[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.