[0:11] Good evening and welcome to the Select Board meeting
[0:13] of Wednesday, June 10th, 2026.
[0:16] I'm gonna call the meeting to order at 6:03 PM
[0:21] The first item on our agenda is requested Action to vote
[0:25] to approve and confirm the sale of
[0:29] bond anticipation notes
[0:30] and General obligation Municipal Purpose loan of 2026 bonds
[0:34] and sign the associated documents and papers. Ari,
[0:40] Am I on?
[0:41] I think I'm on
[0:42] Try.
[0:43] Am I on right now? Is a green light on? Yeah.
[0:46] Oh, I think you're on. Okay.
[0:48] All right. I just didn't hear my echo. Okay, thank you.
[0:50] Madam Chair. The town staff held a ratings call with s
[0:55] and p on May 19th, may.
[0:58] I'm pleased to inform everybody that the s
[1:00] and p re reformed our AAA ratings.
[1:01] That's great news. Yes. The debt sale was held on June 3rd.
[1:05] There were two tranches bond anticipation notes
[1:08] and about the amount of 4,015,000 and geo debt
[1:12] and the amount of 4,510,000.
[1:14] The ban was for a variety of purposes,
[1:17] including the largest one being rotaries and sidewalks,
[1:19] but also space renewal, building exterior repairs,
[1:23] field design for the high school,
[1:25] and a portion of the memorial feasibility study.
[1:28] All projects that have been funded through the capital plan.
[1:30] The geo bond purposes were a combination of fire apparatus,
[1:35] water and sewer projects, landfill, some elevator,
[1:39] elevator stewardships too, and,
[1:41] and various other items as well.
[1:43] On the bands, there were three bids.
[1:46] The most favorable was
[1:48] with a group called Academy Securities
[1:51] for an net interest cost of 2.8289%
[1:55] included a $36,900 premium, a little less than that,
[1:58] actually $36,878.
[2:01] For the geo sale. There were five bids.
[2:03] The lowest most favorable bid was from SWBC investment
[2:07] services at a little over three point at 3.292766%,
[2:12] which included a $396,615 premium,
[2:17] $285,000 of that premium will we applied to projects.
[2:20] The rest, we applied to the issuance cost
[2:21] of the pro of the of the sale.
[2:23] Happy to answer any questions.
[2:24] We have staff here ready to assist with the signature,
[2:27] as well as the acting treasurer and the town clerk
[2:31] Board members questions or comments?
[2:36] Very thankful for the AAA bond rating.
[2:40] At this time, I'll entertain a motion.
[2:45] I move that we adopt the vote prepared
[2:47] by bond counsel in writing
[2:49] before the select board approving the sale and in
[2:52] and issuance of the town's 4,510,000 general
[2:56] obligation municipal purpose loan of 2026 bonds,
[3:00] and 4 million of 15,000
[3:03] and $15,000
[3:04] of general obligation bond anticipation notes dated
[3:07] June 18th, 2026.
[3:10] Second. All those in favor?
[3:14] Aye. Aye. Is that the correct amount?
[3:17] 'cause it's different on here. That is the amount
[3:20] that was provided to us by Mr.
[3:22] Sky. The exact language we need to use given
[3:25] to us by bond council,
[3:26] There's a net premium that affects the, so,
[3:28] so it's 4,000,785,000 worth of projects,
[3:31] but 265,000 is applied.
[3:34] Two 85,000, I'm sorry, is applied towards the bonds for,
[3:37] to reduce the, the, the power ground a little
[3:39] bit. Saves us some money.
[3:41] Good question. Alright. No question. And your vote, Ms.
[3:44] Wal? Yes. So we are 5 0 0, and the vote to approve
[3:48] and confirm the sale.
[3:49] At this time, we'll take about a 15 minute recess so
[3:52] that the board can sign the
[3:54] associated documents and closing papers. Thank
[3:56] You.
[4:07] Calling our meeting back to order at 6:28 PM
[4:13] First step is announcements. Mr. Jacobs?
[4:16] Yeah. So I just wanted to make an announcement
[4:19] regarding Flag Day, which is coming up on Sunday, June 14th.
[4:23] This is courtesy
[4:24] of our old colleague reach Sidney, who wrote this.
[4:27] So I'm just gonna read part of it.
[4:29] So on June 14th, we honor one
[4:31] of our nation's most enduring symbols.
[4:33] The United States flag the roots of Flag Day, stretched back
[4:36] to 1885 when the formal observance was invented
[4:41] by a Wisconsin school teacher.
[4:42] Over the decades, communities across the
[4:44] country embraced the tradition.
[4:46] In 1916, the observance received national recognition,
[4:49] and in 1949 it became official when President Harry Truman
[4:52] signed the act establishing June 14th as National Flag Day.
[4:56] June 14th is also the birthday of the United States Army,
[4:59] founded in 1775.
[5:01] As we mark this day, we honor the generations of soldiers
[5:04] who sacrifice, whose service
[5:05] and sacrifice have protected the freedoms
[5:07] and ideals represented by our flag.
[5:09] Their dedication remains a
[5:11] cornerstone of our nation's strength.
[5:12] Respect for the flag also includes knowing how
[5:15] to reti retire it properly.
[5:17] When a flag becomes worn, torn,
[5:19] or faded, it should be disposed of in a dignified
[5:22] and respectful manner, traditionally
[5:23] through a formal retirement ceremony.
[5:26] Fortunately for anyone with a flag ready for retirement,
[5:28] the local VFW accepts worn or damaged flags
[5:32] and ensures that they're properly
[5:33] and respectfully disposed of.
[5:35] So let's take that day when it comes
[5:37] to reflect on our shared history.
[5:38] Honor those who served
[5:39] and show respect for the symbol that represents us.
[5:42] Thank you.
[5:44] Thank you, Mr. Jacobs.
[5:45] Does any, any other board member have
[5:48] an announcement they'd like to make or share?
[5:51] Okay. At this time we will go into public speak.
[5:57] I do have a couple, I'm
[5:58] Sorry.
[5:59] We're gonna stop public speak and go back to announcements.
[6:02] I just thought about these. There are Juneteenth events
[6:05] happening, and I'm saying this now
[6:07] because we won't have another meeting
[6:08] before the Juneteenth holiday.
[6:11] And so there is the Frederick Douglass reading
[6:16] that's happening on Juneteenth in the morning.
[6:19] I think it's 10 or 10 30.
[6:21] And then the Juneteenth activities,
[6:23] the actual event is happening on the 20th,
[6:26] which is Saturday from about 11
[6:29] to one, I believe, on the common.
[6:30] So if you have time, you should attend 10.
[6:35] Thank you so much. Sorry, I overlooked that.
[6:40] For public speak, any individual may raise an issue
[6:42] that's not included on tonight's agenda,
[6:44] and it will be taken under advisement by the board.
[6:47] There'll be no opportunity for debate
[6:48] during this portion of the meeting.
[6:50] Due to the requirements of open meeting law, the section
[6:55] of the agenda is limited to 10 minutes
[6:56] and any individual addressing the board during the section
[6:58] of the agenda shall be limited to three minutes.
[7:03] Why don't you come up, Mr. Scott,
[7:05] if you could introduce yourself.
[7:07] You have three minutes.
[7:20] Hello, my name is Roger Scott,
[7:23] precinct 10 town meeting member
[7:25] and resident of 40 Water Street.
[7:29] When I come to you tonight is you probably are aware
[7:32] of recent disclosure in the town
[7:34] of Needham about a town employee being accused
[7:37] of stealing $200,000.
[7:40] So I wanna bring forward the, the book that we are presented
[7:44] as a town meeting member, the
[7:49] April 28th town meeting manual that we followed.
[7:53] And on page 41 of this
[7:59] Booklet, we have no listing of any
[8:03] of these expenses.
[8:04] There is no breakdown of the expenses in this town.
[8:08] So as a town, we're trying to create town government
[8:13] and not allowing people to see what's in behind the scenes.
[8:17] For instance, the select board administrative support,
[8:22] it has a set salary of $1.489 million,
[8:27] but it has expenses of $889,000,
[8:31] which is 60% the equivalent of the salaries.
[8:35] With no explanation.
[8:37] People in the town we're supposed to vote on these things.
[8:39] And now that happens in Needham.
[8:42] We want disclosure, we what's, what's there to, you know,
[8:46] who's to say something's something
[8:47] isn't happening in this town.
[8:49] We have a finance $1.8 million
[8:53] and $438,000 in expenses.
[8:56] That's 25%.
[8:58] But if you flip over to the police department
[9:01] with an $8.8 million salary,
[9:06] they had 396,000 in expenses, which is an equivalent
[9:10] of a four and a half percent comparison.
[9:15] A fire department,
[9:17] $10,941,000,
[9:21] 387,000 in expenses, less than
[9:27] the, the police departments in an equivalent of a three
[9:29] and a half percent margin.
[9:33] I don't know how people are expected
[9:34] to understand all this data and
[9:36] after having exposure in a RA neighboring town
[9:39] and the opportunity,
[9:40] but so many employees in this town that
[9:44] there's no transparency. There has to be some
[9:46] Mr. Scott, 30 seconds.
[9:48] Well, I'm just trying to say, I hope
[9:50] that the select board takes this under consideration
[9:53] and that people disclose information so
[9:55] that people in members
[9:57] of town meeting will have a proper thing to be able to vote
[10:00] and know what's going on in the town other than just being
[10:04] big items thrown before them to unanimously vote for.
[10:08] I, I think it's a discredit to the taxpayer in the town,
[10:11] and I think the taxpayer deserves better.
[10:13] So I hope you'll take that under consideration
[10:16] and print all these out expenses.
[10:20] So when we go to town meeting, we know.
[10:22] Thank you Mr. Scott. What's happening?
[10:24] Thank you very much. We will take that under advisement.
[10:27] Well, thank you for your time.
[10:29] Thank you. Is there anyone else in the room who would like
[10:31] to address the select board during public speak?
[10:36] Seeing none, I'll look online. We have one hand raised Mr.
[10:41] Alderson.
[10:43] Sorry.
[10:55] Thank you. Madam Chair.
[10:57] Doesn't look like I can start my
[10:58] video, so I apologize for that.
[11:00] All. I very briefly wanted to say that I wanna thank folks
[11:04] that had applied for the finance committee appointments
[11:08] that I make at the end of June.
[11:10] I had enough people applying to fill all the vacancies.
[11:14] And so that will be published
[11:16] and made available on July 1st on
[11:17] the finance committee website.
[11:19] I just also wanna put a plug in
[11:20] and encourage anyone that's still interested in serving on
[11:23] the finance committee to keep applying even mid se,
[11:26] mid-year, mid-season,
[11:27] because we do have the occasional vacancy from time to time
[11:30] that we fill with people that have applied.
[11:32] So again, thank you also to the select board for
[11:35] advertising the vacancy and making that available in your,
[11:37] in your minutes in your discussions. Appreciate that.
[11:40] Thank you. Mr. Alderon.
[11:43] Is there anyone else online
[11:44] who would like to address the board?
[11:50] Seeing none will close public speak
[11:53] and move to appointments.
[11:56] First series of interviews is
[11:57] for the Conservation Commission.
[11:58] There's one term expiring at the end of
[12:03] one term, which will expire 6 30 20 29.
[12:07] And we have three candidates. We'll take them in the order.
[12:10] They're listed in the agenda. So if I could ask Mr.
[12:13] Downey, are you, are you in the room or online?
[12:18] He's online. So we have very comprehensive packets
[12:22] and resumes from all of the applicants.
[12:25] So rather than repeating them into the record, I would ask
[12:28] that the candidates just tell us two
[12:30] to three sentences about why you wanna serve on
[12:34] the particular board or commission
[12:36] that you're applying to or committee.
[12:38] And then I will open it up
[12:39] to board questions for the candidates.
[12:42] So Mr. Downey, you, you're up.
[12:45] Thank you for that. I have been serving on the
[12:48] Conservation Commission as a member since 2014,
[12:52] and I'm looking to be reappointed.
[12:57] Thank you. Mr. Downing questions
[12:59] or comments from members of the public?
[13:01] Mr. Jacob? I mean from members of the board.
[13:03] First, please, Mr. Jacobs.
[13:06] Thank you. Thank you for your service, Mr. Downey.
[13:10] And thanks for obviously reapplying.
[13:13] So I, I just have one question, which is in the,
[13:17] in late 2024
[13:19] and early 2025, the bo the,
[13:21] the Conservation Commission considered the concept
[13:25] of adopting a tree bylaw in Natick, which, you know, for,
[13:29] I mean, obviously I know you know what it is,
[13:30] but for those listening,
[13:31] it's like the idea is there's some communities,
[13:34] some municipalities have a bylaw that kind of prescribes,
[13:38] you know, when and how,
[13:39] and you know, the, the process for removing trees, you know,
[13:43] kind of regulates the removal of trees from, from,
[13:46] from private property.
[13:48] And ultimately the, the commission decided not
[13:52] to go forward proposing a bylaw like that at this time,
[13:54] but instead to kind of work through a process of maybe
[13:59] get building more public support
[14:00] or engaging like a, a tree committee.
[14:02] So I, I wanted to ask you kind of what your thoughts were on
[14:06] that decision and kind of what you think going forward
[14:10] as far as the prospects for
[14:12] considering a bylaw like that for Natick.
[14:16] That's a great question and it's, you know, it's aligned
[14:19] with my profession.
[14:20] I'm, I'm a licensed forester here in, in the Commonwealth
[14:23] of Massachusetts, and you know, I went
[14:27] to UMass Amherst for that.
[14:29] So, you know, trees are critically important
[14:32] to us as human beings.
[14:34] Not just for their shade,
[14:35] but also for the products that we derive from them.
[14:39] Trees are also important to our community identity,
[14:45] you know, so, you know, these, these are things
[14:47] that are very important to me personally and professionally.
[14:52] So, you know, a tree law, a tree bylaw and,
[14:55] and you hit the nail on the head.
[14:56] It is a regulation.
[14:57] And, you know, I think we're in an environment, you know,
[15:02] where we have to be very, very careful to balance
[15:07] a re an additional regulatory environment
[15:12] that's, you know, I would say in some
[15:13] cases in Massachusetts.
[15:15] And, you know, we're in a very regulated state,
[15:18] and I think we should always respect
[15:21] property rights first and foremost.
[15:23] That's at least how I was brought up here as a,
[15:27] as our family's been in Natick since, since 1920.
[15:31] So I've been here in Natick for a long, long time,
[15:35] at least the 55 plus years I've been on this planet.
[15:39] So, you know, I think that's, that's, I think, I can't speak
[15:44] for the commission,
[15:48] but I can speak for myself.
[15:49] I think that's why we took such a deliberate approach to
[15:53] that bylaw, because it does, it does have strong meaning.
[15:56] And especially if you take an approach
[15:59] as other communities have, it is ex extraneously regulating,
[16:04] you know, with regard to, you know, how many trees you have
[16:08] to put back costs and, and such.
[16:12] So I, I think we have to be very careful
[16:14] and very deliberate in terms of
[16:16] how we regulate private property specific to tree removal.
[16:20] And, you know, I do see a lot of trees being removed,
[16:24] you know, I think, you know, that sometimes is concerning,
[16:27] especially if it's in parts of our community
[16:29] that have heat island effect.
[16:31] You know, we have, you know, the town has been wonderful
[16:34] and generous in, in doing analysis of that.
[16:37] And I think those are things that should guide us
[16:39] where maybe trees that are in places
[16:43] where shade is not as robust,
[16:47] we should be very concerned about
[16:48] how much tree removal occurs in those areas.
[16:51] 'cause you don't want to exacerbate that.
[16:53] Or in communities where there's, you know, income
[16:56] or language barriers
[16:58] or places where trees are,
[16:59] are very important environmental justice type areas.
[17:03] So, you know, I I do think it's, you know,
[17:06] you can take a broad brush stroke like
[17:08] other communities have.
[17:10] And I think, you know, there's examples where these,
[17:14] you know, very good peer ver peer reviewed research done
[17:20] on these bylaws.
[17:21] And, and in many cases they failed miserably because first
[17:25] and foremost, as you've thoughtfully identified,
[17:28] there is no engagement.
[17:30] And I think that's, you know,
[17:32] just like the engagement the town did has done
[17:34] with the South Natick dam conversation,
[17:39] that's the type of engagement I think the Conservation
[17:42] commission is looking to have before any bylaw
[17:46] or something is proposed to your body or town meeting.
[17:50] And I think that's a thoughtful approach.
[17:52] We, and I think that's inherently what we need to
[17:57] look for, you know, in terms of our approach to reg,
[18:00] you know, added regulation.
[18:04] Thank you very much. Are there any other questions?
[18:09] We'll go with Mr. Evans first and then Ms. Walner.
[18:13] Thank you, Madam Chair.
[18:17] My question's sort of a general question, which is
[18:21] what conservation or environmental challenges
[18:24] that do you believe are most important in Natick
[18:26] today and in the near future?
[18:31] Well, I think from a, from a perspective of open space
[18:35] and, and I'll use a word that we commonly use in,
[18:38] in my profession, which is maintaining forest as forest.
[18:43] So I think having open space
[18:45] and maintaining it in a, in a place that is
[18:49] not exacerbating some of the issues that we have in front
[18:54] of us, whether that be climate change
[18:58] or invasive species
[19:00] or habitat loss, you know, or biodiversity loss.
[19:05] I think those are the things that I look towards as, so
[19:08] what we have, are we stewarding it?
[19:10] Are we caring for it?
[19:13] And, and the stuff that,
[19:14] and the items that we're stewarding, you know,
[19:17] are we doing the best that we can to keep those in a,
[19:21] in a place where we could be proud and,
[19:24] and point to that we've taken good care
[19:26] of them and stewarded them.
[19:28] So I think main thing is don't lose any more land if we can
[19:33] and maintain open space.
[19:35] And then where we have opportunity,
[19:38] and I think in Natick
[19:39] where the opportunities lie is these areas that maybe
[19:43] are degraded or in areas that may be right now a parking lot
[19:48] that do we have an opportunity
[19:51] to create open space in those areas, especially in,
[19:55] in parts of Natick where clearly
[19:59] we have heat island effect on top
[20:02] of environmental justice neighborhoods.
[20:05] And that combination is very bad.
[20:08] You know, not just because of the heat island effect,
[20:11] but this is also affects human health
[20:15] and we have other issues associated with that.
[20:18] So, you know, our open space
[20:22] is a direct, you know, impact of
[20:27] how well this community is in terms of its health
[20:31] and of human health that is.
[20:33] And I think if we maintain a good piece of open space
[20:38] and we do the work that we've been doing historically,
[20:40] which is trying to create those, these connection points
[20:43] to these islands of open space, I think overall
[20:49] that would be something that I would continue
[20:52] to support here in town.
[20:53] And I think the Conservation Commission is always looking
[20:57] for ways to create better connection, connectivity,
[21:01] and, you know, I think that, you know, from my perspective,
[21:06] it's, it's really about kind of no net loss
[21:09] and making sure that we have the open space
[21:13] and the systems, the natural based systems to,
[21:18] to tackle what climate may be throwing at us in 60,
[21:21] 80 years or less.
[21:25] Thank you, Ms. Salka. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Downey.
[21:31] Based on your experience so far on the commission,
[21:35] what characteristics
[21:36] and qualifications do you feel make for an effective member?
[21:43] That's fantastic question.
[21:45] I, I, I think a passion to
[21:48] serve your community first and foremost.
[21:52] And, and what I mean in, in serving is that
[21:55] you attend meetings regularly, that
[22:00] when there's demands put on outside
[22:02] of the meeting schedules, whether those be site visits,
[22:06] volunteer work, trails, days, et cetera, that
[22:11] you take it, you, you have the ability to participate
[22:15] in those, you know, earth Day events, et cetera.
[22:20] I think the other piece is, is that is also being hungry
[22:25] for improving consistently your knowledge base about
[22:30] between the regulation that you are overseeing,
[22:34] the Wetlands Protection Act
[22:39] and being able to continue to learn,
[22:43] because I, I can say from a, from a natural resources
[22:48] profession and from a, from a professional standpoint,
[22:54] just like Mother Nature's not stagnant learning and,
[22:59] and adapting and,
[23:00] and reflecting upon your knowledge base is,
[23:04] is necessary in this, in this work.
[23:08] 'cause the wetlands are not stagnant.
[23:10] They move and change over time.
[23:13] These systems, the forest changes over time in sometimes
[23:17] wonderful ways, sometimes in ways that we may not like.
[23:21] And I think that the regulation is always changing.
[23:26] And inherently when you're involved in anything
[23:29] that requires your complete understanding of the regulation,
[23:33] you have to be reading that and taking the proper training
[23:37] and attending professional engagement trainings and,
[23:42] and, and other opportunities like the, you know,
[23:46] the yearly conferences
[23:47] or the bi-yearly conferences that Massachusetts Association
[23:51] of Conservation Commissions hell hold.
[23:55] So I think that it's a life learning process,
[23:59] and I think that because you're appointed doesn't mean that,
[24:04] okay, great, I'm gonna learn by osmosis.
[24:08] It's, IIII can't imagine
[24:12] taking on a conservation commission position as a volunteer
[24:18] without digging really deep into the training
[24:20] and understanding the Wetlands Protection Act.
[24:23] I'm fortunate as a forester,
[24:26] I live in the Wetlands Protection Act every day.
[24:29] That's just part of my job.
[24:31] I work in a, an aspect of the Wetlands Protection Act,
[24:34] that is the agricultural section of that,
[24:38] but I still need to know every aspect of
[24:41] that in my day-to-day job.
[24:43] So I'm fortunate in that,
[24:45] but I also regularly attend the MACC conferences
[24:49] and take training with the Department
[24:51] of Environmental Protection.
[24:52] So I, I think it's a, a love for learning,
[24:57] I guess I would say, or,
[24:58] and a passion for serving this wonderful town and community.
[25:03] Thank you very much, Ms. Pope.
[25:07] Hi, Mr. Downey, thank you very much for your service.
[25:10] My question for you, based on what you said about, you know,
[25:13] the, the constant desire to learn and that this and,
[25:16] and your willingness
[25:18] and initiative to learn, what would you say,
[25:23] you know, how has your perspective on conservation evolved
[25:27] and how, since you've been on the commission
[25:30] and how would you say that pertains to NAIC specifically?
[25:38] So I think, you know, come, you know,
[25:42] being away from Natick for a period of time
[25:46] and living in other parts of the, of the country
[25:49] and other parts of the state and,
[25:51] and returning back home to Natick in, in 2013
[25:57] gave me a, I think a, a much better perspective of,
[26:00] of the challenges here.
[26:02] To be honest with you, I've,
[26:03] I've lived in very rural communities.
[26:05] I lived in a, in a town in, in western Kentucky
[26:09] that had 82 people in it, slaughters, Kentucky.
[26:14] And I was fortunate to live there for six years.
[26:16] I've, I've lived in Peru, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires
[26:19] that has barely 700 people in it,
[26:22] and 80%, 80 plus percent of
[26:24] that town is protected open space.
[26:28] And, you know, coming back home to Natick, a place
[26:31] that I care about and, and where my family
[26:33] and I, you know, where my family has been since, you know,
[26:37] the early parts of the 19 hundreds.
[26:40] And I, I do see
[26:44] conservation takes a different meaning here, you know,
[26:48] professionally it has a meaning to me as a forester.
[26:50] But here in this community,
[26:52] what it means is it's little pieces.
[26:56] It's trying to take little fragments of, of habitat
[27:01] and finding ways to connect that to people
[27:06] and so they can enjoy what I've been able
[27:09] to enjoy as a forester.
[27:10] And, and as somebody who, you know, is very fortunate
[27:13] to live in East Natick
[27:15] and I'm surrounded by open space, I'm very fortunate
[27:22] and, and I know there's folks in Natick that aren't
[27:25] as fortunate as I am.
[27:27] You know, I live on Oak Street, yes, it's a busy road,
[27:30] but within 30 seconds I can be on a trail
[27:35] within a minute
[27:37] and a half, I can be down at Piro Pond, you know,
[27:40] and I crossing Route nine I can be at, oh,
[27:43] I can be at, at the Town Forest.
[27:44] So to say I'm blessed is, is is remarkable,
[27:49] but that, that's the type of blessing
[27:51] that I believe everybody in Natick should have the
[27:54] opportunity for.
[27:56] So how do we find ways to conserve that?
[28:00] That's the conservation ethic that I'm, you know,
[28:04] that doesn't necessarily align with my profession,
[28:07] doesn't necessarily align with
[28:08] what I was taught about conservation,
[28:10] but it, it fits here in our community.
[28:15] So how do we find a way to conserve the areas
[28:19] that are meaningful to us
[28:22] and gives better opportunity for folks to be able to get out
[28:26] and enjoy and experience the things that I get to enjoy
[28:30] that I just take for granted sometimes.
[28:33] And, and that's, I think the uniqueness here
[28:36] versus other parts of the, the country
[28:39] and other parts
[28:40] of the state I've wor I've worked and lived in.
[28:43] So, and, and,
[28:47] and that's how conservation I think is interpreted is,
[28:50] is kind of where you are.
[28:52] Because I'll be honest with you, the conservation could mean
[28:55] to somebody in West Natick as having a couple
[28:59] of trees in their backyard in a garden.
[29:03] Yeah. So, you know, finding ways to connect people
[29:06] and maybe that's, maybe that's part of it too.
[29:09] You know, we do have some wonderful community gardens
[29:12] that's, you know, I I, you know,
[29:15] my first job in Natick as a town employee was,
[29:20] was working for a dollar an hour at the Natick
[29:22] Community Organic Farm.
[29:24] So, you know, it, I think those things,
[29:28] you know, those resources are so, so critical and,
[29:32] and I think some of us forget
[29:36] how important these places are.
[29:38] I probably wouldn't be where I am today
[29:40] without the organic farm.
[29:43] That's the reason why I went into forestry
[29:45] along with a few others.
[29:47] But, you know, Linda at the farm,
[29:50] at the farm was kind enough to take, take me under her wing
[29:53] and teach me about how to be a good person
[29:58] and how to work hard every day
[30:00] and how to show up for the community.
[30:03] Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Downey,
[30:05] do you have any other questions, Ms.
[30:06] Pop? No. Okay.
[30:08] I'd like to invite the second candidate,
[30:11] Michael Price, are you in the room?
[30:13] He's on line, I think. Is he on line?
[30:17] All is in the left second row.
[30:19] Oh, Mr. Price, you're going to be unmuted
[30:22] and I'd like you in two to three sentences tell us why you
[30:27] want to apply to the Conservation
[30:32] Commission to serve on that commission.
[30:37] Okay. Hello everyone. I'm Michael Price.
[30:40] I've been a resident of Natick for
[30:44] over 35 years.
[30:45] Our three children gone
[30:47] through the Natick Public Schools from K to 12.
[30:51] I was a town meeting member for 10 years
[30:54] and I've worked in the construction field
[30:57] as a senior project manager for general contractor.
[31:02] And I've been on the other side
[31:03] of the table from the Conservation Commission a lot.
[31:06] And I think I have a,
[31:08] a different perspective to bring to it.
[31:12] I know that contractors take it seriously.
[31:16] Different pounds have different reputations
[31:18] for conservation commission.
[31:20] Natick has a great reputation.
[31:22] I want to help to keep it that way.
[31:25] And I have a little bit more time
[31:27] because I recently retired a week
[31:29] before this posting came out last month.
[31:33] So I would like to have the opportunity to give back
[31:36] and offer my perspective and experience
[31:41] Members of the board.
[31:43] Mr. Jacobs,
[31:46] Thank you for applying Mr. Price
[31:47] and congratulations on your retirement.
[31:50] My, I'll, I'll just ask you a, a version anyway of the,
[31:53] of the same question that I asked Mr.
[31:55] Downey, which is, you know, what would you think about,
[31:58] how would you, how would you think about the, the concept
[32:02] of a tree bylaw for, for natick
[32:06] of a tree removal bylaw for Natick?
[32:10] Well, it's a good idea in concept in generalities
[32:15] that, you know, as the previous speaker said,
[32:18] we don't wanna overregulate things,
[32:20] but I know there are towns
[32:23] or colleges that actually get down to the point of numbering
[32:28] their trees and then putting a,
[32:30] a brass tag number on the tree.
[32:34] But maybe we could do something to identify trees
[32:38] of major significance that we wanna protect.
[32:44] And so there, I think there's a place for it,
[32:48] but to have to watch out for Overregulating.
[32:53] Thank you. Other members of the board? Ms.
[32:58] Slager? Kristen, that's a question. Okay.
[33:02] Hi Mr. Price and thank you for applying
[33:05] and again, congratulations on your retirement.
[33:08] What do you think in your background would make you a
[33:11] particularly valuable member of the commission?
[33:15] Well, in addition to general contractor experience, and,
[33:18] and several of my projects were large warehouses
[33:23] with a major site work component with
[33:28] retention ponds and drainage structures
[33:30] and the like.
[33:34] The other aspect of it is from the design side, I spent
[33:38] five years with a design company.
[33:40] I'm a, a graduate civil engineer with a master's degree in
[33:45] construction management, master's of engineering.
[33:48] So I think, so I understand the concepts in
[33:54] erosion control and, and controlling sediment
[33:58] and, you know, eutrofication and water clarity.
[34:03] So the engineering, the science
[34:06] and the experience that I've had, I think
[34:11] just dovetail right into the Conservation Commission.
[34:17] Thank you Ms. Pope. And then Mr. Evans.
[34:21] Hi, Mr. Price, my question
[34:23] for you is about the time commitment
[34:26] and the learning component.
[34:28] The charge for the commission requires quite a bit of time
[34:33] and additional opportunities for learning.
[34:38] Do you see that as an issue?
[34:41] You know, I've got a lot more time than I had
[34:44] and flexibility, you know, I am
[34:50] looking to do a little traveling,
[34:52] but I can work my schedule around that.
[34:56] And so that's,
[35:00] and also I like digging into articles
[35:02] and items to, to learn, you know,
[35:08] continue continuing education.
[35:09] But I have had to deal with
[35:13] Article 79 on the other side of the table
[35:17] and Wetlands Protection Act and, and providing these reports
[35:22] and doing the inspections before and after a storm event
[35:27] and, and then making the modifications
[35:30] to the ERO erosion control system and, and budgeting for it
[35:34] and having an understanding of it.
[35:37] So, you know, that's,
[35:39] that's my perspective from the GC side,
[35:41] but also as a resident when I drive past the job site
[35:45] and I see that they're not complying
[35:49] and there's silt running down the road
[35:52] and, you know, that that bugs me when, when,
[35:57] when we can't swim down at Memorial Beach
[36:02] because of the algae, you know, something's not right there.
[36:06] So I would like to be able to help out with that
[36:10] and I can arrange my schedule accordingly.
[36:14] Thank you Mr. Evans. Thank
[36:17] You Madam Chair.
[36:18] I'm gonna, in the interest of consistency,
[36:20] I'll ask the same question I asked earlier, which is,
[36:24] what conservation
[36:25] or environmental challenges do you believe are the most
[36:28] important in Natick today and in the near future?
[36:33] Well, I think enforcement of the existing regulations,
[36:38] like I alluded to at construction sites,
[36:41] that they follow the order of conditions
[36:43] or the project requirements and the various plans.
[36:48] But as the biggest challenges I see in the town are
[36:53] have to do with water quality issues, lake cot
[36:57] and, you know, avoiding minimizing the algae blooms
[37:02] and allowing people to swim in water
[37:06] and not have dangerous conditions.
[37:09] And then we have the DAM project in South Natick.
[37:14] The Charles River is a great resource running through town
[37:18] and it needs to be done right.
[37:20] That's gonna be a major construction project that
[37:24] absolutely has to have the proper sediment
[37:27] and erosion controls.
[37:29] So I think that
[37:33] that about covers it for me.
[37:36] Thank you. I had a question.
[37:43] Did, did you have an opportunity, Mr. Price
[37:45] to read the memo from the Department of Community
[37:48] and Economic Development that was sent to each
[37:51] of the applicants as well as a select board?
[37:55] Yes, I did. So for members of the public, this is,
[37:59] this memo is uploaded
[38:00] to the agenda if you wanted to read it.
[38:02] It talks about the time commitment.
[38:06] And unlike many boards
[38:07] and committees on which
[38:11] volunteers sit throughout town con com
[38:13] and a few others have some specialized knowledge that
[38:17] that's either a really steep climb to get caught up on
[38:20] or they, you know, should have a, a baseline
[38:25] understanding of it.
[38:27] So one of the key parts that our conservation agent
[38:31] and environmental planner mentioned
[38:33] that there were over 300 pages of laws,
[38:35] bylaws and regulations.
[38:40] And she mentions some of them, specifically the, the,
[38:44] the Wetlands Protection bylaw, then Article 79 A
[38:47] and the aquifer protection bylaw
[38:49] and then some other regulations.
[38:51] I was wondering if you had had a chance to review some
[38:54] of those and how comfortable you felt getting up to speed
[38:57] with the,
[39:01] the duties and responsibilities?
[39:04] So the, the answer is yes.
[39:06] I've gone through Article 79 and 79 A and
[39:11] and they, I'm very familiar with all of those,
[39:14] but they align with the typical practice
[39:20] throughout the state in conservation commissions.
[39:24] It, there's really nothing unusual there, just
[39:29] little customization for the town of Natick.
[39:34] And, you know, it's, I I,
[39:39] so I, I have read through those prior to today's call
[39:44] and I'm comfortable with reading
[39:48] through the other documents as well, some of the, the state
[39:53] regulations that they all feed into each other.
[40:00] So there's nothing, this is
[40:01] what I'm accustomed to reading through.
[40:04] Thank you Mr. Price. I,
[40:06] I also wanna congratulate you on your retirement
[40:08] and for seeing the time
[40:10] that you have available in your schedule
[40:11] and for submitting Stepping Up and wanting to volunteer.
[40:15] Have you applied for any other committees
[40:17] or boards that you'd wanna serve on?
[40:20] I applied to the Net zero Commission
[40:23] because for the last five years at the, at my company,
[40:28] I was working as a sustainability collateral duty,
[40:34] which in Massachusetts it's been important
[40:37] to have a sustainability department
[40:40] and it has become a, a
[40:45] specialty of mine of sorts.
[40:47] I was on the Association of General Contractors
[40:49] Sustainability Committee as a vice chair.
[40:53] And so
[40:56] that's why I think net zero is important.
[40:59] It's, I've gone to a couple of activities.
[41:03] I don't think it's nearly as heavy a lift
[41:05] as the Conservation Commission though.
[41:08] Thank you, Mr. Price. Now we'll move to Mr. Beatty.
[41:15] Same instructions. If you could just give us two
[41:17] or three sentences on why you decided to apply
[41:19] for this particular commission board or committee. Yes.
[41:23] Hi. Excuse me. I'm David Beaty, resident
[41:26] of 29 South Lincoln Street in Natick.
[41:30] Have been there since 1999
[41:33] and applied for this position for several reasons.
[41:36] Number one, un unlike previous candidates,
[41:40] I'm not professional in this space.
[41:42] I am a extremely enthusiastic amateur.
[41:44] I moved to Natick explicitly
[41:46] because of the amazing opus space
[41:49] and particularly the river,
[41:51] which I'm fortunate to live near.
[41:53] And was raised in a family, going back to my grandfather,
[41:58] which had a lot of activities in terms of
[42:00] forestry conservation.
[42:02] My dad was professional conservationist at TR Unlimited
[42:05] and Nature Conservancy and,
[42:07] and enthusiastic supporter of rail trails and, and,
[42:12] and did some big projects there,
[42:15] which I participated in in other states.
[42:17] And so since I've come to Natick, I've been very fond of
[42:20] the activities I see
[42:22] and the potential of this, of this area.
[42:25] And I've seen the value of the concerted effort
[42:29] of conservation specifically in the river
[42:31] and how much healthier it is in the, even in the,
[42:33] in the only 20 plus years I've lived here with the,
[42:36] with the conversion to septic system, I'm sorry,
[42:38] from septic systems and cesspools to sewer.
[42:42] And, and I've also been quite familiar with many
[42:46] of the projects the Conservation Commission has been,
[42:48] been part of, based on what's happened in my neighborhood,
[42:51] but also my, my acquaintance with Matt Gardner
[42:55] and based on his advice plus the advice in that memo
[42:58] that you mentioned would like
[43:01] to apply to be an associate member.
[43:02] So I have the chance to get up to speed on,
[43:05] on the substantial documentation I need to be familiar with.
[43:10] And lastly,
[43:12] I've just concluded my tenure on the MathWorks
[43:17] Con Scholarship Committee.
[43:18] Yes. And I'm looking for another opportunity to give back
[43:21] to the community in anticipation of my retirement,
[43:24] which is at the end of July.
[43:26] Thank you. So before I open up, up to board questions,
[43:29] I want to clarify for members of the public that
[43:32] the select board does not vote on associate members
[43:35] to the the con com, the but the, the chairs, Mr.
[43:40] Beatty, am I saying that right? Is it B is
[43:42] Beatty. Thank you for asking
[43:44] My neighbor's Beatie and I call him Beatie, so apologies.
[43:50] So the chair, you know, and, and Mr.
[43:53] Beatie as you mentioned, had a conversation about
[43:55] serving as an associate member.
[43:57] That's something that the chair decides.
[43:59] It's not something that we vote on. Thank you.
[44:01] It's not an official part.
[44:03] So I wanted to throw that out also to the board so
[44:05] that when we do take our votes, we understand that
[44:07] that is a possibility for someone to serve
[44:10] as an associate member for a year
[44:12] under the guidance of the chair. Ms. Evans, just
[44:15] A clarifying question.
[44:16] Is my understanding that there's no limit on the number
[44:20] of people who can be an associate member?
[44:23] That is correct. That that is completely under the
[44:25] jurisdiction of the commission.
[44:26] And it's similar to the NA Affordable Housing trust,
[44:29] although I think they built in a certain number
[44:31] in their specific charter.
[44:33] Yeah. But yes, associate members,
[44:35] unless they're members that we appoint by charter or bylaw.
[44:39] So thank you.
[44:42] So now I'll open it up to questions
[44:44] for the applicant from members of the board, Mr. Jacobs.
[44:50] Alright, well again, thank you for calling. Is it Doc? Dr.
[44:52] Beatty? Dr. Beatty. Okay. Apologies, doctor, thank No.
[44:56] Yeah, so thank you.
[44:58] Thank you, thank you for applying,
[45:00] obviously appreciate your interest.
[45:01] Again, to be fair, I'm gonna ask you the exact same question
[45:03] I asked everybody else, which is,
[45:05] what would you think about the concept
[45:06] of a tree bylaw and natick?
[45:09] So I appreciate the comments made by the other applicants,
[45:12] so I'll try to just add to them.
[45:14] I, I see tremendous value in it in that
[45:18] from maybe getting ahead to the other
[45:21] select board members' questions regarding what are some
[45:23] of our pressing issues here?
[45:24] I think, I think maintaining green space, maintain,
[45:28] maintaining our healthy tree population is very important.
[45:30] We have a tremendous number of in, of non-native species.
[45:34] Some very abundant, I have some on my property quite large,
[45:39] and they provide all sorts
[45:41] of advantages and all sorts of disadvantages.
[45:43] I would like to think about that concept
[45:44] of a bylaw in a more maybe holistic way in which we became
[45:48] more stewards of the, of the,
[45:50] of the trees rather than necessarily only talking about
[45:53] removal and,
[45:55] and talk about instead about evolution of our,
[45:57] of our tree population.
[45:59] I would adore it if I drove into town in Natick
[46:01] and I saw the sign that said Tree City, like you do some
[46:04] of our neighboring towns, like, you know,
[46:05] that would be a great evolution
[46:06] for us if we became more planters than cutters.
[46:09] So I would like to view the,
[46:11] that bylaw concept in a larger way to say how do we,
[46:14] how do we evolve our, our tree population
[46:17] to be a more healthy one, more native one and,
[46:19] and provide the necessary value we get from it,
[46:23] what we already have right now and more.
[46:25] Great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
[46:26] Other board members? Yes, Ms. Pope.
[46:30] Hi Dr. Beatty. Thank you for being here.
[46:32] Thank you for the service you've already given to the town.
[46:34] What new or different perspective do you think you would
[46:37] bring to the Conservation Commission?
[46:40] Well, I don't know all their perspectives,
[46:42] but I can talk about my own perspective.
[46:44] I am a very enthusiastic outdoors person.
[46:47] I appreciate all aspects of the, of Natick's green space
[46:51] as well as our regional green space and, and,
[46:53] and regional, I mean, even all of New England, I have a
[46:58] training in natural sciences and I,
[46:59] and I bring a lot of understanding of, of biology
[47:02] and natural biology, even though
[47:03] it's, again, not my profession.
[47:05] And I, again, have seen a lot of the value of,
[47:09] of systematic projects in, in, in, in,
[47:13] in the northeast regarding waterways.
[47:17] I will say, for the record, I'm an enthusiastic fan of the,
[47:20] of the spillway removal project.
[47:22] I was there last weekend fishing
[47:24] and I saw fish trying to get up over the spillway,
[47:27] which is of course impossible.
[47:29] And that really struck me of the value of that.
[47:31] And I would, and I've seen a lot
[47:33] of migrating fish in the streams.
[47:34] I think art, my, my dedication to the waterways of Nader go,
[47:38] I think are gonna gimme a lot of enthusiasm for the role
[47:40] as well as the experience
[47:44] living in other parts of the country.
[47:45] I grew up in the southeast.
[47:46] I grew up in a town where in Atlanta,
[47:48] which is famously not focused on
[47:50] conservation when I was a child.
[47:52] And the, and the results speak for themselves as well as in,
[47:54] as when in the Midwest.
[47:56] And again, being involved in projects there
[47:58] that I can bring some wisdom to.
[47:59] I've, I've been involved in some
[48:02] invasive species eradication projects as volunteer work.
[48:06] And that's something that I, it's, it's,
[48:08] that may be more on the, on the labor side than on the
[48:10] policy side and on the, the leadership side,
[48:13] but it's, it's, I think it's my experience in, in,
[48:15] in other aspects and in and
[48:17] and in defending conservation more broadly across the
[48:21] country and bringing that back to my town of meeting.
[48:25] Thank you Ms.
[48:28] Slager, don't really have a question
[48:30] because I think you've already covered that.
[48:31] Okay. Thank you for being a thorough Dr.
[48:33] Beatty and I just wanna say thank you for being willing to
[48:37] consider the associate role.
[48:41] Any other questions for members of the board?
[48:44] I got a ditto for that one and he answered my question.
[48:48] It's part of Cody's.
[48:49] Yep. Okay. Wonderful. Okay.
[48:52] At this time I, I've handed out to members of the
[48:57] board a ballot, so we will vote.
[48:59] Thank you. Right. Thank you so much, Dr. Beat.
[49:01] Thank you Beatty.
[49:06] It's gonna take me some time 'cause I've got,
[49:08] I've got Beatie on the brain. Yeah. Know it's,
[49:10] Once it's there it's hard to err era.
[49:12] Write your name on the back or
[49:14] on, so that your name on the
[49:16] Back.
[49:17] Yeah. Just so I don't
[49:20] No, you're You gonna announce your
[49:22] Vote.
[49:23] Oh, that's true. Yeah. We, we'll all remember LL announce.
[49:25] Oh, yes sir.
[49:34] Thank you.
[49:52] The vote was unanimous For Michael Downey,
[49:58] I'd like to thank all of the candidates for applying.
[50:00] I encourage you if you are interested in the conservation
[50:03] commission to speak
[50:04] with the chair about serving as an associate member.
[50:06] And I wanna thank all of you for putting in the time
[50:08] and effort to fill out the application, attach your resume,
[50:11] and, and to be with us here tonight for interviews.
[50:14] So I wanna thank you so much Mr. Evans.
[50:17] Just a quick comment. I wanted to more
[50:20] or less echo what you're, you're describing is
[50:23] very seldom do we get, I shouldn't say very seldom.
[50:27] I said it's infrequent that we get such qualified people
[50:32] for openings.
[50:36] Having said that, it was a unanimous vote,
[50:40] but that's not a repudiation of anyone, for example.
[50:44] Not at all. Mr. Price is to me is,
[50:49] is a great fit with the net zero committee
[50:54] and they will have openings coming up
[50:56] and I encourage him to follow up with them on that.
[51:00] Similarly, Dr. Beatty wanting to be an associate member,
[51:05] I to look forward at the Conservation commission
[51:09] and I think there are either two
[51:11] or three openings, not this year, but the next year.
[51:15] So as an associate member, you'll be up to speed
[51:18] and be a tremendous candidate in the future year.
[51:23] So thank you. That'd be great. Thank you. Yeah.
[51:26] Next up we have interviews
[51:27] for the math work scholarship committee.
[51:29] There are three vacancies, two terms expire.
[51:34] June 30th, 2027.
[51:36] One term expires June 30th, 2029.
[51:39] So we're gonna do all four interviews together
[51:42] and then vote the first two terms expiring at the end
[51:47] of 2027, and then the second vote will be
[51:49] for the term ex expiring on 2029.
[51:53] So going in order of the names on the agenda,
[51:56] can I ask Dr.
[51:58] GL to come to the podium
[52:01] and following kind of the same format,
[52:03] we have your resumes, we have your applications.
[52:06] If you could just talk a little bit, maybe three
[52:09] to four minutes about why you wanna serve on this committee.
[52:12] Thank you Madam Chair.
[52:14] So everybody here knows, but maybe other people don't.
[52:17] I'm Carol gl. I've lived in Natick since 1992
[52:21] and I currently live at 20 South Avenue,
[52:23] so about a block from here.
[52:26] One of the reasons I would like
[52:27] to serve on this committee is I am a scientist.
[52:30] I have my bachelor's degree in pharmacy.
[52:32] I'm old enough so that you needed a five year bachelor's
[52:35] degree to be able to work as a pharmacist.
[52:37] And then a few years later I went
[52:39] and obtained my PhD in pharmacokinetics.
[52:41] And for those of you who are
[52:42] thinking, what the heck is that?
[52:44] That is looking at how the bo how your body handles drugs,
[52:47] how it absorbs them, gets rid of them.
[52:49] It involves a lot of math and math is something that I love.
[52:53] So the other reason that I'm interested in this,
[52:56] there might be a couple of others,
[52:57] but anyway, is this scholarship was established
[53:01] over 10 years ago now,
[53:04] and at the time I thought, oh, this is a great scholarship.
[53:07] As a somebody who went to school, both undergrad
[53:10] and grad on scholarships, fellowships, part-time jobs,
[53:14] loans, scholarships are so important
[53:18] and there's such a need for training in the STEM areas.
[53:23] So I thought that's really important.
[53:25] Now I feel like is a time when I could perhaps contribute
[53:29] to the review of the scholarship applications
[53:32] and do a part on this committee.
[53:35] Happy to answer any questions.
[53:37] Members of the board. Mr. Jacobs?
[53:42] Yeah, so the thank you for applying, of course the,
[53:47] you know, the, the criteria for the the scholarship,
[53:50] you know, is, is you know about people as you,
[53:52] as you mentioned to excel in STEM fields.
[53:55] But you know, I think we're fortunate in Natick,
[53:57] there's a lot of people like that as, you know, we just,
[53:59] they, they just came and did the award
[54:02] the other, the other night for that.
[54:03] And you know, we heard from the committee about
[54:05] how there were so many really qualified applicants.
[54:07] So if you were on the committee, how would you decide
[54:10] between many different applicants who were
[54:13] extremely qualified in, you know, in the STEM fields?
[54:17] So I believe the committee has, is it five members?
[54:20] So I expect there would be some,
[54:23] we would have different perspectives of
[54:25] who are the best candidates reasons why we should
[54:30] offer it to one or another.
[54:31] It would be a, a lot of negotiation and collaboration.
[54:35] I would be looking for someone who is clearly shows
[54:40] because these are high school seniors
[54:41] who are applying clearly shows in their background
[54:45] that this is the direction they wanna go in.
[54:48] I realized people get into college and change their plans
[54:51] and you know,
[54:52] I didn't end up doing that, although I thought about it.
[54:55] So, but it, it would require really looking into the
[54:58] applications and looking at
[55:01] what I think is really needed in the STEM areas.
[55:05] I'm a science and math person.
[55:08] I'm not an engineer
[55:10] and technology, A couple
[55:11] of you heard me talking about getting a new
[55:14] iPhone a few days ago
[55:15] and not really having it all understood yet,
[55:18] but hopefully I'll get there eventually.
[55:19] So I realize that's not a definitive answer,
[55:22] but it would, I would need to work
[55:24] with my fellow committee members to figure it out.
[55:27] Who would be most worthy of that,
[55:30] of those two scholarships each year.
[55:32] Thank you. Are there questions for members
[55:35] of the board, Ms. Pope? Yes.
[55:37] Hi Dr. Lov, thank you for
[55:39] being willing to serve on this committee.
[55:41] What role do you think that personal circumstances
[55:43] and overcoming maybe any kind
[55:45] of adversity should have in the scholarship decisions?
[55:50] You know, I have not looked at what the requirements are.
[55:55] What, because I come from a background
[55:58] where I depended on scholarships as I've already said,
[56:01] and loans, et cetera.
[56:03] I personally think that there's some value to that,
[56:08] but I recognize that that's not fair to only in,
[56:12] to put up a heavy emphasis on that.
[56:15] I will say the most recent scholarship committee
[56:17] that I on which I've served is the Metro West Health
[56:20] Foundation Scholarship Committee, which offers scholarships
[56:24] to anybody in the metro West catchment area.
[56:28] It's 23 communities I think.
[56:31] And you can be trying to get trained at Mass Bay
[56:34] to become a certified medical assistant.
[56:37] That's not the right terminology or up to medical school,
[56:40] dental school there we didn't have to make decisions.
[56:44] So there wasn't a lot of emphasis on what it do.
[56:49] You really need the money, basically.
[56:51] But this might, depending on
[56:55] what the description allows,
[56:57] I might want to have that information.
[57:00] Thank you. Other members of the board?
[57:07] There is the board this year.
[57:09] I mean the scholarship committee this year
[57:11] over the last year and a half have come up with a set
[57:14] criteria and rubric so
[57:16] that everybody's judged on the same items.
[57:20] And so that's, I think it's something they're also still
[57:23] working on developing
[57:24] and continuing to reiterate
[57:26] as they know more, just share that. Yes. Mr. Evans
[57:30] Have question, quick question.
[57:32] Thank you Dr. Gla for applying.
[57:35] Also there, there are a number of
[57:41] very highly qualified candidates
[57:43] who apply for this scholarship.
[57:45] It's, it's promoted very well within the high school,
[57:50] so we get an a pool of excellent candidates.
[57:54] How would you attempt to differentiate from
[57:59] among a pool of very intelligent,
[58:02] very qualified candidates?
[58:06] Good question. I don't know
[58:07] that I have a definitive answer at this point
[58:09] because A, I haven't looked at the rubric,
[58:12] I don't know if it's publicly available,
[58:13] but even if it is, I have not looked at it.
[58:15] I'm glad to hear that the committee has been working on
[58:18] coming up with a way to maybe prioritize,
[58:23] but more perhaps a better word, better terminology would be
[58:27] to make certain that everybody is,
[58:29] is being evaluated on an even footing so
[58:32] that we're all looking at them in a, basically the same way.
[58:34] We're all still gonna have our same,
[58:36] our committee, our own opinions.
[58:38] And I say we, but I realize I may not be selected
[58:41] for this committee, so I apologize for use of the royal we,
[58:45] so it's a, it's a tough one.
[58:48] You know, I, I have been through this with a couple
[58:51] of other scholarship committees, not
[58:53] with Metro Trust Health Foundation
[58:54] because again, we've had the money to be able to
[58:58] provide scholarships to anybody
[59:01] that we felt was going into an appropriate area.
[59:03] And I should say that in past tense, I am no longer on
[59:06] that board, the Metro Trust Health Foundation board.
[59:09] I hit term limits at the end of December of 2025
[59:12] and at that time I dropped off the scholarship committee.
[59:15] So I'm, when I say make it sound like it's present,
[59:17] it's not, but with a couple of others that I've worked on,
[59:20] the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education,
[59:23] we give out fellowships and scholarships.
[59:25] I'm no longer on that scholarship committee
[59:28] and fellowship committee, but I served on it
[59:30] for about 10 years and served as chair for a few years
[59:33] and during that time we worked on trying to make certain
[59:35] that we evaluated people evenly.
[59:37] In addition, I worked on, served on,
[59:41] and for part of the time served as chair
[59:43] of a scholarship awards committee for the University
[59:46] of Buffalo for the University of Buffalo Alumni Association,
[59:50] which is, those scholarships are not science
[59:52] oriented, the others are.
[59:54] So, but I, sorry,
[59:56] I don't have a more definitive answer for you.
[59:58] That's a good answer.
[1:00:01] Any other questions from the members
[1:00:02] of the board? Thank you Dr. Cloth.
[1:00:05] Thank you very much. The next applicant is Jasmine Huck
[1:00:09] Ahmed, you in the room to come to the podium?
[1:00:13] You may need to slide the, the microphone down a little bit.
[1:00:17] There we go. If you could talk, just,
[1:00:20] we have your application
[1:00:21] and your resume, just a little bit about why you applied
[1:00:25] to this scholarship committee.
[1:00:27] Good evening board. Thank you for having me.
[1:00:31] I am a native resident since 2012.
[1:00:34] I've been here about 14 years
[1:00:36] and I have two kids that are young
[1:00:38] in the school system here.
[1:00:41] I personally have a strong love of learning and education.
[1:00:46] I have two bachelor's degrees and two master's degrees.
[1:00:50] I was somebody who was very passionate about health sciences
[1:00:53] and I switched careers just due to family circumstances.
[1:00:57] So my original plan
[1:00:59] or original track was I went to Northeastern,
[1:01:02] I did behavioral neuroscience.
[1:01:04] I also did a master's in public health at Columbia
[1:01:06] University and I worked in many hospitals in
[1:01:08] Boston and in New York City.
[1:01:11] I thought I was gonna become a pediatrician.
[1:01:13] I changed plans because I took care of a parent
[1:01:15] with leukemia and a parent who had a stroke.
[1:01:18] So I decided, hmm,
[1:01:19] I still wanna go into healthcare, what can I do?
[1:01:22] Reapplied went back, went through the grind again.
[1:01:25] I got another bachelor's degree from Northeastern in nursing
[1:01:29] and I got a master's degree from Simmons University
[1:01:32] as a nurse practitioner,
[1:01:33] so a master's of science and nursing.
[1:01:35] So I love learning
[1:01:38] because I am alu for punishment for education,
[1:01:41] but I also understand the nuances of getting colleges
[1:01:45] and degrees paid for.
[1:01:47] It is a very difficult process
[1:01:50] and I also know that you can be smart
[1:01:53] but also not smart enough.
[1:01:55] I also know that meeting students is very important.
[1:01:59] And the other reason I was gonna chime in,
[1:02:02] I work at Suffolk University,
[1:02:05] but I'm a nurse practitioner, so I actually work
[1:02:07] with a college student population.
[1:02:09] So I understand the difficulties of getting into schools now
[1:02:12] and the financial difficulties that students have.
[1:02:16] Thank you. Questions for members of the board, Mr. Jacobs?
[1:02:21] Yeah, thank you for applying.
[1:02:23] I'll ask you the same question which I'm gonna ask everyone.
[1:02:27] So there are many people who excel at math and science
[1:02:31] and are interested in STEM careers
[1:02:33] that apply for this scholarship.
[1:02:34] And I under, you know, taking, taking the point
[1:02:36] that there is, that there may be a rubric
[1:02:38] being developed and things like that.
[1:02:39] But what would be your perspective on how you would kind of
[1:02:43] separate, you know, figure out who to give the scholarship
[1:02:47] to given the strong pool of applicants?
[1:02:52] I believe in the humanistic component, I think
[1:02:56] that you have to meet with the students
[1:02:59] and really see what they're interested in
[1:03:01] and what their passions are.
[1:03:03] I think, you know, people on paper can look the same,
[1:03:05] you can have the same SAT score,
[1:03:07] you can have the same clubs extracurriculars,
[1:03:09] but you really have to see what drives the student.
[1:03:12] So I think one of the nice things is that we're,
[1:03:15] we're in a very hospitable, communicable town
[1:03:19] that we can get to know the students on, on, you know,
[1:03:21] a short term basis just to say, Hey, what are you,
[1:03:23] what are you actually passionate about?
[1:03:25] What do you wanna do? And
[1:03:26] how can this scholarship actually apply to your education?
[1:03:31] Thank you very much, Ms. Pope.
[1:03:34] I'll ask the same question as well.
[1:03:35] Thank you for applying. What role do you think personal
[1:03:38] circumstances or overcoming adversity should play in
[1:03:40] the scholarship decisions?
[1:03:43] I actually think that's a, a strong criteria
[1:03:48] because I, I don't feel that college or
[1:03:53] or higher education should, should be unattainable
[1:03:56] for anybody who wants it.
[1:03:57] So I think that we have to take that into consideration.
[1:04:00] And again, knowing that the rubric may change
[1:04:03] and may evolve, I think we have
[1:04:06] to look at the whole candidate, just like,
[1:04:09] I'm gonna say AI tries to just summarize
[1:04:11] and skim off the top and you know, get a, a quick result.
[1:04:16] I really think we have to look at the whole candidate
[1:04:18] and the whole student just to see
[1:04:20] what are they actually applying for,
[1:04:21] what is the career track do they have in mind?
[1:04:23] Are they just applying just to apply
[1:04:25] or do they actually have an understanding of
[1:04:27] what the career needs are
[1:04:29] and what the job opportunities are with that degree.
[1:04:31] Now I know this is a big ask for a high school student,
[1:04:34] but usually high school students deep down kind of know
[1:04:37] what they wanna do and they know what their passions are.
[1:04:39] So I think that is really important to consider.
[1:04:42] And I would try to look at the students'
[1:04:45] background situations
[1:04:46] and figure out, yeah, you know, cost
[1:04:48] of higher education is ridiculous.
[1:04:50] Doesn't matter where you go unless you're,
[1:04:51] unless it's a free program.
[1:04:53] All colleges right now are very expensive.
[1:04:55] So I think there's value into the scholarship,
[1:04:58] but I also think we need
[1:04:59] to look at the circumstances of the
[1:05:00] individual students. Thank
[1:05:01] You.
[1:05:03] Any other questions from members of the board?
[1:05:07] I have one question. You indicated
[1:05:12] that you had attended or watched Adic 1 0 1
[1:05:14] and I was just curious which one?
[1:05:17] Oh my goodness. Ugh.
[1:05:19] And I hate to put you on the spot
[1:05:20] if you don't remember, don't worry about it.
[1:05:21] I actually don't remember. It's been
[1:05:22] going on for two years so
[1:05:24] It's, yeah, I don't remember.
[1:05:25] And I think, I think I was recommended
[1:05:29] to watch by one of the select board members here just
[1:05:33] to be a part of the native community.
[1:05:35] And I don't even remember what I watched,
[1:05:36] but I just remember logging in from work
[1:05:38] and then going, ah, I need to log back out.
[1:05:41] Thank you. It's perfectly acceptable.
[1:05:43] It's probably the select word.
[1:05:45] I was just thinking the same thing.
[1:05:47] That's, yeah, I've done the same thing.
[1:05:49] Logging in and then logging right out. So yes. Understood.
[1:05:53] Wanna appreciate you putting your, your name forward.
[1:05:57] Thank you so much. Our next candidate
[1:06:02] is Shrudy Kakar.
[1:06:04] If you could come to the podium
[1:06:05] and same thing, just a few minutes
[1:06:07] on why this particular one.
[1:06:08] And if you could also tell me
[1:06:09] whether I said your name correctly. Yes,
[1:06:11] You did.
[1:06:12] Thank you. Am I audible? Yes. Okay.
[1:06:15] Good evening, select board
[1:06:16] and thank you for this opportunity.
[1:06:19] My name is Shruti Kaka.
[1:06:22] I have been working at MathWorks
[1:06:24] for a little over 15 years now.
[1:06:26] I have been native resident for the past three years.
[1:06:31] I have a child in native public schools.
[1:06:35] He's, he goes to Benham.
[1:06:37] So I'm truly very grateful for our town.
[1:06:40] I see my child thriving in our school system
[1:06:44] and I feel this is my way of giving back to the community.
[1:06:48] I am a deeply invested in our community.
[1:06:53] Education is something I am very passionate about.
[1:06:56] So beyond MathWorks, I have been doing extensive mentoring.
[1:07:02] Notably, I want to call out two things that I do.
[1:07:05] One, for the last two years I have been mentoring at MIT
[1:07:10] through their breakthrough tech AI program.
[1:07:13] So I've been working with students in MIT
[1:07:17] who co come from all over the world.
[1:07:21] I have been doing that for the last two years.
[1:07:24] I have been in invited again this year as well.
[1:07:27] Second thing, a place
[1:07:29] where I mentor is Grace Hopper Celebration, which is
[1:07:34] the country's biggest conference for women in tech.
[1:07:39] So this is a place where I get to work with
[1:07:42] underrepresented community.
[1:07:45] So I feel that I bring a unique combination
[1:07:50] of technical expertise, deep passion
[1:07:54] for our community,
[1:07:56] and I want to give back to our town, not just
[1:07:59] as a math worker, but also as a parent of a child
[1:08:04] who is thriving in our schools.
[1:08:06] So that's little bit about me.
[1:08:08] Thank you so much. Thank you.
[1:08:10] Opening up to questions for members
[1:08:11] of the board. Mr. Jacobs,
[1:08:14] Thank you for applying.
[1:08:16] Of course. And I'll again, you know, no surprise,
[1:08:19] to ask you the same question, which is, you know,
[1:08:21] we have a lot of people who are very qualified in math
[1:08:24] and science and STEM fields.
[1:08:25] And how would you go about kind
[1:08:27] of looking at which candidates to,
[1:08:29] to support for the scholarship?
[1:08:31] So, that's a great question.
[1:08:34] I would work with my fellow board members to come up
[1:08:39] with a metric so
[1:08:40] that we are looking at all candidates in the same fashion.
[1:08:45] I have experience doing that.
[1:08:47] I have done this as part of my MIT program
[1:08:52] and I use that extensively.
[1:08:55] So I I, I would do that.
[1:08:58] Thank you. Other members of the board,
[1:09:01] Ms.
[1:09:02] Hope, thank you Shuri, for being here with us.
[1:09:05] What role do you think personal circumstances
[1:09:07] or overcoming adversity should play in
[1:09:09] scholarship decisions?
[1:09:11] I feel it should play a significant role.
[1:09:14] And as I was hearing you ask this question,
[1:09:18] this is a small story that I want to share.
[1:09:21] So I have been working with
[1:09:23] Christo Re it's an organization based in Boston.
[1:09:27] It works with youth at risk.
[1:09:30] I have been working with a couple of students from
[1:09:32] that program via MathWorks.
[1:09:35] I won't, I won't take the student's name,
[1:09:37] but I just want to share how that is so important.
[1:09:41] I was working with a student when she came in.
[1:09:44] She didn't know what she was going to do with her life
[1:09:46] and you know, she didn't, she had gone through some trauma.
[1:09:50] She was not doing in a, she wasn't in a good space.
[1:09:54] But via mentoring her, working with her, I worked
[1:09:57] with her for a year.
[1:10:00] We gave her scholarship.
[1:10:01] She's now a senior in FSU, she decided to
[1:10:06] do computer science and that was life changing for her.
[1:10:10] So I feel that, you know, some scholarship can be, you know,
[1:10:15] some monetary benefit for one person,
[1:10:18] but it can be truly life changing for someone whose,
[1:10:21] whose circumstances are different.
[1:10:23] So I feel that personal circumstances play a big role.
[1:10:27] Looking at a person holistically is very important.
[1:10:32] And I am ready to talk to all the students, all applicants
[1:10:36] and really get to know them better,
[1:10:39] understand their background
[1:10:40] and bring in diverse perspectives.
[1:10:44] Thank you. Other members of the board,
[1:10:52] thank you so much Rudi.
[1:10:53] Thank really appreciate you. Thank you.
[1:10:55] The last applicant is Hamma. Sura, Raja.
[1:11:04] Hema, we're gonna, we are going to unmute you
[1:11:07] and if you could do the same as the, the applicant's
[1:11:10] before you, which is to just in three
[1:11:15] to four minutes, tell us why you applied
[1:11:17] to this scholarship committee and wanna serve on it.
[1:11:22] Thank you. First of all, I would like to thank you
[1:11:24] for interviewing me today for this position.
[1:11:27] And I am an NAIC resident.
[1:11:30] This is our 14th year living in Burning Tree Road Natick.
[1:11:33] And I am a software QA analyst
[1:11:37] for the past one and a half years.
[1:11:39] I'm in between jobs
[1:11:40] and I used to work with the state of Massachusetts,
[1:11:43] the gaming commission.
[1:11:46] I'm in between jobs.
[1:11:48] I'm working on Natick service council volunteer currently.
[1:11:52] And before I used to volunteer
[1:11:53] with the Newton Homeless Shelter Place
[1:11:57] as I have the passion towards the public service.
[1:12:02] I definitely was looking for some opportunity
[1:12:04] to serve the Natick Council.
[1:12:07] My husband used to work for the Transportation Council for,
[1:12:12] as a volunteer four or five years ago.
[1:12:14] So that's when I came to know about this opportunity.
[1:12:18] And have two daughters who went to medic schools
[1:12:22] and they're 24 and 20 now.
[1:12:25] And I wish I knew about the scholarship when my younger one
[1:12:30] was in senior in high school two years ago.
[1:12:34] And since I've been heavily involved
[1:12:36] with the college application process
[1:12:38] and the scholarship applications
[1:12:41] and the reaching of the school counselor, et cetera,
[1:12:45] I definitely have the involvement around the area.
[1:12:48] So that's the reason I applied for this position.
[1:12:52] Thank you so much. Questions from members
[1:12:54] of the board? Mr. Jacobs?
[1:12:58] Hi. Thank you very much for applying,
[1:13:00] really appreciate it.
[1:13:02] No surprise. What question I'm gonna ask, you know,
[1:13:05] how would you look at the, you know, we got a lot
[1:13:07] of qualified applicants.
[1:13:08] How would you, you know, kind of look
[1:13:10] to figure out which ones you would support among those
[1:13:13] who excel, obviously in science, math and other STEM fields?
[1:13:18] Definitely the, the holistic approach I would say.
[1:13:22] And also collaborating well with the team members
[1:13:25] who has prior experience with that.
[1:13:27] And also looking at the previous scholarship
[1:13:32] distributions, how they decided and things like that.
[1:13:36] I would do my research as well in order to meet
[1:13:40] with the student
[1:13:41] or understanding their need, why they, did they really apply
[1:13:46] for the scholarship in need
[1:13:47] or do they just applied
[1:13:48] as they looked at the scholarship
[1:13:50] advertisement, things like that.
[1:13:52] So I, I tried to do my best with the research
[1:13:56] and the historic results,
[1:14:01] everything collaboratively.
[1:14:03] That's how I approach and decide.
[1:14:10] Ms. Pop. Yes. And I'll ask the same question again.
[1:14:12] Thank you so much for applying.
[1:14:14] My question is, how would you appropriate
[1:14:18] circumstances over overcoming circumstances
[1:14:22] or personal issues in the application process
[1:14:25] of scholarship applicants?
[1:14:28] Sure. Yeah, definitely.
[1:14:29] It definitely impacts significantly.
[1:14:33] So in order to do that, definitely the,
[1:14:35] the same like the holistic approach, understanding the need
[1:14:39] of a student and what they exactly looking to do.
[1:14:45] How the scholarship will help them in order
[1:14:47] to succeed in their career.
[1:14:49] And even meeting with the family
[1:14:52] or sitting with the student, whatever it takes
[1:14:55] to change their life.
[1:14:57] I would definitely try to do my best for this.
[1:15:01] Thank you. Any other members of the board?
[1:15:06] My only question was,
[1:15:08] did I pronounce your last name correctly?
[1:15:11] Just wanna make sure. Yes, Raja. It's Hema Raja Sand.
[1:15:15] Thank you. Yep. Appreciate you checking with it. Thank you
[1:15:19] Excel.
[1:15:20] Any other questions? Comments from the board?
[1:15:23] Okay, at this time we will undertake voting.
[1:15:26] Every member of the board gets a ballot with all four names
[1:15:31] and you're to choose two for the term ending next June.
[1:15:35] And then hand them to Mr. Erickson.
[1:15:39] And then we will do the, and after we do this we
[1:15:41] Do.
[1:15:42] Yeah. And then after this we'll do the A longer term.
[1:15:43] The longer term, exactly. Okay,
[1:15:44] Got it.
[1:15:46] And there's three here. Okay. Yep.
[1:15:52] Thanks. Thank you.
[1:15:56] So these are for the two terms ending next year.
[1:16:04] Thank you.
[1:16:21] All right.
[1:16:36] Six.
[1:16:41] Oh boy.
[1:16:49] So for this photo, it was also unanimous
[1:16:52] for miss.
[1:16:56] I'm gonna butcher these names. I apologize.
[1:17:01] Jasmine and Shruti. Yes, Jasmine. And
[1:17:05] Say that's a great way to say it.
[1:17:06] We the same thing. Yeah,
[1:17:08] Yeah.
[1:17:09] I mean I figured if it was unanimous I
[1:17:11] could probably take a stab at it.
[1:17:12] So no, thank you. Thank you Jasmine Shruti
[1:17:16] and welcome to you'll be getting a, a letter
[1:17:18] of appointment from the clerk's office.
[1:17:20] Hey, my wonder really, thank you for putting yourself out,
[1:17:23] applying, getting your resume.
[1:17:25] Oh, we have second. Oh, we do not have, she's not yet.
[1:17:28] I have no idea what I'm doing here. Clear
[1:17:30] Running yet overtime. Yeah.
[1:17:32] Wow. So I will pass out ballots.
[1:17:35] I was about to thank Carol too. Dr gl.
[1:17:40] Okay,
[1:17:44] Thanks.
[1:17:56] This time I'm doing a nurse.
[1:17:59] I have learned about,
[1:18:03] oh, I didn't write my, sorry.
[1:18:04] I It's okay. We're we're,
[1:18:05] that's we're gonna announce our votes.
[1:18:07] Yeah, sorry, I thought you wrote it really small.
[1:18:11] No, I didn't write it down. I forgot my thought's.
[1:18:15] Gonna get rejected. That's it. We're have to have a recount.
[1:18:19] It's gonna be two two.
[1:18:26] The vote was unanimous for Carol.
[1:18:28] I don't wanna butcher her last name either.
[1:18:36] I would like to thank all of the candidates
[1:18:37] for filling out the application, putting yourselves forward,
[1:18:40] going through the interview process.
[1:18:42] And I encourage you, Hema, to apply for other, can
[1:18:47] apply for other committees.
[1:18:48] Watch for an opening. There will be two terms
[1:18:51] expiring next June.
[1:18:52] So watch for openings.
[1:18:54] And I'm really thankful that all of you have decided to,
[1:18:56] you know, become involved in, in volunteer in the town.
[1:18:59] So thank you very much. We will now
[1:19:05] have the Natick Arbor Day proclamation
[1:19:08] and I'd like to introduce our
[1:19:12] tree guy, tree warden.
[1:19:14] His title's very long. Art good. Hind.
[1:19:18] Excellent. Thank you. How are you now? Doing alright.
[1:19:22] All right. Thank you Madam Chair and the board.
[1:19:24] My name is Arthur Goodine
[1:19:25] and I serve as the supervisor of land facilities
[1:19:29] and natural resources tree warden for the town
[1:19:32] of ict department of public works here tonight to request
[1:19:36] that the board proclaim Friday June 12th, 2026 as a day
[1:19:41] of Arbor Day celebration, excuse me, in the town of Natick.
[1:19:46] This request is important
[1:19:47] to emphasize the important role trees
[1:19:49] and tree canopy play in our quality of life and joy.
[1:19:53] And this request is also important
[1:19:56] because it is a key requirement
[1:19:58] of our tree city USA designation.
[1:20:01] The tree city USA designation is created at no cost
[1:20:06] to the municipality by the Arbor Day Foundation
[1:20:09] to recognize those cities
[1:20:10] and towns throughout the country
[1:20:12] that demonstrate a commitment to managing, preserving
[1:20:16] and expanding their tree canopy.
[1:20:19] There are four key requirements for the designation.
[1:20:24] One, a tree department.
[1:20:26] You must have a tree department with staff
[1:20:28] that is legally responsible for managing public trees.
[1:20:33] You must have a tree care ordinance.
[1:20:37] You must have a community forestry program
[1:20:39] that allocates at least $2 per capita for urban forestry.
[1:20:44] And finally, why we're here tonight, we must have a,
[1:20:48] for the application, an Arbor Day
[1:20:50] observance and proclamation.
[1:20:52] And that's why I'm here tonight. For this calendar year.
[1:20:56] Nate celebrates its 19th year as a tree city, USA
[1:21:00] and this proclamation will be used for the application
[1:21:04] for our 20th designation.
[1:21:09] Thank you Mr. Goodine. Madam Clerk.
[1:21:12] Yes. I will read the Arbor Day proclamation.
[1:21:17] Whereas in 1872,
[1:21:20] Jay Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board
[1:21:23] of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for,
[1:21:27] for the planting of trees.
[1:21:29] And whereas this holiday called Arbor Day was first observed
[1:21:33] with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska.
[1:21:36] And whereas Arbor Day is now observed throughout the
[1:21:40] nation and the world.
[1:21:42] And whereas trees can reduce the erosion
[1:21:44] of our precious topsoil by wind and water cut heating
[1:21:49] and cooling costs moderate the temperature, clean the air,
[1:21:53] produce life, giving oxygen,
[1:21:55] and provide habitat for world for wildlife.
[1:21:59] And whereas trees are a renewable resource giving us paper
[1:22:03] wood for our houses, fuel for our fires,
[1:22:06] and countless other wood products.
[1:22:09] And whereas trees in our town increase property values,
[1:22:12] enhance the economic vitality of business areas
[1:22:16] and beautify our community.
[1:22:18] And whereas trees, wherever they're planted are a source
[1:22:22] of joy and spiritual renewal.
[1:22:24] Now therefore, we, the select board of the Town
[1:22:27] of Natick do hereby proclaim Friday, June 12th, 2026,
[1:22:32] Arbor Day in the town of Natick.
[1:22:34] And we urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day
[1:22:37] and to support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands.
[1:22:41] And further we urge all citizens to plant trees
[1:22:44] to gladen the heart and promote the wellbeing of this
[1:22:47] and future generations dated the 10th of June,
[1:22:51] 2026.
[1:22:55] And I move to approve this. Do I have a second? Second.
[1:23:00] So all in favor please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[1:23:04] 5 0 0 onto year 20 of Tree City. Much thank Mr.
[1:23:09] You very much Mr. Heim for being here.
[1:23:10] I appreciate it. I appreciate
[1:23:11] It.
[1:23:12] Thank you. Thanks Arthur.
[1:23:15] We're going to change the agenda just a little bit.
[1:23:18] We're gonna move the, well first we'll do the public hearing
[1:23:22] item a under discussion decision,
[1:23:24] and then we'll move the water
[1:23:25] and sewer abatement appeal to G.
[1:23:29] Next item of the next item of business.
[1:23:33] Madam Clerk, if you could,
[1:23:36] I'm Sorry.
[1:23:37] Read the public hearing. Yes,
[1:23:49] Sorry.
[1:23:51] I think it is here. Okay.
[1:23:55] Okay. The select board will hold a public hearing on
[1:23:57] Wednesday, June 10th, 2026 at 6:00 PM upon the
[1:24:02] application of epilogue L-L-C-D-B-A epilogue books
[1:24:05] and wine for a new S 12 wine
[1:24:09] and malt with cordials on-premise restaurant license.
[1:24:13] The restaurant will be located at 21 Summer Street,
[1:24:15] unit two, Natick MA 0 1 7 6 0.
[1:24:20] The premise consists of 23 2300 square feet of total,
[1:24:25] including Cafe bookstore, bar and seating for 13
[1:24:30] and cafe seating for 12.
[1:24:32] One entrance exit on Summer Street,
[1:24:34] one exit in the back of the building.
[1:24:37] The hearing will be held,
[1:24:38] held in the Edward Delo room meeting room 13 East Central
[1:24:42] Street as well as remotely anyone wishing
[1:24:44] to be heard on this matter can participate in
[1:24:46] person or through Zoom.
[1:24:47] Login instructions will be published on the June 10th, 2026
[1:24:51] select board meeting agenda.
[1:24:52] All persons interested in this application may appear
[1:24:55] and be heard at the time and place mentioned above
[1:24:58] or may submit written comments
[1:25:00] to the select board at 13 East Central Street, Natick,
[1:25:04] MA 0 1 7 6 0 select board@natickma.org
[1:25:07] by June 10th, 2026.
[1:25:10] And I move to open the public hearing.
[1:25:13] Second, seconded by Ger. All in favor, please say aye.
[1:25:17] Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Public hearing is now open.
[1:25:20] I'd invite those who are here to come to the podium.
[1:25:24] If you could introduce yourself
[1:25:25] and limit your comments to just the application
[1:25:28] for the news Section 12, wine
[1:25:29] and Malt with cordials on-prem license.
[1:25:32] And then we will take up the other three votes
[1:25:34] outside of the public hearing.
[1:25:37] Good evening. Ladies and gentlemen.
[1:25:39] My name is David Rubin.
[1:25:40] I am legal counsel for epilogue
[1:25:45] To my immediate left is Maya Hoag, the owner,
[1:25:50] and her left is Sean Morgan,
[1:25:55] the proposed manager of Epilogue.
[1:26:00] The property is located at 21 Summer Street,
[1:26:04] just around the corner from here.
[1:26:07] It's, the concept is a bookstore that sells
[1:26:12] alcoholic beverages, beer and wine and cold food.
[1:26:17] As you pointed out, we are seeking a
[1:26:21] chapter 1 38, section 12 alcohol license for beer and wine.
[1:26:28] There are a few specifications
[1:26:31] that you might be interested in.
[1:26:32] The bar seating is for 13 people. Cafe seating is for 12.
[1:26:37] So the total seating capacity is 25.
[1:26:41] As far as the hours are concerned, my client would like
[1:26:46] to be open from Sunday to Wednesday, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
[1:26:50] and Thursday to Saturday from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
[1:26:55] The credentials of
[1:26:59] Mr. Morgan are impressive.
[1:27:02] He has managed four
[1:27:07] restaurants and facilities that serve alcohol.
[1:27:13] I'll just name 'em quickly.
[1:27:15] Lola Hospitality in the Boston Seaport District, which also
[1:27:20] has businesses in Florida and Nantucket.
[1:27:24] And he was the manager and assistant general manager there.
[1:27:29] The, that business has high profile customers, athletes,
[1:27:33] billionaires, he tells me
[1:27:36] and other well off folks.
[1:27:41] He managed the Franklin,
[1:27:43] which is a neighborhood bistro in Boston.
[1:27:46] They served alcohol, alcoholic beverages there until
[1:27:51] 2:00 AM It's a, a big industry environment
[1:27:56] with a combination of both the neighborhood
[1:27:58] and an affluent flavor.
[1:28:02] He managed the speakeasy group, which was not
[1:28:07] managed very well, and he quit, which I was impressed with
[1:28:11] because this indicates to me somebody
[1:28:15] that has the management and experience to know
[1:28:18] how things are done right and how they're done wrong
[1:28:20] and to walk away from it if they're not done properly.
[1:28:26] He has also been a bartender at the surf in,
[1:28:30] in Woburn and is looking forward
[1:28:35] to this opportunity here.
[1:28:37] So in essence, I think that this proposal
[1:28:42] will be an asset to the community.
[1:28:45] It's something that is needed here.
[1:28:47] And I encourage
[1:28:52] the, the board here to approve it.
[1:28:55] And I'm here to answer any questions that you may have.
[1:28:59] I'd like to open up questions
[1:29:01] or comments from the members of the public first
[1:29:03] and then we'll revert back to the board.
[1:29:06] I believe there is one person, Mr. Mr. Laval? LaValley?
[1:29:10] Yep. Mr. LaValley. Mr.
[1:29:14] LaValley, we're, you're going
[1:29:15] to be unmuted, I understand you want to
[1:29:18] Address this agenda item.
[1:29:21] Can you hear me? This is David LaValley,
[1:29:23] Yes.
[1:29:24] Okay, great. Thanks very much.
[1:29:28] Well welcome to NAIC Center.
[1:29:32] By way of intro introduction, my name's David LaValley.
[1:29:34] I'm the ex, have been the executive director for the Center
[1:29:38] for Arts in Natick across the street from your location
[1:29:43] for the last 22 years, recently retired.
[1:29:46] But I do have a question for you, Tecan
[1:29:50] hosts performances year round that typically would conclude
[1:29:54] between around 10 and 11 on weekend evenings.
[1:29:59] And I'm, I'm glad to hear that you're considered, you know,
[1:30:04] maintaining hours that would allow our theater goers
[1:30:07] and concert patrons to, you know, frequent your,
[1:30:11] your a location.
[1:30:14] I guess my question is, do you see opportunities for
[1:30:18] collaboration with neighboring Natick center businesses,
[1:30:21] including cultural organizations like TAN
[1:30:25] I'm going to, that's a good question
[1:30:28] and I am going to have my clients answer answer that.
[1:30:33] Thank you. Thank you Mr. LaValley.
[1:30:39] It's an excellent question. I have also managed the beehive
[1:30:41] in Boston, the South end.
[1:30:43] We did a ton of business with the Calderwood Theater
[1:30:45] and the Boston Center of the Arts.
[1:30:46] When I spoken with Maya about this initially, that was one
[1:30:49] of the partnerships about which I was the most excited
[1:30:53] because it was such a great partnership
[1:30:55] between us at the Beehive
[1:30:56] and the Boston Center for the Arts called World Theater.
[1:30:59] Does that answer your question?
[1:31:01] It's good to know you've had experience in that.
[1:31:04] I guess I'm, I'm, I'm wondering, have you
[1:31:07] invested any effort in understanding the rest
[1:31:09] of the retail businesses, the restaurants, the or or tecan
[1:31:14] and develop some of those strategies yet?
[1:31:17] Or are, are you open to connecting on this in the future?
[1:31:22] So you were my next stop.
[1:31:25] I have looked at your,
[1:31:26] I've looked at it in the 80 Center for the Arts.
[1:31:27] I've done as much as I could as far as a Google search
[1:31:30] and some AI will allow,
[1:31:33] but I was really looking forward to coming down,
[1:31:34] just meeting you in person, assuming this meeting went well.
[1:31:41] Well, we look forward to connecting with you,
[1:31:43] so we're definitely open to it and,
[1:31:46] and hope to hear from you in the, in the near future
[1:31:49] and the best of luck to you.
[1:31:51] Thank you, sir. Any other comments
[1:31:55] or questions from members of the public?
[1:31:59] I can't see online, so I'm not logged in.
[1:32:02] Can you guys, I don't see is, is there anyone in the room
[1:32:05] who would like to direct questions to the applicant?
[1:32:09] So I will turn this over to the board, questions
[1:32:12] and comments from members of the board?
[1:32:17] Yes. Can you just tell us a little bit
[1:32:20] about the business concept?
[1:32:22] I think this is something that's fairly new to Natick
[1:32:25] and just like to understand a little bit more
[1:32:28] and it sounds very exciting.
[1:32:30] Well, the, the, the, the gist of it is
[1:32:32] that it's gonna be a combination bookstore
[1:32:37] and cafe and Maya, maybe you'd like to Yeah.
[1:32:42] Comment a little bit on that.
[1:32:44] Sure. So one of the reasons why I picked Natick was
[1:32:48] because of, you know, the sense
[1:32:50] of community that I see around here.
[1:32:52] And I think one of the greatest thing,
[1:32:54] especially since COVID is the rise of third places.
[1:32:58] You know, it's not just a bookstore,
[1:33:00] it's not just a wine bar or a cafe.
[1:33:02] We're trying to sell the experience of welcoming people in
[1:33:05] and having all these conversations about books, about wine,
[1:33:08] about anything really.
[1:33:09] You know, I will personally be there.
[1:33:11] The staff will be sounding boards
[1:33:14] and people to have discussions with
[1:33:16] and it's going to be a community hub more than just,
[1:33:19] you know, a retail space or a hospitality space.
[1:33:23] Thank you. Any other questions?
[1:33:28] I have one, but I'll go last. Nope. One question I had.
[1:33:34] Can you talk a bit about the menu?
[1:33:36] I, me you mentioned cold plates.
[1:33:37] Can you gimme an, a sense of what that means?
[1:33:39] Yeah, so we are looking to do charcuterie
[1:33:42] and tin fish with basically cheese boards
[1:33:46] or like charcuterie boards.
[1:33:48] There's gonna be bread, there's gonna be cold prep.
[1:33:50] So nothing that would require, you know, heavy cooking.
[1:33:52] We're not cooking anything from bra, we're doing other
[1:33:56] appetizers and sandwiches as well.
[1:33:57] Light fair that is meant
[1:34:00] to really accompany the experience of a book.
[1:34:02] It's not, you know, a big sit down meal
[1:34:04] where everybody is, you know, just eating.
[1:34:06] We want people to be able to like pick up a book
[1:34:09] and then pick up some snacks
[1:34:11] and be able to enjoy both at once.
[1:34:13] Thank you. Yeah. I had a question about the wine list.
[1:34:19] Oh, I shocked somebody had that was coming.
[1:34:23] Please. Can you talk a bit about the distributors you
[1:34:27] envision using for and what type
[1:34:29] of wine list you curate for?
[1:34:31] So the program is highly curated.
[1:34:33] Like my said, this is finger foods,
[1:34:35] but we're going locally sourced coastal Atlantic.
[1:34:40] The wine lists are highly acidic and highly mineral.
[1:34:43] We're going with a lot of Koolis, Linas, Eno, Verdes,
[1:34:47] skin contact wines.
[1:34:49] The biggest message we wanted to convey is
[1:34:52] that wine doesn't have to be overly expensive.
[1:34:53] You know, I've sold 25,000 bottles of wine.
[1:34:56] It's great, it's very good.
[1:34:58] I'm not gonna lie, but you know, I've had $85 bottle
[1:35:01] of wines that are that good.
[1:35:03] Well, and and also you'd have
[1:35:04] to have a very sophisticated palate to tell the difference
[1:35:07] between a $25,000 bottle of wine and an $85 bottle of wine.
[1:35:10] I don't, So yes, I I'm guessing that's not a,
[1:35:13] that's, that's a rare talent.
[1:35:15] It was, it was a very specific expensive talent
[1:35:17] guest experience.
[1:35:19] But our whole wine program is built around value.
[1:35:22] The distributors through whom we're partnering are,
[1:35:25] you know, the basic was Martini, Ruby Wines, Southern
[1:35:28] Horizon, Ms. Walker and Atlantic.
[1:35:32] I have worked with all of them in the past
[1:35:33] for the last 15 to 20 years.
[1:35:36] We have excellent deals on it.
[1:35:37] So the point is to bring
[1:35:39] the best wine program we could possibly bring to Natick
[1:35:42] for the most affordable price.
[1:35:44] You know, the idea is $15 a glass max.
[1:35:47] Thank you. Yes Ma'am.
[1:35:50] That's all of the questions I have.
[1:35:54] Mr. Evans? Yeah,
[1:35:55] I'm just, it's, it's really not a question.
[1:35:57] It's a point of, of clarification on the hours that I like.
[1:36:02] I'm searching through it again and I can't find it.
[1:36:05] Yeah, the, the proposed hours are Sunday
[1:36:10] through Wednesday from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
[1:36:15] and then from Thursday to Saturday, 11:00 AM
[1:36:20] to 11:00 PM Okay.
[1:36:22] Alright. Thank you. If there
[1:36:27] are no other questions from the board I
[1:36:31] or comments from the board, I'd like to
[1:36:35] close the public hearing and take a vote.
[1:36:39] Do we have a motion to close public hearing? Move
[1:36:40] To close public hearing.
[1:36:42] Second. Moved and seconded to close the public hearing.
[1:36:45] Hearing all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[1:36:50] Is anyone ready?
[1:36:52] Do you wanna engage in discussion
[1:36:53] or are you ready to take a vote?
[1:36:55] Is there somebody with a motion?
[1:36:59] This is for the, yeah, I can do this.
[1:37:04] Move to approve the
[1:37:09] S 12 wine in malt
[1:37:11] with cordials on-premises license application
[1:37:14] for epilogue LLC doing business as epilogue books and wine.
[1:37:20] Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Mr. Jacobs.
[1:37:24] All in favor please say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[1:37:28] Passes 5 0 0.
[1:37:30] I would just request that pursuant
[1:37:32] to the Deputy Chief's request that you send to our office,
[1:37:38] the town administrator's office, alcoholic
[1:37:43] a alcoholic beverage training certification,
[1:37:45] because I don't believe that was part
[1:37:47] of the original application package.
[1:37:50] I, I might be mistaken
[1:37:52] but my, my paralegal that was working with me on that
[1:37:57] provided a copy of the TIP certification.
[1:38:02] But if, if you don't have it,
[1:38:05] It may have already been received.
[1:38:06] I'm just, if, if Mr. Erickson, we
[1:38:08] Can just confirm that in the office,
[1:38:09] That'd Be great if you, would you like,
[1:38:13] would it be a good idea to have my assistant call you
[1:38:16] or call somebody else at the time? I can call. Confirm that
[1:38:19] Billy in our desk. Yep. In our office.
[1:38:20] Call Billy Walsh in our office. Billy Walch.
[1:38:22] Call Billy Walsh. Okay. And,
[1:38:23] and just confirm that he has it.
[1:38:24] That was one thing. And then the second thing was ensuring
[1:38:27] that Mr. Walsh provides the license holders
[1:38:31] with the current liquor license policy.
[1:38:33] So that you'll have that.
[1:38:35] Okay. And then we have three other items to vote on,
[1:38:39] which are not required to be part of the public hearing.
[1:38:41] One is on the 2026 Common Vic license.
[1:38:44] One is on the 2026 non-live entertainment license
[1:38:48] and one is on the 2026 live entertainment license.
[1:38:53] And do they need all need separate votes? Not necessarily.
[1:38:57] I can take a motion on all three for one. Okay.
[1:38:58] They're usually on the consent agenda.
[1:39:00] But Mr. Jacobs and then Mr. Evans,
[1:39:02] I actually just had one question about
[1:39:04] the, the Common Vic license.
[1:39:06] It said on there that there was expected to receive a board
[1:39:10] of health permit by 6 1 20 26 and obviously that has passed.
[1:39:15] I was curious if that had happened.
[1:39:17] Yeah, so we did get You need to on the mic.
[1:39:22] So yeah, we did get approval from the Board of Health.
[1:39:26] Everything should be squared away
[1:39:28] and you know, we're now working
[1:39:29] towards with the building department.
[1:39:31] So all, all good with Board of Health.
[1:39:33] Okay. Great. Thank you Mr. Evans.
[1:39:37] I was just looking to do the omnibus motion here.
[1:39:41] Okay. Are there any other questions or comments
[1:39:42] before we get an omnibus motion for Mr. Evans?
[1:39:46] Mr. Evans, go ahead.
[1:39:48] Okay. I move to vote to approve
[1:39:52] the epilogue LLC application
[1:39:54] for a 2026 common UAL orders license
[1:39:58] in the 2026 non-live entertainment license
[1:40:01] and 2026 live entertainment license.
[1:40:05] Second, Can I just, sorry, it,
[1:40:09] this could be a friendly amendment to all
[1:40:10] of them 'cause it applies to all of them.
[1:40:11] But Deputy Chief Luon had recommended
[1:40:14] that it be issued contingent upon a successful site visit
[1:40:17] once the location is upfitted.
[1:40:19] Should we put that into it or? Yeah,
[1:40:21] That should be in, Is that common
[1:40:23] for the police department to do an onsite
[1:40:25] inspection of the premises?
[1:40:27] I think if there's not a license,
[1:40:29] I mean I understand it attached to the license,
[1:40:31] but I think it's really uncommon to have the deputy chief
[1:40:34] of police come out and inspect an eatery when the board
[1:40:37] of health does, the building department does. Yeah.
[1:40:40] It seems someone else That's,
[1:40:41] that's fair enough. I, you know, I
[1:40:43] I appreciate you bringing that
[1:40:44] Attention.
[1:40:45] Yeah, it was, it was put on in in his,
[1:40:46] I don't know if in his, he put the reasoning
[1:40:48] so I don't know why he said that
[1:40:50] but you know, I guess he's not here
[1:40:51] to ask so I, you know, know.
[1:40:53] I don't feel strongly about it.
[1:40:54] I just brought it up 'cause it
[1:40:54] Was in there.
[1:40:55] I appreciate you catching that these,
[1:40:57] these licenses are usually on a consent agenda. Okay.
[1:41:00] Okay. It's probably covered by the health department.
[1:41:03] Okay, fair enough. That was a good point.
[1:41:05] Yeah. So Mr. Evans moved and Ms.
[1:41:08] Vos motion, who is a second? Ms. Slager was a second.
[1:41:12] All in favor please say aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[1:41:14] 5 0 0 on the other three licenses. Thank you so much.
[1:41:17] Look forward to you opening. Yes. Anticipated opening date.
[1:41:20] Did we, we close public hearing, we close
[1:41:24] Light of that is gonna also perfect.
[1:41:25] Depend upon BC approves the application
[1:41:30] as you know once.
[1:41:32] So the next step is for the town to forward the application
[1:41:36] to the A, B, CC
[1:41:37] and then I'll have to push them as forcefully
[1:41:41] and nicely, nicely as I can to be a pass,
[1:41:45] keep the process going and then if
[1:41:47] and when they approve it, then the license
[1:41:51] will be approved and issued.
[1:41:53] Okay. And so once it's licensed, I mean you're working
[1:41:55] with the building department, are you
[1:41:56] still doing your build out? So
[1:41:58] We're starting our build out Soon.
[1:41:59] Okay. So maybe a fall opening date? Yeah. Okay.
[1:42:02] Sounds great. Well thank you so much.
[1:42:04] Deeply appreciate you coming in.
[1:42:06] Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank care.
[1:42:08] Thank you. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the water
[1:42:11] and sewer abatement appeal.
[1:42:12] Arthur Arvin Arvin. Is he present?
[1:42:23] I'm not saying anything.
[1:42:26] So. So the last meeting we agreed
[1:42:29] to hear it again if the application came in
[1:42:32] and we agreed to put it at the end of the agenda.
[1:42:35] I understand that Ms. Arvin was here
[1:42:37] for two hours at the last meeting
[1:42:38] because we had a front loaded agenda.
[1:42:42] My understanding is that our office confirmed with Mrs.
[1:42:47] Arvin that they would be here tonight
[1:42:49] and also confirmed that we would move them up on the agenda
[1:42:52] so they weren't here till 10 o'clock.
[1:42:55] So going once, going twice.
[1:42:58] Moving on to the status update on
[1:43:00] Main Street Improvement project.
[1:43:05] Mr. Griffiths. Thank you.
[1:43:22] All right, thank you Madam Chair.
[1:43:25] Hello and thank you all for your time tonight.
[1:43:29] My name is Morgan Griffith and I am the Transportation
[1:43:32] and Economic Development Planner for the Town of Natick.
[1:43:35] I'm here tonight to provide you an updated briefing on the
[1:43:39] main street improvement projects
[1:43:40] and to walk you through our potential design concepts.
[1:43:43] Tonight's presentation serves as a kickoff for a discussion
[1:43:46] that will ultimately provide staff
[1:43:49] with guidance on which design concept
[1:43:51] to advance into the formal design process.
[1:43:54] During this presentation,
[1:43:55] I will review the project background,
[1:43:57] provide a high level overview of the four design concepts,
[1:44:01] and finish with our projected next steps
[1:44:02] before turning it over to you for questions and comments.
[1:44:06] Also, a quick note on terminology.
[1:44:09] Tonight I will reference the transportation
[1:44:11] improvement program or tip.
[1:44:13] This is the five year capital plan used
[1:44:15] by Boston's Regional Planning Agency
[1:44:17] to allocate federal funding
[1:44:19] to local transportation projects.
[1:44:21] You can think of it as a major regional grant
[1:44:23] program for transportation.
[1:44:28] So first, the basics for those who may be unfamiliar.
[1:44:31] The main street improvement project is a roadway
[1:44:33] reconstruction project along Main Street
[1:44:36] or Route 27 in Natick Center stretching from Cottage Street
[1:44:40] to Middlesex Avenue.
[1:44:42] This project aims to improve pavement sidewalk quality
[1:44:45] and drainage safety for all roadway users, bicycle
[1:44:49] and pedestrian connections, way finding lighting
[1:44:52] and overall street scape design.
[1:44:56] So why are we doing this now?
[1:44:59] The primary driver for this project is that this stretch
[1:45:02] of Main Street is aging from the surface asphalt.
[1:45:05] You drive on to the utility
[1:45:07] and drainage systems to quantify pavement.
[1:45:10] Quality engineers use the pavement condition and index
[1:45:13] or PCI, which scores erode from zero to a hundred.
[1:45:17] Right now segments along Main Street score
[1:45:19] between 49 and 77.
[1:45:22] In school terms, that's a B through a D
[1:45:24] with most segments sitting at a C.
[1:45:28] So while the road is structurally sound deterioration
[1:45:31] accelerates rapidly once a road drops below a score of 60.
[1:45:35] This means that while we don't need a total replacement this
[1:45:37] year, repaving will be necessary within the next three
[1:45:40] to five years for a lowest scoring areas
[1:45:43] and within 10 years for the higher scoring areas.
[1:45:46] Now we could just mill these sections and leave it at that.
[1:45:51] However, this infrastructure needs,
[1:45:53] this infrastructure need opens a unique timely window
[1:45:56] of opportunity rather than simply repaving.
[1:45:59] We can use targeted interim maintenance like microm milling
[1:46:02] and patching to keep the worst sections
[1:46:04] of the roadway safe and stable.
[1:46:05] Right now, this intentional maintenance strategy effectively
[1:46:09] buys us time, the time we need to design
[1:46:11] and implement a larger comprehensive project
[1:46:14] that solves multiple town goals at once.
[1:46:18] By utilizing these short term fixes to hold us over
[1:46:20] during the design process, we gain the opportunity to
[1:46:24] align the roadway layout
[1:46:25] with NATICK'S Complete Streets policy,
[1:46:27] ensuring we safely accommodate all modes of travel,
[1:46:30] deliver on the goals of the Natick 2030 plus master plan
[1:46:33] to expand our bike and pedestrian networks
[1:46:36] bridge a major connectivity gap since our existing bike
[1:46:39] infrastructure currently stopped abruptly right before
[1:46:42] and right after the specific section of Main Street
[1:46:45] calm traffic speeds.
[1:46:47] While providing improved access
[1:46:48] to our newly renovated MBTA station
[1:46:50] and the constituent rail trail extension.
[1:46:53] Optimize the overall functionality
[1:46:55] and efficiency of the main and central street intersection
[1:46:58] and refresh the downtown street scape with updated signage,
[1:47:01] lighting and landscaping.
[1:47:03] Transforming a standard paving job into an economic
[1:47:05] development tool to drop people into Natick Center
[1:47:08] and encourage them to stay.
[1:47:11] So this is a three phase projects.
[1:47:13] We are currently nearing the end of phase one,
[1:47:16] the planning phase during which the project team has been
[1:47:18] analyzing existing conditions
[1:47:20] and gathering community feedback
[1:47:21] to create possible design concepts.
[1:47:23] Once the select board approves a preferred concept,
[1:47:26] we'll advance it into full design in phase two
[1:47:29] and construct it in phase three.
[1:47:32] A comprehensive project of this scale takes time.
[1:47:34] While future timelines are subject to change,
[1:47:37] we estimate working on phase two up through the early 2030s
[1:47:41] with construction starting in the mid 2030s.
[1:47:45] This is a ways out, but by using small targeted fixes
[1:47:48] to manage the worst stretches of asphalt in the short term,
[1:47:51] the town can safely navigate this multi-year design process
[1:47:55] required to bring these major downtown
[1:47:57] improvements into reality.
[1:48:00] So let's look at phase one in a little bit more detail,
[1:48:03] which has been our focus since 2023.
[1:48:06] The goal of this phase is to assess existing conditions
[1:48:09] and collect community feedback in order
[1:48:10] to create a preferred design concept for the project.
[1:48:14] To be entirely clear,
[1:48:15] a preferred design concept is not a final construction plan.
[1:48:19] Rather it is a high level conceptual framework
[1:48:23] that serves as our foundation.
[1:48:24] Before we jump into multi-year,
[1:48:26] the a multi-year technical design process,
[1:48:29] we started this phase by using existing conditions
[1:48:32] and initial community feedback
[1:48:33] to draft two initial concepts.
[1:48:36] We then gathered public feedback on these concepts
[1:48:38] and blended them into what we are
[1:48:40] calling the hybrid concept.
[1:48:42] After conducting engagement on the hybrid concept,
[1:48:44] we are now transitioning into the final part of the phase
[1:48:47] during which the board will decide
[1:48:49] what concept it would like to be taken into design.
[1:48:53] Community voices have shaped this
[1:48:55] process for over three years.
[1:48:57] Between 2023
[1:48:58] and 2025, we held listening sessions,
[1:49:01] launched a community survey and presented
[1:49:03] to various town committees.
[1:49:04] This culminated in our June, 2025 presentation to the board
[1:49:08] where you directed us to focus on refining
[1:49:10] what we call the hybrid concept.
[1:49:12] In 2026, we narrowed our focus to doing just that.
[1:49:16] Over the last few months,
[1:49:17] we've held multiple working group meetings,
[1:49:19] utilized a flashlight survey,
[1:49:21] hosted our second public meeting,
[1:49:23] held business office hours,
[1:49:24] and maintained an open project email for public commentary.
[1:49:29] All of this feedback has directly shaped the four design
[1:49:32] concepts summarized on this slide.
[1:49:36] First is the mill and overlay option.
[1:49:38] This is the basic repaving of the road.
[1:49:40] With limited sidewalk work, it's projected to cost
[1:49:43] around $2 million.
[1:49:46] The next three options all fall under a
[1:49:48] full reconstruction model.
[1:49:50] You'll notice that all three carry an identical estimated
[1:49:53] construction cost of $11 million.
[1:49:55] This is because the physical footprint
[1:49:57] or the total amount of roadway and sidewalk being taken up
[1:50:00] and rebuilt remains nearly identical across all
[1:50:03] three re regard.
[1:50:06] Regardless of which layout is chosen,
[1:50:07] all three feature a full overhaul of pavement
[1:50:10] and drainage, likely utility relocation, curb bumpouts
[1:50:14] to shorten crosswalks, new street scape elements, signage re
[1:50:17] or signal reconstruction a A one-way westbound configuration
[1:50:21] for Cord Street and narrowed travel lanes.
[1:50:24] And here's how they differ. So the limited bike option
[1:50:27] proposes shared use travel lanes or shares where bike bikes
[1:50:32] and cars share the road.
[1:50:33] It introduces reverse angle parking
[1:50:36] and increases sidewalk width across most of the corridor.
[1:50:40] Both the hybrid and enhanced bike options take a dedicated
[1:50:43] approach to cycling infrastructure,
[1:50:45] proposing an on-road bike lane from cottage to Pond Street
[1:50:48] that transitions into a protected sidewalk level bike lane
[1:50:51] from Pond Street up to Middlesex Avenue.
[1:50:55] The hybrid concept maintains the current parking footprint
[1:50:57] through a mix of parallel and head angle parking.
[1:51:01] However, to fit both the bike lanes
[1:51:03] and the angle parking within the right of way,
[1:51:05] it requires decreasing sidewalk widths across
[1:51:08] the majority of the corridor.
[1:51:09] Although two sections would see an increase crucially,
[1:51:12] however, every single sidewalk section will remain at
[1:51:15] or above five feet wide.
[1:51:17] Maintaining a DA accessibility, the enhanced bike option
[1:51:22] prioritizes sidewalk
[1:51:23] and cycling space by converting all
[1:51:25] parking to parallel spaces.
[1:51:27] This allows us to greatly increase sidewalk widths north
[1:51:30] of Central Street, though sidewalk widths south
[1:51:33] of Central Street would see a decrease in width.
[1:51:35] Again, no decrease would bring a sidewalk
[1:51:38] below five feet in width.
[1:51:41] Regardless of which option the board chooses
[1:51:43] for Main Street Town staff recommend
[1:51:44] that Natick should also look into the creation
[1:51:46] of alternate bicycle routes
[1:51:48] around Main Street and Natick Center.
[1:51:51] So this matrix further highlights the core trade-offs
[1:51:54] between each concept and we we can return to this
[1:51:57] during our upcoming discussion.
[1:51:58] There's also a link at the bottom of the slide
[1:52:01] that will take you to a much more detailed
[1:52:02] version of this matrix.
[1:52:05] So to summarize, the mill
[1:52:07] and overlay concept handles basic pavement repair,
[1:52:09] but completely misses out on safety.
[1:52:11] Pedestrian bicycle
[1:52:13] or street scape upgrades, it is the cheapest upfront,
[1:52:16] but the $2 million construction cost
[1:52:18] rests entirely on the town.
[1:52:21] The limited bike option maximizes sidewalk space throughout
[1:52:24] the corridor and adds six parking spaces,
[1:52:26] but offers no separated bicycle facilities.
[1:52:29] Despite a projection co a projected construction cost
[1:52:32] of 11 million, its lack
[1:52:33] of dedicated bicycle facilities makes it ineligible
[1:52:36] for tip grant funding.
[1:52:38] While we could theoretically apply for individual grants
[1:52:40] for certain components of the project, we would have
[1:52:43] to patch together multiple smaller competitive programs
[1:52:46] with no guarantee of success.
[1:52:48] While this is an while, this is possible towns staff,
[1:52:51] it is towns staff's understanding
[1:52:52] that currently the majority
[1:52:54] of this $11 million burden would likely fall directly on the
[1:52:57] town once constructed.
[1:52:59] This concept would increase long-term snow removal costs,
[1:53:01] though not as much as the hybrid
[1:53:03] or enhanced spike alternatives.
[1:53:06] The hybrid concept delivers dedicated cycling infrastructure
[1:53:09] while maintaining our current downtown parking footprint.
[1:53:12] It is fully eligible to be covered by TIP funding
[1:53:14] for construction, which could scale
[1:53:16] with any future inflation or cost increases.
[1:53:18] However, there is an important funding nuance
[1:53:21] for the board to consider.
[1:53:22] Well, the tip grant covers utility pole relocation.
[1:53:26] It generally does not cover utility undergrounding.
[1:53:29] While utilities are already underground on Main Street from
[1:53:32] Common Street to Middlesex Avenue.
[1:53:34] If the town wants to underground the remaining utilities
[1:53:36] between cottage and common streets,
[1:53:38] the specific cost would be ours.
[1:53:41] Other trade-offs include space and maintenance.
[1:53:44] The concept reduces sidewalk widths on seven out
[1:53:47] of 10 segments and adds roughly $250,000 a year in
[1:53:51] specialized snow removal costs.
[1:53:53] Finally, the enhanced bike concept provides dedicated bike
[1:53:56] infrastructure and creates wide sidewalks
[1:53:58] north of Central Street.
[1:54:00] However, it achieves this by switching entirely
[1:54:02] to parallel parking, resulting in a net loss of 14 spaces.
[1:54:06] Similar to the hybrid, it is fully eligible
[1:54:08] for tip construction funding.
[1:54:10] Once it is constructed,
[1:54:12] the enhanced bike concept would increase snow removal costs
[1:54:14] by about the same amount as the hybrid.
[1:54:18] So because the board directed us last center to
[1:54:21] or last summer to focus planning
[1:54:22] and engagement work on the hybrid concept, I want
[1:54:25] to spend a a moment, a moment
[1:54:27] reemphasizing its core trade-offs.
[1:54:29] Here the big pro is balance.
[1:54:32] The hybrid concept provides dedicated bike infrastructure
[1:54:35] while maintaining our recurrent downtown parking footprint.
[1:54:39] It secures our eligibility for TIP grant funding
[1:54:41] for construction as well.
[1:54:43] The major cons are space driven
[1:54:46] to fit everything into the existing right of way.
[1:54:48] This concept reduces sidewalk widths on seven out
[1:54:50] of 10 sidewalk sections along the corridor.
[1:54:53] It also adds an additional $250,000
[1:54:56] to annual snow removal costs.
[1:55:00] So as part of our recent work,
[1:55:02] the project team formed a 15 member working group consisting
[1:55:05] of town staff, committee members, residents,
[1:55:07] and local business owners.
[1:55:09] Their charge was to review the hybrid concept,
[1:55:11] share feedback and vote on whether
[1:55:13] to endorse a ref refined version of it.
[1:55:16] The group met five times over the past few months
[1:55:18] and recently took an official endorsement vote.
[1:55:21] The final tally was eight votes to endorse the refined
[1:55:25] hybrid concept and seven votes not to.
[1:55:27] This narrow margin underlines the very real competing
[1:55:30] community priorities along this corridor
[1:55:33] because their vote shouldn't be taken out of context.
[1:55:35] The working group is compiling a comprehensive report
[1:55:38] detailing their full deliberations, which they look forward
[1:55:40] to presenting at your next meeting.
[1:55:44] So where do we go from here?
[1:55:46] The working group is finalizing its report
[1:55:48] and the project team will work on answering
[1:55:50] or providing answers to any questions the board may have.
[1:55:53] Once the working group officially presents its report,
[1:55:56] the select board we hope will determine which concept
[1:55:59] to formally take into full design.
[1:56:02] We project starting the formal 25% design process this July,
[1:56:06] aiming to reach the 25% design milestone by June, 2028.
[1:56:11] So thank you all for your time
[1:56:13] and I will turn it back over to the board
[1:56:14] for questions and discussion.
[1:56:16] Thank you Mr. Griffiths.
[1:56:18] So to set expectations about the process going forward
[1:56:22] on June 24th, we will receive the working group's report.
[1:56:27] The board will review it, the public will review it,
[1:56:29] and we'll have questions and comments from both the public
[1:56:31] and the board about the recommendations
[1:56:33] and receive additional public input on both the process,
[1:56:37] the design, and where we go from here on the,
[1:56:40] at the following meeting, which would be July 8th.
[1:56:44] If the board is ready
[1:56:46] to take a vote, then we will take a vote.
[1:56:48] Otherwise we'll have additional discussion
[1:56:50] and comments amongst ourselves if there's
[1:56:53] additional information we need.
[1:56:54] And I'd encourage the board between
[1:56:57] the time we receive the report, which will be in advance
[1:56:59] of the June 24th meeting
[1:57:00] and the July 8th meeting that any questions you, you have,
[1:57:03] you run it past Morgan
[1:57:05] and Jamie Erickson so that we can make the meeting as
[1:57:09] as efficient as possible.
[1:57:13] So going back, what I, what I'd anticipated tonight was
[1:57:18] inviting the public and the board
[1:57:19] to ask questions about this presentation only
[1:57:22] and the pros and cons.
[1:57:23] Looking at Mr.
[1:57:25] Griffiths, if you could bring up page 11, the slide, yeah.
[1:57:29] Slide 11 or another slide that the board needs
[1:57:34] to ask questions about and
[1:57:36] and kind of focus our attention on the new
[1:57:38] information that we've received tonight.
[1:57:40] We won't be talking about the working group vote
[1:57:41] because we don't know anything about it except
[1:57:44] for the vote tally.
[1:57:46] So at this time I'd like to open comments
[1:57:49] and questions from members of the public first in the room
[1:57:51] and then we'll go online and I've got nothing in the room.
[1:57:56] So online if you could raise your hand. Ms.
[1:58:00] Dorin, could you? Thank you.
[1:58:05] Hi, am I unmuted? Yes, you are. Okay,
[1:58:10] Thank you.
[1:58:11] I have a couple of comments and maybe a couple of questions.
[1:58:16] A comment first, I think it's interesting
[1:58:19] that the bike paths we're only looking at north to south
[1:58:22] through Natick, not east to west.
[1:58:24] That's just a comment, a reflection.
[1:58:27] Also, I think,
[1:58:29] I'm not really understanding why the limited bike path
[1:58:32] option has to include reverse angle parking.
[1:58:36] Sort of like if you take the limited bike path,
[1:58:38] then it's automatically we have
[1:58:40] to do the reverse angle parking.
[1:58:41] That's a comment. I am concerned about the impact on
[1:58:46] the DPW for snow removal
[1:58:49] and I did have a conversation with someone at the DPW.
[1:58:54] I see Mr. Spread is here, it was someone below his level.
[1:58:56] But if there bump outs to the curves,
[1:59:01] I think it becomes almost impossible for snowplows
[1:59:04] to properly clear snow.
[1:59:06] And so that's a concern.
[1:59:08] And then I, I do have one concern
[1:59:12] and I haven't seen it addressed.
[1:59:13] I live off the opposite end of Pond Street as many
[1:59:16] of you know and I frequently travel down Pond Street either
[1:59:20] to take a left north on 27
[1:59:22] or to go around to the common with my dog.
[1:59:25] I'm really pretty adept at both directions and I'm concerned
[1:59:28] because a while ago I heard a possibility
[1:59:31] that we might not be able to take that left.
[1:59:34] And so I have concerns about the backup cars needing
[1:59:38] to go right or being forced to go right
[1:59:39] or having to go through the parking lot.
[1:59:41] So I hope this is part of the conversation anyway, yeah,
[1:59:45] I just wanted to express my comments
[1:59:47] and a couple of concerns. Thank you.
[1:59:49] Thank you so much. I'd like to go through those one by one
[1:59:53] Morgan or Ms. Erickson,
[1:59:54] if you could address the question about why on the limited
[1:59:58] bike concept, reverse angle parking would be required.
[2:00:03] Yes, I can definitely talk speak to that.
[2:00:06] So reverse angle parking has several safety benefits.
[2:00:11] One of those is that when you are pulling out
[2:00:13] of parking spaces, you can see what you're pulling out into.
[2:00:17] And one of the reasons that it's included specific,
[2:00:20] what we felt comfortable taking it out of the hybrid concept
[2:00:23] but leaving it in the limited bike concept is the hybrid
[2:00:27] concept removes bikes from the street.
[2:00:29] It puts them between the sidewalk and the parking.
[2:00:31] So it essentially removes the conflict between
[2:00:34] cars pulling in and pulling out of
[2:00:38] travel lanes and the bikes.
[2:00:40] The limited bike concept essentially provides the only
[2:00:45] accommodation for bikes it provides are
[2:00:47] shares or shared lane markings.
[2:00:48] Essentially bikes and cars are sharing the travel lane.
[2:00:52] This essentially puts
[2:00:54] and the cyclist cyclists at risk when cars are pulling out
[2:00:58] of spaces and can't necessarily see them.
[2:01:00] So the reason why reverse angle parking was added
[2:01:03] or is included in the limited bike concept is to prevent
[2:01:06] that conflict between cars backing out of spaces
[2:01:09] and cyclists that may be passing
[2:01:11] between them or behind them.
[2:01:13] Then the second question I think has been covered in the
[2:01:16] matrix, but if you could expound on the increased,
[2:01:19] so limited bike and then the hybrid
[2:01:21] and enhanced bike all factor in,
[2:01:23] we're gonna have increased snow removal costs.
[2:01:26] And I'm assuming that that's based on hiring
[2:01:28] outside contractors not using current staff
[2:01:31] and equipment. Is that correct?
[2:01:34] Yes. So I believe Mr. Erickson and Mr.
[2:01:37] Sprat can probably comment on this as well,
[2:01:40] but my understanding from talking with Mr.
[2:01:42] Sprat and also Brian Casey from the DPW is that
[2:01:46] currently when the DPW performs snow removal operations
[2:01:50] or there's a bit of a buffer zone between
[2:01:53] where the parking is on Main Street
[2:01:55] and where the sidewalk is
[2:01:56] and DPW is able to pile when it's moving snow, it's able
[2:02:00] to pile snow in that area as like a sort of staging place
[2:02:05] and then we'll take that later on, we'll take
[2:02:07] that snow elsewhere or keep it is able to keep it there.
[2:02:11] But the hybrid concept essentially proposes putting a bike
[2:02:15] lane where that buffer zone is.
[2:02:17] So essentially in DBW would have
[2:02:19] to keep that bike lane clear.
[2:02:20] So essentially they would have to not just move snow
[2:02:23] but also remove it entirely in my understanding.
[2:02:26] And is that DPW currently does not have the resources to do
[2:02:31] that, so they would have to hire outside help to do it.
[2:02:34] Does that sound
[2:02:35] Accurate in essence?
[2:02:36] Yes. Basically during a typical storm event
[2:02:39] where we're doing snow planning operations,
[2:02:41] that would necessitate eventual removal
[2:02:44] of snow in Natick Center.
[2:02:45] That's not every storm event.
[2:02:46] Usually it's things over six inches
[2:02:48] or so, roughly even less often, even less often
[2:02:55] we, the team snowplows stores the snow
[2:02:59] and then a couple days later we'll go back at night usually
[2:03:02] and then remove those piles when you don't have that.
[2:03:04] So snow storage areas,
[2:03:06] you pretty much have to do it during the storm.
[2:03:08] We already use contractors
[2:03:10] to augment our snowplowing operations even with,
[2:03:14] without these, any of these changes.
[2:03:18] And we also hire like, like retired employees
[2:03:22] to even drive our current vehicles.
[2:03:23] We have enough equipment, it's really getting the drivers
[2:03:25] and the equipment as well as contractors.
[2:03:29] So in essence, to keep up with the storm in Natick Center
[2:03:32] with some of these changes with the expectations of having
[2:03:36] travel lanes for all users open, we would likely intend
[2:03:41] to do that during the storm itself
[2:03:42] because we wouldn't have the flexibility to store the snow
[2:03:46] and then go back on like, you know,
[2:03:47] two days later at night when we do nighttime
[2:03:49] removal operations.
[2:03:51] So that's, that's where that's coming from.
[2:03:53] The, the reason why limited bike versus hybrid is, is is
[2:03:57] still additional cost
[2:03:58] but less is just the sheer street scape, you know,
[2:04:02] how the curbing works
[2:04:04] and where the snow storage, it's really just a factor
[2:04:06] of, of the design.
[2:04:08] And these are all rough estimates based on current
[2:04:11] concept designs.
[2:04:12] Once you get into the formal design process, things will,
[2:04:16] will adjust accordingly based on
[2:04:17] what those final design details are.
[2:04:20] And the last question just posed, I think that
[2:04:25] we've all, there is no consideration
[2:04:28] of forbidding a left turn from Pond onto
[2:04:31] 27 onto Main Street. There was at one point
[2:04:35] We There been, but there isn't now, right?
[2:04:36] Yeah, we've got in this
[2:04:38] presentation in the last three presentations
[2:04:40] It's been part of this, that's for sure.
[2:04:41] Yeah. But several presentations have happened
[2:04:43] and there's been discussion where
[2:04:45] that's been taken off the table, is that correct?
[2:04:48] Yeah, and we, we've looked at this turning movement
[2:04:51] for years, even before I started
[2:04:52] with the town over 11 years ago
[2:04:54] and there's no real general consensus on exactly how
[2:04:58] to really handle just Pond Street in general.
[2:05:00] Right. You know, whether, you know,
[2:05:03] attorney movement changes or even one way movement changes.
[2:05:06] Like we've looked at everything
[2:05:07] and it seems like it's really, I mean Morgan, I know
[2:05:10] that you are more involved in more recent reviews,
[2:05:11] but I've, I've looked at this in years past
[2:05:14] with prior town engineers.
[2:05:17] I dunno if you wanna comment a little bit more about
[2:05:18] that or if I covered it.
[2:05:20] Yeah, I think it, it's definitely been
[2:05:22] discussed during this process.
[2:05:23] I don't think anything concrete has been decided.
[2:05:26] Okay. But it's not part of the, the design?
[2:05:30] Not currently, not currently.
[2:05:31] That's, that's under rev review. Okay.
[2:05:34] Are there any other questions from members of the public?
[2:05:36] Yes, let's go to Mr. Devereaux and then
[2:05:39] after him to Mr. Gates.
[2:05:42] Okay. Am I unmuted now? Yep. Yes. Yes.
[2:05:46] Okay, thank you. First, I apologize a good presentation.
[2:05:50] I apologize for not having been past one.
[2:05:53] So I look forward to coming to others.
[2:05:56] I believe I heard you mention to get to my question
[2:05:59] that alternate bike routes that, you know, steer
[2:06:04] bikes and other and other, you know, two wheel vehicles,
[2:06:09] everything that are motorized, everything from e-bikes to
[2:06:15] e scooters and so on
[2:06:18] would be a consideration.
[2:06:21] And I'm wondering if you had any, I mean this is a lot,
[2:06:25] this process won't produce a finished main street
[2:06:30] as I understand it, no matter which option you take.
[2:06:33] Is that correct? First off, is that a good assumption?
[2:06:35] It'll still be the mid 1930s or 34 or something
[2:06:39] before it's scheduled
[2:06:41] to be complete if it's completed on time.
[2:06:44] I'm not filing in the question.
[2:06:46] Is that a, is it safe to assume
[2:06:49] that no matter which option of the ones he's laid out,
[2:06:53] the job will not be finished
[2:06:56] until the mid 19, 2030s,
[2:07:01] 40 Maybe.
[2:07:02] Well go ahead Morgan.
[2:07:04] So the, the full reconstruction options, that
[2:07:09] is our current estimation.
[2:07:11] Obviously timelines are fluid and, and, and can change.
[2:07:14] The mill and overlay could probably be done
[2:07:17] quite a bit sooner than that.
[2:07:19] Yeah. In the next year
[2:07:20] or two, probably depending on funding.
[2:07:23] Okay. Well the reason I ask that as an assumption is that
[2:07:27] things are changing in terms of transportation very quickly
[2:07:30] and I'm all for people using motorized bikes and so forth
[2:07:36] and, but they're gonna have to get off of sidewalks.
[2:07:38] The state is probably gonna maybe gonna do something about
[2:07:41] that first and lead towns we'll see.
[2:07:44] But I imagine that these bike lanes are,
[2:07:48] if they're only five feet, are going to be crowded
[2:07:50] with vehicles that go different speeds.
[2:07:53] And I just think there's an awful lot going on in a
[2:07:58] very tight area.
[2:08:00] So I wonder if you're sort of projecting ahead
[2:08:03] and thinking about what transportation is gonna look like,
[2:08:08] you know, you'll have a lot more, you know, driver assisted
[2:08:12] or self-driving cars then that may help
[2:08:16] traffic flow in that sort of bottleneck from cars.
[2:08:21] But I don't know, I just think there's a, you're trying
[2:08:25] to pack an awful lot with these bike lanes going
[2:08:28] through there and since the town is a destination for some
[2:08:32] of that bike traffic
[2:08:33] because of the bike path rail trail coming in toward the,
[2:08:38] the two, the T
[2:08:40] and so forth, I think it would be a great, I I'd like,
[2:08:44] I really look forward to hearing about the alternative
[2:08:47] for those things, which I think would, the benefits of
[2:08:50] that would be that it would help widen sidewalks a bit
[2:08:55] and you know, not be a detriment not not
[2:09:00] reduce parking and in improve the road
[2:09:03] for vehicle transportation trucks
[2:09:06] and all of that are going through that area frequently.
[2:09:09] I just think it's, you know,
[2:09:11] I just think it's too much stuff, you know, to not
[2:09:14] to look seriously at an alternative which diverts the,
[2:09:18] you know, there are plenty of other roads that are quiet
[2:09:20] around downtown Natick.
[2:09:22] I'd love to see bikes off of that whole common and,
[2:09:26] and you know, main street area coming down there.
[2:09:30] You know, that's my opinion
[2:09:32] and you know, I'm happy to offer it another time at a
[2:09:35] meeting, but if there's any answer to
[2:09:37] that I'd love to hear it.
[2:09:42] I think I would say that, you know, I think I agree
[2:09:45] with you that alternate routes are very important regardless
[2:09:49] of whatever goes on Main Street,
[2:09:51] I think you're gonna have cyclists of all different ages
[2:09:54] and abilities and I think ideally
[2:09:57] a welcoming cycling community is one that
[2:10:00] encourages all different types of people
[2:10:02] to feel comfortable cycling
[2:10:04] and some people are going
[2:10:05] to be feel comfortable in different types of facilities.
[2:10:07] So I think absolutely whatever design we go with
[2:10:11] for Main Street, I think towns staff would absolutely
[2:10:13] recommend looking at alternate routes as well.
[2:10:16] Okay, thank you Mr. Gates.
[2:10:23] Okay.
[2:10:27] Sorry I didn't unmute myself. Thank you Madam Chair.
[2:10:31] Just a question regarding the likelihood
[2:10:34] that the grants will be available when we actually make the
[2:10:37] decisions to do this, as well as what the cost would be,
[2:10:42] you know, adjusted for inflation
[2:10:45] and even if we were able to get the 11 million in grants, is
[2:10:48] that gonna cover it or are you saying
[2:10:50] that the grants will cover
[2:10:53] whatever the construction inflation is as well?
[2:10:57] I, you know, I just worry about the amount of spending
[2:11:00] that the town is doing in general
[2:11:02] and committing to something these days
[2:11:05] that's 11 million today with the expectation of grants
[2:11:09] could be 20 million or 25 million in the future.
[2:11:13] And we don't have any grants.
[2:11:14] So that's my concern. Thank you.
[2:11:17] Thank you Mr. Gates, Mr. Erickson.
[2:11:19] Sure. So typically for,
[2:11:22] and in this case, the grants that are considered,
[2:11:24] or the program I guess that's considered for the hybrid and
[2:11:27] or enhanced bike is the tip
[2:11:28] or transportation improvement program, which is part of our,
[2:11:34] I'm gonna go into acronym crazy MPO
[2:11:36] or Metropolitan Planning Organizations Funding.
[2:11:39] These are state and federal dollars.
[2:11:41] We've used these most recently, for example, to,
[2:11:43] to rebuild North Main Street from the Natick Center
[2:11:46] to the Wayland town line.
[2:11:48] That was about 12 to $14 million.
[2:11:51] Those funds in that program
[2:11:54] actually factors in inflationary costs so that they continue
[2:11:56] to cover the full cost of construction,
[2:11:59] of approved construction costs.
[2:12:01] There are typically what are called non-participating items
[2:12:05] that a community might choose to add to that project so
[2:12:08] that you get the cost of effectiveness of the bid.
[2:12:10] But for participating items, they actually factor
[2:12:12] that into their program and they,
[2:12:14] and you can actually see it when they put,
[2:12:16] when they push a project out on the tip is
[2:12:18] what they call it, it's a five year plan.
[2:12:20] They'll actually say, and we're gonna add our factor to it,
[2:12:22] but then they, they provide the full cost.
[2:12:24] It's an 80 20 split between federal
[2:12:26] and state funding with no town.
[2:12:28] But the town is obligated
[2:12:29] to provide all upfront design and right of way costs.
[2:12:33] So that, that's our, our, you know, share. Yeah.
[2:12:37] The other program costs,
[2:12:39] like the other grant costs for like limited bike.
[2:12:42] Absolutely. There's a concern there with increased costs
[2:12:44] that we have $11 million rough estimates today.
[2:12:47] Those programs, in my experience,
[2:12:50] haven't really budged in their dollar allotments in many
[2:12:53] years and they just continue to get competitive.
[2:12:57] So for, for our sake, the competitiveness is gonna be trying
[2:13:02] to include as many of the things that the state's looking
[2:13:05] for in our grant program.
[2:13:06] And, and it depends on the
[2:13:07] grant program, what they're looking for.
[2:13:08] But you know, typically if it's like a complete Streets
[2:13:10] or something like that, they're gonna be looking
[2:13:12] for accommodations for all users and
[2:13:16] or like in the case of like a Mass Works grant,
[2:13:19] they've been in the range of 500,000
[2:13:22] to $5 million ever since
[2:13:24] that program really was put together 20 years ago.
[2:13:27] I remember I worked for a community that got one
[2:13:29] of those early grants and they've always been in that range.
[2:13:32] That's just the reality of those programs.
[2:13:34] So to your, to your point, it is very possible
[2:13:36] and likely that if we see increased costs on
[2:13:40] the project going forward,
[2:13:42] those grant programs
[2:13:43] aren't necessarily gonna increase with it.
[2:13:44] The tip will, the tip will. Yeah.
[2:13:46] But the other programs are, are less likely
[2:13:48] to now anything can happen.
[2:13:50] The state can put more resources towards those programs.
[2:13:52] They can change the format of those programs.
[2:13:55] MathWorks has gone through two
[2:13:57] or three iterations through the years.
[2:13:59] So, so anything can happen in the next couple years.
[2:14:02] But, you know, based on today's sort of expectation,
[2:14:06] I wouldn't expect there to be too much more funding coming
[2:14:10] from those programs for something like this to cover
[2:14:13] obviously the mill and overlay that's all town.
[2:14:16] So that's not really a factor.
[2:14:18] It's just a matter of us getting bid pricing as part
[2:14:20] of our roadway improvement program, which we do annually
[2:14:23] as part of our, the, the five year roadway plan
[2:14:26] that this board votes on.
[2:14:27] Sorry,
[2:14:31] Mr. Gates, did you have an additional question
[2:14:32] or is your hand just up?
[2:14:35] No, I did. I, you know, I,
[2:14:37] I actually don't think it's a bad idea to do the mill
[2:14:40] and overlay just in case this doesn't work out.
[2:14:45] So we've got the road in good shape if,
[2:14:49] if the grants don't come through in the future
[2:14:51] or things change so that the money isn't available.
[2:14:53] That's just my opinion though. Thank
[2:14:55] You.
[2:14:56] Thank you. I appreciate that. Mr. Erickson or Mr.
[2:14:59] Gr, do you have any comment on that? Nope,
[2:15:02] No comment.
[2:15:03] One thing that I believe to, to be mindful of,
[2:15:07] of just the mill and overlay is we would
[2:15:10] absolutely look at just the
[2:15:11] ongoing conditions of the roadway.
[2:15:12] And I know there's portions
[2:15:13] that are actually in pretty decent shape
[2:15:14] and portions that are in less decent shape.
[2:15:17] And what we do with any of our roadway improvement programs,
[2:15:19] we always try to get out there in advance
[2:15:21] with any underground utility work that needs to be done.
[2:15:24] So like our water sewer division would be looking at this
[2:15:26] before we do any mill,
[2:15:27] and this is true for actually all of these concepts, right?
[2:15:30] We'd be doing that and we'd be engaging
[2:15:31] with the gas company if there's underground gas
[2:15:33] or other things that need to be done underground.
[2:15:36] So that, that is something that
[2:15:37] with all these concepts we would be doing.
[2:15:40] I I just have a follow up question about that.
[2:15:42] The $2 million estimated cost for the mill
[2:15:44] and overlay, does that take into account
[2:15:47] that while we're doing this patch process,
[2:15:52] any underground utility work we're going
[2:15:53] to need to do or pipe?
[2:15:54] Because we're not gonna just like pave over something if in
[2:15:57] five years we need to dig it up and do water and sewer and
[2:16:00] Pipe?
[2:16:01] That would be a separate cost.
[2:16:01] So it will, it will likely be more than $2 million in
[2:16:04] estimated construction cost if we do the mill and overlay.
[2:16:08] So if there's water and sewer work that needs to be done,
[2:16:11] that typically comes into water sewer enterprise fund
[2:16:14] and we have annual capital dollars that go towards that type
[2:16:17] of work already.
[2:16:19] So we we're already doing some of that work that we do try
[2:16:22] to do preempt proactively before we get in there.
[2:16:24] Obviously emergencies can happen, so Sure.
[2:16:27] Unfortunately sometimes you pave
[2:16:28] and usually you put what's called a five year moratorium.
[2:16:31] It's a, it's kind of the term the state uses onto a roadway
[2:16:34] and then like six months later you get a water break
[2:16:36] and you have to dig it up and that,
[2:16:37] that's really just unfortunate.
[2:16:38] It's not because we didn't
[2:16:39] do anything, we did something wrong.
[2:16:40] It's just that's what happens.
[2:16:42] Unfortunately a water break happened and you have to do that
[2:16:44] and they, they're unpredictable,
[2:16:45] but to the best that we can, we'll get in there for water
[2:16:48] and sewer, obviously gas line work
[2:16:50] that's more on the gas company to cover the costs
[2:16:54] depending on what it is.
[2:16:56] If we were proactively like putting things underground,
[2:16:59] that would likely be a town costs the stretch.
[2:17:01] It's mostly already underground, so we're fortunate
[2:17:04] that the town did that about 15, 20 years ago already.
[2:17:07] So we don't have to cover those costs now.
[2:17:09] That's extremely, extremely
[2:17:10] expensive though, doing undergrounding.
[2:17:12] Thank you. Questions
[2:17:17] and comments from members of the board?
[2:17:19] Ms. Slager, Ms. Pope, Ms. Evans
[2:17:22] and then Mr. Jacobs.
[2:17:24] I'm just gonna say that in the interest of time,
[2:17:27] the questions that I have, I'm going to email.
[2:17:29] Okay. Thank you Mr. Wils. Thank you Mr. Evans.
[2:17:33] I've already sent my questions.
[2:17:34] So I'll say that Morgan
[2:17:36] and I are collecting questions that are sent over
[2:17:38] and we've already received a bunch from, from board members,
[2:17:41] not from everybody in the public, from board members.
[2:17:43] And we'll put that together in some type of,
[2:17:46] probably just copy and paste document for the board
[2:17:48] for the next meeting or an upcoming meeting.
[2:17:50] Thank you. Yeah, I've already sent
[2:17:52] my questions in, so I'm set.
[2:17:54] I can do that as well. Have a
[2:17:55] List Okay.
[2:17:56] With the q and a. We'll do both questions and answers.
[2:17:58] I Sounds good. I did. I I did.
[2:18:01] And continue to send many, many questions into you guys
[2:18:03] and I appreciate you guys we're collecting us.
[2:18:05] You've answered many, many of my questions already
[2:18:07] and like you'll continue to do it.
[2:18:08] I just, there was, there was just one thing, well, two,
[2:18:11] two short things that I just might thought might be helpful
[2:18:13] in this setting just to show one thing is on slides,
[2:18:18] I think it's 22 and maybe 21
[2:18:21] and 22, you go through examples of
[2:18:23] what it actually looks like when you say
[2:18:26] that there's a shared that the sidewalk is at that,
[2:18:29] I'm sorry that the bike path is at sidewalk level.
[2:18:32] 'cause I think when people picture that,
[2:18:34] they may not be picturing exactly what that looks like
[2:18:37] and you know, you guys provide some great examples there
[2:18:40] and if you want to, you know, if you,
[2:18:41] if you have anything you wanna say about that to explain
[2:18:44] that, I think that would be good.
[2:18:45] 'cause I think that conjures up images
[2:18:48] that may not actually be what we're talking about.
[2:18:51] Sure, yeah, I'd be happy to.
[2:18:52] So I'm actually gonna go back to the previous slide,
[2:18:55] which this graphic is,
[2:18:56] There you go. That's, yeah,
[2:18:57] This graphic is not as large
[2:18:58] as I was as I would like it to be.
[2:19:00] I'm happy to provide a a, a larger image,
[2:19:03] but essentially this is taken from the MAs dot separated
[2:19:06] bike lane planning and design guide
[2:19:08] essentially is giving you a schematic diagram
[2:19:12] of like if you were going to construct this kind
[2:19:16] of separated bike lane,
[2:19:18] specifically if it's gonna be at the sidewalk level,
[2:19:20] A big concern is, you know, you'll be close to pedestrians,
[2:19:25] you'll be at the pedestrian level.
[2:19:27] So there's a sort of this expectation like,
[2:19:29] oh there may be increased pedestrian and cyclist conflicts.
[2:19:33] And so what the MAs dot separated
[2:19:37] bike lane guide and also the NDO guide,
[2:19:41] which I will reference I've referenced a few times
[2:19:43] I think previously essentially does,
[2:19:45] is suggests putting essentially buffer zones.
[2:19:49] So there's a buffer zone essentially between parking
[2:19:52] and the bike lane itself.
[2:19:54] This is to prevent,
[2:19:55] I think this is showing parallel parking here,
[2:19:56] but it's essentially is to give some space
[2:19:58] between the cyclists and people entering
[2:20:01] and exiting their cars.
[2:20:03] There's also a buffer zone between the bike lane
[2:20:07] and the space where pedestrians would be walking.
[2:20:09] Typically this will have things like street furniture,
[2:20:13] you can see it in this image.
[2:20:15] These are two examples from Boston.
[2:20:17] There'll be street furniture lights, bike racks,
[2:20:20] trees, things like that.
[2:20:22] As well as different material on the ground essentially
[2:20:26] to indicate that these are two separate areas,
[2:20:29] that one is the sidewalk and one is the bike lane.
[2:20:32] And kind of to both visually
[2:20:34] and physically demarcate those spaces.
[2:20:37] It's also a MAs dot requirement.
[2:20:39] I believe that along with that sort
[2:20:42] of texture near the bike lane, it has to be,
[2:20:44] there's specific a DA requirements.
[2:20:46] So folks that are visually impaired
[2:20:48] know when they are essentially leaving,
[2:20:51] if they're pedestrians, when they're essentially
[2:20:52] leaving a sidewalk space.
[2:20:54] It's not portrayed on this slide,
[2:20:56] but typically when there are crossings
[2:21:01] of the bike lane, those are typically striped
[2:21:04] and often come with signage
[2:21:06] and warnings essentially for the cyclists saying like,
[2:21:09] slow down pedestrian crossing
[2:21:11] and for pedestrians, like, you know,
[2:21:14] you are about to cross a bike lane.
[2:21:15] Things like that.
[2:21:18] Thank you. And then just my last thing
[2:21:19] and then I'll take the rest offline,
[2:21:21] but just the, to, to clarify about the, this the exchange
[2:21:24] that you guys had about the, about the snow removal.
[2:21:26] So under the, the hybrid option
[2:21:30] or the, the enhanced bike option there would, you know,
[2:21:34] right now the, the current way that it's,
[2:21:36] it's plowed from my understanding from discussion
[2:21:38] with you guys is that, you know, the, the, the snow is sort
[2:21:40] of is piled up in a major snow event.
[2:21:43] It's piled up kind of in that space that's sort of in
[2:21:45] between where you park and where the sidewalk is.
[2:21:49] And under this plan, instead of being piled up for
[2:21:52] however many days it is until you're able to remove it,
[2:21:55] that would be removed the same time as the, essentially
[2:21:59] with the, with the plowing with the snow event.
[2:22:02] So there would no longer be those snow piles
[2:22:04] between people's cars and the sidewalk. Is that right?
[2:22:09] That is my understanding.
[2:22:11] I think in part
[2:22:13] because bike lanes are, they're a lane, they're like a,
[2:22:17] like travel, right, like through, like through far.
[2:22:19] So they would need to be cleared same as, you know,
[2:22:22] the roads or the sidewalks as well
[2:22:23] In in essence.
[2:22:24] Yes. Yeah. That, that's, that's what we're kind
[2:22:26] of expecting would be the expectations.
[2:22:28] So we're trying to plan accordingly for that
[2:22:30] and provide the expectations
[2:22:31] that it's not a surprise afterwards.
[2:22:32] Yeah, no, I mean it's the, I just wanted to clarify
[2:22:35] 'cause then yeah, people would no longer have that,
[2:22:36] like it would for the person parking and walking.
[2:22:38] They would, they would no longer have that in between, so.
[2:22:40] Right. Thank you. Yeah,
[2:22:44] Ms.
[2:22:45] Schlager, that was a brilliant
[2:22:46] idea and I thank you for that.
[2:22:49] So we will see no more public comment.
[2:22:52] We're gonna close this agenda item
[2:22:53] and we're gonna take a three minute off camera break,
[2:22:56] three minute recess and we'll come back for
[2:22:59] our third quarter fiscal report.
[2:23:08] Thank you. Welcome back to the select board.
[2:23:10] We've had a slight change in order
[2:23:13] and we are going to hear a,
[2:23:16] a short presentation discussion about the historic
[2:23:19] fountain on the common and then we'll go
[2:23:21] to the third quarter fiscal report.
[2:23:23] Thank you sincerely for taking us out of order.
[2:23:26] Vince has young children and promised to be home by nine.
[2:23:28] So thank you very much. We had some new developments this
[2:23:32] afternoon just in the past few hours
[2:23:33] that I think is gonna change the pathway
[2:23:36] that this project will take.
[2:23:37] So I just wanted to update you.
[2:23:39] Initially there was gonna be a board ask
[2:23:42] and I don't think that that's even necessary anymore.
[2:23:45] So I'm happy just to tell you,
[2:23:47] I've been using this format about the, oh, excuse me.
[2:23:49] Andy Meyer, Vincent Victoria skipped all that.
[2:23:51] Sorry about that. Thank you. Town volunteers working on the
[2:23:55] restoration and renovation of a fountain
[2:23:58] that was on Natick common for 70
[2:24:01] or 80 years that was gifted to the town of Natick
[2:24:04] by the ladies Temperance Union, 19 10, 19 11.
[2:24:09] So I, I've been using this format of things we know
[2:24:11] and things that we don't know,
[2:24:13] and I think we had a big breakthrough today.
[2:24:15] So essentially we know the history of the fountain.
[2:24:17] It is a, it is a, a piece of history.
[2:24:20] Many people in this town remember drinking out of it.
[2:24:22] And the goal is to restore it on a night like tonight when
[2:24:25] you see people walking across the common, having
[2:24:27] an ice cream, you can just imagine how pleasant it would be
[2:24:31] to get a drink of water on our town common.
[2:24:34] So that's kind of why we're doing this.
[2:24:36] We, we know the location of the fountain pieces.
[2:24:39] We have a proposed location where it would be best
[2:24:42] to put the fountain on town common.
[2:24:44] We have an interested party
[2:24:45] who has the skills to restore it.
[2:24:48] We know now that the fountain does not need a sewer hookup.
[2:24:50] I met with the Department of Public Health.
[2:24:52] They were pretty clear that it can act as a drain, drain
[2:24:56] through the ground and recharge the aquifer so
[2:24:58] that we do not need a, a sewer project.
[2:25:00] We know the approximate cost of the fountain,
[2:25:03] the restoration as well as the installation.
[2:25:06] We know that the approximately yearly cost
[2:25:08] of maintenance is quite low.
[2:25:10] We know that there's a funding source we would be proposing
[2:25:13] to apply through the Community Preservation Act.
[2:25:16] We've sent in a letter of interest
[2:25:18] and we note that our application checks off two boxes,
[2:25:22] historic renovation and open space improvement.
[2:25:28] We were initially advised to partner with a fiscal agent
[2:25:31] that would handle the money and pay the invoices.
[2:25:35] That is the Natick Center Associates.
[2:25:36] And I've been working with, we've been working
[2:25:38] with Steve Lavinsky on that.
[2:25:39] The thing that changed today was the role
[2:25:42] that the Nat Center Associates is willing to play.
[2:25:45] They are willing not only to be the fiscal agent,
[2:25:48] but they are willing to provide an
[2:25:53] individual, which we would budget for, who would serve
[2:25:55] as the project manager.
[2:25:57] So that would mean that a recognized nonprofit,
[2:26:01] Natick Center Associates would hire a part-time individual,
[2:26:05] maybe somebody that has retired from the town
[2:26:07] of Natick in an engineering capacity
[2:26:09] or somebody like that to oversee the collection
[2:26:14] of the necessary engineering documents.
[2:26:17] Those documents could be procured
[2:26:20] and once those are settled,
[2:26:22] the Natick Center Associates would apply to the town of NA
[2:26:25] for a building permit, at which point everything would be
[2:26:28] approved, reviewed, organized, and finalized.
[2:26:32] And then of course, once the work is complete
[2:26:35] or is initiated, we'd be partnering the Natick Center
[2:26:38] Associates with the Department of Public Works
[2:26:40] to oversee the work that it's, that it's done correctly.
[2:26:43] So we were going
[2:26:46] to be asking tonight if the board would consider
[2:26:48] making this a town project.
[2:26:50] We don't need to do that because I believe this path forward
[2:26:53] eliminates that entirely now
[2:26:55] that we have Natick Center Associates stepping up willing
[2:26:57] to serve in that capacity.
[2:26:58] So the task
[2:27:00] before us is that there is an a 27,
[2:27:03] an efficient 27 page application that is due
[2:27:06] for the Community Preservation Committee.
[2:27:08] And I believe the deadline is the end of June.
[2:27:10] So we would be partnering as volunteers
[2:27:12] with the Natick Center Associates
[2:27:14] to fill out that application.
[2:27:16] And then we would go through the public process, which,
[2:27:17] which is public hearings
[2:27:19] and eventually a vote of town meeting.
[2:27:21] But I believe we have a pathway now
[2:27:26] that resolves many of the questions we had about
[2:27:28] how exactly are we gonna do this and it's new information.
[2:27:30] So essentially there's no ask to be made tonight.
[2:27:34] It's an update of where we are
[2:27:35] and I, I feel like this is a viable way to pursue it.
[2:27:39] I'm reminded of the words of the great Bob Eisenmenger
[2:27:41] who said, what's wrong with that.
[2:27:44] So there we are.
[2:27:45] That's our update and we are happy to answer any,
[2:27:47] there was a question about whether this qualifies
[2:27:50] as a historic project and out of, out of a saving of time.
[2:27:55] We don't need to go into it, but Vince is here
[2:27:57] and he could, he could explain why we feel this is very much
[2:28:00] a historic renovation project, the, the actual piece
[2:28:03] to be restored back where it was.
[2:28:04] So other than that, that, that, that's our update.
[2:28:07] Happy to answer any questions if you have them.
[2:28:09] Questions for members of the board. Mr. Evans,
[2:28:13] Just a quick one, which is, if I understand correctly,
[2:28:17] your application for
[2:28:21] the CPC will be, will include both the restoration
[2:28:26] and the hookup to water.
[2:28:33] Is, is it going to be the whole concept in other words?
[2:28:35] Yes, sir. I, I, I think it makes sense.
[2:28:37] I, I'm, I'm thinking about how I might feel
[2:28:39] if I was a town meeting member.
[2:28:40] We're gonna be describing the project and,
[2:28:43] and the project in its entirety includes
[2:28:46] restoring the actual fountain and its installation.
[2:28:50] So I, I thought it might be a touch misin, a disjointed to,
[2:28:54] to do, to put in two applications.
[2:28:56] So I thought it would be one application for the project,
[2:28:59] but specifying that the ne
[2:29:00] what the necessary steps are in order to make it happen.
[2:29:03] Excellent. Okay. Just a follow up question, Mr.
[2:29:07] Sprat actually, which is just have, have you reviewed the,
[2:29:12] I know a while back we were talking about the
[2:29:15] challenges in connecting
[2:29:16] and location on the common, et cetera.
[2:29:19] The view of any insight on
[2:29:23] the feasibility of this?
[2:29:27] We have been involved from the beginning, so yes,
[2:29:29] I have been involved in and understand the full project.
[2:29:32] Okay. And you're, you feel it's within the scope of what
[2:29:38] DPW can handle?
[2:29:40] The DPW would not be doing, I'm guiding the process,
[2:29:45] but the DPW would not be making these connections
[2:29:47] that would have to be part of the project
[2:29:49] And, and Natick Center Associates would then manage
[2:29:54] the connection to suppose there's, for whatever reason,
[2:29:57] there's a difficulty who owns fixing the problem,
[2:30:01] A licensed drain layer would have to do that project.
[2:30:04] Let me ask Mr. Erickson to weigh in on this.
[2:30:05] Yeah, I mean the, the program, sorry.
[2:30:07] Thank you for, for, so in essence the,
[2:30:10] the grant program would pay, would be a, a grant
[2:30:13] to NA Center Associates for the project.
[2:30:16] Okay. And then that project would include the installation
[2:30:19] and connections and everything as part of that.
[2:30:22] So essentially what, what DBW doing would be reviewing the
[2:30:24] design plans once they're created
[2:30:26] and overseeing the project once it's done
[2:30:28] by private contractors
[2:30:30] provided through, as, you know, through a gift to the town,
[2:30:33] so to speak, as part of the grant program.
[2:30:36] So we can grant through CPC, we can grant
[2:30:38] to private nonprofits.
[2:30:39] We do it. A good example of this is the one
[2:30:41] that we're currently doing with the RY libraries,
[2:30:43] whether we're doing the historic fence fence
[2:30:45] that is partially on town property
[2:30:47] because it goes on to public right of way,
[2:30:50] mostly on private property
[2:30:51] because the Bacon free library land
[2:30:53] is actually nonprofit owned.
[2:30:54] Yeah. And that's an example of how we gifted,
[2:30:57] we granted the CPC
[2:30:59] or the town actually granted money to a private nonprofit
[2:31:03] to do that work and then they did all the work.
[2:31:06] Okay, thank you. That will So
[2:31:07] In essence cleared it up.
[2:31:08] Yeah. The long-term maintenance is still on the town
[2:31:10] because once it's, and the board would likely have
[2:31:12] to take some action at some point in the
[2:31:13] future to accept the gift.
[2:31:15] Yeah. Probably before installation.
[2:31:17] But we had to talk through legal counsel exactly
[2:31:19] how that mechanism works.
[2:31:20] But that's a, okay, you accept gifts a lot,
[2:31:22] so it's probably a fairly straightforward process.
[2:31:24] Okay. Thank you For that explanation.
[2:31:26] That really helped Mr. Jacobs, I, I was just asking,
[2:31:28] so if needed Center Associates is, is doing this in the way
[2:31:31] that you guys all described, so do, do they, do they have
[2:31:33] to follow this state procurement process
[2:31:35] or No, because it's, if
[2:31:37] It's handled as a grant Yeah.
[2:31:39] And it, everything is done by the nonprofit
[2:31:41] and then gifted to the town.
[2:31:43] My understanding from legal counsel is no.
[2:31:45] Cool. So then It's when we got into the, who's doing
[2:31:48] what portion of the project and who's covering what
[2:31:50] and is town staff involved,
[2:31:53] that's when we started getting into where's the procurement?
[2:31:56] Like where's that line?
[2:31:57] We, we couldn't, we had to have a pretty, this helps
[2:32:01] with having a very definitive sort of like, line for
[2:32:04] It.
[2:32:05] Well, this sounds like a really good outcome,
[2:32:05] but just the only thing is just like you're, you know,
[2:32:08] Jamie, just like, do you have, I mean,
[2:32:11] 'cause obviously eventually there, there,
[2:32:12] and you know, even going through it,
[2:32:13] like there's still gonna be work on the town side involved
[2:32:16] with this, especially once they're ready to hook this up.
[2:32:18] Right. But like, do you feel that it's like with, you know,
[2:32:21] this concern about bumping other things to the side
[2:32:24] or do you think like now with the, with you know,
[2:32:28] Natick Center Associates hiring the people
[2:32:30] and doing all that, that that, that takes enough off of it
[2:32:32] that it's manageable.
[2:32:34] I I mean time will tell through the project, so
[2:32:37] Sure, sure. There's your
[2:32:38] Crystal ball Not having enough. Having
[2:32:40] To, it's not really a fair question, I
[2:32:42] Guess.
[2:32:43] Sorry. I mean this is definitely a, a benefit in the sense
[2:32:45] that town staff isn't being relied on to do the procurement
[2:32:49] to manage any sort of components of the project
[2:32:52] to do the design work.
[2:32:54] Yep. You know, reviewing project design is, is
[2:32:56] what we do every day when we review private projects
[2:32:58] that connect to our water lines.
[2:32:59] So it's kind of like a similar role from that perspective.
[2:33:03] Yes. It's also on town property.
[2:33:06] Will there, will there be added, you know
[2:33:09] Yeah, yeah, there will be.
[2:33:10] But you know, that, that's having an
[2:33:13] outside entity doing the work is,
[2:33:16] is the bene is a net benefit.
[2:33:18] There will still, there is still, you know, just the, the,
[2:33:21] the reality that adding any component to the common
[2:33:24] that's actually functioning is going to have long-term Yeah.
[2:33:28] Maintenance costs as well.
[2:33:30] So, and we need to understand that.
[2:33:31] We don't fully know that quite yet,
[2:33:33] but we do need to understand that eventually,
[2:33:35] If I may just add one thing in our discussions with the
[2:33:38] board of health, they, they confirmed
[2:33:41] that there's enough water pressure in the line.
[2:33:42] This thing doesn't need a pump, so it
[2:33:44] doesn't really need any electricity.
[2:33:45] So it, it, it, that's my understanding.
[2:33:48] Yeah. That, that's, that's a net benefit.
[2:33:50] But we do still, like we, with all water lines in town,
[2:33:52] we do have to winterize them.
[2:33:54] Oh yeah. And all that stuff,
[2:33:55] There's a shut off and a turn on and,
[2:33:56] and originally my my understanding is that that is a,
[2:34:00] well they, they're they're, they're sprinklers on the town
[2:34:02] com and they get turned on a shut so that Yeah, exactly.
[2:34:04] It's, it kind of dovetails with that. So,
[2:34:06] And we have water fountains in other park spaces,
[2:34:08] so it's not, it's still That makes sense.
[2:34:10] It's not the, the little added cost isn't much of a concern.
[2:34:13] It's just when we have this plus plus, plus plus. Yeah.
[2:34:16] But, but you know, I just wanna make sure the board's aware
[2:34:19] that there, it's not as if it comes with no cost.
[2:34:21] There is some cost, but of course.
[2:34:22] Definitely. And I think his other image of this plan is
[2:34:25] that the interested sculptor who,
[2:34:27] who we've mentioned in the past, yeah.
[2:34:30] I, I think we can definitely attract his attention now
[2:34:33] knowing that he's not gonna go out to like a,
[2:34:35] a three person blank bit.
[2:34:36] That's why I asked that. Yeah. Yeah. So I think
[2:34:37] as a private entity contracting with him,
[2:34:39] we can almost assure that, that
[2:34:41] that would be the person that would be doing the work.
[2:34:43] And I think he's uniquely qualified for it. Yeah.
[2:34:45] So interesting.
[2:34:47] No, we again, no ask from the board, but
[2:34:49] unless there's some horrible objection,
[2:34:52] which there does not appear to be, we're gonna proceed
[2:34:54] and we'll we'll kind of walk it through the,
[2:34:56] the public hearing process in the fall
[2:34:58] And as changes come up,
[2:34:59] could you convey that to Mr. Erickson?
[2:35:01] Sure. Will those issues come up? I'm sure you will. Just
[2:35:04] Happy to.
[2:35:05] That would be great. And Vincent,
[2:35:06] you are probably grounded.
[2:35:09] It's 9 0 4. 9 0 4.
[2:35:12] Sorry About that. No, no,
[2:35:13] I understand. My husband, thank
[2:35:15] You again for taking us out. Appreciate
[2:35:16] It very much.
[2:35:17] Yep. Thanks for being here. Third
[2:35:22] quarter fiscal report.
[2:35:23] We invite Mr. Sky and to come on up.
[2:35:31] Hello. Gimme just a moment.
[2:35:35] I do my thing here.
[2:35:39] Gloria's got it up and running. Oh,
[2:35:42] Well Gloria does. Yeah,
[2:35:44] Of course she does.
[2:35:45] Of course. Of course
[2:35:45] She does.
[2:35:51] Good evening. Thank you board members for having us today.
[2:35:53] We really appreciate it.
[2:35:55] We'll try to be complete,
[2:35:57] but expeditious, given the hour, this, the purpose
[2:36:01] of our briefing today is to give you a,
[2:36:03] just a quick update on third quarter
[2:36:05] and some sense of what's to come in the next few months
[2:36:07] as far as future presentations go and things like that.
[2:36:11] So the first part's gonna be the, this overview
[2:36:14] and then the second part will be a,
[2:36:17] an updated financial outlook.
[2:36:22] Okay. So this
[2:36:26] slide shows you kind of a, gives you a sense of, of overall
[2:36:29] what we're seeing this year.
[2:36:31] Bottom line, we're generally on track
[2:36:34] ma major revenue sources are up by about 7.5% over FY 25,
[2:36:39] mainly due to the operational override, as well as some
[2:36:43] higher numbers on some local receipts in state aid.
[2:36:47] There's a detailed breakdown on later slides.
[2:36:49] One thing that should be mentioned at this point is motor
[2:36:51] vehicle excise tax.
[2:36:53] So that's up by about 4%.
[2:36:55] While other excise taxes like such as hotel
[2:36:58] and meals tax are up by a bit more, we expect that
[2:37:02] to continue given, you know, openings that are happening
[2:37:04] around town, the license permits are
[2:37:08] down rather dramatically.
[2:37:10] That is not so much down below,
[2:37:14] below the historical number.
[2:37:15] But last year was an aberration of a year
[2:37:16] because of the large projects that we had.
[2:37:19] And the golf course continues to be doing well.
[2:37:23] They're probably nearing a ceiling in terms
[2:37:25] of their capacity to generate additional revenue.
[2:37:28] You're seeing a big increase in here, mainly due
[2:37:30] to rate changes, but they're probably,
[2:37:31] they're probably reaching their max capacity
[2:37:33] in terms of traffic.
[2:37:35] So the, on the expenditure side,
[2:37:38] general fund expenditure is about 67%.
[2:37:41] The biggest obstacle we're facing there is snow,
[2:37:45] is snow and ice costs.
[2:37:47] We have about a $1.9 million snow and ice deficit.
[2:37:51] We are confident that we'll be able to deal with that
[2:37:54] through various transfers.
[2:37:55] And Michelle Lowery's been working on that now, but,
[2:37:59] but it will affect, it will probably affect our turnbacks in
[2:38:02] subsequently our free cash number as well.
[2:38:06] Okay.
[2:38:11] Tax levy stated collections are generally on track tax.
[2:38:14] Levy is is the third quarter with just over 75%.
[2:38:18] And we have a number of prior year receipts
[2:38:21] and real, real estate taxes
[2:38:23] and personal property taxes from the tax title project.
[2:38:27] Third quarter local receipts show significant increase
[2:38:29] about 34%.
[2:38:30] However, as indicated in the chart,
[2:38:32] the biggest escalation was the large building project in 25.
[2:38:37] This pace had been normalized in 26
[2:38:39] after excluding that source.
[2:38:41] Okay.
[2:38:43] This Is a look at kind of major categories of revenue.
[2:38:46] So select numbers, the there, this is,
[2:38:49] it's a fairly dense chart
[2:38:50] and I don't want to belabor it too much.
[2:38:52] The thing to really focus on, I'd say is that
[2:38:55] a couple things, the penalties
[2:38:59] and interest are still doing well.
[2:39:02] Mainly from for reise tax
[2:39:05] and real estate taxes as well as on the tax title project.
[2:39:09] We would've raised the base on that.
[2:39:11] Also on investments, well you see a small increase here,
[2:39:15] but we have with our,
[2:39:16] with our ongoing project in the treasury's office,
[2:39:18] discover some opportunities on,
[2:39:19] on interest yield on our accounts
[2:39:22] that we're taking advantage of, which should increase some
[2:39:24] that number rather dramatically.
[2:39:27] Okay. On the expense side,
[2:39:31] general fund expense is about 67%, right?
[2:39:34] At this point, towns about 73%.
[2:39:38] Schools at 61% schools generally end up fully spent
[2:39:41] by the end of the year pretty close and shares about 72%.
[2:39:46] Most of the departments remain under 75% except
[2:39:49] for public works, which is, that's strictly
[2:39:52] 'cause of the snow and ice issue.
[2:39:55] And the line chart in the middle shows town,
[2:40:00] school town and shared expense trends from FY 23
[2:40:03] to 26 over the third quarter period, schools are up
[2:40:06] by about 18%, town 13% and shared 11%.
[2:40:10] That's a, an interesting data point
[2:40:13] if you look at it in context as we go along as well.
[2:40:17] Next chart, this is a closer look at third quarter
[2:40:22] expense page operating function as you'll, as you can see,
[2:40:25] public works is showing the big increase schools as well.
[2:40:30] There's this budget related and public works.
[2:40:32] It's the, the snow and ice deficit.
[2:40:36] Okay. Enterprise funds remain
[2:40:41] generally positive through the third quarter.
[2:40:44] Water sewer has seen a more
[2:40:46] so far seeing a more substantial surplus in the,
[2:40:49] the golf course in terms of revenue to expense.
[2:40:51] That makes sense. Golf courses, the golf course is big.
[2:40:54] Revenue generation doesn't obviously happen over the winter.
[2:40:57] It happens over the spring.
[2:40:58] So they'll probably catch up and look
[2:40:59] pretty good by the end of the year as well.
[2:41:07] So that's the third quarter update.
[2:41:09] I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have on that
[2:41:11] or I can move on to the future budget
[2:41:13] considerations discussion as well.
[2:41:16] Let's go through the whole, okay. Yeah, let's do the whole
[2:41:18] Thing.
[2:41:19] Yeah, sure. So some thoughts just about what's
[2:41:23] to come over the next several months.
[2:41:26] Next slide please. So this is the five-year forecast.
[2:41:30] You've seen this before.
[2:41:31] This is basically the forecast that we showed you with the
[2:41:36] preliminary budget back earlier this year.
[2:41:39] The only difference is that we've updated it
[2:41:40] to incorporate the FY 27 budget that was adopted, which had,
[2:41:45] which obviously was a little bit
[2:41:46] different than the preliminary.
[2:41:47] It's a little bit different on the revenue side
[2:41:49] thanks to state aid.
[2:41:51] And it's a little bit different as far as health insurance,
[2:41:53] as well as the new initiatives that were approved and, and,
[2:41:56] and the way we allocated free cash and so on.
[2:41:58] So this forecast incorporates that in,
[2:42:00] but the numbers are generally pretty close.
[2:42:02] The bottom line to where we saw what we saw in February,
[2:42:06] as you'll note there are deficits in there
[2:42:08] on the ongoing years.
[2:42:11] The, there's some assumptions in this proposal that,
[2:42:15] or there's a projection that we, that we showed you,
[2:42:17] which were, which need to be kind
[2:42:20] of taken into account when looking at that.
[2:42:22] For example, the schools
[2:42:25] are showing 5% a year annual increase.
[2:42:28] That's based on the historic average
[2:42:29] that we've seen over the past number of years.
[2:42:33] The, we move forward in this projection with the
[2:42:39] retirement with, with the retirement of, of the use of
[2:42:43] operating free cash.
[2:42:45] The three and a half million that we've been using
[2:42:46] for the past several years for sustainability issues.
[2:42:49] We tried to get that to zero, see what that would look like.
[2:42:51] So that obviously affects the out year years as well.
[2:42:54] And then also we don't use any of our,
[2:42:58] we don't use our stabilization fund funds.
[2:43:00] That's a, that's, that's, that's another point.
[2:43:02] And of course, per the financial management principles,
[2:43:06] any money that that, well the majority of the money that,
[2:43:10] that, that's, that, that, that's freed up by
[2:43:13] fulfilling the pension obligation is going toward oped.
[2:43:17] So, which is why you see the
[2:43:19] below the line item number going up
[2:43:20] and the shared services number
[2:43:22] going down in those out years.
[2:43:23] Okay.
[2:43:25] And, and why you see the continued deficit,
[2:43:27] Right?
[2:43:28] And the continued deficit in part because of that. Yeah.
[2:43:30] And revenue assumptions overall,
[2:43:31] of course are largely rather conservative.
[2:43:34] We're showing we're continuing with the one
[2:43:36] and a half million a year in new growth as well as,
[2:43:42] you know, as I said, minimizing the free cash
[2:43:44] and showing ongoing inflation in various other issues.
[2:43:48] Things like healthcare and so on.
[2:43:51] So this should be viewed as kind of a
[2:43:54] sensitivity analysis more than anything else.
[2:43:57] However, it also informs some of the things that we need
[2:43:59] to look at going, going forward.
[2:44:01] So next slide. You know, some of the issues
[2:44:05] that we're focused on
[2:44:06] and concerned about are ongoing growth.
[2:44:09] There's about a half percent structural imbalance
[2:44:13] between the rate of revenue growth
[2:44:14] and rate of expansion growth.
[2:44:16] It doesn't sound like much, but it's about equivalent
[2:44:17] to about a million to million
[2:44:19] and a half dollars a year, which compounds.
[2:44:21] So, and that's driven largely by the fact that
[2:44:26] revenue's been going up by about 4.4%
[2:44:29] expenditures overall going up by about just under 5%.
[2:44:33] The components of that are about five,
[2:44:35] as you can see in the, the box here, about 5.4% schools,
[2:44:39] 3.7% town, 5.27% shared.
[2:44:44] So those are all those, that's a structural gap
[2:44:47] that we're seeing on the economic conditions side.
[2:44:50] Look, receipts have been doing pretty well,
[2:44:52] but there are, you know, inflationary pressures,
[2:44:54] the economic issues, there's a lot of uncertainty right now.
[2:44:57] So we need to keep a real close
[2:44:58] eye on what's going on there.
[2:45:00] Obviously things like utility costs, inflation
[2:45:03] and so on are affecting our numbers for FY 26
[2:45:07] and won't affect our numbers for 27.
[2:45:09] One of the things that we did in the FY 27 budget was,
[2:45:11] if you recall, we doubled the fi the fiscal reserve.
[2:45:14] So that, and, and that's specifically
[2:45:16] because we wanted make sure with the things
[2:45:18] that were going on at the going started at the time
[2:45:21] and they're going, it's still going on now out there
[2:45:23] that we had some abil some flexibility
[2:45:25] to handle costs like that.
[2:45:28] The, and then of course the, the,
[2:45:31] the town's policy priorities, both the, the, the, you know,
[2:45:35] our decisions on capital and, and,
[2:45:37] and the board's priorities as well
[2:45:39] as the financial management principles
[2:45:40] and looking at those going forward, making sure
[2:45:43] that they are well attuned
[2:45:45] and appropriate to what we're looking to do.
[2:45:48] So next slide.
[2:45:50] So next steps later this summer, probably August
[2:45:54] or September, we'll give you,
[2:45:55] we'll do our year end financial review also give you a sense
[2:45:59] of what we're looking at for the preliminary outlook for 28.
[2:46:03] We, we will probably be talk coming back to you at, around
[2:46:06] that time with some thoughts about the financial management
[2:46:09] principles and things that we can do there,
[2:46:10] but to update them and possibly
[2:46:12] po possibly revise within the context of where we're trying
[2:46:16] to get to as far as our projections go.
[2:46:18] And, and also of course look,
[2:46:20] continuing our focus on long-term sustainability.
[2:46:24] Thank you so much Mr. Skye. Thank you.
[2:46:26] I'd like to open this to questions from the public,
[2:46:33] seeing no one on Zoom
[2:46:34] or in the room that has a question, like open up
[2:46:36] to questions or comments from the board.
[2:46:39] Ms. Slager. Mr. Jacobs.
[2:46:41] Alright, no questions on this yet,
[2:46:43] but I do wanna say every time we see this it gets better.
[2:46:47] And so just wanted to say thank you to Gloria
[2:46:49] because we all know it's Gloria.
[2:46:51] Oh, it's definitely
[2:46:54] Gloria.
[2:46:55] You mean the presentation gets better?
[2:46:56] The presentation presentation gets so much better.
[2:46:59] The data gets better, the presentation gets better.
[2:47:02] Definitely. Just wanted to make sure and and I,
[2:47:04] and I have to say I really do like the future budget
[2:47:06] considerations and, and adding that as a, as a topic.
[2:47:11] It's extremely helpful. It's, it's very helpful
[2:47:15] and I have a lot of questions, but it'll wait. Happy
[2:47:18] To answer nine 15.
[2:47:20] So,
[2:47:22] Alright.
[2:47:23] Well may maybe I'll take a cue from my fellow board member
[2:47:25] and, and I'll, but I, I do have some questions that I will,
[2:47:27] I will email, but I,
[2:47:29] I dito on the appreciating the presentation.
[2:47:31] Yeah. 'cause it is, I have seen
[2:47:33] him over the years get better
[2:47:34] And better.
[2:47:35] You, you all know where to find me, so. Yeah. Yep.
[2:47:38] Ms. Pope, I just Wanna say I appreciate you all
[2:47:41] staying here so late to do this and to share this with us.
[2:47:45] And I will ditto and send my questions.
[2:47:49] Fair enough. Okay. Anyone else?
[2:47:55] I did a mental ditto. I'm a ditto too. Thank you Mr. Skye.
[2:47:59] Thank you. Thank you. It's a, it's a,
[2:48:02] the presentation is just gives us a lot
[2:48:05] to think about. It does.
[2:48:08] There will be, you know, this, this is, we,
[2:48:10] we felt it important at this stage to at least kind of
[2:48:15] give me a little, little, little, little tease about
[2:48:18] what we, what we need to be dealing
[2:48:19] with in the next few months.
[2:48:20] So, so we'll be coming back to you
[2:48:22] with some more ideas and information at that point.
[2:48:25] Thank you so much. Yes. We plan
[2:48:26] to collect your questions as well and,
[2:48:28] and the answers and then Okay.
[2:48:30] Bring 'em to a future meeting
[2:48:31] so the public can also see this. So yes,
[2:48:33] I that. Thank you. That sounds
[2:48:34] Good.
[2:48:35] I was thinking that and it just didn't come you similar
[2:48:37] To the main street, which our intent there was
[2:48:40] to make sure that, that, that once we have them,
[2:48:42] we'll actually include as a, an attachment to each,
[2:48:44] An faq.
[2:48:45] We do something similar here.
[2:48:46] Okay. Awesome. That be awesome. Just
[2:48:47] that the public can also see the questions
[2:48:49] that you have and the answers.
[2:48:51] Thank you. Which
[2:48:52] You'll send individually not to each other, so that you're
[2:48:55] Right. We send them to completely
[2:48:57] Compliant with the mean law.
[2:48:58] Yep. Send them to Mr. Sky and copy Mr. Erickson. Okay.
[2:49:01] I don't need to see them. We
[2:49:03] shouldn't be sending 'em to each other.
[2:49:04] Next up is the update on trash and recycling study.
[2:49:09] Thank you Ari. Thank you Gloria.
[2:49:10] Yes. Thank you so much. You,
[2:49:13] And then we can move to the consent agenda.
[2:49:15] Not the rushing it just saying, just
[2:49:19] to give you a preview where we are in the meeting.
[2:49:22] You just want to hear go for. Okay. Putting Yeah. Yeah.
[2:49:26] The late hour guys.
[2:49:27] No problem. It's my job.
[2:49:32] You don't have to come in tomorrow.
[2:49:34] I'll just make that decision.
[2:49:36] I can't see that. Just did,
[2:49:40] that's directly managing. We can't do that. That's,
[2:49:43] So I'll do my best to keep this very brief.
[2:49:46] Where is this? For some reason I didn't share.
[2:49:49] You shouldn't be able to. I I did share.
[2:49:51] Hold on two seconds. Okay.
[2:50:02] Okay. It's gone. Here we go.
[2:50:09] Okay. Thank you. I'll be very brief.
[2:50:12] Really this is just an update.
[2:50:14] We'll be back in front of you probably in August just
[2:50:18] to get some feedback on some of the data we're collecting.
[2:50:20] But this is our recycling
[2:50:22] and trash services study, affectionately known
[2:50:25] as the Rats group.
[2:50:29] So it is a working group that we put together.
[2:50:33] It includes myself, Ari,
[2:50:35] who just spoke from the financial side, Steven Marshall,
[2:50:39] director of Finance and Operations for DPW,
[2:50:42] Brian Casey, Jillian.
[2:50:45] We have two members from the public, one
[2:50:48] that is on the net zero committee.
[2:50:50] And then Missy is from DEP.
[2:50:55] We acquired her services through a grant.
[2:50:58] So, which has been really helpful
[2:51:00] 'cause she has the data from every single town
[2:51:03] and city in the, in the Commonwealth.
[2:51:06] So pulling, pulling our data is, is very easy
[2:51:09] with, with her there.
[2:51:11] One of the tidbits that I'll just share that we've learned
[2:51:13] so far, Natick is one of three communities.
[2:51:17] The picture on the screen shows us using staff members
[2:51:21] to put trash municipal solid waste in the truck.
[2:51:23] We're one of three communities in the
[2:51:25] commonwealth that still do that.
[2:51:26] So just an interesting tidbit. I was surprised by that fact
[2:51:30] As well.
[2:51:31] Just point of clarification, you mean as opposed
[2:51:31] to having a truck actually pick it up and put it in.
[2:51:34] Correct. We use human beings to do that. Yes. Thank
[2:51:36] You.
[2:51:37] In in-house, right? Isn't that also part of it?
[2:51:40] Well that's, that's we one of three communities
[2:51:43] that still do in-house trash
[2:51:45] with people on the back of trucks.
[2:51:48] Wow. So part of,
[2:51:51] we're looking at a comprehensive review of our trash
[2:51:54] and recycling programs.
[2:51:56] Municipal solid waste, curbside recycling, bulk pickup.
[2:52:00] All of the above are being looked at here.
[2:52:03] We're benchmarking ourselves against other communities and,
[2:52:07] and learning is essentially what we're doing.
[2:52:09] This started out really with a question,
[2:52:13] are we doing this the right way?
[2:52:15] Are we consistent with other communities?
[2:52:18] Is this financially responsible? Is this safe?
[2:52:20] Kind of the whole gamut.
[2:52:21] And really there is no pre-made decision.
[2:52:27] We're really letting the data follow
[2:52:29] the recommendations here.
[2:52:31] Ah, fellow rat,
[2:52:35] you're a fellow rat fellow.
[2:52:37] The the rats group, fellow rat, well the rats group, the rat
[2:52:41] Pack. Don't bad
[2:52:43] About that.
[2:52:44] These are the areas for review.
[2:52:46] I just kind of went over that.
[2:52:47] But really looking at collection methods, staff retention,
[2:52:51] even safety, the pay as you throw program,
[2:52:54] really comprehensive of look, even things like
[2:52:59] route optimization and scheduling.
[2:53:01] These are things we haven't looked at in decades.
[2:53:03] So just a really great opportunity
[2:53:06] to just make sure we're doing things the right way.
[2:53:11] Here are potential outcomes.
[2:53:13] As I said, we're, we're not pre-judging any of this,
[2:53:16] but potential outcomes could include doing nothing,
[2:53:19] just continuing going on.
[2:53:21] As we, as we do things,
[2:53:24] we could fully automate municipal solid waste.
[2:53:26] Currently we have recycling programs
[2:53:28] that use automated pickers.
[2:53:30] We could do that as well on the municipal solid waste side.
[2:53:33] We could have a, an outsource program,
[2:53:35] we could have a hybrid outsource program.
[2:53:37] Really those are potential outcomes
[2:53:39] that could exist based on what other communities do.
[2:53:43] Essentially what I'm here tonight is just to talk
[2:53:46] to you about the project timeline.
[2:53:48] We're in the benchmarking phase right now.
[2:53:50] We've had two or three meetings.
[2:53:53] We've learned a lot really in that short period of time.
[2:53:57] I would anticipate by July
[2:53:59] or so we'll have our benchmarking done,
[2:54:03] hopefully coming back in the August timeframe just
[2:54:06] to talk about those things,
[2:54:07] get some feedback from you on the directions you'd like us
[2:54:10] to, to go with this.
[2:54:12] And then ultimately use that information
[2:54:15] to come back maybe in the December timeline
[2:54:18] for a final recommendation to the board.
[2:54:21] Thank you Mr. Sprat.
[2:54:23] I have comments or questions from members of the board. Ms.
[2:54:25] Slager, just a really quick question.
[2:54:27] As part of your comparison to other towns,
[2:54:30] are we also looking at what the costs are
[2:54:35] and and factoring that in not just, you know, their methods,
[2:54:40] but we're also looking at, you know, what the cost
[2:54:42] to the residents and what the cost of the programs would be?
[2:54:44] So is this a full analysis?
[2:54:46] So the the short answer is yes.
[2:54:47] The, a full financial analysis being done, it's one
[2:54:50] of the reasons we have RA on the team.
[2:54:52] But even something simple
[2:54:53] as when we started our pay asyou throw program,
[2:54:56] what was the, what was the composition of our cost relative
[2:55:00] to revenue then and what is it now?
[2:55:02] So even things like that.
[2:55:04] Great. Thank you Ms. Pope.
[2:55:07] Thank you. And thank you for the,
[2:55:09] the update and the presentation.
[2:55:11] And this may roll into the question or,
[2:55:13] or the, the statement you just made to Ms.
[2:55:15] W's question is, there have been trash
[2:55:18] and recycling studies before.
[2:55:19] What are you trying to, to gather from this one
[2:55:22] that maybe hasn't been gathered before?
[2:55:24] So, to the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been one,
[2:55:27] I wanna say since 2016.
[2:55:29] I might be off on that date, but it's, it's
[2:55:31] Actually earlier.
[2:55:32] Okay. It's been quite a while. It's been a long time.
[2:55:36] So it's really just kind of a refresh.
[2:55:39] We will pull up old studies,
[2:55:40] but we have the opportunity through this grant
[2:55:43] to really do a deep dive.
[2:55:45] Trash and recycling is not something I've looked
[2:55:47] at in my two years here.
[2:55:48] It just, we've been looking at other priorities and,
[2:55:50] and now's the time we really, it's,
[2:55:52] it's a fairly big portion of our budget
[2:55:54] and it's time to take a deep look at that.
[2:55:55] Thank you. We're also, one thing that that bill
[2:56:00] sort of sort of talked through,
[2:56:02] but not in too much depth is policy decisions as well.
[2:56:07] So it just even discussing, discuss discussing the
[2:56:12] ratio of revenue versus general budget going
[2:56:16] to support the trash program.
[2:56:18] That that could be a policy decision,
[2:56:19] a financial policy decision.
[2:56:20] Do we, do we con, you know, how do rates
[2:56:25] for trash also like that needs to be discussed.
[2:56:29] And then also just other things like,
[2:56:30] and you mentioned this as well to a certain degree,
[2:56:34] how we handle just overall trash pickup, not just
[2:56:39] the mechanisms, but also we have some policies that,
[2:56:42] for example, we pick up trash for up to I think a four unit
[2:56:45] building and what does, what does that mean for the town?
[2:56:49] 'cause every town has something
[2:56:51] different when it comes to those things.
[2:56:53] Those are all categories we're benchmarking against it.
[2:56:56] Yeah, you'll be actually quite fascinated by the amount
[2:56:59] of benchmarking we're doing with with DEP right now.
[2:57:04] Sounds good. There is a hand up from the public if
[2:57:12] Ms.
[2:57:13] Dorin,
[2:57:17] Yes, thank you.
[2:57:20] I cost hasn't been brought up tonight
[2:57:24] and I may be jumping the gun,
[2:57:25] but I just want to express my concern.
[2:57:28] I remember hearing in previous months
[2:57:30] or years the possibility that residents would have
[2:57:34] to pay for trash pickup.
[2:57:36] And a lot
[2:57:39] of us are feeling the crunch financially with the override
[2:57:43] and the pending debt exclusions and the increase in water
[2:57:46] and sewer and, you know,
[2:57:48] social security is not increasing at the same pace.
[2:57:50] So I'm just gonna put it out there.
[2:57:52] Please, please, please try not to do that.
[2:57:55] I'm thinking about the $250,000 that snow removal would be,
[2:58:00] you know, extra given the redesign of native center.
[2:58:04] And I'm like, well can we like maybe take that two 50
[2:58:07] and put it into trash removal rather than, you know, having
[2:58:11] to pay snow removal people, contractors more for that
[2:58:15] 'cause Yeah, you're pushing us to the bring financial,
[2:58:18] I just wanted to say that I also had a thought about
[2:58:21] rescheduling because I, I can't remember if it's FedEx
[2:58:25] or UPS, but a number
[2:58:26] of years ago they changed their route scheduling
[2:58:28] and the drivers don't make left turns
[2:58:30] and they saved like millions, millions, millions of dollars.
[2:58:32] So I don't know if you've thought of that Mr.
[2:58:34] Frat and maybe it wouldn't work,
[2:58:36] but I'm just gonna put it out there kind of humorously.
[2:58:43] Mr. Sprat, could you address again
[2:58:45] how you had talked about cost being a factor
[2:58:47] that you're looking into this?
[2:58:48] Sure. Thanks. Thank you for both questions and comments.
[2:58:52] And, and I'm just gonna do the root one first,
[2:58:54] but yes, we are looking at root optimization.
[2:58:56] That's, that's a critical part of that.
[2:58:59] But as far as cost, the,
[2:59:01] the reality is we are a pay asyou throw program,
[2:59:04] but not an enterprise fund.
[2:59:06] So we do pay as you throw, which really subsidizes the tax
[2:59:12] burden that covers the rest of the, of the trash.
[2:59:15] So either way, the trash does cost money,
[2:59:18] it either comes out of taxes
[2:59:20] or it comes out of pay as you throw currently.
[2:59:22] So we will be reviewing that,
[2:59:23] but cost is certainly a factor of how, how we proceed
[2:59:27] and it, and it's going to be something I'll bring
[2:59:29] back to the board in detail.
[2:59:32] And I know I could speak for me and not for the board,
[2:59:35] but I know that all of us are very concerned with
[2:59:37] however we approach whatever we
[2:59:39] implement in terms of policy.
[2:59:41] The, the financial impact,
[2:59:42] especially coming out of the override.
[2:59:44] We've worked really hard at a future meeting will be going
[2:59:48] over our financial commitments
[2:59:49] and what the town has been able to save
[2:59:54] and what we've been able to turn back
[2:59:56] and what, you know, the, the initiatives we've
[2:59:58] undertaken in light of that.
[3:00:00] So thank i, I wanna, you know, thank Ms.
[3:00:03] Doran for raising that 'cause it is a,
[3:00:04] it's a very important consideration
[3:00:06] and if you didn't hear it in the presentation,
[3:00:08] it is something we're deeply considering.
[3:00:13] Any other questions for members of the board?
[3:00:18] Okay, thank you Mr. Spratt.
[3:00:19] Thanks for being here when I know you roll in around
[3:00:22] six 30 in the morning, so, well
[3:00:24] Not that early, but I appreciate,
[3:00:26] Happy to, happy to be here. Thank you.
[3:00:28] I think we all appreciate it very much. Thank you.
[3:00:30] Thank you Bill. We are done with our discussion and decision
[3:00:35] and we'll move on to the consent agenda. Agreed.
[3:00:38] The consent agenda tonight reads item A approve meeting
[3:00:42] minutes for May 27.
[3:00:45] 2026. Item B, approve Natick Police Department's request
[3:00:49] to accept donations to be used
[3:00:51] for the National Night Out event.
[3:00:54] $250 from Middlesex Auto Body, $2,000 from Brigham
[3:00:58] Gill Dodge Jeep.
[3:01:01] Item C appoint Richard Sydney to the Audit
[3:01:04] Advisory Committee as a select board representative
[3:01:06] for a term ending of June 30th, 2028.
[3:01:10] Item D approved the Cheesecake Factory Restaurants Inc.
[3:01:14] DBA, the Cheesecake Factory Change of Officers, directors,
[3:01:18] LLC managers application for their S 12 alcohol license.
[3:01:22] Item E approve request
[3:01:24] for exemption from town bylaws Chapter 41 S four,
[3:01:29] Abigail Garrity, Kalin del Tufo.
[3:01:34] Item F approve US Roadshow Inc.
[3:01:37] Applications for a one day junk dealer's license
[3:01:41] for June 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th of 2026.
[3:01:45] Item G approved boards and committee norms.
[3:01:48] Item H approve request to occupy a public way
[3:01:50] for the Coolidge Avenue Block Party item.
[3:01:54] I authorized the town administrator to sign the
[3:01:59] RHSO, which is the regional housing services office.
[3:02:02] IMA inter municipal agreement on behalf of the board,
[3:02:05] including any items related
[3:02:06] to the IMA over the three year term.
[3:02:10] Does anyone wanna pull anything from the agenda?
[3:02:12] I mean from the consent agenda?
[3:02:16] Okay. No, I move the consent agenda for
[3:02:20] Approval.
[3:02:21] Second move.
[3:02:23] Move by Kristen. Second by Linda.
[3:02:27] All in favor please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[3:02:33] Next on the agenda is town administrator updates.
[3:02:38] Just briefly and it's not in direct response
[3:02:41] to a comment made during public speak,
[3:02:43] but there was discussion around a Needham employee
[3:02:47] during public speak and I just wanna note that the, the
[3:02:51] issue actually dealt with a nonprofit, not a town entity.
[3:02:55] Yep. It was a nonprofit for which that person was
[3:03:01] sort of skimming some money, for lack
[3:03:02] of a better term. We no
[3:03:05] Evidence.
[3:03:06] Thank for that clarification.
[3:03:06] Thank You. Thank you for that clarification.
[3:03:09] I thought I had read that but didn't
[3:03:10] feel secure enough to say that. No,
[3:03:12] Couldn't respond anyway.
[3:03:14] I didn't even think it was a town employee. I think
[3:03:15] It was technic discuss or debate.
[3:03:17] So for example, a plausible response would be,
[3:03:21] have you brought that up with FinCon?
[3:03:23] Have you gone to the FinCon meetings when you're in town
[3:03:26] meeting as a town meeting member,
[3:03:27] have you raised these questions?
[3:03:29] 'cause it isn't, those are all perfectly acceptable.
[3:03:32] The discussion would be no, of course we don't have that.
[3:03:34] And no, we're not going to, I mean
[3:03:36] I think there's a very narrow line
[3:03:38] and we try to fall on the conservative side of it
[3:03:41] and I think that's a good idea.
[3:03:42] But I also think it means that people have to wait two,
[3:03:45] eight weeks for us to have a contextualization as opposed
[3:03:49] to a response or a discussion.
[3:03:52] Town administrator.
[3:03:54] I'm good. Other Than that,
[3:03:58] I swear I didn't look at you
[3:03:59] Threateningly select board updates.
[3:04:01] I just have one and then I'll open up to anyone else.
[3:04:04] I've asked Rich Sydney
[3:04:06] and he's agreed to er, serve with Cody
[3:04:08] and I on working with, looking at the bylaws in the charter.
[3:04:12] Good. He has great experience on the charter
[3:04:14] and bylaw review committee.
[3:04:16] And I think he'll be an asset
[3:04:18] to Cody and I working through that.
[3:04:19] Cool. He's our consultant. Exci.
[3:04:21] He really is our sixth member. An elected member.
[3:04:26] And then he's like the fifth Beatle. Yeah, he is.
[3:04:31] And then the, the other thing I was going to ask Mr.
[3:04:34] Ericsson, since we've abor we've adopted the board
[3:04:36] and committee's best practices
[3:04:38] and norms, could you ask Mr. Walsh to send that out to all
[3:04:41] of the chairs?
[3:04:43] Chairs? Yes. And select board appointed or Yes.
[3:04:46] Select board appointed in whole and
[3:04:54] say that we've adopted this
[3:04:55] and these are expectations for people we appoint.
[3:04:58] Cool. I mean, we can't make boards
[3:05:00] and committees adopt them,
[3:05:02] but we can enforce say that these are the expectations
[3:05:04] and ask them to kindly for that, to all the members
[3:05:07] that are currently serving.
[3:05:10] And that's, that's all I had.
[3:05:13] Anybody else motion to adjourn? Oh, that was beautiful.
[3:05:16] A motion to adjourn. Second. Wow. Moved by Ms.
[3:05:20] Kristens, seconded by Mr. Bruce.
[3:05:22] All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[3:05:24] We are adjourned at 9 35.