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Look, I know this guy.

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Yes, they are different.

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Each McBride is at least seven

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miles long. I

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promise you, my phone is just

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for me. Very good.

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Sean,

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are you ready?

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Here's Sweet.

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Recording in progress. I would

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like to call. Can you hear me?

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Okay, now we're talking. I would

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like to call the

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City Council Plenary Committee to the meeting at

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6:31 p.m. m. And I'll take attendance.

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Councillor Burrell.

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Here.

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Councilman Boardman.

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Here.

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Councilman Fitzgerald will be

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online later. It's on TVCCA this afternoon.

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Councilman Good.

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Here.

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Councilman Jones. Here.

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Councilman McBride.

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Here.

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Councilman Merritt.

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Here.

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Councilman Picinich.

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That's me.

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And I, Mayor Parker. We have eight

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councilors. So I declare a quorum.

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Calendar communications, Councillor

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Barrell.

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Uh, right now I don't have anything.

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Okay, thanks. Councilman Boardman.

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Thank you. I just wanted to send my

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condolences to the family of... He

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called himself Neil, but his real name

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was Joseph Neil Splane. I lived on High

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Street in Mystic. He was my neighbor

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when I was little. I lived on

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High Street in Mystic when I was a child.

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And I knew him for many years, you

45
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know, from top to bottom of the hill.

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I knew the family quite well

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because their son was the choir director at

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Ledyard and then was at UConn and

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has since retired. But one of

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the interesting facts about this

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gentleman is that he was 102 years old. She

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also attended the same church I did

53
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. But he was also a

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councilor in the city of Groton.

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Please refer to the obituaries regarding this matter

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. This gentleman served in the

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army, was in the Battle of the

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Bulge, and also went from the army to

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the navy, where he later retired, I think

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to occupy some kind of

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officer position, don't quote me. And then

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I worked for EB for many years,

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I worked on the development of the Nautilus

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and then I went into politics, RTM, the

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city council. He was also

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important and decisive in advocating for and

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helping to bring the Pequot Health Center

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here, on this side of the bridge

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. Back then, if you remember, it

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used to have two lanes and two

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lanes. I only saw the photos, I don't know, I

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wasn't there at the time. But if

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there was an accident and I was

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talking to a former

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police officer in the city of Groton, he

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told me they had trouble getting

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people across that bridge if it was to go

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to the medical center. That's why having

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Pequot Health here can help

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stabilize people until they can

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get more help. So my deepest

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condolences to the family. I

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happened to see Mr. Splaine just a few

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months before, as my son had

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bought one of his cars after

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giving up driving. It was a

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great symbolic gesture and I was very excited that

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the car was for my son. And we were able to

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have a good conversation and all

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00:05:41,836 --> 00:05:43,933
that. Well, if you don't know much about him

91
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, he calls himself Neil, but his name

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is Joseph Neil Spleen, Spleen. They

93
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definitely sought him out as a

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former councillor from Rotting Town. And

95
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again, I cannot emphasize enough that she lived

96
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a full life and was able to do many

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things. And if you read his obituary, it's

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simply phenomenal in terms of his

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life experience. I also wanted to

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let you know that I have received many

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communications regarding Flock cameras

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. I sent an email

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requesting all the information about

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how much they cost, who controls the

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data, where they are located, and all

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that stuff. Because while I answer

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questions for or against

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Flock cameras, it's important to know

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what burden this places on the people and

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how I should be able to answer

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questions from the

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community's voters. Many people have been

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asking about that. I also received

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a communication from someone on South

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Road, regarding the noise, the trucks, and

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concerns about trucks going up

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and down late at night

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to go to Tilcon. And that's why I drove through

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there late at

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night to check if, as they said,

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the traffic got heavier at

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later hours. So I went and I'm going

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to follow up with that client as

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well. I think that's all for

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now. Thank you.

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Councilman Fitzgerald is

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on TVCCA again. Councilman Good.

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Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just a couple

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of things. Last week I attended the

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Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and

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Orsted Wind Energy for a cleanup

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of Groton and Stonington. Many

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people came and it was a great success. And today, Save

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Our Sound and Holmgren Subaru organized

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another

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Save Our Sound cleanup day at Esker

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Point beach, with good attendance and

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many bags of trash collected.

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So, thank you to all of them for

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organizing these events. That's all.

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Councilman Jones.

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Thank you, Madam Mayor. I attended

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three different events. Actually, one

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was very nice, with Mayor

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Parker and Councilman Pacino aboard

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the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle.

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We held a ceremony and

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also did the first

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day stamp for the Coast Guard. It was a

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very enjoyable event attended by

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many different members of the

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Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival

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and other dignitaries. The Secretary

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of State came and gave a very

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pleasant talk. The

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Coast Guard admiral came and the base commander came

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. It was a very pleasant event.

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I attended the

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Golf Advisory Board meeting, a regular meeting

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. We just wanted to let you know that

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our new golf software is

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working wonderfully and

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everyone is very happy with it. Another

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good thing: this is the first time we

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have been able to obtain statistics,

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all kinds of statistics, from this

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software. Although only two months have passed

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, from July to August, we can see

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many different things, and that will

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help us in the future to determine the

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prices, the load and the operation

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of the golf course. So it was a

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really good change that hadn't been

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available before. And also the

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Liaison Committee with the Board of

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Education, RTM, the city and the town,

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just to connect with the four of them, but

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we had a really good conversation

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about public schools and

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construction and all sorts of

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different things, so that was it.

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Thank you, Councilor McBride.

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Thank you. I have nothing substantial to

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report this afternoon. Okay, I feel a

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little left out. Other people have

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a lot to report. I have nothing. I'm sorry

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.

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Councilor Merritt:

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Yes, I attended the

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port administration meeting at the

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Noank fire station this week, and

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regarding Councilor

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Boardman's issue with South Road, I believe it's

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the paving trucks for the

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Gold Star Bridge. My only

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concern is that I see them during the

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day, and someone should remind them of the

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speed limit. It's a

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heavy load to stop suddenly.

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Just so you know. That

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's all.

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OK. Councilman Pacino. I

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have nothing to approve today. Thank you.

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OK. Now it's my turn. Very good.

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Besides Connecticut, thank you,

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Councilor Jones, for mentioning it because

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I forgot to write it down. I also attended

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an evening of thanksgiving hosted

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by Catholic Charities in honor of Tony

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Sheridan of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce

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. It was a pleasant event and, once again

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, congratulations to Tony for all he

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does in our communities.

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I also attended the grand

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opening of Studio Love. It's a

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new place. It's on Bridge Street and

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if you have the chance, please

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visit it. A very warm,

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00:11:02,176 --> 00:11:07,253
welcoming and peaceful space. They do yoga and some

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renovation work, I don't know, they do a lot of

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different things, but if you have the chance,

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please visit.

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Human Resources Professionals Day is

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September 26th and I want to thank

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all our staff. HH. And next month

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is National Breast

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Cancer Awareness Month

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, as well as

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Cybersecurity and Anti-

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Bullying Month. Fire Prevention Week

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00:11:36,623 --> 00:11:38,463
begins from October 4th to 10th

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and I would like to thank

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all of our

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city's firefighters. And that's all I have to

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report. Thank you. Very good.

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Can I mention just one thing

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quickly?

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00:11:50,619 --> 00:11:50,999
Yes. I

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00:11:50,999 --> 00:11:52,581
just wanted to mention that

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00:11:52,581 --> 00:11:54,122
we finally have some active links to

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00:11:54,122 --> 00:11:55,663
donate to Human Services on our

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00:11:55,663 --> 00:11:58,534
website. Currently there are three

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options: donate to our

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00:12:00,333 --> 00:12:01,848
food warehouse, donate to the

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00:12:01,848 --> 00:12:03,599
energy assistance program, or donate to the

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00:12:03,599 --> 00:12:06,214
general assistance fund they have. I anticipate

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that we will modify this as

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we move forward and perhaps add more

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options, but those are already

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available. You can find the

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links on

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our website's homepage or in

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Human Services on the website.

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00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:26,079
Thank you. OK. Councilman McBride,

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00:12:26,079 --> 00:12:29,353
I will approve the minutes.

256
00:12:29,353 --> 00:12:30,782
I would like to make a motion to

257
00:12:30,782 --> 00:12:32,250
approve the minutes of the

258
00:12:32,250 --> 00:12:33,838
Plenary Committee meeting of September 8,

259
00:12:33,838 --> 00:12:34,137
2026.

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00:12:34,137 --> 00:12:35,182
Second

261
00:12:35,182 --> 00:12:37,026
motion made by McBride and seconded

262
00:12:37,026 --> 00:12:43,680
by Boardman. Do you have any questions?

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00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:45,404
Okay, since I don't see any hands, everyone who's

264
00:12:45,404 --> 00:12:46,203
in favor.

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00:12:46,203 --> 00:12:46,701
I.

266
00:12:46,701 --> 00:12:48,639
I.

267
00:12:48,639 --> 00:12:51,641
So it's eight to zero to zero.

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00:12:51,641 --> 00:12:55,085
OK. Next, we will not move on

269
00:12:55,085 --> 00:12:58,259
to the first item on the agenda.

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00:12:58,259 --> 00:13:03,251
We will move on to the second one, which is the

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00:13:03,251 --> 00:13:06,545
current presentation of the

272
00:13:06,545 --> 00:13:10,261
Conservation Commission 2026-833. If you can

273
00:13:10,261 --> 00:13:15,804
come closer, please. And I would like to

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00:13:15,804 --> 00:13:17,263
remind everyone that, according to

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our rules, the mayor can set

276
00:13:19,088 --> 00:13:22,166
the submission time. We have

277
00:13:22,166 --> 00:13:23,870
15 minutes this afternoon for

278
00:13:23,870 --> 00:13:25,720
you to give your presentation.

279
00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:27,260
The board may ask questions

280
00:13:27,260 --> 00:13:35,030
afterwards. Thank you. And if they could

281
00:13:35,030 --> 00:13:36,100
appear.

282
00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:37,567
Larry Don, I am the chairman of the

283
00:13:37,567 --> 00:13:39,759
Conservation Commission.

284
00:13:39,759 --> 00:13:41,581
I'm Greg Raphaely, vice president.

285
00:13:41,581 --> 00:13:43,870
And Tom Olson, member.

286
00:13:43,870 --> 00:13:44,330
Thank you.

287
00:13:44,330 --> 00:13:48,870
We will continue with my

288
00:13:48,870 --> 00:13:52,488
support. We are here to talk about

289
00:13:52,488 --> 00:13:54,528
how the statute requires us to provide

290
00:13:54,528 --> 00:13:56,567
information about the inventory of

291
00:13:56,567 --> 00:13:58,833
open spaces within the city and

292
00:13:58,833 --> 00:14:00,532
the status of what has been

293
00:14:00,532 --> 00:14:04,270
happening. That includes both the

294
00:14:04,270 --> 00:14:06,058
conservation commission and the

295
00:14:06,058 --> 00:14:07,846
tree advisory board, which is

296
00:14:07,846 --> 00:14:11,930
part of our statutes. Let's see,

297
00:14:11,930 --> 00:14:16,215
next click. Good. So, very

298
00:14:16,215 --> 00:14:18,486
quickly, as I said, the inventory and the

299
00:14:18,486 --> 00:14:20,696
highlights. I want to talk a little bit

300
00:14:20,696 --> 00:14:23,149
about administration. Let's talk about

301
00:14:23,149 --> 00:14:27,960
the tree advisory board, what it is, and

302
00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,820
what we recommend in terms of that

303
00:14:29,820 --> 00:14:31,583
compared to the

304
00:14:31,583 --> 00:14:34,680
tree commission, which was just approved.

305
00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,919
Let's talk about the future, and that's all.

306
00:14:38,919 --> 00:14:41,539
So, let's get to the actual inventory.

307
00:14:41,539 --> 00:14:46,305
Now, inventory information

308
00:14:46,305 --> 00:14:50,302
is provided online. Well, at the

309
00:14:50,302 --> 00:14:52,585
bottom of the chart, you'll see a

310
00:14:52,585 --> 00:14:54,224
website, which is the Croton

311
00:14:54,224 --> 00:14:56,214
Conservation Commission Viewer, and

312
00:14:56,214 --> 00:14:58,088
you can find just about any

313
00:14:58,088 --> 00:14:59,844
information you want about

314
00:14:59,844 --> 00:15:02,069
any of the parcels that are

315
00:15:02,069 --> 00:15:04,352
in the city's inventory, not just

316
00:15:04,352 --> 00:15:06,635
open spaces, but everything that is

317
00:15:06,635 --> 00:15:11,332
owned by the city. In a

318
00:15:11,332 --> 00:15:14,855
quick summary, we're at 29.5%

319
00:15:14,855 --> 00:15:17,673
open spaces, and that's close to the

320
00:15:17,673 --> 00:15:21,195
30% target from a

321
00:15:21,195 --> 00:15:25,353
federal perspective. Therefore, what we have been

322
00:15:25,353 --> 00:15:27,768
doing for about

323
00:15:27,768 --> 00:15:30,063
a year and a half is that we have changed

324
00:15:30,063 --> 00:15:32,236
our priority from acquisition to

325
00:15:32,236 --> 00:15:34,334
management. That's why we're going to talk

326
00:15:34,334 --> 00:15:37,300
a little bit about administration.

327
00:15:37,300 --> 00:15:40,347
We will point out that we also calculated

328
00:15:40,347 --> 00:15:43,560
which areas are accessible to the public,

329
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:51,000
and it is 17 percent of the total.

330
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,131
So, with that calculation alone, only

331
00:15:53,131 --> 00:15:55,319
60% of the open space is actually

332
00:15:55,319 --> 00:15:58,227
accessible. Some are due to the fact that it

333
00:15:58,227 --> 00:16:00,784
really cannot be done, and others to the fact that there are not

334
00:16:00,784 --> 00:16:03,340
enough funds to open it to

335
00:16:03,340 --> 00:16:05,831
public access and discuss it under

336
00:16:05,831 --> 00:16:09,632
administration. Well, I will point out that we have

337
00:16:09,632 --> 00:16:12,214
been pioneers in

338
00:16:12,214 --> 00:16:14,796
data collection and in the ability to manage

339
00:16:14,796 --> 00:16:17,313
open spaces in the state, and I think

340
00:16:17,313 --> 00:16:19,831
other people, other towns, have

341
00:16:19,831 --> 00:16:22,025
seen what we have done and are

342
00:16:22,025 --> 00:16:25,133
working on it. Therefore,

343
00:16:25,133 --> 00:16:27,600
we believe it is a remarkable achievement and will

344
00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,023
mention it in the future. The

345
00:16:31,023 --> 00:16:34,924
presentation. I will say that with the new

346
00:16:34,924 --> 00:16:37,783
PLCD, we will ensure that there is

347
00:16:37,783 --> 00:16:40,715
alignment between what is in the PLCD

348
00:16:40,715 --> 00:16:43,500
and its definitions and the definitions

349
00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:46,359
in the viewer, which is preserved

350
00:16:46,359 --> 00:16:50,774
and protected space. Well, that's

351
00:16:50,774 --> 00:16:54,049
almost always been the case. A very

352
00:16:54,049 --> 00:16:55,894
clear understanding of what it is, and I think we're

353
00:16:55,894 --> 00:16:59,239
finally clarifying that.

354
00:16:59,239 --> 00:17:02,215
I guess I have to do this. Very

355
00:17:02,215 --> 00:17:04,739
good. Okay, a quick summary and

356
00:17:04,739 --> 00:17:08,151
some highlights. We provide

357
00:17:08,151 --> 00:17:11,240
support through reviews and contributions to the

358
00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,329
PLCD 2035. I mentioned that

359
00:17:14,329 --> 00:17:17,101
the inventory was updated. We provide support to

360
00:17:17,101 --> 00:17:18,618
Parks and Recreation in the

361
00:17:18,618 --> 00:17:20,940
tree management plan and review.

362
00:17:20,940 --> 00:17:22,445
We updated the economic value model

363
00:17:22,445 --> 00:17:25,759
for open spaces.

364
00:17:25,759 --> 00:17:28,411
For those who don't know, this is

365
00:17:28,411 --> 00:17:31,132
one in which we quantify the value of

366
00:17:31,132 --> 00:17:33,581
open spaces in dollars and

367
00:17:33,581 --> 00:17:36,166
cents, and we can compare it to

368
00:17:36,166 --> 00:17:38,751
use as open space, use for

369
00:17:38,751 --> 00:17:41,131
commercial work, or use for

370
00:17:41,131 --> 00:17:45,714
development. And we have used it on several

371
00:17:45,714 --> 00:17:48,875
occasions to get input from the city council

372
00:17:48,875 --> 00:17:51,958
, which is quantified,

373
00:17:51,958 --> 00:17:57,045
not just guesswork. I mentioned the

374
00:17:57,045 --> 00:17:59,400
tree management plan that we reviewed.

375
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,103
We support that effort with the people

376
00:18:01,103 --> 00:18:03,279
in support of climate resilience.

377
00:18:03,279 --> 00:18:05,406
We spent a lot of time, Tom did

378
00:18:05,406 --> 00:18:07,651
most of the

379
00:18:07,651 --> 00:18:10,015
trail connectivity, and we both supported many

380
00:18:10,015 --> 00:18:11,965
pollination pathways and, in fact, the

381
00:18:11,965 --> 00:18:15,058
creation of several of them. Continuing

382
00:18:15,058 --> 00:18:17,203
with the highlights, we've been working

383
00:18:17,203 --> 00:18:22,035
with Scura for about 3 years on their

384
00:18:22,035 --> 00:18:24,759
composting plan, which has finally

385
00:18:24,759 --> 00:18:27,355
been approved by the state. It's already

386
00:18:27,355 --> 00:18:30,288
underway. The analysis we've done

387
00:18:30,288 --> 00:18:32,148
from the perspective of the city of

388
00:18:32,148 --> 00:18:33,962
Groton is that, if we can recover

389
00:18:33,962 --> 00:18:35,682
20% in terms of compound rates,

390
00:18:35,682 --> 00:18:37,449
we could probably save the city

391
00:18:37,449 --> 00:18:38,984
around one million

392
00:18:38,984 --> 00:18:41,742
dollars over 5 years. Now, it

393
00:18:41,742 --> 00:18:46,799
may not seem like much, but the

394
00:18:46,799 --> 00:18:49,189
cost of waste products for

395
00:18:49,189 --> 00:18:53,218
us is going to increase between 35% and

396
00:18:53,218 --> 00:18:55,669
100% in the next 2 or 3 years due

397
00:18:55,669 --> 00:18:58,058
to what is happening at the state level

398
00:18:58,058 --> 00:19:01,057
and the closures. Therefore, there is a

399
00:19:01,057 --> 00:19:04,063
significant increase in cost for

400
00:19:04,063 --> 00:19:06,838
everyone, and this composting assumes that

401
00:19:06,838 --> 00:19:09,689
around 30% of the waste is

402
00:19:09,689 --> 00:19:13,221
compostable, so to speak. So

403
00:19:13,221 --> 00:19:14,964
they can eliminate some volume and

404
00:19:14,964 --> 00:19:16,917
obtain high-quality compost.

405
00:19:16,917 --> 00:19:19,784
Therefore, that is also a benefit.

406
00:19:19,784 --> 00:19:21,971
We have participated in

407
00:19:21,971 --> 00:19:24,652
joint cleanups in Birch Plain Creek with the

408
00:19:24,652 --> 00:19:28,073
NER. It's been two years since

409
00:19:28,073 --> 00:19:31,700
the NER was approved, hasn't it?

410
00:19:31,700 --> 00:19:33,697
We have also worked with other groups on

411
00:19:33,697 --> 00:19:37,036
cleaning certain areas. We have

412
00:19:37,036 --> 00:19:38,266
provided a draft of the

413
00:19:38,266 --> 00:19:41,036
management plan. I should point out again to

414
00:19:41,036 --> 00:19:43,165
those who have visited our

415
00:19:43,165 --> 00:19:45,187
website that we have all our

416
00:19:45,187 --> 00:19:47,050
management plans, all our

417
00:19:47,050 --> 00:19:48,753
conservation plans and lots of

418
00:19:48,753 --> 00:19:50,296
information there if you are

419
00:19:50,296 --> 00:19:54,285
interested in reviewing them. Finally,

420
00:19:54,285 --> 00:19:56,991
on this page, we have had our

421
00:19:56,991 --> 00:19:59,483
annual activity with Khan College and

422
00:19:59,483 --> 00:20:02,047
have carried out several

423
00:20:02,047 --> 00:20:04,228
special study projects. They are also

424
00:20:04,228 --> 00:20:06,586
available on our website. That's

425
00:20:06,586 --> 00:20:08,650
fun and very useful at the same time;

426
00:20:08,650 --> 00:20:10,508
In fact, I will talk about one of the

427
00:20:10,508 --> 00:20:12,469
projects when we get into the

428
00:20:12,469 --> 00:20:14,275
topic of the conversation about

429
00:20:14,275 --> 00:20:18,625
trees. So, the next step is

430
00:20:18,625 --> 00:20:22,281
administration. As I mentioned, it's

431
00:20:22,281 --> 00:20:25,317
good to buy the land and own it, but

432
00:20:25,317 --> 00:20:28,277
if it's not properly cared for, the

433
00:20:28,277 --> 00:20:30,934
economic value, which is the capacity for

434
00:20:30,934 --> 00:20:33,970
carbon sequestration,

435
00:20:33,970 --> 00:20:36,551
pollution management, etc., actually

436
00:20:36,551 --> 00:20:39,359
decreases when invasive species arrive

437
00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,137
. Therefore, not only is it

438
00:20:42,137 --> 00:20:44,320
pleasant and enjoyable to walk along the

439
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,558
trails, but I also believe it is

440
00:20:46,558 --> 00:20:48,516
important to maintain the value of

441
00:20:48,516 --> 00:20:50,587
the city's acquisition and ownership

442
00:20:50,587 --> 00:20:52,966
. I'd like to give Bray the floor

443
00:20:52,966 --> 00:20:54,584
for a minute or two to

444
00:20:54,584 --> 00:20:57,519
give an example of Picquats Woods.

445
00:20:57,519 --> 00:20:59,099
What

446
00:20:59,099 --> 00:21:01,026
I would like to present is the

447
00:21:01,026 --> 00:21:03,118
storyboard that is on the right side of the

448
00:21:03,118 --> 00:21:05,632
slide. I'm not going to ask you to

449
00:21:05,632 --> 00:21:09,880
read it. But what I would like to do is

450
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,435
say that we collaborated to obtain this

451
00:21:13,435 --> 00:21:16,456
storyboard which is now at

452
00:21:16,456 --> 00:21:19,300
Pequot Woods, and the origin of the

453
00:21:19,300 --> 00:21:22,588
request also goes back to Neil

454
00:21:22,588 --> 00:21:27,803
Splaine. I believe Neil Splaine was

455
00:21:27,803 --> 00:21:30,097
mayor when Pequot Woods was

456
00:21:30,097 --> 00:21:32,892
first acquired by the city

457
00:21:32,892 --> 00:21:37,099
, many, many years ago. There is a

458
00:21:37,099 --> 00:21:39,346
trail system in Pequot Woods. On

459
00:21:39,346 --> 00:21:41,976
the west side, there is an old winery

460
00:21:41,976 --> 00:21:44,745
that obviously dates back to

461
00:21:44,745 --> 00:21:48,777
colonial times and had a reference that

462
00:21:48,777 --> 00:21:51,766
said it was Jesse's house. I said,

463
00:21:51,766 --> 00:21:56,620
"Okay." And as you go along,

464
00:21:56,620 --> 00:21:58,220
well, there must be a little

465
00:21:58,220 --> 00:21:59,685
backstory to that. I wonder what it will be

466
00:21:59,685 --> 00:22:04,429
. "And then our committee

467
00:22:04,429 --> 00:22:06,371
contacted the

468
00:22:06,371 --> 00:22:08,152
Mystic River Historical Society, and in

469
00:22:08,152 --> 00:22:10,147
particular Marilyn Comrie, and

470
00:22:10,147 --> 00:22:12,089
posed a question: 'Do you know anything

471
00:22:12,089 --> 00:22:14,991
about Jesse?'" "Supposedly, this is

472
00:22:14,991 --> 00:22:17,321
a house in Pequot Woods. Do you know anything

473
00:22:17,321 --> 00:22:20,304
about it?" And the Historical Society

474
00:22:20,304 --> 00:22:23,077
got involved, and as a result of that, there is

475
00:22:23,077 --> 00:22:25,704
this storyboard

476
00:22:25,704 --> 00:22:28,258
above about Mr. Jonathan

477
00:22:28,258 --> 00:22:32,144
Jesse Wheeler. Part of the storyboard

478
00:22:32,144 --> 00:22:34,505
deals a little with the period of

479
00:22:34,505 --> 00:22:36,865
time he was on the property,

480
00:22:36,865 --> 00:22:38,888
how old he was, etc. And

481
00:22:38,888 --> 00:22:41,113
apparently he was some kind of

482
00:22:41,113 --> 00:22:44,839
farmer in the late 19th century. Part

483
00:22:44,839 --> 00:22:47,328
of the discovery of who

484
00:22:47,328 --> 00:22:52,245
Jonathan Jesse Wheeler was came from the

485
00:22:52,245 --> 00:22:54,939
diary of a particular

486
00:22:54,939 --> 00:22:58,953
15-year-old girl, Mary Clark. That

487
00:22:58,953 --> 00:23:01,155
particular diary is held by the

488
00:23:01,155 --> 00:23:03,420
Historical Society, and they have produced it

489
00:23:03,420 --> 00:23:06,753
as a book. And in it, in fact,

490
00:23:06,753 --> 00:23:09,419
he talks about Mr. Jonathan Jesse, who

491
00:23:09,419 --> 00:23:11,641
apparently had quite a

492
00:23:11,641 --> 00:23:14,672
reputation in the city of Mystic. And

493
00:23:14,672 --> 00:23:17,631
this is where I lived. He was a hermit

494
00:23:17,631 --> 00:23:21,520
. And his comments in his diary date back to around

495
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,174
this time

496
00:23:25,174 --> 00:23:29,497
in September 1920. She and her

497
00:23:29,497 --> 00:23:32,687
Sunday school class, after

498
00:23:32,687 --> 00:23:35,877
a picnic that particular day, were going to

499
00:23:35,877 --> 00:23:39,066
have it in the clearing, what is called

500
00:23:39,066 --> 00:23:42,338
the clearing in the Pequot Woods, which was

501
00:23:42,338 --> 00:23:45,118
right next to the house of Jesse

502
00:23:45,118 --> 00:23:49,047
Jonathan Jesse Whalers. And she

503
00:23:49,047 --> 00:23:51,938
recorded what her grandmother told her

504
00:23:51,938 --> 00:23:54,986
about Mr. Jesse, which was in her

505
00:23:54,986 --> 00:23:58,112
notes, in the storyboard that's in

506
00:23:58,112 --> 00:24:01,591
Pierre. And it's a very

507
00:24:01,591 --> 00:24:05,022
interesting description of some of

508
00:24:05,022 --> 00:24:06,798
Mr.

509
00:24:06,798 --> 00:24:09,803
Jonathan Jesse Wheeler's strange behavior. So, the

510
00:24:09,803 --> 00:24:12,694
storyboard was produced by the

511
00:24:12,694 --> 00:24:15,746
historical society and the

512
00:24:15,746 --> 00:24:18,798
city of Groton's Parks and Recreation Department

513
00:24:18,798 --> 00:24:21,609
, they opened the area where

514
00:24:21,609 --> 00:24:24,501
the house's foundations are, they

515
00:24:24,501 --> 00:24:27,553
opened it this year and the sign

516
00:24:27,553 --> 00:24:32,120
is now in place near the

517
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:35,236
foundations. And if you really want to

518
00:24:35,236 --> 00:24:37,541
delve into Mr. Jesse's story

519
00:24:37,541 --> 00:24:41,065
, it's an interesting one. The rest

520
00:24:41,065 --> 00:24:42,334
of the story is in the

521
00:24:42,334 --> 00:24:45,039
storyboard. And I'm going to leave it at that.

522
00:24:45,039 --> 00:24:47,553
So, if you're out for a walk and want to

523
00:24:47,553 --> 00:24:49,810
take a quick break, check out

524
00:24:49,810 --> 00:24:52,389
the board and not far from the

525
00:24:52,389 --> 00:24:55,660
road there are some ancient foundations.

526
00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:58,810
Apparently, his house burned down in

527
00:24:58,810 --> 00:25:01,872
1890. And it has remained there ever since

528
00:25:01,872 --> 00:25:04,910
. But that's one of the

529
00:25:04,910 --> 00:25:07,415
features of doing that trail and

530
00:25:07,415 --> 00:25:09,379
walking in Pequot Woods.

531
00:25:09,379 --> 00:25:12,586
Thank you. I would like to point out that this is

532
00:25:12,586 --> 00:25:14,471
a parcel of land that the

533
00:25:14,471 --> 00:25:16,058
Parks and Recreation Department has been

534
00:25:16,058 --> 00:25:18,755
maintaining very well. We've

535
00:25:18,755 --> 00:25:22,316
identified 14 parcels of 716 acres

536
00:25:22,316 --> 00:25:25,970
that really don't have any support,

537
00:25:25,970 --> 00:25:29,437
and that's one of the ones that's in the

538
00:25:29,437 --> 00:25:31,691
budget. Let me move on to the

539
00:25:31,691 --> 00:25:36,353
next chart. Very good. Well,

540
00:25:36,353 --> 00:25:38,856
those plots are identified

541
00:25:38,856 --> 00:25:43,539
and the details are on the website.

542
00:25:43,539 --> 00:25:46,216
The typical average, we're talking

543
00:25:46,216 --> 00:25:48,822
$30 to $50 per acre per year, you

544
00:25:48,822 --> 00:25:51,429
know, for

545
00:25:51,429 --> 00:25:53,684
nature management, you know,

546
00:25:53,684 --> 00:25:57,584
preserved land. So, when we analyzed

547
00:25:57,584 --> 00:25:59,097
this year's budget,

548
00:25:59,097 --> 00:26:01,079
we recommended to the

549
00:26:01,079 --> 00:26:02,748
city administrators a budget of two

550
00:26:02,748 --> 00:26:05,919
additional people. He entered there

551
00:26:05,919 --> 00:26:08,934
0.5, which you approved. Well, it's a

552
00:26:08,934 --> 00:26:11,349
start, but we'll be back, as we do

553
00:26:11,349 --> 00:26:13,702
every year, to try and get

554
00:26:13,702 --> 00:26:17,560
additional support for that. So, with that said

555
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:19,151
, I'd like to move on to the

556
00:26:19,151 --> 00:26:20,917
second part of what we do, which is

557
00:26:20,917 --> 00:26:24,193
the Tree Advisory Board. This

558
00:26:24,193 --> 00:26:27,022
chart only shows the

559
00:26:27,022 --> 00:26:29,302
ordinance code that establishes that

560
00:26:29,302 --> 00:26:34,681
responsibility. And we've done some

561
00:26:34,681 --> 00:26:37,761
work regarding the tree that

562
00:26:37,761 --> 00:26:41,281
supports the tree canopy within

563
00:26:41,281 --> 00:26:44,361
the city, and I'm not going to go into that

564
00:26:44,361 --> 00:26:47,441
here, but I have provided the

565
00:26:47,441 --> 00:26:50,961
city manager with a list of

566
00:26:50,961 --> 00:26:54,481
approximately 40 items he

567
00:26:54,481 --> 00:26:58,774
can discuss. But let me

568
00:26:58,774 --> 00:27:01,516
contrast them and talk about... Well,

569
00:27:01,516 --> 00:27:03,970
before we get to the

570
00:27:03,970 --> 00:27:06,784
tree commission, one of the things we did

571
00:27:06,784 --> 00:27:09,599
was environmental justice, a term that's

572
00:27:09,599 --> 00:27:11,908
used to ensure that,

573
00:27:11,908 --> 00:27:14,722
wherever you live, there's equal

574
00:27:14,722 --> 00:27:17,537
opportunity for open space or

575
00:27:17,537 --> 00:27:20,351
equal opportunity for

576
00:27:20,351 --> 00:27:24,171
transportation, whatever that may be. In this

577
00:27:24,171 --> 00:27:26,528
case, we are looking at

578
00:27:26,528 --> 00:27:29,385
tree cover in urban environments where

579
00:27:29,385 --> 00:27:33,137
Groton is considered urban. And if it

580
00:27:33,137 --> 00:27:35,102
's below 30%, then it's

581
00:27:35,102 --> 00:27:38,315
considered a problem. Actually,

582
00:27:38,315 --> 00:27:40,401
we're in pretty good shape, except

583
00:27:40,401 --> 00:27:42,541
for two tracks identified on the

584
00:27:42,541 --> 00:27:44,681
chart as 727 and 728, which are

585
00:27:44,681 --> 00:27:48,040
below that benchmark. So there's

586
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,681
some work to be done on

587
00:27:49,681 --> 00:27:51,710
that. And that was done using

588
00:27:51,710 --> 00:27:55,428
state data. What we intend to do, what we

589
00:27:55,428 --> 00:28:01,383
have begun to do, was to support

590
00:28:01,383 --> 00:28:03,688
the community tree plan, and this

591
00:28:03,688 --> 00:28:05,878
is the study I mentioned earlier with

592
00:28:05,878 --> 00:28:07,952
the Con College students, who

593
00:28:07,952 --> 00:28:09,796
analyzed a wide variety of

594
00:28:09,796 --> 00:28:11,813
options on how we can

595
00:28:11,813 --> 00:28:14,118
better measure locally without relying on

596
00:28:14,118 --> 00:28:17,551
state satellite imagery.

597
00:28:17,551 --> 00:28:19,123
So, once again, there is a report

598
00:28:19,123 --> 00:28:20,517
available. We provide it in

599
00:28:20,517 --> 00:28:23,713
Parks and Recreation. And they know, thanks

600
00:28:23,713 --> 00:28:26,070
to Giselle Milroy, who is a member of

601
00:28:26,070 --> 00:28:28,493
our committee, that she is in charge of

602
00:28:28,493 --> 00:28:33,107
managing it. Well, now, there was

603
00:28:33,107 --> 00:28:36,628
a resolution, as you know, 2026-662,

604
00:28:36,628 --> 00:28:39,879
that was passed and that establishes, or

605
00:28:39,879 --> 00:28:42,859
let me put it this way,

606
00:28:42,859 --> 00:28:46,640
confuses who does what to whom.

607
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,344
So, as I mentioned, there are

608
00:28:48,344 --> 00:28:50,617
approximately 2/3 of the elements in

609
00:28:50,617 --> 00:28:52,776
the responsibility of the

610
00:28:52,776 --> 00:28:54,367
tree commission that are

611
00:28:54,367 --> 00:28:56,583
partially or completely carried out by the

612
00:28:56,583 --> 00:28:59,585
tree advisory board. So, our

613
00:28:59,585 --> 00:29:01,399
recommendation, based on your

614
00:29:01,399 --> 00:29:03,901
approval of that, is to merge the two

615
00:29:03,901 --> 00:29:06,153
and put them under the tree advisory board

616
00:29:06,153 --> 00:29:08,656
to remove, sorry, under

617
00:29:08,656 --> 00:29:11,894
the tree commission. Look, there's

618
00:29:11,894 --> 00:29:14,986
confusion there. To simplify

619
00:29:14,986 --> 00:29:17,464
things. However, that requires a

620
00:29:17,464 --> 00:29:19,560
series of administrative tasks.

621
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,278
So, let me give the floor

622
00:29:22,278 --> 00:29:25,580
to my administrative experts.

623
00:29:25,580 --> 00:29:27,700
One of the things we're going to

624
00:29:27,700 --> 00:29:30,625
recommend is that if you go ahead

625
00:29:30,625 --> 00:29:33,111
with the tree commission to

626
00:29:33,111 --> 00:29:35,890
alleviate the need, you should amend the

627
00:29:35,890 --> 00:29:38,741
city ordinance so that this can be

628
00:29:38,741 --> 00:29:40,862
done, as shown in the next

629
00:29:40,862 --> 00:29:45,659
slide. It's just amending instead

630
00:29:45,659 --> 00:29:48,720
of changing. Oh. What did they do? Good

631
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:50,595
. Okay, on the next slide,

632
00:29:50,595 --> 00:29:52,358
yes, here we go. In the next

633
00:29:52,358 --> 00:29:53,757
slide, it is a change of one

634
00:29:53,757 --> 00:29:55,410
word, in which the word conservation is removed

635
00:29:55,410 --> 00:29:56,809
from the

636
00:29:56,809 --> 00:29:58,378
conservation commission and replaced with

637
00:29:58,378 --> 00:30:00,122
tree commission. In that way, it's a

638
00:30:00,122 --> 00:30:02,345
simple exchange, but it can also be

639
00:30:02,345 --> 00:30:04,268
merged with the

640
00:30:04,268 --> 00:30:06,552
current actions, but I don't think anyone

641
00:30:06,552 --> 00:30:08,956
looked at the ordinances when

642
00:30:08,956 --> 00:30:12,717
the reviews were being done for the commission. But

643
00:30:12,717 --> 00:30:15,189
that's what we see, and then, following on from

644
00:30:15,189 --> 00:30:17,091
that, we would also have to

645
00:30:17,091 --> 00:30:19,628
update the ABC book which says: "Hey,

646
00:30:19,628 --> 00:30:22,037
we have the functions of the

647
00:30:22,037 --> 00:30:24,129
tree commission and the

648
00:30:24,129 --> 00:30:26,412
conservation commission clearly described,

649
00:30:26,412 --> 00:30:28,821
because there would be confusion between the two

650
00:30:28,821 --> 00:30:32,026
in the way forward." So when

651
00:30:32,026 --> 00:30:33,277
you get the update to

652
00:30:33,277 --> 00:30:34,819
set the tree commission,

653
00:30:34,819 --> 00:30:36,362
which I think will happen, that also needs to be taken

654
00:30:36,362 --> 00:30:38,412
into account. So, from

655
00:30:38,412 --> 00:30:40,786
our perspective, some punctuality is recommended

656
00:30:40,786 --> 00:30:43,160
to help with all of that

657
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,319
and minimize confusion.

658
00:30:46,319 --> 00:30:48,086
As I mentioned to support that,

659
00:30:48,086 --> 00:30:50,005
we provided the city manager with a detailed list

660
00:30:50,005 --> 00:30:52,024
of where

661
00:30:52,024 --> 00:30:53,994
those responsibilities overlap and

662
00:30:53,994 --> 00:30:55,761
the items we are

663
00:30:55,761 --> 00:30:57,276
currently doing that would need to be

664
00:30:57,276 --> 00:30:59,144
transferred to the new

665
00:30:59,144 --> 00:31:02,794
tree commission. And the last beginning. Well,

666
00:31:02,794 --> 00:31:06,573
not the second-to-last beginning. We will continue

667
00:31:06,573 --> 00:31:08,187
taking inventory. That is our

668
00:31:08,187 --> 00:31:10,580
only legal responsibility.

669
00:31:10,580 --> 00:31:13,080
We will implement the actions in the POCD

670
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,580
2035. We have identified eight

671
00:31:15,580 --> 00:31:19,300
strategic action elements of that

672
00:31:19,300 --> 00:31:22,721
work effort that we will support as

673
00:31:22,721 --> 00:31:28,548
we supported the last POCD. Transfer

674
00:31:28,548 --> 00:31:31,560
. These are things we've already said.

675
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:33,114
We want to continue working on the

676
00:31:33,114 --> 00:31:35,493
connectivity of the trails.

677
00:31:35,493 --> 00:31:36,829
I already mentioned one of the

678
00:31:36,829 --> 00:31:39,098
supporting organic wastes. So, to

679
00:31:39,098 --> 00:31:42,152
conclude in a timely manner. As I

680
00:31:42,152 --> 00:31:44,043
mentioned before and want to

681
00:31:44,043 --> 00:31:46,157
emphasize again, open spaces

682
00:31:46,157 --> 00:31:50,576
are not a cost in themselves. They generate

683
00:31:50,576 --> 00:31:53,333
income, and I can actually show you

684
00:31:53,333 --> 00:31:55,793
the figures. There are a variety of

685
00:31:55,793 --> 00:31:58,476
reports from all over the country where

686
00:31:58,476 --> 00:32:01,159
green spaces really do promote

687
00:32:01,159 --> 00:32:04,140
additional income, and frankly,

688
00:32:04,140 --> 00:32:07,657
people are coming to town. And you know, I always

689
00:32:07,657 --> 00:32:09,640
value history. I came to this town

690
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:11,441
25 years ago. One of the reasons was

691
00:32:11,441 --> 00:32:14,081
open space. In other words, he moved right next door

692
00:32:14,081 --> 00:32:15,832
, right there, to the farm over

693
00:32:15,832 --> 00:32:18,681
there. And I walk almost every

694
00:32:18,681 --> 00:32:20,979
day. Yes, I walk every day.

695
00:32:20,979 --> 00:32:23,684
So it's an attraction for

696
00:32:23,684 --> 00:32:27,565
people who come to the town. In

697
00:32:27,565 --> 00:32:30,231
summary, we appreciate the opportunity to

698
00:32:30,231 --> 00:32:33,038
give you the update and will be open

699
00:32:33,038 --> 00:32:35,494
for any questions you may

700
00:32:35,494 --> 00:32:38,760
have.

701
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,614
Councillor Jones, Councillor Good, Councillor

702
00:32:41,614 --> 00:32:44,960
Bordewieck.

703
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,199
Thank you, Madam Mayor. And thank you,

704
00:32:48,199 --> 00:32:50,040
gentlemen, for the work you do and

705
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:51,928
for all the walks around the different

706
00:32:51,928 --> 00:32:53,675
plots of land that people take

707
00:32:53,675 --> 00:32:58,278
here. My question focuses on the

708
00:32:58,278 --> 00:33:02,031
composting plan. I know that

709
00:33:02,031 --> 00:33:04,187
Groton's unique structure, with all

710
00:33:04,187 --> 00:33:06,398
the different fire districts, has made it

711
00:33:06,398 --> 00:33:08,443
difficult because each one has

712
00:33:08,443 --> 00:33:10,543
some control over the trash in their

713
00:33:10,543 --> 00:33:13,451
districts. Do you have any

714
00:33:13,451 --> 00:33:15,381
recommendations on whether something like this would

715
00:33:15,381 --> 00:33:17,651
work in a town like this, or how you would

716
00:33:17,651 --> 00:33:20,220
approach it? Because I know it works

717
00:33:20,220 --> 00:33:21,781
in Stonington and in places that don't

718
00:33:21,781 --> 00:33:24,200
have this unique structure.

719
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:25,411
Depending on where you live in the

720
00:33:25,411 --> 00:33:26,729
city,

721
00:33:26,729 --> 00:33:29,063
you get a different approach with the fire district. It would be

722
00:33:29,063 --> 00:33:30,967
great if we could, you know,

723
00:33:30,967 --> 00:33:33,216
merge it all and manage it, but the

724
00:33:33,216 --> 00:33:35,466
way this would work is how we

725
00:33:35,466 --> 00:33:37,715
've worked it out with SKAEL, you know,

726
00:33:37,715 --> 00:33:39,907
since we started with the schools, the

727
00:33:39,907 --> 00:33:42,725
municipality, and the restaurants. So,

728
00:33:42,725 --> 00:33:44,904
first you work there. Then

729
00:33:44,904 --> 00:33:49,047
test programs would begin. There are

730
00:33:49,047 --> 00:33:50,727
commercial companies that

731
00:33:50,727 --> 00:33:53,011
will provide containers for

732
00:33:53,011 --> 00:33:55,698
organic waste, and they do so and are

733
00:33:55,698 --> 00:33:58,251
paid because, as I said, this material

734
00:33:58,251 --> 00:34:00,939
is a high-value end product as a

735
00:34:00,939 --> 00:34:03,021
result of the

736
00:34:03,021 --> 00:34:06,750
composting technology they have. Therefore,

737
00:34:06,750 --> 00:34:08,868
several people can earn money,

738
00:34:08,868 --> 00:34:10,819
reducing our costs and improving the

739
00:34:10,819 --> 00:34:12,395
plant. Therefore, we reduce

740
00:34:12,395 --> 00:34:14,279
waste and reduce our costs.

741
00:34:14,279 --> 00:34:17,716
So we'll start there. I think

742
00:34:17,716 --> 00:34:20,271
, as I've said, merging the district

743
00:34:20,271 --> 00:34:22,960
to do that is probably more than I would

744
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,164
ask them to do. But

745
00:34:26,164 --> 00:34:28,094
if we can move forward and

746
00:34:28,094 --> 00:34:29,770
launch some pilot projects,

747
00:34:29,770 --> 00:34:31,445
then we can come back with a

748
00:34:31,445 --> 00:34:33,366
more substantive recommendation.

749
00:34:33,366 --> 00:34:34,965
Okay. Well, that's the approach you would take

750
00:34:34,965 --> 00:34:36,392
if you were going to do something to move

751
00:34:36,392 --> 00:34:37,773
forward, that's the approach.

752
00:34:37,773 --> 00:34:39,253
Start with the things you

753
00:34:39,253 --> 00:34:41,295
have control over and gradually unify them. Should

754
00:34:41,295 --> 00:34:42,639
we start with the easiest ones? The

755
00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:45,358
easiest ones. And the second question is, I know

756
00:34:45,358 --> 00:34:47,013
, and I agree with you, the

757
00:34:47,013 --> 00:34:48,438
tree advisory board and the

758
00:34:48,438 --> 00:34:50,276
tree commission probably, you

759
00:34:50,276 --> 00:34:52,166
know, need to merge. And if it's easy

760
00:34:52,166 --> 00:34:53,928
to fix a word. There were many

761
00:34:53,928 --> 00:34:55,501
obligations listed in the

762
00:34:55,501 --> 00:34:57,419
tree commission documents

763
00:34:57,419 --> 00:34:59,420
. Are there obligations

764
00:34:59,420 --> 00:35:01,020
listed in the tree advisory board

765
00:35:01,020 --> 00:35:02,862
that

766
00:35:02,862 --> 00:35:04,819
should be merged into that document?

767
00:35:04,819 --> 00:35:06,939
The ordinance is very...

768
00:35:06,939 --> 00:35:09,039
But you saw that we provided you with all

769
00:35:09,039 --> 00:35:11,739
the documentation in the presentation.

770
00:35:11,739 --> 00:35:13,240
So there isn't much. There is

771
00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:16,257
n't much that's legal. So we

772
00:35:16,257 --> 00:35:18,351
expanded it a bit over the

773
00:35:18,351 --> 00:35:20,504
years during my time as a

774
00:35:20,504 --> 00:35:22,520
conservation commissioner.

775
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,386
We provide a lot. For example,

776
00:35:24,386 --> 00:35:26,480
we

777
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,189
provided good oversight to the

778
00:35:28,189 --> 00:35:30,338
ranger, you know, asking, "

779
00:35:30,338 --> 00:35:31,936
Where are you, what are you doing, what are your

780
00:35:31,936 --> 00:35:34,078
qualifications, are you punctual?" and all

781
00:35:34,078 --> 00:35:35,877
this kind of thing, and we had meetings

782
00:35:35,877 --> 00:35:37,675
, we brought him in, we invited him to our

783
00:35:37,675 --> 00:35:39,335
meetings and things like that to show a

784
00:35:39,335 --> 00:35:41,054
certain level of things. And we have done that

785
00:35:41,054 --> 00:35:42,429
, and we've worked very closely with

786
00:35:42,429 --> 00:35:43,655
Mark and the Parks and

787
00:35:43,655 --> 00:35:45,030
Recreation Commission regarding

788
00:35:45,030 --> 00:35:46,580
Arbor Days and this kind of thing.

789
00:35:46,580 --> 00:35:48,337
And those are tasks that

790
00:35:48,337 --> 00:35:49,933
the tree commission will now have to do.

791
00:35:49,933 --> 00:35:50,550
Right.

792
00:35:50,550 --> 00:35:52,875
There are some that we would do. They

793
00:35:52,875 --> 00:35:54,414
're listed there and weren't

794
00:35:54,414 --> 00:35:55,954
included in the other one, but they're not

795
00:35:55,954 --> 00:35:58,097
significant in nature.

796
00:35:58,097 --> 00:35:59,595
Okay. And he's turned all that

797
00:35:59,595 --> 00:36:00,325
paperwork over to the

798
00:36:00,325 --> 00:36:03,498
city manager. So.

799
00:36:03,498 --> 00:36:06,168
Okay. I think those are my

800
00:36:06,168 --> 00:36:09,809
questions. Thank you again for all the

801
00:36:09,809 --> 00:36:12,428
work you do to keep

802
00:36:12,428 --> 00:36:15,125
conservation at the forefront of our

803
00:36:15,125 --> 00:36:18,784
community. So, thank you. Councilor

804
00:36:18,784 --> 00:36:20,142
Good.

805
00:36:20,142 --> 00:36:21,846
Thank you, Madam Mayor. Through

806
00:36:21,846 --> 00:36:26,522
the mayor, I just wanted to probe a

807
00:36:26,522 --> 00:36:28,174
little bit more about the

808
00:36:28,174 --> 00:36:29,973
tree commission. Do you think what the

809
00:36:29,973 --> 00:36:32,045
commission of Trees. What does

810
00:36:32,045 --> 00:36:34,406
the Advisory Board do now? Do you think it's a

811
00:36:34,406 --> 00:36:36,655
burden that should be taken off the

812
00:36:36,655 --> 00:36:39,267
Conservation Commission and

813
00:36:39,267 --> 00:36:43,925
passed on to another board, or do you think the

814
00:36:43,925 --> 00:36:47,131
Conservation Commission could, in

815
00:36:47,131 --> 00:36:50,337
fact, encompass what a new

816
00:36:50,337 --> 00:36:52,160
commission would do?

817
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:54,421
Well, let's take a step back and say we

818
00:36:54,421 --> 00:36:56,445
're all

819
00:36:56,445 --> 00:36:57,540
volunteer organizations.

820
00:36:57,540 --> 00:36:59,180
Right.

821
00:36:59,180 --> 00:37:01,040
So, if you volunteer here, if

822
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:02,709
you volunteer there, to me it doesn't matter

823
00:37:02,709 --> 00:37:05,459
... That's not the issue. The

824
00:37:05,459 --> 00:37:07,112
issue, really, is that we don't

825
00:37:07,112 --> 00:37:08,925
confuse or have two

826
00:37:08,925 --> 00:37:10,807
separate things. They should be together.

827
00:37:10,807 --> 00:37:12,114
Could they be together under the

828
00:37:12,114 --> 00:37:13,321
tree elevation board, together as a

829
00:37:13,321 --> 00:37:15,140
tree commission? It could be

830
00:37:15,140 --> 00:37:16,743
either; either way would be

831
00:37:16,743 --> 00:37:20,103
sufficient. What we're concerned about is the

832
00:37:20,103 --> 00:37:21,493
division.

833
00:37:21,493 --> 00:37:23,314
Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. And I

834
00:37:23,314 --> 00:37:26,010
just wanted to... I've listened to most

835
00:37:26,010 --> 00:37:28,166
of your meetings, and I just wanted to

836
00:37:28,166 --> 00:37:30,726
tip my hat to Waltham for

837
00:37:30,726 --> 00:37:33,504
his kayaking adventures around town.

838
00:37:33,504 --> 00:37:35,165
I mean, I really appreciate you

839
00:37:35,165 --> 00:37:38,959
putting in that extra effort. Yes, yes.

840
00:37:38,959 --> 00:37:42,952
I just wanted to mention it so

841
00:37:42,952 --> 00:37:44,896
everyone knows that you guys really

842
00:37:44,896 --> 00:37:47,541
take it very seriously. And we appreciate that

843
00:37:47,541 --> 00:37:50,973
very much.

844
00:37:50,973 --> 00:37:52,900
What is That's it?

845
00:37:52,900 --> 00:37:53,999
That's all. Thank you.

846
00:37:53,999 --> 00:37:54,939
Councillor Bordenline?

847
00:37:54,939 --> 00:37:57,195
Thank you. No, first and foremost, I'm a huge

848
00:37:57,195 --> 00:37:58,625
supporter of conservation and

849
00:37:58,625 --> 00:38:00,223
protecting the land and everything

850
00:38:00,223 --> 00:38:02,985
you all do. As a former

851
00:38:02,985 --> 00:38:05,403
cross-country runner in Fitch,

852
00:38:05,403 --> 00:38:07,701
growing up here I was able to take part in all

853
00:38:07,701 --> 00:38:09,575
the trails in many

854
00:38:09,575 --> 00:38:12,227
different ways. Now more as a walker

855
00:38:12,227 --> 00:38:14,918
than a runner. But I'm very

856
00:38:14,918 --> 00:38:16,733
grateful to have those resources here

857
00:38:16,733 --> 00:38:21,302
. As a young adult, and as an

858
00:38:21,302 --> 00:38:22,936
adult now, it's very fortunate to have

859
00:38:22,936 --> 00:38:24,614
these spaces available for us to

860
00:38:24,614 --> 00:38:26,160
use whenever we

861
00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:27,756
want. So

862
00:38:27,756 --> 00:38:29,502
I appreciate all the hard work and

863
00:38:29,502 --> 00:38:31,394
commitment, and thank you for mentioning

864
00:38:31,394 --> 00:38:34,142
Neil's name again. That was

865
00:38:34,142 --> 00:38:37,564
quite apt and another great thing

866
00:38:37,564 --> 00:38:42,681
Neil just did. I think you

867
00:38:42,681 --> 00:38:44,361
raise valid points, as you know,

868
00:38:44,361 --> 00:38:45,965
how do we do it? One thing is to

869
00:38:45,965 --> 00:38:47,933
have them, we have to invest in them

870
00:38:47,933 --> 00:38:49,951
, and make sure we keep these

871
00:38:49,951 --> 00:38:51,716
places tried and true to what

872
00:38:51,716 --> 00:38:53,432
the purpose of these places should be

873
00:38:53,432 --> 00:38:56,160
and what their potential can be.

874
00:38:56,160 --> 00:39:00,943
And the ability to look at changing the

875
00:39:00,943 --> 00:39:03,086
language or deciphering the Ambiguity

876
00:39:03,086 --> 00:39:06,100
between the two labels on the tree.

877
00:39:06,100 --> 00:39:07,828
I think that's vital to

878
00:39:07,828 --> 00:39:11,320
refining everything and providing continuity.

879
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:13,303
I think that simply removes

880
00:39:13,303 --> 00:39:15,232
uncertainty and confusion and

881
00:39:15,232 --> 00:39:17,929
simplifies things a bit. So I'm

882
00:39:17,929 --> 00:39:19,431
open to looking at ways to make

883
00:39:19,431 --> 00:39:22,476
that work. I encourage you to keep

884
00:39:22,476 --> 00:39:23,887
coming in and asking for more support, and I

885
00:39:23,887 --> 00:39:25,221
want to thank you for continuing to

886
00:39:25,221 --> 00:39:29,429
ask for it.

887
00:39:29,429 --> 00:39:31,170
Financially speaking, we need to find ways to

888
00:39:31,170 --> 00:39:33,723
keep everything going. And I also

889
00:39:33,723 --> 00:39:35,393
appreciate the bits of history you

890
00:39:35,393 --> 00:39:36,879
provide. You know, it's

891
00:39:36,879 --> 00:39:38,360
important, right? When we look at the

892
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:39,866
land we have, where it all comes from

893
00:39:39,866 --> 00:39:43,356
. Well, one question I have is when

894
00:39:43,356 --> 00:39:46,793
you mentioned two sections on the map.

895
00:39:46,793 --> 00:39:48,797
Can you focus on that? What are

896
00:39:48,797 --> 00:39:51,118
those areas exactly? My first

897
00:39:51,118 --> 00:39:51,513
question is:

898
00:39:51,513 --> 00:39:55,059
I think we can?

899
00:39:55,059 --> 00:39:58,545
I believe it was areas 7027 and

900
00:39:58,545 --> 00:40:01,746
7028. For this reason, we

901
00:40:01,746 --> 00:40:03,537
went beyond what's shown

902
00:40:03,537 --> 00:40:05,379
here, as we're talking about

903
00:40:05,379 --> 00:40:10,327
census areas. Areas 7027

904
00:40:10,327 --> 00:40:12,576
and 7028 are very large areas

905
00:40:12,576 --> 00:40:14,462
around the airport,

906
00:40:14,462 --> 00:40:16,856
extending north to the

907
00:40:16,856 --> 00:40:19,613
Route 1 corridor, and then, at

908
00:40:19,613 --> 00:40:22,442
28th Street, you reach the Midway Oval area,

909
00:40:22,442 --> 00:40:24,909
from where the route

910
00:40:24,909 --> 00:40:27,811
continues all the way to

911
00:40:27,811 --> 00:40:32,637
Mystic. So, there's a lot of

912
00:40:32,637 --> 00:40:35,003
open space, particularly in the

913
00:40:35,003 --> 00:40:36,824
7028 area. That's where we

914
00:40:36,824 --> 00:40:39,008
question the validity;

915
00:40:39,008 --> 00:40:41,132
are you guys working from

916
00:40:41,132 --> 00:40:43,559
too high a level, or are we really going to examine

917
00:40:43,559 --> 00:40:45,925
what's happening within

918
00:40:45,925 --> 00:40:49,553
our communities? That's what we

919
00:40:49,553 --> 00:40:51,210
were starting to do as part of

920
00:40:51,210 --> 00:40:52,867
our responsibilities on the

921
00:40:52,867 --> 00:40:54,439
Tree Advisory Board, and we hope that will

922
00:40:54,439 --> 00:40:58,560
carry over to continue

923
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,046
doing that, to take a look

924
00:41:01,046 --> 00:41:03,671
when we get to the block-

925
00:41:03,671 --> 00:41:06,365
by-block version, at where we stand, at the 30

926
00:41:06,365 --> 00:41:08,782
%, or are we meeting the requirements

927
00:41:08,782 --> 00:41:11,476
here at the 30% in different

928
00:41:11,476 --> 00:41:13,815
block areas? And it's difficult to

929
00:41:13,815 --> 00:41:15,612
differentiate how the state

930
00:41:15,612 --> 00:41:17,255
arrived at these numbers, and that's

931
00:41:17,255 --> 00:41:19,103
precisely the challenge we're

932
00:41:19,103 --> 00:41:22,632
facing. And that's why we haven't drawn

933
00:41:22,632 --> 00:41:25,022
any conclusions regarding

934
00:41:25,022 --> 00:41:27,413
any particular block area

935
00:41:27,413 --> 00:41:29,803
, but I know this is one of those

936
00:41:29,803 --> 00:41:31,887
where The city has

937
00:41:31,887 --> 00:41:34,277
limited access when it comes to working

938
00:41:34,277 --> 00:41:36,606
with public areas

939
00:41:36,606 --> 00:41:38,813
regarding

940
00:41:38,813 --> 00:41:41,203
tree planting, but also with

941
00:41:41,203 --> 00:41:43,593
nature conservation work like they're

942
00:41:43,593 --> 00:41:45,677
doing in the city and are

943
00:41:45,677 --> 00:41:50,829
going to expand here as well. So

944
00:41:50,829 --> 00:41:53,868
that individuals can get a

945
00:41:53,868 --> 00:41:56,906
tree planting plan, which is

946
00:41:56,906 --> 00:41:59,789
relatively expensive for an individual,

947
00:41:59,789 --> 00:42:02,828
but it takes time to develop that whole

948
00:42:02,828 --> 00:42:05,243
process, and that's why we feel we

949
00:42:05,243 --> 00:42:10,789
need to continue expanding it to the

950
00:42:10,789 --> 00:42:12,725
block-by-

951
00:42:12,725 --> 00:42:14,937
block level instead of just a total census,

952
00:42:14,937 --> 00:42:17,039
which is too large an area to

953
00:42:17,039 --> 00:42:19,086
draw conclusions from, which will

954
00:42:19,086 --> 00:42:20,966
really help the people

955
00:42:20,966 --> 00:42:22,941
affected.

956
00:42:22,941 --> 00:42:26,032
Thank you for that. As I said when

957
00:42:26,032 --> 00:42:27,893
we were talking about the committee and all that,

958
00:42:27,893 --> 00:42:29,754
one of the biggest things with

959
00:42:29,754 --> 00:42:31,516
trees is that many

960
00:42:31,516 --> 00:42:33,132
local people just don't have the

961
00:42:33,132 --> 00:42:35,091
education about what they can plant in

962
00:42:35,091 --> 00:42:37,637
their yard, right? What won't

963
00:42:37,637 --> 00:42:39,654
affect their septic tank or their

964
00:42:39,654 --> 00:42:41,953
pipes? I can speak for myself. I

965
00:42:41,953 --> 00:42:43,259
love trees. I know what I

966
00:42:43,259 --> 00:42:44,796
want there. I want to get a

967
00:42:44,796 --> 00:42:46,273
mixed variety of species, but

968
00:42:46,273 --> 00:42:47,838
some people just don't

969
00:42:47,838 --> 00:42:49,549
. Sometimes, the obstacle isn't

970
00:42:49,549 --> 00:42:51,365
money. It's education about what I

971
00:42:51,365 --> 00:42:54,253
should put there. And that That's what I've

972
00:42:54,253 --> 00:42:55,712
seen in other cities where they've

973
00:42:55,712 --> 00:42:57,298
had days where people

974
00:42:57,298 --> 00:42:58,928
can come and pick up trees, and they

975
00:42:58,928 --> 00:43:00,558
advise them based on

976
00:43:00,558 --> 00:43:02,145
individual properties, going out and saying, "I know

977
00:43:02,145 --> 00:43:03,817
this yard would look good with X, Y,

978
00:43:03,817 --> 00:43:06,436
and Z." And people are receptive to that. I

979
00:43:06,436 --> 00:43:07,927
know I've been trying to look, you know

980
00:43:07,927 --> 00:43:09,232
, I live in a neighborhood where they

981
00:43:09,232 --> 00:43:10,723
just plowed up all the trees and

982
00:43:10,723 --> 00:43:12,177
built the houses, and that's what they were doing back

983
00:43:12,177 --> 00:43:13,983
then, right? And

984
00:43:13,983 --> 00:43:15,651
now we're realizing that's not

985
00:43:15,651 --> 00:43:17,111
the best thing, you know, so now

986
00:43:17,111 --> 00:43:18,738
they're looking at ways to rebuild it

987
00:43:18,738 --> 00:43:21,613
. So, thank you for that. Does this

988
00:43:21,613 --> 00:43:23,477
cover the whole city on this map

989
00:43:23,477 --> 00:43:25,679
you guys

990
00:43:25,679 --> 00:43:28,175
make? The data, but we don't really get

991
00:43:28,175 --> 00:43:30,111
involved in that particular thing

992
00:43:30,111 --> 00:43:32,440
when we go out and look at things.

993
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,620
Thank you.

994
00:43:35,620 --> 00:43:37,274
I just want everyone to know that

995
00:43:37,274 --> 00:43:38,929
Councilman Fitzgerald is here

996
00:43:38,929 --> 00:43:43,560
online. He got here at 7:06 p.m. It's

997
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:51,880
9 now. Any other questions?

998
00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:53,410
Before we get to you, Councilman

999
00:43:53,410 --> 00:43:59,135
Fitzgerald, do you have any questions? I don't

1000
00:43:59,135 --> 00:44:05,600
know. Councilor.

1001
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:07,201
He's online.

1002
00:44:07,201 --> 00:44:08,100
He's muted.

1003
00:44:08,100 --> 00:44:13,602
Yes. I don't know if that was a no.

1004
00:44:13,602 --> 00:44:24,941
Okay. I know I saw him go off. Okay

1005
00:44:24,941 --> 00:44:27,152
, I'll speak again if you want.

1006
00:44:27,152 --> 00:44:28,558
Council and Lawn Board for your second

1007
00:44:28,558 --> 00:44:28,900
turn.

1008
00:44:28,900 --> 00:44:31,075
Yes, and I just wanted to wrap up and say

1009
00:44:31,075 --> 00:44:33,369
that I think, uh, yes, there's definitely

1010
00:44:33,369 --> 00:44:35,840
some way to look at this. I appreciate

1011
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,850
everything you guys do. And I think there's a

1012
00:44:38,850 --> 00:44:41,345
lot to learn from, uh, you know,

1013
00:44:41,345 --> 00:44:43,908
just from the land we have and what we can

1014
00:44:43,908 --> 00:44:46,606
do, uh, and, uh, you know,

1015
00:44:46,606 --> 00:44:48,831
in any way that from my

1016
00:44:48,831 --> 00:44:51,394
perspective anyway, you know,

1017
00:44:51,394 --> 00:44:53,956
as a community we should be looking at ways

1018
00:44:53,956 --> 00:44:56,587
to support, uh, whether it's monetarily

1019
00:44:56,587 --> 00:44:59,839
or, uh, ways to contribute resources. My

1020
00:44:59,839 --> 00:45:01,604
other question is about composting,

1021
00:45:01,604 --> 00:45:03,323
when I know SCAR came in and they were

1022
00:45:03,323 --> 00:45:05,135
looking at different things, so one

1023
00:45:05,135 --> 00:45:06,947
state I looked at is, well, like you said

1024
00:45:06,947 --> 00:45:08,712
, they did all the restaurants,

1025
00:45:08,712 --> 00:45:10,292
which was huge, with Mystic, and I brought it up

1026
00:45:10,292 --> 00:45:12,630
in that meeting. Have we

1027
00:45:12,630 --> 00:45:15,706
considered EB and the subbase, as well as

1028
00:45:15,706 --> 00:45:18,531
the Collection points? There are a

1029
00:45:18,531 --> 00:45:20,298
huge number of facilities,

1030
00:45:20,298 --> 00:45:21,962
including Pfizer, and

1031
00:45:21,962 --> 00:45:23,729
we're partnering with them and starting to have

1032
00:45:23,729 --> 00:45:25,548
all those

1033
00:45:25,548 --> 00:45:28,295
necessary conversations.

1034
00:45:28,295 --> 00:45:30,410
Our Navy representative? I

1035
00:45:30,410 --> 00:45:33,777
have no idea. I haven't been involved in

1036
00:45:33,777 --> 00:45:36,242
the SCAR composting thing, but the

1037
00:45:36,242 --> 00:45:38,584
Navy has its own contracts, and,

1038
00:45:38,584 --> 00:45:40,865
well, I don't know, I don't see any

1039
00:45:40,865 --> 00:45:43,818
town-related things. I think they treat them like another

1040
00:45:43,818 --> 00:45:46,016
fire district, per se, as far as

1041
00:45:46,016 --> 00:45:48,551
that perspective goes. So,

1042
00:45:48,551 --> 00:45:51,622
you have to look into where they're going to

1043
00:45:51,622 --> 00:45:53,946
do it, but I don't know

1044
00:45:53,946 --> 00:45:56,951
personally or what... It gets

1045
00:45:56,951 --> 00:45:58,624
a little complicated because of safety and

1046
00:45:58,624 --> 00:46:00,297
other things being a bit far from

1047
00:46:00,297 --> 00:46:02,297
their property. So, and you're right

1048
00:46:02,297 --> 00:46:05,800
, they would do separate contracts. Well,

1049
00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:07,040
yes.

1050
00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:08,657
That's another issue that would be addressed

1051
00:46:08,657 --> 00:46:10,413
maybe later, once we've

1052
00:46:10,413 --> 00:46:12,822
established something. Then you can

1053
00:46:12,822 --> 00:46:14,381
say, "Hey, do you want to do something local

1054
00:46:14,381 --> 00:46:17,035
?" "Well, but I don't think we're having a

1055
00:46:17,035 --> 00:46:19,113
straightforward conversation

1056
00:46:19,113 --> 00:46:20,760
here."

1057
00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:22,964
Clear. Yes, and I looked at other cities that

1058
00:46:22,964 --> 00:46:24,442
have great facilities and

1059
00:46:24,442 --> 00:46:26,014
security, and it's a matter of

1060
00:46:26,014 --> 00:46:27,928
contract, right? In other words, someone

1061
00:46:27,928 --> 00:46:29,386
will come to collect the waste, no

1062
00:46:29,386 --> 00:46:31,597
matter who it is. Therefore, it's

1063
00:46:31,597 --> 00:46:33,488
just a matter of letting them know that

1064
00:46:33,488 --> 00:46:35,278
this possibility is emerging; it's

1065
00:46:35,278 --> 00:46:37,220
also good to know because they are

1066
00:46:37,220 --> 00:46:39,112
a major consumer of waste in the

1067
00:46:39,112 --> 00:46:42,482
area. And both are in Pfizer, EB and the

1068
00:46:42,482 --> 00:46:44,743
naval base is also on the

1069
00:46:44,743 --> 00:46:47,900
waterfront. Well, again, yes, they still

1070
00:46:47,900 --> 00:46:50,165
have garbage collection service

1071
00:46:50,165 --> 00:46:52,372
there, even though it's a

1072
00:46:52,372 --> 00:46:54,976
security facility. They have people who come to

1073
00:46:54,976 --> 00:46:56,582
repair the washing machines and dryers in

1074
00:46:56,582 --> 00:46:58,318
the barracks for the boys and girls

1075
00:46:58,318 --> 00:46:59,967
who are, you know, contractors outside

1076
00:46:59,967 --> 00:47:03,054
the Navy. But it would be good, sometimes I

1077
00:47:03,054 --> 00:47:06,033
think they forget. Always think, oh

1078
00:47:06,033 --> 00:47:07,624
, that's a closed facility

1079
00:47:07,624 --> 00:47:09,216
instead of saying, hey, and in the worst

1080
00:47:09,216 --> 00:47:10,894
case it never goes anywhere,

1081
00:47:10,894 --> 00:47:12,485
but I think we need to make sure we

1082
00:47:12,485 --> 00:47:14,206
include them in those discussions so they

1083
00:47:14,206 --> 00:47:15,539
know that this potential is

1084
00:47:15,539 --> 00:47:17,837
diminishing. The number of people they

1085
00:47:17,837 --> 00:47:19,718
feed in the kitchen there, and, you

1086
00:47:19,718 --> 00:47:21,648
know, EB and Pfizer, there's a lot of waste

1087
00:47:21,648 --> 00:47:23,530
and stuff that, you know, comes from

1088
00:47:23,530 --> 00:47:24,929
somewhere outside that base and is

1089
00:47:24,929 --> 00:47:26,570
transported directly out of

1090
00:47:26,570 --> 00:47:29,071
our community. And then, moving on to

1091
00:47:29,071 --> 00:47:30,654
military housing, that's

1092
00:47:30,654 --> 00:47:32,112
a large housing structure as

1093
00:47:32,112 --> 00:47:33,736
we begin to consider

1094
00:47:33,736 --> 00:47:36,204
residential housing. So, there's a lot to

1095
00:47:36,204 --> 00:47:37,904
think about and a lot of opportunities,

1096
00:47:37,904 --> 00:47:39,605
but again, thank you again for

1097
00:47:39,605 --> 00:47:41,447
everything you do and for being, you know,

1098
00:47:41,447 --> 00:47:42,817
just volunteering and

1099
00:47:42,817 --> 00:47:44,706
caring about our community and being such a

1100
00:47:44,706 --> 00:47:46,548
great advocate, as I feel this is

1101
00:47:46,548 --> 00:47:48,390
vital to our health and well-being

1102
00:47:48,390 --> 00:47:51,610
. It's not just the fun of walking

1103
00:47:51,610 --> 00:47:53,696
along those trails; it provides and gives

1104
00:47:53,696 --> 00:47:55,614
back many

1105
00:47:55,614 --> 00:48:00,280
health benefits. So, thank you.

1106
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:02,441
Councilman Jones for his second term.

1107
00:48:02,441 --> 00:48:04,425
Thank you, Madam Mayor. I only have

1108
00:48:04,425 --> 00:48:08,698
one question about page 30 of the

1109
00:48:08,698 --> 00:48:10,696
document. It supports the growth

1110
00:48:10,696 --> 00:48:12,960
of a healthier urban forest. It

1111
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:15,299
states here that the state objective

1112
00:48:15,299 --> 00:48:17,639
is a 5% increase by 2040 in

1113
00:48:17,639 --> 00:48:19,862
urban areas or areas designated for

1114
00:48:19,862 --> 00:48:22,144
environmental justice where current coverage is

1115
00:48:22,144 --> 00:48:24,869
less than 30%. So, does that

1116
00:48:24,869 --> 00:48:26,408
mean we're currently

1117
00:48:26,408 --> 00:48:28,127
working on the 30 by 30 plan, but

1118
00:48:28,127 --> 00:48:30,022
the state's target is 30%?

1119
00:48:30,022 --> 00:48:33,160
What does 35 mean, or what is that?

1120
00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:35,862
You're confusing the 30% here. The 30

1121
00:48:35,862 --> 00:48:40,055
% here is the canopy coverage.

1122
00:48:40,055 --> 00:48:42,136
OK? As opposed to how much

1123
00:48:42,136 --> 00:48:44,289
open space it is. Those are two

1124
00:48:44,289 --> 00:48:47,142
different things. All this is just talking

1125
00:48:47,142 --> 00:48:50,114
about the canopy. How much tree cover is

1126
00:48:50,114 --> 00:48:51,731
there on Earth?

1127
00:48:51,731 --> 00:48:52,419
And where?

1128
00:48:52,419 --> 00:48:54,807
is it? It doesn't matter where I am

1129
00:48:54,807 --> 00:48:55,107
.

1130
00:48:55,107 --> 00:48:58,540
So Groton isn't like 62%?

1131
00:48:58,540 --> 00:49:00,228
In total, this is how

1132
00:49:00,228 --> 00:49:01,916
they can break it down into these census

1133
00:49:01,916 --> 00:49:03,605
blocks because they have information

1134
00:49:03,605 --> 00:49:05,342
on environmental justice in the

1135
00:49:05,342 --> 00:49:08,560
census block area. OK?

1136
00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:10,574
But then, when we say what we've been

1137
00:49:10,574 --> 00:49:12,753
analyzing so far, you

1138
00:49:12,753 --> 00:49:14,767
know, if you look at a census block,

1139
00:49:14,767 --> 00:49:16,891
you have the Haley farm, Mortimer Wright

1140
00:49:16,891 --> 00:49:18,743
, the sheep farm, it's all

1141
00:49:18,743 --> 00:49:21,395
included there. So, how do you

1142
00:49:21,395 --> 00:49:23,411
balance that? Of course I have

1143
00:49:23,411 --> 00:49:25,245
100% coverage in terms of

1144
00:49:25,245 --> 00:49:27,412
vegetation cover in those areas because there are

1145
00:49:27,412 --> 00:49:29,487
no houses or anything. But then,

1146
00:49:29,487 --> 00:49:31,322
literally next door and halfway there

1147
00:49:31,322 --> 00:49:33,426
, or maybe you realize there are

1148
00:49:33,426 --> 00:49:35,584
n't a lot of trees in

1149
00:49:35,584 --> 00:49:38,500
that spot, okay? Are we

1150
00:49:38,500 --> 00:49:41,021
putting the trees where they need to be so

1151
00:49:41,021 --> 00:49:43,417
that the people we need

1152
00:49:43,417 --> 00:49:45,497
qualify for this

1153
00:49:45,497 --> 00:49:48,519
environmental justice category in that area?

1154
00:49:48,519 --> 00:49:50,385
So, you know, you can't just have

1155
00:49:50,385 --> 00:49:52,376
the numbers not

1156
00:49:52,376 --> 00:49:53,259
match.

1157
00:49:53,259 --> 00:49:54,735
Yes, you can't average over such a

1158
00:49:54,735 --> 00:49:56,602
large area. So, the

1159
00:49:56,602 --> 00:49:58,462
work effort was to divide it into

1160
00:49:58,462 --> 00:49:59,440
smaller components.

1161
00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:00,722
Environmental justice means that

1162
00:50:00,722 --> 00:50:02,334
everyone has the right to have a tree.

1163
00:50:02,334 --> 00:50:05,922
Is that right? Okay?

1164
00:50:05,922 --> 00:50:06,977
In the simplest terms. In the

1165
00:50:06,977 --> 00:50:07,710
simplest ones, yes.

1166
00:50:07,710 --> 00:50:10,022
You have tree cover and everyone

1167
00:50:10,057 --> 00:50:11,259
there has the right to tree cover.

1168
00:50:11,259 --> 00:50:15,689
In an ideal world, you know, everyone, if I walk out my door and I have

1169
00:50:15,689 --> 00:50:17,665
60% tree cover, no

1170
00:50:17,665 --> 00:50:20,000
matter what house you live in in Groton,

1171
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:23,123
okay? OK. That's not the reality

1172
00:50:23,123 --> 00:50:27,015
. Okay, I

1173
00:50:27,015 --> 00:50:29,682
'm just saying this is a goal, not

1174
00:50:29,682 --> 00:50:32,810
a requirement.

1175
00:50:32,810 --> 00:50:35,363
And I would point out that in most of

1176
00:50:35,363 --> 00:50:38,201
these there are no punitive measures if you don't do it

1177
00:50:38,201 --> 00:50:41,684
, which is interesting.

1178
00:50:41,684 --> 00:50:43,356
Please, could you help us do

1179
00:50:43,356 --> 00:50:45,167
this instead of not doing it? X

1180
00:50:45,167 --> 00:50:46,300
, Y, and Z pass.

1181
00:50:46,300 --> 00:50:48,281
So, Groton has 62, some

1182
00:50:48,281 --> 00:50:50,432
parts have 100, some have 60,

1183
00:50:50,432 --> 00:50:52,074
some have 20, yes, and if

1184
00:50:52,074 --> 00:50:53,828
basically what they want is

1185
00:50:53,828 --> 00:50:56,220
just to level this out a little more.

1186
00:50:56,220 --> 00:50:57,113
That's the goal.

1187
00:50:57,113 --> 00:50:58,291
And that's something we can

1188
00:50:58,291 --> 00:50:58,723
work on,

1189
00:50:58,723 --> 00:51:01,141
focusing first on the areas of

1190
00:51:01,141 --> 00:51:03,622
environmental justice because that's where

1191
00:51:03,622 --> 00:51:04,839
they wanted to start.

1192
00:51:04,839 --> 00:51:06,070
Okay. Okay,

1193
00:51:06,070 --> 00:51:07,709
to put it in perspective,

1194
00:51:07,709 --> 00:51:09,686
Connecticut is at 61%, so

1195
00:51:09,686 --> 00:51:11,890
Connecticut is well above the

1196
00:51:11,890 --> 00:51:13,811
national average and Groton is

1197
00:51:13,811 --> 00:51:16,061
above it, so we're doing pretty well. We're

1198
00:51:16,061 --> 00:51:17,078
not doing

1199
00:51:17,078 --> 00:51:17,896
badly.

1200
00:51:17,896 --> 00:51:20,173
Yes, no, I don't know, okay. Okay, thanks

1201
00:51:20,173 --> 00:51:25,040
.

1202
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:26,544
Councilman Fishcher, do you have something to

1203
00:51:26,544 --> 00:51:30,889
say to me?

1204
00:51:30,889 --> 00:51:32,419
Nothing for me, thank you.

1205
00:51:32,419 --> 00:51:35,007
Okay, thanks. Thanks, guys. Thanks

1206
00:51:35,007 --> 00:51:36,804
, guys, for coming this afternoon. Thank you

1207
00:51:36,804 --> 00:51:39,446
for your presentation and for giving us more

1208
00:51:39,446 --> 00:51:42,760
guidance. Thank you.

1209
00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:44,674
And we'll see you in the next

1210
00:51:44,674 --> 00:51:50,080
budget cycle.

1211
00:51:50,080 --> 00:51:58,147
Okay. Okay, the next item on the

1212
00:51:58,147 --> 00:52:00,947
agenda is 2026-829, the

1213
00:52:00,947 --> 00:52:04,076
job description for supervisor

1214
00:52:04,076 --> 00:52:07,123
355. I believe Director Green and

1215
00:52:07,123 --> 00:52:18,659
Director Berry are coming to the table.

1216
00:52:18,659 --> 00:52:20,277
Councilman, could you please read it

1217
00:52:20,277 --> 00:52:21,940
?

1218
00:52:21,940 --> 00:52:24,861
Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. I would

1219
00:52:24,861 --> 00:52:26,855
like to make a motion to

1220
00:52:26,855 --> 00:52:29,271
recommend a resolution to approve

1221
00:52:29,271 --> 00:52:31,628
the updated job description for

1222
00:52:31,628 --> 00:52:33,820
Thrive 55+ supervisor.

1223
00:52:33,820 --> 00:52:35,360
Second, Jones.

1224
00:52:35,360 --> 00:52:37,307
Motion presented by Bien, and Jones

1225
00:52:37,307 --> 00:52:38,880
supports it.

1226
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:39,954
Good night.

1227
00:52:39,954 --> 00:52:42,476
Hello. He already introduced us. Do you want us to do it

1228
00:52:42,476 --> 00:52:45,009
again? Okay. Well, we're

1229
00:52:45,009 --> 00:52:46,809
here, I hope, for a pretty

1230
00:52:46,809 --> 00:52:48,605
quick topic. This is just an update to

1231
00:52:48,605 --> 00:52:50,277
a currently posted job opening

1232
00:52:50,277 --> 00:52:52,972
. As most of you know,

1233
00:52:52,972 --> 00:52:54,468
a

1234
00:52:54,468 --> 00:52:56,006
team member who had held that position

1235
00:52:56,006 --> 00:52:59,626
for a long time recently retired. We just wanted to

1236
00:52:59,626 --> 00:53:01,693
clarify things for the candidates to

1237
00:53:01,693 --> 00:53:03,709
ensure that the

1238
00:53:03,709 --> 00:53:05,672
job description was aligned and gave them

1239
00:53:05,672 --> 00:53:07,429
the right information so

1240
00:53:07,429 --> 00:53:09,290
they could understand the expectations,

1241
00:53:09,290 --> 00:53:11,253
I would say, of the role and the direction it's

1242
00:53:11,253 --> 00:53:13,165
taking, making sure that we

1243
00:53:13,165 --> 00:53:14,871
continue to focus on

1244
00:53:14,871 --> 00:53:16,679
leadership and making that clear in the

1245
00:53:16,679 --> 00:53:20,170
job description.

1246
00:53:20,170 --> 00:53:22,880
Would you like to add anything? It

1247
00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:27,744
was quick. Yes, I think there were

1248
00:53:27,744 --> 00:53:30,080
some areas we tried to

1249
00:53:30,080 --> 00:53:34,181
focus on. One was the

1250
00:53:34,181 --> 00:53:36,149
additional responsibility of managing employee performance,

1251
00:53:36,149 --> 00:53:37,914
development, and coaching

1252
00:53:37,914 --> 00:53:42,162
. And also, you know, the

1253
00:53:42,162 --> 00:53:44,433
old description focused on the

1254
00:53:44,433 --> 00:53:46,703
supervision of programs and activities

1255
00:53:46,703 --> 00:53:49,031
, and we've tried to change that focus

1256
00:53:49,031 --> 00:53:53,480
to try to make everything fit now. And

1257
00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:55,658
we are also making a shift

1258
00:53:55,658 --> 00:53:57,533
towards performance-based results

1259
00:53:57,533 --> 00:54:01,181
. That would be one of the

1260
00:54:01,181 --> 00:54:05,400
new supervisor's responsibilities.

1261
00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:08,067
And we also changed the history a bit—

1262
00:54:08,067 --> 00:54:11,318
sorry, not the history of

1263
00:54:11,318 --> 00:54:14,069
their qualifications—to include

1264
00:54:14,069 --> 00:54:17,237
perhaps a degree in

1265
00:54:17,237 --> 00:54:20,488
public health administration or community health,

1266
00:54:20,488 --> 00:54:23,239
which previously focused more on

1267
00:54:23,239 --> 00:54:26,073
recreation. So we've tried to

1268
00:54:26,073 --> 00:54:28,587
update the job description

1269
00:54:28,587 --> 00:54:31,233
to better reflect where we are and where

1270
00:54:31,233 --> 00:54:37,550
we're headed.

1271
00:54:37,550 --> 00:54:40,693
Any questions? Councillor Bright?

1272
00:54:40,693 --> 00:54:41,952
Yes, just a couple of quick questions.

1273
00:54:41,952 --> 00:54:43,373
Thank you for preparing this, and just one

1274
00:54:43,373 --> 00:54:44,717
recommendation or request for the

1275
00:54:44,717 --> 00:54:46,100
future: if we could modify the

1276
00:54:46,100 --> 00:54:48,759
previous version. I

1277
00:54:48,759 --> 00:54:51,460
do it based on the level of change.

1278
00:54:51,460 --> 00:54:53,518
So, if I know that something has been

1279
00:54:53,518 --> 00:54:55,165
completely renovated, it wouldn't make

1280
00:54:55,165 --> 00:54:57,172
sense because 90% of it would be

1281
00:54:57,172 --> 00:54:59,926
modified. So this had

1282
00:54:59,926 --> 00:55:01,820
enough improvements to warrant leaving it

1283
00:55:01,820 --> 00:55:03,665
separate so you could see in its

1284
00:55:03,665 --> 00:55:06,360
entirety what it is and how it turned out.

1285
00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:07,864
So, I make that assessment based

1286
00:55:07,864 --> 00:55:09,590
on how much change there is and

1287
00:55:09,590 --> 00:55:11,315
how digestible it is for people

1288
00:55:11,315 --> 00:55:11,860
. Just

1289
00:55:11,860 --> 00:55:13,190
a suggestion because it's easier to

1290
00:55:13,190 --> 00:55:14,453
check if you see the red line, that's

1291
00:55:14,453 --> 00:55:16,540
all. But I did the review. I like

1292
00:55:16,540 --> 00:55:18,611
what you're adding in terms of

1293
00:55:18,611 --> 00:55:20,476
additional qualifications, but my

1294
00:55:20,476 --> 00:55:22,392
main question is about level 5 to

1295
00:55:22,392 --> 00:55:24,360
level 9—how much does that change, and what

1296
00:55:24,360 --> 00:55:26,200
's the additional compensation?

1297
00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:27,942
So, I think the

1298
00:55:27,942 --> 00:55:29,639
overview indicates that there are no

1299
00:55:29,639 --> 00:55:31,456
changes. Then, you may recall that

1300
00:55:31,456 --> 00:55:33,310
we made an adjustment to the payment plan

1301
00:55:33,310 --> 00:55:35,165
a couple of years ago, so the

1302
00:55:35,165 --> 00:55:37,437
numbering system changed. So, that

1303
00:55:37,437 --> 00:55:39,494
just reflects the equivalent number in

1304
00:55:39,494 --> 00:55:41,352
the payment plan. There is no

1305
00:55:41,352 --> 00:55:42,889
salary change with respect to what was

1306
00:55:42,889 --> 00:55:44,697
approved and presented to the board the

1307
00:55:44,697 --> 00:55:45,475
last few times.

1308
00:55:45,475 --> 00:55:47,360
OK. Thank you for the clarification.

1309
00:55:47,360 --> 00:55:49,775
That's the only question I have.

1310
00:55:49,775 --> 00:55:57,378
Any other help? I don't see any hands. I

1311
00:55:57,378 --> 00:55:59,612
have to take a roll call vote

1312
00:55:59,612 --> 00:56:01,846
since the Fitzgerald Council is

1313
00:56:01,846 --> 00:56:06,004
online. Councillor's Desk.

1314
00:56:06,004 --> 00:56:08,198
Yes. Board Council.

1315
00:56:08,198 --> 00:56:09,020
Yes.

1316
00:56:09,020 --> 00:56:10,740
Councilor Fitzgerald.

1317
00:56:10,740 --> 00:56:11,255
Yes.

1318
00:56:11,255 --> 00:56:12,560
Councilor Good.

1319
00:56:12,560 --> 00:56:13,832
I.

1320
00:56:13,832 --> 00:56:14,809
Councilman Jones.

1321
00:56:14,809 --> 00:56:16,102
Yes.

1322
00:56:16,102 --> 00:56:17,159
Councilor McBride.

1323
00:56:17,159 --> 00:56:18,043
Yes.

1324
00:56:18,043 --> 00:56:19,099
Councilor Merritt.

1325
00:56:19,099 --> 00:56:19,701
Yes.

1326
00:56:19,701 --> 00:56:20,740
Councilor Piccinino.

1327
00:56:20,740 --> 00:56:21,500
Yes.

1328
00:56:21,500 --> 00:56:24,569
And I'm a yes, so it's nine to

1329
00:56:24,569 --> 00:56:27,216
zero to zero. Thanks, guys, for coming

1330
00:56:27,216 --> 00:56:28,840
.

1331
00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:33,779
Thank you.

1332
00:56:33,779 --> 00:56:45,602
Okay. Alright, our last item

1333
00:56:45,602 --> 00:56:47,652
of the afternoon is 2026-834, the

1334
00:56:47,652 --> 00:56:49,921
relocation of

1335
00:56:49,921 --> 00:56:52,702
polling places in District 7, and we have

1336
00:56:52,702 --> 00:56:55,557
our registered voter Kristen Ben

1337
00:56:55,557 --> 00:56:58,300
Diddy, because I was going to say it wrong.

1338
00:56:58,300 --> 00:57:02,642
Thank you. Oh, there's no excitement for Vaden

1339
00:57:02,642 --> 00:57:06,566
Vance. Okay, so the presentation.

1340
00:57:06,566 --> 00:57:09,257
Well, there isn't a real presentation.

1341
00:57:09,257 --> 00:57:12,233
It's just information. We don't have

1342
00:57:12,233 --> 00:57:14,109
any metrics or anything to base our analysis on

1343
00:57:14,109 --> 00:57:17,786
. However, two years ago it

1344
00:57:17,786 --> 00:57:20,069
was very hot in Fitch's gym

1345
00:57:20,069 --> 00:57:22,351
and we tried to move to the

1346
00:57:22,351 --> 00:57:24,696
cafeteria, but it wasn't much

1347
00:57:24,696 --> 00:57:27,102
cooler because they didn't originally have

1348
00:57:27,102 --> 00:57:29,446
the air conditioning on and that's

1349
00:57:29,446 --> 00:57:32,913
a big room. Anyway, we can't

1350
00:57:32,913 --> 00:57:34,886
use the cafeteria just to

1351
00:57:34,886 --> 00:57:37,020
get that off your mind because when there are

1352
00:57:37,020 --> 00:57:38,726
classes, like for the

1353
00:57:38,726 --> 00:57:40,646
September primaries, we can't

1354
00:57:40,646 --> 00:57:42,246
use the cafeteria because the

1355
00:57:42,246 --> 00:57:45,600
students need to eat there. So

1356
00:57:45,600 --> 00:57:48,130
we used the gym. The gym does not

1357
00:57:48,130 --> 00:57:51,950
have air conditioning. And two

1358
00:57:51,950 --> 00:57:57,539
years ago, someone fainted there.

1359
00:57:57,539 --> 00:57:59,934
She was taken to the emergency room and

1360
00:57:59,934 --> 00:58:02,265
she was fine, but it was partly

1361
00:58:02,265 --> 00:58:04,726
due to the heat there and the

1362
00:58:04,726 --> 00:58:06,992
stress that the whole situation

1363
00:58:06,992 --> 00:58:11,191
caused her. The other problem from

1364
00:58:11,191 --> 00:58:12,819
two years ago was that we had the

1365
00:58:12,819 --> 00:58:14,599
oldest machines, which now

1366
00:58:14,599 --> 00:58:16,379
have new tabulators, but the

1367
00:58:16,379 --> 00:58:20,419
oldest machine melted down.

1368
00:58:20,419 --> 00:58:22,775
They were old, so, you know, it worked

1369
00:58:22,775 --> 00:58:25,191
, but they jammed because the plastic

1370
00:58:25,191 --> 00:58:27,124
literally melted in the

1371
00:58:27,124 --> 00:58:30,950
machine, and we lost that machine. It doesn't

1372
00:58:30,950 --> 00:58:32,461
matter because now we have

1373
00:58:32,461 --> 00:58:34,175
new ones. However, just to give you

1374
00:58:34,175 --> 00:58:35,912
an idea of ​​how hot it is in

1375
00:58:35,912 --> 00:58:39,048
the gym. This year I bought a

1376
00:58:39,048 --> 00:58:40,696
bunch of fans to put

1377
00:58:40,696 --> 00:58:43,425
there. Not many, probably about

1378
00:58:43,425 --> 00:58:46,200
eight. And we thought that Mary Morrison maybe did

1379
00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:47,799
n't have air conditioning.

1380
00:58:47,799 --> 00:58:50,078
So when they found out they were

1381
00:58:50,078 --> 00:58:53,858
doing that, I put them all on Fitch. And my

1382
00:58:53,858 --> 00:58:58,940
moderator arrived around 8:30.

1383
00:58:58,940 --> 00:59:01,093
She was soaked. Her hair was

1384
00:59:01,093 --> 00:59:03,343
practically soaked. You know, I don't

1385
00:59:03,343 --> 00:59:04,985
think it was leaking at that

1386
00:59:04,985 --> 00:59:06,861
point, but it had been there since

1387
00:59:06,861 --> 00:59:10,619
5:00 a.m. m. until 8:15 p.m. m. It

1388
00:59:10,619 --> 00:59:12,366
was too hot in there and the

1389
00:59:12,366 --> 00:59:14,062
fans weren't very helpful

1390
00:59:14,062 --> 00:59:17,232
because it's a very large room. We talked

1391
00:59:17,232 --> 00:59:19,602
amongst ourselves about buying some

1392
00:59:19,602 --> 00:59:21,906
portable air conditioners, but

1393
00:59:21,906 --> 00:59:24,474
we would need so many that it simply does

1394
00:59:24,474 --> 00:59:27,042
n't make sense to have them for just one

1395
00:59:27,042 --> 00:59:31,955
day every two years. Or every year

1396
00:59:31,955 --> 00:59:34,189
if we had primaries during

1397
00:59:34,189 --> 00:59:36,911
municipal hours, as we have done

1398
00:59:36,911 --> 00:59:41,150
in the past. So, my

1399
00:59:41,150 --> 00:59:44,783
recommendation or my point of discussion

1400
00:59:44,783 --> 00:59:48,861
, I suppose, is to move that. I had already

1401
00:59:48,861 --> 00:59:51,507
researched the high school

1402
00:59:51,507 --> 00:59:53,889
when it first opened, and I don't

1403
00:59:53,889 --> 00:59:56,336
remember what they said, but it wasn't

1404
00:59:56,336 --> 01:00:04,360
viable. So, he didn't go near that.

1405
01:00:04,360 --> 01:00:05,952
When I mentioned this to the

1406
01:00:05,952 --> 01:00:08,133
city manager, Burt, he

1407
01:00:08,133 --> 01:00:10,492
said, "Well, what about the

1408
01:00:10,492 --> 01:00:12,864
community center? If we could put an

1409
01:00:12,864 --> 01:00:14,740
air-conditioned gym there, would you

1410
01:00:14,740 --> 01:00:16,877
use it?" And I said to him, "Well,

1411
01:00:16,877 --> 01:00:20,263
we could." We could get permission

1412
01:00:20,263 --> 01:00:22,817
to do it, but it's not in Ward

1413
01:00:22,817 --> 01:00:25,372
7. And they don't really like the status—

1414
01:00:25,372 --> 01:00:27,735
in this case, they really don't like

1415
01:00:27,735 --> 01:00:29,778
the polling place being

1416
01:00:29,778 --> 01:00:32,077
permanently outside the ward—

1417
01:00:32,077 --> 01:00:37,139
but it's allowed. And then my

1418
01:00:37,139 --> 01:00:41,653
question to the city manager,

1419
01:00:41,653 --> 01:00:45,299
Burt, was: Could we use this room?

1420
01:00:45,299 --> 01:00:47,566
And I know we were here before we

1421
01:00:47,566 --> 01:00:49,964
moved back to Fitch a while back, and the

1422
01:00:49,964 --> 01:00:52,426
problem was the lines in

1423
01:00:52,426 --> 01:00:55,599
the hallway. But I figured if

1424
01:00:55,599 --> 01:00:57,653
we used that door as the entrance, the

1425
01:00:57,653 --> 01:01:00,073
lines would be outside. We could

1426
01:01:00,073 --> 01:01:02,208
put up tents if it rained or whatever

1427
01:01:02,208 --> 01:01:05,237
. Nothing's perfect, but it would be

1428
01:01:05,237 --> 01:01:08,169
better, and then people would just be coming

1429
01:01:08,169 --> 01:01:11,027
out that way, so there wouldn't be any

1430
01:01:11,027 --> 01:01:13,739
conflicts with staff and

1431
01:01:13,739 --> 01:01:17,944
visitors. So it's all verbal

1432
01:01:17,944 --> 01:01:19,742
. That's my presentation, but I

1433
01:01:19,742 --> 01:01:21,774
really think we have to move it

1434
01:01:21,774 --> 01:01:23,663
somehow,

1435
01:01:23,663 --> 01:01:24,820
Mr. Burt. I

1436
01:01:24,820 --> 01:01:26,522
just want to add that I spoke with

1437
01:01:26,522 --> 01:01:28,315
Principal Ryner about this, and I spoke

1438
01:01:28,315 --> 01:01:30,107
with the staff who were here

1439
01:01:30,107 --> 01:01:33,571
at the time. Even though it was

1440
01:01:33,571 --> 01:01:35,049
congested, we believe we can

1441
01:01:35,049 --> 01:01:36,655
make it work if that's the

1442
01:01:36,655 --> 01:01:39,020
council's wish. Is that

1443
01:01:39,020 --> 01:01:40,925
okay? The council?

1444
01:01:40,925 --> 01:01:43,060
Are you asking for this just for the

1445
01:01:43,060 --> 01:01:45,572
primaries, not for November, or just a

1446
01:01:45,572 --> 01:01:47,380
complete move?

1447
01:01:47,380 --> 01:01:49,353
I would love it if it were just for the

1448
01:01:49,353 --> 01:01:52,435
primaries. However, moving a

1449
01:01:52,435 --> 01:01:54,950
polling place is very, very confusing

1450
01:01:54,950 --> 01:01:58,580
for most voters.

1451
01:01:58,580 --> 01:02:00,876
When we moved from here to Fitch,

1452
01:02:00,876 --> 01:02:03,173
there were angry people coming into the

1453
01:02:03,173 --> 01:02:05,407
building saying, "I always vote

1454
01:02:05,407 --> 01:02:08,179
here." Why don't I vote here? "It

1455
01:02:08,179 --> 01:02:09,687
took them a while to get used to it. They're

1456
01:02:09,687 --> 01:02:11,438
still not used to going to

1457
01:02:11,438 --> 01:02:13,451
the gym. You know, we have a

1458
01:02:13,451 --> 01:02:15,278
huge sign we put up there and people

1459
01:02:15,278 --> 01:02:17,058
keep calling saying, 'I couldn't

1460
01:02:17,058 --> 01:02:18,600
find the place.'" The door was

1461
01:02:18,600 --> 01:02:20,312
locked. "They were on the

1462
01:02:20,312 --> 01:02:22,997
cafeteria side. So it's very

1463
01:02:22,997 --> 01:02:25,598
confusing to move them, which is also

1464
01:02:25,598 --> 01:02:27,994
why in the past,

1465
01:02:27,994 --> 01:02:30,527
when we had a couple of referendums,

1466
01:02:30,527 --> 01:02:33,060
probably about 10 years ago, we didn't

1467
01:02:33,060 --> 01:02:35,659
change the locations. We held the

1468
01:02:35,659 --> 01:02:37,676
referendums in all seven because, at that

1469
01:02:37,676 --> 01:02:41,592
time, I think we had eight. But

1470
01:02:41,592 --> 01:02:43,575
we did it because it's very confusing, and

1471
01:02:43,575 --> 01:02:45,615
people don't, you know, vote once a

1472
01:02:45,615 --> 01:02:49,700
year. To give you another example of

1473
01:02:49,700 --> 01:02:52,952
voter confusion, when

1474
01:02:52,952 --> 01:02:54,401
early voting started,

1475
01:02:54,401 --> 01:02:55,679
we have the early voting location

1476
01:02:55,679 --> 01:02:57,214
in our office at the

1477
01:02:57,214 --> 01:02:58,705
community center, and, you know,

1478
01:02:58,705 --> 01:03:00,340
people were getting used to that.

1479
01:03:00,340 --> 01:03:02,858
We put up big signs so they would know,

1480
01:03:02,858 --> 01:03:05,240
and, you know, we had

1481
01:03:05,240 --> 01:03:07,690
people there separated by districts,

1482
01:03:07,690 --> 01:03:09,868
especially for the last

1483
01:03:09,868 --> 01:03:12,590
election, and we would come up and say, '

1484
01:03:12,590 --> 01:03:15,244
So, do you know where you normally vote?'"

1485
01:03:15,244 --> 01:03:18,560
"And they were saying, 'I vote here.'

1486
01:03:18,560 --> 01:03:20,191
Well, you know, it's all

1487
01:03:20,191 --> 01:03:21,655
confusing for them because they don't think about it,

1488
01:03:21,655 --> 01:03:24,194
except that today I have to vote. I'm going

1489
01:03:24,194 --> 01:03:27,053
to turn around and vote. Well,

1490
01:03:27,053 --> 01:03:29,486
actually, I wouldn't like to do that

1491
01:03:29,486 --> 01:03:30,060
.

1492
01:03:30,060 --> 01:03:32,520
Okay. Thank you.

1493
01:03:32,520 --> 01:03:34,480
Okay. Councillor London and Councillor

1494
01:03:34,480 --> 01:03:35,260
McBride.

1495
01:03:35,260 --> 01:03:39,509
Thank you. Yes, I think this makes more

1496
01:03:39,509 --> 01:03:40,879
sense because it's literally across

1497
01:03:40,879 --> 01:03:42,286
the road and it will be going back to its

1498
01:03:42,286 --> 01:03:45,763
original state. I think it might be

1499
01:03:45,763 --> 01:03:47,758
necessary to hire staff and certainly have

1500
01:03:47,758 --> 01:03:49,807
proper signage on the

1501
01:03:49,807 --> 01:03:51,913
corner on election day and maybe

1502
01:03:51,913 --> 01:03:54,235
someone on site. I would

1503
01:03:54,235 --> 01:03:56,000
fully support us having

1504
01:03:56,000 --> 01:03:57,765
someone for the first round, you know

1505
01:03:57,765 --> 01:03:59,530
, stationed there periodically to

1506
01:03:59,530 --> 01:04:01,294
help people with the signage

1507
01:04:01,294 --> 01:04:04,246
. Another motivation that has

1508
01:04:04,246 --> 01:04:06,079
led me to want it back here is

1509
01:04:06,079 --> 01:04:08,061
that many times, you know, people—and I know a

1510
01:04:08,061 --> 01:04:09,994
lot of people who have

1511
01:04:09,994 --> 01:04:11,877
volunteered over the years we

1512
01:04:11,877 --> 01:04:13,859
've worked at the stations, and

1513
01:04:13,859 --> 01:04:15,792
people who live in this borough—say it's

1514
01:04:15,792 --> 01:04:19,480
not very accessible. You can park

1515
01:04:19,480 --> 01:04:21,861
on that high curb. I don't know if You had

1516
01:04:21,861 --> 01:04:23,402
kids at Fitch, you know where the

1517
01:04:23,402 --> 01:04:25,024
little round thing is, and you can get there, but it's not

1518
01:04:25,024 --> 01:04:26,646
a straight path for people

1519
01:04:26,646 --> 01:04:28,652
walking. It's a long walk for

1520
01:04:28,652 --> 01:04:30,612
disabled people, and I don't know

1521
01:04:30,612 --> 01:04:32,724
how many complaints I've received. People

1522
01:04:32,724 --> 01:04:34,220
even stand out there saying it's

1523
01:04:34,220 --> 01:04:35,757
ridiculous, that it's too

1524
01:04:35,757 --> 01:04:37,988
far. If they park in the

1525
01:04:37,988 --> 01:04:39,784
disabled spot, they have to go up the

1526
01:04:39,784 --> 01:04:41,202
stairs. And I see people with their

1527
01:04:41,202 --> 01:04:43,780
walkers about to fall over. I love

1528
01:04:43,780 --> 01:04:45,790
this place because it's flat and you can

1529
01:04:45,790 --> 01:04:47,906
get in and out, and anyone with a

1530
01:04:47,906 --> 01:04:50,022
disability doesn't have to walk far to

1531
01:04:50,022 --> 01:04:52,538
get in and out. As for the

1532
01:04:52,538 --> 01:04:53,814
concern about the heating, that

1533
01:04:53,814 --> 01:04:55,312
's another reason, isn't it? Well, now it's

1534
01:04:55,312 --> 01:04:57,029
definitely on my list.

1535
01:04:57,029 --> 01:04:58,663
I'll also talk to the Board of

1536
01:04:58,663 --> 01:05:00,394
Education because the weather is getting

1537
01:05:00,394 --> 01:05:01,932
warmer, and how do

1538
01:05:01,932 --> 01:05:03,711
our students survive in that gym

1539
01:05:03,711 --> 01:05:05,537
all year round when summer comes and

1540
01:05:05,537 --> 01:05:07,172
the temperature reaches 85, 90

1541
01:05:07,172 --> 01:05:09,090
degrees? I worry about our

1542
01:05:09,090 --> 01:05:10,409
athletes running and playing in that

1543
01:05:10,409 --> 01:05:12,213
gym. We should think about that.

1544
01:05:12,213 --> 01:05:13,468
So, maybe the Board of

1545
01:05:13,468 --> 01:05:14,932
Education will try to get some

1546
01:05:14,932 --> 01:05:16,480
funding or a grant to

1547
01:05:16,480 --> 01:05:18,070
install air conditioning and maybe

1548
01:05:18,070 --> 01:05:19,408
more It might be possible to reinstall it later

1549
01:05:19,408 --> 01:05:21,082
, but in the meantime, I think

1550
01:05:21,082 --> 01:05:22,630
this is the best location, and I think it's

1551
01:05:22,630 --> 01:05:24,261
a no-brainer because it's literally a

1552
01:05:24,261 --> 01:05:25,940
stone's throw away. It's within the

1553
01:05:25,940 --> 01:05:28,144
borough, right? But if we're going to

1554
01:05:28,144 --> 01:05:29,910
do this, we have to act quickly

1555
01:05:29,910 --> 01:05:31,721
because I see the

1556
01:05:31,721 --> 01:05:33,350
disenfranchisement, and I think the timing needs to be

1557
01:05:33,350 --> 01:05:34,890
fast, and the marketing needs to be

1558
01:05:34,890 --> 01:05:37,123
available now. It should be on

1559
01:05:37,123 --> 01:05:38,983
all social media. Obviously, there has to

1560
01:05:38,983 --> 01:05:40,249
be something in the newspaper.

1561
01:05:40,249 --> 01:05:41,598
Signs should start appearing.

1562
01:05:41,598 --> 01:05:43,306
Things should start happening

1563
01:05:43,306 --> 01:05:46,007
immediately. It should be all over the

1564
01:05:46,007 --> 01:05:47,859
city website, everywhere, you

1565
01:05:47,859 --> 01:05:49,822
know, on Channel 19, whatever.

1566
01:05:49,822 --> 01:05:51,031
We have to inform people

1567
01:05:51,031 --> 01:05:52,549
immediately. Well, that's what I'm trying to

1568
01:05:52,549 --> 01:05:54,935
say. But, of course, I'm also

1569
01:05:54,935 --> 01:05:56,806
concerned about the children in Fitch, because I

1570
01:05:56,806 --> 01:05:58,678
've heard people tell me that they also

1571
01:05:58,678 --> 01:06:00,647
went to a basketball game or

1572
01:06:00,647 --> 01:06:02,568
something and got dizzy there for

1573
01:06:02,568 --> 01:06:05,608
the events. And what about our

1574
01:06:05,608 --> 01:06:07,398
children, too? With

1575
01:06:07,398 --> 01:06:08,868
special needs, disabilities, and other

1576
01:06:08,868 --> 01:06:10,928
conditions. So, to me, it makes

1577
01:06:10,928 --> 01:06:14,019
sense. We don't know what the

1578
01:06:14,019 --> 01:06:15,579
future holds, but I think this It's just

1579
01:06:15,579 --> 01:06:18,232
across the street, it's flat. In

1580
01:06:18,232 --> 01:06:19,409
fact, it could make voting

1581
01:06:19,409 --> 01:06:20,648
faster because you can get in

1582
01:06:20,648 --> 01:06:22,126
quicker. I mean, you don't have to

1583
01:06:22,126 --> 01:06:24,399
park much farther away. And it's

1584
01:06:24,399 --> 01:06:25,690
important that people can

1585
01:06:25,690 --> 01:06:27,145
comfortably get to the restroom, right? All

1586
01:06:27,145 --> 01:06:29,332
the things people need. So it

1587
01:06:29,332 --> 01:06:31,309
would be important to consider that

1588
01:06:31,309 --> 01:06:33,980
. Okay, I took my notes. What's the

1589
01:06:33,980 --> 01:06:35,360
...? My question is, when do we think

1590
01:06:35,360 --> 01:06:36,707
this would be from the time

1591
01:06:36,707 --> 01:06:37,785
we decide tonight when it would be

1592
01:06:37,785 --> 01:06:38,980
posted?

1593
01:06:38,980 --> 01:06:42,865
Well, it wouldn't happen for this

1594
01:06:42,865 --> 01:06:45,259
election. It's too late. It would be

1595
01:06:45,259 --> 01:06:47,058
too confusing. We have to

1596
01:06:47,058 --> 01:06:49,132
notify every single person in

1597
01:06:49,132 --> 01:06:51,154
the ward by mail that their polling place has

1598
01:06:51,154 --> 01:06:53,868
changed. So, we're waiting for

1599
01:06:53,868 --> 01:06:56,128
the next election, and as of

1600
01:06:56,128 --> 01:06:57,867
now, next November.

1601
01:06:57,867 --> 01:06:59,540
Perfect. Thank you.

1602
01:06:59,540 --> 01:07:01,010
So, there's plenty of time to

1603
01:07:01,010 --> 01:07:02,801
post everything and put up signs all the

1604
01:07:02,801 --> 01:07:05,845
time, and yes, definitely.

1605
01:07:05,845 --> 01:07:06,799
Councillor McBride?

1606
01:07:06,799 --> 01:07:08,443
Yes, thank you. No, I also support this

1607
01:07:08,443 --> 01:07:09,986
for many reasons, Councillor Portalatin

1608
01:07:09,986 --> 01:07:12,949
. That area is quite far away, and if there's a

1609
01:07:12,949 --> 01:07:15,545
lot of traffic here and further out, it's

1610
01:07:15,545 --> 01:07:18,260
a tremendously long walk. The

1611
01:07:18,260 --> 01:07:19,673
hills and steps are too

1612
01:07:19,673 --> 01:07:20,791
far. So, I fully support this,

1613
01:07:20,791 --> 01:07:22,114
and I think there's plenty of

1614
01:07:22,114 --> 01:07:23,589
room here where you can form a

1615
01:07:23,589 --> 01:07:24,915
walking queue. So, I

1616
01:07:24,915 --> 01:07:26,124
fully support it. I think it's a great

1617
01:07:26,124 --> 01:07:29,239
idea. Thank you for proposing it.

1618
01:07:29,239 --> 01:07:31,561
Councillor Jones, then Councillor Good.

1619
01:07:31,561 --> 01:07:33,875
Thank you, Madam Mayor. Can you

1620
01:07:33,875 --> 01:07:35,923
tell us a little bit about why it

1621
01:07:35,923 --> 01:07:38,779
moved from here to Fitch? It

1622
01:07:38,779 --> 01:07:40,738
was originally on Fitch all the

1623
01:07:40,738 --> 01:07:43,591
time. I don't know why it moved

1624
01:07:43,591 --> 01:07:48,300
here. That was before I was a

1625
01:07:48,300 --> 01:07:51,964
moderator. I was a moderator in the building,

1626
01:07:51,964 --> 01:07:54,444
and then it moved back to Fitch

1627
01:07:54,444 --> 01:07:56,925
after...because what I heard—

1628
01:07:56,925 --> 01:07:59,275
now, if it's true, I didn't hear from the

1629
01:07:59,275 --> 01:08:01,690
townspeople who work in this

1630
01:08:01,690 --> 01:08:03,975
building—was that they were having

1631
01:08:03,975 --> 01:08:06,521
congestion issues and didn't like being

1632
01:08:06,521 --> 01:08:09,132
here because of, you know, the

1633
01:08:09,132 --> 01:08:11,675
presidential election, when people

1634
01:08:11,675 --> 01:08:13,489
were waiting in the hall, and other people

1635
01:08:13,489 --> 01:08:14,940
were trying to get in, and people were getting

1636
01:08:14,940 --> 01:08:16,754
angry at them for cutting in

1637
01:08:16,754 --> 01:08:18,523
line even though they weren't in line

1638
01:08:18,523 --> 01:08:21,132
. That sort of thing is what I heard

1639
01:08:21,132 --> 01:08:23,049
in the rumor about why it moved back

1640
01:08:23,049 --> 01:08:25,399
to Fitch. I

1641
01:08:25,399 --> 01:08:27,047
like your idea. to move it to the other

1642
01:08:27,047 --> 01:08:29,131
door. That eliminates the problem of

1643
01:08:29,131 --> 01:08:34,242
people simply leaving. I assume

1644
01:08:34,242 --> 01:08:36,063
, as a staff member, you're thinking about

1645
01:08:36,063 --> 01:08:37,980
this room, which means it needs to be

1646
01:08:37,980 --> 01:08:40,219
reconfigured. Is that something you anticipate

1647
01:08:40,219 --> 01:08:43,786
your staff

1648
01:08:43,786 --> 01:08:45,380
or Public Works or someone else will do?

1649
01:08:45,380 --> 01:08:47,142
No, our staff set up the

1650
01:08:47,142 --> 01:08:49,172
polling stations every day,

1651
01:08:49,172 --> 01:08:51,255
what they need for that day, and then they

1652
01:08:51,255 --> 01:08:53,178
put it all back at the end of the

1653
01:08:53,178 --> 01:08:55,234
night. We have workers who come in; we

1654
01:08:55,234 --> 01:08:56,869
usually have seven or eight

1655
01:08:56,869 --> 01:08:58,851
workers, depending on how busy

1656
01:08:58,851 --> 01:09:01,365
the election is projected to be. So

1657
01:09:01,365 --> 01:09:03,178
we have plenty of people to move the

1658
01:09:03,178 --> 01:09:05,225
tables around and set them up the way we want.

1659
01:09:05,225 --> 01:09:06,596
So you can take care of all

1660
01:09:06,596 --> 01:09:09,968
that. Madam Mayor, do we need

1661
01:09:09,968 --> 01:09:12,449
a motion for this? Yes.

1662
01:09:12,449 --> 01:09:14,515
Okay.

1663
01:09:14,515 --> 01:09:16,405
Can I ask the Council to approve it, and

1664
01:09:16,405 --> 01:09:17,959
then we'll move on to a motion?

1665
01:09:17,959 --> 01:09:19,839
Okay. Is that

1666
01:09:19,839 --> 01:09:20,560
all set?

1667
01:09:20,560 --> 01:09:20,900
Yes.

1668
01:09:20,900 --> 01:09:21,829
Okay. I

1669
01:09:21,829 --> 01:09:23,488
was going to make a motion for the

1670
01:09:23,488 --> 01:09:24,159
Council...

1671
01:09:24,159 --> 01:09:24,879
Okay.

1672
01:09:24,879 --> 01:09:27,281
Jones can go ahead.

1673
01:09:27,281 --> 01:09:28,464
Just a reminder, I need to

1674
01:09:28,464 --> 01:09:29,151
make a note of that.

1675
01:09:29,151 --> 01:09:31,857
Very good. Oh. Borough Manager

1676
01:09:31,857 --> 01:09:32,942
, Bert, you may have to help me

1677
01:09:32,942 --> 01:09:36,248
with this. A motion So... or is it a

1678
01:09:36,248 --> 01:09:38,129
simple motion to move the

1679
01:09:38,129 --> 01:09:40,352
District 7 polling place from

1680
01:09:40,352 --> 01:09:42,518
Fitch High School to the

1681
01:09:42,518 --> 01:09:43,960
City Hall Annex?

1682
01:09:43,960 --> 01:09:44,720
Second.

1683
01:09:44,720 --> 01:09:46,603
Beginning with the

1684
01:09:46,603 --> 01:09:49,023
2027 election cycle. Yes.

1685
01:09:49,023 --> 01:09:52,000
That includes the primaries as well.

1686
01:09:52,000 --> 01:09:53,578
Yes, 2027 leaves it open in case there's a

1687
01:09:53,578 --> 01:09:55,200
special election or

1688
01:09:55,200 --> 01:09:56,864
something, and as soon as this

1689
01:09:56,864 --> 01:09:58,570
election is over, we can start notifying

1690
01:09:58,570 --> 01:10:01,291
people. So, you know,

1691
01:10:01,291 --> 01:10:02,754
notices can be sent out in

1692
01:10:02,754 --> 01:10:04,431
December just in case something comes up like it

1693
01:10:04,431 --> 01:10:06,109
did in February for the

1694
01:10:06,109 --> 01:10:07,773
special election we had.

1695
01:10:07,773 --> 01:10:08,919
Can you repeat that, please?

1696
01:10:08,919 --> 01:10:14,475
So, a motion to move...

1697
01:10:14,475 --> 01:10:16,419
the

1698
01:10:16,419 --> 01:10:21,459
location of the District 7 polling place

1699
01:10:22,124 --> 01:10:26,451
from Fitch High School to the

1700
01:10:26,451 --> 01:10:30,562
City Hall Annex for the

1701
01:10:30,562 --> 01:10:34,564
2027 voting season. What would be the

1702
01:10:34,564 --> 01:10:36,860
correct word?

1703
01:10:36,860 --> 01:10:37,827
Voting year.

1704
01:10:37,827 --> 01:10:39,005
Voting year,

1705
01:10:39,005 --> 01:10:40,421
yes, never mind.

1706
01:10:40,421 --> 01:10:41,400
Voting year.

1707
01:10:41,400 --> 01:10:43,207
Second. Okay

1708
01:10:43,207 --> 01:10:44,787
. Okay.

1709
01:10:44,787 --> 01:10:47,138
Motion introduced by Jones, seconded

1710
01:10:47,138 --> 01:10:49,020
by Castlebordelon, and just to

1711
01:10:49,020 --> 01:10:51,371
reiterate, a motion to move the

1712
01:10:51,371 --> 01:10:53,605
District 7 polling place from

1713
01:10:53,605 --> 01:10:55,781
Fitch High School to the City Hall Annex

1714
01:10:55,781 --> 01:10:58,133
Town hall for election year

1715
01:10:58,133 --> 01:10:59,601
2027.

1716
01:10:59,601 --> 01:11:02,100
I propose. I already did that. It's already been done

1717
01:11:02,100 --> 01:11:02,724
.

1718
01:11:02,724 --> 01:11:03,849
No, I'm just reading it for the

1719
01:11:03,849 --> 01:11:04,247
public.

1720
01:11:04,247 --> 01:11:05,459
With that. I think I'm

1721
01:11:05,459 --> 01:11:08,144
missing some information. Okay. Okay. Fine

1722
01:11:08,679 --> 01:11:11,060
. A Castlebordelon discussion.

1723
01:11:11,060 --> 01:11:15,303
Thank you. I think it would be helpful.

1724
01:11:15,303 --> 01:11:17,053
I actually remember it being

1725
01:11:17,053 --> 01:11:19,254
moved once because of renovations on

1726
01:11:19,254 --> 01:11:22,177
Fitch at one point as well. But

1727
01:11:22,177 --> 01:11:23,747
what I do remember is, the year

1728
01:11:23,747 --> 01:11:25,449
before they did this, not the

1729
01:11:25,449 --> 01:11:27,019
outdoor posters now, but at the

1730
01:11:27,019 --> 01:11:28,546
polling station itself, when people

1731
01:11:28,546 --> 01:11:29,812
came in and you handed them their

1732
01:11:29,812 --> 01:11:31,295
ID to register,

1733
01:11:31,295 --> 01:11:32,996
you could hand them a piece of paper and say, "Just so you

1734
01:11:32,996 --> 01:11:34,436
know, the next

1735
01:11:34,436 --> 01:11:36,050
election will be across the

1736
01:11:36,050 --> 01:11:37,748
street." And start it off

1737
01:11:37,748 --> 01:11:39,394
organically like that because you have people right

1738
01:11:39,394 --> 01:11:41,472
there in this election. It can

1739
01:11:41,472 --> 01:11:43,705
be a simple piece of paper the size of my

1740
01:11:43,705 --> 01:11:45,843
phone, right? You don't

1741
01:11:45,843 --> 01:11:47,293
necessarily want to leave it outside or in the

1742
01:11:47,293 --> 01:11:48,819
newspaper yet, but when they come in

1743
01:11:48,819 --> 01:11:50,230
as people, "Hey, I just want you to

1744
01:11:50,230 --> 01:11:51,522
know you're ready." Take your

1745
01:11:51,522 --> 01:11:53,616
pen. Take your thing. The next

1746
01:11:53,616 --> 01:11:55,586
voting cycle will be in the

1747
01:11:55,586 --> 01:11:57,344
town annex. "Take a piece of paper."

1748
01:11:57,344 --> 01:11:58,120
That sounds good.

1749
01:11:58,120 --> 01:12:00,134
Just an idea. And that's what I saw and

1750
01:12:00,134 --> 01:12:02,299
remember them doing now that I think about it

1751
01:12:02,299 --> 01:12:04,794
. I think it would be great because you're

1752
01:12:04,794 --> 01:12:06,332
not going to put a limit on it. I mean

1753
01:12:06,332 --> 01:12:07,945
, in local elections, there aren't that

1754
01:12:07,945 --> 01:12:09,650
many people participating, but it's still

1755
01:12:09,650 --> 01:12:11,494
a large percentage, and word of

1756
01:12:11,494 --> 01:12:13,381
mouth will spread quickly. And then,

1757
01:12:13,381 --> 01:12:14,902
when you include the posters and the

1758
01:12:14,902 --> 01:12:16,691
newspaper article right after we

1759
01:12:16,691 --> 01:12:18,167
get through these elections,

1760
01:12:18,167 --> 01:12:19,867
we'll start the campaign to change

1761
01:12:19,867 --> 01:12:22,473
the polls, so to speak. I think it would be

1762
01:12:22,473 --> 01:12:23,862
great, but I think

1763
01:12:23,862 --> 01:12:25,368
people would have a little piece of paper ready

1764
01:12:25,368 --> 01:12:26,603
to hand out when they get their

1765
01:12:26,603 --> 01:12:28,849
ballot; that would be appreciated. "Here's

1766
01:12:28,849 --> 01:12:30,226
your ballot, here's your

1767
01:12:30,226 --> 01:12:31,755
pen, and by the way, please note, the

1768
01:12:31,755 --> 01:12:33,285
polling station chain will be

1769
01:12:33,285 --> 01:12:34,776
affected the next time you come back," or

1770
01:12:34,776 --> 01:12:36,793
however you want to put it. That's what I'm

1771
01:12:36,793 --> 01:12:39,646
thinking. And I think it would be a

1772
01:12:39,646 --> 01:12:42,016
polite and organic way to reach so many

1773
01:12:42,016 --> 01:12:45,567
people so quickly. So that would be

1774
01:12:45,567 --> 01:12:47,525
my idea, to get the word out at that

1775
01:12:47,525 --> 01:12:50,670
polling station this November.

1776
01:12:50,670 --> 01:12:51,690
That sounds great.

1777
01:12:51,690 --> 01:12:53,725
So that's my idea. And, again, that does

1778
01:12:53,725 --> 01:12:55,785
n't change what you do. It's just something

1779
01:12:55,785 --> 01:12:57,897
that occurred to me. It doesn't change the fact

1780
01:12:57,897 --> 01:12:59,788
of the motion, but I think it's a bit of an

1781
01:12:59,788 --> 01:13:01,679
obvious idea, and we can re-evaluate it

1782
01:13:01,679 --> 01:13:03,321
later, right? We're always

1783
01:13:03,321 --> 01:13:05,335
changing and growing. Yeah, I mean

1784
01:13:05,335 --> 01:13:07,080
, putting air conditioning in a

1785
01:13:07,080 --> 01:13:08,645
gym sounds like, how come we don't

1786
01:13:08,645 --> 01:13:11,463
have it these days? You know, people

1787
01:13:11,463 --> 01:13:13,261
shouldn't be passing out in our

1788
01:13:13,261 --> 01:13:15,878
gym. So I think it's great. I

1789
01:13:15,878 --> 01:13:18,034
think we have time. We have time

1790
01:13:18,034 --> 01:13:20,355
for the wording to get out. It's

1791
01:13:20,355 --> 01:13:22,081
an election coming up that doesn't usually

1792
01:13:22,081 --> 01:13:23,853
have as high a turnout as

1793
01:13:23,853 --> 01:13:25,670
presidential elections, but we can reach

1794
01:13:25,670 --> 01:13:27,396
a good percentage of those people, and

1795
01:13:27,396 --> 01:13:30,421
the word will get around. I'm excited

1796
01:13:30,421 --> 01:13:31,779
about that because I think the health of

1797
01:13:31,779 --> 01:13:33,250
our poll workers is vital

1798
01:13:33,250 --> 01:13:34,721
, as well as the health of the people who go

1799
01:13:34,721 --> 01:13:36,647
to the polling places. If our

1800
01:13:36,647 --> 01:13:38,303
poll workers are passing out,

1801
01:13:38,303 --> 01:13:40,046
we have immunocompromised people and people with

1802
01:13:40,046 --> 01:13:41,659
health problems, and we don't need

1803
01:13:41,659 --> 01:13:43,402
people passing out at the

1804
01:13:43,402 --> 01:13:46,374
polling places. Another thing, if I remember correctly,

1805
01:13:46,374 --> 01:13:48,131
when I was here many years ago—I mean,

1806
01:13:48,131 --> 01:13:49,933
I worked at the

1807
01:13:49,933 --> 01:13:51,374
polling place at that time—I don't

1808
01:13:51,374 --> 01:13:53,469
remember. I was on high. I think If

1809
01:13:53,469 --> 01:13:55,021
you do it from this doorway, if the

1810
01:13:55,021 --> 01:13:56,375
weather's bad, you could have people

1811
01:13:56,375 --> 01:13:57,847
queuing up in this back area, and you

1812
01:13:57,847 --> 01:13:59,081
just don't have

1813
01:13:59,081 --> 01:14:00,633
polling places to shelter people

1814
01:14:00,633 --> 01:14:02,923
from the weather. You could put 12, 15, 20

1815
01:14:02,923 --> 01:14:05,175
people lined up against this

1816
01:14:05,175 --> 01:14:07,244
back wall like a stage and take

1817
01:14:07,244 --> 01:14:09,653
necks, right? Necks almost like you

1818
01:14:09,653 --> 01:14:11,647
're at the DMV, and then go back and forth

1819
01:14:11,647 --> 01:14:13,636
. At one point, also, uh,

1820
01:14:13,636 --> 01:14:14,249
your time.

1821
01:14:14,249 --> 01:14:16,676
Yes. A sort of barrier behind

1822
01:14:16,676 --> 01:14:16,930
you.

1823
01:14:16,930 --> 01:14:19,757
Okay, your time. Yes. If I could, in the

1824
01:14:19,757 --> 01:14:21,867
hallway where it separates the people

1825
01:14:21,867 --> 01:14:25,725
going to the front door or to the order. Your

1826
01:14:25,825 --> 01:14:26,554
time's up.

1827
01:14:26,554 --> 01:14:27,499
Anyway. Your

1828
01:14:27,499 --> 01:14:28,474
time's up.

1829
01:14:28,474 --> 01:14:29,879
You can put a barrier in front. Your

1830
01:14:29,879 --> 01:14:30,794
time's up.

1831
01:14:30,794 --> 01:14:31,486
Thank you.

1832
01:14:31,486 --> 01:14:32,820
Yes. God forbid.

1833
01:14:32,820 --> 01:14:35,642
Councilor Pacino.

1834
01:14:35,642 --> 01:14:38,072
Thank you, Madam Mayor. And regarding

1835
01:14:38,072 --> 01:14:40,516
Councilor Bordelon's note, I know

1836
01:14:40,516 --> 01:14:44,124
we can make business cards. And

1837
01:14:44,124 --> 01:14:45,730
if we had them, and obviously

1838
01:14:45,730 --> 01:14:49,191
handed them out with the sticker. And

1839
01:14:49,191 --> 01:14:51,391
maybe even had them

1840
01:14:51,391 --> 01:14:53,769
downtown Early voting is available for

1841
01:14:53,769 --> 01:14:56,028
people who come from the

1842
01:14:56,028 --> 01:14:57,930
7th onwards. And they can also get their

1843
01:14:57,930 --> 01:15:00,803
little card then. But

1844
01:15:00,803 --> 01:15:02,647
yes, very good idea. I like that idea very much

1845
01:15:02,647 --> 01:15:02,963
.

1846
01:15:02,963 --> 01:15:05,020
Okay. Okay.

1847
01:15:05,020 --> 01:15:05,889
I'm fine. Thank you.

1848
01:15:05,889 --> 01:15:11,140
Very good. Roll call?

1849
01:15:11,140 --> 01:15:12,658
Or should I ask if anyone else

1850
01:15:12,658 --> 01:15:15,680
has any questions, or are we good?

1851
01:15:15,680 --> 01:15:17,627
Okay. Roll call. Councillor

1852
01:15:17,627 --> 01:15:18,180
Burrell.

1853
01:15:18,180 --> 01:15:18,781
Yes.

1854
01:15:18,781 --> 01:15:22,020
Councillor Bordelon. Yes.

1855
01:15:22,020 --> 01:15:24,400
Councillor Fitzgerald.

1856
01:15:24,400 --> 01:15:25,201
Yes.

1857
01:15:25,201 --> 01:15:27,475
Councillor Good. Yes.

1858
01:15:27,475 --> 01:15:29,070
Councillor Jones. Yes.

1859
01:15:29,070 --> 01:15:30,398
Councillor McBride.

1860
01:15:30,398 --> 01:15:30,895
Yes.

1861
01:15:30,895 --> 01:15:31,903
Councillor Merritt.

1862
01:15:31,903 --> 01:15:32,480
Yes.

1863
01:15:32,480 --> 01:15:33,600
Councillor Piccinino.

1864
01:15:33,600 --> 01:15:34,539
Yes.

1865
01:15:34,539 --> 01:15:39,042
And I'm in favor, so that's 9 to 0. Thank you very much.

1866
01:15:39,042 --> 01:15:39,741
Thank you.

1867
01:15:39,741 --> 01:15:42,140
Motion to adjourn.

1868
01:15:42,140 --> 01:15:42,777
Supported.

1869
01:15:42,777 --> 01:15:44,688
Can we add it to item one?

1870
01:15:44,688 --> 01:15:45,567
No. Okay. Fair enough

1871
01:15:45,567 --> 01:15:46,208
.

1872
01:15:46,208 --> 01:15:47,715
The motion to adjourn

1873
01:15:47,715 --> 01:15:49,185
was made by Councillor Good,

1874
01:15:49,185 --> 01:15:50,795
seconded by Councillor Jones. It will be

1875
01:15:50,795 --> 01:15:54,394
a roll call. Councilman Burrell

1876
01:15:54,394 --> 01:15:54,700
.

1877
01:15:54,700 --> 01:15:55,364
Yes.

1878
01:15:55,364 --> 01:15:56,299
Councilman Bordelon.

1879
01:15:56,299 --> 01:15:57,360
Yes.

1880
01:15:57,360 --> 01:16:02,319
Councilman Fitzgerald. Councilman Good.

1881
01:16:02,319 --> 01:16:02,973
Yes.

1882
01:16:02,973 --> 01:16:04,481
Councilman Jones. Yes.

1883
01:16:04,481 --> 01:16:05,702
Councilman McBride.

1884
01:16:05,702 --> 01:16:06,194
Yes.

1885
01:16:06,194 --> 01:16:07,229
Councilman Merritt.

1886
01:16:07,229 --> 01:16:07,974
Yes.

1887
01:16:07,974 --> 01:16:08,956
Councilman Picinich?

1888
01:16:08,956 --> 01:16:10,139
Yes.

1889
01:16:10,139 --> 01:16:12,440
And I'm in favor, and we're 9 to 0, and we'll

1890
01:16:12,440 --> 01:16:15,474
adjourn the session at 7:44 p.m.

1891
01:16:15,474 --> 01:16:17,126
Thank you all. Good

1892
01:16:17,126 --> 01:16:18,405
night.