[0:18] Heat. Heat.

[0:40] All right. Today we have Dave Nadoo here with us to answer some questions about

[0:46] being the chairman of the select board of the town of Aspie, which is

[0:50] impressive as hell because not that many people want that job.

[0:55] Uh Dave did something and he doesn't he doesn't know I'm going to talk about

[1:00] this and I'm going to do it anyway. But while I was thinking about the

[1:05] questions, some of the people that I rely on to

[1:08] help me with these questions, um one of them surprised me and said that Dave, I

[1:17] got this thing up a bug up my butt about the state gives a class on being a

[1:23] selectman. are people take that class before they run.

[1:27] » And it turns out it's it's more parliamentary parliamentary procedure

[1:32] type of a class >> which you can read a book. You can see

[1:36] it online. But what you did which I was amazed because I don't think

[1:43] anybody else has ever done this. You attended committee meetings of all the

[1:48] major committees that we have going in the town. So, you know what was going

[1:53] on? >> I did.

[1:55] » Do Did you ever hear of anybody else doing that?

[1:58] » I did not. It was uh suggested uh by somebody that I was talking with

[2:05] before I actually really decided if I wanted to be on the board. And they

[2:11] said, "Well, why don't you start attending some of the other boards

[2:16] meetings?" I said, "That's a fantastic idea." So I joined all of the meetings,

[2:23] board of health, conservation planning board just to figure out where the town

[2:29] was going uh and learn because I didn't know anything at that time.

[2:33] » And I have to say feedback that I got from those people that were on those

[2:39] committees at that time, they were impressed as all hell.

[2:44] » Really? They they thought this guy really wants to do the job. And that to

[2:50] me that that just I think there should be some kind of a law passed that every

[2:57] board member should do that because then they come then they come

[3:03] with an awareness that is essential I think to be part of running the town.

[3:08] Otherwise, you're sitting there for the first month or two trying to figure out

[3:13] what what's going on. >> Yeah.

[3:15] » You already knew what was going on cuz you were there and you did it and you

[3:19] all right. >> And I didn't I read actually several

[3:22] months of meeting minutes from committees and boards.

[3:25] » See, >> so I would be prepared for what was to

[3:28] come. >> And it it I I guess it it showed.

[3:34] » Thank you. >> It it is it is good.

[3:37] » I appreciate that. Okay. What made you decide to become a Schle board member?

[3:43] » So, that's a funny story. Um, I was approached by Lillian Whitney.

[3:50] » Oh, yeah. >> Okay.

[3:52] » Um, she called me several times um and grabbed my ear and said, "You know, the

[3:58] town needs you." I said, "Really?" I said, "Needs me for what?" We want you

[4:04] to be on the select board. I said, "Well, who is we?" And uh all the people

[4:10] in town. So, I laughed. I said, "Well, I've never

[4:14] done that before. I'm not sure I could possibly do that." Uh how much time was

[4:18] involved? And she offered to help. Um and she was a sweetheart. She

[4:25] she really believed in me at that time. >> Um and encouraged me.

[4:31] » Uh she would call me a couple times every week. uh have you pulled papers?

[4:35] Are you going to do it? We have a meeting at uh Scott Sweeny's house if

[4:40] you'd like to come meet him. He's on the select board. Um and I said, "Okay."

[4:47] So, she really enticed me to do this. Um so, like you mentioned before, I started

[4:55] listening to meetings and I started attending select board meetings. I

[5:00] attended every select board meeting. uh that I possibly could. I don't think I

[5:05] missed one >> for several months prior to me uh

[5:09] pulling papers. >> So it was interesting. Um so a lot of

[5:15] that credit goes to Lillian Whitney. >> That that amazes me.

[5:20] » Everybody says that. >> Yeah.

[5:23] » She believed in me. >> Yeah.

[5:24] » You know. >> Yeah.

[5:26] » And >> Yeah.

[5:27] » Yeah. >> That that's great. I mean I you know I

[5:30] that is >> not many people know that. I've told

[5:32] some people, but yeah, not many people know that.

[5:35] » Ah, >> that's good.

[5:37] » Yeah, >> that's good.

[5:38] » Um, beginning your position on the select board

[5:42] » for a few years now. You've been in it for a few years now.

[5:45] » Does the town operate the way you thought it did? So, there's many

[5:51] different aspects of town government, and you can't possibly know every aspect

[5:57] of it. Um, so when I first got on, I actually thought the select board was

[6:04] in charge of every single thing possible. Um,

[6:08] and >> in an oversight type of way.

[6:12] » Yeah. And I started >> You thought you're going to find out

[6:15] everything that happened didn't happen. >> And I started to get overwhelmed.

[6:18] » Okay. >> And was to a point, well, is this really

[6:21] what I'm supposed to be doing? Um, and I did have a mentor uh who talked me

[6:29] through some of this. Uh, not from town. She serves on a council uh in Lemonster.

[6:35] » Okay. >> And she said, "Dave, don't worry about

[6:40] any of that stuff. Everything's going to fall into place. Do not try to reinvent

[6:44] the wheel. >> Um, just kind of go with the flow and

[6:48] learn." Um, and when I first got elected,

[6:54] I Let me go back. Before I got elected, I spoke to Mike McCuel, okay?

[7:00] » And he said, "You know, Dave, the first year, just sit back and learn and

[7:04] listen. Don't make any big decisions. Just sit back and learn." And I did

[7:09] that. >> Um, so that helped.

[7:13] » Did you serve with um Mike? >> I did.

[7:16] » You did. Okay. >> I did. When I first started, it was me,

[7:19] Mike, and Scott. >> Okay.

[7:22] » Uh I Janet Flingstrom uh did not run again, so her seat was vacant,

[7:28] » right? >> Um

[7:31] nobody ran against me, but I did put out signs. I sat at

[7:38] Yep. My hall was the first time >> and I stayed out there for however time

[7:43] the poll was open for. So, back to how I think the talent should work or what

[7:48] should have worked. I didn't really know at the time. It's

[7:52] I'm still learning. >> It's a process. This is going on four

[7:56] years and I still don't know everything. >> Okay.

[8:01] » But I surround myself with good people and people that I trust.

[8:05] » Good. Good. >> That that does Yeah, that sounds good.

[8:10] It sounds logical.

[8:14] I mean, >> yeah,

[8:16] » you definitely had targets, I guess you would call them.

[8:19] » And I realized I can't do it all myself. >> Yeah.

[8:22] » You know. >> Yeah. Well, that's that's a lot of

[8:25] people in this town think they could. >> Yeah.

[8:28] » And they don't want interference. >> How many hours do you put in as the the

[8:33] chair of the select board? >> H

[8:36] » on a week, weekly basis. uh between phone calls, emails, and such, I'm sure

[8:41] I put in about 20 20 hours, >> maybe 30 uh depending on the week. This

[8:46] week was a very busy week. We had uh we had to get ready for town meeting uh

[8:51] warles. >> The last two months, I would say, you

[8:55] had you had select board meetings almost every week. It's supposed to be just

[8:59] once every two weeks. >> It's tough, you know. Uh but you do what

[9:03] you have to do to keep everything running.

[9:06] » The town doesn't stop. >> Average 25 hours.

[9:08] » 2530 hours. Yeah, >> that's fair.

[9:10] » That that Well, um, does the town operate the way you thought it should

[9:16] from the hourly point of view? Did you think you were going to put in more or

[9:20] less hours? >> Less.

[9:22] » Less hours. >> I did.

[9:24] » And so it surprised you. Do you think that your other two

[9:29] partners on the table put in as many hours?

[9:34] » Oh, I believe Mike McCallen put in a lot more than that. Okay.

[9:38] » Yeah. >> How about Doug and Jessica?

[9:40] » Oh, the current board members we have now. Oh, that's a Oh, yeah. They put in

[9:44] just about the same, if not more, probably.

[9:46] » Really? >> Yeah.

[9:48] » Yep. >> Doug is very involved. Um, he kind of I

[9:53] look at him as the day-to-day liaison. Not now, but prior because we didn't

[10:00] have a town administrator, >> right? So Doug would, you know, come to

[10:05] town hall probably every day in the morning,

[10:08] » right? >> Uh make his rounds and, you know, make

[10:10] sure that town ran during the day. U Mike Bustle, who was the interim town

[10:15] administrator at that time would call me if there was an issue. Uh but him did a

[10:20] really good job >> um when we didn't have a TA and then

[10:24] bringing Jessica on board. >> She's amazing.

[10:28] » Yeah. >> Simply amazing.

[10:30] » Well, how how did Not being fully staffed

[10:37] affect your job at the point where you didn't know

[10:43] everything yet? It >> was hard.

[10:46] » Where did you get your your Who was your mentor through that whole

[10:51] thing? >> Claire Freda.

[10:53] » And she's a >> she's a city councelor city council

[10:56] woman from Lemonster. >> Okay. All right. And she understood and

[11:00] » Oh, yeah. She's been on the council for a very long time.

[11:03] » Okay. >> She's been the top vote getter in Lster

[11:06] for many, many years. >> Oh, okay.

[11:08] » As a council woman. Yeah. >> She's great.

[11:10] » Good advisor. >> Yep. I uh I lean on her a lot. I do.

[11:15] » Okay. >> Because it's also an independent view

[11:18] » of what I think is going on in town. And

[11:23] she's looking from the outside. >> Well, it's a non noni

[11:27] » nonbias. Yeah. So, It's probably enjoyable for

[11:31] her not to worry about whose toes she's stepping on. That's right.

[11:35] » By giving you the advice, let him step on your toes.

[11:40] » True. >> Which, you know, might happen. I had I

[11:43] I'm going to go right to this question. >> How much do you make as a select board

[11:47] member? >> We make absolutely nothing.

[11:51] » That's that's what I I want people to know that

[11:54] » you don't get even reimbured for >> nothing.

[11:57] » Nothing. I have no no reimbursements. I've never put in a receipt for

[12:01] anything. >> Now, is there pressure on your family

[12:05] because of the hours that you've been putting in and the phone calls you get

[12:09] at the weirdest times? >> Absolutely.

[12:11] » Yeah. >> It's a lot of pressure.

[12:13] » Yeah. >> Um in all of this for the past four

[12:17] years, my wife has been the rock. You know, she's uh absolutely amazing

[12:23] » because she's taken this ride. Do you hear you signed up for it?

[12:28] » Uh, somewhat >> at times.

[12:31] » Yeah. Yep. And a few other choice words that we won't say this evening.

[12:36] » No, but you know, it's hard >> uh because it

[12:41] » I am on the phone a lot and I'm answering emails at all hours of the

[12:45] night because I try to spend time with her as well. There's a balance, right?

[12:49] And if you don't have that balance, it's not going to work.

[12:52] » Yeah. >> So, I have to be

[12:55] open to adjusting my hours at home and making

[13:00] sure I give her the attention she needs as my wife.

[13:04] » Now, is this the first time that your phone has been turned off in a while?

[13:08] » So, it's funny you said that because we're starting a new practice in my

[13:12] home. >> Mhm.

[13:13] » And that is about 8 8:30. I'm trying to silence my

[13:19] phone. And when I mean silence, I put it on airplane mode and I put it on the

[13:23] side of my bed. And if somebody really needs me or if

[13:28] something really happened, they know my home phone number. I have a landline

[13:33] » and Mike, Mary, Jessica or Doug. I'm sure I

[13:38] would get a phone call and say, "Hey, so I need to learn to balance town verse

[13:46] your your life, your home life, your social life." A lot of things I have

[13:52] missed due to town stuff. Um, and my wife is

[13:58] completely understanding. You know, she sees how much I enjoy

[14:03] doing this >> and

[14:08] I think deep down inside she enjoys me doing this as well.

[14:14] » Well, what what did you used to do with your spare time?

[14:19] » I worked and I worked and I worked. Um, I am a medical assistant at a cardiology

[14:26] practice and I worked for a bez excuse me a busy electrophysiologist.

[14:32] » Uh, he's a surgeon and I would go in at 7. I would leave 7 8:00 at night Monday

[14:39] through Thursday, sometimes going in on Fridays. Um, I consumed myself with

[14:45] work. >> And did they understand when you said,

[14:49] "Hey, listen. I'm gonna run for sweat person in my town, so I'm not gonna be

[14:56] able to put in as many hours. >> Yes.

[14:58] » Did that affect the practice? >> Um,

[15:03] no. >> I think it affected other people's

[15:07] workload a little bit, >> but not drastically.

[15:10] » Okay. >> Um,

[15:13] I was very open with the doctor and he was very excited for me. He said, "You

[15:20] should do that. I think you would be good at it."

[15:22] » That's good. >> You know, he was a

[15:24] » I would say he was one of my cheerleaders.

[15:27] » You know, >> he'd always ask me, "Hey, so what are

[15:29] you doing tonight? You got a meeting tonight?" Um, and occasionally he would

[15:34] uh Oh, I noticed that we're going to have a few of your constituents in

[15:37] today. And he would make a point of it to uh

[15:43] come in while I'm with one of them. And >> because I would never mention it at

[15:47] work. >> I really tried to keep my

[15:50] » Yeah. >> work in town separate. So I never, you

[15:53] know, >> Right.

[15:53] » Uh but he would make a point to uh mention that sometimes.

[15:57] » Yeah. >> He's a really good guy.

[15:59] » It's kind of a >> Yeah.

[16:00] » Yeah. >> Yeah. He was

[16:01] » without you asking for it, you get that pat on the back that hey

[16:05] » Yeah. Another fan like he mentor fan. He motivated me.

[16:10] » Yeah. >> You know, he um he encouraged me. Do you

[16:13] get that from towns people? >> I do.

[16:15] » That's good. >> I do.

[16:17] » That's good. >> I do. I think I get more of that than I

[16:20] get of the naysayers, >> you know, because there's a lot of

[16:23] people. >> Is that what you expected?

[16:29] » Um, >> did you expect more of a hard time from

[16:33] the normal people that give everybody a hard time?

[16:36] » What I've learned is some people have agendas.

[16:39] » Oh, yeah. And if you don't go along with their

[16:43] agenda, goodbye.

[16:46] » Yeah. >> And that's how it kind of went.

[16:50] » Yeah. That's >> Yeah.

[16:52] » That's that's one way to do it, I guess. >> Yeah.

[16:55] » For a good part of your tenure as a sweatboard member,

[16:59] » it seems you have been in difficult staffing situations.

[17:04] » How does this affect the running of the town? And did you think anything could

[17:10] be done to minimize future resignations. I don't think you in your first four

[17:15] years. >> Yeah.

[17:17] » There hadn't been much time in that four years where there was three select

[17:22] people. >> No,

[17:23] » it was always two. >> Correct.

[17:26] » That that is >> there was a lot of change.

[17:27] » That is unusual. A >> lot of turnover.

[17:29] » Yeah. >> And it was hard.

[17:32] » Yeah. Um, I was new and when somebody tells you, okay, you

[17:39] know, it's either affecting their home life or they have a medical condition or

[17:42] something and they need to step away, you have that moment where you say,

[17:48] » oh yeah, something like that. Yeah, exactly. Um, and but you know what? Like

[17:56] I said earlier, you surround yourself with good people.

[18:00] » Yeah. And we have amazing people in this town. Employees, volunteers,

[18:07] amazing. >> They

[18:10] I don't think I've ever had somebody say, "No, I can't do that for you."

[18:15] » I have a lot of people say, "How can I help you?

[18:18] » Is there anything I can do for you?" >> So,

[18:23] yep, there was some resignations. Um, people decided to move on and such. You

[18:28] can't control that, >> you know. You got to just keep going

[18:31] forward and do the best you possibly can with what you have. And we have amazing

[18:36] staff. So, it was easy. >> Now, you you've been with I'm going to

[18:41] call it two different or actually three different town

[18:46] administrators, >> Mr. Hansen.

[18:49] » But the last two the last two >> had very very different styles.

[18:56] » Mhm. Um, I'm being kind and you know it.

[19:02] » How did you handle the two different styles and get the same job done?

[19:08] H when did it come to a point that you said to yourself, I I I just can't do it

[19:15] that way or you know I this doesn't seem right to me

[19:20] or you know because the one person was very difficult for the volunteers in

[19:26] town to work with >> and that had to affect you because I

[19:31] know a lot of people that they just decided you know what I'm not doing

[19:35] anything until that person is gone.

[19:42] That's a very good question. It's, you know, you hindsight's 2020,

[19:48] » right? >> Oh, yeah.

[19:50] » Um, and everybody has different personalities and different ways of

[19:56] doing things. And

[20:01] you can't knock them for that because that's their style, their personality.

[20:06] you're not changing somebody's personality or the way they do things.

[20:11] Um, so you try to work with them. You try to

[20:15] do the best you can. And sometimes people decide to part ways and that's

[20:23] okay, you know. Um, it's taxing though. It's taxing on the

[20:31] employees. Um,

[20:34] » left. >> Yeah.

[20:36] » Yep. >> Or were totally

[20:39] » long-term employees. >> Yeah.

[20:42] » Okay. All right. Let's let's not get into that type of a negativity then.

[20:47] » No, it is what it is. >> Yeah.

[20:52] Um, some people who have been on the select board in the past came to the

[20:56] select board with plans to introduce changes to improve the town. Did you

[21:02] have improvements and changes as part of your plans when you were elected?

[21:06] » No. >> Okay.

[21:08] » Zero. >> You didn't see anything that you said,

[21:11] "Boy, I wish I could make that a little bit different or I wish I could, you

[21:16] know, in the future, can we do this a little bit different?" Did you change

[21:20] anything the way it's done? >> I I know there one thing that you did

[21:25] do. You got the 15minute clock now. >> Yes. which I don't think we even know

[21:31] the results of that yet because it just started

[21:36] » and the people that caused it I think are fading away.

[21:42] » So, you know, you know what I'm saying? It's

[21:46] » I mean there was a reason we did it. >> Yep.

[21:49] » Do you see that going on forever? >> For as long as I'm on the board, I would

[21:56] hope so. >> Okay. Okay. Okay.

[21:58] » But things change, >> you know, people come and go, things

[22:01] change, >> right?

[22:02] » Um, in the beginning, I didn't really know what to think. So, I did take

[22:07] » Mike McCllum's advice. I sat back and watched,

[22:10] » right? >> You know, and it it takes a good two

[22:14] years to really figure out the ins and outs

[22:19] and how certain departments work. And of course, you could just jump in and say,

[22:23] "Ah, you should do it that way." Well, doesn't work that way. You know, you put

[22:28] a department head in place >> because they know that job. They're the

[22:32] expert, right? They're the professional in that job.

[22:36] » So, you have to respect that. And you don't go in,

[22:39] » okay, here we go. We're doing it this way now. This way now. No, we it's it's

[22:43] about conversations, >> you know, how are we going to do it,

[22:47] » right? let's figure this out together. >> Yeah.

[22:49] » You know, >> because if we're not doing it together,

[22:52] one of us is doing it alone and it's not going to work.

[22:56] » So now, by not having, I guess, what politicians called a

[23:02] platform with, you know, we're going to do this and this and this and this,

[23:07] we're going to strengthen this and get rid of this and blah blah blah.

[23:12] Does that way of thinking help in a town situation,

[23:19] small town situation.

[23:23] » There could be a ripple effect with that.

[23:26] » Okay. >> Um,

[23:29] like I said, you have to allow the people

[23:34] to do their jobs. >> Yeah.

[23:36] » You know, you can't go in there with a hammer

[23:39] and >> if you need a screwdriver.

[23:41] » Yeah. You don't you need to learn it. And that's one thing I did. I learned

[23:46] the departments. I met with the department heads. Um

[23:53] I got to know them, >> you know, personally

[23:58] » and professionally and they taught me. So,

[24:03] » and you were willing to learn. >> Absolutely.

[24:05] » See that that >> I love to learn. If you saw a a a

[24:09] destructive entity enter into a facet of the town

[24:16] that you as the select board oversee. >> Mhm.

[24:22] » You don't you don't do it. You oversee it.

[24:25] » Correct. >> How would you handle that?

[24:28] » Um conversations. >> Yeah.

[24:33] » You have to have conversations. >> Yeah. You know, I'm a firm believer in

[24:39] having good conversation. You know what? We're not always going to agree. We're

[24:45] not always going to agree with the way somebody does their job or the way they

[24:50] get to A to B. I might do it differently, but you have put that

[24:55] person in that place in that job to do the job,

[24:59] » right? And you have to have conversations and it's

[25:05] feedback. You know, I've had plenty of people come to me, Dave, I wish you

[25:10] didn't say that that way. I wish you wouldn't have done that. Okay. Why not?

[25:17] Why? Tell me why. Not just you shouldn't have done it. Tell me why don't you

[25:23] think I should have done it that way? And then you have a conversation and you

[25:27] figure it out. Sometimes you're like, "Yeah, you're right. You know what? I

[25:31] got to change." >> Or it's opposing points of view and

[25:34] sorry, but that's how I feel. >> You just agree to disagree.

[25:37] » Yeah. >> You know,

[25:38] » yeah. >> Somebody once said to me, "If you don't

[25:44] agree with somebody or the way they the thought process or whatever,

[25:50] he goes he can say this." He goes, "I appreciate your opinion, but I don't

[25:55] share it." >> Yeah.

[25:57] Yeah, that's a >> Yeah, that

[26:00] » because we all have opinions and you you have a certain way you want to do

[26:03] things. >> Oh, yeah.

[26:04] » You know, look at this great this great space right now.

[26:06] » Oh, yeah. Yeah. >> We said, Jim, well, you came to us and

[26:10] you said, "We want to do a studio." >> I said, "That's fabulous."

[26:14] » Yeah. >> And we weren't coming down here with the

[26:17] clipboard. He said, "Go for it. You're surrounded

[26:23] by great people." >> And we got the budget. And you got the

[26:26] budget. >> That was the Well, we don't have a

[26:29] budget. >> We had the account

[26:32] » which was sitting there for >> Comcast. Yeah. Comcast account just to

[26:36] be clear. It's not the operating budget or anything,

[26:39] » right? >> But we didn't come down here and tell

[26:41] you how to do it. >> We didn't tell you. True. You know,

[26:45] » you had a vision >> and I believed in your vision and Joe

[26:50] and Emma, >> you know, you guys had a vision.

[26:53] » No way would I ever step. I know nothing about the audiovisisual world.

[26:57] » Neither do I. >> It's not my specialty.

[26:58] » Neither do I. How is it built? >> Right.

[27:01] » They tell me what it has to be. And I Yeah. I guess a lot of people in

[27:06] town are like the same. >> They they use their strengths to work

[27:11] with other people to make something, do something, achieve something. So yeah,

[27:20] it was pretty cool, >> you know. And you

[27:22] » Yeah. >> You surround yourself with good people.

[27:24] » Yeah. you know, people you trust and rely on.

[27:27] » Hey, you've been four years now. >> It'll be going on four years. Yes.

[27:32] » It'll be four years in a month. >> You're going to love this question.

[27:35] » Oh, I love it. >> How did co

[27:38] and Zoom affect the town?

[27:44] » You must have a special story about Zoom >> because we're still doing it.

[27:49] » Yeah. >> CO was awful. Let's face it. It was it

[27:53] was a terrible time. >> Um,

[27:56] but everybody

[28:00] supported everybody wherever you were, >> you know. Um, and it really showed the

[28:08] compassion that

[28:11] was insides some people, you know, because people were getting sick, people

[28:15] were dying. >> Oh, yeah. you know, and town government

[28:20] still runs. >> So, how do you do it?

[28:26] » Zoom. I wish I bought stock in Zoom when CO

[28:32] first hit. >> Oh, yeah.

[28:34] » Um, Zoom is a great thing.

[28:40] I believe that it has gotten many people more involved

[28:46] in town government, just in the town in general with volunteerism.

[28:53] Um, people are able to do it from their home where sometimes they may not have a

[28:58] car. Um, they may want to get to a meeting. It could be snowing out. Let me

[29:03] hop on the computer. >> Oh, yeah.

[29:06] » And you can interact. >> It's a great thing. Um,

[29:11] I love that we're back in town hall because when I first joined the board,

[29:17] never had a meeting in town hall and I couldn't wait

[29:20] » Oh. >> to get back into town hall.

[29:23] » Yeah. >> So, that was the timing.

[29:26] » Yeah. >> Cuz to me, Zoom was, you know, it was

[29:30] almost like we have Zoom now we could have COVID.

[29:37] What would we have done if we didn't have Zoom?

[29:41] » It would have been >> Well, it would have been six foot

[29:44] sitting six foot apart meetings >> outside.

[29:47] » Remember the town meeting we had at Allenfield?

[29:51] » That was uh >> strange.

[29:53] » I won't forget the day Mike Bustle Mike McCllum was uh wrapped up in a jacket.

[29:58] We had a heater blown and the sound was too much for the communication part.

[30:04] » So they said, "We got to shut the heater off." I'm like, "What?

[30:08] What do you mean shut the heater off? This is going to be a long meeting.

[30:11] Everybody's in their cars. The heat's cranking. Here we are. Me, Mike, the

[30:15] moderator. There was a ton of people there. It was

[30:19] » I was It was amazing to be a part of that."

[30:22] » Yeah. >> Because that's never happened.

[30:25] » Yeah, it's true. >> You know,

[30:27] » it's true. >> Outside in front of Ashby Elementary

[30:30] School another time. >> Yeah.

[30:32] » Granted, it was much warmer at that time.

[30:34] » Yeah. Still the just putting that thing together.

[30:39] » It was >> amazing people.

[30:40] » Yeah, it was it was >> amazing from the clerk

[30:43] » to everybody helped out. Everybody >> everybody got together and helped

[30:50] wherever they could. >> It's

[30:53] this community is amazing especially when

[30:59] the crap hits the fan. It could be anything from somebody's

[31:04] house catching fire >> to somebody losing a family member to

[31:10] somebody having a new grandbaby. Everybody wraps around and supports each

[31:16] other in the time of needs, in time of happiness. Doesn't matter. They may not

[31:23] agree with you all the time, but I found a lot of people that don't necessarily

[31:28] agree with my thought process or my opinions. They'll be the first to call

[31:33] me and say, "Hey, how you doing? I noticed you were off on the meeting a

[31:37] little bit. Anything going on?" And it

[31:42] I was blown away. Many times it's happened. I'm like, "Thank you for

[31:46] calling." People just call and say, you know, I appreciate you. I appreciate

[31:50] what you're doing. >> Really? Yeah. Many, many times. That's

[31:54] what keeps me going, Jim. It's that >> I've talked to a lot of other

[32:01] » select board members. Nobody's ever said that to me that they get called to say

[32:07] that they're appreciated or all of them say they get called calls.

[32:13] » Oh, we get those too. Let's not, you know,

[32:15] » but >> but the good definitely outweighs the

[32:18] bad >> every once in a while.

[32:20] » There's one. There's one or two. Yeah. >> And you know, our job is to listen.

[32:24] » Yeah. >> We're not going to face it. Sometimes we

[32:26] can, but we listen. We try to help them as much as we can. Some of it's out of

[32:33] our control, but you show support. All people, some people just want to be

[32:39] heard, you know, and their opinion matters as well as my opinion, your

[32:44] opinion. Everybody's, it matters because that's how they feel.

[32:49] » Do you think people feel like you you are the person that

[32:55] changes things. >> They do

[32:59] » when they when they approach you. Like last night, I was listening to somebody

[33:03] that was talking during 15 minutes. >> Mhm.

[33:06] » And I got the impression that they wanted to say it and you were going to

[33:13] change it >> immediately.

[33:14] » Just like that. You were going to write something out and it was done. It was

[33:18] changed. Mhm. >> You don't have that power, do you?

[33:21] » No, we do not. >> And you don't want that power.

[33:24] » No, I do not. >> No, I do not.

[33:27] » Okay. >> But I'll help them.

[33:29] » Oh, no. >> You know, that's obvious.

[33:32] » Get it there. >> But that's you.

[33:34] » Yeah. >> That's you. You You're sticking yourself

[33:37] out there. That's unusual >> for for a select board member to put

[33:42] themselves out there like that. But you seem to have that personality

[33:47] and people look at you and say, "Oh, brown eyes.

[33:53] I could talk to this guy." >> Uh, you sound.

[33:56] » No, but you but you you have that temperament that you make it easy to

[34:02] talk to you. >> Thank you. Appreciate that.

[34:05] » Well, I'm not I'm not trying to make the move on you. I'm just saying that

[34:09] » I think from what I've understood, that's the way people feel about you.

[34:14] you you have that temperament that you know they got to say it to somebody.

[34:20] » Yeah. >> You know, so thank you very much for

[34:23] coming in. >> Thank you.

[34:24] » And uh you know we we I think we learned a lot about the select board, you know.

[34:32] » I mean so thank you. I appreciate it.

In the Knowing Your Town series, we interviewed Dave Nadeau of the Ashby Board of Select Persons

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