[0:15] Well, we value the
[0:16] participation of all members of
[0:18] our community and
[0:19] encourage open,
[0:20] positive
[0:21] discussion, even
[0:22] when opinions
[0:23] differ.
[0:25] Please treat comments with
[0:26] respect
[0:26] and
[0:27] focus on the
[0:28] issue rather than
[0:29] pointing fingers so
[0:30] we can work
[0:31] together productively and
[0:32] positively. And we
[0:35] started our
[0:36] meeting at 4:00 PM because
[0:37] we had conducted road
[0:38] checks on Banda,
[0:40] Mirsa, and Sugar Hill and
[0:41] heard from all the
[0:42] stakeholders.
[0:46] And now we are going to
[0:47] resume the meeting and
[0:48] continue the hearing
[0:49] on the roads, if
[0:51] necessary. Good.
[0:55] So, as you said,
[0:57] we visited Bundy,
[0:58] Mears, and Sugar Hill.
[1:00] Sugar Hill–this is just
[1:02] a clarification, it's a state. Um
[1:03] , it's just something that
[1:04] happened. It was
[1:05] discontinued many
[1:07] years ago. Then,
[1:08] during the construction of the
[1:09] Ancient Road,
[1:12] part of it was somehow
[1:12] reopened. So, these are
[1:13] discontinued small
[1:14] areas, so we're
[1:15] just repairing it
[1:16] because the state wanted us to
[1:17] do it. So, we're
[1:18] just making these
[1:19] adjustments. So, that's
[1:21] all there is. Um, Bundy, we
[1:23] talked to one of the
[1:25] owners of the sole
[1:26] proprietorship that lives
[1:27] on Bundy. And he, um, and
[1:31] they support us
[1:33] canceling the
[1:34] road. And, uh, there's some
[1:36] information about it, it's
[1:38] 0.08 miles of
[1:39] third class road. And
[1:40] they have an annual, uh,
[1:42] annual
[1:45] highway construction grant that
[1:46] we get paid to take care
[1:47] of Bundy, which
[1:48] is
[1:49] $146.40. Our annual
[1:51] plowing and sanding costs
[1:53] are about
[1:54] $912. And to
[1:55] bring it up to
[1:56] standard, add
[1:57] some gravel and
[1:58] other things, it will be
[1:59] about $3,800.
[2:01] So, um, of course,
[2:02] the gentleman who lives
[2:03] on Bundy was in favor of the
[2:05] board of elections
[2:06] canceling
[2:06] the construction of Bundy. Uh
[2:09] , then we went to
[2:11] Mears and met a
[2:12] lovely couple who
[2:13] live on Mears, and it's 0.13
[2:15] miles of sixth-
[2:16] class road, and the annual
[2:17] state highway construction grant
[2:21] we get to
[2:23] maintain it is
[2:24] $237.90. And our
[2:26] annual
[2:27] plowing and
[2:28] sanding costs are
[2:30] $912.33. And again
[2:31] , to bring
[2:32] it up to full
[2:34] Class VI road standard, it would take
[2:35] about 2279. Erm,
[2:36] so Mr, uh, that nice
[2:38] couple we met
[2:39] on the Meersee, uh, they don't mind us
[2:41] stopping it, but they
[2:42] want us to
[2:44] keep the
[2:45] culvert
[2:46] down. There is another
[2:47] culvert
[2:48] on the road leading up
[2:49] Mears.
[2:50] Remember when there
[2:51] was a wooden road there
[2:52] ? There is a culvert there
[2:53] . They
[2:54] will be there soon. Okay, this is where
[2:55] their
[2:56] easement runs
[2:57] to the camp. And uh, yeah,
[2:59] but they're asking us to
[3:00] support the one
[3:02] down the road. So,
[3:06] Sugar Hill
[3:07] was obviously just
[3:08] necessary, so the state
[3:09] is asking us to just
[3:10] stop building it again
[3:11] on this
[3:12] small lot.
[3:16] So we only approached
[3:17] the turn, where it
[3:18] seems there's a sign just past
[3:19] it saying "
[3:20] Passing is prohibited."
[3:22] So it's more of a
[3:23] household issue
[3:24] .
[3:25] Hmm. I don't know how it got there
[3:26] . So
[3:27] something random. So
[3:29] these are the things that
[3:30] obviously the Election
[3:31] Commission has, you know,
[3:32] within 60 days to
[3:33] put in
[3:34] writing, but
[3:35] I don't know if
[3:36] you want to just move
[3:37] on and deal with
[3:38] it tonight.
[3:39] Um, not sure what
[3:41] else you have left to
[3:42] think about. Then I can
[3:44] issue an order.
[3:46] I think we can
[3:47] deal with this
[3:48] now.
[3:49] Yes. The
[3:49] Sugar Hill lines are
[3:50] light. This is the Oops that
[3:52] happened many years
[3:53] ago. Um, there's not even
[3:56] any question about
[3:57] that. Bundy...Bundi
[4:02] was...uh...
[4:04] Andrew...
[4:04] Andrew...Uh, no
[4:06] questions asked here. They...
[4:08] agree with that. Um,
[4:09] it's not a very good
[4:10] turn at the end of this
[4:11] road
[4:13] anyway, as far as I
[4:16] know, that would be
[4:17] obvious.
[4:18] Hmm. Do
[4:18] n't lose it.
[4:20] You need to
[4:21] think about this. And
[4:23] Mears Road, uh...yeah,
[4:24] anytime we don't have to
[4:25] park
[4:26] that big truck
[4:27] in that narrow
[4:28] driveway.
[4:29] Yes.
[4:29] Of course, it's not fun.
[4:31] Yeah, and that was...There was a
[4:32] photo that AJ sent of
[4:35] one of the trucks
[4:36] pulling out of the lot, and that
[4:37] was, um, on the Bundy
[4:38] last year, and we
[4:39] had to spend
[4:41] 3,500 bucks on
[4:42] cable and Frontier
[4:43] to get them out. Hmm,
[4:46] Bundy and Mears
[4:47] Bundy. Oh.
[4:48] Yeah, but either they...
[4:51] Oh, they're all
[4:51] trucks with... So,
[4:53] um...
[4:54] And all the property owners are with
[4:57] us too.
[4:58] Yes, as long as you
[4:58] keep the
[4:59] culvert
[5:00] at the base... Do
[5:06] you have any questions? So, do
[5:08] you need a
[5:09] petition?
[5:12] We get...Yes,
[5:14] you need
[5:15] a petition to
[5:16] reclassify 0.08
[5:18] miles of Bundy, 0.13 miles of
[5:20] Mears, and 0.40 miles of Sugar
[5:22] Hill from Class III to...No,
[5:24] from...Never mind. Not from
[5:28] class III. From class III to...
[5:30] termination. Sorry.
[5:33] So it is proposed.
[5:35] Yes.
[5:37] Good. Everyone who is in favor?
[5:39] Good.
[5:40] Against? One more
[5:41] second.
[5:42] Sorry. Good.
[5:43] Oh, that makes sense.
[5:44] Yes. Good. Good. And I'll
[5:46] work on the letter and
[5:48] all that.
[5:49] Good. And now, uh,
[5:52] to approve the
[5:54] agenda, if there are any
[5:55] corrections or, uh,
[5:57] anything else?
[5:59] I don't have any, uh
[6:00] , additions.
[6:03] I propose to adopt
[6:04] the protocol.
[6:05] You know, I could
[6:06] add...No, I'm kidding.
[6:08] Yes. I think that's
[6:09] normal.
[6:10] Motion
[6:11] to approve the
[6:12] agenda. All in favor?
[6:15] Yes.
[6:15] Good. So now we
[6:18] move on to our
[6:19] meeting with Lee and
[6:20] Greg. Uh, Greg Hughes'
[6:22] fundraising task force
[6:25] has re-approved phases one and
[6:27] two as
[6:28] outlined in his
[6:29] presentation in the
[6:31] document package. The second
[6:32] phase will begin
[6:33] only after the town
[6:34] meeting. He also
[6:36] reaches out to the
[6:38] Vermont Community Foundation. He would like to
[6:39] get
[6:40] approval for the
[6:41] commitment form. This is not
[6:43] legally
[6:43] binding, but is a
[6:44] tool
[6:45] since the pool received
[6:47] the most votes. This is
[6:49] the project they
[6:50] plan to implement
[6:51] after the
[6:52] election board
[6:53] agrees. In
[6:55] the future, Greg
[6:56] plans to hold
[6:57] a presentation on
[6:58] pool options to
[6:59] the public. Greg is
[7:01] also willing to have the
[7:02] task force take on
[7:04] the task of finding in-
[7:05] kind work
[7:06] in the form of
[7:07] grants. He believes
[7:10] that construction of
[7:11] the pool will
[7:13] not begin until the summer of 2028
[7:14] .
[7:16] Do you have anyone else
[7:17] you're waiting for
[7:18] since we
[7:19] were asked to start 30
[7:20] minutes early? Okay,
[7:21] and I think that was...
[7:23] I tried to
[7:23] summarize our
[7:24] conversation so that everyone
[7:25] could...
[7:26] That's good. Hmm, I'm not
[7:27] sure how you
[7:28] want me to
[7:29] continue. I
[7:30] assume you've
[7:30] read our report,
[7:31] but if not, we could
[7:32] ...I could go
[7:33] over and
[7:34] consider each of the
[7:35] five counts of the
[7:35] indictment. Or
[7:36] if not, we can
[7:37] accept it, and we
[7:38] can ask...I would be
[7:39] happy to hear
[7:39] questions and
[7:40] answers, if you would
[7:41] allow. I have
[7:42] no questions. I
[7:43] read this. I was
[7:44] very satisfied.
[7:45] Thank you very much for your
[7:46] work.
[7:47] Thanks, Dave.
[7:48] Yes. And I read it, and
[7:50] it's very detailed, and you
[7:51] outlined everything we
[7:52] need here. So, I'm
[7:54] pleased with everything
[7:56] you all presented.
[7:57] Thank you very much for your
[7:58] hard work,
[8:00] Greg.
[8:00] Thank you. Any other
[8:02] questions, problems,
[8:04] solutions, answers?
[8:22] Or...um...Um...so you
[8:23] saw...And it's similar to
[8:24] what was in our
[8:26] last one...
[8:27] actually, it was
[8:28] similar too. So we did
[8:31] a little more
[8:31] breakdown, but the contributions
[8:33] and other things are the same.
[8:34] One of the things
[8:35] we talked about, and I
[8:36] flagged it during
[8:37] our conversation over
[8:38] coffee. Congratulations on...Um...
[8:41] you know, the
[8:43] municipal
[8:45] capital fund contribution of
[8:46] about $100,000
[8:47] instead of $200, which would be,
[8:49] as you mentioned, a grant...
[8:52] what... what
[8:53] we have now plus...
[8:55] Baron 25,000. And other than
[8:58] that, it's all the same as what
[9:00] was
[9:01] filed on September 14th.
[9:03] They had 2 weeks to
[9:04] read it.
[9:05] So, and obviously, as
[9:06] you
[9:07] progress, you will
[9:08] need an electoral
[9:09] council. Did
[9:10] you need the Board of Elections
[9:11] to
[9:12] commit to
[9:13] this
[9:13] tonight, or is this something
[9:14] you can do
[9:15] later?
[9:15] Um...no, I think at
[9:16] this point we
[9:17] can just
[9:18] say it was
[9:19] distributed, I think.
[9:20] If you want to make a
[9:21] commitment, it would be
[9:22] right
[9:23] if it was with a protocol, I would
[9:24] say.
[9:24] And, um,
[9:26] this is something in...I'm currently
[9:27] applying to the Vermont
[9:29] Community Foundation. She
[9:33] said 10 or 15
[9:34] minutes to fill out
[9:36] the application, not exactly. Um,
[9:37] yes. Um, you
[9:38] get into it,
[9:40] they...they want a
[9:41] lot of information.
[9:42] But all of this is very similar
[9:44] to what we did. And
[9:45] one of the things would be that
[9:46] any money
[9:48] was approved. So
[9:49] probably if you
[9:51] had a request for
[9:52] that, I could
[9:52] present it in the
[9:54] applications.
[9:56] And, um, I mean,
[9:57] like you said, they
[9:58] should get what
[9:59] you got, right
[10:01] now. So I don't know
[10:03] if you guys are ready to
[10:04] do it at this
[10:05] point - allocate this
[10:06] money. A
[10:07] hundred thousand?
[10:08] Hmm. Yes.
[10:10] Um, just to
[10:11] avoid any
[10:12] confusion on my part
[10:13] , won't this affect the
[10:14] ability to
[10:15] use them? What is
[10:17] this? In
[10:19] kind you can't
[10:20] take, you can't
[10:21] take now until you
[10:22] actually
[10:22] sign.
[10:23] some natural
[10:24] help now. This
[10:25] is called pre- or
[10:26] post-award. Um
[10:27] , pre-award–this is
[10:29] money similar to what
[10:30] we spend on
[10:31] grant writing, with
[10:32] two rivers that
[10:34] will meet
[10:35] the requirements. The money we
[10:36] use to,
[10:38] um, conduct
[10:39] research will be
[10:40] eligible.
[10:42] So, even if it
[10:43] came from the
[10:44] Byrne Foundation to us for that hundred
[10:45] thousand, we will take it
[10:46] and make it part of
[10:48] our
[10:48] co-financing.
[10:49] We just need
[10:50] to be careful about
[10:51] when we take this
[10:52] money and how we
[10:53] use it.
[10:54] If you are going to
[10:55] do a pre-
[10:56] award distribution, it should
[10:57] be in your budget
[10:58] . But it's in our
[11:00] budget. And it has to be
[11:01] approved by the state.
[11:03] Good.
[11:04] You must
[11:05] tread carefully,
[11:06] especially with pre-
[11:07] awarding. We don't
[11:08] want someone to
[11:09] just come and
[11:09] do us a big
[11:10] favor with their
[11:11] excavator and
[11:12] dig a hole. This
[11:12] would cause
[11:13] problems.
[11:15] Good.
[11:18] I'm fine.
[11:20] So you want you to take
[11:22] this step of
[11:23] allocating this
[11:24] funding for...
[11:26] Oh yeah. I would, yes, I would
[11:29] let someone
[11:30] else.
[11:33] So you want to
[11:34] allocate existing
[11:35] money or the
[11:36] $100,000 that goes
[11:38] into the existing
[11:40] pool overhaul, which includes
[11:42] $25,000 for the
[11:43] shed package. That's all.
[11:46] Good.
[11:47] Second.
[11:47] So it is proposed.
[11:51] Okay, everyone, who's in favor?
[11:52] Yes.
[11:54] Against?
[11:55] And MGM. And did you, um, have
[12:00] any questions about the
[12:01] form of commitment?
[12:05] It was well
[12:06] written. I just
[12:07] said.
[12:10] I was impressed that
[12:11] she was very
[12:12] detailed. It's all
[12:16] like: Yes, I have another
[12:17] one for your
[12:18] approval, I'm just
[12:20] working on it. This will be
[12:22] if we
[12:23] receive the money, the
[12:24] receipt. Let
[12:25] me send them
[12:26] back, I will say that it
[12:26] will be used for
[12:27] public purposes and
[12:28] you have not received
[12:29] any proper
[12:29] use of the services
[12:30] and we are not providing you with
[12:31] legal
[12:31] advice.
[12:32] Yes, that's good. Perfectly.
[12:35] Thank you very much everyone.
[12:36] Thank you. Does
[12:39] anyone here have a
[12:39] question for Greg?
[12:43] No.
[12:44] Good. David
[12:45] , wait. We don't
[12:46] ...Are you raising your hand,
[12:48] Anna? It looks like he's out
[12:53] .
[12:53] This is mine...No, mine...I'm
[12:54] just holding it in my
[12:55] mouth. I just want to
[12:57] congratulate Greg for his
[12:58] excellent efforts.
[12:59] Oh, okay. Great
[13:01] effort. Thank you
[13:03] for your wonderful efforts.
[13:05] Everything is fine.
[13:06] Yes. I just
[13:06] thought he
[13:07] raised his hand, so I
[13:08] wasn't sure.
[13:09] It's on my face
[13:11] .
[13:11] Well, thank you so much
[13:12] , Greg, for all
[13:13] your hard
[13:14] work and to the committee for
[13:15] all their hard
[13:16] work on everything
[13:17] they do to
[13:18] take care of this and get it
[13:19] started.
[13:20] We have to...Yes.
[13:26] Okay, now
[13:27] the meeting is open for
[13:28] public
[13:28] discussion of anything
[13:30] that is not on the
[13:31] agenda tonight
[13:32] .
[13:34] I would like to start
[13:35] online because I
[13:36] think, and I
[13:37] apologize, that David
[13:39] Alexander might be
[13:40] here to talk
[13:41] about the concerns
[13:42] about the flags in the
[13:43] cemetery. I'm not
[13:46] sure if I have the
[13:47] right person.
[13:48] Then I
[13:49] have a message on my desk to
[13:50] call someone back,
[13:51] and I think it might
[13:52] be you.
[13:52] Yes.
[13:53] Okay, okay.
[13:54] Yes, that was me. I...
[13:55] Oh, okay. Good. Good.
[13:58] A couple of times. I
[13:59] understand you are Teresa
[14:00] Kirby.
[14:01] Yes. Yes, sir.
[14:02] Yes, I called
[14:03] a few times and
[14:04] realized you were
[14:05] quite busy. I
[14:08] reviewed the
[14:09] meeting minutes and did not see
[14:11] where in the meetings
[14:12] my letter,
[14:13] which I sent to the
[14:14] election commission, was addressed.
[14:18] Yes, I sent it to
[14:19] Joan Marshall because
[14:20] she's the one who flies the
[14:24] flags. So I
[14:25] figured if you
[14:26] talked to her and
[14:27] she said you
[14:28] talked, then you
[14:29] guys talked. And
[14:30] I can add this to the
[14:31] next package of
[14:32] documents from the election
[14:33] commission. And I haven't had a
[14:35] chance
[14:35] to call you back, but
[14:36] I know you had
[14:38] concerns about
[14:39] the flags that you
[14:40] purchased but that
[14:41] were taken down.
[14:41] Yes. Yes, I spoke
[14:43] to Joan. She
[14:46] called me, and, uh
[14:47] , I just want
[14:48] to explain a few
[14:49] things, make sure
[14:51] I understand everything that
[14:52] happened here.
[14:56] As I understood it
[14:57] before, the
[14:58] American Legion
[14:59] always placed
[15:00] flags in
[15:01] cemeteries, and I was under
[15:02] the impression that
[15:03] this is no longer the case, and the city of
[15:05] Bethel is now purchasing
[15:06] flags for
[15:06] veterans in
[15:07] cemeteries. Is that
[15:10] correct?
[15:11] Yes, that's right, sir.
[15:14] Good. And as I
[15:16] said in my letter,
[15:18] I mean my
[15:19] father, Pearly
[15:20] Alexander, is
[15:21] buried there. He is a
[15:23] veteran of
[15:24] World War II. He
[15:26] fought on
[15:27] Guadalcanal, and, as
[15:28] he said, he went
[15:29] through hell there. And my
[15:32] great-grandfather, Henry
[15:33] Davenport, a
[15:34] Civil War veteran, is
[15:36] also buried there.
[15:42] He was a drummer
[15:43] and then he went back to the
[15:45] infantry, and because the
[15:46] Legion in the past,
[15:47] for the last 5-6
[15:48] years I think, there
[15:49] wasn't any money or there
[15:51] wasn't any time, so I
[15:52] bought my
[15:53] own flags every year and
[15:54] came around
[15:55] Remembrance Day and
[15:56] put up flags
[15:57] on my
[15:58] father's and great-grandfather's graves. And
[16:05] this year, in
[16:05] early May, I
[16:07] went up and saw
[16:08] that
[16:09] new flags were hanging on their graves,
[16:10] and I was very
[16:11] happy about that. But then, when
[16:14] I went back about a
[16:15] month later, all the
[16:16] flags in the
[16:17] cemetery were gone
[16:18] , and that confused me
[16:19] . I am also a
[16:24] Vietnam War veteran, and I
[16:25] believe that flags
[16:26] should be on
[16:27] veterans' graves 365
[16:29] days a year to
[16:30] honor veterans
[16:31] and the sacrifices they
[16:32] made. And, as I
[16:38] said, for the
[16:39] last 5-6 years I have
[16:40] been installing flags at my
[16:42] own expense. And
[16:46] I'm just curious
[16:48] what...I got
[16:49] the impression from Joan
[16:50] that perhaps she and her
[16:51] husband decided to
[16:53] take down the flags to
[16:54] keep them for another year,
[16:55] which obviously I
[16:56] disagree with. I told
[17:03] Joan that if there
[17:09] was a budget item to
[17:11] purchase flags
[17:12] for veterans in
[17:13] cemeteries, then
[17:14] perhaps the
[17:15] city taxpayers would be
[17:16] willing to do it.
[17:23] Also, uh, Joanna
[17:24] reminded me that I
[17:25] was the only one who
[17:27] complained, but, uh,
[17:28] one of the phone
[17:29] calls I
[17:31] made to the
[17:32] city clerk's office and, uh
[17:33] , I spoke to, uh,
[17:35] I think it was, uh,
[17:36] Pam? This is the one who
[17:40] said "Yes." And she
[17:42] said I wasn't the
[17:43] only one, she was
[17:45] approached on the street by
[17:46] other residents who
[17:47] were also
[17:48] concerned about
[17:48] the lack of flags
[17:50] . Uh, I just... I'm
[17:53] sorry. Let's...
[17:54] try a few
[17:55] different ways.
[17:57] We once
[17:57] exhibited them for a whole
[17:59] year. Some people
[18:00] considered it disrespectful.
[18:03] Then one time we
[18:04] took them down in
[18:05] November after
[18:06] Veterans Day so they would
[18:07] n't be in the snow all
[18:08] winter and
[18:09] put them back up in
[18:10] May. And so we
[18:13] tried it. Then
[18:14] we also removed them
[18:15] in October because you never
[18:16] know how much snow
[18:18] you're going to walk in. So it's
[18:19] really interesting because
[18:20] any veteran, and
[18:24] Joanna and her husband
[18:25] and their son served,
[18:27] even veterans
[18:28] seem to have a different
[18:29] perspective on it. And I
[18:31] always hesitate because I have
[18:32] n't served myself. And it's hard to
[18:35] know what's
[18:38] best, because even,
[18:39] you know, even some
[18:40] veterans have different
[18:42] opinions on whether
[18:43] they should
[18:44] hang out in the snow all year round
[18:45] or take them off. Hmm, so of course it's
[18:46] nice
[18:48] to hear your opinion that 365
[18:49] days a year, and
[18:50] maybe that's something the
[18:53] election commission should think about. And
[18:55] we have a budget for
[18:56] flags, and, um, we
[18:57] started buying
[18:58] better ones so that they,
[18:59] you know, break, and
[19:00] then
[19:01] we use them in the summer on
[19:02] lawn mowers and
[19:03] other places. So we
[19:04] tried
[19:05] investing a little
[19:06] more money in
[19:07] higher quality flags.
[19:08] So, hmm, maybe that's something the
[19:10] election
[19:11] commission really needs to
[19:12] think about. Do
[19:14] you know what other
[19:15] cemeteries in your
[19:16] area are doing? Do
[19:17] they leave them there all year round?
[19:18] I think so.
[19:22] You know, I'm a
[19:23] Randolph native, and, um, I
[19:25] visit the East
[19:27] Randolph Cemetery quite often.
[19:30] My wife is buried there,
[19:32] and, um, the flags
[19:33] seem to hang there
[19:34] all year round. I know
[19:38] I've
[19:39] been to
[19:39] Randolph
[19:41] -East Randolph Cemetery a few times this summer and all the
[19:42] flags are still
[19:43] flying over the
[19:43] veterans.
[19:46] Well, sure, can
[19:47] I call around or
[19:48] have one of
[19:49] my staff
[19:51] call around and
[19:52] find out what people are doing
[19:53] in the neighboring
[19:54] towns and try to
[19:55] make sure that we're,
[19:56] you know, sensitive to
[19:57] everyone's feelings.
[20:01] Yes, because, as I said
[20:02] , for the last
[20:03] five or six years,
[20:05] I mean, I would
[20:06] come in May, and
[20:07] my
[20:08] father's and my great-grandfather's graves would still have the
[20:09] old
[20:10] flag from last
[20:11] year hanging, and I would replace it
[20:13] with a new flag that
[20:14] I bought. Uh, I mean
[20:17] , they used to be
[20:18] left there for a
[20:19] whole year. Yes,
[20:21] they left. Therefore.
[20:23] And, as I said, this is
[20:24] my opinion, this is my
[20:25] opinion.
[20:26] Well, thank you. And yes, I'm
[20:27] sorry I didn't
[20:28] call you, but I'm
[20:29] so glad you
[20:30] came
[20:31] tonight so we could
[20:32] talk. Sorry,
[20:33] but you know, I'll do a little more
[20:34] research
[20:35] on this and
[20:36] then we'll talk. Let
[20:37] the commission decide what
[20:39] they want to do.
[20:40] Good. Okay, I appreciate
[20:43] that, because yeah, to
[20:44] demolish them within,
[20:45] you know, about, a
[20:47] month after
[20:48] Memorial Day, uh, I think, you
[20:50] know, that's unacceptable to me
[20:53] . And, and plus
[20:55] , uh, you know, uh,
[20:56] now, uh, after
[20:58] the flags were gone, uh
[20:59] , on my
[21:00] next trip
[21:02] there, I put
[21:03] new flags on
[21:04] my father's grave, my
[21:05] great-grandfather's grave,
[21:07] and I also put
[21:08] one on Paul, uh,
[21:09] Amel Sr. He's
[21:12] another
[21:13] World
[21:14] War II veteran, and, uh, the family is a
[21:15] friend of my family,
[21:16] so I made sure to
[21:17] put one on
[21:18] his grave as well. And, uh,
[21:20] so...Well,
[21:22] thank you very much. And, uh,
[21:23] I have your number, so
[21:24] I'll be in touch with
[21:26] you so you can
[21:27] find out what
[21:28] decision they're going to
[21:28] make.
[21:29] Okay, I appreciate that.
[21:31] Thank you very much. Thank you.
[21:33] Okay, thank you. Is there
[21:35] anyone else online
[21:36] who has public
[21:38] comments? Dana and
[21:41] Mel.
[21:43] Just listening.
[21:45] Okay, just okay.
[21:46] So, no one
[21:47] raises their hands. So,
[21:48] I guess you're
[21:49] okay with
[21:50] the comments. If
[21:51] you have public
[21:52] comments about... Please
[21:53] step up to
[21:54] the microphone so you
[21:55] can be heard.
[21:58] I'm Penny Penny Griffin
[21:59] .
[21:59] Yes.
[22:02] Um, my husband is a
[22:03] veteran and noticed that
[22:04] the flags were gone very
[22:05] early and, um, talked
[22:07] to Joanna about it and
[22:08] we think they
[22:09] should definitely be left on
[22:10] much longer than
[22:12] they were.
[22:13] Do you think
[22:14] they should
[22:14] stay year-round?
[22:16] I mean, it's
[22:17] such a hard thing. I didn't
[22:18] serve, and then there are
[22:19] veterans who say,
[22:20] "We took them off one
[22:21] year in October." And people are
[22:22] upset because they
[22:23] weren't there for
[22:24] Veterans Day. But if it's
[22:25] really snowy,
[22:26] you know, then you
[22:27] walk around a pile of
[22:28] snow, and then it's
[22:29] disrespectful because,
[22:30] you know, in the spring you have
[22:31] broken flags?
[22:33] Like I'm not the right person...
[22:34] You know, I just don't
[22:35] know. If I were serving, I
[22:37] felt like I should have an
[22:38] opinion, but I don't
[22:40] . I don't know if I have the
[22:41] right to do this.
[22:42] Hmm, I would ask Fred
[22:43] on my behalf. As a
[22:46] veterinarian, I would
[22:47] let him...I would
[22:48] ask him what he
[22:49] thinks.
[22:50] Yes. He
[22:51] was upset.
[22:52] Yes.
[22:53] They left.
[22:54] Yes. Good. Well, that's
[22:55] good to know. We'll have
[22:57] to...Like I
[22:58] said, I'll check with
[22:59] other cities and
[22:59] see what they're
[23:00] doing.
[23:01] And I don't know, maybe it's
[23:03] worth asking a
[23:04] question here for
[23:05] decision-making, because
[23:06] it's in this area...I
[23:07] mean, I don't
[23:08] think it should
[23:10] just be a way
[23:10] in...
[23:12] No, no, I know. I know.
[23:14] Yes.
[23:14] I called them and
[23:16] they had how much
[23:17] bread and I serve
[23:18] three cemeteries.
[23:18] Yes. No, we just...
[23:20] Yeah, it's just...
[23:21] It was a little
[23:22] unexpected.
[23:22] I tried a few
[23:23] different things and none
[23:24] were satisfying.
[23:25] Yes.
[23:26] but thank you. Thank you.
[23:28] Penny. Does anyone
[23:31] else have any public
[23:31] comments on
[23:32] anything that is not on the
[23:34] agenda?
[23:38] I'm Barb Nickerson. I am
[23:41] concerned about the two rivers and
[23:42] this new planning for
[23:43] Redhill. I talked
[23:46] about this with Teresa. I
[23:47] talked about this with
[23:49] Dana. And I know there
[23:51] will be a meeting on Wednesday.
[23:52] I cannot be
[23:53] present. I would
[23:54] urge the election
[23:56] commission to please
[23:57] visit it to
[23:58] find out what
[23:59] people are saying, because it's
[24:00] not just me.
[24:01] No.
[24:02] I'm the only one who says anything about
[24:04] it.
[24:05] Yes. Uh, Denise and I
[24:07] plan to
[24:08] attend.
[24:10] I think you all
[24:11] should, because you
[24:12] represent Bethel.
[24:14] So get out there and
[24:15] see what
[24:16] happens. So
[24:18] many people
[24:19] have no idea. They are
[24:20] changing what we
[24:21] can do with our
[24:22] property
[24:24] using maps
[24:25] they have taken from the sky.
[24:26] Hmm.
[24:28] And they don't tell us.
[24:29] Yes.
[24:30] So if you know
[24:31] this is happening,
[24:32] you can decide you
[24:33] want to
[24:34] do something, and suddenly you
[24:35] find your own piece of
[24:37] land in the wetlands
[24:38] .
[24:39] Right.
[24:40] They can't just
[24:42] change what my
[24:43] land is without telling
[24:44] me.
[24:45] Right.
[24:45] They say, "Well, you
[24:47] can look at the
[24:48] maps." Well, all it
[24:49] says when I
[24:50] try to enter
[24:51] my address is that
[24:52] it is unavailable.
[24:53] Yes.
[24:54] So I don't know how to
[24:55] do it. So,
[24:57] send me everyone
[24:58] so I can get a
[24:59] piece of paper from this
[25:00] Two Rivers group that
[25:01] says what
[25:02] they're going to
[25:03] do. Because they
[25:05] just do it.
[25:08] Right. And you
[25:09] said you raised
[25:10] your concerns with the
[25:11] planning commission,
[25:12] which is great.
[25:12] I did it.
[25:13] And I checked to see if
[25:14] all the planning issues were heard
[25:15] ,
[25:16] honestly.
[25:17] But I talked to the
[25:19] planning commission. Um, I
[25:20] emailed
[25:21] Dana and Tina and them to
[25:22] see how
[25:23] they feel about
[25:24] this, because I know that
[25:25] my understanding of the
[25:26] regional plan
[25:27] they're proposing
[25:29] is a rollback
[25:29] version of what
[25:31] we have now. So,
[25:32] if the regional
[25:32] plan they are
[25:33] proposing is not
[25:34] approved, we will be
[25:35] left with the
[25:35] regional plan
[25:36] we have. And I know, as
[25:39] you probably know, that once the
[25:40] regional plan
[25:41] is adopted, it will
[25:42] still have to
[25:43] go to the
[25:44] state for review, but that
[25:45] seems a little
[25:48] uncertain.
[25:49] Yeah, I don't think Two
[25:51] Rivers necessarily
[25:52] gets a fast and
[25:56] hard contribution from
[25:57] Learn. I think I
[25:58] agree that
[25:59] indefinite is a
[26:00] term, I would say,
[26:01] yes, definitely.
[26:02] They are just people like
[26:03] you and me making
[26:05] these decisions.
[26:06] Yes.
[26:07] We didn't choose them.
[26:08] No. We didn't choose.
[26:10] So I don't understand
[26:11] why they can
[26:12] seize power.
[26:13] Yes, I don't know.
[26:15] Of course, you could
[26:16] say that, but we're
[26:17] going to leave on
[26:18] Wednesday, so I
[26:19] talked to them. So
[26:20] I tried behind
[26:21] the scenes,
[26:21] at least when you
[26:22] got your
[26:23] information and
[26:24] talked to them.
[26:25] Like, what's going on
[26:26] ? What's up with this? So, we're
[26:28] meeting on Wednesday,
[26:29] um, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., so
[26:30] hopefully we'll be
[26:32] , you know, better
[26:33] informed.
[26:34] Hopefully, or
[26:35] at least we will provide you with
[26:36] some information.
[26:38] Good.
[26:38] Thank you, Bert.
[26:40] How are you? From
[26:41] 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
[26:45] Here. Yes.
[26:47] Tell me your name.
[26:49] Bill Hall. I'm a veteran,
[26:51] and, uh, I think it would be
[26:52] nice if the
[26:53] flags were flown
[26:55] year-round. But I
[26:58] understand money,
[26:59] budgets, etc., but, uh,
[27:01] if the flag is
[27:02] damaged,
[27:02] toppled, or
[27:04] broken, it
[27:05] needs to be removed. And
[27:08] I believe it should be
[27:10] displayed all
[27:11] year round.
[27:12] Good. So it's my
[27:14] business, okay? And so
[27:15] it's not like, it's
[27:16] normal, you don't
[27:17] care if it's
[27:18] buried in snow or
[27:19] anything like that. It's not... I
[27:20] just want to know what
[27:21] disrespect is, because I'm
[27:23] so afraid of making the
[27:23] wrong choice
[27:25] , the wrong
[27:26] decision. But you're a
[27:27] veteran and you don't
[27:28] feel like it's
[27:30] me...the whole point is that
[27:31] disrespect for the flag is
[27:32] broken and lying on the
[27:33] ground in the mud.
[27:35] Yes, I agree.
[27:38] The flag buried under the
[27:39] snow...I can
[27:40] understand that it's
[27:41] disrespectful, but, you know,
[27:42] we go back to
[27:43] different wars where
[27:44] the guys were out there, they
[27:46] fought in the snow. I
[27:49] mean, they were
[27:50] there, you know, that's true
[27:51] for the long
[27:52] term.
[27:53] Yeah, but it's nice to
[27:54] hear your opinion, and
[27:56] to say that, you know, I'm
[27:57] saying that I had
[27:58] someone
[27:59] buried there, and I went to
[28:00] visit them in
[28:01] December because it was
[28:03] their
[28:03] birthday. It would be
[28:05] nice to see
[28:06] the flag there, and I would
[28:07] clear the snow.
[28:08] Yes. Well, thank you. This is
[28:09] really useful.
[28:11] Thank you, Dale.
[28:14] Chris, I know a guy
[28:15] who runs the
[28:16] veterans cemetery
[28:17] in Randolph.
[28:18] Hmm.
[28:19] So let's see if
[28:20] they do it.
[28:21] Yes, that would be helpful
[28:22] . Yes, just so you know.
[28:24] Yes.
[28:24] Wrong. That's right
[28:25] ,
[28:26] and that's right, and that's beautiful.
[28:27] This is a beautiful cemetery.
[28:28] That would be good. I
[28:30] know they are very
[28:31] strict about the
[28:32] rules about wreaths and
[28:33] stuff because
[28:34] my father was once buried there.
[28:35] And if you don't get
[28:36] there on the right day
[28:37] , your wreath
[28:38] will be left in a
[28:39] huge pile. And
[28:40] yes, my husband
[28:42] went through it one year because
[28:43] his mom had
[28:44] something special there. He
[28:45] was there for a while.
[28:47] He's like, "I
[28:47] really should have
[28:48] left when she
[28:49] told me." "So, uh,
[28:50] but that could be it,
[28:52] I could also look
[28:53] at their website.
[28:54] Or not do what
[28:55] we're doing, but then there's
[28:56] more
[28:56] information.
[28:57] Thanks, or, you know, I
[28:58] could...I'll look
[28:59] at their website too and
[29:00] see, uh, that's a
[29:01] good option.
[29:02] Thanks.
[29:03] Yeah, my dad
[29:04] has
[29:05] a flag at the cemetery in Barrie, and I think they'll
[29:07] take it down before the winter.
[29:08] Because when I go down there,
[29:10] like, in April
[29:11] or something, they're
[29:12] not there. But we could
[29:13] check out the
[29:15] veterans' cemetery and, you know,
[29:16] talk to the
[29:17] veterans in this
[29:18] town.
[29:19] That's a great idea.
[29:20] Thanks.
[29:22] for your input.
[29:25] Any other
[29:29] public comments
[29:30] on things that aren't
[29:31] on the
[29:32] agenda?
[29:33] I'm Susan's neighbor again
[29:34] . Uh, is there a
[29:37] policy for
[29:43] removing problem
[29:45] trees along the road
[29:46] that are definitely going to fall on the
[29:47] road?
[29:51] You could just
[29:52] let AJ know, and
[29:53] if he wants an
[29:54] opinion, he can
[29:55] talk to the
[29:56] road worker
[29:57] . He can talk
[29:58] to the
[29:59] arborist, Jeb.
[30:00] Okay.
[30:01] If you know, if...
[30:02] " It's sick or something
[30:03] , so, well,
[30:04] it's going to be on the
[30:06] road right now, so
[30:07] if you send
[30:08] me a picture or an
[30:09] address or something, I'll
[30:10] make sure he
[30:11] gets...
[30:12] Okay. Yes. OK.
[30:14] With
[30:14] pleasure.
[30:15] Thank you, Penny.
[30:19] Any other
[30:19] public comments?
[30:23] Good. Now we will
[30:27] move on to item
[30:28] one, the
[30:29] city garage documents, uh, the
[30:32] capital
[30:33] construction decision, B,
[30:34] a declaration of the
[30:34] official intent of
[30:35] the city of Bethel to
[30:36] reimburse certain
[30:37] expenses from the proceeds
[30:39] of the debt up to
[30:40] 500,000 and see the
[30:41] official
[30:41] warning at the
[30:42] special
[30:44] Bethel city meeting. So,
[30:48] talk a little bit about
[30:49] that. Um, let me
[30:52] go to the right
[30:53] page.
[30:54] The suggestion is
[30:55] to make a suggestion first.
[30:56] Yes.
[30:57] Make a suggestion
[30:58] first.
[31:01] Yes. Yes.
[31:12] Secondly.
[31:13] Good. Now we have a
[31:14] discussion. Good.
[31:21] So, obviously. So, the
[31:23] first one is the resolution in the
[31:24] package. Apparently, it's about,
[31:27] you know, essentially, we
[31:28] need to build a
[31:30] new city parking garage,
[31:31] about 8,800
[31:32] square feet, and
[31:33] related
[31:34] improvements, and we're
[31:35] now at...3.5 million.
[31:37] So, I will tell you that
[31:38] we are not quite at the
[31:40] 3.5 mark. We are at the
[31:41] 3.4 mark, and there are some
[31:44] changes. And, um, but if
[31:47] you weren't able to
[31:48] watch the video
[31:49] or go to the
[31:50] open house, there's
[31:53] drywall at the city garage. And in the 80s
[31:56] or 90s, we were
[31:57] getting, like in the
[31:59] United States,
[32:00] drywall from China,
[32:01] which could contain
[32:03] asbestos. So if we
[32:05] pass the
[32:06] asbestos test, then
[32:07] obviously we will have to
[32:08] do
[32:09] asbestos abatement.
[32:11] Another thing is, we are demolishing the
[32:12] existing city
[32:13] garage, so we
[32:14] are going to build
[32:16] on the same site. So
[32:18] hopefully they
[32:19] won't find anything there
[32:20] when they
[32:21] tear it down and
[32:22] take away all the concrete.
[32:23] So, the reason for the 3.5
[32:27] is that
[32:28] if they
[32:29] find something under it or
[32:31] if there is
[32:32] asbestos cleanup, then that's
[32:33] just the cost, which
[32:35] is an unknown variable.
[32:37] We have...5% for
[32:37] unforeseen
[32:38] expenses, but that
[32:40] may not be
[32:40] enough. We also
[32:42] think we
[32:43] may have
[32:43] asbestos
[32:44] sewer pipes. So we are
[32:46] waiting for that. The other
[32:49] thing is, I have
[32:50] about
[32:51] $100,000 in capital
[32:52] funds in reserve to, you know,
[32:54] use to
[32:55] pay for things
[32:56] like...I don't...We don't
[32:57] pay, no
[32:58] offense, Joe, but we
[32:59] don't pay for
[33:00] legal fees.
[33:03] Over the next 30
[33:04] years and with
[33:05] interest. We do
[33:06] n't do that. This is advertising.
[33:08] We are going to
[33:08] pay for this from the
[33:09] general fund.
[33:10] Legal Services
[33:11] will pay for this from the
[33:12] general fund. Um, the
[33:13] clerk of works or
[33:14] someone who will manage the
[33:15] photographers
[33:16] will pay for it either from the
[33:17] general fund or
[33:18] from that $100,000.
[33:19] So I'm not planning on
[33:20] putting, you know,
[33:21] any tables or anything
[33:22] crazy into this fund
[33:24] . It will actually
[33:25] just be a garage. And, um,
[33:27] it's going to look like this...
[33:28] If you look at the
[33:29] city website, I
[33:30] have some renderings that I
[33:31] need to
[33:32] post. And...It will be
[33:33] essentially the same as what
[33:34] you see
[33:35] now, only newer.
[33:37] There will be an additional
[33:38] compartment. If
[33:39] you look from the front, there
[33:40] will be an
[33:40] additional compartment on the left.
[33:42] It will be about
[33:43] 10 feet longer. Hmm,
[33:45] that's all. We're going to have to
[33:47] install a wall that's
[33:49] going to be concrete, with, uh, an
[33:51] epoxy-coated concrete block
[33:53] in the middle, because we can't
[33:54] sand it.
[33:55] We have no
[33:56] water supply. We
[33:57] don't have a place to place a
[33:58] bet. So
[33:59] this is what we needed to
[34:01] do to, uh,
[34:02] meet those
[34:03] criteria. Hmm, there
[34:04] will be an office, a
[34:05] bathroom, a
[34:06] recreation room, which is new.
[34:07] They don't have a
[34:08] lounge. And then a
[34:09] vault that they
[34:10] can lock up, because
[34:11] as you all know,
[34:12] this property has
[34:13] been broken into before. So
[34:14] , uh, we hope
[34:15] things don't get
[34:16] stolen. Uh, now
[34:17] we have...We'll call it a
[34:19] mezzanine, very loosely.
[34:21] You can only get to it by ladder
[34:22] . And wooden. So
[34:23] we'll have...a mezzanine
[34:25] upstairs to make it
[34:26] heavier. There will be
[34:27] shelves so the guys
[34:28] can store
[34:29] parts there. Um, but it's all,
[34:30] you know, radiant
[34:32] heat, which is a little more
[34:32] expensive up front, but
[34:34] will be more
[34:34] cost-effective
[34:36] in the long
[34:37] run. Our
[34:38] backup heating
[34:39] is that we're
[34:40] going to
[34:41] reuse our
[34:42] existing, uh, used fuel oil furnace
[34:44] . So, we have already
[34:45] dismantled the
[34:46] underground fuel
[34:47] tank. We installed a
[34:48] new ground
[34:49] fuel tank. We
[34:50] did all of this. So, uh
[34:51] , we'll have
[34:53] better numbers too. These are
[34:54] preliminary figures.
[34:55] We hope that when
[34:56] we announce the tender,
[34:57] we have several
[34:58] local contractors
[34:58] interested in
[34:59] parts of it. Er,
[35:00] demolition,
[35:01] construction...er,
[35:02] concreting and
[35:03] earthworks. So maybe
[35:04] we'll see
[35:05] some savings there.
[35:06] So, you know, it
[35:09] needs to be done. It's
[35:10] just life safety
[35:12] at the moment. We
[35:13] need to reinforce
[35:14] one wall so it can
[35:15] survive the winter, uh, in
[35:17] the hopes that we just...
[35:18] That's it. You know how
[35:19] someone said, "Well, you
[35:20] could sneak a
[35:21] German Shepherd
[35:22] through some holes in
[35:23] ..." a wall, or a cat,
[35:24] or something. “Um,
[35:25] just so you know,
[35:26] but if you want to
[35:27] watch the video, there’s a
[35:28] link to it on
[35:29] our website. Um,
[35:30] you can also see it
[35:32] on Orcomedia, I think. Then
[35:33] maybe not. In
[35:34] any case, it is on
[35:35] our website. So
[35:36] you can
[35:37] see him there. And I
[35:38] will upload some
[35:38] draft documents.
[35:40] We will have two
[35:41] newsletters
[35:42] regarding bonds.
[35:43] The first will be on October 12,
[35:44] Columbus Day. Um, and
[35:47] the contractor, the
[35:47] general
[35:48] contractor who's
[35:49] doing this, will be here
[35:50] for that. And then
[35:53] we'll have another one, um, on the
[35:55] 20th-28th. So, the 12th and the 26th
[35:58] . Um, we're also
[36:00] going to put out a
[36:01] little newsletter. Um
[36:03] , yes, 6 cents per
[36:04] tax rate. Um,
[36:07] but I posted it
[36:08] there, how many
[36:09] cents it is every day, etc.
[36:11] But, again,
[36:12] you know, any
[36:13] savings, because
[36:14] we have, um,
[36:15] design,
[36:16] construction, and we have an
[36:17] open book,
[36:18] any savings that…”
[36:19] comes back to us.
[36:20] Any savings
[36:21] occur during the
[36:22] term of the contract, after
[36:23] it is
[36:24] put out to
[36:24] tender. So, that
[36:25] will reduce the amount of the
[36:26] bond
[36:27] eventually before we, you
[36:28] know, get the
[36:30] money. So, um, you know,
[36:33] we... Another reason
[36:34] we waited, well,
[36:35] one of them is money.
[36:37] We had
[36:37] water projects
[36:38] and other things to do, but
[36:39] we also have a
[36:40] bond vote
[36:41] coming up. Uh, the
[36:42] Church Street Bridge is
[36:43] almost done. The city
[36:45] hall is almost ready.
[36:46] There is a water bond
[36:47] that is almost ready.
[36:48] So, the fire truck,
[36:49] so one of the fire
[36:51] trucks is almost ready.
[36:52] So we
[36:53] will of course look for
[36:54] budget cuts
[36:55] to offset
[36:56] the price. At the moment,
[36:58] this is the
[36:58] highest level
[36:59] we could reach, we have
[37:00] gone as
[37:01] far as
[37:02] possible. So, just
[37:03] wanted to let you know.
[37:04] So, if you have
[37:05] any questions about
[37:06] this, I'll
[37:07] answer them.
[37:08] Um, other than that, we'll
[37:09] just move on to
[37:10] signing the
[37:10] documents. And you
[37:11] will vote on
[37:12] the bond on November 3rd
[37:13] , when you
[37:14] vote for
[37:15] state offices, your
[37:17] state ballot...to be
[37:18] mailed to you,
[37:19] but you will need to
[37:20] vote
[37:21] in person to
[37:21] vote on the
[37:22] bond, or
[37:23] ask Pam for an
[37:24] absentee bond.
[37:26] Justin, who's online?
[37:28] Justin, okay.
[37:29] Hello, Justin.
[37:30] Hey, I'm just
[37:33] glad we're
[37:34] building this, whatever it is
[37:35] , but I'm a little
[37:36] concerned that
[37:37] we don't have enough
[37:38] money for the
[37:38] contaminated soil
[37:39] that will be under this
[37:40] building. I actually
[37:42] did a couple of garages
[37:44] for the state, uh, we were
[37:45] part of the projects.
[37:47] Each time, it cost
[37:48] over a million
[37:49] dollars to remove the
[37:50] contaminated soil,
[37:51] transport it to
[37:52] Coventry, bring in
[37:53] new soil, and
[37:54] re-compaction
[37:55] it. And I mean, these are the
[37:57] last two
[37:58] jobs I've done
[37:59] for the state, these are what
[38:00] we had to do.
[38:01] So a hundred, a hundred thousand
[38:02] dollars is just not
[38:03] enough to
[38:04] take care of the
[38:05] contaminated soil
[38:06] that I almost
[38:07] guarantee
[38:08] is under this
[38:09] building if it was a
[38:10] city garage for 50, 60, 80
[38:12] years, however long
[38:13] it lived. there.
[38:14] There's oil there, there's
[38:15] all sorts of things that
[38:16] have gone through this
[38:17] concrete and are being absorbed
[38:18] into this soil. And every
[38:20] particle needs to be
[38:21] gotten rid of. I
[38:22] mean, I watched
[38:24] ...I don't even know
[38:25] how many dump trucks...
[38:26] it delayed the work for
[38:27] probably about 9
[38:28] months while they
[38:30] took dump truck after dump
[38:31] truck out of the facility.
[38:33] Yes.
[38:33] It could be a lot of
[38:35] money, and I'm just
[38:36] concerned that
[38:37] we're just, you know,
[38:38] it's going to be a lot of money
[38:39] , let alone
[38:40] building a building.
[38:41] Yes. You are not
[38:42] wrong. I
[38:43] mean, it's...You're
[38:45] right. There are some
[38:46] unknowns. We
[38:48] are going to do
[38:49] some
[38:50] soil testing. We know
[38:52] we did this many
[38:53] years ago when Gary
[38:54] Slack was still a roadmaster
[38:56] . We had a
[38:58] leak in the tank and
[38:59] we had...They
[39:00] dug it out and they
[39:01] did all the
[39:02] soil tests
[39:03] and took care of it. We
[39:05] simply removed our
[39:06] underground tank
[39:07] and tested it all
[39:08] . We didn't have any soil
[39:10] that we had to
[39:11] aerate or
[39:12] do anything with. with. The good thing for
[39:14] us is that if there
[39:15] was contaminated
[39:16] soil there, we could
[39:17] leave them in place
[39:18] and cover them with a tarp
[39:19] because we have
[39:20] enough space there.
[39:21] We might be able to
[39:22] do that so we don't
[39:23] have to take them to
[39:24] Coventry, depending on
[39:25] what they
[39:26] find, of course,
[39:27] Justin. But it is
[39:28] certainly possible.
[39:32] We tried to
[39:33] remove all
[39:33] obstacles, but yeah, we'll
[39:35] find out, and, you know,
[39:36] we'll just have
[39:37] to...We'll have to
[39:39] deal with it. And if it
[39:41] all works out that way, and if
[39:42] we have to have a
[39:43] second
[39:45] bond vote or something else
[39:46] happens, and this is what
[39:47] will happen. But I'm going to be
[39:49] cautious,
[39:50] mostly
[39:51] optimistic, and, um,
[39:52] but, um, but I appreciate
[39:54] your thoughts, because yeah,
[39:55] you know, we could
[39:56] find Goff there,
[39:57] Justin. I don't know.
[40:00] So thank you, and that we will have
[40:03] another
[40:04] meeting with
[40:04] the contractor soon, and I will
[40:05] definitely have
[40:07] this conversation with him. So
[40:08] thank you.
[40:14] Any other
[40:14] comments,
[40:15] suggestions?
[40:16] Yes, you want me to
[40:17] help you get
[40:18] three and a half
[40:19] million and still
[40:20] have...I started
[40:21] saying we
[40:22] could save a
[40:22] million. It
[40:23] will be so. It will be, I
[40:24] was hoping I was
[40:26] at level 2.8 and then I
[40:27] posted a request for
[40:28] proposals at level
[40:30] 2.1 and I knew which one?
[40:31] 2.8. And then it's just the
[40:34] price. Honestly, it's
[40:35] just the cost of
[40:36] everything. Nothing will
[40:37] be destroyed. Large
[40:38] metal building. Um
[40:39] , so we did one
[40:40] of the things
[40:41] Dave is looking at. I
[40:42] gave him the data
[40:43] today because
[40:44] he works on
[40:45] committees. Reduce what
[40:46] we need
[40:48] for the service. We
[40:49] currently have 100
[40:50] amp service. They were talking
[40:51] about 400, 600, 800, you know,
[40:53] can we reduce
[40:54] that? And here's Dave
[40:55] looking at it. The data
[40:56] just came in
[40:57] today. I think he
[40:58] understood.
[40:59] Yes, he understood.
[41:00] Emm.
[41:00] The other is CBES.
[41:02] Yes.
[41:02] We asked them and they
[41:04] said yes, they
[41:05] could use
[41:06] CBES, but the governor
[41:07] said no.
[41:08] Yes, that's right. That's another thing
[41:10] we
[41:11] talked about.
[41:12] Yes, this is an energy
[41:13] standard for
[41:13] commercial buildings
[41:14] , so this will be a topic for
[41:16] discussion with them. And these are
[41:17] obviously the numbers
[41:19] they use,
[41:20] from garages,
[41:21] projects like this, or, you know,
[41:23] talking to a few
[41:24] contractors. The tender has
[41:26] not yet been held. So
[41:27] we hope
[41:28] to see some
[41:29] savings. And it's just like
[41:30] we do with
[41:31] all our other
[41:32] bonds. It's 3.5, just like
[41:33] when we did
[41:34] water projects
[41:36] , we do the same thing,
[41:37] meaning the vote
[41:38] says it
[41:39] will be reduced
[41:40] through, you know,
[41:41] savings during the
[41:42] project or other
[41:43] funds. If someone
[41:44] wants to donate,
[41:45] you know, a million
[41:46] dollars for us to
[41:47] build a city
[41:48] garage, we'll take it.
[41:50] So, um, that's how we
[41:52] got there. Basically,
[41:53] you know, I was really wishing
[41:54] for a
[41:55] reality, to be honest.
[41:57] And I was trying to
[41:57] support 2.8, which I
[41:58] think we can
[41:59] afford, which we
[42:00] can do, but I
[42:01] can't, you know,
[42:02] build it for...
[42:03] And remind you, if we...
[42:05] see
[42:06] if you'll share,
[42:07] for example... a table, but
[42:08] it's sold out to 2.8,
[42:09] or we don't have that
[42:11] number.
[42:11] I don't think so. No,
[42:12] because I just
[42:13] tried to
[42:14] go back to that
[42:15] to see what I
[42:16] think we can
[42:18] afford, and
[42:19] then with the 3. you know, with
[42:20] this 3.4 something, I
[42:21] can't remember right now, but, um, I
[42:22] looked at his
[42:23] numbers, Dave
[42:24] looked at his
[42:25] numbers, and obviously we're
[42:26] hoping
[42:27] to see some
[42:28] savings because that's
[42:29] just the upfront
[42:30] cost of construction
[42:31] . So I wanted to have some
[42:33] extra
[42:35] wiggle room with my
[42:36] budget, but
[42:37] obviously I
[42:38] like something,
[42:39] hopefully I won't have to
[42:41] spend a fortune, and, um, and
[42:42] like I said, the things
[42:44] that were in their
[42:45] room were, um, they
[42:46] had $30,000 in
[42:48] legal fees. What
[42:49] we do with it, I wouldn't
[42:50] predict, and
[42:51] I don't need to. And
[42:53] this is an AIA contract, so
[42:54] we're just going to
[42:55] review it and not
[42:56] waste any time. So, there are
[42:57] some things that we're
[42:58] removing, like
[42:59] if we're, you know, a clerk of
[43:00] works, we're not going to
[43:00] pay for it through
[43:01] bonds. We've been paying
[43:03] for some of this
[43:04] for 15 years.
[43:05] So, have we seen a
[43:06] breakdown of who...
[43:07] No, probably not yet, no.
[43:10] Data.
[43:10] Yes, because yes, we
[43:12] need data.
[43:13] Yeah, about...Yeah,
[43:14] that would certainly, yeah,
[43:15] put that in the
[43:15] next package and, um,
[43:16] well, and like I said,
[43:17] they were all just
[43:18] preliminary, and, um,
[43:19] but we obviously
[43:20] needed to
[43:21] move forward,
[43:21] obviously we
[43:22] need to move
[43:23] forward with the
[43:24] bond vote. Once
[43:25] it is passed
[43:26] they will be able to
[43:27] afford it, we can't
[43:27] let them
[43:28] start until we
[43:29] have the money. So it's kind of
[43:30] , you know, how the
[43:31] process goes. Do
[43:33] you really have other
[43:34] numbers on this matter?
[43:35] No, I need to
[43:36] know, I know I have to.
[43:38] honestly,
[43:39] keep
[43:39] selling these assets
[43:40] for $3.5, I
[43:41] mean I can't
[43:42] say that's
[43:43] good enough. I mean
[43:44] ...Okay, so I
[43:45] trust you, I'll buy the
[43:46] assets.
[43:47] Yes, I'm just saying that
[43:48] because we need
[43:48] them
[43:49] signed right
[43:50] now to move to the
[43:51] bond vote in
[43:52] November. 3rd. Um, there's a
[43:55] legislative
[43:56] process that we
[43:57] have to go through,
[43:58] how many weeks does this have to
[43:59] take, um, how many
[44:01] weeks does this have to take
[44:02] , um, what you, uh,
[44:04] notice and all that stuff
[44:05] , and what
[44:07] you're asking is to
[44:08] put it all on
[44:09] Dave's shoulders to
[44:10] review... Well,
[44:12] we just looked at the
[44:13] preliminary cost, and
[44:15] you're... Sorry, I didn't
[44:16] include that in your
[44:17] package... Um,
[44:18] I'm not trying to be
[44:19] complicated, but...
[44:20] No, I'm just not
[44:21] sure what
[44:22] would change if you
[44:23] saw that...
[44:23] I think it would still
[44:24] go to a vote,
[44:25] people could...
[44:26] It would still go to a vote
[44:27] , and we
[44:27] could... Sorry.
[44:28] I have to
[44:29] approve this again. I don't want to
[44:30] go back.
[44:31] No, and essentially the only thing
[44:32] you're doing is
[44:33] allowing this to
[44:34] move forward to
[44:35] go to a vote.
[44:36] Right.
[44:37] So we can...I
[44:38] certainly plan to
[44:39] publish, you know,
[44:41] all the data. We
[44:42] published everything. I...
[44:43] Sorry, I didn't include
[44:44] that in your package...
[44:46] Um... And, uh, but like we
[44:47] said, if... This is
[44:48] just the upfront
[44:49] cost of construction
[44:51] , just like we would
[44:52] see government
[44:53] spending on
[44:53] building a wall or
[44:55] something. So,
[44:57] Dave and I had
[44:58] one meeting with them
[44:59] when Dave wasn't there. And
[45:01] then, as soon as they
[45:02] go out to tender, they are
[45:04] eliminated. We'll
[45:05] see, you know,
[45:06] what the cost will be, and
[45:07] we can certainly
[45:09] include all of that in there.
[45:12] So, if you're not
[45:14] okay with that, then we...
[45:17] Basically,
[45:18] well, I need to have a
[45:18] special
[45:19] meeting. I'm trying to
[45:20] think because I have to...
[45:22] It's basically not
[45:22] to exceed.
[45:23] That's exactly right. This should not
[45:25] be exceeded.
[45:25] That's fair.
[45:27] Yes.
[45:27] It's not...
[45:28] I mean, I know
[45:29] it's not very cheap
[45:30] and you're doing your
[45:31] best, but I just
[45:32] ...
[45:34] Yeah. That's right, that...
[45:36] Yeah, yeah, it's obviously
[45:38] the building itself, I
[45:39] can tell you that, because I
[45:40] remember it, and I guess
[45:42] Dave does too. The
[45:43] building itself...was over...
[45:45] 2.8 and some changes
[45:46] just for the metal
[45:48] building. They had...And
[45:50] remember, these
[45:50] costs...He...
[45:51] talked to one or
[45:53] two metal
[45:54] buildings because,
[45:55] again, this is just the
[45:56] upfront cost of
[45:57] construction.
[45:58] This is not built. 2.8
[45:59] for the building only. Is that
[46:01] correct?
[46:02] 2.8 per building. No, and
[46:04] it was built,
[46:05] but it...Sorry,
[46:06] built, but it
[46:07] wasn't a project. It wasn't,
[46:08] um, and then he
[46:09] had other things
[46:10] included in there.
[46:11] This is plumbing. This...This is the
[46:12] building that...This is the
[46:14] building that...
[46:15] But this is not engineering.
[46:16] This is not a project. This is not
[46:17] permission.
[46:18] This is 24,000 that we have to
[46:20] pay to the state. It
[46:22] wasn't the 30 he
[46:24] allocated to, um, which
[46:25] he allocated to, um, like
[46:26] pork in
[46:27] construction. It
[46:30] wasn't, um, you know,
[46:31] he was 30. He
[46:33] had money for lawyers
[46:35] and this and that. So, again
[46:37] , it's not...So we
[46:38] can certainly, um, you
[46:40] know, you'll
[46:40] meet with...and
[46:42] you'll have all the
[46:43] information and...everything.
[46:44] So, it's just like any
[46:45] other
[46:46] bond move. That's four
[46:48] people to sign.
[46:49] This is not to be exceeded, and
[46:50] it does not mean that it
[46:51] will be accepted. Your
[46:52] vote will be counted.
[46:55] So
[46:55] I just wouldn't want to be
[46:56] accused of being a
[46:57] nonsense here
[46:58] . That's all.
[46:59] You don't accuse
[47:00] because you don't know if it will be
[47:02] accepted or not. And
[47:03] we have a probable
[47:04] construction cost
[47:05] that we will have to
[47:06] move
[47:07] forward with, regardless of whether
[47:08] it is
[47:09] accepted. And that number,
[47:12] you know, obviously, we're
[47:13] hoping that it will
[47:14] change, especially with
[47:16] some local
[47:17] contractors
[47:18] bidding on
[47:19] some of the work, but it's...
[47:21] So we can...um...I would be
[47:23] willing to go to a
[47:24] special meeting, and
[47:25] I would set aside more time
[47:26] in the afternoon to go to a
[47:27] special meeting
[47:28] if everyone felt more
[47:29] comfortable.
[47:29] Of course. Absolutely.
[47:31] We can...We can
[47:32] do it.
[47:32] Thank you for
[47:33] calling.
[47:34] I think it would be a good
[47:35] idea
[47:36] to describe it well as well.
[47:37] then, if we do
[47:37] n't do that, we'll have
[47:38] to...We
[47:39] need to...We have to...I
[47:40] think I'm going to...
[47:41] We have to...
[47:41] vote on this
[47:42] proposal first.
[47:43] for a second. Let
[47:44] me just...
[47:45] We need to have a
[47:45] landfill.
[47:46] If no one else
[47:47] goes this route, then
[47:48] ...
[47:48] Okay, I said it
[47:49] right here, the current
[47:51] rating for the city
[47:52] garage is
[47:53] 3.469658. That's why I'm looking for
[47:56] 3.5. And then, um, we... And
[47:59] then, um, I'm just
[48:00] trying to remember,
[48:01] because the law requires that
[48:03] we publish
[48:04] it X days in advance. And
[48:12] anyway, we
[48:14] can postpone it
[48:15] and then...And I'll do it
[48:16] , or whatever,
[48:18] if you don't have...We
[48:19] have a proposal before us
[48:20] that we
[48:21] can vote on
[48:22] , we can move
[48:23] on. We don't...I
[48:26] mean, we'll see
[48:27] all these numbers.
[48:28] You will see, and they
[48:29] will all change, even
[48:30] from the
[48:30] other side, say
[48:31] it's not so bad,
[48:32] maybe not too much
[48:33] . What if this...What
[48:35] if this isn't
[48:35] enough? And this is a
[48:37] bond vote.
[48:38] We won't know if
[48:39] it's not enough until
[48:41] November 3rd when the bond
[48:42] vote is taken
[48:43] because
[48:45] we...they're not
[48:45] going to move
[48:47] forward until we
[48:48] know...We have the
[48:49] money because we can't
[48:50] . I mean, I
[48:52] can pay for
[48:53] certain things up front,
[48:54] asbestos testing,
[48:56] soil testing, etc., but I do
[48:57] n't have, you know, I
[48:59] have 100 grand. I do
[49:00] n't have millions. So
[49:01] they won't even
[49:02] do anything until the
[49:04] bond vote passes. Once the
[49:06] bond vote is
[49:07] passed, they'll
[49:08] publish, you know,
[49:09] to get quotes from
[49:10] contractors, to
[49:11] get some solid numbers,
[49:12] um, roughly...
[49:13] Okay, some of these
[49:14] things have a pretty
[49:15] long
[49:16] lead time. You want
[49:17] this thing
[49:18] built in one
[49:19] construction period,
[49:20] we have to get started
[49:22] . This should be in
[49:23] progress. So, this...
[49:25] is no
[49:26] different from
[49:27] how we did the, uh
[49:28] , project. We did a
[49:30] sidewalk project
[49:31] costing $740,000
[49:32] . And it was the same. We
[49:34] did exactly that for
[49:35] all those same water
[49:36] projects. They all
[49:38] cost 2.5, 2.8.
[49:40] They were all estimated
[49:42] construction costs. And if that's what
[49:43] we
[49:43] voted for
[49:44] the bonds with, and not
[49:45] to exceed that, it
[49:45] can be reduced by
[49:46] any
[49:47] aid or...
[49:47] whatever. So, we
[49:48] did the same thing.
[49:49] Regarding grants and
[49:50] stuff, right? We
[49:51] provide grants and
[49:53] more or less do it,
[49:54] but we didn't know
[49:55] how much. Of course, 2.8
[49:56] ...we didn't know exactly
[49:58] how many we...
[49:59] I would say maybe
[50:00] just vote
[50:01] and see how it
[50:02] goes before you
[50:03] even go down that
[50:04] road.
[50:07] Good. Firstly,
[50:08] because these numbers, I
[50:09] mean, they
[50:10] shouldn't exceed
[50:11] ...
[50:12] Yeah.
[50:12] So, if we don't
[50:13] start, we're not
[50:14] going to...We're
[50:15] not going to get anywhere.
[50:17] Yes. Good.
[50:21] So, we have to
[50:22] achieve this. That's
[50:23] it.
[50:24] makes me nervous, but I
[50:26] know it's all a bluff,
[50:27] right?
[50:28] This is all a bluff.
[50:30] Yes, we don't have
[50:31] grant money, and
[50:32] we have, as I said,
[50:33] I have allocated about
[50:34] 100,000 in capital. So, it all
[50:36] depends on us, and it
[50:37] always had to be up to
[50:38] us. You know, so we...And
[50:42] we knew that...It's...60
[50:43] cents on the tax
[50:44] rate. This is not going away
[50:47] . That would be less
[50:49] than, you know, it seems like,
[50:51] 63 cents a day for a
[50:54] $350,000 house. So, um, but
[50:56] obviously we're going to be
[50:58] looking at, you know,
[50:59] budget cuts
[51:00] to cover that. We have
[51:03] everything we
[51:04] talked about, and it's also
[51:06] hard to wait. We have a
[51:08] tight deadline
[51:09] because...I actually
[51:10] think we
[51:10] need...If you don't
[51:11] need to sign
[51:12] this tonight,
[51:13] we'll have to have
[51:14] , like, a
[51:15] special emergency
[51:16] meeting, and you
[51:16] might have to
[51:17] sign this in 2
[51:18] days because there are
[51:19] very strict
[51:20] standards on
[51:20] how often that
[51:21] happens, you know,
[51:22] in this
[51:22] surety room. So, um,
[51:25] but...Okay, that's right
[51:27] . So,
[51:28] I don't know, so
[51:29] anyway, and that's it, and
[51:31] it shouldn't
[51:31] exceed, and that's
[51:32] Chris, it's the same,
[51:33] yeah, and that's the same
[51:34] way we've been
[51:35] moving forward...
[51:36] every other
[51:37] vote. We
[51:38] always had a probable
[51:39] construction cost
[51:40] and we did, you know,
[51:41] not to exceed it. So,
[51:42] Chris,
[51:43] similar thought.
[51:54] Yes, it should be like that,
[51:55] but we should also
[51:56] publish it in the
[51:57] official gazette. It
[51:59] has to be far away, it
[52:02] has to be, you know,
[52:03] X number of weeks
[52:04] in advance, it has to be in the
[52:06] newspaper. But, you know,
[52:07] like I said, it's not a
[52:08] big deal, I can
[52:09] research all this
[52:10] tomorrow. Okay, or me.
[52:12] Sounds like
[52:13] you have all three days,
[52:14] maybe I'll see you
[52:15] later.
[52:16] We received
[52:17] an offer, and one more thing, is there any
[52:19] further discussion?
[52:22] Everyone who is "in favor"
[52:23] indicates by saying "I am
[52:25] ." I. Against or "no".
[52:29] Okay, the offer
[52:30] is accepted.
[52:33] Perfectly. No. Everything is fine
[52:36] . Everything is fine.
[52:41] Yes, absolutely not, that
[52:43] makes sense.
[52:44] You have all the documents in the
[52:45] folder.
[52:46] I have all the things, yes,
[52:48] you have and I had, yes,
[52:49] I had, but yes.
[52:50] But it's still better now that
[52:52] you know,
[52:53] trust me, you will too.
[52:55] Yeah, oh, and so I put the
[52:56] project milestones in here, that's
[52:58] all.
[52:59] Yes, it was in the package.
[53:00] So okay, you
[53:01] need to sign.
[53:03] Here.
[53:04] I'll just give you...
[53:05] Okay.
[53:06] Because you need to
[53:07] sign this. From this
[53:09] side. So yeah, so I'll
[53:14] sign this together so
[53:15] everyone can sign.
[53:18] So...Excuse me, did you have
[53:21] a question? Yes,
[53:34] of course, and then we
[53:35] did it...that's what
[53:36] we talked about, and also I
[53:38] wanted to do it
[53:39] in advance and
[53:40] pay for it with that money
[53:41] , and also, uh,
[53:42] asbestos removal. And
[53:43] they were looking for
[53:44] contractors to
[53:45] give me names. They
[53:47] already did the research
[53:48] to get the numbers
[53:49] because I said so too.
[53:50] Let's use the 100
[53:52] grand to, you know,
[53:53] hopefully, figure out
[53:55] , uh, you know, take down
[53:56] some of the more
[53:57] unknowns. So...Hey,
[54:12] Dave. Dave.
[54:13] What happened?
[54:14] Do you want to sign? Yes.
[54:16] Yes.
[54:17] What is it?
[54:18] I don't know, dude.
[54:20] Good.
[54:20] I understand you, dude.
[54:22] Do you want to
[54:22] move on?
[54:24] Yes. Yes.
[54:25] No.
[54:26] Of course.
[54:28] Good. Uh, number two on the
[54:30] agenda for
[54:31] tonight,
[54:32] we have the
[54:34] high-altitude
[54:35] highway access policy table from the
[54:36] last meeting. Uh, a
[54:37] section on city responsibility has been added
[54:39] .
[54:40] That was a question for
[54:41] Dave. And so, Dave,
[54:43] you...I ended up
[54:44] changing the words a little bit. Does
[54:45] that suit you?
[54:47] Good. Oh, sorry. Do
[54:50] you have a suggestion?
[54:51] I propose
[54:51] to approve a
[54:53] highway access policy.
[54:54] Second. Is
[54:55] there still discussion? All in
[54:57] favor?
[54:58] Yes.
[55:00] Good.
[55:00] Sign. Collect
[55:04] signatures. This is the last one.
[55:05] Perfectly. Thank you. Oh.
[55:09] Good. Good.
[55:11] Can I just ask
[55:12] a question? As
[55:13] for
[55:15] permit requirements, you
[55:18] don't actually
[55:18] need to ask
[55:19] the city to level or
[55:21] resurface
[55:22] your
[55:23] driveway.
[55:26] No person is
[55:27] subject to
[55:28] permit requirements.
[55:29] First, install,
[55:30] design,
[55:31] construct, renovate,
[55:32] or upgrade the covering of
[55:33] any driveway or
[55:34] entrance to a driveway.
[55:35] Oh, yes. Uh, no, we
[55:37] usually...No, we're
[55:38] usually pretty
[55:40] flexible about that. Uh
[55:41] ,
[55:41] I was a student...
[55:43] No, it's more for...uh,
[55:44] you know, if someone is
[55:45] obviously putting in a new
[55:46] driveway,
[55:47] doing a curb cut,
[55:49] or yeah, they're building a
[55:50] ...fence or a building.
[55:51] It's clear that you
[55:52] want to see them
[55:53] if they're going to
[55:54] throw things in the ditch.
[55:55] But no, we usually...
[55:56] you know, if they're
[55:58] redesigning or
[55:59] updating the coverage,
[56:00] we'll stay
[56:01] away. So, there
[56:06] are multiple signatures on this package
[56:07] . Have you done them all
[56:09] ?
[56:09] Oh, no. No, thank you. Yes.
[56:13] yes.
[56:15] I'm watching you all the time. I'm
[56:18] very sorry I
[56:19] couldn't come.
[56:20] Yes, I know.
[56:22] Two more.
[56:29] Okay, number three,
[56:30] fire department SOG-004,
[56:31] general
[56:33] safety rules for
[56:33] vehicles
[56:35] , including passengers
[56:36] , with changes,
[56:37] including bolding
[56:40] point number six.
[56:42] This is the only thing we are
[56:43] changing in this SOG.
[56:45] Proposal for
[56:46] approval. Do
[56:46] I have
[56:47] any discussions?
[56:49] Second. The
[56:49] reason they're
[56:50] going to
[56:51] do this is because
[56:52] it's...
[56:52] No, it's okay.
[56:54] it's that, um, they... the
[56:55] fire department
[56:56] implements a program
[56:57] that works with
[56:58] the school where they
[56:59] take kids from
[57:00] school to...um, or
[57:02] excuse me, from the fire
[57:03] station to...school in a
[57:04] fire truck. So that's
[57:06] pretty exciting.
[57:07] Uh, Josh is really
[57:08] important in
[57:09] community service.
[57:10] When they get
[57:11] a student of the month, right
[57:12] ?
[57:12] Yeah, yeah, student of the month
[57:14] and everything else they
[57:15] do. Em.
[57:16] Okay, so you want it.
[57:17] And so, one of the things
[57:19] that...So, they have SOG,
[57:20] but it was a little
[57:21] vague, so
[57:22] we wanted to make sure to
[57:23] include that in there. And we
[57:24] also developed, um,
[57:26] a thing that parents have to
[57:27] sign, you know,
[57:28] giving people permission to
[57:29] sign so their
[57:30] kids can ride.
[57:32] So someone from the school
[57:33] will be waiting for them at the
[57:34] fire station, and
[57:35] then someone
[57:36] will meet them at the
[57:37] school. So.
[57:40] I have a question, Adam.
[57:42] Most likely.
[57:43] Only if the city is there
[57:44] .
[57:46] Yes. Obeying
[57:47] all traffic rules
[57:49] will cause the truck to
[57:50] malfunction. So,
[57:51] you know, no one
[57:52] will call.
[57:54] Wait, children.
[57:57] Yes. Yes,
[58:00] okay, is there any more
[58:01] discussion? Everyone who is in
[58:03] favor? Okay, against?
[58:06] Okay, number four,
[58:08] Alan Greenberg would like to
[58:09] be appointed
[58:10] to the
[58:11] social
[58:12] services advisory board. We need
[58:13] a proposal
[58:14] for approval. Any other
[58:18] discussions?
[58:21] Three sides, one from
[58:22] all, who is "in favor"?
[58:26] No, everything is fine. This, um,
[58:28] this...
[58:30] The river has passed.
[58:36] Paul Velli...um, Ms.
[58:37] Susan Burgos. Is
[58:41] Bennett here? So,
[58:43] just
[58:43] Bennett Law, no. Ahem. And
[58:46] now Stan Payton
[58:47] has retired.
[58:48] Will Mel watch
[58:50] him do it?
[58:51] Um, no. No, Scott Putney
[58:53] .
[58:53] Scott Putney. Scott
[58:54] Putney.
[58:55] So, Paul, Scott Putney
[58:57] , Sue Burgos...
[58:59] Bennett Law...I think,
[59:02] well, Stan Payton, but
[59:03] he's not
[59:04] doing it anymore. So that
[59:07] will be five, and then
[59:08] we have another lady,
[59:09] Janine Daniels, who is
[59:10] interested. She
[59:11] just wrote a letter,
[59:12] so she'll be in the
[59:13] next one. I asked
[59:14] Paul about it. He
[59:15] said, "Oh, more
[59:16] than I do, you know, you
[59:16] see
[59:17] Paul as
[59:17] fuel for more
[59:18] people."
[59:19] Yes, yes, because Stan
[59:21] is finished. Yes.
[59:22] Good.
[59:22] So, yes.
[59:24] They may have a
[59:25] sixth one.
[59:25] Maybe so. And
[59:27] that suited him.
[59:28] Yes, because sometimes,
[59:28] for example, when it
[59:29] comes to
[59:30] the library, he has to
[59:31] recuse
[59:32] himself because he is on the
[59:33] library board. So if
[59:34] you have a few extra,
[59:36] it makes things easier.
[59:37] Yes, and he is also on the
[59:38] theater board.
[59:39] Theater, yes.
[59:40] Good.
[59:41] Some people wear
[59:42] many hats.
[59:43] Sorry, I didn't know.
[59:44] That's true. Are
[59:47] you ready?
[59:48] Yes.
[59:50] Number five, the City of
[59:51] Royalton is asking for
[59:52] Bethel's support on
[59:53] their application for a
[59:55] community building grant. Bethel allocated
[59:59] a thousand dollars to
[1:00:00] the medical center for
[1:00:01] two thousand...at the
[1:00:02] 2026 town meeting
[1:00:04] .
[1:00:05] Royalton approved. We
[1:00:06] voted. Ben
[1:00:07] just interrupted
[1:00:08] the vote.
[1:00:09] Yes, everyone
[1:00:10] voted "yes."
[1:00:11] You can vote for
[1:00:12] me.
[1:00:13] Good.
[1:00:14] Unanimously. No.
[1:00:16] Ben interrupted.
[1:00:17] Yes, we voted
[1:00:18] .
[1:00:18] Ben interrupted
[1:00:19] the vote in the middle of
[1:00:20] the vote.
[1:00:21] Yes.
[1:00:21] It was Jordan and Ben.
[1:00:23] interrupted
[1:00:23] the vote,
[1:00:24] disrupting the vote
[1:00:25] .
[1:00:25] I think
[1:00:26] he interrupted.
[1:00:26] Uh, it's your turn,
[1:00:27] Jordan.
[1:00:28] So, Jordan made
[1:00:29] a suggestion.
[1:00:30] Yes. I supported her, and
[1:00:31] then we all
[1:00:31] voted "yes."
[1:00:32] No, I just meant the
[1:00:33] following.
[1:00:34] Regarding this
[1:00:34] next. Regarding
[1:00:36] support for the
[1:00:36] health center, you made
[1:00:37] a proposal.
[1:00:38] Yes, because we, um,
[1:00:39] approved it at the
[1:00:41] 2026 town meeting
[1:00:42] .
[1:00:43] This is just a
[1:00:44] continuation.
[1:00:45] No, that's a different matter,
[1:00:46] but Jordan made
[1:00:46] the suggestion, but no one
[1:00:48] talked about it for a second.
[1:00:49] Okay, and this is not a
[1:00:50] procedure. Do
[1:00:51] we have a second or two?
[1:00:53] Ben was the one who
[1:00:54] supported.
[1:00:55] Okay, so everything is
[1:00:56] fine.
[1:00:59] So, yes, this is what
[1:01:00] the city of Royalton is doing,
[1:01:01] um, and they asked for
[1:01:03] your support, um,
[1:01:07] you know, because they
[1:01:08] want to move the
[1:01:09] renovations; they want to
[1:01:10] move the, um,
[1:01:12] dental health center to the
[1:01:13] historic
[1:01:14] Royalton Academy because
[1:01:16] they used to have one, as
[1:01:17] it says. Here, a
[1:01:18] converted
[1:01:19] motorhome, and
[1:01:20] they had a lot of
[1:01:21] breakdowns. And so the city of
[1:01:23] Royalton is simply
[1:01:24] asking Bethel for
[1:01:25] support, and I
[1:01:26] wrote down that Bethel
[1:01:27] allocated a thousand
[1:01:28] dollars at the city
[1:01:29] meeting for a fitness
[1:01:30] club. So you know the
[1:01:33] voters have already
[1:01:34] supported
[1:01:35] Bethel before. So
[1:01:36] they're just asking
[1:01:40] you to send this
[1:01:41] letter of support.
[1:01:43] But the mobile home used to
[1:01:45] come to the school so that
[1:01:46] the children could
[1:01:47] use it.
[1:01:48] Yes.
[1:01:48] Now they
[1:01:49] will have to
[1:01:50] listen to me.
[1:01:53] I suppose we should
[1:01:55] take the children there. They simply
[1:01:57] say it is on
[1:01:58] hold for
[1:01:59] repairs and it is unknown whether
[1:02:00] it can be
[1:02:01] restored. So they
[1:02:04] say it's
[1:02:05] located, it
[1:02:06] says,
[1:02:06] located
[1:02:07] directly on a
[1:02:08] local bus
[1:02:09] line, which provides a
[1:02:11] necessary
[1:02:11] transportation accent
[1:02:13] for residents without
[1:02:14] transportation, and, um, yeah,
[1:02:15] I would say it looks like
[1:02:16] they're going to have to
[1:02:17] get there by
[1:02:18] public
[1:02:19] transportation, or, um,
[1:02:20] you know, parenting
[1:02:22] or something. But
[1:02:25] in any case, it's
[1:02:26] up to me. I
[1:02:27] just got this from
[1:02:28] Royalton. I wouldn't
[1:02:29] say...It's a pretty
[1:02:30] good change
[1:02:31] just because of the
[1:02:31] convenience of
[1:02:32] them coming to
[1:02:33] Bethel and then their
[1:02:34] parents just
[1:02:34] signing "yes"
[1:02:35] they can go to the
[1:02:36] mental
[1:02:37] health club and they
[1:02:38] did it at school and
[1:02:39] they didn't have to
[1:02:40] worry about
[1:02:40] transportation after
[1:02:41] a few hours.
[1:02:42] Yes, that's true.
[1:02:43] And now it will get
[1:02:44] them there, which is. I don't
[1:02:47] know how everyone feels about this
[1:02:48] .
[1:02:49] I don't know. It was a
[1:02:50] request, and you have
[1:02:51] as much information here as I do
[1:02:53] .
[1:02:56] It looks like they are apparently
[1:02:57] writing a grant to
[1:02:59] renovate
[1:03:00] Royalton Academy. They don't
[1:03:03] write a grant to
[1:03:04] replace a van. So yes
[1:03:06] .
[1:03:07] So I don't know.
[1:03:08] Then it's just
[1:03:09] public.
[1:03:09] You can do it.
[1:03:11] Oh, publicly. Or we
[1:03:12] can
[1:03:13] use, and
[1:03:30] I definitely don't support
[1:03:31] that. I said that this is a
[1:03:33] big difference between what
[1:03:34] was, but
[1:03:35] now what is.
[1:03:37] Maybe there is
[1:03:38] no other choice.
[1:03:40] Yes. And it's still
[1:03:42] free, and it's,
[1:03:43] you know, a
[1:03:44] doctor's appointment. If it's a
[1:03:46] regular
[1:03:48] doctor's appointment, parents
[1:03:49] should take
[1:03:50] their child to, uh...
[1:03:51] a doctor, a pediatrician, or
[1:03:52] yes, or a pediatric
[1:03:53] surgeon.
[1:03:54] You know what I know. Here's
[1:03:56] what we got. So,
[1:03:57] I guess the only
[1:03:58] problem with something
[1:03:59] like this is in a
[1:04:00] wheelchair.
[1:04:02] But it's convenient. But I
[1:04:06] worked on it,
[1:04:07] so when I
[1:04:08] visited them, there was always
[1:04:09] something wrong, but then
[1:04:11] we worked on them
[1:04:12] . Good. You know
[1:04:14] what I mean about the
[1:04:15] people who came in and
[1:04:17] didn't come in at first.
[1:04:20] I don't mind. Um, so
[1:04:22] we have a proposal and a
[1:04:23] friend. Is there any more
[1:04:24] discussion? All those in
[1:04:27] favor confirm by
[1:04:28] saying "yes." Um, "
[1:04:30] against"? Okay,
[1:04:32] the offer is accepted.
[1:04:48] Okay, number six
[1:04:49] authorizes the
[1:04:51] mayor to vote for
[1:04:52] passive candidates
[1:04:53] for the VLCT board of directors
[1:04:55] and candidates for VLCT
[1:04:56] on behalf of the election
[1:04:57] board.
[1:05:00] I can nominate a
[1:05:01] candidate if
[1:05:02] you want.
[1:05:03] I support
[1:05:04] the approval.
[1:05:05] Second. Is there any more
[1:05:09] discussion?
[1:05:11] I'll just clarify, I have
[1:05:13] n't actually heard anything about it. Is this something or
[1:05:16] what? Good.
[1:05:18] Because that's what they
[1:05:20] just started. They
[1:05:21] just sent out the
[1:05:22] ballots this year.
[1:05:23] They used to, uh,
[1:05:25] do that. They either
[1:05:27] vote at the
[1:05:28] annual meeting or
[1:05:29] they do it. So
[1:05:30] now they
[1:05:31] send out newsletters
[1:05:32] every two years. So I
[1:05:34] thought now I have a
[1:05:35] chance to find out
[1:05:36] who the candidates are. And it's
[1:05:39] not like I'm going to
[1:05:40] run for
[1:05:41] someone that one of my
[1:05:42] plans was a no-brainer.
[1:05:44] This would be an LLC.
[1:05:46] yes.
[1:05:48] They...
[1:05:49] Passage is our insurance
[1:05:50] company, and the verb
[1:05:51] Passage refers to
[1:05:52] another way of
[1:05:53] indemnifying our
[1:05:55] company. So, they
[1:05:57] just...
[1:05:57] Okay, I'll trust
[1:05:59] you this time.
[1:06:00] Good. Next
[1:06:04] time you...Next
[1:06:05] time you...You should...
[1:06:06] That's good. I...I just
[1:06:07] found new
[1:06:08] problems. Is
[1:06:11] there still discussion? Everyone
[1:06:14] "in favor"?
[1:06:15] I...
[1:06:15] Against? Okay,
[1:06:18] local
[1:06:19] option tax, does the
[1:06:20] board of elections want to
[1:06:21] move forward with
[1:06:22] putting the LOT on the
[1:06:23] ballot at the
[1:06:25] March 27th town meeting? Um...
[1:06:28] Can we...It
[1:06:29] says "for
[1:06:30] discussion only." Um...and with
[1:06:34] everything we have with the
[1:06:35] city, with the water
[1:06:36] bonds and the
[1:06:38] garage bar bonds, I
[1:06:39] think we should
[1:06:41] bring this up for consideration
[1:06:42] .
[1:06:44] I also agree. We have
[1:06:47] many differences.
[1:06:49] So let's
[1:06:49] talk about it. Um
[1:06:51] ...Personally, I
[1:06:52] think I've talked to
[1:06:53] a few people to
[1:06:55] see what
[1:06:55] happens in Royalton,
[1:06:57] and, uh, at the next
[1:06:58] town meeting,
[1:06:59] talk to them and
[1:07:00] see what
[1:07:01] happens.
[1:07:02] It was Ben's idea,
[1:07:02] saying what if
[1:07:03] people around us
[1:07:04] accept it and we don't, and
[1:07:05] then we wonder if
[1:07:06] people are more likely to
[1:07:07] come here to do
[1:07:08] business because we don't have
[1:07:09] it? I
[1:07:10] mean, Ben made a
[1:07:11] valid point.
[1:07:12] Let's see what
[1:07:13] happens.
[1:07:17] A vote
[1:07:17] being put
[1:07:18] forward, you don't
[1:07:19] need to make a move
[1:07:20] to
[1:07:20] do it. Well, it's
[1:07:21] just a discussion.
[1:07:22] You don't even bring
[1:07:23] it up for consideration. You essentially agreed by consensus
[1:07:25] that you're not
[1:07:25] going to
[1:07:26] put it, I would just
[1:07:27] say they
[1:07:27] agreed
[1:07:28] by consensus that they're not
[1:07:28] going to
[1:07:29] discuss it here.
[1:07:29] This has been brought up for
[1:07:30] consideration.
[1:07:31] I don't...I don't...I don't think that's
[1:07:32] ...
[1:07:33] Yes, it's been brought
[1:07:34] up.
[1:07:35] Good. Now we
[1:07:37] move on to the
[1:07:37] city manager.
[1:07:40] Uh, so in the package, uh
[1:07:42] , you asked me
[1:07:43] to print out individual whole
[1:07:44] boards, so
[1:07:45] here they are. So I asked if
[1:07:47] you had any...Ideas,
[1:07:48] feel free to
[1:07:49] send me changes,
[1:07:50] ideas or come to
[1:07:52] me and discuss
[1:07:53] it. Um, of course, it
[1:07:54] was just my first
[1:07:56] pass. So
[1:07:57] please feel free to
[1:07:58] edit or
[1:07:59] add anything
[1:08:00] you wish. Um, the
[1:08:01] first one is actually
[1:08:02] entirely about you. Um, the
[1:08:04] second-eight,
[1:08:04] obviously my rocks
[1:08:06] are pushing up,
[1:08:07] but the first one is for you
[1:08:08] guys to
[1:08:09] visit these places
[1:08:10] or make an appointment
[1:08:11] to see
[1:08:12] them so you understand
[1:08:13] all the objects that you
[1:08:14] control. Um, the
[1:08:16] sidewalk project is supposed to
[1:08:18] be completed in
[1:08:19] October. Um, we
[1:08:21] had some
[1:08:23] traffic control issues, but
[1:08:24] hopefully they've been
[1:08:25] fixed. Um, they
[1:08:27] flooded the wall, um, and
[1:08:29] you can see where the
[1:08:30] sidewalk was flooded,
[1:08:31] so let's move on.
[1:08:34] Um, I sent
[1:08:35] a postcard. Emme,
[1:08:37] sculptor Penny from
[1:08:38] Spaulding Park
[1:08:39] provided information
[1:08:40] regarding the
[1:08:41] bond vote. This is everything that
[1:08:42] belongs to
[1:08:43] the household,
[1:08:44] so this will be
[1:08:44] sent to the resident.
[1:08:46] So, this is a small
[1:08:47] leaflet, and when
[1:08:48] the vote will take place, this is the
[1:08:49] information. So, it's in
[1:08:51] any capable
[1:08:52] hands. And um, the road
[1:08:54] team successfully
[1:08:55] completed a three-day
[1:08:57] training session on the
[1:08:58] logging game. So
[1:08:59] good that they
[1:09:00] got some
[1:09:00] pointers.
[1:09:02] Richard and I had
[1:09:03] our meeting with everyone
[1:09:05] at Vision Elliot regarding
[1:09:06] the design of Route 107
[1:09:07] , where it was 90%. The good
[1:09:09] news is
[1:09:10] that the engineer who
[1:09:11] was with us had to
[1:09:12] pay an extra 12,400 to
[1:09:13] inspect the facade of these
[1:09:14] small houses and did
[1:09:16] not find any
[1:09:17] Dutch
[1:09:17] artifacts. We are ready
[1:09:19] to work. So, we are still
[1:09:21] searching. The
[1:09:22] likely
[1:09:24] construction cost of this
[1:09:25] project
[1:09:26] is still around
[1:09:28] $885,900,000. And this
[1:09:32] allows us to be in the
[1:09:34] utilization program, meaning
[1:09:36] we expect a 50%
[1:09:37] forgiveness from the
[1:09:38] state board. So the
[1:09:42] bond vote is currently
[1:09:43] scheduled for
[1:09:44] January. So once
[1:09:45] that comes out, we'll have
[1:09:47] a little more
[1:09:48] information, but we're
[1:09:49] 90% ready to
[1:09:50] design. So this
[1:09:51] will be a signboard.
[1:09:53] They are going to
[1:09:54] dig right near
[1:09:55] Christian Hill, at
[1:09:56] the foot of
[1:09:57] Cherry Hill Cemetery. That's where the
[1:09:59] big board will be. And
[1:10:01] obviously, we're boring,
[1:10:02] you know, pretty much the whole
[1:10:03] way. to, but not all the way
[1:10:05] to the very center, to, uh
[1:10:06] , Dandelion Acres.
[1:10:09] We'll make another
[1:10:10] cross, and then
[1:10:11] we'll make all the connections
[1:10:13] , uh, to the right of
[1:10:14] it. So,
[1:10:15] Dandelion Acres is the
[1:10:16] end of the line.
[1:10:17] Yes, that's right. And they
[1:10:18] also have a well. So,
[1:10:20] they use
[1:10:20] our services,
[1:10:21] plus they supplement
[1:10:22] it with their own well.
[1:10:23] So, these, you know, the
[1:10:24] total cost of the
[1:10:25] project will be
[1:10:27] 50% forgiveness, and with the
[1:10:28] ordinance change,
[1:10:29] you know, it's always
[1:10:30] been a bond
[1:10:31] vote for
[1:10:32] everyone, but this time it's going
[1:10:34] to be paid by
[1:10:35] everyone, not just
[1:10:36] the water users.
[1:10:37] So, but we're
[1:10:38] looking at this in
[1:10:39] January. So, this is still the
[1:10:41] same estimate of, uh, the
[1:10:42] likely cost of
[1:10:44] construction that we
[1:10:45] have. So, but they are
[1:10:48] improving their
[1:10:49] project. Uh,
[1:10:51] Richard and I also
[1:10:52] had our every 5-
[1:10:53] year
[1:10:54] wastewater inspection on the 24th, uh,
[1:10:56] end of this month. I
[1:10:57] made a mistake in the
[1:10:58] data package as of the
[1:10:59] February check
[1:11:00] this month.
[1:11:00] The inspection went
[1:11:01] great. They are very
[1:11:02] impressed with
[1:11:03] Richard's proactive approach
[1:11:04] to the system and our
[1:11:05] communication. Um, they
[1:11:07] said they were
[1:11:07] way behind on
[1:11:09] issuing permits. So
[1:11:10] , Richard will submit his
[1:11:13] permit, as he should,
[1:11:14] on time, and then they
[1:11:15] will send the letter, and we
[1:11:17] will essentially continue to
[1:11:18] operate under our
[1:11:19] existing permit
[1:11:20] until the state, which
[1:11:22] she said will take
[1:11:23] some time. Um, but I
[1:11:24] just want to
[1:11:26] show it. So, um, the
[1:11:27] other thing was also in
[1:11:29] your
[1:11:30] email that I
[1:11:31] sent you, uh, my
[1:11:32] contract
[1:11:33] ends on
[1:11:34] October 15th. I sent
[1:11:35] you my contract, I
[1:11:37] sent you my
[1:11:38] existing contract.
[1:11:39] So obviously, you know,
[1:11:40] the numbers haven't changed, uh
[1:11:42] , and that was about
[1:11:43] 2 years ago. So, uh, I
[1:11:45] wasn't...I assumed
[1:11:47] some of you had
[1:11:48] never seen my
[1:11:49] contract, and then
[1:11:50] maybe some of you
[1:11:51] had. I'm not
[1:11:52] sure. So,
[1:11:53] just so you can see,
[1:11:55] this is a document that we
[1:11:56] usually sign.
[1:11:57] Um, obviously
[1:11:58] the salary is changing.
[1:11:59] I don't plan on making
[1:12:01] any changes to the
[1:12:02] contract itself, uh, except for the
[1:12:03] term. So, as we
[1:12:06] discussed earlier,
[1:12:07] I prefer... A
[1:12:08] one-year contract, not a
[1:12:10] two-year one. It's still all the
[1:12:12] same, you know, 90
[1:12:14] days
[1:12:15] anyway, you know, so all the
[1:12:17] same things, and I'm not asking for
[1:12:18] anything...
[1:12:20] I just have one
[1:12:21] question about
[1:12:22] one paragraph.
[1:12:23] Good.
[1:12:25] This is...uh...Well,
[1:12:27] we're
[1:12:28] reusing this one,
[1:12:29] so this might be what
[1:12:32] we're doing. We don't
[1:12:33] change all the time,
[1:12:34] so...
[1:12:39] Number six. You have an
[1:12:41] electrician on
[1:12:42] page eight.
[1:12:43] I...Yes, we know the
[1:12:44] electrician, Dave. All
[1:12:46] the electricity went out
[1:12:47] .
[1:12:47] Yes, why is that? Do you
[1:12:48] know?
[1:12:49] I don't know.
[1:12:51] It's...It's always your
[1:12:52] opinion.
[1:12:54] You mean...This is
[1:12:56] ...here?
[1:12:56] No, okay, but
[1:12:57] I marked it somewhere.
[1:12:59] You know that's not what they
[1:13:00] did.
[1:13:00] No, I think Dave
[1:13:01] suggested it. I think
[1:13:03] he told me he
[1:13:03] suggested it when
[1:13:04] they were building it and
[1:13:05] they didn't
[1:13:05] listen to him.
[1:13:05] Let's not be this way
[1:13:06] ...Let's not be
[1:13:07] this way. I need to
[1:13:08] calm down.
[1:13:09] Dave, don't start
[1:13:11] Dave. So,
[1:13:12] anyway, there's something... You
[1:13:13] want to discuss it
[1:13:14] tonight, or
[1:13:15] we...
[1:13:15] Actually, I guess you
[1:13:16] and I can
[1:13:17] discuss it. It's not a
[1:13:18] big deal, but
[1:13:19] it's an important one for me
[1:13:20] because it's black and
[1:13:20] white, and I don't think
[1:13:21] it's right.
[1:13:22] Perfectly. This is great.
[1:13:24] We've been
[1:13:24] through this before.
[1:13:25] It seems like it was 2
[1:13:26] years ago, maybe
[1:13:27] Chris Jarvis and I
[1:13:28] had the wording
[1:13:29] wrong on
[1:13:30] vacation, and we
[1:13:31] acted like that for
[1:13:32] a few iterations of the
[1:13:33] contract, and finally
[1:13:34] I think we just
[1:13:35] read it correctly and thought,
[1:13:37] wait a second. This
[1:13:38] doesn't make sense. We
[1:13:39] need to change
[1:13:40] the wording. So,
[1:13:41] I guess it's just that.
[1:13:42] It's just...Well,
[1:13:43] thank you. Yes, no, that's
[1:13:45] good. So,
[1:13:46] anyway, you guys
[1:13:47] , we'll talk
[1:13:48] about it later, and I'll put it on the
[1:13:50] agenda for
[1:13:51] you guys at the
[1:13:52] next upcoming
[1:13:53] meeting.
[1:13:55] Because we don't need to
[1:13:57] sign this on the 15th.
[1:13:58] We...
[1:13:58] No, we will submit them by
[1:14:00] October 29th. We will put this
[1:14:02] on the agenda by the
[1:14:03] 28th. So, No, that's all
[1:14:05] I have, if no
[1:14:06] one has any questions.
[1:14:08] I think
[1:14:10] everything is fine. Are you
[1:14:11] okay?
[1:14:12] Um,
[1:14:13] okay.
[1:14:13] Well, no, that was already...No
[1:14:15] , we'll give it to you somehow.
[1:14:18] Good. Minutes of the
[1:14:20] election
[1:14:22] council meeting dated 09/14/2026. Are there
[1:14:24] any corrections,
[1:14:25] additions, anything that
[1:14:27] needs to be changed?
[1:14:31] Proposal to accept
[1:14:33] this framework.
[1:14:35] Second.
[1:14:36] Who is "for"?
[1:14:37] Yes.
[1:14:38] Good. And we have other
[1:14:40] posts here from
[1:14:41] various meetings that
[1:14:44] you can
[1:14:45] view and
[1:14:46] review. Are there
[1:14:48] any other issues
[1:14:49] that need to be brought
[1:14:50] to the council's attention?
[1:14:51] Let me
[1:14:52] just...Okay. The name of the
[1:15:05] council member at the far
[1:15:06] table in the middle,
[1:15:07] dark beard, light
[1:15:09] blue. This is
[1:15:10] Jordan Hero.
[1:15:12] The gentleman to
[1:15:13] his left in the baseball cap
[1:15:15] is David, who
[1:15:16] voted
[1:15:17] 4-1 in favor, with a dark
[1:15:18] beard who
[1:15:19] voted against. It
[1:15:25] was actually 3-2,
[1:15:27] so in response to
[1:15:28] Darren
[1:15:29] Macy's question, Ben Roberts and
[1:15:31] Jordan Hero said
[1:15:32] "no" and then, um,
[1:15:33] Jed Scott, David
[1:15:35] Eddy, Denise Gilman
[1:15:36] said...yes. So that
[1:15:40] helps you,
[1:15:42] Darren? You
[1:15:45] were called the worst,
[1:15:46] dark beard, light
[1:15:47] blue. Yes, thank you.
[1:15:49] Okay, he's good.
[1:15:52] Yes, he is
[1:15:54] good now. I think so
[1:15:56] . Yes, I don't see
[1:15:58] anything else in the chat.
[1:16:00] So we can
[1:16:01] move on.
[1:16:02] Thanks, Chris.
[1:16:04] He doesn't have a beard.
[1:16:06] What?
[1:16:06] Yes, I have.
[1:16:07] Wait, okay then.
[1:16:10] I just want to
[1:16:11] go back to
[1:16:12] the comment about the
[1:16:13] wood option.
[1:16:14] Is this fair? I would
[1:16:16] really like to see this
[1:16:17] issue
[1:16:18] raised at the town
[1:16:19] meeting. Um, I'm not in favor of
[1:16:21] taxing
[1:16:23] people. But we must
[1:16:26] be realistic. For
[1:16:27] we are considering
[1:16:28] the possibility of
[1:16:28] levying a new, er,
[1:16:29] public
[1:16:31] works building, which
[1:16:31] will cost us
[1:16:32] sixpence. Good?
[1:16:34] We are also looking at an
[1:16:35] over-budget,
[1:16:36] unless we are
[1:16:37] planning to cut
[1:16:39] services,
[1:16:39] which I have not
[1:16:41] heard of, which means
[1:16:42] things are going wrong.
[1:16:43] So, we're going to
[1:16:44] add 6 cents to the
[1:16:45] potential
[1:16:46] municipal
[1:16:47] building under construction
[1:16:48] . We are also going to
[1:16:50] add 3-4 cents. Uh,
[1:16:52] when it comes
[1:16:53] to our budget.
[1:16:54] We also still
[1:16:55] need to
[1:16:56] make up for the
[1:16:57] revenue shortfall after the
[1:17:00] transfer
[1:17:02] station was sold. And we also
[1:17:03] need to
[1:17:04] make up for some of the
[1:17:05] revenue shortfalls
[1:17:06] related to
[1:17:07] water and
[1:17:08] sewer, uh,
[1:17:09] transfer, uh,
[1:17:10] sorry, taxes and
[1:17:11] penalties that we've been
[1:17:12] putting on our
[1:17:13] income statement for years
[1:17:15] that we no longer
[1:17:16] need.
[1:17:16] Yes.
[1:17:17] So, you know, if I do a
[1:17:18] quick calculation, we
[1:17:19] can add almost 12
[1:17:21] cents. This is a significant
[1:17:22] increase for this
[1:17:23] city. I repeat once again
[1:17:25] , I am not a tax expert.
[1:17:28] However, regarding
[1:17:29] local tax, we have
[1:17:31] already received data that
[1:17:32] 40% of the people who do
[1:17:34] business in the city of Bethel
[1:17:35] are Bethel residents.
[1:17:38] 60% are from outside this
[1:17:40] area. Even if
[1:17:45] you are, and, from the information
[1:17:46] that has been circulated
[1:17:48] among you, and also that
[1:17:49] I have provided to the council, is that
[1:17:50] unless you are doing
[1:17:52] business worth
[1:17:53] $10,000 or
[1:17:54] more a year, which I
[1:17:55] doubt
[1:17:57] very few in this
[1:17:58] city do, it is best to go. with a
[1:18:01] local tax of
[1:18:03] choice than
[1:18:03] raising 100% of
[1:18:04] taxes at their own
[1:18:06] expense. OK?
[1:18:07] The few people in the city
[1:18:08] who spend over
[1:18:09] $10,000 a year on
[1:18:10] groceries probably can't
[1:18:13] afford it. Right?
[1:18:14] So it's not going to fall on
[1:18:15] the shoulders of, well, you know,
[1:18:16] people on fixed
[1:18:17] incomes, as much
[1:18:18] , because yes,
[1:18:19] some people on
[1:18:20] fixed incomes
[1:18:22] have to buy
[1:18:23] things in the city. But
[1:18:25] you know what? The difference is
[1:18:28] that
[1:18:29] they will get a 100%
[1:18:30] increase in
[1:18:31] rent or any
[1:18:32] other of their
[1:18:33] taxes or local
[1:18:34] taxes if they have a
[1:18:35] business. This isn't for you
[1:18:37] guys, but it would be
[1:18:38] good to see a
[1:18:39] warning so
[1:18:40] people can decide for themselves. It would
[1:18:42] be a little different
[1:18:43] if we heard that
[1:18:44] things were going to
[1:18:45] get worse, wouldn't
[1:18:46] it? But now I haven't
[1:18:47] heard that if we don't
[1:18:48] plan to cut a
[1:18:49] bunch of services this
[1:18:49] year, it's quite likely
[1:18:50] that our taxes,
[1:18:51] including if the
[1:18:52] bonds are
[1:18:53] passed, we'll go up
[1:18:54] 10 or 12 cents. That's
[1:18:55] a lot of money on
[1:18:56] the backs of
[1:18:57] taxpayers. There is something to
[1:18:58] think about.
[1:18:59] Thank you, Chris.
[1:19:02] Yeah, I think the only thing
[1:19:03] I can add is that
[1:19:04] I was there for
[1:19:06] you. I've come full circle on
[1:19:07] this. I didn't
[1:19:08] want to do it, and
[1:19:10] then I ended up where
[1:19:11] you were, Chris, where it makes
[1:19:12] sense. Well, let's
[1:19:14] ask for outside
[1:19:15] funds to help
[1:19:16] offset what
[1:19:17] we need to raise.
[1:19:19] Hmm, but what I
[1:19:21] finally realized is that the
[1:19:22] business still
[1:19:24] has to pay that 1%. I
[1:19:25] mean, they
[1:19:27] can take it on themselves
[1:19:28] , but whether
[1:19:29] they get it
[1:19:31] back or not, of course
[1:19:32] it's nonsense, but
[1:19:33] the perception, I think,
[1:19:34] will be mostly
[1:19:35] negative that we're
[1:19:36] raising taxes
[1:19:37] on top of that. I'm
[1:19:38] not trying to say
[1:19:40] that people are stupid, but
[1:19:41] they just don't...I don't
[1:19:42] think they'll
[1:19:43] understand the connection.
[1:19:44] We spent a lot of
[1:19:45] time trying to
[1:19:47] figure this out, and I think
[1:19:48] all people would agree
[1:19:49] that we're adding...
[1:19:51] Agree with the word. Yes.
[1:19:54] And I think we
[1:19:55] can do
[1:19:56] more to attract
[1:19:57] business without creating a
[1:19:58] tax. If you
[1:19:59] get...It's kind of like
[1:20:01] reverse
[1:20:02] psychology,
[1:20:02] but maybe you're
[1:20:04] right. I mean,
[1:20:05] who knows? And that doesn't
[1:20:06] mean "never,"
[1:20:07] so I don't know. So that's
[1:20:08] definitely something. And if
[1:20:09] anyone wants to bring
[1:20:10] this back to the agenda
[1:20:11] , you can, of course,
[1:20:12] ask me.
[1:20:13] Because it won't be
[1:20:14] before the town meeting anyway.
[1:20:15] Right. So something. Is that
[1:20:16] true, but I, you
[1:20:17] know, it's...hard to
[1:20:19] know. We had...We did
[1:20:20] n't have a 10-minute
[1:20:20] discussion about this
[1:20:21] at the town
[1:20:22] meeting. We raised
[1:20:23] four issues. Did
[1:20:24] we break that, Chris?
[1:20:25] I think someone
[1:20:26] moved the article, the second
[1:20:27] part of the article,
[1:20:28] maybe a comment.
[1:20:30] Yes, we can add
[1:20:31] this to the warning.
[1:20:32] This will allow people...
[1:20:34] Yes, that's right. Yes. Yes.
[1:20:46] Well, we
[1:20:47] can certainly come back
[1:20:48] to them when we
[1:20:49] make warnings.
[1:20:50] Yes, I think it's the
[1:20:51] same argument. We'll
[1:20:52] just step
[1:20:53] aside and let them
[1:20:54] decide that 3.5 is
[1:20:55] okay. We'll just
[1:20:57] step aside and
[1:20:57] let them
[1:20:58] decide whether
[1:20:59] to tax
[1:20:59] local options, rather than
[1:21:00] just...
[1:21:01] We can
[1:21:01] come back to them
[1:21:02] when... We're going
[1:21:03] to see if
[1:21:03] we issue a
[1:21:04] warning. I
[1:21:05] mean, no. This is
[1:21:06] normal.
[1:21:07] Yes, we don't need to
[1:21:08] decide this
[1:21:09] today.
[1:21:09] Right. That's right.
[1:21:11] But, yes. Yes. Oh, Joe, I'm
[1:21:15] sorry. You said, "Oh,
[1:21:18] okay. I'm back."
[1:21:22] Everything is okay, right?
[1:21:24] I think so.
[1:21:25] Proposal to
[1:21:26] postpone
[1:21:26] the meeting.
[1:21:28] Good. All in favor. Good.
[1:21:30] Thank you to everyone who
[1:21:33] came.
[1:21:33] Thank you. Thank you to everyone on the
[1:21:35] line.