[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.

Bethel Selectboard - September 28, 2026 [BS]

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