 So good evening and welcome to the August 21st select board meeting and the town room at town hall We have a fairly abbreviated Menu of items tonight. We will go into executive session a little bit later But I do want to check with my colleagues and see if there's any announcements or agenda items that we need to address first Seeing none And I think we'll Head into where we're at. I don't see anyone here for public comment So I think we'll start with our our first item that we know we need to do and that will be a proclamation of September as hunger action month, and I believe we have a guest here to tell us about the proclamation and Please do thank you so We I think this is our first Hunger month proclamation that we've done and Mr.. Brubaker had Invited me to meet with her which we did and we talked about this and she had some examples from some other communities and and reworked this for Amherst and I'm kind of excited that we're doing this and she's going to tell us the thinking behind it and then When you're ready mr. Slatter, we can actually read the proclamation, but Why don't you take it away? All right, I'm Cynthia Brubaker and representing the League of Women Voters of Amherst To bring you a proclamation. I think it went out in your packets And you want me to read this after the statement This month is national recognition of hunger and food insecurity And being recognized throughout the country and also right here in our own community towns and cities across the United States have passed similar resolutions and proclamations this summer In the spring of 2017 the League of Women Voters joined with the Amherst Survival Center To present a community program which was entitled a look at threats to the safety net Following this program several of us who were involved met and talked about how to move this from just informational to action We met with a group of organizations and joined together Which it was a wonderful example of community collaboration those organizations included the League of Women Voters Amherst Survival Center the Food Bank of Western Mass the Amherst Health Department and Ion which stands for the Interfaith Opportunities Network here in Amherst Our goal was to reach out to the residents of the Amherst area and encourage them as organizations Faith groups and individuals to take action to meet food needs of people here in our own community In particular the League of Women Voters and the interest that we have in this has to do with the proposed federal budget Which is rather as it's proposed is rather draconian in the Cuts that are going to be recommended in Programs like WIC which is women infants and children food program Snap supplemental nutritional assistance program, which was food stamps Meals on wheels and school lunch and breakfast programs They could all suffer affecting those who are the most vulnerable young The poor and the elderly So as you know all of you know Right here in Amherst. We experience a large amount of food insecurity With an estimated 30% of our kids in public school on Free and reduced lunch. We know that there are families struggling to provide adequate food right here in this community And we all need to be reminded that food is one of our basic human needs And we ask that you our select board make this a public acknowledgement and recognition So that we can continue to be vigilant in addressing the human needs of those here in Amherst and I have the Proclamation Whereas hunger and poverty are issues of grave concern in the United States the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in Amherst community and Whereas the town of Amherst is committed to taking steps To raise awareness about the needs to combat hunger in every part of the community and to provide resources accessible to those in need and Whereas the town of Amherst is committed to working with a variety of organizations About the role and importance of food distribution in addressing the food needs in our community These groups include but are not limited to the food bank of Western Massachusetts The Amherst survival center not bred alone Area churches synagogues and mosques the senior center UMass Meals on Wheels and the Amherst regional public schools And whereas the food bank of Western Massachusetts Distributed 10 million pounds of food last year in Western Massachusetts and the survival center in Amherst served over a 17,000 free lunches during the past year to residents of this area And whereas almost 32% of Amherst elementary school children are on free and reduced lunch Now therefore be it resolved that the select board of the town of Amherst hereby proclaim September 2017 Hunger Action Month and bring this to the attention of the residents of Amherst Are there questions or comments? Yes, I just wanted to thank you for bringing this forward in a format that shows very directly our local impact So thank you for describing that in detail. I Realize in having you read it. That's probably the text you Submitted to miss Puppa in the manager's office She turned it into a proclamation and I just would like to give you this because there were just a few prepositions and things Slightly, I think you'll you'll still agree, but you might also have a copy because we're a couple great. Thank you That's great. Okay. Thank you So I would be happy to make that motion as long as Miss Brubaker is happy to accept those minor word changes So I moved to proclaim September 2017 is hunger action month and to bring this to the attention of the residents of Amherst Yes, I Could second, but then I have a question Okay So take it as a second. I'll second and discuss. So the motion is a little weird And bring this to the attention of the residents of Amherst. We don't do that. We sign things and then miss purple puts them up on the website and We do have variations on this language this one's perhaps a little more bald than some others in terms of just saying and bring this to the attention We just did that by having a proclamation at a meeting on TV I just just soon take off and to bring this to the attention of the residents of Amherst Just because we're not gonna do any I mean we think it's great And it's gonna go on the website as public continues to do that But I'm not sure what else we would do and I don't want to imply that we're holding an event or anything The mover would consider that a friendly amendment. It doesn't really matter change the motion and the proclamation No, just after the word after hunger action month in the motion. She put a period Yeah, no, the the proclamation is great by signing the proclamation. We have done the action Proclamation talks about bringing attention to the issue, which is great Who's there other discussion? If not all those in favor, please say aye. I chose. I didn't read my motion. She That would be unanimous excellent. Thank you Yes, thank you for doing that. Well, we appreciate it. I believe that's in our signature folder, but We'll discuss that a bit. Thank you very much. Sure. Mr. Mirs back wants to help draw attention to it So I think the next thing we'll do here just For sake of expediency is go to our licenses public way immediate parking reservation section and we have two I think Licenses I think one is a license and one is a as a modification of existing License so I would suggest if we could just knock those out because I think the other conversations are going to be Longer and more involved and so if we could just take care of those real quick I think we could get to the meat of the matter as they said So if someone Yes, please. It looks like one that we just did last week is coming back for a modification. That's correct Presented on the application did not match what he actually wanted. So we have to wondering Yes, exactly we we had noted it seemed unusual, but it seems less unusual now if we I would be happy to read the top of the campus Okay, so I moved to approve the application of top of the campus Inc for a special license to serve wine and malt beverages at a reception To be held at UMass Amherst in room e 470 of South College on August 29 2017 from 2 30 p.m. To 6 p.m. Kimberly McAllister director Second Any discussion? All those in favor, please say aye And So we have another one the modification I can do that because Here for the first one I moved to approve a change in hours for the second-hand sales license of Robert L Chestnut doing business as catch my thrift 11 East Pleasant Street from Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. To 5 p.m. To Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. To 8 p.m. In Sundays 12 to 5 p.m. Robert L. Chestnut owner I think there should be an and before the word to what I mean some someplace in here Son and The from is what you voted last time the two is what the new the changes Oh, okay, she's thought you from that to that, right? I was saying from where the hours Okay, so what you know what I read is okay was the Okay, so the words are right, but my emphasis in reading All right, so in short Thursday to Sunday 10 to 5 is what we voted last week Seeking to change it to Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. To 8 p.m. And on Sundays from 12 to 5 Well second and then I so just It from last Whenever we did this it was last time of the 14th the 14th when you weren't here I'm just we were kind of mulling over like well I didn't ask for more hours, and he doesn't have to be open then but he would have that Flexibility so like now I get it Yes, so my questions being that I wasn't here and no I did not watch the tape and no I have no intention of doing so our To one is that I would presume like with all other licenses that just as the police Whereas the police chief was involved in approving it last time it was contingent They would not have actually we don't say it's contingent what we know is that the office just doesn't release the actual license until the police I assume the police chief will be notified of these change in hours rather than just We approved it one way, and then we don't show it to the chief of police again I presume that the chief does see it again, so I just wanted to verify that and then After we vote I have a completely different question about second-hand licenses But I don't want it to muddy the situation with this beat with this Was it for the discussion on this particular motion? This one's already second-hand. All right In that case all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. That's unanimous And so your other question my other question is as I have brought up more quietly in the past But we'll now just bring up publicly is that I would like us to have staff look into Why the hospice shop does not have a second-hand license because it's my understanding that the reason for second-hand Licenses has to do with at least back in the olden days Was because of them not acting as fences for stolen goods and that way the police knew about them and knew they could Go and talk to them about materials that might be brought in and I believe that just for consistency's sake I don't know over reason why they don't have one and if we could get that settled before it's time for license renewal It would be nice to have them just be part of the the hospice shop that's next to what used to be hangar and Down near the bicycle What used to be the daily Hampshire gazette before your time? Or between your times. Yes All right, so thank you for bringing that up so next up Is our action discussion items first up is a town manager performance evaluation review revisions of composite evaluation draft summary I sent out earlier today and hopefully this got to the website. I didn't check to make sure it had but certainly There's a printed copy with you tonight I Had put draft back on it until we finish our conversation this evening It'll and page numbers and a few other things but mostly what I did was any of those more substantial sort of edits that we were Wanting I had put in highlights. So it was a little easier to spot the typographical sort of things and the Things of that nature, I just made those changes without Without highlighting them So I was hoping if either of you had any other comments relative to those or any other wordsmithing we wanted to do Relative to this and if you haven't had a moment to read it. I'll there's not so much that you couldn't read now So If you'd like to take a moment I think when a copy and paste happened that the got added in the bullet points, and I don't know why It's really minor, but it makes it look different than the other documents And I don't know why it would look different than the other documents It's astray the it's astray the one which we can edit inserted itself into the bullet points Mr. Slaughter, thank you for putting it in yellow I did read this this afternoon and it was really better than I kind of track changes because then the document was cleaned up And it made it really easy and I thought I read through it did reflect the discussion We had last week and that you Incorporated those comments and very seamlessly. So that's my overall I Agree, okay fantastic. I think it's good to go so then I will love After our meeting tonight or early tomorrow. I will take out the highlights take the word draft off Get rid of the the extra the and And we'll make it the formal Summary for mr. Bachman for his You know, I was just thinking that you know, we could make a motion We could we don't have one R. Sheep, but I think do we want to formally adopt the why don't we just on the fly make up a The summary I will try all right that we Adopt or approve pick your whatever which one you prefer the FY 17 town manager performance evaluation dated August 21st 2017 Second is there for the discussion is there a prover adopt what you prefer Adopt adopt we don't think adopt Adopt or accept not not really approve. I don't know. I think we could argue any of them That sounds good because we'll do it again next time. Why don't we say? Mr. Slater help. Let's just take a word. I'm leaning toward adopt adopt All right So there was a motion in a second any other discussion besides the word that we used To take ownership of this I don't think we've done this in the past But it seemed does seem like a sense of my reasonably sensible thing to do to just show that yep It's done right. There's not harming doing it either. No, right exactly. It's a nice way of ending it All those in favor, please say aye. Aye and that should have us So we will tidy up the loose ends and get that formally in the place So the next piece of work we have before our bigger piece is a Bit of discussion potentially about fiscal year 18 goals We're continuing on with those. I believe in our packet last time and hopefully this time as well Ms. Pupple had incorporated a couple of comments that were made at the meeting of the 14th I want to say not in the packet. It's not in the packet was it would be in last time's packets Anyone has that with them or not? But I did I did receive from from from mr. Steinberg some comments that he had that's right He was gonna send you his which I have not read I just have them safely tucked away But if you're there But if anyone had Anything else that they wanted to mention at this time around goals or if we would like we can I mean we you know It's our own deadline quite frankly. So Given that there are just three of us here tonight We can certainly if there are things that you want to mention We can make note of and then we'll have this conversation continue. I think it's my guess But yes, so I had I had two questions one was in associate. I appreciate the additions that were made and Items six on page two is assess the need for town involvement in Fort River School feasibility study It's not feeling like the right Phrasing that we're looking for there. Yeah, that was That I figured that was a you know put a placeholder there and it definitely was try and because I think what we're trying to do I don't know what your conversation was but I think what we're trying to do is show that The town is going to be involved in Fort River feasibility study and the the questions are around the resources like the finance people that might need to be involved that buildings and facilities people and also any Select board discussion or policy making associated with it is where you know like input as well, right? I think if I think that I I think that I think that was mine and I think when we were generating these and I don't have that I didn't document but We were really calling them thought bubbles because and so wasn't it we were throwing out ideas, but it got Incorporated from I think mr. Zomek's notes into the modified document and my sentiment in in putting that out and having attended the first listening session on this was that the There were opportunities that the town in you know, we're all the town but that Other you know not Understanding the role of the school committee in this but that the other resources of the town could could and should that's not the wording for the thing but come to bear to help assist in Defining the scope of that project and helping to get the requests for proposal or request for proposals out and Would work could work cooperatively with the school board and the superintendent and You know in assisting in that being a more focused process I think the other piece of The other note that I think mr. Steinberg made in conjunction with that was just Making sure there's a coordination of effort regarding the fact that this is a large capital project And there are others in the pipeline that we want to you know We want to make sure that that it impacts Yeah, you know how those interplay with each other over time and and how that financing works various options available there all are Kept in in the forefront of the folks minds as they work on the school project So they're not operating completely in isolation and that sort of thing So that was a piece of it to is that coordination of effort as well as just being Resources different than assess the need right for assistance right both of those things, but So the intention yes, so I'm looking for I guess suggestions for mr. Bakerman as to language that incorporates the things that we're talking about here and also to the level of While it will be a school committee creation in terms of proposals and in terms of their Committee which we should probably reference specifically here at some point because we know that's a thing they're gonna do They're just still developing how they're gonna do it based on everything we've said including particularly the fact of coordination with other projects and in terms of the big picture because this is a very young school committee and a Superintendent who's been in that position has been previously an excellent assistant superintendent This was his project, but it wasn't so much within the context of all the other things that were going on I think it's important in terms of experience. Yeah, and so exactly not in terms of just in terms of years Of dealing with town politics Not because they aren't all excellent at what they're doing and I'm so grateful they're all there whether it's the acting superintendent or the school committee members is that It would be a mistake to a for them to work in isolation from the town manager Select board giving some advice etc Whether or not they put a select board member on the building committee is a different issue, you know It may just be staff. It may be select board. I'm not wedded to any particular model at this point But I was hoping and that was one of the purposes of their Open discussions is to make sure there is coordination back and forth that it's not working in a vacuum So that people who don't pay attention to the school's issues on a day to day basis Which there are fewer of now based on what we've recently been through But that so that people don't kind of forget that that's happening at the same time to make sure it's getting attention from all sides So whether it's provide support or it's Because it's not initiating but it's Not sure what the wording is Like ensure the participation of town officials and yeah, that's what your goal is That really is what we're looking for I like getting the word coordination in there without yeah, I don't want to imply that we're taking over the process right absolutely Well, and even you know Just referring to the docket immediately preceding that is the other one that we sort of added there and You know it says if charter vote passes and mark 2018 town manager to create transition plan that's Absolutely a placeholder sort of phrase. I mean it's a much more. It's much deeper richer Conversation we're gonna have to have about what we're thinking about there and and we had a little bit of that conversation A week ago, but but by no means got into the depth of it But you know just recognizing what what efforts are required to to make that happen and how that will potentially Prevent other things that are on this goal list from happening because there's only so many hours in the day and you know You know it sort of switches over like you know a big Switch being thrown and so there's some preparation to make that happen and so how to how to make that Time and effort Worth while for for the manager. So he's not trying to do two jobs instead of just one Yes, oh we already has two jobs. We're just about three or four So one of the things I also think we were trying to get at when we talked about that on july 24th Was that there was going to be and I this is one piece of it is that there's gonna need to be actual Input from the actual town manager as to how this will really work on the ground versus all the theories about how it'll work And what the Charter commission proposal says about the transition Then there's all the actual meat and potatoes that needs to get done But in addition prior to that we talked about on july 24th The fact that there was no question But that the town manager was going to be doing some sort of research to provide Information as needed To help people figure things out as we're going along whether it's for the select board's benefit for us to better understand A position we may or may not take Or for the community to better understand practically speaking This is this is what our town government act says This is what we actually do now because it fits within that envelope And this is the kind of thing we're talking about over here So we just we weren't really sure how much he'd get sucked into doing that But I think we expected that based on all his professional experiences there We would be looking to him as a resource in a way that in a normal year You know, he just does all the things he does, but We were adding on it's like there's this extra thing happening that people will need more understanding of how things work And how things might work Right exactly And so and and I think the the purpose behind making a goal of this I think was twofold one is to be explicit about the fact that That that may be necessary to do that and that also that that Has a certain time commitment to it that would prevent potentially other things from getting done and so how to We'll have to think about how we wordsmith that to sort of frame it appropriately because if the charter doesn't pass then Obviously that won't be necessary and we'll Have expectations that the rest of the goals get completed as written And we'd be happy, but we that's Six months away. We'd be halfway through the goal setting year. So at least it's By putting it on there explicitly then it's something that the manager gets measured on and in a sense gets credit For what I was going to I was going to ask miss brewer. She felt that um the way that stated As added to the goals captured what you were just talking about a sort of the you know Getting help with the nuts and bolts yet the the things that I didn't really I should have gotten back to the goals for this meeting but well in the future What I'd like to do is go back through and and see which goals should maybe be If not dropped um because we've added some other ones Um, maybe move down in importance Where yeah, those would be nice to do but they're not as important as You know these five things and we we don't always I don't know if we signal well enough What's more important than other things because I think it's easy to pile on a lot of stuff, but um Some of it's just not humanly possible in a work week So I that notion of priority is one question I mean, I I think you're just having you said that I was just thinking that perhaps within the the different Areas that we may want to Generally put things that are a bit more important near the top and but I don't know I mean we'll have to see as a committee when when all of us are here to think about whether or not we want to Kind of rank them a little bit I mean, I don't think we'll be able to put them in one is the most important and two is the second Most important and three is that I don't think we'll get to that level of detail but to to broadly say the top three of six is generally Where we want you to spend more effort than than the bottom three might be A valuable thing to to have as a guide for the manager as as he moves ahead this year and But I do think there's some revision of some existing goals or some refinement of some of them at this point to narrow them In some respects might be helpful as well because there's aspects that are done And now it's this sort of next stage with some things and updating So I think there are all of those those kinds of edits we might undertake Um, yes, and so In thinking about all of this right is that if you and the town manager would work together and figure out a way of Maybe you just have like a charter like a charter that's number five That says something and then it has an a and a b like a specific transition plan will have to happen if The vote passes but prior to that a bunch of other stuff may well end up on his plate because we'll all be coming and asking him questions That we wouldn't do if he was a brand new town manager and didn't know any better Um, and so and therefore like you indicate not everything else is going to get done And so somehow breaking that out to make that clear And one, you know, I gave a little pushback last time we talked about this in terms of When you weren't here, mr. Backelman about prioritizing the goals and the push pull between the five of us and Well, how do you get everybody's goals in here? And then if you say some are more important than others Even though we all know practically speaking you can't do everything all the time Along those lines, I I wonder if we want to include in here somehow or Rather than treating it purely as a process question If there's a way to reflect in here that we should be checking back on these goals more frequently So that we can say you know what? It totally makes sense to us. You're working on all this stuff You're not you're not going to get to this in the next six months Like who are we kidding this doesn't even it doesn't make sense to try and push that as the priority This is clearly the priority and if we had rather than having to wait and say at the end of the year Well, of course Why not just do it like every quarter and say Not that you'd have to write a 12 page report on where you are But just for all of us to get a sense of which things are actually reasonably embraceable Which things have had new things come up with them or whatever and And then that would help us figure out and then we could we could say oh, yeah That makes sense totally don't even worry about this thing And I think a perfect example of that is is the planning finite replacement and conformance with october 2016 comcast contract I think that's supposed to say but anyway, um You know had we revisited these mid-year we would have probably either reframe that a little bit or dropped it or Changed it in some way to have it have more meaning for us because I think You know that was one that I think depending on who it was Had a much different sense of what they felt that meant and so that's the other thing is that we can You know for six months into the year or three months in and six months in the nine months you know we can Articulate our definitions a bit more clearly because we're more into the nitty gritty of it And we can see that oh this has become a much much much bigger thing than any of us anticipated or Other things have taken precedents that were unknown at the beginning of the year or whatever and so I think that's a that's a a fantastic suggestion that We look at perhaps a quarterly review and again not to do a Full-blown report, but just I think as much for our own purposes to review them and then when we're at the six month You know we'll do this the mid-year sort of check in with you and and sort of look to that Sort of feedback on where you're at on the on the goals that you gave us last year mid-year and then I mean it's It's it's not exactly a year anyway So we might want to just take like pick two specific check-in times That the charter vote doesn't happen till the end of march. So that's too late really because then we're into Other things. So maybe like a you know three or four months from now After fall town meeting. Yeah, like maybe like the end of december or first january Or like another check-in point because I think you're right. I think the points you're pointing up bringing up is that It's not just a thing that happens on march 24th or whenever the There's going to be stuff in advance. There already is so I think it's wise to sort of say we are going to be reviewing this cooperatively On on this at this meeting and this this meeting to like to pick two days or three days or whatever we want to do and Because right now I guess when you say quarterly, it's like, you know We're practically in september. So when do we when does it? Yeah, we're talking so three months in and three December early march or something you figure it out It could be a subset of the manager's Report we could put it in We could even say October because if we're getting this done in september like end of october as we're going into town meeting This is what it turned out the town meeting warrant looks like it's been this huge effort over here Instead of over here like we hope to and so this is how we're shifting and then As time goes along. I'm thinking of it as more of an informal thing Like I said rather than you know like part of the town manager's report sort of thing rather than You know, here's another five page memo that I had to write to respond to this But if there's something that really changes direction, then we could document that so that you would feel like Hey, I told you this is what was going to happen and we said and you agreed This is what was going to happen because then nobody's surprised, you know later on in the process. So So I think the other thing I think about is that we should pick When we pick dates, which I think we can do when all five of us are here and we think about it more deeply We also want to be cognizant of the other sort of Big things that are in your calendar, you know, it's like We're not going to pick the whatever it is 14th or 15th of january because you have a budget Makes sense to do right after that because you've just seen the development of a budget Right priorities and you could say well you did this you didn't do, you know It'd be a good time to have that interaction right so we want to just time it so it's not conflicting with some of those kind of Milestone events that happen Yeah, anytime we put a new little process in place. We have to sort of Iron out the kings exactly. Exactly. All right. Well, I think that's right now like october and january Miss Brewer You said october, but I was thinking after The special town meeting is over in the fall because things come up that then need to be attended to so I mean, I'm I'm not waiting could be at the end of november Yeah, october seems, you know, really we're already in september practically. So I think as soon as we've some soon after finishing Whatever action because then we'll know what actions are going to come out of that meeting Right. And so even though like you said quarterly is not really what fits And so it makes sense end of november mid to end november Of course, there's the holidays in there and then end of january kind of gives us a sense of We got through the big budget Thing in november we found out all the things we have to do after town meeting Yeah, it goes kind of fit and then then we will have the charter vote and then there'll be the discussion End of march beginning of april We'll go with that one. We'll um So as far as next steps, I think um See we need to get on the 30th And that's a pretty big agenda And that's a big agenda But what I might do between now and not the 30th, but the following meeting is to try to To look through these and maybe do a an edit of some Or uh As a sort of rough draft to to turn back to people So any new ideas or things that you want to convey to me individually about changes that you're seeing or want to see You know, if you get time between now and we should really go back and look at it again Right, and then I'll try to sort of fold those together into a document Then we we're working on a edited thing instead of a raw from scratch wordsmithing So I did have one more and I wonder if I could tell it to you now and then you could decide if it fits as Uh section on page four section five one G Little no little no i or I mean, I'm you know, I'm not wedded to this outline It's just what it is Um, it's the community intergovernmental relations and volunteer committees boards and commission sections So it talks about the relationships with umass and Amherst and Hampshire colleges and has currently a through g under there And g is currently reporting regularly on the umass 2015 strategic partnership agreement spa And so I don't know if it fits under that or because this is going to be one of those things that is going to be a singular time and when it's done it'll be done and that thing is Is Working with the schools on the discussion around the students and tax-free housing because when that was Brought up as a surprise at town meeting to the select board that was Unfortunate and we as a select board have not heard since although I was surprised to see that Referenced in an evaluation as something that's been reported out to us That it really started somewhere hasn't and so um, it's something that again because of the whole townwide impact We are not trying to control it. We understand that it's a superintendent town manager task to work with but To be wise you would need our input Associated with that and to just have it sound like it's just happening off some place without any discussion Is therefore going to mean that the results are not going to be taken seriously by the community So It should be explicit in the goals. Yeah, I think but it's a one-time thing because it's not something we hope Well, they might be a multi-year thing that you meant tax exempt not tax-free. Did I say that? Yes tax exempt. Sorry But I do I think the way it would be in the goals Initially would be one way it may subsequently be in the goals, right differently over time as it evolves. Yeah, exactly But I will take I've made note of that as well and and so I'm I'll put those things together, but if there are other things you think of as you look over these or you know wording changes refinements you want Um, etc. Please get them to me and then I will try to craft them together in such a way that when we get together on September 11th, I guess would be We could try to get a much much closer to a set of goals that the manager would be I mean, there's going to be some unsurprising changes like, you know manage the budget You know some of those kind of things are not really going to change Um, but there are others that might refine a bit and we need to Just for your own opportunity to do them get them to you sooner rather than later Is there anything else either of you wish to say about goals at this point? This is really minuscule, but like I'm for a and then everything's under a I think the goals discussion should be its own line like b because I I want to make sure I remember that this is Do you see oh, yeah I'm just to make sure that that the goals really kind of jumps out or maybe you know It's sort of like ongoing continued discussion. Yeah. Yeah, but like you really want us to do it Right just on our own agenda. Yeah, I'm a little surprised. It didn't have a b next to it to be honest Not excusing myself, but I almost like I really didn't notice it. I almost glossed over it myself I was glad it was there because I I did want to have this conversation, but I think I was like, oh, yeah, it should be its own item separated from the evaluation So we'll try to make sure to to get those things together So I believe We're done with that. So we have at this point another bit of work to do but it is it is um An executive session Um, correct. Do you want to have um, just ask us if we have reports? Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me So you spoil from last week, I am really kind of, you know, I need to be on the fast track here, right Let's get us through the meeting. No, uh, actually if there are uh reports both The manager if he has some things he wants to mention to us or if either of you so we'll start with member reports We'll make the manager wait because That's the coin I flipped in my mind So either of you have something you want to go ahead to bring the attention of the just one thing was um In Reference to our conversation that we're going to have on the 30th and then again sometime later about parking um, I had told you that the downtown parking working group wasn't meeting In august and so I was asking for part of that to be postponed here um, we did schedule a meeting for um, september 6th and again I think it's the 13th whatever two weeks those um, so wednesdays and um, just to kind of give you a time frame I'm just checking what if I have that Yeah, we're yeah, we're switching from Tuesdays to wednesdays so that will be we have those two dates set so we know we're going to be Getting back to a couple things that were still outstanding and I just wanted to mention today. Um Both miss brew and myself were at the Sunwell at UMass to participate in a The community the larger community had been been invited by the astronomy department at UMass to participate in the um Eclipse event and you know, we don't always Give the university credit for things they do that or they've opened up their facilities And they had a telescope there that people could use to view Um, the sun and the moon. So I just wanted to acknowledge their I don't know. I'm not good at this But there were probably 400 people there I don't know there were a lot there were a lot and it was really nice and all ages and A lot of community members and people from the campus. So it was it was lovely to have that opportunity to view it not You know just in a small, you know in our yard, but to go where other people were viewing this, you know momentous Event so I just wanted to mention that that's all I've got So A question. Um, does that mean are we still looking at making? We had originally said that we were going to be voting on things We chose to vote on at the august 28th meeting associated with parking which then got moved to august 30th Because we're not meeting the 28th, but are we still in theory looking at some of those things But we may well say oh well because downtown parking working groups meeting on the 6th We're not ready to make a decision yet, but we are planning to have it still on the agenda for the 30th Is that correct? Yes parking will still be on the agenda. Um, I think It'll be in a much more Scaled back version than was originally sort of part of the conversation Yeah, if you would think what we're envisioning both speaking from the lap from agenda setting and from Conversation with the downtown parking working group is to have Some motions ready for the 30th where there seemed to be um Kind of pretty much universal agreement So those things could move forward and where both the select board and or the parking working group had asked Staff and others for more information Those would be on hold until a future date Sure, that was still the plan. Thank you. I appreciate that some of that from when yes the the day that I was gone in the 14 Um in terms of an update. So thank you And the other thing I just wanted to mention beyond I guess two things one is associated with the marijuana working group Despite the fact that people are allowed to actually have vacations including myself and some staff Things continue to unfold with that situation obviously and so kp law recently sent us some sample language Which we didn't have when we originally wrote You know the notice for the planning board meeting hearing etc. And so I wanted to just mention that everyone is working really hard on this in addition to all the other things They were already doing it's not like anything else has gone away And suddenly they've got a whole nother set of things to do So I wanted to acknowledge again that a lot of staff is putting time into this myself and miss kruger and We are doing our best to get all the possible options ready for tau meeting for the fall Because those deadlines are coming up before we know it and in terms of planning board hearings for zoning issues Those are you know, they have to get those in the pipeline too There may be things That We decide as we get closer They may still stay on the warrant, but we may decide we don't need them for whatever reason because of the different information We keep getting as to how to interpret things But i've been pushing hard that we include all possible things that we know about right now Because we can always say we don't actually need that But if we decide later we did need it then it gets really hard to work in a special amongst the special And all that kind of jazz in terms of trying to get our timing right before spring So a lot of people putting in a lot of effort and still will be seeing stuff coming through and there will end up being a legal notice for a planning board hearing 13th 16th somewhere around that middle of september And so people start to see that maybe as they're coming back from vacations start to be paying attention to that but We don't yet have a presentation ready, you know a new presentation as opposed to the wonderful updates we've been getting Um for the select board, but that's all being worked on and so that there's a lot going on there And the other one I wanted to mention is associated with our alcohol policies Which is that I had said yes, I would be happy to work on that But I want some more detail about how we got to this thing that we already got presented And for one reason or another we have not been able to yet gather that information together And just as a little side note, it so happens as some people know that The treasurer had an alcohol task force which had several hearings and there was one in north hampton. I went testified and through um my wonderful affiliation with mma through msa through Hampshire county select boards association Or who knows whose names dropped um on the survey monkey that I filled out I got appointed to one of the working groups that's working with the task force It's been an interesting experience so far having been through one of those meetings By phone since I was not about to drive to boston with no right foot and so um I wasn't really I was wondering how that was going to impact, you know our What we were writing and i'm learning some stuff that we may want to include in our thing But the particular working group I ended up on was Not my ideal working group because they did that for various reasons and so i'm still finding out how we can Effectively influence the task force as they start making decisions associated with this and obviously the industry has a lot of Ideas about how to do things differently It's called licensing process turns out all the things I actually care about are in economic development Um, but of course they didn't tell us that when they gave us the titles and we had to pick first and second choices And they decided they didn't want all the public health people on the public health group because they wanted to spread them out They wanted to spread out the industry people and trust me if there's a lot of industry people to spread out It's it's been I mean it's great It's great and it's great that the state is just trying this model It's a little different than what I'd quite predicted But um, there are going to be four more meetings of my working group All the working groups are going to have four to six meetings before the end of september Um, it's all very, um confidential Based so there have been hundreds of pages of testimony submitted to the task force Which they are not releasing even to members of the working group So it's an interesting process and I will keep you updated as I learn things that I'm allowed to talk about but um That's far. It was really just figuring out what what is our set of questions versus another group set of questions And then how to influence each other sets of questions. So it's a process thing at this point But it's been interesting and I will tell you more when I have more that I can feed back to them Great I'm just um I don't want to prolong this too much, but just on the recreational marijuana Internal working group we've had In we had talked also at agenda setting Recently about the idea of having Soon having a presentation to the select board prior to actually discussing Draft warrant articles, but the four or five articles that we Would be probably looking at and there was some conversation from coming I at least I understood from staff from the zoning subcommittee and the planning board wanting to know if the select board was thinking about intending to Look at limiting the number of retail establishments and Um, there were some people in the community said well, you know, we've never had a community conversation about that and It you know, it's sort of a chicken and egg before the planning board Knows all of what they're doing. They're looking to us Are we thinking of limiting in what would be that number and then the community is saying We want a chance to weigh in because we've never really Had that and if we wait all the way till when we're reviewing warrant articles It doesn't have that Kind of spirit of hearing what you know, what people are thinking or wanting and in us to start Tossing around where we're going and we just wait for the You know, even if it is zoning, it's not just the zoning decision. So some way to kind of front load some of One of our meetings where we we devote some time to getting updated about the actions We will be taking before we even Take positions on warrant articles I can't remember because I know you missed one of the marijuana meetings if you you know, if you were privy to that or not No, and um Because those meetings aren't Required to follow up in meeting law and so we don't have copious minutes associated with them but I could have updated and um, but you just did so that's cool, but One of the things that perhaps would be useful for us to do when we meet Next week we had to cancel this week's meeting because too many people are away. Yeah So is to come up with a list again of where we're at because things that are While it's true, it's all tied together the number Of outlets which is a specific question we need to we could ask Is not a zoning question I don't think and that's what we have to sort out Because we do have to get the timing right in terms of when's when's a hearing that might be partially talking about that When will we take positions on warrant articles and where's that middle space where we can have the conversation? We're talking I'm not going to try to answer it now, but it does um reflect back on Some of the zoning related questions that come in and there are there are notes from Meaningless, so I think we'll pick up that thread again next week. So um So it's it's new and exciting and ever-evolving and trying to figure that out and Carving out some time where we like have actual things not just so what do you think we ought to do? We had some actual things people can talk about are we going to limit and what how would we do that out? And what's the right number that's not just our You know our own cerebral decision Right, and it's something we need to draft internally before We actually have the chance to discuss it as a group, but the clock is ticking on us as we Go along enough soup Any other things to mention? Your did you have a report? I do not I've my committees have been fairly quiet. Can I ask you about this? But that was my housing. So oh right. Oh, thank you for reminding me It's like the one big thing. It's a giant document in the middle of the packet. So in our packet you will find I'm sorry. Thank you for mentioning that because it's like sorry. I didn't I didn't code the softball correctly before It's quite all right. Um What you'll find from the uh Fortale housing trust the Amherst Municipal Fortile Housing Trust is their strategic plan We worked with a consultant gen gulson To get this put together and and have been kind of crafting it for a while Actually began before I even joined the the trust and so But does articulate sort of the first steps that they're going to to look to execute in and Um, you know the direction they're going to take in the in the first few years And I think it also what's nice about this is it does You know one of the changes we made at Springtown meeting was to alter the the number and and in some ways a little bit of the focus of the affordable housing trust Because we subsumed the the housing and sheltering committee and so there are aspects of Sheltering that are now in this strategic plan as well. And so that I think it's reflected there and Uh So it it you know, it's available on the website and people should take a chance if they get an opportunity to take a A look through it. Um, they should and and it's not terribly long as these kinds of things go But it is uh, I think it'll really help the The the trust get moving forward on some some actual steps that they've been wanting to do for a while in various pieces And now we've got a kind of structure about how to how to move ahead and in a way that's um You know functional, I guess is the best way to describe it so that Next steps are are sort of teed up and ready to go and Um It's a plan of plan of a attack Mine members now, right and we it's good timing because right no exactly we we we now have just added the The the extra members to it. We we had a a nice A group of folks that we interviewed for the purposes of of sort of filling in the trust and and so we've we've We've got our membership up in in Uh a good place and so we're we're ready to start taking on some work And I think that the current chair's plan is to include Include it, you know the community members as well and some of the subcommittees that That we're thinking of forming and doing so, you know in as much as people may not explicitly be on the trust There are people that are interested in in serving and may be asked to to help us out as far as Moving some of the goals ahead and and doing some of the legwork that's necessary This is a lot of, you know Large and complex components to some of the work that you know The trust can do and wants to do and so having more people Apply some some effort to it as helpful and getting it done in a timely way And so associated with that when when John Hornet the chair Points out the willing to welcoming the opportunity to discuss the plan etc so Rather than necessarily having that conversation my personal interest as a select board member would be in ensuring that there's Frequent communication associated with some of the bullet points and examples that he's provided In terms of for example the social services funding So I know you guys are working on planning out that conversation of all the different kinds of community services funding We already do no matter what we call it and and how it functions in that And to make sure that they're aware of when we're having those conversations because so they can see what we're already doing and how This idea might fit in with that so that they're prepared to do that because Obviously we have a lot on our plate for September But but to make sure that they're part of that conversation rather than just depending on them to notice or through you But to like somehow This this is a good example. I think of officially if we have to figure out a way As you guys sort out how we're doing that particular thing To let all the committees and boards know that we're going to be doing that event And so that they have some opportunity to prepare for it as a committee And one other note they the Immersed municipal affordable housing trust will be meeting this thursday evening. I believe Is the next scheduled meeting so Yes, I was a little I like john john mr. Hornick's Letter, but and he says it would be useful to discuss the relationship between the select board and the trust I mean, I think we know what the relationship is um, maybe to discuss you know Genitals of communication or What miss brewer was just talking about. I mean I think the relationship is Structure of that is known right. I think that's probably what his intent was there as well, but I'll I can ask about it. Absolutely. I will There's some confusion about that So I think that was the I'm trying to think if there was anything else now we Haven't had this conversation for a while. Um, I think that's it pvta Um That reminds me yes You know so much about the thing is, you know, there's something that's an update I go to 9 000 meetings and then I have like a week off and suddenly I forget everything that happened Anything that happened previous to that week off was gone now Actually, we received at least I received an email. I want to say yesterday No, friday because yesterday was sunday and I know they didn't see me on sunday On friday of the of the the You know the voted changes that are going to occur and and there's a sort of laundry list of of what specifically Taking shape in our town not that it's changed since the last time we discussed all of them But I think they sort of put them in a formal thing. I need to convey that to The manager and get that posted on our website for you know, sort of public awareness of what those changes are To the service, most the ones for us will take effect Basically after the library weekend because that's when UMass is Back in session. So the effective change date is really the fourth of september fifth of september For the changes for us some of the ones that are happening in springfield in that area happened about a week earlier And but thank you for that reminder. We have a meeting Wednesday of this week where we'll probably Go over that all again one more time And review anything else that's changed with regard to sort of budget projections and that sort of thing relative to To those cuts and whether or not we're actually making up the gap that we needed to make up or not We'll all have more news on that At next our next meeting on the 30th But that's that is the sort of latest news of the of the pheta But the Let's see the MPO was meeting tomorrow to make some small tweaks to Uh their Budget for the coming year and you know So anytime they the way they work is they have a a five-year plan that they're a capital plan that they're working on And then they have a the current year that they're in And in either circumstance if they make changes to it, they have to put it out for public comment for A period of time let's say we've shortened it to 21 days, but So we met last month to put things out for public comment And now this we can take action on it this this week on tuesday, so we'll probably take action on those changes and Most of those kind of changes are you know, not terribly controversial in some respects that you know changes in costs and and uh, you know, they either You know if things go up Then we have to move money around to sort of make sure to cover the project And let you know make sure it gets finished and likewise if if a project comes in under budget Then that frees up money that's available for other projects and can be applied Perhaps sooner or start a project sooner as a result and that sort of thing so Um You know, I think it's sort of the typical mid-year type of changes are happening with regard to the The mpo, which is a municipal planning organization relative to essentially relative to Money's available from mass dot in the federal government, etc for Roads and bridges and railway Structure particularly related to transportation Um, so again no more next week after the meeting tomorrow Um The ag com hasn't met Trying to think if there's any other what I should do is look at the back of our sheet see what things he's on for That strikes any wrong No real news from this hammer center recreation working group we've we've Offered suggestions to to staff regarding some sample companies that might there was some money granted for a master planning process um We had at our last meeting sort of gone through and seen a few of samples of work from from some of those Companies that are in potentially would be able to do that kind of master planning workforce Um, and then we sort of put our votes in as to who we liked of the ones that we had But we haven't met again to sort of take any action on on where that's going That's through the list here anything else I don't think so So I think that's largely it for me um But thank you for the reminders because again It's been a month since some of the things have met and also out of practice been sort of Buried in an evaluation mostly over the last couple weeks. So yes If we're talking about that, I don't know it doesn't exist if it isn't that strange time of year So thank you. Um, so I think if there aren't others from other things from you guys or questions for me around those topics Then we'll let the manager Thank you, mr. Chair. So I don't not sure what mr. Zomek reported on last week But I'll just go through and if you he's already covered it. You can say something So in the in the spirit of thanking the university for Things nicely done. I did send a letter to the chancellor thanking him for the work that they did on Fourth of july independence day They devote a lot of resources to have making sure that that's a community wide event that um with their police Their public works the planning They the use of the facility So they do a really tremendous job when I was just seeing how much they put into it and how much our lscc staff works with them How close do they work? I was really appreciative of that and so I want him to know that explicitly Coffee with town manager their next event will be this friday august 25th I'll be with fire chief nelson at kelly's restaurant. So if you want to come We're expanding our hours because I think kelly's sometimes Attracts an earlier crew. So we're starting at seven. We'll be there from seven till nine We did a couple of team building things this august. It's a good time for us to group Together with the school department that it's a brainchild of the interim superintendent We had a the school staff and town staff get together For pizza and Sort of some games, but mostly try to Force everybody to sit with somebody they didn't know from the other side and and had conversations and people had people introduce each other It's just To sort of build that camaraderie between that we're one community Even though we may work for the schools or we may work for the town and that I think that Is pretty low-key, but I think it was pretty successful and thank the superintendent for thinking of that idea and helping to push it forward Likewise, I've held a department heads Invited them to an after-work event at my house and so just to have people come together and sort of talk about anything but work And so that was a that was a nice little event too. And I appreciate all the people coming after work to Participate in that This year This is the time of year when we start to prepare for the students to come back And so the police have been working with the university in preparation for All the normal things that they anticipate And trying to be aggressive and Proactive and communicating with students, especially freshmen when they come in and letting them know, you know, how it found things work What the ground rules are Educating them about things. I know the ccc has worked a lot on this issue And we had some conversations about their efforts too Um One of the things that they're paying special attention to with all three of our institutional partners are when students come back anticipating Potential activity that may stem from the recent protests and counter protests that have been happening throughout the country Being in communication with the public safety officials in on the campuses What kind of support can we provide? What do they expect? What what do we expect them to do? So they're having those conversations now, which I think is a very um, that's just good management and paying attention to things um On the fire side, uh, we are three New firefighters are working out really really well. We appreciate they're coming to the town each coming from a different perspective One uh Is in the academy and about to finish up the other two have gone through the required training So they're actively involved just being firefighter paramedics later in the year. They will both go to the academy So, you know paying attention. We're putting a lot of investment into these three individuals to become Value members of the fire force. So that's that'll be that's really good We're paying special attention to the payroll for the fire department. Um, there's been a lot of changes, uh, the There's uh, there's been some injuries. So it's a something we're Hyper alert to even though we're only a couple months into the fiscal year It's something the chief will have to be paying attention to so we don't go over budget um The student force members arrive on sunday and they go undergoing uh an intensive week of training They're 32 student firefighters who have signed up, which is what we want. That's exactly the right number Um 10 are new which is really a good recruiting year that and six will actually live in the north amherst fire station Which is the goal and those are all the senior leaders of it So that's that's coming working out and then on the fire side They're also ramping up for the um return of the students that we will be staffed up on the first weekend When they return because it's a long they come in on september 1st, but their classes don't start until the 4th We're anticipating a fair amount of activity, especially with freshman being there early So we're prepared for that and then of course we continue with the Additional staffing that UMass provides through their funding On the dpw front front the roundabout Project is going really well still, you know, it goes fast and then it seems to slow down Verizon finally is down there. They're taking a lot of time to remove their poles They have to switch everyone over but they're they're actively working on it. So that is good. We have three sets of crews Working in the same area So that it's it's wise for us to keep the the intersection closed so that they can work as quickly as possible And even with that they're sometimes stumbling over each other. They all seem to want to work in the same spot at the same time And because we have our crews putting up street lights We have the Verizon crew changing over and then we have the Warner brothers who are still doing the sidewalks and structures and things like that They anticipate pay they don't anticipate paving until august 31st, which is our deadline But it's at the tail end of the deadline. So but they believe they will be able to pave on the final coat It's already been paved twice the final coat on august 31st, which is a week from thursday Students are scheduled to come back the next day We've already anticipated that The the issues with the intersection because our schools the emmer schools open on the on the wednesday So we'll be making accommodations and working with the bus coordinator at the schools to make sure buses can get through the intersection Or open it or keep it open early in the morning and then close it after school starts So that's that's being contemplated as well You'll also see if you travel north pleasant street. They were paving today They have two more days of paving And then they'll be off of north pleasant street And then the only thing that'll be left will be the painting of north pleasant street And that is moving along That will be followed up by paving east pleasant street Which won't happen until September at some point that will probably be probably be the last major paving project for the town this this year UMass is working on the crosswalks that you gave them permission to install a few weeks ago So they're hoping to get that completed prior to School opening and then as you see the work in amherst woods Continues with that's a and continues. It's a major project. I was I just received sort of the the history lesson of how Why sewer wasn't put in there and why you know things like that is kind of an interesting why we're paying for it now Um, we had talked about college street being paved But that's not going to happen this calendar year. It'll be put off till the spring and that's that's actually a good Contractors Every single contractor is being absorbed by the state Working on 91. They're major construction projects in springfield in north hampton and in greenfield We know people, you know Who are saying they're they're Worked for one company and they're being farmed out to subcontract for other companies because everything's all the resources I think that's part of the reason where we You know Our paving is going to happen to august 31 because the state is really absorbing a lot of that Um, let's see the um As we talked about I think you are aware we talked maybe a little bit about this does um Building inspector building commissioner went to the bid forum and that was really well And then we went the next day. I think after our select board meeting We went to the chamber of commerce meeting and then pretty much the same kind of thing There's some overlap. So there wasn't anything new for a lot of folks, but again Uh, it they had bigger things on their minds for that meeting because they were dealing with the vacancy And so we sort of got in and get out and did our thing. They're but they're appreciative of it Yes for the viewers about signs. Yes, you didn't say what it was Oh, the the new the uh, okay. So signs shorthand for us. We all know it but the people who are watching may not So the building commissioner is looking at um beginning to address the issue of signs The way he presents it is that this is not a health and safety issue They've pretty much organized themselves on those things already So now they have the capacity to take on the proliferation of signs Starting with the sort of signs that you see in the public way that might say There sometimes are signs lssc signs looking for football tryouts or whatever Um letting people know that we're going to keep those out of the public way And uh, you can have them still on your own private property, but they can't be in the public way And then looking at the most egregious examples and educating business owners about Covering of windows signage that isn't appropriate or permitted and uh I think he described a little bit about what he was doing when he was here about the the sort of approach The sort of gradual approach where we start to ratchet down and then Revisit things and also at the same time where we're looking at the sign Bylaws which are both general bylaws and zoning bylaws To see what can be changed unlikely for the fall town meeting, but most likely for the spring town meeting so that There's just you know our signs are You want to bring regularities so that everybody's treated fairly and that's where we're trying to get to and it seems like sometimes That's not really happening So the building commissioner is really intent on trying to get that and I think this is really You know as you mentioned at the bid forum is Kruger that It has been a select board initiative to make this happen and to say We need this paid attention to and that's why he's doing that Um, mr. Slaughter mentioned the peg contract. That's we're meeting again on the 24th That makes we're making really good progress on that. I think We're starting to agree on major issues and we still have a lot of language things we need to talk about but Um, I'm very hopeful that we won't need another extension before between beyond september 30th To make forward progress on that Importantly beacon communities did not receive an award of tax credits from the from the state They are examining their options When I spoke with the with j. Ash the secretary he basically said it's not unusual not to be funded your first time In fact, it's unusual it's unusual to be funded the first try Beacon is very practiced at this they have a very high quality They're a high quality developer with a high quality project They have a supportive town that has invested funds in it It's it's the type of it's in the location that the town has designated some this this type of project to happen And it's addressing an affordable housing need that we have designated which is housing that for with deep affordability So it has a lot of things going for it And but we are they are examining and we'll be communicating with Um With the state to say how can we make this better? We are intent on Seeking this going back at it again because I think it's it's the town has already in the select board and the community has already said In many ways, this is a quality project that should happen and this is the right place for it Um So that will I'll keep you updated on where that goes. I have not had it I have not had conversation with beacon with david had david mr. Zomek has and so They're examining their options right now Um Mr. Buckman if I could just add sure people might not know when you say it's not uncommon for A developer to have to apply a second or a third time for tax credits The reason is not always a deficiency in the proposal, but rather a lack of resources So we have more applicants for low-income housing tax credits They're a federal resource that each state in this case the state is Giving out competitively. So if people are queued up For asks and there's not enough resource Then that that's why it kind of cascades down to a second and third. So it doesn't I mean It's not just there's something wrong with that project, but they're queuing up waiting for a resource, right? That's good. Thank you The dpw fire station advisory committee met last week. I don't have an update on what they are looking for They've established the land parameters Um When I talked to the chair before I went on vacation She was more intent on thinking we're not interested in asking for funds at the fall town meeting She felt there was some education that needed. I'm not sure what happened if that would transpire at the committee meeting So um, that was her speaking individually whether the committee agrees with that. I'm not sure But I'll keep you updated once we know more about that um We'll be bringing a more a fairly formal Proposal presentation to you about the health insurance trust because that's a major issue for the town and The comptroller and I will be working along with the people the people who manage the trust to make a Formal presentation to you so you can see exactly what is happening with that Speaking earlier about the if I may just when do you anticipate that? Um, I think we might put we put it on We pencil that in for September 11th So we'll talk about that agenda setting if that's appropriate. Um I mean miss brewer brought up about the charter commission I've been asked to do a comparative analysis of the costs of town meeting versus a cast of a council form of government So we'll pull something together on that Best we can I just I can only look at our staff resources that we devote and what we can anticipate um I It'll be a guesstimate and people can pick at it and but we'll try to be transparent So people say well, that's not really accurate I mean we do know I look at town media We do know what staff resources it takes to attend a certain number of these meetings. We do know Staff resources and just just have to try to look at that um I think I'm not sure if I reported this on that I attended the council on aging long-range planning committee meeting on July 31st And that was a real focused meeting on the need for a new senior center, which I'm sure you have heard before but It was good for me to hear the full presentation that they have and the strength of their appeal um You know, I made it very clear that um, there are a lot of other priorities in the community Um, and this is an important one But also looked at are there other ways to address it? Can we work with another community to? to address it so But it was good. They were appreciative of the conversation and I think they they have This is a fairly it looked like a pro Updated presentation from several years ago Um, I'm happy to report that I've renewed the contracts with both the police chief and fire chief for three years Where I feel like we're very lucky to have two dedicated experienced professionals leaving our public safety efforts And I want to thank them for going through the negotiations pretty standard Cost of living increases for for them and So, uh, I'll get more details on that. They signed them while while I was away on vacation actually they had it in front of them Um, we have been looking for the If you recall the town meeting approved and you did to the shared procurement officer position So we've interviewed people with some really excellent candidates for that and that's um So we'll be making that decision very soon And uh, very really superior candidates and And what's a side note to this is that sometimes you get a really good candidate who's not qualified for the job But you say wow this person would be great if we have another opening for something else They're not quite at the level we need But you get you alert you get alerted and also internal candidates It's really good for internal candidates who say I'm interested in as you see the ambition that's being generated So going through this process. I think it has been really it energizes people in some way It also opens our eyes to what what the possibilities are And I think as you said that the people do want to work for the town of Amherst really it's an exciting place to be um I appreciate mr. Slaughter coming to mrs. Uh linda chalfons of retirement and uh, that was a really well attended event And thanks to folks who organized that she was linda had some really genuinely warm wonderful things to say About her her experience in working with the town She's a very generous warm person. You can just see that and um, it was it was a really really sweet event And um, she had a lot of family there And it was a it was a hard day. I think it was a friday before So forget what the day it was but it was a friday and it was but it was but people really made the effort to be there And a lot of people spoke was it some people not even expecting to so they wanted to Um, and another note along those same lines as jonathan tuckers last day was last week Um, he's made an enormous contribution to the town with incredible knowledge Um, he's that really dedicated professional career to the town Um, we there will be a farewell event held for him later after labor day And just I think everybody's sort of there's as we know there's a lot of people on vacation at this time of year um So Oh, and then um, I think we all I sent out earlier Congresswoman govern will be on august 23rd at 9 30 will be a simple guest farm On 1089 north pleasant street. So if anybody can attend that I think them Miss bro here to good idea that it was a valuable thing to do to attend when if he's making the effort to come here And because um, when you look at the schedule, he's going to like 12 places that day We're at the beginning of the schedule. That means we're we're likely to be on time for that. So Hopefully folks will be there And uh on august 29th at 7 30 is a UMass community breakfast Uh later that day is the first day celebration on the common Uh august 30th is the international student reception at 4 p.m So those are all the things At your next me in the 30th, we'll talk about this agenda thing But it looks like we're sort of lining up a lot of sort of parking things like Fisher street resident request the olympia place parking downtown parking group There's a poll hearings for putting these mobile light antennas on some of the polls. So it'll be a That's going to be that kind of night with that type of thing on the agenda And I think that concludes my report Do you have questions? You talked about um People really wanting to come and work for the town of emerson if i'm right. I think tomorrow is your one-year anniversary It is Yes Which i'm very pleased to be here. So congratulations. You may survive survive the year and in Grace and good humor. So It'd go back by fast or slow Um It seems it doesn't seem like a year, but it's but so much has transpired. It's really remarkable That's I mean, I appreciate the opportunity. It's really I mean, we talked a lot about this one vacation that's changed my life. It changed my family's life So and so it's been really positive experience all around and So And also you're a good board. I mean you work well together You're experienced, you know the town and that helps so much to have a functioning board I know a lot of managers my colleagues who get in where the the board is dysfunctional And it makes their life they get positioned between people it becomes really difficult. This is you had you have strong leadership for the town and And without that direction, I think my time here would have been much I would have struggled a lot more but you've Layed out a lot of give me a lot of the background on what the where the you know Problems are and stuff. So that's that's always that that's worked really well You know, I always say it's the staff, you know, and that's that's they're they're clearly Great to work with but it's just for me. It just hit it I'll just honestly just hit at the right time in my life It's it's hitting on all the notes that I feel I care about it's a community I care about it's The community is addressing issues I care about so it's just I just really appreciate the opportunity Yes, it would have been such a nice segue into our executive sector except Sorry, but um So associated with the one of my favorite topics clearly The signage issue with the building commissioner So one of the press reports indicated that he was going to be looking for a letter from the select board To share with business owners. That wasn't exactly how I remembered the conversation But that was a press report that was given out and so what I'm Not necessarily quoting Our friends in the press But what I'm trying to get at is a couple of things When one of the articles also mentioned that, you know, if you don't have a permit Then you can't have a sign in these various places in the public way for example No one has had a permit for over 10 years It isn't like there's a question as to whether or not this group has a permit or that one doesn't No one has had a permit for over 10 years. That's a different thing We're talking about in the public way and not the not the advertisements in a public way that are like on the sidewalk That are sandwich boards that are certain people are allowed to have because they don't have the kind of frontage that other people have So we're talking about the lsc signs We keep picking on football program, which is an awesome program But the football signs aren't supposed to be in certain places just like the big brothers big sisters craft fair signs Aren't supposed to be in certain places. So no one has had that permit for over 10 years So it's not like that's really a concept except something that needs to be changed And as you indicated, you know, we thought we flirted for a minute about doing it this spring We realized it was tied to too many other things. It'll probably happen next spring But I just want to make it clear that it's not that some people get them and some people don't It's that we don't do it and that's just how it is Um, and and it sounds like we probably don't want to either and so we will need to formalize that My other concern is along the lines of I appreciate that he's gone and talked to the bid and the chamber and I appreciate that You are our employee and he's not I'm still really uneasy about the way it's been described both at the select board and in the press about You know, we're going to talk about, you know, maybe bringing it back a little bit Or we're going to talk about doing a little bit of this or doing a little bit of that I'm not I'm having a hard time understanding Why there isn't more of a laid out proposal That we could understand because this is a big thing that a lot of us have been talking about for a long time It isn't just one of the thousands of things that staff do on a day to day basis because we don't get engaged in that And rightfully so because they're the experts and he's still the expert on this too But as he himself has described to us, you know, you don't go into a community and suddenly just change things, right? And we have had missteps associated with new inspection officers with various things because There's the way we do it. There's the way the books say to do it and there's the way that person does it and I'm Concerned I remain concerned that we haven't seen a plan of how this works beyond We're going to talk to people and we're going to do it because What I've been asking for all along is that people be at the table to discuss this that they they aren't told We're going to start doing this. So you better get in line. It's that what is a reasonable amount Our bylaw says this we're not going to change the bylaw right now. We're going to talk about enforcement right now I'm not going to come and start writing everybody tickets the effectiveness of tickets But what would be the right thing and I would want The business owners to be part of that conversation What I guess I'm trying to make is I'm trying to not say this at every single meeting because I feel like I've now said it numerous times But I'm also getting to the point where I'm Getting ready to wash my hands of it and say whatever he does at this point I don't want it to come back on the select board as it was our idea If we don't get more buy into the process either it's a cooperative thing or it's his thing on his own with you In which case I'm not going to go around defending the to business owners Why we're doing what we're doing? And so I like being in the position that we are traditionally in of all working on the same team And I'm not really feeling it on this particular issue. So I just like us to be thoughtful about that and So that we don't end up in a position with any of these issues like we did With a previous town manager, but with the same The rest of the process that involved coming down on a particular business for not doing a particular thing We all knew they weren't doing and so I don't want that to happen With anyone in here. And so I understand that there's a line in there someplace as to we're not in people's day-to-day Workplace, but at the same time, this is a big enough issue that I feel like we have fought so hard to overcome The Amherst is not picky for the sake of being picky We aren't difficult to work with because we like making people's lives miserable. It's because we think Like you say we've dealt with the health and safety things. We think we're doing the right thing Quality of life. It's quality of life, right? And it's not to punish anybody. It's to say come on We have to work together to make this better So I think if you heard his presentation to the business community you would have understood he would It was more detailed. He'd worked on it more since he presented to you. He presented to you Based on your feedback. He understood it had to be more detailed to test for the business community He doesn't say this is a select board initiative. Um, that was volunteered That was volunteered um, and what made someone asked mr. What made you decide to take this up now and he didn't Point the finger and I was like yeah because we asked him to but but he does there is a plan and I think I thought I sent it the power point to you, but maybe I didn't I should If I didn't I apologize because it has more detail in it in terms of what he's presenting to the public Which includes going out initially Having a general meeting with the business community that everybody will be invited to and say here's what we're talking about Going out one-to-one having conversations. So it becomes a a conversation For the first few months. That's what the way it and then um come october There isn't like now we started forcing it's more Coming back here and saying here's where we are. Here's what we've discovered Here's here's how we're looking at things and that's we looked at october sort of a check-in time for that And that's that's on his low. I'll send I'll send the um The power point because that's on his chart that he goes out to people because He knows he knows that he can't sit come in except for the signs in the public way That's one where he says that's cut and dried. You know, it's pretty easy Everything else, you know, he doesn't know if 10 and there's a lots of questions on how you measure business owners had questions If you were looking at my subway shop, are you looking at just the windows? How do you go up to the the roof line? How far do you count 10 of what? And he has his interpretation of that but he says I'm open to listening to businesses tell me I should interpret it a different way because it is something that he wants to make work but Sort of what you've been saying is a reel it in a little bit. You know, they're he's like the sort of wagging You know sign that's those relatable things That's clearly beyond and he says we we have taken down many of those. That's you know, they've already been active. They have not When they've seen something in the day-to-day travels they sometimes will address it if it's especially egregious What he's saying is they want to have a little more thoughtful approach with all the inspectors on the same page So everybody's addressing it the same way and they have a proactive outreach to the individual businesses to say Here's what we're looking at. Here's we're if we were to look at it exactly the way the bylaw says this is what you'd have to do What's reasonable from your point of view type of thing? So there it is an iterative process. So Um, I'll send out that powerpoint to you and knowing that we'll we'll receive some sort of check in October That would get me comfort You get be and also from the same way that I just didn't want to make it seem like we said By golly, this is what we want you to do and then it's like wait wait wait You can't just do that understood. Yeah, we didn't mean to have it turn out that way Okay, and and he's not even prepared to the sandwich boards in town that's a You know every new business that starts does get permitted according to the existing bylaw Right, so that he can attest to because that's he follows that they're pretty judicious about that um But there's a lot of other things out there and sort of Taking on what you can manage is what his his mantra is Other questions for the managers regarding Things he wrote up, okay So now I think we're ready to go into uh, given that we've sort of formally adopted summary I have a question. Sure. Um I don't and it's possible that this is a cut and paste error from time past that I should have dealt with prior But I believe that when we do have the executive session motion, it's inaccurate to say open meaning It should say open session in small letters That's the actual motion Yeah, call it open meeting call it open session Other than that, it's got all the good details. So right So I think I will Read this it will be a roll call vote to do this um So I moved to enter into executive session in accordance with massages the general law chapter 30a section 21 part a subset 2 To conduct contract negotiations negotiations with non-union personnel town manager paul volkman with the intent not to reconvene an open session at the conclusion Is there a second? whichever All right, so it's a roll call vote slaughter says I Brewer I And sineberg and walled are not here. So for our friends at enter embers media Thank you very much this evening and we're adjourned for the evening in our open session, which it's 8 12 8 13 And we'll convene in our 12 and our next regular meeting is wednesday Yes, yes our next meeting is on wednesday night august 30th It will be a fairly full agenda um Parking will be one of the many topics we get on too Um, but it's not our usual monday night. So if you're looking for us on monday night the 28th, we will not be there but we will be here on the 30th So thank you again embers media