I feel, I feel comfortable continuing
with the interview process. I certainly don't wanna put it off and I, and I don't feel it would be fair to him to strike him from consideration. I do think we did hear from him and what he feels like he can bring to our town and how he wants to give back. So I would feel comfortable, you know, weighing what we heard along with the other candidates for these positions. Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs, do you have any thoughts? Speaker 6: I agree with a hundred percent with what Ms. Wilger just said. Speaker 1: Thank you Ms. Pope. Ditto. And I'm a ditto. So we'll continue with the interview process after the vote count.
Speaker 12: Alright, the vote is as follows, five votes for Sarah Hanna. Three votes for David ResMan and two votes for Brittany turnoff. Speaker 1: So congratulations Ms. Hanna and Mr. Cressman. We'll announce our votes, Mr. Evans, Speaker 3: Sarah, Hannah, and David Prince. Speaker 5: Just wanna say this one was really hard. Speaker 1: I Speaker 5: Agree. I voted for Ms. Hannah and Mr. Crosman Speaker 1: Very difficult decision. I voted for Ms. Hannah and Ms. Chernoff. Speaker 7: Yeah, I put a big tough next to this one. I voted for Ms. Hannah and Ms. Turnoff. Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs Speaker 6: Certainly ditto to the entire risk of the committee.
And this being difficult, very qualified applicants, but I also, I voted for mi Ms. Hannah and Mr. Cressman. Speaker 1: Thank you Madam Chair. Congrat. Yes. Speaker 3: Do you, I just wanna briefly say something very seldom do we get five stellar candidates like this. And the only thing that I wanted to say is to encourage them to look at other committees. Just because you weren't selected today doesn't mean it, it, it's a negative. It means that there are five stellar candidates.
So please look for other opportunities. Please continue some of the things that you're doing. I know Mr. Poman is president of the Nat Historic Society. I also wanted to congratulate all five of you for your grace in speaking about the other candidates. So kudos to all of you. Speaker 1: Di Dito Speaker 6: Dito, Speaker 1: For those of you who are just tuning in, ditto is a rule that, or a norm that we've adopted so that we don't all see the same thing multiple times and keep us here all night. So it doesn't indicate any lack of enthusiasm
or lack of spirited support for the comment. It's just so that you guys aren't here till 11. So let's go onto Keith Tech school committee interviews. One term expiring 2029. Mr. Hartwell, does everyone have the questions up? Speaker 5: Oh, Speaker 1: Ms. Pope, we're gonna start with you. Okay. Thank you Speaker 3: For having me here, by the way. Speaker 7: Yes, yes. Good evening, Mr. Hartwell. Mr. Hartwell, you are a current member. So I'm going to move on to the second question. Yep. What are the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 23: Well, I think two,
question two is gonna go into question three. It's limited space right now with Keef Tech. How many kids do we have to turn away? Right now we're currently looking into the new building feasibility study. So the current issue, I think is the amount of space we have at Keef Tech. Speaker 7: Well, okay. Should we go right into the second question? Yes, please. Or to the next question, please. Okay. And so the next question is that Ke Tech is in the process of considering proposing a new building through the Ms B, which is about the, the space issue. What goals would you have for the new building and, and how would you balance the needs of the school?
Speaker 23: Well, I think right now that's gonna be determined by the feasibility study. Whether they redo the school, currently, build a new school behind it, that's really all gonna be determined by the feasibility study, which we already have funded about $2 million to do that feasibility study. Speaker 7: Thank you. Yep. Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs, would you go ahead and pick up Yeah. Speaker 6: Number four? Yes. Now we're on number four. Right. Okay, cool. Well first of all, thank you. Thank you for reapplying. Thank you for your service. Yep. What do you see as the advantages and challenges of a regional vocational school district?
Speaker 23: Well, I think now you can just see the amount of trades people out there that are needed. It's a high demand. So I think there's a great opportunity for kids to get involved in any type of trade, whether it's cosmetology, plumbing, heating, electrical. It's a great time for them. I mean, I wish I had this opportunity when I was younger to make the amount of money they're gonna make. Unfortunately, we kind of paved the way. And right now, I think this is a, is is a fabulous opportunity for us to have. It's a good problem to have, let's put it that way. Speaker 6: Great. Thank you. Speaker 5: All right.
Full full disclosure for me. My husband is the other member on the Keith Tech School committee. I don't think that really has any bearing on, on this appointment, so, but I did wanna say that. Thank you. How would you build productive relationships with representatives from other member communities? How do you think KE tech compliments the educational opportunities available through Natick public schools? Speaker 23: So I think as far as like the educational portion, I think it's second to none as far as academics. I really feel that way. Having toured the school, been involved.
Keith Tech as a whole, I think is a well-oiled machine. I was impressed from day one, the day I got there, and I'm still impressed. Every time I leave a meeting, I, I can't believe how well run it is. And Natick is well served by having Keith Tech as part of a our community. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Evans. Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we know the answer to this one. Have you applied to any other committees? Speaker 23: I have not. Speaker 1: Any further questions or comments? Follow up from the board? Let's go ahead and vote. Oh, I just have one. Yes, I'm sorry. No, go ahead. Speaker 3: I should have turned on my mic too. I'm sorry.
Which is, what is the timeframe for their MSBA application? Speaker 23: So we've already been determined right now, MSBA, we've been accepted by MSBA. They gave us a range of like, say 900 to 1350 for students. Okay. For a preliminary, we are more comfortable around 1200. We voted as a board. The 1200 is really kind of that sweet spot that gives us enough room for growth in the future. And it's not overbearing. You know, it'd be great to say let's have 1800 kids in the school. You have to staff it. There's a lot more involved.
So there's a lot of thought that goes into it and Superintendent Evans has done a fantastic job in, in, you know, relaying the message and what they really need there. So yeah, Speaker 3: That's a super job. Yep. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 1: Any other questions from members of the board? Ms. Pass our votes down to Mr. Walsh. Speaker 3: He's got a great last name. Speaker 10: Thank you. Okay. And the vote was unanimous for Gerald Speaker 23: Hartwell. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Hartwell. Thank you. Next natick net zero committee interviews. There are two terms expiring. These are for two terms expiring end of June, 2029,
and we have three candidates. We'll start with Connor Galligan Speaker 3: Online. Yep. Speaker 24: Hey, how are you? Speaker 1: Good evening. I'm, I'm looking for my questions. Is anybody ready to start? You wanna go? Yes, yes please. I'm Speaker 3: Ready to go. Go ahead. Speaker 5: Oh, you want me to start? Okay. Thank you for applying Mr. Gallian, have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 24: I haven't attended meetings, but I have talked with Kate both over email, on and on the phone. I wanted to kind of see what the committee was about and I was particularly happy to hear that she both enjoys the role
and feels that the environment within the group and that the town is collaborative. Speaker 1: Mr. Bruce, Speaker 3: What do you feel in your conversations with Ms. Morra? What's your sense of the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 24: I honestly think that the scale of the mission is daunting, right? Like parsing climate change and contextualizing it so people can apply it to their lives and see the benefit that the community that the committee is, is doing is genuinely challenging. I also think we have imperfect data on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for individuals
and institutions and homes. It's hard to know what buildings, businesses have the highest potential for carbon footprint reduction. It's hard to quantify how a given improvement translates into cost and greenhouse gas savings. So all of that makes it challenging to assess return on investment. And then even once you do that, once you've identified an opportunity for a carbon footprint reduction, you still need to find the money, implement it, and maintain it. And that's, it's, it's all a challenge, but that's the fun part, right? Novel, novel solutions come from being constrained. Speaker 3: Great answer. Yeah. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Jacobs.
Speaker 6: Yeah, sure. So I, I think this kind of goes hand in hand with the last question, but what do you think are the biggest obstacles to achieving our net zero goals as a community? Speaker 24: So, I mean, it's an interesting one, right? Like every, every person and business is both a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and also a potential partner to reduce them. And everyone has different priorities and available resources to execute changes that align both with their own interests and with what the committee's hoping for. So I think that getting buy-in from individuals is one
of the biggest obstacles. You know, once you identify an opportunity like we just talked about, you still need to convince people to use mostly their own money to make that change. And then I'd also say that like hitting net zero emissions, it's gonna require both infrastructure and lifestyle and habit changes from a wide variety of people and institutions from different walks of life and with different agendas. So asking people to spend their own money on a joint mission requires a pretty clear and concise pitch of why this will be beneficial
to them and to all of us. It's an optimization problem and it's one that needs to be communicated well, and it needs to adapt to changing regulatory and incentive environments. Speaker 6: Got it. Thank you Speaker 1: Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: Thank you Mr. Galligan for applying. Some people say sustainability initiatives, especially around climate, are too costly at a time. Personal municipal budgets are tight. How would you respond to these concerns? Speaker 24: Well, I mean, it's a, it's absolutely a valid thing to think about. And I think one of the most important things, especially in town governance is meeting people where they're at.
But I think one of the cool things about trying to reduce your carbon footprint is a lot of it has an opportunity for a return on investment. You know, if you reduce your electricity bill, you get to spend less money. If you line dry a comforter instead of sticking it in the dryer, you save two bucks and do that a dozen times. It's the same thing as planting a tree. The, the same concept applies to installing a more efficient HVAC system or insulating your home or putting on solar. It's just a varying timescale upfront investment and a potential return on that investment. So I think the committee, I'm sure they already do,
but one of the most important things I think we can do is communicate those things in the context of institutions, town and individuals. But honestly, there's also some fun ancillary benefits, right? Like if you buying electric vehicle, you never have to go to the gas station again. You always have a full charge in the morning and you never get stuck going to the gas station. You're late for work. If you compost, you get to save on blue bags, reduce landfills. Nobody wants to live next to a landfill. And for me, the possums don't rip my garbage open anymore. And honestly, all of the things
that we've done on our own home to try and reduce our carbon footprint have helped stabilize our monthly expenses. You know, from June to June, July to July, we use almost the same amount of electricity each month through the year. And it's really nice to be able to, to predict that, especially when money is tight. Speaker 1: Thank you. Sorry, my computer. Just committee members are responsible for taking the lead on one of five areas, renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency and electrification of commercial buildings, energy efficiency and electrification of residential homes,
transportation, decarbonization and waste reduction. Which one of those do you think you could contribute the most to? And feel free to choose two. Speaker 24: Okay, that's great. I was gonna cheat and pick two. I think waste, waste reduction and energy efficiency of commercial buildings both stood out. Waste reduction felt like a natural one. 'cause I, I handed out compost bins for Black Earth and I've had a lot of conversations with residents about why should we compost, what are the benefits? And doing a lot of home projects, I've tried really hard to reduce the amount of things that we throw away.
It's really hard to recycle a lot of stuff effectively sometimes at all. Yep. So it would be really, really neat to try and find ways as a community to make that fun alignment of, it's easier to get rid of stuff, it's easier to find ways to reduce and also benefit the, the goals of the committee. And then for energy efficiency of commercial buildings, I mean, I'm, I'm by profession and engineer. I navigate large complex system trades daily. And I've worked in a variety of labs that run off of a variety of HVAC
and electricity sources, including a couple of locations that have cogen fuel oil plants on site. I've worked on a couple of projects to turn waste server heat into domestic hot water. It, it, it, it's something I've thought about. Not, not with the intensity that you might in this position, but it's I think within my wheelhouse, Speaker 1: Members of the board. Any follow up questions? No, I appreciate that. Thank you so much. Thanks. The next up is Beatrice Mayor Zi. I don't know if I said that right
and I apologize if I didn't. If you could unmute yourself. Speaker 25: Thank you. And it's Beatrice Mayor Risi comment mispronunciation. So again, all, all forms, but no problem at all. Speaker 1: Thank you. It's, am I right? Is it a good Italian name? Speaker 25: It is an, an Italian name that I married into, so now I sound extremely Italian. Speaker 1: Got it. Thank you so much for being here tonight. I'd like to start with Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: Okay. Good evening. My first question is, have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 25: So I have not had the chance to attend a meeting or meet the chair yet. But what I have done is review the net zero action plan,
recent agendas and minutes recordings and summaries posted online as well, so that I could come in understanding where the work actually stands. Speaker 7: Awesome. Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah, of course. Thank, thank you for applying. What are the biggest challenges that you think based on, you know, what you've, what you've looked at, obviously, what are the biggest challenges that you think the committee faces? Speaker 25: Yeah, absolutely. So I would actually, I'd point to three. So first, moving from planning to implementation. So the action plan is comprehensive and the challenge is turning those recommendations into
completed projects. Second, I would say working through partners. So the committee acts, but it, it's levers run through the select board town meeting the schools and the sustainability office. So success really does depend on, on coalition building there. And then third, maintaining momentum. So net zero is a 2050 goal that competes with every other municipal priority year, year after year. So it is, it is a long term goal and important to maintain that momentum. Speaker 6: Great. Thank you. Speaker 1: Ms.
S Thank you Ms. Mei for applying. Speaker 5: Okay. I lost my, we on number four or number three? Number three, right? Three. Three. Oh. What do you think are the biggest obstacles to achieving our net zero goals as a community? Speaker 25: Yeah, so I, I think it's a combination of cost, awareness and timing. So I, I kind of hone in more on residential when, when speaking to certain aspects of this, but technologies like heat pumps, it's still, it still applies broadly as well to schools, et cetera.
But technologies like heat pumps and EVs are increasingly cost effective over their life, but they need that upfront investment. So awareness is actually the piece that I've studied. I was an environmental studies major and worked on the culture team of the University of Michigan's campus-wide sustainability assessment. And the lesson there was really infrastructure change follows culture change, not the other way around. So many residents don't know natick, residents don't know what incentives exist, or they might decide in a panic the
week that their furnace dies. It's very common, right? And, and if they replace a gas boiler with another gas boiler, that home is locked in for another 15 to 20 years. So most homes that we're thinking about get maybe two heating replacement cycles between now and that 2050 target. So helping people make informed decisions at that natural transition point is a really big opportunity. Speaker 1: Mr. Evans, Speaker 3: Thank Madam Chair. Some people say sustainability initiatives, especially
around climate, are too costly at a time when personal and municipal budgets are tight. How would you respond to these concerns? Speaker 25: So I would say it's, it's a fair concern and I would not dismiss it. Municipal and household budgets are real constraints, but I'd evaluate these investments over their full life cycle. So not just that upfront, cost efficiency and electrification, reduce operating costs, improve resilience and, and avoid future expenses. So I would, I prioritize projects that deliver
multiple benefits and, and pull in outside money where possible for like grants and incentives. And quite honestly, I, I don't think every project makes sense just because it's labeled sustainable so that the committee should definitely be thoughtful about where investments deliver that the greatest value. Speaker 3: Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. The committee members are responsible for taking the lead on one of five areas, renewable energy deployment, energy and energy efficiency and electrification of commercial buildings or residential buildings or residential homes, transportation, decarbonization
or waste reduction. Which of those one or two do you think you could contribute the most to? Speaker 25: I would say that my, my strongest contribution would be residential energy efficiency and electrification. Because for me it's, it's not theoretical. So my first job out of college was at next step living in Boston. At the time it was one of the largest mass save home energy assessment and efficiency providers. And I was an account manager there working with homeowners who'd already had their assessment. So my job was literally that that gap, this committee is need needing to close that space between,
I got my home energy assessment and I actually did the, the work. So I saw where customers got stuck, cost confusion around incentive programs, heat loan, et cetera, scheduling trust in the process and, and what follow ups actually move them to, to co to complete their projects. It's also personal right now too. My, my home is on oil and I've been researching the heat pump transition myself and, and planning for that. And then my professional career, I'm in customer success. I, I work in account management
and it's that same skillset at scale. So finding real barriers and then working with, with people until adoption happens. But definitely don't wanna pigeonhole myself because I'm also interested in waste reduction, I compost at home and transportation decarbonization is something I'm drawn to that I, I'd really love to dive into more as well. Speaker 1: Thank you. Are there any follow up questions for members of the board? No. Okay. I think we can go on to the third applicant, which is Raphael Hertz.
Is Rafael here? Rh Rh, could you unmute yourself please? And we'll start with Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: Okay. Speaker 26: Alright. Speaker 1: Good evening. Speaker 26: Good evening, good evening. Speaker 7: Thank you for being here, Mr. Hertz. My question for you is, have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 26: I have attended meetings. I've had ad hoc participation over the years and then most recently in the last 18 months as well, had conversations with the chair. And like others, I've looked at the recordings and some, you know, some of the meeting summaries
as well as the agendas. And just to answer another question, I have not applied concurrently to any other boards. Speaker 7: Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah. So based on what, you know, what do you think are the biggest challenges that, that the committee faces? Speaker 26: So you're gonna hear some remarks that I think have been very nicely said by others. So I will say again, there is a distinct need to move from visioning to
institutionalizing to doing the work. And that's what drew me to the committee. One of the things that I look at here is the memorial school building, you know, the nuts and bolts of activity that need to happen here to further implement decarbonization. There, there is of course, as others have mentioned, lack of data. That is key. We have to build that record of what is going on both at the municipal level as well as the other private properties. There is a, there's a need to make sure that we continue to find alignment among the various coalitions.
So the, you know, when we have something like an integrated building policy and then we have the future of the Johnson school space, you know, is it more affordable housing? Is it open space? All of these have carbon impacts in some way. And I think both the office and the committee have a role here to help navigate that. Maybe not pick the top one to pick what the people want and make sure that it is adequately decarbonized. I'm gonna jump to the future here just for a second. We've got in Massachusetts a clean energy permitting mandate coming down from the state.
Yep. And I don't believe that it's the office's role here to run that mandate, but we within the office and within the committee have a distinct support role. And you know, this is one of the things when we think about massively decarbonizing and we're saying to ourselves as a society, as Massachusetts says the town of Natick, we want to decarbonize, we have an opportunity to either be the leader or the laggard. And it's my view and the vision that I see would be okay mess, you know, Natick, let's be one of the leaders.
It doesn't mean that we have to be developer friendly. I'm not implying that What I am saying is though, you know, let's be the, you know, let's be prudent. Let's be transparent. Let's have a process that let, that can enable both the town's goals around sustainability and decarbonization as well as the private developers and the homeowners and the large infrastructure that maybe needs to, to come, you know, our way if it does. If that makes sense. Yeah, totally.
Thank, thank you for that answer. Very thorough. Speaker 20: Thank you. Speaker 5: Welcome Mr. Hurst and thank you for applying for this committee. What do you think are the biggest obstacles to achieving our net zero goals as a community? Speaker 26: So I think one of the biggest obstacles is the, one of the next questions, which has to do again with social acceptance and, and our change in social acceptance. Before we get into some of those though, I think when I look at it and, and some of the other candidates have already spoken about this, is like, okay, so two thirds of Natick buildings, you know,
come from natural gas or oil heat. I've been in the resident in town for a few decades. I've got oil, heat, you know, and we're asking as a town to, to have private businesses and private residences to electrify on a timeline that the town of Natick doesn't control. And using like my personal pocketbook using the capital that those owners have to justify themselves. So while we can say, okay, hey, we want new, we want, we want higher standards, we want better codes, implementing those is difficult and we have to capture
and get the people at the point, and this is what one of the other candidates mentions, it's like if you try to do it at the point where the party is facing an emergency, it's a lot harder. So there is a requirement for us to engage early on, and we've seen this with what the di what the director has done and on heat pumps is we need to make sure that we engage early so that people are prepared. And none of these challenges, you know, whether it's, you know, contractor capacity to do the work at scale
or you know, the grid's not clean enough or lower income folks not having financing at none of these are unique to, to natick. But we do have the leverage around persuasion, around being thoughtful around program design and around sequencing over a long period of time and not just basically saying, Hey, there's a mandate and we gotta achieve it. Speaker 10: Okay. Speaker 3: Some people thank you for applying. Some people say sustainability initiatives, especially around climate, are too costly at a time when personal and,
and municipal, municipal budgets are tight. How would you respond to these concerns? Kind of started down that path, but could Speaker 26: You elaborate? Yeah. And so I'll yeah, I'll, I'll go ahead and jump back to it. I do think it's one of the biggest obstacles, right? The, the concern is real net property owners have just absorbed a multimillion dollar property override, energy costs keep going up. And when somebody says, Hey, sustainability costs too much, they're not wrong. And they are actually describing it in a way that, that makes sense to them. So to push back on this idea that, you know, cost
and climate action are opposites, is, is something that I believe, I think the approach is really around thinking about the design and not the objection to overcome the, for example, the Natick municipal decarbonization roadmap sets an approach here and it's like sequence capital at natural replacement points. And this is both true, again for public as well as private properties. And you know, this is not asking somebody to take action early. It's, you know, leading every recommendation with total cost of ownership and incentive stacking and not some sort of moral framing.
And then using tools like energy storage to make the economics work. And I think there, there's an interesting thing here. It's a social perspective, it's certainly happening in Massachusetts. And that is if we ask, if we continue to ask our society, our citizens, our residents to do more without addressing cost, we risk converting the most engaged from an asset into a liability. And you know, there there's this sort of essential supporters who back the goal but are watching their bills. And the way I see us doing it is really to, you know,
be very effective both in doing and in messaging on, on prudent decision making, Yankee thrifty choice making Massachusetts innovation and resilience and, and not sacrifice. Speaker 1: Thank you. Committee members are responsible for taking the lead on one of five areas, renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency and electrification of commercial buildings or residential homes, transportation, decarbonization or race waste reduction. Which of those do you think you could contribute the most to? Just one or two is fine.
Speaker 26: So my two are renewable energy deployment and decarbonization of buildings, particularly commercial ones. The basis for that is that's where I've spent the majority of my professional career working at different levels from what we call distributed levels, which behind the meter to very large scale, like offshore wind. I won't go long on that, but I will say there's another piece here in, and it's not in the list, but I see it in the list, and that is energy storage, right? So we have an opportunity where we're
changing from a just in time delivery system to a stored energy system. And this is a space that Natick can once again be a leader in. And I certainly laed the office and the director in all of the work that they have done over the years. Like, it's incredible. And here's yet one opportunity to, you know, step out front and change the way that we use energy and do massive decarbonization. I've spent my career in this space. Happy to give you a lot more on that, but there is, there is a bit more
and I think I can help there. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Are there any questions from members of the board and follow up? I have a, a question and just a minute or two in response. Would, it would be fine. Are you familiar with the recently passed clean energy citing and permitting regulations? Speaker 26: The short answer is yes. The thing that I see F NAIC is, is there's a, there's basically a big brick wall coming and both, like, it's my view that, and I could be very wrong, you know, the, the office of sustainability doesn't have the mandate here. Probably buildings and permitting does.
But certainly the, the office and the committee has a role in making sure that the process is in, in Natick is, is handled, you know, to achieve the, the town's desires. Speaker 1: So my, my understanding of those, I sit on a public policy committee on energy and my understanding is that the town has very little zoning or oversight when it comes to energy siting and permitting. In other words, we don't. For example, it is entirely possible that art article 97
lands or lands that are in permanent conservation can be used for solar siting, solar energy siting, for example. Is that something that you're familiar with? Speaker 26: So like, so first of all it's new. It's, it's my understanding it's very new is my Yes. And and the regulations were just rolled out in Q3 of fiscal 26. Yes. So I, I wanna be cautious, but I will say I did take a very deep look at this in when it rolled out in, in November of 2025,
Speaker 1: I think, Speaker 26: Or of 25. Yeah. So, and it's my view, and I could be very wrong, that municipalities like Natick have an opportunity to be out in the forefront or to be the laggard, you know, if we're out in the forefront, we can define the rules by which these activities happen. Now you're absolutely right there is limited. We, we okay, I'm I'm gonna say we, and I'm gonna use that as meaning the town of Natick, just 'cause it's easier for me to talk about it. Sure. Like that. Okay. Of course not, of course not because I'm, I'm a we. Understood. Understood. Okay. So we have the opportunity.
We don't have the, we don't have, we don't hold the final decision, but we have, and we have the mandate and the opportunity to have input. The process is designed so that when the energy facility siting board comes down and says, okay, hey Natick, what do you think? We have the right, we also have the ability, whether it's our desire or not, to slow things down and speed things up. Okay. And this is, this is my view and I haven't looked, you know, I haven't looked deeply at the, and I will, I've, I've, you know, at a high level looked over the, the, the new regulations.
But it's my view that we do have an enabling capacity and or, or we could just let it happen to us. Now, I'd love to hear your perspective and, and, and others as well. Speaker 1: Okay. But maybe that's for another time. Speaker 10: Yes. Speaker 1: The, the hour is getting late and you and I could probably talk about this for a very long time. Yes. So at this time, if there are no other questions for members of the board, I'd like you to vote Before you vote, I want to just remind you of the email that was sent to me, in which I forwarded to you about the, the needs of the committee.
So the needs of the committee. And this is, this is just advice, it's not, this does not bind our votes. Expertise in renewable energy deployment would be valuable to the committee and e experience with town composting partners. Town maintenance personnel would be valuable to the waste reduction priorities that's given the, the Lacuna left by the two members who stepped down. Again, that's advisory. It's not binding on our votes. Any questions? Okay, let's vote. Speaker 10: And embarrassment or riches. Speaker 1: I know this was the, this is the toughest vote I've had in
a long time, in my opinion. Speaker 12: Alright, so the tallies as follows. Connor Gallian three votes. Patrice, Mary, yours also Three votes. Raphael Hurst, four votes. Speaker 10: So Speaker 1: There's a tie between Connor and Beatrice. Let's take another just to rip off a piece of paper and do a tie breaker and then we'll announce who we voted for. Get a smaller piece of paper. I folded it in half. Speaker 10: I used Smart. Speaker 1: While Mr. Walsh is in, in an effort to save time while he is compiling this,
I have an announcement to make the Rec and Park commission interviews has two candidates, one withdrew. The first candidate, Oliver Rick is dropped off the call because he's in London and it's now two in the morning. He's the incumbent. The other person whose name, who submitted his name is Mr. Andrea Satos. What I've decided to do, since it's just two applicants and neither of 'em are here, is I'm gonna push this to the July 22nd meeting. So we will not be doing the Rec and Park interviews tonight, and we will, we will move on to Council on Aging after the vote tally.
Speaker 12: Okay, so the Revote is three votes for Connor Gallian and two votes for Patrice Marias. Speaker 1: Okay. So the candidates who the applicants who've been selected are Mr. Galligan and Mr. Hertz. And we will announce our votes. Mr. Bruce, Speaker 3: I voted for, let's see, sorry, I don't have the names right in front of me, but we can come back. I voted for Ms. Ma Rei, I'm sorry, I'm butchering that. And Mr. Hurst? Speaker 10: Ditto. Speaker 1: I voted for Mr. Galligan and Mr. Hurst. Mr.
Ms. Pope. I Speaker 7: Voted for Ms. Beatrice and Mr. Galligan. Speaker 1: Thank you. And Mr. Jacobs, Speaker 6: I, I, I voted for Mr. Galligan and Mr. Hertz. Speaker 1: This was a really, I I'll just go ahead and speak about, this was an extraordinarily difficult decision. I want to encourage you, Beatrice, and I, forgive me for using your first name, but I'm not going to do that again to your last name. So what I would encourage you to do is to reach out to the chair, Kate Mora, or, and or our sustainability director, Jillian Wilson Martin.
I think you'd have a very valuable role to play and they are considering some changes in the composition of the board. So I would encourage you to please reach out to them because I would hate to lose your expertise and your enthusiasm. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Counsel on Aging interviews, three terms that expire 2029. There are five applicants. And we'll start with Paula Pan. Chuck is Paula. Yes, she's here. Please unmute yourself and let's start the questions with Mr. Evans.
We'll just go from my left to my right. Speaker 3: Where is this? Okay. Thank you for applying. Appreciate it. Have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 27: I, well, because I'm reapplying for a second term. Yes, I attended all meetings in my three year term. Speaker 3: All right, good answer. Speaker 5: Okay, this next one is probably also very obvious. Thank you for reapplying. Ms. Puck. Have you attended any of the Council on Aging Programs? And if so, which ones? Speaker 27: Since my semi-retirement 10 years ago,
I am there probably four times a week, primarily for their terrific array of fitness courses, but also their excellent lectures as a board member. It, some weeks was almost every day. Speaker 5: Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Okay. Thank you for applying. Thanks for reapplying. What do you think is the biggest challenge that the committee faces or the biggest challenge is the committee faces? So you don't, don't have to just name one. Speaker 27: Well, let me say that there's been a terrific growth
and expansion of programs over my three years on the board. Not by my doing, but by the efforts of the staff. So our board is very fortunate to be part of the Council on Aging during a time of such attention to past experiences and creating new and exciting programs. And we as a board throw our support to the staff and to the many, many new things that they've initiated and recently. But I would say that we have a couple of things
that we have our eye on. One is the attention to the young seniors who are growing in number and the kind of programming that addresses needs and interests that they have that might be slightly different perhaps in your late fifties or your sixties to some of the needs and interests that members who are in their seventies and eighties have. We, we share a lot of similar interests, but there's a growing number of those people and making sure that programming addresses them.
And with evening and late afternoon programming, the, the staff has done a pretty good job. The other is engaging in a strategic planning process. We had a strategic plan that just sort of fell by the wayside. It should have ended about a year and a half ago. And we have initiated a new strategic planning that particularly focuses on the role of the Council on Aging members and what is the best way to ensure a productive relationship with staff with its directors so that we can enhance the,
what is happening at the center and that we can support what they're trying to do. So I would say that those are two challenges, good ones to have. Speaker 6: Sure. Absolutely. Thank you Speaker 7: Ms. Poe. Number four. Number four, what do you think is the biggest unmet needs of the elderly population in Natick? And what do you think town government can realistically do, if anything, to help those needs? And thank you Ms. Paula, for your service. Speaker 27: I serve on the, the housing subcommittee of the board. And we, we do have concerns about affordable
housing, particularly for seniors, particularly as they try to downsize. So we've done a lot to bring the board members' attention to some of the options. Looking at ADUs right now, looking at different types of communities so that we can, can encourage some good programming and helping people to make choices that are high in number. The affordability of them is, is quite limited. So the affordability is one of housing and the other is the isolation that
unfortunately occurs on the older end of the aging spectrum many times. And how we can have some sort of volunteer or some intervention that checks in on people and lets them know that someone's, you know, someone's thinking about them. Do they need assistance? 'cause we have a lot of older adults in Natick living on their own who don't have that, that backup. So those two issues, I think are ones that I would say are unmet needs. Not that we aren't trying to do something about it,
but they're still out there. Speaker 7: Thank you, Ms. Puck. And you may have stated this in some fashion, but what do you think the town can realistically do to support, to help these, if anything? Speaker 27: Well, I, I think that housing and the options for using some of our spaces for affordable housing is probably the decision making of other boards in town. But, but I think of what I, I attended Coolidge Junior High School, it is now of course a housing unit. And I'm thinking of what it was like to visit their delivering gifts for the service council
and what wonderful use was made of that building for affordable housing, not only for seniors, but for others. Are there ways when we are developing different parts of the town when we are rehabbing, to always keep in mind that affordability. I do think we try, but it, it, it's a, an almost insurmountable problem for a lot of individuals. I hate to see them leaving Natick because of that. Speaker 1: Thank you. Ms. Panche, Speaker 10: Do Speaker 1: You have any ideas or suggestions for programming for seniors in Natick? Speaker 27: In the, the beginning of my first term on the board,
I was interested in the idea of age friendly communities and in particular part subset of that dementia friendly communities. I came from LaSalle University where I oversaw their on campus CCRC, and we became an age friendly university. So over the last year or so, I, with a staff member, Deborah Budd from the Council in Aging and Human Services explored the idea of natick becoming a defen dementia friendly town,
becoming dementia friendly natick by raising awareness about dementia, by being certain that we provided a community in which there were opportunities for people with cognitive impairments to stay engaged, that we sensitized the community to ways in which their lives would be easier. And those of their caregivers, if we had some sort of programmatic things, we were not so sure what the response was going to be to this initiative. But we had, after a year
and a half of trying, we had a kickoff event a couple of weeks ago and discovered to a standing room only group as the program opened that this was a, a huge need and people needed the resources for this, this type of change in their lives or in the lives of parents or their loved ones. So that initiative has just begun and the board has put their support behind it. There is programming that is happening as a result of it.
So I would say that that is was one of my suggestions that now the seed has been planted and it has germinated. And I hope to continue that I co-chair that initiative with Debbie Budd. Speaker 1: Thank you. Board members, do you have follow-up questions? Speaker 3: I have a comment, which is, please thank you for explaining the whole notion of, of the dementia welcoming community. I kept seeing the signs, but I was unable to participate in that. And that was a extremely, well, two things.
One is very gratifying to say that it was, or to hear that it was a standing room only participation. And the second is, thank you for explaining what the intention of that program was. So appreciate that Speaker 27: We do have a website on the town site for dementia friendly natick that it give you more information. Bruce, you do like to have it. Speaker 3: Good. Excellent. Thank you. Speaker 27: Thank you All. Speaker 1: Next up is Mr. Sydney, and let's start with Ms. Pope again. Speaker 10: Okay, go.
Speaker 7: Good evening again. Mr. Sidney, have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 19: Not since I was the select board advocate. I did attend a lot of meetings while I was on the board, but I haven't since. Speaker 7: Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yeah, of course. Yeah. Thank you for applying for this as well. Mr. Sidney, have you attended any of their programs? And if so, which ones? Speaker 19: Not generally, I've sort
of only recently realized I really am old and it's, you know, I'm, I guess I'm young old, but to Ms. Puck's comments about addressing younger elders. Part of the, and this gets to the next sort of questions about challenges. Part of the challenges are communication, and there's a few more, if you want me to go right into that answer, please. Sure. So I, I, first of all,
I think the Council on Aging is a little over organized. They have a lot of subcommittees. They spend a late great deal of time talking about how they operate and they don't actually accomplish as much as they want to. And, and the intentions are all very good. Absolutely. But I think there's ways that the council could reorganize its meetings to actually get, first of all, spend more time on their goals and also more time working with administration
and also organizing events and communicating out what those events are or what those activities are. You know, a strategic plan is a really important thing to do, but if you get 10 minutes at a meeting to talk about it and never make a decision about it, you don't actually get the plan done. And so that, when I was attending the meetings, that was one of my biggest concerns. And I, you know, I would, I would like to see the, the council get really more focused on what it, you know, what its charges and, and what it's there for.
And actually working with the aging population, Speaker 5: Ms. Slager. All right. So we'll go to question four then. What do you think are the biggest unmet needs of the elderly population in Natick? And what do you think town government can realistically do, if anything, to help those needs? Speaker 19: Well, I'm not sure I'm gonna answer the second half first. I'm not sure there's a lot. Town government itself can do, you know, resources are limited and it's not, you know, I, I'm sad to say this, but it's also not one of the core things that,
that town should be doing. However, I think that there are a lot of elders in our community that don't know how to get the help they need and the support they need. And it could be financial or could be logistical, they could be home bound, they could just need social time and can't get it because they're, they, they're disabled or, or whatever. And I'd like to see the council find ways to reach out to the elderly population in ways that gets them
so that they can ask for help. Or maybe even arrange for, you know, in-home game nights or whatever the elders need, they, because there's a lot of needs. It's not just, I can't pay my taxes or I can't pay my water bill. It's also, I don't have anybody to talk to and, you know, I can't get to the senior center where there's a, you know, where I can play Scrabble or Bridge or whatever, which would be something I would do if I had a way to get there. And, and,
and it's not just transportation, you know, the, the senior, the, the community senior center offers a lot of events for elders that can actually, you know, are able to get there and, and you know, get on the buses or whatever. But it's the, it's the elders that can't make it that need the most, and we don't have a way to get to them. Speaker 1: Thank you. Mr. Evans, Speaker 3: It's kind of related to what you were just speaking about.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions for programming for seniors in Natick? Speaker 19: Well, again, it's, I think it's about how do we connect with them and, and how do we reach out to them and connect with them. And I'd like to see ways to supplement their social lives, help them reconnect with the town. You know, it could be, like I said, as simple as finding volunteers to go play a game or transport a small group down to the, to some meeting place or to the library or someplace where they can socialize a little bit without requiring to make that their own way down
to the senior center of the library. You know, there are a lot of, there are a lot of services available that a lot of elders take advantage of Meals on wheels and things like that. But I see the social contact as being something really critical and something I'd like to see the Council on Aging figure out how to enhance. Speaker 1: Thank you for that. Mr. Sidney, are there any follow up questions for members of the board? I have one question, Mr. Sydney, could you let us know, could you remind us what committees you currently sit on? Speaker 19: The only committee I currently sit on Audrey is the audit advisory committee, and I'm the select board designee.
Thank you. Speaker 1: I knew that one. I just didn't know. Speaker 19: No, there, no, there, you know, I'm a town meeting member and so, and you know, I'll be working with you and Mr. Jacobs on some select board questions about the charter and bylaws, but thank, Speaker 1: Thank you for that. Speaker 19: Appreciate it. Just, you know, oh, I, I wanna serve however, whatever, whatever serves the town, I'm, you know, as you know, as you all know about me, I'm very dedicated to service Speaker 1: Deeply. Appreciate that. Thank you Mr. Sidney. Next we will invite Christine Wyman to come
to the podium. Mr. Evans, can you pick us off? Speaker 3: Yep. Thank you Mr. Whiteman. And thank you for your patience being here all night. I know, especially your husband. He looks so intently interesting. Yeah, Speaker 1: He's a good sport. Speaker 3: Okay. Have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 1: So I have, I started attending COA meetings last fall just as a member of the public to learn how the board functions as well as support how they support senior residents. And in January I became an associate member. So I've been attending all meetings this year
and I'm currently working with someone to plan speakers. Speaker 5: Thank you for applying Ms. Weyman. Have you attended any of the COA programs and if so, which ones? Speaker 1: So I, I retired about two and a half years ago, so I've been attending more programming. I started playing pickleball, so there were some pickleball clinics that I took to kind of improve my game and played there a little bit. I play elsewhere now, but there's been programming this year on transportation and opportunities, you know, to learn about the transportation opportunities for seniors in the community.
That was really well done. And the dementia friendly initiative that Paula chaired, I was at that kickoff event and did some chair yoga, which was very fun. But I've also done, you know, some other personal like improvement programs and just recently this week they had a primer to prevent injuries and pickleball. So I was there. So I'm looking to attend more now that I'm having more time. Mr. Jacobs? Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you. Good, good to see you Chris. Ms. Ms. Weisman. Sorry. That's fine. So what are the, what are the biggest challenges the committee faces?
Speaker 1: So the committee's currently looking to update the strategic plan and they're actually working with the leadership of the Council on Aging to ensure that the alignment of the the strategic strategic plan is meeting the needs of the, the, the staff as well as the strategic plan of the town. And so that was initially supposed to be presented to us this summer, but now there's work being redone on that. And so I think the challenge is really gonna be with a new strategic plan to really have the board focus.
One of the things that's gonna happen in anticipation of the strategic plan is that there's a training group that's gonna be coming in to work with the board to kind of have us learn how to focus and support the staff and leadership at the Council on Aging. So I think that'll be a really important initiative that's gonna help us, again, to work through a new strategic plan because as Mr. Sidney did indicate, the committee has many subcommittees and they do report each month and takes about a half an hour
or more in each meeting for them to kind of go through, you know, what's happening with the subcommittee and I, the subject matter of the, the subcommittees I know is very important to the members, but they're also very broad things like housing, health and safety, where like, it's really not always clear what we as this council and agent can do in these very broad categories. So I think having the strategic plan moving forward, working with the training that could help the board to focus more, it would also give, you know,
if we could streamline our subcommittees, it would give the board more time to spend on some of the action items that we need to be spending time on or have more time for speakers. Right now we're only doing speakers to educate the board like every quarter, but we give them a half an hour. And so that, that's not really very much time if you wanna get into a, you know, get into the, the meat of, you know, what the speaker's speaking about. So I think, so I think the board really needs to learn how to continue to focus on advising and supporting the staff at the Council on Aging
and to support the programming and the human services division. Speaker 6: Thank you very much, Speaker 1: Ms. Aka No. Do we, am I out of order? Yeah, I'm not awake. I'm so sorry Speaker 7: Ms. Pope. And we're on question four. Am I right, right. Yes. What do you think are the biggest unmet needs of the elderly population in Natick and what do you think town government can realistically do, if anything, to meet those needs? Speaker 1: So it is actually a very challenging question because, you know, as Mr. Sidney said, you know, and, and Paula did affordability and isolation, you know, especially for our aging residents
is, is challenging, especially those that have health issues. The 2025 math Massachusetts Healthy Aging Community profile of Natick said that 24 to 25% of our NA Natick census are 60 years older. So, you know, around 9,000 of our residents, you know, are seniors and, you know, how do we reach out and communicate with them, I think is something that the community and the, the Council on Aging needs to continue to work on. What, you know, we don't really know how many of those are actually consistently accessing the community
senior center, that kind of data, you know, we've been trying to get some of that data from the staff and at this point the board doesn't have access to that. So I think realistically the town needs to push communications about all of the human, the, the, you know, we have the Council on Aging programming and then we have the Human Services division. And I think, you know, they are, that, that staff is excellent. We, if there's ever an opportunity for the town to do more for seniors, it might be to actually expand that staff.
You know, we, we also don't get data on that utilization. Certainly privacy is a very important issue to respect people, you know, or who are getting help from our human services division. But again, we don't necessarily have data on what that utilization is. And you know, I expect that Debbie Bud and her and the other staff members that work in human services are very busy. But the council and aging budget is, has been very static over the last few years. And as our senior population grows, you know, to the extent that there are resources available, you know, in the town, which we know are tight, that would be an area
that I would think the town could do more because those staff are helping individuals, you know, to apply for federal assistance programs or connecting them with federal legislators or state legislatures so that we can get people the proper resources. 'cause people don't always know where to go to. So, and again, we need to let people know that the staff is available to do that. So like those are the kinds of things I think the town could do because some of these bigger areas around affordability, those are, those are really challenging things. Thank you. And the last question
is, you kind of touched on this, do you have any ideas or suggestions for programming? I mean, I think we've had some really successful programming over the, the past year that, you know, I've encouraged them to repeat such as the transportation program for people to understand more about what kind, how they can access, you know, all the M-W-R-T-A programming. But there's also been a lot of programs in the arts and culture, like helping people learn about travel. There's just been so much variety. I think there's really been a great expansion of this, the types of programming that they've had, but there's been lots of movement, you know,
they're doing more with exercise classes. So I think there's a lot of variety and I, the staff is really working hard to continue with that programming and, and take the feedback on those programs that are successful and, you know, not repeat the ones that, you know, aren't having great attendance. I appreciate that. Questions. Any follow up from members of the board? Speaker 6: No, I, I have one question. It's not really a question. I mean, it might be a question Ms. We, I don't know who it's a question for, but just a clarification about what we're doing. So Ms. Weisman is currently an associate member.
Are we also like appoint, like are we appointing three full members now? Like what's going on with the associate member spot? Speaker 1: It's my understanding we're voting three full members, but board members. Okay. Vote on, you know, vote on minutes and you know, take action if there's action items. Associate members really are just there in attendance. Thank you. Did you, did you hear that Cody? Speaker 6: Yeah, no, I, I I did hear that. I just meant like, do we like, because you know, there's obviously more applicants than there, than there are spots. So like, would would we be able to, or or is this one of the ones where like the, the chair kind
of appoints associate members? In other words, could we appoint three people as members tonight and and an additional person as an associate member? Speaker 1: The chair of the, the, the voting, the body itself votes its own sets, its own associate members. Speaker 6: Got it. Okay. I understand. Thank you. Speaker 1: We're, we're going to pick three of the five that are before us. Speaker 6: Okay. Just trying to make it easier for myself. Obviously not gonna happen. Okay. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you Mr. Scott. Let's start with Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: Okay. Speaker 28: Probably should get some applause for being the last person up here. I'm standing between you and getting home. Speaker 7: Thank you for being so patient with this process.
Speaker 28: Well actually I have a lot of respect for you. I think the, I think we need to really thank you for taking the time to flesh out this particular thing of going through the committees. 'cause it is important to the committees and it's also important to the people who are applying for it not to be wedged in between some other budgetary thing that, you know, has a priority in, in your site. So again, my commendations to you. Speaker 1: Thank you so much. I appreciate that. And my apologies for, for seeming like I'm falling asleep. We had a very long, very late meeting last night
and it's late tonight, so I, I apologize if I, if I don't appear to be fully engaged. I am Ms. Pope. Speaker 7: Mr. Scott, my question for you is have you attended meetings or met with the chair? Speaker 28: So like Chris, I came on as a, I am currently a, an associate member and I met with the chair, but I did a little bit differently. I retired eight years ago and I was one of those people who used Natick as a bedroom town.
I did a lot of work in Boston, I did some international travel. And when I retired I realized I wanted to take some of the skills and experiences I've developed and apply them to working in the community some way. And so I've been looking at different organizations, different committees within the town and I actually interviewed the chairman of each of the committees I went to seeing if they matched what my skillset was. And so I had, I did meet with, with Mr. Beaumont and then the, excuse me, the current chair of Dr.
Sewell. And I've had a lot of discussions with them. I've attended, oh, probably six meetings now as a observer and then as a, an associate member. Speaker 7: Thank you Speaker 1: Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Yep. Sure. Thank you for applying and, and of course thanks for your patience. My question is, have you attended any of their programs and if so, which ones? Speaker 28: So that became the interest for me to get involved with the COA one is, I thought it was a senior center at one time
and I said I'm not gonna be doing that even though I well qualified to be a senior. And I started using the fitness center as a way to get around paying deductibles for going to physical therapy for some injuries. That became repetitive. And when I got there I realized it's a gem that it's not just a, a meeting place for people to get together and excuse the expression, but bitch and moan. And there is a lot of that that goes on. But it does describe what happens when people become elderly
and they lose their spouse or they find that they become economically strapped and they, and I think everybody else has pointed this out, communication, it becomes really, really important that people feel welcomed and that we somehow get that message out that we welcome you to come to the community center and engage. What was the question? Speaker 1: Have you attended any specific programs? Speaker 28: Oh yeah. Oh, so I, I use the, I use the fitness center four to five times a week. I've also been monitoring it to see what the usage is on each of the instruments there
because some of the, some of the machines that are there are getting a little past their expiry date. And I think that's gonna have to be a capital expenditure that gets looked at one way or another. Not quite sure where it comes out of a budget. But the other thing is that they're no longer state of the art. We've got a lot of people who are seniors and not only just the seniors, but other people who use it, who have electronic devices on them that should communicate with them. Or you've got an app and none of those have electronic communications with them. And I think people who monitor their fitness
or are using it as a rehab program need to have that availability. So that is one of the things, if you're gonna ask what's the short term changes that need to be made, I think that's one of them that needs to be address. And I also take once week, I thought I would never ever do that, by the way. It turns out it's a pretty darn good program. Speaker 1: Wonderful. Speaker 6: Fair enough. Alright, thank you. Speaker 5: All right. Thank you Mr. Scott, last but not least, what are the biggest challenges the committee faces? Speaker 28: So the, it that, that's a multi-layered question. Okay. Big in terms of what happens right now, I think
we don't reach out and I think other people have mentioned it to make sure that people know that. And it's not just a building, it's, it's what the, the community does as an organization. I think the other thing that has to happen within the committee is efficiency. I think that's been, at least alluded to there were ways to get things done more expediently than to have committees and subcommittees to everything. Yes. And have to report on them. It should. So I, I did a lot of board work.
I mean that's part of one of the reasons I applied to this and, and what makes a board efficient is one, you have to have talented people, but you also have to have a group of people who have different backgrounds and experiences. Yeah. And the other thing is, by doing that you get different networks and the outreach that board members have to other groups becomes very, very important. So that we're not just, you know, having a closed conversation and an echo chamber about what the issues are and trying to address them. I think that needs to be addressed. I think there's a strategic plan that is 90% fleshed out.
I would be concerned to see how does it get implemented? You know, what, what are the priorities and, and the, the resources that are needed to make that plan a reality and to measure the outcomes that you have. A lot of it's impact. I mean, if you spin your wheels and it looks good on paper and you don't change anything, then you really haven't made the impact that you're committing to do as communicating with the rest of the, the, the people who use.
The other issue long term is there's a tsunami coming that the baby boomers are retiring and we're already seeing that there's a much bigger usage of the community center than when I first started going there. The programs are much better, but a lot of them are individual programs. Right. When you look at it on a monthly schedule, I think one of the things we should be looking at is let's put some, some tracks in. So one of them would be retirement
because there are a lot of people who retire and their work was there. Life Yeah. Their social fabric. And when they retire, they're miserable. And that shouldn't be the thing. I am so happy I am retired. I mean, I love being retired. I have not had one day in eight years where I've said, boy, that was a real mistake. But I think there are a equal number of people who sit and say, I don't know what to do with it. One of the ways to address it is while people are still in the workforce, have a track where there's a, you, you lay out the glide slope to retirement
and keep it going all the time. It's not just a program and it comes to an end at the end, the end of the fiscal year, you have input at each level of it and it's gonna be different for different people. But I think it's gonna take a lot of planning to do that. And it's also gonna take a lot of commitment of resources to do it because you can't just bring in the local elder law attorney one time. Speaker 1: Right. Speaker 28: It's gotta be done on a sustainable basis. So the, that would be my, my look at the short term and the long term is gonna be prior planning and implementation of the strategic plan.
Speaker 1: I think you covered the biggest unmet needs of the elderly population. And so I would just ask you, do you have any other ideas or suggestions for programming for seniors? I mean, you, you mentioned repeating, not just having like the one having like Speaker 28: Yeah, and, and I, and I think that probably should be part of the process of the, the staff that's there is they, they meet with them day to day. People who come in, they have conversations with, they are wonderful. The people who use the place love it. But I think we need to get that a little more broad based so that we outreach
to the people in the community rather than have wait for them to come into the building. And one of the things we probably gonna have to think about is if we're successful, it's not just gonna be a building, it's gonna have to be a network around Natick. Speaker 1: Agreed. Do any members of the board have follow up questions? And I do not Speaker 7: Ms I guess this might be in tandem to Mr. Jacobs questions about, would a person remain an associate if not voted? Speaker 1: That's up to the chair of the board. Oh, okay. Speaker 28: That's, that's up, that's a good question. The, the, yeah. If, if
Speaker 1: It's a Speaker 28: Good question. If I don't get up, I'm still gonna be an associate member. Got it. I would probably still show up anyway because I think the work that, that the COA does is important enough. I've go as an observer, when they had the open session at the end, I raised my hand. Mm. But as a, a non-voting member, Chris and I can, you know, chime in and the most important thing you do is ask questions on any board. It's figuring out what are the important questions, what are the crucial questions, and make sure they get asked. Speaker 1: Appreciate that. Speaker 7: Thank you. Speaker 28: Okay. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Just an observation, we were talking a lot about communication
and ensuring that seniors know what's available, programming and things like that. I had a conversation with a woman who had just turned 80 in a coffee shop downtown Natick about a month ago. And I asked her, have you ever gone down to the, do you ever go down to the community senior center? And she said, it's for old people. And I said, okay. Speaker 14: But she's right. Speaker 1: But, but the perception, Speaker 14: I don't think I'm old. Speaker 1: No, no. Understood. But the perception is that it's just for old people. So I I that that's Speaker 14: Communication.
Speaker 10: Exactly. But it also has been improving. Speaker 1: I think it has been, it has been Speaker 10: Improving that that's another is absolutely up there. Yeah. Speaker 1: And Speaker 14: One of the other things we, since we're just friends here, Speaker 28: One of the things that happened that I was very impressed with is a coffee where a cop we're, one of the police officers comes out and he does community outreach. And he sits there and just listens to people, complain about the neighbor leaves the trash can out for two days afterward. Speaker 10: And Speaker 14: It Speaker 28: Realizes that, you know, this is a town that has a lot of interactivity to it.
I, I was just very impressed that, you know, we have people who are town employees who are actually finding ways to communicate with the bitches and boners. Speaker 1: I, I, I do appreciate that. I think we have a first rate staff, town staff, our public safety staff. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I've been doing this for five years and town meeting for 15 and other different types of volunteering. And I just continue. The more staff I meet, the more impressed I get. So I think we're very fortunate. Just to recap, those of you who are appointed tonight,
we'll hear about, hear from the office, you'll get a, we've started, we adopted a board and committee norms so that people when are appointed to a board and committee, they know what the norms are. Things that we, we have so many new members in volunteers in town that we wanna ensure that they have an understanding of what, how a board works. And so you'll be getting that. Speaker 12: Okay. So we have a tie for second place. Again, it was five votes for Paula Uck. Two votes Rich Sidney, four votes for Christine Weisman, and four votes for Clifford Scott. Speaker 1: I'm sorry, could you repeat that? Yep.
Speaker 12: So it was five votes for Paula Uck, two votes for Richard Sidney, four votes for Christine Weisman, and four votes for Clifford Scott. Speaker 10: So we have our three, Speaker 3: So there's our Speaker 6: Three. We have our three. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1: Right. Even though the the four tie, they we have, Speaker 6: Yeah. They don't, we don't need to give out a prize for second. So, Speaker 1: Okay. So we will move on to discussion decision. We Speaker 5: Have to announce our votes. Speaker 1: We have to announce our votes. Yes. We have to announce our votes. I'm sorry, Mr. Bruce. Speaker 3: Ready to go? I voted
for Ms. Uck, Mr. Sidney and Ms. Whiteman. And I wanted to commend Mr. Scott, you would've been unanimous had you not said you'd continue in the associate member because I, Speaker 14: I agree. I I did that on purpose. Okay. Just wanted to make sure that exactly. Speaker 3: I I truly appreciate your, your candor on that. And, and I, I, I think as a result you get more good people involved in that.
And I appreciate that you're staying involved. I Speaker 14: Just done the same thing if I was sitting in that chair. Speaker 3: Okay. I'm relieved to know. 'cause I'm the outlier. Speaker 1: Ms. Busher, Speaker 5: I voted for Ms. Uck, Ms. Weiman, and Mr. Scott. And I still love you, rich, and I hope maybe you'll consider applying for an associate member. Speaker 1: I voted for Ms. Pan, Chuck, Ms. Weisman, and Mr. Scott. And I would say that I have plans for Mr. Sidney to work on projects with the board. So Speaker 7: I voted for Ms. Puck, Mr. Sidney and Mr. Scott.
And this was a tough vote. Speaker 1: It was a tough vote. It was Mr. Jacobs. Speaker 6: Okay. First of all, Scott Scott's his first name, right? His last name is Clifford, right. Speaker 3: Ron. Speaker 1: Otherwise, okay. Speaker 6: Okay. So I got, I got, okay, so I voted for Scott Clifford, Chris Weiman, and Paul Puck, and you know, Speaker 7: Paula, Speaker 6: He just, you know, to the ditto to many of the other, other, other comments, Speaker 1: It's been too late nights. So I'm, Speaker 7: I'm so Speaker 6: Dyslexic. Speaker 3: I was dyslexic though. We'll Speaker 1: Give him Speaker 7: A lot of grace. Speaker 6: I I'm just making sure. Just making sure. Okay. Wow. Speaker 1: Well, thank you. It's 9 33 5.
Let's move on to discussion and decision and then the consent agenda and then no town administrator updates. And I hope no select board updates. Speaker 3: Absolutely not. Speaker 1: So discussion decisions. It's my understanding this is more for the public. It was my understanding that when we voted, or when we discussed the communication calendar to, in, to Thank you, thank you so much. You guys have a good night. That we were doing it as proposed with the understanding that we would bring back for discussion the, the,
the Columbus Day slash Indigenous Peoples Day conversation. So what I'm asking the board tonight to do is to vote this so that we can start so that our communications director can start actually getting out communications timely. We've got nothing in August, but we've got September day, September coming up. And with the understanding that I, I will bring before the board, before Columbus Day, a request for the board to, to tell me whether we want to undertake that, that discussion that a board member has asked for.
So that's what I'm looking for there. Speaker 3: Well, so you, you're looking for an authorization vote. What? Speaker 1: Yeah. Or discussion on what, what, what the ask is. So Speaker 6: Yeah, I I I, I just, I I'm, I'm happy to make a motion to, to approve it with that Visio that we're gonna talk about the, the Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples Day issue later. I, I just wanted to make a a public comment though, just, you know, to raise that I, you know, I saw some, you know, this, this, this calendar came before us in our, in our consent agenda, I think months ago,
like two months ago or something like that. And, you know, I, I raised this issue about, you know, Columbus Day versus Indigenous Peoples Day. And we, you know, we kind of agreed to, to discuss it later. And then in the, in the interim with that, I, I've seen some social media commentary about certain holidays that, that weren't recognized particularly, you know, that, that there wasn't enough, you know, town communication on, on Juneteenth, which, you know, I, I felt, I, I felt, you know, bad about, because obviously that was already on this, this observation calendar.
And then we didn't end up approving it. And, you know, I felt like as, as the person who raised the issue, I should have been more, I should have been more out front of saying we should make sure we, we provisionally approve the calendar so that the communications, the, the very thoughtful communications calendar that's already in place in between now and October can still go forward. So I just wanted to apologize for that. Definitely. It's, you know, anyone who's upset about that's certainly not Oh, no, you know, not Mr. Prop's fault or anything like that. So, you know, wasn't, wasn't the intention there. So I hope we can prove it tonight.
So that way we're, we're, we're on track with, with, with this, with this calendar in between now and then. Okay. So that's all. Speaker 3: I'll second it. Speaker 1: I also wanna see if there's any discussion. Okay. No, I'm gonna make one observation. And so I'd ask that the motion be subject to this observation. I don't know why I'd never noticed this before today, but Ramadan is not in February and Ada Aha is not in June. They move, they're on any given month, depending on the lunar calendar. So I will ask Mr. Po paddock to pull those aside
and say that those will be based on the lunar calendar and they're gonna fall where they do, they'll be floating holidays. Speaker 3: I care for that. Speaker 1: It does say variable, but it's not in February. It's in Speaker 7: March, isn't it? Nope, Speaker 1: It's whenever it happens. Whatever. Okay. Yeah, it happens in February. So the, the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, but it, but the same thing is, well, okay, it does say September, Speaker 7: October, it October based on the lunar Speaker 1: Calendar. And, and that changes. So they both have lunar calendars, they work differently. And Ramadan can fall in the middle of summer. It can be in the middle of winter. Right. Okay. So with the caveat that we ask for that change then, and I don't know that it needs to be, yeah, I don't know
that this needs to be rearranged. So we have a motion from, I'm sorry, Speaker 7: Can, are we, is this open for, to additions? Should we add the lunar New year here? Speaker 1: It's there, Speaker 7: Which is in February. Speaker 1: It's, it's January or February. It's in the January, it's variable. January or February. Okay. Because it could be in either month. Okay. And so my, my plan is on the, on a, an agenda in September before Columbus Day. I will poll the board as to whether they wanna enter into that discussion and we'll have a discussion about that. Fair enough. Okay. All right.
So we have a motion, a second roll call vote. Mr. Bruce? Yes. Ms. Linda? Yes. Mr. Jacobs. I'll get one of the Yes. Ms. Pope? Yes. And I'm a yes. So it's 5 0 0. And if you could just tell Jay tomorrow that we pass that Speaker 7: The consent agenda has two items on it. A and B. A is elderly and disabled taxation fund committee. Three terms expiring. June 30th, 2029. Ralph Ner, Sheila Adams, Peter France,
item B, appoint Rider p Pian as the voting student representative on the Natick Neck Zero Committee for a term ending June 30th, 2028. Does anyone wanna pull anything from the consent agenda? Nope. Otherwise I move that we approve the consent agenda, items A and B. Second Speaker 1: Moved by Ms. Pope, seconded by Ms. Slager. Mr. Evans? Yes. Ms. Slager? Yes. Mr. Jacobs? Yes. Ms. Pope? Yes. And I'm a yes. 5 0, 0, no updates from our town administrator.
Select board updates? Hell no. That's a definitive, no. Move to adjourn. There's a motion by Ms. Slager. Second. Seconded by Mr. Bruce. All in favor, Bruce? Yes. Linda? Yes. Cody? Yes. Kristen? Yes. And I'm a Yes. The meeting is adjourned at 5 43. 9 9, 9 Speaker 7: Of you guys. Speaker 1: 49 43. Nine 40. Okay. Good night. Thank you.