Select Board: September 25, 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.

0:02 Yes. Okay. Okay. I’m going to call our meeting to order. Today is Wednesday, September 25th, 2024. Um, calling us to order at seven o’clock sharp. And, um, this meeting is being recorded. We are, uh, again, on a webinar platform now for purposes of our hybrid, uh, uh, technology. And it’s, you may not, you will see and hear the board as usual, but you will not see your video or the videos of others who are attending the meeting. But it’s the same process for, uh, public comment. You raise your hand and Kyle will let me know, um, as well. And so with that, uh, we actually first off, start our agenda

0:48 with public comment if anybody has any public comment. Yes, sir. We were just talking. Yes, Exactly. Good evening. Uh, Ron Knight, 36 Amherst Road, um, commander Chaplain Lyman Rollins Post, uh, 2005 3 21 West Shore Drive. I just wanted to appear briefly, um, before the board. Uh, first off to thank you again for the approval of the permit for us, uh, for the, uh, run Rucker walk. Uh, we’re still waiting for a select person greater to finish the race. He hasn’t yet, so, uh, we’ll talk about that later. Uh, with the, with the daytime event in the evening event, we were actually fortunate enough, we raised well over $9,000, uh, for, uh, that’s great company to heroes. So very, very thankful for that. Planning meeting is already started for, uh, next year.

1:34 So we’re very, very excited about that. I also wanted to extend an invitation to the, uh, select board. As we discussed earlier, the hundred 25th, uh, anniversary of the national VFW as this coming Sunday. Uh, we have a, we have a brunch that is planned, a free brunch for, uh, veterans, uh, would be members of the post, uh, also, uh, uh, their spouses if they would like to come. Uh, it’s not a big day for speeches or anything like that, but you are, uh, more than welcome to come as promised. Uh, when I was here before, right after you gave, uh, permission, we were fortunate enough to get the printing going and the challenge coins, uh, that, uh, you approved are in. So without further ado, I would like, uh, there is a tradition of when a commander presents a challenge coin, Moses would back this up.

2:20 There is a handshake that is done and I exchanged a coin with you. I just would like permission to walk behind the table, if that’s okay. Yeah. And I will get outta your hair. Alright. Thank you.

2:31 Out. Thank you Ronnie. FW

2:36 Appreciate it. You Thank you very much, joy. Thank you much. Thank you. I know. No, shake my ear. No, I’m not, because I know you’re gonna lose yours. Marie’s always lose us. Thank you, sir. Alright, thank you very much. I’d like to give one to Thara and Kyle as well. These are awesome. Yeah. Thank You. Came looked great. Yeah. Oh wow. Look at that. Oh, it’s on the back. I’m looking. Oh, look at the Back. It’s outstanding. Yeah, look at that. That’s pretty. Mm-Hmm. Thank you. And that’s all I have. Appreciate your time. Good. Beautiful. Ronnie, this is nice. This is nice work. Appreciate that. Okay, Mr. Jordan. Good evening. Albert Jordan Roosevelt Avenue. Um, I read in the local paper today

3:25 about the assessor’s office. And, um, I walk around town a lot and I’ve been here in the last several months, since last year since the tax bills went out, um, early January, um, that a lot of people are still displeased in this town. They didn’t file for abatements. Apparently there’s legislation that’s saying you have to do it in 30 days. Um, I think the town made a mistake here. Um, so I think that needs to be looked at. We have state representatives they could ask to go to the State House and make an amendment of special circumstances. ‘cause I don’t think it’s the taxpayers that made mistakes here. I think whoever is running the assessors or the employees up there, or, or they need to take accountability for what went on here after nine months.

4:11 They wrote an apology letter nine months later after what happened there. And, um, I, I just think when transparency and everything like that, that they need to give everyone a fair chance. Um, you know, I I I see and hear from people that they’re not happy. They don’t like fighting city hall, but they weren’t aware that all these abatements that were given out until after the effect and they just thought everything was right. ‘cause we thought we had competent people running these places. We also have an assistant assessor, and I still do not understand how no one in that office could mail those bills out and not know what’s going on. I, I just, that’s ludicrous to me that the taxpayers had

4:57 to tell you that there was a problem. Um, so I’ll leave it at that. I hope we got someone from Marblehead now. We stole ‘em from Amesbury, apparently. Um, I hope that they seem like what I read in the paper. Uh, very, very good vibes. They don’t have a long commute anymore. I think they’ll be happy in Marblehead once the mess is straightened out there. So I wish ‘em good luck. ‘cause they’re gonna need it. Uh, the next thing, the cemetery commissioners. Um, I’ve gone up there several times years ago. Uh, I used to deal with Benny Woodfin on a regular basis. Bill James. Really, really dedicated superintendents. Um, we had a secretary up there. She worked part-time. Um, she was promoted to superintendent,

5:43 which is a full-time position. The secretary now is full-time position. When Benny Woodfin worked there, they had a part-time secretary, and a full-time. Um, I know the men that work up there, the few that are left up there, I was appalled. One just retired after 30 years, a couple months ago. And the town didn’t even send him a thank you note for his service. After 30 plus years, we have a full-time personnel director. I think we should acknowledge people when they retire. Dedicated employees, as far as I’m concerned, what I’ve seen up there. Um, and I just think we have a full-time superintendent. I think we need to look at that department like the assessors. And I think the department head should be under the jurisdiction of the selectman, the, the town administrator.

6:30 Um, because I’ve gone up there over the years and talk to her and she knows about all the problems that I pointed out. Nothing’s ever fixed up there. They say they don’t have the money. What are we paying a full-time person to be up there and we don’t have any money to do anything. Maybe we should cut it to a part-time position because this town has no money. This tree limbs falling on graves. The only time that we can get ‘em picked up is after a storm. You can see the trees are completely rotted. And the last thing I’m gonna say about there, the water broke up there one time in February. The outside water in May Memorial Day, it still wasn’t working. I went to a board meeting. They knew about it since February and they didn’t even know that they could go in front

7:16 of the finance committee to get an emergency transfer. And I felt bad ‘cause there was a lady walking around looking for water. And I went up to the building and got her some water. And she said to me, the mean lady won’t in the office. And the same lady’s there. Now, I won’t mention any names, won’t turn the water on here. So we need to put people up there that just don’t go to a meeting. They need to know that the problems. And if someone comes in and has a concern that something needs to be fixed, if she can’t address it, it should go to the board. And the board should make a decision not to say, we know about this. We don’t have the money to fix it. There’s holes up there, the walls are falling apart. Tree limbs have fallen on graves damaging. It hasn’t been maintained for years.

8:01 And the only last thing I’ll say is that the other two superintendents used to go out and help the crew. And we have equal rights now. And I see female, female landscapers around town. So whoever we hire next, nothing wrong with a woman helping out up there, but it shouldn’t just be an office job all day long. The, they need help out maintaining the cemetery and, uh, because they have so little help up there. Okay. Have a nice evening. Thank you. Do we have anybody else for public comment online? I didn’t see anybody. Okay. Um, okay. So, uh, we’ll move on to, uh, Mr. Keyser’s, uh, town Administrator updates. Yeah. Thank you Madam Chair. Uh, just two quick items.

8:50 Uh, one, we are excited, uh, next Tuesday, October 1st. Our new grant coordinator will be starting starting in that role. Um, Donna, um, Terel, uh, starts on Tuesday. She’s coming to us from Florida. Uh, she is a Massachusetts native, so she’s coming back home. Um, she is already, uh, a certified grants manager and a Florida certified contract manager. So she has pretty ex extensive experience doing, uh, doing this role. Um, she also has a Bachelor of Arts and a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts. A master’s in administrative studies with a concentration of financial economics and a master’s in education.

9:37 So we’re looking forward to having her join the team. And I’m gonna guess she’ll be off and running as soon as she gets here, uh, with her background. Uh, on that. Um, the other item, uh, uh, we had our, our monthly department heads meeting. Um, and this is the larger meeting with, with the larger group. We brought in a trainer from Combines. Combines is the, on the state. It’s provided by the, the state. Um, and it’s an online purchasing site for public entities, state agencies, and cities and towns. I think the way you could look at it, it’s Amazon for public purchasing. So the state goes out

10:24 and sets up vendors in the system that they go through the whole procurement process, and they get validated and set up, um, for the products, which allows either state agencies or municipalities to be able to go in and order products, or at least use that as leverage for, as part of your, uh, public purchasing process. So for goods or services. So the effort here that we did this week was to have all the department heads and included school administrators with the trainer from combines in the conference room, sat down and walked us through the whole process to, um, encourage more utilization. There are a lot of department heads that this, you know,

11:10 had not used in the past. And, and the feedback is this is, this is a good place to go for purchasing goods and services. So, uh, this is part of our effort, you know, uh, getting this information out, using these tools. I think the benefit for Marblehead is by using the system. It’s gonna save money, it’s gonna save time and procurement, and it’s gonna ensure compliance with the procurement laws by, by going through the system. So, great program. Good question. Thacher, is it, Is it kinda like a stand A standalone module or, or software? It’s a web, it’s a website. Web app. Yeah. In fact, your cell, anybody can go combi, C-O-M-M-B-U-Y-S Got it. And hit the site. And you, you can bruise it if you wanna purchase something, you have

11:56 to log in and set up. But yeah, it’s designed for state agencies and municipalities to streamline the whole purchasing as well as creating advantage pricing. It, does it generate records or anything? Yeah, it’s been pretty, yeah. So Very cool. It’s a good system. Yeah. That’s the state helping us out.

12:18 Um, great. Yeah. Thank you. Real quick tonight. Okay. Any questions on the board? Okay. Um, so that brings us to our vacancies on the Cemetery commission. And I’d like to invite, um, commissioner Colletti up to the table.

12:37 I’d you take a seat over here, Mr. Colletti, How you doing? Speak? I can’t hear you. Okay. You could take a seat at the end of the table.

12:49 Join our meeting.

12:53 Okay. So, uh, we have four applicants for the cemetery commission and two vacancies. Uh, the appointments will have a term to expire in June of 2025. Um, and we will, uh, interview everybody in alphabetical order. And, um, we will go, um, Mr. Lake, Ms. McCarthy, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Tucker, in that order. So, um, we’ll have, ask Mr. Lake to, if you don’t mind, come to the table. And then our other applicants, we ask that, um, you wait outside and we’ll call you in. You can use my office. Kyle. Kyle will escort you. Yes.

13:41 Okay. Good evening. Evening. Good evening. Um, so all of us have your letter of interest and, um, resume and qualifications that you had submitted. And, uh, each of us will ask a question. I will start off by asking you just to tell us a bit about yourself and, uh, and why you’d like to serve on the cemetery Commission. I, um, grew up in Marblehead, came here at age one, and, um, uh, lived on Sunset Road. I’d walked through Waterside Cemetery on the way to the Coffin School. Um, I graduated from Marblehead High in, uh, 1962 after, um, three years at, uh, at, at Andover.

14:28 And, um, uh, I, uh, graduated from Boston University with a degree in English, worked for the Lynn item. And then, um, I went to graduate school at UCLA and in film worked 27 years in the film industry in Los Angeles. And finally came back, um, to Marble Head, Los Angeles became uninhabitable. And, um, but I spent two years, um, working as a lobbyist in Washington, DC in the early nineties, and was a member of the, um, uh, congressional Cemetery Canine core there. The Congressional Cemetery is, um, well just that,

15:15 it, it, it’s the resting place of Elbridge Gary, the only, uh, um, signer of the declaration buried in the district. And so, um, we paid a membership fee of a hundred dollars a month, a hundred dollars a year, plus $5 a dog to walk dogs in the cemetery. And it was quite a terrific experience. You, uh, walk them off leash, you had to pick up, of course you had special id. And that, that particular year, uh, there were a thousand members who, um, uh, raised a hundred thousand dollars for the upkeep of the cemetery. A quarter of their budget, uh, comes from dog walking fees.

16:02 Now, marble Head has a number of cemeteries. I walk in one daily at the unit area in church. Um, I live beside a tomb, uh, and across the street on Harris Street from, um, another tomb, the Hooper Tomb. Um, I’ve got a, a close relationship with, with cemeteries, let’s put it that way. My father’s, uh, remains are buried at waterside. And, um, uh, I thought that Marblehead should have a similar program. Um, right now it’s $400 a year, plus $50 a dog in Washington, and they still have a waiting list. Now, I don’t think we could charge that much to get people to walk, but it’s an underutilized resource.

16:51 But, um, I just agree too with, with what you said. I drove through yesterday and I noticed the Memorial Chapel needs paint. There’s rust on the railings, um, bird’s nest up on, up by the, um, the lintel of the door. Um, it obviously needs, needs something. So, um, I, I thought that, uh, um, oh, and in, in close touch too with, um, David Peterman, who has a, an extensive knowledge of, um, the Harris Street cemeteries and all. It’s a fascinating subject, and it’s not only a place for dogs to, to walk. I mean, there, it, there’s no reason not to walk them there

17:38 as far as I can see. There’s no complaints from the people in the cemetery. And, and, um, um, but it also I think, would give the citizens a reason to walk there. Besides the sad time when you go to a funeral, when you lay flowers. Um, I see a tremendous number of veterans graves there, and I think it would allow people to, uh, increase their historical knowledge of the town. Okay. That’s great. Thank you so much. Um, Mr. Colletti, would you like to ask a question First of all, before you can go any farther? You gotta change the rules in the cemetery.

18:24 There’s no dogs allowed, right, Right. That, but that’s what I’m talking about. To change the rules to, to have membership, paid membership so that people would be able to walk the dogs. There is my advisor who’s Spike three, spike two, enjoyed, um, seeing John Phillips, Seuss’s grave and Herbert Hoover’s grave and Elbridge Gary’s, um, grave. And they, the dogs were welcome there. And as I say, contributed a hundred thousand dollars to the upkeep of the cemetery.

19:03 Yeah. Okay. Once you get some, couple other people then

19:10 have to have the discussion on it then. Sure. Mm-Hmm. Do you have any other questions or No, Mr. Lake. Okay. Um, Brett, would you like to ask a question? Sure. I was wondering, in two words, one word describing your opinion of the cemeteries as they are now, and then one describing that you’d like to see them ascribed to or Become. Well, I, uh, just water site. Just one word For each. How do, how would you describe the cemeteries now with one word? Pretty good. Okay. And then how would your vision and that, what you’d like to see him describe to be, Um, more interesting? Okay. Okay, Mr. Re, so, uh, uh, what motivated you to apply for the, uh, for the vacancy? Well, and if, what, what would, what would you like to do

19:58 to, to, uh, To help? Well, first of all, I, I’d like to see, I I, I’m familiar with both of the people who resigned. I haven’t spoken to them about it yet, but, um, I was kind of surprised to, to see. And, um, uh, as I say, the motivation was seeing how much, uh, underutilized the cemetery is. I mean, uh, people walk through it as I did one from the time I was six. You could walk to school as a kid when you were six, then you didn’t have to be driven. Um, and, and so, um, it’s always been a long time part and fascination, but mostly, um, as I say, underutilized.

20:45 And the town could, could profit from it, but at virtually no cost to the town. It’s a, it’s a total win-win. Thank you, Mr. Fox. Thank you. Um, I guess my question for you is whether appointed by us or not, either way, would you plan or consider running in June as well? I would. I What would do you plan on running in June as as well? So whether we appoint you or not, do You Well, if I were appointed, I would run. Okay. Okay. Okay. I might anyway, but I, I, I actually hadn’t thought about it. Okay. But you plan on this long term, right? Just a Alright. Thank you. Great very Much. Thank you. Great. Thank you Peter. Good to see you. Um, maybe you could send in for stepping up, um,

21:31 On Spike. Thank you. Spike Rose McCarthy, Spike three. Will, will I be needed again? Or, or I wait down? Uh, you’re welcome to stay. You could stay actually in the, in the audience now that you’ve already had your interview. So you are welcome to take a seat. I should have said that. And, um, and stay for our decision.

22:02 Hello, rose. Good evening.

22:08 I came early ‘cause Kyle said to me by seven, and I said, oh, to park here at the daytime. You, you’re like, uh, it’s difficult. It is. But it has to be done out there. Yes. So, Okay. So we, did we all have received your letter of interest? No, I, in our packet. And I just wanted to give you the opportunity to tell us, um, why you would like to serve on the cemetery commission. Well, uh, I had been elected to the board and, uh, one of my, uh, that I didn’t put in there that, uh, when I was on the board, I asked to have some land saved for the policeman’s Memorial. And I have to confess that this is several years ago

22:54 and I’ve gotta get behind it. And I asked David if he’d help me out and he said he would. So that’s a big plus. Uh, Swampscott has one in honor of the police. So the other was, uh, when I was on the board, uh, I felt it was a wonderful honor to vote to have the non-veterans, wife or husband go into the veterans’ lot, because for years they didn’t go in some, uh, Ben was wonderful, but he had, you know, uh, his own style and so forth. But, uh, to go, uh, there’s some people encouraged me to, uh, approach you. And I just wanted to thank a couple people before, uh, Carl Sal, he’s still, he’s elected,

23:44 still going clear is a bell. He did the sign over the waterside cemetery. He ended up, it’s, it’s absolutely when, you know, you’ll look at it and say, Carl did that. And, uh, and, uh, Joan Goodwin Cutler deserves rounds of applause. She did the, uh, which I always want to get done, but nothing got done. I brought it up ‘cause it was dry water at the pavilion at the top of the hill. It is the coolest place in town, or a place to just go and sit and you wanna have no one bother you, period. But, uh, she got some fellow who also painted the benches. But the work that got done, I mean,

24:29 it was years ago, I wanted to see the done. So Joan, uh, Goodwin Cutler, many thanks. And, uh, then Theresa Collins, who has, uh, uh, re across America and David would bring, uh, uh, help out. Uh, the Boy Scouts come and, uh, it took a lot of work to do that. And it doesn’t, uh, represent really anybody’s personal religion. But when they did it in Washington and the snow storm came and the snow on the grid, it was quite moving. So it, that was a big undertaking on Theresa’s part. And then of course, all the boys, boys and boys Scouts and Girl Scouts, they’re all one now.

25:16 They’re scouts. So, uh, they go in the Boy Scouts. It’s, um, take a lot. But she still needs some funding. So if, uh, someone can help out there. ‘cause there’s still quite a few graves that have to, uh, will be honored. So, uh, but running, uh, I feel I have the, it’s the time. And I had been there before and my goal is to, and I’ve had people say, you could run again. But, uh, they encouraging ‘cause they, we have so many senior citizens now. Mm-Hmm. And they couldn’t, they could not, and this is pretty sad. Could not get to the loved one’s Graves to water them.

26:04 And, uh, a lot of them said they had to carry their own containers of water. We’re talking senior, big senior citizens crowd. And, uh, the, the is, which they had, I don’t know where it is. It’s a gray big drum. And they used to put it as you went in the gates to the right when you start to drive in, and you could take water from there. And if they had to get a couple more of those. Yeah. And also I’d like to see when the man go around the, uh, to, uh, open a grave site. They’re in the truck. They go right to the grave site. But this isn’t just this, when I went to, uh, Lily and Gillis till, uh,

26:52 her service was way down over the hill. And I’ll tell you, there was a lot of brush leaves and stuff to walk to get from where we parked, but not that they could do it the whole thing. But if they’re going to a grave site to make sure that the area that you’re walking into this is, you go up over the straight to the waterfront and then take the left. And I noticed all leaves and stuff there. But also, uh, I thought maybe one of the garden clubs would kinda look over our veterans lot. I, I’ll be honest, they have a granite border around the, uh, the whole perimeter there of the there. And I’ve seen branches and twigs. I don’t know when they ever went there to see it.

27:38 They couldn’t ‘cause my husband’s, um, laid to rest at the Veteran’s Live and to see all the leaves and stuff around there. But maybe I thought the ladies do the, uh, yeah. COA, the library and, you know, we got a lot of wonderful dedicated women and they, they’re always doing the Lee Mansion and so on that. But I feel, uh, to see if there’s a chance to get some grants. Mm-Hmm. Or, uh, funding. I mean, they don’t have it. And I’m always supportive to the getting summer help. They help pay for the college. But, uh, that’s great. The police memorial would be my next endeavor. And it’s right across from the, uh, office.

28:25 There’s a flagpole there. It’s just waiting for a nice memorial. And it’s my own fault. ‘cause I, uh, confess, I think I dropped the ball for a while on it. But, um, I think Carl Barrow’s passing, who was that police officer, kind of like, said, Hey, this shouldn’t be like this. So, yeah. But I need some help. Uh, I’ll find some ‘cause uh, some of the policemen are so busy they, they can’t do it. But, we’ll, we’ll, These are some really great ideas. Thank You for sharing. Oh, it’s wonderful. We should have one. The fireman’s is beautiful. They, have you seen the Fireman’s memorial? I haven’t. I was, um, You have or not? I Have not. The, this year. Yeah. They decorat they have the lettering in fire department,

29:11 all in flowers, and they have a ceremony there. Then they go for a nice, uh, refreshments and a nice luncheon at the, um, Gary five. But to see what the firemen did it, it’s really That’s great. So, and swamps could see it. The Policemen’s memorial over there, that, yeah. Right. So I think we have some questions for you, but maybe we’ve already received some of the answers to some of the questions. But, um, so I’ll let Mr. Colletti ask a question. If you have any questions of, uh, Rose McCarthy here, A piece of property. I, she’s talking about this by the office here, Right near the flight. Well, granted there, and it’s pretty, that’s why it hasn’t been Okay.

29:57 Opened up that way because, Well, it’s not gonna be opened up. It’s just a memorial stone there, there, right across from the, uh, office, the flagpole. It’s not gonna be dug up to put anybody in just a nice headstone or whatever. Uh, is, they say they’re pretty pricey, but I know the price for the police. I don’t feel we’ll miss out getting the money. I know it, the people were. Yeah. Alright. Mr. Murray. I, did you think it was to be opened, Richard? No. I, there must be some groove or something there, because like O Hill, It’s at the, it’s plenty of room. They even have a bench there or cement bench length.

30:44 Maybe something we can, we can, its more after. Um, There’s plenty of room. Uh, uh, so who, Mr. Murray might have a question for you. Oh, Sure. Oh, I was wondering in, in one word, if, if you can describe your current opinion of the cemetery and then in one other word, what you envision it to be. Oh, to preserve it. And I, I don’t wanna say just One word for each. Just Oh. To, uh, safeguard any extreme things like allowing dogs going in. You cannot have dogs in our cemeteries. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Um, Moses grader Rose, is there anything this time around that has got you, is there anything this time around that makes it especially important that you want to be appointed?

31:30 Well, I admired Pam Peterson very, very much. In fact, I think she defeated me, but there was a lot of turmoil there. I have respected this woman. She’s very smart, uh, very talented and dedicated. She’s still on, uh, historical though for, uh, Berry Hill and the other woman that has relatives that she’s either gonna be the last one at Old Burial Hill. But, um, I talked to Pam and she’s very inspiring

32:02 and she has so much knowledge and, uh, but she wished me well and I thanked her so much. I really, really respected this woman. She, she’s not given up. She’s working on the, doing it another avenue venue for herself. And Excellent. Thank you. First Class. Thank you. Okay. I don’t have any questions. Just thank you for your continued dedication to this town. It’s super appreciated. Thank you So much. Thank you, rose. Okay. You’re welcome to take a seat in the audience at this point. Okay. Okay. Thanks Rose.

32:40 Think so.

32:45 Hi. Nice to see you again. You too. Um, so, um, I, I’ll start off. We’re, um, just by asking you to please, um, just tell us why you’d like to serve on the cemetery commission. Well, uh, I interacted with the cemetery an awful lot in, uh, my job. Yeah. And, uh, I think it’s very important. I’ve always thought a lot of the cemetery, uh,

33:20 I know it needs some work there. There’s some water problems and, uh, maybe the, the, the pool and, uh, the proposed plan for a, a new veteran’s lot down at Crecy Street is, uh, is very important as Well. I don’t have an agenda. Uh, I didn’t know who was gonna run and I just threw my name in. Uh, like I said, I, I know the workings of the cemetery pretty well. And, uh, I just thought that, uh, possibly I’d have the best interest in the town if you, if I’m selected. And, uh, I don’t know what else to say. No, that’s great. Thank you.

34:05 Um, thank you so much for stepping forward. Sure. And your interest. Um, I’ll ask, uh, commissioner Colletti, if you have any questions for Dave Rogers? I, I have worked with. Yes, imagine so. Okay. And then, um, not a Lot of barriers still. I bet. Mr. Murray. Good Evening. Ms. Rogers. I was wondering if you might be able to, in one word, describe your opinion of the cemetery as it is today, and then maybe another word of how you envision it to be, you know, if you were selected. Uh, One word, a new section.

34:45 Well, if I may,

34:49 you’re not gonna return it to the Grace. It was when Ben Woodfin ran it. ‘cause they had a huge crew up there. Uh, so you want it, my opinion of the condition of it. Yeah. Nice.

35:06 And I’d like to see it better. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Rogers. Is there, uh, anything in particular about the functioning of the cemetery that has kind of motivated you to, to, to step up and, and, uh, and seek this, this appointment now? Nothing in particular. Two, two people resigned. Yep. I don’t know, really know their reason. I only know what I read in the paper. Uh, perhaps maybe the board should meet more often, uh, and really put down their goals and how they could achieve them. And maybe they’ve already done this. I, I, I don’t really want to speculate, but, uh, I think four times a year isn’t enough.

35:56 Thank you. Thank You. Uh, as a follow up to, to Mr. Grad’s question, obviously we know that two commissioners have recently resigned and what they referenced as an inability to work with a current superintendent. How would you approach that differently? Well, I interacted with her, uh, quite often. Okay. In, in the veteran’s job. I was up there a lot. And, uh, I get along, I got along with her fine. And, uh, you know, she was brought up here like myself. And, uh, I don’t know what their problem was with her, honestly. But, uh, I would say possibly meeting a little more and communicating better. Because four times a year, if you don’t know somebody,

36:42 it’s pretty hard to, uh, pretty hard to know, uh, what they’re thinking. Mm-Hmm. Yeah. Think that makes sense. Sure. Great. Well that concludes our interview. You and you are welcome to take a seat. Thank you so Much. Glad I came. I got Is that Dinner Tomatoes? Oh, Oh, from, oh, is that from Jim Jim’s? Yeah.

37:10 Okay.

37:22 Hi. Hey Everyone. Good evening. Good evening. How are you? Good. How are you? Great. Um, okay, so welcome. Yeah, welcome and thank you. Um, thanks for having me. I guess I’ll just, I’ll start off by asking, uh, you know, why would you like to serve on the cemetery Commission? Well, I mean, I grew up in Marblehead, born and raised. Um, always thought giving back to the town was a very important thing to do. And, uh, as most of you may know, I was on the, uh, rec and Park commission for nine years. Uh, we did some good things with them. So I, I haven’t been on for a few years and I thought I saw this opening and thought it would be a great time to kind of get back into it and give back some more and start again. Great. Thank you. Um, Mr. Colletti, commissioner Colletti, do you have any questions

38:09 for, uh, the applicant? Tucker Long so I could hear your name? Jerry Tucker. Okay.

38:18 Me and a, a Tucker. There’s been a few of them in the sound. Yep. There’s, There’s a, there’s a bunch.

38:28 Oh, it’s all right. I don’t have to go any further. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. Good evening. Mr. Tucker. I was wondering if you, in, in one word, if you can describe your current opinion of the cemetery and then in another word, how you envision it to be if you were selected? Um, one word. Probably confusing. ‘cause I, I think there’s a lot of, from what I understand, there’s a lot of unknown of what, who, who’s, who’s doing what, where, where money’s getting paid, where things are going, how things are getting done. And nobody really has the correct answers. I mean, people go to the, the offices to find out what’s going on and they don’t really get an answer. So I think that needs to be cleaned up a little bit if,

39:14 if, if need be. Um, the other thing I, I think is what I would change if I was to be on this commission, it would be the frequency of the meetings. I think, you know, they meet four times a year. I think that’s, I don’t think that’s enough. I looked at the me the meeting minutes and I noticed that most meetings were an hour long or so, maybe a little over an hour. So for, for a committee to meet five to six hours a year and determine things, important things doesn’t seem like it’s enough time. So that’s something I would look at. Maybe offer every other month, something a little more frequent so we can see, you know, get things done in a more timely fashion. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Alright.

40:00 I think you’ve touched on this already a little bit, Jerry, but is there anything in particular now that, about the functioning of the, of the cemetery that is, uh, you know, motivating you to step forward? Well, for me, I think the, a lot of the, the commissions, you know, cemetery commission and Park Rec commission are very similar. Uh, we have this, I think they would have the same challenges that we’ve already, I’ve already been through. Yep. Uh, be it manpower or be it, uh, budget or just maintenance of, of the, of the, the lawns and the grass and the, and the, and the grounds, if you will, along with general maintenance. I mean, I think, I think they’re very similar in commissions. So I think that would help me to, to get started and, and, and hit the ground running, if you will. Great. Thank you, Tucker. Good evening.

40:46 Um, I’m sure, as you know, since you’re here, uh, the two commissioners recently resigned and on what they referenced of a lack of ability to work with the current superintendent. Mm-Hmm. I guess how would you approach that differently, maybe from your management skills and business, or from being on the parking rec? Well, I mean, I certainly would sit back and take it in to find out what is really going on. I mean, you can’t just jump in on, on hearsay. Mm-Hmm. You have to be part of the situation and part of the, of what is, what is really happening up there. Um, and if that’s the case, then things have to, decisions have to be made and things have to be done. You know, you don’t want to be the bad guy. But I mean, some things, you know, after a long time people get lax and it’s not any fault of their own, it’s just how people are. So maybe that’s something we have to

41:33 Look At. Makes sense. Thank you. Appreciate your time. Thank you. That’s it. So that concludes the interview and all four of our interviews. And just on behalf of the board, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for stepping forward and coming tonight. Um, and sharing your thoughts and ideas. There were so many really, um, really good suggestions and, um, and ideas. So, um, that brings us to, uh, our tough decision. Um, Can we have, Mr. Colletti, have you, uh, put yourself, uh, what’s the term? Uh, initiated your meeting as a, as a cemetery commissioner before you do any voting. So if you wanna just declare the cemetery commission

42:21 meeting open, because I’m, I’m off this here. Right. But, So do you wanna just call your meeting order? Can I do that without a right now? Just so we vote. You are actually in the meeting. ‘cause I, we posted, so just call your meeting to order. Someone’s gonna pay those guys too. Yes. There you go. All right. So You’re in order now. You’re All, we got that perfect official. Okay. Um, so let’s, um, uh, have a motion to put all of the names forward into consideration for nomination. So moved. Second. Okay. All in favor. This is to put ‘em all the nomination. Okay. And, um, why don’t we have, uh, Mr.

43:08 Keer go around and ask, um, for, uh, do we wanna do one or two names, board members? I, I think, uh, go one At a time. Do you wanna do that or do we want to just Do one round fill one seat with The vote. Okay. Fill one seat. That’s right. Yeah, we do a second round. Fill the second seat. Okay. And, and I guess all of us voting for whomever. Yeah. So it’ll make my math a lot easier. I think that’s, so three votes would prevail. So if any, any of the candidates receive three votes, that’s the majority here. They would have the seat. Yeah. That, that’s what we’ve done historically, Madam Chair. So, yeah. And if you split the votes, then no one receives three.

43:54 What we’ve done is whoever receive the, the least votes drops off and we do another round. Okay. So that makes sense. So If you’re ready, We’re Ready to roll. Ready to roll? All right. Mr. Colletti, sir, who, who, who do you vote for to fill one of the seats

44:19 Just left here. Jake, Dave Rogers. Dave Rogers. Dave Rogers. Okay. One vote for Dave Rogers. Um, Mr. Fox. I will vote for Dave Rogers as well. I’d like his, his knowledge of the cemetery. Um, and I’d like his, his input on, on meeting more often. Okay. Uh, Mr. Murray, Mr. Rogers. Okay. And Mr. Grader? Mr. Dave Rogers. Okay. Well, we’ll, we’ll just wrap up Ms. Ms. Nunan. I, too, uh, will cast my vote for Dave Rogers. I, um, particularly loved his, uh, his thought that the commission does need to meet more often. And, um, his, uh, emphasis around better communications

45:07 and, um, and his experience, I think is, um, unparalleled for the position.

45:15 Okay. So now for the second seat, we do the same thing again. Mr. Colletti, who would you vote for for the second seat?

45:36 Mr. Lake. Mr. Lake. Mr. Lake. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Fox. Uh, Mr. Tucker, I, again, I’d like his investment background as well as his previous experience at the park and Rec and, and his answers. Okay. Mr. Murray. Mr. Tucker. Okay. Uh, Mr. Grayer? Yep. And for the same reason my colleague articulated, I’ll go with, uh, with Mr. Mr. Tucker. Okay. And Ms. Nunan, Um, I will also, uh, cast my vote for Mr. Tucker for his previous experience recently serving on, um, in public office. And again, his answer around, um,

46:23 increasing the frequency of the meetings. Although I have to say that I love Ms. McCarthy’s suggestions around, um, some veterans at the Gardens Club, uh, the Garden club’s. Um, and I hope that you, uh, stay, uh, involved in, in the cemetery. Um, you know, at the, at the, you know, if you can attend as a public audience member, I think you had some really great suggestions. Um, So yeah. I, I, if I could also, yeah. Mr. Lake also, thank you very much for stepping up. And I think your ideas are, are, it’s, they’re interesting ideas. I think we’d have to explore whether that’s a possibility in Marblehead, but your engagement is really, uh, much appreciated. So thank You very much. Thank you all. I’d have voted the

47:09 same way as the board, too. Ah, okay. You’re too modest. Thank You both. Okay. So That, um, congratulations. We have, uh, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Tucker receiving the most votes for. Um, I have to get sworn in the commission, and, uh, you will just need to be sworn in by, uh, Robin Michos office. Thank you very much. Thank You. Could adjourning the meeting. Actually, she’s coming. I think she’s here later in the meeting too. You stick around, you might get sworn in. You’re all Ajour. Don’t forget to get sworn in. Yeah, yeah.

47:47 Set up your next meeting. Who calls just as a matter of logistics, who will call the first meeting? Okay. Because, okay.

48:13 So move on.

48:18 Alrighty. Okay. So, uh, we’ll move along to our consent agenda, votes of the board, um, under, uh, tab four A through i, I will read the consent agenda items, and if anybody would like to place a hold for discussion, uh, just, uh, make it known. Um, these are, uh, minutes of August 23rd, 2024, September 11th, 2024, and September 23rd, 2024 company to heroes. 5K for September 13th, 2025. Temporary parking restrictions to close Washington Street from the bottom of Pleasant Street to Rockaway Street for the Chamber of Commerce. Trick or treat on October 24th, Abbott Hall,

49:03 um, reserved for MHS Annual Art Show. May 12th to the 29th. 2025 Historical commission’s request to establish a donation account. Um, Abbott Hall’s, uh, the use of Abbott Hall for a wedding rehearsal on October 25th, 2024. And to ring the bells at Abbott Hall on Saturday, October 26th, Abbott Hall, um, use of Abbott Hall for Veterans Town Hall for Congressman Seth Moulton on November 11th, 2024, Abbott public Libraries request to declare items as surplus and police indemnification of Officer Clark for injured injuries sustained while on duty. Okay. So, um, I’ll ask for a motion to approve the, those consent agenda items. So moved. Second.

49:50 All in favor? Great. And that brings us to, um, the contracts, which everyone should have had a opportunity to, um, to review. Again, if anybody would like to, uh, pull something out for further discussion, just, uh, place a hold these, uh, we are about to vote on the council on Aging’s re um, uh, rejection of all bids for the cafe projects because they came in over budget, as we know, award a contract between the town and Collins Engineers for release evaluation and closeout support. Um, to award a contract for the police station stairwells to statewide Flooring Incorporated. And to award a contract to Tool Design Incorporated Boston Mass for the 2024 Swamp Scott Rail Train Engineering

50:37 and design services. And to e amend the contract between the town and Greenman Peterson, incorporated of Bedford New Hampshire, uh, for the design and permitting of bridge replacement at Village Street over the rail trail to by increasing the completion date to September 30th, 2025. Alright. So may I please have a motion to approve the items on the, uh, consent agenda contracts? So moved. Second. All in favor? Great. Okay. Now that brings us to our item number six on the agenda, which is the lease of the town Boatyards, uh, cliff Street and Commercial Street, uh, and, um, uh,

51:24 the boatyard at Redstone Lane, uh, and Cliff Street. So, um, we are all well familiar with this. Um, would any anybody, I mean for like, to speak to this, um, you know, it’s the standard lease agreement. I know that there were some con we, we, we did change the lease terms to allow for the eventuality and hopefully of some work on the sea walls and our coastal resiliency, uh, endeavors, As well as any potential damage from storms. Mm-Hmm. ‘cause that’s the reason we’re doing the improvements. Yeah. Mm-Hmm. So built into the contract was either case, uh, we receive funding

52:10 and move forward on reconstruction of the walls or significant seed damage then that releases the vendor from, from the contract. Mm-Hmm. Okay. Or at least a portion thereof.

52:24 So, um, Did we also address the parcel, if I could madam chair the, the, the parcel, um, that would be used for public access during the summer? Yeah. So it’s specifically laid out in there as far as access. Yep. So to the docks on each Yeah. On each parcel. Um, it is clearly laid out and, and actually been moved to a more prominent section of the, of the license agreement to ensure access of the public to the waterfront in, in both those parcels. I mean, that, that’s good for everybody to know. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I think something else important here is that there is another section, another parcel that in the event that we want to do more down there, that we can, uh, renegotiate that license at any time.

53:10 So it does open up some of that, what’s references, uh, area B and area A on, uh, Redstone Lane to allow us to do more public access if we, if we have a good proposal and money to do it. Okay. And, um, on page 33 on the Board of Appeals, it says, no marine repair work shall be conducted on the premise. And this is specific to six Cliff Street, and that conflicts with some of the RFP and Harbor Masters documentation. So I think we just need to have clarification on that. Yeah, so I tried to get some clarification on that. So, um, the way, the way it’s been handled is that the deed says no marine repair. So what they’ve done is they allow minor repairs

53:57 and that’s kind of controlled by the Harbor master, very minor repairs, but not to the extent, in other words, they’re not scraping sanding hulls and things like that, which would be marine repair. But they do, they have, and they do allow for some minor work on the boats. Um, so as not to to any extent violate the orders of condition from 1988. Okay. Thank you. So like electrical work and engine work, not so much sanding and Yeah, I, I think the big concern is having done this as a kid, I’ve red in more green paint and red paint, and I probably should have, um, I think it’s the work that causes, you know, treated paint into the soil and,

54:46 and, and creates that damage. It, it never comes out, it’ll never grow grass on those spots. So I’m guessing that under the orders of condition, that was the concern. ‘cause marine repair and given the, the type of chemicals and things that are used in bolts and boats and hulls, it’s very damaging to the soil below it. And so it, based on the information I’ve gotten as a practice, it’s allowed, you know, minor, probably some minor woodwork or Mm-Hmm. Electrical work or something, but nothing that would allow for damage to, you know, soils and, and things or be a nuisance noise and, and, and activity to the surrounding areas. Yeah.

55:32 Okay. And, um, just for the interest of the Publix, I’ll just reiterate some information that, uh, the chair of the Harbors and Waters board had shared with us at a prior meeting that, um, the, uh, boat, yard services around 300, uh, boats annually, it contributes to around 20% of the harbors and waters Enterprise Fund. And, um, it’s a, it’s a service to, in that regard, uh, for the boat storage for residents in town, and also keeps our mooring fees and, uh, and, and, and funds, um, all of the water oh, funds a significant portion of the waterfront operations of the town.

56:18 Mm-Hmm. And, uh, like we said, there will, you know, access in the summer, months assured in the lease agreements, uh, um, here, you know, in the event that, you know, we rehab, rehabilitate that area in the sea walls and potentially, hopefully, um, have some summer public use, uh, better public use for that down the road. Uh, this is a 10 year lease. So anybody else have any comments? Yeah, I mean, I, well, if I could mad chair. Yeah, I mean, I think it does two things. One is it opens up, uh, public access, uh, more flexibly. And on the other hand, it preserves a, you know, a long-term revenue source that I think is a, is a kind of a generous revenue model, frankly, for the town that, uh, that is stable and, and the enterprise fund can count on. So I think this is, looks like a, a very good contract.

57:06 Okay. So, um, I will, uh, request and read a lengthy, uh, proposed motion. Um, I need a motion to award the lease of a portion of the boatyard at Cliff Street and Commercial Street, formerly known as Clout Men’s Boatyard on the waterfront at Marblehead Harbor, together with a a per a p buildings for operation of a boatyard, providing marine services to the public, and a license to operate the Town Boat Storage Program using certain space in the boatyard at Redstone Lane, formerly known as Parker’s Boatyard year round and certain spaces in the Cliff Street boatyard for seasonal winter only storage to Marblehead Trading Company of Marblehead. The lease and license will be awarded for the period of September, 2024 through July 31st, 2034

57:55 in the amount of $5,000 per month with an annual CPI increase for the lease and a minimum of $137,000 per year in accordance with the schedule of limitations of use for the license. For the license. So moved A second, second, Mr. Fox seconds. All in favor? Great.

58:18 Okay. Now onto, um, our request from Abbott Library. And I noticed, um, we have Kim Gad here in the audience. Would you like to come up and an share with the board or is this, if you give you Sure. I mean yeah, come on up if you’d Like come on up. Sure. You just, the only condition is you have to speak into the microphone, please. Yeah, please come on up. Join us at the table. Okay. We have our library director and, um, so I’m Molly Bushman Shorewood Road, and I’m the treasurer of the Abbott Public Library. Oh, great. Nice to meet you. Yep. And I’m Kimberly grad, the director of Abbott Public Library. Welcome. Okay. And so you’re here, uh, we have, um, here’s some information around, um,

59:06 establishing a foundation or three three grant accounts, correct. Three Accounts, um, with the funding coming from the foundation. Oh, okay. Yes. All right. So the first account is for, um, basically contributing to programming and enhancing library services and supporting some technology items, some technology infrastructure items. Um, and then the other two grants are coming with, um, specified use. So one of them supports Korean American cultural programming and probably collections as well. And the other is a fund that is established for the intersection of technology

59:53 and medicine to offer programs that will provide information to our patrons. Great. Fantastic. Thank you. So I would just add that we’re very excited about the new library and, uh, and we’re looking forward to moving into this next phase of supporting the libraries programming. So that’s where we’re at. That’s great. Yeah. The space looks awesome. That’s, Anybody have any comments or anything? No, it’s fantastic. No, thank you for doing that. Good stuff. Well done. Um, okay then. So I’ll ask for a motion to approve the request from Kim grad, our Abbott Public Library Director, to establish the following three private grant accounts in which the Abbott Public Library Foundation can contribute a grant on a regular basis for the sole benefit

1:00:40 and use by Abbott Public Library as follows, one, support library functions, programming services, technology needs, and staff development. Two, uh, for some Korean American cultural art, literature, history and educational exchange. And thirdly, sponsoring programming and materials dedicated to the subject of medicine and technology. So moved. Second. Second By Mr. Fox. Uh, all in favor. Great. Thank you. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you, Molly. Thank you. You Okay. Uh, and now, uh, we are on to agenda number, item number eight, the Lars Anderson Trust Fund. Um, it’s a settlement agreement and we are, uh, essentially voting to accept funds

1:01:29 of $800,000, which is super generous. Um, and maybe I’ll just ask Mr. Keer to Sure. Uh, just brief us on this. Sure. So, so the town has already received funds from the Lousy Anderson Fund. Um, in this case, as part of the estate, there was, um, real estate in Florida that, that was owned and was part of the trust. And that, uh, there was somebody living in the house at the time of the execution of the, of the trust. Um, I don’t know if by pre-arrangement or, or, or trustee, but, uh, they waited until, I’m not sure if the person passed or moved, but vacated the home. And only until then did they

1:02:16 sell the property in order to collect the proceeds and then to donate the proceeds from the sale of the house, uh, in addition to the previous proceeds into the trust. So there’s 800,000 being accepted now. There is a residual of funds, um, some 35,000 thereabouts, uh, that’ll be held to, to pay off any fees or transaction fees. Once that’s cleared, the residual amount will also be, be, uh, donated to the town. Okay. So it’s, it’s an augmentation then of the original commitment. So the, the purpose of the commitment is the same, but with more money. Yeah. So it was just waiting on the sale of the, the real estate, um, transaction.

1:03:06 Okay. That’s amazing. Um, That’s great. So, um, I’ll ask for a motion, um, for the board to authorize the chair to execute the 10 30 20 second Ann Avenue Realty Trust agreement regarding settlement of final account involving the last significant distribution of the Lars Anderson trust of $800,000 of which the town is the sole beneficiary. There may be one further distribution of remainder funds following the closure of accounts. The purpose of the agreement is to accept the first and final account to forego a formal judge judicial settlement of the account, and to release the trustee accordingly, all as set forth in the agreement. So moved. Can I have a second so I can, okay. And, um, all in favor.

1:03:54 Okay, thank you. Okay. We have a request now. Um, agenda item number nine, a request from John Tolbert, our tree warden, to remove the cedars he has. Um, this is down by, uh, Fort Fort Sewell, um, and he’s, we all have, have his letter here in here that, um, uh, the things the Cedars and uh, brush there has been really overgrown and it’s a impediment to emergency vehicles. And you’ll find a picture of the area trees and the shrubs there. Um, it’s Fort Beach Lane, uh, rec and park is, um, denying dirt that it’s under their jurisdiction. Um, and that we, um, need to,

1:04:42 they would like, he would like to remove the cedars, including the stumps. So, um, we can have better emergency access. So the original request came from the fire department Oh, okay. To the tree warden. Um, so Greg McLaughlin, captain McLaughlin, um, submitted the request to the tree warden, which is submitting it here. Okay. Great. Um, so, uh, can I have a motion to approve the request from John Bert, our tree warden, to remove the cedars, including stumps at 1 66 Front Street ID 4 0 5 1 to mitigate the restricted fire department access. Second. Second. Okay. And all in favor? Great.

1:05:30 Okay. Um, and next we have a request from, uh, the town clerk to approve, uh, early voting to take place at Abbott Hall. Um, we have a list of dates from October 19th on, uh, Saturday all the way through November 1st for early voting. Um, can I have a motion to approve this request from the town clerk, that early voting take place at Abbott Hall, uh, at 180 8 Washington Street here as follows? Um, you know, as I’m gonna say, as, um, as appears In her letter basically runs through from October 19th. Yeah. Nine through different, different hours. I’m sure she’ll post Through November 1st. Yes. During the work week, it’s a half hour after we open

1:06:17 and closes a half hour before we close. So it allows the staff to come in at eight. Okay. So, so the voting’s from, um, I’m sorry. Yeah, from Kind of varies. It’s all, Yeah. There’s the Saturday, which is nine to threes, and then basically, yeah, it is kinda old place, but primarily it was designed to be a half hour after they come in, half hour before they leave to, to during the workday. And then you have your Saturdays that we’re open with the, Is this state mandated? Yeah. This is part of the legal process as a polling place. Mm-Hmm. For, for early voting. So The, the earliest date is October, uh, 19th, and the latest date is November one. Just, and then there’s a lot of dates in between, but

1:07:04 Yes, Maybe you want reference Ference. So if you need to early vote, um, I’m sure that this will be posted on the town clerk’s website, these early voting hours, or you can make a phone call, but there’s Yes. Um, as Mr. Rader said, starting Saturday, October 19th, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Um, the 21st, the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st and November 1st. All with somewhat varying hours of operation, um, you were able to do so. So can I please have a motion to approve this request from the town clerk for the early voting to take place? So moved. Okay. All in favor? Great.

1:07:48 And getting there. One day liquor license for bubble bar. She must be doing good business. Um, okay. Can I have a motion to approve the request from Matt McGuire of Bent Water Brewing Company for a wait? Um, is this for, this is Bent Water. Yes. Okay. It’s Bent Water’s request, not Bubble Bar. Um, can I have a motion to approve the request from Matt McGuire, bent Water, water Brewing Company for a one day liquor license on Saturday, October 5th, 2020 4:10 AM to 3:00 PM at the Lien Mansion, 1 61 Washington Street, subject to the regular conditions delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of the fee of $50, delivery of and receipt of the licensing authority of proof, the alcohol will purchase from the authorized source proof.

1:08:34 The off applicant can receive proper delivery, provides proper storage and disposal of all alcoholic beverages in accordance with the law Liquor liability insurance. Alcohol’s not allowed to be left unattended or stored on the premise overnight. Alcohol will be purchased from Bent Water Brewing Company. So move a second. Mr. Fox. In favor, Mr. Murray? In favor, Mr. Grader? In favor, Ms. Nunan In favor. And That brings us to, we have, I guess, um, letter of interest. Um, Okay. So we have, um, several letters of interest here from the Harris Street Oversight Committee, which we, uh, um, approved, uh,

1:09:20 and set up at our last board meeting. We have already received letters from Ed Nielsen, Ellen Harrington, John Falo, and David Bitterman. We also have a, um, application for Hope, the Cultural Council from Joe Dippie. So, um, So moved. Did we Okay. Yes. Second. Can I have a second to accept the letters? Second. Okay. All in favor? And do we want to set a date, um, for interviews for that committee? ‘cause that’s a lot of letters of interest already. Um,

1:10:03 How big did we make? Did we already do that? Yeah, you established it at the last meeting, Already meeting, established a deadline and an interview date. Yeah, I think we did. Or we’ll call and See. Could we set a number? I think we just five Five member committee. Yeah. Maybe we did for another, another, another committee. Minutes Again. So these are the people. Yeah, they’re in the minutes that we’re in, the minutes we’re approved.

1:10:27 I thought we moved to take care of that actually. Gotcha. And we have, let me see, four

1:10:37 last, I was saying it’s two historic and three at large.

1:10:44 Okay. So we just established it. Okay. And, um, so five members, two and three at large members. Are any of these historic? Yes. Ed Nielsen and David. So these, so Ed Nielsen and, um, Bitterman are historical seats. And we have Ellen, Ellen Harrington, and John FA would be for, um, the, At large, At large, the, um, three at large members. Actually, excuse me, Madam Chair. I, I don’t believe David this on, and I think he had the, uh, Okay. That he’s had Interest. All right. So we, so we’ll fill two historical or do we actually, the historical commission, typically we ask them to, to they will choose. Yeah.

1:11:32 That’s, that’s the, These may be just all at large then if they’re submitting to us. Well, Historical commission would just appoint their own, like who will, they would, they would tell us, make a determination themselves. Right. And okay. Well, so, um, why don’t we go ahead and we Can clarify with them. Yeah, yeah, That’s good. Okay. Um, so we have a meeting on our next meeting on the ninth and the 23rd.

1:12:02 Yeah. Is that enough time for expressions of, of interest for at large members For at large? Um, yeah. Yeah. We could extend the, um,

1:12:12 or we could, we could, we could set the accept, um, the deadline for submission of letters of interest to maybe, um, October 7th or the fourth. Is that better, Kyle, for the agenda? Yeah, you get an interview on the ninth and then we could interview on the ninth. Okay. Does that work for people? Sounds good. Okay. So which is it? Four seventh. So, uh, letters of interest up until the close of business on the fourth deadline. And then Okay. We will do interviews on the ninth. Yep. October 7th. Deadline in Tuesday. Call. Cultural council lawsuit. They have vacancies There. Yeah. I mean, we can do, um, interview that, that’s, that’s always rolling, right?

1:12:58 Because there’s so many opening because it’s like 2020 same day 25 seats. Yeah. Yeah. So we could have him come before us. That same could just, if that works for this applicant.

1:13:12 Okay. And then, um, we are, uh, almost to the end of our meeting. And does anybody have any select board announcements

1:13:24 From your previous cemetery commission thing? Um, might, Might be helpful. Yeah. Can I, um, lemme just, well, um, we can, we can do that. I’ll, I’ll, if you wanna make a comment after, um, select board announcements, that’d be great. Sure. Okay. Um, so I would just like to extend commendation to our finance department once again. Uh, there’s a wonderful article in the paper today about all of the hard work that our treasurer, our former treasurer had worked on. It’s a really, a great team, um, over at Widger and of course, um, under our CFO, um, Alicia Benjamin. And, uh, the, the amount of work

1:14:09 that they have done to optimize all of the revenue sources for us, including, uh, capturing higher interest rates and moving some accounts around and being really diligent around our investments has, uh, really, really paid off in a significant way. Um, so I just wanted to, uh, acknowledge their efforts there. Yeah. It’s recognition well deserved. Mm-Hmm, for sure.

1:14:36 Yeah, that’s right. Okay. And then, um, I will offer, uh, opportunity for public comment. Um, just if you could just go to the microphone, Mr. Lake.

1:14:49 I don’t, I am well acquainted with David Pitman. He lives across the street from me and, and I speak to him just about daily. He’s an abutter to the, um, hooper, um, tomb, which, and he has an excellent visual presentation if you’d like. He’s away right now, but if you’d like to see a presentation about the whole Harris Street, uh, cemetery area, which is extensive, I know he’d be willing to do that. It’s very interesting. Well let him know we’re accepting letters of interest if he’s interested in serving on the commission as well, if you speak to him. So if you’d like to send us a letter of interest also, his, his Name’s on the Madam Chair. Oh it is? Oh, sorry. Yep, that’s right. Of course. Okay.

1:15:35 Which is great. Yeah, that’s great. Thank you. Thank you for that input. Sure. And thank you again for, for applying. Thank you. All right. So, um, can I ask for a motion to adjourn? So Move second. All in favor? Alright, great. Thank you Madam Chair. Nice meeting.