[0:17] Heat. Heat.

[0:24] » [music]

[0:31] » How many have 20?

[0:32] >> Good evening and welcome to the select

[0:34] board meeting of September 2nd, 2026.

[0:38] I'll call this meeting to order at 6 pm.

[0:41] This meeting is being broadcast live on

[0:44] BNC TV, channel 1075 on Comcast dial and

[0:49] livereamed on YouTube. This meeting will

[0:51] be available for later viewing on

[0:53] YouTube or by following the link at the

[0:55] town of Berneston.org.

[0:58] We'll uh go with the warrants. I'll

[1:00] entertain a motion for the payroll

[1:02] warrant in the amount of $67,55249.

[1:07] » So moved. Second.

[1:08] >> All those Any discussion? All in favor?

[1:11] >> I.

[1:13] will entertain a motion for the AP

[1:15] warrant in the amount of $85,62.34.

[1:21] » So moved.

[1:22] >> Second.

[1:23] >> Any discussion?

[1:24] >> All in favor? I

[1:25] >> I.

[1:27] >> I'll entertain a motion for the regular

[1:30] meeting minutes of August 5th, 2026.

[1:34] >> So moved. Second.

[1:36] >> Any additions, corrections? We've all

[1:38] looked them over. All in favor?

[1:40] >> I. I'll entertain a motion for the

[1:43] executive session minutes of August 5th,

[1:47] 2026.

[1:49] >> So moved.

[1:50] >> Second.

[1:51] >> All in favor?

[1:52] >> I.

[1:54] >> I'll entertain a motion for the special

[1:56] meeting minutes of August 31st, 2026.

[2:00] >> So moved and second.

[2:02] >> I will abstain from this because it

[2:03] wasn't here. I'm assuming you guys are

[2:06] good with it. All in favor? I.

[2:09] >> There we go.

[2:12] Uh calendar and announcements. Uh

[2:14] planning board uh Thursday, September

[2:16] 3rd, 2026 at 4 pm at the town hall. Uh

[2:20] sorry, the planning board will meet

[2:22] Thursday, September 3rd, 2026.

[2:26] Uh the historical society museum uh will

[2:31] on Sunday, September 6, 2026 from 1 to 4

[2:35] upstairs at the Powers Institute/ Senior

[2:38] Center will be open.

[2:40] The Council on Aging uh will meet

[2:43] Tuesday, September 8th, 2026 at 9:30

[2:47] a.m. at the Senior Center.

[2:51] The planning board will meet again on

[2:54] Thursday, September 17th, 2026 at 400 PM

[2:58] at the town hall.

[3:00] The special town election will be

[3:02] Tuesday, October 6, 2026 from noon to 8

[3:07] at the town hall. two separate ballot

[3:10] questions regarding one, building of a

[3:12] new Franklin County Tech School and two,

[3:15] the proposed formation of a six or five

[3:19] town school district to be known as the

[3:21] Great River School District.

[3:24] Anybody follow that?

[3:26] >> I know it's a tough one.

[3:27] >> I know, right? Uh citizens concerns.

[3:29] Anyone with citizens concern

[3:33] hearing? None.

[3:35] Okay. uh appointment. Brad Stafford from

[3:38] the Franklin County Tech School

[3:41] Committee representative

[3:43] um

[3:44] >> uh is here tonight. Special election is

[3:46] being held October 6th as just stated.

[3:49] Um he wanted to speak to the board and

[3:51] the public regarding some details of the

[3:53] proposed construction of the new school

[3:56] build school building for the Franklin

[3:58] County Tech School. Brad, come on up.

[4:01] Floor is yours.

[4:04] >> Right here then.

[4:04] >> Right there. Sure. Hello everybody.

[4:06] Thank you for having me.

[4:08] >> Um, all the details and stuff. I don't

[4:12] want to weigh down the whole meeting.

[4:15] Um, what it boils down to is there's due

[4:18] diligence on why the board or with the

[4:22] school and everybody involved is leaning

[4:24] towards a new school versus repairing.

[4:27] Um

[4:30] the short version is about seven or

[4:32] eight years ago we ran into a bunch of

[4:34] major repairs. It was looked at to go

[4:37] get um funding to help pay for them. The

[4:40] MSBA stepped in and says, you know, you

[4:42] got a 50-y old building. Maybe we ought

[4:44] to relook at the entire thing as a new

[4:47] school project. So, we went in that

[4:49] direction and came out at the end that's

[4:53] the way they would like us to go and we

[4:55] kept moving forward on that. Um, yes,

[4:58] repairs are possible, but the price tag

[5:01] on that

[5:03] actually the the first round would equal

[5:06] about the same to the taxpayers as

[5:09] building a new school.

[5:13] The difference being is that money would

[5:15] have to be paid back in a 10 to 15 year

[5:18] bond versus a longer bond for a new

[5:20] school because you just can't throw it

[5:21] out that long. Now, all the numbers and

[5:23] stuff I can crunch and throw at you. If

[5:25] you got any specifics, questions, I can

[5:28] um

[5:31] I don't know what more to add to that.

[5:33] I'll just take some questions.

[5:34] >> I'll just throw one thing out there. But

[5:35] if you did do a peace meal, if the

[5:37] building project got shot down,

[5:39] >> it would affect the students within the

[5:41] building because they couldn't be in

[5:43] that area while they were working on it.

[5:44] Correct.

[5:45] >> Absolutely. The school would be

[5:46] disrupted for at least

[5:49] 5 years, probably even more because you

[5:51] got to do it piece by piece. And that's

[5:53] hopefully everything goes as planned

[5:55] this year. You do this section, what do

[5:57] you open up? What do you find? Lead

[5:59] paint? Who knows? You open up a floor

[6:02] that you think that the plumbing's okay

[6:04] and it's not. So now you got to rip up

[6:06] all of it comes to the roof. You take

[6:08] the roof off then it gets in. There

[6:09] could be some structural issues that was

[6:11] hidden and you just don't know. It's a

[6:13] can it's a can of worms where new school

[6:17] would not disrupt the students. In fact,

[6:20] it'd be helpful to them because they're

[6:21] going to be involved. They're going to

[6:22] be on the site. It's been coordinated

[6:25] and acted and just like the last two um

[6:29] programs added the vet uh science

[6:32] section and the new uh aviation the kids

[6:35] were involved boost on the ground

[6:39] working as much as they could. You know

[6:40] there's all kinds of labor laws and

[6:42] stuff but they saw it happening so it'

[6:44] be more educational and less disrupted

[6:47] and that would also include the

[6:48] disruption of the evening schools for

[6:50] the adult education too.

[6:52] >> Right. Three questions. How long is it

[6:55] going to take to build the new school if

[6:58] it's approved?

[7:00] >> Uh, three plus years should go in 2030.

[7:03] >> Okay, that um the

[7:07] hold off on this.

[7:09] >> Oh, no.

[7:10] >> Yeah,

[7:10] >> I'm here.

[7:12] >> We know where to go. The the total cost

[7:15] then.

[7:16] >> Total cost is

[7:19] >> total cost.

[7:20] So the the warrant is for

[7:22] 226 million.

[7:23] >> And of that, how much is Berneston's

[7:25] slice?

[7:26] >> Bernison's slice was

[7:30] right here.

[7:31] >> You said you had all the answers.

[7:32] >> I do. I just didn't say there weren't a

[7:34] problem.

[7:34] >> Just a touch over 4 million.

[7:36] >> Yes.

[7:37] >> 4 million spread out over 20 years. 30

[7:41] >> 30.

[7:42] >> And it boils down to the quick math. I

[7:44] did less than 75 cents a day for the

[7:47] average household. About 225 bucks a

[7:49] year.

[7:53] $227.83

[7:56] » average. Those numbers are going to

[7:58] move. I can't hold to that one.

[8:00] >> Right.

[8:01] >> You can't hold me to that one.

[8:03] >> And how much of that? Well, now my

[8:05] fourth question. How much of that is

[8:06] from the mass saving SBA whatever it is.

[8:09] >> So out of the 226 estimated, give or

[8:12] take a little bit. It's right around 66%

[8:15] right now.

[8:16] >> Okay.

[8:18] So, does that reduce Bernardson slice or

[8:21] is that

[8:21] >> No, that's all calculated in

[8:23] >> in Okay. Okay.

[8:24] >> That's what that

[8:27] >> and we're going to vote [clears throat]

[8:29] October 6th. Correct. Hopefully in favor

[8:33] of

[8:36] any more. Yes.

[8:38] >> What's the life expectancy of the

[8:40] building?

[8:41] >> They're shooting for another 50.

[8:44] Um they don't build things like they

[8:45] used to. the the brick and mortar steel

[8:49] probably will be, but the stuff inside,

[8:52] >> right?

[8:53] >> It is what it is.

[8:57] » And as far as the election goes, since

[8:59] Chris Whisk is here, the town clerk,

[9:02] it's no mail in ballots are allowed for

[9:05] the tech school vote. Correct.

[9:07] >> I believe that's right.

[9:09] >> But that will be for the sixth town,

[9:12] >> right? 510

[9:13] >> for those who have already requested

[9:16] vote by mail ballots for all elections

[9:18] this year.

[9:19] >> So that's a key difference for anybody

[9:20] that's listening out there to vote on

[9:22] the tech school. If you applied for vote

[9:25] by mail, you will not get a ballot in

[9:28] the mail for the tech school project.

[9:30] That's one you have to come to the

[9:33] building to the town hall to vote on.

[9:36] >> Just so everybody understands that to

[9:37] your point

[9:40] >> that's a little different.

[9:41] >> Yes. My question is um is there a

[9:45] projected enrollment over the next say

[9:48] 10 years?

[9:50] Yes, it's going to increase

[9:54] about it's available the slots are

[9:57] increase about 15 20% if I remember

[9:59] right

[10:02] which is six probably what the school

[10:05] again I can go look it look up said 680

[10:07] or something the school is going to be

[10:09] built for it's a little bigger than we

[10:11] the current school square footage does

[10:13] not cover the new specs for the students

[10:16] that we do that

[10:20] and the new needs that have changed over

[10:22] the last 50 years of education

[10:26] and a lot of these little nuance

[10:28] questions for all those that are

[10:29] listening. You can go to the tech school

[10:30] website. They got all the updated

[10:32] numbers and questions and stuff there.

[10:40] [cough]

[10:41] And just to uh share uh with everyone

[10:44] listening uh for sitting here uh

[10:48] attending um the under the regional

[10:51] district agreement approval of this

[10:53] project only requires a simple majority.

[10:57] So just know that

[11:01] » that was one of the questions a lot of

[11:02] us had if it was each town had to pass

[11:04] but it's not. No, it's the

[11:06] >> it's the cumulative numbers of voters

[11:08] >> of all the voters.

[11:09] >> Simple majority.

[11:10] >> You you just lost me.

[11:13] >> All 31 towns. How many towns? 19.

[11:16] >> 19.

[11:16] counts.

[11:17] >> 19. It's the individual voters. It's not

[11:19] how many towns voted in. It's the

[11:21] individual votes.

[11:23] >> Okay. So, we don't need 19 yeses from 19

[11:27] different towns. We need a total of 51%

[11:31] or 50 what the percent of add all 19

[11:34] towns voters.

[11:35] >> Correct.

[11:36] >> Got it.

[11:37] >> Of those voting.

[11:39] >> Correct.

[11:40] >> Which Jane is Jane would know that was

[11:42] probably the way it was originally

[11:43] established, right? Do you remember

[11:44] that? You were on that committee, right?

[11:46] >> I was on that committee when the schools

[11:47] open,

[11:48] >> which so that's the way their bylaws

[11:50] are.

[11:51] >> 50 years ago.

[11:53] >> Yes, ma'am, sir.

[11:54] >> Wow. Wow.

[11:57] Um, I'd like to share something that

[12:00] I've looked up.

[12:03] Um, because we have an estimate of what

[12:05] our annual cost will be

[12:08] and I was very curious how that fit in

[12:11] with our past history.

[12:14] So, I went back through all of our

[12:16] budgets

[12:18] and I got to the additions that we did

[12:22] to PS and the additions that we did to

[12:25] PDS.

[12:28] our payment,

[12:31] the PBRS,

[12:33] was comparable to what this payment is.

[12:38] And I didn't want to say this publicly

[12:42] until I had done the change of the dollars for

[12:49] >> the economy since 2011

[12:53] I think was the year that I looked at

[12:55] payment.

[12:58] >> But you know everything we have we're

[13:01] paying a lot more for now than we were

[13:04] um 15 years ago. So,

[13:07] um,

[13:09] these payments seem high, but they're

[13:12] not anything that we can't handle. We've

[13:14] done it before.

[13:17] So, I I just want to mention that

[13:20] because I know that's a concern.

[13:25] I also just wanted to reiterate that uh

[13:27] October 6th uh that all 19 towns will

[13:32] have the same vote, same day, same time.

[13:36] So it's not

[13:39] Yeah. Nobody can read the tea leaves.

[13:41] >> That's right. You can't read the tea

[13:43] leaves.

[13:44] >> Yeah. It's not a town vote. It's a

[13:45] district.

[13:46] >> District.

[13:46] vote. Correct. That's a big

[13:48] difference.

[13:48] >> Yeah.

[13:51] >> Cool. Thank you very much.

[13:53] >> Yeah. Very welcome.

[13:54] >> Appreciate it, bro.

[13:55] >> Appreciate your work.

[13:56] >> Yeah. Thanks.

[13:57] >> Sure.

[14:01] » Okay. Mr. Brad Border, the tree warden

[14:04] in the Kushman Hall committee uh have

[14:07] asked to be present to discuss the tree

[14:09] situation in Kushman Park. The committee

[14:11] also has a quote for removal of the

[14:13] invasives along the brook which has been

[14:16] approved by the conservation commission.

[14:18] So Brad and uh oh did not get that.

[14:24] Well, thank you.

[14:25] >> Thank you. Thank you.

[14:26] >> Thanks very much.

[14:28] >> Come on up those that are involved. Yes.

[14:30] We can catch you on the microphones.

[14:38] » What's that?

[14:38] >> Oh, yeah.

[14:41] >> Not as problem with everybody else.

[14:44] >> Maybe I should hand it back. So,

[14:46] >> but

[14:48] [snorts]

[14:51] you guys don't have problem if Brian

[14:53] needs to wait.

[14:53] >> Absolutely.

[14:54] >> Okay.

[14:55] >> Good.

[14:59] All right. And you just handed me a

[15:01] quote for is this for the invasives? Is

[15:04] that what that? Okay. Gotcha. Join us.

[15:07] >> They quoted us for the seating. Um but

[15:11] Brian Ler said the highway department

[15:13] could do the seating.

[15:14] >> Okay.

[15:17] » Gotcha.

[15:20] >> And this is one you're going to use the

[15:21] Kushman Hall funds to pay for this as

[15:24] well.

[15:24] >> Yep.

[15:27] Did you put in the the permission from

[15:31] >> I guess my

[15:32] >> already had that

[15:33] >> that had to this what I I I don't know

[15:37] enough about this stuff to say what's to

[15:40] ask the question what's invasive I don't

[15:42] what is that

[15:42] >> there's um

[15:43] >> I mean I know there's invasive plants

[15:45] and all kinds of things but what's there

[15:47] that's invasive is

[15:49] >> okay

[15:49] >> specific question

[15:50] >> um it just flew out of my mind that's

[15:53] plant that looks like yes

[15:55] not

[15:58] » [laughter]

[15:58] >> Everybody knows everybody

[16:01] >> notweed is there and there's a lot of um

[16:04] briars and and other things. There's

[16:06] >> some bittersweet over there as well.

[16:08] >> A lot of bittersweet

[16:09] >> and it gets bigger every year.

[16:11] >> Gotcha.

[16:13] >> So this is for a licensed applicator to

[16:14] come in. Snow and suns gave you this

[16:16] quote.

[16:17] >> It's all been approved by the

[16:18] conservation commission which was a big

[16:20] >> hurdle. Yeah.

[16:24] So, do we have to have a separate vote

[16:26] on this one?

[16:27] >> No,

[16:28] >> just just for information.

[16:30] >> If it makes the board feel better, you

[16:32] can move it and vote on it. But the

[16:35] committee has received that quote and

[16:37] it's for work approved by the

[16:38] conservation commission. So,

[16:40] >> they've done the footwork.

[16:41] >> Yeah.

[16:42] >> Who gets to sign this document?

[16:47] » Probably move.

[16:50] » Yes.

[16:51] >> As a purchasing agent.

[16:53] >> Yes. I would move that we authorize Lou

[16:58] to

[17:00] sign

[17:02] the quote from Snow and Suns Tree and

[17:04] Landscaping in the amount of $2,11

[17:08] for removal of invasives at Kushman

[17:11] Park.

[17:12] >> I'll second that.

[17:14] >> Any other questions? Does this uh that

[17:16] this number 2001R1

[17:20] um does that include taking away the

[17:22] seating? Okay. All right. Good. That's

[17:24] all

[17:24] >> disposal.

[17:25] >> Yeah.

[17:26] >> So,

[17:27] thank you. [laughter]

[17:31] » Disposal. Sorry.

[17:33] >> Uh, okay. All in favor? I

[17:35] >> I Perfect.

[17:39] » Okay.

[17:46] » All right. Let's talk about trees.

[17:51] Brad's favorite subject. trees.

[17:54] >> Yes.

[17:55] >> So, this first document here, the

[17:56] Kushman Park tree and vegetation scope

[17:58] of work, who wrote this one?

[18:00] >> Me.

[18:02] >> Have you seen it?

[18:03] >> We have. We've been waiting for that

[18:06] since May.

[18:08] >> That's

[18:20] So, give us the Reader Digest version.

[18:22] Brad, what are you proposing here?

[18:24] >> Uh the the proposal here is to prune the

[18:29] trees in the park.

[18:30] >> The deadwood mainly is what we're

[18:32] looking

[18:32] >> mainly the deadwood just to kind of make

[18:33] it safer for all the events and folks

[18:36] going through the park.

[18:39] >> I'd like to say that there's some pretty

[18:42] big branches that have come down and

[18:44] there's at least one very large branch

[18:47] dangling from one of the trees. So, I

[18:50] really hope this can get done.

[18:52] >> We've had kids walking through the park

[18:54] for the summer wreck program going to

[18:57] the library

[18:58] >> and people walk through there all the

[19:00] time. There's people playing shuffle

[19:02] board

[19:04] and we waited really since May to get uh

[19:08] some estimates on this work and we never

[19:11] got it. So as you know we went ahead and

[19:14] hired somebody ourself which Lou told us

[19:17] that we could do and um his work was

[19:21] stopped and midstream and

[19:24] one of the workmen came down and he said

[19:27] it's very dangerous what is hanging out

[19:29] of that tree. So it's just a matter of

[19:32] time.

[19:33] >> Yeah, I agree.

[19:35] So, what

[19:37] >> you're proposing that you go out and

[19:39] quote somebody, not go by the quotes

[19:41] that we already have in hand?

[19:43] >> I haven't seen the quotes we have in

[19:44] hand, but yes, my plan was to hand that

[19:46] to multiple vendors, including

[19:49] potentially the ones that have been

[19:52] quoted before, but that way we get the

[19:54] same quote from everybody. So, you're

[19:56] kind of comparing apples to apples

[19:58] versus

[19:58] >> And I'd just like to put one thing out

[20:00] there and I put Lou on the spot. I know

[20:02] Lou did reach out for legal counsel.

[20:04] because it's such a odd situation here.

[20:07] Would you be okay regurgitating what

[20:10] Donna said to you in regards to

[20:12] >> Yeah. The uh the letter of the law in

[20:14] the Commonwealth refers specifically to

[20:17] park commissioners.

[20:19] We do not have specific park

[20:22] commissioners. certainly appreciate all

[20:24] the work that the Kushman Hall Committee

[20:25] does for Kushman Park, but in the

[20:28] absence of quote unquote park

[20:30] commissioners, the select board oversees

[20:34] any tree operation that goes on in a

[20:37] public park, which would include Kushman

[20:40] Park.

[20:41] >> But according to the will, that's not

[20:43] how the wills read.

[20:45] >> Well, I don't think they had commissions

[20:47] back in 18 whatever.

[20:49] >> [laughter]

[20:50] >> I'm sure that's Adam,

[20:52] >> but I think it does give us an option

[20:55] if Brad's that busy that he couldn't get

[20:57] back to you in that time frame. This

[20:59] board could tell you give you the go

[21:01] ahead to go ahead and do what you did.

[21:02] >> I would love to do that because

[21:05] >> the the guy the tree man disagree with

[21:08] that and that's fine, but we're we've

[21:10] got a lot of projects that are starting

[21:12] to back up a little bit. I did respond

[21:14] on June or January, I'm sorry, 7:15,

[21:19] >> which I thought was pretty reasonable.

[21:20] It was within a week of our meeting.

[21:24] » It's been a while since then

[21:26] >> with estimates. You had estimates.

[21:27] >> The scope of work. The idea was that

[21:29] everybody would approve the scope of

[21:31] work and then I would go out for

[21:32] estimates.

[21:33] >> So, who's seen the estimates that you

[21:35] got?

[21:36] >> I That hasn't been approved yet. So, I

[21:38] haven't got any estimates. I've been

[21:39] waiting for that to be approved. It

[21:41] seems like we're going in a circle here,

[21:42] at least from this guy's opinion.

[21:44] >> Exactly.

[21:45] >> I I would like to propose tonight,

[21:47] knowing that that's the law, I'd make a

[21:49] motion for this board to approve the

[21:52] quote that they had started with to

[21:54] finish the pruning that they're doing.

[21:56] Table this to a time when we can have a

[21:58] longer discussion. We have a pretty big

[22:01] event coming up this fall in the park,

[22:03] scarecrow in the park. There are some

[22:05] rather large limbs over there to get

[22:07] those taken care of sooner than later.

[22:10] and deal with this later. But I just

[22:12] hate to keep pushing this down the road,

[22:14] Brad. It seems like that's what we're

[22:15] doing.

[22:16] >> Is there any reason not to use that to

[22:18] get quotes right now?

[22:18] >> We have quotes that we've acted on our

[22:20] We have quote

[22:22] >> and it's well below the limit to have to

[22:24] go out and get quotes.

[22:26] >> Yes.

[22:26] >> Well below it. And it's Kushman Hall

[22:28] trusts money. It's not town's money.

[22:31] >> Why do we have a tree?

[22:33] >> And again, did you hear what Lou said

[22:35] that our um legal department stated?

[22:38] Lou, would you follow up on if the

[22:41] select board isn't

[22:44] available? Who is the next in line to

[22:48] authorize this work?

[22:50] >> I would have to check with council on

[22:52] that.

[22:53] >> Council said to me in a phone call that

[22:56] it would be the tree warden next in

[22:59] line.

[22:59] >> Okay. Well,

[23:00] >> and after the tree warden would be the

[23:04] >> W highway department.

[23:05] >> Bring up a couple things here. I'm

[23:06] concerned about you being having a

[23:08] conflict of interest here.

[23:09] >> Absolutely. You can pull that chain all

[23:11] you want.

[23:11] >> So just I've said it in public. It's on

[23:14] TV.

[23:16] >> If I was you, I'd stop talking.

[23:18] >> You're not me.

[23:19] >> That's just me.

[23:20] >> The conflict of interest is I can't

[23:22] vote.

[23:23] >> That's fair.

[23:24] >> This is the United States. I can still

[23:25] voice an opinion. I'm going to make a

[23:26] motion that we continue down the path we

[23:29] have

[23:31] with the Kushman Hall Committee with the

[23:32] quote that they have in hand as a select

[23:35] board to get the dangerous trees which

[23:36] is a public safety

[23:39] issue taken care of sooner than later.

[23:42] Brian Kier's opinion. We've been talking

[23:44] about this way too long

[23:47] and we're at this standstill at this

[23:49] point and we'll see if we get a second

[23:51] and a vote.

[23:53] >> I'll second it.

[24:01] Any other anybody got anything else to

[24:05] say? Now's the time.

[24:07] >> And I'm not saying throw this document

[24:08] away. I'm saying you've effectively done

[24:10] that. Well, that's the way it is. We've

[24:12] been talking about it since May. My

[24:14] opinion, it's a little too long to ask a

[24:17] question. Sure.

[24:18] >> Why did no one respond to my email

[24:21] regarding that so that I could go to get

[24:23] quotes? I may respond to that email.

[24:31] » I have it on paper here somewhere, but

[24:33] you did respond

[24:34] >> as in I've been waiting for anyone to

[24:37] respond approving that so that I could

[24:39] get quotes and keep the process moving.

[24:42] >> I didn't get a response from anyone.

[24:44] >> Well, we'll have to look at that then, I

[24:46] guess. But I think at this point you

[24:48] >> kind we're into September. Let's get

[24:50] this taken care of and work on this

[24:52] after.

[24:53] I mean, we have to keep things going in

[24:55] the park. We don't want to put yellow

[24:57] ribbon around the park and tell sorry,

[24:58] you can't do these carrot this year.

[25:01] >> I didn't propose that at all. I'm just

[25:03] curious why

[25:05] >> if we want to go out and get 15

[25:06] different quotes for a $3,000 job.

[25:09] >> Seems a little ridiculous to me

[25:11] >> when we already have quotes in hand.

[25:13] >> That's just my opinion. Again, I haven't

[25:15] seen the quote as the tree warden. So, I

[25:18] have no reference as to what you're

[25:20] referring to.

[25:20] >> And again, it doesn't have to go to the

[25:22] tree warden.

[25:26] » And besides those two trees, there were

[25:28] a couple other trees that limbs have

[25:30] come down also on the other side of the

[25:32] brook.

[25:33] >> So, by the vets memorial.

[25:35] >> Pardon?

[25:35] >> By the vets memorial. Yes.

[25:37] >> Yes.

[25:38] >> So, technically we have estimates for

[25:40] all four trees there now to have them

[25:43] trimmed.

[25:45] So, we've added those other two that

[25:48] >> Well, we haven't seen any of those. I'm

[25:50] talking about the initial one we were

[25:51] >> Okay. Work on.

[25:53] >> That's That's with the revision of the

[25:56] extra trees. He charged us another

[25:58] $1,000.

[26:14] What's that?

[26:16] Oh, dry something.

[26:31] » He also has the the W9 forms that you

[26:35] need.

[26:35] >> Mhm.

[26:36] >> Would you like that now?

[26:38] >> Yes. It's the only way you can get paid.

[26:40] >> Yes. That's what I told him.

[26:46] » Thank you.

[26:46] >> Just need the top page.

[26:48] >> Great.

[26:49] >> Would you like a copy of the estimate?

[26:52] >> Yes, please.

[26:53] >> Thank you, sir.

[26:54] >> Well, we have a motion in a second on

[26:56] the floor. We'll give it one last time

[26:58] for anyone that's got anything else to

[27:00] say.

[27:03] >> Hearing none. All in favor? I.

[27:06] >> Any opposed?

[27:07] >> Yes. I [clears throat]

[27:10] Nate, whatever you want.

[27:15] I would say the motion carries

[27:20] to work.

[27:20] >> Okay, so we're all set. I can call him

[27:22] again and hopefully he can put us back

[27:24] on his schedule. That's the problem.

[27:26] He's already moved us once for Scarecrow

[27:29] in the park. So,

[27:31] >> who's on the original distribution list

[27:32] for this, Brad? Do you remember?

[27:34] >> You're on the email.

[27:36] >> I just remember seeing it. That's why I

[27:37] say it.

[27:39] >> Uh, Mrs. Eddie, Karen Fitzpatrick, Lou

[27:42] Bordeaux,

[27:45] uh, my father, Brian Herbio, Brian Kier,

[27:48] and Brian Miner.

[27:50] >> Gotcha.

[27:52] >> I'd be happy to resend the email.

[27:54] >> Please do. Thank you.

[27:58] >> I don't know why I can only see back to

[28:01] you said 7:15. I can only see back to

[28:04] 85. I have no idea why.

[28:05] >> Probably should have Justin. Yeah, you

[28:07] need to

[28:08] >> Justin. Sure.

[28:11] >> What's your email?

[28:13] >> Um,

[28:13] >> maybe he'd feel better.

[28:14] >> I think it's Justin Lawrence at

[28:16] Bernston.

[28:17] >> I'm in the town. So,

[28:20] >> yeah.

[28:23] J Lawrence at

[28:24] >> Maybe it's J. Sorry. Jaw Bernston.

[28:27] >> You can look up the website. Should be

[28:28] on the website.

[28:32] » J Lawrence at town.

[28:35] first.

[28:36] >> Sure.

[28:39] >> I had it at one time. I wonder

[28:42] when I called up Mr. Mayad, I mean, the

[28:45] poor man's been told yes, no, yes, no.

[28:47] Could we have some kind of a letter that

[28:50] we can give him that he really knows

[28:52] that he's hired and he's not going to be

[28:56] stopped from doing his work?

[28:58] >> I'll take care of that.

[28:59] >> Thank you.

[28:59] >> I will take care of that.

[29:03] >> That's my email. Oh, thank you. Okay.

[29:05] >> Yeah.

[29:06] >> Okay.

[29:07] >> Uh I'm also going to stick around for

[29:09] new business because I've got an update

[29:10] about the uh director search at the

[29:12] library. So,

[29:14] >> okay.

[29:14] >> I'll stick around.

[29:15] >> All right.

[29:17] >> Thank you.

[29:20] >> Okay. On to new business. Uh town hall

[29:23] engineering report in late July.

[29:27] >> We'll wait till the clutter settles down

[29:29] here.

[29:29] >> Otis can hear it.

[29:30] >> Sorry, Otis.

[29:36] Um, in late July, engineer Jeff Bolino,

[29:41] is that how you say that?

[29:42] >> Yes.

[29:42] >> Sounds good.

[29:43] >> Uh, inspected and assessed the condition

[29:45] of town hall. His assessment calls for

[29:48] repairs that could cost nearly $1.5

[29:51] million, which you have your

[29:57] in your packet

[30:00] everything that he identified. It's not

[30:02] good,

[30:05] >> unfortunately.

[30:06] >> So, Mr. Chairman, I asked Lou if he

[30:08] could put this one on there so we could

[30:09] talk about it.

[30:10] >> Yep.

[30:11] >> And I'd like to recommend that this

[30:13] board create a committee

[30:16] to look at the feasibility of making

[30:19] repairs to this building andor

[30:22] building a new town hall, as much as

[30:24] nobody would want to hear that.

[30:26] Um

[30:28] Brian Miner had the pleasure to meet

[30:30] with a couple of different engineers to

[30:31] show him around different areas. So he

[30:33] has a lot of boots on the ground

[30:35] information of it. We did have a Mr.

[30:39] Stuart Scanel reach out to me after the

[30:42] town meeting we had this year where we

[30:44] approved some money for the Bolino

[30:46] engineering report.

[30:48] And I forget his title, but he works at

[30:51] UMass and does this type of work for

[30:53] UMass on a regular basis. So, he has a

[30:56] lot of history with these type of

[30:58] buildings and finding grants and

[31:01] thinking a little differently outside

[31:02] the box on repairs andor replacement.

[31:05] And John Shaw, he's a local contractor,

[31:08] one of Jane's neighbors, also reached

[31:10] out to me after that town meeting

[31:13] offering to be a citizen on the

[31:15] committee and he's a carpenter, has been

[31:17] his whole life, understands the building

[31:19] trades to a degree as well. But I think

[31:23] if we had a few a couple three town

[31:26] residents, maybe somebody from the

[31:28] finance committee, somebody from the

[31:30] select board on a committee, Brian Miner

[31:33] has offered to meet with that if we do

[31:35] that to bring them up to speed on the

[31:37] two reports and types of questions they

[31:40] were asking him about different systems

[31:43] we've seen to give a little more

[31:45] background and indepth to what the

[31:47] reports read because some of them are

[31:50] written by an engineer and it's like

[31:51] writing it from a lawyer.

[31:54] You read it this way, I read it that way

[31:57] to try to make heads or tails with Brian

[31:59] on some of that. Just curious as to what

[32:02] people's thoughts were of doing that to

[32:04] keep this moving forward on the town

[32:06] hall because we do know we have some

[32:09] structural issues here.

[32:13] >> Okay, I like the idea.

[32:16] So, anyone out there listening, [sighs]

[32:19] we'll we'll decide who's one of us.

[32:21] >> Does it seem fair to you, Jane, if you

[32:23] did that as a finance committee chair?

[32:24] >> An excellent idea.

[32:26] >> And you have some volunteers that are

[32:28] good for

[32:30] >> Yeah. And they stepped up right away

[32:32] after the town meeting

[32:37] um when we had the mold problem here.

[32:40] >> Yep. Yep.

[32:42] >> And he's built stuff for me. I mean,

[32:44] some of your past in building stuff, you

[32:47] could be a valuable person on a

[32:48] committee like that, too.

[32:51] Think about it. I mean, we have to

[32:53] decide the makeup of a committee, but

[32:55] >> right.

[32:56] >> Sure. When the committee gets started

[32:58] and what you need and what you think and

[32:59] you got enough certain type of people in

[33:01] there, I put my name.

[33:05] You

[33:05] >> got to find a grant here.

[33:07] >> Yeah. that this Stuart has done quite a

[33:09] lot of that through UMass. So, he knows

[33:11] some of the different ways to

[33:14] potentially find money and we did Lou

[33:16] and I had a meeting at the fire station

[33:19] when Congressman McGovern was there. The

[33:21] USDA chief was there as well, Chris, and

[33:24] I forget his last name,

[33:26] >> Lion Lo.

[33:27] >> He runs the USDA for Mass, Rhode Island,

[33:31] and Connecticut.

[33:33] And he said, we mentioned the town hall

[33:35] talking about this. He said, "Call me

[33:38] personally

[33:40] when you get to a point where you have a

[33:42] good question and we'll see what we can

[33:45] do to try to find some funding

[33:49] both through the federal government and

[33:51] the USDA who's a quasi federal

[33:53] government agency,

[33:54] >> but they get a lot of extra funds in a

[33:56] lot of different ways except for

[33:58] highway. They don't get any highway

[33:59] money. We tried that too.

[34:01] >> Police and fire is the big one for them,

[34:04] >> right? Yeah. But so we do have a couple

[34:06] of

[34:08] I felt encouraged when he talked to us.

[34:10] Of course, I don't know.

[34:12] >> Yeah. And I'll jump in here. I mean, I

[34:15] was going to include that in my report

[34:16] later on, but absolutely it was uh a

[34:19] great day over at the fire station.

[34:21] >> Uh and

[34:24] it it was primarily done to thank

[34:26] Congressman McGovern for getting that

[34:29] phantom million dollars. It's been

[34:31] kicking around for almost 10 years. So

[34:33] he came through, he delivered on that.

[34:36] But as Brian just said, further than

[34:38] that, uh, without knowing we were going

[34:41] to do this, I took Congressman McGovern

[34:44] aside and had a nice conversation. Brian

[34:46] took Chris Lion aside, had a

[34:48] conversation, and then we put our heads

[34:50] together afterward. And uh if it comes

[34:53] to that, if a committee finds that

[34:55] building a new town hall is in our best

[34:58] interest, uh Congressman McGovern is all

[35:01] ears to wanting to help. Uh as is

[35:04] Director Lion. So uh the groundwork is

[35:08] there and

[35:10] once a committee forms it would be my

[35:12] intention to get regular meeting minute

[35:16] information to both of their offices so

[35:19] that uh it's not out of sight out of

[35:21] mind for them

[35:23] >> which is what they said. They said you

[35:25] move along keep us in the loop right

[35:26] away

[35:27] >> so we can start thinking of different

[35:29] things to try to help you out. So

[35:31] >> I mean I felt that was encouraging. They offered it up before we begged for

[35:35] it.

[35:36] >> Well, a lot of times you start a

[35:37] conversation like that, somebody just

[35:39] walks away. So, and they didn't.

[35:40] >> It was It was two good conversations.

[35:42] >> We talked to the USDA for 45 minutes.

[35:45] And he

[35:46] >> had no lack of information for us.

[35:49] >> Yeah. So, we'll have to figure out a

[35:50] makeup of a committee.

[35:52] >> Yep.

[35:52] >> Jane, I'll give you a call. We'll think

[35:53] of what how many people would be too

[35:55] many

[35:57] because sometimes you can get too many

[35:58] on a committee like that.

[36:02] That's it for me on that. Okay.

[36:04] >> I'm happy to get the ball rolling with

[36:06] them.

[36:07] >> Yeah. And that's awesome.

[36:11] >> Inter interpreting this.

[36:13] >> Yes.

[36:14] >> Kind of talk

[36:14] >> in particular this building.

[36:16] >> Right.

[36:17] >> There's a lot that you need to see here.

[36:19] Understand what's on those.

[36:21] >> There is a few pictures in that, but

[36:23] doesn't do it justice from actually

[36:25] >> seeing what is literally under here.

[36:28] You'll shake your head a little bit when

[36:29] you read through that engineering port

[36:30] on this building light.

[36:32] >> So, you need to do it before.

[36:33] >> Why is it still here?

[36:36] >> So, a lot of it needs to be in the crawl

[36:38] space under here. So, it doesn't matter

[36:40] whether it's noon time or 10:00 at

[36:42] night, unfortunately.

[36:48] » All right. Anything further?

[36:50] We'll uh anybody listening out there uh

[36:54] if you're interested reach out to Lou uh

[36:57] and he can direct that to to our

[36:59] attention and we'll go from there.

[37:03] All right. Uh going up to useful life of

[37:06] new vehicles. The treasurer has provided

[37:08] a document uh somewhere here right here

[37:15] uh that states what the useful life of

[37:18] new vehicles could be. This includes the

[37:20] newest fire engine and the highway

[37:21] truck, both of which were approved by

[37:24] this year's town meeting votes.

[37:27] So, you want me to read this or should

[37:29] we

[37:34] » I don't know. You think you need to read

[37:35] the whole thing or just the two bullet

[37:36] points?

[37:37] >> Uh, I would just Yeah, the two bullet

[37:38] points voted further voted.

[37:41] uh voted the maximum useful life of the

[37:44] fire engine to be financed with the

[37:46] proceeds of the $1,80,000

[37:50] borrowing authorized by the vote of the

[37:53] town passed on April 29, 2026

[37:56] is hereby determined uh uh pursuant to

[38:00] Mass General Law chapter 44 subsection 7

[38:04] parenthesy 1 to be 20 years. So that's

[38:08] the useful life of that 20 years. Uh,

[38:10] further voted, the maximum useful life

[38:12] of the highway truck, I'll shorten it

[38:15] up, uh, would be 15 years.

[38:20] I won't read the whole paragraph, but

[38:23] there's a lot of legal talk in there.

[38:26] [laughter]

[38:27] So, this whole page would be the motion,

[38:28] right?

[38:29] >> Yeah.

[38:33] » Certified yet.

[38:38] I'll make a motion to that. Can we

[38:40] >> go ahead?

[38:42] >> I'll make a motion to

[38:45] recommend the maximum useful life of the

[38:47] fire truck at 20 years and the useful

[38:49] life of the highway truck to be 15 years

[38:52] as stated in this document.

[38:57] » Second.

[38:58] question.

[39:01] >> Yes. Does that mean that you have just

[39:04] put a new fire truck on the budget for

[39:06] 20 years from today?

[39:09] >> No. My understanding is that this just

[39:12] gives the lean holder. Is that the

[39:14] correct word, Sue?

[39:16] >> It allows the town to um borrow for

[39:22] more than 10 years. If if you have a

[39:25] life at five years, you can only borrow

[39:28] >> for five years So

[39:31] >> they just wanted that in writing before

[39:32] they offer up a loan of 10 years.

[39:34] >> So this would be any fire truck and any

[39:37] highway truck.

[39:38] >> Yes.

[39:39] >> Regardless of the size of the truck

[39:42] >> if we want to carry it to that 10-year

[39:44] repayment period.

[39:45] >> I think it's very specifically this fire

[39:47] truck and this new hybrid truck because

[39:50] I I recall having to look at something

[39:53] like this before as well. Okay.

[39:55] >> So anytime you run a borrow, they want

[39:57] to know that the useful life is

[40:00] longer than the length of the loan.

[40:04] >> We did it for my last break.

[40:05] >> I think so.

[40:08] >> Yeah.

[40:10] >> Thanks. So, you're welcome.

[40:14] >> All right. Any further discussion? All

[40:16] in favor?

[40:18] >> Any opposed?

[40:20] Perfect.

[40:24] Okay. Uh we have a planning board

[40:27] appointment. Julia Scanel

[40:30] related.

[40:32] >> Oh, I don't know. Could be.

[40:33] >> We were just talking about Steuart.

[40:35] >> Could be a voice. Yeah.

[40:36] >> Applied to uh volunteer for the town.

[40:38] She's attended a couple of planning

[40:40] board meetings and is a good fit. She's

[40:42] been recommended by the planning board

[40:44] to become a member. If appoint if

[40:46] appointed, this term will last until

[40:47] March 30th, 2029.

[40:51] I'll entertain a motion to

[40:54] appoint her as a member of the planning

[40:56] board. So moved. Second. Uh any further

[40:59] discussion?

[41:00] >> When does this become effective?

[41:03] >> Oh, it doesn't say that on here. Good

[41:04] question.

[41:05] >> Effective upon the vote.

[41:07] >> Effect. Okay, there we go.

[41:08] >> Because we have a meeting there

[41:09] tomorrow.

[41:10] >> Yes.

[41:11] >> So she would have to come in and be

[41:13] sworn in.

[41:14] >> But this way Chris can reach out to her

[41:17] in advance of the meeting

[41:19] >> and

[41:19] >> if she can come in.

[41:20] >> Yeah.

[41:21] >> Obviously if if she doesn't Yeah. If she

[41:23] doesn't, then she can't legally

[41:26] participate in the meeting.

[41:27] >> Gotcha.

[41:29] >> Participate. She just can't vote on

[41:30] anything.

[41:31] >> She can observe.

[41:32] >> Yes.

[41:33] >> All right. Uh, all in favor?

[41:35] >> Hi.

[41:37] >> Excuse me. Council on Aging

[41:39] Appointments, Gloria Fryenhagen. Did I

[41:42] say it right?

[41:43] >> And Sydney Snow. Uh, they are currently

[41:46] there are currently two vacancies on the

[41:48] Council on Aging Board. Gloria and

[41:50] Sydney have volunteered to serve on the

[41:52] board. If appointed, the term for Gloria

[41:54] would expire on June 30th, 2028,

[41:58] and Sydney's term would expire on June

[42:00] 30th, 2029. So, I'll entertain a motion

[42:04] to uh

[42:07] what's the word I was looking for here?

[42:08] >> Appoint.

[42:09] Thank you. I am I draw a blank

[42:11] on that.

[42:13] Uh to appoint Gloria and Sydney to the

[42:16] uh Council on Aging Board.

[42:18] >> So moved. I'll second that. also

[42:21] effective upon this vote. Is that okay?

[42:23] Perfect. Any other questions, comments?

[42:26] No. All in favor?

[42:27] >> I

[42:29] >> uh the fire department is asking for a

[42:31] one-day malt beverage permit to serve at

[42:33] Scarecrow in the Park on Friday, October

[42:35] 16th, 2026

[42:38] between the hours of 300 p.m. and 1000

[42:41] p.m. I'll entertain a motion to approve

[42:44] their ask. So moved. Second. Any further

[42:49] discussion? This happens every year. All

[42:52] in favor?

[42:52] >> I.

[42:55] >> The senior center is asking for a

[42:57] one-day alcohol permit to serve wine at

[43:00] an art show for the senior center

[43:02] patrons on November 16th, 2026.

[43:07] They will only have wine with

[43:08] availability uh at 4 to 7 p.m. Uh so

[43:12] I'll entertain a motion to approve their

[43:16] uh permit. So moved.

[43:18] >> I'll second that.

[43:19] >> Any further discussion? All in favor?

[43:22] >> I

[43:25] uh we don't have any old business uh to

[43:27] attend to, but we do have some other

[43:29] business uh unknown at the time of

[43:31] posting. The election warrant for

[43:32] Sixtown uh great river school district

[43:36] voting uh needs a motion.

[43:41] Um that is where did I put that? Right

[43:44] here.

[43:46] This isn't what we approved.

[43:50] » No, this is the actual the actual

[43:51] election warrant. This is the warrant

[43:53] wording.

[43:54] >> Yeah.

[43:55] >> So moved.

[43:56] >> Second.

[43:58] >> Uh any further discussion? All in favor?

[44:00] >> I make a comment.

[44:02] >> Yes. on I believe September 23rd the

[44:07] senior center there'll be um listening

[44:10] session question and answer

[44:14] prior to that vote for any information

[44:16] that you need can also go on the website

[44:18] anytime or call any member of the

[44:20] committee and ask we don't know the

[44:23] answer we'll get it for you

[44:24] >> so again the location of that is

[44:28] >> for the 23rd

[44:29] >> center senior center got a tie

[44:33] I think it's six. You get you will have

[44:36] to.

[44:39] They usually do those at 6:00. So,

[44:42] >> tomorrow night's in Gil is at 6. So,

[44:44] >> yeah.

[44:44] >> Give us an agenda. We can put it on the

[44:46] website on calendar.

[44:49] I just welcome that. But that's a

[44:52] Wednesday and I it does not conflict

[44:54] with your regular schedule of meeting

[45:00] » but they need you guys to unlock and

[45:02] help that out.

[45:04] >> Gotcha.

[45:07] All right. I will entertain a motion uh

[45:09] for early voting uh for the November

[45:12] election.

[45:14] >> Just to clarify.

[45:15] >> Yes. it because of the six town versus

[45:18] five town. Does this wording

[45:20] >> that wording covers?

[45:23] >> Yes.

[45:24] >> You don't know how many different boers

[45:26] have their hands. Okay.

[45:29] >> And it's been approved by the state and

[45:32] >> beautiful. Okay.

[45:34] >> Perfect. Um, I I'm trying I haven't done

[45:38] anything about it yet, but I'm planning

[45:40] on the little synopsis to be available

[45:42] for everybody that says if you vote yes,

[45:45] this is what it means. If you vote no,

[45:46] this is what it means. So they don't

[45:49] have to try to,

[45:51] you know, read that three times to get

[45:54] to the

[45:59] » Okay. Uh, yes. So, entertain a motion to

[46:04] uh for early voting in the November

[46:06] election.

[46:07] >> Did we vote on the other one?

[46:10] >> The first one now.

[46:12] >> Yeah. Yeah, we did.

[46:14] >> Okay.

[46:18] » Make a motion to approve early voting

[46:22] for the November election.

[46:24] >> Second.

[46:25] >> Any discussion?

[46:27] >> Would you like us to have a pop,

[46:29] >> please?

[46:30] >> Yes.

[46:33] Then they can hear you.

[46:35] >> This one.

[46:36] >> That's the microphone. Yeah,

[46:37] >> this one. Okay.

[46:37] >> Either one. Either one.

[46:39] >> Okay. I'm Sarah Brown and I'm the

[46:41] assistant town clerk currently. Um

[46:45] so this we sent a memo asking for the

[46:49] select board's approval on um having

[46:52] early inperson voting for half of the um

[46:57] hours that we're open to the public. Uh

[46:59] it worked out pretty well. Um we did

[47:03] half of the hours we were open to the

[47:05] public for the September 1st state

[47:07] primary. Um we had between one and two

[47:11] people come per hour, so it wasn't very

[47:14] heavy. U voters seem to be preferring

[47:17] vote by mail. Um which will also be

[47:20] available for the November election. Um,

[47:24] so yeah, we are requesting the select

[47:27] board's approval of these hours.

[47:29] >> Awesome.

[47:32] >> And you might as well say next time.

[47:34] >> Oh, sure.

[47:36] >> Uh, any further discussion, questions?

[47:38] All in favor? I

[47:40] >> I

[47:42] >> Okay. Uh, Sarah. Um, uh, we I will

[47:46] entertain a motion to appoint Sarah

[47:50] Brown Anson as town clerk. effective

[47:52] September 28th, 2026.

[47:57] Enthusiastically,

[47:59] >> September 28th starts the new pay

[48:02] period.

[48:04] >> Yes.

[48:04] >> You have to retire a couple of days

[48:06] early.

[48:06] >> Yes, I still do. [laughter]

[48:08] >> Yeah.

[48:08] >> Force you out the door.

[48:11] >> I I did clarify that with Lou um because

[48:14] I I was confused about that. My

[48:16] understanding was that I would actually

[48:18] become town clerk on October 1st. So

[48:20] that would be great if you could make

[48:22] that motion. I think that the you can

[48:26] speak

[48:26] >> for the efficiency of the pay period.

[48:28] >> Okay.

[48:29] >> So that you're not paid a split wage

[48:32] >> for 2 days. Chris will still get paid

[48:34] the same will be town clerk. That that

[48:37] the plan is that Chris will be town

[48:39] clerk until October 1st. Um because

[48:42] there may be things we don't want any

[48:44] ambiguity about who is town clerk at any

[48:46] time for paperwork reasons. So

[48:50] >> yeah,

[48:51] >> clear as butt. [laughter]

[48:53] Something like that. You make that

[48:56] motion.

[48:57] >> I make a motion to appoint Sarah Brown

[48:59] Hansen as town clerk.

[49:02] Effective

[49:04] >> October 1st.

[49:06] >> Uh but I think

[49:07] >> for pay purposes it will be effective

[49:11] September 28th.

[49:13] >> I'll second that motion.

[49:15] >> Splendish.

[49:16] >> That works out. blue that works for you.

[49:19] >> Everybody's happy.

[49:20] >> All right.

[49:21] >> Okay.

[49:21] >> Any further discussion?

[49:24] >> All in favor?

[49:25] >> I.

[49:26] >> Welcome aboard.

[49:28] >> Thank you.

[49:29] >> Very excited.

[49:31] >> Yeah. [applause and cheering]

[49:35] » And that recommendation comes after a

[49:37] grueling 45minut interview. So,

[49:39] [laughter]

[49:40] >> but just the fact that just the fact

[49:42] that she endured that [laughter]

[49:44] probably deserves hazard pay.

[49:48] Uh,

[49:48] >> which is why the two extra days,

[49:50] >> right?

[49:51] >> Good call. Good call, Mr. Chairman. Good

[49:53] call.

[49:57] » All right. Uh, I will entertain. Thank

[49:59] you, sir. I will entertain a motion to

[50:03] appoint Deborah Delan Brewer. Da Breer.

[50:08] >> Oh, darn. I'm so name like her.

[50:11] >> To the board of health.

[50:12] >> That

[50:14] exactly to the board of health. uh until

[50:17] the next town election.

[50:21] >> So moved. Sort of. Does she serve in

[50:24] another capacity? Because we know the

[50:26] name.

[50:26] >> She she was on the board of health.

[50:27] >> She was on. She was off. She was on. She

[50:29] was off. I was surprised to see her walk

[50:31] in today, but

[50:32] >> now she's on again.

[50:33] >> Two remaining board members moved to

[50:36] reappoint her. So because it's an

[50:38] elected position, she can only be

[50:40] appointed until the next town election.

[50:44] >> Okay. Any further discussion? Uh, all in

[50:47] favor?

[50:48] >> I.

[50:51] >> Okay. Uh, let's set up some meetings.

[50:55] Justin had an update, too.

[50:56] >> I'm sorry. Go ahead, Justin. Yeah.

[50:59] >> Of course.

[51:00] >> Uh, so

[51:02] the, um, you're in the headlights look

[51:05] that I had earlier tonight when we were

[51:07] talking about trees in the park is, uh,

[51:09] something I'll apologize for. I've not

[51:11] been, uh, terribly active, as active as

[51:13] I should. So Karen, I'm sorry. And to

[51:15] the other board members, uh I'm sorry.

[51:17] Uh my only excuse is that uh we have

[51:20] been busy interviewing a new library

[51:23] director and I'm really excited to share

[51:26] for some of our board members. It'll be

[51:28] the first time that they hear that. Um

[51:30] late yesterday, we got a signed offer

[51:33] letter from a very nice woman named

[51:35] Katherine Bass, who is uh the prior

[51:39] library director of the Jericho Town

[51:41] Library in Jericho, Vermont. uh because

[51:43] of her husband's work, she's moved to

[51:45] Florence and is looking to uh be the

[51:48] director of another small part-time

[51:50] rural library and uh has been really inspiring uh for us. So, big

[51:56] thanks to Susan and Doo for their help

[51:58] as we work through that process. I think

[52:00] there's a few more things that we got to

[52:02] do to get her on boarded and and get her

[52:04] oriented and ready to start, but um she

[52:07] is available as early as September 9th,

[52:09] which is uh really a weight off our

[52:12] shoulders. She's got a lot of experience

[52:14] with uh budgets and town processes and open meeting laws, and we're really confident in her ability. And so

[52:22] we we thank you for all of your support

[52:25] of the library for the last, you know,

[52:27] few years. and um Lor's exit left really

[52:31] big shoes to fill and we're really excited uh to have somebody that

[52:35] we think can can fill that and I wanted

[52:37] to share it with you and I'm going to

[52:38] race home and send an email out to the

[52:41] trustees. So if there's any trustees

[52:43] watching um you're going to get word of

[52:45] this very very soon. You're hearing it

[52:46] before they are. Uh so I I appreciate

[52:49] >> the support. Absolutely. Thank Thank

[52:51] you. Great. Nice job. And I'll just do a

[52:54] shameless plug if you got my email about

[52:56] the chili cookoff at Scarecrow in the

[52:58] Park.

[52:59] >> I did get that.

[53:00] >> Okay. Let us know. And if you are not

[53:02] available, maybe somebody uh on your

[53:04] board would be.

[53:05] >> Okay.

[53:06] >> Awesome.

[53:06] >> All right.

[53:07] >> Thank you so much.

[53:07] >> Thank you, Justin.

[53:09] >> Yeah. Thank you.

[53:10] >> Uh all right.

[53:13] We uh

[53:16] >> we have no regular meetings um set up

[53:20] for September for the rest of September.

[53:23] Uh the next regular meeting we have

[53:25] scheduled uh would be Wednesday, October

[53:28] 14th.

[53:30] Um do we need

[53:34] do we see a need to have any prior to

[53:36] that? First of all, I know everybody's

[53:39] checking their calendar.

[53:40] >> Yes.

[53:42] So it would mean cancelling the

[53:44] September 16th meeting and the September

[53:48] 30th 30th meeting.

[53:50] >> Correct.

[53:51] >> If it so pleases the board.

[53:53] >> And what that allows us to do is as if

[53:56] necessary

[53:58] call us a select board meeting. It

[54:00] doesn't remove that opportunity if if

[54:02] need be.

[54:03] >> Right.

[54:03] >> Yep.

[54:04] >> And signing the warrants and all of that

[54:08] >> seems to have gone well this summer.

[54:10] >> Mhm. Okay.

[54:13] I know that uh on the 16th, just so

[54:15] you're aware, I will not be around to

[54:17] sign warrants. I will be in Oklahoma.

[54:20] See the grandkids

[54:21] >> where the wind comes whipping off the

[54:23] plane.

[54:24] >> That's right. That's right.

[54:25] >> It's going to break into song.

[54:26] >> It'll it'll be a balmy 97.

[54:31] >> 110 like it had been.

[54:33] >> Yeah, I was going to say it won't be

[54:35] 110. It'll be a nice 97.

[54:38] I'm going to see your 97 and I'm going

[54:40] to raise you a tornado warning in

[54:42] Indiana.

[54:43] >> Said no one ever, but whatever. It is

[54:45] what it is. I'm at the mercy of the

[54:47] United States military when

[54:48] >> I would make a motion to cancel the

[54:52] meetings on September 16th and September

[54:54] 30th, thus making the next select board

[54:57] meeting October 14th. Unless

[55:01] something comes up and we need to

[55:03] schedule

[55:04] >> urgent business.

[55:05] I'll schedule schedule.

[55:07] I'll second that motion.

[55:10] Any further discussion?

[55:12] All in favor? I.

[55:15] >> Perfect.

[55:18] And town administrators report. I'm

[55:21] sorry, I skipped over it before, but I

[55:23] did the

[55:24] >> I I thought you did that, Mr. Chairman,

[55:25] because I had chimed in on the meeting

[55:27] at the fire station.

[55:28] >> No, I skipped over it before because I

[55:29] wanted to hear your voice right at the

[55:31] end.

[55:31] >> Ah, what a way to go home. [laughter] Uh

[55:34] well, in addition to that uh big meeting

[55:37] over at the fire station, the ribbon

[55:38] cutting, which got us actually some

[55:41] really good publicity both in the

[55:42] recorder, uh Congressman McGovern's

[55:45] website live streamed the event and if

[55:47] you're watching at home, you can go on

[55:49] to Congressman McGovern's website and

[55:52] find his Facebook page and the mighty

[55:55] 11minute video is there. Uh he gave some

[55:58] really good remarks. He is aware of us

[56:02] here in Berneston, which

[56:05] is uh

[56:08] a lot more than Richie Neil used to do,

[56:10] but I'm not going to get into that at

[56:12] all. Um, so

[56:16] ever since that day, I was sitting at

[56:17] the end of the table at a fire station

[56:19] meeting and he looked me right in the

[56:21] eye and said, "You're going to get your

[56:23] fire station."

[56:25] He's a politician who delivers. So, it

[56:28] was a great meeting, great for the town,

[56:31] uh, got us out in the public eye, and we

[56:34] really, uh, we were able to shine that

[56:37] day. So, it was really good. And as

[56:40] Brian said, the conversation with Chris

[56:43] Lion from USDA,

[56:46] uh, his his excitement both about the

[56:50] fire station project

[56:52] and the potential for possibly being

[56:56] involved with a town hall project. uh he

[56:59] was excited because both he and the

[57:01] congressman separately commented on

[57:06] how Bernardston did such a valuable job

[57:09] with federal money that uh congressman

[57:13] told me that he had one town in his

[57:15] district ask for $19 million for a new

[57:18] fire station and he said I can't get

[57:22] that kind of money. Uh he did mention in

[57:24] his remarks

[57:27] uh the hard work of finance chair Jane

[57:30] Dutcher which I thought was a nice

[57:33] cherry on top because

[57:36] uh without Jane's hard work a lot of the

[57:38] things that we almost take for granted

[57:41] here simply don't happen. So while

[57:43] you're here Jane thank you very much.

[57:45] >> Yes thank you.

[57:45] >> Um anyways

[57:48] so it was a great day and I can't say

[57:50] enough good things about it but I better

[57:51] move along. So today we had a department

[57:54] heads meeting that Deb Williams from

[57:57] Maya came and Sarah and Chris were here.

[58:00] Brian Miner was here. Um Deb wanted to

[58:03] come in after she did our annual review

[58:06] to discuss the Meer rewards programs and

[58:09] uh an annual grant that they have

[58:11] available.

[58:12] So, I felt it was important to get the

[58:15] whole team together because there's

[58:17] opportunities for us to save on our

[58:20] liability premium for next fiscal year

[58:23] uh based on classes we take, workshops,

[58:26] things of that nature. But also, a town

[58:28] can qualify if they get their grant

[58:31] application in in a timely manner for up

[58:34] to $10,000 in Maya funding. So, uh, Deb

[58:39] was very

[58:41] interested in helping us out and she

[58:44] said she'll come back in December. We're

[58:45] going to have another meeting in

[58:46] December with her. So, that worked out

[58:48] well. Uh, last but not least, and it was

[58:51] a follow-up to the Maya meeting, uh,

[58:53] Chris and Sarah put together a great

[58:55] document regarding election evacuation

[58:58] plans. I know this was something that

[59:00] had been discussed maybe four years ago.

[59:04] Um, but Chris really made sure that

[59:08] everything was accounted for. We didn't

[59:10] necessarily get to the goal line with

[59:12] this because we're kind of concerned

[59:14] about potentially having a generator

[59:17] maybe at the senior center. Uh, I had

[59:19] asked somebody from the church because

[59:21] the pastor over there has volunteered

[59:24] the church for other community functions

[59:27] and I asked if they have a generator.

[59:29] They don't have one now. So, uh, I think

[59:31] for all intents and purposes, we would

[59:33] keep the senior center as our evacuation

[59:36] location. But again, this is a living

[59:38] document. This is something that we're

[59:40] going to have to continue to work on.

[59:42] And I know there's a couple of big

[59:45] elections coming up, but Sarah's going

[59:46] to have her hands full. So, that's a

[59:48] good thing.

[59:49] >> Uh, and that's really all I've got, Mr.

[59:51] Chairman. Thank you for the time.

[59:52] >> Yes. Thank you.

[59:53] >> If I can just add one thing, a thanks to

[59:55] Chris and Sarah for yesterday, the

[59:57] election. A lot of work.

[59:58] >> Knocked it out of the park.

[1:00:00] >> And Ken and I on Monday threw another

[1:00:01] election at you for the

[1:00:04] >> 6,000. 54 voters.

[1:00:06] >> Really? How many?

[1:00:07] >> 454.

[1:00:09] >> That's great. That's pretty good.

[1:00:11] >> Not bad.

[1:00:13] >> For an off year for a

[1:00:14] >> Oh, yeah.

[1:00:15] >> Yeah. They kept coming steadily, so it

[1:00:18] was good.

[1:00:18] >> Good. Good. Nice job.

[1:00:22] >> Couldn't do it without our pole workers

[1:00:23] either.

[1:00:24] >> How many more do you have left?

[1:00:25] >> Of what? Elections.

[1:00:28] >> Technically none. [laughter] I told

[1:00:30] Sarah I'm around. I will certainly come

[1:00:33] in and help if she doesn't have any

[1:00:35] other help in the office by then. So

[1:00:37] that's right. On October 6th, we'll have

[1:00:40] uh a dual election with two ballots, two

[1:00:44] questions. One will be the Franklin

[1:00:48] Regional Tech School Building Project.

[1:00:50] The other one will be the uh

[1:00:52] regionalization question.

[1:00:54] >> Gotcha.

[1:00:54] >> So, both of those will be yes. No. We've

[1:00:57] been scrambling with our vendors to send

[1:01:00] back the media cards that they had

[1:01:02] already programmed for just the tech

[1:01:04] school ballot so that they could

[1:01:07] reprogram it for both of the ballots so

[1:01:10] both of them can go through the same

[1:01:11] machine.

[1:01:12] >> Gotcha.

[1:01:13] >> So that election will happen before the

[1:01:16] next board meeting. That's

[1:01:17] >> right.

[1:01:18] >> And then Yes.

[1:01:19] >> as needed.

[1:01:21] >> Um then there will be the November 3rd

[1:01:24] state election.

[1:01:27] on the third

[1:01:31] be here before we know

[1:01:32] >> close together.

[1:01:34] >> I don't know where the sun went.

[1:01:35] >> It's gone.

[1:01:36] >> It's September.

[1:01:37] >> It's gone. Playing hockey already.

[1:01:39] >> It's in Oklahoma. I heard it. 110

[1:01:41] degrees last week. [laughter]

[1:01:46] » All right, that's all we got. Gentlemen,

[1:01:47] >> make a motion to close the meeting.

[1:01:50] >> I'll second that.

[1:01:51] >> All in favor?

[1:01:52] >> I.

[1:01:53] >> Good night, everyone. Thank you. Good

[1:01:54] night. here.

[1:01:57] >> No.

Bernardston Select Board - September 2, 2026

Transcript