Select Board: October 9, 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.

0:00 Okay, so it’s seven o’clock. I’m gonna call us to order. Uh, this is our regular meeting, Wednesday, October 9th, 2024. And, uh, this meeting is being recorded. First on our agenda is public comment, so if anybody, uh, has any, has any public comment, please step forward to the microphone or raise your hand if you’re online. And we will call on you. Is anybody online? I don’t see anyone online. Okay. Then we will proceed to our account administrator updates. And, um, it’s like we have se many updates tonight, so Yes. Keep adding to the list. Um, to start with, I’m gonna do a little bit of piling on, on our treasurer’s office.

0:45 So, as on, on August 28th, I reported to the board the success of, uh, how the Treasurer’s Office, um, have worked to increase our, our investment revenues from 66,000 to 232,000 to, uh, from 66,000, we over 66,000 to over 1.3 million in investment returns. And, and that’s through the effort of the, the treasurers and the whole office staffing the office. So that was for fiscal 23. We’ve now gotten the numbers for fiscal 24. We have now earned this year just under 2.4 million in investment revenues and an additional million dollars more in investment returns

1:32 due to the work of, of the treasurer’s office in the, in the treasurer. That’s over a million dollar increase from last year. Is That on? Similar principle on investing? Yeah. I’ll let the treasurer answer, but generally we, yeah, there’s, there’s sort of a norm of what we carry as, as far as balances. And again, some accounts when you do payroll and, and vendor, they drop and then they, they, that’s amazing up. But, uh, tremendous work by, by the treasurer’s office. So, and then they fairly recently moved, uh, into short term certificates at 5%, which anybody who tracks this stuff has been sort of the surprise and rate for a while, just before the fed rate cuts where those rates are dropping. So she was successful in locking in those favorable rates

2:20 before the, the Fed moved. So I’ve decided to move all my investment money to the treasurer and let her manage it for me. So, terrific job, um, by them all in, in addition to just the numerous hours and effort putting in to do all the work that’s there. Uh, sorry. Can I, yep. When did she start? It was it, is this been a year since we’ve appointed her to this position? I think at least. Yeah, I’d have to see the exact date. ‘cause she was, it’s been just a year. Assistant treasurer, acting treasurer, assistant treasurer, acting treasurer. Full treasurer. Yeah. So I lost track of the time hacks. I know we don’t normally do this, but I’d like to make a recommendation or I guess suggest that we consider, um, sending a letter of recognition to Cammie for all of her outstanding work.

3:08 Yeah. And it’s just been a very, with everything that’s gone on with the, uh, uh, uh, pro, uh, process with the, with the, with the accounting office, and I’ve just heard anecdotally so many, um, just great customer service and, uh, she’s really just been standout and, and, and a, a calm and a storm. And I want, I’d like to recognize that. And so I’d like to make a motion that we sent a letter of recognition and gratitude to her, um, for all of her efforts and so moved. Okay. Absolutely. Second. Right? All in favor?

3:48 No, that’s great. I absolutely well deserved. Um, next, uh, a fire grant award. So we received the $16,000, um, firefighter grant for a Lucas device, which is, uh, basically a, a mechanical CPR device that, uh, allows fire department to, to put that on a, on a patient and not have to do CPR by hand. And, um, much more consistent. So, again, it’s efforts by, by the chief and others who are seeking, um, this, these grant monies to, to bring in some things that we need, uh, outstanding. On the firefighter theme, uh, Lieutenant Liam, uh, he has been deployed as, as a member

4:36 of the Massachusetts Task Force one, uh, for the last couple weeks in North Carolina. So he’s part of the, uh, uh, urban search and rescue team, which actually operates out of Beverly. So it’s a team, uh, specialist, um, a a, um, police depart, EMS and civilians who respond to disasters, and in this case, responding to fema. They respond to MEbA and fema, uh, uh, FEMA response. So they’re down there, um, helping with the response there. And it’s looking like they’re gonna be redeployed, um, from North Carolina to Florida as that storm is hitting the shores as as we speak.

5:21 So, um, again, it’s dedication, uh, additional duties above and beyond. Well, good on him. Good on him. Yeah. Yeah. Great. And that’s great. And the chief mentioned, and he can have more details when they come on a fema, we, the town, actually, they pay us a fee for the utilization of these, the folks down there. So, so it actually helps out. So Femur is doing a really good job. Um, next Fire Academy, again, um, AIAN Gillis was appointed in June, will be graduating, um, tomorrow, um, as part of the fi no, October 21st, uh, as part of the firefighter, uh, academy class.

6:09 So we’ll have a new firefighter coming in, and then Police Academy. It’s tomorrow that Christian Henneger, who the board, uh, appointed, uh, graduates from the Lowell Police Academy. So it’ll be coming from the aca the academy, and into field training, um, starting Monday. So that’ll add to the force. And of course, Taylor, uh, Nolasco, um, she’s at the Linfield Academy and expected to graduate in mid-March. So we have two officers at the Academy soon to come join the force. It takes, it takes about a year of a new appointee before they’re like fully fledged on their own. Um, so there’s a lot of training

6:56 that goes on in, in that first year. Next, uh, on the theme of grants. Um, and, and, and the Marvel Head current beat me to the punch. ‘cause there’s an article in today’s news about the Board of Health getting a $90,000 grant, uh, to do some studies on, um, um, maternal, uh, maternal and child health, as well as, uh, study risk risky behaviors of children and adolescents of our community. So again, um, the Health department folks going out seeking, this is a community compact grant of 90,000 through these programs. Um, and, And Thatcher, what, what will, how will that get, uh, implemented? Who, who will sponsor the implementation of, I don’t know if you know, So the, uh, Andrew Petty Will will be petty, yeah.

7:44 Will head that up. So the purpose of the grant is they’re actually gonna hire or contract with someone. It basically pays for the salaries and the salary and other expenses for somebody to come in and actually do the programs for us. That’s great. Yeah, Dr. Massaro talked about that at the Mental Health Task Force Monday night that I attended. He was, he didn’t know the amount at that point in time, but he knew he got the award and he was excited because his big emphasis was he wanted to put the health back in the Board of health, that they were putting so much into the, into the transfer station that he wanted the focus to be where it should be on the health side. So, uh, so congrats to him. And, and there’s other ones that he and the, um, mental health task force will be going after as well. So, no, great.

8:29 No good stuff. So Thank you. That’s All I have pending any Great updates. Thanks, love. Good news. Thank You. Yes. Uh, all right then, um, next I’ll ask our co-chairs of the Town Charter Commission Committee to come up the table and join us, Amy Drinker and Rosanna Ferrante, um, for an update on our, our charter study. Welcome, welcome. Good evening. Good. You know this table? Yes. It’s nice to be on this side. A different feel over there. Yeah. Hi, I’m Amy Drinker and Roseanna and I will be splitting up talking to you. I’m gonna talk to you about the basic work that we’re doing,

9:17 and then Rosanna will talk to you about the public presentation that we’re going to have later this month. I wanted to start by mentioning the people who are on our committee besides us. Jim Sen is in the Mm-Hmm. Audience, and although he’s a Z and he usually goes last, we can first for being on the committee. Also on the committee is Sean Casey, bill Conley, Amy Danforth, Ron Grier, Seamus who, Ishan Thomas Aro, Caleb Miller, and Victor Wild. And everyone is contributing to the work that we do, and it’s really a, oh, sorry. I should also mention that Thatcher Keer is ex-officio. Kaya Wiley is our amazing assistant to make sure

10:05 that things get posted, et cetera. And then Moses and Erin are our liaisons from the select board. So we really appreciate the support we get from the select board and from the Collins Center, which is the part of UMass Boston that helps towns around Massachusetts either look at updating their charters or creating charters like Marblehead is doing right now. Um, uh, Karen Canfield and Mel Collector have been a tremendous support to us and are very flexible when we say, well, we’re marblehead, we’re gonna do it this way. They’re giving us feedback in terms of what the state will be looking for, when it if, when it goes

10:52 to the state, et cetera. So that’s our basic team. And then the different department heads and the committees in Marblehead who are striving to meet with, to look at how Marblehead does business. The, um, town website that we have for all the departments in town. Under the committees, there is a website, uh, connection to the Marblehead Town Charter Committee. If people wanna see the postings of our meetings and what’s on the agenda and documents that we’re posting. Every time we have a meeting, Kyle puts those online for people. So that’s a resource that people can go to if they wanna know what we’re doing. And our meetings, which are twice a month,

11:40 every other week, are posted. And also hybrid links if people wanna watch because they can’t make it to the meeting in person. We recently created a mission statement, which I think is useful for people to understand what it is we’re trying to do. And that mission statement reads, in crafting the Town of Marble Head’s First Charter for our fellow citizens, we endeavor to comprehensively examine how effectively, efficiently, and fairly our local government structure, authorities and processes are organized and operate in the process, we will be mindful of which current features merit changing and which should remain unchanged. We pledge to prepare and pre present product built on the values

12:26 of thoughtful deliberation and community involvement, guided by what is in the town’s best interests. So, along those lines, what we’re currently doing is meeting with elected and appointed officials and department heads to understand their operations perspectives, challenges, and opportunities. As you are well aware, this is

12:51 what we’re looking at in terms of, uh, committees that were created by bylaws, boards and committees created by the select board, established by state or federal statute. Then there are the select board departments, which we refer to by their color coatings. And then there is another page that Thatcher has created, which is elected boards and committees. So you can see we have our hands full in terms of getting input from these various boards and committees and officials, because we can’t really discuss, we shouldn’t be discussing what we think they should do before we understand what they actually do and what is actually in our bylaws

13:37 or Commonwealth statute versus what’s in the charter, which is going to be an easier document for people to access to understand how our government works. We’re also drafting language as we go along, and that goes through our volunteers on the committee who are drafting language, Sean Casey, Jim Zin, and Victor Wild. And then the committee has an opportunity to look at it, and then we send it to the Collins Committee, commission, sorry, the Collins Center, so that they can check us to make sure that we’re not legally saying things that we don’t wanna say, because we want the document to be in good shape before it goes to town meeting or to the state for review. The state is mostly looking at the legal context for

14:24 what we’re saying, and we wanna make sure that we don’t run afoul of state commonwealth statute or our own bylaws. We’re also working to gain insight with the Collins Center in terms of what other Massachusetts Town Charters have done, and to make sure that we’re proceeding in a timely manner to reach our goal of presenting to you next spring, a town charter. That’s our goal. We’re documenting how Marblehead government currently operates while considering ways to improve town government efficiency. And last but not least, which is what Sanna is going to talk about. We, the community input is very important to this process.

15:10 So we are holding the first of our public forums later this month because we want to present sort of an overall view of why does Marblehead need a charter, and then get community input sanna. Okay. So we are really excited to be at a point where we can’t actually have a public forum. Um, it’s definitely taken us a couple months to kind of get our head around everything and kind of understand like what we’re really trying to do here. Um, there’s just a lot of information, a lot of, as Amy mentioned, just a lot of work that we’re trying to do with department ed and commissions and so forth. So the goal of our public forum is really threefold. It’s to educate. It’s to inform, and it’s also to influence engagement, right?

15:57 So what we do want is people to feel a sense of, you know what, I do wanna share my feedback, and I do wanna give input to the committee, and I do wanna be part of the process because as Amy mentioned, community involvement is critical here. I mean, this is not just about, you know, what we think. It’s not just about what the departments think. It’s not just about what the commissions think. It’s really, let’s get the feedback from the community. So the way we’ve set it up, it’ll be a hybrid meeting, and it’ll be about a 20 minute presentation with additional time. You know, we have some seven to eight 30, so 20 minute presentation, and then kind of discussion if people want to engage, which we’re hoping they do. Um, but basically the content of the presentation will be the purpose of a town charter. So let’s just start by saying, what is the point?

16:45 Like, why are we here, why are we talking about this? And then we’re gonna introduce, you know, that there’s a committee and these are the objectives, and then we’ll talk about the components, because I’m sure a lot of people don’t even understand as we didn’t, quite honestly, until we got really deep in the weeds with it. So we wanna, again, educate, right? Let people know what this is. Then talk a little bit about like, what, like what does it mean? So like, how are other towns handling this? Like what are some trends that are happening? Like, you know, what actually happens? ‘cause I think there might be perceptions that aren’t accurate. Like we’re not just changing everything. We’re not, you know, starting from scratch. I mean, really, the, the really big picture here is if we can just even document how we govern today in one place, that would be a huge win.

17:32 Yes. You know, as we go through the discovery phase, we’re gonna find efficiencies and things that maybe we want to recommend, but that’s not the first and foremost goal for us. It’s, let’s get everything down, what are we doing? And then as we go along, kind of document these other potential recommendations that, that people can consider. Um, then we are gonna talk about our structure. So let everybody again educate. This is about how we, how we’re structured today, go through the charter process, just overview. We’re not going deep into the details, but just kind of five steps. This is how we end up at a charter, um, spot. And then the benefits for Marblehead should the town choose to adopt the charter. So that’s the goal. Um, this is our first presentation, so we’ll see how this goes.

18:18 Um, we have talked about doing kind of a road show to educate, like maybe going to the rotary clubs and kind of really getting out there, because this is something we do want the community to be engaged in. We do not want this to be kind of a, what are they doing and what’s happening, full disclosure, full transparency. And the more input we get, the better. So that is the goal. Um, once we present the information to educate and inform, then we do wanna, you know, solicit questions and see if we can get people to participate. But this is definitely one of many that we’ll follow. We’ll see kind of how it unfolds. Um, we would love to hear what people wanna hear, you know, what would the next forum look like? Maybe what we think they wanna hear. They want to hear other things we don’t know.

19:03 So that’s how we need that input so that it’s really set up for us, um, to continue with the work and have everybody understand what’s happening. That’s great. Outstanding, Outstanding. Thank you both so much for, I know the long, um, long nights and, uh, hours that go into this, um, in terms of being the leaders of this committee. And I just, I wanna, um, have the board extend our gratitude to the members of this group. It’s a lively group and everyone’s there, um, really bringing their all to it. And, uh, I see that, um, I’m sure Moses sees, has seen that we’ve, we’ve all, we’ve had joint meetings and it’s just been, this is a heavy lift, and I wanna acknowledge that,

19:48 that this is a little bit different than our regular ad hoc groups. We’re asking a lot of this group of volunteers, and I really wanna acknowledge that, that I know this is, um, some heavy stuff. So, and, but it, I think you’ll all hopefully leave a great legacy here with the town. So being a part of this, I, I hope you find the reward in it too. I know it’s a lot of work. It’s great. Um, great. Yeah. Um, anybody from the board, uh, And chair? If I could, if I could add, you know, I’ve had a chance to sit on the meetings as well, and I concur, uh, a hundred percent with what, with what you said, but I think just the tenor of the committee is really outstanding. And I think that’s, uh, you know, that’s a, a real nod to your leadership. Um, you know, there’ve been wide ranging opinions, which you’ve been able to integrate and talk about in a,

20:33 in a really civilized, constructive way. It’s really great to see, um, you know, uh, there’s a great drafting team, and I think the way you’re kind of incorporating feedback into a feedback loop into the, into the team, I think is, is very well structured. So I think it explains, uh, you know, you’re gonna, it’s gonna be comprehensive, yet detailed enough. So I think that’s really wonderful. Um, I think you’re also engaged, you’ve alluded to this, uh, engaged in a pretty wise due diligence process. We do have a complex town, and it takes a little bit to kind of really understand. I know Thatcher has elucidated a lot of the nuances to you in a very short time, which is really great. And I think the Collins Center has been obviously invaluable in kind of guard railing. So, and, and, you know, exposing some of the,

21:21 or showing what other towns are doing as well. So you’re kind of operating within a, within, uh, and I think there’s a, it seems to be, there’s an emerging con consensus as you, as you mentioned, around, you know, really documenting what we have, but also being pretty systematic about how additional recommendations might be, you know, either baked into the first draft or, you know, amended in future drafts. So I think just that, that posture is super helpful, and I think people will take great comfort, and I think it’s, it’s gonna be an enlightening experience to kind of, you know, see, you know, what our town, how it, how it actually works in, in writing. Right. Um, you know, so I, I would just, to anybody listening, you know, really come to this meeting because there’s a number of inflection points as well,

22:07 you know, I mean, I think, you know, to, to what extent, uh, do we want to, you know, perhaps change the leadership of the boards, you know, and the committees from appointed, uh, you know, from elected to appointed, for example. Um, you know, to what extent do we want to centralize horizontal efficiencies, in other words, finance, department, HR and technology and things like that. So there’s lots of really interesting stuff. But, you know, my, my sense is, you know, Madam Chair, I, I think you’ve concurred that the, the, the process is really great. It’s really open, and the more that participate, the better. Well, just to your point, Moses, I think the charter committee is very sensitive to maintaining flexibility that current government has in terms

22:52 of implementing different initiatives that might come up in the future that we don’t know about. Yeah. And we don’t wanna restrict that flexibility that departments and commission boards have, and the town administrator, et cetera. So we’re very sensitive to the kind of language that goes into the charter that acknowledges how things work, but doesn’t restrict flexibility in the future.

23:22 Is it, is it your goal to have it at the next town meeting? That’s our goal. That’s your goal. That’s our goal. That’s why I use that word. Yep. You know, with that said, um, I think we will have a better assessment in January, right? So we’ll get through, you know, the next couple months, get past the holidays, see where we are, you know, we certainly don’t wanna be rushing. Sure, right. If it’s not ready. Right. But at the same time, that would be, you know, that’s, that’s our goal. True. That, yes, that’s our target. I’d be really happy to be out of a job.

23:52 We’ll, we’ll Amy, we’ll find you another one. But it’s really important that we give the correct amount of time, a reasonable amount of time to the different steps. So as Roseanna said, I think by the end of January, we’re gonna have a better idea of how much we have to do and whether we will be able to give the select board and then the community enough time to look at something that we create, because it’s not like we can give it to you on a Monday, and you’re gonna talk about it on Wednesday and vote.

24:24 So did you, I just missed, do, do you want to announce the date of your public forum? Yeah, I Was about say yes. So that would be October 22nd, from seven to 8:30 PM and I mean, you can speak to how it’s getting, I guess, advertised. And it’s here in this room. And it will also be hybrid and MHTV will also be here filming it. I’m doing an interview next Monday. That’s great. I’m going to be talking to the current about running an, uh, promo for us. There’s some social media Excellent. That will be happening. And we’re here tonight. And am I forgetting anything? I think that’s It. No, no, that’s It. That’s what we’ve talked about So far. And we’ll start with this one and we’ll see how it goes.

25:09 Mm-Hmm. And we’ll figure out, you know, kind of from there, like how the participation is, where else can we, you know, kind of try to solicit more participation. But, um, I think this is a really, I think we’re ready. We’re ready for this first one. Perfect. That’s great. Excellent. Um, I know you’ve had a chance to hear from Rec and Park Commission and obviously us. Uh, are there other, um, wards or department heads that you’ve, uh, had the chance to connect with or at this time? But, you know, I know it’s, It’s early, it’s, it’s, I just sent Thatcher a Google spreadsheet this afternoon because keeping track of the different, but I can read through to you. We have met with the town moderator, park and Rec. Oh, that’s right. Board of Health is coming later this month.

25:55 We have scheduled water and sewer commission, muni light Commission planning, board, library, trustees, school Committee, housing Authority, and the town clerk, we have not yet reached out to the cemetery commission, harbors and Waters board, board of assessors or the finance committee. And then there are department heads that Thatcher is finding up the police chief, fire chief. Mm-Hmm. And Harbor Master are coming to see us tomorrow night, so we’re rolling that through, but it’s a little bit like herding cats and scheduling things. So it’s color coded. And who’s meeting at six 30 versus 7 0 5 versus 7 35? And we’re trying, we don’t want to create a huge time commitment for different committees, but we wanna make sure they have an

26:40 opportunity to speak to us. That’s great. Um, is there anything that, or direct direction or anything that you would, could, we could, the board could do at this time or, or assist you with, is there anything we could help you with at this time or, I, I mean, we know you’re here. Yeah. Yeah. And we know how to get in touch with you. Okay. And we’ll certainly let you know if we think of anything, but, um, your support is greatly appreciated and, and, uh, we’ll be in touch. Okay. Yeah. Great. The language, and that’s a lot of work. Sure. It’s, especially as, I mean, like being mindful, right? We’re being very mindful and respectful and kind of trying to think ahead as well.

27:27 And so it’s not just rushing to like change things. It’s really like, wait, what’s the impact and how, you know, how can we set this up so there is the most flexibility for changes and adaptions over time. So it, I think that’s what takes the, the time is really kind of, we’re thinking about it and not having, yeah. I appreciate that. Great. Thank You. Thank you. You’re welcome. Thanks so much. Appreciate it coming. Thanks so much. We look forward to seeing you on the 22nd. Yes, definitely. I’m excited. Absolutely.

28:01 See you second.

28:04 Okay. Um, moving along to our Harris, our newly, uh, formed and commissioned Harris Street Cemetery Oversight Commission. We have two applicants tonight to interview for, um, our, uh, at large members. There are three at large member, uh, openings, and we have two candidates who have submitted large of interest, and they are with us tonight. Um, and I guess I would just ask that, um, uh, John, step forward. Great. Thank you. Please come on up. Yeah, yeah. Welcome. Thank you. Yeah. So, um, welcome and thank you so much for your letter and your resume.

28:52 We all have and had an opportunity to see it. If you would just like to tell us a little bit about your interest in the committee, um, that’d be great. John, do you mind just pulling the mic close? Sure, yeah. I was Wondering if it’s not if I’ll amplify, But it’s just for the recording. No problem. Uh, well, I, I recently moved to Marblehead to Harris Street, and we lived directly across from the cemetery. So, uh, I think that’s a, a pretty big interest. Um, also there’s, you know, some, some issues with the wall at the, at the King Hooper tomb. And I mean, it is what it is, but it’s, it would be good for me at least, to, uh, be a part of it, be more in general, uh, the things that going on at the cemeteries on Harris Street,

29:39 uh, just to be in the loop a little bit, um, have a voice, I guess. Uh, I mean that’s my, I guess my interest, uh, sort of specifically where that’s great. Right next door, so, yeah. Awesome. Great. Um, Where where’d you move from? Uh, I’m from Roslindale in Boston originally. So You’re around, around the area? Yeah, Yeah, from, from Massachusetts my whole life. Thanks so much for stepping forward for the Role. Oh, no problem. Yeah, no. Um, I recently got married and, uh, we, uh, my mother-in-Law and my father-in-Law and my wife sort of rehabbed that house on 25 Harris,

30:25 I don’t know if you guys have ever been down there. Um, and they, in doing so, they got to know the neighbors pretty well. So the Betterman’s who are, you know, on the other side of, of the tomb from us are, uh, uh, you know, also very, uh, interacted with you guys. So I figured, uh, once I made the acquaintance, I would try to join up. I mean, I think it’s important to, to also give back to the community and be part of it. So, Excellent public service. Thank, Thank you. Thank you for volunteering and stepping Up. My pleasure. Yeah, I think that’s all we have for now. I think that’s it. Alright. Thank you very much. Stick around for a minute. Sure. Um, and next I’ll ask Ellen Harrington to come up and, um, same thing again. Yeah, exactly.

31:10 Yeah, no, Welcome. Dito, thank you for, uh, submitting your letter of interest. Oh, You’re welcome. Very excited to be considered. Um, why am I interested in Harris Street? Uh, when I first moved here, it was about six years ago. I live on Elm Street, as you can see from my resume there. I walked down Harris Street a lot and it’s always fascinated me. And I’m a student of history and you’ve got the cemeteries there. And when I look at Harris Street from Mumford Street, it just seems to me to be like the epitome of early Marblehead Mm-Hmm. And it’s just fascinated me. And I’m a little disturbed to see the state of the Hooper tomb as I think many people are. And when I was approached about this, I just jumped ahead

31:55 and said, yes, I would be very interested. That’s great. Thank you. Anybody from the board? Thank you. Thanks. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Ellen. Appreciate your Interest. Um, okay. So, um, I think I I would like to ask for a motion to appoint, um, John fas and Ellen. Ellen Harrington, wonderful candidates and applicants for the Harris Street cemetery’s oversight com committee at large with terms to expire in 2025. Move. I’ll second. All in favor. Thank you both very much. Thank you. And, um,

32:40 also we have received, um, uh, two, uh, uh, names from the Historical Commission for their bespoke, uh, slots on this, um, committee. And they are Ed Nielsen at David Bitterman as the Historical Commission representatives. So I would like to ask for a motion to appoint Ed Nielsen and David Bitterman to the Harris Street Cemetery’s Oversight Commission Historical Commission representatives with a term to expire June, 2025. Second. Okay. All in favor. Great. Thank you. It’s nice to get there. There’s still one seat open, There’s one vacancy Correct. For the, at large, So they have enough for quorum so they can function.

33:26 Yep. Um, so we can continue to advertise that position and Yeah. And folks, if you’re interested or you think of somebody who may be interested, please, um, let them know to send a letter of interest to, um, Kyle Wiley, Wiley k@marblehead.org.

33:44 Okay. And we have another appointment up for, um, our next agenda item, which is Joe Dip Polio Dippoli for, um, our cultural council. Is Joe here or online?

34:00 Did we connect? Did, did he Do? So you said something. Okay. So we can just postpone on that if he’s not here. Maybe if he shows up later. Mm-Hmm. Um, he’ll let us know. Okay. So we will, um, put that off for now and proceed to our student rep for the task force against Discrimination. Marin Potter. Assuming Ms. Potter is here with us, if you could just come up to the table and, um, you know, just tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in being the student rep. Okay. Um, so, hi, I’m Marin Potter and I’m a senior at Marblehead High School. Um, I have always been really interested in, uh, trying to create a safe and inclusive space in the high school,

34:47 and also, um, making sure all student voices are included in, uh, decisions. And also, um, I have, um, some experience with, uh, leading the team, harmony and Dems and, um, working with, uh, schools to, um, uh, share about how to be inclusive. Um, I, we’ve done a few trips with Team Harmony to the younger schools such as Village and Brown and Glover, where we do presentations, um, about, um, implicit bias and microaggressions and trying to make sure that, um, people are educated.

35:33 And so I am looking To hopefully Be a part of this Task force. That’s Great. Great. Thank you. Open up to the board for any other questions or comments. Good, good for you for Step Up. I remember I was a, uh, on the school committee when I was in high school, and it’s a great experience, the student up to that. So good for, good for you. Looks like you’re doing great stuff. Keep It up. It’s an Important role. You’ve got your ear to the, to the schools and to the younger generation, so that’s great. Do you have any questions for us? Maren? Um, thank you so much. So Great to step you forward. Yeah, that’s great. Thank you for volunteering. Yeah. Yeah. Um, wonderful. Okay. So, um, I, it looks like we could use a motion to appoint Marin to, uh, Potter the task force, uh,

36:22 against discrimination as our student representative. I Move, I’ll second To expire in June 20, 25. Second. Um, all in favor. Great. Congrats Marin. Thank you. Thank you. Karen, does she need to be Srn? I don’t, no. I’m sure Kyla, does Marin need to be sworn in for this and Okay. Yeah, you’ll follow up with her? Yes. Okay. Thank you.

36:45 Thank you. Thank you. Yay.

36:52 So proceed to our consent agenda items. Um, I will, um, ask for a motion to approve the following agenda items. Accept those put on hold for further discussion. The minutes of September 25th, 2024. Abbott Hall Festival of Arts Artisans Fair. December 6th through the eighth rights of the Rite of Entry agreement between the town and 55 Seaview Ave. Right of entry agreement between the town and 2 97 Ocean and, uh, the Mary Alley building, um, to declare the surplus items.

37:30 So moved. Second. Second. Okay. All in favor? Great. Awesome. And next we have our contracts, our consent agenda, vo, um, agenda votes. If, um, is there anything that anybody wishes for me to pull out for further discussion from the contracts? Um, no. So I’ll ask for motion to approve the following consent agenda items, um, contracts Stryker Company for a Lucas device and Battery at the fire station tool design of Boston, Massachusetts to amend the contract for the Swamp Scott Rail, trail Engineering and Design, phase two, Salem Sound Coast Watch to amend the contract for consulting services, the project management and stakeholder engagement

38:16 for the Coastal Resiliency Grant for Marblehead Light and surrounding lands. Phase two, the Corolla Contracting Incorporated change order number 3D PW and police roof rehab Project Corolla Contracting Inc. Change order number four DPW and police roof rehab Project Corolla Contracting Inc. Change order number five DPW and police roof rehab project.

38:45 Do I have a motion to approve these contracts? So moved. Second. Second. Okay. We have a second motion. And second. And, um, all in favor. Okay. And, um, next we are on to the harbors and waters, uh, uh, reappointments and appointments. And Moses and I have had the opportunity to check in with the chair of the Board of Harbors and Waters and, uh, relay and discuss are the board’s, uh, interest in seeing a thoughtful succession plan for this, uh, enterprise fund and board, and the importance of which, um, you know, is significant for the town. And, um, enter being a complicated enterprise fund also,

39:35 uh, in, um, cognizant of some very long tenures on the board and, and, and known, uh, interest in, in, you know, at some point pa passing the baton. Um, so, uh, we have spoken and with, um, with, with Gary and all. Gary, yeah. John. Yeah, I mean, basically Gary and and John are acutely aware that, uh, that younger people need to come on the board and, uh, and, and get familiar with what is a pretty, you know, pretty difficult or, or complicated I should say, enterprise fund, uh, you know, operation. And, uh, you know, Gary basically came up with a plan that would allow us to, to execute on that.

40:21 And we recently, uh, appointed two, uh, candidates to, to appointees actually to, to join the board and, or we interview and we interviewed, we interviewed them, but haven’t appointed them yet, of course. And, uh, and we have a plan to, uh, to make those replacements. So it involved a little bit of, of shuffling of the board, uh, and Gary made those proposals that we, and we’d like to perhaps Madam Chair, uh, discuss it, or, or I can go ahead and read a motion how, however you prefer. Um, sure. We can. Let’s, um, yeah, so, so, um, we’ll just, uh, support. Can you tell us what support, what the proposals is that, um, uh, well, maybe I, maybe I can just No, I just flesh out an outline, right? Yeah, sure. So the current, uh,

41:08 permanent members right now are Gary Gregory, John Doe, uh, Ken Breen, Jay Michelle, and, uh, Clark Smith. And in the as alternates we have Richard Ner, Chris Hood, and Peter Ragona. So that makes up the eight, uh, members of that, of that particular board. Uh, Chris Hood and Peter dus have agreed to, uh, to, you know, to to, to retire, uh, off the board. And, uh, Ken Breen is also looking to step down a little bit. So he’s agreed to become an alternate, an alternate member. Uh, with that, I think, uh, Gary thought it had a good idea that Richard Kosner stepped into Ken Breen’s spot as a permanent member. And the two new appointees, uh, then take their, their,

41:54 their position as alternate members, you know, with the expectation that there’s gonna be movement upward into permanent membership of the board, you know, as people, uh, you know, uh, retire. So, seems like a pretty good plan. What do you, what do you guys think? Yeah, so Rick would, um, would move out of his alternate status. That’s what you said, right? And then that would potentially leave for next year, um, to, you know, new alternate positions that to a lot for some turnover, right? Is that what you’re saying? Um, so the thinking is that, uh, uh, the two really, I think great candidates

42:39 that we interviewed, uh, last month, uh, Steven Wolf and Karen CIO would, um, you know, come on as alternates Yeah. To, uh, kind of get the lay of the land and be kind of the understudies for, um, especially, uh, you know, around the monetary and regulations regarding the enterprise fund and the, um, the work that goes into that that I think largely Gary and, um, John Doub have taken on for the past many, many years. So, uh, that would be allow for that institutional knowledge passed down, um, in that role.

43:24 And, uh, there is always, uh, I believe, you know, the alternates are very important on this board because they do meet regularly and they’re allowed to participate in the discussions, um, and, uh, vote whenever necessary. Yeah. In a real sense, they’re the future of the board as well. Right. You know, so, So if I’m hearing you’re right, this isn’t gonna be stagnant like it’s been in the past where some people are alternates for 10 years. There is anticipation, obviously we can’t promise anything anticipation that they will have more movement and in the near future. So it seems, but this disappointment until the end of this year, right? Correct. And then the next select board, that’s what I mean. Yep. This will be again, exactly like we haven’t done anything.

44:10 So this is, we, we are also thinking, right, if we move forward with this proposal concept, get them through to June. To June mm-Hmm. June. And our concept is that I know, I think, uh, Mr. Ner Hass been a alternate for 10 years. Mm-Hmm. I pointed him when I was on the board the first quarter, so He’ll, he’ll move up to an active member, right? So He’ll move up. Yeah. And, and then, um, you know, there just, there seems to be, there’s some changing personal circumstances among current members at, at the same time. So I think I would, my expectation is that there, you know, that, that this board will become very actively, um, soliciting, uh, new, new, new members And, and, you know, Ken is moving off the board. I think that, I think the idea is that, uh, you know, Gary

44:57 and, and the board would like, you know, enjoy, enjoy his input, but I think he’s also looking for a way to Mm-Hmm. I Think he just retired at The Boston. I think it’s a good transition. He, He’s retired, I think, I think that’s right. Succession plan. Yeah. And to, and to probably, you know, to help out the new members Sure. And So forth. I mean, personally, I’d like to see more of the newer people move up and some of the longer term ones become alternates and still stay that guidelines. But if the majority doesn’t want to go that way, then that’s fine. But I think that’s, that’s my opinion. I think, um, I would like to see some of the older ones step down into the alternates and some of the newer ones, you know, move up. ‘cause I think we’re at that point. But again, majority rules.

45:36 Okay. Okay. Um, would you like to propose a motion? Let me propose a motion that contemplates the, the, the structure that we, that we’ve laid out. Um, so I’d like to entertain a motion to appoint Ken Brain, Stephen Wolf and Karen CIO as alternates to the Harbors and Waters board, and to appoint Richard Ner as a full member of the Harbor and Waters board And reappoint Jamie showed They’re All getting appointed Repoint Jamie showed I stand, correct? Yeah. I got a short, i a short leash to I think you were Just taking a, when youre just taking a long pause. Yeah. Long gathering, gathering my thought, looking for my cue cards.

46:22 Get your breath together. Yeah. Yeah. And, and to reappoint No one that, that, that’s right. I, I do have that to do. And to reappoint, uh, Gary Gregory, John Doub Jam. Michelle Clark. And Clark Smith. Great. Um, do just, so do we have a second? Second. All in favor? Great. Um, I’ll Opposed, okay. Uh, motion carries, uh, four to one. Sure. Could we, could I also suggest that we send a letter of appreciation to Chris Hode and Peter Duron? Excellent idea. I move for their time on the board. Second. All in favor? Great. Okay.

47:08 And, um, next we have a request from the North Shore

47:16 Medical Center. Uh, this is just, we’ve voted on this changes that they’ve made, you know, to authorize changes. They’re the, they’re the tenants at, uh, whir in the medical building, looking to make some cosmetic improvements as straightforward in the, in, in our, in our packet here. Um, I’ll ask for a motion to approve the request from North Shore Medical Center to make alterations in accordance with the lease agreement between the town and North Shore Medical Center, executed on March 6th, 2023, under section 17 alterations and installation of equipment. The total project is estimated at $113,000. So Moved. Okay. All in favor? Great.

48:03 And we have a one day liquor license request, um, straightforward request. I’ll ask for a motion to approve the request, uh, for the, um, for the Friends of Mar of the Performing Arts. Are you gonna consent agenda on this?

48:20 Um, this looks like that’s what I have on my, Oh, do we have two of ‘em? You Have three. It looks like. Oh, three, right? Okay. We do that With, That’s right. There are, I think we need to Pull, yeah, we need to pull up. We, We don’t need one. We just have, we can do them all at once. All at once. Yeah. Okay. So, um, we have the Friends of Performing Arts November 7th, 2024, king Hooper Mansion, um, at, at King Hooper Mansion from six 30 to 9:30 PM the first Church of Christ for November 22nd, 41 Washington Street from six 30 to 9:30 PM and the Rotary Club of Marblehead, December 14th, 2024. At here at Abbott Hall from seven to 11:00 PM all one day liquor license.

49:08 And I have a motion to approve these requests from these applicants. Can I have a second? Second. All in favor? Oh, sorry. You wanna do Mr. Fox? In favor, Ms. Singer? In favor? Mr. Murray In favor? Degrader In favor, Ms. Nun In favor. Excellent. Okay. And, uh, that brings us to the Division of Marine Fisheries, a notice on our shellfish. And, um, I would ask to turn this over to, um, uh, our account administrator, Mr. Keer, could you just kind of, so This is, yeah. So this is a notice from the Division of Marine Fish Fisheries, um, which basically is, um, uh, conditionally approving the opening

49:56 for Shellfishing. Um, I think it was, what’s the effective date on here? October 2nd, as of sunrise on October 2nd. So it’s basically saying it’s safe to shell shellfish, uh, in, in, in these areas. So, Okay.

50:17 So no action required on that. It’s just notification. And, uh, we’ll move to historical commission. Um, Sorry. Um, is, uh, they’ve just sent us a letter that they’re looking to replace the shades here in the boardroom. Uh, these were, I guess, uh, you know, they were, they’re not working. Kyle has explained this to me. They’re not working. And, um, since the renovation and the Historical Commission would like to replace them for us and at its own cost, uh, and, um, it’s, they’re gonna be motorized shades and to protect the paintings and our eyesight during certain times of year.

51:02 Yeah. And, uh, it’s really a generous, uh, offer. And it’s, I think, you know, somebody has been here many times with the sun setting at different times, and, um, I think it’ll be great. So, um, so that’s, that’s, uh, that’s happening. And then I’d like to, you know, we’ve had from the Corinthian Yacht Club to recognize a, uh, unsung hero, as they say in the town of Marblehead, uh, who is, um, set to retire after 30 years of devoted service. As the general manager of the Corinthian Yacht Club, Mr. David Titus is stepping down and they have some beautiful words set out in this, um, in this letter. And I’ll just, um, I’d like to read some of it,

51:50 uh, at the request. And, um, David Titus started out as a chef at the club in 1994, and owner and over the years, gradually acquired responsibility for the clubhouse it’s members and working relationships with other organizations in town. His expertise in even keeled approach to his work, not to mention his popularity, endeared him to all, he achieved the designation of Certified Club Manager, a mark of distinction within his profession. In ordinarily the leader of a yacht club here in town, even a prestigious one, such as the Corinthian, would not bring to the select Board’s attention the retirement of a much loved leader. In this case, however, such attention is warranted because of the work David Titus has done to serve so many other town organizations far beyond the Corinthian. David Titus has worked hard behind the scenes over 30 years

52:35 to provide facilities, food and service, often at cost or sometimes fee waived to benefit many civic and charitable organizations, which include the Merry mixers, uh, to promote the Friends of North Shore Children’s Hospital, the Marblehead Garden Club, the Marblehead Chamber of Commerce Awards program, annual Dinner and Taste of the Town Program, the Marblehead Festival of Art, festival of Arts Chamber, champagne’s celebrations at Fort Sewell Sailing Heels program for cancer patients to spend precious time on Marblehead Waters, the Marblehead Hospice Regatta Dinner, the National Women’s Sailing Association Annual Conference, founded and held in Marblehead for 20 years, the Collins Middle School and Salem to provide culinary work opportunities for 10 years, including Thanksgiving dinner for 200 people,

53:22 Salem High School’s, culinary department, uh, providing job opportunities for students. And, um, just continue that. David Titus is a gentleman of character and competence, who has given back much to the Marblehead community. Indeed, he practices service before self. And we respectfully ask, and thank you for extending your good wishes to him in his retirement and for fair wins and following seas. And, um, that is, uh, submitted from Carl Reny, the Vice Commodore of the Corinthian. That’s great. Could, could, uh, could I make a motion to, uh, to send, send him a letter of appreciation? Great. Um, second. We have a second. Um, all in favor. Okay.

54:08 Um, that brings us To any select board announcements.

54:14 Anybody have anything for tonight? Okay. Sounds like, uh, we just need a motion to adjourn a second. All in favor. Great. Thank you.