 Okay, so the recorder's still going, so I'm just gonna say that this is the regular meeting of the Brain Trees Select Board. It's September 5th, 2023. And I just wanna take a quick look at the agenda to see if there's anything that we need to add. The agenda for the Select Board meeting, it's on the back of here. If anybody wants more, you have the planning commission agenda. Can I have one? This one's on the back of it. It's on the back of it. And it's also, if anybody's interested, the hiring reports. All right, it's on there. Oh, yeah. This is for the, I know. It's weird, so how many people are there? It's just, it's, there's a pile right here, a lot. Right here. That's very long. Yeah. Oh, it's extensive. I know. It probably means there are a lot of things there. Right, you wouldn't think that the only thing we do is maintain our, Okay, would nobody have anything to add? We're good? All right. Minutes from August 15th, which was our last regular meeting. Does anybody have any comments or questions about those minutes? Who may be approved? All right. Yeah. Keegan's second. Awesome. Thanks, sir. All those in favor? All right. All right. Okay. Does anybody who signed in want to make a citizen's comment? General citizen's comment? Just want to check. Okay, we'll keep moving. We may be a question. Sure. Go ahead, Chris. Are we going in the winter and with our roads the way they are right now? How are they right now? I don't know how to extend it. Yeah. Yeah, what are you, what? In what sense do you mean that? Just what I asked. Are we going in the winter with our roads the way they are right now? As far as I know, yes. Okay. Crash, could we go for a ride someday? You want on? Sure. I'll try. Perfect as a babysitting. But yes. Perfect. Well, bring them along. Right, you can run in your car first. I'll try to mend my own. Bring them along. Okay. Perfect. Okay. Any other citizen's comments before we move on? Okay. So we do have the highway report from Dillon. As we said, it's pretty brief, but the gist is that the Thresher Road Project has been put on next year's agenda for construction. Do, I don't know if you want it. Is the corridor below Woodchuck or above, rather? Right. But the water levels and the amount of rain we've had, we weren't comfortable with the contractor being in there and he wasn't comfortable being in there. So it's pushed off till next year. It sounds like the state has done that with almost all the grants they gave out for this sort of thing this year that most of them have been pushed back for the same reasons. And the grant holds over? It technically didn't, but they gave an extension because people in the state were dealing with flood aftermath and things like that. So next year, that'll happen. So really what's gonna happen is you're taking that culvert that's there just out and then replacing it. Yeah, right now it's just the concrete box. So it'll be replaced with a metal arch culvert. So a different structure. Yeah, I was just trying to figure why it was closed at night here. Oh, well, because we gotta take the whole thing out. So there's gonna be a giant hole in the roof. Tough to drive over. And there's no way to do a whole one lane. So it has to all go back. Okay. The other part of the highway report was that below Woodchuck, at that corridor that runs parallel to the road. We had three inches of rain in two hours a couple of weeks ago. Overran and washed out a bunch of thresher. So they've been trying to fix all that. So that's two weeks, amongst other things. That's sort of been our high grade, what we've been doing. I know there wasn't one other item. Oh, Dylan's been talking with the state to review the work that he did on DuPle this year to start the reimbursement process because that was state funded work. Excuse me. Anything else to mention? Not even a FEMA layer. Yeah. Why don't we talk about FEMA right now? How's FEMA doing today? Dennis, you want to take that and I'll try and get. I will take it. Yes. So the call went well. And they have scheduled, they will release some basic information on what we need assistance with. And they went through their whole list. And three quarters of the list had nothing to do with the town of Brantford because they'll have those things. They asked us about bus stops. Bus stops, yeah. I don't want to tell you how many different people from FEMA have called me over the last month. And a different person every time, asking me, you know. Like, do you have any damage to your hospital? Yeah. It's gone. Yeah. It's gone. Where are you going? Where are you going? I thought you were gonna need to start all over. Yeah. I wanted to get the same thing from Kim from the Vermont site. And she's asking these questions and I'm like, Kim, no, we don't have this. Yeah. No, we don't have this. We don't have this today. But anyway. Yeah. So we did outline what we have already done and what we still need to do. And we discussed the fact that yes, we're gonna need to have an higher engineer or have the state engineer come in and take a look at the culverts on Horseshoe Road and at the head wall. Excellent. On Fairbrook. Right. Nice. They want a hydrol. They would prefer hydrol just to look before they come back. Good, because we want to do it better. So we want more money. And they'll have already talked to the state about that for the last week. So that should happen. And actually, why don't we have everyone here who has lived and break for many years. Does anybody know how old that actual head wall culvert is? Is it younger than 45 years? I thought that's one of the major questions they were asking. I thought we easily did it. But the structure itself, we just put like this. No. Fairbrook. Right, but. The structure itself. Long hours filled. I've rode over a little bicycle since I was eight. So that's 30, 25 years. Because that was one of the big projects in it. It said less than 45 years, but we weren't exactly eight. We could try to look around and find it. OK, well, that was just what we had a crowd here. Oh, yeah. It's research. OK, so there's another one. Ask the Howard. Yeah, as I said, the Howard's might know. The Howard's might know, so I can ask them. I'll call. And so the next thing is that they've scheduled two more in-person meetings. So she sent me an email when you pull it up. So the first one is going to be Tuesday, September 12. Here, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sorry, Janice, one second. That's getting my calendar out. That one actually really, really just needs to be me. OK. And as the primary person and contact person. OK. And then there's another one scheduled for, I don't know. 18. The 18. Yes. 18 to 10 a.m. No, the 19. 19. The 19 at 10 a.m., which is the next select board meeting day. OK. And is that you need? So I'll just come hang with me all day. Yeah. Do you need a select board member there? I'll try it. Yeah, I think so. OK. I'll put it on my calendar. I'll look at my work calendar and let you know. OK. And then the other thing she just asked, if anybody's ever worked on the portal, has anybody, has the town of Rancher ever had a FEMA project? And I said, yes, April 2019. And yes, I work in the portal. OK. And that was pretty, it was pretty basic information. OK. Fantastic. All right. Sounds good. Thank you. All right, so we already talked about the extension of the grant and aid project for the culvert. And then returning to the road reclassification issue for Dukelo and Wilson. I think one of the last item that we really needed to work out is where precisely we wanted the reclassification to begin. And then we did some research into the timing of the process. So essentially, we would need to begin by notifying all landowners. And then once they're notified, we can set a hearing date following the application. I think it's 30 days. And so I think folks are familiar, because we've done this before, is we'll have to have a site visit and then adjourn the meeting and then come back to the town office to continue the meeting and hear any feedback or comments. And then we have how many days after that? 60 days to make a decision after the hearing. So again, this is just a road reclassification, not a discontinuance. And it would be for a portion of Dukelo Road and then for all of Wilson Road from class 3 to class 4. Any questions or comments? All right, well, if there are no objections, I will ask Janice to begin drafting the letters that we need to send to the landowners if everybody is in favor of moving forward. Obviously, I understand that our decision could change based on comments that we received, but we need to take the first step. Are you doing Dukelo from the bridge up? I don't know. You tell me. I think that's what we're. So the only thing I'd like to do for that is if we do that, can we talk about making the turnaround bigger so we don't have to have the neighbor park somewhere else? There's no way to make it bigger. Yeah, I thought that was the challenge, is that? That's the problem, I don't want to make it bigger. There's no way to make it bigger, except we're putting a longer culvert. Anyway, I'd like to think about it just so everybody knows, I'll probably start digging into that. Digging into that. Yeah. OK. Can you ask Dylan to determine the exact mileage of where the reclassification would occur so we can put that in the letter? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. All right. Anything else for highway? Not that I have. OK. Let's move on to gravel pit update. So as folks who've been following along know, we had a special town meeting on July 26. And the article that was for consideration at that meeting was tabled by the voters. And we have been collecting information pursuant to that motion to table. There were three items that were asked to, we were asked to collect more information on. One was the quality of the material at the parcel that's being considered. The second is the volume of material. And then the, well, there were four items, I think, maybe. I think that's it. The third was the consideration of the railroad, which has a right of way over the parcel and the implications of needing to potentially improve that crossing over the railroad and also just the general use of the crossing. And then the fourth was the question of the structural integrity of the bridge over the dog river. So we have collected materials testing data from a consultant that we talked about at the last meeting. And so we reviewed that report at the last meeting and had some discussion about the results of that report then. So, but I welcome anyone else to chime in with any other. I know that we didn't have a lot of time before the last meeting to look at that. So folks had other insights they wanted to share after having more time to review that. Yeah. The second item was volume. We also talked about that at the last meeting. The board testing isn't really feasible to determine volume determination. So we're at this point, I think, you know, for all intents and purposes relying on the volume determination that was made by the surveyor, which was 8,200,000 yards. And the third question related to the railroad has been a very developing and complicated scenario. But as of like two hours ago, the update that I can provide is that as folks know, we hired a commercial real estate attorney to answer some of these complicated questions for us. He was finally able to determine that a agreement that needs to be in place between the landowner and the railroad, which is called the grade agreement. Grade crossing. Grade crossing agreement between the landowner and the railroad does not exist. And he advised that it should exist. So that's news, I guess. The process for entering for beginning, the negotiation of that agreement requires an application fee that the landowner has to pay. And then the agreement is negotiated with the railroad based on the nature of the property and the use of the crossing and the location of the crossing. So that is not in place. I'll speak for myself and say that I think such an agreement should be in place to purchase for us to feel comfortable purchasing the property. So I think that is a step that would need to be taken by the current owners of the parcel before we would feel comfortable purchasing a property for $400,000 that has an easement used by the railroad that they could come knocking on our door one day and make us have to jump through some hoops. So that's a pretty new development as of today. We haven't had any communication with the seller about this since we just learned this this afternoon. And then the fourth item, which is the bridge over the dog river, which we talked about, I believe we've all agreed that it's in condition to support the use of the parcel as a pit at this time. And because we would, the owner of the parcel above the potential pit would retain it right away that we would share maintenance of the bridge with the easement holder, or that would be our intention. So those are the four questions. That's where we are in terms of the information that we've collected. So just to review, again, speaking for myself, I feel that we have addressed the questions that have been asked, but certainly the railroad, the answers that we received on the questions related to the railroad lead to some additional steps that we need to be taken in my view for the town to feel comfortable buying this property. Yes, Paul. Two of the four are still sort of hanging out there because you don't yet have an agreement with Tucker for joint maintenance of the bridge, I guess. That's correct. And nor is there a resolution to the crossing for the railroad. That's correct. The warning for the meeting tomorrow does not include any contingencies. Is it appropriate or is it possible at the meeting for someone to offer an amendment to the article as warned, putting in language having to do with those two contingencies? Yes. Yes. And when Dan and I spoke with our attorney earlier today, he advised that that would be prudent should the voters be interested in moving forward, that it would be prudent to add a contingency of that nature. Okay. So even right at the beginning of the meeting, we could make a motion correct. That would be something I would be in favor of putting on the table for sure. So I'll just also acknowledge since this happened since the last meeting and I've talked with members and forward about this, but folks might have seen the write up in the Herald this week. I made it really clear and I think Tim said as much in the article that he wrote that that was information that I submitted to the paper on behalf of myself Dan contributed information to it as well based on the cost effective analysis. But I, you know, I just want to state clear and publicly that I did not intend and I tried to make very clear that that was not a statement of the select board supported as the legislative body of the town. But I just felt that it was really important to get all information that we had collected to date to the voters understanding that there wasn't going to be another edition of the Herald before the meeting tomorrow night. So it was a little bit of a rush. So I apologize for not getting that in front of folks sooner. But what occurred so we can talk to me later. Thank you for doing it. Are there any questions or comments about any of the new information or any of the information that was in the Herald? Yeah, I suppose. Number one and number two, was that delivered sand or where was that sand? So Chris, you're referring to the cost comparison. So there was the, so we assessed a cost per yard and then a lifetime cost of the pit as compared to two quotes that Dan had received for, I believe the quote was for not not delivered. No quotes for nobody delivers. We have to either pick up or hire a contractor to bring it. So the numbers in the paper were delivered on all accounts. It would be from the Tucker bit to here from Twin State and Lebanon to here or from northeast and very to here. I also got a price for Wallingford crushed stone, which has a plan in Wallingford and Florence. And I have those numbers to also delivered. They charge by the time and not the yard, but you can equate them. You can turn. So your price from northeast and very, what was the material that you were asking for? It was just a ledge bit up there. It was the crushed stone that they said three quarter inch because I call them today and I got a delivered price from them. Well, they're going to send me an email and I'll send it over, but it's between $1450 and $15 a yard. As delivered. Delivered to the town's door. Of what? Of crushed. Three quarter inch plant mix. That's not the price I was given. Well, I talked to the lady first and then she passed me on to a salesman named Jeff who said that he had done business with a guy from Rantry named Jeff before. And, but so he was the one who gave me final pricing just when she heard I was asking for a large quantity but those made a difference in price. Okay. Sure. I'd like to see the email. But yeah. And I will all send those. I also have one coming from my gosh aggregate company and they have a pit in Eden Vermont and their price came in $18.60 I think a yard delivered to the town. And that's a they call it road sand. So it sounds like it's more of a screen three quarter inch product. Okay. Not a crushed. Sounds good. Um, so I guess that leads to probably the most relevant question is, you know, how do we present this information tomorrow? You know, to amend the information or to add to the information that we've provided so far. If the email comes through, I can circulate it easy enough. And, you know, I don't know if we just amended at the meeting and say how much else you can do. Right. Yeah. Okay. Um, so I guess in terms of moving forward with the meeting tomorrow, um, so we will have some new information to share. Um, you're able to take up those additional estimates. And I think because it's a delivered cost. Um, I'm trying to think how we would completely like how we would make it comparable. All these are the costs in here all delivered costs. So you just multiply just 500,000. Um, you could also adjusted for inflation. Yeah, for rate increases. So we would need to do the same. And I asked him about that. They said in the, you know, um, he said that in the past 12 years, they've seen increases in what they're doing anywhere from 2 to 8%. Never more than 8%. And in the last three years, it's been pretty consistent like 3 to 4%. And I did 3% for everybody. So that's what I did. Okay. Pretty typical. Okay. Um, so I guess, yeah, as soon as you have access to those, you can share them so that we can try to put things on paper in a way that's digestible for folks to see. Um, and in terms of the questions related to the railroad, um, as we talked about in accordance with policy suggestion, I think that that's something we should put on the table. Um, pretty quickly given that, you know, very new development and the fact that it is a potential barrier. It's also, um, I think that we have to consider the fact that the seller might not be interested in negotiating with us if that's something that we're going to require of them. Um, and that could be a real limiting factor to moving forward. So, um, anything else? I mean, of course, as happened at the last meeting, anything can happen. Thank you, Chris. Um, so, uh, we can, um, you know, deal with, uh, and consider motions as they come. Um, and, uh, we have a very capable moderator who can help us navigate Robert's rules and all of that. Um, and you can see what transpires. Yes. Appropriate to ask for a question. Of course. Were there any silver linings that came out of that meeting? Did anybody come forward and volunteer other sources, potential pits, or, um, now the town knows there's a moving problem and no one came forward with any suggestions or solutions? Yeah, I mean, I guess that's, it's, I'll just be really honest and say that's a complicated issue because obviously there was mention of, um, a parcel that, that Keegan owns. Keegan is on the board and I would welcome you to speak as a member of the public if you want to answer the question, but of course, I'll start with you on the spot. No, that's fine. I, I have offered my potential quarry site to the town and, um, and also I've reached out to another person who has potentially gravel on their property and they're open to a conversation as well with the town. Okay, so a glimmer of potential. And then the second question was, were there any rubblings from the seller over the delay or negotiating or, you know, if they also review the paper, perhaps they understand it's not as done deal and we're not going to, you know, walk away with an negotiated price. I think they're well aware of the situation. Okay, so they're not coming back to you and the price is not plummeting. They're not concerned about selling it because they have other towns already lined up. The freighter doesn't buy it. Well, it's been a month or something like that. It's not going yet, so. Um, what, I think, so the, the, what, when this property was presented to us in the form of a formal term sheet, which is the document that the seller provided to us with their asking price and all of the terms that accompanied that price, there was an expiration to that offer. They've been patient with our process and we stated from the outset that we're a municipality and so, you know, we have to ask the voters and that takes time and I think they have been somewhat patient with that and understanding that that's the procedure that we need to follow. I had just one-on-one conversation with the seller where they've indicated that October is their walk away time. So I've been keeping that in the back of my head when trying to, you know, move expeditiously to get information collected. So that's, I think that's all we really know at this point. But I think it's important to understand that this is the option that we're evaluating because it's the one that was put before us and so all the assessments that we've made and the data that we've collected and analyzed has been to answer the question of is this a cost-effective purchase for the town of Braintree? We've compared it to San that we would buy in because we haven't received a formal offer for any other parcel while we have talked about other options. They haven't come to fruition in the way that this has. So I think that's just important to understand that that's what is informing, you know, how we've moved forward. Yes, Chris. So when was this brought for? It was like before COVID, I feel like. Maybe during COVID? No, it was after COVID. It was a while ago, because it took a long time to get the survey done. That's correct. Because COVID is not a delaying the survey happening. So you hadn't had a rocky farm prior to that than I mentioned? Rocky farm was evaluated as a potential site for the town of Braintree. Rocky farm was evaluated as a potential site. When was that? 2016. Yeah, in 2016 when the select board was considering parcels to purchase. So why haven't we put equally as much effort in the checking matter as we have in the checking matter? So as I mentioned, there was a proposal in the form of a term sheet and an offer brought to us. And we haven't had, sorry, this is really awkward. No, no, it is, it's fine. We haven't been given that same kind of proposal from any other proposal. We did do a test on that material there. So we have put some money into that already. Over there. There was a report that was drawn up back in 2016. Okay, so then the next grand question is you're talking sand in Northfield. At a rocky farm you could add rip-rap, stone ditching material, material for your roads, and crush it to make sand. All in one spot. So if you need rip-rap or anything, stone ditching material, I don't believe you'll find it big enough up there. Maybe you will. However you know out there, you got some very balmy. Yeah. So I, Chris, I absolutely welcome and invite you to make those comments in the context of the meeting tomorrow. If you think it's relevant to mention, you know, the question before the voters is related to a specific parcel. And yeah, and I bet, you know, if you have relevant information. And some of that comes down. I haven't done a proposal for the town. I am currently working on one. Yeah, but equally in 2016, did you say? Yes. And nobody went out and said, what do you got here? Did and caused Jeff did not want anything to do with it. That's why the select board didn't do anything with it. He sat right over there and says, it's too far to go. I ain't doing it. We're not going to do it. It's going to cost $100,000. Put in a road so we can haul out of there. And that's what we went through, Chris. Excuse me, but you folks overseeing him. We were not. I was not sitting at your table at that time. You can tell him to go. And then we voted on it. As a board. And it was voted against. Because he made that comment. Chris, there was, I just also want to say that I, I believe again, I was not on the board when that decision was made. But it was also my understanding from talking to other folks, including more, and that we're on the board at the time that there was information that came to light about access to other material that was going to kind of get us through for another 5 to 10 years, which has hand out, which has been the case. And so we decided that it wasn't an imminent need. Jones. Jones. Yes. The record is really, really clear. Yes. I don't want to interrupt or jump on anybody. But it's out there minutes. It explains what happened, what the proposed costs were. I went back and I read it all. And, you know, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Keith. And frankly, it didn't look like it was a super viable opportunity at the time. And it might be because there was this Jones pit or this other thing. Like there's a lot of different ways to get gravel out there. And it seems like the one we're talking about for tomorrow, it's a very specific proposal. And we're going to look at that. But it might be useful for the people in the town who haven't gone back and read all this stuff just to have a printout of the minutes from the meetings associated with that, you know, so that the testimony from before can be there because it's not like you're comparing apples and apples. Right? It's a, it's an unknown potential. Right. Versus a million other unknown potentials. Right. And there's, there's purchasing land is complicated, right? There's always different elements associated with each parcel that you need to consider. And like you said, it's really challenging to compare one against the other. And that's why we're doing our best to take a look at this specific parcel that has been presented to us and compare it to other known quantities in the form of a purchase product that we could buy off the shelf, so to speak. And yeah. So, and I applaud you for dating into the record that far. Like you get the citizen of the year award for that. But like, of course not everyone does that. And I'll just be quite frank that I, you know, I don't have the time either. So, I'm stoked to be able to use my new EC5 or reduce. All right. But yeah, I think, you know, we, we're hard pressed to get the material that we have gotten in front of the voters to date. That's been, you know, I've taken vacation time, you know, to put that information together. So, you know, we're all working really hard to do what we can to get good information out there. And, you know, we have even like, like this is a very fluid situation. You know, we have more information from Keegan. We got the update from the railroad just a few hours ago, you know, so we're doing our best. No, no, it's great job. Thank you. Yes. Well, relative to Keegan's wasn't there a discussion at that last meeting that it was in conservation district? Yes. That's correct. So now you're accepting a plan that keeps that in conservation district. That's true. Shouldn't something be done before this plan is adopted if you ever wanted to consider that? Well, we can, sorry. Well, in the town plan, and I've recited in the report in 2016 that it is up to a town's vote to take that out of conservation if they see it economically viable for the town. So they can go along with the gravel pit and not worry about this town plan? I mean, if that was an option. There would have to be an amendment to the town plan and the zoning bylaws if that were to happen. Before that could occur. Before it could use the property. I don't want to do it especially before zoning. But again, those can be changed by the town's vote. So it could be a warned meeting specific to the question. So there was no change at all in the map of the different districts in town? There was. But not affecting. Not affecting. So does it affect me? No. Well, it did the last time. Not this time. Very curious. Okay, so just sitting here, we're scared to spend 100 grand to go that way, but we're okay to go 400 grand and go north to Northfield. That's the way I'm looking at it, but let's move on. Sorry, what's 100 grand? Most of this board wasn't here. Yeah, okay. So let's talk about it. That's all I'm saying. Yeah. Well, I think a better representation between those two, even though we can't compare the gravel pit to the quarry, in my opinion, it's two totally different animals. But as the 100,000 goes to that was, you know, as from it into the road at one time could be comparable to what you're going to spend to the railroad crossing. So it's more of an access comparison than it is to the 400,000 that we're paying for. Or potentially paying for the gravel pit. Lou, go ahead. You had your hand a split second up before I looked at it. Rock papers. So I want to make sure I understand something. If the voters approve this tomorrow, it's not like it's a done deal. You're going to go by the plate. Absolutely not. All it does is authorize you. If you conclude Hegan from making a proposal or some other proposal that drops out of the sky, it gives you the ability to move forward if those things don't happen or to weigh that against them. That is 100% correct. Because sometimes I feel like people think that you've got a few authorization points and check books in your hand. No, this is an authorization to negotiate a purchase and sale contract. It is not an authorization to write a check immediately. It's for us to enter a contract to eventually. But we do need that authorization legally because of the financing term of the loan. But I'll also note that the warning, the article in the warning actually did change to speak to the point that you're making, Luke. Previously it just said do the voters authorize the town to purchase. And we've changed it to say do the voters authorize the town to negotiate the purchase. And I'm hoping that that nuance makes it a little more clear. And just like any other house contract that would come with contingencies, like the railroad or, you know, whatever else, we decided to put in. So regardless of what happens tomorrow, if you're authorized without these contingencies, those would be part of the purchase and sale. That's correct. We could, right, even if the contingency that Paul mentioned doesn't end up in, if the article is voted out, yes, if we vote yes on the article, we could still as a select board say, well, in the best interest of the town, you know, we're going to put these contingencies in there because we feel like that's in the best interest of the town. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, Luke. Similar point. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate that. So I guess a question I'd like to ask is, you know, it's been mentioned to me a couple times that it might be helpful for the voters for the select board to come to this meeting tomorrow with some sort of recommendation if we have one, either for or against the question that's being asked. And so I wanted to open it up to the board to ask, is that something that we would like to do? Do we want to make a recommendation to the voters and say, you know, based on our evaluation of the information that we've collected to date, and our, you know, kind of historical knowledge, this is what we recommend, or this is how we recommend you vote. Is that something that folks are interested in? It's fine with me. Yeah, it's fine with me. It seems to me that the fact that we're taking to the voters kind of implies that there's... Sure. But I think sometimes it's helpful for, you know, as we kind of alluded to, not everybody has the opportunity to dig into all the information. I feel like all of us have spent a lot of time digging into the information. So folks might be interested in, based on our judgment as the people who are sitting here looking at all the information that have been voted in to make these decisions, do we have a recommendation? The recommendation to adopt the article. To adopt the article. So what's... Like, yes, we want to vote to recommend or not recommend. I guess the question is... Recommend, I mean, with the continuance of the railroad. You know, that's the big thing. We've got to figure out. I'll just say, though, that some people will probably say that you don't need a purchase and sale to negotiate that deal. At this point, it's on tuckers to go for that permit. We don't need to say, well, we're signing the deal for you. No, we need to say, you go get that permit and when you have it in hand, then we'll negotiate the deal. You can enter into the contract with that as a contingency so that if it doesn't happen, the contract voids. And you're in the same position at the end of that, whether you did it before or after, the end result is the same. Right, but it's the glass half full or half empty still because it can work both ways. Unless the seller decides he doesn't want to wait. Which is what will happen in three weeks. So the purchase and sale agreement is locked, tuckered, and to selling it to you once that contingency is satisfied. That's correct. He can't walk away at that point. That's correct. That's important. Right, but there's also benefit to tuckers selling it to Brantree versus benefit to tuckers selling it to the other town. So it benefits him to sell it to Brantree. You would think he would. How does it benefit him? He was selling it to Brantree. Because he also crushes all of Brantree's gravel. And so he's going to be crushing that gravel. We've already talked about that. And in fact, he's asked for some sort of contingency in there that says that he will be processing that gravel for us. There's no there's nothing that precludes him from crushing for whoever he sells it to. No, but it's a less likely scenario when you look at where it might go and who's over on that side of the mountain that already does all of that work for that town. Jesse. And at the same time, if we go back to tuckers and we say, you know what? Why don't you just hurry up and get the whole railroad thing and then we'll, you know, go back to the town again. We've got to warn another meeting. We've got to have and it's a 30 day thing. And so we just keep dragging it out and dragging it out. And so it just, it seems like if you've got all your bases covered, why not just do it tomorrow? And then, and then you're done one way or the other. Either they're going to have to get the railroad or they're not going to get the railroad. If they don't, we walk away. Yeah. The contingency in the purchase and sell contract could be you need to file the application with the railroad or whoever that is by date. That's great. And so, you know, we can move them along rather than as Keegan was suggesting, you know, wait for them to do it tomorrow. Well, I'm just, it's the other side of the argument is all I'm showing. I guess I'm not recommending. I'm just trying to show the other side of the argument that may come up at the meeting. Thanks. Jesse, since you're here, sorry, I'm putting everyone on the spot tonight. Can I ask, as our town treasurer, like based on your understanding of, you know, the terms of the purchase and all the different information that we've been weighing, do you have a recommendation as treasurer, like if this would be something that would be a good decision or not for the town, fiscally? And you can say, I don't want to answer that question. But if you want... No, I will to the best of my ability currently. Okay. So, no, running all the numbers and, you know, one way or another, et cetera, it definitely seems like something that is a viable source without much impact to the tax rate in the town, if any, currently. So, you know, it just... It seems like it should just... something that we should go forward with because we keep dragging our feet and dragging our feet and before you know it, we're not going to have any answers. And so... In terms of the capital budget and the contributions that we make to the Gravel Pit Fund right now, like there would be enough between those contributions and the flexibility and the capital plan to cover the cost of the principal and the interest for the financing period and we wouldn't have to allocate... Without a problem with some leftover and we could even... You know, once the decision was made and so on, if the town does go forward with it, I would revisit how much is going into the Gravel Pit and how much is going into the capital funds. I had only made those changes, suggested those changes here a few years back and put them into place so that it could get that capital budget up and running and it is up and running. Okay. So... Thank you. That's helpful. Yes. I mean, if someone wants to make a motion... I'm not sure I'm trying to do it. Okay. We can fix it. I move that the select board recommends adoption of this proposed expenditure. Art. Art. The article. Art. Art. Thank you. With the contingency amendment or with the railroad contingency. Yeah. Okay. I'll second. Any other discussion? I mean, I guess I'll just say what appeals to me about this is that you can make this purchase without an increasing tax rates for the foreseeable future and fix your sand prices where you're not at the mercy of the market and who might run out and what prices might go up. The price you buy that now is the forever price only changing based on town taxes but that's a minimal against the whole. Having it locked now for the next 20 years seems appealing to me instead of seeing what the next guy is going to charge us. I would just like to say something on that comment that it will still go up for us as the cost of raw material doesn't change but the cost of the process changes every year. Right. So it's still going to go up. It's going to go up based on crushing and fuel and town taxes and those are the major factors but the price that's in the spreadsheets that the numbers that I worked up accounts for a 50 cent per year crushing price increase. So it accounts for the crushing price increase in the same way that the price increases for retail have gone up also. Right. So it's the same I guess is what I'm just getting at. So even at, you know, your price delivered from pike industries they're looking at the same 3-4% every year so it's not changing drastically the difference between the two of them. It's the same. I guess I'd just like to say bi-local. There you go. That's what everybody's been preaching. Is for me? Bi-local. It's my supper here. Turn on the TV. Any other discussion before we vote? Okay. All those in favor of Charlie's motion? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Aye. Okay. Excuse me. I just, sorry Lou, one second. In the legislature you get to explain your vote after you make it so I'd like to do that. I just want to say that I'm voting yay because I think based on all the recommendation that we've considered to date it's a prudent recommendation to make with the contingency in place and understanding that the select board is going to retain the ability to negotiate this process and I just want to say that as a select board member my intention is to participate in those negotiations with the best interests of the town in mind and for this to be a good deal for the taxpayers and that's really my only intention. So I just want to say that. Anybody else want to explain their vote? I feel there's more than 20 years worth of saying that. And that's all this figure has been on is 20 years and that is just bringing it down to the level of the railroad and below the railroad bed there's more. That's bringing it down to the level where they started digging the fourth hole. This is a dry round of the property. And that report said they went 10 feet deep? Yeah. They didn't run out. Can we ask someone to explain their vote? Keegan did you vote nay? I did. Or yeah, abstain. I want to put you on the spot. No, I didn't abstain. I voted nay. And I guess I voted nay because I like to give I don't want to recommend it to anybody. I'd rather them take the information and make their own vote or opinion. Thank you. Lou, you are going to say something. And I'll just say like I'm not against Hucker and I'm not against Hucker's pit down there. That's good material down there. I recognize that today I set foot in that pit down there. It just doesn't work out number wise to be any greater than anything else. And there's other opportunities here in our own town and I don't just speak to my opportunity. Anything else related to the gravel pit before we meet again tomorrow evening? Okay. So the meeting starts at six o'clock. I'll be there a little bit early to set up if anybody wants to help set up. But other than that, I think we'll have everything that we need to move forward. All right. We'll let those things go. No problem. Good night. Good night. Good night. Thanks everyone for coming. Appreciate your participation. Any other questions? Okay. Thanks so much. That's actually a good point. This week, over the weekend, last weekend they have worked on it. So they're trying and I think they were supposedly still working on it having it done by the end of September. So that was my 30 day notice. Very good. Thank you. Okay. Well, keep us posted. Thank you for taking a look up there. So EC Fiber, are we like hot to drop with EC Fiber? I'm just asking. How's your computer working? It's pretty darn good. It's been working out since. Yeah? Good. Everybody's happy? All right. Because it doesn't seem to be really what you get over. Yeah. No, usually I get a little notice with the video conference that your connection is too slow to support video or whatever. I have not seen that. Thank you. That's great news. Okay. Moving on to new business. So we had our town plan hearing and received some comments. Any discussion before we consider the question of adoption of the town plan? All right. Then I'll make a motion that we adopt the brain tree town plan as revised. I'll second that. Any other discussion? All those in favor? All right. All right. I'm sorry. How many of you seconded? Everybody. Just pick one. Just pick one. Yeah. Well, on behalf of the town plan, thank you. Oh, thank you. Oh, my goodness. Do you raise it all at Harvard? It's very important that we move forward, especially if we want to keep any steam behind. The zoning ordinance works against us. Yeah. It feels like in the further you step away from that over time, the less pressure becomes when it's right in your head at the moment makes it easier to step straight into the zone. For me at least. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, no. We haven't voted. We haven't voted. All those in favor? All right. All right. All right. All right. Well, we did it again. Everybody seconded. Everybody voted twice. We really wanted that. We really wanted that. So just in relation to the adoption of the town plan, we also need to submit a determination of energy compliance, which is a resolution that I have here. That's pretty straightforward, but it basically just indicates that we are submitting our municipal plan to our regional planning commission, which is to rivers to determine whether or not we're in compliance with the energy components of the plan. I'm pursuant to title 24 and then similarly for the municipal plan itself and a requirements in title 24. So we will submit that to rivers if we vote to adopt that resolution. So I'll make a motion that we adopt that resolution. No second. All those in favor? Okay. All those in favor? All those in favor? All those in favor? All those in favor? All those in favor? All those in favor? All those in favor? All those in favor? Okay. Okay, NRCS, Janice. Actually, can we go back? Yeah. Without a plan? Mm-hmm. So to get a municipal plan, after it's been adopted, needs, I need to be doing some work and I'm gonna need verification, I think, on some times and dates that people have done. I think I have them all, but I would like to confer with you. So I'm gonna send this to you. Okay, and if it's anything to do with the planning commission's process that they held, copy Jackson or anything. Yeah, he's already filled out his section. Is this the reporting form? Yeah, certificate of a municipal plan. Right, that Jesse will sign. Yes, so. Okay, thank you. I just wanna confer to make sure that we have the same dates. That sounds great. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Yeah, I was made aware of that form's existence earlier today and I was wondering what the... What we needed to do, so. All right, so Janice, you have the USDA and our CS sponsorship letter listed. Is there anything that you wanna mention about that? Okay, well, so I know I have to do my check. You can take a minute. I think the rest of the items are all ones that will rely on you for, so. Yes. Go for you to. Well, I think this was actually more of a notification item to you. Is it something the town wants to do? If you want to do the letter, they give you a sample letter. Yes, yes. Okay, I'll do it. Yes, thank you. So does the town... Does the select board want to put this letter out to the USDA and our CS and they're recommending it does? That way, any citizen, landowner, whatever in the town or county can use this letter to assist them with getting funds. That FEMA might not cover. Okay. And items like that is what it is. Okay, yes, why not? If someone can avail themselves of this program, we should do it. Okay, so then I would look the letter, have you signed it? Okay. Or I can put your, I can put your, but the electronic signature I think will work. That's fine. And then once I send it in, I can let, I will almost get on all the sites to let the citizens know that it's there, that they need this. This is another funding source for them. Thank you. Okay, welcome. Okay. Insurance. Oh, sorry. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. And the next one's mine too. Yeah. This was just also a notification of how much our Blue Cross Blue Shield is probably going to be raised. Yeah. How much the Green Mountain Care Board allowed Blue Cross Blue Shield to raise their rates for 2024? Yep. They didn't get as much as they wanted, but. But they got a lot. Yeah, they did. They certainly got a lot. So that was just, I have to point with that, that back here, when it comes time for budgeting. Yep. That it's gonna be something that we're gonna have to take a look at. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. And then we have a rental request. Yes, this is the Tri-Town services. Is that correct, Charlie? It's something that you're on with Amy. Oh, the Ramen Network? No, it's not Ramen. Tri-Town, I'm not the one. Oh, okay. Well, I put Tri-Town services, but she said you attended or maybe something. They had one and ran it out and they went up. They're gonna do one and break three. And they're gonna do one in Brookfield. And it's an informational meeting for all the citizens of each town. About? Well, that's what I'm asking you because I kind of didn't quite understand what Amy was. You started hooking up with one that was coming out of Bethel. That's what, that's the one. Oh, that's the energy committee. That's why I asked. No, not the energy committee. Maybe this is the, like the panel that has been being organized, period. Oh, yes, okay, okay. I think she's got municipal officials. Remember at the Chandler, they had like, if you're new to the area, come and learn about it. Yes, that's what it is. Okay. Okay. Sorry, once again. That's okay. Conversation. Yeah, well, she's requesting the town hall on October 15th. She didn't, she said that they could pay for it, but because it's for the citizens, it's a meeting for the citizens. Yeah, it's a public benefit. Yeah, can we waive the rental fee? I don't have an issue with that, if it's a public meeting. Information for the community. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. It's fine. And then the last one is the fiscal year 24 grants in aid, grant agreement approval and signature should be sitting in front of you. Yes. We discussed that needs to be signed so that I can send it back to the state. Okay. Did we already agree to enter into the agreement or should we make a motion to do that? Oh, okay. Do you guys need a copy of the agreement? I didn't, I think I included the whole agreement. It's this standard state grant agreement that we've seen before. Yeah. If everybody agrees on it or not. Yeah. Okay. I don't think there's anything different about it except it just lists us as the grantee. All right. I'll make a motion that we sign the grant agreement for the fiscal year 24 grants in aid. I'll second. All those in favor? All right. All right. Okay. All right. Yes, Jess. Go ahead. I do have a quick question on the, sorry I missed it. That's okay. Yep. The FEMA covering the FEMA payment. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Excuse me. So. You have a night, did you get a call? Yeah. Like perfect. Class four roads are supposed to be maintained by the town so they're at least passable. That's right. So any class four road that was damaged beyond being passable should be covered by FEMA correct. So we should definitely take a look at those class four roads because Boeber is not passable. No, Boeber is nasty. Yeah. Yeah. I've heard that from several people. I went over on a bike and it is real, real. As a result of the event. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Some of the trenches are like three feet deep. Like you can swallow it yourself. Right. It's always been horrible. We had to turn around yesterday. I heard it's not. It's real bad. Okay. I went over it about two weeks after that and it was virtually impossible on a bike. So. Yeah. We should certainly try. It's up about, it's less than a mile. It's like seven tenths of a mile up. There's a crevice that you can't get through. Yeah. I wouldn't even ride a horse of it. It's so bad. You got to wear that string. Yeah. That string comes through. There used to be a culvert there. Yeah. You know where. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. Okay. It's stuck in there. Can you let Dylan know to, we just need to get up there and take a lot of pictures. And. I didn't even think of it. I shouldn't. It's okay. It's okay. I mean, if the damage is still there. Oh, it's not going anywhere. If the damage is there and we have a dealt with it. You know. Yeah. It's something that we didn't know about basically until now. Yeah. So it's like reaction. Yeah. The only other people I guess that might do something about it would be the Vassa. Because that's their trail coming down through there and I actually had a conversation with Paul Gehr. He's the other day. I don't know if he's on that. Fair. He's just friends with all these guys. He was. But they've been talking about working on some of that. He's also crossed the road from Bolver where you go out through the horse pastures and go down. I guess there's a really bad mess down there that they're having to figure out what to do with. Okay. So they would be the only other ones that might be that might have that on their radar. They're going to need to do something about this. Well, then if somebody doesn't, I mean, snowmobiles won't be the ones who are there. Right. I mean, you're going to need lots of feet of snow to get snowmobiles to be there. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So we just need to take pictures and have the location services turned on or wherever so it's exactly where it is. And then we can go for that, you know. Why not? Okay. Yeah. I don't think FEMA has any kind of road class restriction. I don't think they do. All right. I think if it's a right of way. Yeah. I mean, like Dylan's been up on our road to fixing things. I don't know about that. If it's a public. I mean, yeah. Was fancy part of the storm or did that happen in the second storm? Oh, what about Blanchard Road too? Because I was just over there the other day. It looks like the town set a couple of columns out. There's a hole beside the road. It's probably five feet deep. Right where you can't think of the people's name there. But Kinsley does their hay and then their paste appeal. Yeah. I don't know. I can't. I don't know if there are cones or maybe the neighborhood over there puts some cones out. No, it would be ours. Nobody else knows. I guess. So there's a hole in this. Yeah. Maybe we should just let Dylan know. Maybe he didn't know that class four roads were on the table and then if there was anything. Probably. And nobody's been up there really. Unless somebody come. He's not going up over. So we're not seeing that. Unless somebody comes to us. We closed it because we knew it was bad. Yeah. I can't believe Lou didn't say anything. It's above him. It's above him. He would never go that far. So he's probably pretty happy. Okay. He's a risk. He's a risk. I know. If you weren't here, you'd be like starting. There's nobody going through there. I know. Payment orders. How's it going, Charlie? I'm almost there. I've got about five more to do. Well, what percentage of those can you guys actually sign the last? The corrected one. The corrected one. Better. I don't know. That's right. And Janice, do these have to be signed separately under the first dash? I'm on the side. So you can have that back. Okay. Well, I think it was a Friday, but when they went to Brooklyn. Okay. Well, we may go back to the buddy system before correcting. No offense, Lauren. What? This is the corrected warner. I did put in an extra zero. I'm going to check number. Okay. And I didn't catch it either at the end. Come on. That's what I'm doing. All right. I'll make a motion that we re-approved the warrant from the September 1st Select Board meeting. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you. Oh, we need to sign the resolution, too. Ask while we're signing things. Have we heard anything else? Any other interest in the highway crew position? Nope. Janice, can you do another round of? Put it in the paper here. Anything we can do. Okay. When we put it on, that's going to get wasted. Yeah, I know. We're really getting down. Put it on the minutes next. Nobody can talk about it. What? When we put it on the next one, talk about it. You mean we want to think about what we can do to. Yeah. Get somebody to sign on this one. Oh, yeah. I don't know, man, but it's getting. Yeah. It's not good. I'm coming down to crunch to it now. Right. Well, I'm thinking it'll help me there. No, Randolph's struggling, too. They got Bernie working full-time, almost, since he was a 90-year-old. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. If he's working down the airport, I mean he ain't going to help us. It's cultural. How's payroll looking? Would you like to go down payroll? It's, yeah, I don't know what to say. Nobody in the village. Yeah, we're going on payment orders. Okay. So then I'll make a motion that we approve today's payment orders. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Friend Wade, he gets 26 bucks an hour. Lauren, how many coasts do you have in Roxbury? We're full. We have three. Yeah, so it's you and two other guys. Yeah, I could get Roxbury at most miles. And they know it. How do you feel about Beringtree? I know. They don't pay enough. That's how I feel about Beringtree. We got a good balance party. How's your eyesight? Randolph. Randolph, one of their hired men down there, we've been there four or five years now. He's been working for them a lot less than Charles has been working. And he's getting over 26 bucks an hour. I've said right along, we want to say it again. Pay more, we're going to get to my level. Vision and dental. No matter, it's about what's in your pocket. Vision, vision, dental, health insurance does not put groceries or a car under your ass. Well, if you can't see well enough to drive. I know, I'm not being very pathetic. What is the truth? So how many of these do you want me to run at? Another two? Three? Until we, until Feld, just keep doing it. Keep doing it? Okay. I don't know what else to do. Yeah. Put it on the agenda next time so we can talk about it, though. Okay. Please. Because we may want to do it now and then, think of something. You're paying them anyway. You guys, you know, when you get to fourth guy, so let's pay them for doing the job on the fourth guy, which is okay, but you're paying them anyway, that rate. So figure out that rate and pay them, that hourly rate. For the fourth guy, you mean? For the third? No, for the guys that are here. Yeah. Right. All right, do the math, Lauren. Come to the next meeting with your spreadsheets and list there. But he decided he was gonna log this winter. I mean, my point is you're paying Dylan what this kid's getting paid in Randolph, same age as Dylan. Yeah. And he's just a truck driver and equipment operator. He has no say, he just does what he's told. Or Dylan, on the other hand, is responsible for the help. He's responsible for the equipment. And responsible will make sure the roads get cleared and sanded and you're not rewarding him for it. And I shouldn't say anything because he's my stepson, but it's a real point. Yeah. Something to think about. We're gonna let that speech for the next meeting. You guys already heard the speech. Right before you abstain. Oh, my goodness. I think this town is just too small. It's a problem we're running into. Poor Luke, he's stuck here with us. Luke's stuck here with us. Oh, he's just waiting for the gavel to drop. He's stuck here with us. Oh yeah, so that's where this is Rowan, Rowan. Oh, Rowan, I thought your name was Luke. Sorry, my problem's. So we're waiting for one hour. We'll see you tomorrow night too, at the town hall. No, someone else? This communication. Oh, okay. We tried to set him somewhere else tonight, though. Gave him the wrong address. He found it. I think this is the first time that Orca has ever, since I've been on the board. That's what they told me. Yeah. Well, thank you for coming. Yeah, thank you. Rowan, what did you say about the freight train again? I put him on the spot, sorry. I put him on the freight train. He never heard of it. Are you a journey? Should I be talking to him? He doesn't know. Oh, it's fine. We're very informed. We're pretty laid-back. Oh, no, it's, yeah, please. This is the most people we've had here. Ever. And how many, like, yeah. Especially since COVID. Since we talked about the, like, where Orchbury has it all. Yeah, please sit here by ourselves with Janice and Jesse, so. Every meeting lately. Why? What trashed them? Just a bunch of drama. That could do without it. Sorry, Keegan. You know I was even offered to help you. No, that's okay. It's fine. You're just trying to make sure you match up some of the numbers. And I believe that's what I'm doing. But would you like me to give you Dan next? Because he's actually the only other person who's technically. Yeah, you should share that. Authorized to do that sign them. To check them and sign them. So Dylan wants to request if I do flow further down. Lower than average. Yeah, but I talked to him today. I just, if we're gonna do it where we are, it seems like we should do our best to make it where we're not asking people to park at each other's houses. Turn around. Yeah. So another thing we need to think about, if we're not gonna have at least three guys on the road to this one, and we gotta think about maybe finding a contractor to buy on tan and the road. Yeah, we've talked about. Maybe somebody that does the pickup work or something like that. A little beyond pickup work. Yeah, that's gonna take, because we have three buses. We've got three buses. We've got to have somebody in a big truck. Randolph is considering doing it because they have no help. Yeah, it's a city. Going to contractors. Man, full. We might have somebody to talk about it. So like I said, is it cheaper to hire contractors to do the work or just go up in our fricking rate because contractors ain't cheap. Yeah. Oh, we should talk about it. No, it requires some more of that anyway. Big trucks, because of the bus routes. I hate to say that, but. And we don't have anybody who's a part-timer at all. Yeah, one. Do you have one bite and then they never call? No, I have some part-time. Okay. I know one guy that'll come drive the pickup. Right, but I just, I know somebody that might drive the CDL. I know somebody that might. I do believe. Thank you, Kevin. Appreciate you. Okay, I'll make a motion that we approve that payroll warrant. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Are you going to do them separately or give me the names? Oh yeah, do it at the right, because we have one for August 17th. So we'll do that one first and then do the August 17th first. Okay, so I'll make a motion that we approve the payroll warrants for August 17th and for August 31st. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Perfect. Okay. Thank you so much, everyone. Yeah, you're welcome. Sign them. Make a motion that we adjourn. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.