2026-08-11 - Select Board Meeting

00:04order. Welcome and to the Charlton

00:08Select Board meeting August 11th, 2026.

00:11The time is 6:30 p.m.

00:1430 on Town Me Town Hall meeting room 1,

00:1737 Main Street, Charlton, Mass. This

00:19meeting is being recorded and broadcast

00:21live by Charlton Cable Access TV on

00:24Spectrum TV channel 191 and recording

00:27available on YouTube channel for

00:29Charlton TV. Any member of the public

00:32who wishes to record this meeting must

00:34notify the chair. If we could all rise

00:37for pledge of allegiance.

00:42I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

00:44United States of America and to the

00:47republic for which it stands. One nation

00:50under God, indivisible, with liberty and

00:53justice for all.

00:59>> Okay. And

01:02Mike for announcements, please.

01:04>> Yes. Uh announcements for the select

01:06board meeting August 11th, 2026.

01:09The town hall will be closed on

01:10Thursday, August 13, 2026 for employee

01:14professional development and

01:15appreciation day. The last day to

01:18register to vote for the state primary

01:20on September 1st is Saturday, August

01:2222nd from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the

01:24town's town clerk's office. Early voting

01:27in person hours can be found on the town

01:30clerk's website. At the senior center

01:33August 17th at 10:30 a.m. Talk on

01:36American Revolution part three with

01:38professor John Hubris. August 19th is pi

01:42the pite

01:44podiatry clinic by appointment. August

01:4725th 3:30 monthly grief support group. A

01:51virtual design public hearing will be

01:53hosted on the Mass DOT website to

01:55present the design for the proposed

01:57project in Sturbridge and Charlton, Mass

01:59for the intersection improvements on

02:01Route 49 and Putnham Road, Walker Pond

02:04Road, and Route 20 on Wednesday, August

02:0712th, 2026 at 7 p.m. The hearing will be

02:11hosted or a cancellation announcement

02:13posted at the

02:14massgov.org/division/events

02:16orgs highwayvents

02:20at the library. Summer reading wrapped

02:22up on Friday, August 7th. We had over,00

02:25participants of all ages this year. From

02:29August 24th through September 11th, we

02:31will be collecting arts and crafts

02:33materials, fabrics, yarn, paper,

02:36patterns, tools, beads, etc. for their

02:39third annual craft swap. Our very own

02:43popular craft supply swap will be back

02:45on Saturday, September 12th from 10:00

02:47a.m. to 2 p.m. Everyone is welcome to

02:49come and take materials regardless of

02:51whether or not they donated. The police

02:53department is hosting a dog days of

02:55summer event on August 20th at 5:00 p.m.

02:58at Bay Path. At the DCRSD school

03:01committee meeting held on July 29th,

03:042026, they voted to hold a special

03:07district-wide election on September 20th

03:10for towns to consider a loan

03:11authorization vote for capital projects.

03:17>> Okay. [clears throat] Thank you, Mike.

03:19Um, it's time for open form. If anybody

03:22is here for open form, come forward.

03:28Two seconds.

03:29>> It'll be two seconds.

03:31>> Good evening.

03:33>> On August 1st, Saturday, August 1st, we

03:36had an event held at 508 on Brookville

03:38Road. That event led to traffic issues

03:41for the residents in town, cars parked

03:44on both sides of the road, uh numerous

03:47people walking to and from causing alarm

03:50in the area. I'd like to have a

03:52discussion further down the road with

03:54508. an al alcohol may or may not have

03:57been served that day according to the

03:58website which would require a special

04:00alcohol license. So just want to get

04:02ahead of this before we have issues so

04:04that we did a large event in the future

04:06we know how to address it. There's good

04:08communication back and forth.

04:10>> Thank you for your time.

04:11>> What the um we want to request that as

04:14an agenda item for

04:15>> do we need to

04:18>> I think they should be present at least

04:19you can hear what happened or what how

04:21do we fix it so there's communication on

04:23both sides.

04:25Yeah, for the next meeting is

04:27>> make a motion to add it to the agenda

04:29for next meeting

04:30>> and send a request to the owners of 508

04:33to be present.

04:36>> Give them notice.

04:37>> Do we want the August meeting or the

04:38September meeting?

04:42>> If I could just

04:45kind of go with Karen on this one only

04:47because we also want to make sure and if

04:49we if we go to September like Karen

04:51mentioned that might give time

04:54So we don't meet and we don't have all

04:57the answers. Did this happen? Did that

04:59happen? Was alpha gives you guys time to

05:00get all that information and then we can

05:03have the conversation with all the

05:04answers in September.

05:06>> Do we know if they have more events

05:08scheduled between now and September?

05:11>> Maybe not to that scale. There's a bunch

05:13going on.

05:17>> Okay.

05:18>> So we also want No, no. We also want to

05:21reach out to him and find out when he's

05:22available also. Yes. And now so we give

05:24him more time.

05:26>> Okay.

05:26>> So I'll go with

05:30>> Thanks, D.

05:33>> So Mr. Chair, do we need to Nothing yet,

05:37but it'll just be

05:37>> just take that as a request.

05:40>> Hi, I'm Kathy Jolliker, 67 Sandersdale

05:43Road. I um was here in June talking

05:46about the Child and Earth Day roadside

05:49cleanup. I spoke with you guys and I

05:52just wanted to update you on the

05:54positive outcome. I'm thrilled and I I

05:57TK did not come to a meeting yesterday.

06:00I wanted to ask him how to pronounce his

06:01last name. So, I'm going to do the best

06:02I can. But I was thrilled that the

06:05Macowski family who owned Ted's package

06:07store was willing to install bin for

06:10buyers or roadside cleaners to discard

06:13nips at all four liquor retail locations

06:16in Charlton. The Macowski family has

06:19pledged to give the keep child and

06:20beautiful committee $250

06:23every time the bin is filled up to

06:26$10,000 a year as they had stated also

06:29at that um meeting. Um I am just ex

06:33that's an extremely generous offer and

06:35I'm thrilled. The bins however are just

06:40awaiting signage to be installed but

06:43their presence and statement are

06:46imminent. I will re revisit this board

06:49when and also posted on Facebook and you

06:53know our page on the town website when

06:56the um bins are installed. TK Ted's son

07:01also has become a member of the keep

07:02child and beautiful committee. Um, I

07:05would like to encourage others to become

07:08members also. So, we have different

07:10voices on that board. We meet once a

07:12month. Right now, it's every Tuesday at

07:154:30. TK is uh great for this committee

07:19because he can share his concerns for

07:22the earth from a younger viewpoint and

07:25has already shared that his three

07:26daughters are gung-ho on environmental

07:29issues.

07:31I had asked this committee when I was

07:34last here to send a letter to our state

07:35reps to let them know of our interest in

07:38bringing the vote to expand the bottle

07:41bill to the floor for a vote. I'm happy

07:44I was happy that you agreed. I

07:46understand that some members did not.

07:48They were opposed because they already

07:51recycled, I'm sure, through their trash

07:53hauler. So, increasing bottled deposits

07:57would be a financial hardship. But I do

08:00want to make a point.

08:02Since June, to make this point, I

08:05decided to clean roads that had not been

08:08registered to clean at the end of the

08:10April roadside cleanup. I cashed in $90

08:16from returnables uh and plenty of nips.

08:21That is 2,160

08:25bottles in litter.

08:27There was zero hardship for me. I never

08:30paid a nickel for any of those bottles.

08:34My point is that people are willing to

08:38clean roadside litter, supplementing

08:40their income, funding programs,

08:44providing scholarships while keeping

08:47recyclable materials out of our

08:50landfills.

08:51Charlton receives funds from various

08:54provisions, projects, policies, and

08:58events that promote reducing, reusing,

09:02and recycling. Those monies along with

09:05the generous donations expected from

09:08Teds will allow us to expand our efforts

09:12at keeping Charlton beautiful.

09:14Two projects worth mentioning.

09:17The keep beautiful committee has three

09:20planters. I don't think I mentioned

09:22these before, but I might have. Um, we

09:24have three planters that our members

09:26take care of. They're on the median

09:28across from child and optical and they

09:30really look beautiful this year. Um, we

09:33wanted to install planters in other

09:34areas of town to along with signage

09:38perhaps that suggest that passers by

09:40would keep our town litter free. We'll

09:43decide if that's something that we want

09:45to expand on depending on whether or not

09:48we have residents willing to care for

09:50the planters and if that's what people

09:51want with all this money we're going to

09:53be getting. Um we've also commissioned

09:57two young artists known as the

10:00resorcerers apprentice.

10:02They're going to be hosting a clothing

10:05upycling workshop at the Charlton

10:08Library. It's a beginner sewing,

10:11fashion, craft, mending themed event.

10:15Textile waste is a major environmental

10:19issue overfilling our landfills. Please

10:22check out the resourcer apprentice

10:25workshop on the keep chton beautiful

10:28Facebook page or the child earth page to

10:31register. as this event is not sponsored

10:34by the library but instead by keep

10:36challen beautiful. It's not listed on

10:39their um official calendar of events. I

10:42just want to say thank you again coming

10:44here was a really positive um

10:47circumstance and positive outcome and

10:50thank you.

10:51>> No fantastic. Thanks for the update.

10:53Yeah, it's really good news. It's such a

10:56good collaboration between local

10:58business and um I do have a question for

11:00you. Do you have a I'm assuming you have

11:03a booth at old home day?

11:05>> Yes.

11:05>> Are you at Old Home Day? We were also at

11:08um Blueberry Festival and people were

11:11really polite listening to me go off on

11:14the TEDs thanking Teds because I'm just

11:16so proud of it. Um and everybody that

11:20listened is ve very supportive of um

11:23this program. I'm hoping actually to

11:27present it to the keep Massachusetts

11:29Beautiful

11:31Alliance to possibly be a showcase for

11:35it and maybe get it started in other

11:37towns as well because people really and

11:39truly support

11:41>> especially the NIPS collection.

11:43>> Fantastic.

11:43>> Yeah.

11:44>> Fantastic.

11:45>> Thank you. You're the chair.

11:47>> Just uh Kathy had mentioned one thing is

11:49I don't have a question for you. Okay.

11:51Uh I don't recall what we what I thought

11:53we took an action to vote. I thought the

11:55majority of the board wanted to send the

11:57letter but um if we could look up what

11:59we decided

12:01was sent

12:03>> Oh, we did send it. Okay.

12:05>> Was a while ago. I just wanted to make

12:06sure that was done. Okay, perfect.

12:09>> Where where it went.

12:13>> All right. Thank you.

12:16>> Okay, that's it for nobody else for open

12:18forum. We will move on to

12:21Approval of the minutes. I would accept

12:23a motion to approve the minutes of July

12:247th, 2026.

12:27>> Second

12:28motion in a second. All in favor?

12:30>> I

12:30>> I

12:34>> appointments and resignations. Andrew.

12:37>> All right. First uh is to action is to

12:40affirm the highway labor appointment for

12:41Anthony D. Bonaventura.

12:44Interviews were conducted on July 9th,

12:462026 for the highway labor position by

12:49Nick Peele, Mark Oliver, and Lind Dyer.

12:51The recommendation is to appoint Anthony

12:53D. Bonaventura to the position pending a

12:57Corey background physical drug screen

12:59reference check as stated uh as

13:02recommended in his letter. The start

13:05date was August 3rd, 2026. The board was

13:08asked to sign a signatory appointment

13:10letter and to reaffirm his appointment

13:11this evening.

13:13Mr. Chair,

13:14>> motion. Yes.

13:15>> So moved.

13:17>> Second. Second.

13:18>> All in favor?

13:19>> I unanimous.

13:22>> All right. Next, we have the appointment

13:23of traffic constables. Uh, police chief

13:25Dow is asking the board to appoint the

13:27following as traffic constables till

13:28June 30th, 2027. Paul Russell, Natalie

13:32Stevens, and Kayla Dyke. I recommend the

13:34board make the appointments as

13:35requested.

13:38>> Second.

13:40>> Motion second. All in favor? I

13:42>> I unanimous.

13:44>> All right. And finally, we have a

13:45resignation from the Council on Aging.

13:47Attached is an email from Erlene Murray

13:49resigning from the Council on Aging

13:50effective July 29th, 2026. The board

13:53should accept her resignation and a

13:55letter thanking her for her services in

13:56your sign.

13:59>> Accept a motion to accept with regret.

14:03>> So moved.

14:04>> Second.

14:06>> In favor?

14:06>> I. Thank you for your service.

14:10We are right on time for our first poll

14:13hearing. Couple minutes late.

14:14>> All right. Uh attached, you'll find a

14:16request from Massachusetts Electric

14:17Company, DBA, National Grid, and

14:19Verizon, Inc. requesting to install

14:21permission to install one joint pole on

14:24Bomb Road for a new residential service.

14:26Also attached is the notice that was

14:28sent to the Abutters. This request has

14:30been forwarded and approved by both

14:32police chief and DPW superintendent. No

14:34comments or concerns have been received.

14:36The chairman should open the public

14:37hearing by reading the notice as sent to

14:39the abutters. I recommend the board

14:41approve their request.

14:46for the public hearing notice. The

14:47Charlton Select Board will hold a public

14:49hearing on Tuesday, August 11th, 2026 at

14:526:40 p.m., excuse me, [clears throat] in

14:54the Charlton Town Hall, meeting room 137

14:56Main Street, Charlton, Mass

14:59to act on a request from Mass Electric

15:01Company, DVA National Grid, Verizon, New

15:03England Incorporated, requesting

15:06permission to locate poles, wires,

15:07fixtures, including necessary sustaining

15:09and protecting fixtures along and across

15:13the following public way. Bond Road

15:16National Grid to install 1J pole on Bond

15:19Road beginning at point approximately

15:221679.52

15:24feet north of the center line of the

15:26intersection of Coen Road and Bond Road

15:28installing pole number 33-52

15:31in a public way for a new residential

15:34service. Anyone wishing to be heard on

15:36this matter should appear on this date

15:38and time specified or submit concerns in

15:41writing prior to the hearing.

15:45So, is is there anybody in the audience

15:48for this hearing?

16:00>> Hi, I'm Robert Williams. I'm with

16:01National Grid for the pull.

16:04>> Welcome back. Good to see you. Are there

16:07any other concerned residents in

16:18No questions. I just assume

16:22>> make motion to close the hearing.

16:24>> Motion to close the hearing.

16:28>> Motion and a second to close the

16:29hearing.

16:30>> Second. All in favor?

16:31>> I post. Okay. Moving on to

16:34[clears throat]

16:36>> I want to take a vote for Do I have a

16:38motion to accept

16:41the full installation?

16:42>> I would move for as recommended.

16:45>> Second in

16:46>> favor. I

16:57>> There you go.

16:59>> All right. Our 645 poll hearing is for

17:01Oxbow Road. Attach will find a request

17:03from Massachusetts electric company DBA

17:05National Grid and Verizon New England

17:07Inc. requesting permission to install

17:10two Jono poles on Oxbow Road as midspan

17:13poles for long O span of wires. Uh also

17:17attached is the notice that was sent to

17:18the abutters. This request has been

17:20forwarded and approved by both the

17:22police chief and DPW superintendent. No

17:24comments or concerns have been received.

17:26The chairman should open the public

17:28hearing by reading the notice as sent to

17:29the utters and I would recommend the

17:31board approve the request.

17:33>> Okay. Later on down the agenda, I'd like

17:36to add a an agenda [clears throat] item

17:37for the future that we shorten this

17:39paragraph on the public hearing notice

17:40for polls. So, but I'm going to read

17:42this here. Public hearing notice.

17:44Charlton Select Board will hold a public

17:46hearing on Tuesday, August 11th, 2026 at

17:496:45 p.m. The Charlton Town Hall meeting

17:52room 137 Main Street, Charlton Mass to

17:54act on a request Electric DBA National

17:57Grid Verizon New England Inc. requesting

18:00permission to locate poles wires

18:02fixtures including the necessary

18:04sustaining and protecting fixtures along

18:06and across the following public way.

18:09Oxboro Road National Grid to install two

18:12JO poles on Oxport Road, a beginning

18:14point approximately 258 ft from the

18:17center line or the intersection of

18:18Oxboro Road and Davidson Road and

18:21continuing approximately 175 ft in a

18:25west direction, installing BS 25-50 and

18:2824-50

18:29as midspan pole for a long span of

18:34wires. Anyone wishing to be heard on

18:36this matter should appear on this date

18:38time specified and submit concerns in

18:41writing prior to the hearing.

18:44Is there anybody

18:47in the audience here on this public

18:48hearing?

18:52Hearing none,

18:54I would take a motion to close the

18:56public hearing.

18:57>> Move to approve as requested.

18:59>> Close the hearing.

19:01>> Motion to close the public hearing.

19:03>> Second.

19:04>> Second. All in favor?

19:05>> I

19:06>> I. Now a motion to vote.

19:07>> Move to approve as requested. Second.

19:10>> All in favor?

19:11>> I unanimous

19:13that

19:17>> 6.

19:19We've got We're a few minutes ahead

19:23for 650 meeting.

19:29>> Too far.

19:30>> I'll get right into it.

19:32>> Yeah.

19:32>> All right. 650 6 chapter 61 removal

19:36request for parcel ID 10-B-2.7

19:39G Road owned by St. Mark Coptic Op

19:42Coptic Orthodox Church attaches a

19:44request from Francis A. Nero Esquire on

19:47behalf of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox

19:49Church requesting to remove from chapter

19:5261B approximately 3.04 4 acres of land

19:55as shown on assessor's map 10 uh map 10,

19:59block B, lot 2.7 located on Gould Road.

20:04The planning board, board of assessors,

20:06conservation commission, and water sewer

20:08commission have all reviewed the request

20:09and have no objection to the town

20:11choosing not to exercise their right of

20:12first refusal for this request. The

20:15chairman should open the public hearing

20:16by reading the attached public hearing

20:17notice, and I'd recommend the board not

20:20exercise the right of first refusal for

20:22this property.

20:23Public hearing notice. Please be advised

20:25the Charlton Select Board will hold a

20:27public hearing on Tuesday, August 11th,

20:292026,

20:306:50 p.m. the Charlton Tallen Hall

20:32meeting room 137 Main Street, Charlton,

20:35Mass 01507

20:37on an act request by Frank Nero, Esquire

20:40in behalf of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox

20:42Church, who intends to sell land

20:44consists of approximately 3.04 acres for

20:48other use located on Gold Road as shown

20:51on assessor's map. 10-B 2.7 and record

20:55in Worcester District Registry of Deeds,

20:58book 19160, page 94. Anyone interested

21:01in this should appear at the date and

21:03time specified or submit concerns in

21:05writing prior to the hearing.

21:08So, is there anyone here to in the

21:10audience for this hearing?

21:14>> We did not receive any concerns or

21:15writing relative to this request.

21:18>> Okay. I would ex um accept a motion to

21:22close the public hearing.

21:22>> Move to close the public hearing.

21:25>> Second.

21:25>> Second. All in favor?

21:27>> I.

21:28>> And then following Andrews, I would

21:30accept a motion not to exercise

21:33our right of first refusal to the

21:35property.

21:36>> So moved.

21:38>> Second.

21:39>> All in favor?

21:40>> I.

21:40>> I.

21:42>> Okay. Moving right ahead. Right down

21:44here. Now we are on our next one. We are

21:48five minutes ahead of that one. So would

21:49you like me to jump down to some of the

21:50action items?

21:53All right.

21:57Um, first action just to take a little

22:00bit of time here.

22:01>> All right. Go ahead. Which one?

22:03>> Uh, first action item. Uh, 10% asphalt

22:06rubber surface treatment of various

22:07streets bid award. Bids were open and

22:10read for the 10% asphalt rubber surface

22:12treatment of various streets. On July

22:148th, 2026 at 10 a.m. One bid was

22:18received. DPW Superintendent Peele

22:20reviewed the bid and is recommending the

22:22board award the bid to All States

22:24Construction Inc. in the amount of $4.70

22:27cents per square yard. I'd recommend the

22:30board approve the bid as requested.

22:32[snorts]

22:34>> Motion to approve [clears throat] the

22:35bid as requested.

22:38>> Second.

22:39>> All in favor?

22:40>> Ianous.

22:44>> All right. Our next item is uh for

22:47requested action on tax title property

22:49uh 22B- A-1 on Hammond Hill Road. So on

22:53July 6th, the town received foreclosure

22:56judgment involving the property on

22:58Hammond Hill Road, parcel 22B-

23:02A-1.

23:03The new [clears throat] tax title law

23:05requires the town to take specific steps

23:07after the judgment enters. The town has

23:1060 days after judgment is entered to

23:12notify the former owner and former

23:14interest holder um that the town will

23:17either be retaining the property for

23:19municipal purposes or selling the

23:21property. The town has a deadline of

23:23Friday, September 4th, 2026 to issue

23:26notice to the former interested holders

23:28of uh of the town's decision on

23:31retaining or selling the property. I

23:33provided an overview of u the process

23:35either for retaining or selling the

23:38property. Uh because the property

23:41properties are now town owned, the

23:42decision as to whether to retain or sell

23:45should be made through a vote of the

23:46board. After uh internally reviewing the

23:49property, I'd recommend that the board

23:50vote to sell the property after

23:52foreclosure.

23:53>> So move second.

23:57>> All in favor?

23:58>> I unanimous.

24:04>> All right. Our next one in there.

24:05>> Yeah, get one more. All right. Next item

24:08will be to open the special town meeting

24:09board for October 19th, 2026 and approve

24:12the calendar. We have scheduled the

24:15special town meeting for Monday, October

24:1719th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at Charlton

24:20Middle School. I would ask the board to

24:22approve the date and open the warrant.

24:25We have confirmed that the date is

24:26available with Charleton Middle School

24:27as well as town clerk, town council,

24:29finance committee, and the moderator.

24:31Also attached is the calendar for the

24:33fall town meeting for the board's

24:34approval.

24:38You have a motion to open some

24:40>> motion to open the warrant and schedule

24:42the meeting for the 19th of October.

24:44>> Second on that.

24:45>> And do we have to approve the calendar

24:47as it is too?

24:48>> You had one.

24:50>> Yeah, I think all three things, right?

24:52>> If you want to make that as a singular

24:53motion, that's

24:56>> so what David said plus approving the uh

24:58the calendar as listed.

25:01>> Do you want to read the calendar?

25:04Sure, no problem. So, uh, our procedure

25:08on this will be that on Tuesday, August

25:1011, 2026, the board will open the

25:12special town meeting. Welcome. Um, on

25:16Wednesday, August 19th, 2026, the

25:18finance committee will review and

25:19prioritize their CA draft capital plan.

25:23On Tuesday, September 8th, the board of

25:25selectment will close and review the

25:26draft special town meeting requests. On

25:30Wednesday, September 16th, the finance

25:32committee will discuss, review, and

25:33approve the capital plan and financial

25:36items. On Tuesday, September 22nd, the

25:39board of selecting finance committee

25:40will finalize the special town meeting

25:42war with and motions. And by Thursday, A

25:46October 1st, 2026, the meeting will be

25:48posted with the town clerk with the

25:49special town meeting on October 19th.

25:55>> Mr. Chair, I'll amend my motion to match

25:57her second. Okay, second. So, all in

26:00favor?

26:00>> I

26:04[snorts]

26:06655.

26:07>> And we are to [clears throat]

26:11>> All right. 6:55 p.m. Chapter 61 removal

26:14request parcel ID 10-B-2.6

26:18G Road owned by St. Mark Coptic Orthodox

26:21Church. Attaches a request from Francis

26:23A. Nero, Esquire on behalf of St. Mark

26:26Coptic Orthodox Church. requesting to

26:28remove from chapter 61B approximately

26:302.77 acres of land as shown on

26:33assessor's map 10, block B, lot 2.6

26:37located on Gould Road. The planning

26:40board, board of assessors, conservation

26:41commission, and water sewer commission

26:43have all reviewed the request and have

26:44no objection to the town of Charleton

26:46choosing not to exercise the right of

26:47first refusal. For this request,

26:50chairman should open the public hearing

26:51by reading the attached public hearing

26:53notice. I would recommend the board not

26:54exercise the right of first refusal on

26:56this property.

26:58>> Okay. [clears throat] The public hearing

26:59notice. Please be advised that the chton

27:01select board will hold a public meeting

27:03hearing on Tuesday,

27:05August 11th, 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Chton

27:08Town Hall, meeting room 137 Main Street,

27:10Child Mass 01507

27:12to act on a request by James Armeni,

27:16attorney at law on behalf of Helen

27:18>> Rosari.

27:23Wrong nose.

27:25Shake that. Reverse it.

27:28>> Scratch that.

27:29>> Yeah.

27:40>> I was I was on a roll, too, though.

27:41[laughter]

27:42>> I thought I almost had it memorized. I

27:44didn't even need my glasses. Yeah, I

27:46know. All right. Here we go. All right.

27:47Are you sure? [laughter]

27:49>> All right. Public hearing notice.

27:51>> Please be advised the Charlton Select

27:53Board will hold a public hearing on

27:54Tuesday, August 11th, 2026 at 6:55 p.m.

27:58at the Charlton Town Hall, meeting room

28:00137 Main Street, Charlton, Mass, 01507

28:04to act on a request from Frank Nero,

28:06Esquire on behalf of St. Mark Coptic

28:08Orthodox Church, who intends to sell

28:10land which consists of approximately

28:122.77 acres of other use located on Gold

28:16Road as shown on assessor's map. 10-B2.6

28:23as recorded in the Worester District

28:25Registry of Deeds book 989 Plan 2.

28:28Anyone interested should appear the date

28:30time specified or submit concerns in

28:32writing prior to the hearing. And is

28:35there anybody in the audience for this

28:37public hearing?

28:40Seeing none, then we have no no nothing

28:44submitted.

28:47Okay,

28:47>> make a motion to close the public

28:49hearing. Second.

28:51>> All in favor?

28:52>> I unanimous and then we'll take a vote

28:54to not exercise our right of first

28:56refusal.

28:59>> Second.

29:00>> All in favor?

29:01>> I unanous.

29:05We're getting the hang of this.

29:10two minutes. Would you like to jump to

29:11the next one or another uh action item?

29:19The um

29:23>> another action item.

29:24>> Take one more action item. Okay.

29:27>> So, the letter to Mass Legislature.

29:30>> Sure. Um, at the board's last meeting,

29:32resident Bonnie Cipher came forward and

29:34asked the board to send a letter to the

29:36Massachusetts legislature urging

29:38legislative leadership to implement the

29:40independent audit of the legislature by

29:42the state auditor that the Massachusetts

29:44voters approved in November of 2024.

29:47After discussion, the board requested to

29:48add this as an agenda item for tonight's

29:50meeting. A copy of the letter is

29:52attached for the board's review and

29:53approval.

29:56>> Okay.

29:58>> I'd like to make a motion we approve

30:00this letter and send it off.

30:03>> Have a second.

30:04>> Second.

30:05>> Any discussion on that or

30:08>> anybody in the a anyone in the audience

30:10want Well, we haven't voted yet. We

30:11haven't voted yet.

30:12>> We didn't vote yet.

30:13>> What What's the percentage again? I

30:14can't I can't quite see that without my

30:16glasses.

30:17>> Um

30:18>> I just want to add to it that Paul Frost

30:21openly supported that as well.

30:24>> Yeah, you know, in our that's Thank you

30:27for that. And that's both of our state

30:29reps and our state senators have been

30:32supporting this. The town supported it.

30:34Um

30:35it's always good to remind the state

30:37house I suppose and can't hurt. So good

30:39job on this putting it together and

30:41going through that and going through the

30:43patience of our policies.

30:56>> Yeah.

30:57Yeah. Let's hope it lands on on positive

31:00ears. So, we have a motion.

31:03>> We'll vote on that.

31:05>> Vote.

31:06>> We don't.

31:07>> We didn't vote.

31:08>> We don't vote on the letter.

31:10>> No, we don't vote on the letter. All in

31:11favor?

31:12>> I. Unanimous. Excellent.

31:16>> Thank you.

31:17>> Thank you.

31:17>> Thank you.

31:18>> Thanks for your work on this.

31:21>> All right. It being 7 o' we have a

31:24chapter 620 removal request for a young

31:26road parcels ID 21-

31:31A-9

31:33and 22-B1

31:36attaches a request from James Mer

31:39attorney at law on behalf of Helen var

31:41roarizeritis

31:44individually and individually and as

31:47trustee of the Helen varoseritis

31:49revocable trust of 2011 dated August

31:5411th, 2011.

31:56Gene laoseritis, Khalil Lar Roeritis

31:59individually and Clear Rosaritis as

32:02personal representatives of the estate

32:04of Suzanne Loroseritis to remove

32:07approximately 77.8 acres of land on a

32:10young road as shown on assessor's map

32:1322-9

32:16and 22-B2-1.

32:21The uh planning board, board of

32:23assessors, conservation commission, and

32:25water sewer commission have all reviewed

32:27the request and have no objection to the

32:29town of Charlton choosing not to

32:30exercise their right of first refusal

32:32for this request. As stated in the

32:35proposed use statement attached, the

32:37buyer's intent for the land include

32:39creating residential development

32:41consisting of single family homes. They

32:43also intend to restore Texas Road, which

32:45was once used as an old car road.

32:47According to the submitt, the buyers

32:49have met with the board of the Charlton

32:50Heazard Heritage Preservation Land Trust

32:53to collaborate ideas for creating a

32:55residential neighborhood and creating

32:57green spaces and walking trails while

32:59leaving as many old growth trees as

33:01possible. On July 22nd, 2026, we

33:05received correspondence from Bill

33:06Lockach from Bay Colony Properties

33:09asking the board to assign the right of

33:10first refusal to Cape Hill Nature

33:13Sanctuary. Mr. L states that his company

33:16would underwrite the purchase of the

33:17property for Cape Hill in exchange for

33:19Cape Hill would transfer 30% to Bay

33:22Colony Properties. Mr. Lock has stated

33:25through the correspondence that the that

33:27their primary interest is to create a

33:28buffer to the west of industrial

33:30building they are planning on land they

33:32own in Oxford. The chairman should open

33:34the public hearing by reading the

33:35attached public hearing notice.

33:38>> Public hearing [clears throat] notice.

33:40Please be advised the child select board

33:42will hold a public meeting on public

33:43hearing on Tuesday August 11th 2026 at 7

33:46pm the child and town hall meeting room

33:48one 37 main street mass 01507

33:52to act on a request by James or mei

33:55attorney of law on behalf of Helen

33:58Loieties

34:00individually and as trustee of the Helen

34:02v loadies reckable

34:07re revocable trust on 2011

34:10UDT dated August 11th, 2011. Jane

34:13Laorazziottis Cahill Laurazziadis

34:16individually in Cahill

34:18Razi as personal representative of the

34:21estate of Susan Lorziottis of their

34:23intent to sell and convey the forestry

34:26for residential development use under

34:28MDL C61-61.

34:34Approximately 77.8 8 acres of

34:36undeveloped land on a young road located

34:38in Charlton Processors parcel 21A-9

34:43and 22B-1.

34:45Anyone interested should appear at the

34:48date and time specified or submit

34:50concerns in writing prior to the

34:51hearing.

34:53Is there anybody in the audience for

34:55this hearing?

34:57There were several people. Please um

35:00>> he had his hand up first if you want.

35:03>> All right. If you want to come up front

35:04and

35:15>> say your name and company in here,

35:16Chris, I don't believe you're you're not

35:17from town. So,

35:20>> property

35:22[clears throat] live in Bill Lock L.

35:26Name of company is Balling Properties.

35:32Okay.

35:34Do you have any comments to to

35:37>> Okay, thank you asking questions. Um,

35:39>> no. As Andrew mentioned, we are

35:41interested in creating a buffer uh to

35:45the west of the uh 200 acres that we own

35:48in Oxford that we're planning to do an

35:50industrial building on. Um

35:54we today we submitted a signed letter a

35:58formal letter signed by myself and Capen

36:01Hill you know asking the board to assign

36:03the

36:05uh right to purchase to Capen Hill we

36:08will fund it uh we will take 30% of the

36:11land capable Capen Hill will have 70%.

36:14the 30% that we would take would be on

36:16the eastern side. We would attach it to

36:20um you know the land that we own in

36:22Oxford. And our intention um we haven't

36:26publicly publicly announced plans for

36:29the building in Oxford yet, but similar

36:31to the Kazowski property, it's on a hill

36:34in the middle of the hill to the west

36:36and to the east of the hill a

36:38significant slope. So there'll be the

36:40size of the site is 200 acres. We're

36:42probably going to use about 80 and

36:44there'll probably be another 120 or so

36:47left as open space to the east and the

36:49west of the building. Access would be

36:51through Route 20 and the Boulder

36:53Industrial Park. The land that we would

36:56um acquire from the Capen Hill people

37:00would be um

37:02uh to the to the west of the you know

37:05100 acres that we're not using. Um, we

37:08haven't agreed with Capen Hill to make a

37:10financial donation to support the

37:12operation of the property, but that's

37:14our intention, similar to what we did,

37:16you know, with Capen Hill over in the

37:17Amazon project, you know, on on Route

37:2020. Um, I would also add that in the

37:24last few days I've been contacted by the

37:26broker for the Lozeritises as well as

37:28the buyer, Pete Messier, and we've had

37:30discussions about splitting the property

37:33up and allowing him to take the land on

37:36the western portion of the property to

37:38build houses on and for us to take a

37:40portion of the eastern land. We haven't

37:42u um they they've not done extensive

37:47planning yet. We don't we have an old

37:49topo that we have when we started

37:50working on the Oxford project three four

37:52years ago. Um we didn't have it handy.

37:55We're expecting it to get to get in in

37:57the next couple days. And we're

37:59anticipating that we could have reached

38:01an agreement with Pete, you know, to

38:02split the land up accordingly and uh and

38:06have him build, you know, on the western

38:08portion and have us preserve the um you

38:11know, the eastern portion. Um I met with

38:14Pete. He's a he's a young guy. He's a

38:16gogetter. He's a good guy. He lives in

38:18the neighborhood. We don't He's He

38:21actually tried to buy several parcels

38:23that we subsequently bought that are in

38:26Charlton and Oxford. The Quinsey Trust

38:27piece, which which is uh fronts on the

38:30Turnpike, about 2,000 ft of frontage on

38:32the Turnpike, it's owned residential.

38:34And then the two pieces below it between

38:37Old Texas Road and Old Charlton Road,

38:39the Miller parcels, which we bought. He

38:42tried to get both of them but couldn't

38:44get access to them, you know, for his

38:46purposes. So, he's been trying hard to

38:48get, you know, a project going in this.

38:50He lives on either Priscilla or

38:52Davidson, I forget which. He's he's got

38:54a couple young kids. He's trying to get

38:55his business going. And um, you know, we

38:59don't want to just callously come in and

39:01and preclude this opportunity from him.

39:04So, we're optimistic that we can work

39:05together and work something out.

39:07>> We just But you haven't worked that out

39:09yet, right? Well, we just got we're

39:12seeing we're seeing some conflicting

39:13emails over the maybe maybe it's maybe

39:16better move to let the gentleman behind

39:18you go and then

39:19>> Sure.

39:19>> I have the I have the question though.

39:21>> Yeah. Can I just say one more thing

39:23before I get the um

39:24>> we just got notice of this uh a couple

39:27weeks ago. So the notice was filed on

39:30May 26th.

39:32>> As Andrew and Mary can attest, I've

39:34probably stopped by town hall 10 times

39:36over the past couple years since it

39:38filed filed. Is it filed? We've hired a

39:41chapter 61 attorney who specializes in

39:43this to assist us and they will also

39:45work with Capen Hill. So, I apologize

39:47for the last minute nature of this and

39:49the correspondence, but um but we're

39:52working on it as fast as we can.

39:54>> Is there a reason you haven't gone

39:55public with what's going to be built in

39:57Oxford?

39:58>> Uh Mike, it's a crazy reason. One of the

40:02parcels that we agreed to buy uh was

40:05sold by the town of Oxford at a tax

40:08auction. It was bought by Rick Hill, a

40:10concrete guy over in Boulder Industrial

40:11Park. His plan was to do storage units

40:14on the eastern half and to sell the

40:16western half of it to us to and to our

40:18parcel. He went into the town and the

40:21town rejected his storage plan because

40:23the Boulder Industrial Park is a

40:26condominium trust and he didn't own the

40:28land under it. So technically he had no

40:31uh right to own the land. So we bought

40:33the industrial park to solve the access

40:35of the land access issue. Then when his

40:38surveyor went to close the boundaries on

40:41the on the property, he couldn't close

40:43them knowing that we had we've purchased

40:45I think 13 or 14 parcels in Oxford and

40:48in Charleton that the building that

40:51we're referring to would be completely

40:52in Oxford. It wouldn't be in Charlton.

40:54[snorts] Um he couldn't close the

40:56boundary. So we asked our survey and

40:58McClo to look at it and he said the

41:00reason you can't close the boundary is

41:02that a lady named Khloe Taft in 1888

41:05bought the property and it hasn't been

41:06sold since. So it's taken us three years

41:10to resolve the purchase of that property

41:12and a month ago we successfully

41:14purchased it from the heirs of the uh

41:16the Taff family.

41:17>> So it took a long time to unwind. So,

41:20now that we've got that piece, that that

41:22piece basically blocked our access to uh

41:24Boulder Park for the second driveway

41:26that we need. You need two driveways

41:28when you build these big buildings, you

41:30know, one for truck, one for cars,

41:32similar to what we did down here. Um, so

41:35that's why we have it. But now that

41:36we've got that done, we're, you know,

41:38full speed ahead and we hope to submit

41:39for permits in the next 60 days.

41:43>> So, the land that you buy, let's just

41:45say you buy from us, that would be just

41:47a buffer zone.

41:48>> Yeah. Thomas.

41:50>> Yes.

41:50>> Yeah.

41:52>> Um [clears throat] if if I may, and I

41:54don't know how it's going to go tonight,

41:56but if we do vote on this tonight, I can

41:58tell you already I'm going to be an

41:59absolute no.

42:00>> If we postpone this until September

42:03meeting, that could change. Uh I'll just

42:06give you my reasons. One, there's no

42:08agreement yet, and I'd want to see the

42:10agreement first. So, this is not

42:14[clears throat] an eminent domain.

42:16However, to me, there are similarities,

42:18if you will, you know, when it comes to

42:21properties, what the town takes or

42:23decides to take or give back or what it

42:24does with it. If this was my property

42:28and it was in 61 and the town had its

42:31right of first refusal, I as the owner

42:34or manager of the trust would expect the

42:36town would say if we're not going to

42:39exercise it, it should come to me before

42:42the town says we're going to assign this

42:43to somebody else before we give you the

42:44right to get your land back.

42:46>> So, I'm an absolute no. If there's an

42:50agreement reached, then I would like to

42:53see the agreement and then vote on it

42:54knowing that number one. Number two, to

42:57me, the proper course of action then

42:58would be for the town to uh let it go

43:01back to the to the trust to sell and

43:03they should buy it at a fair market

43:05value from the trust. Then they'd have

43:06the land and they could buy whatever

43:08portion they want, which is clean and

43:10neat.

43:11and the actual trust to whom this land

43:14belongs would actually be the ones

43:17making the decision on selling price,

43:19how much to give up, etc. So, this is

43:23why I feel that way. I'm all about the

43:25plan is wonderful, but just because I

43:27like it, I I can't get behind the method

43:32to make it happen. Um, I to me I think

43:34it's wrong for the And I'm only one

43:37vote. I can't speak for anybody else,

43:39but

43:41without giving it back to the trust so

43:44that they can make the determination to

43:46build it or sell it or at least seeing

43:48that there's an agreement that they're

43:49on board with us reassigning that

43:51without giving it to them first. I can't

43:54get on board.

43:54>> No, I agree. Very well said, David.

43:58I tend to agree with David on that, but

44:01um I at this point we'll probably hear

44:04we're probably going to hear a little

44:05more about this from the next person

44:07coming up before we take a vote.

44:09[clears throat]

44:11Yeah. Yeah. I think

44:12>> or if we can hold it till September so

44:14we can see if they come to an agreement.

44:15>> I think at this point I'd like to do

44:16these gentlemen.

44:17>> All I'm saying they can talk. I'm saying

44:19we don't have to actually vote if they

44:21want to come back with an agreement for

44:22us to consider.

44:23>> Correct.

44:23>> No, I don't think we can.

44:24>> They don't have to. Yeah.

44:26>> Correct.

44:28>> Okay. Bill, thanks for your time.

44:29>> Okay. Go back here. Sure. Sure.

44:39gentlemen, you're up.

44:43>> All right,

44:50>> what's the best way to do that? Is it

44:52maybe

44:55that

44:56>> you're Yeah, you have it.

44:58>> Yep.

45:00>> Zoom in on it.

45:02>> So, um I'm Pete.

45:04>> Hi. [laughter]

45:05was talking about before.

45:07>> Um we have been in touch with Bill um

45:10after he had submitted his email to the

45:12town um to try to see what his

45:15intentions were with his property and

45:17and to um possibly be a Butters. We

45:20haven't come up with an an agreement yet

45:22and I don't think that we will. Um but

45:25uh we we request that the town waves uh

45:27the right of first refusal um under

45:29chapter 61 for the losser property. Our

45:32goal for the property as we stated in

45:33the proposal is to provide the

45:35to provide modest homes while also

45:37preserving a large portion of the

45:39property into a permanently protected

45:41open space for the Charlton Heritage

45:42Preservation Trust whom we've been

45:44working with for two years. We

45:45originally met with them August 12th of

45:482024.

45:50Um we think it would be quite beneficial

45:52to the trust because after talking to

45:54them, they own quite a few parcels in

45:56the area, but they don't really have

45:57great accessibility to those parcels, so

45:59the citizens can't really use them as

46:02they as they should and be able to enjoy

46:03them. Um

46:05so

46:07uh we have created with our land planner

46:09um a conceptual exhibit to show the

46:12board our plans for the protected area.

46:14The permanently protected area bounds

46:15are subject to the completion of a

46:17wetland delineation. So it is conceptual

46:19um land planning and engineering

46:22including storm water management and

46:24everything else that we have to abide by

46:25as it relates to the parcel. Um

46:29our land planner has over 40 years of

46:31experience in subdivision work. from um

46:35uh North Bro Crossing down to single

46:38family homes. Um he works with the the

46:42EPA regularly. He conserves land

46:44regularly with uh conservation trusts.

46:47Um,

46:48it's also stated too that uh after

46:51walking the property a few times, um,

46:53should we find anything historically

46:55important or any kind of features such

46:57as large trees that we can speak with

46:59the Charlton Heritage Preservation on

47:01that they want to keep, um, there's a

47:03number of old foundations in the ground

47:05that are kind of historically um,

47:07important, I think, for the farm that

47:09was on the property at one time. Um, we

47:12do want to honor the the uh, history of

47:15Texas Road. I think it's a pretty cool

47:17story. I worked on the other side of

47:18Texas Road in Oxford when I was in high

47:20school and cut a road through in that

47:22way. And so now to see the other end of

47:24it in my own neighborhood, I think is a

47:26pretty neat thing. Um, my goal would be

47:29uh on the on the open spaces to put up

47:32some kind of a placard that explains to

47:34people the history of of Texas Road and

47:36explains the history of Boomer Farm and

47:38everything that was there previously.

47:40Um, as you can see, it's it's it's a

47:43pretty large parcel of land and it does

47:46go into um Oxford. It would create a

47:49buffer to Mr. Lock's property. Um, so

47:52that would already be accomplished if if

47:54uh the board, you know, refuses it its

47:56right of first refusal. Um, and as you

47:59can see, our intent would be to create a

48:02small road off of the end of George

48:04Street and Priscilla, which is the

48:06neighborhood I live in. um and create a

48:09small parking area as well as um a

48:13pathway into the protected area that

48:16would stay permanently protected. And in

48:19this way, we could salvage the hiking

48:20trails there, the wildlife that's there,

48:22the wetlands that are there. Um and um

48:27and I think it would be it would be a

48:29pretty cool thing for the neighbors. And

48:31I think it would be pretty cool for um

48:33the neighbors on Davidson, for Ponkin

48:35Hill. um I think they'd really all be

48:37able to use it. Um

48:39so, you know, that being said, like I

48:42like I said, I live in the area. I have

48:44um a lot of pride and a lot of for the

48:46land and a lot of respect for the land.

48:48I was also um I I was I was raised in

48:52Auburn, but I went to Bay Path in the

48:54carpentry program. So, I've been in it

48:56for a long time. Um and uh I would love

48:58to build my home, my next home in that

49:01neighborhood if I could in the future.

49:02So, um, so to to sum it up, um, we're

49:06just asking the board to not exercise

49:08its right of first refusal and allow the

49:10PNS that we have executed with the

49:12Lozeratus Trust to um, allow us to build

49:15a wonderful neighborhood with respect to

49:17the wildlife, wetlands, and uh, green

49:19spaces. Thank you.

49:20>> How big of a subdivision you're

49:21thinking? How many houses?

49:23>> We haven't put any money into um, any

49:25kind of engineering or anything because

49:27there was such a issue with the title

49:28and everything. So, um, I think there's

49:31probably four or five ANR lots on

49:34Davidson Road. Um, and then it's subject

49:36to how we work with the Travel and

49:38Heritage Preservation Trust, honestly.

49:40Um, and and how we how the wetlands get

49:43delineated and and um that.

49:48[snorts]

49:51>> All right. And and we did receive some

49:53correspondence on this too, right? From

49:55from the family of the trust,

49:57>> correct? Those are in your uh in your

49:59packets for the

50:01>> and um all the correspondence related to

50:03this is

50:05>> in this agenda item.

50:08Okay.

50:09>> Oh no, I'm sorry. Yeah, absolutely.

50:11Yeah.

50:12>> So I'm Mark Rice. Uh the reason I

50:15started down this path is that uh Peter,

50:18wow, three or four years ago, maybe four

50:21or five years ago at this point, uh

50:23renovated my daughter's house, uh did a

50:25project for us at our house. Uh we were

50:28so thrilled with the quality of the work

50:31and the trustworthiness and the and the

50:33reasonleness of Peter that we then had

50:36him um do an entire renovation of our

50:40our our new house. We bought a house for

50:43single singlestory house for old people.

50:46Uh did a fantastic job. So we had this

50:49incredible positive uh view of Peter and

50:52his company and the work that he does.

50:54And so when Peter first started talking

50:56about this opportunity, initially I was

50:59just going to be an adviser to him. You

51:01know, I have a business degree as well

51:02as two engineering degrees. But the the

51:05longer we talked, the more I said, you

51:07know, if you need some help with the

51:08financial side of this, we would be

51:10willing. Well, turned out to be quite an

51:13adventure to say the least. Title issue

51:16was the huge issue. Um, but we do have

51:18an agreement with the Lozritis Trust and

51:22we would like to proceed with the plan

51:23that we submitted to you uh respectfully

51:26build uh nice modest homes, but also uh

51:31take advantage of this wonderful piece

51:32of property and work with the Cambridge

51:34Land Trust, sorry, Charlton Land Trust

51:37to uh to really do some cool things with

51:39this property.

51:41And it's to answer your question more.

51:43Um again, we haven't done any

51:45engineering or land planning as it

51:46relates to um to subdivision anything.

51:49Um we want to figure out what we can

51:51protect first and then um kind of plan

51:53around that. I'm not looking to cram as

51:56many homes in here as humanly possible.

51:58That's not my goal. My goal is I live in

52:00the neighborhood. I I raise my kids

52:02here. I'm not looking to these are your

52:05three options of homes. You have three

52:06models. Pick one. That's not my goal. My

52:09goal is to build custom. And my goal is

52:11to follow um the agricultural zoning

52:14that it's in and and see where it takes

52:16us.

52:16>> So this is a partnership. So you Mark

52:18Price,

52:19>> I'm Mark Rice.

52:21>> Rice. And so who is Lisa?

52:22>> Lisa's my wife.

52:24>> Ah.

52:24>> So we would be the purchasers of the

52:26land.

52:28>> Uh in a sense trusting that Peter

52:30working with the land trust is going to

52:32do a great job with the property.

52:36>> So So then we're up into the change your

52:39motion or your motion still stands to

52:42not not to act on this

52:44>> we still have to close the public

52:45hearing

52:49>> motion to close the

52:50>> wait might be more people

52:52>> sorry

52:53>> no I don't think there nobody else oh

52:55there is

52:57>> I don't have

53:01to

53:02postpone it or whe

53:11actual

53:17zone.

53:19>> Yeah.

53:19>> Before the record, can we mention who

53:21that is?

53:22>> Yeah.

53:25>> Um this Kathleen Stanley is our town

53:28assessor.

53:28>> Couldn't see. I just saw the top of your

53:30head. [laughter]

53:32>> Mr. Chair, I would make a motion to um

53:36not exercise our close the public

53:38hearing.

53:39>> Sorry. To close the public hearing.

53:40>> Second.

53:41>> All in favor?

53:42>> I.

53:42>> Unanimous.

53:43>> Mr. Chair, I make a motion not to

53:45exercise our right and to let it go back

53:48to the trust.

53:49>> I second that.

53:51>> All in favor?

53:52>> I

53:52>> I

53:57thank you. Good luck.

54:03>> Okay.

54:06Now we are

54:07>> old

54:11>> day.

54:12>> Yep. 7:05.

54:13>> Yeah.

54:14>> Old day.

54:23>> Kathleen, you're up. Any from the old

54:26home day want to want want to come

54:28forward?

54:30>> You know, this committee just always a

54:32committee that gets better looking and

54:34younger every single year. you guys

54:37preservation trust. Um there's a lot of

54:40really good trails that could happen out

54:42there

54:44what we were just talking about with

54:48>> Bill's but he didn't say anything but

54:52[laughter]

54:53>> great.

55:01>> So thank you for having us back. I'm

55:03Kathleen Walker. I'm chairperson of the

55:05old home day committee. And um before I

55:09introduce Rebecca, I just wanted to say

55:11that uh the committee which is about 18

55:16members and many of them are behind me.

55:18We've been meeting since January

55:21and uh it's been an amazing year.

55:25Everybody has stepped up to the plate.

55:27people that assigned to do this have

55:30also taken on this and they just keep

55:34coming up with ideas and new things and

55:37it's been really wonderful. So, uh, in

55:40fact, we had a woman come tonight who

55:43wants to join us because she thinks

55:45we're so great.

55:46>> Oh, nice. Sign her up.

55:49So um so this is Rebecca Burden and

55:52Rebecca is uh in charge of the award

55:55ceremony this year and she will tell you

55:58about it.

55:59>> Yes. Hello. Good evening board members,

56:01fellow [snorts]

56:02home day committee members, Charleston

56:04residents and everyone else. It is my

56:06privilege to present this year's old

56:08home day award nominees. One of the best

56:12parts of Old Home Day is taking a moment

56:13to recognize the people in our community

56:16uh who make it such a special place to

56:18live. Uh this year's nominees represent

56:22service, generosity, leadership, and a

56:24genuine commitment to helping others. So

56:26without further ado, for the youth

56:29service award, we are proud to recognize

56:32Adam Ridick. The community service award

56:36nominee is Vanessa Noise. This year's

56:39parade marshall nominee is Danny Donno.

56:43The postumous award nominee is Beverly

56:46Bodet. For the business award, we are

56:49pleased to recognize Dad's restaurant.

56:52And finally, the nominee for citizen of

56:54the year is Robert Grety.

56:59>> Father Bob,

57:01>> also known as Father Bob. Um, we will be

57:04recognizing all the nominees at Old Home

57:07Day on September 6th. The ceremony will

57:09be from 1 to 2:00 p.m. and we encourage

57:11everyone to join us.

57:14>> Excellent.

57:14>> Just one more thing. We have um Kathy's

57:17Wildflower Garden is going to be

57:20dedicated at 300 p.m.

57:22>> Right. Uh that that just before the

57:25parade,

57:26>> correct?

57:26>> So, everybody's invited to that.

57:28>> So, that the board understands why we're

57:30on the way up to the parade. on the

57:31left.

57:32>> It's on the left.

57:33>> Yeah,

57:33>> that'll be at 3:00.

57:35>> It's going to be lovely.

57:36>> It works out well.

57:37>> And the other thing is the Declaration

57:39of Independence. Did you want to mention

57:40that, Steve?

57:42>> I don't have any updates on that because

57:44uh he's out of town, but um yeah,

57:46they're coming

57:48um during the award ceremony to present

57:50the town with a Declaration of

57:53Independence.

57:55>> Every every town got one from the state

57:57house. So, they've our Tuesday reps

57:59framed it.

58:01original

58:04supposed to be on the part. It's kind of

58:06a big deal when they're going to present

58:08it at the beginning,

58:09>> however you choose at the beginning of

58:10the award ceremony or during. All right.

58:12>> Right. The awards will be from one to

58:14two. So, there'll be plenty of time. So,

58:16you just have to have the discussion

58:18about where to put it.

58:21>> That's above our pay grade, I think. I

58:23don't

58:25>> discuss.

58:28Hey, leave it up to Andrew and then

58:29he'll just

58:30>> [clears throat]

58:32>> Well, if we leave it up to

58:33>> after I find the church map in the back

58:35[laughter]

58:36or he'll break the frame. Yeah,

58:39>> that's right.

58:40>> Okay. Excellent.

58:40>> So, hopefully you'll all be mocking in

58:42the parade.

58:43>> Yeah. Do we have to vote on these? Did

58:45we customer vote on these? No. No. Just

58:48vote on that.

58:49>> Yeah. Thank you.

58:50>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you for your

58:52time. It's outstanding. See you one on

58:55September 6th,

58:59>> Mr. chair. On number five, uh I'm happy

59:04to

59:05table it to the next meeting or

59:06postpone. It's up to the rest of the

59:08board only because and it's my fault I

59:10was running behind. I did not bring

59:13>> the list of the fee amounts. I'm I'm

59:16happy to tell you what my goal is, but

59:19we can't discuss it because I didn't

59:20bring that. That's my fault.

59:23>> So, we can I can tell you I can give you

59:24a heads up or we can just put it to the

59:26next meeting. whatever board prefers.

59:27>> I I I think that's fine if and I

59:30appreciate the uh Yeah. If you want to

59:31just move it to the 25th.

59:33>> Yeah.

59:37>> Okay.

59:38And now we are down to

59:43we are done with it. We down to the

59:44town.

59:45>> All righty.

59:48>> All right. We got a couple of employment

59:50opportunities currently available. uh

59:51kitchen coordinator, equipment operator

59:53for the highway department, firefighter,

59:55paramedic, alternate plumbing and gas

59:58inspector, police officer, and water and

60:00sewer superintendent. If any of these

60:02positions uh are of interest to you, you

60:05can apply today at

60:06townofcharleton.net/job.

60:10Um we have an upcoming Eagle Scout

60:12service project. Uh Willie Ridlac has

60:14submitted an Eagle Scout service project

60:16proposal to create a new Christmas

60:17village display for the town uh common

60:21area. Uh we're looking forward to seeing

60:23the final project on the common this

60:24December. Hopefully it spruces up uh our

60:27overall display that we have there.

60:30On Reynolds Road, a mass broken stone is

60:32scheduled to start reclaiming Reynolds

60:34Road on August 17th and 18th with base

60:37coat of pavement being scheduled for the

60:3919th with an undetermined date for the

60:42top coat. Currently, the road will be

60:44closed for these days allowing local

60:46traffic only. The goal is to have this

60:48uh closed up prior to the start of the

60:50school year.

60:53on August 31st

60:5631st, September 1st and 2nd are the

60:59dates for chip sealing that are

61:02scheduled. These dates are subject to

61:03change depending on weather. Uh we'll

61:05provide schedule updates as it become

61:07available, but the roadways that we are

61:08planning to chip seal this year are

61:10Curtis Hill Road, Old Spencer Road, HK

61:14Davis Road, Jones Road, Gould Road,

61:17Mutau Road, and Cemetery Road.

61:20And finally, employee appreciation day.

61:22Just a quick reminder, Thursday we will

61:24be conducting our employee training and

61:26appreciation day. Town hall will be

61:28closed for the day so we can conduct

61:29some focused departmental training on

61:31safety protocols and and continuity of

61:33operations planning. But we're all

61:36looking forward to it. So,

61:37>> excellent.

61:39>> Thank you.

61:43>> And any future requests for the gender

61:47items?

61:51Except the ones that we talked about

61:53already.

61:54>> 508.

61:54>> Yeah.

61:57>> Yeah. I was

61:58>> Yeah. And and continue

61:59>> shortening the poll hearing

62:00>> announcement.

62:04Do you want me to read the motion or do

62:07we have

62:08>> um the next meeting announcement?

62:11>> Um next sele select board meeting will

62:13be September um sorry August 25th

62:182026

62:20p.m. Town Hall meeting room one

62:23and I would take a motion to adjourn or

62:25or we

62:26>> um

62:28to executive session. David.

62:30>> Um, I would make a motion

62:33under

62:35uh MGL 30A section 21A number one that

62:39we go into executive session to discuss

62:41the reputation, character, physical

62:43condition or mental health rather than

62:45professional competence of the

62:46individual or discuss the discipline or

62:49dismissal of or complaints or charges

62:52against the public officer, employee,

62:54staff member or individual. fire to

62:58return to open session if needed and to

63:00adjourn.

63:05>> Okay.

63:07Do I have a second?

63:08>> Second. All in favor? Roll call vote.

63:10>> Rush. I

63:12>> Steve I

63:14>> Iive.