2026-10-14 - Board of Regional Commissioners

07:17Uh, I want to welcome you to the Wednesday, October 14th, 2026 meeting of the Barnstable

07:25County Commissioners. It's uh 10:02. Um, this is a virtual meeting, so all our votes will

07:33be roll call votes. Um this uh meeting is being conducted um in accordance with um all applicable

07:43laws concerning virtual uh public meetings. Anyone wishing to participate can do so by accessing the

07:50meeting uh via Microsoft Teams or may view the meeting in the live broadcast which we have on

07:57our Barnstable County YouTube channel or on our website at kitcod.gov. uh anyone you who wishes

08:05to use audio or video to record this meeting should acknowledge to let everyone know that

08:11there's a separate recording of this. So there's anybody out there in the uh the virtual universe

08:18making a separate recording please uh let us know. Okay. Now the next item on the agenda is a call

08:27to order. I see we have a quorum. Commissioner Lions is here. Commissioner Bergstrom is here.

08:33Obviously, I am here. So, I'm going to call this meeting to order. And uh we are going to begin

08:40with the uh pledge of allegiance. All right. And if we can get the flag up there, Morgan.

08:51Good to go. All right. Go. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

08:58States of America. and to theublic to the republic for which it stands.

09:04One nation nation god indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

09:16Very good. Uh the next item is uh I'm going to ask everybody uh to

09:21uh join us uh in a brief moment of silence to reflect on the bravery

09:25and the sacrifices of all those who have put their lives on the line in defense and

09:32uh service to our country protecting our safety, our freedom and our democracy.

09:50Very good. Thank you. Uh the next item on our agenda is a usually public comments.

09:57And is there anybody who's joining us who would like to uh speak to the board? Uh I don't see

10:04anybody seeking recognition. Robin, do you see anyone seeking recognition? No sir. Okay, very

10:11good. Um let's move on to the next item which is general business item number five on our agenda.

10:18Um this is uh we we have this on the agenda. This is ordinance 2026-11 ensuring community safety

10:26and lawful federal immigration enforcement uh as approved by the assembly of delegates on October

10:327th. And I'm just going to have uh the county administrator uh Mr. Dutton uh update us as to

10:40uh where things stand in the review of this. Thank you uh Chair Forest. Um this ordinance is as you

10:48know the the assembly has been working on this for quite a number of months um putting in a lot of

10:53thought and uh and effort into uh this ordinance. Um, you may recall that the commissioners also

11:01uh passed uh two times passed a policy or passed a resolution um allowing us to follow the the uh

11:11executive orders, the governor's executive orders, I believe they were 650 and 655 and then also

11:17follow the provisions track the provisions of the protect Act uh which was passed believe uh much

11:24earlier in the summer. Um so this order uh this ordinance rather is sort of a follow-up to that.

11:30Uh it is in your packet and you can see um that the I will say that the assembly uh public safety

11:37committee did uh take a number of my concerns uh into account. Um they voted this on October 7th.

11:46We received it on October 8th. Um and so it is uh duly passed by the assembly and forwarded to you

11:53per policy. Um, I will say in my discussions uh with uh county council, there are some concerns

12:01uh that she raised over this um over the the terms many of the terms uh contained in in the um in the

12:09proposed ordinance. And if it uh if it uh sort of uh if they the commissioners agree, I would

12:19suggest that it might be uh appropriate to set this aside right now until uh county council has

12:27had a a chance to really vet this more thoroughly. Uh we also obviously want to vet the final version

12:35uh thoroughly internally uh and see what the impact to uh staff would be because there is

12:41certainly is the potential that there'll be impact to staff. So, um, so my recommendation to the

12:46commissioners would be to take no action at this time, uh, until we get some, uh, final thoughts,

12:54um, and opinions from county council and also, uh, so that I can vet it more thoroughly, uh, through

13:01county staff. So, that's, uh, my short report. Um, but happy to answer questions on that. Um,

13:09I have no questions. Commissioner Lions. Um, thank you. Uh, this kind of brings up I was thinking

13:16about this and you know they have the ability of an ordinance or a resolution and many times when

13:23I was on the assembly we mostly did resolutions because you know ordinances they don't always

13:30do what they want what you think they're going to do. It's not like we can enforce that law,

13:34you know, or some in some instances, and I'm not sure if we can here. And I'm going to bring up

13:39another related topic of security and that sort of thing, which is the flock cameras. I sent that

13:46to Michael that I wanted to um discuss that in addition, but you know, if the if the assembly

13:51sent this as a resolution, you know, that's making a statement that this is what we believe and how

13:57we will conduct ourselves in the event. And I think that's a good way to go if they want to

14:03send it back that way or we can just think about it and have our attorney review it more. And I

14:09was thinking more of a resolution of maybe this I went to a presentation on flock cameras the other

14:14evening here in Wellfleet and um a lot of towns are pulling them out. You can see that there

14:20was a push back across the Cape. There was even an article in the Cape Cod Times that there's Sheila,

14:26I'm going to I'm going to ask if we could talk about the cameras as a future agenda

14:31item. You can you can sort of briefly discuss why I think it's our best interest just to let

14:37this ride for now and get more information. Yeah, I'm I'm very much interested in in the

14:43administrator's recommendation to sort of uh review this with council, make sure that we're

14:47clear on what problems there are and how they can be addressed. Commissioner Bner. Yeah. You know,

14:53I have a couple issues with this. One is that um when we passed the original um [clears throat] uh

15:02original request to go along with the governor's um protect Act, it basically parallels what the

15:10Commonwealth of Massachusetts was requiring. So we we were sort of insulated, not totally

15:15insulated from legal action, but if somebody were to sue us or complain, they'd have to complain

15:20about the governor, too. So in safety, there was numbers. And in in numbers, there's safety. This

15:26goes a little beyond that. And so I'd hate to see this um you know, attacked successfully because of

15:35extra details that are put in there that weren't in the original protect Act. The other issue is

15:40it requires uh action on behalf on behalf of the administration which to me violates the

15:49charter. I mean we administrator works for us the commissioners. If the assembly is going to start

15:54passing ordinance telling the administration what to do and we're going down a path that I

15:59think is unprecedented and it would create uh innu innumerable conflicts. All right. And the

16:06other issue is of course if we don't act on it technic theoretically according to the charter

16:11it goes into effect after 10 days right so I mean I I'm I'm I'm of the opinion and I agree with the

16:19administrator we should just not do anything let it go into effect at least according to the uh

16:24wishes of the assembly and uh whether it actually has any effect or not that's something we'll find

16:30out down the road so those are my those are my objections I mean everybody this is a popular

16:35issue Nobody likes ICE. Everybody wants to stand forward and say they're doing something about it.

16:40So, I understand that that's why the assembly promoted this, but the devil is in the details

16:46and we have to be careful what we do because there can be inevitable push back. So, we have to be on

16:51firm ground. Okay. Very good. Uh, are there any other questions for the administrator on this one?

16:58I think it's it's pretty much a consensus that we're going to take no action until we hear back

17:03from the administrator and council in terms of their review. Is that satisfactory? Okay,

17:09good. Um and I don't think we need to take a vote on it because um you know we're basically

17:14going to take no action. Let's move on to the next item on our agenda, which is um uh an

17:22update on proposed regulations to the accessory dwelling units. Um uh regulations uh that the

17:34that are under the authority of the executive office of housing and livable communities.

17:40Just for some background, um we received word last week that the uh administration was proposing new

17:48regulations that would limit the ability of the towns uh to enforce uh or adopt certain

17:56rules and regulations regarding Title 5 and um and and and septic systems. And so as well as

18:07um uh innovative technologies which are being promoted quite extensively on Cape Cod by DP. So

18:16uh we asked Brian and um Michael Dutton to take a look at the situation what was being proposed and

18:25uh uh you know Michael had put together a letter sent some comments in because the deadline was on

18:32Friday. We literally had no time. So, Michael and Brian have been collaborating, working on

18:37this. I've asked Brian to join us just to kind of update us and the public on these new regulations,

18:44what they mean, what the problems are, what the complications are for the town, for the county,

18:49the implications, and talk a little bit about some of the points that were made in the letter that

18:53was submitted to the state. So, Brian, welcome. Good morning. Great to see you. Good morning.

18:59Thank you for having me. Um I do have a very very brief presentation just to pull up so we're all

19:06referring to the same thing here. Um everybody see this? Okay. Yep. All right. So one slide and

19:14what I really just wanted to do was bring up the regulation that's kind of you know got everybody

19:18concerned. Um and I I will start with saying that this isn't um with respect to the changes uh that

19:26come uh to title 5 or our ability to regulate septic systems locally. Um the the existing

19:33um set of 760 CMR71 regulations from uh for affordable housing ADU units um were already in

19:42place. So this has been an issue for a little bit now. Um, but there have been some language changes

19:46and consolidation of information and I think this kind of bubbled up again. Um, and um, there's

19:52obviously there's some pretty significant concerns here that I think um, you know, a lot of lot of

19:57folks around the area that work on this stuff feel haven't been adequately addressed by either

20:03uh, the housing administration or by D. U, but the regulation, the major change here um, is in this

20:11section uh, 71.033B3. 033B3. I love how they bury these things. In regulations, you get, you know,

20:17these recursive numbers. Uh, but it is in section three under unreasonable regulations. Uh basically

20:25saying any requirement issued by a municipality including any municipal department, board or

20:30commission concerning utilities, safety, health, emergency access and on-site wastewater disposal

20:35that is more restrictive than is permitted by state requirements is considered an unreasonable

20:41regulation under 76 CMR 71. Uh so basically what that means is any any board of he board of health

20:49regulations that have been put in place um to further extend title five to really meet our local

20:58needs uh do not apply. Um only the title five baseline uh set of standards can be considered

21:06when it comes to accessory dwelling units. Um, now reading through some of the documentation from DP,

21:14they have a whole uh FAQ that was originally issued in April of 2025 and revised in September

21:20of 2025. I can't find a newly updated version from them. Um, this doesn't necessarily impact

21:28as strongly our uh natural resource area, the nitrogen sensitive wersheds that we've

21:33been working on, at least those 31 um areas with respect to what we put in our watershed permits,

21:41right? It would still impact any additional septic regulations in those areas. So, we would need

21:46to be careful to make sure we're including all those things, I think, in our wershed permits.

21:50But as we all know, nitrogen doesn't necessarily respect these watershed boundaries that we have

21:56uh set up through the the NRNSA program. Um and there are wersheds that need protection beyond

22:03what D is allowing us through this, you know, the the best available nitrogen reducing technologies.

22:07All of this wershed permitting. Um that's you know one of the major concerns with this is ADUs

22:14um would be subject only to standard title 5 requirements in those instances. Um so if it's

22:22uh you know if it's not located in a zone 2 area of watershed protection or wellhead

22:27protection for public water supply um there are certainly instances where a homeowner could put

22:32in an ADU in an area that we do want to protect but we wouldn't be able to. the board of health's

22:38hands would be tied uh in those areas. Uh as you all know uh chap chapter 111 really provides the

22:47the the regulatory authority that boards of health frequently exercise for adding these requirements.

22:52It's actually called out in title 5 as one of the referred to uh sets of legislation. Um, and it's

23:01uh specifically called out in other sections of title 5 that give towns the ability to apply local

23:06requirements based on their local geological conditions or you know wetland conditions,

23:12watershed conditions. Um, and this uh set of regulations from um our housing folks uh

23:19would would really tie our hands with respect to that. So, um, as you mentioned, Michael and I put

23:24together a letter which was sent out to enumerate a few of these concerns, really just focusing on

23:29the title 5 aspects of this. I think, um, you know, looking at some of the comments that were

23:34submitted, there are a number of changes to this regulation that towns are really concerned about

23:38with respect to zoning and other definitions, but being my focus areas on title 5, that's what

23:43we really focused on for what we sent in. So, I'll pause there. Um, and Michael, if you want

23:48to jump in with anything here, I can just answer questions. Uh, no, Brian, I think that's that's

23:54a really good uh synopsis of the of the proposed regulation. Um, one of the things that it really

24:00highlights is the disconnect, at least in in our view, the disconnect between DP, the regulations

24:07and and laws that D uh focuses on and and now the HLC, housing and livable communities and

24:15the regulations they're focusing on. And in many cases, they are directly uh you can argue that

24:20they're directly conflicting. Um and so so one of the recommendations that that we made to the state

24:27in our letter was uh you know engage engage in more meaningful consultation with certainly with

24:33the affected parties but also quite frankly with with other state agencies that that have interest

24:39uh in in uh in the regulations. Um so just to follow up with the what we requested we asked

24:47the that the proposed regulatory uh amendments uh be withdrawn um and rethought. We asked to engage

24:55in meaning meaningful consultation um and we wanted uh to make sure that the state was going to

25:02reaffirm its commitment to nitrogen reduction. Um and most importantly and I think this is the clear

25:08part um provides some consistency and clarity uh with regard to to conflicting regulations.

25:15So but but otherwise Brian I thought encapsulated uh our letter very well. Thank you Brian. Thank

25:22you uh Michael. Do any of our commissioners have any questions for Brian or Michael?

25:32No, I'm just glad and I want to thank Michaela for pointing that out before it was too late and

25:37I just don't know who's making these decisions on the state level in the end themselves. So,

25:46yeah. Well, let me I'm I'm glad I'm glad I appreciate your comments. Uh, Commissioner Lions,

25:52uh, Commissioner Bergstrom and I attended the Cape Islands Municipal Leaders Association meeting

25:57last Friday in MASHP and, uh, as you mentioned, Michaela Wyman Colbo uh, has been very outspoken

26:07and very engaged in getting the word out on this. And so at the meeting of uh this group uh

26:14the group endorsed a letter very similar to ours uh expressing concern uh similar concerns about

26:21this proposal. So the the the word is clearly getting out and Cape communities are submitting

26:28uh letters of concern uh letters of opposition to this proposal. Um, I think Commissioner Lions, you

26:34make a very good point and that is is, you know, is the right hand talking to the left hand? Uh,

26:39that we have agencies working in silos and there needs to be some kind of coordination. Uh, a lot

26:45of this I'm concerned about is that there hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on Cape Cod

26:50right now to comply with the D requirements. And if somehow a state agency thinks that they can

26:57sort of undermine um you know uh these efforts to to to to regulate and control nitrogen uh you

27:05know it puts at risk some of the work that we've been really trying to do to comply with uh D and

27:10these various [clears throat] federal and state laws. Um, in looking at Brian's presentation,

27:15the question that that popped up, uh, you know, after hearing Brian speak is,

27:24um, I don't see how a regulation can trump a statute that the boards of health operate under.

27:32um regulations that are typically inconsistent with a statute, particularly one as powerful as

27:39the one that the board of health, all boards of health operate under, the authority that

27:44they have is quite significant. And uh without some corresponding weakening of that statute,

27:53um you know, this this regulation may very well find itself uh not only not only is it

27:58impractical and inconsistent with what other state agencies are doing and what towns are doing and

28:05the county's doing on the Cape, but it may it may very well be illegal and not be able to withstand

28:11a challenge. So to me, I honestly believe that if this measure goes through, we or in conjunction

28:20with the towns may have uh legal standing uh to challenge uh this law. This seems to be part of

28:28a pattern on Beacon Hill where we have uh agencies and the legislature doing things to undermine home

28:37rule and uh some of our initiatives to protect the environment. And I think to some degree we're

28:43being penalized for the work that we're trying to do to protect the environment. And I think uh I'm

28:49I'm glad we've weighed in. I'm glad other towns have weighed in. Um but this this may not be over.

28:54This may very well be just another flash point in an ongoing battle that Cape Cod is having uh with

29:01the with the Commonwealth. And uh we just have to be prepared to sort of dig in and stand tall.

29:09Anybody else? Well, we wanted this on the agenda just to brief everybody and to make sure that

29:14uh you know we we could, you know, have a conversation, have a discussion. Obviously,

29:18I've been talking to Brian and Michael about making sure that we get something in and I'm glad

29:23uh we're all on the same page on this. There's no motion with this discussion. It's basically just

29:29an update and to make sure that everybody's aware of the work that we're doing to try to

29:34uh inform state officials of the of the problems that this proposal creates. So,

29:40I think we're in reasonably good shape. So, thank you, Brian. Thank you, Michael. Thanks for the

29:44updates. Very welcome. Thank you. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is new business. Is there

29:50any other new business from the commissioners? Commissioner Bergstrom, do we have any new

29:54business? Nope. I'm all set. Commissioner Lions, um my new business. No, it's future agenda. No,

30:02I do not have County Administrator Dutton. Do we have any new business to take up? Are we good?

30:11You're muted. Nothing from my perspective. Okay. Thank you. Let's move on to item number seven,

30:18which is the commissioner's consent agenda. And uh um I'm happy to take a motion. There are a

30:25number of contracts to approve and uh would one of my fellow commissioners like to make

30:30a motion? Yes. Um Mr. Chair, I move to approve the commissioner's consent agenda items seven ro Roman

30:40numeral 1 through 7 Roman numeral three including all subsections as listed on the October 14th,

30:492026 agenda. Second. So we have a motion from Commissioner Lions and we have a second from

30:57Commissioner Bergstrom. Um, is there any more discussion on the consent agenda? Are there any

31:03items that people would like to highlight uh for any reason? Okay. Well, um, hearing that

31:13then I'm going to ask for a vote. Commissioner Bergstrom. Commissioner Bergstrom votes I.

31:18Commissioner Lions votes I. And Commissioner Forest votes I as well. It passes. The consent

31:24agenda item number seven passes unanimously. Moving on to item number eight, uh the approval

31:32of meeting minutes. Uh you have in your packets the September 30th, 2026 minutes and uh we have

31:40um the 10 a.m. meeting and the 3M meeting. So we're going to take them separately. And can I

31:47have a motion on the uh the 10 a.m. meeting of September 30th? Um, I move that we approve the

31:55minutes of the 10 a.m. meeting of September 30th. Okay. Do we have a second? Second. All right. So,

32:04we have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Any deliberation? Okay. Hearing

32:10none. Um, Commissioner Bergstrom. Commissioner Bergstrom votes I. Commissioner Lions. Lions votes

32:16I. And Forest votes I as well. The motion carries unanimously. With respect to the September 30th

32:25regular minute meeting meeting minutes of our 300 PM meeting, do I have a motion? Yeah, I move that

32:32we approve the meeting minutes of the se of the 3M September 30th um regular meeting. Regular meeting

32:41and Commissioner Lines, do I have a second? I second that. Okay, so we have a motion and

32:45a second. Um any discussion hearing? None. Roll call vote. Commissioner Bergstrom. Commissioner

32:51Brookstrom votes eye. Commissioner Lions. Lions votes eye. Very good. Um, so that passes

32:58unanimously. So we're now on to item number nine on our agenda, which is commissioner reports. Do

33:05we have any reports? I'll start with Commissioner Lions. No, I'm going to save it for upcoming

33:12business. Sounds good. As directed. [laughter] Um, and Commissioner Burkstrom. Any other

33:21No, I don't have anything to report. Okay, let's move on to item number 10 then. Upcoming business.

33:27I'm going to turn it over to I have something. [laughter] Okay, Commissioner Lions, go ahead.

33:32What do you got? No, I I as it turned out, I had listened, of course, if anybody doesn't know,

33:38uh, C-SPAN is my sort of go-to station to learn things, and there was a discussion by a professor

33:44from Alabama, uh, who was, um, discussing privacy laws and the Supreme Court actions over the years.

33:53And it was fascinating and it really made me start thinking about this whole discussion.

33:58And I was reading about the flock cameras and you know I have been in Maryland where there's cameras

34:03everywhere and you know part of me was like you know this really is behavior modification because

34:08people were really going by the speed limit and um but then in thinking about it where some of

34:16these are being used in a more extreme way. It's not just uh police looking up your number seeing

34:22your record and uh you know pulling you over for a ticket or whatever. uh it goes beyond that and

34:28we know that Nantucket had a episode where there was an officer you know stalking his girlfriend

34:35through it and that sort of thing. So towns are really um up in arms across the Cape and it's

34:42on a lot of towns agendas and a lot of police I think three police departments have pulled

34:47them since. So there's a different variation of these cameras. Flock is just a manufacturer and

34:53I've learned all this because the following night there was a discussion which I thought was kind

34:57of is this really necessary but I found it very um enlightening and the discussion from people

35:04of how little by little we keep letting go of our privacy and I don't think that people understand

35:12um what we're doing and I just think it's something to look into a little bit more

35:16and maybe have a more thorough dis discussion if for nothing to educate people and be aware

35:24of all of the new technologies that are invading uh our private space and therefore our freedom,

35:31our sense of freedom and um you know this is a bipartisan you know thing over the years and we

35:39just follow into it. It's just corporations giving new products and gee this is easy and we don't

35:46think twice and I think it's we're coming to the time that we do have to start thinking. So I just

35:52wanted to bring it up for a future agenda item to be discussed. I will bring more information

35:58and even try to get some people to talk about it. That be great. So thank you. That'll be great. All

36:05right. Anything else under agenda item number nine? Okay, let's move on to number 10, which

36:12is upcoming business. I'm going to send this back to county administrator Michael Dutton. Michael,

36:18future, how's it looking? Thank you. Um, so just a couple of uh upcoming items that I wanted to

36:26uh highlight. One is the uh hunger summit, which you're well aware of. It will be held at the

36:32cultural center of Cape Cod in Yarmouth on Monday, October 26th. So that's uh coming up. Um also the

36:42uh Americanore swearing in ceremony which is tenatively scheduled for Wednesday, October 28th

36:50um in uh in the Mary Pat tenatively in the Mary Pat room. Um excuse me. Um we also have know we

36:59have a public hearing that we have to conduct uh for the rail crossing um uh relative to the

37:07replacement of the Sagamore bridge that is uh we are waiting to hear from uh Department of

37:12Transportation uh on a date their preferred date and we will schedule that. We have committed to

37:18holding a hearing inbourne uh for that um for that uh item. [clears throat] So look for that. uh we

37:27hopefully we'll know today what their preferred dates are. Um and then uh your regular meeting. So

37:33we're we're still trying to figure out the second meeting of the month of October. Um we've got some

37:38scheduling challenges there, but we'll figure that out. Uh but your meeting of November 4th,

37:45uh your first meeting in November, uh you will hear um first quarter financial results uh from

37:52Carol, our finance director. Uh you'll also hear uh an update to the county's long range financial

37:58forecast a as well as a draft uh review a draft budget message um for for your approval. Um and

38:08uh and financial outlook are tied with that that uh that budget message. Um and so that is that is

38:14what's coming up. Um we're looking at a date of Friday, December 4th uh for a dredge summit. So

38:21Ken Cerillo and I are are working on that one uh as well. So um so that's that's the near future.

38:28Um but happy to answer any questions about that. Commissioner Lions, Commissioner Bergstrom, any

38:35questions for the administrator in terms of their upcoming agenda? Um I I on the Commissioner Lions,

38:44go ahead. Thank you. On October 28th, I believe is a Wednesday, the Americanore swearing in.

38:50Do we have a regular meeting that day or no? Yeah, that's just going to be the swearing in. Yeah.

38:56Now, I just want to alert my fellow commissioners that uh there's a press conference that will be

39:01taking place with Congressman Keading that day at 10:30 at Cape Cod Healthcare and the two I

39:09I will be there. Um and uh uh the it involves uh an ecological restoration project that I've been

39:18working on uh with the Cape Cod Conservation District. Uh my comm fellow commissioners are

39:23welcome uh to join me. We're going to be announcing funding for the uh the start

39:28of that project and Congressman Keading has been a as we all know he's been incredibly helpful to

39:33the county but he's also been helpful on a number of environmental projects. So, I will be tied up

39:39there. And uh my fellow commissioners, you're welcome to join me there with a host of other

39:45dignitaries. Uh it's a big day for Cape Cod. It's a big day for this project. And that should start

39:50at approximately 10:30 and go to 12. So that's where I'll be. And like I said, you're welcome

39:57uh to join me on October 28th. Yep. And that's the same day as the swearing in. Yeah. I don't know

40:05what time the swearing in is. Uh and and and as you know, these press conferences are pretty much

40:10dictated by the congressman's schedule. Right. Right. So, um we'll make that we'll we'll talk

40:18and make Yeah. Hopefully the swearing in can be afterwards and there can be something done in the

40:22afternoon on the swearing in so that we have the opportunity to do both and um because otherwise,

40:29like I [snorts] said, it's going to be pretty busy over at KitKat Hospital for this event.

40:33I guess it all depends on how much they want us there at the American [laughter]

40:41the county has had a peripheral has has had a has been an important partner in

40:46um ecological restoration. Uh we've been able to develop a very ambitious uh coastal restoration

40:53project that has won reviews uh within within the department of agriculture the the the natural

41:00resources conservation service. Uh we've got we've got partnerships with a host of groups in

41:06all the towns on Cape Cod and the of these areas was helped launched by um you know our coastal

41:16resources committee at one time led by you know uh Dr. Bob uh uh Duncin from from Chadam. And so

41:25uh this is part of his legacy. This is part of the county's legacy. Um, this plan got approved by the

41:32Congress uh back in 2001. It was largely because the county helped facilitate regional support

41:39for this and regional buyin and because of that um the authorizing committee signed off on this

41:46um and the funding from this has underwritten some incredibly important projects. The one,

41:51as you know, Commissioner Lions, the uh the Herring River project. um right that

41:56$30 million in funding for the restoration of the Herring River came out of this effort and has gone

42:03to Wallfleet uh to help bring that project about. And so there's been some major ma major projects,

42:10very visible projects. Uh we've got a lot of projects going on in Chattam. Um we're working

42:15on the Ryder Riders Cove uh herring run, the only one in Chadam of of of real significance um in

42:23the town of Chadam. become a priority for that town and we're working with them. Like I said,

42:27this program has projects in every uh part of Cape Cod, every community, and um uh the NRCS

42:38leadership um the deputy director was here on the Cape a month ago, was incredibly impressed,

42:45and we anticipate that the director of the NRCS will be making a visit soon uh to Cape Cod to

42:51review some of the work. Um over a hundred million dollars has been raised for this initiative. And

42:58again, like I said, the county played an important strategic role in helping getting this launched.

43:05So, I think it's only appropriate that uh you know, the county have a place and uh you know,

43:12at at this event to um acknowledge and thank the congressman and thank the others for helping

43:19us get funding for it. They uh all the permits have been put together on this project. Again,

43:26it's Bay View Bogs Restoration. It's right next to Cape Cod Hospital, right across the street. Um,

43:32and the hospital has actually helped us raise some money uh to do some of the construction work. So,

43:37it's a very exciting It's going to be a very exciting day and uh I'm I'm looking forward

43:41to it and I and I and I hope you can make it. And it's not far, so that's a good No, not at all. No,

43:48I mean it's literally literally a 10-minute 15 minute ride between the the the the courthouse now

43:56um or the uh again we're not going to do this at the courthouse. We're doing this up at the Mary

43:59Pat Flynn conference room. Is that it, Michael? That's right. Correct. It'll it'll be on the

44:04campus, but uh between the Mary Pat and the and the band stand just below the Mary Pat. Uh we're

44:10not not quite sure yet, but Okay, sounds that's the plan. All right. any other stuff or any other

44:17bit meetings or events that are underway that we need to get on our calendars or we should talk

44:23about Mr. Dutton? Uh nothing other than what I reported. Okay, good. Let's move on to the

44:30next item. Uh number 11, county administrator and staff reports. Um um thank you. Uh just a a quick

44:39uh three item, four item uh update. Superior Court project. As you know, if you've driven by,

44:45uh most of the superior cord, at least on the front side, uh is encased in uh scaffolding

44:50and also uh uh sheathing. And so that that work is progressing uh so far without without

44:59uh much of a hitch at all. Uh that's the good news. Um, in terms of uh budget, uh, Carol is,

45:07I mentioned earlier, working on our 10-year uh, projections, updating those 10-year projections,

45:12and those projections will play into our budget uh, our draft budget message that you'll review in

45:19uh, first meeting in November. Uh you should also know that uh bit of sort of in inside baseball

45:25piece of information but we transitioned uh our Munis system which is our comprehensive financial

45:32system from uh a a location-based uh uh system to essentially a cloud-based system. Um so that went

45:41without too much of a hitch. So that's uh that's really good news uh because those transitions can

45:46be quite tricky uh at times but so far uh went without much of a hitch at all. So uh kudos to

45:52our IT department and the finance department for working together on that. Um, also just let

45:59the commissioners know, uh, Marty Green, who has been program manager for the fire training, uh,

46:05program, is, uh, stepping down from his, uh, role as, uh, as project, uh, manager or as as program

46:13manager. Uh, at the end of this week, um, he will stay on as an instructor. Uh, but, uh, did want to

46:20let you know he's stepping down from his role. on an interim basis, we've asked Andrew Platt,

46:27who's director of emergency management, uh to step in and oversee that program. Uh Marty's tenure

46:34uh was very successful in terms of uh implementing a really robust mobile um training program.

46:42Um he has also been very helpful in in bringing the the burn building uh located in Yarmouth uh

46:50construction of the burn building uh to a to a fairly uh certain close uh very soon. So So

46:57Marty's really really done very well for us. So we wish him uh well in his semi-retirement I'll say

47:05uh because he'll still be around. Um and that is what I have. So I thank you. Any happy to answer

47:11questions. Commissioner Lions, Commissioner Bergstrom, any questions regarding staff? Um,

47:17with respect to this the Superior Courthouse, how is how is that project progressing? Is

47:22it pretty much on schedule? On budget? Yep. Progressing on on uh schedule on budget. Um,

47:30no no major blips. I mean, every construction project, and this is a construction project, has

47:36uh, you know, minor bumps along the way. Uh but I think there's excellent communication uh between

47:41the contractor, the county, uh the architect, the the owner's project manager. So I think

47:48uh I think um knock on wood uh we'll continue that way um until we get to the end. So yep,

47:55it is on schedule. That's great. That's great. Well, good to hear. Um, hearing that there are

48:02no other queries for our county administrator or staff, uh, let's move on to item number 12 on our

48:09agenda. Uh, do I have a motion on item number 12? Yes, Mr. Chair, I move that we adjourn.

48:19Thank you. Second. Second. All right. We have a motion and second. Is there any

48:24discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor say I. Commissioner Bergstrom. Commissioner Burkshire

48:29votes I. Commissioner Lions votes I. All right. And Forest votes on it as well. So it's unanimous.

48:36We are adjourned. It's at 10:44. And uh I hope you have a great day. Thanks everybody. Thanks all.

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