un States stand indivisible liy and justice for all is that the squeaky chair little one hi everyone um I'd like to start this evening out with a moment of silence we have recently lost a former select board member uh select board member Vincent Russo um so i' just like to start the meeting off with a moment of silence for him thank you thank you so um the first order of business is public comment to receive oral Communications from members of the public members of the public May address the select board for up to three minutes the select board shall not engage in discussion on topics raised during public comment but may choose to add the topic to a future agenda this agenda segment will be limited to 15 minutes there any public comments hi get your name and address Kathy Downey 54 Main Street Highfield um here on behalf of save Newberry Wildlife CU all my peers are here so we just want to thank you all for helping us um well for passing prohibiting escar these were denti sdes on public lands and as you know article warrant um number four we're seeking to do the same on privately owned properties and we will stress especially at town meeting that these really are just escar it's and these are in theory just um by licens Pest Control pest exterminators so we're not asking people to be able the can't get without a Home Depot whatever but so we're really going for this and um thank you ficia for letting us know that we have more work to do to get it because we have the article but now we have to get a motion so I guess we'll be coming to you Tracy to help with that and um so thank you and thank you for your support you're welcome thank you is there any other public comment tonight okay okay first item on the agenda is mass cultural Council um a local cultural local cultural Council program Grant of $5,600 Iain a motion motion to accept the mass cultural Council Grant okay um I believe this is our annual Grant location I believe um from the Massachusetts cultural Council to our Newbury cultural Council um any discussion on this all in favor I unanimous thank you public hearing seeing none new business we have none we have well we have to approve a request for public property use uh special permit for the new report Coral Society the upper green on high road they want to uh hang a banner um from April 20th to May 6 2024 motion to approve second uh any discussion on this Martha do you want to advertise for them or sure I'm not singing again but I'm happy to oh you're not singing again this okay well the concert is uh the weekend May 4th and May 5th um it's going to be a good challenging program they're doing the dura flight requium and it should be very exciting thank you are they really yes there going to be challenge yes okay any discussion further discussion okay all in favor I no opposed okay next we have an appointment to the new library Board of Trustees Melisha Melissa Mashburn motion to appoint is there a second second any discussion on this I worked with Melissa um um hello E Smith endowment fund for the library that has since defun um okay all in favor hi there you are hi Melissa it's with the friends of the library now Alicia we now have this great new library great great great great thank you um thank you for stepping up and serving thank you okay uh next item on the agenda under old business we have town meeting War review and vote so um the fincom met I think it was last week and they took their votes and in the um in the Appropriations booklet the finance committee puts out an an Appropriations booklet for um the town meeting members um it goes you when you look through the booklet it's the town meeting re recommends they take took their votes to recommend to not recommend or abstain the select board will be doing the same and all these votes will appear in the finance committee rationale book with the Appropriations book um I'm just going to wait for Tracy to come back before I stop so we're just going to go through this um the warrant article at a time there's a few articles that we will not be speaking to um article one uh we don't need a vote on that um article four is a Citizens petition we usually don't weigh in on the that one um then we start with the Appropriations um there is um a bylaw article 14 is the um the MBTA communities multif family overlay District bylaw you can that has a financial implication to it thank you ladies thank you very much take care that will um we'll have we'll we'll vote on that one and then there I think Article 15 is the wireless uh o overlay District that's going to be moved no action on that so we're going to pass over that one um completely because that's what's going to happen at town meeting um then we'll move on to article 16 um through Article 2 twoo so I guess article one we don't need to comment on that article two will be to receive reports we don't need to do that either Madam chair yes just may I just ask a question before we before we get started and my question was um and it's actually for Town Council but I don't I don't think they're here this evening uh is there any method for this and I've talked to Tracy a little bit about this already is there any method of this being amended before it hits the floor at the annual town meeting what's this the the entire warrant the entire warrant no I don't I believe so I think once it's posted does any does anybody have a a I I did text um Town Council and she said no there's no way you can amend the already posted warrant the only you could do is the select board can always call another town meeting so you can for what purpose for whatever well I understand yeah that that that that was a good answer really it's yes or no when answer is no it can't be so yeah yeah to to amend the entire warrant is that what you're asking or and specific articles of the warrant whatever not not the entire warrant but pieces of it and the answer to that is no it can't be so and that still can be done on the floor but it can be but on the floor it can be done through discussion yeah that that's that's all I wanted to no okay thank anything else what anything else uh no you're good now okay okay um so that's article one two so article three I'm just I'm just thinking how Alicia visioned what you just send out of a clear blue change the whole warrant can you imagine what's going through her head right now she like how I don't think you thought about it yeah yeah no I wasn't meant to be scary I know I'm just thinking she's thinking oh my God for what purpose you know okay okay so article three is um to see if the town will fix the salaries in compensation of certain elective officials of the town you know as follows and you'll see them before you in front in front of you um so I'll entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend I'll have a motion to recommend you're on article three come on article three yes motion to recommend is there a second second second okay so um all in favor of recommending this article say I I I I any to not recommend and any extensions so that's 5 z z okay the citizens petitions we don't lay in on the Appropriations is Article Five this is the budget um I'll entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend motion to recommend second discussion on this okay all in favor of recommending I Article Five Article Five yeah one two that's five any to not recommend zero and any extensions zero okay next is article six this is to see if the town will vote to raise the sum of $100,000 to the stabilization fund motion to recommend second any discussion on this I'll in favor of recommending I I I okay any opposed any extensions okay 5 zero okay article seven is to see if the town will vote to transfer from available funds the sum of $200,000 to fund other post employment benefits or take any other re that's article seven there a second second okay any discussion on this all in favor of recommending say I any opposed any extensions 5 z z article eight to see if the town will vote to transfer or appropriate the sum of $85,000 from the receipts reserved cable television Peg access fund I entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend motion to recommend is there a second second okay any discussion on this one okay all in favor to recommend hi hi hi okay any to not recommend any extensions five z z okay article nine is to see if the town will transfer the total expenditures for the following uh revolving fund which is the recreation the municipal water waves Improvement fund I'll entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend motion to recommend a second okay any discussion on this one any questions uh all in favor of to recommend all in voting yes to recommend say I I I one any opposed zero and any extensions zero article 10 this is the ambulance Enterprise fund I'll entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend motion to recommend second okay any discussion on this is article 10 article 10 no no discussion okay all in favor of recommending say I I I I any any to not recommend any extensions okay this is article 11 this is to see if the town will vote to enter into a lease purchase financing agreement for um some Capital assets I like to a motion to recommend motion to recommend is there a second second okay any questions on this one yes if I may what what uh what equipment are we talking about next article oh it's okay it's it's it's it's related to the next the next article article 12 it's related to two I believe Trac correct so there's a fir truu um and also an ambulance that you'll see in the next article so article 11 is directly related to article 12 article 11 is just authorizing the town meeting authorizing you to be allowed to borrow just like you would if you were building the police station you had to get that 2third vote to authorize the the borrowing that's same here this is a two-thirds threshold yeah yeah so but it's not talking about any debt exclusions or over it's very it's funded already to acquire equipment well the fire truck the fire truck is funded in the operating budget yep and the uh the uh ambulance is the next one you're going to take that from free cash thank you okay that's good questions thank you any further questions clarifications okay all in favor of recommending article 11 say I I I any uh to not recommend and any extensions zero okay article 12 this is again this is a fully equipped ambulance that we're going to lease I a motion motion to recommend to recommend there a second second any further discussion on this I'll in favor of recommending say i i two three four any opposed any extensions okay Article 13 is to see if the vote will transfer from free cash uh to purchase these capital capital assets I'll say a motion to recommend motion to recommend okay is there a second second a motion and a second um any discussion on this Daniel yes I I just as I said in the last select board meeting um I would like to see some of this money come out of well it's this is a two a twart question one is I would have liked to have seen some of this money come out of the Town Hall account which we can't do unless we reame or reappropriate the the town hall account funds so that would have to be in order for that to take place that's why this is where my Amendment question came from at the very beginning um and the other piece of that is I would also like to see the HVAC the elementary school HVAC be done all in one shot and I I've talked to Tracy a little bit about that um and and I understand that the um you know the roof replacement in the HVAC kind of go handin hand with each other and uh I still I still would like to see those what I just talked about moved forward and to speed up or whatever would be necessary to get the roof in the HVAC completed before fiscal year 2026 so that that would be how I would want to modify Article 13 um okay so I mean there's a there's a couple of other little things in there but you know like the the library roof replacement that's going to be done that's going to be completed correct that you know so so again get get getting back to the town hall account funds that we have I would not be opposed osed to taking all of these expenditures and kind of splitting them between the town hall account money and the free cash money and not drain the free cash down as far as we're proposing to do so it's just you're just it's still paying it for the same way you just want to take it out of a different pot well I want to and I want to expedite the the H fact in instead of spreading it over two years in the roof instead of spreading it over two years I would like to see it done all at once and it and it may it may still be a 2year I mean I know you know engineering and and and all of the you know all the issues with with getting uh getting the the the hardware that we need to do the work and all that it still may be a two-year process but I would like to see the entire process approved this year both for the roof and the h back and get the project started and and and not kick half of it another year down the road that's that you do know you do understand that if we appropriate it at town meeting and it doesn't get expended because just what you said there's engineering work and stuff you know you can't put the cop for the the money just ties back to free cash you know that right so there's no harm no follow and you cannot appropriate this year into next year tell meeting can't well well that's that that wasn't actually what I just said I I I wasn't trying to appropriate this year's money into into the into the next year what I what I what I want to see happen is see the the bids go all the bids go out for the HVAC system and for the roof on the on the on the uh Elementary School all those bids and all those all that go out before next year and and get the project started well that's the plan we're going to get the project started well you're not following me I I think Tracy there was there a reason why we're doing it this way there was um number one you didn't want to spend down all your free cash if you if you did it all at once you would in effect have about I think you'd be in the whole yeah well close to it no you'd have a little bit which is why I brought up the town hall account yeah um yeah you'd have about $887,000 left in your fre right which I don't even think by state law that's even legal well surprisingly you had a negative 130 when I got here so I don't know but um so but yeah that that's part of it but the reason that they were um crossing over two years was because of the coordination of the roof work they wanted to make sure I I don't know how it works which comes first but they wanted to spread it out so that um they wouldn't have to you know have a new part of the roof putting holes into that for the hbac and I again I don't know the engineering HVAC on the new roof yeah something like that so um the DBW director and the facilities manager at Triton were working in concert to to schedule it all um if if we had done the roof all at once we probably would be proposing um to do the HVAC all at once but um I don't know if you recall that the the roof project alone uh because of the expense was proposed to be a debt exclusion override but the decision was made spread it out over I think a 10 year I think it was a 10 10 year period right which so unfortunately we have to live with the decisions of the past well unfortunately what we're here to do is to change some of the decisions of the past which can be done well we can't go back we can't go back in 10 years and redo how we did the r no but we can finish the job now well according to what we just heard from Tracy that might we don't the roof well we don't know that we we haven't we haven't even investigated whether it can or cannot be done right so if you foresee this coming up at town meeting I'll make sure there's somebody there to explain it to the town meeting members is to the logic behind this yeah yeah absolutely I'll get a write up from the engineers Dana to Jeff keep it in big big articles like the million and the six I mean don't go back and like split everything my my my main fear is we're going to get into the ability to access that money with what we've coming up for maybe School problems and everything else we're going to exhaust that on little things and then we're going to be in real trouble well I I totally understand and like for example let's mitigate if we even get to that point maybe mitigate a large thing I'll I'm I'd be willing to get on that road well just put that in that mind you do understand I mean just a good example is like unpaid bill $499 it's kind of it's kind of ridiculous I I don't think that that was in the capital planning but wasn't so that's not even one of the things I'm talking about that's okay so just so we're clear getting down into 35s I understand I understand this isn't a capital plan line item this is a put all the free cash articles in one article right so we don't already gone through Capital yeah those have already gone through Capital plan where lumping them into a function to pay them to get them done I I understand first time we've ever done this we can always you know go back to doing it the other way if new prefers it that way and have them all separate I I I have a question um if this comes up on the floor I think what I heard was for those two items the HVAC in the roof this article would say transfer from town what used to be called Town Hall account still yeah I'm I'm driving at to change the town hall account are you adding an article to the warrant to change the name of an account no not now we can't that's that's what I'm saying I'm right I'm thinking to be able to to do what Dana said and and you take that money from what used to be the town hall account first you'd have to change the town hall account to a different name and I'm thinking does that require an article to be voted on it the town meeting has to do that they they arranged it they it sounds like procedurally you can't say take that money from the town hall account and by the way rename the town hall account so you can do that because you can't vote on the town hall the count not at this town meeting not now that's exactly what that's why I asked the amendment question at the very beginning of this meeting was to see whether or not we might be able to to go you know at least consider going down that road and and you know I I also I went way I think it was 2021 when uh Marshall ex actually explained to us in the Triton Auditorium about what the town hall account money was supposed to be used for and he gave a really good explanation from the floor um that the town hall account money and I'm not trying to play with words here but he says it's not just for the town hall he says that that those monies are for any minute IAL building that we decide that we may want to build and it's also it's for also any major Capital plans Marshall sen it I can I can I can play it for you right now I have it that's fine but the the money can only be spent for the purpose that town hall that town meeting voted it to be spent for so you'd have to pull out the motion get a certified copy of the motion from the Town Clerk and then it could be used for that and the arbit the the decision maker on that generally is the town accountant and Town Council that would say Okay um this I don't know what the language was in that particular article or the motion but if the motion said to build a town hall you can't use or we couldn't spend that money to build a fire station we can Town Hall voted it so you could bring an article at a subsequent town meeting to say you know what scrap the town hall we don't want to build that we want to build a fire station in instead so can we transfer this town hall money into a fire station building project and you town meeting can do that I can't but tell me I totally understand we I talked about this whole thing in our last elect board meeting when we voted to move the warrant forward in the first place I I brought this exact same subject up and so how can you here's my question how can can you stand well maybe I'll buy the argument that you want to use monies that are put aside for a capital project like the town hall um to purchase this kind of stuff right well let's let's not just call it this kind of stuff let's talk about the hbac and let's talk about the roof we can talk about the library roof too if you want to yeah there's $2.2 Million worth of of capital spending here so I I'll I understand what you're saying about possibly taking the money out of the Town Hall account that was put aside for that Municipal purpose but then the free cash would still stay up here so it's like a shell game do you know what I mean yeah but but what why do you want to spend down the town hall monies that was specifically set aside to solve a capital need which we still have because we do rent space because that was not the explanation that was given the citizens when the town hall account was created it was told that it could that it was just a name and it could be used for other purposes I believe if town meeting changes it if the town meeting which which I proposed that in the last select board meeting was to change the name of the account so we can use it to to fund other sources this isn't that complicated well it but you I think you're doing it in the wrong place this is not something the select board can do the town meeting has to so also right now Alicia and Dana maybe how do I say this we could be in for depending on which way the new proposal from the state goes depending on how that's going to be paid for with whia depending on what Triton could hold for us with debt exclusions for roofs let's say and the fact that sitting on the DCC lesie and I both know that the budget seems to be for schools to be you know at that point where it's going to increase it's trending it's increasing I've started to see where we don't have industry and we don't have Commerce within our towns that our budgets could be tightening up no matter what as certain assessments for buildings let alone if pyan would really ever have a major problem again with a coastal complication looking in the next 2 3 4 years so if we have money to fix things and we have money that we can have to save ourselves from a catastrophe it's a little Beyond me at least tonight to figure the best way to meter those things out because I am and don't do have fears for keeping the town fiscally strong into the next you know and Tracy probably totally got a handle on it but I'm getting a little uneasy I mean we have a handle on it but yeah you're absolutely right Erica has already said that fiscal year 2026 were about $750 to $800,000 in the rec is that correct so what in 2020 2026 fiscal year she she I heard her say that it might take an override to run the operating no no it might take because of what could come at us from the schools right you could have an override no control over how the school committee votes so I'm worried about it might be a little above my pay grade sitting here as a selectman without having meetings and thinking about which I think this select board and all the financial people along with different people this is a year to plan it's one of the main reasons I just didn't run right out and try to advocate for a $300,000 override this year I think the year coming up is going to be a very important year to plan with all the resources possible so I want to just make sure that you understand or the everybody watching this meeting understands that the town of Newbury chooses through our our expertise that we hire in the Town Administrator to purchase equipment Capital Equipment through free cash this is all planned it's not Willy Nelly well I think we have the money in this account let's blow through that account we'll leave the money in free cash and then maybe something will do something else with free I mean I don't know what you're going to do with free cash free cash is should be used to spend down your your um your Capital plans so I mean you talk about we still don't we still in rented space for the town hall there is no solution the $300,000 a year that we rent comes directly out of the operating budget which has a direct impact on how much the SC the town can support the schools the library uh the Council on Aging um so what you're proposing is kind of I don't think it's fiscally sound for me personally now you also have to remember that the town of Nuri recently won a nationally recognized uh budget award nationally recognized we are AAA Bond Bond rated we we're we're one of only 70 communities across the Commonwealth and we hire expertise in a Town Administrator because that's what we have as our form of government and we expect the professionals that we hire to manage us well and they have over the past 10 years at least 12 12 years we have fiscal policies that come into play and when we start saying you know that's a good policy but I don't really want to follow that right now I want to use some of our we have $5 million in the in a an account for a fund that yeah we might need a town hall but we're renting it now who cares and and we're going to just plug our operating we're going to go with the school we're going to take one-time source of funds and we're going to you know fund our operating budget like that well that's a road we used to do to Hell in a hand in a handbag we'll we'll lose we'll lose everything because you can't you can't do that Alicia no one's really right or wrong visioning here tonight however that whole process that we have ahead of us because I see things starting to cross is going to take all the visioning and forecasting that we possess as a select board with our financial advisors and everything else in the next three or four years I think it's you know I think we should start early depending on when the election's over we need to start the fiscally plan for how we're going to handle these every year in the past come budget time come getting the school bu come getting witty as budget we scramble around it's no good right we don't have any control over that and that and that doesn't help but getting back to this getting getting back to this to whether the the funds come out of free cash or the funds come out of a different account the the article before us is it's coming out of free cash so I do also want to say that that out of all of these we'll probably we'll we'll have to have two motions not probably will have two motions on this because um to pay the unpaid bill from the previous year that requires a 4 fth vote of town meeting so we'll probably we will be moving the fire station floor replacement down to the lower green roof replacement in one motion and then we'll have another motion for the unpaid bill and I guess what very fasile very simplistic I don't know how quick I'd be to get on money that's a hair sequestered I mean at least to me I don't see us running out and building a town hall with it anytime soon but it's kind of nice to have it going into this year as Surplus or excess or protection protection well yeah it's like I don't know for what purpose you know what I mean like you want to spend it but for what purpose you know it's to me it is a shell game because you have the money in free cash have the money there this or that I just don't see that's fine that's okay okay are there any other any further discussion okay so I'll entertain we already have a motion to recommend this article 13 all in favor I I I no okay hold on so all in favor how many that was three did you vote in favor Leslie no okay so select board was three any any to not recommend wait a minute we voted to recommend was three to not recomend I I I do not recommend okay okay so that's two in any extensions zero okay now we have the article 14 which is the marac valley planning um I'm sorry it's the MBTA communities multif family overlay District bylaw um this this does uh it has minor fiscal implications to us if we're not compliant we could have pending litigation that we'll have to pay for and we are at risk of losing grant money uh this is a law uh we're required to adhere to all the laws of the Commonwealth um so I'll a motion to recommend motion to recommend second okay I have a motion in a second uh any discussion on this yes uh I would like to revisit this next year okay well it's on the warrant so it has to go here right well that's just it make if it doesn't pass the time meeting it'll be back right next year we have until the end of 2025 correct okay any further discussion I think which I don't understand and we've gotten certain things and we've seen certain things and maybe Kristen and Martha can make it a little more plain to me as I could be simplistic on this or Tracy but as I kind of get information more on this it seems that if we did in I'm not saying make it will of the people and correct me if I'm wrong but as I look at this some of the penalties which obviously I'm not that fond of but if some of the penalties that could exist they're going to exist not at town meeting level but they're going to exist on the level that if councilman and selectman vote not to bring this to town meeting that's when you start to get into the ability to have censorship is am I wrong or right well if town meeting does not adopt it by the end of 2025 then will be non-compliant so it'll no longer be eligible for the grants that are listed in the in the law so the will of the people of a town they're still going to punish the will and people of a town if Town meaning and the attorney general has made it very clear that this is a law and it must be complied with and we will lose substantial grant funding not only the three grants that are mentioned in the legislation itself but we'll be much less competitive for 13 other grants including you know Municipal vulnerability we've got $367,000 from that and other planning grants and Rural and small town development which is infrastructure One Stop so some things it fails at one town meeting you still take it to another town meeting right we are we we decided to do it early this year so that we can work through the process if it passes that's great we have you know an opportunity to really meet our housing needs um but we do have until December 25 to be compliant so for for me that's why I would be recommending it so that it gets in front of the people Dana just maybe so they really find out what the hitsa that's the you know so because it's still going to be not only that this is this is just zoning it's not building it's just zoning currently Newbury has no multif family zones anywhere whatsoever not so this will provide Madam chair if I may I have a question for Mar um I and Tracy thank you so much for sending out the the the uh the what I think that was an interpretation of what the state law says and I believe it was what the attorney general has has put out and I I really appreciate that and the way I interpreted that from what the Attorney General says is we don't it was interesting to me because when I was reading it I'm saying to myself well actually I don't even know why we're voting on this because it's state law that we have to do this that I mean that that's that's what the attorney general has said so um I'm interpreting this today as what we're really going to be voting on whether we do it this year or next year is where those zones are going to be the sizes of those zones what they are and and you know and it's and they're going to have to be somewhere between the minimum requirement and you know I'm being ridiculous and factious when I say this or the whole town you know I mean that that's really what we're voting on as a as a community we're not really voting on whether or not we're going to adopt this because state law says we have to adopt this but still a zoning amendment that has to be but it's a zoning amendment that the people are going to get to vote on is that correct did I summarize that I Town town meeting town meeting is what votes to adopt zoning amendments and this is zoning so the select board doesn't adopt zoning no I know I know I know so so my question is is the the uh what has been presented so far of of the of the areas and where they're going to be and their sizes and and in the um density of each of those areas is that going to be specific on this vote at the annual town meeting is it is it oh absolutely it's already so that's it what what what we have prop what you have proposed is plan board proposed the planning board has proposed is what the people are going to be expected to accept for the changes in zoning that yeah that's what's osed in 14 right I and and I I think I think that we need to personally I think we need to look at that and and maybe do some more modifications to the current proposed plan and I think we could easily use another year to to do that and I have a question sure so the planning board has had a numerous um public hearings on this they have three more and they have three more coming but do did you attend any those and give this feedback to the planning board yeah okay I was at the town library i i i i as long as I got this feedback yeah okay yeah I I think I think in general I think a lot of people would like to see us would like to see us minimize this as much as possible and I'm not sure that we've that we've done that because you know if if you look at the even the mermac valley they're projected population growth for the town of nub over the next 10 years is to go down well that's because we haven't made these zoning changes yet well it's it's also it it you know it that's part of what is trying to be solved by the amendment is the concern about population declining including school age children declining and population currently living in newbry is aging so there are fewer people living in bigger homes so all of those issues are what the proposal is trying to address right I I just you know I know the culture of this town I don't think we're ready for that but and I know I know it it probably can't be stopped I get it but I I I still I would I would like to I would like to see that amount of space and the density levels at the absolute minimum requirements I think if I may one one other thing to keep in mind is the density amounts are coming from a very abstract compliance tool which is being used which is really Bears no relation to what's on the ground here that they the build out is not going to be whatever this density tool model says we don't have the infrastructure right we don't have the infrastructure we've got you know very limited soils um limitations on on septic capacity so the build out developers can be very creative but they still would have to put in a sore system we don't have that is that part of the requirement the S uh to have no we're not required to build we're not required to provide the infrastructure it's just zoning so if I may make a comment yeah um the way I'm viewing this is to just to get this in place so that when it becomes active by by the end of next year you already have done the work we've already voted it in but so there's no scrambling in other words the everything will be in place no that's a very good point there's there's no just because the zoning goes through doesn't necessarily mean that the developers going to you know get on the big bus and come to town and start buying up properties it's going to take a while to put all of that together that's possible I think the other thing to keep in mind is one of the reasons that again that that the board decided that we should go for it this year is there still has to be attorney general approval and approval by um housing and livable communities so the last thing you want to do is get this too close to the you know the final deadline and be scrambling at that point but I think it if it were to get voted down at the town meeting at least I think it gets the wheel turning and brings the information to the Forefront for the community to chew on and digest and see exactly how it's going to work just to you know kind of push things along a little bit and Martha actually that's that's what they both were feeling it's going to vet it this year what we're doing um mattha you still have three dates coming up right or Kristen for public hearing dates yeah information sessions do you want to yeah um just they're not public hearings but they're times where the public is invited to come speak with us about the amendment get answers um have a discussion um this is following a number of public meetings Dana mentioned the one in January so there were a number of meetings where the public was invited to give input and then the public hearings um over February and into March the upcoming information sessions are Saturday morning coming up April 13th 930 to 11 um and again that's right here in this space drop in get the fact sheet look at the maps talk with um Martha myself and planning board members if they're available um Tuesday a week from today April 16th from 5: to 6:30 we're also going to have this same drop in no appointment necessary um office hours and then on Wednesday April 24th that's a more formal presentation that will be at 6:30 here in this space Wednesday evening April 24th thank you ask a question what's the attendance been like at these sessions on average um probably about 30 30 people at the ones that we 5,000 registered voters and the interested people well that's more than we usually get well I we're we're counting on more input to come if this doesn't make it at the annual town meeting the year to follow we're counting on more information to come when the participation so far has been not I wouldn't call it robust so again I'm just going to reiterate these dates and times it's going to be Saturday this Saturday April 13th 9:30 in the morning right here in 12 kentway Tuesday um April 16th at between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. again right here at 12 kentway and then Wednesday April 24th at 6:30 p.m. here again 12 kentway and this time there'll be a presentation thank you okay can we still have four locations yes four yeah four subd districts new North new North new self self ab ab okay so I have a motion in a second all those in favor of recommending article 14 say I I I any I do not recommend okay so Leslie you or and I yep okay so four what and you anybody not recommend I do not recommend okay and anybody abstain thank you okay the next one is Article 15 and that's the wiress district and we're going to be passing over that correct Martha that's correct the board voted to withdraw that consideration this year that will be withdrawn from the floor town meeting we going to going to end up doing something else though right is there something in the wings um so both the board and um the Triton school committee when they discussed it there were some questions that came up during the process and everybody wanted to have some time to get those answered with the intention of bringing it back so they'll be bring something back eventually okay article 16 is actually I believe article 16 is a 2third article 17 and article 18 um if you I think we're going to group those together if that's okay with with the board instead of taking them one at a time um these are all in relation to the the landfill at um the solar farm at the landfill does anybody have any opposition to taking these clumped to vote it is one one vote or do you want to take them separate 16 17 and 18 Jeff are you good taking them together Leslie I don't know I'm thinking that uh for the voting people at town meeting probably should leave it as three separ take it like this okay um I'm not even going to ask because you want to do way we'll do it this way okay so article 16 I'm going to entertain um a a vote um I'll entertain a motion to re recommend or not recommend V recommend is there a second second okay so discussion um Tracy do you want to explain this one so that one needs a 2/3 vote and I think that one is the article that is just changing the use from a landfill um from from a landfill bless you thank you the surface of the landfill and 5T down for the purpose of installing a solar facility okay and that needs two-thirds vote at town meeting any discuss any further discussion or questions on this Jeff does down deep still remember remain a landfill is it just it's really it's just going to be on the system yeah it's a ball if they had to mine something or do something catastrophic could they still get out and do it they're not supposed to break the mem I they can't break the cover yeah yeah I I don't believe that would be like an EPA violation right but there will be some road work done that's not on the membrane that that'll be involved to the project as well goes to the backside correct and I didn't mean that I know they couldn't I meant if we ever had to do something if there was a catastrophic something that needed to be fixed we can still fix it as a town or do we lose control of the top of the surface it's it's probably more than I need to know I'm I think if we needed to do something we could still do it yeah okay so all in favor of recommending article 16 say I I okay that's five any opposed any extensions okay article 17 now this one is to ask had the vote for town meeting to authorize the select board to negotiate a lease with those people 30 years to recommend Solon people a motion to recommend is there a second second okay any discussion on this one are they going to pay us to lease the property terms to be determined term but but but what we're expecting we're going to we're going to negotiate that okay and it'll come back to the select board right for approval and this is a simple majority we need for this one okay any further discussion okay all in favor of recommending article 17 i i i any opposition to article 17 not recommend okay and any extensions okay article 18 is to see if the town will vote to authorize the select board in the board of accessors again this is to enter into a tax agreement what the company so they'll be like a pilot program or something right again this is a simple majority um I'll entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend motion to recommend is there a second second okay any discussion on this yeah um so are they going to be getting a tax break or on on the property is is that what this uh no that's not actually the case then we be getting a tax break we'd be entering into kind of like a purchase power agreement to buy Power from them generated from the solar land so what's the tax agreement that would that's the tax agreement that's the tax agreement where where we say that again please I'm sorry that's the tax agreement that would be negotiated at a later date so the previous article 16 authorizes you to enter into those negotiations right so I'm sorry what did you say at the very beginning about so it's not a tax agreement like a property tax kind of agreement it's an energy Trade Agreement in other words what what we're going to get versus what they're going to get to keep because it's their it's their stuff right it's their Hardware they're the ones that are creating all that electricity not us so so we're going to determine how much we're going to get versus how much they're going to keep is what this article is basically talking about and that's to be determined is it like a payment and low of taxes uh I don't believe there's going to be a pilot involved this if I'm is it similar to a pilot not really I don't I don't believe so It ultimately it would really be the difference between what the cost of buying the power from the Solar Company is versus National Grid or whoever our power supplier would be so in theory we'll get a discounted rate okay but again to be negot apprciated at some point should town meeting see fit to approve okay very okay so we're gonna have [Laughter] voltaic oh I couldn't help it it was too serious I wasn't listening to was listening to him it's all about power in so many ways um okay so any further discussion on this all in favor to recommend say I I any opposed any extensions okay and this one is also a simple majority simple majority yes all right okay so Article 19 is to see if the town will vote to authorize a select board to petition the general court of the Commonwealth to amend section five of chapter 460 of the acts of 2008 as follows so we've made some changes to this we replacing Selectmen with select board um but more importantly this allows the finance committee to also sit on the capital planning committee because right now they're at a loss because they don't have that that helps plan the capital planning committee to have members of the finance committee they kind of go hand hand in hand plus our bylaw our Capital planning bylaw um requires two members of the fincom to sit on it so this will put us in alignment with our Capital planning bylaw motion to recommend second second okay any further discussion um Tracy chapter 460 what what came first like like the chicken or the egg it was was it 460 was before the bylaw or was the bylaw before 46 I believe the bylaw was before the special act but they were both before my time so I'm not 100% sure so we wrote the bylaw you wrote both but the 460 is a state law even though but but we but we wrote it y why did we contradict ourselves there's quite a few contradictions in our bylaws I think what may have happened although again I'm totally speculating is um you know bylaws were written and then there was maybe a move to amend it to some degree and then but they forgot to repeal or revoke the other one perhaps I'm I'm not 100% sure there are there are a number of instances that we've found over the years where we've had to address different things previous to the acts of four the ACT 460 I think the town was managed by pretty much volunteer select board members right and the expertise was not there so this is I think an obviously that's evident right here and now I think this is an evolution that was a still that still it's only 2024 um but so there are other I had I have asked in the past if we could get uh interns like a a kid going to college you know law school somebody in law school to to look at all of our bylaws and find the ones that conflict and then slowly bring them to town meeting to have corrected but the pandemic hit and then everything changed so that's on the back burner any further discussion on this article 19 okay so I have all in favor of recommending Article 19 say I I I how many is that any opposed I do not recommend it I I I need to revisit it some more and I know Frank Frank gave me a really good explanation of both you know so I'm kind of familiar with it but I I don't recommend it okay so how many re recommended one two three four recommends one not recommend or are you abstaining I do not recommend you do not recommend do you understand by not recommending this this our bylaws will continue to conflict you got to fix one or the other yes okay article 20 is to see if the town will vote to dissolve the existing Newbury Improvement trust voted in at town meeting on October 25th 2025 so um I'll attain a motion to re recommend this I Rec is there a second second okay discussion Tracy do you want to explain to the board what this is sure um there was a resident that brought this account to our attention so it it was in fact a trust fund there's a little bit over $4,000 in it and um our former Town accountant ien devot did a lot of research to understand what it was initially established for and to try and determine who made the initial contributions to it so she she did quite a bit of research and got most of it put together um we could identify almost all of the contributions were made um on behalf of a a resident I believe her name was Dorothy Cunningham um and it was with the intend and P purpose that they be used for the the senior center um given that it has so many years have passed and we still haven't been able to build a senior center and there really isn't one on the horizon um one of her relatives felt that it was time to disband this money um put it what would happen is it would go into a special Revenue fund under the control of the select board and that those funds be distributed for the purpose that they were intended Council on AG have any questions on that okay for me um all in favor of recommending article 20 say I I any opposed any extensions okay article 21 is to see if uh the town will vote to revoke the general laws chapter 44 this is the peg access special Revenue fund um I'll entertain a motion to recommend or not recommend this motion to recommend there a second second okay discussion um there's a lot of history to this account um I know I explained to the to the finance committee at their meeting so they could understand the history behind this account currently the the town has the monies that that uh currently the town has the municipal model to run its public education and government access programming we don't have a separate nonprofit organization we don't have a separate 501c3 it's run by the town of new um the accounting for that those services are set up in this special Revenue fund because back in 2015 Alicia wanted really badly to have a 501c3 that um would grow organically up from the populace and volunteer for a robust Public Access programming station similar to what we have in Salsbury with Salsbury TV similar to Boston um there's a few other communities I think Melrose is a Bigg e that have robust Public Access programming um that never happened so we started on this endeavor I have meeting notes back in 2011 when I joined the media committee um that wanted that we wanted to first things the first things we did when we joined that media committee was there were there wasn't even no government programming was being recorded and aired it was nothing there was nothing and I worked with um a gentleman by the name of Richard Hendrickson among some others on the media committee um to purchase equipment Richard work with Tracy to get the cameras that we currently have U we had them originally at the Town the Old Town Hall at 25 high road we got select board uh aired I think we got planning board meetings aired um and then we got the TV the uh video cameras that we currently have to record all other boards and committees in 2017 I think it was we passed a policy at the select board that all our boards and committees were going to be recorded um everything whether you were elected or appointed border of committee you were going to be recorded it was going to either be aired on the the channel that we now had we had Channel 9 was our cable access Channel and it would be Sim not simal cast but it would be on the the server and it would rotate and not to interrupt ficia but that was a big deal back then to do all us yeah we had nothing it was a big deal and so um we had it scheduled it would scheduled and go on the TV channel then a few years later we got the channel 9 which is the education Channel we got that one up and running with Triton um we created two internship ship positions um but all the while with the the money has been held in this special Revenue fund with the hopes that a 501c3 would form but we can't even get volunteers to come record our meetings never mind volunteer for a robust nonprofit type of a I think that's the key word though volunteer yeah so time and energy put in by somebody I think they want to be rewarded for it right but that's not how 501 c3s work they're nonprofit organizations I know uh Salsbury they their model they have volunteers that come in in record meetings um we have a paid internship we have two paid internships for students at Triton to come and do it and nobody comes nobody's nobody H you know Vol volunteers it just never grew here so what's happened is the monies have continued to build over since 2015 so almost 10 10 years the monies have build it's not being used for its intended purpose um we if you saw back on an article I think it was Article 8 we appropriated $85,000 out of this Revenue fund to run our Peg access programming um we need to do it again this year to keep the cameras rolling and to keep you know transparency is very important I believe very strongly that Sunshine kills mold and I think we need to to keep these um keep our programs up um but uh the currently the accounting just doesn't match what's happening so this all this does is we'll change it so that we still need to appropriate the money this year but then next year the monies in that special revenue account will close out to free cash it has to go into the general fund by law it can't go any place else and then from that point we'll have to figure have a discussion with the board as to how we're going to appropriate it if we're going to appropriate it at all and then our Peg access programming will come into our budget in our regular our regular article I think it was five um our regular under General government I think I'm not quite sure would it be under General government you'll have a line item in there that will run our governmental program and it'll be run the same exact way the same people nothing is going to change we'll still have the same internships we'll still have the same um Ethan and um you know and if people want to come we still have a peg program people want to come borrow the cameras they can and Ethan will help you and you can have a cooking show from your kitchen you can do that um but just nobody nobody ever nobody ever asks so that's the story behind article 21 do we have any questions I don't have a question I have a comment yes the peg money comes from the people who pay their subscriber fees subscriber fees it's not it's not tax dollars no so there's the there are those people that will be paying for it and those people who will not be paying for it correct um no if the if you don't have if you don't have cable you don't pay a subscriber fee correct right so this is similar to any other Revenue source that comes into our operating budget um think of excise tax if you don't have a car you don't pay excise tax or a boat or motorcycle or anything like that you don't pay excise tax so therefore that line you not you're not paying that particular tax if you don't have if you don't subscribe to Comcast and that's what's happening is is declining subscriptions yeah so if you have Direct TV or you have Verizon you don't have cable you're not paying a subscriber fee so but the but the the 5% additional ta not tax but fee on franchise fee on the subscriber is specifically for Public Access program specifically for that because I believe they think Sunshine kills mold too so does that answer your question it it I understand exactly what you're saying but on the other hand I feel that that this Peg access money isn't being used as much as it could be used for all kinds of even just it work I we've been suffering through a lot of uh glitches lately right and those things well part of the glitches some of it has been addressed with these monies some of it has we have purchased I think we just purchased a new server didn't we with this Mony okay so the it the peg money can't be used to pay for the town's IT services the peg money can be used to pay for all of the equipment for we got a new server yeah for the com to comcat to cablecast right yeah but it can only be used for the servers the equipment the microphone phones the video cameras everything that has to do with producing and and distributing the content the content for the peg content right so that's why it just keeps mounting and mounting and mounting because we you know we replaced the equipment we had talked about at one point in time there was a conversation about oh well if we build a new town hall could we build a studio with those funds and we could we got a a ruling from Department of Revenue on that um um but then seem to want to move in that direction um but it's very specific under the the the igr for that what you what you can and cannot use it for um so if if this were to be revoked the funds that currently sit in that special Revenue fund would become components of free cash um for the next for the subsequent year that being said there's nothing from to prohibit you as a board from you know saying okay there was 900,000 in there we want to use 250,000 to from free cash to upgrade our broadcasting equipment or provide mobile cameras or a mobile van or whatever you want to spend it on you could certainly do that um but from that point forward the proceeds the contract proceeds that we get would be deposited into the general fund they would no longer go into that special Revenue fund that holds um holds the money for that intended purpose but it that's the way it was set up though it wasn't originally it was general fund and then we went to town meeting and asked them to put it in this special Revenue fund because we really thought we would get more of a nonprofit we thought we might entice a nonprofit and we had some people that were willing to go that way but unfortunately they moved so this was this occurred this vote occurred at the town meeting special town meeting held on October 20th 2015 yeah and I believe the the Massachusetts General law changed that year and allowed allow for us to do it to do something like previous it came previous to that it would always come into the general fund always and then the law changed and that's when I seized on that moment and I strongly advocated to have this account set up because I really wanted a 501c3 it never happened so let me just the way I'm viewing it is it's it's set up just for Peg access money exactly the way the town hall fund is set up for Town Hall money town meeting voted it it's a special Revenue fund right and that's why town meeting voted it town meeting can revoke it same with Town Hall town meeting voted it the town hall town meeting can change it for the fire station or whatever intended purpose you you have yep so anybody tell me to could could get up and make a motion to change the title of the fund no no I don't I I it's it's very specific um the language so you you adopt it or you revoke it you can't you couldn't take um at this town meeting for example you couldn't make a motion to use that money to um to go into the town hall account you you couldn't transfer that you have to revoke it and then it closes to free cash once it's in free cash the select board can use it for whatever intended purpose they the only place that money can legally go is into the general fund that's it Town Council was abundantly clear with that or we could try and emulate like what Sal has done and some of the other towns that you said have been very oh Dana I've been trying to do that for 12 years yeah well I've only been here for two well so you know maybe uh you've only lived in town for two years no I've only been here for two but there people that lived in town well maybe we can move this forward and and and I'm looking and and even like a like a studio I mean we we have some empty spaces in town where we could actually build a studio and the studio we've already got permission to build the studio and it would help us be able to you got permission to build a studio from home she just told us that Department of Revenue said we could use the peg funds to build a p Stud I'm sorry I thought you just want to be mindful of where you put it because it's a relatively you know expensive Endeavor if you're going to be moving from one building to the next so where whever you put it make you know you want it to be relatively right I mean yeah like I wouldn't want to put it out of Devil's Den or anything but uh well there was one there was the town did hire a um a consultant at one point and he did give a report and his recommendation was um a technical video consultant on June 15th of 2018 his recommendation was to put this if we were to go through a studio uh over at Triton cor right but as we've learned with trying to give Peg money to Triton one municipality can't give money to another municipality and there was all other kinds of uh issues with having a peg Access program at the Triton school because the school is locked down during the day and you can't have a public open public access Studio people people going in and out of there it was just it it just did not work so then the theory was to have you know we were going to try and get a um a studio possibly in the new town hall but people are going away from Studios now everything is shot on your phone everything is shot on your phone I mean you just need a green screen you could book a conference room throw a green screen up and you can have anything so technology has advanced so much further that Studios right now really are not trendy but at the under the same token it would give us an opportunity to do structural upgrades to possibly a building in town that needs it by using by by putting the studio there it's like even only for the percentage that is Studio you can't renovate a building and then put a little Studio closet right right no like the entire building sure sure you no no you can't do that not with the peg not the money the way it's held now you could do that if it was in the general can't do what you can't use the money that is in this Peg access account to renovate a 10,000 foot building I'm just saying for a 300 SQ foot Studio you can't do that that's not allowed okay I still think and I I like what lesle was talking about about the fact that this money didn't come from taxes no it came from it came from fees and I'm not really keen on taking that those fees and just blending them into our tax but that's how it was done for years before we well I know but we the the L changed and we made a decision to to to create this account and you know and and like I don't know all the ins and outs of where we can use to spend this money but you know like the fiber optic system um that we that we were going to put together that kind of fell apart you know whether whether this money could be used to to I don't believe it can be used for that well I I don't know you know I I I don't know I don't know that education you know 25 High Road you know whether we could put a studio at 25 high road and do some upgrades to that Municipal Building uh the library you know maybe we could put a studio in the library and upgrade upgrade some of those spaces I I you know I there's a lot there I like your spitballing that's you know you're thinking outside the box um I have haven't seen a public outcry for this at all um so we'll see I would like to revisit a and try and get a robust program going that would emulate like what Sal does I that's you know that would be Fab fabulous that's what I would like to see I would have loved to have seen that yeah okay so now we have article 21 um we have a motion and a second any further discussion on this Jeff no Leslie no bill no Dana any further discussion okay um all in favor to recommend say I I I I any to not recommend I do not recommend no no that's two and any extensions okay next is article 22 that's to see if the town will vote to amend the town of Newbury General bylaws uh chapter 56 dogs and other animals I'll entertain a motion motion recommend is there a second second okay any discussion on this one what this does not do is create a leash [Laughter] law so um the only thing that I um don't seem to follow very well on it is that uh intact dogs um have to be in a confined area where they have to be leashed and not around other dogs and if they so I guess you know it doesn't matter if you have a leash law or not they're they're not to be a in the general population of uh neutered animals yeah I don't I know if that's is that new or is that an amendment it's underlined I think I think it's no anything underlined is new is new and basically this was brought to us by our Animal control officer in an attempt to make all the communities the same because it's very difficult to try and enforce all the varying bylaws so they don't want your intact dog out wandering around right yeah like making making other f intact dogs right yeah I I understand the point it's an animal welfare concern you know they get a scent and they go um is who's going to be speaking to this bylaw change at town chief Fisher yeah I was going to say Chief Fisher and and you know she gave us in the last she gave us she went through this in detail and I I think she gave us a very good briefing on what this is going to is how this is going to work yeah so okay any further discussion um my suggestion Leslie is to reach out to Chief Fisher and see if you can get that question answered I I find it a little on the disturbing side it just I think it takes the the freedom away from the owner of the dog to be able to bring them out and it if they're leashed I understand that but to be able to bring them out into a a public Arena that if you don't want to have your dog neuter you're punished your dog's punished well you just can't let them run free on on it has to be on a leash no longer than six feet okay well talk to caddy about that I mean it also says uh not to come in contact with another animal except for Planned breeding right which if you breed the dog right okay it's I just I find it really unfair to the people that own the dog um and I find it unfair to I I feel that the people and the dogs are being punished okay well we can talk to Patty about that all right all right any all in favor of recommending article 22 say I [Music] I okay that's yeah I'm okay I'm still lesle got on all right so do we want to have any further discussion on this I have a discussion with Patty but I'm just going to um I'm not going to recommend and now if we if if the Animal control officer if there's different laws in each one of the communities that's for that that's how they set them up but to change them for the convenience of one person and I don't think this should be a fine sure persecution making warning or that but I mean this is I well you know you're walking out the street you have an intact dog he's on a six foot leash and somebody's coming in the other direction with a dog and they get within see I mean part of this is because obviously we don't have a leash and we don't want a leash but there's certainly some dogs that this person that has the dog on a leash won't be able to it's for the woman or the person that's small I don't want to say but it's for the person that has a dog loose and three or four dogs come up and bite her and M a dog she in trouble right if the dog is is in heat and you out walking the dog and it's not always the case I'm just saying and there's another dog that comes up and it's loose it's not it's your dog's going to get mauled and you might get mauled cuz you're in the way so well but if it's if the if the other dog is not intact then that may or may not happen I mean that that's that's kind of a hypothetical but here here's my point let's talk about like enforcement like like what let's see what you were talking about you know I have a an intact dog and someone else is walking down the sidewalk with another intact dog and we both have them on leashes and they and they meet each other and all happiness is going on it's like well I was planning on breeding we were planning on breeding right here on the sidewalk well see now now you can't be are the dogs but are are the dogs on a leash what the dogs on a leash cuz this says they have to be leashed no longer than both dogs on then you're not invite inviting well no CU it can't come and talk it can't come within 6 feet of another animal unless you're going to breed them that's what it says or the dog must be on a leash okay it's the or okay all right so I'm reading it says the only thing about six feet is the leash has to be six feet but it what it says they have to be conf finded in a building secure enclosure in such a manner that such dog cannot come in contact with another animal except for Planned breeding so even if you you take your dog out on a leash I don't know if there's going to be or the dog must be on a leash no longer than six feet in length with a capable adult I think this is to protect the public from but I mean a dog that is a big dog that wants to breathe you know I disagree with that because if you're going to protect the public from a you know a dog that's intact a a neutered animal can attack just as easily as a a intact animal can so you don't want to leash LA but you're you're in forcing a leash lot on some part of it and you're letting the other dogs run loose well then there's also get on that's what I said the beginning because you at a female dog that looking at taking many of the dogs within our town let's say own dogs and they haven't B saying dogs have to be on a leash you can't do anything with it Contra it's contradicting actually really punishes someone that doesn't want to neuter their do they want to bre it or they feel that neutering the dog I've had plenty of laborator that I want to you know that happened to be not neutered or could be not in heat and that's actually saying in some ways you read it harshly that I can't have it outside without being leashed I don't know that's kind of that's a the dog that's on the leash actually is the dog that's at risk if um but it's it's even the fact that like you said earlier it's not even the person but you're starting to take male dogs let's say they not Ned because you want to be involved in reading them in subsequent years and you restrict right and it could you know that could be the nicest dog in the world I don't understand you know that's a good point Jeff I I I want to just say that I never thought about this about like for example let's say you're going to go duck hunting that's and and you want to bring your you want to bring your intact lab out duck I'm going to have my leash well you know that that lesle I can't be more than six Fe you found something here that I don't like in some ways either I don't think it needs to be in there but I don't know so my question is can we strike this gets back to my Amendment question at the very beginning we can amend on the floor can we strike this from can't amend it not until you get no no on the town meeting floor can we strike this this language can do anything you want to tell me i' rev people on this one you don't need it cuz we do have hunters a lot yep yeah we yeah it's a hunting tuck hunting yeah that would be something between high road and and Plum Island just as an example is I don't want to have to add acres and acres and Acres I don't want to have to add that to my equipment a leash yeah it for dogs to good going Jeff I like that I never thought about the hunting Satur my dog so what do we want to do well I want to I want to can I can I pull my vote well let's well I did I I voted well no I haven't recorded anything yet so we've had you we haven't voted yet so we're going to we're still into discussion so um all in favor of recommending this article which is 22 article 22 all in favor of recommending this article all in favor of not recommending the article as myself me me too okay po Patty and then po p in favor of abstaining say oh no no exstension so I think this just needs to be amended on town meeting for that one part so we'll have to talk to patyy about that because of hunters Alicia can I ask one question a different section the disposal of waste section I think currently there's some town-owned properties that have um Scoop the Poop yeah disposal facilities yeah so I just want to flag that like that should be clarified what if the way I'm reading this which is for the first time but um the public would not be allowed to place animal waste in a receptacle owned by the town um I don't think we own those receptical I think they're placed there by what is it called pooper scooper or something duty calls I think that's the name of it duty calls I think the the issue is it does DPW have to empty them or not is that is that what we're talking about is that I don't know what the policy currently is but if if that's a change policy or is that consistent with our current policy anything underlined is new that's a lot I know that the uh the dumpster up at the playing fields is is a very handy spot that I've noticed for people that just pull in and get rid of their poop get rid of more than their poop lamps in there and couches have just like the island it's the same way CER Island snowman okay so we're get we have to do some work on this on town meeting floor okay and that's it all right uh next on the agenda is Whittier Regional agreement the desire revisions so oh you're heading away for the good part it's all good thank you good night thank you guys have a good night have a have a good night okay so un Wittier um bill I don't know Bill you want to explain go back a little history and then yeah well Sean uh mayor V report that that task force group up to go over uh ways to change the the wer agreement and they supplied us with a copy of the agreement and the items that they took they'd like to have changed that's what was passed out in our last meeting and we were to look at it and examine it study it and weigh in whether we thought that was a reasonable thing to do or not do or change it that way or another way but find Solutions rather than just just a composition so we asked for the feedback to come in last week on the 3D I think it was extended to the fourth and David has it captured on these two pages yeah so we'll wait for Jeff to come back um but what the request what the request was was for each of the eight new report priorities listed um to document um clearly your concurrence or your agreement or your own revised suggestions so we'll go through those do you guys all have this in front of you this amendment so I think it's on page three on the uh feedback or no no on the stuff that Sean sent this I think so it would be start with b procedure to amend the agreement on page two is that what we're what we're looking at yep it based on discussions with representatives from number at the very top page three based on discussions with representatives from Member municipalities following the vote okay see [Music] that I was just skimming here okay okay so Jeff we were waiting for you oh my gosh so thank we're looking on we're looking on the this next steps on Whittier Regional Vocational High School agreement the city and new report [Music] provided I think David made copies and passed them around to everybody so you might have them it's on page three that we come look at I think it's that one right there in front of it yeah y this one y i i get my pack last week's packet week before yeah so here's everybody's responses I have them we all have them in in front of us so I think the request and correct me Bill if this is not what you need but I think my understanding is that we want to go through all eight of these amendments or whatever it is these suggestions suggestions Y and decide if we concur we don't Concur and if there's an additional suggestion comment you want to add something exactly right okay so and then David can combine them all in one response because I'm we're going to vote on them all and then the board will be voting on it and then we'll send it off to new before now I do want to just preface this a little bit but there's been some changes to what's going on at whiter you guys saw the press the press release so this may be I don't want to call it a moot point but whatever the legislature decides to do with combining those two schools um I think this will still be a useful exercise because at least it will show that what the town of Newbury is looking would like to see in any changes made Alicia if I can just add yeah I mean that that working with Community College is kind of long range looking at the the amendment I mean the the U the agreement now is more of a shortterm potential fix for the next 3 or 4 years if you think about it they're just submitted a state statement of of Interest with this partnership with the community college so um and the other the other issue is and I I'll put this on the table clearly when we met um one of the questions was asked they were I believe eight different communities there eight or nine communities there at the meeting nine nine and the question was does anyone here from a community think the agreement should not be changed clearly April does not want the agreement changed at all even something as simple as we'd like the school committee people at Whittier be either appointed or voted on by the town so there some linkage with the towns um they would not even hear of that that could be potentially helpful for them as well so why are we still doing it was was came up why are we still meeting if everything is going to be vetoed by by ail and the answer was to change that agreement now probably needs help from the legislature so you need to tell the legislature what you don't like about the agreement so that's why we're doing this we're still doing it that's why we're going to look at it tonight great any questions on that did okay I'll be quiet to well we we need legisl help with this it's just not going to change because we ask so getting consensus from 11 communities is difficult difficult I I think Erica said we looking at the Triton agreement involving three towns it's difficult to get agreement to change the agreement but one of the things that was clear was when we were talking about Triton they look at it every pretty much every five years and then with Pentucket we used to do it every three years the wer agreement has never been reviewed since its Inception years so 57 change 57 years time for change did anyone realize in any of the readings of the packet from last time or the meeting before from the uh acts who paid for the building of w originally State yeah the state state totally paid for it right I believe so yeah I think I could find it by the other third or fifth one to say that to me yeah I I I went to a reading I heard Sean say the state paid for it total forther so that tells me who should pay for it now right okay I I have a question yeah that bill can probably answer and that is just to to amend it just to do these proposals would hail have to vote Yes yes so and and that's not going to happen no it's not going to happen so that's why that's why he needs to go to the legislature right yeah they apparently they were looking at this agreement with with um the Community College preco um and I think if I remember the numbers correctly they spent one 900,000 to do the preliminary study for the buildings they proposed at wher and I think they State they have $5 million available in different funds at whia to use for this to look at this new adventure with with the Community College which I thought was interesting $5 million to to get it to the to the legislator legislators um would would we have to go through the process of of actually taking the vote first the the 11 communities voting on changing the agreement it seems to me like that that would be that would be like one of the first steps is we we take the vote havil shoots it down and then after they shoot it down then we move to the legislators because we've already requested to change the agreement and it would and and another thing that would do is that would show the state you know out of the 11 communities there's only one that wants to leave this alone and and and and and there's there's some voting power there the other 10 communities have got some got some voting power and if your legislators are going to look at you and say uh well you know what even you know hail wants to leave it alone and the rest of you want to change it and so therefore uh when we decide we're not going to change it I I don't think that's going to float with state representatives well you're probably right I mean there's something to be said about solidarity if 10 out of 11 say you know we want this to be 8 out of 11 if vote on it it passes that's what we'd like to change I think that's one of the items here about uh the amendment process right but exactly the the amendment process it begins with I think the 11 towns and cities voting on do we want to change the agreement I think that would be like even though that wasn't my first step because I'm the A guy by the way but um I I I think that I think that that would be the first step in the process is to get the 11 communities to vote on do we want to change the agreement and then once that vote comes in and let's I'm going to make an assumption that it's 10 to one then when we move forward to the state with what we want to change I think we have a lot more power behind us to get it amended we can talk that process at the next meeting with with that group yeah yeah the first thing we have to do is come up with the working document so that they cable has something to look at because you can say you want to change it we'll change it how I think they want to come up with this and then the show reflecting the changes and then take that for a boot right and then I make sense to okay so the first one uh I'll just read this based on discussions with representative from Member municipalities following the vote this appears to be the perfect time to consider amendments to the regional agreement and momentum towards that end appears favorable we understand some members have likewise begun to develop their own proposed changes the city believes that there are a number of revisions that would benefit each municipality and the Whittier V District as a whole such as such that unanimous approval of the Amendments is re realistic uh in order to commence the discussion of amending the agreement the city provides below the following list of proposed suggestions for amendments for consideration so the first one is reapportionment of operating and capital costs the city would like to see both operating and capital costs be based on enrollment at Whittier it is its preferred option um is using a rolling average over four years with the minimum enrollment charge of one student currently operational costs are based on a community's proportion of students attending Whittier in in one year and capital costs are based on enrollment of all students residing in a in a municipality and attending schools there from grade 1 through 12 so the city would like to see both operating and capital cost based on enrollment at Whittier um who had a comment on this I had mine so I concur with new report on both operating and capital being a portioned based on enrollment I am I do not concur using a rolling average that's me I said that the U reinforcement of operating and capital costs the operating costs are and should be based on a community's proportion of students attending wiia in one year as far as capital costs are concerned they should also be based on enrollment at wher I'm not certain that a rolling average over four years is the best option that that formula needs to be reviewed and considered with others Dana I mean you can understand hail's position on this because of course a greater number of students there and right it's um and I I have in in my response I really didn't it I mean I can read it out loud if anybody wants to but my response was to abolish the whole agreement all and I don't even know if it's POS possible it it does say it it says in in the state law which is the last paragraph on mine at its discretion the wittiest School District May admit out of District students under the provisions of chapter 76 blah blah blah blah blah providing that such students have met the standards of the admission policy acting on behalf of the U wvt schol committee the superintendent or his or her designate will see that the proced the develop by develop by which applications for admissions from out of District students will be received in process I I don't think that wiia is is is using that to their full potential at at all chapter chapter 76 sections 12 and 12b that's true Choice that's the choice chapter right and I I I kind of wanted to address that too for example let's say if if if if they're talking about basing it on student enrollment if a if a student from newb and Tracy K I'm sure answer this if a student from Newber is is going to wiia Triton still is Triton footing that bill under the school choice program is Triton footing it or Triton sending dollars to is paying for it new that that's my question so new is paying for that student to go to witty so school choice correct under the school choice program a student from Newbery no correct no not on school choice but we are paying for regular just in our assessment our operating budget we have a line item for the Triton Regional School District we have a line item for prier Tech and we have a line item for Essex ABY this this chapter that you mentioned uh is school choice chapter 76 that's school choice so if there's a student in new at Triton that choices out of Triton into newort Triton has to send dollars to them to newort not Whittier right whiter is different I don't think Whittier I don't think Whittier applies this is an applied no no no I'm not talking about Whittier sending money anywhere CU we all know witty is not sending money any place I I guess I don't even know I don't even know my recommendation is possible but basically to privatize the school is is is what I'm looking at as a as a votte especially if they're going to you know down the road with Essex Agy or whatever privatize the school make it a and I don't know how to do that I don't even know if by law that that's possible but that would be my recommendation and so in other words let's say you want your your child to go to governor dma and you live in newbry you you you're going to pay a considerable amount of money for your kid to go to school there and and you could use the same concept with whia so you want to make the Vocational Technical tuition based scho a tuition based school private school private school you want to abolish it all I want to bolish it all together that's beyond the scope of what our task was we don't have we were supposed to respond to these but if you want to add that as a second thing on the bottom we can vote on I'm just saying I I you know it's it's was it's in my report to to to well but what we need to do is we need to make recommendations that the town of newb would like to see I am not for abolishing Whittier in that manner and making it a private is there any invol all with this exag he does does anyone know y we pay an assessment as well do we pay them is but there's no student no student based tuition no it's student based no no I think his question is is it kids who go to school there do they pay a tuition to the school I'm sorry that that was his that was his question sorry so this is public education it's publicly funded that's what this is what we're discussing the chap the law that you mention here pertains uh chapter 76 that's pertains to public education that's that's the school choice program in public education so you're kind of talking about two different things in your thing here well well it says at you know they they could develop procedures where they have a tuition program for out of for out of District students that's what it says if they certainly get together with the college they're going to have a tuation based system I mean let's let's say you see that data I'm sorry at its discretion the wittiest School District what page are you on um I'm I'm on a under his comment I'm looking on this document okay sorry so this is your I'm sorry the last paragraph of a that is that's state law I pulled that I pulled that right off of the witty of uh uh we website okay they have an option to admit out of District students in charge them tuition they have that option already yeah but the tuition the tuition that they have to pay for out is out of District placement from the sending Community it's still public education so when trying to sends kids out of the district they have to send dollars with them I I understand that I I want to I want to I can I can I ask one question question sure if that's the case which kind of seems like almost the same thing we do in District so when they build a new school can we use that one kid that's out of District to ask that whole out of District town to pay to build Triton on how many kids they have in the school system I don't know if there's a difference to you that's a good point stuff I don't know so if if it happens to be winom and there's 600 kids so why can't we tap their 600 kids cuz really they're just tapping the one kid but they're getting School choiced into wi you that's new to me if that's truth that's I find that a little unfair it's not true it's this is public education Dana suggestion is to privatize it that's not what our task was but we can well I'm just wondering I'm wondering if Mr Reen has considered anything like that you know what I mean we he I mean the the hail's already shot it down it didn't come up at the meeting no that I'm aware of no but it I mean if you go to the agreement itself on page six it talks about tuition students this is the Whittier agreement the committee May accept for enrollment in the regional district school pupils and persons from municipalities other than the member municipalities on a tuition basis that's what I read income received by the district from tuition pupils and not previously deducted from operating cost shall be deducted from the total operating costs in the next annual budget to be prepared blah blah blah no by the number municipalities yes it's from the public monies it's not from private monies what I'm asking you if I still continue to and I saw that but don't know if that's true they're actually accepting a student out of the district right right so why can't we get that whole District to help us pay there some of these districts only get two or three students going and they're going to be subject to the whole kitten Kaboodle for we I make it doesn't make you're talking about Capital no when when we yes Capital cost yeah so there's one kid going somewhere else they're accepting his money so why shouldn't that town help to build the school at the same formula we're building all right we can add that we can we would like to see yeah we'd like to see you know those people right all right let's go back to getting this here done it's getting late okay so reapportionment of capital costs so this is a um I think I would like to see both operating and capital being a portion based on enrollment of that year I think Bill you concur with that I do Jeff do you concur with that yeah I it was easy for me I'm kind of the Dumbo down there I kind of go along with everything except eight I think it should stay in agreement and then obviously I'm worried about what's going to occur with the so and all right so okay so I think we're going to the city would like to see both operating and capital costs based on enrollment at whia okay I think Newbury will concur with that right both enrollment at whiter I am it says its preferred option is using a rolling average over four years um I do not want to see a rolling average that's personally me um I don't know how the board feels about that you like a rolling average no do you like a rolling average no I saw what rolling averages do in in at Triton and I did not like it so Jeff do you want to see a rolling average uh where did newbie report ask for Rolling average under reor of operating in capital cost still we're on one we're ruling say where it's proportion of currently operational costs are based on a community's proportion of students attending Whittier in one year and capital cost are based on enrollment of all students residing in a municipality and attending so I think that I would like to see operating in capital based on enrollment that's what I would like to see well I just to be clear I mean operating is based on only enrollment right already so so I would like to see that and I would like to see it not on enrolling average so you what you're saying is you want Capital cost based on enrollment so if we have 16 kids going there 16 out of the student that that uh that that that's a that's a really small chunk of that $450 million Dan damn right I think that's fair and Equitable right right to the town of new I I I so when they're talking about having a rolling average of if you happen to have six and 8 and 10 and 12 you're going to take the rolling average of before they in there that didn't really offend me but I'm okay with that it just so happens year they go build a school you have 40 kids in there how you going to feel about that right and then maybe the following year you only have two then how you going to feel about maybe you don't so you know and we and I asked Tracy this already we do have Capital costs on every single one of our budgets right right so whether it's whether it's a half a billion dollars or if it's just 300 bucks for a new boiler system or something it it it would it would it would be under the same but let's let's go back just a little because what Alicia says sounds good especially to us School guys because what rolling averages hasn't been our favorite thing but let's go back and really read and I I I'll go along what the board wants to do um when you come to Capital costs would it be advantageous to take the rolling average over four years rather than get pinned when the building goes to happen at a high year let's say I'm not so sure that's as owner as it looks on paper but that's up to you guys and we're reacting so but here's the thing with capital if you take it on a rolling average right at what point in time are you going to determine that cost well what point in time are you going to determine the one year high cost when they bond probably the year that they go to bond that's the at that point in time is when you would get your apportionment and then it would be a rolling average control over that do you know what I'm saying Tracy yeah um so for example the way we P try we pay based on our percentage of students yeah and when our percentage goes up we pay more when our percentage goes down we pay less the same thing would be in effect with the Whittier agreement that's what I want without a rolling average right yeah but when it comes to Capital how is that Capital though that the same we're talking about Capital yes right that's what I think but what he's saying is if you have a rolling average with Capital At what point in time on the Continuum do you only thing I'm saying it's a little easy some times I'm probably beaten the dead horse when you're talking 700 kids what it go up 30 or 40 up and down makes a big difference but but here when you have I think salby has 150 kids going this year I don't know if they have that much we only have 60 I mean 16 16 but I think this year I could be dead wrong I think they're high I don't know so I would hate get caught on that so I guess I'm going to entertain a a motion to see uh um the city would like to to see the town of new would like to see both operating and capital costs based on enrollment numbers straight enrollment numbers that's my motion do I have a second so we have to move every single one of these yeah we have to vote and give it to them okay might as well just get it out of the way yeah all right so I have a motion in a second now further discussion do you want to change that no I I I I'm in agreement with you I just want to the formalize the procedures for incurring debt though gets kind of back to what Jeff was just talking about where you know we've never bought something without I mean we all know what happened when they just threw the assessment at us and then you know what would happen if we just went to town meeting and and then tried to get a a a debt exclusion to pay for that assessment we all know how that's going to end so here's here's you know here's what we need to decide okay let's assume the 11 communities agree to have a discussion on this okay right now it's a dead because hav said no but let's say assume havil said yes now we're sitting at a table the 11 the 11 communities and we have to determine the reapportionment of operating in capital costs yeah okay I believe this town of Newbury should only be responsible for the number of students that are enrolled in Whittier for either operating or Capital cost of that one year and we're just putting in our wishes right now that's it that's what I agree with I don't want a rolling average no because I can't pick a point in time I think that we have 16 students going we need to have allocated both operations and capital 16 send those down and just send those down please what what this is is a list of priorities that that the eight towns responded to okay I didn't keep one thank you and you can see numbers zero through eight on the bottom okay one of the big hits was Capital cost and operating costs it was a mistake for them to put operating cost down here because it's already the way you want it it shouldn't have been there because it's enrollment based already but but you you can see how eight different towns rank these in priority okay just as a visual aid when we discuss this stuff so everybody else thinks that abortion and operating costs are important right yeah and I think no I think getting I think getting it out and just getting what we want is important just right cuz well we we'll end up going we'll all end up having to bargain on the final cast anyway right and so so I so I have a motion and I do I have a second yep okay that I think the town of newb would like to see both operating and capital costs based on enrollment at whiter I all in favor y i i okay that's unanimous okay no rolling averages um the city all right number two the amendment process 2A the the city's preference is to require approval by a 2/3 majority of other member municipalities to amend the agreement the agreement currently requires approval of all members okay so I think on my squa box I concur with new report uh on 2third majority vote I think it should be 2/3 that's a how many towns is 2/3 eight what 11 is is it eight three 3 into 11 is almost four time three right 11 / 3 3.6 when we start to talk maatic I kind of hear the motorcycle outside so so that would mean that would mean that would it be seven or eight would be 2/3 you said it was be seven it would be seven would be 2/3 I think so it would be seven right I can't do that it rounds out to be over seven so I think you're looking at eight it would be eight it would be eight okay okay so that's 2/3 majority so that would equal eight communities have to agree eight out of 11 eight out of 11 and this wouldn't even this wouldn't even inur until we're going to amend the amendment right if we decide to go to amend the agreement this is one of the Amendments right so if we're in the future you're right this is all in the future M okay so that's what I said I concur with new report on 2/3 major majority Bill what did you say I said um requires approval of all member municipalities rejection by havil poses obstruction to any agreement perhaps requiring an approval by 23s majority so you like two3 je what do you think I'm fine you're fine with what two3 Dana I'm I'm good okay so for number 2 a um I'll entertain a motion that the town of Newbury requires approval by 2third majority or eight out of 11 M member municipalities to amend the agreement all in favor who moved and who second it okay I moved it who second it can you somebody second second okay all in favor I all right unanimous okay okay the city would also consider a change to the mechanism for calculating the percentage of signatures by registered voters required for petition initiated amendments which is currently set at 5% for member municipalities okay I put on here I am okay with the 5% registered voters to initiate amendments but would also consider changing it depending on what that change is so that was my comment Bill what did you have I said I agreed with the 5% requirement petition initiate amendments should be reviewed to determine if the 5% requirement for of registered voters can be reduced to a lower percentage or calculated differently so what what does the what does a city need report want do they want it higher or lower the city of new report would consider a change to the mechanism in which way they didn't say they probably down didn't change it my guess would be down I don't think they W it up so I said I am okay with the 5% but I would also consider changing well they could be up so they could be up all right so I concur with the town of new the City of Newport that were you okay changing it would we consider changing it we consider changing it sure yes that good right you not be okay with all right so I I entertain a motion to concur with the City of Newport the town of Newber would also consider a change to the mechanism for calculating the percentage of signatures by voters required for petition initiate amendments I can't rep second second he can go watch the movie okay um any further discussion all right all in favor I I any opposed no okay okay third weighted voting section new weighted voted section sry 3A the city would like to give member municipalities with greater numbers of students a more proportional say in committee decisions with an exclusion for weighted voting as it relates to incurring debt by having some portion of each member's vote be based on a rolling average of student enrollment at whiter for that member municipality um I put three new weighted voting section I am not a proponent of rolling averages for Wier students pertaining to voting I think it should remain equally distributed by the cities and towns that was mine Bill what did you say waited voting give more proportional saying committee decisions to municipalities that have greater number of students but not if it relates to incurring debt so you you agree with them yeah yes okay City okay this is would give Jeff Dana I I okay are we going to we you want a motion at first before we discuss it or um she's trying to get the feedback of I just want to say that well wait a minute if you want to move then we can discuss move move something then we'll discuss it um I don't I what what am I I I move that we have a discussion on number three I don't want to I don't want to move 3A move to yeah there's only there's only one all right let me just say what I want to say the the the they're talking about a more proportional say in committee decisions okay what I was thinking about that is instead of having a more proportional say in committee decisions maybe have the committee itself if you have a higher number of students attending the school then you have more committee members on the board when it comes to vote is is is that what he's is that what he I kind of think that's what they're saying that would be he's not increasing I don't know that's what I'm Wonder no no he's not increasing the number of school committee members he's just saying that member municipalities with greater numbers of students have a more proportional say so in other words if I'm hero my vote counts for three votes and everybody else's only counts for one there's there's two well see yeah there's what two from each Town two committee cities have two cities have two and towns have one have one so that's already an increase on that I don't concur with this yeah I I don't I don't necessar I don't concur with it either cuz what you just said doesn't doesn't make any sense to me like from each community changes you would have to re reconfigure right this is too complicated for me I I don't I don't like it well you're not going each one of let's say if new report has more students or H has more students and they have more representation on the board does each of their votes count as one vote each person votes one vote but newort has two Asbury has two ail has two has one R has one Salsbury has one marac has one Rin has one wri has one so that's already waited yeah yeah I kind of age I kind of agree with you I don't know I don't a more proportional say in so Bill's been going to these meetings and he thought that it might be a good idea why um yeah I thought it might be a good idea because um but when they listed their price priorities three out of eight groups said it was a good idea okay so I'm having my doubts now waited voting okay right I'm having my doubts okay so you could be so I entertain a a we don't have a motion do we D so I'll entertain a motion um that the town of Newbury does not agree with the new weighted voting section as proposed by the city of New FL second okay any further discussion on this no okay all in favor I I I any opposed any abstains I'm I'm good you want going to vote Yes or No Yes I'm I'm okay I'm still reading I thought I thought you were sleeping over there so that was five I mean I'm just getting if you really get into how that's read it really does read uh by having some proportion of each members be based on a rolling student I don't like rolling averages I do not like them but it's each por of each members right meaning if the town has three or four members already they get the yeah okay four removal of committee members section this ISS add Provisions to allow for removal or recall of an appointed member of the committee via the entity that appoints them by two3 majority vote as long as due process considerations apply I put new removal of committee members this is new uh I I am not in favor of this this change I I I I don't I just think how long is the appointment for well Triton appoints Triton appoints but how I think they're three years is it a three year long Triton if we adopt this Triton's not going to point why it's not in here is it no we're going to appoint our own are we well we haven't got that yet well it says the entity that appoints them right which would be Triton not us well eventually it could be us I thought that was later wasn't that later well we haven't got that yet so this would be I I I don't agree with that at all I don't agree with it because that's like saying you know okay I'm going to appoint someone to a board and then it turns out that they don't think the way I think so then I'm going to vote to remove them so we don't do that now do we Tracy we don't have anything like that with any of our boards of committees I I'm not in favor of this yeah we also don't have 11 towns on something and it is eight communities that would have to gang up on that one guy if you get a real foul ball and it's no cuz it's the entity that appoints them so it would let's say Triton appointed a a school Committee Member and then that school committee member for whatever reason Triton didn't didn't like what they were doing they by a 2third majority vote on the Triton School Board they could remove that person as long as due process consider that's what that's what that says all right so I'll entertain a motion to um is that correct David you think no what's that are you not not listening I'm listening you you did lose me on the last section there but go ahead okay on on on number four yeah Triton appoints that one person if they're the appointing entity they would be the ones they're the one they would appoint that one person so what they're saying is before their term is over if Triton didn't like the decisions they were making by a 2third majority vote of the Triton School Board they could remove that appointment that would be how I was reading that would be how you would read it yeah I don't agree with that me either I think I think when they wrote that they they also had in mind that they wanted the municipalities to be the appointing people appointing entities because that that registered pretty heavy on their priority list and that was the added one of the added things I had be elected post right though they they want they want those people to have a tie into the municipality for but but they don't have Regional they don't have a Regional School District either though how are we the only ones that have a Regional School District Pentucket is regional oh Pentucket is regional yeah yeah okay so what's the motion David do you happen to have it uh I think you were putting forward a motion to basically not concur right with this Al together okay I'll in favor of not concurring with this what if what if we said um you could concur with it as long as the M municipalities with with with the appointing uh people no I don't because we don't do that already in Newbery we don't have any mechanism of reappoint calling people back so I do not want it in this yeah we wait till the term their term is up and then we might not reappoint them all right but I don't we don't recall anybody okay and this would be I just don't want to do it so the motion would need to be completed to not Concur and then second it yeah so that so that would be the motion to not concur with number three number four four oh sorry number four second yeah new removal I am not in favor of this change okay and I have a second from bill um all in favor I any opposed that was five okay now we have to form formalizing the procedure for incurring debt okay the city would like to confirm that the provision set forth in section 5D and the acts of 1967 control Andor discussed the options of using the procedures set forth in Massachusetts General law 71 section 16d or 16n going forward it is the city's position that discussion regarding this matter is necessary to resolve any further dispute concerning permitting a district-wide election which is not explicitly allowed under the terms of the agreement of Acts of 1967 okay so this is the same problem that happened I concur with new report by following Massachusetts general laws chapter 71 section 16d or n this will need to be fleshed out between the 11 communities that's we I think we need to follow that I agree with this because this is why we got stuck with the vote in January I agree with that I agree with new rep any Leslie yeah I agree with this Dana do you agree with it yeah okay so I'll enter do I have a motion in a second all right I'll entertain a motion to agree with to accept procedures for incurring that number five yeah to concur with the city of new report and is there a second second okay all in favor I I hi okay number six simplified withdrawal procedures to require approval by a 2third majority of other member municipalities currently requires approval of all members that's number six um that's 6A I wrote I concur with new report on both the two-thirds majority and then B is removing withdraw members liability for any debt incurred by the district following receipt of a members notice of intent to withdraw I I don't know if I can agree with that one with be because if if if you're if you are under the terms of the agreement and they've already incurred debt but it hasn't been but it hasn't been uh what do you call it like but but you haven't got it you haven't got it hasn't been issued yet I think that you should still be responsible for paying that that well I I said no here but then now I'm rethinking that because let's just say you issued the debt who's going to pick up your your end of the bargain well yeah you don't if you pull out yeah so and and even even a is is kind of a to me it's kind of a joke because if if let's say one town wants to leave and we all know what's coming we all know what this is all about it's about rebuilding the school and let's say one town wants to leave it would we would all be incurring additional debt allowing that town to leave but but incurring debt isn't that simple it's not just somebody leaving and then say okay well now we're going to a poring the rest of the debt to these other places it doesn't work like that you'd have to go for a vote well no we haven't incurred the debt yet so what I'm saying is is let let's say for example uh next week Rowley wants to get out of the agreement okay and we would take we would take a two-thirds vote to just allow Rowley to get out of the agreement yeah but B is removing debt incurred for with the withdrawing Community that's what I'm talking about you can't just remove debt it's not that simple well no no no I I I I I yeah I I I disagree with B but I'm also wondering if a is even valid whe whether it you know well if we want if a if currently the way somebody was withdraws from the district is they need an 11 V unanimous vote a unanimous vote this will move that to a 2/3 I'm in favor of that so I'll entertain a motion to agree with new report under simplified withdrawal procedures item a to require approval by two-thirds majority of other member of unity of other member of municipalities currently requires approval of all members so to withdraw from the thing from the agreement you need a 2third majority that's my motion do I have a second second okay discussion currently it's unanimous I want to change it to 2/3 any discussion on this okay all in favor yes sorry are you making one single motion just to accept a and not accept just a we're going to go on to B next okay this is just for a okay okay all in favor I I think that's unanimous okay now if you look at B yeah requiring a member's liability for any that's real lawyers speak right there there's about six different ways that could be well it depends on when the member withdraws and on and on well right and then what happens to the debt debt they're talking about whether it's capital or well it would be Capital well it could be they haven't paid their full year well just think about it once once we once we incur the let's say let's just assume we're going to rebuild the whole school for half a billion dollars and we've incurred the debt and then the very next day Nu puts in their intent to withdraw hail wor or or or or hail they wouldn't be responsible for that debt that's crazy I don't agree that it sounds so fasile that there's got to be something we're reading wrong in there I don't know no I don't agree with it but let's say we don't okay so we're just yeah we're going to we're going to rewrite the whole thing anyway so I'll entertain a motion to um remove to the town of new does not agree with number 6B to the way I look at that really read that is wait a minute wait a minute do I have a second second okay as you're looking at that deeper and deeper it's remove removal of withdrawing members liability for any inbt incurred by the district following the receipt of the members notice to withdraw right so as soon as you tell the one out you this I'm telling you this is lawyer crap here yeah well they had a law for they had in other words you put your intent into withdraw and then the debt even though it hadn't been approved yet so it makes sense the lawyers wrote this but if you make sense if you read that closely it makes sense they're trying to get you after you're gone but let's have it let's just say we want it clarified but I mean if the way I read that is remove withdrawing members liability for any in debt for any debt incurred by the district following the receipt of the member's notice of intent to withdraw so if I intended to withdraw on February 20th and the and the district went out includ in incurred on the 25th $6 Million worth of debt I'm not liable for it CU I told you I'm going right so but but you going hasn't been voted on yet it doesn't me you've informed them you go no hold on this is for liability for any debt incurred my question is what happen inred by the district following the receipt by the district the members notice of intent to withdraw so you should be you should have repercussions after you leave down the road for something they do no no but you're not out yet it says the notice of intent to with draw right that doesn't mean you're out of the agreement yeah but if someone if you don't think about it someone's going to run right out if they got a brain as a superintendent I'll go and curse some Dent so they can help pay for it and that wasn't the case I've already intended to withdraw so you can't come after me so it sounds like the difference might be here is that the way Jeff's reading debt is incurred after the intent any debt that you did before you were there you you have to pay good luck trying to get out of the agreement if the debt has been incurred and you intend to withdraw yeah you won't get you won't get you won't get voted you won't get voted that's not the case it's after the debt incurred after your intent to withdraw so the difference being the notice goes out before the vote is taken right correct right so it's kind of simple but I don't care one way or the other what we doing I still say we should agree to a and not agree to B and we can it's going to be all discussed later anyway I'm fine with it okay so that's my motion right and you have a second and I have a second okay all in favor I we so we agreed to a and we're not agreeing to B is that what we did okay yeah okay so now we're on seven budget and operations reporting and review confirm that current budgets are following the terms of Mass general laws chapter 71 section 16b and not Section 5 of the agreement this would require a two-thirds majority to approve the budget so number seven budget and operation all right so Tracy do you know anything about this yeah I was going to say this is Tracy's category I don't know what that L is off the top of my head I don't have the reference in front of me this would require a 2/3 majority to approve the budget okay what section five of the agreement what's section five of the agreement let's see what that is I wrote I concur with new report on both sorry that's the wrong one I agree with new report on sections a b and c and I went and looked up whatever this was so at the time that I agreed but I forget what it is now section well you can kind of think of this as like the Triton agreement where if two towns vote Yes and one town vote NOS votes no it passes and the budget is is accepted correct Tracy is that the way that goes yeah so what he what he's asking for is the same kind of requirement you know whia comes up with their annual budget and I don't know what section five says but he wants 2third of the 11 towns to approve the budget for it to pass where what does section five say now I'm finding it hold on yeah the general law says 2/3 right well and that's that's what he he's explaining what the general law says the general law says 2third I'm I'm assuming that section five I think section five says hav section five budget initial budget within 60 days after the regional district school committee is first organized and shall prepare reasonably detailed operating and maintenance budget covering expenses if any for the balance of the then calendar year copies of such proposed budget shall be submitted to the mayors of the member cities and to the chairman of the boards of Selectmen and to the chairman of the finance or advisory committee of each member town for their consideration the approval a budget shall not be adopted earlier than 14 days the amount of the said budget shall be a portioned among member of municipalities according to the provisions of section four herein the regional district Treasurer shall certify to the treasurer of each member municipality its respective share of said budget the sum thus certified shall be payable by each me each member municipality to the regional district school committee but only from funds which maybe or may have been appropriated by each member municipality for such purposes does it talk about approval yes so yeah that's it that's the difference there is no there is no approval process they just come up with their budget they give it to us and we have to accept it that's what that that's what happens right that's what that says big difference there's nothing further in that section that discusses approval tenative operating tenative annual operating and maintenance budget final annual operating maintenance budget the committee shall adopt an annual operating and maintenance budget including debt and interest charges and any other current capital costs as separate items oned before December 1 for the ensuing calendar year and the said committee shall apportion the amounts necessary to be raised in order to meet the said budget in accordance with the provision of subsections 4 d e and f the amount so proportioned to each member municipality shall prior to December 31st of each year preceding the calendar year to which said budget relates be certified by the district Treasurer to the treasurer of each member municipality and each member municipality shall appropriate the amount so certified operating budget there the committee shall prepare annually attentive operating budget maintenance budget for the ensuing calendar year attach to there to provision for any installment of principal or interest to become due in such year in any bonds or other evidence of indebtedness of the district and any other Capital cost to be a portioned to the member municipalities honor before November 15th the said committee shall submit to the mayors of the member cities and to the chairman of the boards of Selectmen and to the chairman of the finance or advisory committee a copy of such tenative operating a maintenance budget which shall be itemized as follows or in such further detail Regional School District Comm committee May deem advisable Administration instruction other school Services that's said November 15th is that what that said yeah when when do we typically get Triton's budget we just got it a couple so it's not even so this is November 15's pretty early well I don't know how they can do that because the governor hasn't even put her budget up but it doesn't speak to the approval process how many communities have to approve it for it in order for it to be passed no we just they just give it to us yeah I didn't hear that yeah yeah no this I I okay right off the top of my head number seven I I agree with a b and c budget confirm that current budget is the following the terms of Mass General law and not section five this would require a 2third majority to approve the budget that's what they want so if 2/3 I don't see how that could possibly what happens if they don't get then they have to go back just they got to go back to the drawing board you know look at like Triton you get like option one two and three like Essex vets gives you option one two and three maybe it would maybe it would force them to maybe fine-tune their pencil a little more and give us you know you got you got your wants you got your needs and then you got your your gravy you know what I mean and I don't know I I I just I just think that we ought to they they need to have a little more responsibility for to understand the fiscal you know problems that all the other towns are having they can't just give us a budget all right so I to see what El say does with their budget same thing same thing Wier does okay um they just put it together and give it to us Mass General law 7116b the annual Regional School District budget as adopted by a 2third vote of the regional school committee District committee shall require the approval of 2third of the local appropriating authorities of the member municipalities yeah okay so I concur with this that's why I concurred with it and the agreement had nothing in there b so I'll entertain a motion to agree with new report on item seven a b and c yeah second all in favor I I I okay eight school choice the city is open to amending the agreement to allow for annual consideration of school choice by the school committee rather than granting approval in the agreement bill was was that one of the things that we discussed at the meeting that it shouldn't be in the origal yeah it had no priority on this thing right it it wasn't something we put in so I put down that it's my last priority and that I would be open to having a school choice discussion but the city is open to amending the agreement to allow for anual examination school choice by the school committee rather than granting gling agreement so say that what what you guys discussed at the at the meeting at the meeting last week they all agreed that that shouldn't be um that shouldn't be considered as something to be put in the regional agreement that school committee have the ability or the whole thing that that whole comment the school choice comment shouldn't be part of it and I think on that graph you have in front of you yeah nobody nobody that was not do they school choice by the District of the region and you mean outside the region I think it's outside the region outside the region yeah so yeah definitely right now it's provided by the agreement and not the school committee and we don't think either one should apply it okay so I'll entertain a motion to not agree with the city on item number eight is there a second second any further discussion Jeff did you have any another question I'm fine with that so what so what we're saying is is that and Tracy what you said is that the the school choice issue shouldn't even be in the agreement at all right I think that's governed by Massachusetts general laws it should not I don't think the school committee should have it one way or the other well if if that's the case then then the city is open to amending the agreement to allow for annual consideration with don't want to allow for any consideration at all because we don't even think school choice should be in there well School Cho school choice is governed by actually you quot you had the the law school choice is governed by that chapter I think chapter right chapter 76 section 12 12 that covers it so it shouldn't be in the agreement it's covered by Massachusetts General law if it's if it's is it inside the district or outside the district school choices outside outside outside someone from outside the region right okay but that means they have it shouldn't be in here because they have a a an admissions program and that means that you're going to out of 11 member communities you're going to go through your admissions programs you're not going to admit students but yet you're going to open it up to school choice to kids from I don't know air I just think it's wrong and those people aren't going to be paying for your capital gain for your Capital cost no still going to fall on the member town right so I say no do I have a motion have a motion and a second okay so all in favor of not agreeing with new report on this school choice say I okay now option D options if amendment is not possible um in the event the community members of the Whittier are unable to agree upon terms amending the agreement the following option should be further explored seek legislative Amendment of the acts via L litigation in Mass Superior Court to US District Court judgment claims contract claims these options have not been fuled so I agree with that if we do not have I agree with the city of new report that if amendment is not possible that we seek legislative action or litigation to propose these amendments because the agreement as written is not fair or so is that a motion yeah the motion is to agree with item D the new reports options if amendment is not possible do I have a second second okay so I agree with one and two any discussion um I mean he it says here to these options have not been fully analyze at this time and we CA further research based on the fact pattern pattern that is presented after seeking to amend the agreement so yeah I mean what's what's wrong with that I mean it's like we we've already decided at the beginning of this discussion that it's going to take a legislative move to change this anyway so it's not going to budg okay so all in favor I okay now my last thing here is does anybody have anything in addition to these amendments here I do notice that the City of Newport doesn't have any mention to appointing their school committee members because their school committee members are appointed by the City of Newport they have a school district in within their Community we have a regional agreement and currently our regional school is the appointing Authority for Whittier do we want to keep that or do we want to change that to have the Whittier rep appointed by the by the municipalities town of new by the municipalities TR of course I think that the municipality should responsible that make a motion please okay I make a motion that let me read it no he's not in there you got to make it up oh no you can make it up okay uh make a motion to allow the municipalities to the town of Nu town of Nuy to uh to point to app point it would be like the select board the select board or the town of new the select board school committee rep School Comm rep yeah the town of new allow the select board to appoint school committee rep thank you to Wi for the Whittier school board yeah so that's a motion do second second y okay okay discussion five out of eight responders want to do that yeah I think it's a good idea y makes sense to me better communication more accountability those surprises okay all in favor that was really fun is there anything else that we want to include in this that anybody else can think of Bill is there anything else I didn't think of anything else who's going to draw this up Tracy Newber reports attorney once we finalize that they hired an attorney and then it will go to each of communities respective council's for evaluation and then to the board for so the a new report attorney is going to draw up the new agreement and then we're all going to vote on it so this procedure for incurring debt seven out of the eight communities wanted to do that do we address that anywhere in here yeah where I think it was the first one was that the first one number one the city would like to see both operating and capital cost be based on enrollment that's not the procedure for in incurring debt no five five five oh formalized procedures for incurring debt what did we have for five David you agreed in full okay then did and we covered it did this agreement that we just went over that I kind of was thinking more present than unpresented future did we just okay something that would have put in place who's going to actually vote if there's a revised agreement for that agreement no well who is voting like these of these I voted for this it would have to go to the selectman right you have to approve it town meeting do you think did this ever go to town meeting back then the first one the existing agreement I don't I don't know that they had everybody's signature at the end doesn't look like it was the town meeting I mean I saw them maybe it's the agreement I have in my in my binder but yeah I saw everyone's signatures you saw everyone's signat you signed it Jeff I think that was your name bro here it is yeah yeah doesn't even tell you which municipality I think it's people put that together and voted on it which would be crazy they couldn't yeah I don't who was the new representative doesn't say you don't the sign that we don't know doesn't say what she said is no well Jeff you've been long here long enough you ought to know that guy not quite close Okay that's done by the way I noticed the I don't think we've ever done two-sided printing before have we did you do that no saving the planet one piece of paper at time I was going to this is incredulous that we're now doing two-sided printing oh it was two [Laughter] sides well I'm look actually Jeff I'm looking at the cover sheet and then I'm looking at a Jour and I'm like wow there's like nothing in this agenda I'm calling it in all right so next we have the town administrator's report Tracy please and thank you sure thank you madam chair um the Appropriations booklet now that I have your votes in hand we'll get to work starting on that with fincom uh I I did want to briefly just talk about the lower green Schoolhouse project roof project because it seems to be generating a lot of discussion so I thought maybe some providing some additional information would be helpful when the um the historical commission first notified us that the roof was reaching the end of its useful life um we contacted our talented and highly skilled DPW director James seret and asked him if he would um help us in getting some pricing so he started researching alternatives for the project um including um materials and what we might use understanding that it you know is a historically significant um building in the community um even though it doesn't have a designation which we were surprised at when we tried to get some grant funding for it um and in his conversations with the roofing company he discussed both uh Western red cedar as well as the composite materials which I did bring a couple along so you could get a look at that um for the roof and in addition to you know pricing of the different materials he also had to get pricing for the installation because you know sometimes it's hard to find people that have the expertise um to do those projects we also um now these are okay by the National Historic eyes in the sky now too right well la Hawk Meister came in and he said they looked great well that's well that's that's designed to look like slate right no that's kind to be the wood yeah it's not slate okay little smoother you'll see it when you get so one of the other concerns is we don't know what's underneath that roof so there has to be some type of contingency funding for in the event that we find rot or anything like that might need to be addressed so the estimate that was provided to us was $100,000 understanding that everyone's probably thinking wow I could do my roof for a lot less than $100,000 um up to 100,000 um and that naturally your your home roofs are considerably less expensive than that when you do them but you have to understand that this is public construction um and we're required to follow Massachusetts bid laws and that means paying prevailing wages and the likes um so that definitely drives the cost up the types of materials we're you we're considering using drives the cost up um two places also should town meeting approve it that's the point when we will go out to bid we will prepare an invitation for bids it will have all of the detailed specifications it will go out and we will hopefully that will this screw goes through that will ensure also plus the other two sorry it's giving you where they want you to put the scre right yeah go ahead J I'm sorry that's okay okay so that will ensure that we get the best pricing now if it should come in at $80,000 the project we don't spend 100 we only spend the 80 the balance the 20,000 closes back out to free cash which is where the project is funded from in The Proposal that will go before the town meeting voters um likewise I mean we we don't want to put an estimate in the town meeting warrant for if we think it's going to be 87,000 we don't want to put an estimate in for 87,000 go out to bid and have it be 92 because then we have to call another town meeting so we generally say I'm not to exceed amount um because you know hopefully they're talking to roofing experts and roofing companies who know the measurements who understand the design um but it you know the these are the quotes that we're getting um I don't some of those boards are some of the fascia that could be disturbed and they can't even see it if they AR Disturbed they could even come in less but we don't know it could come un less if there's no Rod under there and we don't have to replace FAS and every other it's the proverbial can of worms right right you might as well just say there's something under there right right right so I reached out so just so the board is aware of this I reached out to the chair of the historical commission and I asked him to be prepared to speak to this article at town meeting uh because I think it's important I think there's going to be a lot of questions about it I think we bring that information um those shingles with us I think people see what they're purchasing and I think the more information we can give town meeting members the more after we are of addressing and fixing a very important historical asset to the town of and that's generally the process that we follow for all of these of projects we don't go out to bid first and then go to town meeting um we usually see if there's an appetite at town meeting and then go out to bid once once we certify the availability of well I don't think you can go out to bid until you have certified availability and some of the reasons obviously is red cedar used to be old growth red cedar is now New Growth right big white rings on and on and on right some of the stuff you would repair the actual roof if you had to be or even faser would be a grade higher than what you're going to find at one of the lumb Yards because that's all new growth too and that's graded anyway so you know those are the things that go into historic restoration and further on that um that article that we discussed um the roof units go on first then we finish the roof and I was just looking at my notes it two years because they're going to be doing the project over the summer when the students aren't there um they don't think they can get it done in one year so that was answer to your question Dana uh Plum Island bathroom project is nearing completion we expect that it will be ready to open beginning May 25th closing on October 14 and the hours will be we're going to try it out 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. see how that goes um um National Grid has notified us that they are pruning they do it roughly every five years or so um they prune all the branches that may impact the the primary delivery power lines and this year they're working with um as blun y um so they started on April 1st and they're going to be pruning the roadways fed by the Highfield Road substation so that includes Highfield Road Middle Road hand Anova Street Green Street high road and the streets off of High Road the side streets off of Route 1A all the way down to the Rowley line and then over time they'll do the Newbury section of Plum Island Hay Street Boston Road Orchard Street School Street Elm Coleman Road greet Tre Lane long Brook Road and Central Street heading toward 95 along with um the side streets all the way up to Kent way and anyone that has you know any questions or concerns any Property Owners can can reach out directly to the tree Warden Tim lpre and he is at tree Warden at townof newberry.edu [Music] yeah we received an invitation from the alliance of climate and environmental stewards they invited the board members to attend their make everyday Earth Day event at it's going to be at Market square in Newberry Port on Sunday April 21st from 12: to 3: um they're just looking to educate the public um of all ages to be aware of the issues relating to the um to the quality of the environment and fire and Library Collective bargaining agreement discussions are still ongoing okay thank you and you thought the other was fun all right okay so under correspondence we have subscription for um cost change for expin yeah xinity we are committed in keeping you and our customers informed about changes to Xfinity TV please note the following changes to the exfinity channel lineup in your community effective May 7th 2024 Pursuit Channel SD on channels 2581 1238 will no longer be available on the same day Pursuit Channel HD will be added on channel 1238 requires HD programming and an X1 TV box or xinity Internet and a compatible customer owned device to view getting rid of the and mooving HD customers are receiving notice of this information in their bill I had an email today I had an email this oh okay and um we are committed to keeping you and our customers informed effective March 18th 2024 N Lace is no longer available with expend effective May 1st 2024 Marquee TV will increase the cost of its subscription video on demand pack package from $8.89 per month to $9.99 per month if a customer subscribes to Marquee TV they will see the new subscription cost reflected in their next bill and then we also had notification from clean oils environmental there was a diesel fuel release in front of 109 High Road um 10 yeah so dear Town officials on behalf of tender crop Farm in pursuant to the public involvement requirements of the Massachusetts contingency plan and more specifically uh 40403 3F this letter is intended to provide notification that the above reference permanent solution statement with no conditions is available for review so on October 30th 2023 at approximately 3 p.m. a 10 wheel farm truck owned and operated by tentac crop Farm collided with the tree situated within the roadway shoulder along the northeastern side of high road puncturing one of the two connected 30-g saddle tanks resulting in the release of up to 20 gallons of diesel fuel to the shoulder soil and roadway pavement proximal to the tree in front of 109 High Road in Newbery Mass accordance with 310 CMR this sudden release constitutes a 2-hour notification condition and was subsequently assigned rtn 3- 38437 respond actions and risk reduction measures performed to address the release involve deployment of absorbent materials to contain the release soil removal operations management and offsite disposal of all remediation waste and conformance with 310 CMR and backfilling the excavation area the analytical results of the post excavation soil sampling confirmed that the residual concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons were all below the mCP method one standards in approaching background the release did not affect groundwater surface water sediment or indoor air at the site the disposal site boundary extends approximately 25 ft long by up to 15 ft wide with a total surface area of approximately 375 ft or about 0.01 acres and includes an oval-shaped soil excavation area near the impacted tree measuring about 18 ft long by up to 5 9 ft wide and no Deeper Than 3 and2 ft below ground surface the only exposure point at the site consists of the continuous volume of res res residually impacted potentially accessible soil the current use exposure Pathway to site contaminants of concern in soil is unlikely because the sources of contamination have been eliminated excavation is complete and the area is covered with clean fill the foreseeable future activities may involve disturbance and exposure to the impacted soil contact should occur to utility workers installing or maintaining underground utilities and construction workers involving with future construction activities in the event that soil is excavated however because the soil exposure Point concentrations meet the unrestricted use mCP method one standards a condition of no significant risk has been achieved and no further mCP response actions are required at the site so that's what happened there um anybody's interested the PSNC is available at Mass D northeast regional office in wuber Mass for public review um if you have any questions and you want to see it please contact David here at the town of Newbury and um he will send you the link and I believe that's it any meeting updates uh the essic vs we in the the new contract rollover for the assistant really didn't go into effect until like I believe it was July 1st the end of the fiscal year and we approved he to be a full-time from now until when the new contract comes into effect and there's money in in the budget already to support his additional pay so he's there now also full-time the 35 hours or more per week doesn't cost us any more money um I met with the uh the Triton facilities group and we had our first meeting via zoom we're going to have to I'm going to go do a tour of the building been scheduled in a couple of weeks and once I do that I'll report back any meeting updates over here Jeff Les uh no updates I I do have it's kind of a update question watching the adhawk um present uh meeting the other day um there was mentioned that uh they would be supplying reports to the select board but I haven't really seen which ad COA oh the council and yeah they haven't come in yet they might be providing the book we haven't gotten any yet yeah okay real quickly just so that it's on the record because it could go long and I'm not going to go long 10 10 the MBA met the MBA meeting was in the paper MH and it was an at length meeting and it had almost I think seven members of the core of engineers there all various communities one of our communities right now has tremendous erosion and the ultimate thoughts are there's going to be a push for a regional sediment 111 study so that we really get some good idea of where the siment is and where it's going because it seems that the core was talking about most of its sediment being external and I did make reference does that mean the river doesn't provide sediment anymore but they're going to get a feel as far as from Northampton and I imagine even though it's a federal entity The Refuge would participate on a 111 study so that's about it new's involved in that right new will be involved has has to be okay uh I forgot to add this in but there's a lot of veterans events coming up in the next you know moral day of course uh dday IP switch is doing a D-Day celebration uh and there's uh you know we at our meeting we talked about a notific you know some kind of notification process where all of our communities have all the information of what all the other communities are doing because we are you know we are a six town region and that uh the uh the Tony is is doing he's updating the website they actually have a they it's kind of funny because Karen uh everybody some somebody lost a password to the Facebook page so the Facebook page hasn't been hasn't been worked on or updated for a couple of years now well what they did was they just tore that page down and they created a new one and so uh you can follow the ess6 Vets on Facebook uh the website they're doing a lot of work on the website I recommended trying to you know uh have like like we have a calendar on our website where you know all of the you can you know click on that calendar and you can see all the events that are happening uh the COA calendar is is a great resource and I and and so we're working on having that same kind of information available on their website so it's like a on stop shopping place if you want to go to one of these events that might be outside of our town and participate you'll you'll know where to go who's in charge how to get there so on and so forth there's a lot of stuff going on so the the problem has been getting the information out to the public so that you know every town does their own thing but it would be nice if you know if we wanted to go see what was going on in one of the other towns and and the the other thing it does is it helps like if there's one town that's lacking in veteran support and another town that might be doing a little better job in veteran support the towns that where the veterans aren't we're just trying to pull everybody in you know what I mean so that we all are supporting all of us instead of being six independent Society so to speak so I think that it's all good uh the uh dday a celebration that they're doing at ipswitch um I think that they were still looking for some memorabilia or any uh surviving um uh soldiers that were from that time of course all I could think of was boots Shard MH yeah and they having like an entire day block party it's the whole downtown it's going to be fabulous yeah and uh May 18th um the Alex and new report always has a a big luncheon for the veterans and uh where in their in their room it's nice and they usually fill it up okay Saturday I went to the first annual cornhole tournament was the police department versus the fire department versus the Council on Aging and the fire department ruled fire department ruled they won they got to have a champion belt that they have to display for a year like the WWF or something exactly let me give you a secret so where if we're all here in the same place next year we all going I guess they may expect exp it they' like to expand it to include DPW they'd like to have a team from maybe the select board yeah attend make it a where did they hold a fil u u fire station Morgan Avenue inside inside yeah it was a rainy day grizzling day I'm hungry oh no kidding okay so um meeting updates I need to remove review and approve meeting minutes so I've drafted minutes 326 here I'll entertain a motion to approve minutes second all in [Music] favor and motion to sign warrant motion to sign warrant second all in favor motion to adjourn motion to adourn all in favor I