Town Council - Regular Meeting

1st, 2025, and this is a regular meeting of the town council with one public comment period. Chapter two of the acts of 2025 extended through June 30th, 2027, the ability of public bodies to meet in a fully remote or hybrid manner. The this law allows us to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the council physically present at the meeting location. However, 10 of us are actually in the town room tonight. This meeting is accessible in real time by Zoom, by phone, and is a live broadcast on Ammerst Media Channel 9 and live stream. Please be advised that this meeting is being held in person and that the remote access option is provided as a courtesy only. In the event of technology issues with the remote connection, the meeting will continue in person as scheduled as long as there is a quorum of the council in the room or available by technological means to continue the meeting. Given that we have a quorum of the council present, I'm calling the meeting to order at 6:32. I'll call upon each counselor by the name they have indicated they would like to be addressed. At that time, please unmute your mic, say present, and then mute your mic again. Um, Pat D'Angelus, present. Anna Delin Gothier,

present. Councelor Etay, not yet. Okay. Lynn Griezmer is present. Councelor Hanaki, present. Bob Hegner, present. Councelor Lord is joining us, but later. C. Uh, Pam Rooney here. Councelor Ryan present. Kathy Shane here. Andy Steinberg present. Jennifer Tob here. Councelor Walker here.

Thank you. Um there's no chat room for this meeting. If counselors have technical issues, please let Athena and me know. To make a public com to make a comment or ask a question, please click the raised hand button. Um, and please make sure that if you are here for public comment that you sign up with Athena. Later on, I'll be asking the audience if there's anybody who wants to make public comment, but not yet. Um, I'd like to extend a special welcome to Girl Scout Troop 65231. Some of them are in the town room with us and some of them are on Zoom. Uh this is the second part of a two-part orientation to local government specifically about the town of Ammerst. It's part of their democracy for junior badge. And yesterday this eight girl troop and their chaperones met with vice President George Ryan, Angela Mills, who's executive assistant to the town manager and community participation officers and myself in this room. We conducted a mock council meeting and toured the building and had snacks. I especially want to thank Angela Mills for her inspiring presentation about the town of Ammerst and our government. Um in terms of announcements, we have two more council meetings this term. Uh one is on December 8th and the other is on December 15th. Both are at 6:30. And I want to note that the public hearing on the VFW property has been scheduled for December 8th at 7 o'clock uh p.m. We needed to make sure we had sufficient notice for that. There are other count committee meetings coming up uh in the next couple in the next week or so. And

I also want to mention that we do the Mary Maple lighting on this Friday from 3 to 6 PM right outside the building and on the town comment. There is no hearing tonight. Uh and we're now going to move to general public comment. Anyone wishing to make general public comment who is in the town room, make sure that you've signed up with Athena who's over here. If you're on Zoom and you would like to make public comment, please raise your hand at this time. Okay, Athena one one. Thank you. Uh there are no known on Zoom. So um let me just say public comments are on matters within the jurisdiction of the town council. Residents are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes. The council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during general public comment. Public comments are not reflective of the opinions of the town council. Please come forward, Jennifer.

Hi, I'm Jennifer Shia, chair of the Ammer School Committee. I had requested 10 minutes on your agenda tonight to deliver the school committee's annual report as I am aware past chairs have done. However, I was told there isn't enough room in your agenda tonight, so you get to listen to me for three minutes instead as a public comment. I want to start by acknowledging the significant progress our district has made this year. Ammerst is one of only a small number of districts statewide that has returned to precoid MCCAST scores in both English language arts and mathematics. While we still have learning gaps, our students and educators have achieved demonstrable academic recovery. This success reflects targeted instructional support, strong family engagement, and the sustained commitment of our educators. It's a major accomplishment and one that deserves recognition. At the same time, it's important that our community understands the challenges ahead, particularly as we prepare for major structural transitions. There's a common misconception that opening the new elementary school and close closing two existing buildings will produce substantial cost savings. Town officials and members of the public may remember being told this by past superintendent, but it's time to let go of that line of thinking. In reality, the district is moving from three schools to two only in the most superficial sense. Functionally, we are moving from three buildings to three buildings. Crocker Farm, the new K- through5 school, and the sixth grade program relocating to the middle school building. Each school requires full staffing, administration, and student services. Because our operational needs remain the same and in some cases are increasing, there will not be meaningful financial savings from these building changes. We will still need to support growing numbers of students with disabilities, bolster social emotional learning, and support a diverse population that requires targeted supports. None of these obligations diminish simply because walls and roofs shift. In addition, the district along with the town is feeling

the pressure created by inflation. Transportation, utilities, health insurance, and essential services are all more expensive. These rising costs are unavoidable and will require continued partnership between the school committee and the town council to navigate in a way that best serves our students and our school community. Finally, the coming years will demand extensive coordination as we open the new school and transition sixth graders to the middle school building. These changes are designed to strengthen long-term educational quality, but the path there will require clarity, communication, and sustained community support. In closing, I want to emphasize that Ammerst Elementary Schools have made real academic progress and we are positioned for a strong future. But that future depends on realistic expectations both about what our schools have achieved and what they will need to maintain highquality equitable education for all students. Thank you and thank for your time and for your continued partnership on behalf of Ammerst Elementary Schools.

Thank you, Jennifer. And I want to note that the uh written report is in your packet along with the written report from the regional schools which is not a requirement and also from the library. I noticed that we have a few people from the trustees here and also from the um Oliver you can get I want to get it right from the Oliver Smith will elector. We are still anticipating reports from the housing authority and the board of license commissioners. Um we are going to now uh we have no consent agenda and we have no resolutions or proclamations. So we're going to move to the state of the town address and Paul Bleman and I have each prepared a part of that. And you're ready.

Who was that? This is the seventh annual state of the town address. Next slide. It's required by the charter that both the town manager and I will make a brief presentation and the slides will be placed in the packet. Next slide. Our 13 member council includes three at large members and 10 district counselors, two for each of five districts. Next slide. And our council works hard. In the past year, we've held 31 meetings. I think that's a new record, unfortunately. We're members of four and there are four standing council committees and two townwide committees. In addition to that, district councils hold district councils hold at least two district meetings each and sometimes more. And we've held eight public forums and eight hearings. Next, councilors also serve on building committees responding to emails, more than we can count, and they have passed 25 resolutions, proclamations, and citations. Next slide. Sometimes there's a few things that are out of the ordinary. For example, we do in addition to regular meetings, we often testify before the state legislature. Several counselors have done that as well myself. This year we meet, we've met with the school committee and this year we've begun actually discussing budgets in advance of budgets being presented. Three counselors serve on statewide mass municipal committees. Andy Steinberg, Mandy Joe Hanige, and myself.

And we provide some civic education to, for example, the eight the eight um fourth graders um that are with us tonight from the Girl Scout troop. And then a group of us also were part of talking to the eighth graders at the middle school. Next slide. Two of our biggest events this year, we're cutting the ribbons for North Common, the Center Centennial Water Plant. Next, we established three policy goals and three management goals for the town manager and will complete our evaluation of his performance on those goals before the end of this year. We've adopted or in the process of finishing the adoption of four actual bylaw changes. Two that deal with zoning and the others that deal with accessory dwellings and inclus and public urination and defecation quality of life issues. The only policy we've dealt with this year is one that we're still working on and that is a change to our public way policy and it's related also to the potential adoption of transportation and parking commission and the appointment of that committee. We'll be dealing with that at our next meeting next Monday. And we have to ask that the next council that will be sworn in on July January 5th to continue work on additional bylaws, regulations, and policy including waste hauler, solar and solar and battery storage, street lights, charter revisions, uh resident oversight board, and human rights bylaw. Our major capital projects are actually in good good shape and something we're very proud of. The new elementary school will open this coming

fall on the old Fort River site. A renovation expanded library will open soon after that. The renovations to the Bang Center begin to show our commitment to our seniors. And although we will soon appoint a Department of Public Works building committee, we still have to address our fire and EMS building and staffing needs and our roads and sidewalks. We have made some improvements in the area of public spaces and look forward to more progress in the future, including looking at speed limits in other parts of town. Our commitment to affordable housing uh remains strong with our sights set on Belchuretown Road East Street School project and the deed restricted home ownership opportunity provided by the Ball Lane development. And we hope to see forward movement on the development of the VFW site to create housing and permanent shelter. All of this takes sound fiscal guidance and we are in fact the fiscal stewards. We look at our financial guidelines to put some specifics about the guidance the council provided last year to ensure the town is financially stable and has ready reserves. I think it's a strength of this council and something the public will want to hear that their elected officials are paying attention to the bottom line. In the area of racial equity and social justice, we've made some pro project pro progress, but we still face challenges in this area and we'll continue to look at things like the resident oversight board, the appointment of an of the uh Amoris Black reparations committee who will look at the HR recommendations and the human rights vital.

We've refiled and have actually attended hearings on three special acts before the legislature. Rank choice voting, the fee on transfer of property, and extending voting rights to lawful permanent residents for municipal elections. To do those, we work very closely with Senator Cmerford and Representative Mindy DM. And at the same time, we watch legislation that they are proposing. Some of those specifically relate to an act creating a municipal and public safety building authority which would help us with DPW and fiery EMS building school formulas for instance chapter 70 and rural school charter schools and special education pilot legislation and as I mentioned before rank choice voting. Our future holds many challenges and we look forward to welcoming uh new counselors on January 5th and saying goodbye to some existing counselors as we h as we have those and we want to have those and we have those we want to thank for their work this year. First of all, the very dedicated counselors, including those who will finish their service this term, Pat D'Angelus, Becca Ete, Bob Hegner, and Andy Steinberg. Our town manager, Paul Bachman, known across the state as one of the best. And our extraordinarily talented staff. One way that you know your staff is talented is people keep borrowing them or just blurring them away somehow. We want to thank Athena O'Keefe for her ongoing work as clerk of the town council and we want to thank the members of the 44 number has greatly increased boards, committees and commissions that bring

their expertise to help solve town issues and Amoris Media for their support the town council and finance committee. And lastly, our residents. You're why we are here and our goal is to continue to help Ambers thrive and remain a town that you want to live in. Thank you. Did I do it, Paul? He had challenged me whether I'd make five my five minutes or not. Good. So some of this will be you'll hear si similar themes in my presentation. So this year as Lynn mentioned we had a lot of groundbreings topping off ceremonies and ribbon cutings. These are the outward manifestations of very real progress after years of planning and difficult decisions. And while we celebrate these milestones with with great pride they're no ceremonies for our day-to-day work like tonight possibly when our DPW workers are out at 4 a.m. plowing snow or treating icy roads. or when our town clerk is making sure our elections are held fairly or when our IT department is on their computer monitors warding off dozens of cyber attacks daily, which is true, or when our teachers are delivering lessons, reviewing homework, and preparing for the next day's classes. I salute my colleagues and thank them for their work. The recent devastating fire on Olympia Drive revealed the quality of our employees, how they work together, how our leaders led, and how we as a community rely on each other for our safety and security. It was impressive to see from the composed professionalism of our dispatchers fielding dozens of calls simultaneously to the immediate response by our police and fire departments to the incredible bravery of our firefighters entering the building under hazardous conditions to ensure everyone was out safely. the steady leadership of our fire chief and the assistant chiefs. The communication with our building commissioner and

superintendent of public works making critical decisions with imperfect information and the ready response by 32 neighboring communities to come to our aid. It was remarkable and exemplified the very best of public service and the spirit of mutual aid. And so tonight I want to express my gratitude. Next slide. But the question tonight is what is the state of the town? Uh to that qu question I have a resounding answer. The state the state of the town is strong. We are moving forward with purpose and clarity and we are holding true to our values. Over the years, I have aligned the town's budget and the work with the go and the and our work as staff with the goals adopted by the town council. I'm pleased to report that we have accomplished or made significant progress on every one of the town council's major goals as detailed in my self assessment. Thanks. So, these are the buildings we want to talk about. Our new net zero energy school is under construction and on schedule despite the need to overcome a bid protest that created significant delays in getting started. We are on budget and on track for the school to be open for the school year beginning in September 2026. Our Jones Library addition and restoration overcame multiple challenges including the clawback of a million dollars by the federal government but gained final approval, permitting and funding and construction is well underway. This project is also on budget and on schedule. The town's $15.8 million investment will produce a building project valued at $46 million. We will soon have a new track in two fields available to our student athletes and to the general public at the regional high school. And if you haven't been by, please go by and see how beautiful this facility is. It's not open to the public yet, but we're hoping we working hard to get it open. A lesser publicized project is the completion of the town Centennial Water Treatment Facility. We now have a brand new state-of-the-art facility that delivers clean water to supplement our current reservoirs and wells that protects this water resource for decades

to come. And to many, no project has been more transformational than the renovation of the North Common. The results of this bold project have exceeded all expectations. This welcome, fully accessible green space is a magnet for gathering, ceremonies, protests, and impromptu performances. It gives me such pleasure to see families, young people, um, everyone enjoying the visitors enjoying the center of town in the ways that we had not seen previously. And I think we all agree that last winter was rough on our roads. They were exploding with potholes and we couldn't fill them fast enough. I heard your comments and complaints and we are determined to do better. Our roads are a high priority and need greater investment and town residents need better response. We will present a financing plan to the town council early in the new year to address this over multiple years and but this summer we did see a lot of work done on roads. We paved the main intersection downtown as a a complimentary piece of the north common. We also paved South Pleasant Street, College Street, Pomeroy Lane, West Bay Road, Southeast Street, and the North Pleasant Street sidewalk. And we began began construction on the AM street university drive roundabout which we worked with the university and secured a $ 1.9 million mass works grant from the state to make sure this project got started and this will this work will extend into the new year. Next amoris is one of the first communities to achieve the climate leader designation from the state and so we have have made a lot of progress on our climate action efforts as well. So being a climate leader is the first one which opens up additional uh grant opportunities for the town. We we implemented the stat this new stretch energy specialized code which was adopted by the town council in 2024 and the valley green energy community choice aggregation launched in the last year. Residents may choose the electricity supplier for its program for its programs participants. More than 60% of Ammeris electricity accounts are signed up for which which provide choice for

residents who want more renewable energy content near electricity. Rates are currently locked in until November of 2026. And we installed two fast charged EV electric vehicle stations in the North Pleasant Street parking lot, the municipal lot behind CVS. This project was funded with state funding and the town sustainability capital funds. The facilities department converted its entire fleet to electric vehicles and the police department expanded its fleet of electric vehicles by adding a full EV vehicle for the parking enforcement division. And the fire department is utilizing anti- idling technology to operate their vehicles without using the main engine when they're when they're parked outside a call. Next slide. The town has never retreated from our commitment to social justice and has never wavered in our support for initiatives to make Ammerst a more caring, equitable community. even in the face of a relent relentless attacks from portions of the federal government. It was just a year ago that I joined the police chief, superintendent of schools and DEI director in making a clear statement of our intention not to cooperate with ICE in its operations in Ammerst. Nevertheless, that threat remains. The town achieved a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign 2025 municipal equality index, illustrating the town's support of LGBTQ plus residents and visitors. The town council approved a new charge for the commission for persons with disabilities and is reviewing the creation of a resident oversight board and revisions to the human rights bylaw. The town's DEI department has established clear goals in its strategic plan to ensure that town governance, operations, and community engagement are grounded in fairness, respect, and belonging for all residents. Crest is one of a handful of unarmed response departments that are still operational in the state and the only department that is located in public safety and independent of the police department. We have redoubled our efforts to to support young people in Ammerst. The DEI crest recreation police and school departments have been working

together to provide edited resources. I'm especially proud of the incredible success of morning movement and mentoring program that engages students in grades seven and nine with preschool activities. Yes, kids are voluntarily coming to school extra early on and on Saturdays to take part in sports, weightlifting, and walking to and engaged with mentors who provide academic support. This fall, 62 60 students were registered. About one half received IEP or section 504 support in school. About one half are eligible for free lunch. This program and the companion rise weekend program support students as they attempt to navigate the complex intersection of race, leadership, and community engagement. The need for housing of all types is a goal of the town council. The housing production plan defines a suite of strategies the town can consider and affirms housing goals the town should aspire to. The goals of the housing production plan are laudable. Create more diverse and inclusive housing types for all residents, especially seniors, families, students in the workforce. Streamline housing development by reducing regulatory barriers and promote the missing middle housing. And this is uh you will believe this is on your agenda for tonight. And we also for actual development, we have actual projects under construction is the Ammeris community homes project in North Ammeris. It's a 40B cluster development building 30 units that are designed for firsttime income eligible homeowners who will in with incomes between 80 and 100% of the a annual medium in income. This project has received an investment of $ 1.5 million in CPA and housing trust funds from the state and $8 million from the state's Commonwealth builder and it's really in designed for program. It's a program to help homeowners gain equity. We expect to open the units in February of 2027. So as you think about affordable housing, you have to things are things under construction, things

that are in the pipeline. So in the pipeline, we have developing a dual site project comprising 78 units, 31 units at the former East Street School, which is right across from the Fort River School, and 47 units at 70 Belturetown Road. Of these 78 units, 68 will be permanently affordable, and the Wayfinders aims to complete this project by 2028. Also in development is a permanent permanent year-round shelter with transitional housing and supportive services at the former VFW site at 457 Main Street. The next step for this project will be before the council next week when you're as asked to authorize me to seek developer development partners. And in the exploratory phase, there are potential developments at the South Ammer School and Hickory Ridge. We're responsible for a hundred million budget. It's a lot of money, but it isn't enough to meet all of our needs. I'm fierce in ensuring our budgets will always be balanced and our financial standing is never in question. Our f finances are strong because we have made the hard choices to manage our funds wisely. I know people are tired of hearing about our bond rating, but it's the one metric that measures our performance against the performance of every municipality in the country and we excel. The tools of our success are basic. strict budget management, including controlling the number of employees and benefits. Strategically, building our reserves to both take on large projects and to protect the town's operations during economic downturns. Smart debt management, which is crucial now that we have two of our four major capital projects under construction, and financial policies that are a model for other communities. Next slide. But our success as a town is not simply fiscal. I can attest that the town is extremely fortunate to have one of the best management teams in the state. Today, our new planning and economic economic development director Jeff Bag began his duties as do as did our new comproller Tanya Widowak. They joined finance director Sean Mano, fire chief Lindsey Strong, town clerk Amber Martin, and director of senior surface services Lisa Borchetta as leaders new as new leaders

this year. We ask people to next next slide. We ask people to do difficult jobs in the public eye, easily criticized by those who don't understand the challenge of getting things right. A colleague likes to say, "Go hard on the issues and easy on the people." I think it's the attacks much more than the actual content of any disagreement that can make town employees and those engaged in the civic process feel undercut and discouraged. We must all do our part to commit to undertaking this work with an attitude of love and gratitude for one another another even those with whom we disagree. In conclusion, I hope you recognize that town staff and I delivered superior performance to the town in 2025. I thank the town council for the opportunity to serve you and the people of Ammerst.

Thank you, Paul. Um I just again want to note that the school committee um Jennifer Shia has committed submitted the annual report as required. The library trustees have also done so and the Oliver Smith will elector who is Judith Swain who's in our Zoom audience have done so as well. Um we and the regional schools shared their annual report. Uh we are going to move on to action items, but I'd like to take a pause and if any of the Girl Scout troop that is here would like to continue, we're more than glad to have you. But if you'd also like to make your evening shorter and go home, please feel welcome to do so. Okay, we're going to move on to action items, which in this case includes a proposed zoning map change. And um this was uh brought to us sometime in November, referred to the uh planning board and CRC, and is back with us tonight for a first read. There will be no vote. Uh, we'll start with Rob Moira who is the building inspector and Nate Mallaloy. Um, I think may also be with you, but I know who Rob is. And Rob, before we forget, we want to thank you for your service to the town as the interim planning director. Uh, it was uh very nice of you to step in and uh we're looking forward to meeting Jeff Bragg.

Great. Thank you. Thank you for that. Uh, Rob Moore, building commissioner. Uh Athena does have a a very brief uh introduction to this zoning article. Uh I'm going to go ahead and bring that up.

Thank you. Uh this is the uh Main Street BN uh zoning district expansion. Uh next slide, please. Uh this is uh an expansion of just three parcels changing from the general residence the RG to the neighborhood business the BN zoning district. It is a change to the official zoning map only and does not include any additional language uh in the bylaw being proposed. Uh next slide please. Uh this uh ran on a very uh short schedule uh with presentation for referral on October 20th uh went uh immediately to public hearing. Uh the planning board conducted their hearing on November 19th. Uh the next day the CRC held their public hearing. uh both of those in both of those hearings uh the bylaw proposal was recommended for adoption uh following by go review. Uh and I just wanted to note that early on in the development of this idea, the town attorney had reviewed uh this proposal. Uh next slide, please. Uh so we have three affected parcels. Uh this is uh just west of Dickinson Street. Uh the closest to Dickinson Street shown there outlined in blue is 285 uh Main Street. That is a six-unit apartment building. Uh that's a very undersized lot. It is a pre-existing non-conforming uh status uh for that property. uh it could not be built that way today and it has a a lot of lot coverage, a lot of building coverage uh for the size of the lot and was recently rebuilt following a fire and has been updated with all modern systems uh throughout the building and uh the site repaved and in very good condition. Uh the next parcel to the west, the larger parcel in the

middle outlined in blue is uh 257 Main Street, also known as the Ammerst Inn. Uh this is a bed, bed and breakfast. It's an eight room bed and breakfast. Uh it is existing by a special permit that was issued in 1997. Uh it was issued as an owner occupied accessory use permitting four to six guests. Uh so not not rooms but guests in the uh in the bed and breakfast. And uh one one of the major motivators for this change uh because it would actually provide an opportunity to change use from an accessory use to a primary use in and take advantage of all eight uh guest rooms and also uh see improvements to the building systems for fire safety with fire alarm and automatic sprinkler systems. Uh the last parcel included in this proposal to the west is outlined in blue. It's number 229 Main Street. It's an existing uh owner occupied two family dwelling. It uh predates zoning. Does not have any special permits connected to it. Uh and uh none of these parcels uh actually are or owners are actually interested in making any physical changes to the property. Uh and all of them are located in the local historic district. uh and subject to review by the commission for any exterior changes. Uh next slide, please. Uh this is what the zoning map would look like if it were to be adopted. That one parcel of BN that's located currently located on the corner of Dickinson and Maine, 319 to 321 Main Street. It is a uh a building that houses uh three or four commercial businesses, office and personal services. Uh and this proposal if adopted would extend that BN to the west to include those three parcels just

described. Uh that's it. Next slide. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Are there any questions of Rob at this time from the council? Seeing none, I'm going to then ask for um the community resource um committee report. Pam Rooney.

Thank you. The community resource committee, the CRC voted to approve this zoning change uh as recommended or brought to us by the planning department. I think if the map that the building commissioner had at the very end of his presentation shows the parcels that are proposed for change uh in uh in their new zoning um category. Uh they are surrounded by the yellow of the general residence district. So, it's like a finger of new zoning change surrounded by residents. And I think we had a discussion about this that um although there would be a change to the parcels immediately along the street, uh all of these parcels retain their residential character and their residential use and they are very compatible with the proposed zoning change which is neighborhood business. So again, the CRC voted for yes, one absent to approve this. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh and the next report then is from G Anna. G was fascinated by looking at a picture and determining that clear, consistent, and actionable. However, we did do that. Uh after looking at the map, we thought that the map was very clear uh and that this was consistent and actionable. Thank you. I It was just an interesting We were like not used to looking at, you know, grammar and all of that and this was a pretty picture.

Uh let me ask if there's any questions from the council or anything that you feel needs to be further discussed or resolved prior to this coming to you for a vote next week on the 8th. Okay, seeing no questions, then we will uh bring this back up for the second reading and the vote on the ETH. We're going to move to the housing production plan. We're joined also now by Greg Rashane, who is our housing coordinator and um and Nate as well. And I'm going to begin this by placing the following motion on the table and see a second to adopt the housing production plan as submitted by Barrett Consulting. Is there a second?

Second, D'Angelus. Thank you. Uh we're going to now proceed with um any comments, Greg, at this point. Um and uh Nate and if not, we'll go on to the CRC report. Um, sorry, Council Member Gresme, did you were you hoping for some some staff input? No. Anything at all that you need to add at this point? Um, not beyond what's in the document, but I'm happy to answer questions or highlight a few themes if that would be of use, but um uh but I'm also happy to leave it to you and wait till questions. Okay,

Nate, anything at all? No, there's, you know, there's information in the packet and, you know, there's been other information provided online, so I don't have anything to add at this time. Okay. All right. Uh, then community resources committee. Uh, I think Jennifer was actually the person chairing that meeting. So, Jennifer, why don't we turn to you?

Okay. Thank you. Yes. Um, the chair was uh out of town at the October 23rd meeting. Um this was scheduled to be on the agenda before, but because we've had a lot on our plate, it got moved to this meeting. So in the um packet for this evening again is the report of the October 20 uh 3rd community resources committee. The first two items were the proposed mapping change that was just presented to us, the solar bylaw, which we've reviewed at a pre prior council meeting. So, I think what I'll do is just if um if I could read the couple of paragraphs that I wrote up from the report because that will give you the best sort of um summary of the discussion. We had a long discussion at the CRC meeting, but I tried to sum it up uh fairly succinctly. So, we were joined by planners Nate Malloy and Greg Rashine in discussing the housing production plan. Nate explained that the state requires municipalities to submit a housing production plan as a prerequisite to receiving quote safe harbor designation. Through their housing production plans, local municipalities commit to producing a minimum number of affordable units which the state then certifies has been accomplished. Ammerst has already achieved safe harbor design safe harbor designation. In responing to in responding to councelor questions during the CRC meeting, Nate explained if the council adopts the housing production plan for submittal to the state that doesn't require the town to implement every recommendation contained in the plan. The purpose of the housing production plan is to set forth an affordable housing plan including Ammer's commitment to produce a specified

minimum number of affordable units. The council can use the plan as a framework and guide but is not required to accept every recommendation and suggested strategy set forth in the plan. The town retained Barrett Consulting to update and draft a housing production plan. Our initial plan had been um drafted in 2013. The council can vote to adopt the plan as written or vote not to adopt the plan. Nate explained that while the council can propose amendments, minor or major to the draft production housing production plan, the document is authored by Barrett Consulting Group and not the council. the consultants are unlikely to accept more than minor changes to the report. The report um and plan reflects the consultants effort to incorporate and make recommendations based upon the data they collected and community input solicited through public forums and listening sessions. CRC members had an extensive discussion regarding adoption of the housing production plan as it's submitted to the council um with without and we discussed it without any proposed council changes or to recommend edits and changes with four counselors present at the October 23rd meeting. Two counselors express expressed support for recommending that the council adopt the housing production plan as written and submitted by the consultants and two counselors favored adoption with um suggested amendments to the document as currently drafted. Councelor Shane had prepared and submitted suggested changes that appeared in that was were placed in

our packet at the October 23rd meeting. So we had not had a chance the CRC members to review councelor Shane's um suggestions and it was a a fairly extensive very um you know well-crafted um document. uh we didn't have h had didn't have ch a chance to discuss it um those uh comments during prior to the October 23rd meeting. So, we had a long discussion about whether we should wait to vote on um approve, you know, on recommending or not recommending adoption of the housing production plan to the full council until a until our next CRC meeting after we had a chance to read and review councelor Shane's um uh suggestions and analysis. And we decided a motion was made and it was approved to go directly to a vote. So the vote the motion was that we would vote to make a recommendation to the council or not recommend but that we would not delay it to a subsequent CRC meeting after we'd had a chance to review councelor Shane's um packet. So after some discussion, the motion was made and the motion since there were only two counselors present, the motion passed with two the motion to recommend that the council full council adopt the housing production plan. It passed with two counselors voting in favor, one opposed and one abstension. So, Councelor Shane's analysis and recommendation um are in the council packet tonight. I believe they were actually in the packet for a couple of meetings ago um when the housing production plan was on the

council agenda. So, I hope that you've all had a chance to read on Council Shane's recommendations. Um, if I could, I might would like to call on Kathy to, you know, maybe share some of the highlights or a summary of of her comments. Um, and again, we can discuss, well, this is really for you, Lynn, to handle, but we can discuss tonight whether we would like to make any recommendations to the housing production plan or not.

Thank you, Kathy Shane. Thank you, Jennifer, for that uh introduction. Um, those of you who have looked at my comments um realize that it goes on for pages, so I'm going to try to just do a really brief summary highlighting some of the areas that I think deserve consideration for change. What Jennifer didn't mention is that we understood the consultants have finished and that they're not likely to make changes and it's their report. So I do think this would be a report that the council is sending to the state. So it is also our report. So it's worth considering whether we want some changes and some the report. I want to start by saying the data section of this report I think is excellent. It's a wealth of information and it'll serve us well. Hopefully, it will continue to be updated. Um, I just want to focus on what I think happens in the executive summary that misses some of what was in the body of the report and changes the tone. So starting with tone and context, a casual reader of just the executive summary might conclude that Amoris has done little to grow or diversify our housing stock. It's quite slanted compared to what you find in the data section. In fact, I think if we removed the paragraph, copied the paragraph in two places that occurs on page six of the main report and had it be the start of the executive summary, it would change the tone considerably. And I'll just read that paragraph. This is in the report, but it's happens after the executive summary. Ammerst has emerged as a model for progressive housing policy in the region. The town has actively worked to diversify its housing stock, increase affordability through

zoning reform, building capacity, and targeted development initiatives. The town has also embraced partnerships with regional planning bodies, academic institutions, and nonprofit developers to create affordable housing, particularly for low and moderate income households. That is a paragraph in the report that I wish the report would start with. in the executive summary. I think there's an overemphasis on students is my second that could be softened including uh note that UMass itself can invest in public private partnerships on their campus. This is dismissed as not practical even though we know that one has happened and they could do more. Third on affordability. Ammeris is not alone in facing high and rising housing costs. New construction is expensive due to the cost of supplies and also our building codes. The report notes this dynamic in the body of the report, but the executive summary doesn't highlight this finding. In fact, the report seems to assume that somehow if we would increase supply, we would get more affordable rents and homes. The history of infill and load and taller buildings in New York City and other urban areas which have in fact intensified provide vivid examples that housing market density alone does not improve affordability. There are good parts of the report that talk about what that affordability will require subsidies um and probably reducing the number of cost burden will require subsidies. The authors don't make this as clear in the executive summary as I wish they would. Ammeris municipal resources are limited. The data section notes that we're using CPAC. We've already done the maximum on

the search charge of our income tax. A lot goes for housing. The summary does not provide this information nor financial incentives are going to be unlikely given the town is already living with stress budgets. Fourth, the there is little discussion, little to none discussion of infrastructure. When you build housing, you need infrastructure to support denser housing, roads, sidewalks, water, sewer, ambulance, and fire. We just saw with the fire what happens with a very tall building, the amount of water supply, the pumping ability. We need to be thinking of infrastructure when we talk about housing. It's not just you build it and you don't have any other investments. There's a conclusion that somehow we've been falling behind on what's called the missing middle. These are smaller than very large buildings, multi-units. It doesn't note that a major finding in the report is that Amoris has a much higher share of small multi-unit dwellings than the surrounding area. We are a leader. There is a diagram that the authors provide of all the types that would be considered missing middle. Then they don't count our town houses and our condominiums when they're doing their counts. I'm not sure why. They said they're just going to do a subset. They point to slower growth since 1980 than be year before, but it doesn't talk about the years before 1980 go back forever. It's not two similar time. I think they should just delete that sentence. We might all want to focus on missing middle on the missing middle and build it up but it's not missing because we haven't been making progress. And finally in terms of main things I think the target growth is set too high. If we look at what we've been able to do in the last five years which has been remarkable I think it would be reasonable to say if we could

do that well in the next five years. I've also pointed out at a more minor note there's was a survey done of about 344 people bullets are there these little bubbles that float throughout the report and they look like they're major findings from some data source in fact it's just this survey and some of them if you look at the question that were asked I think don't aren't fairly representative and I would just delete two or three of those and I've suggested which ones in my summary So that's what I I just wanted to focus on those higher level. Without some changes, I'm not going to be able to vote to support this report despite the excellent work on data. I think the message we need to be clear about is that this is going to be hard and we have been doing a very good job, but we need to do more and I would encourage us to try to do some significant edits at least in the executive summary. Thank you. Are there other counselor comments? Pat D'Angelus. Okay. Jennifer Tob, you had a comment, please.

Um, you can come back to me. Okay. Pam Rooney.

Thank you. Uh I obviously missed that particular uh CRC meeting on this topic, but uh the points that councelor Shane just made are very much in the same vein that the comments that I sent the planning department back in May. Um, I think if I could I could stop and make a motion to include those those following changes or we could agree to um essentially write a memo to the planning department to to accompany this plan to Boston that I just I think we need to acknowledge that um the the report although really great in some in some instanc stances does make these um con draw these conclusions that aren't exactly accurate.

Bob Hegner. [clears throat]

Yeah, I have a comment and a question. The the comment is I worked for a consulting firm for many many years over 30 years and the attitude of our company was that a product was owned by the client not by us. So I don't know understand why we don't own this. Um we paid for it. It's our report. Um the question I have is um we we've we need to in order to have this plan, we need to commit to developing a certain number of affordable housing units. When does this clock start on that? In other words, do we start from the day we supplied the um the report? Does it start 20 years ago? Does it start 10 years ago? When when does this clock start on that?

Okay. Uh I'm going to um save some questions and we'll come back to Nate and Greg. Uh but meantime, councelor Hani, when we come back to Nate and Greg, I'd like them to discuss and talk to us about um what the planning board's discussion was, what the planning board's vote was, um what the use of a housing production plan is, and um why it needs submitted to the state. Um the planning board has to adopt this too. Any changes we make need to go back to the planning board. If we don't submit something to the state, um my understanding is we might not be eligible for state funding. Um there is a disagreement in CRC which is coming up here at the council as to basically what type of housing we need to build and how dire our housing situation is and how to solve that housing situation. And that is what is showing in the comments that were made in the report and the vote at CRC to recommend this. Um it is clear the council has a very big disagreement on how we address our housing crisis, but we need to admit that we have a housing crisis and that everything in this report will never be agreed upon by everyone on this council. We hired experts to tell us and recommend to us what we need to do. Not everything in there is something I want to do. Not everything in there is something that someone else on CRC wants to do. We have to then talk about what we want to do. But we cannot deny the fact that this report says we have a severe affordability crisis in this

town. making changes because you disagree with how the consultant summarized all of that information and you'd like to see it said one way or another is really just a disagreement about what our housing crisis is. Um, there are things I'd like to see in there, but in the end, the consultant summarized our problems in town pretty well, and I think we need to just adopt this plan as is and move on instead of fighting over the language in this plan, move on to discussing how to actually implement the strategies and choosing which strategies we should as a council be working towards implementing because discussing and fighting and bickering over the specific language in this housing production plan does not move us to getting more housing created. It just delays our ability to actually address the issue. I'm going to pause and actually ask uh if we could go back Nate and Greg to uh report from the planning board.

Sure. So the the planning board reviewed the plan at a few different meetings over its development. So you know they looked at the needs assessment uh and some of it at one point and had some comments and then they looked at it you know in its final draft um you know earlier this year they focused on what they thought were strategies more relevant to the board themselves. So they didn't look at you know they they thought some of the ideas related to land use and certain housing production goals uh they focus on that. So there's, you know, about a dozen strategies and objectives there. They didn't look at the all of it, right? They I think they understood that, you know, the plan puts a lot in there and the town's not obligated to implement every strategy and objective in the plan. And so, you know, they had questions as well about, you know, um, you know, what's the need for this plan? You know, what's the framework if we're already at safe harbor? You know, and they, you know, they generally a lot of questions, but in the end they supported it because they thought it did provide ideas and framework to move forward. And so, you know, if we and it's not specific. So, if we like the idea of, you know, middle missing h, you know, housing, what does that mean? It doesn't give us a density or a number of units per development or per acre. That's something that would be discussed after the fact. And so, I think they thought that, you know, as a general document, it worked. And so, they weren't worried about, you know, changing some of the, you know, the nuance of it. And they realize that the data can be imperfect in terms of how many students are there living off campus, right? really hard to collect that information between the census and other data groups. And so they they didn't really, you know, I think they acknowledged it, but they didn't they didn't necessarily recommend big changes to the the document because of that. They thought that, you know, there was enough there to work with and to have ideas and move different, you know, zoning me measures or financing measures forward. And so they voted to recommend it. Okay. U Thank you. We're going to go

back to comments. Jennifer.

Um, thank you. Yeah. So, one of, um, I realize we don't have to implement all the recommendations in the housing production plan, but they make a very, it comes up many times. They encourage the town to develop more to build more student housing. So, student housing by definition is not affordable. It's barely affordable to students who share expenses. So, I didn't I don't understand why that is is articulated so many times in the report. I could like one request I would have is if where it says that they recommend that the town build they urge us to build more student housing. We could add the three words including on campus. At least it would put that idea out there. And it's not just about a matter of building more missing middle housing to the extent that that's housing with two to four to six to eight units because we as Kathy said we have built a lot of that size housing housing at that scale but unless it's public money unless it's um built to be affordable housing that housing is always priced for students. So that's also we can say you know we need to build more quote missing middle housing but that doesn't mean it's going to be affordable to families our workforce to seniors you know I always think of this a sunset fearing town houses which fit that missing middle definition it is priced for students and that's who is living there. You know there are no three-bedroom units. The two-bedroom units are over $3,000. The fourbedroom units are 42 to $4,500.

So just saying we need to build more housing also, as Kathy said, does not mean it's going to make it more affordable. So my concern was all the emphasis on building student housing without even mentioning that that could also be on campus because again, we know that that's not going to be affordable. And if we are going to change regulations and permitting which I think we should absolutely explore doing it should be which also the report doesn't mention to incentivize building housing that's affordable to the families and our local workforce and our retired community the people that we need to build housing for. So that was my concern about the report. But if we could again a add the words where we they recommend student housing be built additional student housing. If we could add the words including on campus that would be helpful for me and I'm in I was very interested to hear what Bob said that the consultant does the report but then it belongs to the client. So I think that's something you know so I don't know where I know where it came from but has it been verified that the council cannot recommend changes because we change every document that comes to us including documents that are recommended by the planning board. We the council can still make changes. That's my com.

Thank you. Uh Pat D'Angelos.

Thank you. Um there's a simple question that a friend shared with me over coffee at Kushman Market. Um does the housing production plan meet the state requirements that will allow the town to be eligible for grants? The answer to that question is yes. The planning department supports it. The planning board supports it. What I hear in here is personal opinions about what I like and what I don't like. What I want emphasized and what I don't emphas want emphasized. Those are the things that come out in the nitty-gritty when things are designed and permitted etc. It is not our job to take one counselor's um ego and and I say that u because one of the thing one of the weaknesses of of me as a counselor is when I've let my ego respond for me. We need to get our ego out of this report and get down to the fact that it's very simple report. We do not have to implement any of it. Although there are some excellent ideas in there and we can fight and disagree about what those good ideas are. We have a master plan that was brought up in CRC. We don't follow the master plan. It was created after hours and hours of public input as this report was. But we don't follow the master plan. Mandy and I for several years were working on zoning changes that were

supported by the master plan. Didn't get through planning board. Didn't get through the council. We have to stop wasting time and make this a relatively efficient process. The planning board voted six to zero to adopt. There was a 12-month process of public forums, workshops, group and one-on-one interviews, surveys of hundreds of residents, and now a couple of counselors want to change what's emphasized because they don't like it. That's a waste of our time and our time is precious. Council Ryan So these disagreements and we've heard them before and we'll hear them again about what direction we should go in, what strategies we should adopt, what the problems are, how they can be solved are going to continue and that's a healthy thing. They're not going to be resolved by a housing production plan. Whatever is in it um is not going to resolve those difficulties. They'll be resolved as they should be by this council and by the planning board working with the planning staff as we think our way through what we think would be the best options and strategies to address the housing crisis. I do assume that everyone in this room believes there is a housing crisis, believes there is an affordability crisis. Where we disagree is about what would be the best strategies. What uh Barrett Group has presented us is with a menu of options. And it's like any menu. You look at it and you pick out the items that you think make the most sense. But the assumption isn't that

you're not going to eat everything on the menu. If you go back to the 2015 plan, which I'm sure none of you have read any recently, um it too had all kinds of things in it. How many of those were actually accomplished? Very few. It's aspirational and there are things in it that some of you say, "I don't aspire to that." There are things in it that some of us we say we do aspire to, but the production plan itself is not going to resolve that. We could spend hours trying to edit this document. Even CRC apparently didn't have the stomach to try and do it. And now they're throwing it to us and saying, "Well, why don't you edit it? Why don't you take out this sentence? Why don't you move that? Why don't you do this?" that this just we don't have the time for that and it's not going to produce what you want anyway. Um what we will have to do in time is look at these options and these strategies and make a decision for ourselves about what we think is best and that won't be easy but it'll be done by us and by the planning board working with staff not by Barrett Group and not by a production plan. This plan will allow us to move forward. It will allow us access to badly needed funds, but it will not make decisions. It will not decide strategies. That's something that this body will do.

Pam Mie,

I'd like to make a motion. I'd like to make a motion that that is direct is addresses three very specific things. Um, and then I'll speak to it once I if I could make the motion. Um, I move that we add the the phrase including on campus as suggested by councelor Tab, that we delete the bubbles that were suggested by councelor Shane, and that we move the paragraph from page six to the executive summary that was suggested by councelor Shane. These are very simple things. It would allow me to endorse this document more fully and we might even get a unanimous vote on this document instead of a split vote. That's not part of the motion. Is there a second to the motion?

Second. Can I speak to it? Point of clarification. None of these are specific. Where does the paragraph get moved? Where do the including the campus get added? Page number, paragraph number, all of that needs to be in the motion or else we can't address it. I would agree with that. So, we need an edited a document that shows where the changes would actually exist. Then that would have to probably come back next week to the council. So then in that case, you want to

so that I can be specific because I haven't seen Kathy Shane's text, but it makes a lot of sense. Um, I don't want to take up council time doing the editing as we sit here. Unless there is a specific edited document, I don't see how the council can deal with a motion. If you would like to bring the motion back at a different time, then you can use the that option as a counselor to postpone it to a time specific. Will we be discussing this topic at another meeting?

If you delay it to the next meeting, then it automatically goes on the agenda for the 8th. So, do I just drop this motion and move to move this to a to a second meeting? Athena, please. My suggestion would be that you rule the motion out of order since it's not detailed enough to be a viable motion and then council Rooney can continue on with a different motion. I'm going to move the I'm going to roll the motion out of order and then go ahead and make your next motion.

Okay. I move that we uh table this discussion and this topic until December 8th. Um and I not going to give a specific time. Okay. Is there a second to the motion to table this till December 8th? A second. Okay. Can I have as a point of clarification if you if you may? Um can we do this without a specific time? We didn't make sense to set a time so it gets actually dealt with. I'm sorry. Can we have a specific time? Is that is that

we can have a specific time if we move it to that agenda? It usually is taken up as the first item that actions, right? Okay. Okay. Uh so the motion's been made and seconded to uh postpone this discussion to December 8th. Um is there any discussion on the motion? Point of order. Madam President, I'm sorry. Why are we voting on this? Why isn't it just a motion to postpone to a date certain? Councelor, it is a motion to postpone to a date certain. It is a motion to propose.

So that's not debatable. Correct. It's not votable either. It's just it is votable. is debatable. A motion to postpone to postpone any item if they wish. If they I'm sorry, councelor Ryan, hold on. A motion to postpone is debatable and it is a motion that would be voted on if a counselor were to use their charter right to postpone. That's a different mechanism.

Okay. So, the the motion is to postpone to December 8th. U that is not using the charter uh right to postpone. Okay. Uh, so I'm actually going to uh lower my hand since the debate at this point is on the motion to postpone. Uh, Pam Rooney, did you want to speak to your motion? I think I should take the other option, which is to use my executive right to postpone it to the next meeting.

So, are you withdrawing your first motion? Yeah, don't avoid it because she made her. Okay. I guess the question is would it because there is literally a motion to postpone on the table that if she uses her right to postpone, she's writing to postpone that motion on the table which is the motion to postpone because it wasn't caught on. All right. Rolling my eyes. Athena, you're with you're withdrawing your motion to postpone and you're instead invoking your charter right to postpone. Is that correct?

So moved. That motion is not debatable. Okay. And ends the discussion for this evening. Okay. We're going to um that ends the discussion for this evening on this question. I had a question that wasn't answered which is when does the clock start ticking on when we have to develop

I will ask that that the the response to that question come back for our next meeting. Okay. No, we don't don't want to discuss. Pam, if you have your hand up, you should take your hand down. Okay. Uh we are uh see we're going to flat. Okay. Uh the next item on the agenda is the town manager evaluation. In your packet since Wednesday is a draft of the content. Today I was able to obtain the numbers that allowed me to fill in things like background and method. None of the stuff that I filled in today is kind of debatable, if you will. It's just the background that had to be put in. So, the um mo the debate is really about whether the mo the peasant document which was shared with you on the 26th of November and dated as such is acceptable and if so, we need a motion and a vote. And the motion is to adopt the 2025 town manager performance evaluation as presented in the evaluation memo dated November 26, 2025. Is there a second? Motion dies for lack of a second.

I second. Okay. Are there questions, comments, changes, etc. Councilor Hani, I I guess I don't know what to do. Um, I was quite disappointed to see this draft because I don't think it really addressed some of the concerns that we had talked about last week. Was it two weeks ago? I don't even know when it was. Um, two weeks ago,

you know. So, so in reading this, there seem to be sentences that aren't complete. You know, it in that sense, it's not even like to me a a document that is complete. We got a draft before, you know, in the packet that didn't even have sections that I know you just addressed. Um, yeah.

And expected us to read that that wasn't even full. And then we get midday today that draft. But you know um things like in the in the summary evaluation statement only talks about um strengths and areas for improvements and the only area for improvement in the summary that's listed is communication um when there were others in the document that could have been summarized uh that weren't listed there. um the the analysis while slightly modified is still not actually accurate particularly with section A um regarding the unfinished or not not started section because it's missing two things particularly providing training regarding racial equity was really put in as a as an unfinished yet it's still listed as um met or partially met. Um so I don't even know to to propose motions to amend would take forever, right? Um, you know, with this motion on the table, there are sections of the big paragraph that was edited to other action items, received a mix of ratings with town counselors stating that the town man manager met or expected progress was made or partially met or partial progress was made in the following 2025 goal sub goal areas without even recognizing that in many of those areas, counselors also rated him as unfinished. um particularly in I count 1 2 3 four five six sections um that really had equal unfinished ratings as met or expected ratings yet that's ignored and that's something we talked about last

week. So as the motion stands I can't vote for it. um yet I don't want to sit here amending it further because there's too many amendments that I would need to be able to vote for it. So one option is that sorry one other and the appendices aren't even referenced properly in this like they are just referenced wrong they're labeled wrong compared to what the document says they are you know it's just even basic stuff like that

then I would suggest that we take this and people use another round of uh opportunity to send me edits. Okay, I will bring it back on the 8th if I receive them by Wednesday. Okay. So, are you using your charter right to postpone? There's literally a motion on the floor.

I'm using my charter right to postpone. Okay.

Sorry, that was postponed to the 8th. Yes. It's okay. All right, we're going to take a 10-minut break and when we come back, we'll start the discussion on the town manager goals with Anna Develin Gothier. And also, there was a mention of a form and that has been since sent to you, but it's not in the packet. Yeah. Okay. Uh, we will reconvene at 8:02.

We still have two minutes. As you return, please turn your video back on. Thank you. Turn your video back on. What? Okay, we're going to continue. We're moving on to town manager goals. Uh, Anna, this was the discussion at G and I turn it over to you for the

Thank you. conversation.

I was going to make a joke about postponing, but I'm I'm not even going to make the joke. Okay. So I when the meeting started, I sent an email to councilors um that included the full list of action items that were proposed by town counselors and which G had discussed and consolidated those that were very very similar. For a reference point, we came in at 60 action items. That's too many. I'm just going to say it right off the bat. That's too many. Uh so what I sent out is a uh form that is going to be the process by which we try to figure out what the priority areas are within each goal area. I wanted to explain how this form worked because I think it's a little confusing and every time I tried to type it out, I wasn't sure it made sense.

Councelor Hani, you have your hand up, Mandy. Okay.

All right. So I know, but now I'm anticipating you having issues. All right. So, um, here's how it works. The each goal area is a different, uh, is a different section of the form. I want you to think about going into each goal area with 10 points to distribute. You can distribute these amongst the action items as you see fit. So, for example, in administration and leadership, if I cared so deeply and more than anything else in administration and leadership about developing a formal onboarding process, I'm going to give all 10 of my points to number two and then I'm going to give zero to the rest of them because I only have 10 points to give. If I cared, you know, a little bit about three of them or four of them, I'm going to distribute my 10 points in that way. So, I might do two, two, three, and three. That's 10. So you are going to go through for each of the goal areas. So you've got administration and leadership, climate action, community health, safety and social justice, housing and economic development, infrastructure management, maint maintenance and land stewardship, and town gown partnerships and strategic relationships. Each of those goal areas, you get 10 points to to prioritize within. Um I'm asking for a really quick turnaround on this and I know that. Uh, so I'm asking that you are able to complete this by 6 pm tomorrow so that go can discuss and look at which areas are coming out as priority at our meeting at 6:30. I did say tomorrow. Yep. 6 p.m. tomorrow. Um, our meeting's on Wednesday. You can have until Wednesday at 6 p.m. But I'm going to say tomorrow and then I'm going to remind you again. Okay. Thank you for reminding me that our meeting is Wednesday. Um, so yeah, Wednesday at 6 PM. What even is this week? Um, I'd love to hear any questions that folks have, but at this point, just

so people know why I chose this particular method of prioritization. Uh, when we go through and just rank order, everybody rank orders something different and they all get moved forward. If people pick a top three, everybody picks a different top three, they all move forward. While this method feels a little bit brutal, it should shake out the high priority areas and it allows people to emphasize this is my number one fully versus I care about these two equally versus I care about these three. Right? So, it it is forcing a decision and I know that's uncomfortable and I appreciate everyone navigating that discomfort, but this system should allow us to understand our priorities a little bit clearer than just a one two three ranking. All right. and I'm happy to take any questions that folks have.

Okay, Councelor Heni,

just some a few. Um, the biggest one I have is in housing and economic development. You combined two goals into one that are completely different in my mind. So, how do I I mean, can they be separated before we take this? even though then I'd split my rankings but you know at this point but you know you there was there was a go combined um supporting economic development and the reduction of time for housing affordable housing sort of into one goal when I see them as two completely separate goals yet in the combined document it was one and so one of the things I was hoping is that that might get decombined and I don't know with this if it could be decombined before anyone takes the survey Okay. Um cuz cuz I don't think they're the same.

Yeah. So So I'm happy to to un untangle the two of them. Um just to for the reference of the council, the three that we sort of combined into one. The first one read proposed revisions to zoning bylaws and regulations that shorten the time and lower the costs of permitting new housing construction that will be designed and priced for members of the local workforce, families, and seniors. The second read, propose revision to the zoning bylaws that would reduce the cost of developing permitting and building housing on parcels in Ammeris to increase missing middle housing development potential. And the third read proposed revisions to zoning bylaws to increase and support economic development throughout the town. Um I am I don't mind splitting those out. I think if that makes if that clarifies if if go misunderstood, I'm happy to split those out. Uh and and folks can choose.

The request is to split out the economic development one from the other two. the the combining of the other two is fine but economic development I think should be split out. Um and then I guess the other question with this is sometimes there were the same goal listed under two or three different policy areas. Um you know I think I saw master plan in a couple of policy areas. I think I saw the shelter maybe in a couple of policy areas. I I'm not so master plan was definitely in both infrastructure management and maintenance and housing and economic development.

Um and there seemed to be a couple of some in infrastructure that were very similar and not combined. So how how is that going to work on this survey if they're that similar or near identical? So the master plan, yes, you're absolutely right, is in two areas and I'll delete it from one. That's a good note. Um and again, thank you. Jo has had one meeting to to do this. So I appreciate you finding these. Um I will I will remove master plan from um likely from housing and economic development and keep it in infrastructure.

It was housing before. So it's housing. Yeah. Thank you. Um, all right. And then can you please tell me what the conclusion was there?

I'm still coming to it. We're going to remove the master plan. The the action item is begin work on adopting a new master plan within the time required by the charter and I'm going to remove it from the infrastructure management maintenance and land stewardship and keep it in housing and economic development. It accidentally appeared in both places. And Mandy, um, the other there was one other one that gives the illusion of being in two places, but I did want to clarify. Waste, you didn't say this one, but just before folks see it, wastewater treatment appears in infrastructure management, but also in town gown partnerships, but they're asking for two different things. And so go discussed keeping it in each of them because the one under town gown talks about waste management specifically with approaching UMass to to discuss it. Um, did you say that there was another that you had noticed other than master plan

or I'm trying to find it again because I didn't like totally note. I thought there was something with the south school campus that I noticed that one and I I caught that one before the same goal area. Yep. I I caught that one. And you'll notice in the survey it's just one, but thank you. Um, I see Pat's hand up. Yeah. Uh, are you going to send a amended copy of this for us to do for Wednesday at 6? I Yeah. So, I'm going to update the this form that's up on the oop, that was just Sorry, that was just up on the screen. I will amend with these changes and I will update the the Excel sheet and put that

may have caused a problem because I was going through it and then somehow or other I submitted my response which I will delete it and let you do another. Um, okay. Are there any other questions about how this will function? And yeah, I'm sorry, Lyan.

So, we're still applying this um sort of criteria of something that's an action that we think the town manager can do in the coming year. Uh it may actually be something that's going to take more than one year, but it's something in the coming year that we're expecting him to work on or to do. And if something is doesn't and it should have some specificity. So sometimes some of these read as sort of just generalized statements of aspiration which are wonderful but it'd be difficult to see how you could evaluate somebody on that in the coming year.

So are those the kind of criteria you want us to be using or do you you just want to let us do our own thing here?

A little bit of both. If if I hear me out. I would like you to do your own thing in terms of prioritizing, but know that GO will be drilling down on Wednesday to seek that specificity. And so we'll be following up if the items that are prioritized are are really broad and impossible to know what success basically the question is what does success look like at the end of the next year. And if we can't answer that question, we'll reach back out to the person that proposed that and ask for more clarity and we will try to expand it out and tease that out. Did that answer your question? Okay, Kathy Shane.

Okay. Um, my questions a little bit like Mandy's, um, but a different slant. Infrastructure when I counted up, if I counted right, had 22 items in it. And I thought several of them look like housing andor economic development. So when I'm using your rating system, I'm may want some of those to be important, but but they're in the wrong category as far as So So what do I do with that? You would tell me right now that you think they're which ones you think are in the wrong category, and I think we as a council can move them to the other category. If you feel that if if that seems to be the general,

I'll give you I'll give you some examples and then then you can tell me why you have them where they do. So, uh, starting to think about the Wildwood property or moving faster on the Southeast School or, um, so turning coming up with a plan on, uh, Hickory Ridge for H to me, they all are potentially housing projects and they're sitting under infrastructure.

I think that because they have not been it has not been a decision has not been made as to whether they will be housing projects. They are currently infrastructure projects. If the council decides, hang on, Kathy. If the council decides that they are deemed usable only for housing and that that's the priority, then they would be a housing goal. But right now, that would be predetermining them as a housing project when they have not been determined to be that. Okay. But so then I think of them. Okay. So making sure we have adequate roads. Um I think as part of economic development. So I I like the infrastructure. The roads are wrong with them. I just think that there's 22 of them. I

I understand that, but we can't shoehorn out. People submitted these these action items. We're not going to shoehorn them into another goal area. Roads are infrastructure. We're not going to put roads under economic development. I understand how roads support our economic development. The notion that infrastructure is not economic development is one of the things I'm finding very odd. I think infrastructure is part of economic development. You can't develop without infrastructure. I don't I don't distinguish and you know I just don't think you can have economic development without infrastructure.

But in that argument Kathy everything is everything right because climate action also applies to all of these things as well. So at some point we've just become so amorphous it's not different Kathy respectfully climate action applies to infrastructure and housing and uh safety as well. Everything is going to cross over to another area.

I will stop I will stop this. I' I've hit a wall. Thanks. Okay. Um Pam Rooney. Question. What format is most usable for you and go to to get our answers? Uh it was sent as a Microsoft form. So you'll click through and you'll it like gives the Athena. Could you put it up on the Would you mind? So the form is um looks like this. Each action item will have a number under it. And so you just click the number of points that you're allotting to each item um including it might be zero up to 10. Does that make sense? And per section. So per page. Yep. So yes, and and to try to clarify it out, each page should be your reset for your your points. Um, councelor Ryan,

I share Kathy's concern about infrastructure management, maintenance, and land stewardship. [clears throat] And I could see it's going to be very difficult, at least for me, to use out my 10 votes without feeling really uh sort of distressed. And maybe that's just the way it's going to go. But I wonder if there's any logic in in trying to separate that category into two. Infrastructure management uh maintenance and then land stewardship. So land stewardship would be its separate category. I just throw it out as an idea. Maybe it's really won't have any legs but I really think um we have so many um topics here that despite your best efforts of 10 votes, I'll end up having like ones everywhere. Um and maybe that's just the way it will be. Uh so I just throw out as a thought an option if it has any thought with go. I would point out that you do have one infrastructure management maintenance and land stewardship item which has begin negotiations renewal of UMass strategic partnership and I wonder if that couldn't better go under town gown partnership strategic relationships. At least that one could be moved out. Um, that's uh I don't know how to Yeah, they're not numbered, but anyway, if you can find it, it's uh

Yep, I see it.

Yeah, I just wonder if that could be moved to strategic relationships, Tango, and partnerships. I really wonder if we could separate out land stewardship from the other category. So I think the the blunt answer to what you're saying is that's going to be how it is because when we create new cate new goal areas it's an excuse for us to just add more action items and at the end of the day we are trying to reduce the number of action items that we are giving to Paul because we are simply giving him an untenable amount. We give him 37 action items. As a reference point our superintendent of schools has it in her contract that she can have no more than eight goals per year. So just in terms of best practice, in terms of reasonleness of what we're trying to do here, that's not to say he cannot achieve more than the number of action items that we give him, but we really need to cut down on the number of action items and goals that we're giving Paul. And adding in more categories just so we can add, you know, however many more action items is not going to get us there. Um, so and I'm happy to discuss more what the goal areas are. These were pulled from the from what folks submitted. Um, but I think, you know, at the end of the day, we're we're trying to make to give Paul action items that are reasonable. If things are in the wrong categories, that's fine. I will stand behind that any action item is likely to impact more than one goal area. That's how we live in an ecosystem, right? And so, we tried to pick the area it fits in best. Um obviously and I appreciate folks calling out a couple misses but this is where you know when go discussed it we tried to see where most of it fell. Um that doesn't mean that these things will not touch another goal area but again in the examples uh like we discussed before economic development climate action these are things that are deeply impacted by other decisions we make. So you can argue it both ways but we tried to look at where most of that action item fell. Uh, and that's where

it landed. And I appreciate folks finding the ones where we missed. Okay. Councelor Walker,

um, is there a plan for how you all will read this information? I think I understand what you want me to do, and I'm okay with that, but I'm wondering specifically because some goal areas have more action items than others, and so is there a number you're looking for? So there isn't necessarily a set number because like you said some of these have more than others. So what we're what I'm hoping to see is I mean in a perfect world there'd be some sort of clear delineation right like there'd be some sort of point spread that makes it very obvious where most of the priority is. Generally speaking, I think that go is going to need to look at where the mo the highest priority area goal areas, sorry, action items are and see kind of looking holistically what a reasonable number would be. Um, all of these aren't the same size action items. So, we can't just say like three per area because you might have three tiny ones or three massive ones. So, it's a little bit of a we have to look at what comes through. Generally speaking, I think we're gonna look at an ideal of no more than five per goal area. Um, but that's already still too many. So, I think we're kind of going to go in rounds and start to first take out the ones that were much lower on the prioritization scale and then discuss those are coming through. That's an a really messy answer. Basically, I'm saying no, we don't have an exact process. It kind of depends on how this shakes out.

Jennifer Sorry, I was having trouble unmuting. Um, yes. So, this would be the time to also if we had just language changes. So, one is I guess the first one under administration of leadership where it says clarify the appointment process to appointed boards and committees. Um so with the town manager appointment process like the goal that I had put um was to make it more transparent which is different than clarify. Now, I don't know if that has to come through the charter review committee as a request, but could that be be or or the word added clarify and increase the transparency?

I can speak to this one specifically because I was the author of the other goal that this was combined with. Uh, and the way that go came to this final language was I had spoken to my constituents at a district meeting and I asked them what transparency looked like when it was operationalized and this was a lot of the response that I got. Generally speaking, I think that transparency is not transparency is not a verb. Um, it's and so we need to figure out what it actually looks like to make something transparent. So, I would encourage uh encourage you if this is not feeling like it would gain transparency in the process by clarifying the the procedure and communicating with applicants, I'd love to hear more specifics about what transparency looks like because I think it looks like different things to so many people and go did have a lot of discussion about that specific word. Um, but I am uncomfortable and I can put it in there if that's what the council wants, but I'm uncomfortable with just saying make it more transparent because that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Um, so I'd love to hear kind of what transparency looks like in practice uh as it as it applies to this process. And that would be that would be helpful in terms of language shifts. So to me it would be to with I guess if if we have to have the applicant's permission for it to be public who's applied for a board or committee and who's been interviewed and then who's been selected. To me that would go a long way towards achieving transparency. Not just seeing the name of who's been selected but knowing who applied. Um so I don't know if we want to discuss that now but I had another um point I wanted to raise with the goals is some of the goals aren't necessarily making something more is not a goal that is time consuming for example um there was

it said town manager to include two counselors in all meetings with UMass and Ammeris College counselors to be nominated by council each term. term that doesn't increase the workload for the town manager. So, how do we

Yes, but if it's critical and important to you, even though it doesn't add that amount of time, I would still mark it as your higher rating. I think that's part of G's discussion uh and kind of what I was getting at when I was talking to councelor Walker of how many items we include. We are going to look at the anticipated time each one will take. So we'll we'll trying to be reasonable in the amount that we give. If that one gets a high priority, it could be included and that that category might have more action items than another.

Okay? Because that would just be part of negotiating the strategic partnership agreements, but you know again is not does not make it more burdensome or time consuming. Oh, I'm sorry. So with that first item with transparency is that do we have to discuss that now or is that something you heard my suggestion and concern that go will take up at their state?

Uh I'm not I'm trying to figure out whether that's something that should go back to go or whether we should look at changing language of a proposed action item. I think I guess the the reason why I'm trying to sit with it, Jennifer, is because I proposed the other um language and I'm uncomfortable with with that suggestion and so I'm trying to figure out what how to how to combine those. Um can I try and work on it and get it to you before the meeting? Yeah. No, I I mean I think I understand where you're going. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Um but you're saying it would be a separate or would it No, no, no. I could just try and work it into what you have there. Uh

because to me that my concern wasn't that the process wasn't clear in but can I suggest Anna that um in this case you might want to leave this one and then add in another one that's more of the around the um kind of goal that Jennifer's getting at and people can then rate them. Okay. Yeah. So, it's not clarifying the appointment process, Jennifer. So, I'm gonna add an action item that says change the appointment process to include listing names of applicants because that is a separate thing, right? Yeah, I'll give you some I'll just shoot you some wording tomorrow and you can decide what to do with it if that's okay.

I'm going to try to get it as soon as possible because I want it to be in the No, I'll do it first thing in the morning. I mean, I'll do it tonight. Okay. Thanks, Kathy. You have your hand up. question. Um, South South School campus, are those the same? It's a good question. I did not write those, but I I think they are. So then it's a duplicate. And to your point on we haven't decided there's housing, we just had a whole meeting showing us three scenarios, all of which were housing. So, I'll just repeat my I think belongs under housing.

I hear you. But anyway, I think it is just one location. I noticed that right before the meeting. They're combined in the in the survey. Okay. Thank you, Councelor Hani. So, I guess I'd like a little more clarification on is this the language that go will present to us when they present the final goals after their meeting on Wednesday or is G going to actually modify potentially some of this language? I'm I'm unsure after your discussion with Jennifer because I look at this and

some of them are just not final wording. It's got, you know, even the one I proposed at one point just has a hey a hey, you know, like so, so are these just concepts almost that we can expect that even if we vote for it, even if the language isn't the greatest or great, you know, that that it will potentially be modified.

Yeah, it will potentially be modified for think of it as a clarity, consistency, actionability modification, right? Like we're when we modify it's to get it into the format of adoption. It's not to change the meaning. And if we accidentally change the meeting, I I know that folks will tell me. Um, but you can expect that go will when we bring it back to the council have it in a form that's all consistent and all actionable. Um, so slight formatting and language changes but not meaning changes is the is the idea. Does that answer your question?

Okay. Um, I want to mention something that I think people need to keep in mind as they look at this. The language in the town manager's contract states the following. Annually, the council and the town manager shall define and generally prioritize in writing the goals and objectives which they determine necessary for the proper operation of the town and the attainment of the council's policy objectives. The goals and performance objectives shall be such shall be such as are reasonably attainable between the date they're set and the end of the fiscal year. And in our case, we use the calendar years and within the annual operating and capital budgets and appropriations approved by the council and the events that have occurred during the year. And I read that because it also then plays directly into the financial guidelines which we're going to be dealing with later. Okay. Reasonable, attainable within the time set and the end of the year and related to the budget. Okay. Are there any other questions or comments? Just briefly, I'm going to have all the edits that we discussed today done by um midnight tonight. So, uh folks can do this any point after that.

Okay. 2 am. Go for it. Thank you.

Um the town meeting town calendar did not get added until late this afternoon or early this evening. Uh if people would prefer, we can wait. I do want to point out that I've um in looking at this calendar I'm trying to find my copy which I know I have someplace in looking at the calendar there's a couple decision points that keep coming up and that is that we treat we keep when we have two meetings one meeting after the other two weeks in a row it tends to be not necessarily the most productive because of committee meetings in between and the burden on staff. So, one of the things that I pointed out on the January 5th, we have a meeting that's the squaring in on January 12th or 26 last year when the council was the same group. We met on the following Monday and we actually had business we needed to work on on if we on the other If we wait till the 26th, by then council committee should have been appointed. They actually could meet for the first time because the president appoints councils committees. Uh but maybe not. So I just wanted to point that out. And then if they if we had a meeting on the 26th, the question is even though the charter suggests that we should always have meetings on the first and the third Mondays, uh do we want to in fact consider separating it to the 9th and the same thing happens when we get to July. The question is whether we hold two meetings or just one. Councelor Hanicki, I know you had a lot of input to this calendar, including another suggestion that you made, which was to

propose a two-year calendar, which I actually like the idea, but didn't put out.

Yeah. Um, I wonder why we do them one year at a time when we're a two-year term. Number one, why we, as this council, are adopting the calendar for the next council's term when it could literally just be proposed and adopted at the first meeting on the 5th. um is another question. Um because we have regular meetings, but obviously we have to move some because of holidays, right? Um so I understand that. So so those are sort of my first two. I think I'd like to see us move to a two-year p calendar. Um and logically it could be adopted the very first meeting of the new council. I don't mind us going through it to give them to make it easy for them to adopt, you know, so that we we discuss it. But but I think they should adopt the the calendar. It's their calendar. It's not ours. Um in terms of the 11 the January, it's it's the 12th or the 26th. The 26th is the Monday after MMA, which makes it I think really hard for with MMA starting on a Thursday. Really hard for our clerk and our staff to have anything in some sense ready for then number one. So I would prefer the 12th. I know two weeks in a row is difficult. Um any new president, you know, if you wait till the 26th. Yes, in theory committees can be adopted can be appointed sometime in the middle of that. But um I think it would be better if committees are are then announced at a meeting and not waiting for the 26th to announce to then potentially wait until midFebruary. I know it to have a first meeting, right? I feel like the late 26th might really delay when the first meetings of these committees are. Um, and I I know in the past it's taken us weeks to to find initial dates.

So, I I would prefer the 12th over the 26th in January um for just logistical reasons even if there's not a lot on that agenda because there may not be there may not be on the 26th either. it's a very first council and there probably won't be committee meetings between then anyway. Um and if it's the 12th then you can actually do a meeting on February 2nd which is our regular council meeting time.

Um July 20th would be the regular council meeting time if we go to your options in July. I think um and I think you put options in July. Yeah, the sixth it and and I have been one that says schedule two in in a month, but it has worked well for the council to have three scheduled in June because you never know if that budget needs to get pushed to that last possible moment almost in June. And so I've looked at that third June meeting as sort of the equivalent of the first July meeting personally um such that I'd take the third Wednesday, the third Monday in July instead of the first one um July 20th. It better spaces out all the meetings and gives everyone a little break after budget season. Um I think that might have been my only comments on this draft of it.

Are there other comments? With those in mind, I'm more than glad to uh prepare this with the same principles, if you will, uh as a two-year calendar and make it available. Councelor Ryan, and what about leaving it for the vote at least for the next council since it's going to be their calendar? Does that make sense? I think we need to at least agree that we're going to meet on June January 5th and January 12th. So the fifth has already been noted and is also the charter required meeting date. So and the 12th would be the next meeting.

That makes sense to me to get January in order. Yeah, that that means we we've set January and then the new council can adopt a calendar for the next point of information. the this council could adopt a calendar and put it on an agenda for an early meeting in January so that the new counselors have an opportunity to propose amendments. It can be changed. You can adopt it and then change it later. It's as we have done as you've done. We've done it as we've gone along.

Is there any objection to that? Then I'll bring a two-year calendar with these principles behind it to the next meeting. Uh financial guidelines is the next issue and this is discussion only. Kathy Shane, you have in your packet a draft of the financial guidelines that the finance committee has discussed. But as I tried to make clear in the report, we didn't vote on this. We went through it by consensus and then um focused on the executive summary and then rounded out the back of it to go with the executive summary. So just want to point out as I did in the memo that went with it some of the things that are new or different from what you've seen in financial guidelines in the past. And to preface this with we are meeting tomorrow at 10 in the morning as a finance committee. So any suggestions, changes, comments that people have would be really useful because we hope to get through it and call it final and vote on it tomorrow. Um, so I'll just I'll just go through them fairly quickly and then we can take questions and I'm going through things that are summarized in the executive summary and then are talked about more in the rest of the report. Um on the general section, we're recommending a multi-year plan for firing EMS staffing. Um and as a starter when you see under the budget is potentially unfreeze one position in FY27 if possible within the budget. So we need some guidance on what was possible and that's you find on both page one and page six. uh for starting

provide equal percentage increases for regional, elementary, municipal and library budgets. Um have the elementary school budget and it this is the way it was presented to us in indicators exclude the one-time bridge funding that we provided last year. But as you'll see later in the report, get as soon as we can a better estimate from the elementary schools on what's going to happen to the sixth grade and that how that affects the overall budget because there has been the assumption as we heard earlier tonight that going from three to two schools would produce savings. So what we don't know yet um is the cost of the sixth grade and the configuration and that's still uncertain. Um second then the other new thing to in this guideline is there exists we found out it already exists a special education stabilization fund and these are funds that can be withdrawn with approval from the school committee and from the council if there is something unusual that happens during the year unanticipated. It currently has a budget um and that's summarized in the report. So what we're recommending in the guidelines is appropriate funds to the extent that existing funds have been used up so replenish them. And again this would be new to this year as a guideline on capital. We had a fairly long discussion about this and came up with wording that is a minimum of 10% and if possible 10.5% of the property tax because we were recognizing that 10.5 is squeezing the operating budgets. And it's going to be very difficult for them to live within the three and a half. And by the way, we had a discussion about three and a half percent on can we really achieve that

because it's a stretch with where our revenues and our finance director said yes. He thought that was a good estimate for the time being. We don't know yet what the uh impact of the fire that destroyed one building that was paying property taxes and another building that was due to be built that won't be opening for anytime soon. So um so we still have conservative estimates on new growth. So this capital is allowing some leeway on it. At the same time um we are recommending and I'm not doing them necessarily in the order that it's related to capital is starting to pull in a capitalization stabilization fund under the assumption that DPW is going to start in the coming year. that fund was built up for these buildings. So, we could be pulling that in on a yearly basis on some sort of schedule to as yet to be determined that would augment the amount of money that went into capital each year out of operating money. Roads and sidewalks ensure sufficient funds for roads and sidewalks in FY27 that meet a plan being developed, but the town manager told us we will be seeing a plan. So we wanted to put a target amount that would count all possible resources including chapter 90 as well as amounts we allocated. So we didn't we didn't do an amount here um because we didn't know what the best target would be but this would be as free cash is certified allocate amount from that but help us meet the yearly goal and I think that is um those are the major new pieces the other that's a process piece is requesting that we come back and revisit the budget by February 15th

early enough to know whether there's an update on the revenue side, but also to hear from the schools, regional and elementary, the town and the library, what it would take to stay within the guidelines. um only at the end of last year fiscal year in May did we hear from the town what it was going to take to live within 4% in terms of freezes and uh we were hearing it from the school but to really get a sense in terms of staffing what does it take we don't know yet what the health insurance increase will be but the forecast is it's not going to be good it's going to be in the 15 to 20% rate so it doesn't leave a lot for salaries increases within in a tight budget. So, those are the highlights. Most of them are in the executive summary. Um, and I'm I'm open it to all the other members of the finance committee if I have gone through this too quickly or missed something that is new, different, or a change from the past.

Okay. Uh, Pam Rooney. Yeah. My question is on page two, the special education fund. Uh, I understand the concept of this. When would it ever not be used up? When would you ever not have to put money into it?

It um the longer version of the report as opposed to my summary has a link Pam to the state provisions on this. This is supposed to be a stabilization fund, not just a source for every year's operating budget. So the notion is and it's something we just experienced that uh three weeks after the school opens suddenly there's a there's a surge in the number of children. So you would be hoping that once you know that's there you build it into the budget. So this would be one-time money that can be brought in as stabilization. So it has uh Sean said it has $244,000 in it and it's never been drawn on so far. So it's it's not that we're expecting it re gets replenished every year and in fact people when they were asking for it weren't sure one existed already and we happened to have a finance director who was there when they set it up so he knew it existed and could find the money but it's it's it's sitting there really as as stated for stabilization. Um I want to build on that question. Uh and that is that when it was originally set up, what was the source of money and does that source of money continue to um be there and is it from the schools? I don't know the answer to that, but I can find it out. It had to come out of the town budget. This is a just it's it's just set up for the elementary school. So there had to be a vote to put money into that length. Um so we can find that out and there is a cap on how much totally you can put in and to get it to pull money out it has to be a vote of the school committee and it has to come to the council for a vote. So I can find that out. I don't know the answer to that.

Okay. I think it's very interesting that you know we this was has been discussed. It was an idea that people here suggested and yet we find out it exists. So it'd be like be interesting to know what the parameters are about around us existence and uh and also how we would f fill in money. Um I want to actually go to the town manager or maybe someone else. Can you uh refresh our memory on when the UMass strategic agreement is um expires if you will? I think I sent the date. Um I think it's 2027.

Okay. I have a TK in the report, but Paul did give it to me. This was our draft was already submitted. Okay. I'll fix that. And uh I just wanted to make sure we knew that because it came up with the goals as well. And you and Ammeris College is what 2028.

It might be concurrent, but I'll double check on that one too. Okay, let's it would be useful for us to know for both of those. Um, uh, that was all my questions for the moment. I actually want to thank this finance committee. This, uh, by the way, this will be, uh, the discussion of the BCG on Wednesday when they meet. George, councelor Ryan. So, I think you've answered one of my questions, which is how a overall revenue increase of 2.6% 6% can lead to a 3.5% increase for all four functional operating areas. Namely, that the finance director thinks we can do it.

Yes, he he did and we pushed him on that. And and George, some of what you have to do is on the top line of the revenues. Uh our revenues now are including the debt debt service exclusion. So if you subtract that out, you get the revenue increase underneath that. But excise taxes and a few of the other lines are coming in strong. So he was he's right

uh come we we pushed a little bit on that you know and as as the other thing is that there is some risk here because it is assuming that the state will be the state funds will be at least at the level they have been and the state is an in an uncertain world right now. So we carried it through as flat with an assumption of no decrease there. Um so that was one of the things that it was said you know we're that's a conservative estimate but not necessarily conservative in the normal way where we're always hoping for more. So my my second question is or just a comment perhaps, but really is a question. Um I was a little surprised to see devise a multi-year plan to improve staffing for fire and EMS. Um I just kind of wondered where that came from. Uh has there been some lengthy discussions in the finance committee about how staffing is inadequate for the fire and EMS? Um I mean I'd like to have staffing improved across the board, but why are we uh focusing on this? you do reference uh a 2017 staffing report which is now I guess eight years old. Um I've always understood that um mutual aid is the key component of our strategy and that's true for many of the towns around us and I think we saw in the recent tragic fire that mutual aid played a really important role. Um so I guess my question is where did that come from? um other than just we've had a recent major fire

came it came from um the public comments we got during the budget uh when we when we had the first discussion of the budget but I think you're right that we need to have a plan that looks at what would be considered adequate in 2017 we never revised it um I asked and it looks like for the first time we will be fully staffed we've had vacancies But right now we're Paul said we're due to fill the last of the the vacancies, you know, that we're will be staffed up. So there's not an assumption right now of how many are needed. Um and we put this in where we would like a report that is assessing that. So yes, and you see it didn't recommend to add X because of that.

Okay, Andy Steinberg.

Yeah, [clears throat] I'm just going to say a cut one or two things about special education stabilization fund. Uh, one is that Northampton does have one and it is very effective from what I've been able to find from conversations with uh our colleagues in Northampton. It is a uh K12 school however uh district which makes it a little bit easier to manage. But what they're essentially doing is what is uh intended which is that In years where there are unusual number of um students going to to very expensive schools um that is part of their special education plan that they can draw on it and then replenish it over time. So that it is something that is drawn on and replenished on a regular basis and has been for some number of years. And uh what I gather from the council is that they have found it to be a very effective planning mechanism for the schools. Second point I was going to make is because we are not in a K12 district. It's going to be a challenge to think about how to do this because we haven't thought about how you deal with a regional district or even find out u and I don't know Kathy if you have found out anything about whether there are provisions for regional uh districts and how they would handle that. So those are the two things I was going to add. Mandy says she can answer that.

So Sean has indicated that the region also has a special education stabilization fund. It's more complicated to access because under the state law um to fund and to access it. It's not just a vote of the regional school committee. It's then a vote of majority of the four towns too. Um I'm I don't know if Sean said that that one has ever been accessed. I'm not sure that one has either. Um but there are there are two existing ones, one for our K6 region and one for the 7 to2 district. Um we did not put the 7 to 12 district in here. And I think part of that is because it's a lot more complicated um than the the K6 district.

It sounds to me like that might be one of those items that we vote when we vote all the other regional items um in the spring. Yeah. The state law says that it needs funding funding these needs voted with their budget as part of the budget. So it has to be done before the end of the fiscal at least that's how the state law says. I don't know whether there's limitations to doing it at other parts of the year. Okay. Uh Anna,

so I I want to get clarification on the one for the region because what I heard before was that that was referencing the excess and deficiency funds which funds functions differently. So if there's a separate awesome okay thank you. Um so I want to appreciate Anna just finish your question John let's get the actual answer.

So the the question and the answer together I wanted to clarify whether Mandy was referencing a separate special education stabilization fund or whether she was referencing the excess and deficiency funds and Mandy nodded that she was referencing a separate stabilization fund that the region has. Um so I appreciated that clarification. I want I want to appreciate the finance committee and Kathy for looking at what we might do to kind of reconsider how we look at these financial guidelines. I appreciate the differences this year. I know I was a pain about these last year and so I I want to make sure I'm understanding the changes fully prior to being a pain this year. Um, it sounds to me that when initially I read this, I was I was ready to be up in arms about the three and a half across the board because I felt and I still feel that this is generally a system that needs to be evaluated with much more scrutiny than we have been using. My understanding, and I want to confirm that with you, is that while 3 and a half% increases are being proposed across the board, we're finding other ways, some of which could be ongoing, to support the needs of our community, specifically our schools. It sounds like with the um contributions to the special education fund and with the other avenues that you're searching for to support the schools, we're able to meet the specific needs that they're have. Maybe not meet, but get closer to meeting the specific needs that they're having. My worry is with one of the things that you talked about with the special ed funds uh and you said building them into the budget after they are used to address an unanticipated need. They might be an unant anticipated need partway through the school year but those students don't leave at the end of the year. So I'm a little confused or concerned about how those will be readily absorbed and if that or if this is just kind of kicking that funding can down the road. So those students have the intense needs in year one, then it's unexpected, but then they're still there in year two and still with those intense

needs. How do we can we use that stabilization fund again if it's not unanticipated or can like can we use it for the full-time they're in the elementary school is my question. Um and my other question is whether finance was able to consult with the schools regional and elementary at all on this. Uh I assume BCG will be discussing it at our meeting this week, but I was just curious if there had been any input or any conversation with the schools throughout this process.

So the answer to the last question is no, we didn't consult. Um and three and a half, as we saw last year, three and a half is awfully tight for the town as well. It's it's not a um if you put health insurance and we do have a recommendation here. Um, if you looked closely at last year's last several years budget, the expense lines for major departments like DPW had been frozen. So actual was always higher than the level and we've asked that the expense lines be more realistic. So that will also mean that um unless they're expected vacancies to fill it, it's it's pressure across the board. So I think the three and a half we were actually pleasantly surprised to see the do three and a half rather than three come out of this. So the answer is no. We haven't discussed this and the schools issue particularly the elementary school is clearly in play in terms of what's going to happen with the sixth grade. And I'll just say what I heard from one of the other four towns in the region that if Ammeris goes to three and a half, they have to go for an override if we stay with the assessment method. So three and a half was perceived as as big not little um from that. And then the last the first question you asked about the special education stabilization fund. I don't know the long-term answer to that in Northampton, but in but if the students, it wasn't a one-time jump, but they are now there and it's a total that's going to show up in next year's budget. So, it shouldn't be withdrawing every year from this is supposed to be stabilization. So, then the budget has to be corrected for that. Um, so absolutely at some point you say these are the students we have. I've also been trying to get an answer. Um, this is

unrelated to how we budget, but thinking of the state side of this. Um, I've gotten two different answers on charter schools. When we a child opts to go to a charter school and if they come back to us after three months that it didn't work, does the charter school get to keep a full year's tuition or not? Um, so I'm trying to find out what happens and what's the nature of that flow because that we do have legislators on the school side starting to look at chapter 70, the charter school funding formula and circuit breaker and circuit breaker is directly related to this special needs fund. So, so yes, um, we didn't talk to the schools. I don't think special education stabilization fund is meant to be a substitute for building it into the budget if this isn't ongoing.

Does sorry can I ask a followup briefly please? Does that scenario happen often with the you you spoke about the state funding and the charters? Does that scenario happen to your knowledge often where a student leaves and then comes back? I've I've just asked the question of the finance director. I don't I don't know. I I don't have any um information on went and came back. You know, is that maybe once in a while or is it um every year a few come back? I have no idea. Okay. And and you'd have to answer the question for regional and for elementary. I have no idea. Okay. Uh councelor Ryan.

Okay. Uh councelor Hani. I just wanted to add something to Kathy's response to you, Anna. Um, while we did not speak to the schools or the library directly, we did Andy and I report back to finance on the BCG conversation that was held and all of the challenges that were mentioned there, which were basically the same for all four areas, staffing and all. So the BCG conversation was taken into account um even if direct speaking did not occur. Thank you.

Right. Um Pam Rooney. Uh my question has to do with uh the schools and I think there's a point at which you're going to reach re reach out to the schools again but can you ask for even a ballpark projection of staffing um as the schools head toward consolidation for the for for grades K through five at least? We have we actually asked for that in May and we repeat it again. So yes, the answer is yes. We can ask councelor Hani. We also asked that at BCG and we're told that it wouldn't be available before these guidelines were adopted.

Right. Uh Jennifer Tom. Um I just want to ask a clarifying question about the charter formula. I thought what I heard at the four towns meeting in terms of if students go to a charter school and then they decide to go back to their home school if it's there's like a date in October and if they come back if they decide to come back to their home school after that date then the money remains with the charter school.

We've heard several different options. That's one of them. And therefore, the reason that we've asked that clarification has been asked for is because some people have also said no, it's prrated. So, I think I' I've heard both answers, Jennifer, and that's why I said I want to I don't know what the the answer is, but if it's an answer that's a disadvantage disadvantage one, we should worry about it in legislation and it's part of the funding issue. I don't know the answer to that. Thank you. Are there any other questions or comments regarding the guidelines? Okay. Um,

Lyn point of order. Uh, councelor Walker's back on the screen. Ah, councelor Walker, can you hear us? Yes, I can. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Uh, okay. Uh, we have no appointments tonight, so we're to committee reports. BCG, as I mentioned before, will be meeting on December 3rd, uh, at noon to two. It's a Zoom only meeting. Um, and the finance committee uh, draft budget guidelines and the report have been put in the packet for that meeting. Okay. I'm assuming that what they will focus on is um, any further updates and then uh, talking about budget percentages. Um, community resources committee. Pam,

nothing new from last week. Okay. Elementary school, Kathy. Uh, nothing new. We we're meeting a week from now. But I did want to find out if people could email me if they wanted to come on the school visit, the the physical building visit. It's on the 9th. I haven't gotten a head count yet on how many can come, but it would be helpful if you just email me if you'd like. It's 3:30 3:30 on December 9th, Tuesday. Um, so the school committee has also asked to come and there's a limited number actually of hard hats that go on our heads to protect us and we can't we can't have crowds. So I just have to get a head count.

Can we bring our own hard hat? No, I don't. I think the limit of hard hats is to limit the bodies as well. Okay. Because I have at least two. Um, okay. Uh, finance committee. Um, Kathy.

Yeah. So, we are meeting tomorrow. So, we will be taking up these guidelines. Bob saw one thing he thinks is missing. Otherwise, they may not be they're unlikely to be very different than what you've just seen. The other thing that's on our agenda, so people should know, we got first we got first quarter and we got the close out of FY25. So you can um uh in terms of how much excess we're likely to have out of that year. So I didn't talk a lot about in the finance guidelines but we talked about the use once it's certified of potential uses of where it might go but that will be a discussion tomorrow. Those numbers are available in the packet.

Um go Anna G will be meeting on Wednesday at 6:30 and we will be discussing the town manager's goals. Just one more reminder, please submit your prioritizations by Wednesday at 6. Ideally, yes, yesterday at 6, ideally tomorrow at 6, so that I can kind of compile, but Wednesday 6, otherwise we won't get to see your thoughts. Um, George Ryan, Library Committee, nothing new to report. The next meeting of the committee will be uh next Monday, uh, 128.

TSO Andy TSO is meeting on Thursday the 4th and then we're meeting again on the 11th. U the reason for the two meetings in a row is because we recognize that uh once the la final council meeting has happened for the year that there is no purpose in meeting any longer. uh but also because uh we're trying to work through all of the issues having to do with the TPC, the Transportation Parking Commission, and we're going to um work on revisions for the U the public ways policy which would had generated a number of very good questions in the last meeting and uh so we want to develop those revisions and language uage and then get them back um to the uh council um before the meeting next Monday. Um and as far as the uh other piece that we were working on with that, uh we probably will put some time into that too. Um but it is the uh charge committee charge for TSO if a TPC is adopted. Uh we less pressured about that because uh if it ends up that it's not easy for TSO and go to uh come up with a solution to the problem. it can go in the carryover memo and be dealt with next year because the commission even if approved will take some time for the town manager to go through the appointment process and so I don't see

that it's going to happen instantly at the beginning of the year. Um and the other thing that's on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting is the um consultant that that is have been found for uh working on the waist hauler program. We'll be meeting with the committee so that we can discuss uh with them uh the questions that they will have about what the vision is for a waist taller program. U so u that that's the principal agenda for Wednesday's meeting. A not so gentle reminder to each committee, you need your draft carryover memos in the packet by Thursday morning of this week because at this next meeting then people have to decide whether or not there's any item that they want to place on the agenda. that will therefore not be carried over if the council so votes. Okay. Um any liaison reports?

Okay. Uh Jennifer. Yes, Jennifer.

I'm having trouble getting my buttons. Um this isn't really uh I'm the leazison to the council on aging. This is really an announcement from the senior center. Um, and I want to thank Athena. I think sent all the counselors, but this is just a reminder that they will the senior center will be be delivering holiday gifts to um people on their list and it could be morning or afternoon of Thursday, December 18th or Friday, December 19th. And they've invited counselors to participate and they would um have you deliver gifts to people in your district or Oh,

you're at large. Um, you know, just to get deliver gifts in town. But again, if you contacted Julia McFadson at the senior center, it's December Thursday, December 18th or Friday the 19th. I did it last year and it was actually it was fun and it made makes you feel good. Thank you, Jennifer. I had no idea they did that. Somehow I missed for email because we get a lot of email, but there's actually an email from Athena about this. Okay. Um, there's no minutes to approve town managers. Uh, any updates, Paul? And on the last three work days since my last report,

uh, there's I did not do a written town man town president's report. Uh, however, in your packet are the list of future agenda items. There's been two delayed from today and others that we have to add. Are there questions or comments? Uh Pam, this is this is a um town manager question. Oh, okay. Please. Great. Um the topic of Hickory Ridge came up a couple times tonight and it would be very helpful as decisions are made to um get some information about about Hickory Ridge in um actual acreage that is deemed developable. I don't think I've ever seen diagrams. I've never seen, you know, facts and figures about it. That would that would help us decide which uh which category to put it in.

I can get that for you.

Uh councelor Hanicki.

Um um question about the agendas, future agenda items. There were no financial orders on the next two meetings for year-end closeout. When are we expecting financial orders for the year-end closeout numbers? Now that we do have the final at least the the quarterlys, um, normally we get transfers from free cash into stabilizations and all. So, they weren't on any of the December list. So, I'm curious when we are expecting them as a council. And then also, there was no January 5th meeting agenda. So, I would love to be able to see what is at this point planned for the first meeting of the new term. Um, so that this council might be able to weigh in on what's on that agenda.

For the financial orders, often we have to we are bringing transfers from free cash to stabilization funds and so on and there are usually some appropriations too. So my understanding was that we would hold them till early January so that the new council can act on them because they'll require a public forum and review by a finance committee and since committees are wrapping up and we're tied on time at the end of the year they'll come early next year at the I didn't hear did you say when just then? Early January. So so okay. Um do we know when free cash will be certified? We don't. So, it's not even been submitted. It'll be before the end of December. Okay.

So, that might be something for the January 5th agenda.

I guess some of the things I was wondering about the January 5th agenda. Uh we talked about the meeting schedule. Um the charter committee report is coming in that day. So, I assume that will be on the agenda for some sort of referral. Um we normally do something with rules, council rules. I'm not sure what our standard procedure with council rules is for that agenda. Um, and 2026 is the charter required bylaw review dennial every 10 year review all the general zoning bylaws of the town. Um, so we need a bylaw review committee. So I was thinking that might be something to put on the January 5th because we need a charge a charge to refer to go. We have a draft sort of one from the last bylaw review committee, but it might need amended to, you know, change who's on it. But there any other questions or comments? Jennifer Tub. Uh, Jennifer, you have to unmute.

I'm sorry. Um, is there going to be a report by Judith Swain for the Oliver Smith will or is it just It is in your packet. Okay. Because she was in the audience. I don't know if that we know that the people who uh submitted reports were aware that we were only putting them in the packet and we were not having oral reports made.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. Are there any other questions or comments? Are there any other comments from counselors? There is an agenda modification and that is because we have not adopted the town manager evaluation. We will not have executive session um tonight. It will be moved to the next week. Are there any other questions or comments from counselors? Seeing none, I make a motion to adjurnn and seek a second. Second, Ry.

Patel. I Deon Gothier. Hi. Councor is absent. Griezmer. I councelor Hani. Hi. Bob Hegner. Hi. Councelor Lord is absent. Pam Rooney. Yes. Yes. Uh, councelor Ryan. Hi. Hi. Kathy Shane. Yes. Andy Steinberg. All right.