Select Board: September 13, 2023

Transcript captured from MHTV’s Vimeo auto-captioning. No speaker labels; proper names and dollar figures occasionally misheard. Click any timecode to jump to that moment in the source video.

0:00 It’s Wednesday, September 13th, uh, seven, just after seven o’clock. This meeting is being recorded via Zoom and I’ll call us to order. We have 22 items on our agenda tonight. And first up, we have a, um, student representative candidate, um, Ms. Nikki King for our task force, um, against determination. If you would please, um, join us at the table.

0:28 We just in, um, love to hear a little bit about yourself and welcome, um, your interest in the task force. All right. Um, I’ve known Reece Berg, an active member of the task force since I was 10 years old, and I first started going to Marwood Public School. And, um, I’ve always kind of helped out with it in, um, separate like things. I attended the pride flag raising every year since I’ve known it existed, and I’m very passionate about helping others. So that’s really my interest in the task force in simple terms. Those Are great reasons, and it we’re so glad that you’re stepping forward to volunteer your time. Thank you Very much. You have anybody else on the board thank You To say anything or ask any questions. Do you have any questions of us? Do you have any questions about? Um, no.

1:16 I think I’m pretty well informed, but thank you. Okay. Awesome. Okay. And a freshman? Yes. Good for you. Freshman year. Yeah. Best of luck this year. Thank you. Okay. So, um, I’ll ask for a motion to appoint Nikki King. Nikki von King to the task force against discrimination as student representative with the term to expire in June, 2024. So moved. Second. All in favor. Congratulations. Wish in passing you. No, thank you. Your time. Thanks for volunteering. Of course. Okay. Nico. Nico. Nico, I’m sorry. Um, next we have a motion to approve the minutes of August 16th 20, or I’d like a motion to approve the minutes of August 16th, 2023.

2:05 So moved. Second. All In favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Um, next we have a recommendation, a letter here of recommendation from, um, the chief, uh, police Chief, it’s self-explanatory, um, around Indemnifying Officer Peralta for injury sustained while on duty. Um, I’ll ask for a motion on recommendation that the police chief to indemnify Officer Dean Peralta for injury sustained while on duty July 4th, 2023 and July 9th, 2023. So moved. I’ll second. All in favor? Okay. Um, Now next we have some surplus items, um, that have been brought to our attention from the, um, our, um, fire chief. I would ask. They, they’re, um, listed here,

2:56 the items, um, you know, so I just ask for motion to declare the following items is surplus and no longer needed for municipal purposes. Uh, so they may be disposed of in accordance with the town’s policy on surplus equipment. Uh, one a 1968 L Fabion 30 air compressor, A William H Field scroll saw and stand. A jet woodworking six inch jointer, a Sears craftsman 10 inch table, saw a power. Matt, 25, A three horsepower shaper jet 14 inch, one horsepower bandsaw, a power Matt, 14 inch, one horsepower bandsaw jet 10 inch one and horsepower table saw six traffic light heads, and 10 miscellaneous individual traffic, light heads and walk. Light heads.

3:43 So moved. So if I may mention, you’ll probably see more and more of this. Okay, this is part of cleaning out, uh, All cleaning. And so the process is once now you declared it surplus, then there is a process we use, uh, municipal bid, right? Yeah. Uh, which is a site that’s set up for this purpose. So we advertise typically two weeks, make it available for anybody to bid on the items at the end of that process, if there are no takers we are allowed to dispose of as we see fit, we can throw it away, give it away, do it, whatever, whatever we wanna do to get rid of it. But we’re gonna more and more be cleaning out and any excess equipment and things like that, just get it out of the way, so, Right. Great.

4:29 Um, so, uh, all in favor, Uh, unanimous. We have, um, a letter. Uh, this is a, um, request for a one day liquor license, um, from Bubble Bar. So I will ask for a motion to approve the request from Maria tokens of Bubble Bar Boston for one day liquor license for Saturday October 14th, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, 1 61 Washington Street for the Fall Artisans Fair, subject to the following conditions, delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of the required fee delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of proof that the alcohol will be purchased from an authorized source, proof that the applicant can receive proper delivery, provide proper storage and disposal of all alcoholic beverages purchased,

5:15 all in accordance with the requirements of general laws. Chapter 1 38, alcohol will be purchased from Martin Netty and Horizon Liquors. This is a poll vote. Some Will second. Okay. I’ll start with Mr. Grader. In favor, Mr. Nye In favor, Ms. Singer? In favor, Mr. Murray in favor, and Ms. Noon In favor. Okay. Um, another one day liquor license. This coming from Steven Hahn of Ocean Ave, um, for the, um, symphony by the Sea. So, um, I would like a motion to approve the request from Steven Hahn Symphony by the Sea for a one day liquor license for Sunday, October 1st, 2023 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Old North Church, 35 Washington Street, subject to the following conditions,

6:01 delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of the required fee, which is $50 delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of proof that the alcohol will be purchased from an authorized source, proof that the applicant can receive proper delivery, proper, provide proper storage and disposal of all alcoholic beverages purchased, all in accordance with the requirements of general law. Chapter 1 38, alcohol will be provided from Alfalfa Farm Winery. So moved. Second. Second. Okay. Mr. Nye in favor, Ms. Singer? In favor, Mr. Murray? In favor, Mr. Grader? In favor, Ms. Newton In favor carrying on with the celebrations, another one day liquor license. Um, I would ask for a motion to approve the request from Greg Mancuso Ungaro for a one day liquor license for Friday, October 20th, 2023 from seven to 10:00 PM at St.

6:48 Andrew’s Church at 135 Lafayette Street, subject to the fallen conditions delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of the required fee of $50, delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of proof that the alcohol will be purchased from an authorized source, proof that the applicant can receive proper delivery, provide proper storage and disposal of all alcoholic beverages purchased, all in accordance with the requirements of general laws. Chapter 1 38, alcohol will be purchased from CAP’S importing shall Moved. Second. Second, she, you’re sick of saying second. No, I beat you, Ms. Ms. Singer In favor, Mr. Marie? In favor, Mr. Grader? In favor, Mr. Nye In favor, Ms. Nunan In favor? Sounds like a fun fall. Um, okay. So, uh,

7:34 this, um, we, this is regarding our next item on the agenda is to, um, is, uh, is to, uh, delegate our town administrator for the two members of the Health and Safety Committee, uh, which is, um, something created under our contract with the Labor Union. Um, yes. So if you wanted to, like, So according to the, um, the, the collective bargaining agreement with the, the Municipal Employees Union Article 35, it sets up a health and safety committee. So if there are any issues regarding health and safety with employees, the union will appoint 2, 2, 2 members of this committee. The select board has, has the authority to select two people. Uh, what I recommended is rather than selecting people by name, is to delegate,

8:24 uh, to, to, to me the appointing authorities, so that as different issues come up, I, I can appoint subject matter experts that best match whatever the, the, the matter that we may be dealing with at the time. So it’ll probably be me and, and one other person, or if I’m not available for whatever reason, or, you know, I can point out. So it just gives flexibility that, uh, as I deal with these, uh, these issues, then I can, I can have some flexibility as to who best to sit at the table and, and participate in these discussions. Great. I concur. Makes a lot of sense. Um, so the motion that, um, we’re asking is to delegate the town administrator to appoint two members to the

9:10 Health and Safety Committee to accordance with Article 35 of the M M E U I U E C W A A F L C I O local 1776 contract. So, moved second. And Just any Questions yet? Yes, please. So, uh, the appointments, so that they’re just gonna be, uh, um, project based, so they’re not a year or anything like that there, Right? Right. So it’s, it is, and, and during the terms of the contract. So, um, it, it, it should be a standing committee. I, it’s just not been utilized for since I’ve been here. An issue did come up in the last couple weeks, so we did, we did go ahead and meet, um, uh, to, to, to deal with, uh, the issues, you know, the, the, the, the temporary library building with all the heat conditions and everything.

9:56 So we did have conversation, we’re working on, you know, addressing, uh, some of the, some of the issues in that building. Great. So thank you. Thank You. Um, All in favor?

10:13 Okay. Next we have a request from the Marblehead Festival of Arts for the upcoming Marblehead Christmas walk. And, um, they are asking permission to utilize the second floor of Abbott Hall for the Artisans marketplace as they do annually. Um, so the dates are here and they’re in the motion. So I’ll just go ahead and read the motion that we’re looking for to approve the request from the Festival of Arts to use Abbott Hall for their annual artisans marketplace on the following days. All in accordance with the usual rules, regulations, fees, and receipt of the required certificate of insurance. Friday, December 1st, 2023, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM Saturday, December 1st, 2023, 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM Sunday, December 3rd,

10:59 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM So moved. Second. Uh, All in favor? Okay. Um, Uh, Next, um, is a request from the Rotary Club for an event for the Rotary’s, um, annual five K, uh, on November 5th at 11. They’re looking have 150 to 200 participants, and it will begin and end at the Boston Yacht Club. It’s a fun race. Um, I asked for a motion to approve the request from Nancy Archer Gwen, co-president of the Marblehead Rotary Club, to hold the Marblehead Rotary five K on Sunday, November 5th at 11:00 AM Subject to approval from police and fire receipt of the required certificate of insurance and police details.

11:46 The five K will start and finish at the bo at, at the Boston Yacht Club. No permanent markings are allowed on the public way, and all temporary markings shall be removed at the conclusion of the event. So moved. Second. All in favor? Um, next we have a vote toward a contract. Um, this is, uh, regarding the Franklin Street Firehouse, uh, for $24,000. I see. Um, chief is in the audience. I mean, would, do you, is this something we wanna Yeah, I can give a quick summary. It’s a little self-explanatory, but Thank you. The chief can can jump in. So, um, there’s a number of, of, um, projects to, to address the, the Franklin Street Fire Station building.

12:31 As you recall, there was, uh, initially a proposal to do an, to, to do an override request to fully fund the entirety of, of that project that was pulled back, given, you know, during the, the budget cycle of not going forward. But they, um, there are, uh, improvements that absolutely need to be made to that building. So, so these are, um, parts of the project to, to move forward. Again, you wanna protect the exterior of the building so it’s not creating more damage than, than, you know, weather and all that. So this is, uh, um, which parts of this? The, the Design Developments. Which parts? This is the, which phase is this the,

13:16 For the Franklin Street? Yep. Um, it is the design. Um, yep. And plans and expense. Okay. For the, for the window, For the, So we’re refurbishing the windows, not, That’s right. Great. Anybody have any questions? Okay. So could we have a motion or, um, to award the contract for D P W and police station roof project to Corolla, roof of Winthrop Mass, is that right? No, we’re doing for top one. Sorry. Oh, yeah, I’m Okay. So, um, you know, um, motion to award a contract for the window restoration at the Franklin Street Firehouse to foster architects in the amount of 24,200,

14:02 uh, dollars, and authorize the chair to sign on behalf of the board. So moved. Second. All in favor? Okay. And next is a, um, a contract for the D P W and police station roof project. So this is, uh, article 11 last year funding. So this is the capital funding for improvements to the municipal buildings. So we’re picking them off. Um, we’ve already done the design work, so this is the actual, uh, replacement of the roofs, again on the D B W facility and on the police station. Great. And we bid it in such a way, we have one contractor to, to do both to. That’s Great. Get a better deal. Um, okay. And this comes from Article 11 last year.

14:50 Yeah. Funding. Yep. So, um, could we have a motion to award the contract for D P W and police station roof project Corolla, roof of Winthrop Mass in the amount of one million two hundred forty three thousand six hundred and eighty nine thousand dollars, and authorize the chair to sign on behalf of the board. So moved. Second. All in favor?

15:12 Just a quick question. Has there been anything else in, wasn’t the salt shed salt shed part of that? Yeah. As part of Article 11 that, um, that’s not moved forward yet because we, we moved the, the, uh, replacement of the fuel station. Yeah. Okay. Uh, due to the urgency. So when that’s complete, then we will come Back. So this is the first money spent on Article 11? Yeah. Excellent. Okay.

15:37 Okay. Um, next on the agenda, we have a, um, a license agreement for a private drain connection, one of our routine items of business. So in this, it, it, one, it’s a, a new owner of the property and they’ve made upgrades. So it’s an existing, uh, it’s been an, an existing easement in place. So given the new ownership and, and some of the upgrades, so we’re renewing the, um, the agreement. Great. Okay. Can I have a motion to approve the license agreement for a private connection to town drainage storage between the town and Sue and Hughes Scandrett three of 325 Ocean Avenue as presented and authorized the chair to sign on behalf of the board. So moved. All in favor? Um,

16:25 and now we have a request from Director McCue, um, around a cleanup of the Roundhouse Road and School Street in Besam Street area. So, um,

16:40 uh, This is the annual, Yeah, the annual cleanup. Okay. Um, just, um, I can, we have a motion to approve the request from Amy McHugh Public Works director to temporarily make the entirety of the railroad right of way known as Roundhouse Road from School Street through to Bessam Street, as well as Upper Anderson Street from number 10, Anderson through to Bessam Street. A no parking tow zone area for the following dates, October 23rd, 2023 from the hours of 7:00 AM 3:00 PM and a rain date of October 24th, 2023 from the hours of 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM to facilitate the annual cleanup and repair of the town property at this area. So, Moved second. All in favor? Um, let’s see.

17:25 And next on our item, uh, or next item on our agenda is, um, a request from, um, history teacher or, uh, for the to, for use of Hall for their annual marble at High School Art show in May. So, um, the information is here in our packets. I will ask for a motion to request from Shirley White, lead teacher instructor of Visual Arts, AP Art history to use AB Hall for the annual Marblehead High School art show, May 6th to May 24th, 2024, including the installation and breakdown following the show, and for an opening reception on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, subject to the usual rules, regulations, fees, and receipt of the required certificate of insurance. So moved. Second.

18:12 All in favor? It’s a fantastic show. Very good. It is. Okay. Now that brings us to our, uh, update on the ARPA Rail Trail Project from our Town Planner. Ms. Becky. Cutting. Um, so I’m gonna try to share the screen and I think it should work

18:44 On,

18:54 that’s good. Okay.

18:59 Thank you.

19:03 I can see it. There you go. Presentation mode. Okay. I just wanna Move this thing. Okay. So I just, I’m gonna update you on the ARPA project, but I’m also, I just wanted to give just a little history. Great. Of, um, Marblehead Rail Trail. So it was owned and controlled by the light department and the water and sewer department as a utility quarter for many, many years, and informally used as a path. And in, um, 2018, the town worked out an agreement and entered into a memorandum of understanding with the utilities. And an article voted at town meeting, formalized its use as a recreational, recreational spell drawing, um, trail through an easement. And I just wanna show you here, this is the,

19:51 a map of the entire, um, trail. So this is the Lead Mills area, and this is called the Salem branch that comes up through here to Bessam Street. And then this is the Swamp Scott Branch that comes down through Clifton and this little things in the way, but goes all the way to the, um, swamp Scott line. So after we had control over the, um, easement, so it was the top 12 inches of the trail, we applied for a grant from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, um, the D C R to fix the worst area. We removed stones and regraded, um, with stone dust. Um, Bartlet and Steadman did the work, um, after we bid it and to fill the low spots, regrading and Puddling.

20:37 And that was done in 2019. And on the right hand side, you’ll see a picture of before. And then after when they redid that, then, um, we got another grant in from D C R in 2019. Um, and that was to create a master plan for the overall trail, what we were gonna do. And it had a very robust, um, public input. And, um, the Rail Trail Master Plan is now on the website for anybody who wants to see it. And that’s what we’re following. Um, so the first thing we did was applied for, and we’re awarded a Complete Streets grant to implement one of the priority recommendations, um, which was to improve the crossing at Major Streets. And that was completed in December of 2022.

21:26 And that was, um, here I’ll show you, um, wait a minute. West Shore Drive and, uh, Smith Street and, um, pleasant. And so then we got another D C R grant for the design at Lead Mills to go to 75% design. And so that was, we were the lead community and Salem was a participating community. And we hired Tool Design to come up with a plan that started Salem’s doing their portion over here where the, redoing the crossing there. And then the town of Marblehead owns this re and it was to replace both bridges and go,

22:14 um, go to the end of the, um, lead Mills property. And then we came to you with, uh, so we had cost estimates with that. Um, 1.4 million of our performs was designated by the select board, and that was for permitting, including, so there’s an a u l on the site. This is a really complicated site. There’s an a U l, which is, uh, limits the activity because there was hazardous waste on it before. There’s a coastal bank which triggers mepa. There’s conservation commission, um, notices of intents have to be filed in both Com communities, Salem and Marblehead. And there’s Army Corps of Engineer Review. There’s a riparian zone, and there’s environmental justice outreach, and then the bidding and construction. So that’s what that comes up to.

23:03 So there’s changes. So the 75%, and this is what I was updating, that rest was just sort of background for people. Um, the 75% plan included replacing both bridges. And after more discussion with the utilities and the public safety, it was determined that they really don’t need, um, vehicular access there, because there’s other ways to get there. And so we can simply replace the surfaces and railings to make it universally acceptable, which it is not accessible, which it is not. And, um, the, this will allow the funds to go further to extend the trail improvements in accordance with the master plan. Um, extending the trail and redoing the surface to the new uniform specification is a lot cheaper than, um, than in, in,

23:51 outside of this area. ‘cause this is, this is a very complicated site, the lead mills, because of all those things, you know, the coastal bank, the, um, a U l and all those things. Um, so the design will be expanded to include improvements to West Shore. So we’ll just make it a segment of, of the trail from Lafayette Street to West Shore. And that in that area there’s obstructions and puddling. So the schedule is an R F Q for professional engineer and a license site professional will be issued shortly for this work. Um, this is, uh, federal funds. So we follow a process, um, and, um, it’ll take the 75% design to a hundred percent and then begin the permitting.

24:38 The permitting, we dunno how long that will take. ‘cause as I described, it’s very complicated permitting. So before bidding, there’ll be a new cost as we get through permitting. Then before bidding, there’s a new cost estimate, we’ll be prepared and the town will structure the bid to maximize the funds. So we get a new cost estimate and it can go, we find out we can go from Lafayette however far with that. And so we put it out to bid with that as the base bid. And then let’s say we can’t get all the way to West Shore, we do, um, an add alternate, it’s called. Then we find out what that will cost, and then we can seek funding, um, complete streets, uh, D C R, whatever, um, is available at the time. Um, and

25:25 then just in summary, an R F Q is, uh, gonna be issued for the design at Lead Mills in West Shore that I just described to West Shore. And then concurrently, MAs dot, um, just approved the 175,000 federal earmark that, um, Congressman Moulton got for the town for the design of the, uh, trail improvements from the Swamp Scott line to Smith Street. And so we have to wait till October 1st to issue that R F P, because that’s the federal, um, system. And then in the interim, D P W has been working on testing different materials and the best way to address puddling and obstructions that are there in the interim.

26:12 But eventually the entire rail trail will be constructed in accordance with the trail master plan. That’s, that’s the plan. And, um, the good thing is there’s a lot of funding out there that we will, once we do the, um, 1 75 of, um, the improvements, we design those and have the bids and specs, there’ll be, um, well you guys will be able to, um, avail yourselves of funding to hopefully construct that. And that’s it. So if I can summarize the summary. Mm-hmm. Part of the reason I asked Becky to put this together is, you know, there are a lot of questions raised on, on the bridge in the opera funds for that. Um, so the key takeaway, and, and I’ve said it before, we we’re taking a look at it, where to,

27:01 to try to make less bridge, more trail out of it. So, so the key, the key change from before to now is that those bridges are not gonna be used to carry vehicle weight. So, so that lessens the need to do any, uh, re I guess the plan was replacement or, you know, structural replacement. So we’re not gonna have to do that. We’re, we are, but what we are gonna do is make those bridges accessible, a d a accessible, right now they’re not, um, if we were not to do those bridges, anybody who’s using the trail paths, who’s in a wheelchair, or even people with double wide strollers or, or anybody like that, you can’t get through the bridges. They, you would have to continue down Lafayette and then take the path to get back up

27:47 on. And that’s just, in my opinion, not acceptable. Right. Uh, you should be able to use the entirety of the trail, no matter your, your situation. So these improvements are gonna make the bridges accessible, it’s gonna approve the Vista, uh, you know, the, the view up there. Yeah. Um, and, and the reason for ARPA on this section where we get other grant monies for, for many of the other sections, this is, this is a particular very complex site. It has all kinds of permanent requirements, um, and the timeline is uncertain. We have much more flexibility and time using ARPA funds to complete a project. Whereas a lot of the grants that are used for these purposes are very short term

28:33 grants. So the other parts of the trail that are straightforward trail improvements, we know we get the D C R grants, we can get in there and we can complete it within the, the confines of the, you know, the timeframes of those type of grants. So the site was uniquely

28:51 set up that using opera allowed us, it is just a better match to, to do this very complicated section with that, and then leverage all the other grants and other funding sources, uh, to push down further down the trail. So the, and, and I like her idea with the alt, uh, the add alt, it’s a bidding process. So if you think you only have enough money to do this much, you put on the add all, if the bids come in low enough, you can do the additional alternatives that you’ve put on the bid. If the, if the, if the, the, the bids don’t come in low enough, you just take it off the program. But at least we also have exact pricing so that other sources of funding we can continue on. So it’s a very smart way to maximize the dollars,

29:41 uh, and, and, and do each segment and just work our way down the trails as we go. So that’s my summary of her summary. Thank you. That’s great. Thank you both. Um, questions, comments from Board. That was an excellent presentation. Thank you. Oh, thank you. Yeah. Thank. And you’re gonna stay with us until this is done, right? You’re not gonna believe us. That’s, that’s the only way I’ll Support this. Well, that’s why I was saying you guys Yeah, I saw that. I heard you. Um, I had a couple questions and then just a kind of an overall comment about it. The, um, when we, I, you used the word complicated, and so by complimented we mean expensive, involving a lot of those because of the environmental concerns, all the different agencies that we have to go through. So that also, you know,

30:27 that that is, um, kind of part of the cost of the project because it is sensitive land. Um, I, I’ve had people ask me about the accessibility. We’re adding the accessibility. Can you explain how it is not accessible now? Is it the lip? Yeah. So, because I think some people are like, Yeah, it’s not just, it seems like you can, It’s fine, but I just, I’m not in a wheelchairs You. It’s the, it’s the, no, I have to get back in. Um, it’s not just the bollards, it’s the, um, Surface. Yeah. The, the surface. And there’s a lip, and it may not seem like a lot, but I’ve received, um, I’ve heard from two people that one in a scooter and one in a wheelchair that were just read about it. And we’re so thankful that because they can’t, they can’t, you know, you think a little lip isn’t a big deal,

31:14 but it is a big deal and you can’t get over it. And, and plus the bollards. And I’ve helped, um, you know, people when I’m out there doing whatever with the, just the stroller getting through, so it isn’t just the bollards. It is, um, it’s the surface and it’s the, um, it’s the lip and there’s two of them. And, uh, yeah, it just makes it difficult. That’s great. To, so it is being made, you know, it needs some, it needs some work, but it, the good thing is we don’t need vehicles on it, so it doesn’t need to be replaced and structurally doesn’t need to, um, hold vehicles. So it just allows for greater expansion of the scope of the actual trail. So, correct. ‘cause that’s much cheaper to keep going with just trail improvements, which is, And then, um, will this address the culvert area?

31:59 So yeah, it goes all the way to, so we’ll have a design for all the way to West Shore. Okay. So that’s where the culvert is funding. We, we, we will have to secure funding for the covid itself. Yeah. Well, depending on how much it ends up costing, but we’ll have, we’ll have the design for it. And, and that’s key. Okay. Yeah. So I just wanted to, um, say to me, I mean, the goal is to, is to, um, get as much out of the money as we can towards the expansion of the actual trail itself. I think it’s such a great use of these funds because it’s something that is accessible to everybody in the community, um, seniors, young folks, old. It’s truly one of those areas that it’s such a, a absolute beautiful resource and,

32:46 and we’re so fortunate to have in our community. And I also note that Salem has put a lot of, um, money and updates and improvements into their rail trail system, which connects to ours as has Swamp Scott. Mm-hmm. So we are a little bit, you know, when, once we come up to, to bring our rail trail system in, I mean, that just expands the mileage that we can have of, you know, folks from Swamp Scott finding our, you know, using our path through to Salem and, and vice versa. And, um, so I just, I, I think yeah. It’s, it’s, it’s time for us to make those improvements. Yeah. Now that our neighboring communities and connecting trails have also done that. Yep. And I’ll add that it’s part of the border to Boston Trail, and that’s why we got the federal earmark is we’re part of that. So you can actually go an incredible lake,

33:32 Seth, Seth Ton’s office. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, I remember when he got that grant. And, and in addition to it being accessible and something in terms of equity that all residents can equally enjoy, it is also, um, you know, it kind of, it, it, it’s part of our, our goals and objectives around, you know, our green initiatives and, um, green marblehead and, and, and allowing for more accessibility through Viking and walking as well as, you know, hopefully encouraging some, you know, commerce and people visiting our, our, our Town through that system. So economic development. So it hits on a number of different things, as you had mentioned, uh, when you’d first come forward. So, yep. So that’s the update. Thank you. You’re Welcome. Thank you for the clarification too, just about update to the bridges and Yeah,

34:20 just the visuals help a lot too. And the clarification on the accessibility too, you know, I think, uh, without seeing the nuance in it Yeah. It’s, it’s harder to Yeah. Articulate and the difference between what can be grant funded and that there’s a lot of limitations on each project, depending on where it is, what it is, and what are the constraints on that. So understanding that it’s not always straightforward to access the funding. Right. Yeah. Thank you. Helpful. Yeah, I mean, Becky’s been working on this for quite a while, and I think the ARPA money comes at exactly the right moment to kind of, to plug that gap. Yeah. That’s great. Good. Okay. So we can, looks Like we can move on to, um, let’s see, where are we now? We’re now at 16.

35:06 Um, Okay. Resignation Resignations. Oh, sorry, I skipped something. Um, yes. Okay. So we have a re, uh, letter, uh, letter or letters, um, two letters of, um, announcing, um, resignation, um, their resignation from the Marblehead, both from the Marblehead Cal Cultural Council. Yo Tom Men, men juror is, um, stepping down as well as Beth Johnson. Okay. Have a motion to, uh, with regret, uh, accept the reservation and a letter, uh, thanking them for their service. So moved. Okay. All in favor? Okay. Next we have, um, the, uh, ante,

35:55 um, renewal. Uh, so this is for building number six. This is, um, just a, So normally you, is there anything, we’ve already done all the other proofs. This was, uh, This is like, this is One catching up to the process. Okay. Yes. That We, okay. I thought I re I thought we had done this to ensure, Get the paperwork in and, and, and, and, and catch Up. Okay. For Doug Percy, let’s, I, I see if we can have a motion to approve the following, request to use premises owned by the town of Marblehead on Front Street at Little Harbor, commonly known as Turner Land, subject to the receipt of the proper application, current fishing license, and all taxes paid to the town. Doug Percy, shanty number six, Moved second. Okay. All in favor.

36:41 Next we have just, um, gonna notice or just a, um, note that we have received the following letters of interest, um, for, uh, some of our volunteer positions. We have two, uh, letters of interest, um, for the measure of le of leather, um, Brian Ruco and Eric Schwartz. This is a one vacancy for a tomb of term of one year. This stirred up a lot of interest, uh, when it was posted. Um, and, uh, I understand that our current measure of leather, who is stepping down, was serving in the role for 40 years. And his scale, Kyle was telling me was,

37:28 is in the Peabodys six Museum because of his, um, he, I guess he was in, he had done it for so long. And did he actually use the scale or was it his Family? His Family business. His family business, that’s right. What it was his family business. Yes. So this is, they don’t Actually even required like his license or scale, But yeah. Okay. Um, so yeah, a lot of interest in this position. It’s statutory still on the books from an, an error along, gone by. Um, so we will, uh, I, I, I’m, I’m wondering if we can set a deadline, how the board feels about setting a deadline for September 22nd to accept the letters of interest to serve as the measure of leather. And, um, uh, we could, um, hold applicant interviews on the 27th at our meeting.

38:18 So be our next meeting should give us Half time. Yeah, Definitely think everyone in town heard about the vacancy on the measure of leather on Facebook. Um, okay. So, uh, why don’t we do that?

38:34 So our deadline will be September 22nd, 22nd to accept the letters of interest to serve as the measure of leather. And we will in hold interviews at our next meeting on September 27th. We have received two letters of interest for the historical commission. One from Chris Butler, one from Jonathan Lukins. Uh, this is a vacancy, one vacancy, um, for a term of three years. And, um, Jonathan actually said he’s going to pull back, he’s an associate right now. Oh, okay. Busy at work. So, so he said he’s gonna wait until the next, okay. So we have one vacancy right now, and, um, looking like one letter from Chris Butler of interest. So if we could, um, I think the suggestion was, uh, setting a deadline of October 6th to accept letters of interest to serve on the

39:21 historical commission. And, um, we can set an interview date thereafter, so everybody Sounds great. Sounds good. Okay. Yep. And then we have, um, uh, we have three resident positions we are looking to fill for the Traffic safety Advisory Committee. This was, um, uh, encouraged for us to bring back it, it is an existing committee, that town meeting and the voters of town meeting encouraged for us to, um, resurrect. And we are have three letters of interest currently, um, for three designated resident positions. It also involves additional town department heads. And we are looking, I think,

40:08 a deadline of September 22nd to accept letters of interest to serve on the advisory committee, um, and interviewing. Um, so, okay, so what’s today, the third 13th? So, um, the 22nd, we would accept letters of interest to serve and then interviewing applicants on the 27th. Does that sound okay to Yep. Yep. Other members? Sounds good. Good here. Okay. Um, and so, uh, let’s see. So just to, for, um, For the public, the current vacancies are listed on the town’s website@marblehead.org. We are actively soliciting applicants for the finance committee in particular,

40:56 um, uh, one vacancy, which is a three year term and conservation commission, one vacancy, which is a three-year term. And we are encouraging all residents to send their interest, um, to, for all the boards and committees. Regardless if there is a current vacancy, these letters will be kept on file and the town will reach out when there’s a vacancy which occurs. Uh, so please check out our openings and the positions that are posted too. Okay. Um, so the letters of interest are in the packet, can look at.

41:33 Um, okay. And next we have a request for a wedding ceremony. Oh, This is coming up soon, um, This weekend. Yeah. Uh, this is important for the, for the planning. Right. So, um, I’ll ask for a motion to approve this request from Thomas Smith to use Abbott Hall for a wedding ceremony on Saturday, September 16th, from 12 noon to 6:00 PM subject to the usual rules, regulations, fees, and receipt of the required certificate of insurance. So moved. I’ll second. All in Favor? So the letter, just, not that they were last, a second. It was supposed to be a Crocker park, but with the, uh, expected rain on Saturday, uh, they’re scrambling and, um,

42:19 Oh goodness. Okay. Right. The hurricane. And Thomas Smith’s a very interesting story, but he had, uh, two back surgeries and he promised his mom, uh, that he’d walk down the, he’d be able to walk by the time his wedding came. So this is, uh, a big milestone for him. Yeah. So, yeah, real, Real, a great letter, real story of grit. That’s determination. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Okay. I think we need to vote. Did we vote? No, We didn’t vote. Okay. All in favor? We had a motion, a second vote. Right? All in favor? Okay.

42:59 Alright. That’ll Be horrible. Horrible. Um, letter is Amazing. Yeah. We could, uh, be under an hour. We have, um, public comment is next on our agenda. And if there’s anyone here for public comment or online, if you’re online, you know, raise your hand and Kyle will let me know. If you’re in the audience, please just step forward and state your name. Yes.

43:29 If you could just state your name and, um, street. Sure. Amy Danforth, Manchin Road and, uh, novice to select Ford in public comment. But, um, I got pretty fired up about the ARPA funds for the Bridge. Very, um, active rail trail user lived in town 30 years and just really am delighted, a, that the funds are being dedicated, and b, that they’re being redirected to the trail itself. Because going over the bridge, you have nowhere to go because the first gully you’re gonna hit is about 10 feet further. So a wheelchair’s not going anywhere. And so I think the shift from the bridges to the trail’s important. I, of course, live on the other side of town, so I will talk about Seaview to, uh, west Shore, which is currently not funded.

44:17 Um, it serves four public schools, two temples, a community center, the post office, the library. It’s the path into town. And, uh, it’s equally vital. I would say the other arm of it is the road to Salem and recreational equally vital. But my concern is that the plan has languished since 2019. It’s an excellent plan. I’ve read it, I’ve ridden the trail twice. I reread the plan. It’s very good work. It was, you know, amazing. And it is a gem of the town, but nothing’s happened in four years. And so here we are, we have the money. And my concern is what’s the commitment once we spend 1,000,004 to, if it runs out, you know, where do we get more money? I don’t know how this all works and who makes the decisions,

45:04 but it is going to be a travesty if we can’t get the rest of the trail graded and resurfaced. I do have one question. Uh, I know it’s not response time here, but $175,000 for a design. It seemed to me the plan has a design in it, so I’m not quite sure what Seaview to Smith is designing. Um, but that’s just a little quibble that I caught. And Ms. Cutting, thank you for all your work on this ‘cause it’s very helpful and it’s exciting. Um, you know, the trail plan outlines all the benefits to town and with our mental health and physical health and, um, you know, all of the things that are going with people, it’s nature. I walked the neck today, I was passed by lawn trucks, construction trucks, cars going fast.

45:50 You go on the trail, you’re in the trees, and it’s a beautiful gift to town. And then for all these, um, bike rides, these parents who are organizing bike rides to school and not having to be on the streets on their bikes, it’s a huge safety thing. I’d love to see a trail going up to village and a trail going to the vets that are more visible and safe. Um, the high school is very well serviced Bell, or sorry, the Brown School is accessible, so I’m just here to support it. And, uh, also say that I’m very intrigued by the friends of the Rail Trail, um, idea and Swamp. Scott has a really successful group, so I’ve reached out to them to find out how they were successful and how they formed. And, um, I hope I’ll have your support if we do go forward with that group. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Um, anybody else? Madam Chair?

46:39 I have a Sky Tip online, I’m sorry. Uh, sky Tech. Okay, sure. If you’re, um, identifying as Sky Tech. Oh Yeah. Dan Albert, of course. Um, just wanted to correct a couple of things. This is the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee.

47:00 Dan, you’ve, um, I think you’ve muted yourself. I don’t know if it’s on our end or your end. I don’t think I’m muted. Okay. I’m coming through. All right. You’re loud and clear. Loud and clear. Yep. Okay. Um, it, this is, uh, I’m sorry, Dan Albert, 58 Leicester Road. This is not a resurrection of the traffic committee that existed before. That would be the worst thing in the world. Uh, the whole reason for this is because of the traffic committee that existed before. I find it fascinating that you have three letters of interest from a retired fire chief, a, a Rizzo, who I know very well, who’s a wonderful guy, but he’s a state cop and from a guy from Stantec who did all the things that are kind of a problem right now. So, I mean,

47:47 you know, I sound par paranoid, but something strange is going on. Please, everybody look at the bylaw, look at the original article, which says specifically, this is about implementing the Complete Streets policy, which the town has had for a number of years and has failed to, uh, do. Um, I, I, I, I just don’t know how to say it Clearly enough, this will go forward. This will be what it was intended to be. If it is not what it was intended to be, then we will go back to town meeting and I will make it more clear and more precise and more prescriptive. Thank you. Thank you, Dan. And just to clarify, I was just, you know,

48:35 speaking casually around the spirit of the article, and it is in my book. We are this, we are referenced the Article 49, which is voted at town meetings. So, um, we are, you know, that’s, that’s the goal. Okay. Anybody else? I don’t see anyone else.

48:58 Okay. Then that brings us to our, um, town administrator Updates. Updates.

49:04 Sure. Thank you. Um, I always like to find good news, uh, to bring up. So one, um, you know, we’re all concerned about Becky moving on, uh, and, and all the various roles that she holds. And so one of the significant roles she holds is that as the, uh, chief Procurement Officer for the town, so in anticipation of, of the, the, the turnover, um, so we’re looking to train other members of the staff to be, uh, fully trained and and qualified. So I’m happy to, to say that Amy McCue has completed her three-day training program. She just has to pass the test. Um, and that she,

49:51 she went through the Inspector General’s three-day course that covers all of the procurement requirements. So it would make her a certified, uh, purchasing official, um, uh, for the town. So, so the, the idea is for the next fiscal year that, that we shift the chief procurement officer position over to the finance director, who I know already has a ton on her plate, but, um, train other members of the staff, especially those who have a heavy, that have a lot of procurement type of activity and, and public works Absolutely. Has a lot of, to have those persons trained up and, and, and sort of distribute the load, uh, throughout, throughout the, um,

50:37 the staff to make it all manageable. So, congratulations to Amy for getting through the class. And, and thank you Amy, very much for, for taking, taking it up. Yeah. Thank you for taking that on. It, it, it truly is time. Yeah. I mean, her plate is full too. Yeah. But, but again, we’re, we’re, we’re doing the best, you know, with the resources we have to, to redistribute the load to keep things working. Um, next item, uh, uh, the chief, uh, is, is happy to, to, to let me know and want to, you know, that engine three, uh, refurb. So it’s on its way back from Wisconsin. Um, so as we maintain our, our engine fleet, uh,

51:24 to make sure we have all the vehicles that we need for, for fire response, um, so this was funded through prior year funding, um, in order to, uh, refurb refurb our, our fire engines, um, fire engines, you know, they’re, they’re not cheap, so we try to get as much life out of them. So, um, you can either purchase new or, or do refurbs. And I believe this will be on the reserve. This would be a reserve vehicle if you want it. We’ve done extremely well. So what we would engine three without being Yeah, yeah. We might well couch Us what we can.

52:07 So Engine three, two or three years ago had failed the safety inspection due to the frame being rusted out. ‘cause that was a metal frame, not a galvanized frame. So we looked at the shape of the pump itself, the motor in the truck, the body all in good shape. So you’re looking at a new pump with almost a million dollars now. So it was 127 for the frame. Some additional things they found while they were doing the reverb, added some more money last year, I think 60 or $7,000 in the interim to that. Um, we acquired another pumper from, uh, allegiance trucks to help us in the interim. And we ended up securing that for a dollar. And that truck is ran on 3,600 calls without an issue. Um, so we’re gonna keep that too. So there’ll be two reserve pumps in town,

52:54 which will serve us very well. But thank you all for the support. Good Question. How does that extend the, uh, the amortization life of the, of the truck? The Reefer of the reserve pump? Yeah. ‘cause it’s probably what, towards 14, 15 years now? Easily. Easily, yeah. Yeah. We’re gonna be in good shape with, with trucks. I mean, uh, allowed us the oldest 2013 engine two, it’s 2017. Mm-hmm. Engine one just came in and now this one with a brand new frame under it, and it’s gonna go for a while. Yeah. We’re gonna be in good shape. Good. Okay. Thank you, chief. Thank you. And then, um, thanks Chief. Thank you. Finally, I’m just update on some, um, other capital projects that were, uh, completed or right at the, the, the, the verge of completing. So, uh, the Hobbs house, um, that’s received,

53:40 uh, uh, uh, um, new roof, uh, window, uh, repairs, new siding and painting of the Hobbs house. And, uh, I haven’t been out since it seen it since completed, but it seems to have come out wonderful. What’s that? The Hobbs garage. Hobbs garage, yes. Um, I, I’ve been saying hos Hobbs garage. Um, there, there will be a, some, a small change order coming. So as we do these, these repairs, they find, you know, rotted wood and things that need to be replaced during painting. So there will be a small change order coming for that. But that, um, that will complete that whole project, the Oak Coast building right at the, the bottom of the hill. Um, uh, final touches on that. And that’s,

54:28 uh, uh, painting gutters and I can’t read my own writing. The other piece, the carpentry, the carpentry, I just put carp. I couldn’t remember what that was. Carpentry. So basically, you know, uh, uh, a legacy building being updated. So that’s in, in, in the final touchups and the old townhouse, uh, painting is beginning. So again, this is, um, not today. Not today, and probably not this weekend. Mm-hmm. Um, so again, you know, at town meeting the, you know, approvals of, of capital projects, um, this is the result of, um, you know, the support of town meeting to fund these projects, to keep these buildings, uh, fresh and protected and,

55:13 and stick around Marblehead for a long time. So, um, please, uh, to report the completion on two and the start of the third. Good stuff. That’s what I have for updates, pending. Any questions you may have.

55:28 Any comments or questions. Okay. Um, so next we have announcements. And I just wanted to share on, um, an announcement from our harbor master. So I got this email. We have a hurricane coming this weekend. And, um, we did have a ma he, um, mark Susa, our Harbor master had sent out a, a mass email, but just to, um, reinforce, they are, um, we’ll be raising the gangways on Thursday afternoon around noon. And they recommend, uh, he’s recommending you check your launch services website for updates about suspension of service timeframes. Um, please remove all the tenders from town docks and kayaks from town racks prior

56:15 to Thursday at noon. So it’s tomorrow at noon. We urge you to make the necessary preparations to protect you, the necessary.

56:28 Thanks Guys. The Harbor Master’s office will not risk life to save property during the storm. So haul your vessel if possible. If you’re unable to haul the vessel, try to the vessel, try to move to a safer location and or make sure your build pumps are operational. That’s important. Secure any loose items on deck and reinforce your penance from our Captain Mark Susa. Um, okay. Any other announcements? So if I may just add, add to that of question. So we are, we are gonna be pre-staging our public safety folks in anticipation. So we’re, we’re also in planning and preparing for, for the weekend storm. Okay. Yep. We have some officials in town. If anybody wants to

57:11 offer announcements for the hurricane, please feel free.

57:18 Anybody else? Yes. Oh, uh, first I’d really, um, like to congratulate our own Kyle Wiley, Right? Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, the, uh, chamber of Commerce, uh, is doing their, uh, awards, yearly awards. And, uh, Kyle is gonna be the recipient of the Kyle, uh, Frank Regan community service award. Well deserved, well deserved Kyle. Yeah, that’s great.

57:49 I just like to mention also, uh, Terry McDonough is also a, uh, award recipient and, uh, probably one of our, uh, mentors, uh, bill Conley, a longtime selectman is gonna get the Harbor Award. So that’s be a nice, nice night. Uh, and then also I’d like to, uh, thank Chief Gilland, uh, in the very talented students at S six North Shore Agricultural and Technical School for the beautiful, never forget memorial wreath that was laid by Ms. Newan at the Memorial Park for our nine 11 re remembrance ceremony on Monday. That was, um, thank you for initiating that and getting that done. And very talented group over there, the juniors and the after dark students from Marblehead participated in that.

58:41 That’s great. Thank you.

58:46 Anybody else? Just one, just wanna say thank you too, for everyone who participated in the ceremony for nine 11, and obviously for a lot of people, and especially those in aviation is a lot of memories there. So thank you for everyone. It’s always a great service, so thanks.

59:03 Okay. Looks like we’re ready for a motion to adjourn Unless, sorry. Did you No, no, no. All set. So moved. Second. All in favor? Okay. Thank you.