Oh, wait. He's here. >> Yeah, he was brutal. >> Recording in progress. >> Okay. >> Tell you later. Remind me. >> Thank you. Welcome everybody to the Yarma Select Board meeting of August 19th, 2025. Um, tonight we are going to interview
three candidates for the director of community development. If we could please start with the pledge of allegiance, that would be great. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, we have three cans tonight and I think we're going to get right into it. So, if you want to uh unless the board has anything to discuss prior, we'll get uh right into our first
interview while our human resource >> directors always >> go and get our our first one. So, the format is um each of us will ask questions. We'll ask the same question
to all three candidates. You're um allowed to have a free flow of conversation and follow up however you'd like. Um but to be fair, we ask them all the same questions and um at the end of the meeting, I don't expect we take any action tonight. We'll adjourn and we
will put the appointment on the agenda for our next meeting. >> Madam Chair, do you want us to each take a question from our questionnaire? >> Yep. Whichever one whoever asks it first, well, that will be theirs until um I'll mark it down who's asked what
and um or if you want to ask your own questions, whatever you want to do. And then we'll, like I said, the next time it comes around, um hopefully we'll have time for at least probably two questions each, but we'll have to play that by ear based on the time that we have.
>> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you all. Thanks for having this special meeting to get this important uh process rolling. >> Good evening. How are you? Come on in.
>> Hello. How are you? >> Glad they gave you water. >> That was a test if you could tell it was really evening or not. >> Question. Is your glass half full or is it half empty? >> There you go. >> It's It's time to last an hour.
>> But thank you for asking. >> Okay. Well, welcome. For the record tonight, >> excited to be here. >> We're glad you're here. For the record, our first interview is with um Mr. Spiro Mitricostas. Uh, Spiro, we're going to give you um a few minutes to make a
couple of opening statements, tell a little bit about yourself, whatever you want to use the time for and um we'll allow you a few minutes to >> Sure. >> Thank you. >> wrap it up and uh we'll get into questions after. Thank you. thanks for being here and thank you for >> thank you for affording me this
opportunity and thanks for the um process that you and the town's staff has been going through to get to this point. Um my initial reaction when I got this phone call was how did this happen? Um this process started about 4 months
ago in April and I don't suppose any of the candidates had heard anything um for a while and then all of a sudden the process had is beginning and we were asked in for um interviews with the staff and then after we provided some information got a
call back and whatnot. So, um it is um kind of exciting to be here, kind of strange as well to be in front of you because I know most of you pretty well. I've worked with you different capacities. Um served in the town of
Yarmouth for a number of years in different ways. Um and we kind of all run around in the same circle. So to the to the degree that I can make um a case for this I would like to do that.
Um this is a very big position, a very big job in town. It um involves a lot of moving parts, a lot of engages a lot of people in the process. And on its face, um, it may not appear that my most
recent professional experience lends itself to this, but um, at some point you have to stop putting stuff on your resume. Stop going further back. And some stuff fell off that you you aren't going to be able to
see in the information I submitted. Um, some of you may know some of my previous background, but I just wanted to give you a really quick update. Um, the most relevant experiences I've had to what this position is, uh, came early in my
career when I worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I worked in the governor's office and I was, uh, eventually appointed to be the coordinator of economic development for southeastern Massachusetts, which is Bristol, Plymouth, and Barnstable counties. and they set me off on the
task to figure out how to get stuff going in Bristol County, New Bedford, Fall River, uh jobs, business development, infrastructure improvements, um all with the eye to improve the economic conditions of that area. And um we
didn't have a lot of resources, which is um in in retrospect kind of surprising because it's the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but they don't give you a budget and they don't give you um access to funding and say go do this. They just say go do it and you have to figure out
how to how to get that done. Um but we met with some relative success. we got a bunch of stuff going and um I was very I was better for having gone through that process for a number of years. Um the next thing that happened to me was I
moved over to a state agency and I worked for this thing called the mass industrial finance agency which um provided um revenue financing, bond financing for private companies. you would know it as mass development now and their mission
somewhat changed a little over the years but um they brought me on to try to help them market revenue financing to private corporations. So I got public sector uh experience I got um quasi public experience in terms of finance and I
decided at one point to just jump over the fence and start doing it privately. So, another thing that's not immediately available on my um CV is that I did um private sector commercial industrial redevelopment. I joined a company to
take over old mill buildings and rehab them into commercial um enterprises. I mean, real estate. You try to figure out what the market is. you try to figure out what um the need is and for that community and you try to
redo that u old space to make it functioning again for the betterment of the community. And that lasted for um a few years including a commercial development stint that I was um project that I was doing here on the Cape when the savings and loan crisis hit and then
we were kind of all stuck standill whatever you were doing had to stop. um which is in retrospect fertuitous because I ended up coming back to the Cape at that point to finish that project and then I never left. But the experiences I had up until that point
and said I still got to serve. I got to do these other things. I can't just um you know be building shopping centers and running businesses. Um and that's when my town hall experiences started between planning boards in MASHP. Um I
was the first EDC chair in um in MASHP as well. I moved to um Brewster and joined the finance committee there. Something else that fell off my resume was that I was um also appointed to the cable advisory committee for a year while we were
renegotiating the uh contract with which is now called Comcast to make sure we kept the benefits um that were afforded to us through that legislation. And then as you can see from the information that is on my resume, just started serving
all over the place whenever I could, including in the town of Yarmouth as the Barcible um the Yarmouth representatives of the Barsible Airport Commission served on the assembly of delegates for a term as well. Um but I never could not do nothing something. So um a lot of that
stuff is there. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't think and you wouldn't be asked why is this insurance agent coming in to apply for this position. That's just the last iteration of my professional career from public sector economic development to private sector
um development to um shifting gears to run associations like the Cape Cape Technology Council which is a trade council, the Dennis Chamber of Commerce which is um a business council and just constantly being engaged with all the
different um uh going on between our communities and the Cape Um because we have a county commissioner here, I I just want to say a couple of words about the county and how I engage there as well. Although um Mark will
forgive me for saying this. We've known each other for 40 years. We bumped into each other in 1985 at the Otis task force that the governor had me staff um to try to figure out what our
pollution uh liability exposure was on the base. and he was there uh also in official capacity and ever since then we've been kind of bumping into each other and here we are again today. Um one of the most formative experiences I
had was serving at the 21st century task force with the county um to reook to look at the Cape Cod Commission to see what we needed to do going forward for its next uh iteration. It had been a purely
regulatory enterprise up until that point. And then we sat down with them in a fairly broad-based repres representation of the community and what should happen there. And it's become more of a planning agency now, which tends to serve us all
in terms of municipalities very well now. The information coming out of the commission is incredible. The data, the planning, the reporting, all of it. So, in a recent experience, just a few minutes ago, someone was complaining about the Cape Commission. I was saying, "You guys are getting it kind of wrong.
This is not the way it is anymore. This is what used to happen. Now, this is what does happen." Um, so there is um a path to take a municipal or public enterprise and make it better. And I was
glad to have been part of that process. And the sum of all those experiences probably adds up to maybe you have enough experience to do something like this. Um along the way I managed a few businesses, hired and fired a few people. So there's that management
aspect as well. Um I'm going to let you start asking questions because you know I can just keep talking. >> Well, I appreciate that. Um thank you for that. So we will start with Mark. >> Very good. >> Do I have one question? We're gonna ease you ask and we'll go
>> around. Okay. Okay. >> Please. >> Um what do you what do you see? First of all, Spirit, thank you for uh applying. Thank you for making it this far and uh uh thanks for your interest and all all the work that you do serving the town of
Yarmouth. Very much appreciated. Um what do you see as Yarmouth's biggest challenge or challenges and biggest opportunities in the area of community development? Is that from on here or is that from you, Mark? >> That's from me. >> Oh, we're supposed to only ask
>> you. >> Whatever. Whatever. Just have to be the same question. >> It's all fair. >> Oh, okay. So, as long as we remember. Okay. >> Um, this may get a little personal because I live here. I've lived here for the last 25 years. I took a time out to move to
the city and work um in other ways. I grew up here. I went to school here. Um, I came back to find quite a few friends that are still here. Maybe they've never left. But the challenge is how do we get to um continue to stay here? Number one,
those of us who would like to, especially those of us who whose home this has been for last 25 or in my case 50 years. Um there's a challenge of working in this economy which may or may not
provide us sufficient income to be able to afford to stay here and that's the crux of the matter. Can we fashion a business or a job or a career around earning enough money to pay for what it
costs to live on the Cape? And with that, can I make that available to my children, the three kids that we just um graduated from colleges and have started their career somewhere else, if they
chose, like I did back in um 1990, give or take, to come back here, could they? at the moment, even given their fairly significant salaries on the other side of the bridge, they probably can't.
There is a barrier. There's a sort of um a prohibitive cost of entry to get back into um living on the Cape. That's just the that's just the ante, so to speak. The ongoing concern is going to be can you sustain that income level
to be able to keep up with the continuing increase in cost to live here. And that's mostly coming from housing. Gas is gas, food is food, but if you can't afford the roof over your head, doesn't really matter what the other stuff costs. [Music] >> Okay, Dorcis,
tell us about a time that you successfully managed a complex community development project. Please tell us about your specific role in the project, challenges faced and the outcome and what would you have done differently. >> So um I was similarly first to arrive on
the scene in Taton in the early iteration of my career as a state economic development official. given the charge to help Taton build out their industrial park. Um my
Emma was usually go to the mayor's office or yeah they were all mayors basically and ask them what their priorities were, what they needed from the state in terms of resources andor really from regulation in some
cases and let's um see if we can help you get there. And in city of Tonton, it was this thing called the milestonish industrial park and it had exactly three tenants in it at that point, but a whole lot of promise.
And um my task was sort of organize the state development agencies and then with that drill down into the individuals in those agencies that would be helpful because you can't just sort of marshall everybody uh for yourself or for your project and then individually sort of uh
pick and choose the ones we needed to to address a specific opportunity inside the park. So we had for example a potential tenant we need to do a walkound. we need to find out what they needed in terms of financing or uh permitting um from the state level along
with my counterpart at the town level. It was a city-owned industrial park. Um as the park started to get tenants, it needed more roadway. It needed more water lines. It needed more sewer lines. It needed public assistance financially to do that. We added that over the next
few years. Um, but part of it was getting these other businesses who were just up the road on 495 or Route 128 to be interested in that. So, it was a coordination. The answer is it was kind of a coordination
process of who's got what that I need to get that project where it needs to be so this guy can say yes and they can move on to the next one. And um in one instance it actually required federal legislation which in retrospect
wasn't really happy about uh trying to make happen or help make happen. Apparently when industrial parks get federal assistance there's certain things you can't put in them like hotels. But the one thing that was really going to make that industrial park pop was a
hotel. So if you're driving up roof 495 these days and you drive by the M park you see a Holiday Inn. I think it's still a holiday and might have changed franchise. Um, and know that that's there because of special legislation from the United States Congress to allow
us to do that. Um, was successful in getting it. In retrospect, I'm not that thrilled I had to do that, but it helped then get the fifth, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th um, company in there because they would typically have salespeople
and um, customers coming from other parts of the country. you needed someplace to stay and in 1980 something you really didn't think Taton was a hot spot to find a hotel room except you had one right there. So we looked at it as a business amenity and part of the the
overall project. Um and that's kind of how I tend to approach things. If we see what the end result what we want the end result to be how do we get there? And then from that point you work backwards to figure out what you need along the way.
Today the park is sold out. I mean I left after about three or four years but the park continued to sell out. They got additional land from the state in terms of an old um state hospital next door to keep going. And I happened to go to Taton about 3 years ago uh with a mass
economic development council uh junket that wanted to show us the old Reed and Barton facility in downtown Taton. I don't know if you ever seen it. The old silver smiths from a hundred years ago. and the um original park developers were there and they said, "You're still here.
You're still doing this stuff." And I was not in official capacity. I just really wanted to see what was going on in the region industrially after all these years. Um those guys are still there. So maybe I am glad we did that
that piece of that puzzle because it really helped. >> Thank you. Okay, Joyce. Oh, thank you. Um, Cape Cod has enjoyed several decades of international visitors. Um, occasionally interrupted by a pandemic
or recession that was global. Um, now many international visitors from Canada and Western Europe are uncomfortable coming to the Cape because of a national situation that is not determined by the Cape. Um, how would you strategize to
differentiate Cape Cod as a place they can happily return to and that should not be on a boycott list? Um, as much as it it falls into our purview,
I mean, you may be just asking me as a um a hypothetical not related to the community development office or even the economic development office. But I pondered this question as director of
the Dennis Chamber of Commerce. Um, it wasn't so much internationally. was why aren't the guys from upstate New York coming anymore or why aren't the folks from Connecticut coming anymore? Um, when we were sort of doing our surveys of where everybody was coming from and we kind of had to devise uh a
plan for the town of Dennis, for the chamber of Dennis, the businesses in Dennis who rely on some of that business. Um, and we actually kind of went to find went out to find what's what was going why was that was the case
and we had just kind of lost touch to be honest that it wasn't any one thing that said well we don't want to go to the Cape anymore. It's just we weren't in their face anymore. We weren't in front of them anymore. We weren't promoting ourselves to them anymore. So
we fashioned our marketing program for the last couple of years I was there to target specifically those two areas for that reason. Um so we did our marketing in Albany and we did our marketing in Hartford
um to sort of maximize the the limited amount of money that we had to do it. overarching issues like um geopolitical. Harold Brown got married here when nobody knew who Harold Brown was. Became the prime minister of England at one
point. Um I think he married somebody who had a connection to the Cape. So how do I get them back? If we're talking about Canadians, um I would ask them to come here and get married. Number one. Number
two, remind them that this is the closest warm water beach to Quebec. That's still true. Canadians um used to come here in droves. I first discovered them uh Seagull Beach in the 70s as a
kid. um and at Veterans Park in Hyannis as a kid because they had um stationary barbecues and picnic tables there. And the
Canadians weren't known to spend a lot of money in hotels and restaurants. So, if they could barbecue on the beach, you would find them there. How do I remember that? Half of them spoke Greek even though they were from Montreal.
Um, so a more sort of general way to answer the question is this this two shall pass. They'll be back. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Liz. I'm going to go off the sheet as
well. Um, and I know that I'm hoping that all of our um interviewees will be familiar with the LCP, the the comprehensive plan and and the ambitions and visions of Yarmouth. So, I will ask all of the
candidates this question. But for for so for Spiro in keeping with that, is there a um a redirection for Yarmouth that you would recommend knowing what we have illustrated or laid
out in our comprehensive plan and in our vision sessions? Is there a redirection big picture long term? Um, not sure I would call it a redirection. Um,
to the degree that I'm now educated on the LCP for a couple of reasons. I read a lot of it and listened into Kathy's presentation of it. um focused in on a couple of sections, housing and economic development to sort
of see what the specifics were. Um so I can't say that I find anything wrong with the direction. I think a lot of work goes into coming up with that overarching direction and some point you can't just
sort of start chipping away at it otherwise you're moving away from what you would um have decided was your ultimate goal and objective. So to the degree that I would
tweak it, um a housing loom so large and it's going to take up so much time, energy, and resource um that we have to be really careful to make sure we've defined the
problem correctly. Similarly, we have to be careful to define our economy correctly. We're under the notion, I shouldn't say that, um, if you would ask anybody on the street
what the business of our town or what business of our economy is, they would all say tourism. But if you really drill down into the numbers, it's really not. So to organize your economic development effort around tourism when it's really
not uh the main thrust of your economy, then you're going to get more of it. but not necessarily um you may not necessarily be in a better position for it. Uh similarly in housing, the approach we're taking to
address our housing uh challenges, crisis as the county might say, um we need to um be more careful of what we consider the root problem to be. If
we keep saying that we need to build more housing, you're saying that we need to fix it this we need to approach it as a supply problem. We don't have enough housing. But if you crunch the numbers that the county is giving us through the
data uh the Cape Cod Commission, we got a lot of housing. A third of it is not available to residents. So to add more housing to it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to be adding more housing for residents. Um I
am of the opinion that when you increase the supply of housing, you decrease the price for everybody, not just the people you want to help the most. There's just a spectrum or a scale of housing. If you were to just stack it
from we have 200,000 units of housing on the Cape from the most expensive to least least expensive. If we're adding housing at the level at which we believe benefit our people the most, which is the lowest quarter or third, we're effectively bringing the price of the whole market
down, which makes it a little bit more affordable for somebody to buy a second home as well. >> So, you've added a home for resident and inadvertently lost the home to a second homeowner. So I would like a more serious examination of approaching this
problem through a demand as a demand problem. The reason we find ourselves in this position is because we can't compete with folks who are coming here u with greater resources to buy a third of the housing for other purpose second home purposes. Now I don't want to choke
the baby in the in the bassinet. That's not not coming in here to do that. Uh because I I think we fundamentally misunderstand our economy as well. We're chasing commercial development on Route 28 because we think that's what our commercial base is. Our commercial base
also includes second home ownership. So when you're looking at your commercial properties as being the guys who sell us stuff on Route 28 or provide us with activities for visitors to do or us for places to shop for our food, you
also got to look at the homes that are owned by people who are using them as uh not necessarily businesses but to accommodate themselves if not others as well. So we get a whole lot of tax revenue from them as well. The challenge
is they've taken that stock off um the market so we can't access it. So how do we I think we can there's a way to solve both problems simultaneously but you got to look at the problems um more critically. It's a demand problem in
housing and our economy isn't um just based on the seasonality that comes with tourism. Is that reflected in the LCP? Not exactly. Um,
can I reorganize a staff of six people to start looking at stuff like that? It's beyond my pay grade. If you guys agree that that's what you want to look at as a policym body of this organization we call a town and you
direct us to look at that way, we will. If you're saying, you know, don't screw with the business community. Leave the tourism businesses alone. Make sure the chamber's happy and we'll go do something. We'll be we'll be fine. Well, I've worked for boards of directors for
18 years and um bosses for another dozen years. I can give you best advice. I can give you um what I think the data is telling us. I can tell you what I think the community is saying to us. Um, but I
would never just say take my opinion and make it policy. You guys have to make policy that then I have to implement if you're giving me the charge of doing that in a department >> as a department head. >> Thanks.
>> Thanks, B. Um, looking specifically at our economic development department, um, I feel like we're at a really great opportunity right now to bringing bring in a uh new director with all of the open positions and changes that we have
going on. Um, having said that, what where do you see opportunities? what specific structure changes do you think uh would be appropriate or you would um like to see or push for so to
speak in that in that position. >> So this is what I wake up at night thinking about which is a very sad admission I know. >> Um >> I get it. You really don't have an economic development, no offense to anybody in the room or
otherwise, but we really don't have an economic development initiative driven by the municipality at the moment. Um, we don't have a staff member that's dedicated to that. Even though I did see um a job opening for that back in
January of 24, I don't think we ever proceeded went forward on that. Um we don't unfortunately much to my everybody should be everybody's sugarin we had a whole committee step aside and say we don't want to do this anymore. So yeah it's a
great opportunity to create exactly what you want in a community in a community economic development committee and charge them accordingly. Um, I mentioned in my interview process that it's a fantastic opportunity for the director of this department to be the
chair of that committee. So, let's really get a hold of this thing and make it do what we wanted to do and put um really good people on it to help you get there. Take the tourism funding component out of it. Put that someplace else. That's a fairly administrative
process. I don't want to give Bob more to do, but you can probably handle it in your office without it going through the the committee process, if you will. But getting your hands dirty and going to do economic development, that's what I wanted to do.
Um, as a chamber director and pretty much every other position in organization before that, I only spent about 50% of my time in the office. You can't do economic development in the office. It just doesn't
you just can't. So, um, the department director, the head needs to be in the office for a number of reasons, but eventually also needs to be out. The staff needs to be out, too. So, I would push them out, whether they're expertise in their program of work is housing,
historic, conservation, whatever. you got to be out of the building to really do it right. So, I would be pushing them to go out into the field and to meet the constituencies and meet the challenges face to face, see what it is that, you
know, we're bumping up against once you leave the building. Um, so I would want an economic development staff person who was not in the office. um as well as a committee
refigured to do pure economic development and um an emphasis on that and the reason I say an emphasis on that if you don't do the economic development
component right you can't do the housing component right either finance is housing economy is housing you can't just sort of say well let's go do some housing Well, if your economy that's declining or stagnant and you want to do more housing,
it's just like saying, um, honey, I got laid off, but let's go buy a new house. That's it's not going to happen. So, we need to build up our economy at the same time we're addressing um our housing needs. And again, the
economy is going to give us the incomes, give the incomes to our residents to be able to afford the housing that is somewhat out of reach at the moment from the from the competition we're getting from second home ownership. The data from the commission makes it really simple. As a matter of fact, I have a
graph devoted specifically to this purpose. Takes two incomes. If you divide our income straighta for people who live in Yarm who work and or live in Yarmouth into two levels upper and and lower it takes
two lower level incomes just to rent an apartment. So one individual in a lower income category cannot rent an apartment. It takes two people from the upper income category to own or to buy a house. Our
job is to take not necessarily these two folks and get them an apartment or these two folks and get them a house is to figure out how the two the families or the units economic units that are one of each. Bridge the gap between rental and
ownership. You have a stable economic community if you have a home ownership. And we're lucky we do. you know, we got 2,000 apartments, about 10,000 homes. Um, might be a little off on that, but
so we have very stable home ownership community, but we would like it to like people who would who need to transition from rental to ownership. That's where we should be offering our greatest initiative and and assistance
to because if you don't, those people eventually going to leave your community because they're not going to be able to stay. One wrong financial move or one layoff and they're gone.
So I would like to fashion our housing incentive programs around those people and we do it at our own initiative. One of your housing um consultants in one of the meetings I happen to go sit in on. I
don't know why. I just do. My wife says this to me all the time. The reason you work is so you can do all this other stuff. Yeah. I I I do. I just got the uh a need to do that. She was asked about the housing that's being done on Route
28 now. And uh she explained that the housing we're seeing developed on Route 28 is the housing that the state is incentivizing. The programs that they're tapping into to get the subsidy to do the housing is exactly what the state made available, which is exactly what the state wants to
see, but may not necessarily be the thing we want to see in the town of Yarmouth. So although that program is out there, although developers can access it, and they want to try to, for lack of a better term, shoehorn it into our community, we have to have a
competing program in place that says, never mind that program over here. We got this other program over over here. And I'm not sure if there's going to be enough public resource or finance to do that. So we can can't just say, well, I don't want to use that program. I want to use this one. I don't make those
decisions. We don't make decisions. The state doesn't need to make decisions. A lot of that's just kind of federal flow through. But I know I can find, sorry, I know we can find ways to do this with
other monies other than pure public money. There's a lot of private housing money floating around that we could um refocus our attention and bringing into the community as opposed to constantly kind of going or defaulting to the state programs.
Thank you, Spiro. Mark, >> thank you. Um the the the job of the community development director uh involves overseeing and managing several
divisions, offices, staff in the areas of planning, economic development, conservation, Old King's Highway, Board of Appeals, Community Preservation, and the HUD CDBG program, just to name >> seven out of eight. >> Eight.
So talk to us a little bit about your background and your experience in managing staff as well as managing programs like this. >> So that's the scary part of this position for whomever even an experienced person would find a
challenge um to managing that much and although it's somewhat connected it's a bit amorphous as well. Um, when I I hadn't managed the chamber of commerce and I knew it was going to be more of a challenge than running a tech
council, there's 67 members of your board of directors in a chamber. It's not just the 12 guys who volunteer. It's everybody because everybody wants their specific um need
addressed. Um so I had to figure out a way to kind of come in there with a with a plan not just sort of be reactive but to be sort of proactive. Um and I happened on u a professional technique called um
mission managing by mission. So we decide what's the mission of the organization and then everything we do sort of gears itself to that. Uh and it's not that complicated. It's about three or four steps. Um, you need staff.
The good news is this department looks like it has some really good staff. I don't know a lot of those people personally, but um I know their work and I knew Karen before she she left and I think it worked as a
fairly good cohesive unit and they're all quality staff people managers of their own area of expertise. That's the good news. So you got a team. You got to get them to work as a team somehow. you got to get your staff all working
together and helping each other out um to the degree that's mostly there that that's not going to be the hard part. Second step is kind of do a self assessment. So where are we? What do we got for people? What do we got for resources? What do we got for finances?
What do we have for policy makers, boards of directors, select boards in your in this case? And that's our sort of beginning part. what do we need if we don't have it? So, let's make sure we get that stuff because we can't go forward without it.
Um, the third step is sort of create a uh a benchmark. What are the outcomes we're seeking to affect? What are we trying to get to? um we have the right staff, we have the right resources, we have the right
policy makers through the policies you're issuing as you're kind of telling us what the outcomes you want to see are. Can we get there? So, let's enumerate them and then figure out how to measure them. So, as we're trying to get there, we're
measuring them, make sure we're getting there, right? It's almost like the mile markers on a trip on a highway. Um, and then when we get to the point of which we say go, we're going to do this, you have to
sign responsibility. That's is the last part. You want to do housing? Was it the housing staff member or the housing staff member in conjunction with somebody else in the office or in that staff that's responsible for that outcome? The environmental components,
is it the com people? The historic components. I mean they're kind of obvious in this department who you're assigning these task these responsibilities to but there's a constituency for every one of these people that they have to work with
and have to bring into the process. So they're naturally going to be the one to be responsible for that outcome. But collectively, not just that person, but this team and then eventually the town administration
are responsible. But for our for the sake of this example, it's that person responsible for the outcome associated to the benchmark. So going all the way back to the team, that's the four-step process. When I had two people, it wasn't that complicated. When
I had more than two people, it gets more complicated. when you have this much um program of work. Yeah, it's I'm going to be calling Bob a lot. I'm probably whining on occasion like what do
it comes with the territory. It's not something I'm afraid of. But to me, you know, I don't know if it was too kind of circuitous, but you got to walk in with a plan of attack. Kind of know what you're doing. You have to have confidence in what your plan um is allowing you to do. Um, and you got to
have confidence that you're going to be able to get to the end point because we can't just start building housing or, you know, going out and doing marketing for our businesses without understanding what we really want in return and what we want that outcome to be. >> Kind of expanding a little bit on Mark's
question, staff retention is very important to the board and is part of our goals for the upcoming year. We have a highly qualified team in place. And how would you approach and mentor this team to motivate and empower them to achieve our community and economic
outcomes within our budgetary constraints? >> Um I'm very happy that this team is already in place. Could you imagine trying to go out and hire this team? It's just >> it might not be possible. It's definitely more time time consuming. you
definitely wouldn't have the um institutional knowledge that you've already created with them. Um there's lots of different ways I think to sort of say it, but you use the term mentoring. I would use the term
coaching. Um I would rather fall back to lead by example. if I can um be good at what I do, it's an example for them to be good at what they do.
Specifically, I've been going through a process um most of my career that required continuing education or education of some sort to get me um the
ability to do that part of the job. And when you get a license from the state of Massachusetts, continue education is a requirement. So you don't have to think about it. But when I decided to move from public sector development to private sector development,
I wasn't so great on P&L's proformas, um the the number side of the business. So I spent a couple semesters, one at Harvard and one MIT in their real estate um graduate schools to get that experience.
um or excuse me to get that information so that when I was doing it in professionally I had some foundation of knowledge to do that. So there's some component of which no matter how good on any of these staff people are no matter how proficient or knowledgeable you are
about your um area of expertise they got to keep educating yourself. you got to keep up with what's changing in your industry and um in that particular field. So constant
reminder where are we where are you what's your professional development like what's your educational development like how can I help you who can help you um is there cross um collateralization here with other staff members.
Um terrible example but it's top of mind. Um my son decided to go to graduate school while he's working full-time. Where did he go to graduate school? I said, "Ask your colleagues where they went, where that you should go, and where the best schools are." Uh,
I expect to be borrowing a lot of other people's um advice, you know, based on their knowledge and experience to sort of answer those questions. If we can have um a cohesive team, all that is possible.
I like regiment, some kind of regimentation in a daily schedule or a weekly schedule. I like regular meetings. You guys meet on Tuesday nights. Everybody knows. I'd like a staff meeting, same time, same place every week. I'd like one-on-
ones with them once a week as well because they need to tell me what's going on as much as um I need to make sure it fits into the overarching uh policy direction that we're in. Um, I anticipate going with every one of
them to their committees meetings. So, there's at least eight different committees, citizen committees that fall under the purview of this department. That's at least eight meetings a month, if not 12 or 16. Each one of these staff people should be
at their respective committee meetings. It's pretty easy if you're the administrator, like Britney. Um, but I would be going as well, which gets me out of the house at night. I just I'm usually watching on
television anyway. So, now I have a reason to be there. So, I don't know yet is also one answer. You got to got to meet the folks. You got to talk to them. You got to find out what they're about. You got to find out what their uh their aspirations are in this position. I
don't expect anybody to be in their job forever. And if their goal is to get as proficient as this as possible to do it at another uh level or at another uh town or city, then by all means, let's help that person get to where they need
to be. Get as much out of them as we can while they're here until um they're ready to go. I don't think I've ever fired anybody. Not that it's in my purview in this position anyway. a whole set of personnel
uh structure that I'm not familiar with, but I'm sure exists that wouldn't allow you to do that anyways. So, if any of you guys are listening, no one's getting fired. Um there's a and there's no reason for that. Um but I would have to
tap into the the personnel systems here to find out exactly what you can and can't do to modify behavior if that's an issue. >> Thank you. >> Yes. Um, Spiro, if you're hired, what would be your priority for 30-day,
60-day, and 90-day actions? >> Um, the 30-day one, probably most obvious, you really got to figure out what you're looking at. And before you even said 30 days, I would have said, I need 30 days to find out what's going on here. Um,
so kind of meet everybody, find out who everyone is, find out what they do, delve more deeply into each one of their areas of responsibility to understand what
they should be doing as well as what they are doing, which a lot of times doesn't match. Um, I think at that point I probably come back and ask you or tell you what's going on. I don't know how often department heads come before you, but I assume it's every 90 days. You guys are
going to get an update from all of your department heads. So, at some point, we'd be coming in to sort of tell you where we're at and where we think we want to go. Um 60 days, you're affecting the change that you discovered needed to be made in the first 30.
Um, and by 90, if we're not sort of intact in place to move forward on the policy directives you've given us, then I got to call for help. Somebody's going
to I'm going to need somebody to help me get us to that point to make sure that we're all able to go forward. That's just a guess. Mhm. >> Um, this is just I don't think I've
experienced anything anything this intense before, but I think that's the value of having done 15 other things before you did this. So, you kind of know how to deal with stuff when it happens.
>> Thank you. Let's I um having kind of following up following that and as my previous question and how would you approach developing action steps towards
implementing our new comprehensive plan vision? I would probably start with one of the main architects. I think you have an invaluable resource in Kathy Williams here. I've worked fairly
closely with two planning board, excuse me, uh, planners, town planners before. um one in Mashby and one in Dennis and they
in in many respects were the heartbeat of the process that you're describing that without them you really can't go forward. So as much as
the architect makes themselves available for the next phase which would be construction implementation. Um that person would be key.
Um it was done in very close uh proximity to the planning um committee and there's some really good resources there as well. You probably saw that um
with Joanne last week. We need to get into the community to translate what this I mean it's kind of a odd way to say it. They told us what should be in the LCP and now we're going back to tell them what's in the LCP.
It's a sort of thanks for telling us what you wanted. Now we got to get you to buy into what >> we're doing. So, it's going to be a lot of public engagement just ongoing all the time as much as possible, big groups, small groups, specialized
groups. Um, and making ourselves available and by ourselves, I mean the whole team, the whole staff in the department. They all got to be proficient in that document. um not just their own area of expertise
but probably the whole thing just to see how it overlaps or connects uh and then everybody be out there. I have this notion for a different reason but I guess it applies here. I don't think this department's ever done an open house.
So I noticed the c and I got this I guess this idea from the county. They're doing an open house in September. Does anybody know what the county does? I don't know. I was on the assembly of delegates and you know I had tough time answering the questions sometimes. So there's an open house. These are all the
departments. These are all the people um representing departments. It does two things. It tells the public whoever crazy enough to show up what they do. But it also makes the person responsible for that department to be made to make
themselves available to the public to answer the question. So what do you do? Um, it makes them better. I'm sure it makes us all better for being having been able to answer that question. So, open house for if it's appropriate for a
department, it's definitely appropriate for an LCP just um, and if you need to break it down by subject matter um, or you know, area emphasis so you can do it in small bites, that's one thing. I mean, it might be easier than
just a giant open house for the LCP. I'm not sure any one of us would be uh up for doing that, but you know, in a more broken down fashion, spread out over time, spread out over locations, lots of different ways to plug in and
engage. But it's that getting the the constituency you did this for to buy back into it. So, as you're doing it, they're not saying, "What are you doing?" Well, we we agreed this is what we were going to do. That's why it's in a plan. Great. >> I am going to forego my last question
and allow you just a couple of minutes briefly to have a closing statement. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much for your taking your time. Thank you for your interest in um in the position and thank you for your ongoing community involvement. Really,
>> thanks. Thank you for saying that. um there's a question I would always ask folks that I would they would help in getting to where they want to be, whether it's your job or political office or something else. And it was
always why do you want this position? Why do you want this job or whatnot? And you'd think it's obvious, but we we're all terrible at answering that question. Um to the degree that I'm going to ask
myself this question now for me this is a closing of the circle that I was in this building 40 years ago meeting with the town manager about exactly this thing. What should I be doing? Can I be doing
it for this organization for this town? Um and Bob, this is Bob Lton by the way. He was um very kind enough to say, "You should go get some experience first and then come back." >> Wow.
>> Well, I'm back. This is 40 years later. Um with a whole mess of experience, some irrelevant, some of it not, but it's all me it's all sort of life experience when you look at it. Um I would love to put that to work for this community. I don't
know how it happened. I really like this community. It just creeps up on you. It's frustrating. You're stuck on Route 28. You're seeing derelic buildings or you're seeing businesses that came and went. It's not nostalgia. We're not getting the Compass Lounge back. We're not
getting the Milh Hill back as much as we all love them when they were here. Although the disco ball is at Maplewood in case you guys didn't know that from the Milh Hill, but it is um it's it's it's appropriate to sort of kid about
that, but at the same time be serious about that. We took these two sort of mainstay institutions of our tourism, businesses, and economy back in the day, and we turned them into a CVS in a memory care facility. I mean, the irony is
undisputable. That's where our community is. That's part of the our journey. That was our journey to get to where we are today. So if I can spend the next few years making this community better through
whatever I can afford it through my experience and my knowledge, good sense, um willingness to listen to what folks um need and want. I think I'd like to do that for the next few years.
Thank you. That was a great closing. >> Very, very appreciative. And um as you know, we're going to interview all three candidates tonight. We won't be making a decision tonight, but we will be taking it up at our next meeting. >> Thank you guys. I appreciate it. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. >> Thanks, Darl.
>> My pleasure. I said to um someone in the town hall not too long ago, I just wanted to have the conversation and I'm glad we did. A >> thank you. >> Excellent. Nice work. Very good.
>> Need more security. Oh yeah. [Applause] [Applause] Okay. Next we have Megan Eldridge. So Tracy, you want us to basically repeat our questions? >> Yes. >> Please
be the same. >> I've written them down and everything. >> Yeah, I made notes of who asked what and >> Yeah, I made notes, too. So Bob, was this one copy of the um >> Yeah, that's just that can be passed down. >> Yeah, >> pass it down. Give you a little glimpse
of some of the information that we've been reviewing in the emergency planning um area. And um it's it's it's great to see that you know the high pressure continue to force it out. But as you can see by it's so huge that storm
>> we're going to have some of the you know the wind is going to be hitting the Cape >> and you know that surf's going to be high but um folks down in the Carolinas I think you know we'll really see what happens. >> 20 foot waves they're predicting down there. My concern are the rip currents.
You know, that's a tough one for the lifeguards. It always is. There's nothing more frightening than being caught in a rip current. I've >> It's happened to me. >> And you can hear it all you want about how you should go parallel to the beach and everything, but when you're in it,
it doesn't feel like that. >> Welcome. >> Hi. >> Thanks for having me. Thanks for coming. Very much appreciated. So for the public, this is Miss Megan
Eldridge. Megan, we um obviously in the board have your information that you've provided to the town. So um we'll go around and ask some questions, but we'll give you some time to make an opening statement, tell us a little bit about yourself before we get into it. and then
after um when we're close to the 1 hour mark, we'll wrap it up and allow you um to just say a few words before we conclude. >> Great. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Thank you for your interest in our community and applying for the position. We're excited to have you here.
>> Great. Um well, my name is Megan Eldridge. I am currently the assistant town administrator in the town of Harwitch. I have lived in the town of Yarmmouth since 2001. So, I'm familiar with uh the school systems and the
programs that are here and I've been working with Bob for for a few years as well. Um I started my municipal career back in 1999 um as a health inspector for the town of Brewster.
I went to college for environmental science and biology and growing up I I thought I would always go into that environmental field and public health was kind of a backdrop but I started working for the town of Brewster in
their health department and I learned all about municipal government and all of the aspects that come along with municipal government. It's it's not just paying taxes and and having your water turned on. For sure. Um, I worked there
and then moved up to the town of Dennis and the health department there as well. And I did a lot of plan reviews, inspections out in the public um, programming for uh, public health programs mostly on the environmental
side with Title 5 and also in in the restaurant side of the the field. Um and then I I worked part-time in Harwitch and part-time in Dennis um at a period of time after I had my child. My
daughter was born in 2004 uh 2007. So around that time I was working part-time in one place and part-time in another. And uh an opportunity arose in Harwitch to work there full-time in their health department. and I worked with Paula
Champagne, the health director in in Harwitch, and became the health director a few years later after she retired. So, I've worked in um in a management type of role since 2019. I oversaw the
department as well as um seasonal inspectors and had a lot of interaction with the board of health, monthly meetings. Um and then COVID came and that really kind of changed everyone's
perspective but particularly in public health and as the health director there um we worked in a a situation in an emergency management and emergency operations center where I I sat closely
with the town administrator at the time and we worked well together. We were able to develop plans and have our communication focused on the community, the businesses as well as our staff and
residences residents. And we worked for about 6 months together in that capacity. And when he was promoted to full-time town administrator, he was in need of an assistant and he asked if I was interested in that position. So from
there I accepted that. We we went through the interview process and I was selected. They um the the board of the select board also um supported that decision as well. And from there I've been in administration
and the assistant town administrator in Harwitch oversees the community development departments. They are different departments in Harwitch than they are here in Yarmouth. Um, Yarmouth has more of a economic development side
where uh, Haritch is uh, health, building, conservation, zoning, historic. So those departments all meet regularly and I would oversee those pro those departments and their projects. Um, I'm
also in charge of procurement and that is a pretty hefty job for one person. We have over 70 projects that are open at one time. Um, old projects, new projects. So, um, every department has
to go through the procurement process, which I'm I'm primary on. Early on in town administration, I was also HR, um, human resources. Thankfully, we have separated that duty
into a new position. Um but during that time I was responsible for recruiting and interviewing, hiring, recommending um and dealing with staff issues. They always come up. Um so that's that's me
in a nutshell. Happy to answer any more question. >> Boston Powers. [Laughter] >> Well, thank you. We will start with Mark. Um, I too want to thank you for applying for this position and uh your interest
in serving in the town of Yarmouth. I I also want to commend you for choosing public administration and public service uh as as your career and um your service uh to the community. Um and and I want to congratulate you as well for
surviving COVID as a health department >> uh leader. Um uh my question to start off is um you know you've had a chance to sort of do your research on Yarmouth and what's going on here. What do you see as Yarmouth's biggest challenges and
opportunities in the area of community development? >> I always feel that housing is a challenge across the Cape um particularly in in Yarmouth as well with the diverse residents we have. We have
um young people um people of of an older age and everyone needs affordable housing. Yarmouth is not quite at our 10% for our shy list, our subsidized housing list. So, I see that as a as a challenge that
the town is facing and it's an opportunity for the town to face that challenge and find the best ways to create new housing in a way that is acceptable, is fits in with the culture
of the town. Um, we we know what we like, we what we don't like, and and where to put it. Um, it's so that's that's one of the biggest challenges that I see and it's also an opportunity to to to figure out the best
way to do it. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Welcome, Megan. Um, thank you for applying today and uh like everyone else, we really appreciate your stepping into public service. It's not always the
easiest job, but it's certainly rewarding. Uh my question is tell us about a time that you successfully managed a complex community development project. Tell us about your specific role in the project, challenges faced in the outcome and what you would have done
differently. >> Okay, there are a couple of examples I can think of. The one that comes to mind is a playground that the town built behind the elementary school. So this was maybe four years ago. We needed an
upgrade to the the community playground behind the elementary school. Um, and at the time we had a town engineer who was doing the procurement for that project and he he was overseeing the management
of the design and going through the construction process. and and he he took a job in another town in the beginning stages of that project and it fell to the assistant town administrator as many
things do and I took that project on and we went from developing plans that went out to bid for construction and there was a lot of community involvement because it involved CPC funds so we
needed to make sure the funds were being used properly and that the community knew what their money was going towards. And also there was a a parent group a a a parent group that provided money there
were they had donated their own money in addition to the CPC funds. Um, so there was some public outreach and community forums on what would you like to see your next playground to look like and we developed
a plan, went forward with getting the equipment ordered and installed and having that end and seeing a playground built and being part of the the product of that was very rewarding. being there
at the ribbon cutting and um seeing a a a project from start to finish was a very rewarding part of the career. >> Thank you. Mhm. >> Joyce. Well, Megan, Cape Cod has enjoyed for a
couple decades international visitors, uh, Western Europe, um, Canada, and occasionally that gets interrupted by something global like a pandemic or a recession. But we're in this odd situation now where um because of uh
things happening at the national level, a lot of our traditional international visitors are um reluctant to come to Yarmouth. Um how would you think of strategizing around that to get them back and how to differentiate Yarmouth
from other things that may be bothering them? >> That's an interesting question. I would start by figuring out what the what the problem is. What what is it that is creating that apprehension to
come to town and addressing it through community forums or outreach or utilizing our our chamber of commerce. Um they're they're a great resource to bring in to to bring in outside
visitors. they um they they know how to do that better than I think most do. Our our chamber of commerce is a great resource. I would start there. I would do more advertising in places that we
would attract those types of visitors. Um I would also see if the business owners have any ideas on how how they can gain gain attraction from outside visitors. They
move this over a little bit. Uh my my sister actually works in the hospitality industry and is facing that at the at at this time where the inn is not as full as it could be because of the the national angst at the moment. And
unfortunately they are in the situation where they don't know quite how to how to figure that out. So I would I would partner with the businesses. Thank you, Megan. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> My name's Liz Argo. Just to introduce
myself. I guess it's on my plaque, but >> um I'm thinking that you probably have had a chance to and especially because you live here, get familiar with our our um our local comprehensive plan. Good. and um
seeing it and getting a sense of where we're headed and our future. >> Is there a redirection or a different a different strategy that you might uh um champion at knowing where what we
what you've read. Hm. One strategy that I would suggest would be including more of the the younger families in developing the plan. I I know we're at a final draft stage here,
so it's it's nearly too late to do that, but um I I would start at the schools and and talk with the the parents and get the the younger crowd in involved in it. um we would be able to see what
perspectives they have if there's any recreational opportunities to to have that we haven't already addressed. I know the plan involves some wonderful projects that we're working on now. Um
but I would I would start with with reaching out to families that are in the school system. they will hopefully be here for decades to come and will will be the voice of of the future.
>> You thank you. >> Um Megan, I don't know if you've um had the opportunity to look at our community development department. Um as you probably know, it's um a great time right now for uh new leadership with
some of the vacancies and alike. And I'm just wondering um you know looking at the structure specifically what what are the things that you might uh look at or think about doing differently? >> I see that there are several departments
under under this director position and I would see if there were opportunities to um combine a couple departments where they they do similar things. um CPC grants and the tourism grants are grant
related. Um so perhaps we can share resources there. Um but I I think that it's it's a wonderful wonderful department where we are able to have staff cover those those specific
things. Um, but I do I think maybe we could look at combining some of the specialties and into um a singular singular department where there are vacancies. >> Okay,
Mark. >> Okay. Um, and as as has been said, the director's position oversees and manages uh several offices, divisions, committee, staff, planning, economic development,
conservation, the old Kings Highway, Board of Appeals, Community Preservation, and we have a we're an entitlement community with HUD, so we manage our own CDBG program. So talk a little bit about your background, your experience uh in in terms of managing
these kinds of departments and staff. >> Sure. Um currently I am filling in as a department head in the building department because we don't have one at the moment, but they they oversee zoning
and historic in Harwitch. So, I have been the primary contact for questions that the the staff may have for how do we file this application? What do we do about this um situation? Not so much
being the subject matter expert, but being being the one to find the answers for those types of questions. Um, also planning and conservation are are under my purview at the moment. That is is the
same situation where I'm I'm a kind of a conduit between those those committees, those those staff members and administration and the select board. So I I see this position in a similar light
where it is a way to bring information from a variety of places to the town administrator and the select board for bigger decisions, bigger bigger opportunities, bigger goals that can be
brought back down to those departments. Um we have a CPC uh community preservation committee that isn't under any particular department. It is completely separate in Harwitch.
However, the grants that they administer do come through our office um administration. So, we develop the grant agreements and manage the contract if you if you will manage the agreement and make sure payments are made where they
need to be made and if there were progress or milestones that needed to be set and hit before payment is made, we we do that as well. Um, we have a program for early childhood education
that is managed through our youth and family services department that also comes through administration as far as payment goes and um processing that sort of thing.
Um, managing that budget. Um, all budgets go through administration and that's part of what we do every fall and I've been part of that. Um, helping each of of the departments develop their budgets from start to finish, whether
it's um, enhancements of services or keeping it level service or even level funded. um and assisting departments that do receive grants um to make sure that they're managing those grants properly. And it's it's about connecting
the right people to the right people to the right resources. Um so you don't I I wouldn't consider myself an expert in in any of those departments, but I I am able to coordinate and connect people
who need to get the answers. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Megan. Sta staff retention is very uh important to the board and as part of our goals for the coming year. We have a highly qualified team in place. And how would you approach and mentor the team
to motivate and empower them to achieve our community and economic outcomes within our budgetary conra constraints? Mhm. I am a big advocate of teams um and
promoting your team in the public and building them up and making sure that they are aware of how how much they are valued in their role. Coming into a new team can always be
challenging not knowing personalities, not knowing people. Um, but it is something that I I look forward to getting to know people and their strengths and their weaknesses. I I think it's very important to motivate a
person in a way that they like to be motivated. Um, knowing their management style more than my management style can sometimes gain gain better outcomes. So getting into a new team, I think
regular meetings are are very important. I think being communicative and having an open door is at at least in the beginning the the most important way and easiest way to get to know your team.
Um what's the other part of that question? >> Well, talking about the budgetary constraints too, >> that's always a constraint. Um, knowing that we have a set amount of money, um, training is a is a big part of of
development of professional development and being able to send people to training is part of a a budget constraint and that can really really put a damper on your your development of your team. The team I think will respond best if
they have the opportunity to meet with me one- on- one or meet with me as a group. Setting goals is is a the best way for me to feel motivated. So that is how I would approach a new team would would be
to have clear goals, clear objectives, and hitting milestones and celebrating those milestones as we go. Um, I'm I'm a big believer in in never never putting someone's bad work in public and always
putting putting their best foot forward, promoting promoting a person's um, successes and I think having a team that feels valued and feels supported will give you the best outcomes that you could ask for.
>> Thank you, >> Megan. Assuming you're hired and your desk is as clear as that table, um what would be your 30-day, your 60-day, your 90day goals, and how would you
prioritize those? My initial goals would be to get to know the team, find out what they need from me immediately. Um I I wouldn't want them to feel that they are anything less than the most important part of the job,
the team that you oversee. Um I would get to know the projects that they are facing and that I would be responsible for pushing forward. I would want to know what my goals and objectives were from above. So, I would meet with with the
town administrator uh regularly and get my my marching orders as you would say from the local comprehensive plan or the select board in general is to to see out what your visions are for the town. Um I
am if I'm hired I would be an employee of the town. It wouldn't be just my vision. It would be the vision of the select board and the public. Um so 30 days in I would it would be primarily research on the personalities the open
projects that need immediate attention. Um and then out from that it would be in the middle of the budget season. So I would be examining the budget and figuring out if there are ways to save
or um different ways to utilize funds. and I would work with the team to see what what their outward goals are so we can start working on a plan, a timeline. >> Okay. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Liz. Um, so knowing to some degree our local comprehensive plan, >> how would you approach developing action steps towards implementing the new comprehensive plan vision?
same way I would approach pretty much any project with um milestones and making sure you have the people that are going to reach those milestones aware of the timelines, the time frames and
regular check-ins. Um it's you have to know what you're getting what you're going towards in order to get there. So you so regular check-ins with with the team but having um having a matrix of this we need to do
XYZ before we can get to this final product. Um there are a lot of projects that are short-term and in planning there are many projects that are long-term that are years in the making. So, it's
important to pace yourself and to to get everyone involved who needs to be involved. Um, but also not be kind of that death by committee uh situation where you have too many opinions and you're not able to make a decision. So
um I'm I'm very much aware of how committees can help and how they can hinder and that is how um I would approach committees with how do you how do you see your role in this and how can
I help and and also see what what the the select board feels in in those situations too to be able to to follow through with with the the vision of the charter and the vision of the select board. >> Thank you.
>> Okay, we have a half hour left, but those are the questions that we got to with the first applicant. So, I'm not sure whether or not we should continue how the board feels about continuing asking questions. >> It's It's odd because if we ask another question, that seems unfair to number
one, but if someone is extremely concise answering questions, it's it's unfair to not give her the full hour, >> right? How do you feel, Mark? >> I understand um what you're saying. Uh from from my point of view, uh we have
an hour. I think you can make you can we gave the other candidates an hour. Yes. Okay. >> Right. So, uh we we should give this candidate an hour and I'm happy to continue asking questions if that's okay. >> I just want to make sure that's the >> No, I and I appreciate you're asking the
full board for our >> I've always been interested in what your next question was going to be, Tracy. So, go ahead. Well, okay. So, in a perfect world, I know you talk a lot about, you know, uh the board and taking your direction, but
um you know, we're fortunate that you live here in our town and you drive Route 28 and so Route 28 obviously has been a work in progress for us. Uh economic development has been a big goal of ours and and redeveloping
underutilized properties and so forth. I'm just curious um in the role as an economic director, development director in our town, what are your specific things that you've seen that you think that you would be able to help us achieve in terms of progress in that
regard? >> I have experience with sewer work and how it impacts the local businesses. Haritch has two sewer projects that one's finished, one's in the middle of of the project.
One thing that everyone along those stretches of road that are impacted um they always feel that they're they're they're losing customers, they're losing foot traffic, they're losing the the people that are driving by. Um
I think one thing that is extremely important is making sure the business owners have a time frame and that that time frame is adhered to. Um contractors have to be held accountable for their schedule too and and know that we have
businesses that are impacted and our livelihoods are impacted as well. We could do um more signage, more more detours, more more visi making vis um
businesses more visible in different ways. Um making sure that people who need to to get to someplace know how to get there even if there's a detour. Shortening those detours in a way that um you're not sent all around town just
to get to the road next door. Um, I found that frustrating at at some points where, you know, you're you're really just going 100 yards down the road, but you're detourred through neighborhoods. Um, it it happens and sometimes it's
unavoidable. Um but to keep those those times as small as possible are um the best ways to avoid having the economy impacted by sewer work or any other work that utilities
cause to shut down areas of town. Um, and having having social media involved has been a great thing with detours, letting people know ahead of time that they have to go around and plan their day around it. Um,
but as far as the e economic impact, um, minimizing time is is paramount to anything. And if we need to bring in more contractors or have um expanded hours of work so they can finish their
work sooner, um that's something that you could explore. Um it seems to me that it's a problem that needs to be fixed. And I I enjoy fixing problems. It's um something that I that I strive to to do in every job is to find
something that um I could make better. And this is this is obviously a has been a problem or an issue for months and we'll get through it and it will be it will be a better environment for it. Um
but having alternate entrances to businesses and making sure that tourists who don't know the the area can get around and find what they're looking for. Um, but it's those those businesses
that are that are more stop in because you're driving by rather than a business that you have an appointment for that are being impacted. So looking at who's being impacted and figuring out how you can shorten that
that period of time of disruption is is a way that I would approach that. Mark. >> Um, thank you. Talk to us a little bit about why you are interested in this position
and working in Yarmouth. >> I am interested in this position because it will give me an opportunity to see more projects and more growth in my town. Um the job that I currently
hold has a lot of hats and a lot of responsibilities in a lot of areas that I end up um giving guidance to and never seeing never being able to be at that
finish finish line. Um I I have to hand off projects to community development or um DPW or envir the um harbor master and things like that where we work together to develop a
plan, we develop a um a project and then they run with it. And I sort of miss out on on running with it. And I I do like that. Um, and I I I feel I would be more
fulfilled in my career if I'm able to utilize my problem solving skills and the my my outlook on how the community should be developed and
how we can Oh, why did this is this stop working? Um, I I would be more fulfilled if I had an opportunity to to work in a in a smaller niche rather than 26 different departments that are all
coming to me at once. Um, I think that I would I would feel more fulfilled in my my career if I did that. >> Thank you. Burkus, >> uh, our candidate, uh, in this position is going
to have an interesting challenge because we have just seen the resignation of our entire, um, tourism revenue preservation fund committee or economic development. And >> just just let me see, there are two men
named Peter left. They're the survivors. >> There are surviving. They're they're new members. Okay. But in essence, you're going to be starting from square one. Um, and I'd be interested in how on that particular project
>> you would work. >> First off, I would work on recruiting new members um to make sure that committee is fully fully compleimemented. Um, and I would do that through through advertisement uh at at
this level at making sure the the board is able to put that notice out, but also um social media and businesses and seeing if we can if we can recruit help. Um, so we have a fuller board. um I
would put myself into that committee setting where I would I would help them with any open projects um and oversee that committee as as best they as much as they need. But having a committee without a quorum is is a difficult
situation. Um it sort of puts things at a standstill um on a committee level. Um, but overall as as the director of community development, um, I would make sure programming doesn't stop. Um, and
any outreach that needs to be done would still continue. >> Thank you. Mhm. >> Um, if there were a community development tooth fairy, um, and you had the chance to drop on some part of 28, a
business, uh, that would employ 25 full-time people, what would be your choice of the type of business and the type of skills that would be needed for employees? >> The restaurant industry never seems to
fail. along Route 28. Um, in in on Cape Cod and in general there there's definitely turnover from from one business to another, but in the summer there's always a a hard challenge to get into a restaurant. Um, so I would see I
would see the hospitality industry as a good option to to plop down somewhere in on Route 28, obviously depending on where that that section is. Um and and those those employees that would range
from management um management staff, owner staff as well as um restaurant workers, the the chefs to the weight staff. Um and it would also employ those Uber Eats and other people
that um utilize that service. I I see I see a restaurant as a as a good opportunity for not only our economy but also as a as a opportunity for visitors and staffing alike.
>> Thank you >> Liz. Okay. Um this is a reach. um planning would be under your your careful supervision >> and um I've understood uh that there's
the potential for developers to get a blanket um go money which is go from the state and then they can move away from our architectural standards.
And um so how would you approach a developer who wants to develop something that is not in accordance with our architectural standards?
>> I would first research the regulation to see um if that is in fact the way it is. I would look at our our regulations to see what parts regulations or bylaws to see what um
parts that they are not complying with. um bringing the developer into a setting like a community development meeting with um the planner and perhaps someone
from zoning to go through the plans and discuss what the ch what the differences are between what they're proposing and what our desire is. and not pushing but
suggesting changes to plans to make them more acceptable to the setting that they're going into. Letting them know why our our regulations and bylaws are the way they are and giving them an opportunity to to make
the changes. >> Thank you. Megan. Um, we've had some couple of changes in our, uh, chamber of commerce in my years being involved in town and, um, different
relationships, so to speak, between the town and the chamber. How do you envision that as a community and economic development director? What do you what do you see the roles as, and how would you envision that? I see them as very complimentary to each
other. The Chamber of Commerce can be a very supportive business partner. Um they they have the pulse of the business owners and of tourism in general. That that's it's really their their primary
focus is to create tourism opportunities and um economic development for the towns. I see it as a partnership and we in in Harwitch, the Chamber of Commer commerce and our cultural affairs director
partnered maybe three years ago to create a cultural district and that was a a a good showing of how the cultural affairs and the chamber of commerce can work together. um even though it's not a town department and we don't have um
operational control over the chamber of commerce um I would see I would think that they would also see us as a partner in shephering new businesses through the permitting process um and assisting in making those new
businesses feel welcome um and giving them the ins and outs of permitting. Um, so I I think it it's a partnership. I think going forward, um, being able to have regular meetings and seeing what's
happening in town, who's who's looking to come in, why are people maybe not being successful, and how can we change that? How can we make a a failing business into a success? How can the town help with that? Are there parts of
our our regulations that are impeding businesses? Is there something that we should look at? That's how I I would envision that. >> Thank you. Um I noticed on your resume that um in Harwitch while you were the
health director you were also very involved uh in the roll out and in the in in imple helping implement the comprehensive wastewater management plan. Could you clarify a little bit what your role was specifically and what you did? >> Sure. Um at the time the comprehensive
wastewater management plant had had been developed and we were entering into our first construction phase. So the town had never experienced sewer before. Um, so my role in that was to be uh part of
the wastewater implementation committee and I myself along with our wastewater superintendent and three volunteers from the public um were able to produce
community forums that had public information to kind of demystify what what will happen to your project, your property when when the sewer comes along. um you see people on both sides. I I can't wait for my sewer to come or
please please don't put sewer down my road. Um so my role in in rolling that out was in the implementation committee with with public and community forums and education of what does this mean to
you? What is how is this going to affect your tax bill? um what do you do when when it's your turn to to hook up? And then on the regulatory side, I was um in the health department at the time and we
had to figure out, well, what happens when a a homeowner has a brand new septic system? Do we give a waiver? Do we um give some sort of relief? Is there going to be um a a betterment process?
and working with the board of health at the time, we were able to develop a set of guidelines of if your septic system is less than 10 years old, we will give you a a a delay of so many years. Um, so
it was it was both the community information side as well as the regulatory side of how is this logistically going to work? How are we logistically going to start billing for sewer? How are we going to permit
sewers? How are we how are we going to work with a department that doesn't quite exist yet? We didn't have a wastewater department at the time. Um so that was that was a a big project and I I feel like it was a success for for
that initial phase of getting um about 600 homes sewered. We were constantly having quarterly meetings with um neighborhood associations to make sure they understood what was happening. Um
we met with engineers and um went through any new regulations that were coming forward. Um we just wanted to make sure everyone was not afraid of what was happening and and the reasons why. um there was a lot of
misinformation of why are we doing this? Um so making sure that the right information is out there was was a was a big part of that roll out. >> Thank you. >> I defer to I think for the time we've
got 10 minutes. >> Joyce. >> Oh. Um yes. I'd like to ask you um about your staff. Um, how do would you have the lowliest employee under your staff
report? Um, would it always be up through channels? Would you want um action plans from them perhaps the way you uh would from your professional staff? The reason I ask this is we have an odd situation where many of our staff
members are very overqualified for their positions. And I'm just trying to think how staff development and staff encouragement might happen. >> Um, I would I would always look for that chain of command first. Um, I wouldn't
want to overstep a supervisor of someone else, even if they are under my control. Um, I wouldn't want to kind of cut out that middleman unless there was a reason for it. Sometimes there's personality conflicts and
the person under a supervisor isn't comfortable talking to that person. Um, so of course that's a unique situation where I would absolutely speak with them and figure out what was going on. Um,
but I I I do I do like that chain of command where um I would be overseeing and those would be overseeing um I think it's a good way to to really know your staff if you if you have specifics um a
limited number rather than a a really big number. And same thing for that that supervisor of that you had said the lower level. Um they they should have the opportunity to
figure out what those e those growth opportunities are. Um if you're constantly going around then that that middle manager doesn't have the opportunity to grow themselves. So you you'd have the um the supervisors
have um the responsibility and the thinking to do professional development opportunities for their staff to encourage them >> initially. Yes. Um and obviously I would monitor monitor the situation and if things weren't working or if I could see
a better way to do it um I would I would explore that. >> Thank you. Mhm. Liz, >> I I'm really satisfied. I think I've very pleased with what questions we've asked and I feel like I've got my
information. So, I'm I think rather than trying to squeeze in another question. >> Okay. >> For my my money list, Mark, you have something or tracing. >> I I agree. I think we've got this has been a very useful time. Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, I'm going to give you a few minutes to tell us whatever you
haven't had the opportunity to tell us about yourself, >> okay, >> thus far. And again, um I just want to thank you so much for uh your interest here and applying and going through this process. I know it's not always an easy
process to go through publicly, but it is very much appreciated. >> Well, thank you for having me. I I really appreciate the opportunity to explain myself, my resume, my background and experience. I I think that my multidisciplinary
experience is a unique attribute to me. Um, I not only have the the regulatory background of being able to speak the zoning language that is elusive to so many um, but also having that financial
background of being an administration puts me at a at a at a different level. Um, I have one accomplishment that I would like to talk about that I didn't get an opportunity to was our town has
Harwitch has a director of cultural affairs which is a position that I don't believe exists anywhere else on the Cape and that position was created and developed during my time in administration and I I think that that
role has developed into something amazing that has brought a lot of the community together, the staff together, but also businesses together and having the opportunity to develop that role from
scratch was um very rewarding. that that position had had not existed and going through hiring, finding the right person and then um together deciding what do you want to be when you grow up kind of
thing. Um and and being able to to encourage and develop that staff member into what what the programs are showing today. um was just something I wanted to share. It was it's it's a it's exciting
to start with a project and and see it end like that. >> That's a wonderful uh story. Can you tell a little bit about what that position does? >> Sure. Um that position oversees our cultural affairs municipal building. Um
it's the old middle school and it has two floors of classrooms that are currently used for um artist studios. We rent them out um by the year but well they pay by the month. It's not a very very robust financial tool. However, it
it keeps the lights on. Um they they fill all the classrooms and since that role has started we she's utilized every inch of that building. She uses the courtyard for um a pick your own flowers
um vendor and um cranberry festival music fest in the in the in the center there in the in the courtyard. She's developed a farmers market on the front lawn. um all of these things that for for me it was she had these these ideas
and we talked about them together and um we said well let me run it up the flag pole and and it and it worked and um it's been quite a success over there. It's great. >> What's the number of that building? >> 204. Yes. 204 citizen. It's um they they
have open studios every week and a farmers market every week if you ever want to go through. Yes, that's that's one of the procurement projects we've had in the last few years. We the auditorium was in shambles. It hadn't been upgraded in
decades. So, it needed everything from the curtains, the lights, the seats, um sound. So, going through that procurement and letting the director kind of run with her vision was was great. >> How was that funded?
Um, we have a revolving fund for the 204 building for the the artists pay their monthly fees and um any revenues generated from programming goes into the gen the revolving fund. The position
itself is funded through the operating budget. Um, procurements that were quite large, we we had a a capital fund. We we funded them as a capital project and at one time we paid them through free cash. So um it does cost money to to to put
buildings into a better into a better condition, but um it's worth it in the end. >> Excellent. Is there anything else? >> No. I I I think I've answered your questions. You've answered mine, I think. >> Thank you very much, Megan. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Megan.
>> You was exciting. Appreciate it. Boy, that last thing sounded great. >> Hold the next minute. I'm hot. >> You guys want to take a minute or two or you >> We just take a five minute break. >> Sure. >> Be great. >> In recess for
>> couple of minutes. Charlie horse. I'm getting in this leg. [Music] >> My hands cramp from all the writing. >> I have five people arriving to my house on Thursday. >> Oh, >> fun. Summertime. >> And a dog. >> Another dog. >> I'd rather the dog. I'd rather five
dogs. >> No, this is true. Why does that not surprise me? >> I love dogs. >> I have a sister, two nephews, a niece, and nephew's friend. All depend descending up on us, which I'm really
looking forward to. >> Will they self-entertain? >> Oh, they do. Good. >> Fortunately, they're at that age. They don't need In fact, >> that's good. >> One of them, believe it or not, is a 35year-old nephew who's bringing his
friends. So, and their dog. Sounds good. >> Only thing is that it's an overlap. Most of it's going to be my sister and her kids. And Chris is only down for a while, but for two nights, my sister and
I are sharing a bed. We haven't done that since >> 20. >> I if I heard I was sharing my bed with my sister, I'd be like, "What?" All right. Here, have a lot of wine. >> No hair pulling.
Well, fortunately, I'm one of these people that sleeps like a stone. Put me in the bed and I don't move. >> Good for you. >> She doesn't mind. >> So, let me just tell you this. >> Why don't we while we Well, unless this is part of the process, describe um
what will happen on the 26th. I mean, how will how will we be now processing this? >> Anybody? >> Have we talked about that? >> Well, I was going to say we're in recess. We shouldn't be having a discussion of Yeah. >> Very good. But will we tonight?
>> No. >> No. >> Okay. So, we come to the 26 and that will be we'll learn how we'll learn what we're doing next. >> Discussion and vote. Yeah. >> Okay. So we don't grade or we talked about satisfactory very satisfactory
most >> I wouldn't issue grades it's not what you want to do >> preference I would say >> so just >> my one my two >> preference without any discussion >> yeah okay basically >> well you can discuss it's fine it's fine
to discuss but you know what I mean is remember that >> positive discussion >> yeah exactly we that that I I Love that concept that we talked about at your last meeting of there are highly advantageous and advantageous. >> All right, we're ready categories to
pick. >> Okay, I'll go tell Sarah. >> We're ready. >> I gave my brother a call. They had a 16-year-old and uh that died in Marble Head last night in a car accident. >> Oh, no.
>> No, I'm sorry. A 13-year-old that died in the car accident was driven by a 16-year-old who was on OUI charges. >> Oh, no. >> It happened literally around the corner from my brother's house. I'm like, >> you don't know these? >> Yeah. >> It turned out there were two kids. All
All he knows is they were from out of town, but a 13-year-old died. And this 16-year-old, I think, is hospitalized and it's already up on charge, I suppose, >> was drinking and >> at 2:00 in the morning. What is a 13year-old who went out at 2:00?
>> Well, 13year-old doing it certainly was where I was at that age in the summer. >> We had a curfew. My family >> was part of that theater, so it was anything goes.
the curfew. A sad thing >> they're saying they had last night they had a 13-year-old that died in Marblehead from a car accident and the driver was a 16year-old and it's up on but that person's up on OUI
at 2:00 in the morning. It was right around the corner from my brother's house. immediately calling Pete going, "Do you know these people? What's he doing from out of town?" Sad. Each of these is so different.
This one's very different. >> Well, I'm in my last week of summer camp, so I pretty much say that this is the end of the summer for us. And of my my impromptu survey, I've only seen three CA um
Canada license plates all summer. >> Wow. and one from Ontario, one from Nova Scotia, and one from Quebec. And my my route for my buses, I go all the way down to the Bourne B to the Sagamore Bridge over to the Bourne Bridge and
back and through F. So I do a big chunk of the Cape of the Upper Cape anyway, the mid Cape. And I I can remember when we had Quebec plates like Connecticut plates. I mean, there were just so many of them. Canadian money by this time of
year. >> There's no shortage of cars, it seems. >> But not Canadian crowded. >> They're all What I'm seeing more than anything else is the Massachusetts plates and and New England plates. I mean, you know, >> Yeah. >> New York, Connecticut, um,
>> Jersey, >> Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, but not really that much beyond. I mean, I I can remember in past summers, we saw an awful lot of Ohio, for instance. not seeing the Ohio place this summer. >> Well, I know you've made the rounds and
I can't tell you how delighted >> Juan was to see you on the route to Camp Lyndon. >> I transported Vaughn one day. >> Oh, wow. >> As the bus driver. >> Yes. >> He knows you, you know, from the parade and everything. It's almost like old home week. But
>> good evening, Ellen. >> Hi, >> everybody. >> Hi. >> You're well. Thank you for coming. >> Thank you for having me. Good. Thank you for being here. So, for the public at home, this is Ellen Carlson.
So, uh we just want to start by giving our appreciation for your interest in our community and um for your willingness to go through this application process and uh we're thankful that you're here. We're going to start with allowing you some time to
introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself and then um we'll ask some questions and then we'll allow you to um take a few moments at at the end to tell us anything else that you feel that we need to know. >> Great. Thank you. I'll try to speak into the mic. Let me know for some reason I'm
fading or >> look closer to you, >> wafting away. Um so my name's Ellen Carlson. I'm a resident of Sandwich. I've been here on Cape Cod for about 30 years. Um I come to you from um as a
recent retiree from the National Park Service. I was with the National Park Service for 34 years and worked both as a planner for a couple of decades and then moved into legislative and congressional affairs.
And so in those um capacities, I had a lot of opportunities to work with communities. So, you know, there's the park side of the world and there's the community side of the world. And so, I often worked on the park side of the world, or I was always exclusively on the park side of the world, but we
always took into consideration our host communities and what their needs and requirements were, what their interests were. Um, we always had robust public processes. Um, and it always provoked in me a real interest in knowing what goes on on the other side, what's on the
other side of the park boundary. um you know, what are those interests and how do they manifest themselves and what would it be like to work from that perspective? um to sort of look at the different economic development needs,
the housing needs, the um human services needs, all of the things that go into a healthy and robust community um that were expressed as interest to us as we were performing our functions in
planning for our park units because we had very much a symbiotic relationship with our host communities. um what we offered in terms of services mirrored what they offered in some
respects. Um but it um it also was a terrific probing ground for learning um a lot of different skills. you know, tailoring public engagement, um, working across multiple disciplines,
working with, um, different contracting outfits to meet the needs of the park. And a lot of times, again, that's where we'd have a nexus with the community um, doing things like transportation
planning to address an issue that arise arises um, in a need. um looking at community character and what that pertains to within a park context. So, so there's a lot of good nexus opportunities between my work in the
national parks and with our host communities. So, I look forward to an opportunity to get to know a place like Yarmouth to really dig in to take advantage of all of the good planning that you all have done up to this point.
I mean, there's just so much as I continued to dig in and dig in and dig in, I kept seeing so much good engagement, so much good planning, um, and so many opportunities to, um, advance different facets of what you all
are trying to accomplish here. So, I find that very exciting and I'm looking forward to talking more with you about it. >> Thank you, Ellen. We'll start with Mark. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, and thank you, Ellen, for uh taking an interest in our community and applying for this
position. We're delighted to have you here. Full disclosure, uh I worked for two congressmen over the years that were fans of the National Park Service and dedicated to the uh the mission and the work of the National Park Service. One
wrote the law creating the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. and the both both congressmen that I work for were huge fans of the Adams National Historic Park and that site is just an incredible asset to not only our country but also
to the region >> and this whole concept that I talk about a lot of heritage tourism what it means the park service has been an incredible partner so um I've I've enjoyed all of my work on behalf of these two congressmen working for the park service working with the park service and on
behalf of the park service So, thanks for all your hard work uh with with with the with this organization. Uh my question regarding for you today is in looking over this position and giving some thought to being our next community
development director, what do you see as our community's biggest challenges and opportunities with respect to community development? Well, it strikes me and it seems like you certainly are on the road to addressing this is is building out your infrastructure to support um some of the
coastal resiliency issues. Um you know, dealing with wastewater treatment and and figuring out how to deal with septic systems and moving more in the direction of managing for wastewater. um really seems like a huge opportunity on a bunch of different levels in terms
of creating the opportunity for potentially more growth, but then also preserving your natural resources and your coastal resources um and protecting your water supplies. So, there's there's a there's a huge benefit there. I think also a lot of the work that's gone into
quality of life, um the work that's going on along Route 28 to try and sort out how to make that a more hospitable corridor for the local economy, for the businesses, and for the community itself so that it's more walkable. Um there are
more recreational opportunities. I noticed a couple of big um resource restoration projects that were going on that were going to have a recreational component to them. those look fantastic. Um, so I think there's a huge body of work that that already sets you on a
really positive trajectory for those kinds of things. Um, and that um, it's now the devil's in the details in terms of how to ground it and get it moving so that it's implemented on the ground um, and and can be something that is um, uh,
real, you know, real world real tangible benefit to the community once it's built out. >> Thank you. Thank you for coming today. Um, my question is tell us about a time that you successfully managed a complex
community development project. Please tell us about your specific role in the project, challenges faced and the outcome and what would you do differently? >> Well, I think I've, you know, I've done a couple of plans. Um, I think the one
that comes to mind in this context is is New Bedford Whailing National Historical Park. Um that was the first plan that I ever um had the title of job captain on. And um it was from soup to nuts, you know, assembling the team, figuring out
what the needs were. We had transportation issues. We had to figure out how we were going to get people across Route 18, which is a big route that separates the waterfront from the historic downtown in New Bedford. we had to sort out how we were going to engage
with the Portuguese community um where you were dealing with a lot of pop people who were not um English speakers and also potentially weren't used to being engaged and so how do you engage that community? I have to say I'm not 100% sure we were successful. Um but we
tried um the other communities that we tried to engage were the young people in the community um to you know help them understand that there was a national park that had emerged. Um a lot of the work that we did was in partnership with
the city of New Bedford. Um, New Bedford's an unusual park in the national park system in that we own one block in a 13b block area. And so for us to protect all of the interests that need to be protected in that 13b block
area, we had to rely on our relationship with the city and the historical commission and bring them into this planning process so that they had buyin and there was consensus around what we were going to accomplish. and there was a commitment to accomplishing it. And I
think that um in its 25 year history, New Bedford has come a long way. The plan was um adopted and implemented and actually they're due for a new plan now because they've basically that's all borne out. They've done everything in that planning process. In terms of what
I would have done differently with that process is um I think I would have liked to have seen a little bit more um engagement with the various communities. Um we that would that seemed more
meaningful during the time. Over the years the park has built these relationship with these communities but at the outset when we were doing this planning process they weren't marginalized. they were engaged, but the depth to which they were engaged could have been a lot
better and I would have liked to have seen more of that. So, we were working with the Wana community, the Portuguese community, Zoran community, and I think that um we just dipped our toes in. We didn't go deep enough. >> Thank you. >> Oh, thanks. Welcome, Ellen. Um, we are
used to being blessed with lots of uh, uh, Cape tourists who come from Canada, from Western Europe, and um, we were just saying at the break how few license plates we've seen from Canada. Um, we've
obviously gotten through um pandemics and recessions and those cause dips in the in the visitors, but I I'm kind of stumped on what we have going right now. Can you strategize a way to differentiate Yarmmouth and the Cape
from the things that um many international u uh potential visitors find uncomfortable about the national scene right now? >> Oh, that's a difficult question. I think that, you know, tourism waxes
and wanes. Um and so oftentimes we'll have these dips and we'll have you know we have these political circumstances that we're we're coping with right now um that have resulted in us having a dip. Um but you know we have
other audiences too. So there are times when perhaps and this is you know this is just an off-the- cuff you know without doing a deep dive analysis but but to sort of think about what other audiences we can cultivate. So, if we've lost our international audience for a
short time, it's not to say that we're not going to continue to try and cultivate that audience and and continue to try to attract them, but but what other audiences are there out there that that we could potentially grow and and
take advantage of? Um and so maybe it's our you know more repeat visitation, more more local visitation and we're offering the kinds of um activities and programming um you know like expanding a farmers market or or doing other kinds
of things that would be a local draw that would bring repeat visitors into town. again, you know, never losing sight of the fact that you want to continue this relationship with the international um outreach and in the visitor international tourism interests.
Um but but to sort of take advantage of the multiple audiences that really come to Yarm and come to Cape Cod. I don't know if that helps just again off the cuff. Thank you. >> Hi, my name's Liz Argo. I was born in
Orleans, but now I live in Yarmouth and I'm been on the select board for um approximately 10 months. So, um, we hopefully you've had a chance to look over our draft, uh, local comprehensive
plan and it's, you know, intention is to really drive, um, a lot of the economic development as we go forward >> and just without making it a negatory, but is there any redirection or is there something maybe
that was missed that it's not too late you think we should consider for our local comprehensive plan. >> I mean, I've taken a look at it. I've definitely sort of given it a sweep from cover to cover. I like it. I think that
there's a lot of really good um you know, directions in in the plan. um without knowing much more about Yarmouth. Like if you asked me in 6 months, I think I could give you a better answer, but but generally I
really thought that it was pinned to all of the um ideas that were coming out of the vision workshop. Um the vision plan was very good and really interesting to look at. Um, and I think that um, that the matrix that was developed that sort
of identified all the responsibilities and the potential funding sources was a really good outline to sort of begin advancing the program that's defined by the plan. Um it seems to me that that as
you implement you have opportunities to massage um and think through how you would you know again it always is the devil's in the details. So you've come up with this general notion of the direction you want to take but then as you move forward with implementation there may be these opportunities to
tweak the direction just a bit as you sort out where the you know the rubber meets the road. Um, I did notice one thing that I don't know if anyone else mentioned it. Um, but I was I was reading it on the ferry
yesterday and I was looking at the church the um the chart the implementation chart and I was um I was spending my time looking up all of the acronyms for the town offices that were responsible. So I think an acronym table for that one would be would be helpful.
And I come from the land of acronyms so you >> sure do. So I I we were we we were always sensitive to that, but I was thinking to myself as I was working my way through it that probably there are people in town who need help with some of those acronyms, too. >> Addition. Very good. >> Thank you.
>> All right. Great. I'm not sure you've had the opportunity to look at the structure of our community development department right now. Um there's some vacancies. Um there's a lot of departments that are underneath it. And I'm wondering if you have if you have
any ideas or thoughts of what you might change in terms of structure >> for the department. Um, you know, I would want to sit with that question a little bit. Um, you know, again, I wouldn't want to mess with it too much until I have a better
familiarity about how the town is really working. Um it seems that there's a lot of responsibility under the community development program. Um and there may be some opportunities to um recalibrate who
does what. Um which is almost always the case, but I wouldn't want to hasten a a guess as to how to restructure until I've really had a chance to dive into it and understand um everyone's roles and responsibilities.
Mark, >> thank you. Um, as as you as you know, this community development director position oversees a lot of programs, offices, a lot of work, um, planning, economic development,
conservation, old Kings Highway, Historic Presist, uh, the Board of Appeals, Community Preservation Act, and, uh, we have our own CDBG entitlement program here in Yarmouth. So, um, talk to us a little bit about
your background, your experience that demonstrates a capability to sort of manage, uh, these programs and and and the staff. >> It's um I would say there it's on two different levels. So, I've done a lot of
project management, which has involved, you know, assembling teams, dealing with large landscapes. Um, you know, when I did my studies, I was dealing with um looking at the 524 mile area canal way and sort of sorting out, well, how do you assemble a team for that? What
consultants do you need? Who are you engaging in terms of partners um to have those conversations? You know, how are you examining this sort of BM of a resource? Um likewise, Niagara Falls was similar in that we had to look um it was
we we were working with Parks Canada. Um, and so we had to really, you know, go through the process of assembling the team, figuring out what the scope of work was going to look like, what supporting consultation we were going to need, what those scopes looked like, um,
you know, what that product, how that product was going to evolve and then go through the various review processes that started, you know, with the local communities and moved up through our regional offices and our Washington office. So, so they were complex processes
um that that um you know I had to navigate and ensure brought were brought to fruition and and sort of checked all the boxes um in my professional capacity was in my acting
positions. So basically by and large outside of managing teams and um you know my planning role and my um legislative affair role which was was sort of a technical special so I didn't
have staff underneath me except in those management roles in terms of managing the the teams and the project um contractors when I took the details at New Bedford and at Adams and when I was chief of of
external affairs, I had small teams that I was running. And external affairs is probably the most comparable to this in that we we had disparit programs. They were all sort of parallel track programs that were all under external affairs. So I had partnerships, I had public
affairs. Um we had the government information specialist. That's the person who ran FOYA for us. So that's the federal office of information federal blah blah blah information you want to foyer is the freedom of information act. Thank you brain. Um and
then finally legislative affairs which I kept I kept that hat um because um we just I we tried to detail someone and we couldn't because things blew up in this current environment. Um but but we made sure that we had regular communication,
that everyone knew that I was accessible to them, that I was there to support them, that um I knew what they were doing, I knew what their obligations were, you know, at a given point. I knew where they were having trouble um and I would be working with them to
troubleshoot things. So I think that that's you know given the complexity and also sort of these parallel tracks which aren't really really you know are only superficially parallel tracks they really do walk work in concert with one another. So, so the coordination across
these um you know potential trunks is really going to be um an important facet of what we do and um it's something that I um feel that between my project work and my work um is a a superintendent and
um and the chief of external affairs sort of lends itself to. >> Thank you, >> Ellen. Um staff retention is very important to the board and as part of our goals for the coming year. We have a
highly qualified team in place. How would you approach and mentor this team to motivate and empower them to achieve our community and economic outcomes within our budgetary constraints? >> Yeah, I really enjoy to working with
people as a team. So, I think of myself as a team leader as opposed to the supervisor. Um, and what I like to do is make sure that I'm in regular communication with the team that that um they there's like I I would like to have
like a weekly meeting so that we all are touching base. Um what's going on? Um how are things going? um to do that as a group so that everyone has awareness of what they're all doing so that they understand that they're all cohesively part of this larger team, but then also
to have regular touch points with people to make sure to check in. It's like how are you doing? Um is this project going okay? Do you need help with something? Those kinds of things that that kind of support I think is really really important. Another thing that I think is
really important is professional development. And it's tough to do professional development on a shoestring. So looking for those opportunities where um you know maybe there's a shadow opportunity um you know to to work with somebody
else on something um or to collaborate on a project that would give you um an a window into some other facet of of of the work that the community town is accomplishing. um or to take advantage of um video conferences and other things like that
that would enable them to um connect with other um staff um you know that are functioning in other capacities in other places in the country because we're not you know the the problems that we face here are sometimes similar to what's
happening on Long Island or similar to what's happening in you know the West Coast. um you know we those opportunities to um learn from others is also a great professional development opportunity. Um
I think that things should be fun too. Every once in a while it's nice to have coffee and donuts and just you know chat and have a moment where you're just breathing and not um overwhelmed by everything that's going on. taking a minute to to just breathe and and be
commune with one another um is another really important way to sort of build the team and make sure that people have a comfort level with each other and have a comfort level with me in terms of coming to me if there's a problem because I if if I don't know what's
happening I can't help. So that's kind of where I come from on that. >> Thank you. Um um Ellen, this has got to be a little abstract um because I know you're not currently um plugged into all sorts of
complications in structures in Yarmouth, but if you were to take a position like this, um what would be your 30-day, 60-day, 90day um goals? And how would you set the priorities?
So from first I'd want to take the first 30 days knowing that there'll be things that pop up that have to be you know fires that just have to be put out so that you can't avoid that but but to take the first 30 days to really just get the lay of the land meet the staff meet with the
boards um spend time talking with with Bob about what what you know where he's coming from as the town administrator you know hearing from you all and again you know the other boards about what the town prior arities are and wrapping my head around some of these documents. I
mean, there's so much what I what I gleaned from from just researching what we know about Yarmouth, what what's available just online. Um, there are so many documents to dig into and just to get a better better sense of. So, so,
you know, I would even say 30 to 60 days is that is that kind of thing. at that point, you know, once we're we're there and, you know, I'm getting to know the lay of the land, um, my priorities are your priorities. So, I'll be looking to
you all and to the various boards and to Robert to sort of say, okay, these are the things that we really want to emphasize and these are the things that we really want to move forward and if you could make, you know, A, B, and C happen, that would be awesome. And then
I would get to work on A, B, and C. And you know what I like and what I kind of am beginning to understand about the community is that you know and looking at the way the um the implementation plan is is is lined out um you know
there's a lot of cross collaboration. So there's a lot of supporting one another as we move these these things forward. So whatever my role is as the community development director, I would anticipate um you know working in that direction and hopefully within you know it within
that 30 to 60 days window really gradually really spinning up to speed to be able to do that to really be able to engage and begin helping to move those things forward. Thank you. >> Okay. Um,
so you you kind of um took the wind out of the sales of my next question because um >> that means she's good, you know. >> Yes. Um but I was going to ask knowing the comprehensive plan to some degree um
what would be your action steps towards imple implementing a the new comprehensive plan vision. So rather than the 30 6090 yeah >> what are the first steps? >> It's somewhat similar. It's really, it's really just trying to understand, you
know, I'll have to get my footing and I'll have to get to know who who does what, who the players are, um, where the fires are because the fires are always going to be the ones things that I'm, you know, I'm going to have to dive into and I may just have to, you know, figure
it out as I go. That's just, you know, you don't have the benefit of, you don't always have the benefit of a full slate of knowledge going to some of these things. But but the good news is that that you know, especially with some of these projects, you have people who've
been working on them and um you know, I can immediately jump in to sort of see what I need to do to support those those efforts. Um at the same time as sort of getting a better sense of the lay of land is
what the needs and requirements are going forward. that would help me set some goals and figure out how to best support, you know, what the community wants. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. So, kind of alternate to that, not necessarily looking at this
from a lens of what the community may want or the board's um goals or objectives, just basically your opinion, your thoughts on Route 28, our underdeveloped properties. I'm sure you've driven Route 28. Um I just I just
would love to hear your thoughts about that and what if you had an opportunity to change some things, what it what what what would you do? >> So I I've given that a little bit of thought and it's interesting. I was trying I was driving Route 28 in Felmouth and I was trying to figure out
what's the difference here. Um, and I think that that there's there's a density in Falmouth that we don't quite have here in Yarmouth in that there's it's it's almost like a smile with a bunch of teeth knocked out. And so the village
concepts that seem to be emerging are really, I think, smart because they're they're building in some density. They're building in some walkability. Um, they're building in some mixed use. And I think all of those things would be beneficial to that corridor, but I think
too finding ways to um and I know it's a state highway, so this is kind of challenging um to make it more of a boulevard than a throughway. Um you know, so that so that there's more opportunities for people to
navigate across the street. There are more opportunities for vehicles to be moving more slowly through that space. um because you kind of get this whipssaw thing going on where you're trying to find something as you're driving through it and you know you by the time you notice it you've missed your opportunity
to sort of turn into it and and then it's a hard to find a place to sort of quickly find your way back. So I think a lot of the things that are being discussed about you know upping the density upping the walkability um all of those things will start contributing to
making it work. I think the part that I don't have enough of a sensibility about um without having more opportunity to dig into it is where the business community is, what they're willing to do, what their comfort level is. Um and
then also what opportunities we have in working with the state to um address some of the um how the traffic patterns work there. So, so, so I'd have to learn a little bit more, but those those are the things that strike me just immediately um about what could happen
there. It's like slow it down, dense it up a bit. Um, and of course, it sounds so easy, right? Um, and it's obviously not. Um, because if it was easy, you would have done it a million times already. So, but but I I
look forward to it. And I think the parks that are being developed are really a huge boon. I think that again, you know, the there's there's there's more there there for people to enjoy as opposed, you know, and potentially to walk from point to point.
>> Mark, >> thank you. Um, what really excites you about this position and working for the town of Yarmouth? >> Well, a couple of things really do. One thing that I really excites me because I've I've been in a pingpong environment. I've been, you know,
especially working in legislative affairs, it's like Gettysburg one day, Petersburg the next day, Aadia the next day, and this idea that that I could just be in one place and really get to know it and really dig into it um and
and to have it be a place that um is a a lovely place on Cape Cod that has a lot of the elements that I've worked on for my entire career. you know, the coastal resiliency questions, the historic preservation questions, recreation, um you know, the economic development
component, housing, all of those things um you know that that um are elements of those host communities that I was always um you know, planning curious about when I was working on the park side really are here in Yarmouth. And so I think
that that's really exciting. Another thing that really excites me about the position is um implementation. So, taking plans that you've developed, I mean, I know that there's still planning to do, but to begin moving those to implementation, I was always a little
jealous when I finished up a plan in the park service and I handed it off to a superintendent and then they were able to take it and run with it and I was like, "Oh, I wish I could do that." So, so, so the implementation elements of this really excite me. Um, I also just
enjoy the nature of coordination and networking and putting people together and and and moving moving the ball forward. Those are all things that I just really enjoy doing and would look love the opportunity to to do that for
this one singular wonderful place. >> Thank you, >> Ellen. Recently, we've seen um a lot of resignations in our economic um and community development committee uh that
oversee the tourism re revenue preservation fund >> and we've determined that it would be wise for us to wait until this position is filled to go forward. Um how would you handle that challenge
>> to reconstitute the board or the commission? I think that that it's I I'd have to look at how it's chartered. Um but, you know, and see whether or not we need to reexamine that, but but also um
to sort of think through um who we want for representation on that board if that's and again that could be already chartered. So, I don't know, you know, I don't know what my sideboards are in terms of what we can do with that, but um it sounds like you, you know, you
potentially would want an open call to sort of see who might be interested in that um engagement again. Um and I think you want to draw from as broad a population as possible in terms of the various economic interests. So, you'd want the
tourism community. You may also want people from the housing, you know, sector and from, you know, the the preservation sector. There may be a broader set of interests than just um, you know, the business community. Um and again I'm you know I'm sort of shooting
in the wind here because I don't have that much of a knowledge base but but you know I think even before we went through that process I would want to understand more about what role this body plays and what role you would like
it to play because that obviously would play a significant role in how we want to reconstitute it um and potentially reshape its charter. So, >> thank you. >> Thank you. Um, we're very concerned
about um employment and uh the kind of employment that's high quality and gives benefits for um Cape Cod residents who are year round. Um, if you had a chance to choose a business that would employ
25 people um and drop it on Route 28, um, an area where you've obviously um, given a lot of attention, what would the business be? [Music] That's interesting. you know,
I think there there's the possibility of some kind of, you know, I'm thinking about different industries like the food industry on Cape Cod and and you know, the commercial kitchens um so some kind of incubator for potential commercial kitchens um that support, you know,
restaurants. The other piece of the economy that I was recently learning more about I don't know a lot about it is this notion of the blue economy and where you know the ruinates proximate to the shore in some places there may be opportunities for um the kinds of
companies that support um you know the development the repair of engines for marine vessels or or other types of supporting um oper operational gear for marine
vessels. Um or even just um you know something like the Woods Hole Group, you know, you know, another one of those I mean why why should Felmouth have all the fun? I mean why couldn't we have something like that here because we're just as proximate to the war as as they
are. Um so I think that there there could be a lot of opportunities for those kinds of things. The other thing too is is to think about well you know while remote work seems to be drying up a little bit um this is you know if we
focus a lot on our quality of life and have resources we're right near a regional airport you know we're proximate to Providence and Boston you know why not be an outpost for you know a remote a remote company that that draws you know people here and they're
you know the employer may not be directly here in Yarmouth, but maybe there's a pod of employees who are here in Yarmouth because this is just a great place to be and we have great supporting services and and access to transportation and things of that
nature. So, this, you know, again, just spitballing is kind of a gross term, but this kind of thinking of it that way. Okay. Thank you. >> I love it. All right. And
we have a possibility that it's just let's just fantasize we've got um the possibility in this fantasy that there's a developer who's going to take some 4DB money to do some some development housing and they do not want to abide by
the architectural vision that Yarmouth is wants to impose on them. Um, is there how would you approach because your plan the planning department is sort of under your wing. How were we going to um affect our vision of of what Route 28
should look like when the developers come in and and are not willing to compromise. >> We don't have to compromise. Uh I mean I think that that's that's you know
always my first thought is to let's see where we can negotiate right let's you know let's let's try to negotiate but if there's a point where you know it really is something that we have to play hard ball over and say look we're just not going to permit this um you know or if
you want this then then you have you know setbacks and screening and other things you know like that and and I I do know in this universe of of um you know our need for affordable housing that that that is you know there's an
attraction for us for them to to sort of pursue that kind of development but um you know whatever leverage we have to sort of negotiate and push back and I'm not sure again you know without digging in deep what our leverage really is and
what you know what site location we might be talking about what you know what what can do we can put on the table, what, you know, what um sticks we can, you know, bring to bear. Um, but I think it it should, you know, if we're
dealing with a situation like that, we should be as tough as they are if we can be. Um, but again, you know, be prepared to negotiate. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um I'm curious how you view the
economic development uh director's position and basically department's role in working with the chamber of commerce. >> So it's I mean the chamber obviously is a representative one representation of the business community. I think that it
manifests itself in other ways. Um the chamber is not the town. Um it's it's a constituent within the town. Um and we obviously as a constituent within the town, you know, have an obligation to hear them out, to work collaboratively
with them when we can. It's in our best interest if we can work collaboratively with them, but um we also can't have it be the tail wagging the dog. Um, so again, it's it's sort of this constant negotiation probably that has to happen
um in order to make sure that that their needs are being ne met um and that our needs are being met as a community and hopefully there's a happy medium to be found there. Um but but I also would encourage us to think about who else is
representing the business community. is, you know, is everyone contained within the Chamber of Commerce or are there other bodies out there that we can consult with and also, you know, not use as a club per se, but but to use as some leverage, you know, as we as we work
with them. Just so say, well, you know, the Rotary is a little bit different in composition than you, and we're hearing a little bit something differently from here. or there's there's there's also always a group of business members who don't join the chamber, but they still have an interest in what's going on in
town. Um, so I, you know, I think that that, um, it's, it's a bit of a dance to sort of see how they engage with us, but I also know in many instances they can be a little pushy and they can be a little bit this is our, you know, you
need us more than we need you. And um, and that's not entirely true. And so we have to work collaboratively with them. And um and again, you know, we're partners.
They're constituents. It's it's it's an a relationship that just needs to be cultivated. >> In the interest of time, tell us something about yourself that we don't know, but that we should know.
>> I don't know. Um I guess well I guess we haven't talked about I did one of the things that I left off my resume and I I know that that um in the package um Sarah included it was was my work at the sandwich historical commission. So I was
um a volunteer on that body for two separate occasions. Um I left for family reasons in both instances. Um but I had some good experiences with working on that that board. Um and so um in one
instance I had this great opportunity to work with one of our community resources, the Clark Hadard, um community building, um which was falling into disrepair. And I got to be the front end of that process um engaging the public and coming up with a strategy
for what we might want to have happen with that building. And then shortly after that, I dropped off the board to do more swim mom stuff. Um and then I came back on the board later on. um in a couple years later and um had the
opportunity to um work through some planning with the board um with the with the commission and um apply for a grant through the shipo's office for um histo an updated historic preservation plan. The grant wasn't successful but but it
was a good process and I had a good opportunity to talk with folks in the shipo's office and get that that off the ground. So that was um a good experience. I was also very happy to represent the commission on the um
community preservation board. Um sadly I had to leave that because um that role because I had to leave the commission because you had another family situation that I had to take care of and I couldn't do everything. So I left but I really enjoyed my time on the CPA. That
was fantastic. I loved working on that that particular effort. Thank you, >> Marcus. Anybody else have any questions? >> Did you say swim mom? >> I was a swim mom. Yes. >> A swim mom. >> Okay. Um would you elaborate?
>> A dance mom, but a swim mom. >> It's like Yeah, a hockey mom or a soccer mom. No, my son was um began taking up competitive swimming and then all of a sudden I lived the pool. Um and um and so we did that for quite a
quite some time. How old are your kids now? >> My boys are 26 and 23. >> Allowed to ask that? >> No, >> I'm not allowed to ask that. I saw Sarah go. >> Never mind. >> That's okay. That's okay. We'll just erase it. Erase it from the record.
>> Um, I will say Mark, I think I I saw you early on in my career at Cape Cod National Sea Advisory Commission meetings. You were you frequently place it might have been. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think we must have crossed paths there. I used to go to all of those meetings when I when when I was in
the district when I wasn't on in Washington, >> right? No. >> And um the advisory commission, you talk about collaboration, working the park and communities working together. That's a perfect model. It worked well in the collaboration among the f between the federal government, local communities.
Was impressive. >> It was a good model and we um it's one of the best in the system actually in terms of it being a collaborative body. So, who was the superintendent back then when I was there? >> Andy Ringold. >> Andy Ringold. >> And Maria Burks. You might have also met. >> Maria Burks. Yeah.
>> Outstanding superintendent. >> Yep. >> We could have a conversation all but we don't we're running out of time. >> Those are some great memories. >> We're going to uh give you a few minutes to just tell us whatever you feel that we still need to know or your closing
statement, however you want to say it, but just take a few minutes of your time to wrap it up for us. Well, I I really appreciate the opportunity to appear before you tonight and and to be considered for this position. I'm I'm really thrilled. I'm excited by the
prospect of this work. Um and excited to have it be sort of a natural next chapter. um you know if I had actually had the opportunity to stay with the park service and and had an opportunity to sort of take on say a superintendent's role this is the kind of work I would
have been doing and I would have been really happy to do that but but in this context um this is this is just a fantastic opportunity and I'm very excited about it um so I hope that um that this will all um you know result in a real
opportunity to come and work with you on a more permanent basis. >> Well, thank you, Ellen. And I just want to take a minute before we conclude our meeting to thank Bob and Sarah. Um, you know, for putting forth three amazing candidates. Really, if there was a spot for them all in the team, it would be a
wonderful uh thing for for Yarmouth. So, um, you know, we have a difficult decision to make. Um, I don't know if I mentioned it to you. I mentioned it to the other candidates that we won't be discussing or making any decision tonight, but we will take this up at our our next meeting. Okay, wonderful. Great.
>> Well, thank you. I appreciate your time. >> I appreciate We very much appreciate you coming here. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ellen. >> Thank you. >> And I will take a motion from the board. >> So moved to adjourn. >> Second. >> Any discussion on that? All those in favor? >> I opposed. Thank you. Thank you
everybody. >> Recording stopped. [Music] >> Okie dokie. Go get