 Good evening and welcome to Byline. This is our last taping of this year. Where did the time go? Time flies when you're having fun. Our two guests tonight are our town manager, Paul Buckleman, and the president of the town council, Lynn Griesmer. What a year you folks have had, huh? Great year. And you're still standing. We are. And taking nourishment. That's great. Well, we want to thank you all for joining us this evening. We're going to kind of recap this first year of the town council's work and standing up our new government and project forward just a little bit about what we can expect to see, at least in the first part of the new year. We can do that tonight. Ready to do it? Absolutely. Okay, and you're fresh off of last night's big celebration, where for the first time we had a state of the community event. Some people call it state of the state, some call it state of the union. State of the town. State of the town, state of the city, but it was a good time, went very well. Yes, did. Great. So where should we start? How about at the very beginning? You had a lot of things that you were told had to be done in the charter. So give us some examples of what they required you to do, the voters through the charter. And what happened? So the charter, actually an excellent document, jokingly, but we don't mean too jokingly. We're taking notes because actually in 2024, we have the opportunity to look at the charter again and see if there are some tweaks that need to be done. Review and revise. Review and revise, exactly. So it had things that had to be done in the first year of the council and then also things that have to be done annually. And we very carefully tracked those. And as of December 2nd, we had met our mark for everything that was required within that first year and also within the annual calendar, if you will. That meant forums for such things as the budget, capital projects, et cetera. It also meant things like the school had to have a forum, which they did. It also meant that we had to have hearings on a variety of different things. And particularly, we were then able to call upon the charter for a couple of special meetings, particularly in this case, the one on 132 Northampton Road, which was a meeting of residents to talk about the proposed 28 studio apartments in that building. So the charter became a guide. It required that every town councilor have at least two district meetings, while every town councilor had at least three district meetings. And it did not require that we hold office hours, but most councilors did. And in many instances, on a very regular basis. And then there were just numerous things. The councilors just generally did go to public events beyond the town council, on the stairs to actually read proclamations, et cetera. So that's one piece of it. They required that we have standing committees that were created of the council for the council. The only one that was required would be the finance committee. And we did that. It was ably chaired by Andy Steinberg, who brought with him many years of expertise in that area. And then, in addition to that, we created five for others. One was minimally charged because it's not a big long-term charge, and that's the audit of the town. Another one was the community resources committee. A third one was the government organization and legislative committee. And then the fourth one was operations communications and appointments, I guess it is. I'm so used to the acronyms. So we will have an opportunity in the beginning of the year to re-look at those committee charges and look at membership on those committees as you're supposed to do annually. Each of those committees has really worked very hard to come up and running, understand their charge, develop the trust across the council that the recommendations they come forward with are highly valued because they know a group of their peers have looked at things together. So those are just a couple of the highlights of just the mechanics, if you will. You had to stand up the new government and pull all of the pieces together that were in the charter and put them to work, make them real. And then there were other things that you guys figured out that you needed to do and wanted to do that were not included in the charter. We'll talk about that in a minute. But I remember our first conversation when we were talking about how much time it was going to take to actually effectively implement the charter and all of those provisions in the first year. And I was thinking one thing and you were thinking another. So who was right? I'm more right than you are. I think you're right. I think the desire of the council was to get down to business as fast as we could. And you did. And we have. And you did. We really have. A lot more work to get all of the organizational stuff done because you had to do rules and rules of procedure and conceptualize how transparency would be done in the new government because that was one of the principles of the charter. And then civic engagement and then you had to stand up the community officers, the community resource. Help me. It's okay, Paul. The trio. Community participation team. There it is. And you created a team instead of one job, which turned out to be a really great idea. Incredible resource. It worked so beautifully from what I could see on the outside. And I had each of those three individuals on the show at least once or twice. And it seemed to go extremely well. But then you did get down to some policy. We can talk about that. Go ahead, Paul. So I just want to harken back to over a year ago when the first, the council first got together before they were even sworn in. You were there to help mentor them and start the process of team building. Because that's what this is. It really is a 13-member team who had to get to know each other and start to familiarize themselves with each other. Yeah. And you played an important role for that very first gathering of all 13 counselors. That was a fun evening. You had techniques for them to start to share information about themselves that was really beneficial I think for the, instead of good tone for the council as they moved forward. And then about six weeks later they were sworn into office on December 2nd. And then for many of the counselors they said, that's when the weight of the office hit them. When they were at the high school auditorium raising their hands and seeing hundreds of people there, applauding them as they walked into the auditorium and they knew they were the deciders for the town. It was a really important role for the town and they were going to be on stage quite literally. And the transition from being a regular member of the community to a town counselor is a hard transition I think. It's something you have to get used to and get comfortable with. And breathing life into the new government. Bringing that charter and bringing it to life. Right so the charter didn't, the charter had broad outlines of what the government should look like but it didn't say do you use Robert's rules of order. The council had to have those conversations amongst themselves to say how are we going to make decisions with 13 people which is a large number. And I think Lynn's leadership especially has guided them through this entire process. And I think it's, the council is becoming more and more functional every day. They really are looking at things. There are things that we did last this year that we are looking at and saying let's not do that again. Let's do it a different way because we're learning. It's a learning organization. And so as town manager how did this first year play out for you in terms of your duties and because you were in the old government now you're in the new government. How did it go for you? It takes up a lot more time. It required a lot more attention than the old form of government. And that was to be expected with any new entity like this. I had told the department has before the council was even elected that a council will hold us to a higher level of expectations. And they have, I think that our department has to perform at a higher level because the expectations from the council are higher. And it's an iterative process. You get one shot at it on one night. If the council's not happy they will say we'll go back and do more homework and come back to us. And that iterative process is important for a better functioning government. It's more work for the town staff, but it's a better outcome in the end. Terrific. You did things that were not in the charter. And that's where you started to edge into the policy work that goes beyond the day-to-day running of the government. Remind us which committees got established. Some of the committees that were established and ongoing and continuing their work. The first was the environmental ECAC, Environmental Energy and Climate Action. Thank you. I'm so used to those acronyms. I think I need my little dictionary. And they very appropriately had enormously talented resources coming from our higher ed institutions in the community at large. People who have been known to advocate in the area of climate action. People who have looked at it academically as well as from a more practical implementation standpoint. They came to the council. They got an extension for how long it was going to take to come up with their initial suggested goals. And they brought those to the council back in the mid-November and we passed them unanimously that night. Knowing that the detail is in the pudding and that we really need to look very carefully as we go forward on the implementation part of that. So that's been a really big thing and something that I think that many people in Amherst embrace. It's an area in which we've learned to engage a lot of younger people because it's their world that they'll be living in. And I think that that's something therefore the council has made quite a priority, if you will. Another priority as we go forward but also as present as we finish this year was really getting ready for the big capital projects. And looking at how we wanted to communicate those, talk about it with the public before we really launched. And we did that through a variety of listening sessions which people can still comment on now. And all of the material used in those listening sessions is available online on the town site. And so those are just a couple of areas. And then there were other things that just kept coming up. For example, one of our three areas of water resource in Amherst is the Centennial Water Plant. Well, it's a water treatment plant. It's in Pelham. It was struck by lightning a couple of years ago and basically went offline. Which meant from a sustainability area we no longer could access one of our three major water resources. So we had to have a conversation, vote extra money to get moving on a design, bring that plant online again. And we did that. So that's just an example of kind of a combination of must do because it protects a resource versus need to do because it's a future. We need a direction we need to take the town in for the future. So let's start to edge into next year by going back to the charter. So participatory budgeting committee was established to study that idea and make proposals. A rank choice voting committee has been assembled and is doing work. So what do you think we might expect to see in at least those two realms? Because again they come out of the charter. These were mandates through the charter by vote of the people of the town. So what do you think might happen in those two areas? Participatory budgeting is going to be coming forward with their report in the not too distant future. And my guess is that they will make a recommendation for some amount of money and possibly and also a process by which citizens get to talk about what that money should be used for. The interesting thing is one of the best examples of participatory budgeting is in the city of Cambridge. And they have a lot more money. So it's going to be a lot more money. So it'll be interesting how we strike the balance of including that kind of input into the budget. Which by the way we already have those opportunities. People can apply for CPA money. They can make suggestions to JCPC joint capital planning for things that they would like to see done. We funded a couple of those this year. For example, the study of Crocker Farm to see whether or not it could be expanded should we need to. So it's those kinds of ways in which citizens already can participate in the budget. The ranked choice voting is going to be an interesting one because the state's woken up to the fact that there's a lot of towns wanting to look at this. And so from the standpoint of the Secretary of State who oversees all elections, do you want 351 different policies on ranked choice voting? Or do you want some broad or maybe more rigid state guidelines? And so how our committee's recommendations blend with a state process and timeline is yet to be seen. What's the probability that next year's budget process would include participatory budgeting? Or do we have one more year of work before that could potentially begin? We have one more year of work. It's not going to be in the FY21 budget. But people can still participate in the formation of that budget through conversations with their counselors, by attending meetings, forums, etc. And I'd like to add that we do have a vacancy on the participatory budgeting commission, so if someone's interested in serving, we're welcoming. Oh, terrific. So you heard that go online, get the application. That was another area you guys did a lot of good work on this year to improve the process by which people can step forward and be considered. And it involves a combination of filling out the application, some interviews, and then either appointment by town manager or appointment by the council, depending upon the nature of the particular appointment. And speaking of people taking positions, we've got some people going to be sworn in in January, right? So on January 6th, the plan is to have all the officers who are elected from the school committee and the board of library trustees and housing authority to be sworn in officially on January 6th prior to the town council's regular meeting. Very good. And the town council will be meeting this coming week. The show is going to be broadcast this very evening that we're taping it. And it'll be rebroadcast on Monday evening, and that's just before the town council meeting at which time we'll be electing a president for the second time. And vice president. And vice president. Very good. Now, Paul, you were about to say something else. So one of the things I think is important to remember is that this is a town and a government that is run by volunteers. We have nearly 50 committees that are still in existence in addition to the town council. There are about 250 people who volunteer on those committees. The town manager with an approval of the town council has appointed over 100 people to those committees in the past year because we are sort of a backlog during the interregnum between governments. So there will be a whole new group coming up for appointment in the spring. So we'll be looking for people to volunteer their time again. Great. So if people have time and they really want to commit some time to help the town, they can go online and check out where there will be openings. And then you can fill out a simple form which gets you into the process of being considered. So let's again foreshadow a little bit more, but this is not the council part, I mean not the charter part, but some of the policy areas that you're moving in, particularly capital. And we got some good news this week for those who have been anxious about seeing improvements in our school buildings. And why don't you tell us a little bit about that. So the school committee and the superintendent held actually a total of nine listening sessions. Three of those were with staff and then the other six were with the public. And the council was very present at those listening sessions. That was back in February, March. And based on that they put together their application for the 600 student elementary school that would either be a new school or a significant renovation. The council endorsed that unanimously. And there have been subsequent meetings back and forth with MSBA. I have to say I think it was extremely important that the superintendent and the school committee led by Antonia, Anastasia Ordinez, that they really came up with a vision and that if they spent time getting feedback on that vision. I do think it was very important that the council endorsed that vision going forward and it sent a signal to MSBA that we're ready. And obviously they took it because we were one of 11 chosen to go forward and there were over 50 some that were not chosen. So it's a real opportunity for Amherst to tap into a significant process where you have the expertise of MSBA. And over time they say five to seven years. I'd love for it to be shorter to actually tap into some significant state money that will help us build a new elementary school. Terrific. And I do think that that timeframe is not our doing. It's the MSBA's doing. It's their process. We will do everything we can to move it as quickly as possible but we have to go by their timelines. Right. They have a very exhaustive process and you also have to get on the waiting list because they can only do a certain number of schools a year. It's not that every school that applies and is accepted can be funded in that particular year. And that's part of the time that you will be waiting is to get to the top of the list when there's enough money for your project. Just to give an example on that. We're not allowed to even appoint a building committee until they admit us into the process on May 1st. That's the earliest we can take an action like that. We can do all the legwork in advance. It's almost half a year. Right. But we'll do all the legwork in advance so we're ready to go on that date. But according to their schedule they will have a defined schedule for us when we can do certain things. Because they're managing their workload as you said because they have hundreds of building projects not just ours and not just the ones they admitted this year. There are a lot that are already in the pipeline that they're managing along the way. So they're managing their own staffs building their work projects. But that's not the only capital project. No. In addition to that we clearly hope that by February or March we have identified a new site for DPW and that will allow us to move forward. A new site meaning different than today's site or different than the proposed site that people have been talking about. The proposed site which was generously offered by Amherst College has been taken off the table for a variety of reasons. The present site is where we want to put the fire station. It's the most advantageous site. The town owns it and it is right on 116 which is critical to the significant access to both going into town as well as going south of town. So it's important that we get both of those pieces cited because you can't do schematic design until you have your actual sites. And then that will allow us to go forward with the schematic design for those buildings. It will allow us to get a much better handle on the actual costs and where we can contain costs. So that is in the mix if you will. And then the library has also been notified that as of July 1 they will be offered their grant from the library commissioners, Massachusetts library commissioners. And in that case the town will have to make a decision as to whether or not we are going to come up with our share of that project. So all four big projects are cooking. But one of the things that I think a lot of people are rightfully concerned about is what about the other capital needs, the sidewalks, the roads, the equipment, police cars, those kinds of things. And so one of the other responsibilities that is out there in the charter actually is to develop a real five-year capital plan. One that doesn't just say, oh we can't do it this year, let's shove it to next year, we'll decide next year what to do. But really looks over time. So it's going to be a financial balancing act for the town. Under previous leadership and Paul's leadership the town has prepared well for this in terms of lowering the debt that we presently have, increasing the reserves we have. But it's not going to be without financial demands on the residents and they'll get to decide. And then the community will decide basically one project at a time. The school is clearly five to seven years away. The library is in a different timetable. Public works and the fire station might be around the same time. The schools actually, they'll get to decide earlier than that. It's just we won't see a completed school for probably five to seven years. So our votes will be earlier? Our votes will be a lot earlier. And we will probably have to go out for a debt exclusion override for at least one if not two of the projects. And that's really when the town gets to decide about those projects. Otherwise they get to decide by voting on the council and seeing what the council does. The council does have to make decisions about land, about any changes in zoning, about borrowing and about whether or not to go out for debt exclusion. And when you bring up zoning, that brings up the question of whether we're going to be changing any of our zoning, whether we're going to be changing any of our master plan, which we've learned on the show from a number of guests is not that old a plan and therefore it's got some life left in it. But it doesn't mean that there isn't the need to do a little bit of review and revision within that as well. You see some work going on in that next year? That process has been set in motion with community resources committee working with the planning board who actually is in charge of the master plan. But the charter does require that at some point the council has to adopt the master plan. And then in addition to that we are already talking about some serious look at zoning bylaws and what the impact of those would be not just on downtown but around the town as well. And final word from you, Paul. You're at work on the budget already. We are. We're doing budget hearings within our staff, department by department. We had two this morning already. And we'll try to get those all finished before the Christmas break and then come back in January and start to discuss capital projects with the town council and joint capital planning committee. Any new seats available on the finance committee or is that fully staffed? They were fully staffed through and it's five counselors and three non-voting members of the public who serve on it. Very good. Well folks we're out of time and I want to take a minute to thank those folks who over this last year have helped us produce a show a week. It's been fun. It's been a lot of work but we've been very much enjoyed having people coming in from the council and from the town staff. And the various committees and boards that have been out there serving our community. And so we want to thank you for joining us. We will be meeting and thinking about what next year is going to look like over this holiday season. But in the meantime I want to just make sure that we quickly thank the people who have made this show possible. Adrian Terizzi from the League of Women Voters has been our programming guru helping us figure out what needed to come on at what time. Faith Gregory who's been our producer and Jeff Mastriani and Jim of course. Jim Lesko who's the head of the station here. We want to thank the whole team and let's not forget the floor managers, a cast of thousands over the course of this last year. And of course most of all thank you because if you weren't watching we wouldn't be doing this. And we want to thank you for taking this on. My pleasure. Have a wonderful holiday season everyone and we'll see you next year.