2026-09-09 - Board of Regional Commissioners

02:12unless there's an objection that um this meeting of the Barnstable County Board of

02:20Regional Commissioners is going to be conducted in accordance with applicable laws. As everyone

02:25knows, this meeting was posted as a virtual meeting. People that wish to participate

02:30can do so by accessing the meeting uh via uh our posted meeting agenda uh the link that's there or

02:38people can view the meeting as a live broadcast on the Barnstable County YouTube channel. Uh

02:45uh or if that doesn't work, if that's not sufficient, you can go to our website

02:49uh which is capecod.gov and access the meeting there. Um, I'm going to ask uh if anybody is

02:58recording this meeting to identify themselves and let the chair know uh so that we can inform

03:03others that are participating in the meeting. Okay. Hearing no answer there. I'm going to

03:10just do a quick roll call com and uh Commissioner Lions. Commissioner Lions is here. Commissioner

03:16Bergstrom. Commissioner Bergstrom is here and uh Commissioner Forest is here. We have a quorum. Uh,

03:23every member of the board is present. So, we're going to start this meeting today,

03:28Wednesday, September 9th, at 10:02 a.m. And, uh, I'm going to ask folks to join us in a

03:36pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and

03:45to the republic to which it stands, one nation under God, under God, indivisible, indivisible,

03:54with liberty and justice for all for all. Thank you. And thanks, Ian, for putting that flag up.

04:05I'm going to ask everyone to join us in a brief moment of silence to

04:08reflect on the bravery and the sacrifices of all those who put

04:13their lives and have put their lives on the line in service to our country.

04:31Thank you. The next item on our agenda is uh item number four, public comment. Is there anybody who

04:39is attending virtually that would like to speak? Please raise your hand and you will be recognized.

04:50Robin, do we have anybody? I do not see any, sir. Okay,

04:55very good. Let's move on to the next item uh on the agenda then, which is communications

05:00from the Assembly of Delegates. Um in the past, we've invited the speaker

05:06uh the deputy speaker and other leaders of the assembly to join us. Robin, let's

05:12bring in um whoever we have in the our waiting room that uh is from the assembly leadership.

05:22Sure. I just promoted Carl and John,

05:23they should be able to access their mic and camera now. Excellent.

05:31Good morning, Carl. Good morning. Morning, everyone. And uh are you the uh the the the

05:38delegation from the assembly today? Um, no. John Omen is I see him. Um, he hasn't accessed his

05:48camera and microphone, but um, he is also with me today. John and myself of the delegation. John,

05:54do you want to join us? There we go. I I finally figured out how to get onto your

05:58site. Thanks. Thanks. All right. And if you can adjust your camera, John, so we can see you,

06:05that would be great. There you go. Perfect. Is there anybody else, Carl? That's No,

06:10that's all I'm aware of that's going to join us this morning. Yeah. Well, that's terrific. It's

06:13great to see you this morning and we uh we know you've been very very busy over at the assembly.

06:21So, we're anxious to uh get an update and hear any thoughts you might have about some of the

06:26work that you've been doing and that's coming our way. Yeah. Well, I think on the agenda principally

06:31here is a resolution we adopted um in August um concerning the budget um for the current the four

06:40the FY28 fiscal year and other fiscal years going forward. Um this is the work produced by several

06:47meetings over the summer by the finance committee of the assembly. Um and it really uh in a way is a

06:55summary of what we have found in um looking at the budget the last two fiscal years FY26 27 um and

07:05looking at uh projections by the administration um out towards FY31 um and so we decided

07:15um in advance of the preparation of the budget in FY28 and we know that will start up soon with the

07:23uh administration and the board that we would uh give u the board and the administration the

07:29benefit of our thinking of what we have in the way of recommendations. Um that's what they are

07:37recommendations. Um this is a resolution. It's not an ordinance. Um and um it is to give some clarity

07:45uh to what we would be looking for and expect in our own review of the budget once it comes to us.

07:54Um and um we did consult with the administration about this. We did receive some helpful comments

08:02uh from uh Mr. Dutton and Miss Copala about this resolution. Um but it's the product of

08:09the assembly and the finance committee. Um and um it is a working document. It's something which we

08:18think is helpful to the discussion. Um and it's something which we will apply but you know it's

08:26it's principles and guidance. Um nothing is fixed in stone. um things can develop that can somehow

08:36um modify some of these recommendations perhaps down the road. Um but it's intended at least

08:42to give us a roadmap for where the assembly sees the budget going forward. So in terms of today's

08:49discussion, I mean that's that's number one. Um John, I you know, as the chair of the finance

08:54committee and the dean of the assembly, um I invite you to make some further comments if you'd

09:00like. um the resolution to start the discussion. Well, thank you for that. No, as usual, Carl,

09:06you're very articulate and have outlined our process very well. But again, we we think that

09:12we're both on the same page. Everybody should be on the same page. We want the county to be

09:16successful going forward for the next generation. And um and given the political climate nationally,

09:22we know how our our revenue stream can be changed overnight by by a a whim of the administr the

09:32national administration right now. So it's something that we all think about. I'm sure it

09:36happened with Americaore last year for a while. We got saved with that, but we don't know what

09:40the next thing is. We have what $12 million of federal funds in our budget. So we're in a tenuous

09:46position just be not none of not of our own making but of the national tenor right now. So this is

09:53why we came up with this. Thank you. Thanks John. Anything else Carl? Well I mean um I'm willing to

10:02and John and I are willing to take any questions from the board. No I appreciate that. I'm going

10:07to go to Commissioner Commissioner Lions and then Commissioner Bergstrom. Sheila, do you

10:11have any questions at all for for Carl and John? No, I'm I'm I had a hard time trying to figure out

10:19what it is. Are they Is there a conflict of what we're doing or are you just sort of uh concurring

10:30um you're proposing here? I I I hope that this doesn't represent itself to the conflict. We

10:37just want to be on the same page with h helping the county financially uh be have a a newru a

10:43great structure going forward and with a with the idea that we have a flat revenue source and and

10:48increasing expenses and we want to make sure that we at least weigh in on what we think the best way

10:53forward is to have the we should be on the same page. There's no conflict whatsoever. Right.

10:57Right. Okay. I didn't so far I haven't seen one. So I'm just wondering is there Yeah. No, it's just

11:02a it's just a a suggestion pad, you know. It's a Yeah, it's a that's that's really what it is.

11:07We've thought about it a lot. We've had several meetings on it. We met with Mike Dutton on it,

11:12too. So, you know, we're u we're on the same page. We want to be on the same page. We just think that

11:15fiscal responsibility is all of our jobs. Right. Okay. I didn't I didn't think there was anything

11:21heavy here, but I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something. No, you Shay,

11:26you your observations are correct. I mean, what you're reading in this resolution, much of it

11:31is the stuff that in in and the assessments that we've been sharing with one another over the past

11:36few years. So, it's nice to see the assembly sort of in sync with us. Now, this is probably a first

11:43uh in a while. So, this is great. Or we're in sync with them. We could do it that way. Well,

11:49well, normally this has been this has been our this resolution. Many of the points that

11:55are made in here are things that we have affirmed and we have insisted and in some cases we've been

12:01getting a fair amount of static uh about being so tightfisted and so disciplined in terms of

12:08managing our finances and it's quite frankly it's nice to see us more in line with one another than

12:13we have in the past. Commissioner B. Yeah. Can I can I comment for a second on I'm sorry. Could

12:20I comment on that point, Mr. Chair? All right. So, I mean, as I see this, it's collaborative.

12:26It's intended to be collaborative, right? Um when it's not intended at all to be confrontational.

12:31There's no reason to be confrontational, frankly. Um but that doesn't mean we can't have differences

12:36of opinion and differences of opinion here and there, frankly, could lead to a better result

12:41at times. So, I don't fear any difference that could occur. It's all honest. You know,

12:47we're all trying to reach the same goal. I said John mentioned fiscal responsibility and we can

12:53sometimes agree completely and sometimes we may have some disagreements about that but

12:57that's fine. It's all part of the all part of the collaboration in my view anyway. Thank you.

13:01Right. No, I was just making because I don't really see any conflict here. I'm just making

13:07sure I wasn't missing something. Yeah. Thank you, Commissioner Bergstrom. Yes. Yes. I have a couple

13:14of questions. First of all, in in anticipating a trend line as far as revenues go, you know,

13:20each year we estimate the revenues and we try to keep our expenses under the revenues. However,

13:26we've consistently missed um the revenues. Uh they've exceed the last five years revenues

13:33have exceeded what we anticipated by quite a bit. So in in going forward in anticipating what the

13:40revenues will be in the next five years, do we go with what we had written into the budget in other

13:46words what we had anticipated or do we go with the actual revenue trend line that we have over

13:52the five years which are considerably different. So that's one question. The other question is,

13:57and this is just a general observation, you know, the town of Brewster or the town of

14:02Dennis doesn't have to justify its existence. You know, it exists and it has to be there. It has to

14:07have a police department. It has to have a fire department. There's not well not many counties

14:12left in Massachusetts. The the we the county has to justify our existence by providing services.

14:20That brings up the question is what level of services can we be reduced to that we can no

14:25longer justify the existence of the county which is something that I think is going to be brought

14:30up over the next year. So that's the question my and the other third the question is if we have

14:36a disparity between revenues and expenses in an given year well we have set up you know revenue

14:45contingency to deal with that but if the trend line continues forward that as we go on year after

14:50year the revenues are going to show start to fall to fall short of of uh of expenses then one-time

14:58savings for instance lowering the healthcare cost or eliminating um Children's Cove or doing what is

15:06not going to it's only going to buy us time. In other words, eventually we'll be up against it.

15:10So, I mean, I'm not not saying we can't do that. But, I'm looking for something long-term saying,

15:16"Okay, we're going to be fiscally conservative. Next year, we're not going to do this. Next year,

15:20we're going to cut cut salaries. Next year, we're going to do that." But ultimately,

15:23we're marching down the road to eliminating the services that the county provides without having a

15:30long-term strategy to make sure that ultimately our revenues will match our expenses. So,

15:37I know that's a mouthful, but I I read your I read your ordinance. So, I I and and you know,

15:43I'm I'm curious to see where you get these numbers and what you anticipate and how you ultimately

15:49anticipate matching revenues to expenditures if the trend line and it's just in the towns too. I

15:55mean, they have the same issue. Their ability to raise funds falls short of the increasing

16:00inflation of of of wages and other expenses. So, what do we do? you know, that's that's the answer

16:06we have to get. Well, that's a big a big order of all those questions. Some of them I can't answer.

16:14Um, so I'll I'll I'll start and John, you can certainly uh respond as well. Let me first say

16:19that the numbers that are here come from you. They don't come from us. These are numbers that came

16:24from the administration. We didn't jin these numbers up. So let's make let's be clear that

16:29this is numbers which have been examined by the administration produced by the administration.

16:36Can they change? Of course they're projections. Projections by their nature mean that they're

16:41not the definitive numbers. So we deal with projections because that's the best we can do.

16:47But we always have to adjust and you know make a a call on the field shall we say um when the actual

16:53numbers come in that modify where we thought we would be with projections. Okay, that's number

16:59one. Number two, I want I know you probably didn't intend this but I want to make it the point again.

17:03This is not an ordinance. This is a resolution. All right, so these are recommendations. Um, and

17:10it's for us to deliberate and take into account as some guiding principles in going forward what

17:16we're trying to look for. And I recognize that sometimes we have revenues that exceed

17:21our expenses. And you know, as this resolution points out, that should go into the savings bank.

17:27We have some considerable savings which has been very good that we've built those because we're

17:32facing some s very significant um expenses in the capital account for PAS remediation and for

17:42deferred capital and I think the board has seen these numbers same numbers we've seen because

17:46they're again produced by your the administration that you know some $70 million in deferred

17:53uh capital some perhaps $60 million on PAS. Now, those are big numbers. They fair they exceed

18:00whatever we've saved so far. So, obviously, the more we can continue to build for the time being

18:08um what we need to meet those challenges with hopefully a minimal impact on the operating

18:15budget. The point of building those reserves is to try to minimize the impact on the operating

18:20budget. I don't think anyone in the finance committee is looking at drastic cuts in the

18:26operating budget here. But what we're trying to do is that we're trying to be intentional. We're

18:30trying to say let's let's make some structural changes if they need to be made with intent,

18:37not because at the last minute we're forced into something which causes us to make chaotic changes.

18:42Let's be intentional. Let's try to define and I think this is no one has a complete handle

18:48on this. Certainly we don't at the assembly and the finance committee but together we can define

18:53what is the proper scope of regional government. I don't think there's any I don't think there's

18:57anyone's thought that regional government isn't important. On the other hand, we can't be all

19:02things for all people and we have to live within our means and we have to prioritize and we have to

19:07say what is core what is the most important thing we do for the region that these towns cannot do

19:14well on their own. And I I can't give you a set and answer that right now, Commissioner Burkstrom,

19:19but I think together we can help in the course of producing these budgets to define that. Um,

19:26so I think that will develop if we're intentional rather than just going along yeartoyear not

19:32thinking about where we're headed potentially um and how we can best use those revenues. So that I

19:38know is kind of kind of general response to your questions, but um there it's it's something we

19:44have to work on together going forward. I don't know if John you want to enhance what I've said

19:49here. All right. Follow up on that. Yeah. Go ahead, commission. With with the numbers. Yeah.

19:57I wasn't questioning the numbers. I just didn't know whether they were real numbers or projected

20:01numbers when we when we looked backwards. And and I I agree. We have to be fiscally responsible.

20:07My issue is that if their trend line is such that we can make cuts each year or even now make cuts,

20:15won't won't the difference between our ability to raise revenue and our our uh our expenses,

20:23our increasing expenses. Ultimately, we're going to have to deal with it. I mean, I have to deal

20:27with it on a on a structural basis. There's not going to be any time where we can say, "Well,

20:32we'll cut a million dollars out of the budget and then we'll be fine because two years later,

20:36we'll have to cut another million, you know, and two years after that, we'll have to cut another

20:39million." That's that's what everybody faces the the the with the prop especially with Proposition

20:452 and a half as you're aware in the towns their expenses go their expenses increase faster than

20:50their ability to raise revenue. Although they can they have the ability to raise revenue, we

20:54don't or we have a very slight ability. I'm just I'm just looking for yes, I think we should be

20:59fiscally conservative. Yes, I think we should look at the what the core function of the of the uh

21:04of the uh county is, but we also have to look at the trend line and s at some point in the future,

21:11we have to balance revenues with expenditures and we have to find a way of doing that. That's Well,

21:18I think we're all we're all looking at the same goal there, Commissioner. Um and um I wish I had,

21:25you know, the the silver bullet here, the magic wand, uh that produces that result. I think

21:32unfortunately it's something we have to kind of work on together um as time goes by. We're not

21:37different from towns. Take a look at what's happening in towns. um they're finding with

21:42their increasing payrolls, they're increasing cost of payrolls, the increasing cost of health care,

21:46it's squeezing out other government um uh resources for other government services and

21:53that is causing severe problems in these towns and two and a half isn't solving it. Obviously, they

21:59can't get overrides necessarily. So, everyone's working on this. It's not unique to the county

22:05um either. Very good. Carla, uh, John, anything else you want to add to this particular topic? No,

22:12I think I'm I think we all it sounds to me like with this discussion, we're all on the same page.

22:17It's just a matter of there might be a difference of opinion on ways to get there. We all want the

22:22same thing. And and again, what what Commissioner Burch said about the focus on core services.

22:27That's something that should be discussed on on an ongoing basis. what can we do to make sure that

22:32we do you have our core services for the for the citizens and taxpayers of Cape Cod going forward

22:37that you know this is what this is what this is all about and as Sheila said she didn't see a CL

22:41plug either we're we might have a different a different view on a couple of these things or

22:45timeline of a couple of these things but I think we're all on the same page and that's I'm grateful

22:49for that. Yeah. Um Commissioner Lions thank you and then I'm gonna wrap that up after wrap it

22:56up. No, I think this is a fine conversation. I think basically we're saying we see it and

23:02uh yes, of course, we would follow a lot of these recommendations and think about them before we

23:06make decisions and I think we kind of do that, but uh I think this is fine and it's um welcome. So,

23:14thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Um yeah, Carl, I just want to wrap this section up by just saying

23:21thank you. Um the resol resolution is pretty much in line with many of the things that we've been

23:27saying. Your comments echo my comments that have been offered on numerous occasions in our in our

23:34board meetings on the budget. The next step for us will be to take a look at this and uh as we

23:40put together our own budget resolution, which we do every fall. Um we will be getting that together

23:46and uh and probably highlighting the things that we're very much in sync on and uh you know,

23:52I look forward to that. Uh we'll have updated budget numbers. will be in a much better position

23:56financially to fine-tune some of this. And uh and I'm glad we are um uh at this point where we're

24:06very much on the same as John said, very much on the same page. I think that is bodess well for us

24:12going forward. Now, in terms of services, this is a conversation that we're having with each

24:16of the towns. Each we're doing our road show. We every town we visit and we we're asking managers

24:23and and select board members uh to identify the services that we're providing that they're very

24:29supportive of that they use the most uh things that perhaps we don't need to do and services that

24:35perhaps can be tweaked or changed or improved. And we're getting a lot of very very productive

24:40very very helpful impact. And so um uh we're going to have a report a little bit later on from from

24:46uh Robin on our meetings and and our upcoming meetings, but each of these discussions have

24:52been incredibly helpful and the towns are willing to step forward and identify those services that

24:58are that are priorities. The the only comment that I have and I and I understand this is just on the

25:04children's co stuff. Um, we are going to continue to find areas where the Commonwealth will not will

25:14just drop the ball. I mean, this is this is what's happening with with dredging. Dredging used to be

25:20a function of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And no matter how many times we would say the

25:25Commonwealth should do dredging, they basically when it came to Cape Cod, uh, by and large they

25:30wanted to drop the ball on Cape Cod. This is now happening at the federal level. the federal

25:35out government is dropping the ball on dredging and the reality is that in some cases we're the

25:40we're the only ones to be able to step in and this becomes a conversation that I know can be

25:46challenging because in other communities uh or in other regions of the state that the commonwealth

25:52is comfortable putting dollars to cover certain services in the budgets of other departments and

25:58no matter how many times it can be tried with us um you know it could it can become a bit

26:03challenging The good thing is is that the state is putting a little bit more money into the into

26:08the children's cove program. They are putting more money into dredging uh at our constant insistence.

26:14So my hope is is that as time unfolds, we'll continue to at least get some by us holding, you

26:22know, these services and carrying these services, we'll be able to continue to get the state to

26:27provide support to us and our towns uh for some of these services. So that's something that we're

26:32very cognizant of. But I think the resolution overall is very productive. It's very helpful.

26:36It's nice to have the leadership of the county commissioners and the leadership of the assembly

26:41when it comes to the big picture of the county's finances more or less being on the same page.

26:44And I think that bodess well going forward. So I want to thank you for for joining us today to talk

26:50about this. Let me ask you, is there anything else that you want to bring to our attention, Deputy

26:54Speaker Cryel and Fisel and John? Hey. Yeah. Um, let me first just add that I've been watching

27:02your road shows and I think it's really good and helpful. I'm glad to hear the towns respond to

27:10you with what they getting they really need out of the out of the uh uh uh regional government. So,

27:18I think that's very helpful for us to to get our arms and our hands around core. So, I'm glad that

27:24the commissioners are doing that. I think it's getting us some very helpful information. Now,

27:28as to other items on our agenda, I mean, we're still um I'll point out that there's been a uh um

27:36a home potential home rule petition for what's now become known as the um um Taylor Swift tax that

27:44has had some initial work by the Health and Human Services Committee. It's going to also be worked

27:50on by the finance committee. that is not something which is going to be ready for any kind of final

27:58assembly action for some time. Um and that's going to be studied um extensively. We're going to also

28:04consult with um our local communities about that. So that's not anything that's going to percolate I

28:11would say in calendar year 26. Um and it would be something perhaps sometime in calendar 27.

28:19Um, we are going to take one more look at our ordinance um coming up soon on the um

28:27uh on the ICE. I know that um you have modified your executive order and we're going to look at

28:34that and the protect act and make some decision concerning the ordinance that we have pending

28:39on that. Um so that's another item that will be coming up to the assembly soon. Um and um I think

28:48we want to, you know, look obviously at um some of the same reports you look at concerning water,

28:54concerning the budget, how it ended in FY26. Um and um John, do you see some other things coming

29:01up that uh I haven't mentioned? No, those are those are pretty much the big ones, too. I mean,

29:08I I think the commissioner has done and more than adequate job on ice. You know, I'm I'm not sure

29:14that we need to do that. And I'm not sure that we have the capability of of increasing any any um

29:19action that the county can do regarding ICE, you know. It's a it's a big gorilla out there. Yeah,

29:27that's great. Um so, those are I think, you know, Okay, that's great. Commissioner, Commissioner

29:34Lions, Commissioner Bergstrom, any final thoughts for for Carl, for John? Just thank you. Yeah, just

29:40Mark, just one one quick issue, something that we've been dealing with for the past few years. It

29:46has to do with ordinances passed by the assembly which require the administration to take certain

29:51action. Okay, that's always been an issue. Now, we have a charter review committee coming up and they

29:56can deal with that issue. But in the past at least there's been a division between the assembly and

30:02the and the administration and and uh you know we don't I don't want to get into any more tr I want

30:08that issue to be settled because um you know the administrator has to know who he's answering to

30:13and and uh you know if there if there are programs there programs passed by the assembly that require

30:19administrative action that are opposed by the commissioners I mean what do you do about that?

30:26So, no. Good point. It's not an issue for today, but that is something I think we have to look

30:32into. I understand. That's great. Well, before we break, I just wanted to mention uh Deputy Speaker

30:37Fryel. Um, you mentioned home rule petitions. I I think the commissioners are going to want

30:42to take up the subject of home rule petitions at a future meeting. Um, I've been very concerned

30:48about the the legality of such uh devices and uh that's going to probably be a future agenda item

30:55and we'll certainly keep you in the loop on that. Okay, good. Very good. So, let's move on to from

31:01this item and to our next item. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Thanks for having us. Thank you.

31:10Okay. The uh next item on our agenda under general business 6A is uh we're going to ask

31:18Robin Young to join us just to give us an update on our road show progress, how far we've come and

31:26how far yet we have to go. Right. Thanks, Robin. Hi, commissioners. Thank you, Chair Forest, for

31:35allowing me to review the board and speak to the success of what's known as your road show. This

31:40is the board's ongoing series of regular meetings held in each of the Cape Cod's 15 towns. So since

31:46January, this initiative has brought you the commissioners directly into the local town halls,

31:51community center to engage local leaders, elected officials and residents and it's been positive at

31:58every stop. So this is really more of a recap of the locations that where the board has met. Uh and

32:04the goal is to really look at what each community has actually asked of Barnstable County and where

32:10those requests form kind of a Capewide agenda to focus on specific requests, reoccurring regional

32:16needs and where the county can pro provide additional services to these communities. So since

32:22um we started in 2026, we met in seven towns from January until now. Uh we started uh in Falmouth on

32:31January 28th, Barnstable in February was cancelled due to blizzard Hernando. We met um in March in

32:38Eastam, April in Walthleet, May Yarmouth, June Bourne, July Harwitch, August Turo, and we have

32:47eight additional towns on the schedule. So in Falmouth, the requests came combined to

32:54combine technical assistance, continued program support and advocacy. Um we discussed the emerging

33:01southern pine beetle and discussed how the county can provide support from the entomologist for the

33:06local tree wardens. You discussed affordable housing and wastewater um with the request to

33:12be continued county funding and provide cost comparisons and potential tax credit advocacy.

33:18And another main impact was dredging. They're looking for more continued county resources and

33:24that remains very important in East Ham. Um you reviewed the challenges East Ham's facing with

33:31the taxpayer pressures of $130 million cost for upcoming water improvements combined with a $170

33:38million wastewater debt. Uh the level two drought conditions that are across the Cape underscore

33:44the regional water vulnerability. Um the climate action plan was received extensive public input

33:52um working with county and Cape Cod commission involvement and then shared services resource

33:57were discussed in response to municipal staffing shortages and budget strains.

34:04Well fleet gave us one of the clearest pictures of the county as a shared services platform.

34:08Uh the requests were about receiving capacity constraints in small municipalities that they

34:14cannot easily solve alone. They're looking to the county for additional county engineering support

34:19for the Herring River restoration to expand the county's procurement to reduce administrative

34:25burden in each municipality. Uh create a mechanism for a coordinated review of large development

34:32projects and explore a poolled regional finance, health, HR and IT dispatch service. They also were

34:40concerned about the rising um dredging and harbor maintenance costs. Yarmouth really would like the

34:48county's help to manage the consequences of big projects. So the route 28 wastewater construction

34:54illustrated the large scale of the local economic disruption and they were wondering

34:58is there a county role where to help towns and businesses manage the construction

35:03disruption. one would that would examine um communication strategies, financial tools,

35:09regional best practices such as construction disruption assistance programs for businesses and

35:14municipalities during the constructions. Uh they also mentioned the dredge cost sharing and this

35:21is where you began to review your local lottery aid analysis for a broader uh policy concern.

35:29Borne was really about regional infrastructure and state advocacy. Um the canal bridge replacement

35:35would like um more of a advisory committee to represent those most affected dredge permitting to

35:42pursue state level reforms and dedicated funding and they as well would like continued county legal

35:48permitting and funding support. Haritch was a mixture of water food security shared services.

35:58Um they're looking for more groundwater data and how it impact is impacted by the chapter

36:0240B analysis. Uh they'd like to continue and expand the county IT dredge and procurement

36:08process partnerships. Um and they really raised concerns about housing and related to the home

36:16roll petition legislation. So at this meeting the board um discussed the need to regionalize

36:22e emergency food response and you authorized for a regional hunger summit for fall of 26 2026

36:34represented a very extensive list of regional service priorities

36:38um and they involve functions that are typically expensive specialized or difficult to staff

36:44locally. This being housing capacity, dredging, broadband and cellular service availability,

36:50emergency preparedness, insert recruitment, um building inspectors, recruitment and training,

36:56regional procurement, shared IT, cyber security monitoring, and um storm water management.

37:07So again, just kind of repeating everything that's happening across these towns that we've heard from

37:13to date is really water carrying capacity, dredging, shared administrative capacity, and

37:20then human and social services. So the patterns are kind of saying where the county can help with

37:25scale, expertise, and data and coordination. Yeah, that's great, Robin. Thanks for the for the recap.

37:33So, our next meeting is going to be in Mashp, correct? And the date we're tenatively looking

37:39at is what the 30th. That would be on on the 23rd. No, I think we've decided that we're going to move

37:49from that because Commissioner Lions is a way that we want to make sure we have a full board. So, the

37:5630th um is the date that we're currently looking at. Is that going to be a problem for anybody?

38:01Nope. Ron, is that going to be a problem for you at all? Not that I know of. No. Okay, good. So,

38:07because I wanted to make sure we want to make sure that at each of these road show meetings,

38:12we're all available in person to be there because we need to hear these. Um, and I'm I'm going to

38:18review with Rob and how we memorialize uh the visits because um I'm taking special note on the

38:26issues of uh water water resources impacts um as as well as concerns over growth and development.

38:36um that's sort of those themes are increasingly popping up and um and so I think it's going to

38:44be important to sort of make sure that we've got a good handle on what each town is saying

38:48on on those subjects as well. Sheila. Uh, yes. And I um just want to say that in looking at

38:58report from Felmouth that we received from their water superintendent in the superintendent of the

39:05National Seashore and we were talking about these issues and she and I asked her does she have US

39:13um GS uh information? do they cuz someone said to me they do testing regularly and she said yes we

39:21have more up to-date regular information and so I think it would be worth our while sometime in

39:28October maybe late October to have or whenever they're able to pull this together for us to

39:36come in and give us what they see as a trend uh of these monitoring services across espe they're more

39:43on the outer cake from China on down but it would very useful information and uh follow up on these.

39:50That's a topic that is extremely important now not just here on Cape Cod but globally it seems

39:56and we have to recognize it and be proactive as opposed to like this will change and we have we

40:03had stuff in the Globe article I thought that um it was a editorial that was sent the Boston Globe

40:10and they were just saying how you have to you know it all looks fine now but um we had look

40:17at your water as a bank of the future you know your future reserve and I don't think there's

40:23that thinking we have to help people come to this place that this is a serious issue. So um that's

40:29just my recommendation and thank you. Thank you commissioner. Commissioner Bergstrom. Yeah. Um,

40:36if you go back to the if you go back to the Fmouth meeting, you know that they were they were had a a

40:42conflict between their increasingly inability to keep up with demands on the water supply versus

40:50mandates coming down from the legislature that would encourage denser development. So, it was

40:55almost impossible to, you know, to accommodate those two. We and I know that this board has sent

41:02a letter agreeing with the MMA that we should not uh that we should not be dictated down here

41:08as to as to over overriding local zoning. But if we are to go forward in trying to deal with the

41:15water issues, we're going to it's going to have to be a a have be cooperation between the local

41:22governments, the uh local town governments, the uh county commissioners, and the Commonwealth of

41:29Massachusetts to understand what what challenges we have down here and that we can and how we're

41:34going to deal with it because we can't have we can't have people encouraging denser development

41:40in areas where we don't have the ability to supply water and other services. So, I know that's a big

41:46issue, but it's on the legislaturator's docket right now in in a conference. So, I appreciate

41:53that, Commissioner. Um, I just wanted to take a moment to thank Robin uh for organizing these. Um,

41:59the reality is is that she's done most of the leg work or if not all the leg work and getting

42:05the site set up, working with the local officials, working with the select boards,

42:09working with the managers. And so, Robin, thank you very, very much for all of your support. Um,

42:15these would not have come off as well as they have without you doing a great job in organizing them.

42:21So, thank you. Thank you all. Cheers for you and thank you for keeping track because this is just

42:28BS if we don't follow up and go back and hear what we what we're what we're being told. So,

42:34I appreciate that and I think we should have that as a running checklist as we go forward. Thank

42:39you. Yes. That's all right. Thank you, Robin. You're excused. Thanks. Okay. The next item is

42:48um we wanted to give Ken Cerillo uh an opportunity to join us. Uh there's a grant round of uh for

42:56dredging applications. Um this was something that uh the county commissioners had a role in lobbying

43:04for. Uh we spent a great deal of time lobbying our state uh legislators, lobbying uh state officials

43:12uh to provide more funding for our towns to do dredging projects. Um and as you know,

43:17this is important to us because um we're the ones doing the dredging and the towns do need some

43:22financial help to get these projects underway. So there's a grant round that's out there. I know

43:28the towns are applying and Ken um let's bring Ken into the meeting and update us so Ken can update

43:33us on what it is we might be thinking of doing. I want to make sure that the board can at least

43:39uh hear what Ken's up to and what the application will be and for us to have a chance to endorse uh

43:45any proposal that might be uh submitted from the county. Ken, the floor is yours. Good morning. see

43:52if I could load this on here and I will be quick because I'm sure you're going to give me like

43:56three minutes of time. Um, all right. Everybody can see my slides, I trust. Yep. Great. So, as you

44:06mentioned, there's a current round that ends next Thursday at midnight. And this is a a round that

44:16just kind of popped up about a six weeks ago. So, the timeline is pretty short. on the application

44:23and the deadline and it's being run through the SE port economic council which is the first time this

44:28is being done for dredging and dredging equipment. Previously they've only been doing uh funding for

44:34the dredge design work engineering work and as they indicated on the bottom of this slide here

44:41there are two important points is that we don't know how much is actually allocated for funding.

44:45The indication right now is let's see what comes in and we'll go from there. So we're working to

44:49make sure that we have as many towns uh submitting projects and it's also important to point out that

44:55it runs from FY27 through FY28. So it's covering projects through that period not just for this

45:02year. Uh then the other important point here which we hope uh is a good indication is that they are

45:08intending to incorporate funding this category of funding into the one the community one stop for

45:14growth process starting in FY28. So that's new information. And I just think we need to uh pay

45:20attention to that because it sounds like this will now become potentially the the mechanism that they

45:25may use for funding this going forward. Um what are we doing? Well, unfortunately or fortunately,

45:33uh it's more replacement of spare parts. You know, with the last the previous rounds that

45:39we have been able to obtain funding for, uh it's always been primarily of replacing spare parts as

45:45well as a lot of equipment upgrades. But this last round that we are still closing from last year,

45:51you know, it's really been the same thing, replacing spare parts that we're using. We

45:55have both dredges nearly complete at the shipyard right now in Fair Haven. So, all we are doing is

46:01uh now back filling and purchasing spare parts that uh we're using to replace worn out equipment.

46:09What's going on with the towns? You know, quick pass, which I think is encouraging here.

46:13Um there's a couple of a few of them that I we're working with because I think there's it's not

46:19that clear as I mentioned previously that you know it's not just for this fiscal year, it's for next

46:24fiscal year. So right now we have indications u that the town of Barnstable is planning to

46:30submit for the mechanical dredging project uh in West Bay. And if that's an important point,

46:35it's not just for county projects. It's also covering mechanical dredging as well.

46:40So, um, the town of Barville is is looking to submit funding for the West Bay project. Uh,

46:46I don't believe there'll be anything for Bourne, although I haven't heard back from the town. Uh,

46:50nothing in Brewster. Chadam is in process for the Mill Creek and Pleasant Bay project. Conor,

46:56uh, excuse me, Dennis also for Sissu Harbor. Um, Falmouth has submitted theirs for the Mil for the

47:04Eel Pond project. uh Harwitch for Sackwatucket and Mashby will be submitting it for the uh

47:12poppy approach cleanup. Waiting to hear back from Orleans because they do have a project pending.

47:17Uh Pete Town, same they there may be work that they are going to be doing working with them

47:22to try to clarify some of the uh requirements and the same for Truro. They originally were planning

47:29that they can wait till next year but there might not be a next year. So, it's important for them to

47:33uh submit it now while they can uh for for the projects that we're doing there annually. And

47:39Yarmouth as well will be submitting it uh for the um Parker River project. So, that's kind of the

47:46quick highlights of what uh is going on right now for the projects. That's great, Ken. Thank

47:52you. Um what do you think the dollar value for our application is likely to be ballpark-wise? Yeah,

47:59good question. as always. Um we'll see. Uh right now I would have to think that the to sorry

48:07uh the total amount yeah the total amount um uh you know could be um like this past let me just

48:15quickly go ahead just to show you. So the last one that we are in the process of closing right now

48:20was for $269,000. The matching grant was 538. So that was that was FY26. That was last last spring.

48:29Uh, I think it'll probably be about the same amount, probably a total of half a million

48:34split in half uh for for that amount. Okay, that's great. Um, I'm just going to ask the commissioners

48:40if they have any questions, concerns about going forward or reservations about going forward

48:45uh with an application. Um, Commissioner Lions, you have no word from Wleet. I mean,

48:53this is a personal thing in a way live there, but I know that they're a mess.

48:58Yeah. No. Uh I did ask uh and I have not heard back yet. I know that there won't be a county

49:03project uh in the next year, maybe the year after. There was one project that kind of got slowed down

49:09again. Uh but obviously, as you know, there's work that they still want to do. So, I do not know. I

49:13have not heard back, but I will follow up. Would this would this grant uh be available for what

49:18they what you know they need? Yes, certainly. If it was mechan Yeah. mechanical the muk the muck

49:25stuff the mayonnaise stuff to clean up that that would be mechanical project and funding would be

49:29available for that. Okay, that's great. And I do want to just add that as we've gone through

49:34these towns um you you are appreciated, Ken. So I just thought I'd pass that along. Thank you.

49:41It's a it's a it's a lot of fun, right? Yeah, I know. But people really do appreciate it. It is

49:46Thank you. It is a important program to these towns. So thank you, Commissioner Bergstrom.

49:54You have to unmute yourself, Ron. Ron, unmute. Can you unmute yourself, Ron? Unmute, Ron. Yeah,

50:03I got it now. Um, just to tell Ken that when it comes time to dredge Mill Creek that I get first

50:08dibs on all the oysters and clams that come out of the pipe. You get over there really quick because

50:14there's a big gohead. You should we shouldn't we shouldn't uh overlook the fact that the beach

50:20nourishment is also a very important part of of the dredging program and it benefits not just a

50:26mariner but it benefits the people who come with a blanket and a chair and and want to enjoy the

50:31the sunshine. So thank you for that. So um I'm going to ask the board for a motion to to support

50:38the county application for state funds for for the for the projects that we've been briefed on.

50:45And so moved. Second. Okay. So motion and a second. Uh any discussion? Hearing none. Uh

50:53all those in favor and this is going to be a roll call vote. So Commissioner Bergstrom

50:57Bergstrom votes I. Commissioner Lions. Lions is I. And uh uh Commissioner Forest votes I

51:04as well. So you've got an unanimous vote of support. So if you need a letter from us,

51:08you're all you've got. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you, Ken. Okay. Okay, the next item on our

51:15agenda is uh I wanted to bring this up because um it's obviously very significant. Uh it's from the

51:21a letter. It's in your packets. It's from the town of Harit Select Board. It's dated August 21st. And

51:30um the request is for us, the county, to pursue legislation concerning the Cape Cod Commission

51:39uh and discretionary DRRI referrals of chapter 40B comprehensive permit projects. And so this is kind

51:47of a followup to the conversation uh that we had in Harwitch. They're obviously looking for more

51:55uh a more robust uh effort on the part of the county. Um I put this on the agenda not so much

52:01that we can go over the details of this because I think um if we want to have a discussion I'd like

52:07to invite some other people to participate in that particularly the staff and and council at the Cape

52:12Cod Commission. Uh but there's some others that we should bring into this conversation as well.

52:17But I wanted to flag it for you to make sure that you saw it. I do think at the very least we should

52:23put it on our list of topics and discussion items for our upcoming meetings with the town. So when

52:32we're in MASHP um I think it might be helpful to share this letter with the select board and to get

52:38their thoughts on it because I think this was one of the recommendations from the select board in

52:45uh in Haritch. uh they were interested in having other towns involved in this effort. They didn't

52:52want this to just be a Haritch exercise, but they were hoping that other towns could join in. So,

52:58I think in in in in recognition of that request, um I'd like to add it to the agenda because we're

53:06talking about we're asking boards about our services. We're asking other select boards

53:11about um issues particularly as they relate to water, any concerns about carrying capacity. So,

53:18uh we've had a we have a growing list of topics that we put on our select board agendas and this

53:24this this this would be the latest one. So, I wanted to get your thoughts if that's something

53:30that you're comfortable with. I think it's appropriate. Commissioner Lines. Okay. Thank you,

53:37Commissioner Bergstrom. Yeah, just just marked that the fact is that ultim where this will

53:42ultimately lead will be to um the county's um legislative delegation because any change in

53:49the in the status of 40B projects and our ability and the town's ability to review them is going to

53:55have to go through a legislative process to amend the original legislation. So yeah, I think they

54:02should be maybe not in initially, but ultimately they should be brought in and see whether they

54:08think that they that's something that they can uh agree with and that they can carry it with them up

54:13to up to Boston. Yep. No, I I I I understand exactly what you're saying and I appreciate

54:20your comments. Um Okay, very good. Then yes, Commissioner Lines. No, while we're thinking about

54:25what what we want to send up to Boston and how we want their support, you know, and speaking to our

54:32assembly members and Mr. Fisel, he was mentioning Prop 2 and a half and we all know that that was

54:39established by people who really uh wanted to curtail government involvement back in the day.

54:45They thought, you know, wrapped up as fiscally responsible. But isn't there a way we could even

54:52if not eliminate Prop two and a half, make it Prop three and a half or four, you know what

54:59I mean? Yeah. I mean, that could that could give some relief to towns. I mean, I don't know why we

55:06don't think about approaching it that way if we're not going to get rid of it all together. But there

55:12is definitely that's sort of like the caveman days of two and a half. I mean, our everything

55:17has changed and people's finances has changed and the costs have changed. So, it's an archaic. It's

55:24sort of like the lottery distribution fund. It's it was done 30 years ago and never looked at again

55:30and we're not in that place anymore. So, I think that's something that we should I'm just throwing

55:36it out there as a topic for discussion on I understand we can we can revisit that under

55:43future agenda items. Commissioner Commissioner Bergstrom. Yeah. I just want to say that,

55:48you know, proposition a lot of this has to do with chapter 40B and chapter 40 from what I

55:55understand goes back to maybe the 1980s and since then a lot more tools have been available to towns

56:02to to regulate zoning and regulate development. And so I think that when we have this discussion,

56:09we should have an overall discussion as to whether or not you know time has moved on and what was

56:15seemed like a good tool back in 1985 or whatever is no longer no longer applicable to the current

56:21situation. So but that's something like you say Mark we'll be we can discuss with later. Yeah,

56:28I think there's a diversity of opinion on the 40B question. So I I think it would be helpful

56:34to hear. Our next stop is in Mashp. Um I'd like to put this on as a discussion topic on that agenda.

56:41So uh I think everybody's in agreement that that's what we should do. And then when we're

56:46done when we're doing our recap of our town visits, we should figure out um if there's a

56:51consent. We should basically assess whether or not there's a consensus in terms of how Yeah,

56:56exactly. and facilitate a dialogue again with our uh top people including uh the the leadership at

57:04the Cape Cut Commission as well as um you know other other county leaders and departments because

57:09this is a this is a big subject and uh it would be helpful to see if there's even any consensus

57:15going forward on this. So thank you for that. Uh the next item I'm going to turn the next item

57:226D over to the vice chair Commissioner Bergstrom because um I am going to absent myself from this

57:30conversation. It involves a matter involving both the county and the town of Yarmouth. So I'm going

57:35to let Michael Dutton sort of update the board on what's going on here and I am going to disappear

57:41and we'll just ask someone to text me. Michael, if you could text me uh when we're ready to resume.

57:47So, uh, I'm going to step out and, uh, good luck with this one. Thank you. It sounds ominous. No,

57:56it's No, it's uh, it is due to a conflict. Um, not nothing ominous. Ominous. Wow. Um, but I did want

58:07to update the board on um the status of the fire training facility that has been an ongoing project

58:13for the county uh since way back in probably 2017. So, so we're almost uh getting up there

58:21to the 10-year mark. Um and as you know uh the county and the fire chiefs uh on the Cape had

58:27a dream of sort of a regional training facility uh which could provide cutting edge training and

58:33also reduce the expense of training to to the fire departments uh Capewide. Due to that uh because of

58:42that they applied for a 2018 FEMA grant uh which at the time uh would have covered the entire cost

58:49of of building uh the fire uh training uh facility uh in Yarmouth. Uh we applied for that grant or

58:58uh in partnership with the town of Yarmouth and the town of Provintown. Um and the understanding

59:03was at the time that it would serve all 18 fire departments uh on the Cape. uh would also assist

59:10uh in training uh joint trainings uh with police and fire departments. Um I can tell you that uh

59:18it's been obviously been a long process uh citing the facility and uh and and also um securing the

59:26the property uh that it's that it's currently uh being built on. Uh the fire chiefs have arranged

59:34they've done a really good job of arranging a scheduling process. Uh also funding operation

59:40and maintenance of the uh of the building. Um and so that that piece is all set. It that piece has

59:47been set for for probably a good year now. That understanding and that that uh intermunicipal

59:53agreement with the with the fire departments. Um so the project is finally coming to a close.

59:59uh we have uh needed to apply several of of uh state earmarks uh of about $100,000 annually

1:00:08that were secured by uh Senator Seir. Um and the if you recall the county uh decided uh to fund the

1:00:17last remaining shortfall um because it should made made more sense to get this thing finished before

1:00:24uh construction costs escalated uh any further. Um, and I just as a point of reference, I'll

1:00:30point out that uh when we got this grant in 2018, this FEMA grant, which which should have built

1:00:36the entire building, uh, because of some of the extensive delays over the years, um, the the cost

1:00:42of actually building this is sort of general cost of of building municipal uh, municipal buildings

1:00:49has increased by 50%. Um, and again, that's 2018 to 2026. So, so understandably we've uh

1:00:57been scraping uh and saving and trying to allocate money to get this thing built. Uh Paul Rosala um

1:01:04our assets and infrastructure manager uh as well as former state fire marshal Steven Con have been

1:01:10instrumental uh in getting this project uh up and going and then and then getting us very close to

1:01:17to completion. Um so I will if if it's all right uh with the vice chair, I'll turn it over to Paul.

1:01:24uh and he can sort of give just a quick update on the final pieces of the project and then I'll

1:01:30uh give you the ask uh of the commissioners after Paul is finished with that. Okay, that's fine.

1:01:37Paul, you want to take it? Good morning everyone. I was um locked out so now Ian let me in. Um but

1:01:45yes, we've been we've been very busy over there this summer. we had um the Coastal Companies,

1:01:50which is the general contractor and um ProSafe, one of their vendors, out there installing a live

1:01:56fire component in the building. So now the first floor and second floor both have a propane fired

1:02:03um live fire component. And there's also a um on the first floor a flashover prop. So in addition

1:02:10to a fire at you know um you know ground level, they actually fires over your head. So it would

1:02:17sim simulate a real fire. Um I've been involved in a lot of different construction projects through

1:02:21the years and this building in particular uh very complex uh very unique. Um so we're we're very

1:02:29happy to be in the final stretches. We still have a couple um punch list items remaining.

1:02:34Um a final permit application to go through um but after that the building will be ready

1:02:39um and functional to go. Um so we're excited to to get people in there and have them trained.

1:02:46Okay. There any questions? Uh Sheila, do you have any questions on this? No,

1:02:52excuse me. I think it'll be interesting to see. I'm waiting for waiting for the ask.

1:03:00So I will I will say uh the ask of the commissioners uh because of the uh the uh conflict

1:03:08uh with one of you uh it it is easier I think uh for me to ask you to grant me the ability

1:03:14to execute the transfer documents uh to the town of Yarmouth. Uh town of Yarmouth will own and sec

1:03:21and insure it. Um and uh obviously I've mentioned they'll be reimbursed the the co the basically the

1:03:27cost of ownership uh through an agreement with the with the uh 18 fire departments on the Cape. Uh so

1:03:33that is really my ask is that you authorize me to execute transfer documents. Um town of

1:03:40Yarmouth has done the same thing with their town administrator. Uh and so I would I would ask

1:03:45uh you to vote that. Okay. Do you have a motion in front of you? Thank you. Um, I move to authorize

1:03:52the county administrator to execute all documents related to the transfer of the public safety

1:03:58training burn building to the town of Yammen. And I will second that. And we'll call for if there's

1:04:06no further questions, we'll call for a vote. Commissioner Lions. Lions votes I and Commissioner

1:04:11Burkstrom votes I. So there you go. You're authorized. So off off with our fire academy. Our

1:04:18little child is now in the town safely in the town of Yarm and we thank them for that. And you could

1:04:26you could tell Mark to come out of the closet and he's hiding and uh come back. So anyway, uh well,

1:04:36thank you very much. Here he is. All right. Okay. Well, thank thank you Paul for all of that work.

1:04:43Sure. It's going to be a very interesting place to see once it's all said and done. All right. Very

1:04:52good. Okay. The next item on our agenda. Thank you, Commissioner Bergstrom. Appreciate your help

1:04:57with that. Um the next item on the agenda, there's a little bit of a printing error on your agenda.

1:05:03I'm going next to Carol, our finance director, and Deb Childs to go over the fisc year 2026 year in

1:05:14year-end financial recap. Uh we do not need to vote once again on the commission on the county

1:05:22administrators, authorities, and duties. We've done that. So, we're going to move on to the

1:05:26fiscal year 2026 recap. So, let's see if we can get Deb. Uh, and I think this might be the first

1:05:35time we've had Deb Child make a presentation. So, I'm looking forward to this because we've got

1:05:42two. Yeah. Good. So, I'm I'm assuming Ian and and Robin are helping getting promoting Deb and Carol.

1:05:55There we go. Oh, look at this. Good morning, commissioners. Morning. Good morning. It's nice

1:06:02to see you. We're in our new conference room. Um we're in the lower level of the registry of deeds.

1:06:09We've um moved in about a month ago or so. Um and we're um very happy with our space. Um we use this

1:06:17conference room uh quite often. Um so here I'm here, Carol Capola. I'm the finance director and

1:06:23treasurer for Berntole County. I'm joined by Deb Childs who's the deputy director of finance and

1:06:29the county accountant. We're both here to provide you with the results of fiscal year 2026. Um and

1:06:38so let's just get started. How's that? We're going to share a presentation with you. Um we

1:06:44closed the fiscal year the week of August 17th. We uh welcomed auditors here on site the week after.

1:06:52Um and um they also share this conference room. Um so we put it to we put it to really good use. Um

1:07:00so let me ask you let me ask you Carol. Okay, here we go. I was wondering when the presentation was

1:07:06coming up. Okay, it's it's here now. Great. Okay. Um so we will our next um slide shows you what you

1:07:15know what is included in our presentation. Uh it's a little different than what you've seen before.

1:07:20we thought we'd um up the ante a little, if you will. Um, and so this is really an agenda

1:07:25of what we'll be talking about today. And if you chose to look back on this presentation,

1:07:30that would provide you with kind of a table of contents as well. Um, so the county um at the

1:07:37end of the fiscal year 6:30 2026 was managing just under $91 million in public funds. um those were

1:07:48all reconciled. 25 bank accounts were reconciled as of June 30th. Our money market accounts um

1:07:54earned an interest rate during the month of June of somewhere of between 3.39% 3.85%. Um so we were

1:08:03managing about $5 million more than we were at the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.

1:08:16revenue was uh positive for all of the funds that um the county managed. Um as far as the operating

1:08:23budget or the general fund, if you will, um it uh finished at 113% higher than what was

1:08:30originally estimated. That was large part due to the registry of deeds. The Dredge Enterprise

1:08:36Fund had a positive year revenue-wise. um it wasund 146% of their estimated revenue um that

1:08:47that um enterprise fund brought in. Um federal and state grant revenue um you'll see that it

1:08:55lags a little behind what um was anticipated. Um $1.9 million was out in um what we call accounts

1:09:04receivable or funds due to the county at the end of the fiscal year. And that's because some of

1:09:10these grants are reimbursement based rather than um the grantor providing funds right up front. Um

1:09:19our special revenue funds, other special revenue funds include funds such as the aqua fund program,

1:09:26um which is our septic loan program that's topping out at a $60 million operation of Barnstable

1:09:33County and a significant operation at that. Um we have the Cape Cod Commission that provide the

1:09:40um uh positive results as you're aware that the commission budgets for um some portion of

1:09:49their revenue estimated revenue to come from their designated um resources um which they did not need

1:09:57to utilize in fiscal year 2026. Um there was also um a capital stabilization funding that occurred

1:10:07in July of 2026 for the prior fiscal year. So we wait, we close out the fiscal year, we see what

1:10:15was being funded from capital stabilization that gets transferred in the month of July.

1:10:20So you'll see that lagging a little bit behind um for your capital program. So you see your capital

1:10:27funds here. There was $40 million that's been appropriated thus far. That's over an abundance

1:10:33of projects that range from um 2000 fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2027. $2 million came in as

1:10:44revenue to another $1.9 billion came in in July of 2026, which is the um current fiscal year of 27.

1:10:56So looking next at just kind of an analysis or a key takeaways of your revenue. Um as I

1:11:03had mentioned um revenue for the general fund or your operating your main operating budget

1:11:10um came in um about u $4 million higher than what was um originally estimated. A

1:11:17lot of that had to do with the registry of deeds. um registry of deeds. We um budgeted

1:11:24um just under $16 million and um just over $18 million was realized in actual revenue from the

1:11:32registry. Income um investment revenue in the general fund was budgeted at a quarter of a

1:11:39million dollars came in just under a million dollars which was positive. Um, another area

1:11:44that is not highlighted here but certainly of significance is the laboratory revenue from

1:11:50the health department came in strong numbers in fiscal year 26. As I had mentioned before,

1:11:58Drudge Enterprise revenue really topped its budget um came in $4 million versus $2.8 $8 million that

1:12:07was estimated and Cape Cod Commission's revenue came in positive results as well. Just to take

1:12:15an overview of your expenditures at this point in time, the general fund expenditures came in

1:12:22within budget 1.9% turnbacks we call them. Um we call those turnbacks. We say what was

1:12:29budgeted versus what was actually expended and what did we return back to the county

1:12:34that was not needed. Um our federal and state grants, our expenditures were $13 million. We

1:12:40had $14 million budgeted. Um and then our capital funds, as I had mentioned, on the revenue side,

1:12:47we've spent $4 million. And you saw on the on the revenue side, we we received $2 million. We spent

1:12:55$4 million. How's that reconciliation happen? That reconciliation happened because we pulled

1:13:01funds $1.9 million that was previously authorized from capital stabilization to fund those capital

1:13:09projects. Kar commission had positive results as well. Dredge was under budget. Um all of

1:13:16the funds that we're managing um were were um had turnbacks at the end of the fiscal year.

1:13:27So we had um general fund that posted a positive $5.7 million surplus. Um our spending um as I

1:13:36mentioned under all departments in the operating budget was within our budgeting constraints. um

1:13:43Sally and Fringe. Um it's about 73% of the overall operating budget, which is the general fund for

1:13:51um Barnstable County and um Cape Cod Commission came under budget as well as George Enterprise.

1:14:00This slide uh reinforces some of what Carol already mentioned is the general

1:14:05fund revenue by source or department. Um it highlights those three key areas that helped

1:14:11um put us in a positive light. Um our main source of revenue, the registry of deeds

1:14:17um was up by 2.4 million above their budget. Um the interest income was also positive at

1:14:23almost a million dollars. And of course the facilities revenue which is related

1:14:28to the state reimbursement for the rental of the county facilities was also ex exceeded the budget.

1:14:34Also wanted to note just that the county tax assessments um all came in at 100% without delay.

1:14:43Um this graph is the general fund expenditures by category

1:14:47for year end which also reinforces the information from the pri prior slides.

1:14:52um that um the general fund expenditures were all under budget and that we had a turn back of

1:14:58approximately 1.9 million um mainly from the expenses fringe benefits and salary lines.

1:15:08Um this slide is showing us the department spending for the year end. Um it does include

1:15:14our new department emergency management. Um and it shows that all departments were

1:15:20um continued to manage their resources and maintained expenditures within their budgets. Um

1:15:25turning back that approximately 1.9 million which helps add to our reserves. Um this is an overview

1:15:34of the Cape Cod Commission who was consistent in um having positive results consistent with prior

1:15:41years. their revenue um collected exceeded their expenses and their expenses were under budget.

1:15:50And this is the Drudge Enterprise Fund um highlighting their year

1:15:54which was very positive due to significant large projects. They had projects carried

1:15:58out in seven of the 15 um towns within the county um navigating their weather

1:16:04and environmental restrictions to um turn in a very positive year.

1:16:11And back to Carol. Um so we have some information some updated information that we've received from

1:16:18um GZA which is your environmental engineers um and Paul um Mello the asset and infrastructure

1:16:26manager um reducing your your anticipated liability or long-term liability from PO POS

1:16:35related projects um down from you know your $60 million figure to something more reasonable such

1:16:42just as $15 million. Um and so this just lays out to to the county um and to you the commissioners

1:16:50um expenditures um that have been incurred thus far through all aspects of this PAS

1:16:58project whether it's the settlement with the town of Barnstable ongoing work um for remediation um

1:17:05operations and maintenance costs as well as you know some projects that the county has taken on

1:17:12with regard to the land capping project and so forth. Um, so you'll see here we've got about

1:17:18$15 million that's been spent or committed thus far. Um, and then looking at the like right hand

1:17:26side of your screen, um, what kind of funding has been secured? Um, and so we look at the the

1:17:32funding, the congressionally um, directed spending that we are underway in securing those funds um,

1:17:41of $3 million. We've got ARPA that we've um uh allotted or committed and expended

1:17:50$4 million. We've got general fund operations um PA stabilization fund um really for operations

1:17:58and maintenance into the future. We anticipate those costs will be somewhere in the area with

1:18:04GCA's assistance. We've anticipated those costs of somewhere in the area of about

1:18:10$300,000 a year. 3 to400,000 would be a safe estimation. Um and with you know the $8 million

1:18:18that has been set aside already, you've um poised yourself into the future. We've also have

1:18:24um $12 million that's been previously authorized as capital project for the remediation and ongoing

1:18:32work with that remediation. um that $12 million um was authorized in 2024 and 2025.

1:18:46So, we want to talk about uh facilities assessment, deferred maintenance. We

1:18:50look at the county complex and other buildings that the county um um possesses, if you will,

1:18:59um such as the second district court, um the former municipal tri fire training academy. Um and

1:19:07so not just buildings that are currently located at the county complex, but um Americaore houses as

1:19:15well. We look at what um the the presentation that was provided to the board of commissioners on June

1:19:2310th, 2026. Um estimated a total of just under $79 million um of deferred maintenance cost. There's

1:19:33been about $12 million that's been appropriated thus far for like courthouse renovations and work

1:19:40to be done at the courthouse. So, you know, we're looking at um about 15% has been already been

1:19:48authorized and appropriated and there's some work that is left to be done um which places the county

1:19:55in great position because you've um put away some reserves to help combat these kind of costs.

1:20:06So now ch kind of changing the subject to cash flow um and providing you some historical

1:20:12information here with um with regard to the county's need to provide sufficient um cash flow

1:20:18for operations. We look at the uh the blue portion of this graph that shows what were the incoming

1:20:26funds, what were the inflows and then the yellow is um really what was the outflows that occurred

1:20:33during 2026. And we can see that it's December before our inflows match our outflows. So we

1:20:42always need to make sure that we have sufficient cash flows to support our operations. We have some

1:20:49costs in July for example that are incurred on July 1st um and that that you know most

1:20:57significantly that's Barnstable County Retirement Association's annual assessment and part of that

1:21:04annual assessment includes the sheriff and the sheriff's um office the county as you're aware

1:21:11is reimbursed a portion of those funds but those funds don't come into the county till November and

1:21:17December. So they're no help July 1st. We need to make sure we have sufficient cash flows on

1:21:24hand to support our operations. Um and then in speaking with uh with regard to the next slide,

1:21:39as I had mentioned, we have a retirement assessment. It's due July 1st. It's over

1:21:43$6 million. We have July and August operating expenses um of $5 million. We have the sheriff's

1:21:53department reimbursement as I had mentioned that is not um received by the county until November

1:21:59or December. Um and then we have semiannual t uh tax assessments to each community. Those are

1:22:07due to the county November and May. Um and so you know roughly you know there's $11 million

1:22:15um due within the first month of the fiscal year. Um the county remains dependent highly dependent

1:22:23on the registry deeds revenue. Um, however, that's volatile, right? Um, and it fluctuates as you're

1:22:31aware. That resolution that you spoke of earlier talked about a 15% um um unreserved fund balance

1:22:40or unassigned fund balance retaining only 15%. If the county retained only 15% and moved the

1:22:48remainder to stabilization, those funds wouldn't be available to offset your operating cost. And so

1:22:55um it would provide an insufficient amount of cash flow. Um so just a recommendation before you

1:23:03would implement something of that nature, I would hope that we would be able to have a conversation

1:23:08and look some um additional analysis moving forward. And just to wrap things up for 2027,

1:23:172027 7 million went out the door in July. Most of that was on July 1st. 2 million went out in

1:23:26August. Only four million was received. So we've got $9 million in outflows,

1:23:32$4 million in inflows. And so we're tracking the same. It's replication um as happened in 2026.

1:23:44That's what we have for you today. We'll be happy to entertain any questions that you have. Very

1:23:51good. Thank you, Carol. Thank you, Deb. Uh, I'm going to go to uh my fellow commissioners

1:23:56first. Uh, Commissioner Bergstrom, do you have any questions? You're muted.

1:24:06Still muted. R.

1:24:10Yeah, this has been We've been consistently um underestimating revenues and also consistently

1:24:17spending less than we anticipated. And this year, last fiscal year is a perfect example.

1:24:24I think we returned something like 1.9 million that we didn't spend. Um, you know, more or less,

1:24:30um, another 15% over and above we received over and above what we anticipated from the registry.

1:24:36So, I mean, it's good. And the big question now is how long will that trend continue?

1:24:42If you remember at the beginning of the meeting, we discussed long-term trends and

1:24:48uh you know whether we can expect this good news to continue. Um I I asked the question

1:24:54then are we anticip are we making projections based on what we anticipated of revenue going

1:25:00forward or are we making projections based on what we actually received in revenue because

1:25:06there's quite two different numbers. So, um, you know, we can make we can make an optimistic

1:25:12projection or or a pessimistic projection, but right now things are good. And I think

1:25:16that's due to Carol and and her staff uh and the uh and the commissioners and the assembly.

1:25:27I agree. And I do think um as we set the budget going forward, we could look at um maybe

1:25:37raising our projection, our anticipated projection, but that's a discussion in

1:25:42the future. And I think this is great information to have to guide that. And

1:25:46I thank you for all your hard work, both of you and the whole team. Thank you. Um,

1:25:58Daryl, you had uh touched on some of the more recent developments on uh the PAS and obviously

1:26:06that sort of you you're getting that information and using it for the purposes of uh updating

1:26:14our our financial uh projections. And I think that's helpful, but I think we as a board need

1:26:20to dig deeper into this particular area with our staff, with Paul, with Michael uh and go over how

1:26:30we anticipate dealing with some of the uh some of the other costs. It's nice to see that the overall

1:26:36cost projections coming down. I think we're all pleased and excited uh with that. I think a lot

1:26:43of it has to do with some of the uh innovative remediation approaches that GZA has brought to the

1:26:48table. But um I think this is this whole topic is going to be a future agenda item. And uh what we

1:26:57need to do is uh revisit this and at least adopt uh uh maybe m maybe with some of the changes and

1:27:05the improvements adopt a a revised game plan in terms of going forward. So, I'm just going to

1:27:10flag that for us as a board and uh the need the need to to dig down deeper in that. Carol, you

1:27:19mentioned a resolution that you wanted us to have a discussion on. Can you um this was what number

1:27:25you you highlighted it one of the slides that one there 82608. Just refresh my memory. What's the

1:27:31latest on this? Where does this sit right now? Um the resolution was adopted by the Assembly of

1:27:38Delegates. Okay. Um that was the conversation or the agenda item that you um had welcomed um at the

1:27:48um the beginning of your meeting. Got it. So it's in their resol resolution. So what we need to do

1:27:53is we need to put this on the agenda for a future meeting. Correct. So that we can get the benefit

1:28:00of your con your your recommendations on this. So let's put that on future things to deal with. And

1:28:06thank you for putting that on there. All right. And uh res we'll just call it resolution 8. Okay.

1:28:15Uh but beyond that, no, I think this is terrific. It's great. Um it seems like each time we do these

1:28:21um financial reviews, they get better and better. Um so, um it's great. And it's great having Deb

1:28:28join us, too. I like having our our dynamic duo uh joining us even though it looks like you're

1:28:35in like a you know the the the conference room at the Holiday Inn. Um I'm glad you're getting

1:28:44use out of that conference room and you're you're pleased with your accommodations. We're we're so

1:28:49used to getting complaints about accommodations. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you the board of

1:28:57commissioners. Thank you. No, you're quite welcome. You're quite welcome. Thank you

1:29:00once again. You're excused. You're free to go. All right. The next item on our agenda moving

1:29:08forward is um uh no new business. And um is there any new business that we need to uh discuss? Um I

1:29:20don't believe there is. I think we're good. Uh the next item on our agenda is our consent agenda. Can

1:29:26I have a motion uh for our consent agenda item? We've got a fairly robust consent agenda. And I I

1:29:38invite my fellow commissioners before um before we actually vote on it, uh if there's any particular

1:29:45item that you would like to cite or comment. Um I I I just want to make a comment about uh item

1:29:53number 2A. This is the uh grant agreement between the Cape Cod Commission and the Mass Department

1:30:00of Transportation um for transportation planning. Um I just want to give a shout out and kudos to uh

1:30:07the commission transportation staff. They just do an incredible job serving all of our communities

1:30:13and also they're very engaged in some of these big projects and uh re regional initiatives. Uh,

1:30:20I can't say enough good things about the work that Steve Tupper and his team, uh, the work that they

1:30:26do. Uh, I represent the commissioners on the MO and, uh, they they do a wonderful job in staffing

1:30:33the MO and keeping us up to speed on all the region's priorities and developments. So, just a

1:30:38shout out to them. But, Commissioner Bergstrom, Commissioner Lions, is there anything on the

1:30:42consent agenda that you want to flag and speak to? That's one thing Mark is normally we have on the

1:30:50consent agenda on number one authorizing final approval of ordinance 20 2620 the supplemental

1:30:57capital budget. I have no problem with that. It's just in the past we've always uh put down under

1:31:03general business the the uh approval of ordinances that come down from the assembly. But I mean I'm

1:31:09I'm not going to object to it and leave it where it is. But it's just a change from past practice.

1:31:14So yeah, I think we put it there because it was a pretty minor item. Uh but I'm I'm I'm happy to do

1:31:20that uh going forward. Anything else, Commissioner Lions? Commissioner Bergstrom? No. Um there

1:31:28would just finish just making sure I read this correctly. So um with that, I am ready to make

1:31:40a motion. If you Go ahead. So I move to approve the commissioner's consent agenda items 8 Roman

1:31:47numeral 1 through 8 Roman numeral Roman numeral 4 including all subsections as listed on the

1:31:57September 9th 2026 meeting agenda. Second. Okay. So we have a motion and a second. Uh any more

1:32:07discussion? Any questions? Okay. Hearing none. Uh, roll call vote. Commissioner Bergstrom. Bergstrom

1:32:14votes I. Commissioner Lions. Lions votes I. And Commissioner Forest votes I as well. It carries

1:32:22unanimously. There we go. That's item number eight. Let's go to item number nine, which is the

1:32:29approval of the minutes. We have the June 29th. Go ahead, chair. I move to approve the um June

1:32:4029th regular meeting minutes and also August 26th regular meeting minutes as drafted. Second. Okay,

1:32:51we have a motion in the Am I right on? Well, um you know what? I'm going to ask Robin if we need

1:32:58to make any adjustments on this before we vote on it. Robin, are you comfortable with that motion?

1:33:09Okay, then I'm going to call for a vote and we'll address any problems if there are any later. Um,

1:33:16roll call vote. Commissioner Bergstrom. Bergstro votes I. Commissioner Lions.

1:33:21Votes I. And Commissioner Forest votes I as well. So, we've approved the minutes for both of those

1:33:27states. Commissioner reports. Um, on this item, do we have any reports from the commissioners?

1:33:38Commissioner Bergstrom? Nothing to report. Okay. Commissioner Lions. Um, no, nothing to report.

1:33:47Uh the only report that I have um for the board is that um we have had since

1:33:54our meeting in which we discussed the Falmouth water situation the drought and the challenges

1:34:01that they are facing. Um we have offered to set up a meeting. I watched their Let me back up.

1:34:13I watched their uh select board meeting uh in which they brought the sub on August 31st and

1:34:22um and at the meeting they talked about con the need to convene a meeting of officials

1:34:29from neighboring towns to talk about their water situation. So, I've offered uh our offices to

1:34:36facilitate a a a regional water supply meeting and uh there are no details on it yet, but we should

1:34:43know something soon. I will keep you posted, but that's my only report for today. Okay. Okay. So,

1:34:52upcoming business, uh I'm going to ask Michael Dutton if he's here. Yes, Commissioner Lance.

1:34:57Okay. So, while we're going to talk about upcoming business, I just want to reiterate

1:35:03um my my suggestion and request of um looking at Prop 2 and a half and also

1:35:13um bringing in the National Seashore uh scientists to give us their take on water and we can invite

1:35:21them for a separate meeting and then invite them to a regional meeting if you wish or they are ask

1:35:26them to present at a regional meeting however they feel best. So, I just want to this section of the

1:35:33meeting. Thank you. I I've been asked the same qu the same concerns. I bumped into a a number of

1:35:40municipal officials and uh I I see a need clearly, Commissioner Alliance, to bring in um folks,

1:35:49people from D, USGS. I think there's some interest uh in um in hearing more about the state of the

1:36:00aquifer. Um that's clearly picking up and USGS as you know they've been like the EF Hutton um when

1:36:07it comes to groundwater on Cape Cod for years and clearly they need to be engaged. I don't know who

1:36:13to reach out at the park service but if you have some names please send them along separately and

1:36:18we'll rope them into the conversation. But I would agree with you and just give us a little bit of

1:36:24time to figure out when people are available and when we can plug those dates in. Right. And I also

1:36:29would include DCR on there because they have a lot to say about the water situation and uh forest

1:36:37fire and how to manage fire and so I think they're a valuable uh contributor to that conversation.

1:36:45Okay. Very good. Thank you, Commissioner Bergster. I'm sorry. Um the contract for

1:36:52the executive director of the Cape Cod Commission expires um I think on October 2nd. Now there are

1:36:59two big contracts that we we sign. One is for the administrator, the other one's for the executive

1:37:06director of the commission. I do believe that the administrator's contract has her provision

1:37:11that he or be notified significantly in advance whether or not going to renew that contract. I

1:37:19think it's something like six months. Apparently, there's no provision in the executive director of

1:37:24the Cape Cod Commission's contract because here it is just a few weeks uh in front of us. Now,

1:37:29I'm remiss. I should have I mentioned this, but maybe I should have followed up on it. Um, I don't

1:37:35think that she should go without a contract. Um, I think we should try to clear this up as

1:37:40quickly as possible. Um, I know that Commissioner Alliance not going to be around physically, but

1:37:47um, I'd like to assign someone. We should have the chair assign someone to sit down with um,

1:37:52the current executive director and try to negotiate a contract going forward and uh,

1:37:58that it could be brought back to the board at the next the next opportunity. I mean,

1:38:03I know that would be lightning speed, but you know, we can't anticipate there'll be we shouldn't

1:38:08anticipate there'll be too many issues. So, I just think that's a Yeah, let me respond. Yeah,

1:38:13we we had wanted to bring this up today in executive session, but um for a variety of reasons

1:38:18that that could not happen. Um I wanted to bring up scheduling a future date um uh you know, as we

1:38:26got through our upcoming agenda. So, I'm going to I'm going to bring this back up. Uh, Commissioner

1:38:31Lions. Okay. I I just wanted to say I'm part of the problem that this was delayed and I apologize

1:38:37to everyone. Uh, this was an unexpected uh situation I'm in here in Maryland. However,

1:38:43I am back on Monday. So, I'm available Tuesday uh Tuesday through Friday and then I'm then I'm on

1:38:51my regular that I did schedule a vacation from the 29th to the I mean from the 21st through the 29th.

1:38:59So, um, if you do have that need, I am I am available next week and, uh, can do that or we

1:39:08can I think the last time we sent one commissioner in, I think it was you, Mark, that dealt with

1:39:14and and that is fine with me as well if it can expedite it and put for Christy at ease that um,

1:39:22just because we haven't said anything doesn't mean we're we're planning on uh, changing uh, changing

1:39:29serious. I I understand. Okay. So, I appreciate that. I I think we should work we should follow up

1:39:37on that and uh offline we'll we'll work with staff to find a date where we can uh take this up. Okay.

1:39:43Thank you. Thank you. Um Commissioner uh actually Michael, why don't you go over our what what looks

1:39:51like is shaping up. In fact, I can let let me add a little bit of u of uh information to the to the

1:39:58board. Um we have been working on our next meeting in Churro. Uh and we've had to juggle the dates.

1:40:05Initially, we were looking at the 23rd. Excuse me. Mashp. Yeah, Churro. I have Churo on my mind. Um

1:40:12a lot going on in Churo. A lot going on in MASHP, too. So, the MASHP meeting is our next road show.

1:40:18Um and um we were looking at the 23rd But for a variety of reasons, we have to move it to the

1:40:2530th. Um, and in our discussions with MASHP, um, there was some interest in bringing up, uh, an

1:40:35update on the pollution up at Joint Base Cape Cod. Um, the situation there varies and, uh, there's

1:40:43a general interest in getting an update on the cleanup, the pollution um, and how that's going.

1:40:50Uh we also have uh some interest in getting an update on the jointbased Cape Cod master planning

1:40:55work that's going on. So those are some of those are a couple of the agenda items. Um I don't know

1:41:01Michael if in your discussions with Rodney Collins and others in MASH if there are any other items

1:41:07that have been advanced but I know that there's going to be some interest in the base. Maybe

1:41:12maybe we do an update on our composting project and bring the MASHP officials up to date on that

1:41:19as well. that might be something that's worth doing. And I know there's a lot of interest

1:41:23in water there as well. So, there may be a water component uh to that meeting uh as well. Michael,

1:41:30did we have anything else lined up? Uh I think I think you covered it all. Took took the words out

1:41:36of my mouth. Um but yes, a discussion about the upper Cape water supply uh issues uh generally

1:41:44was was another thing that came up, but I'm sure that there'll be additional items from MASHB as we

1:41:49move forward. Okay, so that's the latest. Now, beyond that, um uh did we have anything lined

1:41:56up for our October meetings that we needed to address? because um I'd like to see if we can find

1:42:03a date where we can have that water conversation with USGS and some of the other folks that we can

1:42:11work on that um uh and maybe we can see if we can find some time in October or November to do that.

1:42:17Yeah. Would that make sense? add I think it might be even better to have it towards the latter part

1:42:22of October into November because you know right now uh levels of water will be down just from the

1:42:30season you know so this will give a chance to see is there a recharge of what those numbers are so

1:42:40um anyway I would suggest towards the end or November we can get everybody in the

1:42:48So, you do have uh tenatively scheduled an October 14th meeting uh which would be either

1:42:55in the Mary Pat or virtual. Uh there's nothing significant scheduled uh for that meeting yet. Um

1:43:01that's a little ways off. And uh then you've got a scheduled October 28th meeting uh away meeting in

1:43:08Dennis. Uh so those are two options. then you're back to November 11th. Um, which would either be

1:43:18uh in the Mary Patter virtual and and we haven't uh fleshed out agenda items for that yet. That's

1:43:23also I believe Veterans Day. So, we'll have to we've got a little um massaging of the of the

1:43:30schedule to do. Okay. Yeah. We're going to have to move off the 11th, Michael. Yeah. and maybe change

1:43:35that with well we got the the uh we may have to go to the 4th and the 18th in that month is that we

1:43:42can consecutive weeks you know I mean we can if we just we can do two consecutive weeks we don't have

1:43:48to have a week in between if we feel it necessary well there are a couple of other Wednesdays that

1:43:55do make sense the fourth or the and or the 18th so my suggestion would be as we avoid Thanksgiving

1:44:02give staff a break and um avoid Veterans Day because people may be doing a range of other

1:44:09things on that date. So the the 4th and the 18th to me makes sense. Okay. All right. Does that make

1:44:16sense, Michael? That makes perfect sense. Yeah, that's right. Very very good. Um, and I want to

1:44:26make sure that we put on the agenda soon uh this concern that Carol has concerning the uh the the

1:44:38resolution that the assembly has advanced. um if they're proposing something or suggesting

1:44:45something that's inconsistent with our financial policies, I think we should um take action if we

1:44:52have to. Um but I I don't want anything to sort of move forward on that uh on the finances that's

1:45:01outside the line of her recommendations. We need to get her to heard. She's she needs to be heard

1:45:08on this and I don't want anything to happen until we've had a chance to get her on the agenda to

1:45:14talk about this proposal. Um, so I'm assuming nothing nothing's going to take effect on this

1:45:20unless we act. Is that correct, Michael? That is correct. And and your action usually comes through

1:45:26the uh budget calendar and the budget uh message uh which we send out to the departments uh prior

1:45:33to to full-blown budgeting. So from for Carol's perspective, uh for Carol's benefit, nothing's

1:45:40going to happen on that proposed resolution unless we take action on it. Okay, that's good

1:45:47to know. Thank you. And I would like to have that conversation though with her like what is Well,

1:45:52we'll put it on we'll put it on the agenda. So my my my recommendation is we put it on the agenda

1:45:58that um maybe not in MASH but our first one here if nothing's going to happen on it then let's I

1:46:06wouldn't do anything in MASH but I do think it's worthy of a conversation and what's the thinking

1:46:10behind it and what is any if there's a compromise are are you okay that if we have a special meeting

1:46:16next week let's say on the 16th or the 17th since you're around commissioner lines would you okay

1:46:23we'll put that on the agenda for a special meeting and then deal with the other business involving

1:46:31Okay, very good. Does that work, Michael? That works. Um, fine by me. Correct. Commissioner

1:46:38B. Yeah. Just if you read the resolution each each whereas says that they that we they recommend that

1:46:46the board um tell the tell the administrator to do certain things, tell the finance committee. So

1:46:54by its nature the the resolution has no no effect. It's just asking us to do something. So unless we

1:47:01do that it isn't nothing happened. So and I have to say most of those whereas are already done. I

1:47:06mean that's why I was looking at it and throws me off. So careful. Yeah. But anyway I did feel that

1:47:17there wasn't a lot of uh like those things are in place. there's just this one topic that we

1:47:24need to discuss. Yeah. The the the other thing is this the sort of concept of a home rule petition.

1:47:32Um I definitely want it on the list of things to discuss, but we should we should definitely find

1:47:39an appropriate time to bring that up because um you know, I've done my own research. Uh home rule

1:47:45petitions don't exist. There's no state statute that outlines a process for home rule petitions.

1:47:52Uh I've talked to the state librarian. I've talked to folks up at the state house. There's no

1:47:57there's no legal procedure for a county home rule petition. There is a process defined process as we

1:48:04all know for municipalities because we've all been we either are or have been municipal officials

1:48:10at some point in our lives. And uh the home rule process for municipalities is very well laid out.

1:48:17It's very consistent. And uh when you talk about a home rule petition uh you know at the state house,

1:48:23they know exactly what you're talking about. So I think if there's discussion about legislation

1:48:28coming from the county that represents a whole rural petition, I think quite frankly

1:48:34it misrepresents uh significantly what's going on. It sort of conveys the notion that what's

1:48:40being presented uh indeed is something supported by the people of Barnstable County when in fact

1:48:47that is not. Commissioner Lions. Yes. Um if you're talking about different resolutions being sent up

1:48:54there as a home ruled petition, I agree with you. But the county was established under a home rule

1:49:00uh you know condition and um that will be reviewed if the public decides to go forward with a child

1:49:08review that's done under our home rule petition. Now, how that extends to other uh aspects of the

1:49:17home rule petition as it pertains to towns, that would be something to that would become clear

1:49:25during that process, I think. Commissioner, yeah, Mark, you probably know more about this than I do,

1:49:31but it seems that the home rule petition, you just can't submit it directly to the legislature. It

1:49:36has to somebody has to carry it up there. So what we're doing is we're asking some, you know, member

1:49:41of our our delegation to submit a certain request to the legisl certain bill to the legislature. So

1:49:49I mean uh I mentioned that anybody could do that. I mean I get two people off the street to suggest

1:49:55that to the legislator that he he or she submit it. But maybe you're telling me that there is an

1:50:00official home rule petition process that people we can follow. And and then it brings up the question

1:50:06is does it come from the county or does it come from segment of the county you know division of

1:50:13the county there? No, this is this is certainly something for discussion during a charter

1:50:18commission, but uh the the the legal information that I have is that there is no such thing.

1:50:24There's no statute, there's no legal process that creates a county home rule petition. And so when

1:50:32you convey a proposal to legislators as if it were a home rule petition, just calling something

1:50:39a home rule petition does not make it so for uh a matter involving the county. And if there's a home

1:50:45home rule petitions are typically seen up at the state house as municipal in nature, a municipal

1:50:53government's home rule petition. And there's a defined area of um you know uh there's a defined

1:51:04scope of what constitutes an acceptable uh home rule petition for a municipality. Um typically you

1:51:11have to and and procedure. So you have to start with a a draft proposal at town meeting. There

1:51:16has to be a town meeting vote. The selectman have to support it. And like I said it's grounded in

1:51:21law. Um, but there's no nothing similarly grounded for counties or a county home rule petition. So,

1:51:28um, I honestly believe if the legislaturator is looking at something that came from Barnstable

1:51:33County that was spun or crafted as a so-called home rule petition, it just doesn't exist. It

1:51:40does. It's not legal. So all of these proposals that seem to have been cast as home rule petitions

1:51:50um they're they're just not legal cuz um my question for my question has been um if if

1:51:58there's a home rule petition doesn't shouldn't it be at least signed off by the executive like

1:52:02municipal home rule petitions are? And the answer is there's no processes. there's no there's no law

1:52:12authorizing it. So, I think this is going to be a topic of conversation and uh I'm going to work

1:52:18with Michael to figure out a recommended date or time frame to talk about this. But I would agree

1:52:22with you, Commissioner Lions and Commissioner Burkstrom. It's definitely ripe for some attention

1:52:28and clearly a charter commission should should be taking a look at this because indeed there

1:52:33should be a process. we should at least make it abundantly clear what that process is and uh or

1:52:39at least uh pursue a process. So, enough said on that. Um is there any other agenda items that we

1:52:47should be talking about, commissioners? Yeah, just Mark, can I can I just jump in here for a minute?

1:52:53I don't I don't want to go back to the uh executive director issue, but it's obvious now

1:52:59as we set our future agendas that um Christy Sanatoria may be working without a contract

1:53:05come October 3rd. All right. Assuming that she's willing to do that. I mean, what's what's the idea

1:53:12of the board? Are we going to just allow it to allow the contract to expire and she'll just work

1:53:17under I think that's a conversation we can have at our next meeting. Well, we it will be expired by

1:53:23then, I think. Our next meeting our next meeting could be the 16th or the 17th of September. Okay,

1:53:30that would be fine. Yeah. Okay, that's what we just talked about before. All right. Okay,

1:53:35good. Anything else? Any other future agenda items, commissioners? Michael, is there anything

1:53:42in terms of upcoming business that you'd like to put before us? Uh, nothing. Uh, nothing right now.

1:53:49No. Okay. Very good. County administrator staff reports item number 12. All right. I just have

1:53:56a few items for the commissioners. Uh obviously, uh we've had this discussion throughout threaded

1:54:01throughout the meeting, but uh work will begin uh in earnest on the FY28 budget. Um and that starts

1:54:09with uh an internal discussion on revenue estimates and also uh overall strategies

1:54:16uh and the budget calendar. So once the budget calendar is uh is set um and proposed,

1:54:23I'll forward that to the commissioners. Um also just let you know the superior court uh work is

1:54:29well underway at this point um including some interior uh renovations that uh you have funded

1:54:38uh some time ago. Um we have set a date for the hunger summit that we uh discussed at the Haritch

1:54:45meeting. uh that date being Monday, October 26. So, if you can hold that on your uh calendar,

1:54:52I think the proposal is to hold that at Cape Cod Community College, which seems like a fairly

1:54:58centralized location. Uh that makes sense. Uh so again, Hunger Summit on Monday, October 26th. Um

1:55:05and then finally uh the commissioners I've talked about this at some length uh over the number of

1:55:12months but you will see some uh restructuring uh proposals for for several county departments

1:55:19uh in order to more closely align uh the functions uh in the groupings across the county. So nothing

1:55:26uh nothing will come to you that's shocking uh but but that will come to you uh likely at one

1:55:32of your October meetings and I look forward to presenting that. Um and again uh just a

1:55:38reminder your meeting in MASHP will be September 30th uh and not the 23rd. And that is what I

1:55:46have. Excellent. Very good. Any questions for the administrator, Commissioner Lions or Commissioner

1:55:53Bergstrom? No. Nope. Very good. Motion to um I can move to the next motion. Go ahead. I move to Okay,

1:56:05it's 11:55. We have a second. Uh any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call vote. Commissioner

1:56:11Bergstrom. Ma Burkstrom votes I. Commissioner Alliance votes I. And Commissioner Forest votes I

1:56:19as well. It's been unanimous. And I want to thank everybody for their help and support for today's

1:56:26meeting. And uh have a great day. Yep. And I just want to see Christie here. Thank you Christie for

1:56:32understanding. We'll take care of it. We'll get there next week. Okay. Thank you. All righty.

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