 Recording in progress. Welcome. I am calling to order this meeting of this lifeboard on Monday November 7, 2022. I'm select board chair Leonard Diggins and I will now confirm that all members and persons anticipated on the agenda are present and can hear me. Members when I call your name please respond in affirmative. John Hurd? Yes. Steve Corsi? Yes. Eric Kalmuth? Yes. And Ms. Mahan is not going to be joining us tonight. Staff when I call your name please respond in affirmative. Sandy Puller? Yes. Doug Hyme? Yes. Ashley Meyer? Yes. Tonight's meeting of this arms is elect board is being conducted in a hybrid format consistent with chapter 107 of the acts of 2022 signed in a law on July 17, 2022, which further extends certain COVID-19 measures regarding remote participation until March 31, 2023. Before we begin, please note the following. First this meeting is being conducted via zoom. It is being recorded and is also being simultaneously broadcast on ACMI. Second, persons wishing to join the meeting by zoom may find information on how to do so on its website. Persons participating by zoom are reminded that you may be visible to others and that if you wish to participate you are asked to provide your full name in the interest of developing a record of the meeting. Third, all participants are advised that people may be listening who do not provide comment and those persons are not required to identify themselves. Both zoom participants and persons watching on ACMI can follow the posted agenda materials also found on the town's website using the notice agenda platform. And finally, each vote tonight will be taken by roll call. So let's see how much of the town's business we can get done. But before we go into the next item on the agenda, I just want to note that this is behind is not joining us tonight because of some health issues in the family in particular her mom. And so she asked me that we keep her mom especially in our thoughts and prayers. And we'll be keeping her and her family in our thoughts as well. So next on the agenda is the land acknowledgement. I would like to read the land acknowledgement that the board supported in the spring of 2021 and that was adopted at the 2021 annual Tom meeting. Excuse me. We acknowledge that the town of Arlington is located on the ancestral lands of the Massachusetts tribe, the tribe of indigenous people from whom the colony province and Commonwealth have taken their names. We pay our respects to the ancestral bloodline of the Massachusetts tribe and their descendants who still inhabit historic Massachusetts territories today. Now on to item three on tonight's agenda. Given the passing of our dear Marie Palcon evening of October 25th, we would normally observe a moment of silence. But since she was on board at men for 20 years, we're going to talk about her. As I mentioned our last meeting as we acknowledge her retirement, I was in the process of inviting former board members who have worked with Marie doing her tenure as a board. If they would like to join us to share some thoughts about her. The circumstances are different than what I had in mind the time, but in some respects is even more appropriate to hear from former members. Anything that they wish to share about Marie. So starting with the member who was that was elected to the board earliest, we're going to start with Charlie Alliance. Is he in? So he was elected in 1981 and he served till 2005. So he had a four year overlap with Marie. Mr. Alliance, Miss Alliance, you can unmute yourself. It seems like you're unmuted. So you can talk whenever you want. I'm not sure what to make. So I tell you what, we're going to keep you and as a panelist, Mr. Alliance and what I'm going to do now is I am going to go to Mr. Herd, who was elected 1997 and served 2011. And so he was on the board with Marie for about 10 years. And so I'll go to Mr. Herd and then I'll check back with you, Mr. Alliance. We'll just keep in check, keep checking back until we get you. And if there are some problems and maybe you can put something in the chat, we can maybe help troubleshoot that. So Mr. Herd, can you unmute yourself, Mr. Herd? He hasn't accepted it yet. It might take a minute. Some of these older select board members aren't quite as zoom savvy. He's in. He just has to unmute himself. I guess I saw them all on my screen here. So I figured they're all in this panelist, but Can you hear me? Yes. Am I on? Yes, you're on. Yes, you can. I can't see you. I can't see you, but I can hear you. So I'll, I'll go with that. So thank you for inviting me. And I understand there's other former select board members that'll be joining us. It was quite an honor to know Marie. I think it's been said many times she was one of a kind, amazing town employee, a loving and very proud mother and grandmother three hockey players and a loyal friend. I first met Marie in the 70s. Actually, I was coaching her son Paul as a Mike way back then. I was just a young person myself. And I'm proud to say I've called her a close friend ever since. And you know, when the board administrative position became available, we knew a nationwide search wouldn't be necessary. It was just a matter of convincing Marie to make the transition from Grove Street, another job in the town that she very much enjoyed and excelled at. And I think we can all agree, we're glad she made that change. So Marie, as a board administrator, she was like the sixth member, never shy and voice of opinion, and always looking out for the best images of the board in the town. Marie was loved by many and she'll be slowly missed. You know, it was a great tribute to Marie, the day of her funeral to come down mass, they haven't been part of that with the firefighters out front, town employees in front of the building. That was really special. And she would have been very proud of that. I want to give the town manager and others credit for that. So quite a tribute to a very, very long run as a town employee and friend and ally. So next, we're going to hear from a court and who was on the board from 2005 to 2012. And I'll just say we can go ahead and maybe put all the in this panelist and we can leave them in. I can see you and I can hear you. So you're on. Thank you. So yes, I'm very sad to hear of Marie's passing. And I'm very pleased to be able to come and, you know, publicly talk about the time that I spent on the board and the great support that Marie was to me as she was to all the members of our community. When I was elected to the board, I wasn't really expecting to be elected to the board. And I believe that some of my then colleagues were a little shocked that I got elected to the board. And so it was really, really great. You may not have to also give credit to Jack who was very supportive, but Marie was really, really helpful in helping me to understand sort of the logistics of the meeting and to serve as a sounding board for any questions that I had. She was always cheerful and always honest. And always, I could always speak to her confidentially about things I was struggling with. So it was a really great honor to serve with her. And I know that she treated everyone from citizens she didn't know all the way up to people she worked with for years the same, but the same level of cheerfulness and willingness to get the job done and support. My first conversation with her when I decided to run was kind of an interesting one. She was a town meeting member and I also she was the administrator and I needed to give her a call because I was calling everybody in the town meeting. And she was very, very gracious about saying, you know, it's great that you're running, even though obviously she was invested in the support she was giving to the current members. And it was a remarkably non awkward conversation given the circumstances. And that was really how our relationship started and continued to be able to be honest and to be, you know, to just talk about anything we needed to talk about. So thank you. Thank you, Vizalco. I appreciate that. And so I'm going to circle back to Mr. Alliance. Mr. Alliance, can you speak? Coming back. And so next, we'll go to Lisa Roe. Ms. Roe was on the board from 2006 to 2012. And then again, in 2018. And then yet again, in 2019. So she just couldn't get enough. And who knows, it's still time. No, no. No, no. No, when. Ms. Roe. Yes, hi. It's so nice to see all of you, including my past colleagues. It's fascinating. 10 years ago, our former 10 manager asked me, he said, Do you think Marie will retire? And I said, No. And he said, Do you think her sons will ask her to retire and she'll do it? I said, No. And basically, she never retired. She died the day before she was supposed to retire. And that's the way she wanted it to be. She had a will to live and most importantly, a will to serve. She was a fond of knowledge. She knew everybody in town. She knew what church they went to, who their grandfather was, who their cousins were. And it was just fascinating to sit with her and figure out all the family histories of the people that she knows for so long. And as everybody else has said, mostly she was a great friend to us. The select board. She was loyal, as Jack said, and she kept us in line with her laugh, her loyalty and her unflagging love for the town. She was also very funny. She loved a good gossip. She was rarely mean. But sometimes she was. And she was just fascinated by people. I miss her a lot. I know we all will. And I know this town will. And I send my condolences to her, her son, Paul, her son, Stephen and his wonderful family. She bragged about those that granddaughter Maddie and also to her third son, Michael Byrne and his family. Thanks so much for letting me talk. You're welcome, Ms. Rowe. And yeah, I was actually thinking myself that some people, they can't wait to retire, but Marie apparently did everything she could to avoid retiring. And so Mr. Lyons, I see you here and hopefully you can speak. Your microphone is still muted. We have a video. I think we just need to unmute. We're going to hang with you for a little more. Oh, I see you're not on camera anymore. So I tell you what, we're going to go on to the next person and come back. But I think we're making progress here. So I have hope that we'll get you on. So next we'll go to Dan Dunn, who was on the board from 2011 to 2020, and then again from 2021. So Mr. Dunn. Thank you for inviting me to talk. It is indeed good to see you all. I have three things that I wanted to say about Marie. The first thing was about her kindness. And I think about like the first time that I got elected and I was a news like them. And I was neither a herd nor a Greeley. And that meant that I was different. And she was so helpful. She told me who to talk to. She told me what meetings like, you know, do I need to do this meeting? Do I not need to do this meeting? Who do I need to call? How do I convince this person? And it wasn't just me that she was kind to she's kind of the people who walked into the office. She was kind to the employees. She was kind to other selectmen. She was kind. The second thing is, which of course is the part of the reason we're all here is what she did for the town. You know, she ran elections, she ran town day. Clarissa mentioned us the connections she made. She knew everybody she knew everything. And if you needed to connect with someone else, she would do it for you. She visited homes. She ran the she worked on the credit union. She did holiday donations. She didn't help us send flowers for the funeral. She did so much for the town. And the third thing is, is that she was my friend. And I think about a day that I needed her help with a wellness check for a friend in Somerville. And that has nothing to do with her job. It is nothing to do with her. But she was there for me and I will never ever forget it. Thank you. Thank you, Dan. It's very touching. I appreciate it. So, Mr. Lyons, so still muted. You know, I think we're there. Hi, how are you? Fine. How are you? Well, I'll tell you, I first apologize. I've, I've got some eyesight issues. And I particularly want to apologize to Paul and Steven and Heather and the three grandchildren for not being able to really attend Marie's services. She was a, a valued friend in Great Allen, Tony, and is the other select, and probably select, been vindicated. And the thing I loved about Marie is she lit up a room no matter where she was. When I, when I know of Marie's challenges the last 10 years or so and how brave she was through her, to her sickness, but she always had a smile on her face. And she was always the vitality of the town, whether it was a running town day or whether it was inspiring poll, poll workers to want to donate their services to, you know, working at the polls and counting votes and, and doing what, what we call true public service. Marie is a public servant for most of her life, like her husband Chuck, who died prematurely when he was a member of the Five Departments. She had, as I know, she really had three major loves. First was her family, her, her husband, her two sons Paul and Steven, and then her daughter-in-law Heather, and the three grandchildren, of course, that Jack spoke so fondly about. But she loved her church, she loved her community, and she loved her, her fellow human beings, with abundance. And she enjoyed each and every select, and she made us all feel part of something special, and that was, that was the town of Allington. I'll tell you one funny story, which, which I spoke with Jack about a little earlier. One time back in the, around 2004, Maria was my guest, she came down to Washington, and I was an officer of the National League of Cities, and for some reason, because we had to get all over the city during the day, they gave us a car for the driver. And when Marie heard this, she quickly took the driver's car, and I didn't see the car for the next 12 hours. And, and when the staff of the National League of Cities asked me where the car was, I said, well, it's with Marie, and some friends from Allington, including my sister. And, and we was stuck in a cold hotel with, with about 4,000 city officials from the United States, and Marie was in the Oval Office for the President. The President Bush was up at Camp David, and, and she convinced Mark Sullivan, who was then head of the Secret Service, who grew up in Ridge Street, in Allington, to take her and her friends to a private tour of the White House. Only Marie could get away with doing something like that. And the next thing I knew, the next day, Don Barrett was the Executive Director of National League of Cities. We had to get up, I don't know, to the Rayburn building or something. And, and he said, you know where your car is? And I said, yeah, I Marie took it again. I said, Bob Bloomquist, who used to be the Allington Fire Chief. He was a, he was a mayor down in Washington, D.C. He had to get to the airport. And because Bob was a friend of Marie, but more importantly, was a former Allington Fire Chief. He deserved a ride to the airport with her in this, in this wonderful, wonderful driver she became quickly friends with. Marie had a personality that knew no violence. It had an impact on all of us. Her passing was a great loss, not only for her family, but for the thousands of people in Allington. They got to know her as many of us did. You know, there's a lesson of the Wizard of Oz when the Wizard of Oz puts a heart around the Tin Man. He says at the, at the end of the show, he reminds the Tin Man that a heart is not measured by how much you love, but it's truly measured by how much you are loved by, by others. Marie Cropelke had the biggest heart in the town of Allington. She was a woman that, that was loved and cherished by so many others. And I just want to thank her family. Her two sons, daughter-in-law Heather, and the three grandchildren for sharing this wonderful human being with us for so many years. She was a secretary to Donna Marquis back in the 60s to Bill Libby in the building department. And I, I, I, I send my sincere condolences, as Clarissa said, to, to her family and to Michael and Stevenburn, and so many, many others who, who were so blessed to call her a friend. Thank you, Landon, for giving me the opportunity to express some thoughts about such a wonderful human being. Thank you very much. God bless you all of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for joining us and the great stories. Next we'll go to Mr. Kuro, Joe Kuro, who was on the board from 2012 to 2020. Mr. Kuro. Great, thank you, thank you very much. It's great, great to see you all. So I, I was reading Marie's, and, and one of the problems of being late in line-up is that there's probably a little bit of repetition, but, but I, you know, read more. I was reading the obituary and, and it, it said how we had lost so much institutional memory with Marie, but I, I'd like to say that I, I think we actually lost an institution. She was the institution, she wasn't just the institution's memory, she was the institution herself, and there'll never be another one like her. Obviously, like a lot of us, been talking over the last, last week, week and a half with other people who, who knew and loved Marie and hearing some of their, their thoughts. You know, one person was very close to her, said, our champion is at rest. And I think that kind of sums it up, I think for the whole, the whole town. I was talking to somebody else too, and I said, you know, she adored you. And, and they responded to this, and Joe, she adored anyone who loved the town of Allen. And I think that, that is absolutely true. You know, there are a lot of us, and I'll plead guilty to this, who oftentimes are kind of self-reflective when we figure out who we are and who we're going and whatnot. Marie knew who she was, you know, kind of echoing what Charlie said. I mean, she was really a grounded faith, family, country, community. I mean, we all, any of us who were up at the way or, or at the funeral, we saw her church community was out in force for, she was always after them. We all know how proud she was of her son, her grandchildren. And she was always, Dan said, you know, you said she was kind. I mean, some of her grandchildren would be in events with some of my, my kids and, and she'd always have a kind word for some of my kids before the performance or something. And as far as country, I mean, I think a lot about this, you know, we, we, right now in these times that we hear all of this suspicion of election workers are taxing them. And I always, when I hear that, I always think of what Marie put together, like especially tonight, we're on the eve of the election and how she personally knew all of these electorates. She knew where everyone was. She knew where the strengths were and all of the falling places, where some of the challenges were. She, she brought in a team of people from across the political spectrum, whether they've been here a long time or new time. I mean, she was really staffing down at the engine room of our democracy. And she loved that. She loved that. And I'll be thinking of her tomorrow with that. And another, it was like a few members mentioned that she would share opinions or whatnot. But one thing that was interesting, and I'd have to go back and look up the specific issues. But you know, Marie was a long time town meeting member. It was always kind of amusing every once in a while. You go back and look at the voting records and you realize she voted against the board's recommendation on one question or another. But she'd have a lot of it over us. She'd do with her, her votes to just kind of implement and carry through with the board or what the town meeting had done. You know, another thing I was thinking about, Marie, you know, I left the board a lot of what I've been working on is like nonprofit leadership and besides money, things nonprofits talk about all of this. How do you recruit and manage and retain volunteers? She was a champion at that. She pulled together so many volunteers. I mean, election workers are pretty much volunteers. They get the small stipend or, you know, town day, every select-tone event there was. She had her friends there that helped sell the raffle tickets, other rotary dinners. She was always there to staff the fundraising table. And it's, you know, one of the other people I was talking to this week said, you know, she was kind of a mother to us all in some ways. And one thing that she always made sure her volunteers were well-fed, you know. She made sure the election workers got their lunch and got their dinners delivered to them. She really labored over that for the town day volunteers were well-fed and she loved it when she was putting together either the dinners who are to honor town day key volunteers and sponsors or our annual board dinner. She loved the labor of the details of that for us all. So we all know from being in the chamber that that we always knew Marie was watching. Even if she wasn't there, you know, when she was ill or whatnot and couldn't be there for us at the meeting, we all knew that she was watching. I'm sure all of us one and a few times or another got little pecs afterwards just kind of bumping us up saying, oh, you did great tonight. It was wonderful to see you and all of that. And so I just sit here and just remind the current board that, you know, she's still watching. She's still watching all of us. She's still watching the whole town. So we really best, sir, and we love you Marie and there'll never be another one, Mike. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kuro. Appreciate that. And last but not least, we have Stephen Bern. Mr. Bern was on the board from 2012 to 2017. Mr. Bern. Good evening everyone. It's so nice to see you all. It's a little reunion that, you know, obviously comes at a time when we, or for a reason why we didn't want it to be here. So I, and Chair Dickens, I really appreciate you inviting me to say a few words tonight. And since you reached out, I've spent a lot of time trying to think about what to say and I don't know if there are words that can properly describe what Marie meant to me and the impact she had on my life. I considered her family and loved her very much. And, you know, and that goes back a long time. I think my first memory with Marie was probably walking into Grove Street when my grandfather worked there in Inspectional Services and you just switch here when I turn the corner she would, you know, turn, look at me and just open the third drawer in her desk because that's where the candy was kept. And we'd probably spend about an hour just chit chatting about anything under the sun. And, you know, one of the last times we spent some meaningful time together was, you know, at my wife's baby shop for my now one and a half year old daughter. And so I think, you know, we've heard a lot about generations today and so that spans what at least four generations for us and that's pretty special and she's obviously someone that meant a tremendous amount and made a big impact on us. And I know we've all talked about and heard a lot about her commitment and dedication to the town and, you know, that just can't be understated and unlike some of what my colleagues have said, you know, I would say if it wasn't for Marie I probably wouldn't have served on the board of selectmen. I think that's the type of, you know, where she helped me to get in life. And it was, you know, that wealth of knowledge, you know, that understanding of the town, the relationships that she had and really I think her long history of knowing and respecting and loving and being kind to people. And that's something that, you know, is obviously super special. And, you know, I was thinking about, you know, obviously times like this, you think about your time on the board and the time that you get to spend together, not only with her but with all of us, if we were lucky enough to serve together. And, you know, I start thinking about some of the best times that, or some of the most enjoyable times that I had on the board. And, you know, obviously, you know, the work was phenomenal. I loved my colleagues. I liked being out in the town. But, you know, the memories that come to my mind are, you know, hanging out before a selectmen's meeting or a board of select, select board's meeting in, you know, the chamber or in the office. And just really, you know, preparing for a meeting but also just becoming friends and becoming, you know, getting to know each other. And Marie was obviously a staple of that as was everyone else who worked in the office. You know, or, you know, the other memories are, you know, town meeting intermission, sitting up there with Kevin Greeley and Marie and anyone else who wanted to go take a break from the floor. Sitting with her at Firefighter retirement parties or, you know, just getting to talk to her on the phone and hearing about what was on her mind, what was going on in town. And, you know, I think learning more than you'd ever understand by reading any of the new sources in town altogether. So, like everyone, I'm going to miss her quite a bit. I loved her as did everyone and I really appreciate the opportunity to be here. Thank you, Mr. Varn. So thank you all and we did not have Kathleen Diaz here. She was on the board from 1991 to 2006. That's on me. And so I should have come to another member of Select Board, a former member to try to find information on her, but ghosts continue to try to reach out to her. And if she wants to come and say some words at a subsequent meeting, we will certainly have her. So thank you all for joining us. It was really a pleasure hearing from you. You know, the occasion isn't the most joyful, but as I've said to many people at Dick and Marie, I feel joy and certainly feel love. So my colleagues spoke two weeks ago in anticipation of her retirement. And so if more should be said, we'll say during the business, but at this point we'll plow on to the next item on the agenda. And that is the Fiscal Year 23 First Court of Financial Report by Mr. Poole and Ms. Cody. So you gotta start with you. So Ada, one thing I know is that my colleagues read everything, Ada. And so what we're going to do is just be pretty much launching to Q&A with just a little bit of maybe you telling us me what stuck out to you about this quarter and maybe some things that you think the board should pay close attention to or that you're paying close attention to. And then we'll just go down the line for questions. So Ms. Cody. Sure. Ada Cody Comptroller, you received the year today's budget. I hope you enjoyed it. So like I said, I'm not going to reiterate all the highlights of the report, but I will say that we are right where we are supposed to be. We're at 25 percent in terms of both revenue and expenditure. And that's true for both general funds and all five enterprise funds. I will call out just the fact that there are some variances on the revenue side. And this are strictly due to the timing issue, the timing of the revenue collection. One of them is the motor vehicle excise. And that is due to the timing of the commitments received from the registry. Those we're getting in around February. So we'll see a spike in excise collection around April or March. Also the enterprise funds, specifically the ring due to their seasonal nature, the revenue is quite low. It's about 2 percent right now, but most of the revenue is being collected in winter months. So we'll see a spike soon in there. The expense side, we're right where we're supposed to be. Just a few departments appear to be spending higher, but that's because of the incumbrance process. We encourage them to encumber the large contracts at the beginning of the fiscal year. And lastly, we are reporting at your suggestion the fund balances of the municipal trust fund and also stabilization funds. These funds don't have any financial transactions except the offsets which are posted in the beginning of the fiscal year, as well as the contributions that we make into these funds at the beginning of the fiscal year. Also we're posting a monthly interest income. That being said, do you have any questions? Thanks. I think you have the thing memorized, so that's impressive. So I'll start with Mr. Corsi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Ms. Coley, for the report. We're still in the early phases of the fiscal year, but it's always helpful to see where we're going. And one thing that, from your narrative, that looks very interesting is just the collections for the hotel, the local room stacks. That really suggests that that is going to be a big number this year and something that hopefully will help out the financial situation to the degree that that can. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Corsi. Mr. Halbeth. Thank you very much. I appreciate the very clear memo. I was also very impressed that you did this for a memory, which just tells me that you live and breathe his numbers. Pretty much. And we appreciate your mastery of that. And I feel like the town is in good hands with respect to tracking this really important information. Thanks for telling us what you heard. Thank you. Move or seat? And then, yeah, whenever we have these presentations, I go through the report and I'm like, I've got to find some questions to stump you, but it's so clear that there's no questions to be had. So I appreciate these reports and it helps us in the public really to get a step-by-step graph of the town finances. And we're always impressed by the well-managed finances that we have in town. So that's a credit to you, the town manager and everyone in the finance department and all the department heads that work to keep our finances in check. So thank you. Thanks. And so I'll come back to the other Mr. Heard for a second. So he moved or seat. So I'd like to second that. Thank you. Appreciate that. And so I just have a clarification question and then maybe one that's maybe a little bit out of out of scope for you. And so on the fees, the collection rate of 40.9 percent. And you say the category is high due to ambulance and street opening fees. And we've experienced an increase in ambulance fees for two reasons. And it gives a reason. So I just don't understand. I mean, it's just, is that that question that it's like, would please explain? Sure. So we collect ambulance fees whenever we do, we get calls for service for an emergency, for a medical emergency. We collect the fees from the insurance companies. There's there's two types of services. We offer basic life services, which is just our fire department. And there's also advanced life services. And that's when we call the outside ambulance the Armstrong. The amount that we pay the Armstrong goes into a revolving fund, but everything that's collected by our fire department for the services that we render goes to the general fund. We slowed down a little bit during COVID because we didn't have so many rides. But now we're seeing that people do go back to the hospitals and yeah, I got it. Yeah, it's just a little bit of my part. I mean, so I just didn't quite understand. So now now I do, you know, so thank you very much. So the one the part that's kind of out of scope and it has to do with me and some we're hearing lots of complaints being about trash pickup needed. So so we've paid, you know, we've paid the contract already, right? You know, and so so I guess I yeah, it says it encompasses energy and trash collection contracts in the beginning of the year. And so I guess I'm thinking like for for next year me if the performance doesn't pick up, I mean is there something that we can maybe do mean so that we're not kind of paid it all out already. And I know that's not a scope. It's just something I just kind of toss out there because it's like well, I mean it's a problem. I wasn't aware about the complaints, but I'm thinking if there are any we can we can talk to the DPW director. I don't know if necessarily we can suspend payment. And not if I may. Yeah, please. We've encumbered the funds, which means the Department of Public Works has set them aside so that the money can't be spent on anything else. I'm not sure if we've actually paid the contract upfront. We're not paying it upfront. When we sign the contract, we encumber, we reserve the funds, and we don't pay. We just draw against that purchase order throughout the year. Gotcha. Okay, I guess it's time. Just you know, I'm fairly familiar with our waste collection contracts. Stopping payment is a difficult sort of last resort. There are other intermediary steps built within the contract just for the board's information in terms of what we do when we're dissatisfied with the service. Okay, thank you. This is all very, very formal and helpful for me. So, all right. So any other questions, comments? Mr. Boone, do you have anything else you wanted to add on that? We had a good discussion, but on the trash question. No, I just wanted to make the point that we haven't just given them all the money upfront that we, for our own internal purposes, we encumber. Yeah, thank you. Thank you very much. All right, you know, so on a motion by Mr. Hurd, to receive the record in a second by Mr. Helmuth, you know, Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hurd? Yes. Mr. Corsi? Yes. Mr. Helmuth? Yes. Mr. Diggins? Yes. It's a four-zero vote. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Or to another court, seeing in a quarter or so, you know, thank you. Sure, have a good night. You too, you know. So next, we move to item number five for approval of the Veterans Memorial Park. So we have Mr. Chandlow, Director of Veterans Services, and is that Michael Kluckman? All right. Senior Landscape, Architecture, VHB. Oh, okay, online. Okay. Good evening, everyone. You're Michael Kluckman with VHB, Senior Landscape Architect here with, I don't know if Jeff is in the audience from the Veterans Council, but I'll go through a quick presentation of the proposed Veterans Memorial Park renovations. I believe Jeff has shared a packet with you, but if I can share my screen, I'll just pull that up to talk to you here. So the Veterans Memorial Park renovations, project goals are really, it's time for a refreshed, existing honor roll. It's in rough shape, and the space itself is not ideal. It could be improved for ceremony or accessibility, and safety of the walkways. I'll run to this fairly quickly. We'll get time for questions and answers afterwards. So again, the current edition of the honor roll, the site itself, the tight drainage, could be improved. The soil is compacted and not graved ideally. There's any positionally proceeding on the site. And some of the existing trees are in poor health, and some are hazards. Also, I wanted to point out the unbent walking surfaces, again, just in the accessibility issues of the park. And quickly, there's opportunities here for cleaning and the application existing. More monument as well as some design working on the back side of this monument. We understand there's concerns about tree removals in the town, and we've been working closely with your tree warden on assessing existing trees in the site and going with each recommendations, as well as then also providing recommendations for numerous replacement and improved trees. There's just some of the correspondence that's been going on with the tree warden. Another question came up with the trees. There was a question about what can we do for doing mazoan planting and looking for the future with climate change and weather patterns. So again, we expect the tree warden to come up with a suggested list. We're a little bit ahead of this right now. We're looking at sort of the outline design, but we definitely want to take this. Again, Jeff's packet, which was excellent, had letters of recommendations from Chamber of Commerce and also the walk in the chamber. So quickly, the proposed design, one looks to renovate the existing site of the honor roll from the fire station to create a space that's open and has spaces for salmoning, addition of and service flags, stone, sustainable monument wrapping the outside of the space and also an interior wall, which would be great with or have space for the 14,000 needs so they can be updated if needed. I think the best thing you can do is to look at a picture. So again, this is a proposed part of the bird's-eye view, so the existing honor roll that's right in the middle of here. So this design will open up the center of the site, create a memorial wall which creates a space and a very reflective space to the site. This is the existing memorials in the center. So the site is renovated. It's on the opposite side from this view, but then a new backdrop for for ceremonies. And then also these are the 10 service flags that we added to the design. The other side of the park to the east is the more of a passive park space with the seating more shaped trees and a more structured, safe, accessible walkway in the center. There's quickly some views of proposed parks and then again looking back at the fire station, memorial walls being engraved wrapping the space, and now back towards the Civil War memorial with a more passive park space. We're going to be at landscape areas and some soils and trees. Again, this is all proposed project costs at a schematic level. We've done some budgeting, we've done some very good estimates on the memorial itself. You know, some of these things are taking scenes, like construction plans may not be that expensive to create. At this point, but this does give us a good budget for or involved in the entire project. That's why we cannot have $1.5 million with the contingencies built in. So hopefully as the project moves along, we can some of those contingencies and then since just our attachment of how we budget the estimates. Stop sharing, and again for the time we have, it's been questioned. We have to answer. Thank you, Mr. Chancellor. Do you want to say? I would just like to say that this all started a number of years ago. We are looking at alternative spots in town. We had a number of different locations that we're looking at. We went met with different groups of veteran groups, public groups, and the consensus was that they wanted it in the center of town, which is great. So last year, the select board approved the designation of this site as the veteran memorial park site. So the concept was two-side, actually. We wanted to have one side that met the intent of having a good honor roll and military history representation here in Arlington along with another side, the opposite side of the park, which is a park. There's currently really no seating there. We don't conduct any services per se there because it's not conducive to having the older veterans attend. There's no seating, ADA compliance issues, etc. So that led us to this project and we met with the stakeholders at the very beginning. A lot of the town departments came up with these these plans, refined them with the Veterans Council, the different service organizations in town, different veterans to come up with this plan design. Thank you very much, you know. So the one thing that I will say it's about the financing that we did submit for capital funding, but we increased the amount for the contingencies, just in case, because the way construction is going nowadays. So you'll see that difference between the presentation and what was submitted for capital plan. Thank you. So Mr. Hurd. First of all, thank you for your continued advocacy for Arlington Veterans. So just so I'm clear, since this is for approval, so we're approving the design that we see right there. So if we're submitting a motion to approve. So the issue that I'm running into is grants. Yep. So in order to apply for the grants, the project has to be approved. I'm happy to do so. That's where I'm at. So glally submit a motion to approve the wonderful designs that we have in front of us. This is certainly long overdue. It's as far back as I can remember and I think many people, older than me, will say they can remember that the Veterans Park has looked the same and we can tell that it's looked the same for a long time as you walk through it. It's not just for the events that we have there. Just people walk through the Veterans Park. Walk through there to go to Starbucks and it's tough to traverse this the dreaded brick sidewalks that we've been trying to replace across the center. But more than anything, to have really inviting location to serve our veterans and to honor our veterans is really important. And I know this, the monument that you see here, I often walk through the center with my father. His name is listed right there and he always says that was supposed to be a temporary thing. I think that monument was supposed to sit there for only a couple years and now it's been 23 years since. And just to point out, it's lacking 12,000 names. Right. So it's really, I'm really happy to see this go forward and we do host a fair amount of events here and I know we can have more if we have a suitable location. But even when we have visiting dignitaries, we have events and sometimes they're in outlets the center. I think sometimes I look around and I'm like, oh, this is where we're inviting people to show off the town. So I think this is a major step forward that we can use to honor our veterans and just to utilize the space in a much more efficient way. So I'm happy to support this. I think this looks great and I think it's very exciting to move forward with this project. Okay. Thank you. Is it hard? This is Corsi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Chungle, for the presentation. It's been true and well and it was a year ago that the board voted to designate that renamed the park as the Veterans Memorial Park and at the time last year and Veterans Day we received a very positive response from the public on that. I think as Mr. Hertz and as you pointed out, Mr. Chungle, the fact that we are missing so many names from the Honorable, it's really critical to update that and to honor our veterans and I think we're all in agreement a year ago and continue to be in agreement. This is the perfect spot to have the memorial and to improve the park around it. So I'm happy to support this as well and hopefully this allows you to secure, help secure some grant funds or whatever, other sources that will become available, hopefully will be available for this, but it's very impressive and it's well thought out and happy to join my colleagues with us to support this. So does that happiness include a second? I'm sorry, yes, that would be happy as a synonym for a second. Great, thank you. Mr. Helen. Thank you, thank you for this. I'm really pleased that it will be a proper memorial for veterans and also that important part of this design is a multi-use space to make it a spot for the community. I was just there actually at the park on Saturday for an informal event and I was talking with a young family and I mentioned that we're talking tonight about this plan and they were thrilled and they said they just brought their three-year-old there last week to play and when I described some of the enhancements they said it would just be a really great resource for the community and I really like creating intentional community space in a place that centers our veterans. You know, I think that that'll be a really nice focal point for the community to enjoy but also to remember at the same time and not just when we're having events in Veterans Day but all year round so thank you very much for this. I just wanted to ask about the timeline and is this going into the you mentioned capital plan you could just what year and what you anticipate construction schedule would be if it's funded. You're up Ms. Majerna. Christine Majerna I'm the finance part of the team here so as the Director of Health and Human Services Veterans Services is obviously within our department so I submit the capital plan what we've done is we've submitted it this year for next year and the following year so it'll be an FY24 and FY25 request that way we're able to break it up over two fiscal years for the capital as well as for state and federal funds that we're going for and other grants and other opportunities so this is not an entirely capital funded project we do anticipate as we've done with many of our projects and Health and Human Services seeking out alternative funds to help support we have a very generous community and I think a community that would like to see this effort put in place for a number of reasons and I think we can we can certainly seek out those funds so this is a two-year project over the next two years and as Mr. Shanglou had mentioned we put a significant contingency in there and that was in order to be able to address the growing cost of products moving forward. Thank you. Yeah thank you I'm glad I asked because that was some some rich information and I I think that's a really good idea to give the community the opportunity to be generous and and to look for the other funding sources just to keep the capital request. What would it be so great thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Collett. Thank you Mr. General and thank you Mr. Shanglou and and and sorry the representative from VHB. So I really like that we're trading seven trees for 29 and I think it's good you know especially in that area I mean I know it's going to be 19 in that area and then and more across town I mean I saw that the tree warden signed off on it. Did you talk to the Arlington Tree Committee? So so I did last week I spoke with one member but having the tree warden you know he was on board from the start and we had to do the assessment so it just I think it's I think it's a good trade. I mean I'm just kind of interested in in in their take on it. I mean look I'm hardily approving to me and I'm just overall I'm just trying to work out the posture towards trees and how we approach them when it comes to doing things in town and just trying to get a sense as to whether this is kind of a good model because we we not only have trees that you're replacing in this area but then 10 more and so they're going to be 19 they're going to place seven here and then 10 more across town and and you're also he I think you're going to have probably a different distribution not always distribution of species of trees because as I read in the recording I guess there are a couple maples that are being removed here and we have over abundance of maples that I recall reading from the tree management report so that that's good you know so so I think moving forward the big thing for me was addressing the future yeah you know in addition to trees we're having shrub gardens like that but making a point to make sure that we're planting the right trees right shrubs that we'll be able to thrive I guess in our ever-changing climate so that I think is the other really important part yeah I agree thank you did you see like you wanted to say something I just wanted to comment on the tree situation so we did when we walked through with the tree ward and we identified a number of trees that had actually been damaged and are dying right and that do need to be taken down whether this project moves forward or not so I think it's also important to understand too that the root systems that are currently there are such that these people die whether they're dying dead or still living there there are a number of reasons to remove these and to put these trees new trees back with the systems in place that we see in other cities and towns they've just done their their tree you know their centers like Blacksington and other communities like that that are putting these these systems in place that allow the roots to grow and for the trees to flourish so it's important that we look you know at that issue as well so thank you sorry no no no I appreciate that not and I saw it's all information and one of the reasons I actually am asking people to do shorter presentations is so that we can ask more questions because I just love to hear the answers to my questions but also hear my colleagues questions you know so I see Mr. Helmets yeah I'll come back with all please thank you just just filling up a little bit on the trees so just so just for our awareness how many trees has the tree warden signed off on for removal in the at least at this stage of the project realizing that we're two or three years away from from the ultimate construction yep so they are in your packet with his recommendations and and it says it's seven seven that's the that's the total he's comfortable with based on on what Ms. Regina was saying that they would they're they're not healthy or they're invasive and they're they're kind of on the way out and I know that we had a similar situation of Broadway Plaza where there was some existing trees that were not going to do well because there was an inequity so so so yeah I'm glad to hear that and I think I have a lot of confidence in his his expertise would would we assume is it safe to assume that as this takes shape you know because these tree you know it'll be two or three years from the trees that the tree warden would still be intricately involved in in the guidance and the approval of of the final tree removal plan and the planning plan absolutely I'm very happy with that you know oh thanks and so I'm just wondering if Mr. Kleckman wants to say something I'm hearing some audio because I'm not sure if you're trying to signal that you want to say something no oh um my apologies no I I'm not to answer any questions um but um no it's great great discussion about the trees and certainly people are that conversation going forward I'll just add one more thing and and when we talked um Mr. um well Jeff sorry blanking out you know and and um it was on the cost of the the honor roll you know and and you explain why it costs as much as it does and and I think it's beautiful I mean uh and but I did express me some I wish being that it was more interactive educational being that maybe you know we could learn more about the the name so what I'm happy is that the that this is this is ours I mean we're we're going to you know fund it get some some some grants me but it's ours mean and and we can do more you know in the future we we want you know but but I mean when I see names mean I'd like to look like no more being about about the people you know and and so there'll be opportunities later on I think where we can really expand on this mean make it more educational as opposed to a just memorial you know and so so I'm but it's really beautiful I mean and and looking at the the triangle slash ring of trees it's just really forward to so I'm seeing and come to fruition so I'm just to her so I have one question and I think I know the answer but just to clarify so on the honor roll I assume there'll be space oh yeah to add names that well hopefully you never have to have yeah more names but not likely but yes that was the main point so as I mentioned there are 12,000 names that needed to be added yep and then having room for additional names yep and the plan would be to unveil those on Veterans Day if you had three or four new names unveil those and and we make sure that we are playing and I guess one comment as I look at these pictures if you could find a way to reincorporate the cannonballs I know the kids the kids really like that aspect of Veterans Park right now all right well thank you Mr. Chunho and so motion to approve by Mr. Hurd and a second by Mr. Corsi Mr. Hyde Mr. Hurd yes Mr. Corsi yes Mr. Helman yes Mr. Diggins yes it's a 4-0 vote thank you thank you very much and thank you Mr. Plotman take care good job so we now move to the consent agenda number six request free parking for local holiday shopping by Beth Locke executive director of Arlington Chamber of Commerce number seven for approval winter banners Beth Locke Arlington Chamber of Commerce number eight holiday stroll in Arlington Heights on December 10th 2022 Arlington Heights Community Association Janet O'Reardon and number nine request contractor drain layer license julio delessandro delessandro corporations who 54 pleasant street westbridge water ma zero two three so let's get that agenda Mr. Helmets second so our motion by Mr. Helmets and second by Mr. Oh sorry I just wanted to because I think we have this as free parking for holiday just to explain that it's Saturdays in November in the last Saturday November and then December that's when and there's always free parking on Sundays so weekends in at the end of November and December just so the public knows what we're saying we say free parking thank you it's not all always thank you we appreciate that and and and and with that so um Mr. Heard yes Mr. Of course yes Mr. Helmets yes Mr. Diggins yes it's a four zero vote yeah thank you very much so we are now moving to licenses and permits for pupil common victorial license Duncan's 369 Mass Ave by Mark was on Mark Paske Spaske yes how you doing I'm great how are you great great so um I want to tell us what you're up to with Duncan's at 369 Mass Ave uh yes so um I'm a long-term Duncan donor franchise owner in other communities around Arlington and in the process of purchasing that particular Dunkin Donuts from Dean LAPD the current franchise no management changes or anything internally just a change of ownership hi great thank you you know Mr. Heard move approval and then um I have I use this Duncan's often as it's across from my office in one common just as I have you here and I I've always walked into that Duncan's in the summer and thought I got to talk to a manager here because I think the way that it's oriented with the sun it gets really hot in there which is not I don't care as a consumer I'm in and out but I always often wonder how the employees deal with the heat that's in that particular Dunkin Donuts so just something to take a look at maybe talk to the employees see it's something something that they that they notice and not just but and to see what you can do to help it yeah is it in the front the front glass is that so I think it's my guess and I'm not being an expert I think it's the way the sun beats into the front of the glass but I just for whatever reason I go in there and often know how hot it is and just you know feel bad for the employees so just some food for thought something to think about as I thank you we we really care about our employees and we care about the community we're excited about about this location so I'll look into that this week actually so yes Mr. Halley I have a point of Mr. okay of course I'll second Mr. Hurd and and that happens to be my Dunkin Donuts of choice too I must have so I'm happy to hear that the the staff is remaining in in in place I think I get there a little earlier than Mr. Hurd because the sun is is bright but I can understand how that would be a problem as the day goes on but I'm happy to see that you're you're coming in here keeping the staff and best of luck with the assuming we're going to have a affirmative vote here with the taking over the franchise thank you so well I make the third person who says that that's my Dunkin Donuts of choice and I usually stop there on Saturdays being on my walk home be from the gym in Arlington Heights be to East Arlington and I get a frozen coffee and I used to ridicule or just I just couldn't believe that people would drink frozen coffee in in winter months and now I find myself doing that even with a glove on you know but um but yeah and also I mean you see looking on a lot of a lot of Dunkin's be so more power to you you know so build the empire you know so um so with that need a uh a motion to prove by Mr. Herd and second by Mr. DeCorsi Mr. Hyde Mr. Herd yes Mr. DeCorsi yes Mr. Helmuth yes Mr. Deeds yes thank you thank you thank you all I appreciate it thank you you're welcome and so we now move on to open forum and I just want to let people know that the forum item number 12 a preliminary discussion regarding government speech that's going to be postponed made also because so many comments on it but um but we will be dealing with that uh at another meeting so on open forum accepting unusual circumstances any matter presented consideration of the board shall neither be active on nor decision made the night as a presentation in accordance with the policy under which the open forum was established it should be noted that there was a three-minute time limit to present the concern or request so if you want to speak please raise your hand electronically and we'll take you in order yeah yeah see Susan the stamps maybe I'm just looking to see if there's anyone else is um we'll take the list and then shut it down so I think that's going to be it so we're going to bring the stamps then there we go there you go good to see it he's being here um uh but just a few thoughts on the project I thought there may be a public comment period since it is going to be a public project and I'd be interested to know why there wasn't or there doesn't seem to be we lost hang on a second we lost a second I'm sorry no hang on please we lost your audio okay okay thanks all right we're bad oh okay um that my first comment was I was surprised it wasn't some kind of a public hearing since it's a public project and I'm not aware that it has been subject to public comment before this and I wanted the board to be aware of that and hopefully that can be rectified before too many dollars are put in the ground the I looked at the material I I was the one who talked to Mr. Chun Guo last week and he was wonderful and the project sounded great the drawings looked wonderful I did review the materials after I spoke to them and I saw that yes our tree warden did assess the trees in your materials there is a detailed letter from him about these the the trees on the property and it's he says in the letter that there are four that he recommends to be removed so not the seven that Mr. Chun Guo said I'm not sure why there was some misunderstanding here but no the tree warden did not recommend removal of all of the trees that the that they're planning to bring down and I think that that's something that should be looked at before any plans are submitted for any grant applications I would also like to know how many trees there are all together on that site Tim I believe talks about seven but I don't know if there were any more on that same topic again I think it's a beautiful project I noticed that in the seating area that big circle there's no trees at all and I you know with climate change nice weather getting hotter people are going to need shade and I would recommend and also walking along that wonderful wall memorial wall I would I recommend that they're that they look into planting trees on the street side of that wall so there can be some shade for people going along the wall and also a few trees in the middle of that circle that's the meeting area and until those trees can get big enough that they consider putting up those shades you've probably seen the made of cloth that are on poles that make these wonderful shady areas for people and Mr. Chang-woh and I did talk about that let's see what else they want to say and I just when seven trees are coming down and 19 trees are planted it's not by any means a one-for-one because it takes a tree about 20 years to become a really good shade tree so it happens in public projects all the time that all these trees are taken down and we're going to have all these great trees but the same way with Broadway Plaza it's going to be a long time before those trees are shading anyone and for Broadway Plaza I would also suggest the town look into putting up those I don't know what they're called shade sales or whatever they're really cool you Google it they're all of the country in major cities and I did bring it up once in the planning of Broadway Plaza I don't think anyone took it you know really pay attention but it's never too late to install those and I think I'm out of time and I really appreciate your listening thank you thank you the stamps thanks for coming so I think that's it all right so we will now move on to number 11 on the agenda this discussion and potential vote Arlington Affordable Housing Trust action plan Ms. Kelleher the chair of the Affordable Housing Trust and Kelly Lanema assistant director of planning and community development how you doing I don't know your name I can hear you just fine everyone hello everyone floor's yours thanks so much Mr. Chairman thank you for the time to present the Affordable Housing Trust Funds Action Plan would it be all right if I share my screen would you be able to see some presentation slides in the room sure it's disabled right now screen sharing is now it's a lot so I'll be brief with the slides to leave more time for discussion as you have said is your preference but I did want to present a little bit of an overview of what our process has been in getting to this action plan so with no further ado I'll just text on this slide but I do want to see you to see the other faces behind this report and most of our public meetings multiple trustees who presented this plan and the preliminary information in the interest of time you're stuck with me and Kelly tonight but I want to acknowledge all of their hard work I also want to particularly acknowledge Kelly who has been in the trenches with us throughout and then extraordinary I also want to acknowledge Mr. Helmut your appointee to the board who has been an amazing partner deeply involved in this work with us and I'll thank you for appointing Vic Marie Santiago and Jack Nagel at your last meeting to keep our robust board going with some additional talent and connections and I want to thank Cal Pernier Roberts who recently resigned but was a critical part of putting this plan together as well as all these other players who have been very helpful to us in getting to this point because we've been at this a long time this is the very high level overview of the four steps in our process we did some prep in the spring deep community engagement in the summer we published a plan in September for public review and here we are with a final plan for your approval here are a couple more slides about that process I'm not going to go through them in detail but I do want you to see the depth of community engagement that preceded this plan and it had a particular focus on those who are typically excluded from positions of power in public decision making who are most in most need and have the most interested in affordable housing which included seniors, young people renters people live in affordable housing people with color people with disabilities and special needs we made a particular effort to hear from them it's certainly something we'll need to continue to build relationships and connections and networks to build the kind of trust that makes that effective and easy to do quickly but we've really learned a lot from it we also we're very intentional in engaging other town bodies public and private that have an interest in housing because this plan well it is the trust plan honestly there are many stakeholders in town who are going to need to participate in achieving our affordable housing goals so those organizations included the select board represented by Mr. Helmut but also the housing authority housing corporation of Arlington zoning board of appeals the Arlington redevelopment board CPA committee Department of planning community development and of course the trust so we met with that specifically before we issued a plan and again had a traditional draft plan to make sure we had input in the mind and with those groups and this is a list of steps we've taken just since we put a draft plan out to get public engagement most of these were public meetings or other forms where public was welcome and we obviously approved the final plan on October 20th and it came to you at your last meeting I believe and is here for approval so this is a one page slide that's kind of a roadmap to the plan there's a lot of info here but we thought it's helpful to be able to really visually see that there are three strategies in here the first is about our existing affordable housing which is an incredible resource that it's important to plan to preserve and modernize the second is strategies to create more affordable housing it's clearly need more to meet the need and the third is a set of strategies to build the financial strength of the trust which at this point is relatively limited but it will be necessary to build that in order to really achieve the long-term goals of having more affordable housing in town and preserving it so for each of those three strategies there is a five-year goal just a very simple measurable goal because we wanted to be able to report to the public on some very clear goals and in those boxes in the middle are a series of actions that we propose to pursue because there's going to be a lot of decision making along the way about which to pursue in what ways we also adopted some guiding principles to help guide us as we make those decisions and those are sort of highlighted at the top of the the map here and they are intended to copy with us throughout the five-year plan process we think that these are ambitious but realistic goals and that they are steps that will create a strong foundation for the trust in town to advance a proactive and effective long-term affordable housing strategy so I have some slides about each of these three strategies that I would propose to go through if you'd like but as Mr. Diggins said you all have read the plan I expect and if you prefer I can just lead this up on the screen or take it down and we can take your questions and discuss it sort of your your choice whether you want me to go through the slides I think there's some some key insights there but it's your it's your meeting and we're here to make sure that you get the information well sorry I muted my microphone that was a mistake sorry about that well we're doing good on time and you said there's some key things there I mean my inclination I mean if we were short on time it would be to say if someone asked a question you needed to go to that back to that slide we would go but but I think we're doing good me so so I'm let's hear you know the key points they're pretty summary they'll be pretty fast for some oh these are just the guiding principles I don't know that we need to spend much time on these but they're here if anyone wants to dig in deeper the only one that I would really highlight is number seven the need to you know the commitment to collaborate and innovate with other town bodies and organizations and the need for those bodies to do the same with us that's probably the most important for town leadership purposes so the first strategy is about the 1200 units of de-restricted affordable housing units we already have they've been built between the 1960s and last year and protecting them requires legal financial and physical planning this is a little challenging for the trust because we don't own those units but the partners that we mentioned before do own most of them and have been very eager to embrace this part of the plan there's three two planning steps here that would lead to a long-term affordable housing preservation plan for the town the first is to complete an inventory for the town of all the affordable housing units in town including exactly when do their use restrictions expire how big are the units what are the preferences for who can live there et cetera it's something that doesn't yet exist in that form and in a way that's accessible to the public and so we're supposed to work with DPC we need to complete that and produce that the second is to work with the owners of the existing housing to assess the capital needs of those properties so that we understand when they're going to need funding that they don't otherwise have access to where they might come knocking on the town store looking for resources so that those those needs can be planned for those assessments would also include looking at whether the assets that they have have the opportunity to add additional units or additional affordability in any way and I know some of those owners are really interested in in using the opportunity to consider whether they can add more units to their properties so more affordability so once those two are completed we would work with those stakeholders to create an affordable housing preservation plan for the long term it hopefully would not take us all five years to create that plan but that's the goal that we felt was the appropriate goal for us to bite off in this initial period obviously if we complete that earlier it will lead us to other past and second strategy is creating additional affordable housing and we really just wanted to anchor this discussion in the math problem that is affordable housing in that it requires subsidy and it's substantial and this won't surprise you because you all understand what the housing market looks like and how costly it is for rental units and there's like peril in setting any number on how much subsidy is necessary because every unit every project every market is different but we went through an exercise that at least putting a minimum number on the board so people understand the magnitude and it's really four to five hundred thousand dollars per unit of subsidy necessary to make affordable housing happen and that's not necessarily getting to housing that's accessible for very well-income people that seems daunting when you consider the amount of resources Arlington has available for this purpose but with experience and smart planning there are ways to stretch our limited local dollars a long way but we have to do other things these are just some examples of how we can leverage other resources I'll start on the right because this is a pie chart that represents the budget for the Downing Square Broadway Project that the housing corporation of Arlington recently completed that budget was approximately 25 million dollars let's see the numbers I want to get the numbers wrong on the page here of that 25 million dollars only about 13 percent can be serviced by the rent and income from the property which means the rest has to be subsidy from some place only four percent of that budget and about a million dollars came from town sources while 83 percent and that must be it's about 22 million dollars came from state and federal subsidies so here's an example of the fact that there are a lot of subsidies out there that are being used to leverage local resources and create this housing we're not frequently asking for them and 2022 is an example of a year when in just the first eight months at least 435 million dollars of state and federal subsidies was made available in the Commonwealth and we didn't ask for any of that because we don't have a fundable project in our pipeline so our strategies are aiming to create that pipeline of fundable deeply affordable projects that could qualify for those subsidies and that is a time consuming process that will take years there are there is one other way to solve the math problem number one here on this slide is what I just talked about number two is what everybody wants to do which is to get developers to pay for it we actually have tools that make that possible the catch is you have to allow them to build market rate housing to get them to provide free affordable housing and that is what we get in these two programs what we call 4DB we're inclusionary zoning there are ways that we entice developers to create affordable housing that they subsidize or cross subsidize from the profits of market rate units so allowing this to happen incentivizing it creating pathways is part of how we can maximize our potential to create affordable housing obviously there's broader choices that are involved in that so what are we going to do to try to make affordable housing developers come here and do strategy number one and or strategy number two we're mostly focused on number one by the way if the same answers came from the develop all the affordable housing developers we talked to what are the things that we get you to come here and develop affordable housing we need sites we need a predictable path to get a permit to build obviously building at a particular I don't it's not obvious I should say it no without the obvious building a scale of development that's big enough to qualify for those subsidies is 30 40 units at a minimum to be able to really get that deep subsidy and so permitting for projects of larger size which is not something that's currently easy to do as of right in Arlington funding there is a need for some local funding and creativity with that funding can yield particularly results that we're looking for in town issuing a request for interest and qualifications for developers to come to town and work with us this is something we think we can do in a relatively short term to create essentially a group of partners who are interested in working with us so that when opportunities present themselves we can act more quickly and encouraging mixed income home ownership and this is here because home ownership requires even more subsidy than the numbers that I put that I spoke of before and there's very very few federal and state subsidy sources for it so subsidizing affordable home ownership could take a lot or all of our resources to create just a few units which may not be the best outcome for the town but allowing private development of home ownership to cross subsidize and create affordable home ownership may be our very best strategy and it seems like such an important place for us to move the dial the new 40B project proposed on MassAb is an example that it built as originally proposed created almost 30 units of affordable home ownership along with the market rate housing I'm sure that will change in size and be different in the end but it is one way to get there so our goal in this area is to create or permit 100 or more affordable units in the five-year plane there's one pathway to doing that here I can come back here if you'd like me to walk you through it we really thought we would be more aggressive in our goal but we realized that 100 units over five years is 20 new units every year and that's three times the average amount we've been producing for the last three to four decades so tripling our production is a pretty meaningful next step we thought it was important to be realistic here instead of goal that we feel pretty confident we can meet excuse me and hopefully be with the collaboration of our partners last strategy is building the financial strength of the trust town meeting has sent a home real petition to the legislature to impose a real estate transfer fee I'm sure you're all familiar with that that may or may not ever get through the legislature because of political challenges to that that are statewide we're advocating for it Sir Diggins is very involved in advocating for that as part of a statewide coalition and we intend to keep doing that if that is not able to be passed that could create a sustainable ongoing source of revenue to fund the trust we are likely to benefit and hope in our early years from the ARPA funds the town has set aside for affordable housing preservation that will enable us to kind of jumpstart some strategies but we will need sustainable revenue that exceeds what the town already commits to affordable housing to be able to really meaningfully move the dial on affording new affordable housing and preserving what we have so if the transfer fee is not able to be passed we'll need to move to a plan B our plan suggests we would try to get it through in this next legislative session but if that does not happen then we really need to move to a plan B at that point we know this is a complex and challenging question for the town but we did hear very strong support for affordable housing from residents like you didn't get a chance so we'll get the slides about our survey which was almost a thousand residents over 800 residents responding more than the usual suspects that participate in housing discussions and was incredibly strongly supported of affordable housing and new housing construction quite honestly some of the other strategies here are to secure our short-term rental fees cannabis sales tax some portion of that revenue look for ways to increase zoning payments from developers I think we actually should change this language a little bit that's challenging but we want to push the envelope and pursue any legal strategies for essentially generating revenue from development activity happening in town align our annual processes for different funding sources and consider a private giving strategy and on that one I just want to be very clear we have zero interest in interfering with or in any way creating confusion about fundraising for the housing corporation of Arlington this would be something significantly different that might involve donating property or other sort of creative ways to fund the trust and we're back to the roadmap so I am happy to take whatever questions you have I don't want to prattle on because I know you've all read it there's tons more detail there but I think that kind of covers the high notes and I'd be happy to answer whatever questions you have also Kelly if you have comments you want to throw in please with the permission of the chair thank you Ms. Callagher yes me and Ms. Lanham if you have anything you want to add please by all means I think just overall just to really thank all of the members of the trust they're every single individual in the trust has done an amazing amount of work and this is really I think even just the way that this plan has come together and the amount of outreach we've completed to the community to various stakeholder groups to affordable housing professionals has really set an example for ways that we can work it's sort of set the tone for ways that we can continue to do engagement going forward and we can build on that so just big thanks to Karen, to Beth Gallo to all the other members of the trust to Eric Helmuth to everybody else who's been extremely supportive in the development of this plan thank you Mr. Callagher thank you Mr. Chair I would like to move the select board approve the plan and I'd like to just talk a little bit about what I think that approval means in practice and to do that I want to express my appreciation for the wisdom of the the intent of this plan I think it says in the narrative and I hear the voice of Ms. Callagher in my head which means we spent a lot of quality time together and that word is alignment this whole process has really been one of listening hard of reaching out to so many stakeholders and wisely so because this is a big math problem this is a big puzzle and it requires every player every stakeholder who works on affordable housing who has affordable housing and development potential who has affordable housing expertise who has access to funds political influence we have to work together to to catch up and to reach our goals and I really appreciate the my colleagues on the trust and the leadership of Ms. Linema and Ms. Callagher and encouraging us to seek that alignment early and coming to the select board to say this is this is a work plan this is a menu this is what we propose that we as the trust work towards over the next five years these are the ways these are ideas for how we can do it these are ideas for how we can get the funding resources that we need to facilitate that but make no mistake we can't do this on our own we don't even if the transfer fee happens which I very much hope that it does that won't be enough to meet the need we have to use levers and I think this document is a really really good resource and something that's just been enormously gratifying and humbling to me is I'm sitting on this this trust fund board as a select board representative and I'm surrounded with people who know so much about this who are professionals make their living in nonprofits and developing affordable housing and who are advocates and who manage affordable housing properties and I'm in awe of the resources that we have of the of the brainpower and of the commitment and how lucky we are to have them here in Arlington and this document is not only a work plan for the trust that I hope that my colleagues will will vote to support it's a really useful housing document document to understand for the community and to inform the conversations that we are having and we continue to have about affordable housing something I have learned so much and I came into this thinking I knew something not really not compared to these folks it is really challenging to do this at scale it is really expensive I know that if you read the narrative that four to five hundred thousand dollar subsidy per unit is a floor the real cost is probably higher especially if you want to target affordable units for the really low income folks and as I have listened to our healthy discussion and even debate about housing in this community something that we often hear is everyone agrees that we need more affordable housing and we mean that for people who who have the lowest incomes and that is true and that is a common community desire and it is a big math problem because it is so expensive to build very many at scale and I really appreciate this document for telling the truth that says that we have to be realistic about what kind of public money is available to directly support these and how you leverage the funding and a lot of that funding does need to come from developers' profits and for that to happen at a scale more than we have been able to do we have to be willing to make some changes about how we view housing development and yeah we have to balance that with the kind of community nature and feel that we want I think that is really important we have to balance that with our ability to maintain down services so I make no comment other than to say that if we want that to change and everyone says in good faith that we want more affordable housing we do have to realize that some things will have to change to make that happen and I look at this plan and some of the other recent plans that we've developed the Fair Housing Action Plan the Housing Production Plan as being honest documents and in guideposts to say if you want to make those changes these are some of the things that we can consider as a community to do to make more of this happen to make the math work to pull the levers to make it happen and I'm just really grateful to my colleagues on the board for listening so hard for thinking so hard for Ms. Landema and who provides an enormous amount of often visible support and expertise and I'm excited about this I think that we have some interesting discussions ahead of us as a government as a community to put this into action thank you Mr. Hollis Mr. Hurd did you make a motion I did but I understand if maybe forgot that after my unexpected sermon no? that was very informative as well second I'll second Ms. Helmholtz's motion I want to thank Ms. Keller-Hurd and Ms. Landema and all the trustees the amount of information in this document is incredible and the amount of time that it took to put this together I don't even want to comprehend I wonder how many trustees would they took on this position knew what was involved but I'm sure everyone that we have on the trust does this for the right reasons and they're on this this committee because they want to create more affordable housing this has certainly been an issue that has been on the top of residents mine in the past few years it's been on the top of the town's goals in our goal setting meetings and we talk about affordable housing a lot because there's a need for it there's a dramatic need for it what I as Mr. Helmholtz said one of the things that I appreciate about this document is it outlines the challenges because in the political realm when we run for office or we stand up at town meeting it's easy to go up and say we need more affordable housing we need more affordable housing just create more affordable housing and the challenges that we have as that are encompassed in this document are pretty dramatic and it lays out as Mr. Helmholtz said they either got a lack of a better way to phrase it put up or shut up right we have to understand that if we want to create affordable housing we have to we have to utilize the tools that are actually going to create affordable housing and I think some people might think that there's some benevolent developers out there that are going to build properties for a loss but that's not the case so if we want real meaningful change and I appreciate again that this creates a ascertainable goal but it still is a goal that we have to work to achieve it's not certainly going to happen on its own we have to understand the type of development so we have to approve as a town in order to achieve that goal and it's going to we're going to have to re-step back and you know I think for many years there's been the development to not be named that we've been fighting against it as a lot of people say hey you know this is see this is what we're trying to push back against but we've seen a few development of a few friendly 40 beads as they call them in the past few years that have shown us how a smart efficient use of resources that can be incorporated into the to the neighborhood and the community around it can work in order to create affordable housing units and we as if we continue to support such projects and let the word out that Arlington is a friendly place for developers of 40B projects to come and submit a proposal we know that just to submit a proposal is a couple hundred thousand dollars in fees and cost to a lot of developers so they they're not even going to go through the process if they think that it's going to be they're going to immediately receive pushback if we can work towards a place where we can let these developers know that this is the Arlington community that wants to support these projects then that is that will move us towards the goal that we find in this plan and again I really appreciate all the work that's been done on this and I think this is a great framework for us to build off of to work together to achieve these goals so thank you thank you sir of course thank you Mr. Chairman and I also want to echo the comments of my colleagues thank Ms. Callagher and Ms. Lynema for the presentation tonight thank the trustees and I believe the trustees are only appointed in September of 2021 and we have this report in a year it's amazing what what has been accomplished and we I don't know what the scene over TV or in Zoom but we we're looking at an overview of the action plan it's on page 38 of the five-year action plan and that captures everything right there but this document was educational for the background for identifying principles for identifying needs but it all comes together at the end with the three five-year goals so they had to complete the affordable housing preservation plan to create permit 100 at least 100 affordable homes and establish sustainable funding sources and just a couple comments and I had the opportunity to talk to Ms. Callagher and I appreciate the time that she took to to to review some things with me but you just the need to coordinate among residents among different departments and whether it's leveraging resources and and just maybe even one of the first steps is a recommendation which I think is an excellent one to create an affordable housing inventory just to know what we have the condition of our properties and and where we may need to devote some resources to to maintain existing affordable resources or or units another thing just a comment that really struck me and really happy that they're that Mr. Nagel from the housing authority is on the trust and there is a representative of HCA because I'll drop this report you see how important the housing authority properties are in terms of the number of affordable units but one thing that really struck me and this I think goes to perhaps leveraging in the future as well is housing authority has formed in 27 section 8 vouchers that are available to tenants and tenants are using them but only 39% of those tenants are using them in Arlington and so that really suggests that one, we don't have enough affordable units for these tenants to find and two, really begs the question are there other resources that we can find other subsidies that we can find to try to find more units in Arlington now I realize these are affordable units that are being used in the region it's not necessarily a net gain for the region but for Arlington seems to me that there should be a way to try to find additional resources for that other comment again goes to coordination and I know you went before the redevelopment board there's discussion in here about the creation of an overlay district and I think that's a discussion that we should have as a community whether it's an area or whether it's townwide certainly a discussion that we need to have and another thing I would say in terms of financing and right now the transfer fee is at the legislature I think you know unfortunately unless this is something that's done statewide just being candid and then we said you were honest in the report it's unlikely we're going to get this just for Arlington without it happening statewide and I hope it does happen statewide so that there are more opportunities but I just want to commend you for all the work and really for condensing all of the principles and all of the goals into an overview here that's easy to follow but also comprehensive at the same time so thank you very much thank you Mr. Horsie so yes it's a a really good report and I and I you know I've talked I mean I've read it all me and I've talked me you know so to a large extent me like questions have been answered me I'll just make a few comments me first is that I thought the outreach effort was very good me you know and and it was impressive and its breath me and I I think we often are disappointed me by the the the numbers me but I think if we think that those numbers represent households of me I think we can be a little more encouraged me by the effectiveness of the outreach because I know me there are two of us in our household but only one of us is engaged on how wide issues me you know and the other one counts on on on me me being able to communicate me what the town is doing and being able to communicate his wishes me on me so I think that happens in a lot of households me you know that me one person's engaged me and another one isn't me in my case me I'm engaged on a vocal level he's engaged on the state being and federal level so so I I thought it was a really good good outreach attempt me you know and and I think it had some good results too me you know from the numbers the the second thing is I think I'll I'll just ask the question now me you know and then say some of the things me what is it that the select board can do me you know beyond approving this me you know and if you have some some concrete steps that we could take me you know if you have some some concrete notions that you can spell out now that'd be great but if not you'll please get back to us and let us know how we can do with me it was as simple as trying to meet with the redevelopment board or maybe even the zoning board of appeals me you know more me happy to try to do that me although I think generally we have to out of respect mean wait for limitation from those bodies but just make it really clear that we're willing to do that so I'll stop and see if I can get a little bit of an answer from either of both of you want me to go first Kelly sure go ahead go ahead certainly I just am very grateful for the deep engagement in the report that you've already made that investment of time and the thoughtful commentary that you've all provided so if you could continue to remain engaged and committed and use your bully pulpit as leaders in the community particularly as political leaders to have the honest conversation that we're having tonight I think that can go a long way second there's a lot of work yet to be done and it will need to be staffed somehow our seven volunteers are going to continue to work hard but we won't be able to get all of this done without whether it's consultants or additional staff at DPCD we don't have a staff person dedicated to housing at DPCD certainly the trustees would love to have that we've put that at Kelly's feet and at Claire's feet and I know she'll put that at the town managers feed before it comes to you but in some way shape or form it's fair to expect that there will be requests to expend the funds that are necessary to drive some of these projects so that we can move quickly and make this plan a reality so those are the two things that come to my mind immediately the last part of course is the coordination you've already alluded to some ways that could happen and we'll keep thinking about how we can do that we hopefully will continue to convene the housing stakeholder group that we convene several times during the planning process but we really welcome your ideas as well for how we can continue that kind of collaboration Kelly or yeah if I can add into that I think one of the things I really I knew going into this and one of the things I really discovered as part of the whole engagement process around this plan is that housing and affordable housing are very difficult topics they're also very hard to understand because there's a lot of technical in language that people use when they talk about housing when they talk about affordable housing and and we really have a lot of education that we need to continue to do so I think that's one of the it's actually one of the one of the tasks of the trust is to continue to work on education it's one of one of the things that I have a passion for in my job and I think one of the things you know as we go through this we realize that there's there's policy change and regulatory change and financial change that needs to happen and so all of these things are going to require complex conversations they're going to require local leadership but they're also going to require local leadership to stop and ask us questions if we're presenting things that just don't make sense like I really appreciated throughout the process of this plan hearing from people who just who were just like well wait explain Forty B to me again like who really wanted to have an honest conversation about what certain things meant and and I I am always happy to talk through questions with people when they have those kind of honest questions and really want to understand and because they're seeking to understand they don't have to always agree with me but I just I want all of us to be starting from a place of truth and I think if if our town leadership can also start from that place of truth and by asking sincere questions if you don't understand certain things or if you have questions about a zoning amendment it's going to town meeting we want to know why you know we want to we want to know what can we do to explain this better so that would be the commitment that I would hope from this life board is just to really be willing to ask why and if you do understand something to help us to continue the education that's required in order to to achieve these five-year goals he's really ambitious goals that the trust has set well thank you very much and one thing that would help with that is if you could send us the slide deck that you presented you know we'll add that to the novice agenda it's a nice digestive version of the report meaning with with lots of good graphics you know so so and then and then I will just add with respect to alignment I see some potential there I mean you mentioned me you're continuing to work for me collaboratively with the HTA but I could see being some synergy perhaps being with the MBTA communities initiative you know and and also I could actually see he us applying or trying to work with the MPO to do a corridor study being along Broadway and into Somerville you know it's nice about that is it brings Somerville into the picture which is very much part of the whole regional aspect of the MPO and and if we could get a complete street program out of that for Broadway I mean I think the impact on transportation would be great and and as I often say if we can make it such that people can get from point A to point B less expensively I mean they can apply those savings to the housing and that makes the housing a lot more affordable and and so I just put that that out there and and lastly I'll say that I am looking forward to understanding the of more or getting a better picture of what amount of funds we need in order to sustain this effort I mean towards another study you say that we just don't know yet we at all and so look forward to find out what that number is so that we can then advocate me for for that number because I think there are a lot of people in the community has Mr. Hurd it's indicated with or willing to put put put our money where our mouths are you know so we just need another number uh so so I mean so that's it you know so so thank you very much and and I think with that on uh motion to uh prove is that's the right word for this you know my Mr. Helmets and that's seconded by Mr. Hurd Mr. Hyde Mr. Hurd yes of course yes Mr. yes Mr. D yes it's 4-0 thank you bye thank you so much thank you very much so now we're on to well as I said we're going to postpone item number 12 it's just going to be a preliminary discussion you know on government speech policy you know and I will now move on to correspondence received you know so we have concerns regarding the cross-crosswalk at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Highhades Road by Ann Chen Montgomery Rocks Drive with a lot of signatures you know and number 14 is the alewife Brooke CSO update by Kristen Anderson you know which I've had and some interesting information about odors you know and I've gotten some queries from residents about that so it's good to hear that you know so so I turn it to my colleagues we'll have her see it okay I'm most I'm most afraid by you stumped us hahaha what did we do oh I need I need a post that's that's kind of tough question so that's I can't tell you man it's so late I'd like to second that and suggest that referral attack on the first item yes thank you so which was a question about it yeah and and my My kudos to the residents of that neighborhood. That's an impressive bit of organizing. And I think that correctly gets the town's attention. Yeah. All right. So on a motion to receive and then forward on to attack the first letter by Mr. Hurd and second by Mr. Helmut. Mr. Heim. Mr. Hurd. Yes. Mr. Chris. Yes. Mr. Helmut. Yes. Mr. D. Yes. It's for your book. Great. I'm moving on to a new business now. So I'll turn to Mr. Hurd first. Thank you. You know, I think we've all talked about this, but we certainly were saddened to hear of the past, you know, of Marie Kruppelker. It was amazing service. My heart goes out to her family and her friends. Everyone that she touched, you know, Paul, her son, did an amazing eulogy with, as I think Marie would have liked, a little laughter, a little love. And then to her son, Steven, who I know has really been her caretaker over the past couple of years, you know. Thoughts and prayers. So, you know, I didn't want to go on beyond what everyone has said, but I thought it was, we often talk about the things that are important to Marie, and everyone has, I'm sure after she passed away, everyone looked back at their texts with Marie, and I just wanted to read to it, because it's, all right. Just wanted you to know some exciting news for hockey coaches and players. Maddie got a hat trick and her sister Julia got the other goal and Maddie assisted. Four-zero, beat St. Mary's a win. St. Mary's a ranked second in the state and are in a state of shock. Go Arlington. I'm sure you remember St. Mary's. Prayer, prayer, prayer, hockey stick, hockey stick, hockey stick, Christmas tree, Christmas tree, shame mark, shame mark, shame mark, shame mark. That last one I got, and this, I think this one kind of spans all of our interests. John, great job at the meeting tonight. We're not having Patriots Day because of COVID, et cetera. Call me tomorrow anytime after 11. Watch Mass, et cetera, from 8.30 to 11. I'm assuming you know the Father Mark's brother passed away. He wasn't feeling good for two weeks, but I don't know what happened. Prayer, prayer, heart, heart, heart, shame mark, shame mark, shame mark, hockey stick, hockey stick, hockey stick. Panthers won 9-2 tonight. He, Paul, not the team, is on a roll. Girls hockey won 1-0 against Redding. You just, I mean, I could probably go down 50 more, but it's just those are the things that you get from her. It might be 11 at night after a long meeting. It just makes you laugh before you go to bed. So that was the type of joy that she spread. So she will certainly be missed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Heard. Miss Ellen, here, here. Well said. No new business. Thank you, Mr. Sporky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, and I also want to send out prayers and our thoughts to Paul, Steve, and Heather, and Steve and his three daughters, and I did the same thing Mr. Heard did. I wasn't prepared to read any, but I went back over old text to and the updates and emojis and remember a couple of times Sir Paul used to be with the Carolina Hurricanes and didn't want to have to tell Maria. I can't root for them tonight, Maria, because they're playing the Bruins, but we get into discussions about that, but it was a wonderful celebration of her life. And I thought Paul did an outstanding job, that day very emotional, but really an excellent job. And we all have great memories of Maria and we'll carry those forward. So that's all I have on new business, Mr. Chair. Thank you. I'm sorry, but we'll see the best for last. Mr. Paul, for new business. But you're not last, so. I have no new business, thank you. Mr. Heid? I'm no new business and Maria's text will die with me. Let's make sure you have those backed up, in case something happens between Paul and me. No new business. Well, so for me, a little bit of new business is that I have read the tree management report that was created, tree management plan. It's a really fascinating plan. And I think it was created back in 2018, 2017. And I would like to maybe get a report on where we stand with it. So I've been meaning to call you, Mr. Helmets. So, this is like a request for us to think about it. You know, and so I'm not making a formal request that I would just say, I think of, and then Ms. Samstead voiced some concern. I mean, as I said, I'm trying to just come up with a posture on trees. I mean, for dealing with this and other issues, I mean, so that we have some consistency with respect to how we handle trees, because yeah, I mean, there'll be other cases where they come up to when it comes to the development of parcels, I mean, so, so there's that, you know. And for my Marie story or statement, I went to the wake and I wasn't able to go to the funeral, but I wasn't able to go to the burial. And whenever I would go to Marie's place, she'd always express the shock that I walked there and that I was playing out on walking back, you know, to wherever I was going. And so I walked to the cemetery and I walked back and I considered that my final act of defiance, you know. So, so, so, so, so, so, and I really did think about it, of course, me in both ways. And also I continued to think about her whenever I come here, because as Mr. Burns said, I would have done this had she not approved it, it wasn't going to be a matter of her saying, yes, it had to be an enthusiastic and authentic guess. And that's what it was for me. So, so, was that, you know, I guess what I should do is look for, since it's on the agenda, one more open forum. And I don't see any hands there. Yeah, I think we're all set. But if someone wants to put their hand up, now's the time. All right, so I think we take a motion to adjourn. Move to adjourn. Second. So I'm also invited by Mr. Ducorsi. A second by Mr. Heard. Mr. Heard. Mr. Heard. Yes. Mr. Ducorsi. Yes. Yes. Mr. Davis. Yes. It was your fault. Thank you. Make your body.