##VIDEO ID:cM45y8dDeaA## e mik's are good ready Kevin this meeting is called to order in accordance with the open public meetings law adequate notice of this meeting has been provided this meeting of November 18th 2024 was published in the curer news install edger and placed on the Burrow's website notice of this meeting was also placed on the bulletin board at Burrow Hall a copy of this notice is available to the public and a copy of the statement shall be included in the minutes of this meeting mayor Brian Gallagher here council members Teresa boner here Glenn Dene here Tom Mitchell here Randy pittz here Gus traic here Roger verm here please stand for the salute to the flag I aliance to the flag of the United States America and to the Republic it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay can I have a motion for approval of the minutes of October 21 and November 4 so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa bonor yes Glenn Dene yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Jus traic yes Roger V yes all right departmental reports and notices uh we have uh the general election results uh we also have the reorganization meeting which is now scheduled for January 1 2025 at noon and uh right now I believe Kevin we are at the high school correct that that is correct M okay great okay uh next up uh we have a uh um a proclamation that I'd like to present and I'm going to go down here and uh ask Harold Willard to uh to come forward so back in I think it was 2001 when I was first elected as a uh as a councilman um it was a parade day and I forget which parade it was but this young man comes up to me and he's dressed very handsomely in a sailor's outfit and it was Mr Willard and we took a picture of that and he uh he presented me with a picture uh afterwards and I I keep that at home and I look at it almost every day which i' I love it's just a wonderful wonderful photo over the course of the ensuing 2024 years um Harold's been a uh and his wife Linda have been a a fixtures in the Somerville community and uh not only participating but also adding to the culture of Somerville and uh I have a proclamation that I'd like to present to you uh because of of all of the wonderful work that you've done why don't you come around this way so that everybody can see it okay so this is proclaiming November as Native American Heritage Month in the burough of Somerville whereas during National Native American heritage month we celebrate indigenous people's history in the United States as defined by strength survival and a deep commitment to and pride in their Heritage right to self-governance and ways of life native peoples have built and sustained powerful tribal Nations and the knowledge they developed still benefits us today and whereas there are nearly 600 federally recognized tribes in the United states with a vast array of cultures that are unique from artwork and literature to Cuisine and music and whereas the commemorative month of November enables the opportunity to learn about Native American Heritage and provides an opportunity to educate federal state county and local officials about the concerns and history of Native Americans and we should all join them in recognizing the critical role that Native Americans played in the Vitality of our country whereas Harold and Linda Willard residents of Somerville burrow have become strong advocates for recognizing Native American culture now therefore be it proclaimed that I Brian Gallagher mayor of the burough of Somerville along with the burrow Council hereby proclaimed November 2024 as National Native American heritage month and I urge all Americans to celebrate November 29th as Native American Heritage day thank you [Applause] so so my first introduction to uh to to Harold and Linda and Native American culture a good introduction to it was at uh father Ron's church and Harold had this vision of he goes I'm having a powwow I go okay and he goes you have to come and I said okay I'll be there so I you know I had other things lined up for that day and I planned on staying for you know half hour cuz I got a times you got to hit and run so I walked in and I stayed for about 4 hours it was absolutely one of the most fascinating things I have ever been a part of it was unbelievable and uh and then you transform that into uh events on Division Street and uh I think it's just a a wonderful Testament to you to your wife uh and to the Native American culture and we thank you for being a part of our summer B thank you again thank you thank you [Applause] so now my understanding is that uh that you have something to present to the burrow yes let me just say let me just say that this before the presentation uh reason why uh Linda is my wife and we we are we're matriarchal people and that means that women are very important to us and so this is why Linda is reading this statement here because she is my wife and she's very she very been very influential in the Native American Community helping us to establish knowledge of ourselves here and some of them before the presentation we wanted to before the presentation we would like Wayne d to um have the Thanksgiving address prayer in the language of our people which is Cherokee okay so um greetings relative everybody in this room we um when we pray on ceremonies in different places we always say All My Relations and a lot of people think we're just talking about turkey or CH to whatever we're talking about all of us on this planet it's a it's a it's a balance Creator's given us this this right to be alive and take care of each other and um before I do this prayer I just want to say that uh my uncle Harold has been a great um influence for me my whole ride my my dad was a Marine in South Pacific World War II and uh he was a homicide Tech in Brooklyn and he died at 49 um had appendicitis so we thought was the flu and so we lost him but my uncle kind of took up the slack you know he gave me that um he gave me that foundation and um I've been sold my whole life and try to walk right every day and Somerville is just it's amazing Place we've been here and I just had to tell that story because we've been here in this this amazing town and I live in Sag Harbor and SAR har and somville have a lot of similarities and just people being together doesn't matter what color you are whatever it's just we work together and um we need this as human beings we got to look out for each other we got to love each other this the whole important thing my cousin peace walking in another Cherokee Cherokee taking over hey Peace So I had say these words because you know a lot of times when we we come to events I'm wearing I'm wearing my um tuxedo I'm wearing a Cherokee turban eagle feathers and um because my uncle means that much to me I had to bring out um our truth and how we walk and I'm here with my my better half Nancy she's a Cherokee and uh lot of fun to be with so and we are mrio we have we listen to the women all the time it's just the way it is we we don't ask no questions but Lindon and Harold have been such a amazing influence right here in Somerville just you know working with different teams and you know seeing leadership in the community just excited to be around native people we've done some great things right here in this community so I'm here tonight and my uncle wants me to speak in a language and I'm going to I'm going to do it and at the end I'm going to sing an honor song for everybody in the room cuz we're all together just remember like when we say All My Relations we're talking about all of us it doesn't matter whether we're Italian or Japanese or what it's like the the this globe that we live on this planet we need more foundational love and bringing us together and I'm you know I'm I'm a Cherokee to Bone I speak pretty good so I'mma speak in the language right now and uh forgive me if um I'm a little nervous but it's an honor to be around this guy right here he's he's a class Z you know we we both work with the Navy and do a lot of great things for for the for the country and I'm looking my brother Bart right there like I'm I'm emotional right now so I'm going to give you all this in the language and I hope that you can uh understand it I'll explain in English after I'm done so it's it's a prayer for all of us Al [Music] a Al steady huh Al so that was in the language in the Eastern band or Eastern dialect you know we always kind of brag because we the Homegrown we never left North Carolina like people went on the trail of Cheers but we did our families was still remain in North Carolina so we always kind of laugh about that cu the Oklahoma Cherokees they always brag about you know we're from tequa and we we signed a peace treaty and all that well hey we never left you know we stayed in North Carolina and Virginia and you know so just we kind of proud about that so I wanted to give that to y'all and what it's saying uh we talk about first thing the sky you know heavens and that's the first thing as a prayer and then we talk about the Earth Mother you know know no I he is the is is the is the moon the grand mother Moon which has given us everything we had that full moon ties really high like yesterday it was amazing but we had that amazing Moon it called that Beaver Moon so these things are important and um you know we talk about the water the fire Aila I talked to Fire and the water so all these things are relevant to life so when we say uh G you go do I'm saying I'm saying to All My Relations I give you all my love and my medicine so that was that was a Praying Cherokee and uh I was pretty good at it hope hope us good that for you I'll be [Applause] back so we want the painting is going to be presented to the mayor and the council and the artist is right here johnari and painting [Applause] isw I don't know if I need that or not well for the AUD actually for TV oh okay so anyway I'm going to say oneish oneish oneish a creator of all things that given us this a time to relish this time with this painting that you have gifted me and I would like to to thank the Burl and all the members the council members here for for and and also to Harold and Linda for inviting me to last year to perform my traditional dance in the city of Somerville and it was truly an honor to have John Gary paint a portrait for promoting the awareness we are still here during the Native American heritage month this was done last last year so anyway I want to say also uh how ironic to have this portrayal portrayal done for me during this celebration of 100 years that the Congress has enacted for us to have a citizenship act in June of 1924 and we and and I we just want just want to point that out uh the Native American is uh celebrating for our citizenship to being with you all but it's just uh just ironic to me I mean we've been here for a long time I don't know why why they made that since and that I think it was because the government thing or or you know uh but anyway it was I just want to let you know that's what's has been has been done so and I also want to gift Harold and he go [Applause] take care of all right we don't have too long being here but when we are we are we are still here still here y this is what this is what this is all about we are still here and I want thank you thank you [Applause] is being presented to you gag counil is to show the council first [Applause] you know you see so many iconic images of Division Street and there's always this this scope the scape of the buildings but to have this image in that scape of the buildings is very very unique and I think it's just wonderful and this will take a very prominent place up in bur Hall thank you so much so so to Harold so to Harold and Linda thank you continue doing what you do I look forward to next year uh to the artist unbelievable and for the subject matter well done I'm I'm in a couple movies and and how do I say how do I say thank youii and to all out there wanish it's in Delaware language Delaware language okay and how do you say that in Cherokee yes so I'm going I'm going [Laughter] ski that is that is it it really is beautiful it really is ni so thank you this is unbelievable what what a what a great addition to Burl Hall thank you [Applause] thank this is U I'm 67 and uh I'm the I'm the Dr of a drum group called Young Blood singing so we we've been in Somerville a few times our drum came down and provided the music for uh for my uncle so it's an honor to come here and sing this honor song and you know it's for all of us so we usually stand up on the honor song if you can if you can't it's okay and this is for for our counsil you guys are sh man in the white yeah for real what oh I got a turban on eagle feathers oh you can remove your hats yeah if you have hats on I have a eagle feather in my turban so I thought you told me take my hat offkey so this for everybody in the room we singing four push-ups so he get four four starts and forgive me my crew is not here he's a singer too piece but he gonna let me rock it out so we go [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] oh yeah me [Music] [Laughter] oh take let me [Laughter] hey hey [Music] oh take me h [Music] [Music] he [Music] so just remember this this is my model remember this the most powerful medicine the most powerful medicine unbelievable medicine love so tomorrow when you go out you know find somebody you don't know and just walk up to them tell them I love you we work together as human beings that's what this uh Turtle Island is that's what America is that's working together so what Uncle thank you thank you all for listening [Applause] that was awesome absolutely awesome thank you all so much all right folks we're going to continue on with our uh our council meeting but again I want to thank uh Harold and Linda and uh and all of the participants today uh including the Artist as well just a uh a wonderful addition to uh to our Somerville very awesome so thank you so much ski ski it's not the last time I'm going to use that this week all right let's uh let's go into committee reports Tom oh uh yes yes mayor um the uh Abraham stats house is going to be having a program on Saturday December 7th at 1:00 uh a special performance of the madreal singers of Franklin Township High School uh the house will be open at 12:30 for seating the house will remain open from 1 till 4 as an open house uh you can come explore the house festively decorated for the holidays by members of the friends of Abraham stats house enjoy seasonal sights and sounds as you tour the rooms of this historic house live music and light Refreshments that's uh Saturday December 7th from 1 to 4: and Sunday December 8th also from 1: to 4: the house will be o open open house it is free donations are accepted uh it is located at 17 Von stubin Lane which is off of Main Street in southbound Brook that's all I have mayor all right thank you Tom Gina the uh Board of Health meets Wednesday um they are working on uh programming for 2025 um the Somerville Rescue Squad uh had a 911 trip a trip to the 911 memorial which was pretty amazing um there were five members there who were on at Ground Zero post um 911 so uh it was a moving time for everyone involved um also good news for the rescue squad they are uh they've been the sh about four new members so uh if anyone's interested in joining the squad now now is a great time they'll be doing some training in the new year so thank you great thank you you know Gina anytime the squad wants to bring the new members in um and swear them in here I think that might be a nice thing to do sure thing yeah great thank you all right thanks Glenn thank you mayor so for the environment commission we met last week uh we had some guests the members of the Somerville High School environmental Club attended as well as our local New Jersey Watershed ambassador to help us with some programming ideas uh we discussed lots of different things but primarily we uh talked about how to support the Wallace house and the Old Dutch parsonage as they plan some restoration uh Landscaping projects um also a reminder to join that Somerville High School environmental club for a cleanup uh this Saturday the 23rd at uh they'll meet at Brooksfield at 10:00 a.m. and spread out to help clean up uh some of the local areas uh environmental commission has no meeting scheduled for December but hopefully we'll see you on January 14th 2025 at 7 p.m right here and then for the fire department um busy busy time um first of all just a reminder that due to all the drought conditions there is a continued ban on Fires including fire pits chimneas and charcoal barbecue grills only elevated electric or gas grills are permitted at this point uh in happier news the Holiday Lights Parade is coming on Saturday December 7th we'll be starting at dusk approximately 6 PM so come out and see that and then you uh you still have a little bit of time if you'd like to participate in the sumerville Santa program don't want to give too much away but by all means please look on their website uh Facebook or Instagram so that you can drop off your gifts by November 30th and participate in that program and then I don't know if you're going to allude to it either but the tours of the Emergency Services fa faity are continuing this Saturday you can sign up online as well great uh thank you Teresa thank you uh the municipal Alliance and new Services Commission did not meet this month but we were given some homework to do which was to watch a movie called The upstanders it's a documentary about cyber bullying um It's a Wonderful documentary I've only watched the trailer so far but I'm looking forward to watching the whole thing um you can find the trailer on YouTube um and we encourage anyone who has children is a teacher or student to watch it um the Somerville public library has some programs coming up this week and next uh on the 20th at 10:00 a.m. the notary open hours in uh are going to be available in the main reading room so if you need anything notorized please bring it um on the 20th at 10: a.m. uh the 23rd at 1 p.m there's going to be create Thanksgiving greeting cards for teens ages 12 and up in the young adult room and November 26 at 10:30 a.m. English conversation group for adults in the program room that's all I have great thank you Randy thank you mayor with the DSA doing their budget presentation tonight I have no more announcements and Roger certainly uh just as a reminder uh the Turkey Trot will happen on Thanksgiving morning online registrations will remain open until November 21st uh on the morning of the Turkey Trot cash only uh will be accepted it is an amazing event uh if you haven't participated before we welcome you to come and and give it a shot it's a great 5K and it's a great way to start uh your turkey day off if you so celebrate you know get get in a couple get in uh a little bit of of workout and get rid of calories so you have room for more so come on down it'll be at uh right at Veterans Memorial Drive right at engine company so uh come on out Thanksgiving warning and again if you haven't already done so I think we have close to a thousand participants that's currently signed up so be one of those sign up and again uh the last day of sign up online is the 21st great all right thank you um just dovetailing off of what Glenn had mentioned the uh we we held a tour of our emergency services facility uh this past Saturday between 10: and noon and we had upwards of about a 100 people uh come and tour uh we will be doing the same again this weekend this Saturday 10 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon uh tours take about 20 to 30 minutes each um and I think we got six tours off uh during the uh during the the morning last week so if uh if you are so inclined uh the response has been overwhelmingly positive uh of the new facility uh please come out have a look um and I think you'll be impressed uh with that uh next up we have the budget introduction for the downtown Somerville Alliance um Chaz Stevens the chair of the uh DSA is here um along with the director Olivia Manning and uh obviously Main Street is uh and when I say Main Street I also mean the streets off of Main Street as well uh everything within the DSA district is the is the economic engine of our burrow if that economic engine isn't working it has a very uh negative effect if it's working extremely well it has a really wonderful effect and over the last uh 15 20 years or so uh we've seen the wonderful positive effect that an effective Downtown Association has um on uh on Commerce um on activities on social life and uh and obviously also on the economics uh for everybody involved so with that I will turn it over to uh to Olivia and uh have at it okay thank you everyone for your time this is my first time doing this so please you know actually press press the button on your mic oh is it red there you go no it is there you go okay hello yeah there it is you're live all right we are live um so further to what mayor was actually just saying um downtown districts are crucial for uh not just uplifting our local economy but instilling pride in the people that reside here and the people that visit and the folks that have their businesses here so it is our job to support all of those people in as many ways as we Poss ly can now obviously we can't do everything we can't please everyone but we sure do try the best that we can so with that um I'm going to do the best that I can also to go quickly as per mayor's instructions but um I'm going to do my best um so it's really important to note the context before we go into all the fun things like numbers the context into which we are making a little bit of a shift this year um we started with creating a strategy and we did that not just on our own and not just with our own ideas but with the support of Main Street New Jersey and Main Street America National program we had visitors from Main Street America come um and help us collaborate and and work with a lot of information in fact you do have with you their report their final report on their visit here um based on some components that we put into building our strategy that includes over 400 surveys we delivered back in August to uh just the Somerville community and any folks that were visiting that caught wind of the Strat of the survey um and as well as a bunch of data points uh from um location tracking systems and GIS mapping um and then we had some businesses also weigh in on some of their content just for additional context here um based on the numbers that we've explored uh the numbers are quite concerning as far as visits to the district um obviously 2020 dropped significantly and 2021 was the year of what has been named Revenge travel so folks could not wait to get out and just go and be elsewhere anywhere but home um so obviously that giant spike is as a result of that um but as you can see even though there were positive numbers the visitation to the district has declined quite a bit um and and over this last year has gone into the negative numbers so we are really focusing on making sure that we bring those numbers back up um and it's not just for the idea of bringing numbers up but because that means more people would be coming com to the district as a result I'm not going to go into these points specifically just in an effort of time but it's important to note that uh Main Street America has a four-point approach that they've been doing since 1979 so for 40 plus years they've been putting a process together that has been working in towns all over the country um so it's not like we're here Reinventing the wheel we're we're following through a program and a process um focusing on these key areas of revitalizing a downtown um to to uh focus our programming in addition to that Main Street has six standards that help us stay on track and help us check the boxes and making sure that we're doing what we need to be doing to be successful so these six standards again I'm not going into all of them in detail um are annually assessed by us we have a self assessment that's required by national that we have to submit every year um and yes that is something that has been submitted apparently in the last few years um but we really want to focus us on making sure that it's um being done correctly and not just a question of checking a box so that being said with our inputs with Main Street America and Main Street New Jersey assisting us as well as our data points um we have come up with a strategy outlook for the next few years and these are highlevel strategy components that we'll be focusing on um and and the purpose again is to rebuild some pride into the downtown to encourage the businesses to feel like we can support them um and to to rebuild some some uh trust in the DSA as as well oh my content got a little messed up but that's okay you have printed versions in front of you um it's what happens when you're on a Mac and then you go to a PC um so for our first strategy and these are no particular order there's not one that's more important than the other they will go hand inand as much as we are able to um is reconnecting our community um and doing this by helping our businesses be able to connect with their customers doing more experience-based marketing what kinds of things can you do when you're here and then empowering the community to participate in volunteer programs and having more of a nonprofit approach which is what we are of C3 nonprofit to doing all the work that we do empowering our entrepreneurs is more than just encouraging people to go shop local uh while that of course is certainly part of what we do um it's going to be reworking our events to focus on getting them more exposure um as much as it's a nice thing to do when you have an ice skating rank in the middle of it have a main street they're ice skating and they're not visiting the businesses um so sometimes some things are a little extra that may not be necessary um and don't really satisfy what you're looking to do and there's a lot of other fun ways that you can encourage folks to walk around town we also will be um focusing on uh building more sponsorships and having more engagement from uh organizations that are not necessarily in the district but also want to be a part of our amazing Community um and focusing also on making sure we keep those dollars within the downtown and then finally focusing on Gathering space refresh uh know that butterfly is not in Somerville and yes that is my 5-year-old um but it is a very sweet um concept to consider because folks love to take photos and they love to share on social media and so when they're here they they get excited and when they get excited they tell their friends and when they tell their friends more people come to downtown um so focusing on um projects like um continuing on the Strategic the the plan that was created last year with arterial um and focusing specifically on um jardina walkway and Division Street to enhance lighting uh for cleanup and a number of other safety components is really um going to be our next step in getting those plans put together uh so that's going to be really important for us to focus on moving forward um I will get to some of the other hopefully the um Graphics are not all messed up but um we are also considering something like a curb appeal program where that can empower the business to choose something to help beautify their space in some way shape or form in the front of their business so if they have a broken flower pot or if they have something else that they need assistance with um you know we can evaluate whatever that is and help them um get it done and that can include upgrading a a small spot of a sidewalk or some other component that uh is DET turning folks from being able to get to their business okay um so it's important to note um our Revenue sources have not really changed too significantly uh over the last couple of years however I do want to mention that the uh $200,000 line item for um grants that we would be receiving $50,000 of that we have already been awarded um with yes with the um New Jersey Economic Development Authority they have their ass asset activation Grant um and it is specifically for uh planning purposes so we will be working on those uh architecture plans with arterial for jardina and Division Street with some of that funding um and then addition to that there's $150,000 from the state of New Jersey with Main Street New Jersey that will be opening up hopefully sometime in the uh late winter maybe early spring uh that is a $150,000 Grant it is first come first serve so the moment that opens we are putting it in um so this is money that uh is very close to guarantee that we are either a are receiving or B will be um earning as the the months progress okay definitely didn't translate over anyway um so for our economic Vitality component um some of these are some of the programs in the center here that we wanted to focus on specifically upcoming um you know building an educational hub for our businesses to access at any time uh so obviously that would be a digital component and having additional resources available to them uh last week we had a session um with the uh Somerset County Business Partnership and we offered them I know um councilwoman staic was there as well we had um a grants session where some businesses could understand what grants are available to them and what kind of funding um really is actually there for them for the taking um so more things like that to really help the businesses get educated on how to grow and Thrive um and then there's some photos here of um you know having grand openings and supporting businesses to grow and then connecting with each other as well because I know the businesses have mentioned a few times to me already that connecting with each other changes the dynamic of how they operate in the downtown they they they find each other as um co-workers rather than competitors and it's really important that we continue to try to connect them together so that they can feel that Pride as well um this is so disappointing um in our promotions category you know our events are especially some our more Signature Events are most certainly um going to keep going we are going to focus on having the events pay for themselves as much as possible with enhanced sponsorship um any additional grants that we can apply for and earn throughout the year um excuse me in addition to that we are refocusing some of the events um one for example uh we have the vendor fair at the beginning of June rather than it just be a bunch of vendors on the street incorporating more of what we just saw some more culture components um highlighting food music entertainment in addition to the vendoring component to really bring about that pride in the community and have more folks attend so it's going to be really important for us to make sure that the events do what they need to do and not just doing it just because somebody said it was a good idea it needs to be intentional like most of our programming um in addition to that we'll be focusing on doing some advertising and promotions that are uh again experience-based so people can understand what it's like to come to downtown if they've never been here before and again getting folks excited I'm skipping over a lot um and finally here uh well not finally I'm sorry the uh organization component is something that's relatively newer for the DSA um and focusing on that volunteer component getting a program together um having folks wear a DSA shirt that says ask me about how you can make this event happen next year or something along those lines so that they can have conversations and the community can get involved as much as possible to then expand on that excitement over the years um and then from event to event program to program more volunteers can participate and then bring it into the community even more um so there is a small dollar amount associated with this component but that's because most of this is going to be generating Revenue not so much taking it um and using it for various things so that's um not a lot is involved with getting this off the ground now last but not least our design component um focusing on refreshing some furniture I noticed our summer Furniture is a little weathered uh no pun intended um and uh you know needs a little bit of love and and attention so um some things like that need to be um reviewed and ensured that we kind of get things um looking fresh again uh again the curb appeal component to really assist our businesses with taking what they have and just simply making it better or helping them uh with ideas and what to do because some folks just simply may not know um so being able to help any way we can is going to be important um and then of course maintaining our landscaping and our district cleanup as we normally have done uh and yes Becky is right behind me as well she's our marketing coordinator um we are down one more person and we are looking for a new associate director however um your team is here as well and we're here to be um just as much of a resource as the rest of the programs that we've just spoken about so it's not just about people doing a job it's about really caring for our district and being here if people need us for various various reasons so to recap lovely numbers um these are essentially are the the numbers that we're looking at for this year um it is bringing us over the million dollar mark But does include the uh fundraising components that we mentioned earlier as well um anything I'm leaving out no we're good I'm on a roll I'm on a roll okay um we can go back to this if need be um and I just wanted to make a little bit of a comparison with last year's numbers um because a lot of those numbers are a little bit skewed from last year so I didn't include it in any of the budget numbers that you have in front of you um however the blue line here are are totals for 25 and the orange line is last year's numbers so as you can see our events our promotional campaigns are growing a little bit um our economic Vitality is being coupled in with our promotional campaigns so it seems like it's lower but at the same same time our promotions are going to be part of that um design and beautification and our streetscape support I have separated that out um and the main reason for that is our streetscape support are non-negotiables uh whereas design beautification if something happens for any reason we have another pandemic something serious is going on and needs attention we can shift those funds to where it's needed most if required but hopefully that won't be the case um and then of course uh management we are growing because you don't have a part-time director and um you know office support has come down just a little bit and making sure that we can um do what we need to do efficiently and now was that seven minutes did I do it did you can't I didn't check my mouth is parched um I'm happy to answer any questions that you have well thank you that that was a very uh focused thorough uh presentation which I like um so questions Council comments I have a comment uh personally I'd like to thank the DSA board Olivia Chaz Kevin thank you for getting things back on track and and I love where we're headed love all the work you're doing and thank you thank you other comments I did have a question uh you showed the downturn in visits what what is that do you think that's thanks downturn and visits uh I saw on the screen what what do you attribute that to uh there could be a number of factors obviously the economy has been shifting um I it's hard to tell I I personally haven't been here um but the visits are declining because maybe there's not certain types of businesses here that people want to see um perhaps the events aren't as well attended because they're kind of dry and need more attention or something different um there could be a number of reasons unfortunately I there's no way for me to really know for sure so are you you've done a lot of Assessments do you have that as an assessment tool coming up um is that anything that we talked about in our previous well the uh the the Main Street America report that we distributed along with the budget documents did go through some of the the survey results uh both from the merchants and residents um it did identify a number of different types of businesses that folks are missing uh for example example something like 60% of the respondents want bookstore which definitely draws a lot of foot traffic um there was also some interesting results when it came to um when folks would like to come to town regardless of whether or not the business was open you know if you could make the schedule when would you come um and there was an awful lot of folks who want to come on a Sunday and a lot of our downtown Merchants are not open on Sunday so we're we're trying to spread that word that the the customers are there if you'll just be open so I have two other things to share um just before Co I sat on a committee with the recreation department um they had gotten a national um national parks um Grant I you probably remember Kevin um and they did a um an assessment of how the parks were vital to the community and how we could use the The Greenway um with uh signage from The Greenway to the um downtown Town promoting bike to Somerville promoting you know outdoor experiences and so on so um I think I get the impression after Co we kind of that that study just got put on a shelf so I I would hope maybe Kathy could get it over to them and and find that and the um you know the other thing is we just uh uh last week had a um a walk downtown with ridewise um I asked uh Olivia if we could set that up because it's part of work that we've done with the environmental Commission in terms of Street assessments and um I've been highly concerned about the lack of safety on the streets and the walking and we've gone back and forth with the trees but regardless um I I hope there's money in your budget to start to address just simple maintenance not even tree related but simple maintenance of dangerous areas um and um I I would I would encourage that highly thank you um I I will say that that is most certainly going to be a collaborative effort and something that we've talked about at length as well um it's it's something I've noticed that a lot of folks don't really know who's responsible um it's well the burough is supposed to do it or the property owner is supposed to do well it's a dsa's responsibility so rather than constantly having that circular motion with nothing happening it's going to be really important for us to all get together and make a plan and be intentional about how we're actually repairing the sidewalks and taking care of the trees and doing all the things because it's important to us as well I mean just Friday nights in the middle of summer you know there's so many people walking around and the accessibility it's it's a challenge so it's definitely on the top of our minds um with PSG coming in the first half of next year and all of the uh recuperation that we're continuing to do and making sure that we're doing the right things I think continuing to have those conversations and making that plan tangible and workable rather than just saying oh well it's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars you know we don't know if we're going to do it right now we need to we need to come up with something together that's going to make sense our our friends earlier said it you know we are a family one way or another and we're we all have to work together in all of this to make it happen so that's going to be really important for us to do so that there's no us responsible them responsible because there's property owners that have already cleaned up some of their sidewalk repairs um and so if we start to just dish out some money then those folks are going to say oh well you didn't help us and you know so we need to make sure that we're very intentional strategic to make sure that we are are doing the right things for the right right reasons great any other so so just a couple of of comments one again thank you for uh for a very uh focused and and direct presentation um I love the fact that you've increased events I think pretty significantly um events are what brings feet to the street uh that's why people come if you make it fun enjoyable interesting they will come and that will then also allow the stores to thrive um it's a good thing Gina I I I would like to see that report that was done because I think wayf finding and signage is critical uh and how we interconnect Main Street with our historical areas also with our Greenway areas it's just it's it's something that we have that nobody else does and it's this interconnectivity that uh that is all over town that really you know there's people who don't know we have a petersbrook Greenway there's and and how we can incorporate that with downtown and really it starts to make something something I think it's it's kind of cool um you know the downturn I you know I it I I don't know either I I look at it I think part of it is events I really do um a and you know the the idea of cut and paste from year to year to year start does start to get tired um you know when we began we had concerts Thursday Friday Saturdays and Sundays and and it was this very diverse music that would come and and then we had a Native American Festival uh so it's it's creating these very different um events that allow all sorts of people to to gravitate to Somerville and I think that's what makes it exciting and different and unique and and if we can if we can recreate a little bit of that which I think you're doing in your budget here I think that's that's really important um so I think it uh I know we've had some struggles over the past year year well two years and uh and I know that uh that that the uh DSA board has worked really hard uh to uh to kind of write the ship and and you've done that so thank you for doing that both of you thank you very much and thank you and and thanks to the entire board I know the board worked very hard at uh at getting the things back into focus and uh uh it's a great presentation so thank you thank you do we have to act on this do we have to affirm uh yeah so so uh auditor requires us to um it's kind of the same way as a budget process so the so the board has has introduced this budget the governing body would have to affirm the B budget by a vote and then the board has to adopt the budget at its next meeting and we'll have to confirm the adoption as well so we just do it by a motion or resolution uh if you because I don't see a resolution on here no you could do you could do a motion um Second and a roll call vote and that'll get logged into the minutes for an affirmation of the introduction perfect aren't they a separate nonprofit corporation they are um Council but but but do due to the fact that a large amount of money comes from the taxpayer being those particular assessed uh properties um it's always been a little odd um but since it's set up as an SID the way it is that the auditor does require I think one day maybe that'll be a conversation we have the auditor but in the meantime uh we' like to stay within compliance of the audit request I think it's a good thing to do you know it's I think it's good oversight um and and it's more so than oversight it's cooperation and and it's a it's a an understanding of where the council's vision of of Somerville and Main Street is going with along with the uh DSA so do we have a motion to uh to affirm second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Dene yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger vro yes thank you very much thank you good job thanks okay uh I'll ask for a motion to open the meeting to the public so move second discussion roll call council members Teresa Bonner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger verm yes okay public portion is now open please state your name and address for the record and please address your comments to me just step up to the microphone okay good evening um I wanted to first start off by saying um my appreciation for the council and mayor um local government is so beneficial that you can have such good communication with the community in so many ways and that's why like local government is underrated in my opinion because like it's we're all Neighbors in community Al the way I'm from Branchburg I I reside in sumerville high school and um that's where my community is so here we are in my community um but I want to talk about I need a name and record oh thank you uh James Meister at one0 Tu bermed Drive Branchburg um so I want to address uh about the environment and I'm glad the DSA is here because uh it's a perfect timing so um firstly there are a handful of ordinances discussed the past couple of months specifically the tree ordinance that says if you were to remove a perfectly healthy tree you must achieve a permit in order to remove that tree um number two would be storm water management updating that policy as well as a flood plane ordinance that if you build on a 90% likelihood of flooding that would be outlawed um again this ordinance these laws are passed by the state to be passed by the towns by mandate um my question is and it kind of remains um uncertain why this hasn't been sitting on the agenda to be voted on it's really important for the environment especially with the DSA and green infrastructure and making sure we're up to date with providing that we're able to sustain the next storm um the best way that we can and these policies absolutely are that protection so the agenda is really important even if even if you guys were to disagree with all those policies that's okay I think it should still be on the agenda to be heard discussed and voted on just to get things moving so we get moving on to the next thing if it ends up not working out um thank you thank you any other public comment Mr O'Neal now I'm a afraid Rich O'Neal 124 West CL Street Summerville I've got a comment first then a question one is I have a chainsaw if anybody needs it the question I have since Olivia is here the visits how are they counted if you live in a downtown area and you shop in a downtown area since you already are there are you visiting or are you already there how you get counted I I just don't know I'd like to know how you do that and and that that's really it it's probably more of a question for the DSA but we have lots of people who live downtown every time they go out their door or they a visit or they never a visit I don't know thank you good question we'll we'll get to that in a moment any other public comment yes I oh Zara Heather uh 190 West Main Street um I have a question about the uh citizen leadership form and volunteer opportunities uh regarding if for example myself is interested in becoming part of board or committee or commissions and alliances who do I address that to that's okay thank you okay any other public comment sure yes uh Dave classic 215 Woodside Lane Bridgewater and in Rel to G's comment about safety pedestrian safety my wife and I and my son have noticed several times at the intersection of Park Avenue uh Veterans Memorial Parkway in East Main Street that's such a wide intersection there people with strollers dog walkers or anything like that you stop for The Pedestrian and you know what's happening so I just want to see if the town can improve the safety for pedestrians that intersection thank you thank you any other public comment here we not oh you usually get one shot but go ahead can I go for round two yeah all right thank you um with jentan mentioned prior also remind me of um there are a few crosswalks as well that are very poorly painted and fade away that when I was driving home last meeting I was here uh there was someone crossing the street it was so dark out I could not see the person I almost hit them um thankfully though I did not but I lighting better lighting specifically on North or South North Bridge Street coming up to the Main Street intersection going this way um very poorly painted crosswalk and that also kind of adds to the greater safety aspect of it um the the trees are causing the pavement to rise up in on Main Street and yes repairing that pavement would be beneficial but better long-term plan of making sure the trees are able to grow while also making sure the space is walkable that might me need to replace the pavers altogether for more permeable um source of pavement I'm not certain but um a long-term plan for the walkability of Main Street would be really crucial thank you thank you any other public comment hearing none I'll ask for a motion to close so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa Bonner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes gvic yes Roger verm yes okay so we got a whole lot so let me let me let me try to roll through them um I I'll I'll go back to uh the um pedestrian interaction and and pedestrian safety there there's a whole there's a whole lot that goes into it it's lighting it's Road configuration um its speed um it's the lights of cars today if anybody else is blinded by them today I am um a and and it's a challenge um it's it's a big challenge there are steps that we can take uh there are steps that we are taking um I was in a meeting with psng um probably about three months ago and I had asked if they could take an intersection uh on Main Street and and increase the lighting from above because what I'm finding is the the light the lighting is very difficult the the way the car lights are and the existing lights it's very difficult to see people um and and with brighter light from above you can actually begin to start to see the Silhouettes of people when you're driving on Main Street or even on a side road and you've got Bright Lights coming at you the light just wraps right around people you can't see them it just wraps right around them so PSG has actually has said that they would uh put in a test bulb Kevin on uh on East B actually right by Ry store um to see if we couldn't light up that intersection that crosswalk a little bit better so that it's it's a little more pedestrian friendly um there is a plan from the state to improve the intersection at Grove and East Maine uh that should be coming I believe this year uh as well um there are some problem spots um you know the the intersection of Park AV vets and and East Main is it's it's wide and that is a big problem uh it's also the intersection of a state highway so we're we're to some degree at the mercy of dot we can let them know again that they need to take a look at this and and I agree I mean it's right next to a park uh it's right where Rescue Squad comes out at least for the next few months um but but it's a challenge uh you know maybe there's a way to to to limit turns coming out of Park Avenue that may help uh I don't know or left turn specific Lanes uh but something we can ask do to uh to take another look at um I would also suggest to folks because the the very people that we talk about speeding in in town are usually us um and it's people who know Somerville and they know the cut-throughs and they know the roads and they figure they can speed so I have I have every Road in Somerville is 25 miles an hour now when that was enacted and all during this year I can tell you half the town thinks 25 or even less is what it should be and I got another half of town that says well I think it should be more than 25 East Main Street doesn't need to be 25 it should be 40 again or 35 you can't win um so you know it it's it's a challenge so the one thing we can do is enforcement and as we find hot spots around town because we do hit hot spots um our police do enforcement we have a traffic officer during the day who's dedicated uh and and he goes out and he patrols and stops and and clocks people um in in certain areas that become hotpots I send them over to the police department I'm sure some of the other Council folks do as well um and then you know the chief does let me know uh what the results are of some of those uh some of those days where the officer is stationed and they do give out tickets um it's not as many as you would think the speed is sometimes s a little subjective when you're looking at it um but uh but PD is out there they are enforcing uh and they're good um I wish I could have a police car on every street in Somerville every day because that would stop all of the problems uh we can't do that so um our PD does uh a good job uh and uh and they will continue to do a good job and they will enforce uh where they need to enforce so but but there are things that we can do to mitigate some of that and visibility is one of them um tree ordinance uh we had this discussion at the planning board uh the other night and uh the the tree ordinance uh I I will tell you I've held that up that that was me and I think I've talked to you about this before um and the reason I've held it up is because the way the draft ordinance is written from the state um it calls for the municip IP ality to enforce in its jurisdiction uh those trees that come down what the draft ordinance does is it creates jurisdiction on private property currently our ordinance does allow the municipality if we cut down a tree that's in the public RightWay that's in the confines of the public space public parks we have to replace that no problem that's what I do have a problem with is government in my backyard and dictating uh what my gardening should look like and and that to me is a really really big issue um I have an issue with that so I've asked our planner to look at the legislation behind it and there isn't a whole lot of legislation there's a whole lot of rules but there's not a whole lot of legislation and uh um my understanding is there actually may be some uh legislation floating around around down in Trenton Kevin maybe about actually eliminating that portion yeah uh there was an assembly Bill introduced to revert uh portions of the uh tree ordinance that was asked by municipalities to adopt that that I believe that is in committee right now in the environmental committee uh at the state level um I don't know if it'll be heard uh before the end of the year or not probably not but but um so so that that falls squarely on me and I accept that responsibility and uh um I just firmly believe that uh you know stay out of my backyard the government doesn't belong in my backyard dictating what I plant and what I don't and what I cut down um there's I that's my belief uh there maybe differences of opinion I like trees um I I I you know firm proponent of planting them in the public space as much as we can but the last thing I'm going to do is tell my neighbor whether they can keep a tree or cut a down that's their tree let them do with it what they want so um planning board is also taking up the storm water and flood plane as well uh Rich uh actually Olivia Rich had a question regarding how is it counted or residents counted as well is that yeah please the platform is called place or Ai and it basically is location tracking with cell phone data um so so it doesn't know who you are specifically it just knows that you are coming into the district um it does have the ability to um select visitors employees and residents because of the amount of times you're going back and forth I'm a perfect example of an employee because I don't live here I'm 15 20 minutes away so every day I'm making the same Mo motion coming back and forth back and forth back and forth so it's now re recognizing somehow that I am an employee and not just a visitor a visitor is really more of a one-time person that's coming in doing what they're doing and then leaving um so it's again technology that is a little bit over my head to go into more detail and I'm sure you don't want to hear it at this hour but uh it's it's interesting technology and you know when we have our cell phones everywhere we go that's pretty much how we figure out the information so big big brothers telling us uh yeah more or less I it's hard to talk about it because people get a little nervous about it but it's it's all good so that's all thank you uh and then in regards to the citizen leadership form um you can fill that out online and submit it I did you did okay um what are you looking to get involved with well I guess that was my followup question is like am I allowed to fill out more than one absolutely yes we're always looking for folks to become involved so um Library board ofes oh you don't wait you don't have to tell me that's yeah so no that's I I appreciate it very much and when did you fill that out November 6 okay all right thank you uh mayor we do track them so so they do come electronically they uh someone in my office actually does collect them in many cases there might not be a particular opening because a lot of them do get filled out in the beginning of the year um but we keep them on file and and as you have done in the past you've called me said do we have anybody that's interested yes um but but certainly if people fill that out multiple times that's perfectly fine with us it doesn't um mess up anything with our system so just reminder that the person is still interested is fine excellent okay and also could I add that a lot of the meetings like the environmental commission meeting Board of Health meeting they're public meetings so you could attend get a flavor for what's going on and and then show your interest if you want an appointment later on it's a great Point Gina I would encourage anybody to look at the burough calendar and to attend any of the public meetings that uh that that are out there the planning board the zoning board Recreation um environmental historic uh they're all there Library uh please come you know we this is it's it's a public space we we want the interaction so all right uh ordinances for introduction ordinance number uh 2749 is amending the salary range for employee titles to be paid to certain officers and employees of the burrow of Somerville um this is housekeeping Kevin this is uh um just adjusting the minimum maximum amounts correct okay um public comment I normally we do we do not have to have public comment for an introduction of an ordinance but it is something that I do as a matter of course uh so public comment on 2749 is now open hearing none we'll close 2749 and motion for introduction moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa bonor yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger FM yes all right 2750 uh amending chapter 102 section 115 of the land use code entitled special improvement district uh um this is intended to revert back to uh what I think was a a different process which I think is a better approach and what this does is those uh businesses within the uh special improvement district uh they typically have to comply with Architectural Review Board parameters for their signage and uh recently there was a change made I think in the past two years or so was a change made and it allowed let me back up a second how it used to work the the applicant would appear before the ARB the Architectural Review Board with their signage the ARB would either suggest modifications um or they would say okay we agree with this it would then go to the planning board for a final approval uh because the planning board has that authority to do um in the past couple of years it reverted and it allowed the ARB uh to make those decisions outside of the purview of the council or the planning board um The Authority I believe really rests with the planning board so this brings that Authority back to the planning board and all it does is once the ARB reviews a sign uh and and it complies with not only the zoning regulations but the architectural regulations that we have um the ARB would then uh make a recommendation to the planning board and the planning board would approve it um it has been streamlined uh one of the complaints given was that it was taking too long uh the ARB does meet by uh teams meeting now or or you know Zoom meeting uh so that is beginning to accelerate things a little bit to make things a little bit more uh user friendly for the customer uh because we don't want a delay uh that was a complaint uh from a number of folks uh I think a couple of years ago and that's why the council took that action um if we see that there's a stagnation again we'll address it very quickly but that's what this is intended to do so 2750 public comment is open hearing none we close 2750 motion for introduction so moved can I make a comment we got to have a second second second okay yes comments uh being liaison to the DSA for many years we've received many uh complaints and I even have someone in the audience that's been waiting well over 6 months if not longer to get open and we did this to simplify things just to make them easy um I don't think going through two process is going to speed anything up and that's why we changed this originally which was all done with all of us on board understood um and and the the planning board vetted this as well because they were they were a part of that um the planning board does feel feel that uh they have the ability to act fairly quickly um there shouldn't be a delay if if he's been waiting if you've been waiting six we'll talk afterwards if you've been waiting six months I want to know about that um the um but the process the authority really rests with the planning board um giving that authority to make an approval I don't know that it really rests with um the ARB well couldn't they go just directly to the planning board instead of having it costs money to go to the planning board but they're going to the planning board anyway no the the referral is going the referral from the ARB is coming to us it's not them appearing before us is there any way to expedite it and that's what I said so the exped Expediting is done now through they meet via teams uh they can meet within a day or two of uh of the application being made so um I understand why it was done I get it uh and I probably would agree with you at that time but I'm looking at this and you know the the my feeling is that the the planning board really should be the ultimate Arbiter on that that the authority to approve or not approve rests with them rather than with um three or four people so I think we need to clarify too I and I'm sure for the public um who the ARB is and what the ARB is made up of so that way when people look at this and they keep hear ing ARB or Architectural Review Board they know who those who those members are or who they represent so who is the ARB and who appoints so so the ARB is appointed by the planning board and it's made up of a number of folks uh within the uh within the district as well as the planning board uh and what this does is it also carves out and allows for a person who's not affiliated with the uh with with the district as well just a citizen at La we'll call it um and it allows for um I guess sub some subjective opinion but based within the zoning guidance of the uh the ordinance uh I believe rich rich O'Neal is one uh no that's I that's why I said I don't I don't I would like to talk to this gentleman afterwards yeah so it it I don't know if everyone could hear that so it's me it's members of the planning board zoning and a business representative from the arv I mean the Sid excuse and a public acronyms and a public currently yes now we're going to add we're adding a public we're adding a nonaffiliated to the Sid or the zoning or the planning board public member to sit on the architecture review board not only for downtown signage but for fencing which is what's coming up next yes correct I know the executive director used to be part of that for the DSA used to be part of that ARB I know since our last well that's and that's something we can take up as as the year turns we can talk about who who should be on the ARB absolutely yeah yeah an altern we can we can talk about alternates yeah so so I just because not again you're sitting over there so what Mr O'Neal said for the public is that the the members of the ARB float depending upon the designation from either the zoning board or the planning board as to who can be available to make sure that the expedite the the process is expedited trying to figure out the right way to say that so it's made up of it can float to Mr O'Neal's Point um so that way members can meet that are representative from those organizations to get something passed through I think we should have representation from the historic advisory committee the main function of the ARB is to uh preserve the character of downtown Somerville and as well of hold the the whole burrow of Somerville to make sure that uh no it's for downtown it's primarily for downtown but it uh it it can get involved beyond the siid well that that's something we can take up Tom but but uh you know right now we're looking at um the whether the authority rests with the ARB or whether you want whether the council wants the authority to rest with those that are on the ARB the Architectural Review Board or if they want the ARB to the to be the advisory body to the planning board and the planning board have the ultimate Authority yes so that's they just pretty much as long as the says yes plan board is just the formality typically yeah yeah because I will read paragraph the last paragraph under 102-1 115c says the planning board May request that the ARB review Land Development applications that are within the Redevelopment areas or located outside of the special improvement district that's correct there are times when uh an applicant at before the planning board the planning board May refer them if they agree as a part of their site plan approval to have Architectural Review Board review yes that's not a standard it's a it's a potential the potential right yeah uh well what if it's an office sign outside of the special Improvement we don't then the RB wouldn't wouldn't hear that so this this is the uh the aesthetic review of conforming signs so if they're in front of the planning board for an application that when I say application a development application that that all rest with the planning board it's only the aesthetic review of of of a conforming sign yes and also also they review facad building faad well let let's let's bring this back the the question before council is do you want the as it is now the authority rests with those uh on the Architectural Review Board or do you want the Architectural Review Board to be an advisory body that makes the recommendation to the the planning board and the planning board will make the ultimate decision could the planning board hold it up they could absolutely yeah I and I've sat there and we have yeah yeah and that that's typically um I should it's it's not typical it's not I can tell you from the last two years that I've been on the planning board that when prior to making the change recommendations would come in from the ARB and they were approved and it and things moved along we didn't have further discussions on the signage once it came from the ARB to the planning board because as to Kevin's point they're usually conforming signs meaning that they meet the requirements for the Sid so I'll say it again the question before the council is twofold well it's really onefold yes or no um do do you want status quo which is uh the existing ARB making the ultimate decisions or do you want the existing ARB to refer to the planning board uh to make the final decision so that's what this does so a vote in the affirmative will change uh the the ordinance to allow it to come back to the planning board for final approval so let's go with roll yeah it's an introduction yes okay correct the the council members Teresa boner no Glendon no Tom Mitchell no Randy pittz no G EST travic obain Roger verm no well let's strike that from the agenda all right uh 27 sorry uh 2751 is amending chapter 102 section 116 of the land use entitled conditional uses and section 120 entitled special regulations for certain uses and structures um this ordinance and the one after it uh address specifically uh fencing on Corner Lots um we had a resident come to a planning board meeting uh very upset because they could not put a fence up uh on their property to give them privacy um Corner Lots typically have two front yards and sometimes it makes it extremely difficult under I'll call it existed existing blanket zoning to allow for um uh fencing to be put up uh it's either the setbacks are too great um it just it it becomes a punishment for living on a corner and the uh the planning board looked at this and and and took some great pains and went through the process of trying to eliminate the punishment aspect of living on a corner and if you want to put up a screening or a uh or a fence to give yourself some privacy so the um planning board came up uh you you've had a chance to read the the ordinance planning board has come up with a what they think is a good plan I think it's a good plan we vetted it uh over the course of two or three meetings right Roger yeah and uh we came to something which we think works extremely well it does not punish a homeowner for living on a corner it allows them some privacy and and it also allows them the aspect if their if their fence doesn't fully comply with the existing ordinance regarding fencing or or screening uh they can take it to the planning board or the zoning board without any additional cost um and and it would then go or it would go to the ARB for for a review um it took a while for us to get to this point but it makes a lot of sense from the from the homeowners perspective um I live on a corner I can tell you and I'm not looking for a fence I already have one uh um but it it it's very frustrating if you live on a corner deciding which front yard you want to use um and and then if you have to go to the zoning board to put up a simple fence now the costs become extremely prohibitive and uh so the planning board took a look at it developed this ordinance and uh and this kind of puts it to uh to rest and it allows a homeowner to have a little bit of privacy who lives on cour so um public comment on 2751 is open hearing none close 2751 uh motion for introduction move second discussion May mayor I did I did notice in the text that you guys have there's some notes in there from our attorney uh I'm sorry from from our lanus attorney that will be removed in the m in the um obviously the fin okay all right roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gus dravic yes Roger ver yes all right and 2752 is amending chapter 102 section 117 of the land use code entitled General regulations um this creates the site triangle for a corner lot and it shows uh where um fencing and or Shrubbery can be placed so that uh and it actually is very timely with what folks were talking about before um and people not being able to see as they drive uh this creates a visible sight triangle when you come to any corner so you can actually see any traffic or pedestrians coming in a better method um so uh 2752 public comment is open hearing none close 2752 motion for introduction so moved second discuss question yeah uh question why the last paragraph there eliminate the following item no offense or Shrubbery should be permitted to approach Etc going back to uh going back to Kevin's Point some of the things that were in the not so much the draft uh from our land use uh from from the planning board land land use representation it just got left in here that when to the point before when this comes back for adoption uh that will be stricken it will be gone it just wasn't it's a misprint we're not eliminating the requirement that that they not block the sidewalk with scrubs or tree branches this is showing that number one is taking care of that yeah if you look at number one IT addresses that that is correct number one takes care of it so two is a redundancy number one is is uh taking care of trees and shrubs that block The View through the triangle triangle but paragraph two was wasn't specific to that triangle and it had to do with branches uh that were less than eightt high over the sidewalk or shubber approached on the sidewalk well this talks about so it talks about the right away um but it does talk about so it the entire uh section is discussing the site triangle so all of that would be considered part of the site triangle further discussion roll call council members Teresa Bonner yes glenton e yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Jus traic yes Roger ver yes okay consent resolutions any pulled off for further discussion yes um the one on the radios in the Grant I had a question hang on which one's the radios Kevin do you know off hand I'm so I'm sorry was it radios he said yeah 344 correct all right 344 and you had one other one Gina no okay all right so we'll pull 344 all right 333 is authorizing the sale of surplus property being associated flood damage equipment through municibid excuse me in accordance with State Cooperative pricing system 334 is authorizing the award of a non-fair and open contract for professional engineering design survey inspection and contract Administration services for Lincoln Avenue Improvement project including Cleveland Street between union AV and Hy Street Hy between post and Cleveland Street with Greenman Peterson Inc 335 is authorizing the award of a non-fair and open contract for environmental engineering Services Geo synch Consultants 336 is authorizing the burough of Somerville to accept the subgrant award of the federal fiscal year 2024 of Emergency Management performance Grant and Emergency Management agency assistance 337 is approving the Fire Department lights parade on December 7th uh at 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. at 170 East Main Street actually throughout town uh 338 is refund tax overpayment known address as 15 voran Avenue block 5 lot 11.01 339 is awarding a national contract through Omnia partner through eisneramper managed technology Services uh DBA computer systems and methods in the amount of $161,100 for emergency services facility 340 is appointing Danielle stashek to the position of construction 341 is appointing Denise Van Horn to serve on the library Board of Trustees as Board of Education liaison 342 is amending resolution uh 24121 299 approving personto person and placeo place expansion transfer excuse me of Alcohol Beverage Control license as noted by verdico Corp located at 122 126 and 128 West Main Street uh to defina restaurant Corp 343 is authorizing transfer of funds to fund certain line items in the 2024 budget 345 is authorizing the Department of Public Works to perform a Le's pickup and Disposal program at the Somerville Cemetery 346 is appointing Lisa Warner to serve on the regional center partnership committee 347 is authorizing the execution of a First Amendment to the Redevelopment agreement between the burough of Somerville and Ana Somerville urban renewal concerning the proposed dedication of property located at block 50 Lots 13 and 14 on the Burrow's official tax map we have a motion so moved second roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gus traic yes Roger F yes all right 344 is approving the use of somerson County approvement authority to finance the procurement of radios in 2025 do we have a motion so moved second discussion uh can the rescue squad be included in that um I I don't know the um I I don't know how their squad is handling their rting so we had a meeting with the police department's done already the fire department they applied for a grant last year the fire fire department we were unsuccessful with that Grant we had a meeting last week with the Improvement Authority for serson County with all the municipalities to start Gathering up how many municipalities uh or fire departments or anything else or police departments actually think police has completed to see what that number would roll about um to identify so this is the first step in the process of identifying um um how many how many radios we're we're talking about for the municipalities I could check with the um with the squad as to how they plan on upgrading their radios in 2026 well they're they're looking for money as well they did uh get denied on the same Grant the fire department did okay um I I had gone to the Eda uh Workshop that um Olivia referred to uh to see if we could get some money through that program um and I provide them with another source of Grants so um I mean what am I hearing you saying that this isn't like the financing of this is just calculations right now uh it is because you would later on have to approve the agreement because right now we we don't know the interest rate we don't know the dollar amount so forth um so this is more of of of the embryonic stage but but moving quickly because it takes uh several months for the procurement process to take place uh this has to be done for 202 the all the Emergency Services have been notified almost two years ago right aware that I I think with the squad we could certainly chat with them to see how I'm assuming that that they might have the ability to to combine with us um I just have to understand how that would work financially with the Improvement Authority whether whether we fund them and they pay us or they pay directly to the Improvement already I'm I'm not too sure but um if they don't have another funding source but I'll I'll have the opport I'll chat with them to see what their plans are appreciate that sure okay is this uh upgrade of radios so you say it's required is this being required by the FCC it's being it's being required by somerson County who who uh it's a it's a mandate by them if if we're not in the system that's okay we just can't use them for dispatching um we have no intentional leaving them for dispatching the police are already up upgraded so I think that the plan now is to get fire upgraded uh within the next 24 24 months and so forth but I I couldn't speak whether it's FCC requirement but it's certainly a requirement of the dispatching service we use okay all right uh roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Dene yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger ver yes all right bills and vouchers Roger so uh tonight's number is a little larger than usual as it is our quarter uh fourth quarter so our fourth quarter payments are going out um to the various entities so for example um Library somerson County Library a payment is going out of $1 17,23 um our County taxes is 1,254 35254 open space tax $135,000 6 $135,600 32.75 um to a total of 8,337 4696719613 [Music] 31 so our total that I moved tonight to pay for bills and vouchers 9 million 357,96 second uh discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Dene yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes chus straic yes Roger verm yes Mr Mitchell I will ask for a motion for adjournment move for adjournment second discussion all in favor I opposed this meeting is