[0:00] Hello everybody. There you go. Looking
for a little sound.
[0:05] Okay. Noting a quorum and a successful
return of the warrant.
[0:12] I call this special town meeting to
order.
[0:18] I'm Jimmy Reor. I'm your moderator.
[0:23] » It's good to see you all.
To my right, your left, we have the
[0:29] select board, town administrator,
town council.
[0:35] To my left and your right, we have town
clerk, we have finance committee,
[0:42] personnel committee. We have anybody
from there? Okay. Finance committee.
[0:48] So this is the way this works.
[0:54] The purpose of a town meeting is to
conduct the yearly business of a town or
[0:59] by and or twice a year
from the budget and finance committee
[1:08] to material needs Conway whether it be
fire, EMS, police department or
[1:15] administrative needs, corrections in
addition to town policies or bylaws are
[1:20] just keeping the town compliant.
with the ever changing world we live in.
[1:25] How town meeting works. You have
received the town warrant and a warrant
[1:30] light. Each warrant article is the
town's suggestion on how we deal with
[1:34] each topic covered by a warrant article.
Each article will be read in order of
[1:40] listening on the warrant. After each is
read, the select board will enter a
[1:44] motion for consideration to the floor,
after which a second to the motion will
[1:49] be asked for. If a further explanation
of the motion is needed, the principal
[1:55] most able to explain will try to do just
that.
[2:00] The floor will then open for discussion
on the motion. Speakers must be
[2:04] residents or gained permission to speak.
To speak, you must raise your hand and
[2:12] be recognized by the moderator
before moving to or being handed a
[2:18] microphone. We do have a microphone and
a runner today who will approach you.
[2:23] State your name and please keep your
comments to within a twominut period.
[2:30] During discussion, some behavior is
unacceptable and may cause you to
[2:34] forfeit your right to speak. Vulgarity
and personal attacks will not be
[2:39] tolerated. Raising your voice and
talking taking over the talking over the
[2:45] two-minute mark may also cause the same
end result. The moderator would like to
[2:51] limit
each citizen to speaking only once per
[2:56] article.
During discussion of each article,
[3:00] please keep in mind that if someone else
has a different opinion than you, it
[3:05] doesn't mean they're wrong. It just
means their life experiences have led
[3:10] them to a different conclusion.
During discussion, we may decide to vote
[3:16] on an article as is or amend it or
change it. We could also decide to table
[3:22] it, put it aside to another time. Each
article is open to many parliamentary
[3:27] motions and these are outlined in the
handbook town meeting time published by
[3:32] the Massachusetts moderators association
in 1962
[3:37] and recently re uh
redone for the fourth time
[3:43] by town meeting vote in 23.
>> So that's how we're going to run.
[3:51] » Sure.
[3:54] Okay. So, let's start with article one
>> real quick. I'm sorry. Um, when you're
[4:00] looking at the uh votes between
different boards and committees, you'll
[4:05] see three numbers in some cases. The
first number will be yay. Second number
[4:09] nay, and third number just means absent.
Committee members
[4:14] test the clickers.
Voting clickers.
[4:21] » Are we doing a test run?
>> Uh uh. You want to do a test?
[4:25] » Okay. Green is yes. Red is no. Yellow is
abstain. So,
[4:34] » let's have a test. [snorts]
>> Let's have a test.
[4:39] Let's vote.
[4:42] » We vote on your shirt. [laughter]
>> Sure.
[4:56] » [laughter]
[4:58] » Okay, we look like everything's coming
through. Great.
[5:05] » Close the Okay,
>> article one. I move that the town vote
[5:10] to appropriate and transfer to the
general fund $537,857
[5:17] for the purchase of a new ambulance as
presented in the warrant.
[5:24] Oh, do I need to read the Okay. Um 400
uh 451
[5:30] 64 $451,641
will come from the ambulance
[5:34] stabilization fund. $40,000 from the
ambulance reserve for receipts fund.
[5:40] $46,216
from free cash.
[5:49] » Do I have a motion?
>> That's your motion.
[5:53] » That's my motion. Yes. [laughter]
>> What do I need for a motion?
[5:57] » Second.
>> Thank you. We have a motion and second.
[6:01] Let's open it up for discussion.
[6:06] Daryl Chase 904.
[6:09] » Daryl Chase 904 Bars Fairy Road. Could
you let us know how much is in free cash
[6:13] at this time?
>> Yes. Yes. That is
[6:24] the free cash that was certified for
this year is $894,273.
[6:32] Any
[6:36] other discussion?
[6:40] Okay,
let's vote.
[6:55] Five more seconds.
[7:00] Voting is closed.
[7:05] The motion passes. 64
five against one abstension.
[7:15] Article two.
>> I move that the town vote to appropriate
[7:19] and transfer $125,000 from free cash to
the general fund to cover the increased
[7:24] cost of health insurance for town
employees in FY26.
[7:32] Second. Thank you.
Let's open it to discussion.
[7:45] » Hello, Carl Anderson from 291 Riley
Road. I was just wondering what
[7:49] percentage increase that number
represents.
[7:54] » About
this is about 10%.
[7:59] I
>> think it's a $900,000 line.
[8:04] » 20%
>> since Jan.
[8:07] » Yeah. Okay. So, what happened is that
for October 1st, the it the um increase
[8:12] was 20%. And it had also been 20% for
July 1st. So, this amount actually
[8:19] represents about a tenth of the budget.
It's about 900,000 just shy of a million
[8:24] I think for employees um costs. So I
think although it may be less for
[8:32] that may be the total employee benefit
line. Sorry.
[8:37] Any other discussion?
Okay, let's vote on article two.
[8:54] Five more seconds.
>> 20 in July and 20 in October.
[8:58] » Voting is closed.
[9:03] » Article two passes. 60 yes, seven no.
[9:14] » Article three. I move that the town vote
to appropriate and transfer $38,025
[9:20] from free cash to the general fund to
pay for necessary upgrades to the town's
[9:24] electronic infrastructure.
[9:29] I have a second discussion.
[9:38] Oh,
[9:42] » discussion one last time.
[9:48] Kenwat 72 Parson Hill Drive. What
exactly is this for electronic upgrades?
[9:56] This is mostly for hardware. Um when the
town voted this summer to um move to a
[10:04] managed IT services. uh the the quote
that we were given. It turns out when
[10:10] they came in and started to do some of
the necessary upgrades, our hardware was
[10:15] not actually sufficient to support the
the changes that need to be made.
[10:23] » Any other discussion?
[10:28] Let's vote on article three.
[10:38] Five more seconds.
[10:43] Voting is closed.
[10:48] Article three passes. 60 yes, eight no,
three abstensions.
[10:58] Article four.
I move that the town vote to appropriate
[11:02] and transfer $3,500 from free cash to
the general fund to pay for the purchase
[11:07] of public street lights.
[11:12] » We have motion in a second. Any
discussion?
[11:20] » Okay, let's vote. Article four.
[11:33] Five more seconds.
[11:37] Voting is closed.
[11:41] [snorts] Motion passes. 59 yes, 10 no,
one abstension.
[11:50] Article five. I move that the town vote
to appropriate and transfer $23,636
[11:56] from free cash to the general fund to
pay back stipend payments to a town
[12:00] employee.
[12:05] » Second.
>> I have a second
[12:09] discussion.
[12:18] Michelle Har Michelle Harris 99 Shelurn
Falls Road. Who is this for? What is it
[12:24] for?
>> Can you take that one, Bernique?
[12:27] » Yeah, I'm H. So, what happened is um
when I prepare the budget every year, I
[12:35] add in what was expended in the prior
year. And I happened to notice this past
[12:42] year that the amount that was excuse me
put in for a stipend for this person was
[12:48] not the amount that was paid out and
there was a big discrepancy. So then I
[12:52] went back and got the information about
how many years has this gone on. The
[12:56] problem was that there was an increase
that happened in the stipend but it
[13:00] never got translated properly through
the process. So instead of being paid
[13:05] the increased stipen, this person was
just getting a cola increase on the
[13:10] lower amount from earlier on. So this
had gone on for 10 years. Um so what
[13:17] we're trying to do is just do the right
thing and make the payments that were
[13:21] supposed to have been made all this
time.
[13:26] Any other discussion?
[13:30] Okay, let's vote on article five.
[13:40] Five more seconds.
[13:45] Voting is closed.
[13:49] Article five passes. 70 yes, three no.
Two abstensions.
[13:57] Article six. I move that the town vote
to appropriate and transfer the balance
[14:02] of funds previously appropriated for
transfer station repaving to pay for new
[14:06] Conway Mall expenses and right to farm
signs as presented in the warrant.
[14:12] » Second.
>> I have a second discussion. Article six.
[14:22] Oh,
>> the two of us.
[14:30] » Yeah. So, I'm Susan Schroeder and I live
on Maggie Drive and um Carl's over there
[14:36] because he is part of this project. In
2017, the town voted to be a right to
[14:42] farm town and we started working on
creating uh the signs to go with that so
[14:49] that there would be a an appropriate
visibility of the fact that one of the
[14:53] primary characters of Conway is farming.
Um but our commission agricultural
[14:58] commission sort of fell apart and the
project ended. We've revised it. I've
[15:03] been working with Veraneique and our
artist is Amy Anderson and uh we have
[15:08] some beautiful signs and we'd like to
get them up on the roads. They'll be on
[15:12] six of the entrance roads coming into
town. Thank you.
[15:20] » Any other discussion?
[15:24] » All right, let's vote Article Six.
[15:34] Five more seconds.
[15:38] Voting is closed.
[15:43] Article six passes. 62 yes, 11 no, two
abstensions.
[15:50] Article 7. I move that the town vote to
appropriate and transfer $7,000 from
[15:56] free cash to the general fund to cover
the additional cost of hiring an
[15:59] accounting firm for February through
June of FY26.
[16:06] » Second.
>> I have a second
[16:10] discussion.
[16:16] » Pamela Gilmore, 194 River Street. Uh, is
$7,000 the accounting fee for four
[16:22] months of services?
>> Yes, it is.
[16:27] » Wow.
>> No, I'm I'm sorry. Just to c That's how
[16:30] much additional we will need in the
budget line.
[16:33] » There was funding there. This is just
what we need to add on top of that. Um,
[16:38] » I want to say it's about 3500 a month
or that's I'm sorry, that's what it will
[16:46] be I believe in the next year. But in
any case, yes, it's just an addition to
[16:50] the line that we already have to cover
the cost.
[16:54] » Any other discussion?
[16:58] Let's vote on article 7.
[17:08] Five more seconds.
Voting is closed.
[17:16] Article 7 passes. 63 yes, 10 no. Two
extensions.
[17:23] Article eight.
>> I move that the town vote to appropriate
[17:27] and transfer $7,211
from free cash to the general fund to
[17:31] partially cover the cost of replacing a
fence along Weightley Road at the ball
[17:35] field.
>> Second.
[17:39] » We have a second. Discussion.
[17:45] Okay, let's vote on article 8.
[18:02] Five more seconds.
[18:08] Voting is closed.
[18:12] Article 8 passes. 57 yes, 10 no, two
extensions.
[18:24] » Article nine.
>> I move that the town vote to appropriate
[18:28] and transfer the remainder of the
following funds. $50,565
[18:33] from the highway facility fund, 46 thou
46,236
[18:39] from the highway storage building fund,
and $8,000 from the purchase of the boom
[18:43] lift to the general fund to pay for the
replacement of the public safety
[18:47] building garage roof and other costs
associated with the public safety
[18:50] building.
[18:54] » I have a second discussion.
[19:03] Okay, let's vote on article 9.
[19:09] » I know, right?
[19:12] Five more seconds.
[19:17] » Voting is closed.
[19:22] Article 9 passes. 70 yes, five nos, two
extensions.
[19:30] Article 10.
>> I move that the town vote to appropriate
[19:35] and transfer $24,321
from free cash to the general fund to
[19:39] pay for an American with Disabilities
Act self-evaluation of town properties.
[19:47] » Second.
>> Second discussion.
[19:57] Jane Roy Brown, six Parsons Road. I just
want to know what self- evvaluation
[20:02] means in this context, please.
[20:07] » So, excuse me. It means that the town is
looking at itself and all of its
[20:12] different facilities and things
including the website um to come up with
[20:17] a plan for how to make sure that the all
the town properties are accessible. This
[20:22] was done back I want to say in 2018. Um
and it is a requirement for us to be
[20:27] able to apply for other grants from
um the uh municipal office of disability
[20:35] with the state. So we have to have the
self-evaluation in place. It has to be
[20:39] updated for us to be able to apply. This
is actually a precursor to applying for
[20:44] a Lula lift for town hall. So that's not
to mention the fact that it's something
[20:50] that we need to be doing. [laughter]
[21:01] » Howdy. I'm Mary Mcccleintoch. I live
right down the hill on 116. Um will
[21:06] there be an opportunity for people in
town in this self-evaluation process to
[21:11] have input, public input?
>> Yes. And we'll be told that through the
[21:15] Conway currents or
>> how will we know?
[21:19] » Yes, I can absolutely do that. Yes.
>> Yeah, that would be great. I have
[21:23] opinions. I'd love to share them.
[laughter]
[21:32] » Any other discussion?
>> Vote on. [laughter]
[21:38] » We [snorts] have one over here, Jenny.
[21:44] get away from that speaker Michelle
Harris 99 Shelurn Falls Road. So, is
[21:49] this if it's a self-evaluation, is this
somebody's
[21:54] salary in every town property that I can
think of is handicap accessible? So,
[21:59] does this include state forests or the
new parks that are being built?
[22:07] » No. Um so this is would be hiring um a
company to perform this evaluation with
[22:13] us. It will include the school
particularly because the school is the
[22:17] emergency shelter. Um and again and so
it'll include town hall town offices. Um
[22:24] the new public safety building shouldn't
be a problem because it's being built
[22:27] right now. So it's to standards. Also
the the parks and the ball fields um and
[22:32] the website. It's basically to ensure
that all of these things are completely
[22:37] accessible and these things do change
over time. Um the requirements and also
[22:42] the capabilities to um ensure
accessibility. So
[22:47] » long-term goal is to not be in the town
offices. So once the public safety
[22:52] building is completed, the fire
department and police department can
[22:56] then move their offices over there and
um then we can go into town hall. Town
[23:02] Hall does not have a lift. So, you know,
the some of the offices will be
[23:07] upstairs. So, there's going to need to
be a lift in that building.
[23:16] » Hi, Elizabeth Stowe. Um, Deerfield Road,
South Deerfield Road. Um, am I right in
[23:23] assuming that this is not just physical
disability when you say uh it's things
[23:27] like sight, hearing, an array of
disabilities? Yes. Okay. Thank you.
[23:35] » Any other discussion?
>> Let's vote on article 10.
[23:49] Five more seconds.
[23:54] Voting is closed.
Article 10 passes. 69. Yes. 8 no one
[24:02] abstension.
Article 11.
[24:07] » I move that the town vote to approve the
payment out of the FY26 information
[24:11] technology budget $23.72
for Comcast invoices from FY25.
[24:19] » Second.
>> I have a second. Discussion.
[24:26] Let's vote on article 11.
[24:33] » [snorts]
[24:35] » It is a
>> five more seconds.
[24:38] » I know I didn't screw around.
>> Voting is closed.
[24:45] Article 11 passes. 68 yes, eight no. One
abstension.
[24:53] Article 12. I move that the town vote to
appropriate or reserve for later
[24:57] appropriation $69,000 from the community
preservation fund for use by the Conway
[25:02] Cemetery Association for removal of
overgrown trees that are threatening
[25:06] ancient gravestones in the oldest part
of historic Howland Cemetery.
[25:13] » There's a second
discussion.
[25:22] My name is John Cordis. Um 67 Upper
Baptist Hill Road. Um
[25:30] I have family connections that go way
back and my great uncle is buried in the
[25:34] Howland Cemetery, but it's a very
important location for multiple reasons.
[25:40] Obviously, the historic gravestones that
are mentioned. My concern though as a
[25:45] climate activist is that the um white
pines that are in that cemetery also
[25:51] have historic value.
Um
[25:56] many of you probably know that the
tallest tree in New England is in
[26:00] Massachusetts in the Mohawk Trail State
Forest, a white pine. And these these
[26:06] trees were known as the king's pines uh
back in revolutionary days.
[26:13] Um, I could go on bore you about all
this forestry, but um I've spoken with
[26:20] um a tree scientist about this who has
emphasized the carbon sequestration of
[26:28] older trees far surpasses trees that are
younger. And so I'm wondering as we
[26:36] appropriate this money if uh we could
have some discussion about are there any
[26:41] other alternatives to actually cutting
the trees down completely.
[26:46] Um
I know that some of the gravestones are
[26:50] already moved by the larger girth trees.
So that if we were to cut the tree down
[26:57] that's not going to solve that problem
because there's still going to be a
[27:00] stump there. Um, so I would just hope
that we could have a little bit more
[27:04] discussion maybe with the cemetery
association as a town. And I'm going to
[27:09] try to post something in the currents um
from this tree scientist that I'd spoken
[27:16] with just to get a little bit more
discussion going.
[27:19] » Okay. Thank you.
[27:25] » In the back.
[27:28] » We're coming.
[27:38] Uh, Amanda Kirk, 1733 Roaring Brook
Road. I'm curious where the 69,000
[27:44] figure comes from, if that's an estimate
from a specific tree removal service or
[27:50] if you got competing estimates. Um, as a
historic preservationist, I am concerned
[27:55] about the preservation of the graves,
but that that figure sounds excessive
[28:00] for uh removal of a few trees.
[28:06] » Do we have anyone here from the cemetery
association?
[28:16] » Oh, thank you, Jim.
Hello again. Michelle Harris, 99 Shelurn
[28:22] Falls Road and neighbor to the Howland
Cemetery.
[28:28] Where to begin? Um,
[28:33] to answer your questions first, it is
not threatening the graves. It has
[28:38] already destroyed multiple graves. every
year or when there's a snowstorm or an
[28:44] ice storm, the branches from those trees
continue to come down. Um Ken WT is here
[28:50] and he is in charge of the spring
cleanup in that cemetery and
[28:57] there is mass destruction over there of
these graves. Um to answer your
[29:03] question, I received three quotes
ranging from 50 to close to 100,000.
[29:10] This 69,000 that we asked for was the
middle quote and somebody local that we
[29:17] know. The highest quote came from
Northern Tree Service, a huge company
[29:22] out of I want to say Springfield. Um
they came in at 90 plus,000.
[29:30] Just to add a note to this, um,
because of the graves, because of the
[29:36] destruction, because of the soil, etc.,
this project is massive. I won't go into
[29:44] all the little details, but it requires
bringing in protection for the grass,
[29:50] gravel to put the out riggers on on the
crane. It involves a 300 ton crane
[29:56] because it has to come it has to park on
the road and be able to reach over and
[30:01] get the top of these pines which have to
come down piece by piece because of I
[30:08] mean the graves are right up against
these trees at this point. There is only
[30:13] six six white pines, a dead red maple,
and there is another one that I can't
[30:21] remember what it is. They're all over in
the old section of the cemetery.
[30:27] Um,
[30:31] did I cover everything? Oh, the carbon
footprint um or the carbon concerns.
[30:37] The cemetery fund does have a little bit
of money, not a lot. And our plan is
[30:42] after this project is to go in and
actually find somebody that can help us
[30:49] and plant smaller, friendlier,
nondestructive trees and bushes over
[30:54] there with the stumps. We have talked
about putting, I don't know, whiskey
[30:59] barrels with flowers on top of them so
they're not quite as
[31:04] stumpy looking. [laughter]
Um, we'll take them down as far as we
[31:08] can. Obviously, the stumps are not going
to be pulled because there are graves
[31:13] right up against the base of these
trees.
[31:18] I can't think of either or question. I
think I've answered them all. If I
[31:24] haven't, please let me Oh, hello.
[31:35] » Um, Julia Stone, um, River's Edge Drive.
Michelle, has the association consulted
[31:41] anyone to figure out what the effect
would be from killing those trees in
[31:45] terms of um soil uh water drainage and
the effects down on the road that goes
[31:52] nearby
and things like frost heaves?
[31:58] [cough]
[clears throat]
[32:02] » Yes. Um
yes and no. The soil over there is very
[32:08] poor. It's very sandy soil. We've never
had a flooding problem or a drainage
[32:13] problem. And that is quite a that is
quite a null. We've never had problems
[32:20] with the soil or with the roads except
for that massive rain that we got that
[32:26] washed out the bottom of the upper road
that is nowhere near that null or the
[32:32] old section of the cemetery. I keep
calling it the null.
[32:37] Has the association consulted any
specialists to figure out what the
[32:41] effect will be of removing those trees?
>> No, we have not because we did not see
[32:46] that as an issue based on history.
The only effect that it's going to have
[32:53] is saving the rest of those slate stones
over there
[32:57] that we see.
>> All right. So, that that's your goal.
[33:00] Understandable.
Um
[33:05] may I suggest consulting with somebody
because we've seen examples when removal
[33:10] of one tree has an effect out on the
building on the water seepage to the
[33:15] buildings nearby. So there water seepage
could change and uh
[33:22] maybe have effect potentially on the
road that goes by
[33:25] » um because there is a massive root
system associated with these trees.
[33:30] » Correct. And those root roots would be
dead eventually and they'll rot
[33:35] » and that would change the situation in
the soil there.
[33:38] » Mhm.
>> We could hire a consultant. I'm imagine
[33:42] because the word consultant is
associated with this person, it's going
[33:46] to cost a lot of money that we probably
do not have. And we're trying to get
[33:51] this project done sooner than later
because every year more things are
[33:55] destroyed over there, more graves are
destroyed.
[33:59] » Okay. Perhaps could be a way to find a
specialist, a knowledgeable person to
[34:03] talk to.
>> Hello there. Any other questions
[34:07] » behind you too, Adam?
>> You can go there first.
[34:14] » Hi, Julia Washurn. New Hall Road. Um,
couple of quick questions. I understand
[34:19] both sides of this. I understand the
importance of the historic preservation
[34:22] and I understand the importance of um of
protecting h uh heritage trees. My
[34:28] understanding from listening to you is
this is about seven trees. And are they
[34:33] I mean are they heritage trees? Are they
deemed has anyone I mean it sounds like
[34:39] they're very very old and tall and and
maybe healthy? Um are the trees not
[34:46] healthy? So have they been evaluated by
an arborist to say yes these are
[34:50] hazardous trees?
>> We haven't had it evaluated. we deem
[34:55] them as hazardous because every year
they're destroying graves.
[34:59] » Yeah. So my question then would be has
anyone explored any alternatives to
[35:04] cutting them down such as limming them
or trimming them or set so forth?
[35:09] » That would probably involve just about
every limb in the tree and then instead
[35:13] of having a 10-ft stump, we would have a
150 foot stump. [laughter]
[35:18] » No, I'm not I'm not being sarcastic.
My my point is that I'm just asking is
[35:24] has everything possibly been done to see
what could be done about saving the
[35:28] trees? And if so, then I would suggest
that you go ahead and cut them. But I
[35:34] just want to know if there's more
research to be done before we do that.
[35:40] » Could you Kenw please?
>> Ken WT Parsons Hill Drive. Okay.
[35:47] Along with Michelle, I've been on a
committee for I don't want to guess how
[35:51] many years. I have every every year,
fall and spring cleanup, I get the
[35:57] inmates from the jail. We do massive
amount of brush removal, picking up
[36:03] those branches, have in there with
chainsaws, cutting the limbs up that
[36:07] fall. Those trees are dying rapidly. The
big pines, you can walk right up to
[36:14] them. You can peel the one inch thick
bark right off of
[36:20] the root systems are dying. The trees
are dying. There's nothing we can do. We
[36:25] they're they're not safe enough to
climb.
[36:28] » We've had our We've had arborists go in
there, assess them. They said we can't
[36:33] send people up these trees. It has to be
done with a crane, taking it from the
[36:38] top to the bottom. So there is no saving
those trees. There's also the maple
[36:44] trees that Michelle mentioned. Same
thing. Every year, massive limbs come
[36:49] off of those, the size of the trunks of
most trees. They smash the stones. So,
[36:55] every year we're in there with the
inmates cutting them up.
[36:59] I know because I'm in there with them.
[37:06] » Any other discussion?
[37:12] Um, John Harrison, Baptist Hill Road. I
just want to mention as a nearby
[37:17] neighbor of the cemetery that if you the
more familiar you are with the cemetery,
[37:21] the more you would actually realize the
problem with the trees. Um, and it's not
[37:26] just small limbs that come down. It is
often very large portions of the trunk.
[37:31] And when you see what they do to the
stones, they are not just knocked over.
[37:35] They are turned into little tiny
smitherines. I mean, they're
[37:38] obliterated. And we've seen this over
the years, big limbs coming down every
[37:43] year. So I think there's no solution to
it other than to try to really mitigate
[37:48] with the trees.
[37:55] » Mary Iwin Baptist Hill Road.
>> Okay.
[38:00] » The historical significance of Howland
Cemetery is very important.
[38:06] This is the oldest part of Howland where
some remarkable people are buried. We
[38:13] have lost a number of trees. Michelle,
can you tell us approximately how many
[38:17] trees have been cut already and has that
impacted drainage or
[38:26] or the terrain in any way?
[38:32] I believe I believe there's been a
minimum of four trees taken already
[38:36] years ago.
>> Has no impact on the soil.
[38:41] » I just
>> I heard a suggestion to move the
[38:46] question
>> and a second. So let's let's take a
[38:50] quick voice vote on that. All in favor
of moving the question
[38:55] » I
>> opposed.
[38:58] Okay, let's vote on article 12.
[39:10] Five more seconds.
[39:15] Voting is closed.
[39:20] Article 12 passes. 62 yes, 14 no, three
abstensions.
[39:27] Article 13.
>> I move that the town vote to approve the
[39:31] grant match and administration account
to include all expenses necessary for
[39:36] the application and administration of
grants applied for by the town.
[39:44] » I have a second discussion.
[39:53] » Suzanne Archim, Upper Baptist Hill Road.
So I have a question. Um
[40:00] the the wording on this is really kind
of vague and the example given in the
[40:05] light warrant states um
design and engineering costs.
[40:13] My understanding is that generally those
would be included in a phase one grant.
[40:24] Um the the idea is that for certain
grants we may not be in the best
[40:30] position to apply for them because a
little design or engineering work is
[40:34] necessary in order to actually prepare
the grant application. So this would
[40:38] just give that account the ability to
spend the money on you know say say a
[40:43] consulting engineer to review the grant
application um so that we could put that
[40:48] application forward. So, my only concern
or one concern about that is that
[40:54] there's no limit on that.
>> Well, the um
[40:59] » that there's no what
>> limit. Oh, no.
[41:01] » Yeah. Well, there's no limit because
we're not I mean, there's a limit.
[41:04] There's there's an amount that's in the
grant in the admin the grant
[41:07] administration account.
So, this just basically gives us more
[41:12] flexibility in spending the money that's
already been appropriated for that
[41:15] account.
>> Okay. Got it. Thank you.
[41:19] The other account actually only has
13,500
[41:23] just so you're aware.
>> Any other discussion?
[41:29] » Let's vote on article 13.
[41:40] Five more seconds.
[41:45] Voting is closed.
Article 13 passes. 66 yes, six no, three
[41:53] extensions.
[41:56] » Article 14.
>> I move that the town vote to amend its
[42:01] general bylaws as presented in the
warrant.
[42:08] » I have a second. Discussion.
>> You want to save trees? Here's your
[42:13] chance.
[laughter]
[42:16] » Okay.
[42:19] Elizabeth Stow 304 South Field Road.
Yeah, I really love trees, but I
[42:25] remember paper
>> when you used to like read it. Um, we
[42:29] were prepared today because we'd gotten
the town warrant in the mail and we had
[42:34] read it thoroughly and argued over it
and stuff. Um, we just aren't these
[42:40] computer people. I I can't read a long
document on the internet and I don't see
[42:46] why you shouldn't keep mailing them out.
Thank you.
[42:49] » They'll be available
>> that Yeah. So, we will still mail them,
[42:53] but they'll be available on request. So,
as opposed to spending $3,000 to mail to
[42:58] every single post office box and address
in Conway, um we'll only mail them to
[43:04] people who actually do want a physical
copy or you can pick up a physical copy
[43:08] at town hall, but we'll definitely make
physical copies still available by mail.
[43:12] We just won't by default mail them to
everyone in town.
[43:22] » Daryl Chase 904 Bardsville Road. Um,
just to be clear, is it is this is just
[43:26] the town report or is it the warrant as
well?
[43:30] » Just
>> because I think she was talking about
[43:31] the warrant.
>> Yeah, it's just the town report which is
[43:33] the huge
>> Right. But the but the printed warrant
[43:36] will still be mailed.
>> The warrant will Yeah, we'll continue to
[43:39] mail.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[43:44] » Any other discussion? Oh,
>> Jane Roy Brown, Six Parsons Road. How
[43:50] would a person opt in or out for the
mailing of the report, please?
[43:56] » I think at this point emailing or
calling the town administrator, but we
[43:59] could certainly I mean I don't see why
we couldn't have a you know form on the
[44:02] website that make it really easy to you
know put in your information and request
[44:15] Lucinda Cathkart 482 New Hall Road. I
think if the presumption is we want to
[44:20] be accommodating to people that are
going to not want to do the computer
[44:25] thing for all the right reasons, I think
that the campaign to give them the
[44:29] option to receive it via mailing needs
to be like in the current. It needs to
[44:34] be something that's not just online
because I think you're going to miss who
[44:38] you don't want to miss.
>> Yeah. Thank you. I will definitely do
[44:40] that.
[44:45] » Any other discussion? Oh,
[44:56] hi Drew Cronin, Wheatly Road. I'm just
wondering, is it possible to email them
[45:00] out? Because for those of us who don't
go on the website regularly or go to
[45:05] these places, wouldn't email be also a
effective option?
[45:10] » Yeah, I don't see why we we couldn't do
that. We we could, but I would just have
[45:13] to say we don't have all your email
addresses. So, it' still have to be a
[45:17] request. So, the form that I could put
on the website would be printed copy or
[45:21] emailed copy and you'd have to give me
your email address.
[45:28] » Um, we Yeah, I guess we we could um
>> I don't know, Don, is that necessary to
[45:32] do a floor amendment to specify that
we'll it will still be available in
[45:36] other
>> It says are mailed upon request. So,
[45:40] » Okay. If you want to be really specific,
you can say mailed or emailed upon
[45:45] request.
>> Okay. So, how do we do that, Jimmy? Make
[45:48] a motion to amend the
floor amendment.
[45:53] » I don't know if it really requires
amending it.
[45:56] » Well, Donna says we should just to be
our basis. Okay.
[46:00] » So, do I make a motion to Okay. So, I'm
going to make a motion to amend um the
[46:05] article as it was written. Um so,
currently it says will be mailed upon
[46:10] request. will say mailed or emailed upon
request.
[46:17] » We have a second on the amendment to
article 14.
[46:26] We have a second. Any discussion on that
amendment?
[46:32] Okay, let's vote on amending article 14
>> by voice.
[46:37] » By voice. All in favor?
>> I
[46:41] » opposed.
[46:45] » Noted.
The amendment passes.
[46:49] Now, let's vote on article 14 as
amended.
[47:01] Five more seconds.
[47:07] Voting is closed.
[47:11] Article 14 passes. 75 yes. Four no.
[47:23] » Do you close the meeting or do I?
>> I have. I do.
[47:26] » Okay.
>> But yes. Okay.
[47:29] » That was one quick meeting. I
[applause]
[47:38] before I have a motion uh to adjourn,
I'd just like to note that yesterday was
[47:43] a half day of school here. There were
sixth graders who were in afterchool
[47:50] program who volunteered to set this room
up with Emily Sweet.
[47:56] » And they are uh Logan Phillips,
Cade Anderson, Martin Karns, Cash
[48:04] Waskevitz,
Huck Caris, and Freddy Swinderski.
[48:09] And their teacher was thrilled that they
volunteered to do it. So, I thought I'd
[48:14] mention it to you today.
>> All right.
[48:16] » Thank you. [applause]
[48:20] » Now, I would entertain a move to adjurnn
>> and a second.
[48:25] » Second.
>> Let's vote.
[48:29] » I [laughter]
>> I
[48:31] This meeting is adjourned.
[48:36] » Almost.
All right.