[0:01] All right, we are live. Good evening, Swansea.
[0:04] This is the Swansea Board of Selectmen meeting for Tuesday, August 11th,
[0:07] 2026, being held at the Swansea School Administration
[0:12] Building, 1 Gardner's Neck Road, Swansea.
[0:14] Please join me for a pledge of allegiance to the flag.
[0:20] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
[0:23] America and to the republic for which it stands, one
[0:27] nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:31] justice for all.
[0:39] This meeting is being broadcast live on Swansea Community
[0:43] Network on Comcast channel 96 and is being
[0:47] recorded for replay on the Swansea Community Network's Facebook
[0:51] page and at
[0:52] www.swanseacn.com.
[0:59] Are there anyone present who plans to record this meeting tonight?
[1:04] Hearing none, let's proceed.
[1:07] So item number one,
[1:09] starting tonight at 18:34,
[1:13] is a public hearing for National Grid Pole Petition
[1:17] 31327853, Shepherd's Court,
[1:21] and we have Mr. Jeff Silva
[1:24] from National Grid here to speak tonight.
[1:30] And if I could, I got to
[1:32] make a motion to open the public hearing regarding National Grid Pole
[1:36] Petition 31327853.
[1:40] So moved.
[1:41] Second.
[1:42] And all in favor?
[1:43] Aye.
[1:43] Aye.
[1:44] And aye. You are ready to go, Jeff.
[1:47] National Grid is proposing to install two three-inch conduits
[1:51] from an existing pad number three on
[1:55] Shepherd's Court
[1:57] to run along
[2:00] the west side of the road for 250 feet
[2:04] to connect the new street of, I think it's
[2:08] Addison.
[2:09] Addison Way?
[2:11] Sounds familiar.
[2:12] It would all be underground. There is no poles.
[2:15] So technically the petition would've been just a petition for
[2:19] underground infrastructure.
[2:22] And excuse me for interrupting everybody.
[2:23] And Jeff, I forgot to ask you, if you could give your name and address
[2:28] for the microphone.
[2:29] Jeff Silva. I work out of the Hopedale office, which is 245 South Main
[2:33] Street.
[2:33] Thank you.
[2:34] You're welcome.
[2:36] So with that being said, I see on the map here that
[2:41] it's all underground. And what was it that you just added to that thought,
[2:45] Jeff?
[2:47] We're going to be feeding Addison Way, which is a new road
[2:50] development off of Shepherd's Court.
[2:55] Any discussion from anyone in the audience on this topic?
[3:00] No?
[3:01] Anyone from the board, any discussion or concern?
[3:05] No, this seems straightforward. I'm fine with this. Thank you.
[3:07] Fantastic.
[3:10] The only questions I have, so you're going to be coming out of a pad transformer
[3:14] underground to what?
[3:16] It's going to go to a
[3:18] hand hole in the road to make that transition to go down Addison.
[3:22] And then once it gets to Addison, where does it go from there?
[3:25] It goes into the roadway and then they pick up other transformers as the road gets
[3:29] built.
[3:30] Okay. So those transformers, those future transformers on Addison, will be
[3:34] coming before the board?
[3:35] I don't know, because it depends on if it's a public
[3:39] road at that point in time. So if it's not a public road, it would
[3:43] go under what the easement is for the developer, and
[3:47] then you guys would then take it over as a road after the fact.
[3:51] Okay. So the conduits running under grass as described here
[3:55] is within the right of way.
[3:57] Correct.
[3:57] Okay.
[3:59] That's all I have, sir.
[4:01] No further discussion?
[4:02] The chairman will make a motion to move to close the public
[4:06] hearing regarding National Grid Pole Petition
[4:10] 31327853.
[4:14] And do I have a motion?
[4:15] Motion made.
[4:16] Second.
[4:17] Second. And all in favor?
[4:18] Aye.
[4:19] Aye.
[4:19] That is unanimous. Thank you, Jeff.
[4:21] Fantastic.
[4:21] Thank you.
[4:22] Have a good evening.
[4:22] Have a good night.
[4:25] Okay, so we have a little bit of time here before we get to our second
[4:29] open meeting.
[4:35] We maybe here can take something out of order.
[4:40] I could make a motion for
[4:42] item 5D and 5E.
[4:47] I had spoken with Chief Foley earlier, and it sounds like those would be quick
[4:49] ones, if that's something we wanted to do before the 7:00.
[4:53] If I-
[4:54] Or you think that's not enough time? Or what else is fast?
[4:56] I think the-
[4:57] Or 6?
[4:57] Minutes?
[4:58] ... entirety of five we could do-
[5:00] Do together
[5:01] ... just all together.
[5:02] Yep.
[5:02] We've got 25 minutes for the next hearing.
[5:06] Yeah. I'll do that. Oh, you want to do it now?
[5:08] Sure. I mean, we have 25 minutes-
[5:10] Yeah
[5:10] ... for the next hearing, so let's-
[5:11] I'm fine with that.
[5:12] I suggest we look at item 12,
[5:15] perhaps item 11 and item 10.
[5:19] And six should be short, too.
[5:28] You're saying 10, 11, and 12?
[5:33] Mr. Chairman, I'll make the motion to take items 10, 11, and 12 out of order.
[5:38] Second on that?
[5:39] Second. Yep. Sure. Second.
[5:42] All in favor?
[5:43] Aye.
[5:43] Aye.
[5:43] That is unanimous.
[5:45] Okay, so with that, we'll go to item number 10, which is to vote
[5:51] on trash abatements.
[6:06] Okay, so item number 10.
[6:11] I can read these,
[6:14] and we can take a motion to vote.
[6:21] So this is item number 10.
[6:23] These are abatements,
[6:25] and they are the addresses as follow: Lopes at
[6:29] 625 Hortonville Road, number
[6:31] 37145.
[6:34] Stradvarola,
[6:36] 41 Palmer River Road,
[6:39] number 113815.
[6:43] Shane, 16 Gardner's Neck Road, number
[6:46] 47362.
[6:49] Patel, 103 Lafayette Street, number
[6:52] 41021.
[6:55] And Paradiso, 41 Kyspek Court, number
[6:58] 40375. These are all
[7:02] equal at $115
[7:05] amount exempted for dumpster contracts.
[7:10] The chair seeks a motion to
[7:14] approve to vote.
[7:17] So moved.
[7:18] Or discussion?
[7:20] Yeah. Just to also, not to clarify,
[7:23] but to point out perhaps in a motion that the total amount being
[7:27] abated is a total of $575.
[7:31] Agreed. Thank you.
[7:34] So, there's a motion. I'll second that motion.
[7:37] All in favor?
[7:38] Aye.
[7:39] Aye.
[7:39] Aye. It is unanimous.
[7:42] Number 10 is in the book.
[7:54] That brings us to number 11. Number 11 tonight
[7:58] is
[7:59] to vote to approve sale of surplus auction items.
[8:03] We'll see an attached list.
[8:10] Ms. Solitro, would you like the honors of reading that list?
[8:13] Sure.
[8:15] Okay, so the items are
[8:17] a 2015 Ford F550 dump truck with plow,
[8:21] 2013 International six-wheel dump truck, 2000 Ford
[8:24] F550 dump truck with plow, 2014 Ford Explorer,
[8:29] Flag Wildcat zero-turn mower,
[8:32] Husqvarna zero-turn mower, 14 x 8 x 8
[8:35] dumpster can, two truck toolboxes, Exmark
[8:39] walk-behind mower, Clamper catch basin truck, small push mower,
[8:43] John Deere 430 small tractor, Fisher eight-foot
[8:46] mount plow,
[8:48] nine desktop computers, nine wired keyboards, four wired mice,
[8:52] one Dell laptop, two Sony DVD players, two HP printers,
[8:56] one Vizio TV, and one CD/DVD storage case.
[9:04] And with that, just information for the public.
[9:09] It says here, "Residents are welcome to check the town website beginning next
[9:13] week, where there will be a link provided to Auctions
[9:17] International.
[9:18] Residents will be able to view the surplus items
[9:21] available for auction and submit bids directly through
[9:25] that site."
[9:27] I would make a motion to approve the list of surplus property
[9:31] items presented and authorize of disposal
[9:35] of said items through the town surplus auction process.
[9:40] Do I have a motion?
[9:41] I'll make a motion, but I do have one question.
[9:44] How do we end up with one clam for a catch basin truck?
[9:49] You had to ask, huh?
[9:50] It just seems like an odd item. Like, "Hey,
[9:53] I have a clam for a catch basin cleanup truck."
[9:57] I just thought it was funny.
[10:00] I think maybe it was-
[10:02] Maybe it's me.
[10:02] No.
[10:03] Maybe it's the August 8th.
[10:04] Maybe that should be something just kept behind the building.
[10:07] I wish Mr. Anderson was here because I think that would be a funny response.
[10:11] Yes.
[10:11] But nonetheless, I'll make the motion to
[10:15] approve the sale of all the items as read off.
[10:19] Second.
[10:19] And second heard. All in favor?
[10:22] Aye.
[10:23] Aye.
[10:23] Aye. So, item number 11 is in the book unanimous.
[10:28] So that brings us to item number 12, approval of
[10:31] minutes, meeting minutes.
[10:34] And we can do these one at a time. We seem to have that time.
[10:42] Bear with me, please.
[10:50] Okay, so that'll be item number 12A and item number 12B.
[10:54] Discussion would be, has everybody had a chance to review these?
[10:58] I just want to double-check, so we're good with the dates.
[11:00] I know the
[11:02] dates were a little confusing with the ballot for November 3rd versus the town
[11:04] meeting October 19th. This is correct how it is here now?
[11:08] Right, this doesn't have to be modified? Just want to make sure it's right.
[11:10] Where are you on that?
[11:12] So,
[11:14] for 12A, I just want to make sure.
[11:19] Are you saying it was a typo last time?
[11:19] For the ballot language,
[11:24] that it's the right way. So, we have the town meeting is October 19th, and then the
[11:27] ballot is November 3rd.
[11:30] So, I think this is right, right?
[11:34] The town meeting is October 19th, and the ballot is November 3rd. Yeah.
[11:36] Yeah. I'm just making sure
[11:39] this is right here with the ballot language.
[11:41] Just making sure so we don't mess anything up with MSBA.
[11:44] I think this-
[11:45] Good call. That's correct
[11:46] ... this is right.
[11:51] Yes, those two dates are correct. Yes.
[11:53] Okay.
[11:55] All right.
[11:55] Yep. That's right here, October 19th.
[11:57] I saw that. I just wasn't sure because the ballot, I didn't see November 3rd.
[12:01] I just wasn't sure if that was the problem that happened from last week.
[12:03] I just want to make sure it's right.
[12:06] This looks right.
[12:07] Okay
[12:12] So the chair will... Is there any further discussion on board of
[12:16] selectmen minutes meetings for July 14th, 2026?
[12:20] Nope.
[12:21] Ready to move, Mr. Chairman.
[12:22] Okay, I'll take that motion.
[12:24] Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the minutes of July 14th
[12:28] of board of selectmen's meetings for July 14th,
[12:31] 2026.
[12:33] Second.
[12:33] And there is a second. All in favor?
[12:36] Aye.
[12:36] Aye.
[12:37] And that is an aye from chair. That is unanimous.
[12:39] 12A in the book, unanimous.
[12:41] Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the minutes of the board of selectmen for
[12:45] July 21, 2026.
[12:49] I'll second it, but I wasn't here, so should I abstain from voting on that just
[12:52] because I wasn't here?
[12:53] Yeah, you would abstain.
[12:54] But I can still make the second and then you guys vote?
[12:56] Mm-hmm.
[12:56] Okay. Sure.
[12:57] The chairman would second it.
[12:58] I'll second that vote.
[12:58] Want to second it? Okay. Yeah.
[12:59] It's easier that way. Yeah.
[13:00] Easier if he seconds? Sure.
[13:02] And with that being said,
[13:06] we will go for a vote to approve.
[13:09] So I'll abstain please.
[13:12] Noted.
[13:14] The vice chair votes aye.
[13:16] And I am an aye. So that passes by majority, 12B in
[13:20] the book by majority.
[13:22] I just have a question.
[13:23] Yeah, sure.
[13:23] It would be,
[13:25] if the member is abstaining, it would still be a unanimous vote even if she wasn't
[13:29] here.
[13:29] Learning curve. So that, folks, what that was, is that would still be unanimous.
[13:33] Abstain and two to approve, still makes it a unanimous
[13:37] vote.
[13:39] Teachable moment.
[13:42] It just sounds better with-
[13:45] Makes us look important. It's perfect.
[13:48] Okay, so that takes care of 10,
[13:51] 11, 12.
[13:54] So we're still in pretty good shape.
[13:56] Do we want to try to
[13:58] go-
[13:58] What about number six? Would six be fast?
[14:01] Yeah. The only reason I suggested five is because I know the chief and another
[14:05] individual is here waiting, so-
[14:06] Yeah
[14:06] ... that's entirely up to the board's discretion though.
[14:09] I think a lot of these can go fast, but-
[14:10] Yeah, let's do five. That gives these folks a courtesy to-
[14:13] There's gonna be discussion on five,
[14:16] which I think will exceed 15 minutes.
[14:19] Okay. We can accept that. Bouncing around a bit, but
[14:23] that's fine.
[14:25] Let's go to item number six like suggested.
[14:29] So motion to take out of order item six.
[14:32] I'll second.
[14:33] And chair will agree. All in favor?
[14:36] Aye.
[14:37] Aye.
[14:37] And chair is an aye. So item number six is to vote on
[14:41] committee appointments, and we have Mitch Rossetti,
[14:45] which town administrator for a school building committee.
[14:56] Oh, if there's any discussion, I think it's a requirement of the
[14:59] MSBA, Mr. Chairman, that we have a
[15:05] member, the town administrator,
[15:07] be part of it out of normal practice.
[15:12] And I know that Mr.
[15:14] Hanson
[15:16] served in the interim until Mitch was
[15:19] on, Mr. Rossetti was on board and until obviously he came
[15:23] back from
[15:25] his time off,
[15:27] and now we can sort of close the loop and
[15:30] bring it to normal practice,
[15:34] if you will. The process is well along.
[15:38] As for those watching
[15:41] that have been following, we are far along in the
[15:45] process of the MSBA in getting our, hopefully, a
[15:49] new school.
[15:51] The school is going to go for a vote
[15:55] at town meeting on October 19th,
[15:59] followed by a ballot
[16:02] vote during the state elections or the midterm elections coming up in
[16:06] November 3rd-
[16:07] Yes
[16:07] ...
[16:08] I believe.
[16:09] So I would encourage anyone who is not familiar with the school project
[16:13] to please monitor
[16:15] the local Swansea Community TV.
[16:19] There's a Facebook group post, there's town
[16:22] websites, there's the school
[16:26] has a dedicated site relative to
[16:30] the middle school project. There's, I'm sure, going to be a
[16:34] lot of questions regarding it, but there's a lot of information out there.
[16:37] It's a very complex project.
[16:40] It's a lot of moving parts and
[16:44] a well-informed citizenry when you come to town
[16:49] meeting
[16:50] is the proper way to approach this.
[16:53] So we're trying to take all of the guesswork out of this by
[16:57] flooding
[16:59] the community with as much information as possible.
[17:03] So, it would be incumbent upon yourselves to
[17:07] make yourselves familiar with that because it is an
[17:10] impactful and very profound decision that this community will
[17:14] intake,
[17:15] with that school.
[17:17] So I didn't mean to really get away from it, but I think it's very
[17:21] important that people really
[17:24] take this seriously. It is going to be a,
[17:27] I don't know how to say it anymore other than it's going to be a very
[17:30] profound decision that will be very impactful to this
[17:34] community for years to come.
[17:37] That's good advice.
[17:40] But relative to Mr. Rossetti.
[17:41] Mm-hmm.
[17:43] And Mitch, is there any-- Oh, sorry, Bob, go ahead.
[17:46] No, no.
[17:46] No, that's okay.
[17:46] Hopefully it's a positive vote which I'm sure it probably will be.
[17:50] And you'll be jumping in,
[17:52] I guess out of the pot into the fire or whatever that cliché is.
[17:57] And with that being said, is there anything you'd like to add, Mitch?
[18:00] No, I'm excited.
[18:02] The superintendent and I have hit it off very well in terms of our personal working
[18:05] relationship.
[18:07] I think he's a great fit and I love what he brings to the table, so I'm really
[18:10] excited to get to work with that group.
[18:13] Absolutely. Excellent.
[18:14] Can I add to that?
[18:15] Of course.
[18:16] So, yes, thank you. So this is very prescribed by MSBA, who makes up the committee,
[18:20] so thank you for stepping in. We have to have you on there.
[18:23] And I know you also serve on one in the community you live in, so you're
[18:27] familiar with that from a resident aspect,
[18:30] as well as a town administrator on our end.
[18:33] And to piggyback off what Mr. Madeira said, there is additional information on the
[18:37] school's website. I believe there's a school
[18:41] Facebook account too that will be putting out information as well as from the OPM,
[18:45] which is PNA.
[18:46] And as Mr. Madeira said, it's really important for people to recognize
[18:50] this opportunity for our community and the fact that the state is partnering with
[18:54] us and offering us about $60 million for a building that we desperately need,
[18:58] as we're out of compliance with DESE regulations for our current junior high.
[19:02] That's too small for the kids who go there.
[19:04] Really important to get that information, so please look at all those sites.
[19:07] And there is a community forum coming up next week, the 19th, August
[19:11] 19th, at the junior high school, I believe 6:00 PM.
[19:14] Anyone is welcome to come to get information from the superintendent,
[19:18] the school department, the OPM, and the architects attend that to answer any
[19:22] questions.
[19:24] And to get the information out to you and the tax implication, we understand that's
[19:28] real, and we want people to have the correct information and avoid
[19:31] misinformation so we can move forward together for the best interest of our
[19:35] community. So, thank you for stepping into that role on this
[19:39] committee.
[19:40] Thank you, everybody. Any further discussion on that?
[19:43] Okay, with that being said, for item number six,
[19:48] the chair would take a motion to vote on committee appointments
[19:52] of Mr. Mitchell Affruscetti, town administrator, school building committee,
[19:57] with an effective appointment date of August 11th,
[20:01] 2026.
[20:02] So moved.
[20:03] Second.
[20:03] And chair will call for all in favor?
[20:08] Aye.
[20:08] Aye.
[20:08] And chairs an aye. Item number six in the book,
[20:12] unanimous.
[20:19] Mr. Chairman, we have five minutes before the next
[20:23] public hearing at 7:00 PM. I make a motion that
[20:27] we recess for five minutes
[20:30] till 7:00 when we can reopen
[20:32] the meeting
[20:34] for the next public hearing at 7:00 PM.
[20:37] Chair will ask for that motion.
[20:40] Motion's made.
[20:41] Motion's made. And a second?
[20:42] Second.
[20:43] And all in favor?
[20:44] Aye.
[20:45] Aye.
[20:45] Okay, that's unanimous. Thank you.
[20:48] And we are in recess.
[20:52] Okay, welcome back, everyone. Thank you.
[20:55] So this brings us to item number two, which is
[20:58] a public hearing for fuel storage license
[21:02] at 2314 GA Highway, Swansea Mass
[21:06] LLC, 2314 GA Highway.
[21:10] And the chair will
[21:13] move to open this public hearing regarding fuel storage permit
[21:17] application,
[21:18] repeating here, but for 2314 GA Highway.
[21:24] And this
[21:25] open meeting will start at 7:03 PM.
[21:29] So moved.
[21:30] Second.
[21:31] And all in favor?
[21:33] Aye.
[21:34] Aye.
[21:34] That is unanimous.
[21:37] So we'll have discussion from
[21:42] Mr.-
[21:43] Abid.
[21:44] Sorry. Yep. Got your name, right? Yeah, sorry.
[21:47] Asif Abid if I'm saying that correctly, from Weymouth, Mass.
[21:50] Abid.
[21:51] Abid, sorry.
[21:53] Come up to the table with us. Guest of honor right now.
[21:59] And just state your name and address into the microphone for the record.
[22:03] So Asif Abid,
[22:05] 26 Pan Ave, Weymouth, Mass.
[22:07] Okay.
[22:07] So we own the 2314 Republican Highway.
[22:11] So we're transferring the gas-
[22:14] Mm-hmm
[22:14] ... permit to our name from landlord.
[22:20] So if I can just clarify, my understanding is this is just a transfer of an
[22:23] existing-
[22:23] Yes.
[22:24] Yes.
[22:24] It's an existing business already running, so we just need to transfer to our name.
[22:29] Yep.
[22:30] Is there anything that you folks would like to add to this?
[22:33] I don't think so. It all looks like everything has been-
[22:35] Yep
[22:35] ... done here, right?
[22:37] So I have no problem with it.
[22:38] I think the insurance documentation we've been told-
[22:41] It's all here, right?
[22:42] Oh, here. Okay, that's good.
[22:43] Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
[22:43] I just need a copy.
[22:44] Yep, we have the application and all the stuff in it.
[22:46] So I'll-
[22:47] I have no questions.
[22:48] Okay, thank you.
[22:49] Well, we have to make the gentleman's trip from Weymouth worth it.
[22:52] So this is a transfer? Is that my understanding?
[22:57] Correct.
[22:57] Yes.
[22:58] So you already store gas there, et cetera.
[23:00] Yes.
[23:01] So the request here is really not a request, but it's
[23:05] more so of a description-
[23:07] Yes
[23:07] ... of what's there, and the reason for the
[23:11] transfer is because of?
[23:14] New ownership.
[23:15] New ownership.
[23:16] Yes.
[23:17] Perfect. So it's not like we are increasing storage capacity-
[23:21] No, it's not
[23:21] ... or?
[23:22] Everything same.
[23:23] Everything's the same.
[23:24] Yes.
[23:24] So it's basically an application requirement-
[23:28] Yes
[23:28] ... the reason that you're here.
[23:33] Okay.
[23:37] Yeah, Mr. Chairman, regarding
[23:40] other further questions, it's an existing
[23:43] business. No
[23:46] modifications to the systems and whatnot.
[23:49] It's, like I said, mostly a procedural
[23:51] matter. I have no further questions.
[23:53] And as you would say, is good housekeeping and all that.
[23:56] Not necessarily housekeeping,
[23:58] because we're not really cleaning up.
[23:59] It's a procedural matter that unfortunately,
[24:03] Mr. Abid had to drive down from Weymouth to do.
[24:07] But we're glad you made the trip here and
[24:10] how is business in Swansea for you?
[24:12] Good. It's picking up day by day. It's getting better.
[24:15] Very good. Very good. No, we appreciate you choosing
[24:19] Swansea as a place of business here, and
[24:23] obviously we wish everyone involved success.
[24:27] Thank you.
[24:27] And it's got to be very competitive out there.
[24:29] Thank you very much.
[24:31] Thank you.
[24:31] I have no further questions.
[24:31] Thank you. And I would just add, for the folks at home or here with us tonight,
[24:36] the following items have been received and completed for the fuel storage
[24:40] license application, and all paperwork's in order, which includes
[24:44] fire department inspections completed, fuel storage license
[24:48] application and supporting documents approved by town clerk,
[24:52] public hearing, legal notice published in the Swansea Spectator,
[24:56] certified abutters were listed, obtained for
[25:01] assessor's office,
[25:02] certified mail notice went out to all abutters, and certified mail
[25:06] receipts on file.
[25:08] With that being said, through discussion, the chair will motion
[25:12] to close this public hearing.
[25:15] I move to close this public hearing regarding fuel storage permit
[25:19] application, 2314 GAR
[25:23] Highway, Swansea, Mass,
[25:25] located at 2314 GAR Highway.
[25:30] And that also brings to...
[25:33] Excuse me.
[25:38] There's no effective date, so it looks like that is clean
[25:42] business there.
[25:44] The chair would make a motion
[25:47] to vote.
[25:50] Mr. Chairman, prior to any motion, and I apologize if
[25:54] I missed it, but if there's any
[25:56] questions from the
[25:57] audience or anyone wishing to speak on the matter?
[25:59] Yeah, that's true. We could call.
[26:02] Anyone here would like-
[26:04] I was just, is he connected to the max?
[26:07] Sure. Could you just come... Yeah, if you don't mind.
[26:09] Yeah. Oh, I was next.
[26:09] All right. Thank you.
[26:10] Yeah. Okay, you're next. Yeah.
[26:12] All right. Thank you.
[26:12] No worries.
[26:14] So, with that being said,
[26:16] should we-
[26:16] Close
[26:16] ... Yep.
[26:18] A chair will make a motion to
[26:23] close public hearing. I think I just gave motion on that.
[26:26] Yep. So moved.
[26:27] So moved. And do I have a second?
[26:29] Second.
[26:29] All in favor?
[26:30] Aye.
[26:31] Aye.
[26:31] That's unanimous.
[26:35] Okay.
[26:36] Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the fuel storage license located at
[26:40] 2314 GAR Highway, Swansea LLC,
[26:43] located at 2314 GAR Highway.
[26:46] Second.
[26:47] And all in favor?
[26:49] Aye.
[26:49] Aye.
[26:49] It is unanimous. Thank you, sir.
[26:51] Thank you.
[26:51] Thank you. Safe travels.
[26:53] Safe travel.
[26:53] Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
[26:57] Mr.
[26:58] Chairman,
[27:03] since I see Mr. Rodriguez in the audience here, I move to take
[27:07] item number seven
[27:08] out of order.
[27:10] Agreed, and you are item number
[27:15] three, ma'am, I believe. Are you stating that?
[27:17] Yeah. I'm an abutter, too.
[27:19] Oh, okay.
[27:20] But that one we can't do till 7:30, right?
[27:25] Yes, but-
[27:27] Okay. So we can't start until-
[27:29] I see.
[27:29] Okay, perfect.
[27:30] Okay.
[27:30] Thank you.
[27:31] All right.
[27:31] All right. So, we just agreed for-
[27:34] I think you need the motion
[27:35] I made a motion, Mr. Chairman
[27:37] ... motion and a second.
[27:38] I'll second that.
[27:39] All in favor?
[27:40] Aye.
[27:40] Aye.
[27:40] For number seven. That's unanimous.
[27:44] So John, if you guys want to come up to the microphone, names and addresses for the
[27:47] record would help us out.
[27:58] My name is John Rodriguez, 179 Regina Avenue, commander of the
[28:01] VFW Post 2045.
[28:06] Brian Shea, 597 Stevens Road. I'm the adjutant,
[28:10] VFW Post 2045.
[28:14] The floor is yours.
[28:18] I'm not great on camera, so I wrote down what I wanted to say real quick.
[28:21] I wanted to do something different this time. Appreciate you guys seeing us.
[28:25] This will be our third year doing this.
[28:28] This is for the 5K this year.
[28:31] Last year's theme for the shirts was blue and white for the Air Force.
[28:35] This year, we went with the red and gold for the Marine Corps.
[28:39] I know we have two people here that have a special connection to the Marine Corps.
[28:43] I was in the Navy,
[28:46] but my dad was in the Marine Corps, so I can't get this one wrong.
[28:50] So I brought the shirt this year, so you guys can see what the shirt's going to
[28:53] look like.
[28:54] Oh, nice. Wow.
[28:55] So that's this year's shirt.
[28:59] And we also have
[29:01] a member of the town of Swansea
[29:05] who handmade these.
[29:07] I wanted to show them to you. Can I give them to you?
[29:09] Sure. That'd be great.
[29:10] These are the first, second, and third place medals that are handmade.
[29:16] You guys can take a look at those.
[29:17] Those are nice.
[29:21] Very
[29:24] nice. Do you want to do a shout-out for the gentleman or the lady that made these
[29:27] things?
[29:29] So I was going to mention that the gentleman that made these,
[29:33] he is a member of our post and a member of the town,
[29:36] but like me, he's camera shy, so he wanted to remain anonymous.
[29:39] Okay, that's fine.
[29:44] But those are the medals. Those are specially made for us for this year.
[29:49] Oh, that's nice.
[29:52] Do you want to explain the significance of the 22 that are on here and on the
[29:55] shirt?
[29:55] Yes. So the 22 Day 5K represents for the
[29:59] 22 veterans that commit suicide a day.
[30:02] Like I just mentioned, this will be our third year hosting this.
[30:07] We make a donation. The funds that we raise, we make a donation.
[30:10] I'm wearing the T-shirt today. It's 22 Mohawks, is the name of the
[30:13] organization. There's several
[30:17] organizations throughout the nation that
[30:20] support veteran suicide
[30:23] When we first started this,
[30:25] I wanted to see if there was an organization closer to home.
[30:29] So I was able to find 22 Mohawks, which is actually 45 minutes up the road in
[30:32] Sharon, Massachusetts.
[30:34] Yeah.
[30:34] They support veterans. They support first responders.
[30:39] They provide services, counseling,
[30:42] different programs,
[30:45] teach a lot of them how to jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
[30:50] So they go parachuting.
[30:53] So it's a great organization, and they do a lot.
[30:55] They've been doing a lot in this community as well.
[30:57] They've been actually working with the American Legion, doing some things for the
[31:01] American Legion in town since they started working with us.
[31:04] We started working with them for the 5K.
[31:07] This year, we have the support of the Marine Corps League, which will be
[31:11] there this year
[31:13] for the 5K.
[31:16] So,
[31:20] as I mentioned, I wanted to find an organization that was closer to home.
[31:24] We have a lot of people that
[31:26] are supporting the... The back of the shirt right now is plain,
[31:30] but we have sponsors for the back of the shirts.
[31:32] The actual shirts the day of will have all local companies,
[31:37] Audrey's,
[31:40] Swansea Total Fitness, all sponsors, multiple sponsors that we have on
[31:44] the back of the shirts who will be sponsoring this event.
[31:48] And so it's a great cause. It's been doing really well, and we just hope to
[31:51] continue it.
[31:54] Excellent. Would you like to add anything?
[31:57] Not really, no.
[31:58] Okay.
[31:58] Damn sure not myself.
[32:00] Do you folks have any questions?
[32:01] I don't think so. It looks like everything that's needed is here.
[32:04] It's the same route as last year, I think I read.
[32:06] Yes.
[32:06] Yeah.
[32:06] Same route.
[32:08] I've reached out to the police chief, fire chief.
[32:13] Same route. They'll have the requirements for
[32:18] streets that they're going to take care of, and obviously, we would
[32:23] support that.
[32:26] I do have the insurance policy that is normally required.
[32:30] I've already received a quote for that.
[32:31] I did include the town, and I also included the
[32:35] YMCA,
[32:37] since a lot of our people that'll be participating will turn around in that
[32:41] parking lot. So we'll start at the VFW,
[32:43] go through the parking lot of the YMCA.
[32:45] So we included them this year to make sure they were listed as well,
[32:48] and then back to the VFW at 130 Main Street.
[32:53] Excellent.
[32:53] Awesome.
[32:53] And would you mind if I add to your story?
[32:56] Sure.
[32:56] So this is for the folks at home that aren't familiar with this.
[33:00] This is,
[33:01] if you don't mind me calling you like I like to call you, Johnny Rod.
[33:05] This is him and his staff and his members.
[33:08] It's their third year for this, like he said, and it is
[33:12] on September 19th.
[33:14] Yes, sir.
[33:15] And if you haven't been to one yet, I challenge everybody to
[33:18] just take an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and come and stand on the
[33:22] sidelines and watch this take place.
[33:25] There's a lot of veterans there.
[33:27] I believe Adam Kitchen, he's going to get back with me, is going to try to
[33:31] get there to televise this, this year.
[33:33] Yes.
[33:34] And I believe there'll be some local reporters that will be there with us this
[33:37] year.
[33:38] It's a great event. It's growing every year, and
[33:43] I'd also like to say I'm pretty psyched that it's Marine Corps colors this year.
[33:46] I'm sure you would.
[33:47] From a good Navy guy to a Marine, we got along real good with that one.
[33:50] So, thank you very much, and I'm looking forward to being there.
[33:54] We're excited about it this year. What I was able to do is,
[33:57] in typical Marine Corps fashion, I took a chance and reached out
[34:01] to the Marine Corps recruiter this year. Their office closes at 5:00.
[34:05] I called at 5:20, and they answered on the first ring.
[34:09] Spoke with the recruiter, and he mentioned that they're going to have
[34:13] new boots that are going to be going.
[34:15] They're going to be here, and so I thought it would be
[34:20] good to have first, second, and third place. They'll receive the medal.
[34:24] It'll be someone from the Marine Corps League.
[34:27] So Old Guard and New Guard will be providing the-
[34:30] That's great
[34:30] ... first, second, and third place, which I thought would be
[34:34] great for those that are going to be there.
[34:36] Absolutely. I love it.
[34:37] That's great.
[34:40] Any further discussion?
[34:41] No, I think that's great. Thank you for your service.
[34:43] Thank you for having this event and for a great cause and awareness.
[34:47] So yeah, I would fully support whatever you need from us for dotting
[34:51] the I's, crossing the T's, right, for this to go forth on the 19th. September 19th.
[34:55] Yeah. Thank you.
[34:58] For myself,
[35:00] just to piggyback on what Mr. Beaudette has said, this is your third year.
[35:03] Yes, sir.
[35:04] The first year was fantastic. It was kind of awe-inspiring
[35:08] seeing how many people turned out for that in those bright yellow high-vis-
[35:12] Yeah
[35:12] ... shirts. I
[35:16] participated in that. I did not have the pleasure of participating in a second one,
[35:20] but I will do my best to participate in the third one, not just because I like
[35:24] red.
[35:24] Right. And he sees me on the line not running, so it's kind of
[35:28] a win-win for him.
[35:29] But you,
[35:30] Mr. Beaudette, challenged people to come and give up their time to stand
[35:34] on the sidelines. I'd like to amp it up a little bit.
[35:37] I'd like to challenge people to actually participate.
[35:39] Thank you.
[35:40] How would somebody
[35:42] sign up to participate?
[35:44] They have a couple different options.
[35:46] So they could obviously come down to 130 Main Street and register in person.
[35:51] We have a GoFundMe. Our Facebook page has it on there. You can register.
[35:54] There's a QR code. You can sign up there
[35:59] right through the GoFundMe. They ask for the shirt size, and everything will be
[36:02] provided. So when you arrive, just give your name.
[36:04] You'll receive your shirt there on the spot.
[36:07] We're going to open it up a little earlier this year, so 8:00
[36:11] or 8:00, 8:30, you can start
[36:15] coming in and collecting your shirts, and then step off will be at 10:00.
[36:18] Great. And I mean, it's a 5K. It's literally up
[36:22] Stevens onto Shops Lot, U-turn-
[36:25] Yes, sir
[36:25] ... at the YMCA, and then, actually, it's
[36:29] downhill from there.
[36:30] Downhill. Yeah.
[36:30] Yeah.
[36:30] To be honest
[36:32] with you.
[36:33] It's not as bad on the way back.
[36:34] It isn't as bad on the way back, and that's usually where you can pick up some
[36:37] steam, for us more heftier
[36:40] guys.
[36:41] No, it's a well-worthy
[36:45] event,
[36:47] as you know, for what you do, and the 22 being the,
[36:51] on average, 22 veterans that commit suicide-
[36:55] A day, yes
[36:56] ... a day, which is a terrible number.
[37:00] And it's awful enough with the visible wounds that
[37:04] sometimes we see with veterans out there, but sometimes it's the less obvious
[37:08] wounds-
[37:09] Yes
[37:09] ... that are, I don't want to say the worst ones out of respect for our
[37:13] veterans out there who suffer from physical wounds, but they're
[37:17] equally as difficult-
[37:19] Yes, sir
[37:20] ... the non-visible wounds. And this right here hits to that
[37:23] cause.
[37:24] Yes, sir.
[37:24] To bring awareness to that. So for folks watching at
[37:28] home, if someone like me can participate and bang out five miles--
[37:33] I'm sorry-
[37:35] 3.1
[37:35] ... 3.1 miles.
[37:36] 3.1.
[37:36] It's a 5K. 3.1 miles, it's not that bad.
[37:39] Come on down. It's so gratifying.
[37:43] You feel fantastic that you participated in it.
[37:46] For someone like me who, I didn't have
[37:49] the pleasure of serving
[37:53] in the armed forces, this is a way, a very small way,
[37:57] that I can contribute back to those brothers and sisters in arms who've
[38:03] devoted themselves to the service to this country. So thank you for what you do.
[38:07] In our flyer, we purposely leave off the word race.
[38:10] So it's walk-
[38:12] Walk
[38:12] ... run,
[38:13] baby in a stroller.
[38:15] And you got the ruck thing. I'm going to-
[38:17] Yeah, we do
[38:17] ... I'm going to try to work towards the ruck.
[38:19] Yeah, we do have the ruck as well.
[38:20] We do have the ruck as well. Yes.
[38:20] Well, yeah.
[38:22] Congratulations. Looking forward to a fantastic event again.
[38:25] Yes, sir.
[38:25] Yes, sir.
[38:25] And briefly again also, so people who sign up get
[38:29] that shirt-
[38:30] Yes
[38:30] ... that they can run in. And folks that come down there,
[38:34] will you have a supply where someone on the street can buy one of those shirts from
[38:38] you that day?
[38:39] Yes. So what we do is we take the orders in advance, and then I submit
[38:43] within, they've given me a deadline of two weeks prior.
[38:47] And then what I'll do is I'll order multiple of, I'll add on
[38:51] 20 more shirts of each size. So if people show up the day of,
[38:55] "Can I get a shirt for my family member?" So we will have extras.
[39:00] But I definitely recommend signing up in advance, so that way we can definitely be
[39:03] sure that you have your shirt.
[39:06] My last question is,
[39:08] being a member of the Marine Corps League in Somerset, John Van Guysen,
[39:13] have we got back to you yet with a list of people who want to buy a shirt from
[39:17] there?
[39:18] Not yet.
[39:18] Okay.
[39:19] Not yet. But I know they're collecting a list.
[39:21] Yeah.
[39:21] I didn't put a lot of urgency on it because I really don't need it until probably
[39:25] early September. It'd be nice to have an idea.
[39:28] Okay.
[39:28] And I can just add that to the list, so that way it'll be-
[39:29] We'll have a meeting by then where Bruce will get it to you.
[39:32] I believe you guys have a meeting first.
[39:34] Yes.
[39:35] Some day in the first week of September.
[39:38] Okay.
[39:38] Now, every participant that does sign up, they will get a medal as well.
[39:41] Those are just the first, second, and third place.
[39:43] Yeah. Those are
[39:45] the special medals that we had made specifically for first, second, and third, for
[39:48] the overachievers that want to
[39:50] My name will definitely not be on there.
[39:53] So I'll gladly take one of those finished.
[39:55] Yeah.
[39:56] Right?
[39:58] No, thanks, gentlemen. Appreciate it very much.
[40:00] Yes, sir.
[40:01] Mr. Chairman, if you're entertaining a motion, I will make a motion to
[40:05] approve the Veteran of Foreign Wars
[40:09] 5K Road Race scheduled for September 19th,
[40:13] 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
[40:18] Second.
[40:18] And I hear a second. All those in favor?
[40:21] Aye.
[40:21] Aye.
[40:22] It is unanimous, chair is an aye. Thank you, gentlemen.
[40:26] It'll be a great day.
[40:27] Thank you.
[40:27] Appreciate your time. Thank you.
[40:30] Thank you.
[40:32] You guys are awesome.
[40:33] Thank you.
[40:33] Tell your anonymous person that-
[40:35] I sure will
[40:35] ... very nice design.
[40:42] Thank you for your time.
[40:42] Thank you.
[40:43] Thank you. Have a good night.
[40:43] Thank you.
[40:48] Item number nine looks like an easy
[40:53] one.
[40:54] Nine?
[40:54] Item number nine.
[40:54] We do that in a few minutes? Item nine?
[40:57] Yeah, that should take 30 seconds.
[40:59] All right.
[41:00] So what we're doing, folks that are here for this next open meeting, is we can't
[41:04] start till the specific time of 7:30.
[41:07] So we're going to fill in with another thing we have to do.
[41:11] But you'll be
[41:13] not too far away. Thank you. All right, so that brings us to
[41:17] item number nine.
[41:18] Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion to take-
[41:21] Okay
[41:21] ... item number nine out of order.
[41:23] Second.
[41:25] All in favor?
[41:26] Aye.
[41:27] Aye.
[41:27] Chair is aye. It's unanimous. Number nine.
[41:31] So item number nine is to vote to sign the warrant for the 2026
[41:35] state primary on September 1st, 2026.
[41:39] Item nine.
[41:54] I don't know if this is anything that needs to be read.
[41:57] Do you guys think there's anything?
[41:58] No, we just-
[41:58] This looks pretty straightforward
[42:00] ... make a motion. Yeah, we just need to make a motion.
[42:03] So chair will accept a motion
[42:06] to approve item number nine and vote.
[42:08] The motion language is right here,
[42:12] just for the clerk's records.
[42:13] Uh-huh.
[42:14] Okay.
[42:14] Yeah.
[42:14] All right. Here we go. Thank you.
[42:17] I move to approve and sign the warrant for the
[42:20] 2026 state primary election to be held on
[42:24] September 1st, 2026.
[42:27] So you've made that motion, Mr. Chairman, I'll second that motion.
[42:30] And the second is, last for that step is,
[42:34] all in favor?
[42:35] Aye.
[42:36] Aye.
[42:36] And the chair is aye. That is unanimous.
[42:47] Mr. Chairman, I move to enter into a
[42:51] brief five-minute recess until the next scheduled
[42:55] public hearing at 7:30.
[42:59] Second.
[43:00] And all in favor?
[43:01] Aye.
[43:02] Aye.
[43:03] It is unanimous.
[43:08] Okay, welcome back, Swansea. This brings us to item number
[43:12] three, which is an open meeting public hearing.
[43:15] I move to open the public hearing regarding fuel storage permit
[43:19] application for Max Auto Service at 1025
[43:23] GAR Highway, and we will start that right now at
[43:27] 7:30 PM.
[43:33] So I'm going to have a motion to enter into public hearing.
[43:35] Yep.
[43:36] Second.
[43:37] And the chair is also an aye, and all in
[43:41] favor?
[43:41] Aye.
[43:42] Aye.
[43:42] It's unanimous.
[43:45] So welcome.
[43:46] Good afternoon.
[43:46] Name and address for the record.
[43:47] My name is Russell Sampson, and I'm at 1025 GAR
[43:51] Highway, Swansea, Massachusetts.
[43:54] Okay.
[43:57] So we are here for your license for storage.
[44:01] Yes.
[44:01] In our packet we have, they give us, all seems to be in order.
[44:06] Is there anything that you would like to add tonight?
[44:09] No. It's all self-contained, and we have it in a fenced-in
[44:13] area-
[44:13] Yeah
[44:14] ... with barricades, and I think it should be good.
[44:17] Excellent. And I think I saw somewhere in here that's for your own
[44:21] personal use. You don't sell fuel-
[44:22] Yes. No
[44:23] ... it's your own-
[44:23] No
[44:24] ... use for your facility.
[44:25] Just use for our facility, yes.
[44:26] Okay. I open to the board for any questions, discussion.
[44:30] I don't have anything. So it's just for
[44:32] people at home, so it's just for one 1862-gallon diesel underground
[44:36] tank at Max. Do you say Max or M-A-C?
[44:39] M-A-C-S.
[44:40] M-A-C-S
[44:40] Max, that's fine. Yeah.
[44:41] Okay. MACS Auto Sales and Service, 1025 GAR Highway.
[44:44] So looks like everything that you needed
[44:47] is complete, so I'd be fine with this.
[44:50] Thank you.
[44:51] That's all. Thank you.
[44:52] Bob, are you all set with further discussion?
[44:56] Mr. Sampson, how long have you been in business here?
[44:58] I've been in business there since probably
[45:02] 2018. I used to rent the side lot for the trucking
[45:06] part of it from the previous owner, and I bought the two
[45:10] parcels.
[45:11] So I now run Max Auto and the trucks on
[45:15] the side there is where we store them.
[45:16] And the trucks is for?
[45:19] It's a small trucking company where I-
[45:22] Excavation?
[45:23] No, I'm sorry. It's over-the-road.
[45:24] So I actually haul for Bimbo Bakeries, which is Thomas'
[45:28] English Muffins, Entenmann's. Had that contract for 15 years
[45:32] now, where I just pretty much take their product and bring them
[45:36] to the distribution centers, from the bakery to the distribution
[45:40] centers.
[45:41] Okay. So the
[45:43] trucks go out on the road. They come back-
[45:45] Yes
[45:46] ... to Swansea, and you're able to fuel them up-
[45:49] I have one-
[45:49] ... get them ready for the next day
[45:51] ... yes, I have one person that fills it up to minimize any spills or anything like
[45:54] that. He's the only one that touches it, unless there's one of the drivers
[45:58] were out of fuel or-
[45:59] Sure
[46:00] ... missed that opportunity, but he's the one that oversees it,
[46:04] locks it,
[46:05] fuels the trucks. So just to minimize any sort of spillage.
[46:09] Mostly coming from putting it in a tank or something.
[46:12] Sure, because it's a
[46:14] below-ground tank. How long does it take to empty out an
[46:18] 1,862-gallon tank?
[46:20] It's pretty slow, believe it or not.
[46:22] Really?
[46:23] Yeah, it's just as fast as, say, the car pumps.
[46:27] No kidding.
[46:29] The tank is actually double-walled, so it keeps out of the
[46:32] elements. If it ever did rupture, it's got the capacity to hold it all
[46:36] inside that tank.
[46:37] Right. And I'm sure those things are alarmed
[46:41] properly and whatnot-
[46:42] Yes
[46:42] ... so if there was-
[46:44] Yep
[46:44] ... something to breach.
[46:45] I have actually cameras right there, too, just surveillance cameras that is
[46:49] overlooking it all the time. And again, it's in a locked, fenced-in area.
[46:53] Okay. Yeah. Again, not open to the public.
[46:55] No.
[46:55] It's for your own business use.
[46:57] Yes, absolutely.
[46:58] Et cetera. And as stated by-
[47:01] And it's all clearly marked of what's in it, and no smoking and all that.
[47:04] Okay. No, that's
[47:06] perfect.
[47:07] What's
[47:11] a typical operation? So if someone comes back in, it's gassed up the
[47:15] next morning?
[47:15] Well, it's only diesel fuel, and it would be in the morning.
[47:19] My uncle, like I said, comes in, and he'll stop the trucks, bring them over,
[47:23] checks the oil,
[47:25] checks the coolant, and fills up the tanks for that
[47:29] next-
[47:30] Sure
[47:30] ... day. So we usually start really all hours of the day, but
[47:34] basically it's in the early afternoon when everybody goes out.
[47:38] Sure. No, I appreciate that. I've learned something,
[47:42] and I'm glad you're here in Swansea.
[47:44] Thank you. Appreciate it.
[47:45] All right, sir.
[47:46] I do believe there might be some discussion from the audience.
[47:49] A little comment.
[47:49] Yeah, if you folks want to come up, or we can hand you a microphone if you'd like
[47:52] to speak right from there.
[47:59] As long as you don't mind the guests.
[48:01] No, not at all.
[48:04] And
[48:05] name and address for the record.
[48:07] Louis Walton, 13 Royalwood Lane.
[48:10] So my question
[48:12] is basically with the town, not so much this gentleman.
[48:15] He seems to have a tight run operation.
[48:19] But
[48:20] on Royalwood, there's three of us that live there, and I was given a notice
[48:24] for abutters for the
[48:28] Sav-On Gas
[48:31] that he wanted to
[48:32] put gallons in or renew his license, but I never received anything
[48:37] about Max. Now, if you know where Royalwood is in relation to
[48:41] Sav-On Gas, we don't abut at all. It's almost
[48:45] at the other end of town.
[48:48] Max is right in our backyard, and we didn't receive any notice.
[48:50] So it seems like maybe we sent you the wrong-
[48:54] I think so. Yeah. I was just curious.
[48:58] And like I said, I'm not the only one in that area, but I
[49:02] wonder how many other people
[49:04] are in the same boat that didn't get the right notice.
[49:09] That's a valid concern.
[49:10] Mm-hmm.
[49:11] If I can.
[49:14] With the assessor's office.
[49:16] The letter was sent out by, did you verify what the letter
[49:20] stated with the envelope that was in Russell's possession?
[49:23] Yeah. I got a packet from the town, and I went right to the
[49:27] post office and gave the receipt of all the letters that they
[49:31] gave me to mail.
[49:32] So my understanding of the way this would normally work is you would receive a
[49:35] certified abutters list from the assessor's office, and you would have to
[49:39] mail to all of the individuals listed on that certified list.
[49:43] If that wasn't correctly done or it didn't make it to those certified abutters,
[49:47] even though everything else is in order,
[49:49] you cannot vote to approve this-
[49:51] Right
[49:51] ... unless we can verify.
[49:52] I think it was also in the paper, also.
[49:54] Yeah.
[49:54] Yes. That would also-
[49:55] Yep
[49:55] ... be a requirement.
[49:56] Yep.
[49:56] All those things being met and all of that considered, you would have to make sure
[50:00] that the correct abutters have received that list.
[50:02] Sure.
[50:03] Without that in front of me,
[50:05] even if we have the certified abutters list, if there was a disconnect and it
[50:09] didn't go to the right addresses,
[50:11] we can't vote to approve-
[50:14] Yeah
[50:14] ... until that's done correctly.
[50:15] Yeah.
[50:16] Like I said, I just got a packet from the town.
[50:18] They told me to go to the post office and give them the receipt, and that's what I
[50:22] did.
[50:23] Yeah. Same.
[50:23] It very well may be that that was the case, and it was just a mix-up, but-
[50:27] It was, I think if I remember correctly, I might have been maybe over
[50:31] 10 or so.
[50:33] So just out of curiosity, if I may, everyone.
[50:35] So when you received our packet, were these things already sealed up in an
[50:38] envelope?
[50:40] I believe so. And then I had to go to the post office and
[50:43] individually
[50:45] mail it out,
[50:47] priority, each single one. And the postman
[50:50] at the post right over there in Swansea-
[50:52] Do we have the receipts from the certified-
[50:54] And I-
[50:54] Yeah
[50:54] ... gave all the receipts, turned them in the very same day.
[50:57] Can I just ask? Because I don't know.
[50:58] Yeah, sure.
[50:58] So typically, in this process, it's
[51:01] the applicant that sends it or is the town supposed to send it?
[51:04] Applicant. The town provide, the applicant-
[51:06] Town provides it
[51:06] ... has to pay for a certified list through the-
[51:07] Okay
[51:08] ... assessor's office.
[51:09] Okay.
[51:09] Right.
[51:09] Which is a service the town provides.
[51:11] Got it.
[51:11] It's then up to the applicant to send out the mailing.
[51:14] Got it. Okay.
[51:16] Yep.
[51:16] I agree. It sounds like we can't vote on this because we need to make sure everyone
[51:20] gets the right-
[51:20] Well, if he's got the receipts and there was an error-
[51:23] Oh
[51:23] ... we probably could, but we would have to verify.
[51:27] Right.
[51:28] I did hand in all the receipts. I did make copies.
[51:30] I don't have them with me, though.
[51:31] I don't have that here. Do you have that?
[51:32] Yeah, we just have the article in the newspaper.
[51:36] So do the receipts state the addresses that it was sent to?
[51:38] I believe so. I think I took a... No, I don't know if it does.
[51:42] I took a copy of all the receipts individual.
[51:45] Yeah.
[51:45] They may say the addresses.
[51:46] Okay.
[51:49] They do.
[51:49] Okay.
[51:53] But you do have that the envelope that he gave as well?
[51:55] They do.
[51:55] They are.
[51:55] They're in. Okay.
[51:56] So the receipts say the addresses, is what we're hearing.
[51:58] But we don't-
[51:59] But if-
[51:59] ... have the receipts, and you didn't get it.
[52:01] Right.
[52:02] So we-
[52:02] This gentleman didn't get it, and he's a direct abutter.
[52:05] Right.
[52:05] There was clearly a disconnect somewhere.
[52:07] Maybe someone else didn't get it. Yeah.
[52:07] Just if I can clarify, Jim.
[52:09] Sure.
[52:10] We're not trying to give any pushback to Matt.
[52:13] Right.
[52:13] Like I said, we
[52:15] believe he runs a tight ship. We don't hear anything from him at all, no noise
[52:19] or anything like that. My question was just for the
[52:23] town-
[52:23] Mm-hmm
[52:23] ... what was the mix-up? I didn't-
[52:25] Yeah. For sure.
[52:26] So are you a direct abutter or?
[52:27] I am.
[52:28] Okay.
[52:28] Okay.
[52:28] Yes.
[52:29] So what I would have to do is-
[52:31] And you are.
[52:31] So am I.
[52:31] And you-
[52:31] So is she. My other neighbor.
[52:33] I got the same notice, wrong information.
[52:35] Same notice, wrong information.
[52:35] I don't know-
[52:36] It was based on Saint Lawrence address, which I know that's where the sender-
[52:40] Could you please just say your name and address for the record?
[52:42] Yeah.
[52:43] We'll give you the mic.
[52:46] Susan Lister.
[52:46] Yeah.
[52:46] Is it on, Colby? Yeah. Sorry, there's a lot going on.
[52:50] Sorry, Susan.
[52:52] Susan Lister, and it's 10 Royal Wood Lane.
[52:55] Thank you.
[52:56] So again, I received the letter, certified
[53:00] mail, but it didn't have the correct information.
[53:03] So we weren't really sure what was going on, to be honest with you.
[53:07] So...
[53:08] Who provided the template of the letter that had to be sent out, sir?
[53:12] I went to the selectmen's office in the town hall,
[53:15] and they wrote it. It was all written out by them, just in an envelope
[53:19] actually. I thought I just went to the post
[53:23] office and did what I was asked with the receipts, mailed them all out,
[53:27] and as soon as I left there, I brought the receipts right back to the town.
[53:31] So you pulled the abutters list, typed
[53:35] their names onto the assistant, to Matt's role, put it in the envelopes,
[53:39] and got it ready to go to the post office.
[53:40] There was a
[53:42] disconnect in what was on the certified list.
[53:44] We just kept the name on the template, so that's why we're not getting the address.
[53:50] And you wouldn't have read the letters because you received them sealed-
[53:53] I read them
[53:53] ... and you just mailed them.
[53:54] Right.
[53:54] Yeah. Got it.
[53:55] So we need to resend them the correct information to the abutters and just
[53:59] revisit this at a future meeting?
[54:01] We're going to have to continue the hearing in-
[54:03] Okay
[54:03] ... as soon as we, what I'm going to do is have to look into exactly what occurred
[54:06] tomorrow.
[54:07] Okay.
[54:07] You remember when this was done, Melissa?
[54:09] It was done the
[54:12] same day as the voting.
[54:15] What was-
[54:16] 7/29.
[54:17] 7/29.
[54:18] July 29, 2026.
[54:21] All right. So-
[54:23] What's our next meeting?
[54:28] We go back to-
[54:29] After Labor Day?
[54:29] ... regular schedule, I think. Wait, does it say when we have-
[54:33] The first-
[54:39] No.
[54:39] On the 15th is our next meeting?
[54:41] What we can do, if I can make a suggestion, is we obviously don't want to hold up
[54:45] this individual-
[54:46] Right
[54:46] ... from opening his, doing what he needs to do.
[54:49] Yeah, 15.
[54:49] I have to verify what occurred and how it occurred, and how many people are
[54:52] impacted.
[54:54] We will send corrections immediately.
[54:57] Okay.
[54:59] On behalf of the town to the correct abutters,
[55:02] once the legal requirements, whatever the days are that they have to
[55:05] receive in advance-
[55:07] Mm-hmm
[55:08] ... we could schedule
[55:09] just a one-item-
[55:10] Mm-hmm
[55:10] ... meeting or hearing
[55:12] to get this individual on his way within the next week or 10 days, or whatever the
[55:16] timeframe is, to just get him so he's situated.
[55:19] Sure.
[55:19] Because it sounds like from what I'm hearing,
[55:22] this was a clerical error on behalf of the town-
[55:24] Mm-hmm
[55:24] ... and not this individual's fault, so we don't want to hang him out to dry.
[55:28] Right.
[55:28] Is that acceptable to you, sir?
[55:29] Absolutely. Thank you.
[55:30] I apologize.
[55:31] Yeah, sorry about that.
[55:32] And it seems like you're not really receiving any opposition.
[55:35] Is-
[55:35] No, not at all. Like I said, to clarify, it's no pushback on him or
[55:39] his operation whatsoever. It was just kind of weird that we got an
[55:43] abut letter for Savon when we're
[55:47] nowhere near that.
[55:48] Mm-hmm.
[55:50] So, thank you.
[55:50] No, great. And this is basically more of a procedural matter on
[55:54] the town side than it is on your side.
[55:57] And just to make sure that we keep everything on a level playing field-
[56:00] Absolutely
[56:01] ... and there's no legal implications, this seems to be
[56:05] the proper suggested approach. And
[56:09] I will
[56:11] take on a special meeting, a one-item meeting as suggested.
[56:15] Mm-hmm.
[56:15] Your item only, just to-
[56:18] Mm-hmm
[56:18] ... advance your situation as expeditiously as possible.
[56:22] Thank you.
[56:23] Yeah.
[56:23] Yeah. And I would add, we appreciate you coming tonight, because this is why we
[56:27] have these meetings.
[56:27] Mm-hmm.
[56:27] Sometimes it just
[56:29] seems like just a bunch of blah blah, and sometimes it is, but we would
[56:33] have never known that you folks had the wrong information
[56:37] if you didn't-
[56:38] Mm-hmm
[56:38] ... reach out tonight. So we appreciate you hanging tight and letting us know.
[56:43] Thank you.
[56:43] I don't think it's blah blah.
[56:45] Well, maybe blah, blah, blah. Okay, let me clear that up.
[56:49] It was nice to meet you.
[56:49] Thank you.
[56:49] Yes.
[56:50] Appreciate you.
[56:50] Thank you for your patience.
[56:51] No problem.
[56:51] Thank you.
[56:52] So, Mr. Chairman, I move to continue item
[56:56] number three to
[56:59] a special meeting
[57:03] at a date to be determined and publicized,
[57:07] as required under
[57:09] open meeting law regulations.
[57:10] Second.
[57:11] And
[57:14] Chair asks for a vote. All in favor or...
[57:20] Aye.
[57:20] Aye.
[57:20] Aye.
[57:20] And the Chair is aye. That's unanimous.
[57:22] Was that, I imagine that was an appropriate motion.
[57:26] Yes, I think so.
[57:27] Yeah. Thank you.
[57:28] Thank you.
[57:28] Continue the hearing.
[57:30] Appreciate it. Thank you.
[57:31] Thank you.
[57:31] Yep, sorry about James.
[57:32] Sorry about that.
[57:34] It's
[57:36] okay.
[57:37] Thank you.
[57:39] All right.
[57:41] Good night, folks.
[57:43] All right.
[57:44] So-
[57:44] We still have half hour till the-
[57:45] We-
[57:46] ... the joint meeting, right? 8:15.
[57:47] We have a, yes. We have a half hour until the 8:15 joint meeting.
[57:53] Do we have to exit public hearing?
[57:54] Yes.
[57:55] No, we continue to-
[57:56] Oh, it's continued. Yes.
[57:57] Oh, so you just... Okay.
[57:59] Yeah, just continue with.
[58:01] So the Chair will make a motion to continue public meeting.
[58:03] Hearing.
[58:03] Oh, no, we already did.
[58:05] Oh, you did?
[58:06] Yeah, we already did. We continued it-
[58:07] Oh, so that's-
[58:08] ... until the next one. So no.
[58:09] Sorry.
[58:09] Oh, got you. We did.
[58:10] I gotcha.
[58:10] Thank you.
[58:10] Sorry.
[58:10] Yep.
[58:11] Okay, so we don't have to close it because we're continuing it.
[58:13] We have to-- Got it.
[58:14] A lot of pressure on that one.
[58:16] Just making sure we're doing it right.
[58:18] All right. So we have half hour till the joint meeting, so-
[58:21] So, if we wanna take something out of order,
[58:27] Mr. Chairman,
[58:30] let's see. Do we think we can discuss item number eight
[58:34] within 30 minutes?
[58:37] Or what would you suggest?
[58:40] It's really the board's discretion.
[58:42] Okay.
[58:42] We have individuals here waiting-
[58:44] Yeah
[58:44] ... for appointments, so.
[58:45] I'm fine to do five if we think we can do it.
[58:48] I think we can get five done.
[58:50] Okay.
[58:51] Okay.
[58:51] So motion to take item five out of order.
[58:53] So moved. I mean,
[58:56] second.
[58:56] Second. All in favor?
[58:58] Aye.
[58:58] Aye.
[58:59] It's unanimous. Number five it is.
[59:01] So item five, vote on staff appointments.
[59:07] So, if I can,
[59:09] I'll open some of these
[59:11] for explanations.
[59:15] Number one would be for
[59:18] Kelly Grant for Assistant Town Administrator.
[59:21] We also have that position listed as the parking clerk historically with the town.
[59:27] This position I had spoken to each of you about, we
[59:30] posted.
[59:32] I had reviewed applications. We received, I think, about 10 or 11.
[59:37] A lot of which were not,
[59:39] in my opinion, qualified or nor did they have the municipal experience
[59:43] required for the position.
[59:46] We have a great deal, a number of issues occurring in the town that
[59:50] require that
[59:53] position to be filled.
[59:55] After speaking with some ANF folks and
[59:58] our accountant about the budget, the office is being restructured a little bit.
[1:00:04] We do think that there would be a request for ANF to minimize the department
[1:00:08] next year, which we're kind of complying with and making it a little bit more
[1:00:11] streamlined. There's been a lot of shuffling around over the last couple of years
[1:00:14] with positions in that office. We want to ensure stability,
[1:00:19] and the right folks are in place,
[1:00:21] to get through some of the very challenging issues that we have in front of us.
[1:00:24] So, this position historically had not been posted.
[1:00:29] Did so at the request of the board,
[1:00:33] but really reviewed all the information and the applications as they came in.
[1:00:37] This would be my recommended preferred candidate
[1:00:41] that's in front of you tonight. We have her resume and cover letter in the
[1:00:45] packet.
[1:00:47] So that's really where we are with that.
[1:00:50] If you have any questions for me or the candidate, she is here,
[1:00:54] in front of the board.
[1:00:57] I have some questions.
[1:01:00] Mr. Rosetti, how many applicants did you say there were?
[1:01:04] I believe, just as a rough count, having gone through them, probably about 10 or
[1:01:07] 11.
[1:01:08] 10 or 11. And they
[1:01:13] were reviewed.
[1:01:15] I'm assuming you did this while you were on vacation?
[1:01:19] I did this
[1:01:21] briefly before I went on vacation. We had a few come in.
[1:01:25] I did check some materials while I was on vacation, and then
[1:01:29] I just confirmed everything when I returned, the weekend I returned,
[1:01:34] just to make sure that there was nothing that I missed.
[1:01:38] So yeah, it was
[1:01:40] just
[1:01:41] a, I would say, maybe a one to two-week kind of process of just double-checking
[1:01:45] all of the materials we received.
[1:01:48] No disrespect to Ms. Kelly Grant
[1:01:52] here. The concern that I have relative to this
[1:01:56] particular appointment is the optics that
[1:02:00] may be construed.
[1:02:03] I'm
[1:02:04] sure that you're absolutely qualified
[1:02:07] for this,
[1:02:09] but my concern is,
[1:02:11] again, the optics,
[1:02:13] being from Hopedale, or a position that you had in Hopedale,
[1:02:19] is how that will be construed.
[1:02:23] And the last thing that I want, as I mentioned to you when you first came in, is
[1:02:27] trying to set you up for success. And I want to make sure that this is one of those
[1:02:31] ingredients that helps you
[1:02:35] to be successful.
[1:02:39] We've never had really a town administrator other than Mr.
[1:02:41] Hanson, who
[1:02:44] came on board. And yes, he was
[1:02:47] just hired by the previous town administrator into that
[1:02:51] position,
[1:02:53] and it was an internal one, so it was sort of easier to
[1:02:58] accept.
[1:03:00] Is there anything that you can talk to
[1:03:04] what could potentially be a perceived optics issue?
[1:03:09] Well,
[1:03:10] yeah, if I can be frank,
[1:03:14] I think
[1:03:15] there's an optics issue and there's an operational reality.
[1:03:19] So, in making this decision,
[1:03:22] and even
[1:03:24] before I spoke to you folks,
[1:03:27] had talked to
[1:03:29] other department heads about existing relationships in the building,
[1:03:33] how they felt workflow was progressing, and then me taking an operational
[1:03:37] assessment
[1:03:39] as to how workflow was progressing.
[1:03:41] I will give you an honest opinion, though.
[1:03:44] What I was left to deal with in terms of personnel, in terms of ongoing
[1:03:47] litigation,
[1:03:48] and issues that have been raised to this community, we are facing an unprecedented
[1:03:52] amount of personnel issues that have to be dealt with now,
[1:03:56] both through the town's insurance company and in the court process.
[1:04:00] There's a lot of cleaning up that has to be done.
[1:04:03] I was not left in a position, a personnel standpoint
[1:04:07] that is positive.
[1:04:10] So the optics issue, I'm less concerned about.
[1:04:13] I'm more concerned about providing a functional service to the
[1:04:16] taxpayers of this community.
[1:04:19] So, look, this is on me. If we hire
[1:04:22] someone, and this is in any executive position, and that person
[1:04:26] fails, you fire me. You hold me accountable.
[1:04:30] That's why I'm here.
[1:04:32] Because you have to hire someone that you trust to make these decisions and someone
[1:04:36] that I can trust to carry the workload.
[1:04:38] Ultimately, it's my head that's at risk here, nobody else's.
[1:04:42] And so I just want to be clear on that.
[1:04:45] But the staffing model that I inherited was not functional, and it wasn't
[1:04:48] working.
[1:04:52] I don't disagree with you 100%. We have been faced with some
[1:04:55] challenges as of late
[1:04:58] within the confines of Town Hall.
[1:05:03] And again, I'm talking about success for both
[1:05:07] yourself and for Ms. Grant.
[1:05:10] Because the last thing that we want is
[1:05:13] the word on the street to be, "Here comes the new town
[1:05:17] administrator bringing in his folks."
[1:05:20] And as salty as that may sound, and I really don't mean to be
[1:05:24] disrespectful, but I do want to prepare to be able to talk to it,
[1:05:29] because ultimately it's the three of us here that are going to be
[1:05:32] fielding calls and whatnot. And I can guarantee you,
[1:05:38] I've already received calls from folks who are
[1:05:42] gravely concerned with it. Not so much from
[1:05:46] a
[1:05:48] work product standpoint, because clearly you
[1:05:52] have the proven ability to do it. But again, just purely
[1:05:56] the optics of it are just
[1:06:00] a little concerning.
[1:06:03] Not knowing who some of the other applicants were.
[1:06:06] We didn't have a chance to
[1:06:08] see who the other applicants were. And I trust you.
[1:06:11] This is your line of business.
[1:06:15] And yeah, we're leaning on you to
[1:06:21] go through all that stuff, put out a recommendation.
[1:06:25] Just want to be absolutely sure that out
[1:06:28] of
[1:06:30] 11 applicants that were submitted,
[1:06:33] this is the right way to go. We can defend it.
[1:06:40] We're trusting that all the cards are going to fall into place
[1:06:44] by making this happen.
[1:06:46] Again,
[1:06:47] and please, I don't want to be the
[1:06:50] guy that kind of throw this or you, Mitch,
[1:06:54] Mr. Rosetti, for coming out of left field.
[1:06:57] I don't want to appear that way. I'm just looking out
[1:07:01] for the best interest of the town and making sure that we get the right
[1:07:04] folks in place
[1:07:06] so we can all succeed
[1:07:09] Number one. Number two,
[1:07:13] just to take any concerns out of the public realm that
[1:07:18] we're just not bringing in
[1:07:21] some folks that we're comfortable with
[1:07:25] along with us. That's
[1:07:28] the position that I'm coming from.
[1:07:36] All set.
[1:07:37] Elena?
[1:07:38] Sure.
[1:07:39] So
[1:07:41] when
[1:07:42] we were beginning the restructuring process and the question came up of
[1:07:47] will this just be a direct appointment? Are we posting this?
[1:07:49] And it was suggested to post it to be fair, so we did post it.
[1:07:54] And then, as you said, you received 10 to 11 applications.
[1:07:58] I asked some follow-up questions when we met today to make sure we're doing it the
[1:08:01] right way, for optics or whatever. It does sound like Ms.
[1:08:04] Grant is the most qualified person.
[1:08:06] She has extensive experience as an assistant town administrator.
[1:08:09] She has served as a selectboard member, a vice chair of her selectboard,
[1:08:13] finance, capital improvements. She's overseen a $78 million budget, which is
[1:08:17] greater than Swansea's budget. She also has experience with charter and
[1:08:21] bylaws, which as a caveat, I think we need to improve ours because I
[1:08:25] actually asked Mitch this today, we talked about, we only have two
[1:08:28] bylaws for the selectboard, and it's very vague.
[1:08:32] So it actually does not say that we are the hiring authority for this position.
[1:08:37] It is you, and you recommend the appointment to the board.
[1:08:41] So maybe that's something we look at making different in the future,
[1:08:45] and you have that background.
[1:08:47] Also in your cover letter and your resume, you filled multiple roles and you're
[1:08:51] willing to be adaptable, and so it sounds like if something's maybe not your job,
[1:08:55] you're willing to step in and do it, and refer to yourself as the fixer.
[1:08:58] We have a lot of things going on, and I think it's very important
[1:09:02] that Mitch is the new town administrator, and also I'm the newest selectboard
[1:09:05] member. Trust is really important.
[1:09:09] So I think at this point, I think it's also, Mitch, you've worked together in the
[1:09:12] past. He trusts you. I think that's really important moving forward because we have
[1:09:16] a lot of things to do.
[1:09:19] And I feel like honestly for me as my three months in,
[1:09:23] there's been a lot of time and energy on people stuff, and I want to
[1:09:27] do good stuff for our community. So I
[1:09:30] trust Mitch's judgment in this.
[1:09:34] He was clearly the best candidate who applied for this, and I trust him if he's
[1:09:37] saying you're the most qualified who applied for this role.
[1:09:42] So that's really all I have
[1:09:46] here on this. Because the only other way if we did interviews and stuff, that's
[1:09:50] more meetings and
[1:09:51] whatnot, but, I trust you if you say that this was the most qualified
[1:09:55] person who applied
[1:09:57] for this role, and you do have extensive experience.
[1:10:01] Would you mind if I speak for a minute?
[1:10:04] Through the chair. Yeah.
[1:10:06] Mr. Chair?
[1:10:07] Yes, of course. Yeah, of course.
[1:10:09] So, Kelly Grant, I do live in Bellingham.
[1:10:14] Additionally to what you had stated on my cover letter,
[1:10:18] I think another couple of things that would be particularly relevant in this
[1:10:21] situation, especially here in Swansea, is I was integral in
[1:10:26] our
[1:10:28] town hall office move that we did previously.
[1:10:30] I'm also MC PPO certified, so you also
[1:10:34] have that backup as well.
[1:10:39] I like a challenge,
[1:10:41] and I don't mind stepping into those additional
[1:10:45] roles that are needed.
[1:10:47] As I had said to Melissa when I met her, she has one of the
[1:10:51] hardest jobs because I did that as well.
[1:10:54] And I
[1:11:00] see Swansea as a really good combination of
[1:11:04] where I live and where I served, and where I worked
[1:11:07] previously, and where I grew up. It's all very similar.
[1:11:11] I grew up in Medfield, which is
[1:11:15] very different, affluent community, which
[1:11:18] we were not. And Bellingham has a very
[1:11:22] similar level of
[1:11:25] residential and commercial like you have here.
[1:11:28] It's a similar budget. They also went through some of these
[1:11:31] similar
[1:11:33] personnel changes, and they're going through them again.
[1:11:36] They have multiple interim positions at this point.
[1:11:40] Charter bylaw. One of the things that
[1:11:43] I always look to is the charter is like the Bible,
[1:11:48] except for towns that don't have a charter, which
[1:11:51] Hopedale didn't, and that was one of the biggest struggles when I got there was,
[1:11:54] "Well, what does the charter say?" "Well, we don't have one." Okay, then.
[1:11:58] And so bylaws are the
[1:12:00] next
[1:12:01] best thing, and those should be looked at every five years
[1:12:05] in my opinion. It's a big undertaking looking at
[1:12:09] bylaws
[1:12:11] and charters, but I do have experience with that.
[1:12:15] I enjoy community outreach.
[1:12:18] And I don't take any offense to the questions.
[1:12:21] I completely understand where everyone is coming from, because
[1:12:25] there have been multiple personnel
[1:12:29] changes.
[1:12:31] But I'm happy to answer any questions that anyone
[1:12:35] has while I'm here.
[1:12:38] But I completely understand that you guys have a job to
[1:12:42] do as well.
[1:12:46] Thank you for that. Again, it's not a question of qualification.
[1:12:50] Yep.
[1:12:50] As you stated, it's a matter of trust.
[1:12:56] And
[1:12:58] I think one of the obligations that we have as a board is the trust of the
[1:13:02] community.
[1:13:04] And I just want to make sure that we're upholding that first and foremost,
[1:13:09] aside from
[1:13:10] The
[1:13:11] staffing stuff. Again, no disrespect to Mr. Rossetti.
[1:13:14] I'm sure that we want to get the right people in the right places to do the
[1:13:18] right things all the time.
[1:13:22] There were no internal options for the
[1:13:26] position from the time that you've had
[1:13:30] in town so far that could
[1:13:33] fit this role?
[1:13:35] There was one internal applicant, but it was conveyed to me that that applicant
[1:13:39] applied because they were asked to by a board member.
[1:13:47] So
[1:13:48] is there a
[1:13:50] plan for any other reallocation within
[1:13:54] town should Ms. Grant come on board?
[1:13:58] I've had a discussion with John Hanson about moving back to
[1:14:02] the annex
[1:14:04] because of vacancies over there in the planning department,
[1:14:09] where his original,
[1:14:12] I think, career
[1:14:14] trajectory was in planning and economic development,
[1:14:18] and combining his current work in economic development and the overlap there
[1:14:22] with the planning position into planning.
[1:14:26] And quite frankly, given the turnover at the annex, the annex needs
[1:14:30] a stronger management structure.
[1:14:32] So I've spoken to him about providing that in that position,
[1:14:36] which would provide continuity for our ongoing development
[1:14:40] efforts
[1:14:41] and grants that he is currently stewarding.
[1:14:46] In terms of our budget,
[1:14:49] is Mr. Hanson going to be
[1:14:52] doubling as the town planner?
[1:14:55] Mitch, from a overall budgeting standpoint, are we putting
[1:14:59] ourselves in a situation where we're carrying
[1:15:03] a fairly decent salary?
[1:15:06] Yeah, I think you are. I think, though, that
[1:15:11] is the consequence of
[1:15:15] personnel decisions that were made by the prior administrator.
[1:15:20] And there's not much really,
[1:15:24] to be fair to the employee,
[1:15:27] that can be done about that.
[1:15:30] I would say that the expectation is that
[1:15:34] that position wouldn't simply be a planner.
[1:15:36] It would be a development director position that would take on more
[1:15:40] responsibility than simply a planning position.
[1:15:44] I will also say just for
[1:15:49] the purposes of background,
[1:15:54] that if you were to go out to open market for a qualified planner
[1:15:58] now, you would still be likely paying 100,
[1:16:01] 110
[1:16:04] for someone qualified to take over that position in a community this size.
[1:16:07] So the gulch is probably smaller than what you would think, though there is still a
[1:16:11] gulch.
[1:16:13] That's an issue that really I look forward to discussing with ANF for their
[1:16:16] recommendations.
[1:16:20] Just in reality, I'm not sure. I know that initially
[1:16:24] in this office, I heard at one point that an HR
[1:16:27] director that I think left after two minutes
[1:16:31] or a few months, it didn't work out.
[1:16:35] There was some shuffling around. There were positions that were added.
[1:16:38] There were positions that were added prior to the administrator
[1:16:41] leaving that weren't clarified in terms of what the roles were supposed to
[1:16:45] be. So there was a lot of overlapping work, folks
[1:16:49] stepping on each other's toes, inefficiencies.
[1:16:53] And the reality was, after speaking to some members of ANF,
[1:16:58] the request was going to be to cut that budget, which this move
[1:17:02] effectively does in my office.
[1:17:04] So the budget will reflect a smaller budget than it did last year.
[1:17:08] But I do believe that this staffing model will be more efficient and provide
[1:17:12] better services.
[1:17:14] And that's really the goal.
[1:17:17] From an optics perspective,
[1:17:19] there is no benefit to me personally to hiring someone who can't do
[1:17:23] the job because ultimately it's my name on the door and it reflects on my
[1:17:27] position.
[1:17:33] Okay.
[1:17:36] I mean, I'm just one member of this
[1:17:40] board and,
[1:17:46] I mean, speaking for myself, I'm
[1:17:48] not comfortable at this time. I just
[1:17:52] think we need some further discussion to set this up
[1:17:55] properly
[1:17:58] for this. Again, speaking for myself, I'm just one member.
[1:18:03] My colleagues can obviously choose to go in another direction
[1:18:07] and
[1:18:08] we'll just proceed along
[1:18:10] that way.
[1:18:14] Okay. So I will add this and I'll be brief, and I'm going to look at
[1:18:18] this through a different hatch.
[1:18:21] And the hatch I look at it through is,
[1:18:24] no disrespect to people that were here prior,
[1:18:28] I spent my first two years on the Board of Selectmen
[1:18:32] kind of in a corner.
[1:18:35] So there were a lot of things that happened there that I wasn't informed
[1:18:38] with. Since we hired Mitch, I've been informed
[1:18:42] on every step that's come along. And we talked
[1:18:46] about
[1:18:48] Ms. Grant and the possibility of that,
[1:18:52] and I gave Mitch my full support on that, and I do tonight
[1:18:56] also.
[1:18:57] And the reason that is,
[1:19:00] with everything that's been happening in Swansea with people
[1:19:03] retiring and
[1:19:07] people leaving and resigning, it's been a little bit of a challenge.
[1:19:12] And
[1:19:14] my humble opinion is one from a military perspective, if you don't
[1:19:18] mind me using it
[1:19:22] If Mitch doesn't have the ability to build the team that
[1:19:26] he wants
[1:19:28] to make his
[1:19:30] foxhole solid,
[1:19:32] because if you can't take care of your foxhole, you can't take care of anything
[1:19:35] else,
[1:19:37] from safety to perception and everything else.
[1:19:41] So with that idea, because I listened to that from my father
[1:19:45] growing up,
[1:19:46] Navy nuclear guy, and he pumped it into me, and I ended up
[1:19:50] not wanting to go into the Navy, so I joined the Marine Corps.
[1:19:53] So I've got it in my blood to take care of a foxhole, and I
[1:19:57] support fully
[1:19:59] the decision, and I guess that's also like saying
[1:20:03] that's my name on that, too.
[1:20:07] So with that being said,
[1:20:09] that's all I have to say, just from a different perspective of support for
[1:20:13] Mitch and the decisions that he made on this.
[1:20:17] I don't have any further questions. The resume is awesome.
[1:20:20] I appreciate what you added. And unless there's any further
[1:20:24] discussion, I think we will,
[1:20:29] for item number five,
[1:20:33] unless you have something else you wanted to add, or Mitch, if you
[1:20:36] had anything else to add or any further discussion here,
[1:20:41] the
[1:20:42] chair would call for item number five
[1:20:46] to appoint-
[1:20:47] 5A, sir
[1:20:48] ... 5A. Thank you. For item number 5A,
[1:20:53] for an appointment for Ms. Kelly Grant as assistant
[1:20:57] town administrator and parking clerk effective August
[1:21:01] 7th, 2026,
[1:21:03] and I look for that motion.
[1:21:06] 17th.
[1:21:06] August 17th.
[1:21:07] 17th. Sorry, spoke wrong. The 17th.
[1:21:10] And the chair, if there is no more discussion, looks for
[1:21:14] a motion to move forward.
[1:21:17] So moved as read.
[1:21:19] And do I have a second?
[1:21:22] Chair will second that. And
[1:21:26] chair asks for all in favor.
[1:21:29] Aye.
[1:21:31] And Mr. Beaudette is an aye, so that will pass by
[1:21:35] majority
[1:21:37] for the item number 5A.
[1:21:39] And just for the record, Mr. Medeiros is a nay on that motion.
[1:21:42] Okay.
[1:21:44] Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Grant.
[1:21:48] So that brings us to
[1:21:51] do we want to go through each one of these, or do we want to do these as a block?
[1:21:55] That's at the discretion of the board. The only item I will qualify is item B.
[1:22:00] Bill has to be appointed as interim.
[1:22:02] There are some things that have to be worked out with council
[1:22:06] about the parameters of that position that were not
[1:22:10] necessarily handled appropriately when that was moved from
[1:22:13] elected to appointed.
[1:22:15] So we have to make sure that we're in compliance with the model that was adopted
[1:22:19] at town meeting.
[1:22:22] That has nothing to do with Bill or even the prior tree warden.
[1:22:25] That was just something that was an oversight that I don't think was
[1:22:28] discussed at the time, but there are certain parameters that we have to ensure
[1:22:31] compliance on
[1:22:33] for a permanent appointment.
[1:22:35] So he had asked that we revise the language to appoint him as interim tree
[1:22:39] warden,
[1:22:41] as most of the work conducted by that office is shade
[1:22:45] trees that impact road traffic and things like that.
[1:22:47] Highway is intrinsically involved with his work anyway.
[1:22:51] It's the most logical fit for right now. But that is it for item B.
[1:22:56] Okay. So if there is any discussion, chair will hear discussion now
[1:22:59] on B for Mr. William Anderson as interim tree
[1:23:03] warden effective August 11th, 2026.
[1:23:07] Yeah.
[1:23:07] A term to expire April 14th, 2029.
[1:23:11] Discussion, Mr. Chairman. And Mr.
[1:23:13] Resetti, I appreciate you
[1:23:16] clarifying that it's an interim tree warden because one
[1:23:20] of my first questions was going to be relative to Mr.
[1:23:24] Anderson's tree warden experience, which
[1:23:27] I've known Mr. Anderson for a little while.
[1:23:29] I don't think he has
[1:23:32] an official tree warden
[1:23:35] certification. He's not an arborist to the best of my knowledge or
[1:23:39] whatever. So I was going to take issue with his
[1:23:43] appointment as a tree warden because I think the tree
[1:23:47] program has evolved from what it was, where
[1:23:51] we're taking a more proactive approach relative to trees.
[1:23:54] We've expanded our budget so that we can identify
[1:23:58] problem trees and put together an effective
[1:24:02] plan on how to manage those things.
[1:24:05] Again, no disrespect to Mr. Anderson or whatever.
[1:24:08] I think he's a fantastic highway director.
[1:24:11] He's an engineer by training and education,
[1:24:15] but I don't think trees were his thing.
[1:24:18] But if he's going to fill a slot in the interim, if trees
[1:24:22] fall down in the middle of the road or are posing
[1:24:26] an inherent danger or an
[1:24:29] immediate danger, of course, Mr. Anderson and his
[1:24:33] team would be the ones to respond
[1:24:36] and take care of that. But I don't think he would have been long-term the right
[1:24:40] fit for handling our tree management plan.
[1:24:46] So- If I may inquire through the chair, just for historical
[1:24:50] knowledge, I
[1:24:51] don't believe
[1:24:53] when the town moved from elected to appointed tree warden, the first appointed tree
[1:24:57] warden you had was
[1:24:58] neither an arborist or an entomologist
[1:25:02] in the sense of
[1:25:05] there is a pest control component as well.
[1:25:07] So we were still out of compliance with the
[1:25:10] statute. So we need to get into compliance, and I think what
[1:25:14] the solution is going to be, if I had to take a guess, would be that some of
[1:25:18] those services we're going to have to have a no-value service contract in the
[1:25:21] instance of
[1:25:23] Someone has to deal with an Asian longhorn beetle infestation, whatever.
[1:25:26] Mm-hmm.
[1:25:26] We would farm that out. We wouldn't have somebody on staff that's an entomologist.
[1:25:31] So there's a way to do this that other communities deal with when they move from
[1:25:34] these positions, from being elected to appointed,
[1:25:37] and we'd have to strike the right balance to make sure that we get the right fit.
[1:25:40] But even under the town's existing structure, I don't believe we are currently
[1:25:44] compliant
[1:25:46] with that statute.
[1:25:49] I think
[1:25:50] we did have somebody that was a certified arborist.
[1:25:54] Unfortunately, due to circumstances, that
[1:25:57] person has resigned their position. But I agree with you.
[1:26:01] I think we do want to arm ourselves, especially with
[1:26:04] trees. Trees are a problem in this town.
[1:26:08] You remember some of the problems that we had with a citizen-
[1:26:11] Mm-hmm
[1:26:12] ... that was
[1:26:13] pretty long-lasting and a little contentious, to say
[1:26:17] the least. But nonetheless, I think
[1:26:21] by moving
[1:26:24] from an elected tree
[1:26:26] warden to an appointed tree warden, I think just
[1:26:30] arms the town or equips the town with the leverage that it needs to bring in
[1:26:34] the right people.
[1:26:37] So again, seeing that we're not making a hasty decision-
[1:26:40] Mm-hmm
[1:26:41] ... by appointing Mr. Anderson as an interim,
[1:26:45] I have no issue
[1:26:47] with that.
[1:26:51] Any further discussion
[1:26:53] on 5B?
[1:26:54] No. So I was just going to say that
[1:26:57] it was my understanding. So at this point, I agree with
[1:27:01] having Mr. Anderson as the interim tree warden
[1:27:05] to try to get us back into compliance with appropriate licensure
[1:27:09] requirements, and I do feel like that aligns with his experience and
[1:27:13] work within the highway department.
[1:27:14] So this makes sense at this point in time.
[1:27:19] So I would support that appointment.
[1:27:23] That's all.
[1:27:24] Any further discussion?
[1:27:27] With that being hearing none,
[1:27:29] the chair would
[1:27:31] seek a motion to vote for
[1:27:35] appointment of Mr. William
[1:27:37] Anderson as
[1:27:40] interim tree warden, effective August 11th, 2026,
[1:27:44] term to expire April 14th, 2029.
[1:27:47] So moved.
[1:27:48] Second.
[1:27:49] And all in favor?
[1:27:50] Aye.
[1:27:51] Aye.
[1:27:52] 5B is unanimous.
[1:28:04] 5C is Mrs. Sonia Araujo-
[1:28:07] Araujo
[1:28:08] ... assistant to the building commissioner, effective August
[1:28:12] 17th, 2026.
[1:28:15] And is there any discussion on this appointment?
[1:28:20] I just have a question regarding the posting of the position.
[1:28:24] Was the position posted
[1:28:27] internally, and did we follow all the necessary procedural stuff from a
[1:28:31] posting standpoint?
[1:28:33] So, there's two
[1:28:37] layers to that question.
[1:28:39] First, this is a
[1:28:40] union position, so the collective bargaining agreement stipulates that before
[1:28:44] these positions are posted publicly, they would have to be posted
[1:28:48] internally, and the hiring would be preferential to
[1:28:52] existing
[1:28:53] union employees internally.
[1:28:56] So this position was filled by an internal applicant per the collective bargaining
[1:29:00] agreement.
[1:29:03] And the vacancy that that applicant is leaving
[1:29:07] will be posted externally,
[1:29:10] because there is now a shortfall of one union position.
[1:29:15] So no, this position was not posted
[1:29:18] externally. It wouldn't legally have to be, but we would've posted
[1:29:21] externally if there were no internal applicants.
[1:29:23] But the internal posting was simply because of our collectively bargained
[1:29:27] obligations.
[1:29:29] Okay. No, I appreciate that. I just wanted that clarification out there.
[1:29:33] So it was posted internally.
[1:29:35] Yes.
[1:29:35] An internal applicant
[1:29:37] applied,
[1:29:39] and I think Ms. Araujo was fantastic in the clerk's office.
[1:29:42] I think she'll be fantastic here
[1:29:45] in the building commissioner's office as well.
[1:29:48] Again, I'm just considering some of the
[1:29:51] issues as of late. I just want to
[1:29:54] make sure that we are all dotting our I's and
[1:29:58] crossing our T's, so to speak,
[1:30:01] and it sounds like we are.
[1:30:04] I would agree.
[1:30:08] Anything to add?
[1:30:09] No, I just support this appointment, and just to clarify, that aligns
[1:30:12] with one of our correspondence items, 15D, which is her resignation from her
[1:30:17] current position-
[1:30:18] Mm-hmm
[1:30:18] ... to then take this position at the building commissioner's office.
[1:30:21] So I would support this appointment.
[1:30:25] The only thing I would add is I'm sure she'll do just fine in that position.
[1:30:29] Mm-hmm.
[1:30:29] Building commissioner, there'll be a lot of day-to-day
[1:30:33] learning through Mike, the new building inspector,
[1:30:37] but I'm sure they'll make a good team growing into that position.
[1:30:42] So with that being said, if there's no further discussion,
[1:30:45] the chair would seek for a motion to move
[1:30:50] to vote for staff appointment for Ms.
[1:30:53] Sonia Araujo, assistant to the building commissioner, effective August
[1:30:57] 17th, 2026.
[1:31:00] So moved.
[1:31:00] Second.
[1:31:01] And all in favor?
[1:31:03] Aye.
[1:31:03] Aye.
[1:31:04] That is unanimous.
[1:31:08] That brings us to
[1:31:10] 5D,
[1:31:11] Mr. Derek Melosi, part-time
[1:31:15] police mechanic effective August 31st,
[1:31:19] 2026. And we've got the police chief here with us,
[1:31:23] Chief Foley
[1:31:25] Good evening. Thank you for having me here tonight.
[1:31:26] So you should have in front of you a request for an appointment for
[1:31:30] Mr. Derek Malozzi, as well as a resume.
[1:31:36] I respectfully request that he be appointed as a part-time
[1:31:42] police fleet mechanic for the town of Swansea, which also includes some
[1:31:46] maintenance duties within the department.
[1:31:49] We've been quite a while without a mechanic.
[1:31:52] We've
[1:31:53] done the best we can to get by. Mr. Malozzi already has a
[1:31:57] plan to get us up and dialed in with each of our cruisers so we can get ourselves
[1:32:01] back to the point where we're doing routine maintenance rather than
[1:32:05] expensive repairs. In the long haul, I believe this will save us a
[1:32:09] ton of money
[1:32:10] compared to what we've been doing.
[1:32:14] Long-term goal, there were some talks.
[1:32:16] This position, prior, was a union position.
[1:32:20] Myself and the prior town administrator bargained it out of the union, so there
[1:32:24] are some potential long-term goals of utilizing
[1:32:28] this as an asset for the town between the highway department, potentially, and
[1:32:32] again, that's down the road. But
[1:32:35] big picture, hopefully more. Right now,
[1:32:39] get us back to where we need to be.
[1:32:44] Any discussion?
[1:32:45] No, I support this, and we spoke earlier today.
[1:32:48] I just wanted to just double-check with Chief about this appointment and the next
[1:32:51] one.
[1:32:52] And my understanding is they're both within the current budget and actually under
[1:32:55] budget. And as you explained, it should save us money in the long run.
[1:32:59] So I would approve this and the next one.
[1:33:02] I know I'm jumping ahead, but it's already within approved budget.
[1:33:04] It's not extra, so I would
[1:33:08] support that. That's all.
[1:33:09] Thank you.
[1:33:09] Auto mechanics are worth their weight in gold-
[1:33:11] I'm sure, yeah
[1:33:12] ... for town positions, so this is a really good hire.
[1:33:14] Right.
[1:33:14] I agree.
[1:33:15] And I agree.
[1:33:17] You did a good job doing what Steve Kitchen would've done-
[1:33:20] What?
[1:33:20] ... making sure that that was all within its budget.
[1:33:22] Oh, yeah. That was my-- Right? We talked about that.
[1:33:24] I was like, "This is-
[1:33:25] It was
[1:33:25] ... extra," right? Okay. Thank you.
[1:33:27] All right.
[1:33:28] If there's no further discussion, the chair would seek motion for
[1:33:32] staff appointment of Mr. Derek
[1:33:34] Malozzi.
[1:33:37] I don't have any further discussion because Ms.
[1:33:39] Solitro
[1:33:40] took all my questions.
[1:33:41] Yeah.
[1:33:43] Let her grab a fire porter out or everything-
[1:33:45] I know
[1:33:45] ... all in one shot.
[1:33:47] Steve would be proud of you.
[1:33:48] Get it done. You know?
[1:33:49] Perfect.
[1:33:49] Get it done.
[1:33:51] Stop watching those old selectmen's meetings.
[1:33:53] Yeah.
[1:33:55] With that being said,
[1:33:57] so for
[1:33:58] Derek, part-time police mechanic, effective August 31st,
[1:34:02] 2026.
[1:34:03] So moved.
[1:34:04] Second.
[1:34:05] All in favor?
[1:34:06] Aye.
[1:34:06] Aye.
[1:34:07] 5-D is unanimous. Thank you, Chief. Thank you.
[1:34:10] Brings us to
[1:34:12] 5-E, which is Ms. Alexis Lopes,
[1:34:16] full-time police dispatcher, excuse me,
[1:34:19] effective August 12th, 2026.
[1:34:24] Correct. So in front of you, you have a request to
[1:34:28] appoint Alexis Lopes of Swansea as a full-time dispatcher.
[1:34:32] She would be replacing our previous dispatcher, Mason
[1:34:36] Medeiros, who the board appointed to attend the full-time police academy.
[1:34:40] Alexis has been working part-time with us since October of
[1:34:44] 2025.
[1:34:46] To be quite honest, she's been a rockstar.
[1:34:48] Her professional development has grown in leaps
[1:34:52] and bounds. She's learned to multitask.
[1:34:54] She's
[1:34:57] nailed this position.
[1:34:59] She
[1:35:01] was interviewed, she went through a process, and she was
[1:35:04] chosen. She's closing in on a bachelor's degree in criminal justice
[1:35:08] from Bridgewater State University.
[1:35:11] She's a very respectful young woman, and we've been fortunate to
[1:35:15] have her. So again, respectfully requesting that she's appointed full time.
[1:35:22] Any discussion?
[1:35:24] Just again, this is within budget. You're budgeted for four full-time dispatchers.
[1:35:27] You have three, so this just completes what's already allotted for.
[1:35:31] And this is a really important position, and we don't want people burning out.
[1:35:34] So, I would support this appointment.
[1:35:38] Thank you.
[1:35:38] Mm-hmm.
[1:35:39] I have nothing to add, Chief. Obviously, she's, like you said, a home run.
[1:35:43] A home run, whatever
[1:35:45] cliche you use. Rockstar.
[1:35:46] Rockstar.
[1:35:46] Rockstar.
[1:35:47] Yeah, that's what I-
[1:35:48] I was paying attention
[1:35:49] ... 100%.
[1:35:49] She's a rockstar.
[1:35:51] She is.
[1:35:51] And within budget and all that other good stuff, right?
[1:35:53] Everything.
[1:35:56] Yeah.
[1:35:56] Chief, I have no questions. With that being said, the chair would
[1:36:00] look for motion to
[1:36:03] vote for staff appointment
[1:36:06] for Ms. Alexis Lopes, full-time police department
[1:36:08] dispatcher, effective August 12th,
[1:36:12] 2026.
[1:36:13] So moved.
[1:36:13] Second.
[1:36:15] All in favor?
[1:36:15] Aye.
[1:36:16] Aye.
[1:36:17] Chair is an aye. That is unanimous. Thank you.
[1:36:19] Thanks, Chief.
[1:36:20] Appreciate your time.
[1:36:20] Thanks, Chief. Good night, Chief. Thank you.
[1:36:21] Thanks for-
[1:36:21] Have a great night
[1:36:22] ... your patience.
[1:36:23] And lastly, for item number five is 5-F,
[1:36:28] Mrs. Linda
[1:36:29] Carancho.
[1:36:30] Carancio.
[1:36:30] Carancio, deputy assessor, effective August 12th,
[1:36:34] 2026. Any discussion?
[1:36:39] None at this time.
[1:36:41] I know Mike, the assessor, speaks very highly
[1:36:45] of Linda, so
[1:36:47] very impressive young lady for sure.
[1:36:51] She's already entrenched in the office.
[1:36:53] Yes.
[1:36:53] And I'm sure she deals with the full brunt of, I'm sure, the
[1:36:57] many walk-ins and phone calls and whatnot that that office
[1:37:01] has to field on a day-to-day basis.
[1:37:06] And it didn't scare her off, so that's a good thing, I guess.
[1:37:09] Yeah. As you were saying, she's been in there since August of
[1:37:12] 2025.
[1:37:16] If there's no further discussion, Chair O'Regan
[1:37:19] will seek a motion on staff appointment for Ms.
[1:37:23] Linda Carancio
[1:37:25] Am I saying that right? Carancho
[1:37:27] Carancho.
[1:37:27] Carancho, deputy assessor, effective August 12th,
[1:37:31] 2026.
[1:37:31] So moved.
[1:37:32] Second.
[1:37:33] And all in favor?
[1:37:34] Aye.
[1:37:34] Aye.
[1:37:35] That is unanimous. Five is in the book.
[1:37:38] You're up.
[1:37:40] So I would make a motion to go back to item four, which is our
[1:37:44] B15 joint meeting, sorry, a few minutes late, with
[1:37:48] Parks and Rec commission.
[1:37:51] We've been out of order.
[1:37:53] I'll second the motion.
[1:37:57] All in favor?
[1:37:58] Aye.
[1:37:58] Aye.
[1:38:00] You guys.
[1:38:01] That is unanimous.
[1:38:02] I don't know if you want to invite our colleagues to come up.
[1:38:05] Yes, I'm looking for my
[1:38:07] paperwork on that.
[1:38:10] Hi.
[1:38:12] This mic is working, it just doesn't always...
[1:38:15] Sorry. Just spread out all my stuff.
[1:38:18] No
[1:38:18] worries.
[1:38:23] I'm not sure. How does it work for calling the meeting to order, Mr. Chair?
[1:38:26] I don't know how that works.
[1:38:27] The chairman will need to
[1:38:30] ask the Parks and Rec's chair to open his meeting,
[1:38:33] and then we can proceed.
[1:38:36] Hold on.
[1:38:37] I am missing my
[1:38:40] paperwork there, but I had it. Bear with me, folks.
[1:39:15] Mr. Chair, do you want mine? Just two papers.
[1:39:20] Okay. I have it. Thank you-
[1:39:22] Got it?
[1:39:22] ... for your patience. Yep, that's yours.
[1:39:25] Okay. So thank you everybody. Sorry for that little
[1:39:29] digging of papers there. So,
[1:39:34] I would make a motion to move that the Board of Selectmen enter into a joint
[1:39:38] meeting with Parks and Recreation Commission to discuss the
[1:39:41] appointment of a temporary commission member with
[1:39:45] a term to expire April 12th, 2027, and to
[1:39:49] take any necessary action.
[1:39:53] So moved.
[1:39:53] Second.
[1:39:54] And all in favor?
[1:39:56] Aye.
[1:39:56] Aye.
[1:39:57] That is unanimous.
[1:40:02] At this time, I'll turn the meeting over to the Chair of Parks and
[1:40:06] Recreation Commission to call their meeting into order and
[1:40:10] proceed with their discussion and recommendation regarding
[1:40:14] the appointment of a temporary commissioner,
[1:40:18] temporary commission member.
[1:40:20] The floor is yours.
[1:40:22] Okay. Thank you for having us. We call
[1:40:25] to order the joint meeting at 8:26 PM.
[1:40:30] Roll call.
[1:40:33] Philip Gigley. Ethan Gonzalves, here.
[1:40:35] Joshua Harrington, here.
[1:40:36] Cara Wichman, here.
[1:40:40] So we are looking to vote to appoint Mr.
[1:40:43] Jeffrey Wood as temporary member of the Parks and Rec commission,
[1:40:47] term to expire April 12th, 2027.
[1:40:52] I'll make a motion
[1:40:54] to appoint Jeff Wood,
[1:40:58] with the term to expire as previously said.
[1:41:02] Second that.
[1:41:05] All in favor?
[1:41:06] Aye.
[1:41:06] Aye.
[1:41:08] Aye.
[1:41:09] Motion to adjourn the Parks and Recreation meeting.
[1:41:12] Second that motion.
[1:41:15] All in favor?
[1:41:16] Aye.
[1:41:16] That's easy.
[1:41:17] That was great.
[1:41:18] Those in favor, aye.
[1:41:18] Thank you.
[1:41:19] So Parks and Rec has made a motion, Mr. Chairman.
[1:41:23] I don't know if you want to open up any discussion.
[1:41:26] Yeah, open for discussion.
[1:41:28] Sure.
[1:41:29] I'm great with this. Thank you, Mr. Wood, for offering to step in.
[1:41:32] I read your letter. I know you have experience, and you're just willing to step in
[1:41:36] and help at this point, so I would also support this appointment.
[1:41:40] Thank you.
[1:41:41] Mm-hmm.
[1:41:42] And I was going to, through the chair,
[1:41:45] Mr. Chairman, if Mr. Wood would like to say anything.
[1:41:48] Why he's re-upping again.
[1:41:50] Absolutely.
[1:41:51] I think my wife asked me the same question.
[1:41:54] No, I had just left this board. I think we had a lot of momentum during the time
[1:41:58] that I was there. I really enjoyed it.
[1:42:00] Obviously, I did not run again because of the time constraints that I've had.
[1:42:05] That being said, when I found that someone had stepped aside,
[1:42:08] I've been on a board,
[1:42:10] where we have four members a lot of the time, and it can be difficult, and I didn't
[1:42:13] want these guys to lose their momentum. I've worked with 75% of these guys before.
[1:42:17] I've heard great things about the one that I have not worked with, so I'm very
[1:42:20] excited to step in and close that gap until somebody else in town
[1:42:24] steps in and aims it.
[1:42:27] Nope. Very good. No, I appreciate that.
[1:42:29] I didn't know you personally
[1:42:31] at all, until the previous meeting that we had with
[1:42:35] Parks and Rec on another matter.
[1:42:37] Mm-hmm.
[1:42:38] And I was impressed.
[1:42:39] Mm-hmm.
[1:42:41] And after I learned that you did hold a position on the
[1:42:45] board,
[1:42:47] seeing that you're coming up, I'm like, "It's fantastic." Perfect fit.
[1:42:51] Mm-hmm.
[1:42:51] No learning curve. Jump right in-
[1:42:55] Mm-hmm
[1:42:55] ... and make things happen.
[1:42:57] Yep.
[1:42:57] Hopefully.
[1:42:57] So, and again,
[1:43:00] stepping up is something that I think is the backbone of this
[1:43:03] community.
[1:43:06] I'm thrilled when people do it.
[1:43:10] And seeing
[1:43:12] yourself jump back in, as much as
[1:43:15] I hate to see folks, that we're recycling sometimes the same people-
[1:43:18] Right
[1:43:18] ... but you know what? Clearly you enjoyed
[1:43:21] doing what you did here-
[1:43:22] Yep
[1:43:24] ... with the committee, so I'm pleased to have you back-
[1:43:27] Thank you
[1:43:28] ... Mr. Wood, so
[1:43:29] thank you.
[1:43:30] Thank you.
[1:43:31] Any further?
[1:43:32] Actually, yeah. Can I?
[1:43:33] Yes, of course.
[1:43:34] I just want to say, you guys are doing a great job. You've done a lot.
[1:43:37] Everything looks awesome over there.
[1:43:39] And I don't know if you guys want to speak to it, but I've had a couple questions I
[1:43:42] couldn't quite answer about the Family Fun Day. That's you guys, right?
[1:43:44] Mm-hmm.
[1:43:44] September 12th. Does anyone want to just quick shout out about that?
[1:43:47] Because it's awesome you're doing that for the community.
[1:43:49] I think people are really excited to have things that are offered, so thank you
[1:43:53] guys for offering that, and I'm looking forward to going.
[1:43:55] But I think it's at Veterans Memorial, but does anyone want to talk to
[1:43:59] that? You were-
[1:44:00] Am I able to speak?
[1:44:00] Your wheelhouse.
[1:44:01] We did adjourn our meeting.
[1:44:02] Oh.
[1:44:02] Am I able to speak?
[1:44:03] Oh, yeah. That's right.
[1:44:04] If you're just updating the community on an event-
[1:44:06] Sure
[1:44:06] ... that's not deliberation, you certainly can speak to that.
[1:44:09] Sure.
[1:44:11] So we ran into some hiccups, but we're working through them.
[1:44:13] We might have to move the date back.
[1:44:15] Okay.
[1:44:15] But we'll let the community know as soon as we figure that out.
[1:44:18] Sounds good. Thank you. But thank you, and full disclosure, Mr.
[1:44:21] Wood was my son's basketball coach. He had a great season.
[1:44:24] So clearly you really care about giving back to your community and serving, so
[1:44:28] thank you for offering to step into this vacancy for the interim. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[1:44:31] Thank you.
[1:44:33] So I only have one thing to add, and I guess maybe I should paraphrase
[1:44:37] maybe old business.
[1:44:39] So I knew you folks were coming here today, and I, again,
[1:44:43] would like to apologize to everybody in this room for the last time
[1:44:47] we gathered as a group.
[1:44:50] Because we actually called you the man of reason.
[1:44:52] Oh, yeah, yeah.
[1:44:53] But there are some very talented people on your board that are also men
[1:44:57] and women of reason.
[1:44:58] Mm-hmm.
[1:44:58] And having to shut down
[1:45:00] through what it became,
[1:45:04] I apologize to all of you again as a great group.
[1:45:07] Swanzey's lucky to have all of you, and I just thought I'd throw that out there.
[1:45:11] Thank you.
[1:45:12] Thank you.
[1:45:12] Appreciate it.
[1:45:14] That's it.
[1:45:15] You're welcome, and thank you.
[1:45:16] Thank you.
[1:45:17] Well, I think we'll need a motion from the Board of Selectmen.
[1:45:20] Okay.
[1:45:20] So Mr.
[1:45:21] Chairman, I move to appoint Mr. Jeffrey Wood as temporary member of Parks and
[1:45:25] Recreations Commission with a term to expire April 12 of
[1:45:29] 2027.
[1:45:30] Second.
[1:45:31] And all in favor?
[1:45:32] Aye.
[1:45:33] Aye.
[1:45:33] That is unanimous. Chairs an aye.
[1:45:35] Thank you, guys.
[1:45:36] Thank you.
[1:45:36] Official. Thank you, everyone.
[1:45:39] Bye.
[1:45:45] Procedurally, do we need to-
[1:45:47] Can we back seat
[1:45:48] ... make a motion to take number out of eight back in order, I guess?
[1:45:52] Sure. That sounds right.
[1:45:55] We don't need a motion because it's going back.
[1:45:57] We're back in order.
[1:45:58] Oh, no? Okay.
[1:46:01] Okay.
[1:46:01] Okay, so we've done everything on front of the page except
[1:46:05] for eight, which we will hit now.
[1:46:08] So
[1:46:10] Chair seeks discussion and vote to
[1:46:13] appoint KP Law, PC of Boston, Mass as
[1:46:17] town counsel, and I think I would give the floor to you, Mitch,
[1:46:21] on that.
[1:46:22] Sure. So,
[1:46:24] again, through the chair, the board had asked me when I started, there
[1:46:28] were concerns about the legal budget to take a look at that.
[1:46:32] And given the
[1:46:34] amount of litigation or legal issues that are currently in front of us, I'm looking
[1:46:38] at methods to
[1:46:40] strengthen that line item, but also to potentially save money in that line
[1:46:44] item.
[1:46:48] And
[1:46:50] in doing some research, looking around,
[1:46:53] really in all bi-municipal positions, other than being in cities where you
[1:46:57] have your own internal department,
[1:47:01] about half the commonwealth is represented by KP Law.
[1:47:06] The difference is this, is the days of, I think,
[1:47:11] and
[1:47:12] obviously the board tasked me with doing this, it was something that was on
[1:47:16] everyone's mind,
[1:47:18] but the days of having a general practitioner
[1:47:23] for everything is kind of over. That over the last 50 years, things have
[1:47:26] evolved. So, for example, we have myriad land issues
[1:47:30] right now,
[1:47:31] both at the court level,
[1:47:34] and also
[1:47:36] working back and forth with some issues with developers.
[1:47:41] In an issue where a general counsel might spend five, six billable hours
[1:47:44] researching an issue,
[1:47:46] a firm like KP Law, who specializes in municipal law, will have a land
[1:47:50] use expert on staff that an issue that otherwise might take six hours to
[1:47:54] resolve could be a 15 minute conversation.
[1:47:56] So instead of being billed six hours at $250 an hour, you're being
[1:48:00] billed
[1:48:02] for 15 minutes, in 15 minute increments.
[1:48:05] So, for example, this past year,
[1:48:08] the town had
[1:48:11] made,
[1:48:13] in my estimation of perhaps a poor decision,
[1:48:16] to stop using legal services with about three months
[1:48:20] left in the year because the budget ran out.
[1:48:23] During that three months, there were a bunch of issues that have now ballooned into
[1:48:27] much larger issues that could have been stemmed or handled
[1:48:31] immediately had we engaged with legal services.
[1:48:35] But we were unable to do so because of budgetary constraints.
[1:48:38] The goal is to avoid that next year.
[1:48:40] I will say that
[1:48:44] this year might be tough because of the amount of
[1:48:46] litigation and issues in front of this community.
[1:48:49] But in a community this size, to have a budget that you have, I think
[1:48:53] it's $160,000 for a leader of the line item is high,
[1:48:58] and we want to reduce that, given the fact that we're at the level.
[1:49:01] So, there's really only a couple of firms,
[1:49:05] KP's one, that specializes in municipal and state law,
[1:49:09] and that represents communities throughout the commonwealth.
[1:49:13] And so my recommendation for money saving purposes and for
[1:49:17] a more uniform product,
[1:49:20] with the myriad challenges in front of us,
[1:49:23] would be to move to KP Law. And again,
[1:49:27] understanding that the board had tasked me with looking at this and providing
[1:49:31] alternatives specifically.
[1:49:33] So you have in your packet a letter from senior partner, Ms.
[1:49:36] Goldberg
[1:49:38] Some of you may have actually worked with in the past.
[1:49:40] She's got a reputation in the Commonwealth as being a really good
[1:49:45] municipal lawyer.
[1:49:48] But
[1:49:49] that explains the structure of where we're at. I'm very excited.
[1:49:52] I did get a call about an hour before the meeting
[1:49:56] from Brian Rowley and Tim Zessin, who are
[1:49:59] associates in that firm,
[1:50:01] asking if we needed them here tonight. They offered to come in person.
[1:50:05] It's kind of a hike for one of them, so I said, "We have the letter.
[1:50:09] We've done the vetting internally.
[1:50:11] If you want to come to a future meeting, if the board's so inclined," they're
[1:50:14] offered to do that.
[1:50:16] But really, this
[1:50:18] brings us into best practice with
[1:50:21] more than half of the other communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
[1:50:25] Or about half, rather,
[1:50:32] sorry.
[1:50:32] Any discussion?
[1:50:34] Sure. So
[1:50:37] this was a concern of mine. And
[1:50:40] when I was first elected, it was explained to me that typically in the summer, the
[1:50:43] board brings forth their priorities. This was going to be one of my priorities.
[1:50:47] And so you reinitiated that when we talked about that.
[1:50:49] It is concerning to me that we exceeded our legal budget line item this year, and
[1:50:53] we needed several year-end transfers. We obviously don't want that to happen again.
[1:50:56] Obviously, next year might be a little difficult.
[1:50:58] But
[1:50:59] looking through this proposal, and thank you for highlighting too, that you did say
[1:51:02] you vetted other law firms. This seemed like the best fit,
[1:51:07] and I liked a few things about this.
[1:51:09] So I liked the experience listed with how many cities
[1:51:13] and towns they represent in Massachusetts and for how many years, and that several
[1:51:16] actually returned to this law firm after going elsewhere for services.
[1:51:21] Their hourly rate is comparable to our current hourly rate.
[1:51:24] However, if a paralegal does the work, they only charge us half that amount of
[1:51:28] money. So I think that's very fiscally responsible, and I've heard from a lot of
[1:51:31] people in town and A&F members, they're very concerned about the legal
[1:51:35] budget. There was one specific example that I was made aware
[1:51:39] of where we were billed around $10,000 for something, and you explained to
[1:51:43] me in your experience in Hopedale for something like that, you'd be billed
[1:51:46] under $1,000.
[1:51:48] It was a routine issue.
[1:51:48] Yeah, a routine issue. So that is a 90% savings on one
[1:51:52] thing. So I think if we're being fiscally
[1:51:56] responsible and trying to do what's best in a timely manner with
[1:52:01] very specific things that come up,
[1:52:04] I think this is good. And one thing I did want to say also that I noticed on their
[1:52:07] list of specifics is waterways. That's very important to some
[1:52:11] residents in Swansea. And so I think that's helpful to know that they have someone
[1:52:15] who can specifically maybe help us with that when we look at that at some
[1:52:19] point. But that caught my eye, because that is important to some members of our
[1:52:23] community.
[1:52:27] And again, yeah, just the ability to have this specific counsel for specific
[1:52:31] issues should help us respond to things in a timely manner
[1:52:35] that's not frustrating to our constituents, where sometimes there's a delay
[1:52:39] which may impact business or whatever it is.
[1:52:42] So
[1:52:43] I would support this. It makes sense to me.
[1:52:49] That's all.
[1:52:50] Thank you.
[1:52:53] For myself, the
[1:52:56] budget and the financial aspect of it does make sense.
[1:53:00] We know that the town's been,
[1:53:03] what's the word that I'm looking for?
[1:53:04] Blessed with a myriad of-
[1:53:06] Mm
[1:53:07] ... legal
[1:53:08] issues that
[1:53:11] we've been
[1:53:12] forced to address, and clearly this
[1:53:16] firm has the
[1:53:19] breadth and width and bandwidth and all that other stuff
[1:53:23] to be able to handle anything that this
[1:53:27] particular town is able
[1:53:30] to throw at it.
[1:53:33] So I think it is financially responsible going with them, considering
[1:53:37] some of their billings and their practices and their
[1:53:41] experience.
[1:53:42] And I do support this. But just another question,
[1:53:48] only because I've had some time to think about it, and I think
[1:53:52] back to my time on the planning board where
[1:53:56] we'd have some of these third-party
[1:53:59] review consultants who we used to
[1:54:03] review applications and used to review submitting engineers'
[1:54:07] work and whatnot. And we had, I don't want to call it a bucket, we
[1:54:11] had less than a handful of firms that we would be able to-
[1:54:15] Right
[1:54:15] ... go out to. And we did that
[1:54:20] by design, which has sort of kept everybody honest.
[1:54:24] I don't know if that's necessary here, but is it something that should be
[1:54:27] considered where we have,
[1:54:30] it's like, okay, KP, you are really strong
[1:54:33] in dealing with this type of problem,
[1:54:37] and then maybe there's a firm that is more apt to deal with another
[1:54:41] problem and whatnot.
[1:54:43] Yeah.
[1:54:44] To address that specifically, because that's actually,
[1:54:47] through the chair, a really good question, because there's a couple distinctions
[1:54:50] there. And to bring it into your world as an architect,
[1:54:56] for example, when towns need engineering services, they either go with Weston &
[1:54:59] Sampson or Tighe and Bond. Those are the two. They have their market corners.
[1:55:02] Sisson and Campbell. Some of those.
[1:55:03] Okay. Yeah. In the central part of the state, heading east, it's
[1:55:08] Tighe and Bond, Weston & Sampson.
[1:55:10] Those services are exempt from procurement, but they've built such a strong
[1:55:14] reputation in the field of municipal engineering that's who you
[1:55:18] do. Now, for specialty services,
[1:55:22] the way that I've normally seen this work in other communities is you have
[1:55:27] somebody like KP that has a full stable of attorneys that could
[1:55:31] deal with
[1:55:33] zoning issues, land issues, labor law, a generalist
[1:55:37] that's going to be your point person.
[1:55:38] Should any of you have a day-to-day question, you would call the generalist.
[1:55:41] If it's something they can't answer, they have somebody in the firm that can, and
[1:55:44] you're only being billed once for the service.
[1:55:47] Where you would go out to hire a specialist would be if you
[1:55:51] enter into high-profile litigation,
[1:55:55] specialty litigation,
[1:55:57] something like
[1:56:00] in Milford, who is self-insured, there was a discrimination
[1:56:03] lawsuit.
[1:56:05] General counsel, which Milford has internally, didn't have the capacity to handle
[1:56:09] it, so they hired a firm out of Boston just for the litigation.
[1:56:12] It would be special counsel for litigation.
[1:56:15] In cases that are high profile
[1:56:17] that require active court litigation, you might consider bringing in a firm that
[1:56:21] specializes in a particular subfield.
[1:56:24] For example, like an environmental concern. If you had an issue with the...
[1:56:29] I'll use
[1:56:31] just a hypothetical so we don't get in trouble.
[1:56:33] But if you had an issue with a contaminated site or
[1:56:38] a brownfield,
[1:56:39] you might consider bringing in a specialty firm, a boutique
[1:56:43] firm that handles that issue. Aside from those very
[1:56:47] particular and narrow instances, which they're capable of handling, it's just not
[1:56:51] in higher profile cases, you might want something more specialized.
[1:56:57] Barring that,
[1:56:59] this firm would have the capacity to handle
[1:57:01] nearly 100% of the issues that we currently have that I'm aware of.
[1:57:06] But to your question, yes, there are instances,
[1:57:09] specialty instances, where I would come in front of a board
[1:57:14] with KP and say,
[1:57:16] "This case is going to require X amount of litigation, X amount of hours.
[1:57:20] You might consider recommended firms to handle that." Those
[1:57:24] are rare, and quite frankly, you probably don't want to be involved with them, but
[1:57:28] if they occur, you have the option to do that.
[1:57:31] It's entirely the board's discretion.
[1:57:32] Sure.
[1:57:35] Last question. How long are typical
[1:57:40] contracts with the firms? I forget if we re-up it
[1:57:43] annually or if it's-
[1:57:45] It's normally annually.
[1:57:46] It is. Okay.
[1:57:49] That's all I have. Thank you.
[1:57:53] Any further?
[1:57:58] So with that being said, I don't really have any questions.
[1:58:00] I think the two of you hit everything on the head pretty good.
[1:58:05] Mitch, thank you for that feedback.
[1:58:07] The only question I would have is how many
[1:58:10] years did you have experience working with these folks?
[1:58:15] I worked with KP Law when I was in Rutland.
[1:58:19] I worked with them on opposing issues when I was in Worcester, for the City of
[1:58:22] Worcester.
[1:58:25] I was working with them on the periphery when I worked for the Commonwealth.
[1:58:29] They do represent the town of Hopedale.
[1:58:33] Really, anyone who's worked in municipal government, whether it's on their side or
[1:58:36] opposing side, has worked with or around KP Law
[1:58:40] in some fashion.
[1:58:43] The business model for them is straightforward.
[1:58:46] They specialize in municipal law.
[1:58:49] In my opinion,
[1:58:51] you work with, unfortunately, there's a lawyer joke
[1:58:55] in here somewhere, but
[1:58:57] in municipal realm, you work with a lot of attorneys for different issues on
[1:59:01] different things.
[1:59:03] And I think some of the most upstanding and ethical people I've worked with in my
[1:59:07] career in the legal profession
[1:59:09] have been at firms like KP Law because there's really no incentive
[1:59:13] for them personally to do anything except represent
[1:59:16] municipalities, because that's really all they do.
[1:59:20] They're not taking anything for winnings.
[1:59:23] They're not based on any sort of contingency model.
[1:59:26] It's
[1:59:27] just a good, honest service.
[1:59:32] So really,
[1:59:33] I'm comfortable with it because it is a best practice.
[1:59:36] That's why they have so many communities.
[1:59:38] But I really do think that if any of you have any questions
[1:59:42] for them, and I want to hear the feedback, but I feel like the
[1:59:46] services you're going to be provided
[1:59:48] are going to be concise, they're going to be consistent,
[1:59:52] and I do believe that the board's going to enjoy working with the folks that are
[1:59:55] over there.
[1:59:58] I do have one more question that just popped in my mind.
[2:00:01] Sure.
[2:00:01] What are we anticipating as far as setting on the savings?
[2:00:05] It's hard to say because in a normal year,
[2:00:09] I think you have a few abnormal situations that obviously the board's aware
[2:00:13] of, but
[2:00:14] that have to be dealt with.
[2:00:19] I think in a normal year,
[2:00:22] the 160 is high.
[2:00:25] Yeah.
[2:00:27] I would probably, if I just looked at the community
[2:00:31] size and the structure of the town and knew nothing else about the
[2:00:35] internal workings,
[2:00:36] I would budget 120 for the legal line item
[2:00:41] in a normal year.
[2:00:43] Last year, we budgeted 160, and I think we had to
[2:00:46] allocate two separate additional appropriations to increase that
[2:00:50] number. I think that's
[2:00:53] high. That's not to say there's not a lot of work.
[2:00:55] I just think that we need to look at more efficient options,
[2:00:59] which is why each of you had independently,
[2:01:02] in a non-coordinated fashion, had, "We need to look at this, you need to look at
[2:01:06] this, you need to look at this." I've heard the same thing from department heads.
[2:01:09] That $10,000 incident that
[2:01:12] Member Solitra brought up was a good example of...
[2:01:16] That was,
[2:01:17] in my opinion,
[2:01:20] we should have contested that perhaps at the time.
[2:01:25] Not to say it was dishonest, it's just I think you need to feel comfortable with
[2:01:28] what you're paying for in that instance.
[2:01:30] And just for the public's awareness, that incident in particular not
[2:01:34] to have it shrouded in mystery,
[2:01:37] a lot of times as a regular course of business,
[2:01:40] police departments, and this is just a general comment, this is public, it's not
[2:01:44] going to get anybody in trouble. Police departments get sued.
[2:01:47] There are certain instances where
[2:01:50] The chief and the department has to make a judgment call to remove
[2:01:54] firearms from properties for myriad reasons.
[2:01:57] Most of them are mental health, safety, there's children involved.
[2:02:01] There's a whole spectrum of reasons why you would have to do it.
[2:02:04] So you would go to the court, get permission to do it, and then do it.
[2:02:08] Under
[2:02:10] massive federal law, an individual has the right to contest that,
[2:02:14] right? Because it's a federal
[2:02:17] right, the Second Amendment.
[2:02:20] And that's pretty cut and dry. Normally, a procedure, what you would have done
[2:02:24] there is an attorney would come in, go in front of a judge.
[2:02:27] 99.9% of the time, the judge says the police department's actions
[2:02:31] were justifiable
[2:02:33] for XYZ, as long as it's documented properly.
[2:02:36] That's a flat rate fee. It's a one-time appearance.
[2:02:38] That happens probably in a community this size, it might happen five or six
[2:02:42] times a year, and the public never hears about it just because it's a procedural
[2:02:45] thing.
[2:02:47] For whatever reason,
[2:02:49] every community I've ever worked in that's had that happen, it's been
[2:02:52] 1,000 bucks because it's really like an hour or two worth of work and an
[2:02:55] appearance. In this particular instance, the police chief got a bill for
[2:02:59] over $10,000, and I've never seen anything like that.
[2:03:03] So different departments have had different concerns about the services
[2:03:07] being provided.
[2:03:09] And we've also had instances where we've had to engage
[2:03:13] in third party upon third party law firms.
[2:03:16] So you're having one law firm do work for, let's say,
[2:03:19] a report,
[2:03:22] and then that gets reviewed by another legal entity, which then bills the town
[2:03:25] again for it.
[2:03:26] There's just been a lot of duplicity, and so to answer your question
[2:03:30] directly, sir,
[2:03:33] if I didn't know anything that was going on in the background and I just looked at
[2:03:35] the town, its overall operating budget, and the population, I would say I'll budget
[2:03:39] 120, and if we have to maybe backfill it at the end of the year by 20 or 30, we
[2:03:43] do. I would say that what happened over the last couple of years is kind of an
[2:03:47] anomaly, and we have to correct that.
[2:03:51] Appreciate that. Thank you.
[2:03:55] Any further discussion?
[2:03:57] I have one more thing. Sorry. I had it in my notes and forgot to read, was just
[2:04:00] that I noticed also in their proposal that they provide free services and
[2:04:03] information quarterly. If we want to take advantage of that, we can look at that
[2:04:07] too. But I thought that was nice, just updates on best practice or
[2:04:10] current
[2:04:12] legal stuff. So I thought that was nice that they offer that if we wish to
[2:04:16] take them up on that. That's something they provide for free.
[2:04:18] Agreed.
[2:04:20] That's all. Thanks.
[2:04:23] Yeah, if I can through the chair, just add one more thing.
[2:04:26] Of course.
[2:04:26] KP Law, and I want the board to feel comfortable,
[2:04:31] you're the client, not me, not my office.
[2:04:34] So whatever issues you have, you're going to be dealing with them directly.
[2:04:38] Now, I'm going to be the conduit to talk to them, but ultimately,
[2:04:42] this is really you're the client, you're the hire, you're their priority.
[2:04:48] So
[2:04:50] when this switch occurs, I just wanted to make you aware that
[2:04:54] you have the liberties as the client to make those connections, and I would
[2:04:58] encourage you to do that with these folks.
[2:05:01] Well, it sounds like they're not charging by the word.
[2:05:06] Right.
[2:05:08] Okay.
[2:05:10] Okay.
[2:05:10] So we need a motion.
[2:05:11] Taking one.
[2:05:13] Mr. Chairman, I move to appoint KP Law PC of
[2:05:16] Boston, Massachusetts, as town counsel.
[2:05:20] Second.
[2:05:22] If no further discussion,
[2:05:24] looking to see
[2:05:26] a vote.
[2:05:30] Seleca's an aye in favor.
[2:05:31] Aye.
[2:05:32] And chair's an aye. That is unanimous. Number eight.
[2:05:39] Okay.
[2:05:41] Four is done.
[2:05:43] Down to 13, Mr.
[2:05:47] Chairman.
[2:05:47] Thirteen, old business. Any old business today?
[2:05:51] None at this time for me.
[2:05:53] Mr. Chairman, I have one item of old business to discuss, and that is
[2:05:57] relative to a decision this board made
[2:06:00] regarding the sale of the tax title
[2:06:04] property over at
[2:06:06] Peach Street and Wilbur Avenue. I've had some
[2:06:10] local business owners reach out to me,
[2:06:14] asking if there was any way that we could reconsider that vote because they
[2:06:18] feel that utilization of that piece of
[2:06:22] property for a municipal parking lot would be something
[2:06:26] worth exploring. And it was actually kind of exacerbated,
[2:06:30] or the question really came up also
[2:06:33] for the folks that did watch, was that the
[2:06:36] highway director really didn't have a lot of time to sort
[2:06:40] of vet through that. It was taken on a recommendation
[2:06:46] by
[2:06:48] our collector, I believe it was, to
[2:06:51] sell
[2:06:52] the property.
[2:06:55] I don't know if it's a matter of that ship has sailed,
[2:06:59] and so be it.
[2:07:02] But
[2:07:03] again, I just wanted to bring it out there under old business that
[2:07:08] there are some folks out there disappointed relative to the decision on
[2:07:11] the subject matter, and that we missed an opportunity for
[2:07:16] at least from a napkin sketch that
[2:07:20] I did. I think we could have gotten at least a dozen cars in there with
[2:07:24] maybe even some opportunities for some EV parking, which would have probably
[2:07:28] turned into a funding mechanism. Not very large, to say the
[2:07:32] least, but
[2:07:35] for folks seeking a cup of coffee
[2:07:38] over at Raya's, if you've seen that parking lot sometimes,
[2:07:41] I can say that I've driven past it because there's no
[2:07:45] parking. This right here would have helped an opportunity like that, and I'm
[2:07:49] sure folks over at Black Salt and some of the other local
[2:07:52] businesses would have probably appreciated that well.
[2:07:55] And I think it would have fit into the Some of the visioning that we have for Route
[2:07:58] 103 to make it more shoppable, walkable,
[2:08:02] et cetera. So anyway,
[2:08:04] I don't know if there is such a means to
[2:08:08] undo.
[2:08:10] But again, if anything, I just wanted to bring it up that
[2:08:14] this particular selectman has been reached out to on numerous occasions
[2:08:18] relative to that.
[2:08:21] Elena, do you have anything?
[2:08:22] Sure. So, I also was reached out to by one of the business owners the day after
[2:08:26] this vote. So for people not familiar, we did have
[2:08:30] a split vote. It was a two-third majority vote to sell this
[2:08:33] piece of property,
[2:08:35] which I think the assessed tax value was around $132,000.
[2:08:40] It was recommended by Bill Anderson of Highway and Scott Wolleberry, Assistant
[2:08:45] Highway Department. Mr. Ricciti also recommended it.
[2:08:47] I kind of asked, "What does everyone recommend to sell it?" To me,
[2:08:53] we keep hearing FY28 is going to be very difficult.
[2:08:56] So to me, if that's an opportunity to get a little bit of money back to the town,
[2:08:59] that makes sense to me. And I also tried to think, if this question
[2:09:03] went before the town at town meeting, how would that vote go?
[2:09:07] I'm fairly confident to say that the town's people would vote to
[2:09:10] sell this.
[2:09:13] I did look into it, though, when we received an email asking if we'd consider
[2:09:17] revisiting this. So I did some research.
[2:09:20] I spoke with our tax collector,
[2:09:23] just to be sure there were no procedural errors.
[2:09:25] We did not make any procedural errors with that night in the vote.
[2:09:28] There was no new information. We knew that number of the $132,000 that night.
[2:09:32] Additionally, after a vote like this has taken place, it has
[2:09:36] never been reversed at all in the state of Massachusetts.
[2:09:40] So,
[2:09:42] I stand by my initial vote. I think that
[2:09:46] obviously there's interest in the property, so if it were to go up for sale, maybe
[2:09:49] those business owners would be interested in buying it.
[2:09:52] I think at that initial meeting, they also mentioned a family adjacent to it is
[2:09:56] interested, so it seems like there are interested buyers if we were to
[2:10:00] sell it. I just think it's acting in the best interest financially for the
[2:10:04] town. So, I
[2:10:05] stand by my vote that night.
[2:10:09] So, is that it?
[2:10:11] Yes. Thank you.
[2:10:12] Okay. So I would
[2:10:14] say that
[2:10:17] I speak to both of my fellow board members here.
[2:10:21] Bob, I know how hard you work on 103.
[2:10:23] Mm-hmm.
[2:10:24] And I definitely know that those merchants would have you as a contact to speak
[2:10:28] to.
[2:10:29] And I
[2:10:31] don't mean to disrespect them and their concerns with what they have for space-
[2:10:35] Mm-hmm
[2:10:36] ...
[2:10:36] but I definitely agree with, I just don't think it would be a good
[2:10:40] look for us to consider reversing that
[2:10:44] vote.
[2:10:46] We're new as a team,
[2:10:48] and I think we should stick by our original vote
[2:10:53] just for the image of being indecisive.
[2:11:00] So, as chair, I would also stand by my
[2:11:04] original vote on that, with all due respect to you, Bob, and your reference
[2:11:07] document.
[2:11:08] No, look, I'm not asking for
[2:11:11] any apologies or whatnot. The vote at the table
[2:11:15] stands.
[2:11:17] I was literally just bringing it up.
[2:11:19] So if you folks haven't heard from some of the people out there,
[2:11:23] I have, and probably because I am sort of like a conduit for everything
[2:11:27] 103-
[2:11:28] Yes
[2:11:28] ... for it. But look, opportunities come, and
[2:11:32] opportunities go.
[2:11:35] I'm
[2:11:36] committed
[2:11:38] to the betterment of Route 103 for this town.
[2:11:40] As we all are.
[2:11:41] And I'm going to keep plugging away.
[2:11:44] Yeah.
[2:11:45] Regardless.
[2:11:46] Can I just add one thing? I appreciate the ability, too, for us to have
[2:11:50] discussions like this and disagree, but be able to, I think you're doing a good
[2:11:53] job of trying to bring forth the voice, right, of the
[2:11:57] community or those people.
[2:12:00] But I appreciate having the discussion.
[2:12:02] And sometimes they're not always easy, but I think we're all working hard together
[2:12:05] to try to do what's best or what we perceive to be best in the right way
[2:12:09] moving forward.
[2:12:10] If I can make this a little, through the chair,
[2:12:15] for the sake of Bob's constituents.
[2:12:18] Mm-hmm.
[2:12:18] And I know that
[2:12:21] there was a robust discussion, and I totally
[2:12:25] understand
[2:12:26] the desire to make that into parking, because there is parking that's needed there,
[2:12:30] right.
[2:12:33] I did talk to Beth,
[2:12:35] I believe yesterday, on this issue
[2:12:38] to see what our recourse was should the board decide to reconsider.
[2:12:42] It has not been attempted before because we did owe a response
[2:12:45] to DOR and then, I guess, the land court by August
[2:12:49] 7th.
[2:12:50] Mm-hmm.
[2:12:50] Which is why we took the vote when we did.
[2:12:53] And it hasn't been attempted, and there's even a likelihood it would be
[2:12:57] denied.
[2:12:59] And then I did talk to Bill briefly this morning,
[2:13:04] who reiterated that while he understands that it's
[2:13:07] possible, we just don't have anything in the budget that would be able to make that
[2:13:11] a reality without having to go back for an appropriation, whether it's asphalt, or
[2:13:15] the charging stations, or
[2:13:19] the work that would need to be done on that lot.
[2:13:21] So it would, I think
[2:13:25] the timing perhaps wasn't,
[2:13:29] I would say,
[2:13:30] optimal for all the things aligning for this.
[2:13:33] But,
[2:13:35] even if the board did make a motion to reverse this tonight, there's a chance the
[2:13:39] DOR would just say no.
[2:13:42] There's nothing to prevent that lot from becoming parking, because we are going to
[2:13:45] have to
[2:13:47] sell it. Somebody could buy it and make it into parking.
[2:13:50] We are about $160,000 in expense having to even
[2:13:54] prepare that and go through this whole process.
[2:13:57] ... and court systems. So this mechanism just allows us to recoup
[2:14:01] about 80% of the taxpayer funds we've already spent
[2:14:05] on the lot.
[2:14:07] And that's really why I think the treasurer and highway
[2:14:11] director recommended what they did.
[2:14:14] We
[2:14:17] all recognize that there's a parking need over there.
[2:14:19] It's more just the unique circumstances around this lot in particular.
[2:14:26] I appreciate the opportunity to, I guess just on the record,
[2:14:31] state another case
[2:14:33] relative to it, but I appreciate and respect everyone's decision.
[2:14:37] And we appreciate your efforts on 103.
[2:14:41] I don't think we have to do anything with that.
[2:14:44] I think we just can go into new business. Is that right?
[2:14:47] Yeah.
[2:14:48] So for new business, we have discussion and vote on the Board of Selectmen's
[2:14:52] 2026, 2027 priorities.
[2:14:58] I have no discussion.
[2:15:03] Elena, do you have anything? I just have one note to add.
[2:15:06] Yeah, I just had a couple, and I did speak with Mitch about, Mr.
[2:15:10] Ricitti, earlier about this today.
[2:15:12] And it's stuff that we've talked about, but I think in general...
[2:15:14] I wasn't exactly sure. This is my first time doing this as like-
[2:15:16] Yeah
[2:15:17] ... what our priorities are. So,
[2:15:19] one of mine would just be to improve efficiency.
[2:15:21] So we've talked about like DocuSign.
[2:15:22] Like that's a very simple way, outside of our three professional lives, to get
[2:15:26] stuff back that you guys need in a timely manner.
[2:15:30] Two, this is very important for me as a member and priority for representing the
[2:15:34] town, is doing what we can to support the school project.
[2:15:39] I think it's very important for the community, but what's also really important to
[2:15:42] me is that we do this in a way that really minimizes the
[2:15:46] tax impact on our residents.
[2:15:49] And so, Mr. Ricitti said he is going to be looking into
[2:15:53] that with the superintendent to figure out a third stream of potentially
[2:15:57] helping to pay for that school so we're getting it to the bare minimum for our
[2:16:01] residents to have to contribute.
[2:16:03] That's very important to me, and I think that's a very time
[2:16:07] sensitive issue with the town vote on October 19th and the ballot November 3rd.
[2:16:11] We made some headway on that.
[2:16:13] Awesome.
[2:16:13] So I'll wait to speak to you-
[2:16:14] Yeah, and it's-
[2:16:15] ... tomorrow too. Yeah.
[2:16:16] But I just wanted to at least put that out there.
[2:16:17] It's important, and I appreciate you guys working together to try to really
[2:16:20] minimize the impact for the people who live here so we can provide this for
[2:16:25] the kids of our community for the next 100 plus years.
[2:16:28] Number three for me, at some point, I think for us to consider or talk
[2:16:32] about
[2:16:33] public comment being added to our agenda.
[2:16:36] I've had a lot of constituents ask me about this.
[2:16:39] I worked, when I was on school committee, to get that on the school committee
[2:16:42] agenda with a very
[2:16:45] targeted policy of only three minutes, and you just let the people talk.
[2:16:48] It's not a back and forth, and depending on what they bring forth, based on what's
[2:16:52] on the agenda, we could say, "Okay, thank you for your input.
[2:16:55] We'll connect you with Mr. Ricitti or
[2:16:59] Mr. Anderson," whatever the most applicable person would
[2:17:03] be. But maybe we could talk about...
[2:17:04] We have a lot of stuff to do, but I just wanted to put that out there because I've
[2:17:07] had a lot of people ask me about that.
[2:17:09] So just something I just wanted to throw out there since it's a one-year
[2:17:12] thing. And then the fourth thing is the
[2:17:16] waterways. I think, again, we have a lot maybe ahead of that, but I've had people
[2:17:20] come back to me about that, and it just jogged my memory with the KP Law
[2:17:24] that that's one of their things. So again, maybe that could be something for next
[2:17:27] summer, but that is important to some residents.
[2:17:29] So those were mine in addition to kind of what's laid out here.
[2:17:32] So I just wanted to share that, and we talked about that today, but that's it.
[2:17:37] Duly noted.
[2:17:39] And I would say with your list there, I agree with the three-minute
[2:17:43] speaking 100%. That's big. I like that.
[2:17:49] What I was going to do is just do a note. I'll check with Melissa.
[2:17:53] We had a simple spreadsheet that we used to
[2:17:57] use that had our priorities on it, and there was a column with
[2:18:01] where we were on it and whether it was completed and so on.
[2:18:05] And we used that as a worksheet, and maybe we find that, or
[2:18:09] I have a copy somewhere. I've seen it in my stack downstairs.
[2:18:13] I'll pull that, and maybe we can create that for so we can put our notes on
[2:18:17] it to get it not only just on the record, but get it into the system to where
[2:18:21] we all have it as a worksheet to state next time we bring it up for discussion.
[2:18:28] With that being said, for new business,
[2:18:33] discussion and vote for the Board of Selectmen 2026,
[2:18:36] '27 priorities.
[2:18:39] If there is no further discussion,
[2:18:42] I would take a motion to take what we've put in the record and then
[2:18:46] add to it
[2:18:48] when we get a sheet.
[2:18:50] Yeah.
[2:18:52] Is it, I mean, is this it? These two pages is what we're voting on?
[2:18:56] Yeah. Right.
[2:18:58] I don't
[2:18:59] know.
[2:19:00] The general-
[2:19:00] I think those are just ideas of things that-
[2:19:01] Yeah. Right. Like an outline.
[2:19:03] I think those are just ideas.
[2:19:04] Right.
[2:19:04] Well, then we really can't vote on it.
[2:19:07] We're voting on an attack plan. Mr.
[2:19:11] Ricitti, have you seen this? Are you in alignment with this?
[2:19:13] Is this something you can execute?
[2:19:15] Well, I looked a little bit at it today, but realistically, the way that I view
[2:19:18] it is,
[2:19:20] you folks can prioritize whatever you like, and then
[2:19:23] I'm not expecting you to hold me just to that.
[2:19:27] I mean, if there are things that you have individual priorities that you want to
[2:19:30] come talk to me about, like, this is a fluid operation, right?
[2:19:34] Exactly. And that's the thing. I think this isn't an
[2:19:38] appropriate or an inappropriate
[2:19:41] vote, and you're absolutely right. And I think you touched on it.
[2:19:44] There is sort of like a spreadsheet out there of a
[2:19:47] variety of priorities that have been
[2:19:51] sort of
[2:19:53] building since before my time-
[2:19:55] Right
[2:19:56] ... on this board. And I think
[2:19:58] what we do,
[2:20:00] or we have been doing routinely, is we sort of cherry-pick
[2:20:05] The ones that aren't complete-
[2:20:07] Correct
[2:20:07] ... or the ones maybe that are close to completion, and we say, "Here's the
[2:20:11] list that we'd like the town administrator to really hone in
[2:20:15] on," and we sort of consolidate our efforts.
[2:20:19] Right. You're on the right path. That's exactly what it was.
[2:20:22] And if I could add, what we did with that spreadsheet last year and
[2:20:26] the year before,
[2:20:28] with Steve and the previous town administrator, was we would take that
[2:20:32] spreadsheet and then we would bring it back up for discussion, bring it for a
[2:20:36] third discussion, and we would see where we were with goals, where we
[2:20:40] all had five things in common that we had as
[2:20:43] priorities, and we would focus on those as what we would vote
[2:20:47] on. If I have that correct, Bob, I think it was-
[2:20:50] Yeah
[2:20:50] ... pretty close to that.
[2:20:52] And-
[2:20:52] And so for tonight, we could just motion to-
[2:20:55] Sure
[2:20:56] ... to table this for a future review after this and get in that spreadsheet.
[2:21:00] Exactly. And just to refresh your memory, the previous town
[2:21:04] administrator, during her monthly report-
[2:21:07] Mm-hmm
[2:21:07] ... remember the favorite part of the meeting?
[2:21:09] Oh, yes. I do.
[2:21:11] She would build that report and highlight or touch upon
[2:21:15] some of these priorities and how we were
[2:21:20] proceeding
[2:21:22] with it. So again, I think it's a worthy
[2:21:28] item or a worthy action, but I think I agree with you.
[2:21:31] I would prefer to maybe table it or push it
[2:21:35] to the next meeting to maybe give Mr.
[2:21:37] Russiti time to really kind of digest some of that, and
[2:21:41] maybe we can talk-
[2:21:42] Yeah.
[2:21:43] If I can, through the chair.
[2:21:45] Of course.
[2:21:45] What I found really effective,
[2:21:49] and what I like to do, and I found that boards like
[2:21:53] it, but I also liked it when I was a board member with my
[2:21:57] town administrator, who's now the mayor of Gardner.
[2:22:01] I like to provide you with
[2:22:04] weekly updates in writing, via email on Fridays, with all of
[2:22:08] the major initiatives going on in town.
[2:22:10] Now, this could just be like a three-page dump as to here's everything that we've
[2:22:13] worked on. Just so if you have constituents talk to you over the weekend at a
[2:22:17] barbecue, whatever, you know what's happening.
[2:22:20] In addition to that, on the agenda, if you'd like to put a,
[2:22:24] when we get back into regular meeting time,
[2:22:27] an item on the agenda for town administrator updates, I can then convey to the
[2:22:30] public what I'm sending to you so that all of that information,
[2:22:34] whether it's minutia or something big, but there might be
[2:22:38] 15 things going on in my office in any given week, and I want to update you on all
[2:22:42] of them so that if a constituent pulls you over in the grocery store
[2:22:46] and says, "Hey, what about XYZ?"
[2:22:49] You at least have a point of reference.
[2:22:50] I like that.
[2:22:51] Because you get that every week on a Friday-
[2:22:53] Mm-hmm
[2:22:53] ... they're all dated, so you can go back into your records and say, "Hey, what
[2:22:57] about... Remember what we did back in April on this issue?
[2:22:59] Oh, it's here." You have it in writing, so you can go back and review it.
[2:23:03] That way, nothing gets lost in translation.
[2:23:05] Your constituents are going to be better informed because you're better
[2:23:09] informed.
[2:23:10] The information's free-flowing back and forth.
[2:23:12] You have questions, you obviously don't require all, but call me, contact
[2:23:16] me.
[2:23:17] And then come to the meeting, I would essentially give a public-facing
[2:23:21] version of that under town administrator updates at every meeting,
[2:23:25] to be able to inform constituents directly through this meeting.
[2:23:29] I found that boards like that. If you have a different mechanism that you'd like me
[2:23:33] to employ for that, I would say that that was pretty effective way to do that.
[2:23:38] And it helped get information out, but just to give you as
[2:23:42] much,
[2:23:43] in fact, too much information so that if you ever need to refer back to it, you
[2:23:47] have it-
[2:23:48] Mm-hmm
[2:23:48] ... in your pocket.
[2:23:50] Yeah, I think a summary at the meeting is good.
[2:23:52] It educates the citizens, and it'll
[2:23:56] probably give them information that they'll probably call us-
[2:23:59] Right
[2:24:00] ...
[2:24:00] on about you.
[2:24:02] Also because I forget, because we work on so many things that if
[2:24:06] something happens last week, I don't remember what it is.
[2:24:08] Right.
[2:24:08] So if I document it, that way, you know.
[2:24:11] Right. Agreed.
[2:24:12] Yeah, I think that's great. I think the weekly emails on Fridays with an update, I
[2:24:16] think that's awesome. And actually, as you're saying, that aligns actually with
[2:24:18] what the school department does.
[2:24:20] Okay.
[2:24:20] Scott does a weekly thing, and then the principals do a weekly, and that goes out
[2:24:23] to the families. I know this is a little bit different, but then your version would
[2:24:26] be giving us the info and then a forward-facing update at our meetings to the
[2:24:29] community. I think that's great.
[2:24:32] I like it.
[2:24:32] I just have one question also. I was going to ask about your prior experience.
[2:24:35] So did your board members give you priorities, or how did you build
[2:24:39] the spreadsheet they're referencing?
[2:24:42] Do you know what I'm saying?
[2:24:43] Yeah.
[2:24:44] For the-
[2:24:44] A lot of it is really just contingent upon the board.
[2:24:48] When I was a board member, then we had a, I guess, visioning session or whatever it
[2:24:51] was, which was fine. That can be fruitful.
[2:24:54] But,
[2:24:56] if you have clear-cut work that everyone agrees on, I think there are certain
[2:24:59] things obviously that everyone here would agree on and have to be moved forward in
[2:25:02] the right direction.
[2:25:04] It is fluid though. There are certain issues that come up that each of you have
[2:25:08] been in my office with different concerns and different issues, and I'll prioritize
[2:25:11] those, and we'll continue to do that.
[2:25:14] So just because you put... The only benefit that it has is if you put
[2:25:18] something in writing, it then gives you something to weigh
[2:25:22] performance against when you have to meet your annual review requirement.
[2:25:25] Yeah, that's right.
[2:25:26] Other than that,
[2:25:28] you can give as many outside of written priorities as you
[2:25:32] want.
[2:25:33] It just depends how the board wants to handle it.
[2:25:37] All of you have,
[2:25:38] I've noticed,
[2:25:40] this board has worked really well together, but you're all very different and
[2:25:43] coming from different backgrounds.
[2:25:46] Bob, for example, he's big into the economic development and the infrastructure.
[2:25:50] And so the things that he's talked to me about and we've worked on together have
[2:25:53] focused on that.
[2:25:55] Mm-hmm.
[2:25:56] And that might be a little bit of a different focus for the two of you.
[2:25:59] So,
[2:26:00] it really just comes down to if you want to send them to me individually, if you
[2:26:03] want to get together and have a meeting about it
[2:26:06] ... strategy session. If you want me to put together a collect from each of you
[2:26:10] what you want, I'll put together a spreadsheet. You can all vote on it.
[2:26:13] It just depends on what your preference is.
[2:26:15] I don't mind whatever you think that you want to handle.
[2:26:18] I can take a crack at it if it's helpful to get the conversation going,
[2:26:22] taking a look at that old spreadsheet, building off of it, sending it to you.
[2:26:25] If you want to revisit it and vote, you can do that.
[2:26:28] But that's entirely up to the board.
[2:26:31] I think we have a list pretty robust.
[2:26:35] And what I would invite Ms. Litro to do
[2:26:39] is pretty similar to what you just did here.
[2:26:40] Okay.
[2:26:40] Because I remember that was kind of like how I remember it when I was introduced
[2:26:44] into the priority list. My other two colleagues were
[2:26:48] talking about their priorities, and I
[2:26:52] piggybacked on some, and I introduced new ones that became
[2:26:56] Medeiros
[2:26:59] priorities. That was just added to the list, and we just kept that list running.
[2:27:03] Right.
[2:27:04] Yeah.
[2:27:05] Sounds good.
[2:27:11] I think we agree to agree.
[2:27:13] Great. So,
[2:27:15] Mr. Chairman, I don't know if it's a votable or an actionable item,
[2:27:19] but if we need a motion to
[2:27:23] postpone, not postpone. Is it postpone the discussion or carry it?
[2:27:27] No, you could table it.
[2:27:29] You could table it.
[2:27:29] But it's not even necessary because we could just have... We're all in agreement.
[2:27:33] Sure.
[2:27:33] We can throw it on the next agenda.
[2:27:34] Okay.
[2:27:34] Okay.
[2:27:35] Very good.
[2:27:39] Okay, so that's 14, old business.
[2:27:43] That was-
[2:27:43] New business rather.
[2:27:45] That brings us to item number 15, which is correspondence.
[2:27:50] We have several that are resignations,
[2:27:53] and
[2:27:56] based on that, I would like to just...
[2:27:59] Bob, I think you had one you wanted to talk on.
[2:28:04] I would like to make a motion to accept
[2:28:08] these correspondence of
[2:28:12] recognition and thank everybody for their service to
[2:28:15] Swansea and accept them as a block.
[2:28:20] But I would like to also bring up correspondence
[2:28:25] from a Mrs. Brenda Bordeaux,
[2:28:28] who sent an email to me,
[2:28:32] and it was in reference to
[2:28:34] Carol Hyland's letter that was sent to the Board of Selectmen,
[2:28:39] and it was a request to
[2:28:42] acknowledge service to the town of
[2:28:49] Ms.
[2:28:51] Brown, I believe.
[2:28:52] Colleen Brown.
[2:28:53] Yeah, Colleen Brown.
[2:28:55] To
[2:28:57] request for the town to possibly, and I'm
[2:29:02] looking in memory because
[2:29:03] I don't have the letter with me at the moment.
[2:29:07] So I would like to read this one. Thank you.
[2:29:10] So this is
[2:29:13] from Caroline Hyland. So it's to the Board of Selectmen.
[2:29:17] "Dear Board of Selectmen, I'm writing to bring attention to all the
[2:29:20] hard work Colleen Brown did throughout the years for our
[2:29:24] town for conservation agent and
[2:29:28] chairperson for the Community Preservation Committee.
[2:29:31] She wrote many grants, protected much of the land in Swansea.
[2:29:35] Colleen always went above and beyond
[2:29:39] her job requirements to obtain open land and preserve,
[2:29:43] especially farmland, that was no longer being farmed.
[2:29:47] I hope you are able to recognize her in some way as a
[2:29:51] Colleen Brown Conservation Park
[2:29:54] as part of the Medeiros Farm or in some other way you see
[2:29:58] fit."
[2:30:00] So I think that's a great idea. And if I could add a thought first, and then I
[2:30:04] take feedback.
[2:30:06] I remember when
[2:30:08] I had a family member who had a brother that died young, and they wanted
[2:30:12] to do
[2:30:13] a bench in the park.
[2:30:16] And when I talked to Parks and Recreation about it, and
[2:30:19] Mallory to a degree,
[2:30:24] what we were concerned with was setting a
[2:30:27] precedent for
[2:30:30] any other great people in Swansea and other people that
[2:30:35] would want recognition either for a family member or someone with service to the
[2:30:38] town. And we didn't really get too far with
[2:30:42] it,
[2:30:43] but I'd like to kind of tie it into this and maybe throw out the idea that
[2:30:48] in the private sector of Swansea, maybe we come up with
[2:30:52] a group of people like Friends of Swansea or something like that,
[2:30:58] and have them help us
[2:31:01] raise funds for these things
[2:31:04] because I think the town in '27, '28 that we've all talked about a lot
[2:31:08] is going to be challenging.
[2:31:09] Mm-hmm.
[2:31:10] And also a way that the town we can get organized
[2:31:14] for when these things come up. Whether it be
[2:31:18] something that's done at Veterans Green or in the park
[2:31:22] or ballpark or Medeiros Park, wherever it might be.
[2:31:26] So maybe what I'm trying to say is to consider this letter and use it as
[2:31:30] a foundation for the idea going forward.
[2:31:35] I just thought I would add that, and also that it was
[2:31:40] nice speaking to another family member and talking about family
[2:31:43] and taking care of mothers and grandmothers and such.
[2:31:47] So, that was pretty nice too, to have that email
[2:31:50] exchange.
[2:31:51] That's all I wanted to add to that. And if you guys had some thought on
[2:31:55] that, or maybe we could just use it as a foundation
[2:31:59] to go forward with the idea.
[2:32:02] Deal with maybe private sector funding and efforts
[2:32:06] To help the town with that.
[2:32:08] Sure.
[2:32:09] So full disclosure, Carol Highland is my grandmother.
[2:32:12] My grandfather was a selectman for nine years, and both my
[2:32:16] grandparents volunteered in our community for decades.
[2:32:18] My grandmother served on Beach Committee, Friends of the Bluffs, a lot of things.
[2:32:21] So, I just want to thank the chairman for putting this on our agenda as
[2:32:25] correspondence.
[2:32:27] And I think, yeah, open to ideas for...
[2:32:31] I don't know Colleen Brown. That was before my time here.
[2:32:34] But I know the conservation and preservation, and I think she started to
[2:32:38] help with Stony Creek Farm, and I think Robbie Alford has stepped in to help with
[2:32:41] that, to just maintain some of that farmland here in Swansea.
[2:32:45] So yeah, I agree with maybe a different way to
[2:32:49] recognize or do things while still being fiscally responsible, as you said, with
[2:32:53] our upcoming expenditures. But
[2:32:57] thank you for including that.
[2:32:58] Thank you. Of course.
[2:32:58] I know it would mean a lot to her that you
[2:33:01] read that, so thank you.
[2:33:04] Colleen Brown is virtually a living legend in this community, for anyone that
[2:33:08] has known Colleen
[2:33:11] and her body of work on the conservation committee.
[2:33:16] The
[2:33:18] depth of knowledge that she has relative to
[2:33:22] this town is
[2:33:25] invaluable.
[2:33:27] She knows every estuary, every waterway.
[2:33:30] Everything.
[2:33:34] Everything from a conservation standpoint,
[2:33:37] Colleen has touched,
[2:33:39] built something, or
[2:33:43] did some form of action
[2:33:46] for. The letter goes
[2:33:50] from Carol, who I had the pleasure of
[2:33:54] serving on the waterfront revitalization for, for 10-plus years.
[2:34:00] This recommendation is almost to
[2:34:03] consider almost naming
[2:34:06] a park in town
[2:34:09] after Colleen, which I think is well-deserving
[2:34:14] for what she has provided to the town.
[2:34:18] That said, I think throughout the decades
[2:34:22] and
[2:34:24] whatnot, there's many notable people in town that
[2:34:28] deserve similar recognition for their
[2:34:32] service in town. And I'm not just talking about some of the names that are on
[2:34:36] relative to Main Street.
[2:34:39] And
[2:34:42] as deserving as it is, other folks are there as well.
[2:34:45] I think this is something that we keep top of mind.
[2:34:49] When the opportunity does present itself,
[2:34:53] where there is a
[2:34:56] conservation-connected element in town,
[2:35:00] then I think we can action this pretty
[2:35:03] simply.
[2:35:05] But to your point about other opportunities
[2:35:09] for folks to get involved, whether it be memorial benches or whatnot,
[2:35:14] I think it was Carol actually, who did have an idea relative to the
[2:35:18] town beach when we were wrapping that up.
[2:35:21] And we actually
[2:35:24] implemented a program where people could buy memorial benches
[2:35:28] for
[2:35:30] placing them along what was once going to be a boardwalk from end to
[2:35:33] end of the beach. I think that program is still out there.
[2:35:38] If people are interested, maybe they can connect through the
[2:35:42] selectman's office. Maybe we can look-
[2:35:44] Sure
[2:35:44] ... through some of our paperwork. But Mr.
[2:35:45] Beaudette, if you have some folks out there who are interested in doing that,
[2:35:49] there's an opportunity
[2:35:51] pretty quick. I forget what the costs were or whatever.
[2:35:55] But I'm sure if we reach out to Carol, she'll know.
[2:35:57] She's-- I'm sure she does.
[2:35:59] So there's an opportunity out there. No, I appreciate the letter.
[2:36:03] Sometimes I think the town doesn't do a good job of recognizing
[2:36:06] some folks, and this sort of reinforces that we need to do a
[2:36:10] better job doing it. So Carol, thank you for
[2:36:15] reaching out to us via the letter. I
[2:36:18] have it. I think about it all the time. Thank you.
[2:36:20] Agreed.
[2:36:23] Thank you for the feedback on that.
[2:36:25] So for item 15, if there's no further discussion,
[2:36:29] the chair would call for making a motion to accept
[2:36:33] these letters as a block and looking for a
[2:36:37] motion to do that.
[2:36:38] Can we just make the motion as noted on the agenda?
[2:36:41] As noted on the agenda. Makes perfect sense.
[2:36:44] Is that appropriate, Mr. Chairman? Motion made.
[2:36:47] Second.
[2:36:48] All in favor?
[2:36:49] Aye.
[2:36:49] Aye.
[2:36:50] Aye. It is unanimous.
[2:36:54] Chair will take a motion to close the Board of Selectmen's
[2:36:58] meeting for August 11th, 2026. And a
[2:37:01] shout-out to my brother Greg, whose birthday is today,
[2:37:05] and looking for a motion to close tonight's meeting.
[2:37:08] Motion to adjourn.
[2:37:10] Second.
[2:37:11] And chair has agreed it is
[2:37:14] unanimous.
[2:37:17] All those in favor?
[2:37:18] Oh, yeah.
[2:37:19] I'm an aye.
[2:37:20] Aye.
[2:37:21] Anything past 30, I get a little sleepy. So that is unanimous.
[2:37:25] Thank you very much, Swansea.
[2:37:26] Thank you.