Select Board: July 9, 2025

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 Are we ready, Kyle? Ready, uh, arrived. I’d like to call the meeting to order on July 9th and announce that this meeting is being recorded. We’ll open up with public comment. Anybody would like to step up? Please state your name and your address Is Yes.

0:20 Thank Good Evening, 1 0 6 Atlantic Avenue. And I just came to, uh, thank the board. It is said that, uh, the duty of an attorney is to keep their client out of court, and I’m more broadly out of trouble. And, uh, I think that’s what you’ve been trying to do, uh, with respect to the requirements of state law. And without getting into the merits of, uh, the discussion on either side, I think it is highly unfortunate that some people are questioning the boards motives and, uh, uh, public, meaning social media. Uh, I am confident from just what I’ve seen to do,

1:10 that you’ve been, uh, trying to keep the town out of trouble by enable, by giving the town the chance to stay in compliance with state law. Now you have a situation where, uh, you will have other, uh, needs to take care of other, uh, problems in effect, as I said to someone, uh, at, at this point, we almost, uh, are, um,

1:43 in a situation where we have to throw ourselves on mercy of the Attorney General and courts. Even that is me. I am confident that as you have been doing up to now, you will continue to exercise your best judgment of what is best for the pound. So, I Thank you. Thank Deacon. Thank You. Thank you. Albert. Jordan, 64 Roosevelt had, um, you know, we gotta live with the three A thing, but I, I, I voted just support it. I didn rent, but I had to live with it. Drive. Uh, but I think the selectman gotta really start looking. Um, you know, I, I paid the tax bill. My trash isn’t been picked up.

2:28 Um, you know, we get real big obligations next year with the school department and the town employees. Uh, we hired, hired another person at the health department. Um, but what of health is in here looking for more money? At the last meeting, creating another position, uh, I produced to Jim an article, uh, in the Boston, her late lately. Morgan still has a freeze on hundred employees, even though she passed the budget. Um, uh, we’re gonna pay a lot of money for litigation where cer certainly built in, has just lost in a bunch of other communities built in, uh, uh, Hamilton, I believe a a lot of places have been around, uh, closer to the North Shore. I can’t think of them all at this point,

3:15 but we’re probably gonna be in litigation. We’re gonna probably base some sort scheduled money to lawyers and everything like that. And, and I really don’t think we’re gonna succeed. Uh, but I just really think the selecting you, you’ve gotta really take into consideration before we keep hiring. We’re, we’re hiring all these people. We’re, I don’t think we’re gonna, when I saw that another big grant over there, I don’t think is gonna be giving us much grant money. So I know Thatcher wants to hire this person. Um, you know, we’ve already hired the grant person. We’re actually tying our hands, and now we wanna hire a person for contracts. I mean, where’s this money come gonna come from? So, so I, I think we gotta take a step back. And, you know, I just wanna say one other thing.

4:02 The Highway department should have a full-time person on that, but I just saw on his paper, my water and sewer bill going up almost 20% in one year. And, um, Amy does a good job, but they’re spending substantial money with the roads are deplorable all over the place. Uh, we need a full-time person at the highway department before we start funding people dream things. And the other thing I was outrageous on during the trash collection, I’m watching one of the local stations and they’re telling everyone on the news, the Boston Station, come to Marblehead, you can dump your trash for free. Okay? And I’m paying for this. I don’t mind helping people out. And then turning that into a monopoly up there. I didn’t know when we took this transfer station over

4:49 and we had to tap in that we were going to be subsidizing all these other cities and towns. I’m paying for all of retirement, all the insurance. He’s hiring more employees up there, they’re making money, and it’s a revolving account. Um, I thought it was going to lower things. And, um, I think we should be getting an assessment if they’re gonna be coming over from Salem, like we pay Southwest store. If any of these communities want to join into Marvel head, they should be paying an assessment. The city and the town. We shouldn’t be encouraging pe I thought we were trying to go green in this. We got all these trucks coming from out out of town every day, polluting coming into Marble Head to dump the trash. The Salem doesn’t have a transfer space here anymore. Swampscott doesn’t have,

5:35 I didn’t know when you appointed the Board of Health. I thought Bishop number one, they’re not picking out my trash in Marble Head in front of my house. And they’re taking trash from out of town and running a business out there. And I’m, I’m appalled by it. I, I think we need to take a step back. We want to like, help the people in Marblehead and when the residents can’t even get their own trash picked up. Um, and I know people that are in diapers that don’t have cars, that don’t have any way to get to the dump. And I’ve help, I could help ‘em out. Um, I was at a house at on Christmas day, I had to leave where I was because someone had no need. Uh, we, we gotta help the people that live in this town that pay the taxes. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Jordan. Anybody else?

6:20 Is there anyone online? Kyle?

6:27 Yes.

6:37 Yeah. Are you there? I am. Yeah. Um, yeah, Elm again. 1 6 5 Westshore Drive. Um, I just wanna say that the town has been extremely divided with everything that has to do with question about chapter three A. Um, yesterday we had a vote. Um, the margin was, was pretty small, and yet the majority of the people that came out to vote, um, voted no on, on basically adopting Article 23 that was brought forward by the select board. Um, I think at this time, what we really should do as a town, as a select board is really listen

7:24 to the constituents, listen to what many residents have asked to do, whether it’s to ask for an exception, an exemption, negotiate with the state. Nobody wants to be in non-compliance. But the way that chapter three A was written, specifically the way that it was brought to the town through Article 23, um, many people obviously did not feel that it benefited the town. And I would like to know, and I would like to hear, what type of plan does the Select board have right now going forward on what are we going to do on July 14th, and what exactly are we going to submit? Um, and I do have a question to you whether

8:11 there was any discussion about what will the select board to in case, um, no three A one, um, last night, which obviously we saw that it did. But I think what I really want to emphasize is that we have to come together right now as a town and stop the divisiveness, um, within our, within our resident. Thank you. Thank you.

8:53 Say one more thing. Excuse me. Alright. Please kick it short. Yeah. These roundabouts have been far about are, but this is Mayberry. I don’t want any roundabouts in Harbor then. Okay. I want a four-way stop sign down. The better the bottom of the hill down here that let people cross the three to slow the traffic down. You got a three-way stop sign. I don’t need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of millions of dollars during I saw these roundabouts. They’re hard to maintain. They’re hard to plow the snow. We need all, we need to put up a few stop signs, even on Beach Street at an intersection we don’t need to spend for grass strips and in trees. And then the town’s gotta maintain. We can’t keep the roads up. They’re deplorable.

9:38 And we’re talking about doing nonsense. So, and we’re getting grant money from the state. I want grant money to reduce the taxes. I can put roundabouts in. Well miss sale if you wanna see around. But, um, I don’t wanna see any tomorrow then. Thank you. Thanks Mr. Gordon. Very good. Anybody else? All right. We’ll, close public comment. Move on to town Administrator updates. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, first of all, my best understanding as the issues come up and chatting with, uh, health director who oversees the transfer station. We are not taking trash from outside of Marble Head, despite what, whatever reports may be put out there, uh, it is strictly for the benefit of marble headers. Um, and they’re getting overwhelmed and run,

10:24 and they’re doing the best they can. They have all hands on deck doing the best they can. So they’re working hard. Um, uh, with that, uh, I provided to you my memo for the updates. First of all, I am most happy to report we had an outstanding fireworks display here in Marblehead this year. Uh, despite the challenges we had the last couple years of fog banks and barge fires, uh, we made it through. It was a beautiful evening. The weather cooperated, the fireworks went off on schedule. Um, one thanks to, uh, fireworks committee. Uh, Alexander Fal is our, our chair as, uh, the vast majority of the coordination with the, the public entities, and then our chiefs and Harbor Master

11:12 and Parks and Recs folks and Public Works folks who do all the, the security, public safety and the support functions to make this event a success. I think you mentioned it, um, Aaron earlier. It was, I think, I don’t know if it was a record crowd, but it was, uh, it sure felt like it. Yeah. Yeah. And, and generally speaking, the crowds were well behaved. Um, you know, we, we did have some minor incidences, but, uh, uh, folks promptly and professionally addressed without escalation. And, um, the coordination between our public safety personnel, our volunteers, our event organizers, contributed to just a very safe and, um, uh, fun experience for, for all who attended.

11:58 So, again, thanks to all those that that made it possible. Congratulations to you on your first successful.

12:06 You deserve some fresh, no, congratulations. Keep your contracts,

12:14 Make sure it goes well next year. Speaking of next year, it is gonna be a bigger event by definition. ‘cause it’s gonna be the 250th. Um, it is gonna be highly competitive for, uh, securing contracts. The contracts are gonna cost more, and I think folks are gonna expect, uh, a bigger show. Um, and so one, we encourage the fundraising, uh, folks to, to help contribute, uh, this year, you know, and going forward to, to, to fill up the bank account to cover the cost for next year’s event. So, um, always want to cover that. Uh, next item. Um, we, we had intended to put on the agenda, we’re going

13:01 to defer to the next meeting, um, that, uh, jointly with the panel swamp, Scott, we’re entering into a contract with a new ambulance service, um, with, uh, ambulance services are going to take over the contract. Uh, we’ve had Atlantic Ambulance Services for the last many, many years, um, working with Swamp Scott jointly. And it provided the opportunity to sort of open up the competition and for us to take a look at, you know, what, what are our options that are out there? Um, it’s a, um, the contract, it’s a zero bid contract, which means, uh, the, the town, either town does not pay the ambulance services.

13:46 Um, they’re paid through the, uh, patients and, and folks that they, they respond to in the insurance billing and such. That’s how they, they are paid. But, um, what’s important for the municipalities are, um, the service level. And, and so, um, we looked at, we had three, three vendors that, that looked at the incumbent and, and, and two others and made the decision to go with, uh, bow Port. Um, and again, the contract, as you will see when it comes up at the next meeting, um, it’s written such that because it’s joint with Swamp Scott and way the arrangement works, it’s, uh, necessary for both towns to be in the agreement to create the critical mass for the dedicated services to, to this region.

14:33 So the contract will have reference to Swamp Scott and Marblehead in it, as well as Bo Port. Um, and the key thing, um, it’ll have some, if, if either town wishes to get out of the contract for any, any particular reason early that there are notification provisions. So the other town has time to respond and take action as, as necessary should, should one of the towns want to come out. Um, so, um, anyways, that, that’s probably the, the significant difference from what you would see in a typical contract. And how long is the contract? It’ll be for three years. Sure. Yeah. So, um, again, I hadn’t intended, but, uh, we’re still passing the drafts back and forth with three parties involved. Um, it’s very important to me

15:19 that all the parties engaging on contract have ample time to actually review, look at about comment rather than trying to get somebody to, you know, do it on quickly. So I’d like to commend you and Chief Gilland for, for working together with swamps, Scott. It’s, it’s to provide better service, creating a bigger coverage area to benefit. Marla, that’s, it’s, it’s great thinking outside the box. So thank you guys for working hard with them. Was was our, uh, Atlantic contract, did that have any link with Salem at all or did they just have, um, we had one ambulance in town and did, was there a backup that would come from Salem or, I, I just imagin. Okay. But there, so no call. So there’s always mutual aid back and forth back, right. So an ambulance station mar headed backup, and then they,

16:07 I just remember the ambulance always being down at blood mills banging out thing. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. So, um, we also wanna give credit to, I went to ambulance to come with that. Uh, they’re, ‘cause their contract expired, um, June 30th. Um, so everybody’s sort of at, well, they agreed to a 15 day handoff process. So it allows for an orderly transfer between the, the two services. So we appreciate, uh, the cooperation on that. So That’s great. Great enough to do that. Yeah. Yeah. So anyways, we’ll, we’ll have that on the agenda for our next meeting. Um, and then the third item on, on my update, uh, the question we’re always getting asked. And, uh, Brenda Callahan,

16:53 our director community development plan is here. So the question is based on the result of last night’s referendum, uh, what’s the immediate impact in regard to the projects that we have currently? So, um, um, Brenda and his staff laid it out. So, so we will become noncompliant as of July 14th, I think it’s next Monday. Um, so at the end of the day, we’ll become now and compliant, uh, the financial impacts. So the current grant grants that are awards, uh, we have 1.28 million, uh, that was awarded not yet contracted in state grants total. So we have the shipyard resilience improvement for 1.1 million MBTA Safety Action Plan

17:41 pilots for a hundred thousand. Uh, the mass two 50 celebration grants for sales and stories 50,000 and the community bike rack installation grant for 6,002 50. So we’ve been awarded, but we haven’t received the funds. So our concern is we’ll lose, uh, the grants for those, those projects. The existing grants that are potentially jeopardized, uh, meaning that the submitted in at total 354,792 that are currently contracted grants that may be reconsidered by the state due to the town’s non-compliance. Uh, so we have the Mass Works five corners redesign, um, project, the community, um, planning grant, the master plan

18:28 that we just kicked off, that master plan’s a requirement that we have that, or other grants that we may or may not be eligible for now. Um, but the master plan, basically main use plan, uh, very important document for the community, our municipal private network, phase three. So we, we used opera to, to redo the fiber for the municipality and put in a fiber loop to make our fiber, um, redundant, reliable. So, uh, so that one part gets, gets cut because of, don’t know, pole goes down. Um, the rest of the, the system and network will, will still perform ‘cause it’s in a loop. What we had, uh, requested and received the grant award for was to extend the municipal fiber out to the neck so that all

19:16 of the municipal facilities, pump stations and other things that are on the neck, that that would be on the new five of them. So that grant is in jeopardy. So we may not be able to five or extend 5 0 2. So if I understand this right, we have contracts in place for this 354 7 9 2. Um, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that this works that we pay for ‘em and it’s a reimbursement. Yeah. Yeah. So we are at risk if we start to pay for these things and the state cancels of, of non cap recapturing that money. Is that correct? Yeah, that’s the risk. And honestly, we’ll be talking to the state agencies to, to vet this out. Yeah. So, Okay. So we’ll, we’ll watch that coast. So we have, um, the other pending state grant applications at risk.

20:04 We have, uh, over 3 million in pending applications. Uh, the Abot Hall Attic and Accessibility project. This is without historic commission folks to, to create storage space just under a million dollar grant rail trail improvements, 866,000 in, in those projects. Uh, state Street Land Resilience design, a DA projects and downtown planning initiatives. So those are a number of the grant projects that are in the works that are at risk are federal grants, depending on state match. So the Commonwealth, um, created a grant fund so that when municipalities apply for federal grants, and the federal grants require a local match, right. The state created a fund to cover the match

20:50 so the municipalities don’t have to provide the matching. So that’s, um, so, um, the, the, uh, what was our part of, what was the, the grant for the local for the match? Uh, have the, um, Is that the 400,000? No, it was the one point. It’s, uh, yeah, the 1.125 million is the one we’ve, we’ve, were awarded it. We just Okay. They don’t give it to the town until you get the federal brand. Right. So, but we Have far our application, we say we have the match money. Yeah. So what that does is, in order to, if we are successful getting the $11.6 million federal grant, uh, for, uh,

21:35 port Infrastructure development program, we will have to come up with the 1.1 million or forego the, the federal grants. Yeah. It’s important to emphasize right, that the, as long as a local match is made, it doesn’t necessarily, it can either come from the taxpayers or the, or the state tax payers. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Yep. And then future grants, uh, again, the, the Village Street Bridge Reconstruction 2.98 million. And I know there’s some questions. So that’s on the transportation improvement plan. And we received notice recently that we were not awarded. And, and, and I explained the tip process, think of it as a very long conveyor belt of projects. And the first effort is to get on the conveyor belt, which we achieved just last year.

22:21 And it takes several years for our project to move along that cave belt before it, it makes it on the list to actually get funded. So, um, um, again, it, it goes on there. We didn’t think we’re gonna get, you know, get awarded this year in the next few years. The question is, given our status of non-compliance, um, what is the NPO, the Metropolitan Planning Organization that manages the TIP program, how are they gonna treat? Are they gonna take us off the conveyor belt or are we gonna continue riding on the conveyor belt and hopefully in some form or fashion be compliant by the time we reach the point where our project is gonna kind of get lifted up and, and get into the funding stream. So these are, these are all things that, uh, uh,

23:09 our staff are working on to sort out, but this is the, the information that end. So it is significant. And as I’ve said before, it’s not just about the money, it’s about the benefits of the projects that this money is for. That’s the real impact on the, on the community. Um, so next step, you know, we’re communicating with the state agencies to clarify. Um, and, you know, we’re gonna do every effort we can to, to hold on to whatever we can. Um, and, you know, the, the, the message to the community development staff, uh, even if we are, we lose access to funding. We need them now more than we ever have. Right. It’s now more critical that they’re, they’re there digging in and,

23:56 and keeping these projects by them. Would that included? Yeah. I mean, I would just, uh, underscore a couple of crucial points that you made that are, you know, one is getting visibility on the conveyor belt and kind of assessing the risk around what we, what we potentially could lose or, or not lose. But I think also what’s really important is that we have a list of project investments here that the town really needs. And I think we ought to continue that effort. And I think, you know, rather than looking to state funding, I think, you know, if, if it’s not available, we have to determine that, that we, that we go before the town of Marblehead and assess, you know, what kind of debt capacity we have to get these projects going. I think that’s part of, you know, uh, part

24:43 of the prioritization effort that, that your, you know, that your department is gonna have to, uh, Brendan that your department is gonna have to take on. Right. So I think on the investment side, we gotta keep our focus, keep pushing forward regardless of the funding side. And then we’ll, we’ll deal with the funding side when we, when we get there, you know, And we’ll, we’re still searching for other, other grants mm-hmm. That may be impacted that we’ve not. That’s right. Nailed down. That’s, so there may be some other, other grants that we’re not aware of as yet. ‘cause the states continuously updating and, you know, different agencies are, uh, are, are changing the eligibility. So we will continue to seek that information out. Well, Mr. Chair, that’s what, that’s what I would recommend personally.

25:29 And that we, that we do take that posture. Thank You. Thank you. Yeah. And keep up, you know, I know morale might be a little tough down there, um, because I, I know a lot of them do blind grants, but, you know, please hope nobody’s for, for your whole department.

25:45 Thank you, Mr. Kether. Anyone else? So we’re gonna move on to, uh, number two. Uh, if I call Mark Spa, hope I pronounce that right. I’m usually horrible with names, uh, from the Poll Cultural Foundation. Very good. Thank you. Welcome. Absolutely. Thank You for make yourself Comfortable. So if you just wanna give us a quick overview. Yes, yes, absolutely. I know you provided us with a full presentation, which was great. Good. We had a chance to look over that. If you wanna just let the wonderful, the rest of town know what you listen for. Well, Thank you very much for the opportunity to be with you, uh, here today. My name’s Mark Schock. I’m the president of the Polish Cultural Foundation of Boston. It’s a nonprofit 5 0 1 C3 that’s been operating in the community since 1998. And I’m also the recording secretary

26:30 of the American Council for Polish culture. Also a 5 0 1 3 formed as a national umbrella organization for Polish groups like the Polish Cultural Foundation of Boston, but from across the country. And on Zoom, uh, is my colleague Ed Kowski, uh, who is the chair of the Revolutionary War two 50 Committee of the American Council, uh, for Polish culture. I’m here with the support of the Marblehead two 50 Committee. We met with them in May regarding our application for organizing a commemorative event at Fort Sewell in the summer of 2007. Uh, honoring the arrival in Marblehead of General Kasmir philosophy on July 23rd, 1777, to join the American Fight for Liberty.

27:18 And I love the paintings in the, in the room, which is a wonderful place for that. Um, there’s already a plaid at Fork Sewell commemorating that event, which has been there for 36 years. It was placed there by the Polish American Congress in 1989. And we dedicated by the Polish Cultural Foundation together with Polish Veterans Groups in 2009. And you have in your materials the, uh, slide deck that we used in our presentation to the Marblehead two 50 Committee in May. The slide deck includes a copy of the program from the 2009 Rededication Ceremony, which was co-sponsored by the fourth SE Oversight Committee and the Town of Marblehead. And it also includes photos from the 2009 ceremony, including indeed the ever youthful Larry Sands,

28:05 who is still the chair of the for Sewell Oversight Committee, uh, in his Glover’s Regiment uniform. So our application now is to build upon that in recognition of the 250th anniversary of Polowski’s rivals. The commemoration is important, we think, uh, not just for Polish Americans, but also for Marblehead and America, uh, for Polish Americans. Pulaski is one of two sons of Poland who became famous for joining in the Fight for Liberty, Pulaski Iss known as the father of the American Cavalry, who gave his life in battle against the British at Savannah in October, 1779. The other military leader from Poland who came to Fight for America is General Thaddeus Kka, the military engineer who designed the defenses at the Battle of Saratoga in the Paul of 1777.

28:53 That led to the American victory there, which became the turning point in the war. I mentioned Chris Dusko because he arrived a year earlier than Pulaski in 1776 in Philadelphia. And the 250th commemoration of his arrival there is already being planned for 2026 next summer, along with commemorations that are expected all up and down the East Coast over the next two years, three years, uh, of the an, of the anniversaries of the battles in which Chuko and Pelky played a key role in the American effort over the course of the Revolutionary War. So it’s important for the American conflict of Polish culture that we tell that overall story of the timeline of contributions by these two heroes. And there’ll be a brochure outlining that timeline,

29:38 listing the commemorative events for Pulaski that would start here. The commemoration, we think is also important for Marblehead and America because it highlights Marble Head’s role as a hub of the American Revolution. Pulaski arrived here, uh, on a ship called the Massachusetts, a Brigandine built in Salisbury, and a sister ship to the famous Tyra side, um, which became famous, famous at the time for bringing the Revolutionary War to Britain itself by raiding British shipping off the coast of Britain and France, commanded by sea captains and Mariners like Captain John Fisk and others from Salem from Marblehead.

30:24 Following the encounters with the British on that voyage, uh, the Massachusetts stopped to resupply at Nas in France before the trip, return trip home. And that is where philosophy boarded, uh, letter of recommendation in hand from Benjamin Franklin to George Washington. When the ship arrived and anchored in Marblehead Harbor, Pulaski immediately made his way to a wharf in Marblehead aiming to meet with the head of the Massachusetts Board of War. And there’s one source that surmises that he made his way into Boston by catching a stagecoach that ran three times a week, um, between Yee Queen Highway, now Washington Street and Marblehead, uh, and King Street, now State Street in Boston.

31:13 Uh, there’s a reference to one terminus of that route being the bunch of Grapes Tavern. We’d like to work with the Marblehead Museum on ancillary materials, um, placards at the ceremony, other kinds of materials we could make available, um, to confirm those kinds of details about Marblehead in the revolution, and to relate those events with as much accuracy as possible. How fortunate and timely was Mul Polowski’s arrival safely across the Atlantic on the Massachusetts through Marblehead on July 23rd, 1777? We know that upon reaching Mar Boston, he met briefly with General William Keith, and within Days Met it, met with Philadelphia, made it to Philadelphia, where he promptly met Lafayette,

32:00 who introduced him to Washington, who was so impressed. He invited Pulaski to join his personal staff as an officer all in the days just before the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, where Pulaski ISS credited with leading a charge that drove back the British at a critical point that some say saved Washington’s life. And that in any event so impressed Congress that on September 15, he was awarded the rank of Brigadier General and appointed to first commander of the Horse, America’s first cavalry, all less than eight weeks, uh, from arriving in Marblehead. So the commemoration would highlight that American story and Marble Head’s role as the critical channel through which Pulaski was able to join the American effort. That brings us back to our application.

32:46 We’re here before the select board fully two years in advance of the actual commemoration, because we wanna work with you, um, as set out in our letter to make sure that all the arrangements are vetted and properly in place. Certainly the commemoration is important, uh, in 2027 for the Polish Cultural Foundation and other Polish groups locally, um, large Polish community in, in the surrounding towns here. And we would note that the Shuka commemoration, you know, but we would note that the Shuka commemoration in Philadelphia next summer is anticipated to draw attendance by Polish groups nationally and representatives of the Polish Embassy and the Polish government. And we think the same could develop here. Um, the planning is still early. Um, and if approved, our main request at this point, uh,

33:35 would be to have a point of contact with the town so that we can confirm the details, like the specific date and the other arrangements that of the, on the points that are listed in our letter, um, and any other issues you’d like us to address. Great. If there are any Questions. Okay. No, I mean, I just got a great history, dude. Thank you. Well, we’re very, every time someone speaks, I learned so much and I learned, I learned a ton. So thank you. Thank you. It’s very interesting. Thank you For bringing these historical figures to mind. And, uh, you know, the story about their coming to the United States and immediately becoming, uh, founders of, of, of the American Republic ly. It is a great story and you brought a lot of immediacy to it, so thank you very much. It’s wonderful. The story of the Massachusetts and the Tyra side, which came out of, uh, uh, Marblehead, it is just a wonderful story that really needs

34:20 to be retold and emphasized. This is one vehicle for doing that. Excellent. Thank you. And thank you for coming two years in advance. I think you might be the first person to ever, your Honor, we can mark that on your plaque as well. Thank you. Thank absolutely. Thank you for your time. Thank, thank you. I got, I’m on it. Thank you. Yep. So, can I have a motion to approve, uh, the request from Mark Spock, president Polish Culture Foundation, Boston, to use Fort Sewell in July of 2027 with the final date to be determined for comm commemorative celebration on of the 250th anniversary of arrival in America of General Casimir pki. Thank you. Subject to the usual rules, regulations, fees, approval from police, fire and recreation and parks, police details, and Daws docents as required

35:07 and receipt of the required certificate of insurance, name of the town as additionally insured. So moved. Second. All in favor, unanimous. And for you asking for contact, you can, you can get in touch with, with Kyle. Thank you. We’ll help you. Thank you for coming. Appreciate it. Next up call, uh, Mike Ling. And Janet, if you wanna come off here, welcome as Walker for the discussion of the Marwood High School roof contracts.

35:34 Alright, please come on right up there.

35:39 Good evening. Good Evening. Good evening, Ben.

35:44 You look totally appropriate tonight. Thanks. Thank you. Yeah, thanks. Thank you. It’s, it’s only for your head off, so you’re good. Um, thanks. Good evening. Uh, yes. Okay. So on on online, we should have representatives from left field, which should be Lena Longs and David Sand Boon. Uh, not yet. Why don’t we, do you wanna start with a presentation of what you’re asking for and if we need them from questions from the left Field? Uh, I’m sorry. Uh, Raymond Design Associates should be Jean Raymond and Molly Paris.

36:21 Um, so this evening, thank you for having us back. Um, we, I was here in November presenting an initial contract for Raymond Design Associates for the first phase of the roof design project. Um, left field is our onus project manager. I believe that they were approved by the board prior to my arrival, so probably late last spring. Uh, now that we’re through town meeting and ballot vote, we, uh, returning with the contract amendments, the first contract got us through, uh, estimating and initial design, the remaining contract amendments. This will get us through completion of the project, which is, uh, designing, doing a firm design on the project, uh, including HVC and Roof. It’ll also get us through pre bidding.

37:06 We have to pre-qualify all of our bidders, uh, uh, con uh, drafted the bid con, uh, bid documents, uh, go out to bid, hire the contracts, uh, hire the contractors for both the roofing and the HVAC, uh, oversee the project construction and then close out. So, uh, this is the contract amendment for both Raymond Design Associates and left field, uh, for the remainder of the project. Okay. Does anybody on the board have questions? I understand that this includes a couple different options that you guys are looking at to include all different options to evaluate. As Well mention, the school committee and the board select board are both required to approve these contracts to form. Uh, school committee approved it last week.

37:53 Uh, and as part of their vote motion, they elected to, uh, look at both options. Um, the options that are presented right now are a recover, which is to put a new membrane down on the existing roof. Um, and the other option would be a liquid membrane, um, being applied instead of a, a rubber membrane follow the official term, but rubber in my head. So, um, those are the two options. Um, we, uh, we are with, uh, Ms. Schaffner and the school committee finance, um, facility subcommittee. We are going to have some meetings coming up. Uh, they’re, they’re pretty important because Raymond design, there is a cost to do both bid sets of designs, both sets of bids, both sets of everything.

38:38 And they have until approximately the end of this month for a to, you know, let us know which direction you want us to go. School committees already authorized them to go both directions to do documents for both. Mm-hmm. Um, but we have until the end of the month to revise that if we choose to. Sure. Any questions? So I guess you’re looking at us to do the same dual approval then? Uh, uh, we just Have to approve. We just have to approve the amendments to the contract. Okay. Got, so this is the amendments to the contract. You sign the one off and then obviously they needed, they can only go through the money they had for town meeting. Thank you for the clarification. I believe it’s the purview of the school committee to determine the public, the school building is under their control. So I believe it’s their purview to determine It’s just question of confirm the contract that we have signed. Correct. Yeah. Yep. Great. Perfect. Does anybody else have questions?

39:25 Um, I mean, I think probably good for the public to understand why, what consider it an alternative. And I, I must, my assumption is because it potentially represents a cost saving, an idea that came about that would, um, have you feel there’s some level of confidence that it could come in significantly lower, so we should pursue both? That’s exactly okay. Right. I, I think if, if, uh, all things were equal price wise, um, I believe we would probably go with a traditional recover. But, um, I numbers off the top of my head, the roof itself was probably about five or five and a half million in construction costs. Um, the estimates right now are that could save 1.6 million of that if we went with the liquid of liquid applied. So, uh, at, was that 30%? Mm. I mean that’s, that’s a big savings.

40:12 Uh, it’s, it’s substantial enough that we thought we should at least look at it. So yes, there’s an increased cost to do the documents, 200,000, two 20, um, but the potential savings, if it was a viable product and a viable um, situation, uh, could certainly be well outweigh the, the cost of the, of the designing bulk documents. And you guys will make that decision when it comes in. Right. So, so the question is, is do we bid both? Yep. And then we make a decision when it comes in, or do we, um, only bid one, which would be the recover, which would put down a new membrane. Um, but that, that decision between whether we did one or two has to be made within the next three weeks. Sure. So does it add, sorry, does it add to any timeframe to, to put out this second bit in terms of, uh, According to Raymond design, it will not when

40:58 we’re on a tight timeframe right now. So how Fast can they turn around, I guess is my question? Given They’re, their intentions. Have the bids on the street for September the first or 30th? He said today? Um, sorry, honor is Jean on online? Oh, right. Jean, He raise ac. Yeah.

41:19 Jean, do you recall, can you reiterate, it’s in the transporter room,

41:27 Michael. It’s, um, David Sandin. Um, I’m looking at the schedule and uh, I believe the intent is to hit the street in October. Um, so, uh, yes, we, we want to hit the street bidding the beginning of October. Okay, great. So, but, but you are correct. We are on extremely, um, tight schedule.

41:53 Yeah. And I appreciate Ms. Wiley and Mr. Mr. Keys are getting us on the agenda for tonight after school committee concludes it. Last one say.

42:05 Good. Um, Can I just ask like, so with respect to the additional cost to the bidding process, is it, can you walk us through? ‘cause it, we already have bids out, so I guess I’m wondering like what’s the, what’s the accounting of the cost for the second it’s no bids Out Or they’ve done one for the membrane? No, No, that was just the initial design estimates. Okay. So they did this almost like an MSVA project. Um, when you, when you, when you do something in public bidding of this size magnitude, you first have to do an estimate. And that’s where we got through. We got that in, in, in, um, what, November, December. But we had to wait till town meeting to get the additional funds. So we, we were kind of on pause for six months there. During that six month period is when we were, uh, informed

42:50 that there might be a second option versus just going with a, a rubber membrane to do a liquid applied might be a second option. So, uh, we did find that out at the good march and they investigated it. They did some research, um, they wanna do more research again. Uh, they’re gonna present us over the next few weeks with the pros and cons of both, both systems. Um, and there, there are pros and cons for both systems. Uh, you know, and, and I don’t wanna get into my limited knowledge right here, or even bringing left field and and RD onto the, the spot, uh, you know, on the spot for that. ‘cause, um, I think we wanna do some due diligence. There have been some other municipalities who have used this technology and we’d like to get their feedback as far as, you know, construction longevity, um, you know, cost,

43:39 cost certainly memory’s a relatively new, new technology, uh, to it. I think, I think to us it is. I’m not sure that it’s that new. I I’m, I’m, I’m guessing there might be, they’ve been around for maybe 20 years. I, I can’t speak to that, but, but that’s, that’s a good, you know, think when we put the original roof on our high school, had the product that we used been around for 20 years, we might’ve chosen a different route. You know, uh, so certainly don’t wanna make that mistake again that we don’t wanna be the Guinea pig. Understood. Yeah. And, um, gene said he could start the bid documents for the traditional, um, roof replacement. And as Mike said, um, he could delay for a short period of time, the documents, um, for the food barrier. So the, um, school committee could

44:26 gain a little bit, um, more information about it. My, my Only question was it’s a new technology as it stood the test of times, as is it on any Massachusetts school building in, in my world, you get to stand the test of time. Uh, so that was the question. Um, so they’re gonna do that due diligence and they have the time to do it. It should. Perfect. So then the last question is, I mean, I’m assuming we’re the, I, I think I know the answer, but where’s the money gonna come from for this? So the, between the two debt exclusions that were already approved one back in 2022 and one, right. But It’s a new cost, right? So are we dipping into contingency money? Yeah, a little bit into contingency, and I think they shaved their price down a little bit just

45:13 to make sure that we were, I think, you know, they came in a couple of areas. They took some contingency money and they also cut their costs a little bit. Okay. We’ve been assured in our lease in our meeting last week that this is within the scope of the, of the budget that we have based on the funding that we have. So that was several members’ concerns. Mm-hmm. Um, that we’re not gonna go over budget. It’s the first thing I asked as well. Mm-hmm. I’m not sure that we would’ve come to you if it was going over budget, But also eating in contingency is even into contingency. It’s contingency that, but are, are we going to have significant savings? Which, you know, in, in, at our meeting, in our public meeting, uh, the project manager, OOPM, David, who I believe’s on the phone, indicated the $1.6 million

45:59 projected savings is conservative and it actually could, tech could come in higher than that as far as savings. And that, I’m not sure, could be significant.

46:10 That’s definitely a full Explanation. Yeah. I mean, at least at the very minimum, the 1.6 is, is, you know, that would, I think that that’s great. I don’t speak for the committee, but I’ll speak for myself. Um, felt that that was a compelling savings mm-hmm. To consider, to consider. And the cost associated with it is significantly smaller than the potential savings. So that’s the decision that we were, that the board our board was faced with. And as are you, Ms. Ms. Ner, if I may, I can say that, um, um, there, there, within the experts, there’s a different differing opinion that, you know, yes. The 1.6 is conservative and it, it could be significantly more. Uh, again, we’re that 1.6 is coming from two different estimators.

46:57 Uh, so the idea is if we were to bid out both one, obviously as an alternate, um, we can come back and say the market has spoken. So it’s not a theoretical estimated savings. It is a savings that is from, you know, a bid document that the market has spoken. So there’s no debate of what the savings could be.

47:23 Very, very smart. Yep. Yep. Okay. Um, Ms. Schackler, what is the, uh, process for which the committee is going to make that decision about when it sits down and look at those? Do you guys have a subcommittee for that, or is the full committee Considering? Well, at this point, um, I just found myself on the facility subcommittee. So, um, the facility subcommittee is gonna meet and, and work on this. And at this point, unless the school committee changes, which it could, um, facility subcommittee will be tasked with, with working with Mike and, And weighing those options And making a recommendation to the school. Okay. For the full school committee, this would be a, I believe it would be a school committee decision. Okay. Based on the recommendation from the subcommittee, then You have to weigh the cost savings against the downsides.

48:09 You know, do we get to, I don’t even know, reinsulate if, with the, if we do the second one versus the membrane, and what do we do with the holes? And there there’ll be different things. Obviously it’s not Just about press. There’s a lot of technical details to discussed. Yeah. Because, uh, like replacing flashing is not necessarily done, um, with the fluid membrane. And, um, again, I would just ask, show me the school buildings in Massachusetts have been done. ‘cause the MSBA has not done it before. They’re, they’re looking into it now, but they, I’m sure, but it’s, it’s a school committee’s decision. I’m sure they’re, We have, if that’s, if you wanted any, you know, help for, from expertise their building commissioner or Thatcher or anybody in town that, you know,

48:56 you’d welcome that feedback. So, yeah. Well, we have one subject matter expert who is not, I don’t know if that person, gentleman is actually on subcommittee. As I understand he’s been Approached about joining the subcommittee. Uh, he expressed interest in doing so. Uh, he is a subject matter expert. He has, he works for a commissioning agent that works for the MSBA. So he close to the MSBA understands their criteria and their requirements. Um, he’s the one who introduced us to the idea of a liquid applied barrier. Uh, you, I think you say it better than I do. Um, fluid, liquid fluid barrier. Uh, he’s, he’s a subject matter expert. He’s a roof and, um, envelope building envelope expert.

49:42 Um, the both our RDA and left field are familiar with him and feel that he’s very reputable. So, uh, they have met with him and, um, we will, we’re hoping that he will join our subcommittee, uh, Or at least it may be even a subcommittee of the subcommittee that, you know, that we have subject matter experts who Yeah. Who are advising on this project does not necessarily mean compelled to cover, you know, the entire scope of the, of that subcommittee. But You can look at Apple Planning Committee too, that just got together, sir. Yeah. And there’s another person in town who’s another subject matter expert who’s, who’s willing to serve in an advisory capacity, not necessarily on like, as a committee member, but advisory. I think we, we want community input. Uh, but we really want it, it from people who

50:29 are experts in this, in this area. ‘cause I certainly am not, um, left field and RDA are, um, you know, and I value their opinion, but, you know, they’re, it helps, it, it the more people help, right? Mm-hmm. I want a full list of pros and cons. I want to be able to, every, we’re going in with this, with full eyes, wide open. Uh, we know what we’re potentially up against on both products. Um, and don’t want any surprises. Five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road.

50:59 Excellent. All good. All right. Well, thank you all. Thank you. I as well, if I could have a motion to approve amendment number one, mechanical rooftop replacement between the town and left field for project management services by increasing the contract amount by $369,937 and amend the contract completion date to December 31st, 2026. And authorized the chair on, on behalf of the board. So moved. Second. All in favor, Favor, Unanimous. Thank you. Also have another motion to approve amendment number one, mechanical rooftop replacement between the town and Raymond Design Associates, Inc. For Designer Services by increasing the contract amount by $752,200, and amend the contract completion date

51:44 to December 31st, 2026. And authorize the chair to sign on behalf of the board. So moved. Second. Second. All in favor, unanimous. Thank you. And good luck. Thank you both. Thanks. Appreciate it. Thank you. As discussed before, right? As discussed forward, we’re gonna put off the ambulance contract until we time to, to final analyze that. Uh, next, uh, we have an MOU with the firefighters, which is discussing uniform allowance. Um, and this is basically because of our ness. And now that we have POS in place, it’s a, it’s a, it’s an ability to pay them up front. Um, so they don’t have to wait to be reimbursed. So, so we, you know, we, we, we had a one year contract with the firefighters where we only did a, uh, 3% call,

52:32 but we had been in negotiations on a number of items, which included uniform allowance. Um, so we hit, uh, as we were rolling over into the muta system, which changes the process of how we were doing POS and such, uh, it has an impact on the individual firefighters or their uniform allowance. So what, what happens, uh, in a issue that comes up mid, mid-contract, um, and it has an impact on the working conditions, it’s vi’s impact bargaining. So they, they brought the issue to us, to the chief. We sat down. Um, so the issue was because there’s a change in the, in the responsibilities and requirements of the individual firefighters in regard to this reimbursement.

53:18 Uh, they asked for that to be readdressed. We had already in the negotiations, had tentative agreements to make changes to the uniform allowance. It just wasn’t part of the one year agreement. ‘cause it was pushed off to, to the negotiations that are upcoming. So the, the agreement here is that we implemented per the, the, the tentative agreement to increase the uniform allowance from 901 to a thousand effective July 1st of this year, and then the 1300 July 1st of next year. So with that, it settles the impact bargaining. We’re all in agreement and our new processes are in place. Great. Great.

54:03 I have a motion to approve the memorandum of understanding between the town and the International Association of Firefighters, A-F-L-C-I-O-C-L-E, local number 2043 as prepared by town councils. So moved. Second. All in favor? Unanimous. We have a few reappointments to do. Um, but I have a motion to accept the following appointments in accordance with town bylaws. Constables for the purpose of serving civil process. Douglas Perry expiring on June, 2026 and an animal inspector, which is temporary. John, our floor expiring June, 2026. Summary. Second. Second. All in favor? Any questions? Any favor?

54:50 All right. Um, next is the minutes of June 11th.

54:57 Did I have a motion to approve the minutes of June 11th, 2025? So I’ll second that. All in favor? Unanim, we have a rotary 5K on November 2nd, 2025. Did anyone here to speak on it? No. Okay. Um, and this starts and finishes at Crocker Park. It’s hosted by the Boston Yacht Club. They usually have about 150 to 200 participants. I could have a motion to approve the request from Nancy Archer Gwynn Rotary Club and Marblehead to hold the annual rotary. 5K on Sunday, November 2nd, 2025 at 11:00 AM Subject to approval from police and fire. Police. Details can require certificate of liability.

55:44 No permanent markings are allowed on the streets and any temporary markings must be removed at the conclusion of the event. All moved. Second. It all in favor? Unanimous. We have a couple three liquor licenses. The first is for the Annunciation House complex. Uh, one day liquor licenses. It looks like there’s actually seven out of ‘em. Ran income July 30th, December 25. This is over two houses that are next to each other. Um, this is something we have approved and past as well. Any questions, comments on it? I could have a motion approve the following application for seven one day liquor licenses from the Annunciation House Complex. That’s what I’m do. Um, Ammas House 22 end across street into Egypt House 12

56:31 Conant Road as follows. July 30th, 2025, 12 noon to 12 midnight. August 6th, 2025, 12 noon to 12 midnight, August 15th, 2025, 12 noon to 12 midnight, September 8th, 2025, 12 noon to 12 midnight. November 1st, 2025, 12 noon to 12 midnight. December 6th, 2025, 12 noon, 12 midnight. December 25th, 2025, 12 noon to 12 midnight. Subject the following conditions, delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of the required fee of $15. Delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority. Proof that the alcohol will be purchased from an authorized source. Proof that the applicant can receive proper delivery, provide proper storage and dispose of all Alco alcohol, alcohol averages purchase. All in accordance with General Law.

57:18 1 38 authorized distributor to, to be determined before liquor is released, alcohol will be purchased from Marble Brewing Company, United Liquors. And Marnet and Seaboard as we uphold. Oh, go Ahead. Sorry. Shall moved. Yeah. Thank you. I’ll Second Vote. Does this in favor? Ms. Newton? In favor, Mr. Grade? In favor, Mr. Fox? In favor. A

57:45 Uh, can I move on to another one day liquor license from Marvel Little Theater? Uh, this is a one day one. If I could have a motion to approve an up case for one day liquor license from the Marblehead Liquor Marble, not Liquor, the Liquor Theater, little Theater as follows, Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM subject to the following conditions, delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of the required fee of $50. Delivery of and receipt by the licensing authority of proof that the alcohol will be purchased from an authorized source. Proof that the applicant can receive proper delivery, provide proper storage and disposal of all alcohol beverages purchased. All in accordance with the requirements of general law. Chapter 1 38, authorized distributor to determined before license is released. Alcohol we purchased from Bent Water Brewery, sub

58:33 Both. Second and Ms. You in favor, Mr. Jr. In favor. Is this in favor, Mr. Fox? In favor? We have another liquor. This seems to be a popular No Problem. So it is summertime. Perfect. So we do a request for package, store license for an application for wine mall beverage package, store license from floors, uh, Mattia on 1 64 Washington Street. Our Margo policies, um, with this are attached. What we were looking to do is to go out and seek applicants is what we do when we receive one. So we would be looking for a motion to hold to look for other applicants and then hold a public hearing.

59:13 So if I could have a motion in accordance for the town of Marvel, its alcohol beverage license policies that the select board through public notice will seek applicants for an available wine and malt beverage package for license and hold a public hearing on all completed applications received So moved in favor.

59:33 And we have contract with Tool Design. This is for the Swamp Spot Rail Trail Engineering. This money, this is a change of, it’s basically shifting from different tasks. Um, we are taking decrease in one task by 49,655 and moving it over to a permitting and also opening up another task for drainage. Um, so it’ll be, it’s no effect in money. Uh, it is all arpa, but it was through, uh, Brenda Callahan got it asked for this so that he basically, he needs the permitting done and, and able to do the drainage. Right. Right. So if we could have a motion to approve the following contract with the town and authorize the chair to sign behalf of the board. Amendment number two for contract number 2024 dash 0 1 4 dash two swamp Scott

1:00:22 Rail Trail Engineering design, phase two between the town and Tool Design corp, group LLC as presented in the scope of work to include Task eight with no cost change. So moved. I’ll second. All in favor and unanimous.

1:00:40 We do also, it’s not in there, but we do have a letter of interest for the conservation commission, which we have an opening for. Um, one, if it makes sense to put out, uh, put out in, put out in sort of interest, um, instead of deadline, if other people wanna apply, if it makes sense. And then we could hold a, uh, put update, put out a notification that, thank you. That for other, that was the big word I was looking for. That’s right. Still stuck on the liquor licenses. Glad to, thank you. Glad to appreciate the cyst. And with, um, some of the movements on the different boards and resignation. Mm-hmm. We, we, we have a number of openings. We do have a number of openings. Kyle has ‘em posted. Um, yep. They’re all posted online. Oh, they are now. Okay. And so as those come in, we’ll do the same process there. So waters and Yep. Fin. Okay. Exactly. Yep.

1:01:26 Those are all been posted once they’re open. Exactly. So this one doesn’t make sense to set a deadline of August 8th. Um, so we’ll set a notification, the letters of interest, and then we can do interviews on August 13th. I don’t think we even need, sounds like a, sounds like a good plan. Yes. All right. Uh, select board announcements. Does anybody have any select board announcements they’d like to do? I, I would like to just again, echo what Thatcher said before with the Board of Health and Andrew Petty. I know that it hasn’t been perfect, but I know Marblehead, we are lucky to have any trash pickup right now and have the place to bring it. Um, so they are doing a great job. And if, and, um, thank you to all the workers up there now. They’re working hard in near capacity. Um, and, you know, if people can help out others,

1:02:11 if you have not been picked up, I know that you can email Andrew Petty and they do have a priority list. Um, so hopefully be patient and this will be done soon. But I think they’re doing a great job in a, in a very difficult situation. They have a strategy. I mean, they have a strategy as they, uh, there, there are days that they can get ahead of the, the pile, and some days they can be none, but they have a strategy for each situation for each day. I think the goal is by this Friday to be picking up Friday. Um, but, you know, it’ll ebb and flow as the conditions change, but they are all hands on deck, um, trying to keep this going. And it appears to me Marblehead is in a better situation and some of the other commun list in this situation.

1:02:57 My understanding from the code red today is that there, you know, there has been an, an offer put out to the teamsters from our public, so we’ll just, we’ll, Andrew, it’s done a great job keeping everyone up to speed. Yeah. And I know that they have multiple people manning the phones, so, you know, you can reach out to ‘em and we won’t people from other departments to help or how’s that breaking? Yeah, I mean, the effort we’ve done is, you know, Andrew has had to pull all of his people and, you know, be at the transfer station and wherever else to get it done. So our support has been to backfill when we, as much as we can in the office to take the phone calls. Uh, ‘cause everybody’s calling and asking. So, so, um, folks from different departments, uh, I, I have to shout out to, um, uh, Lisa Hooper, uh,

1:03:44 the council on agent who’s, who’s provided, uh, the staffing. I’m not sure if others to plug that hole. Right. So, um, we’re all trying to help where we can. And Do we, do we have a, uh, a schedule of of code reads or notifications that can keep folks Across? Yeah, he seems to, or, or reminders that They should be going on every day. Right. Yeah. I think his battle rhythm is at the end of each day is to put out a code record with updates. Perfect. Because situation changes on a daily basis. Yeah. So that’s, If people aren’t receiving those, you can sign up online on our website for Code Red. I would encourage you to do that. I’d also like to commend the clerk’s office for doing such a good job on a, um, an unexpected election. Definitely during a, a, a tough time. I know they were short staffed, but they pulled it off.

1:04:30 Yeah. So they did a good job as well. All right. With that, if we have a motion to ador Well, oh, sorry. Yeah. So say, um, sorry about that. Send a letter of like appreciation and gratitude to the festival that our Yeah, that’d be great. The Committee For sure. I think that’s a, that’s a great way to underscore that. Uh, they did an amazing, yeah, they did. Yeah. There you go. Great idea. So moved. We have second. Second. All in favor. Thank you. Ready to do Ajour. Now I motion to return. So, so, second? Second. All all in favor. Thank you. Good night. Hey Kim, I, I know you should pray.