[0:06] It's not like we did it.

[0:11] » Did you guys set a time last time to bring that out or was it right away?

[0:18] » Okay. >> Did you guys set a date to put that out

[0:21] right away? Okay. >> Uh yeah, it was right away. Yeah. Yeah.

[0:24] Yeah. >> Excellent. I know right. Okay.

[0:26] Excellent.

[0:35] culminating in that moment. >> All right. So, we see

[0:42] » not so effective that game.

[0:52] » Didn't give you the bag. Did you not got one?

[0:55] » I did. >> Thought you did.

[0:57] » Did you get a mic back for her or No, I thought you did.

[1:01] » Did you have a mic back for her? No, I thought you did.

[1:04] » Oh, I thought you said you had five. >> Okay, I misunderstood you earlier.

[1:09] Oh, I misur

[1:31] » they were kind of hear people and I

[1:37] don't know half of We can

[1:46] » thank you.

[1:56] » It's all funny games >> until it's not.

[2:06] » How are you? fine for you.

[2:09] » We're here. We're all right. >> So, you heard about the amendment.

[2:14] » If you are comfortable reading it in, then we can do it as read or we can do

[2:20] it as an amendment after. >> So, the only thing different is the

[2:23] dollar amount. >> Correct. We're just moving 50k between

[2:26] those two within the general budget.

[3:49] you all here. Oh, that's so perfect. And it's so

[3:55] small. It's just right. It's a little bit after 8 o'clock. It's

[4:00] good to see you all here. >> I'm 7 o'clock. Pardon me. Maybe I should

[4:05] reset my time zones again. No, only kidding. It's a little bit after 7

[4:11] o'clock. Thank you for being here. This is a different sound system than uh

[4:16] talking out of that speaker up there in the ceiling. So, it's a

[4:21] different feel, a different vibe on how the speakers are working. Does this work

[4:26] for you? >> A little too boommy, maybe?

[4:31] » Yeah, we could cut that back a little bit.

[4:34] Thank you.

[4:37] So, as you know, um, we've got this clicker system going on,

[4:42] the remotes. How many is this new to tonight? Have seen this for the first

[4:47] time? Okay. Well, one of the things we will do

[4:51] is test them. So, when we call for a vote tonight,

[4:55] I'll we'll introduce a question. Then I'll

[5:00] say the voting period is now open. And every one of you will take your remote

[5:04] and click yes or no depending on your preference to the question or not vote

[5:10] at all if you choose. And then when I think there's been enough time for

[5:16] everybody to have pushed a button or the tally shows on the screen that

[5:21] everybody's voted, we'll close the voting period and you'll see instant

[5:25] results [snorts] on the screen for whether the article passed or didn't

[5:31] pass. So, all with these little remotes. But one of the things we do want to do,

[5:36] you have the test question, right? Have >> a test question.

[5:38] » Yes. One of the things we do want to do is ensure that everybody's remote works.

[5:45] So, we could practice right now before we get going with a test question. If

[5:51] everybody's got a remote, would you like to put that up on the

[5:54] screen? >> I will try to do that.

[5:58] » Okay. By the way, my name's Rich Peabody. I'm

[6:01] your moderator. Been doing this for a couple decades now or more.

[6:07] I enjoy hanging out with you at these special town meetings and the annual

[6:10] town meeting. Your aspect ratio exceeds the screen

[6:16] size. Is that going to be a problem? Is that the television or is that your

[6:21] laptop?

[6:25] question. >> Oh, okay. No, you're not missing any

[6:30] words. All right. >> All right. So, there's a simple

[6:33] question. It could be any article in the thing, but

[6:36] » this question is, is it summer yet? So, there's the question.

[6:42] I'm going to say the voting period is now open. So, take your remote and

[6:47] choose whether or not you believe it it's summer yet. Vote yes or no.

[6:53] or abstain, which is the yellow button, the 3C on your remote, as you may wish.

[7:01] Voting period is open. And everybody should push a button to

[7:07] make this a valid test. So, we compare the number of people to the number of

[7:11] remotes to the number of votes. >> I don't have that number.

[7:16] » 54. >> 54.

[7:18] We got 52 people that didn't vote.

[7:32] They should say okay. They should say okay if they're working.

[7:36] » Oh yeah. So your screen if you voted should give you a response saying okay

[7:42] on it. The little screen. If your vote did not give you a response okay your

[7:47] remote has a problem and you can swap it out for another remote.

[7:52] Okay, we got 54 now, so we're good. >> Excellent. So, 54 people have registered

[7:58] to come in. We have 54 votes on the screen. That's a good thing.

[8:06] All right. So, that's how this works. It's pretty simple. It takes a lot of

[8:11] that walking around and counting or I want to call for a paper ballot. Um, it

[8:17] takes all that out of the equation. You vote your conscience on the remote. You

[8:21] see the results instantly and we move on to the next question.

[8:28] So with that >> hamp.

[8:32] » Would you like to do another test question just quickly so we can verify

[8:35] that we're all set?

[8:39] » No. Okay, we're good.

[8:46] I'd like to quickly note that the Irving Public Library has a quick announcement.

[8:50] Abby, are you here?

[9:04] get the better the people hear you. >> Can you hear me?

[9:10] » Great. Um, my name is Abby Baines. I am not a resident of Irving, but I am your

[9:14] library director. Um, and I'm inviting you tonight to make your voice heard by

[9:20] taking our community survey. Uh we've talked to many of you on the way in and

[9:25] uh we appreciate your time and appreciate you sharing this with your

[9:28] fellow residents um and non-residents who come to town and want to share their

[9:32] opinion about the wonderful Irving Library. Um your feedback helps us

[9:37] improve the things you can borrow, the spaces you can use, community events,

[9:42] and how librarians can help you. And it is going to guide our strategic planning

[9:46] for the next five years. Um a little bit of facts here. Over the past two years,

[9:52] the number of programs and events we offer has gone up 20%. Building visitors

[9:57] have gone up 35% and reference questions have gone up 55%.

[10:03] Library staff and trustees want to make sure that the library services meet the

[10:07] expectations of Irving residents and taxpayers. So, your filling out the

[10:11] community survey will help us do that. You can take the survey tonight on that

[10:16] piece of paper that we gave you. You can fill it out online using the QR code or

[10:20] short URL on that form. There will also be paper copies at the library, town

[10:24] hall, senior, and community center. And we're printing copies in the June Irving

[10:28] around town newsletter. Um, so we thank you very much uh in advance for your

[10:33] time and feedback. Thank you. >> Thank you, Abby.

[10:38] All right, we have a town meeting to get on with, so I'm going to start off our

[10:41] official proceedings as so. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Franklin SS, Town of

[10:47] Irving, Constable, Town Clerk, and Administrative Assistant. In the name of

[10:51] the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are directed to notify and warn the said

[10:55] inhabitants qualified to vote in town affairs to meet in the Irving Elementary

[11:00] School located at 28 Northfield Road, Irving, Massachusetts,

[11:05] zip code 01344 on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 7 o'clock p.m. then and there to

[11:13] vote on the following articles and they are listed in your handout warrant as

[11:17] articles 1 through 34.

[11:22] In addition, you are hereby directed to serve the above warrant and to post a

[11:26] tested copies as directed by vote of the town at least 7 days before said

[11:31] meeting. fail not and make do return of this warrant with your doings thereon to

[11:36] the town clerk for the day of said meeting given under our hands this 13th

[11:41] day of April 2026 signed by the Irving select board.

[11:46] » Okay. All right. >> The copies were posted up in this

[11:49] certification Commonwealth of Massachusetts Franklin SS Town of

[11:53] Irving. I have served the above warrant posts by posting attested copies as

[11:58] directed by vote of the town at least seven days before the time of holding

[12:02] said meeting and it is signed by Richard Newton our town clerk

[12:08] as is directed by law. With that I declare our town meeting to

[12:12] be open. I thank you for coming here and I ask you to please rise and take this

[12:18] privilege and opportunity >> to pledge allegiance to our flag and

[12:23] country.

[12:27] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[12:32] republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for

[12:39] all.

[12:44] Thank you very much.

[12:48] I have a quick motion to make. It's become a standard motion for us. It

[12:52] helps us speed things along since you all have the printed warrant in front of

[12:57] you. I move that reading of all articles be

[13:01] waved and that prior to the reading of a motion under the article, the moderator

[13:06] the moderator briefly summarize the content of the article to be considered

[13:11] and further that unless objection is raised the reading of the detailed

[13:15] motions be waved where the article as printed can in the opinion of the

[13:20] moderator be incorporated by reference in any motion presented.

[13:27] I need a motion to accept. >> Second.

[13:32] » Thank you very much.

[13:37] » We have a motion and a second putting this procedural motion in front of us.

[13:42] Do you have a slide for that? >> I do.

[13:50] [snorts] >> The uh voting on this procedural motion.

[13:53] It's uh something we do all the time. Are there any questions?

[13:57] No questions appearing. The voting period for this motion is open. Please

[14:02] register your vote now.

[14:16] And with 54 votes appearing, the voting period is closed.

[14:23] should be 60 now.

[14:27] » We can uh wait another second or two. If you haven't voted, please do. I see one

[14:32] remote is being swapped out because we had another Dud.

[14:43] Did everybody vote? That number should go up to 60 if you pushed the button.

[14:59] All right. So, since we didn't get to 60, somebody's remote is either not

[15:03] working or somebody chose not to push a button. Let's try this again just to be

[15:07] sure everybody's remotes are working. Okay. Can you uh delete the votes and

[15:13] start over? No, >> I not I mean, I can close out this one

[15:17] and redo it, but Okay. a second. >> Okay. Well, did the article pass or not?

[15:22] » I would say that it would pass by majority even if one vote negative.

[15:25] » Yeah. Well, I don't see the yeses and nos up there.

[15:28] » Oh, okay. Let's close the vote. >> Close the vote. [laughter]

[15:32] » Thank you. >> Can you [snorts] put a test question up

[15:36] again? >> I certainly can.

[15:38] » Just to be sure all these remotes are working.

[15:43] [laughter] >> All right. Here's our test question

[15:46] number three. Are you ready for school to be out? Everybody take your remote.

[15:52] » Choose what your vote is going to be. The voting period is now open.

[15:58] We need to get to the right number to be sure everybody's remote works. You will

[16:02] see a response on the screen saying okay if your remote works

[16:29] » good. Thank you. Thank you for playing the game.

[16:38] » Let you get back to where where you needed to be.

[16:47] » All right. So, we're back on track. Article one. It's

[16:54] redoing that. >> Oh, you want to redo that? I thought

[16:57] that's what you wanted because the other one, you know, it's up to you.

[17:01] » It passed. >> I would say so. All right.

[17:04] » Yeah, it passed. There was no way it was going to fail with those numbers.

[17:11] » Okay. Article one, acceptance of the calendar year 2025 town report,

[17:19] which is this thing that you picked up on the way through the door. It's

[17:22] submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends approval.

[17:26] » Make a motion to accept article one as printed.

[17:28] » Second. >> I have a motion and a second putting it

[17:32] in front of us. It's pretty comprehensive.

[17:37] Does anybody have anything to say regarding the town report?

[17:48] No. Okay. Any questions regarding the town report?

[17:56] With no questions appearing, all those in favor of article one, please signify

[18:01] by well, take your remote. Take your remote and vote. The voting period is

[18:07] now open.

[18:16] And of course, we've achieved the number. So the voting period is closed

[18:20] and the result is the article has passed with a majority.

[18:32] Article two, it's appropriate for FY2025 expenses

[18:39] $147.90

[18:43] from the FY2026 wastewater enterprise fund. It's

[18:48] submitted by the town administrator and the finance committee recommends

[18:51] approval. >> Make a motion to print.

[18:55] » Motion in a second. Puts it in front of us. Are there any questions?

[19:02] With no questions appearing, I open the voting period for that question and

[19:09] please register your vote.

[19:23] And we'll close the voting period in three, two, one.

[19:30] And the result is the article has passed with a majority.

[19:36] Article three, close the library construction project fund. And we're

[19:42] going to move that $138 in that fund to the general fund. It's submitted by the

[19:47] town administrator and the finance committee recommends approval.

[19:51] » Make a motion to accept the printed. >> Second.

[19:55] » Motion in a second brings it in front of us. Are there any questions?

[20:03] With no questions appearing, the voting period for article 3 is now open. Please

[20:08] register your preference on article three.

[20:23] And with 60 votes in, the voting period is closed and our results are article

[20:28] three is passed for the majority.

[20:34] Article four, appropriation for special revenues

[20:38] funds. There's 600 $68,4906

[20:44] we're going to take from free cash and move it to this special revenue fund for

[20:48] the CARES Act. And then another $990.52 from the wastewater enterprise fund that

[20:57] will also go to this special revenue fund submitted submitted by the town

[21:02] administrator and the finance committee recommends approval.

[21:05] » Make a motion to set article 4 to print it.

[21:09] motion in a second putting it in front of us for anyone who has questions,

[21:13] concerns, or wishes for an explanation.

[21:23] With no questions appearing, I'll open the voting period for article 4. Please

[21:30] take your remote and register your preference on article 4.

[21:42] And we'll bring the voting period to a close in three, two,

[21:48] one. Oh, and all 60 votes were in. So, looks

[21:53] like article 4 also passes with a majority.

[22:00] Well, this is quick. It takes some of the fun out of it. [laughter]

[22:05] Article five, appropriate for FY2026 capital improvements.

[22:11] We're going to appropriate $30,000 for the FY2026 capital improvement

[22:16] projects

[22:22] and submitted by the select board. The capital planning committee recommends

[22:25] approval as well as the finance committee.

[22:30] » Second.

[22:34] questions on this.

[22:40] With no questions appearing, the voting period for article 5 is now open. Please

[22:46] take your remote and register your opinion on article 5. Yes. No, abstain.

[22:54] Now's the time to vote.

[23:03] And we'll bring the voting period to a close in three,

[23:07] two, one.

[23:11] Article five has passed with a majority.

[23:17] Article six is the authorization to apply for federal and state grants. We

[23:22] authorize the select board to apply for federal and state grants as they may

[23:26] need or as the requirement may come up. It's submitted by the select board and

[23:31] the finance committee recommends approval.

[23:33] » Make a motion.

[23:37] » Motion and a second. Bring it in front of us. Thank you very much.

[23:41] Any questions or concerns with article six?

[23:50] With no questions, all those in favor of article six, please take your remote.

[23:55] The voting period is now open. Please register your opinion on article six.

[24:02] Yes. No. Abstain.

[24:14] and we'll bring the voting period to a close in three,

[24:19] two, one.

[24:24] Article six has passed with the majority.

[24:31] Article seven, the annual authorization to dispose of surplus property. It's

[24:38] authorizing the select board to dispose of anything that is determined to be

[24:42] surplus. Submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends

[24:46] approval.

[24:49] » Second. >> Article seven. Are there questions or

[24:54] concerns? >> Yes.

[24:56] » No. >> And thank you. Come on down to our

[24:59] microphone here and uh lean in close. The closer you are, the more the people

[25:04] can hear. >> Hi, Devin God, 13 North Street. Uh, I

[25:08] was wondering what properties are surplus and how is it you dispose of

[25:13] them? Like do you put them on the market for sale? What what is the process to

[25:16] then get rid of them if you have properties already selected?

[25:22] » Uh, sure. So, it depends on what it is. Um, we had some earlier tonight, for

[25:25] example, and it was uh equipment that was end of useful life generally.

[25:29] Sometimes it's equipment that we have replaced for other reasons and we have a

[25:35] surplus um property policy that we follow which includes three reads uh at

[25:40] a select board meeting before we make a determination or more. And at that time

[25:46] we usually take the advice of the department recommending surplus. uh as

[25:51] well as other input on whether we should put it um out to to bid offer it to uh

[25:58] other towns once we've already you know checked with other departments uh or if

[26:02] it is of you know no useful life left and needs to be scrapped or disposed of.

[26:06] » Okay. So this is physical equipment not necessarily real estate property.

[26:10] » Correct. Okay. Thanks. Yeah. >> Usually that's what we deal with most of

[26:16] the time.

[26:20] Okay, good question. Thank you for the answer. Are there further questions?

[26:28] With no questions appearing, the voting period on article 7 is now open. Please

[26:34] signify your preference on article number seven.

[26:47] All the votes are in. So, article 7 has passed with a majority.

[26:55] Article 8, authorization to enter into a compensating balance agreements. It

[27:01] authorizes the treasurer and collector to enter into such agreements. According

[27:06] to Massachusetts general law, it's submitted by the select board and the

[27:10] finance committee recommends approval.

[27:14] Make a motion to accept our printed second

[27:19] » motion and a second brings it in front of us. Yes, Jackie.

[27:22] » Does it say fiscal year 27 and not 26?

[27:31] » Yes. Is that an amendment?

[27:35] » Can I

[27:40] have to make an amendment? I'd like you to propose an amendment.

[27:45] » Sure.

[27:53] » Uh Jackie Bdon, um Northfield Road. Uh I make amendment to article 8 um where it

[28:01] says fiscal year 26 to say fiscal year 27.

[28:07] » Motion in a second. puts it in front of us to change fiscal year 2026

[28:13] to fiscal year 2027, which would be the correct wording for

[28:19] that article.

[28:25] So, do you have a slide for an amendment?

[28:29] » Maybe it doesn't fit all there, but says I I put amendment on the end of it. I

[28:34] copied it and put an amendment on the end of it, but I guess it's just too

[28:37] long.

[28:41] We're testing the system here, >> which is part of why I wanted Jackie to

[28:46] do an amendment.

[29:02] » There there. All right. So, is there any discussion on the amendment before I

[29:07] call for a vote on the amendment? No discussion. All those in favor of

[29:13] amending article 8 to express fiscal year 2027, please take your remote and

[29:19] express your preference on amending article 20. Article 8.

[29:35] And we'll bring that voting period to a close in three, two, one.

[29:41] The article is amended.

[29:47] All right. Now, the amended article 8 is in front of us for consideration. Are

[29:53] there further questions or concerns with the amended article 8?

[30:00] With none appearing,

[30:04] the voting period for the amended article 8 is open. Please signify your

[30:09] preference.

[30:20] I will bring this voting period to a close in three,

[30:24] two, one.

[30:27] All 60 votes are in and the amended article 8 has passed with a majority.

[30:36] Thank you, Jackie. That that let us test how that works because someday we're

[30:41] going to be mired in the weeds here with amendments to amendments and we're Yeah.

[30:47] So that now we got one done.

[30:53] All right. I'm going to backtrack just a little bit because uh

[30:58] we had an election in this town at the beginning of last week

[31:04] and a bunch of people came to town hall and expressed their preferences

[31:09] on some elected positions and on a question

[31:14] and so thank you all for showing up and uh our marvelous pole workers who were

[31:20] there all smiles and everything else. I managed to schedule my work travel so I

[31:24] could go with my lovely wife and vote and then hightail it to the airport. Um

[31:29] so it was a pleasure to see you all at the town hall.

[31:34] So during this election um I'd like to recognize that select board Jacqueline

[31:40] Bdon got a select board seat and for assessor Jacqueline Bdon [laughter] got

[31:47] an assessor seat. Um, our treasurer position there was a failure to elect.

[31:53] Um, library trustee, Linda DS, Benbury. Thank you, Linda, for your continued use

[31:59] there. Moderator, thank you very much. School committee position one, Daniel

[32:05] Hammock. School committee position two, there was a failure to elect two people

[32:10] with the identical vote count, so nobody actually won the position.

[32:14] Uh, tree warden Glenn McCory. Constable again, failure to elect.

[32:21] Planning board position one, Deborah Smith. Thank you for your hard work.

[32:26] Planning board position two, Laura Bazio.

[32:29] Recreation Commission position one, Katherine Godette. Recreation Commission

[32:34] position two, failure to elect board of health, Sally Delaney.

[32:40] question to change the treasurer's position from elected to appointed

[32:45] passed. So that's what happened with our

[32:48] election the other day. You all exercised your rights to come and vote

[32:53] and choose and and do that kind of thing here. I'd like to congratulate the

[32:57] people who got elected. And I'd like to congratulate all of you

[33:03] for showing up at the polls and doing the most American thing there is,

[33:08] showing up to vote. And let's keep that in mind as we move forward this year,

[33:14] showing up to vote. Thank you very much.

[33:23] All right, we're uh moving on from article 8 to article nine. Article 9 is

[33:28] the fiscal year 2027 general operating budget

[33:33] in the amount of 8,15,149.

[33:39] It covers general government, public safety, public works, health and human

[33:43] services, culture and recreation assessments and benefits.

[33:48] Submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends approval.

[33:52] » Make a motion to accept article 9. motion and a second brings it in front

[33:58] of us for any discussion that you may wish to have on general operating budget

[34:04] for fiscal year 2027. >> Mr. Moderator.

[34:09] » Yes. I'd [cough and clears throat] like to

[34:12] propose an amendment to article 9 by moving $50,000 from the

[34:20] benefits line and adding it to the public works line. The net impact would

[34:26] be zero. The new public works total amended total

[34:31] would be 954,777.

[34:37] The new benefits line total would be $2,849,454.

[34:47] » Second that motion.

[34:54] So, moving $50,000 from one line item to the other line item.

[35:03] Changing Health and Human Services to a grand total of $954,77

[35:12] and the benefits total to 2,849,454.

[35:18] That was public works, not health and human services for the first one.

[35:21] » Oh, public works line. Thank you very much. So, line number three, public

[35:27] works, 954,777.

[35:31] Line number seven, benefits 2,849,454.

[35:38] All right, that's an amendment being proposed to alter those two line items.

[35:45] Is there any question on the amendment?

[35:58] Jackie Bdon, Northfield Road. Can you explain why you're doing it? And when we

[36:03] get into the other um the actual I'd like explanation if there's any

[36:08] increases in positions and all that. It was a very dense document. I did go

[36:12] through it, but if the select board could explain a little bit about the

[36:18] budget.

[36:22] So, the proposed amendment shifting that funding um based on the

[36:30] health care cost changes and the budget needs, we honed in on that number being

[36:36] slightly lower and to move it to public works to be able to um backfill the

[36:43] vacancy in that department. So just to get the bal the funding to the to the

[36:47] right level to do that and the majority of the of the joint meeting of finance

[36:52] and and the select board felt that that was reasonable with the funds that we

[36:57] have planned.

[37:03] Okay. Further question on the amendment and what it's doing or why it's doing

[37:07] it?

[37:12] No further question on the amendment. Please take your remote and vote on this

[37:17] amendment. Do you wish for the amendment to proceed forward? Do you approve of

[37:21] the amendment or you do you not? Or do you wish to abstain on the question

[37:26] altogether? Now's the time to vote. >> Voting period on this amendment is still

[37:33] [snorts] open and it's closing in three,

[37:39] two, one.

[37:44] The amendment has passed.

[37:51] All right. So now we have the amended article 8 for the general operating

[37:56] budget with those new totals for those two lines.

[38:00] » Article nine. Thank you very much. I love having people keeping me on the

[38:05] straight and narrow. Thank you. Article nine as amended. Is there are there

[38:10] questions on article 9? Yes. Come on down

[38:19] [snorts]

[38:24] and happy to have you here.

[38:29] » Brenda Silva. Um I have recently um been informed that in this article

[38:37] there are additions or new salaries. um one being an IT person at $100,000 a

[38:45] year. Um and my question is why are we going to be hiring someone for $100,000

[38:53] paying benefits, pensions, health insurance when something like this can

[38:57] be farmed out to an IT company. I work for a company that has 50 people in it

[39:03] and everything is done remotely now. And if there's a problem that can't be done

[39:08] remotely, the company comes to the business and we don't pay salaries for

[39:13] anybody. We just pay the bill as the bill comes in. I'm an accountant and I

[39:17] know I pay the bill. So, it doesn't make sense to me that we're paying $100,000

[39:24] and adding that to our deficit because our taxes just went up. And why are we

[39:29] adding something that we can most possibly farm out to a company who can

[39:35] take care of computers and take care of most of this stuff remotely? That's my

[39:39] first question. The second question is there's also in here um a salary or a

[39:46] position in admin with no salary. So why would we put a position in our

[39:54] budget like that without telling us how much we're paying for an admin position?

[40:00] I personally don't want to hear about an admin coming on paying and us paying

[40:04] them 70 or 80 or $100,000 because it's not spelled out. So

[40:11] I'd like an explanation for those why those things are being done the way

[40:14] they're done and added to a deficit that we already have.

[40:19] » Okay. So I will address the first part of your question. Now as an accountant I

[40:24] think you could understand we're not adding to a deficit. We're putting forth

[40:28] a balanced budget. The IT position u as I think we could all agree

[40:35] is we depend more and more every day on technology.

[40:40] There are benefits and there are extreme risks.

[40:44] With the advent of artificial intelligence, bad actors are

[40:49] leveraging that. We need to make sure that we are doing our due diligence to

[40:55] protect sensitive information to you, our community members that the town

[41:00] stores. The reason we thought about going inhouse and why this

[41:07] position would warrant that that type of wage is based on industry standards for

[41:14] one, but we're looking for a specialized individual. though a lot of people think

[41:21] it or an IT staff is interchangeable but

[41:28] if you'll bear with me um there are specialists within each area

[41:34] of it. So if you would think of our uh roadways,

[41:42] there are specialists who design and build the roads. There are specialists

[41:46] who design and build the cars. And there are specialists who protect the

[41:51] passengers inside the cars. Okay? The roadways are your networks.

[41:59] That's what the information travels on. The motor vehicles

[42:05] are your systems, your applications that the information travels in. Your data

[42:10] travels in and the passengers are the data itself. We need somebody who is

[42:16] skilled in maintaining the roads, maintaining the cars and making sure the

[42:22] people are staying safe. That's a bit of a unicorn.

[42:29] So that position would warrant that wage. I deal in this area in my

[42:35] professional life and I know what the industry pays

[42:40] in my opinion and I expressed it with my colleagues on the board and on the

[42:45] finance committee is that with the benefits that the town of

[42:51] Irving offers, we're actually below the industry standard with the benefits

[42:56] balancing it off. To answer your question, why we wouldn't

[43:00] farm it out is for tech services company, they would be servicing our

[43:07] data as well as other people's data. And in the event of a catastrophic breach or

[43:13] something, their resources may be strapped. If we have a person who's

[43:18] dedicated solely to our resources, they're responsible to us and only us.

[43:24] So we know that should we have a problem our needs will be met first and

[43:28] foremost. That's the reason why we would choose to do it in house.

[43:35] » Does that answer your first question?

[43:47] Everybody's

[43:51] responsible for the same

[43:59] in essence

[44:03] and

[44:08] [clears throat] something that we still could do because

[44:11] of the way right now.

[44:26] » And that's your that's your point. That's your opinion based on your lived

[44:29] experience. I respectfully disagree based on mine.

[44:35] » I haven't called on you. >> Yeah. Um, I I would like if it's going

[44:40] to be more than just a couple of words to come up to the microphone so that it

[44:46] becomes part of the record so we we all can hear it. Um, and this lady has her

[44:51] hand in the air. Hi, come on up.

[45:04] » Hi, Holly Fitzpatrick, 108 Northfield Road. Um, I've been an IT professional

[45:09] for 45 years. During that time, I have worked in many parts of it. I've done

[45:16] the road, I've done the applications, I've done it all. I've worked desktop,

[45:22] I've worked multinational systems, little bit of web. What the town is

[45:28] looking for will require that much money. And what they will get for it is

[45:34] someone who can handle all the different parts. I work as a contractor right now.

[45:40] I work 10 hours a week. If they need me outside of that 10 hours a week, oh

[45:46] well, they have to wait until the next week when I'm working again. So that's

[45:51] the danger that you have by not having inhouse. There's not always somebody A

[45:57] who knows your business, B has any loyalty to you and C is not necessarily

[46:04] available. Thank you. >> Thank you for your input and I'll take

[46:08] your input now. Thank you. >> Uh two two questions. The first one is

[46:14] is this uh job a salary or hourly projected to be 100,000 a year?

[46:21] » Salary position. >> Salary position. Okay. And the second

[46:24] question is, is this one that you are is it a position you're essentially turning

[46:29] our current IT role into? Are we going to maintain the current IT role that we

[46:34] have or is this job going to be given to the current IT role or are we going to

[46:39] interview, post, etc. on online? Uh there is a job description and it will

[46:47] be posted and we will receive applications

[46:52] for people who are interested.

[46:56] Thank you for those questions.

[47:01] Okay. So further questions on article 9.

[47:08] Yes sir.

[47:14] Hi, Mark Bernett, Swamp Road. Um, just curious, it's really a followup to

[47:17] Devon's uh question about the I think we have I forget the title. I think it's

[47:22] systems administrator. Um, if we hire a full-time person, will the systems

[47:27] administrator still be um that job still be there? Sounds like there's going to

[47:33] be two positions.

[47:38] Yeah, I don't know that we've fully discussed and made a determination on

[47:41] that yet. >> Okay.

[47:46] Um Okay. That seems like that would be

[47:49] something we would decide before we would vote in my opinion. They have a

[47:53] different opinion, but um potentially. So, this will be $150,000 for two IT

[48:00] professionals currently. I think that's how it is in

[48:03] the uh budget book and I may be wrong with that.

[48:07] I'm not okay. Thank you.

[48:13] Nice followup.

[48:17] All right. Further question and or comment on the amended article 9.

[48:26] All right. Well, with no further questions or comment appearing, the

[48:30] amended article 9 voting period for the amended article 9 is now open. Please

[48:37] take your remote and express your opinion on the amended article 9.

[48:46] Time to vote on the amended article 9 is now. So, please press the button of your

[48:52] choice.

[48:58] and the voting period will begin to end in three,

[49:03] two, one.

[49:11] The amended article 9 has passed for the majority,

[49:23] but I would like to note um 41 yeses, 17 nos, and one abstain. Those 17 nos are

[49:29] making a statement that I believe should be heard.

[49:37] Article 10, it's the FY2027 elected official compensation. There's

[49:44] 162,360.50.

[49:49] It covers a wide variety of people. You see their their positions listed in the

[49:54] article. It's submitted by the select board and

[49:58] the finance committee recommends approval.

[50:00] » Make a motion accept article 10. >> Motion and a second brings it in front

[50:06] of us. Are there any question? Yes, there's one

[50:10] right there already. >> Hi, Jackie.

[50:15] [clears throat]

[50:18] » Jackie Boyd, Northfield Road. Because we're changing our treasurer from

[50:23] elected to appointed. Do we need to propose an amendment to this article

[50:30] because this article is for an elected treasurer, not an appointed one? I

[50:35] understand this is just allocating the money in the budget, but it's saying as

[50:40] an elected treasurer and not an appointed. I just want to make sure that

[50:44] we're doing this correct because the position starting in fiscal 27 will be

[50:49] for an appointed treasurer, not an elected treasurer.

[50:55] So that sets it if we hadn't elected since we don't it's there but it's not

[51:01] going to apply and it doesn't hurt anything but it also isn't going to be

[51:05] exercised because we won't elect a treasurer. Uh the budget proposed and

[51:09] the article prior that was passed has an appropriate budget for either the

[51:15] elected or an appointed treasurer. So financially we have the right amount and

[51:21] the determining a set salary for elected would just be ignored effectively.

[51:26] » So no need to change it but it won't be exercised because we won't have one.

[51:29] » Thank you.

[51:34] » All right. Good question. Thank you for the explanation. Are there further

[51:39] questions?

[51:43] All right. Article 10. Please take your remote and express your opinion on

[51:48] article 10. This is yes, no, or abstain. The voting period is now open for

[51:54] article 10.

[52:04] And the voting period will begin to close

[52:08] in three, two, one.

[52:15] Article 10 has passed with a majority.

[52:22] Article 11 is the FY2027 elementary education funding $3,867,031

[52:33] for the Irving Elementary School and related

[52:36] submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends approval.

[52:40] Make a motion accept article 11 purchase.

[52:43] » Okay.

[52:46] » Okay. $3 million for elementary education. Are there any questions?

[52:54] » Yes, sir.

[53:02] [clears throat] Uh Devin got at North Street. Um first it's nearly $4 million,

[53:07] not three million. Um my my question though is about the school committee

[53:09] stipen. We just voted on the $7,90. Why are we voting for it again?

[53:20] » If you look school committee showed 7090 already.

[53:23] » The school committee respond to that if they want. Um or I can since it's

[53:28] procedural.

[53:39] Okay. So, it's the different articles is what pays for it. Okay. Thank you.

[53:50] All right. Further question and or concern with article 11?

[53:58] No questions appearing. I'll open up the voting period for article 11. Please

[54:02] take your remote and signify your vote on article 11.

[54:07] Voting period is open on article 11.

[54:15] And the voting period will begin to close in three, two,

[54:20] one. Article 11 is passed with the majority.

[54:32] Article 12 is the FY2027 secondary education funding in the

[54:37] amount of 1,288,622.

[54:42] It's submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends

[54:45] approval. >> Make a motion to accept

[54:50] second. >> Motion and second brings that into focus

[54:54] for our consideration. Any questions on the secondary education

[55:00] funding?

[55:06] With no questions appearing, take your remote and indicate your preference on

[55:11] article 12. The voting period is open [clears throat]

[55:23] and it looks like the votes are almost all in. So voting will close in 3 2 1.

[55:33] Article 12 has passed with a majority. Article 13 is the FY2027

[55:40] Franklin County Technical School funding $419,492.

[55:49] There's some breakout of how that money is spent. is submitted by the select

[55:53] board and the finance committee recommends approval.

[55:56] » Make a motion to accept article 13.

[56:01] » Motion in a second brings that into our focus for our attention. Yes, Jackie.

[56:10] » I love the tech school. So, any news you have on the tech school, I'm happy to

[56:14] hear. >> Uh Jackie Bden, I am your representative

[56:16] for the Franklin County Tech School. I know I've been up here a lot tonight.

[56:20] Sorry. Uh so we currently have 20 students uh seven are graduates and we

[56:26] have six incoming nth graders. So the enrollment for the Irving will be uh 19

[56:33] students next year. Uh the lottery which was instituted by the state did have an

[56:39] impact on our numbers. Um it used to be prior to that if the

[56:45] larger communities didn't fill their quotas um the smaller communities got a

[56:50] few extra students in but that is no more. Um

[56:56] we are we have to stick to our enrollment quotas. So we will only have

[57:01] that many students going into Franklin Tech for the time the near future. Um, I

[57:07] wanted to let you know that um the vote for the new construction, they are

[57:13] proposing a new uh building um over at Franklin County Tech School um is

[57:20] October 6. It will be by ballot. It's a a vote a vote in all 19 member towns at

[57:26] the same day and it will be a majority vote.

[57:30] Uh the presentation for the new building is available on the Franklin County Tech

[57:35] website under uh the new building and there the last meeting was last night at

[57:41] GCC. They recorded it. So if you're interested, you can go on to the website

[57:46] and watch that or you can ask me some questions. I have some information.

[57:55] » Thank you, Jackie.

[57:59] Okay. Article 13. Further questions, commentary

[58:05] [clears throat] with none appearing. Article 13. Please take your remote.

[58:11] The voting period is now open. Register your vote on article 13.

[58:21] And looks like all the votes are in. So the voting period is closed.

[58:27] Article 13 has passed for the majority.

[58:33] Article 14 is the waste the water department enterprise fund. $118,024

[58:40] for the water enterprise fund money to be raised from receipts and revenues.

[58:46] There's a breakdown of some of that estimated revenue and proposed

[58:49] expenditures. It's submitted by the select board. The finance committee

[58:53] recommends approval as well as the capital planning committee.

[58:58] » Make a motion to accept article 14.

[59:04] » Okay. Article 14 related to the water department enterprise fund. Questions?

[59:13] Yes.

[59:20] Water is my favorite thing. >> Hi, Mike Schaefer from Old State Road.

[59:26] Um, I just wondered where the Millers, they pay us some money for their water,

[59:31] right? Where's does that go into this fund or why where does it go?

[59:39] » Did you register the content of the question?

[59:44] » Uh, I think so. >> Okay. [laughter]

[1:00:01] Oh, thank you. Um, we don't receive any funding from

[1:00:06] Monu for water. I believe you're thinking of wastewater

[1:00:11] and this is the water department budget, not the wastewater.

[1:00:15] I'm afraid I'm not understanding the answer

[1:00:18] » that I asked about funding from Monagu that Monagu pays Irving for the water

[1:00:24] department. We don't provide any services from the water department for

[1:00:28] Monagu. They don't pay us for water. >> Okay, there. Now I heard the answer.

[1:00:32] Thank you. >> They do own wastewater. So maybe that's

[1:00:36] the confusion.

[1:00:41] Okay, further question

[1:00:46] with none appearing that article is up there as article 14 on the screen. Take

[1:00:51] your remote and indicate your response on article 14. Is it yes, no,

[1:00:57] or abstain? That's always an option. Just be sure you push a button so we

[1:01:02] know you're all here.

[1:01:08] Looks like all the votes are in. So the voting period is closed.

[1:01:13] And article 14 passes with a majority. Article 15 is similarly about water, but

[1:01:20] it's the wastewater department enterprise fund. 1,160,441

[1:01:28] for the fiscal year 2027 wastewater as a breakout of town of Monagu and town

[1:01:35] of Irving. Portions of that is submitted by the select board and the finance

[1:01:40] committee recommends approval as well as the capital planning committee.

[1:01:50] This motion and a second puts it in front of us to talk about wastewater if

[1:01:54] you were so inclined.

[1:02:02] We had nobody looking to talk about wastewater.

[1:02:06] Take your remote. The voting period is now open and register your approval,

[1:02:12] disapproval or contentment or discontentment with article 15.

[1:02:17] Yes. No. Maybe abstain.

[1:02:32] And we're almost there. So voting period will close in three,

[1:02:38] two, one.

[1:02:43] Article 15 has passed with the majority.

[1:02:49] Article 16 is the appropriation for FY2027

[1:02:53] other postmployment benefits $400,000 for this OPEB other

[1:02:59] post-employment benefits fund submitted by the select board and the

[1:03:04] finance committee recommends approval. >> Make a motion to accept article 16.

[1:03:11] » Thank you very much for the motion and the second.

[1:03:17] questions, concerns, conversation on article 16.

[1:03:28] With no conversation on article 16 appearing, I'll open up the voting

[1:03:31] period for article 16. Please register your opinion on article 16.

[1:03:37] Voting period is open for article 16.

[1:03:47] And we got to 59 votes real quick. And there's 60. So the voting period will

[1:03:52] close in three,

[1:03:55] two, one.

[1:04:00] And article 16 has passed with a majority.

[1:04:08] Article 17 is the continuing annual appropriations.

[1:04:13] These are articles that would have been separate votes taking up all kinds of

[1:04:17] time at an annual town meeting. We've grouped them. There's $153,000

[1:04:21] of them, all listed right here, is submitted by the select board and the

[1:04:27] finance committee recommends approval. >> Make a motion to accept 17.

[1:04:36] motion in a second puts these grouped articles in front of us for our

[1:04:40] consideration. If you have a question on any one of those line items, I'd gladly

[1:04:44] entertain it. Yes.

[1:04:52] [cough]

[1:04:58] Holly Fitzpatrick, Northfield Road. Um, I have a question. It's the smallest

[1:05:02] article, but it's the advertisement around town. I'm confused by this

[1:05:06] because when I read the around town, it says the ads are free.

[1:05:13] So, what is this 8,000? Who's who has to pay this 8,000 if the

[1:05:20] ads are free? >> So, the town pays for space to print

[1:05:25] notices and such. We don't print advertisements like a business would or

[1:05:32] private commercial gain. So the ads is not what the town prints. The town

[1:05:36] prints information. So we pay for space to print information

[1:05:40] » even though it says advertise. >> It's probably not the greatest word for

[1:05:47] that line. I mean it's not generally advertisement.

[1:05:50] » Okay. >> Content.

[1:05:51] » I would I understand that. I do think it needs to be looked at that why are we

[1:05:58] charging back our town so we're we're we're

[1:06:02] charging ourselves for something that we provide while we're letting

[1:06:07] other people get the same thing for free.

[1:06:10] » We don't operate the around town. It's an independent bird party. We pay for

[1:06:15] space in it. >> Okay. So it doesn't use

[1:06:17] » the rules and we don't publish it. >> Okay. So it doesn't use any town

[1:06:20] resources. >> The $8,000

[1:06:23] Okay. But okay.

[1:06:30] Yep. An interesting nuance.

[1:06:36] Further question on this grouped series of items in article 17.

[1:06:45] With no questions appearing, please take your remote. The voting period is open

[1:06:49] for article 17. register your opinion for article 17

[1:07:02] and the voting period will come to a close in three

[1:07:06] two one.

[1:07:11] Article 17 has passed for the majority.

[1:07:16] » [snorts] >> We're around to article 18 which is

[1:07:20] appropriate for FY2027 capital improvements. There's 2 million

[1:07:26] $59,860 of that

[1:07:30] and they're listed here as several different capital improvement projects

[1:07:34] with their dollar amounts next to them. It's submitted by the select board, the

[1:07:39] capital planning committee, and the finance committee all recommending

[1:07:42] approval. >> Make a motion to accept article 18.

[1:07:46] Second >> motion and a second brings that in front

[1:07:50] of us. Do you have questions on any of these individual items or the grouped

[1:07:55] article itself?

[1:07:58] Yes, sir.

[1:08:06] Mark Bernap from Swamp Road. Um I am asking about the first uh line item, the

[1:08:12] IP mill redevelopment. I'm just curious what that $600,000 is for.

[1:08:20] IP mills site redevelopment. $600,000.

[1:08:26] » So, [clears throat] excuse me.

[1:08:30] » Go ahead. Yeah. >> Um, can you guys hear me?

[1:08:34] » Okay. So, that money is to match the grant that we received about three or

[1:08:39] four years ago for mass development. And the hope is that that will give us

[1:08:43] enough funding to do some selective demolition at the site.

[1:08:46] » Okay. Can it be used for other things or that's the specific? It has to be used

[1:08:51] for that probably if it's matching the other I'm guessing. I see Brian Sh.

[1:08:55] Okay. Um so it's for some demolition. Okay. Thank you.

[1:09:02] It's only the tip of the iceberg down there.

[1:09:08] Okay. Further. Yes.

[1:09:16] Good choice of shoes with all the traveling.

[1:09:19] » Yeah, thank you. Sorry for so many questions. Uh $35,000 for computer

[1:09:23] replacement. How many computers is that to be replaced or what kind of hardware

[1:09:28] is that?

[1:09:32] » Um that's approximately somewhere between 12 and 18 devices. uh and we

[1:09:37] replace uh the the primary computers for the various groups on a cycle. So that's

[1:09:43] a continuing replacement cycle. >> Okay. And is that a standard price?

[1:09:49] About $2,000 a computer. >> It depends on what the requirements are

[1:09:54] for the devices, but for the life cycle that we use them, we're not purchasing

[1:09:59] lightweight, you know, home use machines.

[1:10:03] » You You're not or you are. Sorry. >> We are not. We're not. They're business

[1:10:07] grade devices. >> Okay.

[1:10:16] All right. Further question.

[1:10:22] With no questions popping up, I'm going to call for the vote on article 18 by

[1:10:26] having you open up the voting period and have you take your remote and register

[1:10:31] your opinion on article 18. Is it going to be yes, no, or abstain on article 18.

[1:10:46] And as the numbers climb up, we're almost to 60. So there they are. So

[1:10:51] voting period is closing in three, two, one.

[1:11:00] Article 18 has passed with a majority.

[1:11:07] Article 19 appropriate for the fiscal year

[1:11:11] 2027 wastewater capital projects $147,200.

[1:11:22] This is the plant number one improvements submitted by the select

[1:11:26] board capital planning committee recommends approval as well as the

[1:11:30] finance committee. Make a motion to accept the article 19

[1:11:37] » motion and a second brings this up. Going to do some improvements at the

[1:11:40] wastewater treatment plant. Yes.

[1:11:52] » Jackie Boydon, Northfield Road. Although I've lived here over 35 years, always

[1:11:57] get confused which treatment plant you're talking about. So, could you

[1:12:01] please identify what treatment plant number one is?

[1:12:06] » I do too, and I do this regularly. Um, 16 public works, right? Is the is the

[1:12:11] plant on >> on this side,

[1:12:13] » this side of town? Correct. >> Thank you.

[1:12:18] » That's the clarification that makes it crystal clear because even though I was

[1:12:22] going, which point is it? Thank you.

[1:12:31] All right. So, any further questions on article 19?

[1:12:38] With no questions appearing, the voting period is open for article 19. Please

[1:12:43] take your remote and register your response, your input, your thoughts on

[1:12:48] article 19.

[1:12:55] And yeah, so there you go. Touch that TV screen. Don't let that thing go dark.

[1:13:00] [laughter] We're up to 57 votes. So, get the rest

[1:13:04] of those votes in. Get your conscience into that remote

[1:13:09] and the voting period will close in three, two,

[1:13:15] one. Article 19 has passed with a majority.

[1:13:22] Everybody likes their waste water to be system to work be working perfectly.

[1:13:28] Article 20 appropriate for fiscal year 2027 water

[1:13:33] capital projects. This is water system capital stabilization fund $72,160.

[1:13:42] There a couple things spelled out here in detail. It's submitted by the select

[1:13:46] board. The capital planning committee recommends approval as well as the

[1:13:50] finance committee. >> Make a motion to accept article 20.

[1:13:54] Second >> the motion and the second brings this in

[1:13:57] front of us for consideration.

[1:14:01] Any questions, concerns or conversation?

[1:14:10] With no questions occurring, please take your remote. The voting

[1:14:15] period is open for article 20.

[1:14:20] Please give us your input on article 20.

[1:14:30] And the voting period will begin to close in three, two,

[1:14:36] one. Article 20 has passed

[1:14:42] with a majority.

[1:14:47] Article 21 is the revolving account annual spending limits. These used to be

[1:14:52] separate articles. We've grouped them up. So, this is something we're becoming

[1:14:56] accustomed to seeing. Fiscal year 2027 revolving funds, Council of Aging, Board

[1:15:02] of Library Trustees, Select Board. Submitted by the Select Board, the

[1:15:06] finance committee recommends approval. >> Make a motion to accept article 21.

[1:15:15] » Any questions on what this does for us? Yes.

[1:15:43] So because the um article language is clear that it starts on July 1, 2026 for

[1:15:49] Fiscal 27 the um incorrect title header on the table is uh doesn't override

[1:15:56] that. So it doesn't need to be amended. It is incorrect. It should be cut by 27

[1:16:01] but it doesn't need to be amended

[1:16:10] » in the opinion of our council. >> Correct.

[1:16:13] » We're okay. >> Okay.

[1:16:15] » That was after referring to council. Yes.

[1:16:17] » All right. So, in the opinion of our council, we don't need to amend it. It's

[1:16:21] clear what the article is doing. Excellent. Good question. Good input.

[1:16:26] Thank you. Article 21. Further question.

[1:16:33] » With no questions appearing, take your remote.

[1:16:36] » I do have one. >> Hi.

[1:16:44] This has stayed on at least. [laughter]

[1:16:47] » This This has happened before.

[1:16:53] » So, everything else has got power, but the lights just they time out and they

[1:16:57] shut themselves off.

[1:17:02] » It's a power saving feature. Thank you, Irving Elementary School, for having

[1:17:06] that feature.

[1:17:10] Um, am I correct in reading this? Oh, Brenda Silva. Um, $15,000 for electric

[1:17:15] vehicle charging. Is that correct? >> That is correct. That's the

[1:17:21] » I don't think this is this working. Sorry. Go ahead.

[1:17:24] » That's okay. That is the max allowed that can be held in that revolving

[1:17:29] account. That isn't what's in there or what we're generating.

[1:17:34] » Okay. Oh, so it's not what we're spending to maintain these things. Do we

[1:17:39] know what kind of revenue we're getting from them?

[1:17:42] » Um, we do. I have to look it up, but we could get it for you. Um, it's the max

[1:17:47] allowed to be held in there from receipts or from people paying. It's not

[1:17:50] how much is or it's just a cap on how much can go in be in.

[1:17:54] » So, do we have like expenses um to maintain these things? I mean, is

[1:18:00] our revenue is our revenue and the maintenance on these balancing

[1:18:06] out? Do we have that? >> I don't have it right in front of me. We

[1:18:10] can look it up for you. >> Okay.

[1:18:12] » Get that information.

[1:18:15] » That'd be an interesting thing to know though.

[1:18:19] How are electric vehicle charging stations doing overall?

[1:18:26] [laughter]

[1:18:34] Got another question out there. Did somebody have their hand up? Hi

[1:18:46] » to the rescue. >> Thank you, Deb. [laughter]

[1:18:55] Hi, I'm Debbie Merrill from North Street and I'm also town accountant and I

[1:18:59] brought one of my reports with me just just in case something came up that I

[1:19:04] didn't expect. But the revolving fund for the EV stations

[1:19:10] is not really making that much money and

[1:19:14] it's not really costing that much money either. Um,

[1:19:23] Okay. The EV charging stations um in the last fiscal year that ended

[1:19:30] June 30th, it took in

[1:19:35] about $16,85

[1:19:39] and the expenses were no. Yeah. $1,685

[1:19:48] and the expenses were $1,431.

[1:19:53] So, and the balance ended up being in a

[1:19:57] deficit because it was previously in a deficit. So, I recommended that the

[1:20:04] rates be increased for this fiscal year and I think they were. So, we'll see how

[1:20:10] they end up in 26, but it's it's not anywhere near 15,000 a year.

[1:20:20] » Thank you, Denver. >> Yeah, we got some detail. Thank you.

[1:20:31] » All right, we're uh still talking about article 21. Any uh further discussion?

[1:20:37] [clears throat]

[1:20:41] All right, the voting period for article 21 then is open. Please take your remote

[1:20:46] and signify your response to article 21. Will it be yes? Will it be no? Would you

[1:20:52] abstain? Please express your opinion on article 21 by voting with your remote.

[1:21:03] And if everybody votes, then we know it tallies up and we know that we can close

[1:21:08] the voting period.

[1:21:12] So register your input for article 21

[1:21:19] and I will begin to close it by myself by saying the voting period will come to

[1:21:23] a close in three,

[1:21:28] two, one.

[1:21:34] Article 21 has passed with a majority.

[1:21:40] Article 22 is appropriate for the capital stabilization fund. 1,780,000.

[1:21:49] There's also the amount of 1,ion30,000 for the certified free cash and $750,000

[1:21:57] from the general stabilization fund. all coming up to that $1,780,000.

[1:22:04] It's submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends

[1:22:07] approval as well as that hardworking capital planning committee.

[1:22:11] » Make a motion to accept.

[1:22:17] » This puts it in front of us for any questions you may have.

[1:22:24] And I don't see any questions on this. So the voting period is open on article

[1:22:29] 22. Please take your remote and signify your response to article 22. Will it be

[1:22:36] yes? Will it be no? Will it be maybe? So article 22.

[1:22:45] So on article 22, it takes a twothirds majority vote to pass. That algorithm is

[1:22:51] already in there. So, be sure you get your vote in.

[1:22:55] And the voting period will come to a close in three, two,

[1:23:02] one.

[1:23:05] And the algorithm says it passed. We have met the requirement for twothirds

[1:23:11] majority.

[1:23:21] All right, we're down to article 23 appropriate for the water system capital

[1:23:26] stabilization fund. There's $100,000 of the water system capital stabilization

[1:23:32] fund submitted by the select board, the finance committee, and the capital

[1:23:36] planning committee. >> Make a motion to accept article 23.

[1:23:42] » There's that motion and second, and I thank you very much.

[1:23:47] Putting money away for stabilization is always a good idea.

[1:23:52] Is there a conversation or question or concern?

[1:23:58] I don't see any questions. So, let's open up the voting period for article

[1:24:02] 23. Please vote now on article 23.

[1:24:08] Express your opinion on article 23 by taking a revote

[1:24:14] and offering up your opinion.

[1:24:20] And the voting period will begin to close

[1:24:25] in three, two,

[1:24:30] one.

[1:24:33] Article 23 has passed for the majority.

[1:24:39] Article 24 is appropriate for the wastewater system capital stabilization

[1:24:44] fund. We're looking for $153,348

[1:24:50] submitted by the select board, the ever hardworking finance committee as well as

[1:24:54] that capital planning committee.

[1:25:00] » I make a motion to

[1:25:03] second >> motion and a second. Thank you very

[1:25:06] much.

[1:25:12] I invite any questions. No questions appearing. Take your

[1:25:18] remote. The voting period is now open for article 24.

[1:25:24] Article 24. Please [snorts] express your input on article 24. Will this be yes,

[1:25:30] no, maybe, abstain? Please give us your input on article 24

[1:25:41] and the voting period will begin to close

[1:25:47] in three 2

[1:25:52] one. Article 24 has passed with a majority.

[1:26:01] Article 25 is the FY2027 appropriation for the opioid settlement fund use

[1:26:08] $20,000 from the opioid settlement stabilization

[1:26:14] fund submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends

[1:26:18] approval. >> Make a motion to accept article 25 as

[1:26:22] printed.

[1:26:25] » Okay. Are there any questions on this baby?

[1:26:39] All right, with no questions uh popping up, article 25, please take your remote.

[1:26:45] The voting period is open for article 25. Please signify your preference on

[1:26:50] article 25. [clears throat]

[1:27:02] That's right. Provide your preference on article 25. I believe some people have

[1:27:06] left the room. So that may be all the votes now. I'll say it anyways. The

[1:27:11] voting period is closing in three, two,

[1:27:17] one.

[1:27:20] Article 25 has passed with the majority.

[1:27:26] Article 26, appropriation for the community access television service has

[1:27:32] $25,000 in there. It's broken out with a couple of line items.

[1:27:38] It's submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends

[1:27:41] approval. Anybody

[1:27:48] have any question, concern, comment or conversation

[1:27:53] on the PEG access cable review account

[1:28:03] with no questions popping up. I'm going to call the voting period for article 26

[1:28:08] to be open. Please take your remote and signify your response to article 26.

[1:28:14] Give us your input on article 26. Yes. No,

[1:28:21] maybe. Abstain. Your input for article 26 is invited.

[1:28:29] Your vote.

[1:28:36] And the voting period is going to close in three,

[1:28:41] two, one.

[1:28:45] Article 26 is passed with a majority.

[1:28:50] We're all the way around to article 27. It's the authorization to enter into a

[1:28:54] lease to own agreement for highway department heavy equipment. Yes, that's

[1:29:00] right, folks. a five-year a five-w wheeled excavator

[1:29:05] for $49,420 I believe each year or something like

[1:29:09] that. It's submitted by the select board and the capital planning committee and

[1:29:13] finance committee recommend approval. >> Make motion to accept article 27 is

[1:29:17] present. Second

[1:29:22] » questions on this 5-year purchasing agreement for this excavator.

[1:29:35] With no questions in the room, take your remote. The voting period is open for

[1:29:40] article 27. Please signify your input.

[1:29:48] Give us your input on article 27, which needs a twothirds majority to pass, but

[1:29:54] the computer's algorithm has already slated it in to figure it out. So, give

[1:30:00] us your input and the voting period will begin to

[1:30:05] close. >> Yeah.

[1:30:12] » Oh, majority.

[1:30:17] Well, I didn't see it in. >> All right, the voting period is closing

[1:30:22] in three, two, one.

[1:30:32] » And that meets the requirement of 2/3. Even though we got a little discussion

[1:30:36] up front, but it meets the requirement anyways, so

[1:30:41] it doesn't matter. And that's cool.

[1:30:45] » On the next one, too. Right. >> Article 28, authorization to enter into

[1:30:50] a multi-year agreement for assessors revaluation services.

[1:30:55] » This is a five-year commencing in FY2026

[1:31:03] for professional appraisal services is submitted by the board of assessors

[1:31:08] and finance committee recommends approving.

[1:31:12] accept article 28 is printed. Second >> motion and a second.

[1:31:27] Is that correct with FY2026 as the words?

[1:31:41] Jackie Bdon, Northfield Road on the board of assessors. I just question

[1:31:45] because it said 26, but the bid is out now. So, they'll be signing a contract

[1:31:49] in fiscal year 26. So, even though it's for a fiscal year 27 evaluation,

[1:31:55] it's still correct. >> So, it's correct as written.

[1:32:00] » It's correct. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:32:09] All right. So, with that cleared up, are there further questions on this

[1:32:12] five-year agreement for professional appraising services?

[1:32:19] No questions appearing. The voting period is open on article 28. Please

[1:32:24] take your remote and indicate your input for article 28.

[1:32:29] Please vote your conscience or opinion on article 28.

[1:32:36] And that's the number of people we still have voting appearing there. So the

[1:32:39] voting period is oh we have still have 57. Okay. Voting period is closed

[1:32:44] because 57 voters are in. And article 28 has passed with a

[1:32:51] majority.

[1:32:55] Article 29 is the borrowing authorization for the center cemetery

[1:33:00] expansion project. It's $1,100,000 to expand that center cemetery

[1:33:07] authorizing the treasurer to borrow set amount

[1:33:11] submitted by the select board. The finance committee recommends approval as

[1:33:15] well as the capital planning committee. >> Make the motion 29 as printed.

[1:33:22] » And as noted, this does require twothirds majority. It is borrowing.

[1:33:28] Yes.

[1:33:32] » [snorts]

[1:33:39] » Hi. Um, Mackenzie Bailey Mountain Road. I have two questions. Um, one, are we

[1:33:44] required to have expand the cemetery? Are we required to have a certain number

[1:33:49] of plots available for town for for for use by whomever? And two, has the um

[1:33:55] property owner who will now abut said cemetery been informed

[1:34:01] that this is going to be happening? >> Would someone from the cemetery

[1:34:06] commission like to speak to that? >> Please. Thank you.

[1:34:12] » You know, I'm dying to go there.

[1:34:17] [laughter] >> Uh Laura Bazio, Pleasant Street. Um, so

[1:34:21] we are required to have a cemetery. Um, so that's one of the questions. That

[1:34:26] deed for that parcel that's being um expanded was conveyed with a deed

[1:34:31] restriction that requires that it be for the cemetery. So it's the the budding

[1:34:37] land owner should have known or um already. So I I mean it's the cemetery.

[1:34:43] It's deed for that only. Um I'm not sure, you know, if I can offer anything

[1:34:48] else other than um there's not I think maybe if Glenn is here. Uh there's only

[1:34:53] like 10 lots left. Uh seven seven lots left. Um so you know this expansion is

[1:35:00] is definitely necessary as we consider planning for the future of the town and

[1:35:04] the future of residents here who may want to be buried. Um

[1:35:11] » any other questions? Sure. Come on up.

[1:35:18] » Or Okay. Um I was just curious if you could explain a little bit about the

[1:35:23] expansion plan. It's an awful lot of money. What is happening within a

[1:35:29] million dollars? What are the plans for that sort of

[1:35:33] » um please do this is Holly. She's also on the commission. Um and she's braver

[1:35:37] than I am standing in front of an audience. So, um, what's happening is,

[1:35:41] um, the we've already done some design plans. Originally, we were looking at

[1:35:46] potentially doing it in phases. Uh, but the way that the design looks, it it's

[1:35:52] not feasible to try to phase the project out. It is for, correct me if I'm wrong,

[1:35:56] a hundred additional lots with columbarium also, which colarium and

[1:36:01] green burial. Uh, columbarium is where you would put ashes as opposed to, you

[1:36:05] know, a grave site. Um so you know we have we have the lot we're in the

[1:36:10] process of doing um additional sort of uh planning but the the initial part has

[1:36:15] already been done you just so that everybody understands

[1:36:21] um I do encourage you to read the narrative in the budget book because we

[1:36:25] did explain quite a bit of it um part of the cost so it's across the street from

[1:36:32] the current one we did look at other locations in town. This was already

[1:36:41] owned by the town because it was deed previously and anything else we were

[1:36:45] going to look at was going to require huge infrastructure changes including

[1:36:51] like maybe a bridge or different things like that. So there will be one of the

[1:36:56] things that will be happening is we do we will be adding a roadway that will go

[1:37:03] through the other one because one of the requirements you can't just have a

[1:37:08] little straight shot in. You have to be able to have all the vehicles be able to

[1:37:13] get around including any horses any emergency vehicles and all that type of

[1:37:17] stuff. So we are trying to plan for the future but not only just with

[1:37:24] traditional burials but also for meeting the needs of non-traditional

[1:37:30] um so there'll be the there'll be colarium of some it might be it's going

[1:37:35] to be some kind of a niches that hasn't been decided yet and then there'll be

[1:37:39] green burial incorporated as well as the newer way that the industry is

[1:37:49] Nice explanations. Thank you very much. I know more about the project than I did

[1:37:54] when I came here tonight.

[1:38:00] I know a lot of good people that are in that ground up there.

[1:38:04] [snorts]

[1:38:06] All right. So, article 28 on borrowing for cemetery expansion. Further

[1:38:11] questions >> 29. Yes. Article 29. Yes.

[1:38:28] » Will the rate of the lot go up to buy a lot?

[1:38:33] » Hi, Holly Fitzpatrick. Yes, it will no longer be a $25.

[1:38:39] Um, it will be closer to market. I hate to use market rate, but that's really

[1:38:44] what it is. Irving has traditionally under

[1:38:49] » charged for it. Um, and we did some work with the of reaching out to the various

[1:38:57] funeral homes etc. and talked about that as well. And in our report, we do say

[1:39:02] that with the when the new one is ready, we will be changing it. We also changed

[1:39:06] the bylaws like a over a year ago to um make it an the current one is Irving

[1:39:15] residents only other than if it's somebody who like was an Irving resident

[1:39:21] that moved away that the commission can okay it but we were trying to make it

[1:39:25] last as long as possible and Glenn McCory thank you Glenn and his people

[1:39:30] were able to come up with a little bit more land that we could use to um expand

[1:39:37] it. So, we will be charging more, but we didn't feel like we could do that yet.

[1:39:42] Um and the other funeral homes um thanked us for that was one of their

[1:39:47] questions. Are you going to become more the way that all the other towns around

[1:39:55] us are?

[1:40:02] » Is there another question?

[1:40:08] Thank you. >> Okay. Article 29.

[1:40:13] I'm going to call for the vote by saying the voting period is now open. Please

[1:40:18] take your remote and indicate your approval, disapproval, or abstination

[1:40:25] on article 29. The voting period is open. Please

[1:40:30] register your vote on article 29. [clears throat]

[1:40:44] And we're going to call for the vote to close in

[1:40:48] three, two,

[1:40:52] one.

[1:40:56] So 44 to 11

[1:41:02] » passed. Yep.

[1:41:12] Article 30 is a borrowing authorization for the Irving Center Wastewater Plant

[1:41:17] Improvement Project. We're looking for $1 million

[1:41:21] for upgrading and improving secondary clarifiers at the Irving POTW number

[1:41:27] two. So Irving Center is number two. It's to borrow set amount according to

[1:41:33] the Massachusetts General Laws submitted by select board finance committee

[1:41:37] recommends approval as well as the capital planning committee.

[1:41:41] » Make an article make a motion to accept article 30 as printed.

[1:41:49] Okay. I'm sure somebody has some input or question. Yes.

[1:42:01] It's a million dollar bond. It's a treatment plant that we currently only

[1:42:06] pay a dollar a year for because Irving Industries runs it. So, can you explain

[1:42:11] a little bit about what our costs are going to be to upgrade this plant that I

[1:42:16] know services Irving center, but it's a million dollars.

[1:42:23] » So, I'll let the chief operator explain what is being done because that is

[1:42:30] outside of my skill set. Uh, so you're welcome beat and speak to that for us,

[1:42:34] please. uh in terms of the costs uh you know that's something that we will speak

[1:42:41] with Irving Industries about um but we have to start somewhere. So we have to

[1:42:46] start with with a bond and get that and then uh as part of that we'll be

[1:42:50] discussing with them around the how we we share those costs.

[1:42:56] » Please. >> Um my name is Pete Sanders. I'm the

[1:42:59] water wastewater superintendent for the town of Irving. Um, basically what the

[1:43:04] the barn money is for the secondary clarifiers over the years have become

[1:43:10] dilapitated. They've been patched in various ways to keep them running.

[1:43:16] Um, we do need to fix these because without them the plant will not run

[1:43:21] properly. We wouldn't be able to process the waste from Irving Center. Um, and we

[1:43:27] won't make our permitting requirements. So, it's imperative that we fix them.

[1:43:37] » So, we are like fabricated gates and they direct the water flow.

[1:43:42] » Uh, yeah. The design of the tanks, the waste water comes in, flows around.

[1:43:46] There's some baffles that are gone, rotted away. Part of the I-beam

[1:43:50] structures that support the motors in the center is rotted right through to

[1:43:55] nothing. You can actually stick your fingers through it. It's It's bad. Okay,

[1:43:59] those additional words just told me what you're talking about. Thank you.

[1:44:03] » So, I have a followup. How did they get that bad without us knowing that?

[1:44:11] Because it seems to me that preventative maintenance earlier on would not be

[1:44:16] costing us as much as it is now. >> Probably could have been a better job

[1:44:21] under preventive maintenance. Um, since I've been with the town 22 years, it's

[1:44:27] the first time I've seen them drained. And upon draining, the wastewater

[1:44:31] environment is very corrosive. So, it has eaten the aluminum outer ring. Um,

[1:44:38] anything above that tank, the water with the moisture, it's very corrosive. Like

[1:44:42] I said, it it ate the I beams. Um, so it's it's in very need of repair.

[1:44:52] My other follow will be when we have this discussion with Industries about

[1:44:56] the wastewater treatment plant we're going to put into place where we're not

[1:45:01] caught this unaware down the line with the lack of

[1:45:07] » so yeah so we we've been [clears throat] discussing that with the superintendent

[1:45:12] and the board and as we've looked at capital planning etc. Uh we had the what

[1:45:19] we call the AMP plan. It was assessment of all of our assets in wastewater

[1:45:23] including POTW number two um done by an engineering firm for us a couple years

[1:45:28] ago. It was a grant for that and we did that work. So that helped us as well to

[1:45:32] identify what is needed everywhere and to start you know um focusing on it in a

[1:45:37] more structured way and we've also spoke with the superintendent about

[1:45:41] collaborating on ensuring that we are staying on top of it as well because at

[1:45:45] the end of the day it's our permit it's our plan. So ensuring that we're making

[1:45:49] sure that maintenance and um assessments and all of those sort of things are

[1:45:54] happening on a timely fashion and and that we stay on top of those and then

[1:45:58] ultimately the board has the appropriate conversations with Irving Industries

[1:46:02] about the operation and the ongoing costs

[1:46:12] question. >> Yes, you may.

[1:46:16] I guess I'll use your microphone. It's right here. It's handy.

[1:46:19] » Probably the answer. So, >> yeah, he's the answer guy.

[1:46:22] » Maybe not for this one. I don't know. Uh Dick Newton, River Road. Um

[1:46:27] my question has to do with what happens if I paper just folds up?

[1:46:38] What's going to happen to that treatment plant? Uh do we do we get to own it? Do

[1:46:43] we have to pay some something for it because of whatever? You know, I mean,

[1:46:49] » I I you know, again, a million dollars is a lot of money to put in to fix up

[1:46:53] something they screwed up, let's say, and I don't want to see us have to do

[1:46:58] this again down the road. You know, I don't know what their financial

[1:47:01] statement is. I don't know where they are, but I can tell you they're a shadow

[1:47:04] of their former self when I used to work there, and I'm concerned that they're

[1:47:08] going to survive any long-term stuff. >> You're right. Go ahead.

[1:47:15] » Uh the the plant, the property, the permit, the town owns all of that. We

[1:47:20] own it. Um if something happened to Urban Industries,

[1:47:26] um the next step would be we've done some planning with our engineering

[1:47:31] firms. We got a few different estimate costs. Basically, we're going to have to

[1:47:34] shrink down that tank because we're going to lose the million plus gallons a

[1:47:39] day flow going in there. So, you'd have to reduce the tank. Probably run it more

[1:47:44] like we do with POTW number one on this side of town. Um, so less flow, smaller

[1:47:51] tanks to make everything work. So effective effectively I'll just add

[1:47:59] it's basically we have to rebuild it to fit the scale that we would need if that

[1:48:04] um business wasn't operating and flowing the amount of material into that plant.

[1:48:09] So should that happen, we did a study. It is aged in terms of what those costs

[1:48:14] are, but it gave us some direction. Uh and it's something that capital

[1:48:18] discussed especially this year about looking forward ensuring that we are

[1:48:23] continuing to put some money away in that capital stabilization fund to be

[1:48:27] prepared in case something like that happens because it will be very

[1:48:31] expensive. it will be over a million dollars to do

[1:48:35] » something of that sort and we haven't necessarily been adding to that. So, we

[1:48:40] want to be thoughtful about adding to those reserves. Um, so we have a backup

[1:48:45] plan. >> Is your question still in play?

[1:48:49] » I I think it is. You know, it's great. Okay, you got to make modifications. You

[1:48:53] got less fluent coming in, whatever. Fine. But who's going to own it if they

[1:48:59] go away? >> So,

[1:49:00] » how are we going to get our hands up? >> No, we don't. So we do. Yeah,

[1:49:03] » we do own it. >> We own it now.

[1:49:06] Okay. >> Yeah, I think you might have missed it

[1:49:07] when Pete started. We own everything. The assets, the the land, the facility,

[1:49:13] the permit, the liability, the responsibility. It is our facility.

[1:49:18] » We have an agreement that Irving Industries operates it for a dollar a

[1:49:21] year and indemnifies us and other things that that are part of that. So they

[1:49:26] effectively are just the operators. They do not own it.

[1:49:30] Is that keep your hand still in the air? Dan, go ahead.

[1:49:33] » Thank you. Um, we working. Okay. >> No.

[1:49:38] » Green light. There we go. Okay. Um, I I just wanted to say that over the many

[1:49:44] years, town and Irving Industries or Ersico or Irving Paper, whatever they've

[1:49:49] morphed into, we've had a great financial relationship with them over

[1:49:52] the years. And tonight, I just want to be clear. I've heard the words lack of

[1:49:58] maintenance. I've heard they screwed up. And it's my understanding that those

[1:50:03] clarifiers are the original ones have been there for about 50 years. Is that

[1:50:06] correct? >> Yes, they are.

[1:50:09] » Okay. I just wanted to clarify I I clarify, no pun intended, uh that the

[1:50:14] clarifiers are 50 years old and I don't believe that they're just rotting away

[1:50:18] because of a lack of maintenance or overlooking it or or uh you know, they

[1:50:24] screwed up. I I think they've maintained them reasonably well and and whether

[1:50:28] it's Pete or someone before him, they've always worked with Irving Paper uh to to

[1:50:34] try to make sure that everything is done properly up there.

[1:50:38] [snorts]

[1:50:42] Okay. So, article 30. Any further question and or

[1:50:48] discussion?

[1:50:53] All right. Right. I don't see any questions popping up, so please take

[1:50:56] your remote. The voting period is now open for article 30.

[1:51:01] Please give us your input on article 30. The voting period is open.

[1:51:19] And that's darn near the number of people that are here that are voting. So

[1:51:22] yes, that is the number. So the voting period is closing in three, two,

[1:51:29] one. Article 30 has passed for the majority

[1:51:35] and meets the requirements of the twothirds.

[1:51:40] Article 31, it's a museum committee bylaw.

[1:51:48] Lots of nice moving parts to it.

[1:51:58] It's going to set up a museum committee

[1:52:03] is submitted by the select board and no submitted. Yeah, submitted by the select

[1:52:07] board and the finance committee recommends approval.

[1:52:17] Justice like on that one. >> I'm lost.

[1:52:23] That was article 30. Article 31. Yeah. Article 31. Museum

[1:52:29] committee

[1:52:33] submitted by the select board. Yes. Okay. Thank you.

[1:52:36] » Make a motion to accept article 31 as printed.

[1:52:39] » Second.

[1:52:43] » All right. Any question about this museum committee or the uh setup of a

[1:52:48] five member board?

[1:52:58] » Yes.

[1:53:02] [snorts and sighs]

[1:53:09] » Holly Fitzpatrick um Northfield Road. I think my question my only question is

[1:53:15] about the the five member board being that we

[1:53:21] it's really hard to get members for boards and I'm on ZBA and I'm on

[1:53:27] cemetery and right now you know we're going to be looking for another cemetery

[1:53:31] person and we had to beat the bushes for ZBA

[1:53:36] and most of the most of the commissions and the boards are not filled.

[1:53:42] So I really question the concept of a board of five

[1:53:48] and would urge a change to the board of three.

[1:53:54] That's all.

[1:54:02] Is there a member of the committee that would like to speak to that

[1:54:05] recommendation? I know that's a discussion that we've had. Please come

[1:54:08] up. Thank you. um with the board about the makeup and and the recommendations.

[1:54:17] » Thank you.

[1:54:22] I'm Betty Lou Mallet and I am the secretary on the museum committee and we

[1:54:27] already have the committee full of five.

[1:54:32] » Already have a committee.

[1:54:39] So, we're not inclined to reduce the membership. [laughter]

[1:54:44] Okay. Well, that takes care of that question. Pretty good.

[1:54:48] [snorts] All right. Then, article 31. Are there further questions, comments,

[1:54:52] or concerns?

[1:54:57] With no questions appearing, please take your remote. The voting period for

[1:55:01] article 31 is open. Please signify your input on article 31.

[1:55:20] And the voting period will begin to close

[1:55:24] in three, two,

[1:55:28] one.

[1:55:32] Article 31 is passed with a majority. We're off to Article 32.

[1:55:39] It's the adoption of a Massachusetts general law for the additional real

[1:55:44] estate exemption for taxpayers who are granted exemptions on their doiciles.

[1:55:50] There are several of these right in a row. Each one does something specific.

[1:55:56] Each one supports the other one, but this is the first of those articles

[1:56:02] is submitted by the select board and the finance committee recommends approval.

[1:56:06] » Make a motion to accept article 32. >> Second.

[1:56:11] [snorts] >> So these are you pay your taxes, you

[1:56:14] submit for an abatement and

[1:56:19] this is a seniors get some relief, veterans get some relief, etc. This is a

[1:56:25] abatement program. >> Uh we have our new principal assessor

[1:56:30] Diane Summer. I'm sure she'd love to speak on it.

[1:56:33] » Hi Diane. [laughter]

[1:56:37] As a former assessor, I thank you for jumping in and being one.

[1:56:42] » My name is Diane Summerl and I am a non-resident of Irving, but I live in

[1:56:45] Turner's Falls. This ex this is not an abatement. This is an exemption and it

[1:56:51] is for seniors uh blind anybody that can that is

[1:56:57] eligible for an exemption. Exemption amounts have not changed since the 80s

[1:57:03] or earlier. And so this clause is just to increase the exemptions to kind of

[1:57:09] bring them up to date. And this 5C and a half is for everybody. It's not for a

[1:57:14] particular exemption. It's for any exemption.

[1:57:20] Any other questions?

[1:57:24] » Okay.

[1:57:27] All right. [snorts] So, article 32 is the first of these three.

[1:57:33] So, is there a question on article 32?

[1:57:39] With no question appearing, I'm going to call for the vote on article 32 by

[1:57:43] opening up the voting period. Please take your remote and signify whether

[1:57:48] you'd like these exemptions to be updated per the article article 32.

[1:57:55] Please give us your input on article 32. The voting period is open.

[1:58:07] Looks like we're just about all the votes are in. So the voting period will

[1:58:11] close in three, two, one.

[1:58:18] Article 32 is passed with a majority. Article 33 is the adoption of another

[1:58:25] Massachusetts general law related to exemptions. Again, a very specific look

[1:58:31] at exemptions submitted by the select board and the finance committee

[1:58:36] recommends approval. I'll make a motion to accept article 33.

[1:58:44] » Article 33 is in front of us. It's just like the other one. There are no

[1:58:49] questions, I believe. So, I'm going to open up the voting

[1:58:52] period for article 33. Please signify your input on article 33.

[1:59:14] and I believe that's probably all the people that are voting right now. So,

[1:59:18] the voting period is going to close in three, two,

[1:59:23] one. Article 33 is passed with a majority.

[1:59:28] Article 34, guess what? It's another exemption clause meeting another section

[1:59:34] of the Massachusetts General Laws. The third one's just like the other ones.

[1:59:41] Are there any questions? Zero questions.

[1:59:49] [laughter] >> Motion to accept article 34.

[1:59:53] » Thank you. We got to go to the

[1:59:59] » Thank you very much. Are there any questions?

[2:00:03] No questions. Okay. Thank you. Uh the voting period is open for article 34.

[2:00:07] Please give us your input on article 34. [snorts]

[2:00:24] And that's probably the full count on article 34. Closing in three, two, one.

[2:00:31] Article 34 passes with the majority.

[2:00:40] Hey, just by uh clean sweep bulky waste recycling day is Saturday, May 16th, 9

[2:00:48] to noon. The Irving Highway Garage. Clean sweep bulky waste recycling day.

[2:00:55] Saturday, May 16th, 9 to noon.

[2:01:02] May 16th. Oh, yeah. This coming Saturday,

[2:01:11] Irving Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th, 10:00 a.m. ceremony,

[2:01:18] Irving Center at fire station number one, 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 25th, Irving

[2:01:26] Center Fire Station, 10:00 a.m. Things to know about, things to be there for.

[2:01:34] bulky waste recycling this Saturday, but be there to honor the veterans and those

[2:01:40] who are serving on Monday, May 25th.

[2:01:46] » I would accept a motion to dissolve. If someone wants to make it

[2:01:51] » motion to dissolve, second. All those in favor of dissolving this meeting, please

[2:01:55] signify by >> by voice by saying I.

[2:02:00] » I. >> All those opposed say no. Yeah. Yeah.

[2:02:04] Thank you all very much. Don't forget to turn in your remote on the way out the

[2:02:10] door. >> Don't forget to turn in your remote on

[2:02:15] the way out the door. >> Thank you very much. Oh. Oh.

Erving Annual Town Meeting - May 13, 2025

Agenda

Transcript