Select Board: August 26, 2026

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 this call. announce this meeting is in record. We’ll open up the public comment if somebody wants to speak. Hey, John. Good evening. Good evening. I’m really concerned, South Essex, or I’m talking about other cities and towns, there’s going to be substantial work being done over there. I didn’t know this drain thing was going on. I hope we have the proper people. I think you should get a subcommittee, because we have a lot of people leaving the town and stuff, and I’m going to be paying these bills after they leave town. And I made light of this several months ago that we were going to get a surprise, well, we haven’t got the surprise yet. But I’m talking to other city councils and stuff in other towns, and they’re really, really concerned about it. So the other things, I’m just curious with the cemetery. I see that the cemetery department, that’s going to be retiring. I’m just curious if we’re looking at that job to see if we can utilize the next person as not just the cemetery. I really think we need a full-time public works director. I believe about 60 people pass on a year. I think by statute we have to have some person running that place. But they’re not doing the job that used to be done up there. The place is deplorable, like the roads, the walls out in front are falling apart.

1:33 Well, take a walk from there. Nothing against the person who works there, but we’re paying full-time people. We have all these department heads, and we didn’t give them money for years, and we plugged in a full-time salary, and out of it, because then I’m paying for all this stuff. So I think we need to utilize our employees. We have to look, things have changed over the years, and we don’t need more department heads. We got to utilize the department heads that we have. Every other city and town on the North Shore, the public works department’s running the trash. My suggestion is that we hire a public works director, and they take care of the trash and the roads. Create the two jobs into one. That’s what other cities and towns are doing that are doing those type of services. I’m concerned, I don’t know if the engineer is here. Down at the bottom of Evans Road, the gas company, I believe, dug up the sidewalk at the corner of Home Street like a month ago, just torn it up, so every day I have to walk in the street. How long are these people, these contractors, allowed to block the road, not do any work in Marblehead? If they tear up a road, it should be fixed in a few days. School’s going to be opening. Okay? And I just really, really hope. I didn’t know you were starting early tonight. I wouldn’t be down here. I thought like 10:30, but I got game room.

3:06 I spoke against this article at town meeting. I was the only one. This has already been brought up. Amy McCune tried to do a little surprise, then people don’t know what’s going to come up yet. And I’ll tell you, I work for the sewer department, I work for the water department. I’m very familiar. There’s a lot of these drains that runs through people’s yards that need culverts, and they need substantial work. So be very, very careful when you start looking around. We don’t really have to look around. They have a whole list of places. And so it’s a whole list of places 20 years ago that needed work. So you’re going to open up a can of worms here. I’m just telling you, be cautious because a lot of these people that live in Marblehead aren’t going to be able to live here anymore. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jordan. Anybody else like to speak? No. Anyone online? I don’t see anything. Okay. All right. With that, we will move on to town manager update. Matthew? Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Three items real quick. First, Pleasant Street Complete Streets funding request that we have submitted to the state. Request for a million dollars funding for complete streets. This is for Pleasant Street between Balling Road, Smith Street intersection, and Devereux Terrace. Again, that was a priority area identified. We’ve had two tragedies there in that area.

4:39 So the update is we’re in the hopper with the state, so hopefully we are awarded and we can move forward. We’ve talked about this before, Marblehead Alerts. This is our new mass notification system. We’ve labeled it Marblehead Alerts. And we have reached over 1,000 subscribers. And again, we went off the code red system. We had those challenges, and it took a lot of work with the chief and our Maggie, our engineers, doing a lot of database work to get us back up to the database. What we need are residents who have not done so to go on our website and re-register, so that we know in the database that we have the current contact information that we need, so that they can receive all the pertinent alerts. So we’re going to just keep pumping this message out to capture as many people. Where does the 1,000 stand compared to how many were registered previously in Code Red? Yeah. Approximately. 12,000 maybe. Yeah, okay. So we’re- Yes. So we have- We captured those, but we’re trying to get new subscribers who we have- But we still have those. We were able to rebuild to that- Yeah. Okay. That’s perfect. So that’s our- Yeah. And so the challenge is, it used to be with these systems, they

6:11 would just work with the telephone companies, grab everybody’s home phone numbers, put it in the database, and we could reach nearly everybody. Hardly anybody uses landlines now and are using cell phones and other means, so we don’t have the ability that we used to, to easily capture. So we just keep putting the message out, putting the message out for folks that they have to initiate the action to come in and register, so that we can gain that information. So Patrick, quick question. When you’re saying put the message out, where is the message going out? I haven’t seen this. The website. It’s on the page. So it’s, yeah- Is it just on the website or is it anywhere else? There’s a regroup we’re calling Marblehead Alerts, and I think last night at some point we’re going to ask you to accept the logo. Maggie agreed with the three-way logos that will represent Marblehead Alerts, and I think that’ll go out. Hopefully, soon as we have a mailing through the website. Any means we can to get it out there. We’ll put a vet screen in front of our- Yeah. It’s a marketing thing. Right. Okay. So like the papers maybe can help getting- Yeah … get the word out. Papers- That’s- … reporters. That’s why I put it in here. Okay. Is then we can grab this and run with it. Okay. Thank you. And then finally, which we just spent an hour talking about stormwater catch basin. What I want to emphasize here, we’re continuing the town wide catch basin cleaning

7:43 this thing out. The debris that gets collected, so that water adequately drains out when we have the heavy rains and such. What’s critical for compliance, what’s being measured is at the outfalls is the level of bacteria coming out. And there are limits, and if we exceed them, we, the town, are penalized through the state for that. One of the main causes of that are people using our catch basins and drains to dispose of pet waste. And so we want to emphasize that. There is a Marblehead resident who has learned the hard way with a $50 ticket for dumping into the drain, and they were witnessed. So there are enforcement actions that do happen, and one resident has learned that. So again, part of our information campaign of awareness of don’t use our catch basins to dispose of debris or anything. Because we, all of the town ultimately has to pay for the results of the outfall at the other end. So. Great. Can I ask a quick question? Yeah, maybe absolutely can ask. What is the status of the Chalkham RMP? We have the final draft we sent to legal, so they’re doing the review. And

9:17 hopefully, I ain’t saying a specific date, but we’re trying to hopefully get out in the street next week if the review comes back and looks good. Now, what has to happen is once we’re finalized on the RFP itself, the document, we then have to post it to the central register. So there’s a deadline to file it with the central register, and that’s, I think, Wednesday, which means it first appears the following Tuesday for advertising. And then the plan is, when it hits, the minimum requirement is 30 days. We intend to keep it out for 45 days before the due date for submittals to be returned. Okay. So that’s the general time. So if it comes back in time for legal, and everybody agrees this is good, then we’ll submit to the central register by next Wednesday to be on the street the following Tuesday, because that’s when the central register publishes. Okay, thank you. Well, if I can follow up on that topic, Chair. So my understanding right now… Well, I guess let me ask it this way. Is there a capability in that RFP to carve out a public space? Or is the open space concept going to be left to the responder of the RFP? So- Are you notifying them or- So one of the criteria to evaluate the responses is how much

10:52 open space and what would you do with it. That’s one of the criteria that’s being evaluated. And then if at the end of that process, we do the evaluation, so we have a final proposal that is the best proposal, we then have the ability to sit down with the developer to define or carve out… It’s our option to say if, let’s just say their proposal has X amount of square feet and it’s in the area that is desirable for the town to be open space sources, whatever the- Let’s say some Yeah, a consensus developer. Right. Or open space, we still have that option to- Right. So the purchase, what would happen is purchase and sale agreement would then define what is being transferred to the developer and what is retained by the town. Got it. So that could- So we have control … impact the economics. Does it force a rebid on the remnant? It’d be based on looking at the proposals. Yeah. Oranges to oranges, apples to apples. Yeah. Right. And then if there is a decision to carve out a piece, there’s an adjustment accordingly for them. Yeah. So we would select the final proposal that meets- Yeah … all the criteria. So it’ll have the open space component, it’ll have the value

12:24 component, it’ll have an energy efficiency component. We have all the different criteria. So by design of the process, we have an awardee who optimizes the layout of the whole property to our liking- Yeah … which will include open space. And then as part of finalizing a purchase or sale would be, okay, that portion that’s been identified as open space, we’re going to retain that in the purchase or sale. Designated as open space by the bidder or by the town? Or by the- It’s- Sorry. No, I just– The only basic thing I’m asking is, how long can we do we maintain the optionality or the option- It’s very limited … to do a carve out. It’s very limited. For public use. Till we vote on it. Under town. Yeah. Under town management. Yeah. Definitely. Thanks. All right, thank you. Moving on, Mr. Dalcher, town historian. Thank you for coming. I think you’re going to update us on the 400th anniversary of Marblehead’s founding. Good evening. All right. Good evening. Good evening. Good to see you again. Good to be here again. You need to take a break after the 250th one. Well. You ready? Yeah. I appear tonight as town historian, but more importantly, want to introduce the new director for the Marblehead Museum

13:58 and Historical Society- Excuse me … Mr. Dan Marshall. Hello, everyone. Welcome. Glad I could come tonight and just say hi. So- Thank you. Last name? Dan Marshall. Dan. Great. Welcome. Thank you. And secondly, I became aware that the town is going to celebrate 400 years in 2029. Now, I had the opportunity of working with Jenny Gammage in 1979 when we did the 350th, and my job was just a parade that lasted four and a half hours- … through the town. By the time it finished, the end had not even started yet. Was a fun day. It didn’t rain. In 1999, I worked as co-chair with Judy Jacobi, and we celebrated 350 years of the incorporation of the town. But in 2027, the old town house celebrates an anniversary. More importantly, that 400th anniversary is something that should be started now. My recommendation to the board is that they consider appointing a 400th anniversary committee, chairs. Let the advertisement go out to the

15:31 town. People interested can apply with you and work. It’s interesting because we used a year and a half to plan 33 events, and when Judy and I sat here with the board, the board said, “Great, do anything you want, but we have no money.” Common. So we went out and we raised that money, and by the time we finished, we turned back at town meeting a good amount of money that set up the Marblehead Forever Committee. In anticipation of that, Judy and I had $1,649 put aside as seed money that could be used for the 400. So I pray before you tonight to ask that you would consider that. I had the opportunity of teaching over at Salem State, one class, and the class dealt with planning town-wide celebration. And so I actually put together a format that the new committee could look at or throw away. We’re not throwing away anything you’ve done. Okay. Absolutely not. No. Would it help in advance to set up a donation account? That’s– In the 1991, you established the right that we could receive

17:03 donations and had an account set up. That’s right. So that still exists. Correct? That still exists, that 1649? Hopefully. Yeah. I’m crossing all your- And that was in the year 2000. So the fund doesn’t need to be reestablished. Is that what you’re thinking? Okay. No. We can check. We can check on that, and if- Okay, great … it’s somehow closed out, we’ll- Yeah … find out and do whatever we need to do. Fantastic. Great. Can I answer any more questions for you? It’s exciting. No, thanks. Thanks for being here. Why should we put this- Yeah. What size of the committee do you think is ideal? Say it again. What size of the working group or committee would you think would be a good size for this? Um- There could be a lot of interest in it. So- Once the co-chairs were selected, the board selected a working committee of seven people. Those seven people then went out and recruited the subcommittees, so by the time we finished, we had 100 people working in different- Waves … 33 events. So you had seven, including the co-chairs? That’s correct. Okay. Seems like a reasonable number. I think so. Good working committee. Yep. Yep. And you feel like we should start this yesterday? A year and a half of- Yeah … planning. Yeah. And it’s very close. It sounds like you have a blueprint for it pretty much, right? Yeah. Semi. It’s up to the co-chair. Understood. Okay. Understood. And do you have someone in mind to approach it?

18:37 I do not. I figured the board should open it up to the entire town- Yeah … if people were interested- And then we can go from there … and you make your decision. Yeah. Fine. Do we want to vote to set up an ad hoc committee for the 400th anniversary? Yes. And then what we can do is we can start to advertise for it, and then we can hold, I would assume, interviews. Is that how we would do it? Is that how it’s in the past? Or do we even need to? Just like any committee- Yeah … appointments, just set a- Like the due dates, yeah … date set and a date- So it’s the end of the summer. A lot of people aren’t probably paying attention right now. Why don’t we give it three or four weeks, where people like to get this out there so that people can hear about it- Yeah … if it’s appropriate, and then, the next meeting after that. So maybe the end of September as the due date. Feel appropriate? Sounds good. And then we can have, at our first meeting, interviews at our first meeting in October. Yeah. Excuse me, Simone. So I’ll just, so can we- Do you want to make a motion? Yeah. Go for it. So I’ll move that we establish the 400 anniversary town committee, for the purpose of soliciting volunteers and running the anniversary celebrations and,

20:07 yeah, that’s great. And I’ll second. To be chaired. To consist of seven members, a chair, and a co-chair. Yep. And as the committee wishes to establish further roles. Approved. Since you moved it, I’ll second. Since you seconded, I’ll ask for a vote. All in favor? Thanks, sir. Thank you. And welcome to town. Thank you. Good luck to you- Thank you … forging around. Appreciate it. Great. Welcome. Thank you. Thanks, John. All right. Next up, we have a Green Communities update from Brendan Callahan, as well as our newly hired town planner, Jacinta Williams. Good evening. Good evening. Welcome back. Just one more, Rich. I have to share my screen. Yeah, go ahead and share your screen. Well, that’s not letting me see it either. Where do I…? Oh, here it is. Yeah. Try that again. Try changing the rising application. All right. Sorry. Yeah, is that all good? All good. All right. It’s going. Yeah, good one. You are. All right. How’s it going? Brendan Callahan, director of community development and planning. I’m joined with Jacinta Williams, the town planner. We’re here to present the Green Communities program, I guess. The town has been actively pursuing the Green Communities designation since 2018.

21:38 And over the past two years, we’ve completed several tasks associated with meeting the Green Communities criteria. But more recently, we’ve put these efforts on hold, to focus on the MBTA community zoning bylaw, which we approved at May’s town meeting. The town needed to be compliant with the MBTA zonings bylaw before it could submit a Green Communities designation application. And then, following town meeting over the last few weeks, our department has revived our efforts to pursue Green Communities designation. So tonight, we’ll be presenting a brief presentation which will cover the progress made since 2018, Green Communities criteria and tasks that have been completed, what remains outstanding, what needs to be completed by the town, and the Marblehead Light plant, or Light Department, before submitting the designation application. If possible, and we’ve completed all their type criteria, we will target submitting our Green Communities application this December. Jacinta will walk us through the presentation, and then after the presentation, we’ll open up to the board for questions and discussion. All right. Go ahead. Great. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight’s Green Communities presentation,

23:10 where we will chronicle Marblehead’s sustainability efforts, discuss the Green Communities program, and hopefully provide some clarity and context pertaining to the town’s pursuit of this designation. We’ll look at the history of sustainability in Marblehead and consider the ways Green Communities can be used as a tool to help Marblehead reach its climate action goals. It turns out that Marblehead has been doing a significant amount of work to prioritize climate action for almost a decade. It started in January of 2018 when Sustainable Marblehead published its first Greenhouse Gas Inventory report. Later that year, at the 2018 annual town meeting, three articles were adopted pertaining to energy efficiency, and those articles were Article 43, AKA the Stretch Code, which ensured that buildings would adhere to the latest building energy efficiency standards and regulations. Article 44 permitted the code to be enforceable by the building inspector, and Article 45 was Marblehead’s official commitment towards a carbon-free future. And then we had, in fall of 2018, the Green Marblehead Committee was also established. So that gives us an early timeline. And then if we move into November of 2020, the Board of Selectmen enlisted the Green Marblehead Committee to draft a sustainability visioning plan with support

24:43 from MAPC. The result, Marblehead’s Climate Vision Plan proposed setting a community-wide target of net zero carbon emissions by 2040. The plan also identified a list of core strategies the town and its residents should adopt. These included increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, carbon-free electricity, and encouraging alternatives to car travel. So in May of 2023, the Green Marblehead Committee developed the Marblehead Net Zero Roadmap. That roadmap identified steps Marblehead could take to continue working towards a net zero carbon emissions future. And those steps included hiring a sustainability coordinator, which we did, prioritizing Marblehead’s Complete Streets Prioritization plan, which I believe was completed, and allowing energy-efficient upgrades to historic buildings. And lastly, becoming a green community. So you can see the trajectory that this has taken. So if anyone were to ask, “When did this start?” You can easily tell them Marblehead has been chipping away at this since 2018. So why Green Communities? In other words, Marblehead has been a green community without the benefits of the designation for quite some time. And while that might not seem like a big deal, it actually is because we’re actually leaving money on the table. So if you look at the slide that’s before us right now, you’ll see that the grant

26:16 awards to date for neighboring communities, for Swampscott, Peabody, Salem, Beverly, at least everyone here on this list has been receiving grant awards that range in total from half a million to almost $2 million in funding, right? And they’ve been at this, as designated as Green Communities, for over a decade. So unfortunately, we’re at the bottom, and we’re not designated a green community. We’ve done all this really hard work, but we’re not reaping the benefits of what we could be receiving if we were a green community. So a lot of concern has been communicated to our department pertaining to how we can allocate the funding. Where would we put it? What would we use the funding for? Earlier this year, we received three comprehensive building assessments, for three of the schools in Marblehead. Marblehead High, Marblehead Village, and then the Veterans Middle School. So each of these buildings were assessed to determine what could be done to improve their energy efficiency, and we were provided with cost-saving estimates for each of these buildings and the proposed work. Marblehead also has an energy reduction plan. That plan also identifies at least a dozen options worth of projects to improve energy efficiency for the various buildings within the town. All of this means that if we were to pursue any of these projects, it would take us that much closer to achieving the net zero carbon emissions-free policy that we

27:51 have for 2040. Okay, so that being said, what do we do? What does it mean? And what happens next, right? So this is where we are in our process. Community development and planning has been reactivating the process, if we will. The Green Communities process requires towns to meet six criteria in order to submit their application to receive the Green Communities designation. So right now, for criterion one, Marblehead needs to show that we are open and welcoming to the renewable and alternative energy in terms of zoning, which we are. Marblehead meets that requirement. We allow light manufacturing and research by right in the business and unrestricted zoning district. So that’s not an issue. We can check that off our list. For criterion two, Marblehead needs to show that the permitting process will take less than a year, no more than 180 days. And since we don’t have anything in our zoning bylaw that speaks against this, by default, this is something that we do. So the last thing that we need to show is that we have available to us at the time of application, at least 50,000 square feet of vacant space, and that can either be a combination of buildings and land or either building or land, but we just have to identify it, and it has to be vacant at the time of application. They don’t check what happens to it after.

29:21 So for instance, for example, we could use the Vinnin Square site. If that meets the 50,000, we can put that on our application and say, “Here it is.” If somebody develops on it afterwards, that’s fine, but it just has to be at the time of application. Once we figure out what that parcel or building is, we need to obtain a letter from our town’s legal counsel affirming that we meet these requirements. So we’re about, I want to say, 90% of the way there for criteria one and two. So if we look at criterion three, that deals with our 20% reduction in energy usage, right? So, thanks to our efforts of our former sustainability coordinator, Luke and Casey, we’ve actually completed all the requirements for criterion three. We’ve established our baseline, and we’ve adopted the energy reduction plan, so now we just need to focus on how we reduce our energy usage by 20% within five years of implementing that plan. So this is done. We can move on to criterion four, dealing with hybrids and electric vehicles. So we’ve actually adopted the zero emissions vehicle policy. We had the option of adopting two. There was the fuel-efficient vehicle policy and the zero emissions vehicle policy, the latter being the more robust of the two. So we’re well ahead of the game there. And this has been signed off by the school department. It’s been signed off by the town. The school department also adopted the energy

30:52 reduction plan. I forgot to mention that on the previous slide. So again, we have met all of the requirements for three and four. Going back to earlier in the presentation, we talked about the stretch code. That was adopted in 2018. Fantastic. We are on our way. So that leaves us with one thing, and that is the adoption of the renewable energy charge, which is under the jurisdiction of the Marblehead Light board. They need to adopt this, and then they need to sign the MassCEC membership agreement. And once that happens, you take another look at overall where that leaves us. We’re pretty much ready to submit our application, hopefully well before December 31st. I don’t want to wait till December 31st to submit this application. I’d rather do it ahead of time. So if we can identify the parcel, obtain the letter from town council for criteria one and two, and if Marblehead Light board can adopt the renewable energy charge and sign their membership agreement, we’re pretty much well on our way to submitting that application. So that brings us to the end, and hopefully we provided a little bit more clarity. Hopefully, this was helpful and accessible. It was so concise and so- I was going to say, you are my type of person. Love to see. Like you hit it, nailed it. Perfect. Like, wow. Yeah. Great. Just a couple questions or notes about the grants.

32:23 So I think in the first year, we get approximately $150,000. Is that correct? Right, the numbers- The numbers- Yeah … I think I’ve seen it at 155 for some people, but in that range. Yep. And then after that, once we use that money, we’re eligible, is that correct, to apply for new grants? Yes. And those grant timelines or eligibility requirements are twice a year that they open them up? I believe so. Okay. And if we could, I was going to introduce Dylan Patel, who is the DOER grant coordinator for the region. Okay. If we can bring him up. Sure, that’d be great. Perfect. How are you doing? Oh, good how are you doing? Good, thank you. Nice to meet you. My job. That’s perfect. So just to essentially correct, once you have completed with your designation grant between 140, 160,000 approximately, that’s based on a demographic formula, you are eligible to apply once a year, either in the fall or in the spring, for $250,000. Some towns can finish that grant early and have a cadence of one year. The vast majority of towns apply every other year because you cannot apply for another grant before you close your current grant. So, but essentially, the town of Marblehead would be eligible for 250,000 up to every year. Do you guys have a set number of dollars that you grant every year and that we’re

33:57 competing always towards it? Your designation grant, once you’ve completed all five of the steps- Okay … that’s your money. Yep. And we give you a list of projects that you are able to spend that money on. Once you have completed that, then yes, you do have to compete with the roughly 300 other Green Communities that might, I would say, about 50 apply at any given round. So you would be in a pool of about 50 competitive grants competing for about $7.5 million per round. Okay. So the list of projects, presumably, is that the town can select from? Do we need to select them in any particular order? That’s one question. The other question is, is there any other requirement for co-funding from the town for any of these projects? I think there is. There’s no requirement to go any order. Okay. There’s also no requirement to actually perform any of the projects that are listed in the energy reduction plan. Yeah. It’s highly recommended. Mm-hmm. But obviously things change. Your facility manager when you do a walk-through might notice different things. Understood, yeah. You are technically, depending on the project, you might not need to provide funding from the town. Some projects are capped prescriptively,

35:28 so we would fund a maximum amount and any difference would either have to be covered from the town. If it’s a project with gas savings, sometimes the National Grid may provide an incentive. And I won’t speak on behalf of Marblehead Light. Some install, some I won’t need to do, some no. There are some projects that we can fund for 250,000, with no community contribution. It happens. It just has to be a very good energy efficiency project or decolonization project. So if we had a project that just doesn’t happen to cost more than 250, right, then there wouldn’t be any… Like, we don’t have to match anything. In other words, it’s a matter of what the grant is. Exactly. There have been examples of that. Yes. I’ll just note that it’s a disbursement basis, so we don’t give you all the money up front. So the town would have to pay the invoices for the project to be done, and then we will disperse on a tranche basis. What would happen with town? We provide 25% up front. Once that 25% is spent and paid for by the town, we disperse 50%. After, once the project is complete, then we release the last 25%. So at the state level, how well-funded is this and for how extensive a period? We’ve had experience of using state programs and the state funding begins to trail off typically after a eight to 10-year window.

37:00 What’s your sense of how well-funded this is? So the program itself is not funded through the taxpayers. It’s funded indirectly through the ratepayers. Okay. It’s through what’s known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Yeah. So I know, I think Marblehead Light is committed to 100% electric, but basically any generation facility within the 13 states that are part of the compact has to pay essentially what is a carbon tax. Okay. And the state of Massachusetts is given a set allocation of that funds. So it’s durable. It’s durable. It has been durable since we’ve been established in 2010. And just a quick question on the membership application agreement. The light board is, or the light department signs it, the town does not sign. Correct, Jessica? Yes. Okay. I don’t have any further questions. Anybody else? No. I guess, it’s on the light department to put this into play. What I see as a benefit here is beyond being efficient, that we save a lot of money moving forward in our operating budget through energy efficiency as well, from a pure financial standpoint. Yeah. That’s certainly the goal. That’s the goal, and that we end up saving a lot more money than the $4 that people are paying in. Well, if the light department is signing up for this, to what extent does it… The question is still remains, to what extent does

38:31 the town side, the town general fund, need to take up these projects and fully fund them? So- Well, I- Or is it something that occurs through the ratepayers on the electricity side? Well, I would think that have you guys prioritized or do… I know you guys have the list of projects in here, but in terms of the priority, in terms of the costing, people get by doing certain projects before other projects. We haven’t sat down and prioritized projects, which is like the energy reduction plan. As you saw, they list like one to three year, like list of projects one to three. So we, again, it’s going to be the funding source that dictate which ones we’re, how we’ll prioritize them going forward. Right. And obviously the schools are the biggest users- Yeah … of electricity in this town. Obviously, much more than we use. And- So it looks like you pick those out first. Mm-hmm. No, I’m sure there’s a strategic way to apply for the grants based on the cost savings expected long term. Correct. Yeah, I think that’s important. Yeah. Yeah. I think we all are aware of the kind of surcharge issue, but just for the public, I think it’s a pretty de minimis charge of what is estimated to be around $4 a year- Correct … that the commission would be responsible to implement. And so it’s, I think it’s like $50,000 around a year. But the opportunity and the return on that investment is, you’re

40:05 talking about $10 to $50,000 a project, so in every other year or when you finish one. So it seems like a good return on the investment, from just the research that I’ve done into it. Plus our future savings on energy costs. Right. That’s the bigger long term. Yeah. But I think what’s important is along with those grants too, or Sam’s point, if there is additional levy that we need to pay to complete the project, that we look at the economics of that- Of that project … and figure out if it works. So these that are on the list are basically capital projects. And so part of the override was built in, a million dollars on town side, half a million on the school side, were capital projects. Interesting. Okay. So the approach would be, right, with that fund, and that’s the leverage. If we had a half a million dollar project on the list, what we could do is apply- Yeah … for up to 350. Right. And then the balance come from our capital funding. Okay. And so basically we would be getting a half a million dollar project minus the money from this fund. From this fund. Okay. All right. And so that’s how we would maximize our dollars to- With the potential return. Right. With the return of accomplishing that particular project- Right … which would have energy savings and whatever else. Right, the operations, yeah, over time. Right. The money we would save. So, again, I think it’s

41:36 so striking to, when you look at Swampscott saving Beverly and Peabody, how much money they have received. That’s huge. Yeah. It’s something- Well, and I personally support, I know that it is up to the light board to make the final step. I feel like we as a town, as a whole benefit and would like to give them our support and as well as our commitment to apply for these grants and to put them to the proper use and to stay diligent about that. I think if you see, my guess is some of these other communities, it’s baked into their national, or into their electric bill. So it’s already there. So a lot of these guys don’t feel like it’s already in there. Right. So it might not be that drive to do it. Where we are adding this on because we are municipal, to me, I think there is a big commitment and on us as a select board, as a town, as community development and town planner to make sure that we utilize that money to its fullest and in response to showing our support to the light board as well as the citizens. Yeah. I just, again, I just reiterate that, I’ve been very, and obviously we’re very supportive of this, but I think we’re very also very focused on kind of the economic impact. And we want to make sure that we’re not developing projects that just add to the tax base without developing a compelling reason. And if it saves money, then I think what we’re done though for it, it’s great.

43:08 Do you need any help with the medical council or the parcel, like that step that you need to finish, like- I think that would be help- It would be nice to have some help, right? Because I only know of a few parcels, and I think we identified one in the business and unrestricted district. So that was at least 56,000. But I think the stipulation is that it has to be vacant, and I’m not sure it’s vacant, so. Right. We’re not, we don’t know the status of the building. Yeah. Okay. So- It has to be vacant. That… Yeah. That’s a Venice work. Correct. Yeah. No, that’s separate from Venice work. So we could probably use that as well, but I just want to have a backup identity just in case. All right. So we’ll figure out a way to help you on that- Thanks … because that’s also an important step. Yeah. The parcel and then the letter from council. Yes. Sure. Thank you. Great. Well, thank you guys too. Yes. Great presentation. Great job. I’m almost- No, the data’s great, and I know- Thank you … those numbers about the number of years of return is an interesting one. To recoup that money is, I would assume you would focus on the ones that you get the quickest return on. Yes. Right? Yeah. There’s some with one, two years, and I would think that you guys would want to see that as well. Yes, and that’s something that we definitely prioritize. The energy efficiency project is something that also has the greatest return for the town of Marblehead, so weatherization, lighting improvements, control systems, variable frequency drives, those save a lot of energy.

44:41 And as I mentioned before, any project that saves natural gas, so weatherization, building control systems, number one, it actually is a big benefit to your occupants, but number two, you will get Mass Save funding as well. That can definitely add to your brand. We certainly have an endless list of improvements to weatherization. We’re a historic town. I did take a look at the website and was able to see how other towns have used the money. It’s a lot of replacement windows, replacement doors, LED lighting and like you said, like the HVAC systems and whatnot. I mean, even renewable vehicles. It’s kind of an endless list of, I mean, really it’s super broad about what we could do as it relates to our capital improvement needs. So to me, it seems like a bit of a… It’s, I’d like to look at all that. I was definitely felt like it’s something that we would take advantage of. I’ll leave it here. I did have one question while I’m thinking about it. There is another tier, if I’m not mistaken, right? Once you become a green community, there’s another tier you can hit? So yes. There is another tier that is available for the town of Marblehead. You’ve already met one of the criteria with your electric vehicle purchasing policy. That’s for climate leaders.

46:12 It’s generally designed for communities that have done a lot of energy efficiency work. However, there are some municipalities that have recently become green communities and are interested in becoming climate leaders. That provides $1 million upfront, non-competitive for electrification and renewable energy projects. And Jacinta had mentioned that one of the goals was to adopt the specialized direction energy code at town meeting. That would also be one of the criteria. And again, it’s optional, but something to think about. Does that increase the contribution that’s required? So you’ll get the $1 million climate leaders funding- Yeah … but your green communities funding would actually be reduced to 125. Got you. Okay. So it makes sense to kind of leverage the green community side- Starting at the town … for some fair time. Yeah. Okay. Great. Thank you all for your great- Thank you for coming. Thank you. Yes, she may. So, you’re– Sorry. Thank you. So I know it’s a bit unusual for us to vote, like a vote of support for another awards, you know, to vote. But I think it’s been approached by a couple of commissioners, and there’s a– It would be much appreciable if we did take a supportive position on it as it’s a de facto partnership, basically, because really the town is the one that

47:45 will reap all the benefits, the financial benefits and- Right … from the infrastructure upgrades, and it is the commissioners that will be implementing a de minimis nominal surcharge. So I just wanted to gauge the public interest in something like a show of support for Marblehead Light commissioners should they choose to do that, that we would avail ourselves, the town would avail itself of the opportunity. Yeah. I think that the only question, obviously, is kind of the optionality and our ability to evaluate discrete projects so that we’re, if we’re committing town resources, that we have an ability not to be mandated to do certain things. So that’s the only question I kind of have. Mandated from? Well, mandated for, you know– If you’re going to put in a full ground source heat pump system for the high school, that’s a huge outlay. Right. And we may, and there’s no– Yeah. It’ll produce savings, but they’re not certain, not enough to kind of get We wouldn’t do a project unless we had the full financing, would be my assumption. Well, I get that. I mean, we go through the budget, if we’re going to have the project- Sure … we’re applying for it, either we get it or we don’t. And then there’s a determination made just like there is for every capital project, that we would- Yeah … we would commit to the remaining funding if financing it necessary. Well, that’s the question. So do we get committed to certain

49:20 funding or do we meet green energy mandates? That’s my only question is that. No. Is there an ability to review any project, and do we have discretion to select? Yeah, we don’t have to state anything. We don’t have to, in theory, we don’t have to. Right. That’s– Yeah, no, they’re not going to tell us we have to do it. No, that’s the end. Well, you never know. If you take a grant, you may. Well, it- Aaron’s question is related to that question. No. I think they’re two different questions. Yeah, I think it’s that. They’re asking if we want to take a vote of support- Yeah … for the project, an official- Oh, yeah … even though we all say we support it. Yes. I mean, it is- I think it’s- There are– It is– They would appreciate that. Okay, so it’s a request from them. So it’s really a request to- Yeah … to charge folks $4. Well, no, that’s up to them. It’s in support of becoming a green community. Yeah. I think that’s it. I mean, I’m all for it. We just need to be careful how we word it. I think we’re in support of green communities, but resetting is the hard part. They just don’t think it’s a small amount. I just don’t want to be stepping on toes. So one, do you want to give a motion for the arranged language that works? Maybe Aaron has. Okay. I do think I have something that- She wrote it … that will make me feel comfortable. I just want to be very meticulous. And I don’t want to prolong the discussion if you feel that that- No, please. Yeah. So I just, I do think something that I think will feel comfortable. So my motion would be that we formally support the Marblehead Light Department

50:50 Commission in taking the remaining steps to apply for the MESSC membership. That seems pretty simple. That’s fine? Yeah. Do we have a second? Second. All in favor? Unanimous. All right. Thank you. All right, moving on. Thank you, Ms. Noonan. Looks like we have two things. Let’s talk about the alternative pathway to hybrid hiring practices. Good evening. Evening.

51:31 Thank you for coming. Hey, Jacob. Long time no see. How is everybody? Great. Thank you. TF5, yeah. We raced fall. It’s been a great week. Okay. Even for LeapFrog Smart, the kids are seriously something. Yeah. Is there an age limit? I believe seventh and eighth graders. Small. Seventh, no, sixth and seventh. I was going to say, like, what was that movie where you go back to school? But no, I’m saying- They are outstanding. All right. Floor is yours. So I did, and was much more eloquent in the letter that I presented. But civil service over the years has struggled with having lists for smaller communities to rely on to hire police officers and firemen. So I’m only talking about the police officers. And so what we’ve seen in the last 10 years or so is that the number of people that are interested in the job has diminished, and that has an effect in many ways. It makes the job more competitive. It makes us more competitive with other communities. And so civil service has tried to allow for communities to stay within civil service, while at the same time creating these alternative pathways or these local registers for people to apply on. And so the select board for the police department is the hiring

53:04 authority. And so this request that I’m asking for is to ask the Department of Human Resources for the state to entertain the town of Marblehead entering into this alternate pathway hybrid hiring practice. And what that entails is, I already have a policy created. If the select board does allow for this practice, it will allow me to submit to the state a policy on how we would go and hire from this local register. So the policy is very specific to eliminating nepotism, to fairness, to equity, to a process of taking an applicant, following civil service rules and guidelines, and being fair and just in how that we would hire. So, it is something that’s relatively new, and it could happen within the last year. Many communities around us have gone to the hybrid pathway. And so it is, I think, an area for us to be able to open up our applicant pool, while at the same time not getting out of civil service. This is only for initial hires. This isn’t for promotions. And a little bit more specific about how the state agreement would be if we entered in is they would allow us to hire half of our

54:36 hires over the course of five years through this alternative pathway. So right now, if I call a list, which I do, and I have a candidate that I’ll likely present at the next meeting that is 90% through- I request a list through you. We request a list. I say we have two applicants, they give me a list. I think Marblehead had 12 people that took the test in town. That’s it. And so immediately, we put out 41 letters for two positions. Of the 41, 12 were local Marblehead residents, the rest were the veterans. We got eight responses, meaning eight people signed it and said we might accept it. And we only got two applications that were completed and submitted. So 41 names go out, two applications, thankfully. In a couple of weeks, I’ll likely be presenting one of them as an outstanding candidate. But that still leaves us one short. You’ve heard me say many times, the process is about a year from the time we start to get them on the street. And so, I’m really gearing towards the end of October academy. And so having only one of the two that we originally asked for is problematic in our hiring pattern, right? And so, this may, in fact, if we called for two, and I asked for a local register on one of the positions and then

56:07 the traditional list on the second, I would’ve been able to, at the same time, and taking applications from individuals that aren’t necessarily on a civil service list but have the qualifications. They could be from another community, that want to hire or apply directly to us. They could be somebody with an out-of-state equivalent post certification for police officers that might be considered, right? So it allows for me to pick from that pool as well. And I say me, it means for me to pull into the process and then recommend to all of you, because you’re the hiring authority. If I can just follow up with you. Yeah. How are the local register populated with candidates generally? I mean- So advertising, right? So, thankfully this is about a year in, so many other communities have gone through this process. And so I’ve been talking to other agencies, other chiefs that have done this. And so a lot of it is advertising in terms of whether it’s posting on our website, posting on through the social media, going to career fairs, going to, right, all of these different things. We would get out a request- This is kind of a regional effort then to- Yes … to do that. Yeah. I mean, so it ends up being more regionalization. So there’s another part of civil service that we could go sideways on that allows us to actually open up a regular list to other outside candidates who are not in that. But it does open it up to more candidates. Because we do get people sometimes that perhaps are eligible for a Massachusetts

57:38 equivalent certification that can’t be considered because they’re not a resident in town, they’re not high on the list, and I can’t get to them. And so this would open up those pools of people that would perhaps do it. And if they’re already certified in Massachusetts as a police officer, this would be a pathway to get them into the system much quicker. Not send them to the academy. Recommend to you that we put someone, they would do an FTO program, abbreviated one, likely with the department, and then go on the road. So, it’s something that communities have been pretty successful for. So Salem’s had a lot of success with it. I’ve talked to their chief, and another local community, not local, but Stoneham also has recently hired some through this alternative pathway. So, then they’ve gotten candidates. That’s the word that I have. So they would not have taken civil service tests at all? No, you don’t have to. Nope. So this pathway allows you to not take the civil service. Okay. So this would be more akin if we were hiring someone, say, DPW. There wouldn’t be a test and all this other stuff. Then, right. A general employee, et cetera. Yeah. Yeah, except for the qualifications or requirements, and the people that we would be likely hiring are going to have everything already in play. So yes, it would be. It is similar. It’s like an HR. It would create another HR function for me, which is fine.

59:11 But it would be similar to the hiring of just a regular employee. And the state is very specific about it. You can’t go over the 50%, so they do a review after five years, and they say, “How did you do? You hired 20 people. You got 10 on the hybrid alternative path. You did 10 traditionals. That’s exactly where we want to be.” You cannot go over and hire 12 on the alternative local register and eight through civil service. They’ll- And as soon as they’re hired, they’re in the civil service system though? Yes. Yep, same sort of protections. Yes. Protection. Yep. And that’s why you have to submit a policy to them that’s acceptable because they’re saying, “This is a practice that we agree with in hiring.” Okay. And, so we will enter– You will get all of whatever the civil service rights that you’re afforded to. By the way, for a new police officer, it’s something limited. It’s not like a union protection. Civil service rights are a little bit– It’s about fairness and process. We can go sideways on that, but it’s about fairness and process. It’s not about the union itself. Is there any downside? There isn’t. There’s no like- There isn’t because if we said, “You know what? We have three candidates coming up. And boy, we did a good job recruiting and 30 people from Marblehead took the test. And then we just asked for the next three candidates to come from the traditional civil services.” I don’t anticipate that happening. 30-something years ago when I applied, Marblehead was my second one as a patrol

1:00:42 officer. I took the test, I was 25th in the city of Salem to start, and I was 25th in Marblehead, which meant there was, in 1994, about 20 people that took the civil service police exam in Marblehead. So we’re not fast-forwarding. We’re down to about 12. It’s the candidates as a benefit, right? Yes. And it- If you don’t like it, you don’t- You don’t- You stay within civil service. Yeah. If it- It opens up another tool there. Yes. If it becomes too burdensome, if it does not create the candidates that we’re looking for, which I do think it will- Yeah … then you just choose to go and hire off the regular list. Yeah. Like Swansea paced its civil service. They did. Yep. Yeah. This is different. This is different, right? I believe. I did not believe. No. So, yeah. So for several years the civil service has been scrutinized. It feels draconian at times. And it’s– I mean, it fell on flexibility in the process. It’s great for many reasons, but it’s very limiting, in terms of choice, local choice. So this is great. I didn’t know that they had… I believe you brought it to our attention. I wasn’t aware that they had evolved a little bit on that, so. They’ve heard the towns. They know that they’re clunky and slow, and they know that it can be limiting. In smaller communities that have 12 people, 10 people taking an exam, you really are subjecting yourself now to every other. So the veterans are first on the next run. Yeah. So every veteran that chooses, they can be pulled into our list, but they were

1:02:17 competing now with several other agencies. They’re getting cards from several other agencies. And so you end up really hoping that somebody will choose. But at the end of the day, if you know that they’ve applied and they’re committing to your community, likelihood that if we make an offer that they’re going to take it, that is a big plus of this. Okay. Yeah. Just one more question. So you mentioned that there are policies, and looking at the spread along this entire involved- Yes … which is that something that we’re– Is that something new that, or is this something- No, this is- That we’re- Same … it’s just an articulation. Yep. So we’re basically mirroring what civil service is asking for, for the minimum requirements. Understood. And there’s lots that you have to- So- That if you can immediately be disqualified for, all of these qualifications are the ones. And when done, it gives us the ability to say that you’ve met all the qualifications. We know that you’re going to either have been post certified by coming from another community, or likely going to be certified, and it really does move us a little bit faster in terms of how it goes. And I have had several times over the last five-plus years, officers from other communities that want to come in, but you can’t. And the answer isn’t to throw out civil service. It’s just you have to take the test. You have to move here. This alleviates a little bit of that.

1:03:48 It’s not a big issue for us, but the geography was a problem for some of our towns out in the rest of Boston with the location requirements. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And again, it’s so competitive. Like it’s weird, everybody is– It’s changed- People go to a town, a department for three to five years, and they leave now. Never happened before. Interesting. Chase and I, you would have to have your head examined if you were leaving the community that you started with. It is no longer the case, unfortunately. Correct. And it doesn’t mean the quality is worse. It just means that our younger generation has a little bit different opinion on commitment and loyalty. Great. Well, with that, if I could have a motion to authorize the police department to work with the Massachusetts Human Resources Division to evaluate and pursue the necessary agreement for participation in civil service hybrid hiring program, and establishment of a Marblehead local public safety registry. So moved. Second. All in favor? Great. And I think we have one other item from the Marblehead Neck Association. Looks like they want to make a donation in the amount of $4,764 to the town to purchase a speed feedback sign. Yes. Great. No problem. Yeah. Thank you to them. If I could have a motion to accept the donation of Marblehead Neck Association amount of $4,764 as a gift to the town to purchase a speed feedback sign to install along the Marblehead Neck, location to be determined based on traffic data and citizen feedback.

1:05:19 So moved. Second. All favor? Thanks, Chief. Yeah. Thanks. Have a good night. You too. We’ll go from one chief to another. Jason. Well, you go from one chief to a town administrator. Yeah. True. A chief. You just passed it off. Fine. Wait. Sorry. You have to kind of leave that again. All right. Sorry. So, town administrator. Yeah, so no, that’s fine. So we’re talking about civil service hirings to civil service promotions. So, the appointing authority on the fire side is the fire chief. And, so we have two captain positions that are available. There was promotion exams in April, and the results were published just this month, August 3rd. We had two members take the test, and we have two positions to fill. However, one of the members who took the test for promotion is a direct family member of the chief, and therefore that’s a conflict of interest. And he’s the appointing authority, so what we’re asking the board to do is really two actions, is to acknowledge or disclose that the chief is disclosing that there is a conflict of interest in his making the appointments to fill the captain position because there’s a direct family member involved.

1:06:53 And then second, to appoint me as the appointing authority for these promotions, keeping the chief out of the process. Sounds straightforward. If I could have a motion to accept the letter of disclosure from Chief Gilliland as it relates to a potential conflict of interest and a reason to establish a promotional eligibility list for the rank of captain in the Marblehead Fire Department. So moved. Second. All in favor? And if we could have a motion to appoint Patrick Kezer, town administrator, to conduct the promotional process for appointing a new captain from the recently established civil service eligibility list for the rank of captain. So moved. Second. All in favor? Great. Moving on. Also, I’m not sure if you want to talk about the 9/11 memorial, or I can talk about it. You wrote a letter to us. Yeah. Whatever. So it looks great. It looks like the annual, but however, this is the 25th anniversary. So same as we usually do. Obviously, it’s the 25th year- Yep … so we’ll grab it. Yeah. Just because same format going. Fair. Obviously, we’ll have to share the place at Wreath again, like we did last year. Sure. If any of you on the 25th would like to make it down, we’ll give you a schedule. Great, and that starts at 10:00 a.m. at Memorial Park. Memorial Park. Great. Thanks. It’s a wonderful tradition. Agreed. It’s a great honor. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Looks like we have some consent to agenda items.

1:08:24 Motion to approve the following consent to agenda items subject to usual rules raised. Minutes of April 8th and April 22nd of 2022. So moved. Second. All in favor? We also have a new contract between the town of Marblehead Marine Construction for the removal of floats, both town and contracts that will be paid for by private people for hauling their floats as well. Ours is obviously to approve a contract. Marblehead Marine just went out for a bid through procurement, received a couple bids. This was the best bid, and it will be a continuation. So if I could have a motion to approve contract 27-F01 between the town of Marblehead Marine Construction, Inc., as presented, and authorize Chair to sign the agreement. So moved. Second. All in favor? We’ve got a one-day liquor license for Shaken & Served at Lee Mansion. It’s pretty straightforward. I’d like a motion to approve the application for a one-day liquor license from Shaken & Served on October 3rd from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Lee Mansion at 161 Washington Street, 6:00 p.m. Which did we get here? Okay, so we’ll go with that. So at Washington Street, subject to the following conditions. Delivery and receipt by the licensing authority of the required fee. Delivery and receipt by the licensing authority of proof that the alcohol will be purchased from an authorized source. Proof that the applicant can receive a proper delivery, proper storage, and

1:09:57 disposal of all alcoholic beverages purchased all in accordance with GLC 138. Alcohol will be purchased from Cappy’s Supporting Distribution. So moved. Second. See pull vote. Ms. Fonte. In favor. Mr. Zisson. In favor. Ms. Newbis. In favor. Mr. Gray. In favor. Mr. Potter. In favor. And last on our agenda, we do have a letter of interest for TSAC, the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee. Given what we just talked about before with this, I think that we should just leave this open for a little while as well, given the time of year. Yep. So maybe we just leave this open for now. Schedule it next time for us. We’ll notify you. We do send people super that. Yes. The post in this deadline of- September 4th. September 4th. I think the due date for the- For finalization. For finalization. Yeah. September 4th. We said that a while ago. Yeah, September 4th. I mean, if you guys want to, we could leave it just open-ended if, yeah, if the guy wants to that, given the other things that we have going on with those other two committees. Okay. Yep. Any announcements? Public announcements? With that, I would ask for a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. All in favor? All right. Thank you all.