Select Board: January 10, 2024

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.

0:01 All set? Yes. All right. It is seven o’clock. I’d like to bring this, uh, meeting to order. I do need to announce that the meeting, uh, is being recorded via Zoom. We’ve got a about a 18, uh, item agenda tonight. And we’re gonna start with the task force against discrimination. And we have an appointment interview, and I don’t know if the candidate is here. Yep. Rebecca, why not? Is Rebecca there? There you are. Rebecca.

0:32 Have a, have a, have a seat.

0:37 Thanks. Coming. Hi. Thank you for having me. Welcome. How you doing? I’m doing well. And you? Good. Thank you. Good. Do you wanna tell us a little bit about why you’re interested in the, in, in the position? Okay. Well, I first heard about this, um, organization of the Marblehead Task Force in discrimination during a world of difference. Um, field trip. It was that we were being trained by the Anti-Defamation League over a series of days in Yat public library. And it was there that I first heard about this organization and became a bit interested. And then I heard that they were looking for a student representative on the site, or either the newspaper, I can’t remember. And I just became, I tried looking a bit more on the site and I just became more interested in it.

1:23 And I thought this would be a good way to not just like, represent my student, my student perspective and citizenship as marblehead, but also just to give back to this community that I enjoy living in so much. Wonderful. Wonderful. Anybody have any, uh, any follow up questions? Mm-Hmm. Well, thank you very much for volunteering. You know, this town depends on volunteers too Yes. To operate. So thank you very much for getting an early start in your, in your career. Oh, thank you. Glad to be here. Thank You. I’m gonna do great. Yeah, definitely. Alright. Uh, I guess we have to put into nomination or into, uh, yeah. Uh, I’d like to have a motion to appoint Rebecca ve Lorenzo

2:11 as the student rep to the task force against discrimination. So moved. Have a second. Second. All those in favor? Congratulations. Unanimous. Thank you very much. Thank you. Congratulations. Thanks for coming tonight. Swear Questions? Oh, yeah, us? Um, I don’t think so. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you. Rebecca, if I could remind you to swear to, to visit the clerk’s office and swear yourself in before, uh, before, uh, serving in your position. Okay. And where Is that? Okay. You just do that during the day? Right across the hallway there. All right. Thank you. All right. And there hours are posted too, so if you need to know when to go, how to go, that’s online too. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Thank you. Diane will help you out. All right. And thank you for being Here, Diane. I know. Thank you. Thanks Diane.

2:57 Alright, second on our agenda is the appointment of a new human resource director, which has been a long time and, uh, in, in coming. And we’re very pleased to welcome Tom Howard. How Tom, if you’d come up and have a seat, we’d appreciate it. Hi, Thatcher. Yeah. Hi. So I’ll just start off with, um, thanks to town meeting last year, uh, creating, allowing us to create the department, uh, the Human Resources department. Um, and so in the creation of the department, we had, we have two employees, current employees that were part of the finance department who handle all the payroll and benefits. So those positions slid over.

3:42 Then we created the director position, we advertised, posted, interviewed, and we have Tom as our, our selectee. We’ve already started them. We couldn’t wait. Um, but it, you know, it’s, it’s creating a new department from scratch. So we’re excited. Um, both Kyle and I already are piling up the documents and tasks and shipping them over. Uh, so lots of smiles over here. Well, Tom, I, yeah. I have to let you know that you are part of a, uh, kind of a, a reorient reorganizing of the town a little bit for more efficiency, uh, for more attention to human resources. And that’s becoming, you know, very important as we focus on human, you know, on, on resource management in general. But, uh, so we really look forward to your,

4:29 You Know, yeah. Forward to Digging, digging in. Yeah, for sure. And your, your resume’s outstanding. I dunno if anybody else has any, any questions or thoughts. Now we forward To having Welcome aboard. Thank you very much. Yeah. Alright, well with that I’d like to make a motion to, uh, let’s see. I make sure I, there’s not have two, there’s probably one written Yeah. Right at the bottom. Right at the bottom. So, to a motion to appoint, uh, a motion to appoint Thomas Howard to human resource director with a term to expire in June of 2024. So Moved. Second. All those in favor? Congratulations. Congratulations, Tom. Welcome aboard. Welcome Board. Welcome. That was easy, huh? It was easy.

5:17 Now the hard part.

5:20 Alright, uh, next on our agenda is, uh, Becky cutting with, uh, the MBTA presentation. Do, do you need to get hooked up there? No, I think I should be able to share my screen. All right.

5:37 And let’s see.

5:42 This is for the announcements. While I’m doing that, I’ll tell you, um, I’ve been going around to different boards and, um, presenting this, um, about the MBTA zoning because it’s kind of complicated and it’s coming up and so we’re just trying to get the word out.

6:08 It’s the 27th or maybe not. No, it’s not.

6:16 Okay. There’s that

6:26 success. Yes. Alright. I keep changing the pictures because it’s getting old. Um, okay. Pretty nice picture though. Thank you.

6:42 Okay. So the um, MBTA community zoning is, um, it refers to,

6:53 uh, section three A of the Mass General Law, chapter 40 A. And it was passed by the state legislature in, um, 2021. And the law requires that the, so-called MBTA, um, communities must zone for at least one district of reasonable size in which multifamily housing is permitted as of right at a minimum of 15 units per acre. So we are one of 177 communities in the Commonwealth that are included. Marblehead I’ve circled in red there is classified as an adjacent community. So adjacent communities are those that are adjacent to municipalities that have an MBTA, um, station. So it has nothing to do

7:38 with our buses or anything like that. We must comply because we are geographically located next to two communities that have train stations. Um, so Marblehead is, um, 2,771 acres in size. And as an adjacent community, um, we must zone for equal to a minimum of equal to 1% of our total land area. So we, to comply, we need a minimum of 27 acres zoned at a density of at least 15 units per acre and allowed as a matter of right. We also must zone for 10% of our, the number of housing units, which is, um, 8,965. So we need to zone for 8,970,

8:28 um, 897 units. So if you do the math on that, you need either more than 27 acres or a density greater than 15 units per acre. So there are some parameters. It can be located anywhere within the town, and it has to be not less than 27 acres. It can be more than one area. So it doesn’t have to be one area, but no one area can be less than five acres. And one of the areas, if you have more than one, has to be 50% of the total. And you also, as I mentioned, not less than the capacity for 897 units at a minimum density of 15 units per acre.

9:13 So it’s a bit of a math puzzle. So what happens if we don’t comply, failure to, um, comply with the law results in the loss of eligibility for certain funding programs. So it started with the three that are circled and now it’s grown. And I understand it may grow more. So there’s a lot of programs that we can’t participate in. But further the state, um, attorney General and, and this, this memo and all this information is online on our website if anyone wants to dig into it more. Um, M-B-A-T-M-B-T-A communities cannot avoid their obligations under the law by foregoing this funding. So you can’t just say we’re not gonna comply and

9:59 because we’re not gonna apply for the money. And all MBTA communities must comply with the law. Communities that fail to comply with the law might may be subject to civil enforcement action. The law requires that MBTA community shall have a compliant zoning district and not, and does not provide any mechanism by which a town or city may opt out the MBTA communities that failed to comply with the laws requirement. Also risk liability under federal and fair housing laws.

10:31 So Marvel had presently has a zoning district and two has 15 zoning districts and two overlay districts. The first zoning bylaw was adopted in the 1920s, hundreds of years after the town, the downtown at least, um, developed.

10:50 So no one likes a mandate, but since there is one, we’ve been exploring how we might be able to comply with it in a way that benefits marblehead. So just to kind of give you an idea, 15 units per acre, what that looks like. So this density’s all around us and we already have this type of density and much denser on State Street. That’s, um, four units and it’s on about a quarter of an acre. So that is 15 units per acre, that first, um, picture. So that’s what 15 units per acre can look like. Um, on Pleasant Street up the street, that’s a little smaller.

11:31 Pardon me, it’s a little smaller than, um, that other lot. So that’s 18 units per acre. And then Allerton place. So these are just a bunch of different examples. A really small lot makes that 35 units per acre. And the old Mary Alley Hospital at eight Franklin Street is about a half acre, 20 units. So that’s 41 units per acre. Oh, thank you so much. Um, and then you have, um, Bradford Court. Those are residential units. They’re actually individual units, but they’re, um, 23 of them on about an acre. So that’s 23 units per acre. And these are, just to give you different examples, um, 50 units per acre at, um, 78 Pleasant Street.

12:20 Um, this one is kind of, um, 29 Pleasant Street. There’s nine units in it. They’re one bedroom units. And the density, it’s a really small lot. So the density is 112 units per acre.

12:33 I kind of think of, you know, a high rise when I think of those densities, but you know, these are due to the fact that they’re very small. So it’s all around us. There’s a couple more on Gregory Street and Darling Street, and then these newer ones. This is Oliver’s Pond. There’s 20 units. This was done on, it’s a 40 B that was done out on Humphrey Street. That’s actually only 13 units per acre because there’s a large wetland in the back. And then, um, Marblehead Highlands, which is our, probably our biggest multi-family, that’s 88 units and that’s 20 units per acre, and then two 17 Washington 76 units per acre. So then the question is, if we already have this density,

13:19 why aren’t we in compliance? And then although we have many multi-family units, um, throughout the town, we have to have a district, um, that allows of a certain size that allows the density as a matter of Right. And these are interspersed throughout the town. So presently we allow multi-family by special permit in our unrestricted district. We also allow road row houses, which is a type of multifamily in a, in, um, four of our zoning districts by special permit. And we allow mixed use commercial with residential above in one district. And as a matter of right, um, by special permit in the other, our housing stock.

14:04 Presently we have 15% multifamily in the hou in the town, uh, single family makes up 77% and then 8% are two family. So what I’m showing there is this density already exists in Marblehead and the housing type already exists in my marblehead. And then what are the challenges we identified? Infrastructure, capacity, traffic impact on schools, changes to the character and harmonious integration of housing styles. And then the benefits multifamily can provide a variety of housing options, accommodating individuals and families with different needs, preferences, and budgets. And I always hearsay, when the two, um, 40 Bs came

14:53 to town, it was, um, a lot of people downsized and moved there. Um, you know, they raised their children. They, they no longer need a big house or want a big house. And so we found that the multifamily was a very popular, um, type of housing, uh, for certain demographics in the, in the town. Um, and then shared spaces in a multi-family, communities can foster social interaction, creating a sense of community and belonging. Again, think of, um, someone who is widowed or, um, families moved out and they are isolated in our senior population is growing more and more. And, um, that is the, the age

15:38 that is growing more in the town than any other demographic. And multi zoning, multifamily zoning can support the development of affordable housing options to help address affordable housing issues. And new growth can help take pressure off of existing residents by creating new tax revenue. So the big thing, and I added this after I’ve done a few of these presentations, because the thing to keep in mind is this is a zoning mandate, not a building project or a production mandate. And then I give some examples. So we did a zoning change in Vinn Square, smart Growth Zone was adopted by town meeting in 2009 and we didn’t see the first application until 2022. So I’m just showing just

16:25 because you zone doesn’t mean people will necessarily build. Um, and the incentive zoning bylaw, which allows an increase in density town wide for larger parcels was adopted in 1990 and the first and only application to date was in 2013. And the project was completed in 2021. And because the town has less than 10% affordable housing, the town is subject to chapter 40 B. And that is, um, that allows a density increase in exchange for 25% of the housing units being affordable. It overrides all other, um, permits, all other local permits. It’s just one, it’s called a comprehensive permit. So this can happen anytime in any location in the town.

17:11 And it’s been on the books since 1969 and Marblehead has permitted four of them. That’s all we’ve had. Uh, two have been built. One is one is under construction or about to get a building permit and the other wasn’t built. So this is just to show this is a zoning mandate. We’re not talking about, um, constructing these units. Um, so there’s a lot of ways to approach this. So, so far the planning board, what we’ve done is, um, first of all, we took the district where multifamily is permitted, uh, by special permit. And we thought, what if we just made the change to allow it as a matter of right. Would that work? And it didn’t exactly. It would need to be tweaked. And after our forums and things like that, we realized people really were looking

17:59 for it to not be in one area to have more than one area. So we also are looking at expanding the existing smart growth districts and looking at, um, any large open parcels above five acres or areas, um, with underutilized buildings and properties, um, to create a five acre district. ‘cause again, that needs, that’s the minimum size. And so the first thing, this is the area we looked at first, um, to see if we could do it. It is a compliant model, but it kind of focuses,

18:39 Let me, um, so that focuses, um, in one area of town. So from all of our forums, um, we are, uh, not gonna go with that model. We’ve decided we could do better than that. So this is the smart growth district in the downtown. It’s very small, it’s existing, it’s where the, um, bank parking lot is where the old YMCA used to be. And we did this zoning, um,

19:13 I think it was in 2009. And this is a building that was permitted for that site. So that is what the density looks like and the guidelines are very, very tight to kind of produce a, um, a very thank you, a very nice looking, um, building with, you know, details so that we know even if it’s gonna be as a matter of right. The guidelines are so tight, we know it’s not gonna be just a big box in the middle of our downtown. So smart growth, it promotes a higher density in the downtown. The idea is that it is near public transportation, it’s also near businesses and the ideas that, uh, by putting people in the downtowns

20:00 that supports, um, businesses and the businesses that are there and you may not need, um, it might not be so car centric. And then this is just to show this, this building used to be, it’s somewhere near the National Grand Bank. Um, I couldn’t tell exactly where, but, so this is a building that was that burned down, but, so you can see, you know, when people talk about the character that, you know, it’s kind of a massive building that was downtown. So it was just showing that. Um, so the smart growth study that we did in 2009 looked at a bunch of areas, VIN and Square, which we ended up doing, uh, lead Mills, which is now town owned Village Plaza, which we’re looking at, um, in the expansion

20:45 and the, uh, a portion of Atlantic Ave kind of up to Chuy’s. And then, um, we did do the YMCA area. So we kind of dusted that off to look at, um, to look at that. And then this is an opportunity that came up. Um, I was approached by the housing authority who said, you know, Broon Road is this area next to the community center that is multifamily housing. Now they are, they have a waiting list. Um, the buildings are older, they’re in the 1950s. The brick ones were done. And then later, I think in the early eighties, the, um, the other one, the shingle one was done. And they are doing this over. They are looking to actively, um, do some

21:31 upgrade, some changes there. And so we thought that might make a lot of sense because they’re doing it already. It already is multi-family. And so maybe creating a district, there was kind of a, um, a win-win situation. The other thing we’re looking at is underutilized building. We took very seriously people not wanting to change the character of Marblehead. We stayed completely out of the historic district, but then we also looked at underutilized buildings. So this is a building that has been largely vacant for years, um, about four years, I think 85% vacant or something. They would like to do housing there. And this is the sort of thing that would be a benefit as opposed to, um, a, uh, detriment and, uh, ruining the character it would actually improve.

22:18 And then Vin Vinn Square Smart Growth District that is at the, that was just permitted. This was a project that was just permitted through the smart growth that exists right now. Um, you’ll see in the photograph there, that big white thing, that’s the Staples building. So it’s across from that where the Glover, um, the Glover restaurant used to be the General Glover. And so that’s 44 units. So we were thinking expanding that, um, that district somewhat. And so we’ve done a lot of community engagement. We’ve had, um, two public forums. Um, we did one on Zoom and it was recorded on MHTV and played a lot, many times. Uh, we did an in-person meeting on November 2nd,

23:04 and we did a week long virtual open house December 1st to eighth. And then we have done presentations this one tonight. Fair Housing committee, housing Production Plan, select board, and several newspaper articles. Um, I’m having Drop-in hours next week for people. I’ve created a, an email list of people that wanna stay informed. We’ve had focus groups with architects, housing committees, developers, department heads, the COA, the seniors. And on Friday I have chamber business one and the email distribution list. And we’ve created a website. So we’re really trying to get as much, um, input as we can. Um, we asked at the, um, we had an exercise, so we asked where other people

23:49 where people would like to see them. We kind of threw out where we were looking and, um, we asked also what the benefits of multifamily housing was. And those dots are what people thought it was pretty equal. They, um, they agreed that the, you know, having a different housing type, um, shared spaces for social interaction, um, support affordable housing and new growth, um, to help take the tax pressure off existing. And then the issues, definitely traffic was the number one thing. Um, impact on schools, and I will say that for multifamily housing, that use tends to not, um, not be a big, um,

24:35 driver of school-aged children. So we looked at what we have in Marblehead at, um, the Highlands and there are, um, two in the garden style. There’s two units with two children each. And then in the, um, there’s seven children in the, um, what do they call the townhouse style. So, you know, there, there are not. So here in Marblehead we found that that that has is the case. Um, and changes to the character of Marblehead. Again, we’re looking at, um, integrating existing Multifamilies into like Marblehead Highlands into um, where we zone and also looking at underutilized and more blighted buildings so that, um, the changes

25:23 might be beneficial. Traffic is definitely the number one, um, issue. And then, uh, impact on town services. People were concerned with infrastructure capacity. We did a meeting with department heads about that and that, um, there is no area that we’re looking at that doesn’t have the infrastructure capacity. And then the other thing was different housing types. Um, you know, there’s a lot of different ways you can do multi-family and the only one people didn’t wanna see is mid-rise, which does seem to be out of character. That’s the one over on the right. But people were interested in townhouse style, mostly in cottage court and um, that sort of type. Then we did this asking people where they wanted to see, um,

26:11 housing and, um, where they wanted us to look. And you’ll see all the little dots down in the corner that’s Vin and Square. And then to the right of that is Broon Road. Well, the JCC, the JCC actually contacted me also. They have 10 acres and they were interested in what that would look like if they were to do something in addition to providing their, um, community center, which they have no ideas of dissolving. And then, um, the Broon road and then kind of the downtown area. And then you’ll see the coffin school and then the um, Tioga way. And then we got some out on the neck and, you know, at the forum we asked people, you know,

26:56 to explain why they picked certain things. Nobody wanted to explain why they picked the neck. But a guy came up afterwards and said, you know, I picked it ‘cause I thought it would never happen, kind of thing. So, um, that’s why those there. So the timeline, uh, for compliance is December, 2024. We have a forum, which is on the website. It’s on Zoom next Tuesday at Feb on February 16th. And we are going to present our, um, the kind of the preferred alternative, get input on that and finalize it, and then submit to the town warrant the end of January. And then there’ll be education and outreach from February to May and a vote at town meeting in May of 2024.

27:48 So that’s it. Becky? Uh, my, yeah, yeah, it’s really Becky. I just wanna say the presentation has become very good. Okay. And it’s been, uh, refined and it’s really thoughtful. Um, I guess one question that I have, are you, you know, is there any sense as you think about the, you know, about how this is gonna un unfold, uh, you know, whether we can get data around enrollment projection increases or traffic increases and things like that, you know, some, some data points around? Yes, likely Yes. And, and I will say, Assuming that the zoning Picks up, one of the things that I didn’t mention, um, is that, so we’ve gotten some technical assistance, um, through a grant, uh, to help us kind of do the analysis.

28:35 Okay. And we also have a community engagement person, so they’re helping us do the analysis. So we kind of say we met with the planning board last night, kind of say these are the areas we’re looking at and the planning board was, you know, had input onto, you know, where we should, um, branch out or, or refine it. And then they do the analysis. And so are You getting close to that right Now? Yeah, yeah. We’ll have it for February 16th, I understand. To present a draft. Perfect. And then we’ll get input on that. Um, so that is, uh, that is, um, Any questions from the, from The board? Yeah. Through the chair. Becky, just a follow up on what Moses was saying, in order to do that, to get that analysis and get that data, is that, ‘cause this is obviously zoning and not building, is that just doing, creating models of,

29:21 well, you know, if it was zoned and then it got permanented and then it got built, this would be the implication if it went to that level. Is that how they do the analysis? Right. So that you have the, um, you have the setbacks and you have the area. And so you can do models on how many units would, um, be created, you know, by including some areas that already are developed, which is, you know, the majority of the town. But by including the multifamilies, um, you know, those become zero because no one’s gonna take down Marblehead Highlands to build Marblehead Highlands again, you know, at that density. So if that area is included. So we’re trying to be strategic and include some areas like that. So we are complying,

30:08 we do have some areas within the zones that will, that could be built and then some areas that just really won’t likely be, you know, and so that’s the way we’ve strategized to try to, um, comply and then realize some benefit. Okay. Yes. Yeah, I mean, just to, to reiterate, it’s, this is something that is possible, but it’s probably not probable that we’re gonna get just shy of 900 units, you Knows, we will not, it’s, it’s getting right, we’ll not have 900 units. Like it’s, if we were a farming community that had a lot of open space, those are the communities that we’ll actually see. We are so built out that, you know, it doesn’t make economic, um, sense in some of the areas we’re including

30:56 is just, it is just not going to happen. So we, we will not get nine, uh, there’s no scenario where we would have 900 units. Right. And, and, and also just to say, we all know this is a very densely populated town. Mm-Hmm. But we have to remember that there’s communities like Brookline in Cambridge, which are actually getting hit harder because they actually have those, you know, infrastructure in their towns. Right. So the percentage they need, so even if you think they’re built up, they still have to Yes. And increase their, Brookline passed it, Lexington passed it, Arlington passed it, Newton passed it. So, you know, it’s, some communities are, you know, and we’re learning from them. You know, we’re part of, one of the parts of the grant that the states allow is we’re in a cohort of other communities and we meet monthly and discuss, you know, um, what people are doing,

31:43 what works, what people are getting hung, hung, hung up on. And I think that’s been really helpful. Yeah. And, and also this law puts a limit on what we can even do from affordable housing. In this particular, There is no, um, requirement for affordable housing in this, but there is the possibility that it can be done, it’s a local option, But it could, I think it could only be up to that 10%. Yep. So even if we did that, we’d still be at about 3.9% affordable housing in Towned. So we couldn’t Oh, you mean for the 40 B region percent? Exactly. To get 10% percent. 40 10%. We’re still gonna be way below. Yeah. Correct. Okay. Any other, uh, questions from the numbers? One more through the chair, Becky, just to follow up on that, what you just said with the, when you meet with

32:30 that group, which is part of the, you know, the grant, the Cambridge, Arlington, like that whole group that you mentioned, and for the towns that have already passed it. And when you guys have discussed what did, what would you say is the, what rises to the top or what the main level of Well, every town is, um, concerned with, um, traffic. Okay. School impact on schools and traffic and traffic and traffic. That is the, the main concern that we hear. Okay. And, you know, different towns have different, um, needs, but some of the towns that we’re in the cohort with are also densely populated as well. So it tends to be same things that we’re concerned with. Okay. Thanks. Okay. Alright. If there are no more questions, let’s move on to the next,

33:17 uh, agenda item, which is, uh, Thank you, Becky. You’re Welcome. Well, She’s, she’s, I think that, I think that’s neat. I think that’s neat too. And Then back to you, This is about the perambulation of public ways. Yep. Pull that up. So This, and I wanna, I wanna thank all the licensees for wading through the presentation. Yeah. Sorry, This one is, I appreciate it. This one is really short. Um, so this is, so I think you’re all aware, but, so the annual Perambulation, um, is an annual walk held. The, it’s historically been held the first Saturday after town meeting. Um, and I’m just gonna go through it a little bit.

34:02 So there’s a number of ways dating back to colonial days that exist in Marblehead. Some of the ways are hundreds of years old and can be addressed back to fishing in a way to reach the water. Some offer views of the town and water, or a connection from one street to another. In some instances, use is slight and the way is little more than a path or looks like a private yard and doesn’t have much activity. So on the neck there are 10 ways, and one of them is Des Mullin Lane. So if you are over there is the map. And if you’re driving down it looks like, uh, a house, but then you get a little further and you can go right out to the water there. And then Cove Lane, there is, um, again,

34:49 it looks like someone’s yard. There’s a bench though that is there, and then there’s, um, steps leading down to the water. Um, and those are all town owned. Then there’s Peabody D Lane. You know, you, again, it looks like, uh, somebody’s yard, but it isn’t. It’s a town way. And there is, uh, steps that lead down to the water. And in the downtown there are eight. And these, um, are, don’t lean to the water, but they look out court. You would never know. That was a little step down, um, to Lee Street. It’s a little, um, cut through and the, that’s it there. So the Perambulation is the act of walking the ways to reassert the public’s right.

35:36 And prevent claims that the easement has been abandoned. Some communities host annual perambulation days in which members of the community walk all of the public foot pecs to reassert public rights. So in Marblehead, we used to do this periodically. When I first got here in 1988, we used to do it every other year or so, and the town engineer and staff would mark out the ways the event was publicized and board members and interested citizens would walk the ways. And again, it ensures, um, that, uh, the public ways maintain their right of way status and public protections. The town engineers surveyed all the neck ways and granite bounds were installed. So it made it easier to determine the boundary.

36:21 And in 1995, we got a grant to install signs on the, on the neck. Anyway, that one is one of the, uh, town ways. Um, and for the past several years, Marblehead Conservancy took on this task for the town and held an event every other year that is the Perambulation in 19 2017. So it was really well attended. They did a very, very good job of getting the word out and getting people. And there you see Don Doller, who’s our town historian, he kind of led the, the walk in the downtown and added all sorts of fun and interesting history. Um, so now it’s reverting back to the Selectmen. The the Conservancy does so much for the town and they just don’t have the bandwidth to take this on anymore, so we’re gonna do it again.

37:10 Um, and so it seemed to be successful to picking the Saturday after town meeting gets in everybody’s head. And, um, we thought, Thara and I thought about this and you guys can talk about it, but alternating years doing the neck one year and downtown the other. ‘cause otherwise it’s a lot, you know, and people tend to choose one or the other. So just focus on that and it’s really pretty fun. I’ve done many of them and it’s, um, fun and interesting. And that’s it. Thank you, Becky. You’re welcome. Any, any discussion on Permeation? It’s pretty sounds, sounds like the, uh, schedule makes sense. I think so. Right. And then an alternate. Yeah. So starting this year. Yeah. Maybe do the neck and, uh, yeah. So thank you Becky. Thank you Becky. Becky, you’re welcome. Much, much

37:56 appreciated. And Becky, Becky is, I’ll be, I’ll be away This year. Yes. She has guaranteed good weather for that Saturday. That’s right. That’s, they have, yeah. We could have a celebrity visit. Yeah. Just kidding. You’d, you’d be a draw. You’d be a draw. A celebrity visit. Thank you. That’s perfect. Thank you. Alright, uh, we’ll move on to licensing and we’d like to start with Kitchen Table and Hung. Hi. How are you? How are you? I’m good. Welcome. Thank you. And thank you for waiting again, and we appreciate it. Welcome, sir. You know, this is, I have to say this is a, uh, a public hearing hearing. So I am required to open a public hearing and announce that this hearing was legally

38:41 advertised in the Marblehead Weekly news. And, uh, perhaps you could give a little, uh, discuss a little bit what you’re, what you’re, what you’re doing. Okay. Um, so we, um, beginning of last year, uh, changed our name to Sole Concepts from Kitchen and Table, just to reflect more of, uh, the current ownership and, and what we do. Um, and that’s essentially what that is. Uh, as far as the second request, um, um, my, my partner also very best friend Mia, has transitioned out of the business, uh, for personal reasons, um, so therefore had surrendered her shares. And, uh, so ownership’s changed, uh,

39:27 in terms of percentages. And that’s, um, that’s, um, the gist of it. Okay. So just as You’re, and you have any questions, I’m more than happy to answer for sure. Yeah, yeah. Just as reminder to the board, this is an application, uh, um, to, to approve the application for, for the change. Any questions at all? Alright, but no change To the food, Right? No, yeah, please. Good. Absolutely not. Alright. Uh, anyone present Who wishes to speak in op in opposition to the application? Anybody here? Anybody online? No. Anyone here wish to present and speak in favor of the application?

40:11 That’s a si silent, resounding yes. So it sounds like, okay, I’d like to go ahead and, uh, close the, the hearing and, uh, solicit any, any questions, comments from the board again, if none, then I’d like to entertain a motion, uh, to approve the application as presented by, uh, uh, from Kitchen Table Inc. 10 Besam Street, doing business as sole bistro for change of stock interest in corporate name, subject to receipt of the required fees, documents, and approval by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. It’s a polled vote. So Moved. Second. Uh, Ms. Singer? In favor? Mr. Murray? In favor? Mr. Nay? In favor, Mr. Grader? In favor. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank You so much. And thank you for hiring all those young people who work for You. Oh, I love that. I do. Thank you.

40:58 Thank you for the tele support. Our pleasure. All right. Next on the agenda item is, uh, applicant David Titus for the Corinthian Yacht Club. And, uh, this is an application for change of officers, directors. And this happens every few years as I understand. Yeah. But before you step up, I’m going to enter this into a, a public hearing and, uh, you’ve got the floor if you’d like to. Uh, so this is just, um, every two years we change Commodore. So every two years we go through This process, just so that Yeah. All of our paperwork with the state is in compliance, so, perfect. Perfect. Okay. I don’t think we need any, uh, approve or disapprove of this motion. So any questions or comments from the select forward?

41:44 We’ve done this before, David. So with that, uh, I’d like to entertain a motion to approve. The application is presented from David Titus Corinthian Yacht Club, uh, one in the hot street for a change of officers and directors, subject to receipt of required fees, documents, and approval by the alcoholic Beverage Board control permission again? Uh, I have the motion. So moved. So moved. And it’s a poll vote. Mr. Murray. In favor? Mr. Benani present. Ms. Singer? In favor? Mr. Greater? In favor. Thank you, David. Thank you. Thank you for waiting. Welcome. Thank You. Alright. Uh, we got Mikeno or who, uh, are you here? Yes. Paul Lynch is gonna represent. Oh, Awesome, Paul. Okay. Thank you. Come, come on. Uh, you, you know, you know, It’s awesome. You, you know, you know this drill.

42:30 Uh, but this, in this instance, uh, I do need to, uh, open it this hearing publicly. And it was legally advertised in the Marvel Head. Weekly news. Uh, go ahead. Okay. Well, for the record, I’m Paul Lynch, and I represent the applicant who is a Riptide Group Inc. And we are requesting the pledge of their liquor license. Um, what happened is, at the time that we applied for the original liquor license, they didn’t have, they did not have their lending in place. Uh, subsequent to that, they made an agreement with North Shore Bank, with the LLC that owns the property and the Riptide Group Inc. Which guaranteed the loan.

43:16 And part of that agreement was to seek a pledge of that license to secure the collateral. Okay. So that’s what we’re seeking. We know it’s North Shore Bank, we’re not, you know, it’s, so it’s pretty safe. Yep. That, that’s, uh, that’s good. Uh, anyone here present, wish to speak in opposition of the application? So described? No. Anyone present wishing to speak in favor of the application?

43:45 Nothing. Okay. I’ll close this hearing and open this up for questions to the, uh, to the select board. Any, any thoughts, questions, concerns? No. It’s just good business Practice. Just good business practice. Yeah. No, well, good luck with it. Uh, with that, I’d like to entertain a motion to approve the application as presented, uh, from Riptide Group LLC 116 Pleasant Street to pledge, the all alcoholic beverage license, subject to receipt of the required fees, documents, and approvals by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. So moved second. And it’s a poll vote. Mr. Dye. In favor? Ms. Singer? In favor? Mr. Murray in Weber. Mr. Grader In favor. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you, Paul. Appreciate it. Have a have a good one. Thank you. Happy New Year. Alright, we’ve got Johnny Ray

44:32 and, uh, attorney LaRusso or Johnny, you wanna just, just you. Okay. Fair enough. Chad couldn’t make attorney. You’re on the List. He’s covering for me in an engagement. It’s now welcome. Thank you. It’s good. It’s Good to see you. Nice to see you too. Okay, I’d like to announce that this hearing was legal advertised in the Marblehead Weekly news. Uh, Johnny, if you’d like to give us a, a summary of what, of what you’re Sure. Basically what we’re doing is just applying for, to, uh, transfer the liquor license from one entity to the next entity. Yeah. We basically have, uh, bought out our partners. So it’s a new, uh, LLC that’s gonna be owning the restaurant. Got it. Got it. Well continue with your success there. Thank you. Anyone present? Wishing to speak in opposition to the application? Okay.

45:19 No one. Anyone present? Uh, wish to speak in favor of the application? No one. Alright, I’d like to close this hearing. Any questions, comments from the board? All right. With that, uh, I’d like to, uh, entertain, uh, two motions. The first is a Common Vic license and the motions to approve the application for a Common Vic license for a and h Restaurant and Entertainment group, LLC, uh, 1, 2 3, pleasant Street Manager, uh, John N. Castro. Hours of operation, Monday through Sunday, 10:00 AM to 12 midnight, subject to receipt of all applicable inspection sign-offs and all fees paid. So moved. Second and a second. Uh, this is, uh, regular vote. It’s a regular vote. All in favor, unanimous. Uh, the next is a motion to entertain a transfer

46:07 of liquor license to approve the transfer of the all alcoholic beverage license from Warwick Entertainment. 1 23 Pleasant Street to a NH Restaurant and Entertainment Group, LLC 123 Pleasant Street Hours of operation, Monday through Sunday, 10:00 AM to 12 midnight subject to, uh, Cory approval, receipt of all applicable inspection sign-offs and paid fees, approval for the alcoholic beverage, uh, control, commission, and proof of tips or equivalent certification. So moved. Second. A second. All those in favor? Uh, this, This one’s a poll. This one is a, it wasn’t marked, But it, I need to get happy guidance. Alright. Perfect. Full vote. So, motions in place. The motions are in place? Yeah. Okay. Ms. Singer? In favor? Mr. Murray? In favor? Mr. Nye? In favor? Mr. Grader? In favor. Okay. Thank you.

46:53 Thank you very much. Congratulations. Yeah, Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Alright. Happy New Year. Alright, next, uh, next agenda item is, uh, the minutes of the select board for November 15th. I’d like to entertain a motion to approve, so we’ll Second. All those in favor? Unanimous. Okay. The bells for the Washington, the ringing for Washington birthday. Do you wanna Do November 15th and December 13th? Address the 15th? What’s that? Oh, did I, do I have, I think They’re, Kyle, if those are, Hold on. I think they’re all, I’ve only, Kyle, Did we do the, the 13th also? Are those ready? We did. I don’t know if you saw them and if you didn’t, we, we can wait

47:39 if they’re not on. I did send them, but yeah, I got an email today. Yeah. Okay. We did get the email. That’s right. Yeah. I just, I just Didn’t get ‘em in the book that we Did. Okay. So a motion to approve, uh, the select the, the, uh, select board minutes for December 13th and November 15th. So moved second. All those in favor? Okay. Unanimous. Okay. So this is the ringing of the, uh, the bells for Washington’s birthday happens every year. Motion that the bell like to entertain a motion that the bells of Abbott Hall and all the churches in marble had be rung on Washington’s birthday Thursday, February 22nd at the usual holiday hours from 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM 12 noon to 12:30 PM 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM as has been the custom in the past. They move. Second, please. Second. All those in favor?

48:28 Alright. All right. This next is a, is a contract, uh, I guess a series of contracts, right? Um, or no, we have the acceptance of equipment. This is the, this this is the gift of the town. Yeah, about that. 11 Charlie Quicken. Gotcha. I got it right here. Okay. So, uh, the motion is self-explanatory, so I’ll just entertain that motion to accept as a gift of the town the following, surveying equipment from Hancock Associates and put into the care and custody of the engineering department. And to send a letter of appreciation from one, uh, Leica model TP S 700 total station two tripods, one surveying rod and peanut prism one, try crash prism

49:14 support with Prism.

49:18 So move to move a second, please. Second, I’m glad nobody asked me what they were. That’s a pretty rare, that’s been pretty rarefied equipment right there. I know. Yeah. Um, you need to vote. Do you want, uh, yes. And, uh, all in favor, please. Unanimous. Okay. So let me assist you going through these After these. Uh, So the, so the first one is Grace Oliver Railings project. It was funded from a warrant article. The project is complete. We’re just asking for an extension of the contract date for us just to make final payment and close out, close out the project. So it’s just a contractual, make sure the, the end date corresponds with the final transactions. With that, I’d like to entertain a motion to amend the contract for the Grace Oliver’s railing project

50:05 between the town and Neland Construction of Bedford Mass to extend the time for performance until January 31st, 2024. And authorize the chair to sign the amendment on behalf of the board. So moved. Second. Second. All in favor? Okay. Unanimous. So this next one is, uh, for the lease agreement for two new police vehicles and the equipment that goes, the lights and such that, that will go on the equipment. Um, the total cost of the equipment is $108,038. Uh, requires three payments, three annual payments of $39,597 for a total cost of 118,000 7 91. So this is a lease arrangement for Your approval? Yep. Okay. That, is it three year lease?

50:53 Uh, three, yes. Okay. Yeah. ‘cause this has been, uh, this is something that started a couple years ago, I think, right? It or six, maybe it’s, I Don’t know how long it’s here. Receding receding into the distance, but, But my, my long experience in this police cruisers are good for three years and then they’re junk. Yep. And so the, the best mechanism is to do the lease payments, have the cost standard, run ‘em for three years and then get ‘em out and replace ‘em. Fully Depreciate them in Three years. Yeah. And it, it’s, and well, it’s not always the miles, right? If you look at the miles, it probably not nearly as much as a family car, but it’s the engine time that equates to, uh, the miles. Um, I, I will say in this one, um, we, um,

51:43 we had hoped to get the, the hybrids, they’re not available, so we had to go with standard when the hybrids, they’re all on back order everywhere. When they, the next cycle we’ll get back onto the, you know, getting the hybrids. Okay. With that, I’d like, I’d like to entertain a motion to approve the lease agreement as presented between the town and Republic First National, uh, for two New Ford all-wheel drive police utility interceptors with uplifting with upfitting, sorry. And authorize the chair to sign on behalf of the board. So moved. Second. All those in favor? Okay. Unanimous. And the, the last motion. So third one we have Oh, we have two. Yeah, two more. Uh, this is a, uh, to amend the contract between the town

52:29 and Collins Engineering for the Town’s Coastal Resilience Municipal land project. So, um, um, we’re doing an adjustment in order to, uh, do some design change. There were some components of the project that were no longer gonna be done as part of the project. So the funds were available within the grant. So we’re gonna use the funds that are not needed for whatever component that they, they did, didn’t have to do to pay for the added design work that needed to be done. Alright. I’d like to entertain a motion to amend the contract between the town and Collins Engineering for the town’s coastal resilience, uh, municipal land project by increasing the contract amount by $38,060 and authorize the chair to sign the amendment on

53:15 behalf of the board. So moved. Second. All those in favor? Alright, now you have to give some Guidance. Yeah. So this one last one is just came in? Yeah. Okay. So it’s for a lease of one large or, um, Bluebird School bus. Um, and, and so and so schools, uh, can, can enter into their own contracts for school purposes, but because this is a lease agreement, it’s a borrowing, the select board has to approve, um, and obligate the, the town of Marblehead for the borrowing. So that’s the why it’s before you. Okay. So it’s for one Bluebird bus, uh, the equipment cost is $144,089.

54:00 It’s gonna consist of five payments of $32,206 for a total cost of $161,034. Alright, I got the sheet, updated sheet here. Is this replaced through, sorry, through the chair. Is this replacing, is this an addition? Is this separate from, you know, any grant application? This is June. Have any additional details on that? I, I’m not sure of all the details. I’ve, I understand they, they run like four buses, so I, I assume this is a replacement, but I, again, our role in this is just authorizing them to borrow. So I I, and it came in today, so I didn’t Any Yeah, I was curious if you had any other Yeah, any details. Additional Details As to the fleet.

54:45 Yeah. Okay. I can, I can find out after, you know. Okay. After the fact. Yeah. It’s just that the, the town, uh, shoulders, the, the potential obligation. Right? So we have to, Yeah. I just know from just when Green Marblehead like this has been a holistic conversation. Yeah. So I just didn’t know this particular where it fit in the Yeah. Grand scheme of things. Yeah. Let Michelle Cressler manage all that stuff. So yeah, I was trying to meet the obligations. Okay. With that, I’d like to entertain a motion to approve the lease agreement as presented between the town and Huntington Public Capital Corporation for pupil transportation. Large bus 1 20 23 Bluebird bus. Uh, the VIN number is one Bravo Alpha Kilo Juliet, uh, Charlie Sierra, alpha seven Sierra

55:33 Foxtrot 8 0 7 2 3 5. And authorize the chair to sign on behalf of the board. So Moved. Second. All those in favor? Alright. Alright. Okay. And next is the establishment of a donation account. Um, this is, uh, comes to us from the Council on Aging and I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, although I’m very curious about the, uh, the book itself, um, to get ahold of that awesome book. Yeah. Yeah. Will do. Uh, the motion, I’d like to entertain a motion to approve the request from Lisa Hooper, counsel on Aging to establish a donation account for receipts received from Dennis Curtin’s book,

56:18 Marblehead Vignettes to be used by the Council on Aging. Moved second. All those in favor? Unanimous.

56:29 Okay. So this is, uh, no parking tow zone regulations, uh, around sewer pump stations. I think we had one we missed, We missed number 14. That’s what’s going on. The handwritten Yep. Right there. Okay. Yeah. Sticky. That’s one excuse. Yeah. Sticky pages. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Yep. Um, okay. So this is, uh, request order.

56:55 So it’s automatic amusement device license. Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. So They’re replacing equipment Gotcha. From the vfw. Yep. Got it. Okay. So I, I’d like to entertain a motion, uh, or a request. I’d like to entertain a motion for the request from Edward Preble VFW for an automatic amusement device license for the following, which is a trivia game, serial number U 5 0 4 0 8 1 4 3 0 4 1. Subject to receipt of the required fees. Moved. Second. Second. All in favor? Right now we can move to the, uh, pump station, no parking to zone. So this is what Question? Yeah, This is based on the presentation at the last meeting.

57:42 Sitting back there presented. Uh, so the information in here lists each of the specific spots. Generally speaking, it’s, it’ll create a 20 foot and length restriction zone year round. And then seasonally between December 15th and April 15th of each year, the restriction zone will expand to 40 feet in order to allow the equipment to have access to run snowstorms and other emergencies. Yep. Yep. All right. I’ll do the motion before if there’s any discussion. I’d like to entertain the motion, uh, to approve the following. No parking tow zone regulations at sewer pump stations.

58:28 Access areas as presented and submitted by the town engineer. Proposed quote, proposed no parking zone descriptions. 12, uh, 0.8 200 23. And to post signs designated designating such areas as no parking tow zones with a year-round restriction of 20 feet in length, and a seasonal, which is December 15th to April 15. Restriction of 40 feet in length. So moved. Second. Just, I just had some questions. I know you did the great presentation for us. Um, after we saw you and you had that presentation. Do you have any, just any additional feedback or concerns or anything that was brought to your attention after your presentation to us?

59:14 Nope. It’s actually been something we have talked about, uh, at the sew department for years and years. And, um, a majority of them already do have no parking. They just don’t say tow zone. Yeah. Um, but again, even as we saw, you know, last night there, we had to be at a lot of pump stations in the middle of the night with a lot of heavy equipment. Um, we actually have heavy equipment, not last night, but yeah. It can happen during a rainstorm like that. Yeah. At any time. So. Okay. Um, it just really does help our emergency response and guarantees that we’re gonna be able to get in and get something done. ‘cause this does come down to minutes. Okay. And then is there any plan doctor, with either, you know, um, obviously we’re doing the signs, but any other just updates, you know,

1:00:00 media-wise or anything like that? These changes are happening if someone doesn’t miss the sign? Like, have you guys talked about any of that or if someone wants to look into it? Not yet. I’m sorry I missed the first pilot. No, I just didn’t know if we, like, if we were putting anything on the website or just like in announcements or anything that this change, you know, was happening just for anybody who’s in those areas. You know, if it was no parking, but just it’s a tow zone now too And we could just kind of, sort of, what do you call It? And the majority of them are not, uh, in places where people park most of the time. Okay. Or there’s parking around it. Um, a big one that everybody’s gonna know is, uh, Lafayette Street coming outta town on the right hand side where you enter into lead mills, there’s a pump,

1:00:45 there’s a fire hydrant, and then a little further up, there’s a pump station. Yeah. That people used. They used to be white lines there. I think that those have gone away. Right. Um, and that probably was voted on years ago. I just don’t know. I didn’t go back and try to find a vote, so I just put it in to make sure everybody would know. Those would be signs that go up. But people would still be parking. They’re still parking in front and in the back. Um, most of the places are, are gates and they look like access points, so people don’t park at them. 11 four Beach Lane has no, parking. Always has, yeah. Uh, Norman Street, um, has white lines that have just kind of gone away. Right. Foster Street has signs. Um, the ones at the end of the road are where people don’t expect it.

1:01:30 So, you know, you have one at the end of Village Street, one at the end of Green Street. Um, Yeah, I know there was just a couple that we highlighted that, uh, that’s what I was thinking of. Like just those two. We can Just, like on The web, just anything to draw attention to it. Got a news update that, you know, be aware we’ve updated, uh, there’ll be new signage and be aware pump stations. Right. That’s a good idea. Yeah. Yeah. Just to, you know, like I said, if, if I’m someone who’s going to a certain area to walk my dog and I’ve kind of gotten in a habit Right. It’s just, I think something just to throw it out there like Yep. And then someone might tell someone else like, oh yeah, I can’t, you know, I can’t park there anymore. Right. Well, what I mean, the sign will be there. And then we do visit the pump stations every day. Yeah. So if somebody is parked there, we can also do like a flyer that we put on. I mean it Yeah,

1:02:16 Yeah. Just as, just to implement like that this is Yep. Yep. Trying to be, and the reason why is great, you know, like trying to make sure we have safe access to what we need. But Everybody wants their pump stations working. We do. Yeah. Great. Thank you. Any other questions, comments? We have? We have a motion and a second. All in favor? Alright. Unanimous. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks for your work on that. Good stuff. Alright. Um, okay. So utilize the streets of Marblehead during the Black Cat. Uh, 10 to 20 miler. This is a race. Lemme skip over this.

1:03:03 We, did I skip over it again? Uh, yes. You’re kidding me. 16 Papers. Great. Rough day. A letter of interest from Alexandra, Karen. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Okay. So it’s a letter of interest to, uh, for joining the Marble Head Cultural Council. You’ve got her resume in front of you. Wow. A lot of Tufts graduate.

1:03:33 So the cultural Council has numerous seats. Mm-Hmm. Yep.

1:03:41 Now this is not, does not require a vote. This is just the acceptance of the letter. This is notifying you that there is an interest to fill the position. Outstanding. Thank you, Alexandra, for volunteering. Okay. We wanna set a date to, to see if anybody else would like to come in so We can put that, that’s a good thought On the, uh, Do you wanna set a, uh, I’m just trying to think here. One would be, do we wanna shoot for, uh, first meeting in February? This one’s pretty packed. All right. February 9th. Deadline the ninth. And then February 14th. Yeah. Yeah. So deadline. So deadline the ninth and, and, uh, appointment On the 14th. On the 14th. Okay. Perfect. All good. What else

1:04:26 Would you do on Brown Day? I was gonna say, do we wanna maybe not do it on the 14th for someone? Maybe they might have their plans. I agree. You make a very good point. Valentine’s Day. Not that They don’t wanna volunteer, but, Uh, yeah. Well, why don’t, why don’t, maybe we can make the deadline, uh, one week before the ninth. So We, we, we have a, a lot of space. Why don’t we just do it the next meeting? Yeah. Yeah. I was gonna suggest If somebody else wants to apply, that’s great. But we can have Alexander come in next meeting. Yeah. There’s a whole number of vacant seats. So if, Okay. So just roll. But we do it on a roll. Let’s just do it a rolling basis. Yeah. Rather than, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Makes sense. Makes sense. Mm-Hmm. 24. Let’s, let’s do it the next meeting. Great. Uh,

1:05:13 So if I, I would suggest if, if there’s any other interest, we have a deadline, what? Friday? The 19th of any other That make sense? Yeah. So Friday the 19th for anybody else that may be interested, and then they all can come in on the 24th. Okay. So we can, we can post that. Publicize that. Yeah. Maybe get some help from Will. Yep. Will’s.

1:05:40 Sorry guys, just publicizing the, uh, the appointments that we’re, uh, doing. I, if you have a section for that, that’d be great. That help us out. Help us out. Okay. So, uh, we are on 17 Now. The black cat. Yep. Keep flipping. What’s that? We’re not doing the, uh, I think they got reversed in the Gotcha. I Gotcha. Black cat’s. Next. And then we’ll go to the indemnification. It’s been a long week for May too. So we, We, we put a booby trap in for you. Yeah. Yeah. I fell right into it. All right. So this is, uh, the black cat. I think the motion is self-explanatory to approve the request from, uh, Ashley Sieves, uh, Steves BNS fitness company.

1:06:26 So hold the wicked 10 20 miler on Sunday, March 24th, 2024, subject to approval of the Marblehead Police and Recreation and Parks. Receipt of the Cerate. Uh, the certificate of insurance naming the town of Marblehead is additionally insured in police details. All distances will start and finish at, uh, at fitness. What, what’s the, uh, ES at VNS Fitness? Thank you. Uh, start time between 8:00 AM with the last runners exiting Marblehead by 11:30 AM No permanent marking shall be made on the streets, and any temporary marking shall be removed at the conclusion of the event. The VFW post in Marblehead and the Alley Kassner Scholarship Foundation shall be the two of the charities to benefit from the event. Moved. Second. All those in favor? Okay. Unanimous.

1:07:13 Now go back. Uh, So now you’re gonna flip backwards To the I know. I got it. This is, this is, uh, an indemnification of an officer. If you could give Us, yeah. So Officer Luke Peters, um, uh, sustained an injury while on duty. Uh, there’s a bit of delay from when the, the injury he tried to, tried to work through it. Uh, uh, the injury continued, but then, um, had to, had to give into the Yeah. To the injury and, and seek medical attention. So this is indemnification, which means the town covers the medical costs. Yep. Uh, that he incurs. And that’s because police and fire under A different statute for Workers’ compensation. Yes. They have their own public safety. Yep. And so they get, um, covered for in injuries on duty

1:07:59 through the exactly. This program. Uh, hope Officer Peters, uh, recover soon. So Okay. With Matt. With that, I’d tender in a motion to indemnify Officer Luke Peters for injuries sustained while on duty on December 23rd, 2024. So moved second. All those in favor? Unanimous. Alright, so public comment.

1:08:27 We are in the public comment. Yeah. Period. Is anybody here that would like to speak a Albert Jordan? You bet. Police microphone. Do you wanna use the mic so other people can hear you online

1:08:44 On the police car lease? I talked to Jason Svin years ago. The police car is, are black now. You don’t see ‘em in the dark. You know, we, uh, they take ‘em home at night and stuff. I’m just curious. Like swamps, skit has white and blue marble had it at one time. Uh, Salem just went back to black and white. Danvers has black and white. ‘cause the visibility when they’re parked, if you’re trying to slow traffic down, see ‘em in a neighborhood for speeding. They’re much more noticeable. Black in the dark. You don’t see ‘em when they’re parked down at Starbucks. You don’t see ‘em. If the park, if the car is parked and they’re at Starbucks, it’s black and white. It might slow someone down when someone’s trying to use the crosswalk. Um, so maybe you want to invite the police chief in, um, before you sign the contract to see. Um, in 1977

1:09:30 and 78, the Police Chief Poor Board of Selectmen, they painted them, uh, New York taxi cab yellow for visibility. Um, you know, we had a police officer sleeping home at night for years that were paying with a black car that no one could see in the driveway. We should make ‘em visible. So the taxpayers that are paying for ‘em, they’re visible, slows the traffic down. Doesn’t make any sense why they’re all black with black windows. It looks like the Gestapo. It doesn’t look like a friendly environment. So, um, like I say, I talked to Jason Silver years ago. He took it under advisement. He’s gone now. Um, the other thing I’m just curious about how many cars they towed during the snowstorm, if we had a snow emergency. ‘cause it’s very confusing to the public. Like on Turner Road, there’s been a trailer there

1:10:17 for six months with New Hampshire plates. The plow went around it. There’s a car there where an an expired inspection sticker. Uh, I’m just curious that you keep making all these rules and then certain people leave their vehicles. No, I, I assume the police department works 24 hours a day. I walked by there daily. No tags on these cars. I didn’t see any, the vehicles aren’t towed. There was still a pile of snow around there, um, this morning when I went by. And they’re really in dangerous spots. The neighbors across the street park there coming out to West Shore Drive when they’re home on the weekend and stuff. It makes it real tight. Um, you know, I felt like during the winter some of this would be correct. I didn’t know you could take a vehicle, leave it there six months, not move it at all. And the town doesn’t. You should have a lot, most,

1:11:04 most towns 72 hours. You’re not supposed to leave a vehicle not being moved because you can’t sweep the, the leaves. The street I live on, there were eight cars parked on the sidewalk and the gutter. I had to go out and, um, shovel the catch basin yesterday. ‘cause the plow can’t get slow close to it. So if you’re gonna have all these laws, um, I don’t know. You know, we have 24 hour police. I don’t know why we’re not, I’d just like to know if we know how many cars that were towed, because like I say, the, I see the same cars parked in the same locations, and then it’s penalizing the people that go to extra efforts. And then other people, like I said, the gas companies leaving equipment all over town that’s on Turner Road, Liman Terrace

1:11:51 that the plows gotta go around. The elderly housing’s right there, the sidewalks blocked with gas pipe. Uh, I mean, it just doesn’t make any sense how we’re ignoring this, but we’re putting up all these signs and we’re telling people we’re gonna ticket it and we’re gonna tow. But I, I don’t think it’s being done. But the main thing is, before we sign the contract on the leasing, two more police vehicles for black for three more years. So we can’t change the color unless the town wants to spend extra money. I, I just don’t understand why, why did Salem go to black, white and black? I I don’t know the question on that, but I think it’s because it just makes common sense that you can see the cars, the visibility issue and marble headss all black. And when they have the lights off and they’re parked, if, if you want it, if you want ‘em to be hidden, that’s fine.

1:12:37 But I thought the idea of having these cars out there and having a mark was for visibility. We had a cop, Carl Val, that got hit by someone, um, years ago and lost his leg. So when you’re out, especially a marked police car, you want it to be visible so people don’t get hurt. And the public sees it, it’s a deterrent. And, um, you know, it just seems like we’re doing the same thing. We’re everything’s coming up here. You’re voting on it, but there’s no comment from anyone. So we’re just doing the same old, same old. So thank you, Albert. Thank you. Happy New Year. We’ll, well, yeah. Happy New Year to you. Thank you for your comments. And they’re, and they’re noted. Thank you. Thanks. So for the board, so there was no declaration of emergency, so there was, there was no towing.

1:13:22 So we judiciously apply the snow band. Right. And, and counting on I think the warmer weather, right? Yeah. Followed By the rain. Yeah. We look at Right. What’s coming, if there was a, yeah, we discuss if there was like a freeze coming right after the snow that changes the conditions where, and those are all the factors that we look at making that decision. Yeah. Drove through Salem and saw the blue lights flash at Salem State. And I, I just figured, yeah, you want to uniform ‘em with other communities if you have. ‘cause you never know what’s gonna happen. You can have a flash. You know, it’s amazing here that we only got about three inches of snow. I mean, other places got two feet of snow. But I, I think you want to put people in a habit to find an available spot and stuff, and you just don’t wanna wait until, ‘cause that you’re gonna have a lot of surprise people.

1:14:09 Um, yeah. No, but like I say, leaving these vehicles on the road for six months and not moving at all on a main road. I, I, I mean, without estate plates on ‘em too. Oh. Which is illegal after 30 days, you’re supposed to have bass plates. I have to pay my excise tax and I get irritated seeing people leave vehicles out state plates. No, appreciate the comments, Albert. Thank, appreciate the comments there. Anything online? Anybody online? No, there’s not. Nobody online. Okay. I think the public comment, bring that public comment period to a close. And, uh, Thatcher, if you’d like to give us your update, Would be great. Sure. Um, so let me remind people some important dates coming up. Um, so as we’re getting ready for town meeting this spring, so as reminder, deadline for citizen filing

1:14:56 of Warren Articles is Friday, January 19th at 1230, because that’s when we close the doors here at Abbott Hall. So, uh, January 19th for citizen, um, warrant articles. Um, the next date, January 24th, which is two weeks from tonight, we are on schedule to provide the state of the town report. Um, we’re gonna do it at 6:00 PM so an hour before the regular schedule 7:00 PM select board meeting. So it’ll be right here. Perfect. Much like we did last year. And then the deadline for town departments filing is, uh, Friday, January 26th. Um, so we, uh, uh, department heads

1:15:44 and others are putting together, uh, a number of, of proposed warrant articles. Obviously you’ll come, come to this board, sort of a, a, a sneak preview of some that we’re working on. Uh, it’s not all of them, but it’s, it’s, it’s some of the that are in the works. Uh, one work with the Council on Aging, uh, increasing the maximum allowed by state law for the senior tax write-off program. So the state will bump up the numbers from time to time, and so it’s a local option. So propose, uh, increasing Marblehead exemption, uh, for senior tax write-off. So it’s a, it’s a, it’s a break for seniors who qualify for those programs. And that’s run through the Council on Aging.

1:16:29 Um, the NBTA zoning amendment, which Becky Keran gave the presentation. So that will be before town meeting as already stated. Um, putting together, as I and I’ve mentioned here, creating a planning and community development department. Again, that’s a Becky Kern replacement plan of, um, uh, this would be accomplished by reorganizing some existing positions or reallocating from other positions, uh, to minimize any additional salary requirements. So basically creating a department out of existing resources in order to have the synergy of, of a department we’re focused on quality of life type efforts, uh, for the community. So, uh, I’ll have more on that.

1:17:16 Um, increasing fees for certain transactions for the Recreation Parks Department inspection services to reflect increased cost of services. So there are a lot of, um, activities by those departments and others in which the, uh, the, the covering of the cost of those departments are, are generated by the fees, you know, for the permit applications and such. So we wanted to look at all, all the departments to look at their fees, uh, to make sure they’re in aligned with one, uh, as much as possible, cover the cost of the functions that they’re performing. Uh, also look at, you know, where do we align with other municipalities? Are we, we, we don’t wanna be behind,

1:18:02 we don’t wanna also go past. So we’re asking the departments to look at that. And a lot of these fees are, uh, determined by bylaw. It’s mainly the revolvers, right? Um, yeah, I mean, and, you know, permitting fees and such like that, um, that really cover the in inspect services, it’s also an effort. I mean, if a theme is, uh, looking to generate other revenue sources to take pressure off of having to push for an over app that, um, we’re, you know, we’re looking at all, all the fees, uh, that we have and make sure they’re in alignment, that they’re fair, they’re appropriate, but, but they’re current. Uh, in that same theme, what we’re also looking at is, uh, propose adopting the local option meals and rooms tax.

1:18:51 Uh, so that is, uh, uh, it’s a local option. So the state already charges a sales tax for restaurant and for rooms. And I say rooms, it’s not just hotels, it’s the Airbnbs and other those type of categories, um, would be part of that. We’ve done, we’ve done some PLI preliminary estimates. Um, we expect that it could generate in the, if we approve it at this town meeting to generate, we’re gonna estimate about 400,000 in additional revenue as the first year that it, that it kicks in. Uh, and based on projections, anywhere from 800,000 to a million dollars in new revenue on an annual basis, that was both for meals and for the meals and the rooms.

1:19:39 Um, one of the things we wanna look at is making sure if, if this is implemented, that we’re not making marblehead businesses less competitive than others. Every other community around us has already adopted these, uh, local option charges. So it would not put marblehead at a competitive disadvantage. It would generate really a significant amount of revenue that would, would, would help take a lot of pressure off of trying to close the structural deficit and, and get some things done. So, um, I’m, Would that need to go through the State House for approval too? No. Or we pass that? No, it’s, It’s local, right? We can start it. Okay. Yep. So I’m happy to, to present, uh, more details on that.

1:20:26 I know that that’ll be a, a significant topic of discussion. So if the board would like a more detailed presentation, uh, I’d be happy to do so and work With, well, I think, I think we should, uh, certainly entertain it and analyze it. Okay. So we can put it on for the, the 24th. What do you Guys think? I Agree. Yeah. Make sure the chamber Yep. And The business is not About it. Yeah, exactly. Right. We can go to get their feedback. Exactly. Yeah. Yep. Yep. No, I’m happy to do that. Um, next, um, uh, looking to adopt, this is another local option. Uh, the prudent investor local option, uh, master Law chapter 2 0 3 C. It basically gives the municipality, uh, more flexibility in managing the trust funds.

1:21:12 So it gives us more investment options. Municipalities are heavily restricted, especially compared to the state. But, um, some new laws give us a, some more flexibility. Adopt a statute that would allow us to withhold permits if payments are not made under Master Law. Chapter 40. Section 57. So one of the things, we have a bi-weekly meeting with inspection services. Uh, and I’ll, you know, I meet with that department on a biweekly basis and we look at all the activity that’s going on, and that came up this morning as, as an issue of we need a mechanism to enforce, um, compliance with the building code codes and such. And so there is a mechanism that need can be locally adopted.

1:22:00 Um, update the, our Capital Improvement Committee bylaw, um, to reconstitute the committee with new membership. So we wanna look at, uh, uh, how to better formulate, uh, that committee. And as it currently is in the bylaws, its purpose is to take a look at the big capital items. It, it sets a criteria as to, you know, it’s not looking at every ev everything that’s being done in capital, but to look at the big picture and the big ticket items, uh, review committee and make, make report to town meeting. So, um, looking to update that. And finally, uh, transfer of the Gary playground to rec and park.

1:22:45 So it’s part of a, the project that’s getting close to, uh, completion, and as part of the agreement, we will be accepting those grounds as a playground and accepting, getting the kids playing in the park. So again, that’s not everything in the works. Just a quick Question on that. It sounds like they’ve got everything, most of the units sold except for one, perhaps. Do you think they’re gonna open up, uh, springtime or what’s, what’s the, uh, I don’t know. That’s a Becky question as to how close, that’s my understanding. It’s, it’s coming real close. So there’s attention and work being done to finalize, you know, that playground parking component and get that, get that done as part of the deal. Um, the town received $10,000

1:23:32 from the closing of that last sale to go towards, towards The park. If we had any, uh, contributions to the donation fund that was set up yet. I know it may be a little premature, but Yeah. I mean, we just set up the fund. Yeah. Um, so I’m not aware of any yet, but, uh, I know Becky’s working with the neighborhood and others, so. Okay. So anyways, um, we will continue to work on additional warrant articles all the way up to the January 26th deadline. And that’s my report. Right. Enforcement of permits. Uh, sounds like, uh, I’d be interested to hear your, you know, your studied thoughts on that. Yes, yes. Okay. If that, you know, another thing though, I guess, uh, in terms of dates, do we have a, you know, a notice of school committee vacancy deadline that, that could,

1:24:18 We’ve, we’ve not as yet. I think they, to get a Letter from the school committee first. Yeah. So the school committee, They have a, a, a month, I think To do 30. I think they have 30 days. I think that would, that would put us at, uh, February 8th, I think. Yeah. And they would have to convene as a committee to approve, to approve sending that and then, um, right. And then we’ll take it from There. Yeah. I just wanted to throw that out there. All right. So that’s, uh, thank you Thatcher. Uh, any select board member announcements?

1:24:52 You’re still recovering from Madonna, aren’t you? Okay. Okay. Uh, I, Jim, I’d like, uh, to make an announcement, uh, that on Friday, January 26th, uh, we’re holding a Holocaust Remembrance Day observation at Abbott Hall at noon. So it’ll be a brief ceremony, about a half an hour. And, uh, and, and Temple Sinai is also inviting folks to come to their 6:00 PM um, uh, meeting, uh, or, or convocation as well at Temple Sinai in, uh, you know, for the Remembrance day.

1:25:36 And that’s all I’ve got. What was the time again? Uh, 6:00 PM for the evening and noon, uh, for the, for the proclamation. That’s where we’ll, we’ll read the proclamation that we, uh, that we did last year for the first time.

1:25:51 Motion to adjourn. So moved.