2026-09-30 - Ask The Manager

00:10[music]

00:24Hi, welcome to Ask the Manager. We have

00:27our fire chief with us today, Seth

00:29Colby. I twisted his arm and here he is.

00:33Um, but it's my fault that we haven't

00:36had a show for a while because I did

00:37have um my knee replacement surgery. So,

00:42we're back. I can sit for an hour. So,

00:46um I just have a question. you you um

00:52are involved with or in charge of the

00:54ambulance being um brought online

00:58through the town and so what would you

01:01want us to know about your plans for

01:03that?

01:04>> Uh we we are moving forward with it. So

01:06it's been in the works for a while. Um

01:09we've been in discussions with it for

01:12better than a couple of years now. um

01:14including speaking with with UMass when

01:17we renewed our contract that we

01:19currently have with with them. Um so

01:22it's it's been a long process but um

01:24we're we're working through it and we um

01:27took delivery of the ambulance a couple

01:29of weeks ago. So that's now at fire

01:30headquarters and we're able to promote

01:34one of our an internal person Adam

01:36Towner to EMS coordinator. So we've made

01:39that a full-time position for him. he

01:41was doing it previously um in addition

01:44to his roles as a supervisor on a shift.

01:48So now he's able to focus more on that.

01:50So, he's working through the process now

01:52to get us licensed with the office of

01:55emergency uh medical services with with

01:57the state and um yeah, things are moving

02:00forward and um you said we started a

02:02couple years ago was a slow start, but

02:04now as we're getting closer to the

02:05finish line, it's it's really picking

02:07up.

02:07>> And I have to say, as far as Adam's

02:09concerned, very qualified to take over

02:13that position and he's a lieutenant now,

02:15correct? Or was he a lieutenant before?

02:17>> He was a lieutenant. He's now a captain.

02:19Oh, captain, excuse me.

02:20>> Uh, he's a paramedic. He's been a

02:22paramedic for many, many years. Worked

02:24in the city of Worcester. And

02:26>> in in Shbury, he's very good at what he

02:28does. And I say that because when my

02:31mother was alive, Adam happened to be at

02:34our house to pick my mother up a couple

02:36of times. Always very professional. I

02:39had full confidence that that team that

02:42came with him um was knowledgeable and

02:45qualified to do a good job. And that was

02:47before

02:49they're probably going to be getting

02:51more training and and education to take

02:55over the role.

02:56>> He is he's he's great with with

02:58patients, great with their families.

03:01>> Yeah.

03:01>> Um he's he's very passionate about about

03:04it. Like I said, he does he's done our

03:06training the last couple of years. So,

03:07he does all the training in-house for

03:09our CPR and and um um defiill training

03:14and and all of that, our first responder

03:15training with with the members now. And

03:17I he's very passionate about it and and

03:19very good at what he does. And I also

03:22have to say we've gone through

03:23generations. You weren't probably even

03:26on the fire department at the time, but

03:29where, you know, you had that big hearse

03:31type ambulance in town and you didn't

03:34know who was going to be driving it to

03:37pick up. It's just so different. And

03:39they've become a professional group.

03:41Your firefighters at this time before

03:44you go forward are a professional group

03:46arriving at someone's home for an

03:48emergency. Um, and they're very good at

03:51what they do. They're qualified.

03:53>> Yeah, they're they're very well trained.

03:54They have a lot of experience. And like

03:56you said, we respond now on an engine

03:58and they have oxygen and and

04:00defibrillators and Narcan and they they

04:03do a lot to stabilize and treat the

04:05patient prior to the ambulance getting

04:07there and transporting them. And

04:09speaking of nan and the complexity,

04:13there's a lot more complexity to um

04:16picking up um someone who's ill are in a

04:20medical emergency. You there's more

04:22complexity and more requirements and and

04:25they have to be knowledgeable in many

04:28areas and it just becomes busier and

04:32more complex. What would you like to say

04:34about that? Just what I said.

04:36>> I [laughter] agree.

04:37>> You agree?

04:38>> No. Absolutely right. As as technology

04:40advances, medicine advances, the stuff

04:42that um EMTs and paramedics can do in

04:45the field now is stuff that even just a

04:48few years ago had to be done in in an

04:51emergency room or in a hospital setting,

04:53right?

04:53>> And now they're able to take it to the

04:54field. So, absolutely, there's been

04:56great great advances which allows them

04:58to to treat on scene prior to transport.

05:01Um there's more medications that can be

05:04given on on scene. Again, the it it's

05:07all the the the golden hour and the

05:09quicker you can treat somebody, the

05:11better the outcome is. So, being able to

05:13do that stuff on scene prior to or

05:16during transport,

05:17>> recognizing a heart attack, recognizing

05:19a stroke, recognizing if someone's in an

05:22overdose situation, dealing with mental

05:25illness. Now, there's an awful lot more

05:27mental illness. You know, you hear on

05:29the news that there's um you know, so

05:32much mental illness and you think,

05:34really, is there? But if you look at the

05:37log for the types of calls, not just in

05:39Shrewsbury, but just through Worcester

05:41County, there are so many calls that

05:43just relate to mental illness.

05:47Um,

05:48do we have much homelessness that you

05:50have to deal with as it connects to

05:53mental illness?

05:55>> Um, I don't know specifically there. We

05:58certainly do have a homeless population

06:00here in town and we certainly do

06:02interact with them on on calls. Um

06:06specific to

06:09mental illness, I don't know if I would

06:11link

06:11>> not everyone that's homelessness

06:14link the two. I mean I think

06:16>> um there's certainly more awareness of

06:20>> mental illness.

06:21>> Um our population continues to grow. So

06:24just by that, even if it was at the same

06:26percentage of the population, the the

06:28number of incidents are going to

06:30continue to grow, uh we do over 4,000

06:34EMS calls a year in Shbury. So um yeah,

06:38there's certainly a a lot to it and I

06:41think there's been a lot um I think

06:42we've seen since 2020 that certainly

06:45didn't help either. Um I think there's

06:47been an increase, you know, since since

06:49then. Um, I know there's a a shortage of

06:52clinicians as well, which makes it

06:54challenging for people that are trying

06:56to get help and trying to get the

06:58services. They have long waiting lists

07:00and

07:00>> and then they get to the emergency room

07:02and they can wait a very long time.

07:04>> Yep.

07:05>> Depending upon what they're going in

07:07with because there's protocols that they

07:09have to follow too. Uh,

07:12>> what would you I don't know. Both of you

07:15could probably answer the command

07:17structure. Mhm.

07:18>> It's changed over over the last few

07:20years. Um

07:22>> what would you comment on what it's like

07:25now and how you would how you've changed

07:27it?

07:29>> Yeah.

07:30>> Lucky you.

07:32>> Yeah. So we I think it was

07:3518 2017 I think it was 2017 that we

07:38established a deputy chief's position um

07:41in the town. So that that certainly made

07:44a big difference. And then we've also

07:45>> Wow.

07:47So,

07:47>> because people would want to know how

07:49what does the deputy chief do?

07:52>> So, the the deputy chief is kind of the

07:53the number two position. He's he's my

07:55right-hand um person. His primary focus

07:58is fire prevention. Um so, he works a

08:01lot with the building inspector's

08:03office, works a lot with um businesses

08:05and and residents in town on that. Um

08:07but certainly in my absence, he also

08:09steps in to fill any of the roles that

08:12that I would normally do. So,

08:14>> it's an easier transition if for some

08:16reason you're not available.

08:18>> Correct. Right. If I'm unavailable or if

08:21I'm I'm away, then um it just goes it

08:24diverts to him naturally.

08:26>> And that that person is

08:28>> Kevin Wyold.

08:29>> Kevin Wold. And okay, so there's the

08:32deputy chief. Then what?

08:34>> Then we have four captains. Um which

08:37there's one on each shift. So when I

08:38when I first got hired, we had the chief

08:41and we had four captains and that was

08:43it.

08:44>> So there was one captain per shift um

08:47who was responsible to supervise staff

08:49at three stations.

08:50>> Mhm.

08:51>> So the supervisor wasn't even in the

08:52same building or same side of town as as

08:55the people that they were supervising.

08:57Mhm.

08:57>> Um so since then we added the deputy and

09:00we've also um over the years we first

09:03added lieutenants at station two which

09:05is down by say spags right down by

09:09>> by by CVS down by CVS. So we were able

09:12to add lieutenants there one per shift.

09:14>> Um and then a number of years later we

09:16were able to add lieutenants over on

09:18scent down behind Heberts Candies. So

09:21now we have now we have a supervisor at

09:23every fire station. So each shift has a

09:26captain that oversees the the whole

09:28shift and then and they're at

09:30headquarters and then the two outlying

09:32stations each have a lieutenant at them.

09:35And when you say we've come a long way

09:38because the lieutenant being at scene,

09:43when you think of what used to be the

09:45edge station, there would be one person

09:48in that station. And so if that person

09:51got a call to a fire, they'd have to go

09:54by themselves and someone from the other

09:57stations would show up to help. But what

09:59a dangerous situation that was. and now

10:02we have the appropriate structure. So

10:06with all of this, I haven't heard, which

10:09could be just me being out of touch, but

10:11I haven't heard anyone discussing if we

10:15meet the national standards for fire

10:18protection in our population.

10:21So, so I think we're

10:23>> I'm putting him on the spot because I'm

10:25now asking the chief in front of the

10:27town manager to talk about national

10:30standards. Sorry about that.

10:32>> No, you're not you're not putting me on

10:34reality. It's a reality

10:35>> and it's and it's a moving target,

10:37right? Because every year our population

10:38goes up.

10:39>> Yeah.

10:40>> Right. And the hazards that we're

10:41protecting go up. Um

10:43>> but I will say in the last 10 years

10:45we've made made great strides towards

10:48towards it. So over the last 10 years,

10:50we've added the the lieutenants

10:51positions, we've added the deputies

10:53position. Um in in addition to adding

10:56those supervisory positions, they're

10:58extra they were new positions. It wasn't

11:00taking a a firefighter and working at

11:02the same staff level and just giving

11:05them a promotion.

11:06>> They had expect they were expectations

11:09put upon that leader.

11:11>> Correct. And to your point earlier, it

11:13was before I got on, but they used to

11:16run one one firefighter and an engine

11:18out of a station by themselves down on

11:20Route 20. When I got on, it was two

11:22firefighters.

11:23>> And we were so happy to have two.

11:25>> Yeah. There was two firefighters there.

11:26There was two firefighters at station

11:28two. And then headquarters would go out

11:31with one firefighter and the and the

11:33captain would go out in in the fire

11:35truck. So we we would put three three

11:39fire apparatus on the road but with with

11:41only six people.

11:42>> And in the last in fairness in the last

11:4510 years Route 20 has become a much

11:48busier environment with more needs and

11:51more calls and more things happening at

11:54that corner of town.

11:56>> Yeah. the whole south side of town is

11:58>> and also to the town I have to say this

12:01but to the town manager's credit he is

12:04committed to adding staff appropriately

12:08to fire police emergency services um in

12:13a in a rolling type way.

12:16>> So what would you say about that?

12:18>> Well I I think when we look at the

12:20lieutenants we accomplished two things.

12:22We got a more appropriate I won't say

12:25we're at any standard or behind any

12:27standard, but we're approaching it, but

12:29we're at a more appropriate number of

12:32personnel on every engine when it rolls

12:34out the door because we have three.

12:37>> Um,

12:38>> and we have someone in charge.

12:40>> Right.

12:40>> Right. So, even when you're an

12:42environment of two firefighters, you

12:44didn't have enough people to

12:46appropriately

12:47manage the situation they arrived on

12:49scene. So, if they arrive to a working

12:51structure fire, um, you have two primary

12:55roles. Someone needs to go in and try to

12:58see who's in there or knock down the

13:00fire, and someone has to man the truck,

13:03right? And neither of those things are

13:05well, maybe manning the truck is safe by

13:07yourself, but certainly going into a

13:09structure or uh being on a fire hose is

13:13not a job for one firefighter. So, we

13:16got the appropriate number of personnel

13:17on every vehicle. And then we got a

13:19chain of command, which we

13:22all know in any high stress situation,

13:25an appropriate chain of command with one

13:27person responsible for making the

13:29decision ultimately, you know, is better

13:32for everyone.

13:33>> It's safer.

13:34>> Yeah. So, when you had two firefighters

13:36who were of equal rank, yes, someone

13:39would more than likely have more tenure,

13:41but it's just a clearer chain of command

13:43whenever you're in high stress

13:45environments. And then when you put a

13:47couple companies together, it gets even

13:49a little more complicated. If you have

13:51four firefighters and two engines or

13:53something like that and you're still

13:54waiting for the the captain to get to

13:56the scene. So, because we didn't just

14:00create the rank of lieutenant, we

14:01created the rank of lieutenant and

14:04added to the force, we were able to get

14:07to that critical staffing level on every

14:10engine. Now, we still have work to do in

14:12the fire headquarters, though, because

14:14we have a captain there. Uh, but the

14:17captain is supposed to oversee the

14:18entire shift, which means all three

14:22stations. Um, but right now, we have the

14:24captain and and two firefighters at

14:26headquarters.

14:28We have sufficient staffing on hand

14:31because we're currently still

14:32dispatching with a firefighter out of

14:34headquarters. So, our plan is that once

14:36we resolve the dispatching matter, which

14:38we, you know, now have a timeline in

14:40place to at least get a plan out there,

14:44um, that we'll be able to have a

14:47lieutenant and two firefighters on each

14:49apparatus when it leaves headquarters.

14:52And of course, in the headquarters

14:54environment, sometimes that's the ladder

14:55truck. And you can imagine that piece of

14:59equipment needs more than two

15:00firefighters rolling out the door on it.

15:04Do you want to add anything to that?

15:08>> I completely agree. So, seven when since

15:10you talked standards real brief, we can

15:13we can do that. So, the NFPA, the

15:15National Fire Protection Association,

15:17the standard would be 17

15:20uh 17 personnel to respond to a typical

15:23fire, what would be most common for us

15:25in a in a single family house. if you

15:27get into commercial properties or

15:29apartment buildings, that number goes

15:30up, but 17 is is the magic number that

15:33that they recommend. Um, and and we do

15:35that now. So, is that when I first

15:37started, we would get six people total

15:39on three trucks. Now, we get three on

15:42engine two and three. We get three out

15:44of headquarters, right? The captain is

15:45is in the car. Um, most of the time we

15:49have two firefighters on that

15:50headquarters piece because we don't fill

15:53the first vacancy. So somebody's always

15:55on, you know, vacation or something of

15:57that nature. But um but we're able to

16:00get 10 10 people on scene now, which

16:03years ago when I got on was only six.

16:05And then we also have mutual aid

16:07agreements with our surrounding

16:08community. So if we get a report of a

16:10fire, um even though we don't have 17

16:13people on duty, we while we're

16:15responding, we make an initial call to

16:17North and West and we get an engine and

16:20a ladder truck from those communities.

16:22So we're getting to 17 or greater than

16:24what the national standard is. So even

16:27though we don't have them all here, when

16:29that emergency comes in, we do respond

16:32to the level that meets the national uh

16:35standards. Mhm.

16:37>> So, um, and because it's a town, and I

16:41forgot, someone was just talking about

16:43this at another meeting I was at where

16:47you have to realize you're making

16:49decisions on hiring based on the whole

16:53town, not just the fire department or

16:56the school department, the whole town.

16:59So sometimes you may it may be your time

17:02to get additional hires in another year.

17:06It may be

17:08the police department or the library or

17:10another department. So you just have to

17:14make that decision the best you can with

17:16the budget that you're dealing with.

17:19>> How else would you articulate that?

17:21>> Right. Well, the fire department is

17:22uniquely challenging when hiring as well

17:25because

17:26um when you want to fill one position,

17:31chief will clarify or clean this up for

17:33me, but when you want to, you know, add

17:35one additional firefighter to every

17:38shift, you need to hire four individuals

17:41in order to cover the rotation.

17:43>> One person really is four.

17:45>> One Yeah, one is four. So that makes it

17:47a little more challenging because

17:49literally at this point that's the only

17:52department that

17:54really has to, you know, have that level

17:57of um

18:00that that multiplied level in order to

18:01to get an additional position whenever

18:03you're talking about, you know,

18:05firefighters in the field.

18:07Where do you see um the fire department

18:11evolving or say in five years or 10

18:14years from now, will the department look

18:17the same? I can't imagine. Or how do you

18:19see it looking different other than now

18:22you're going to have full control of an

18:24ambulance company too,

18:26>> right? So I think over over the coming

18:28years, uh the ambulances, you know, one

18:31ambulance is a great start.

18:32>> Yeah. and and we have a great

18:34relationship with with UMass and we'll

18:36continue we've got at least another

18:38couple years with with the contract and

18:40hopefully we're able to continue our

18:42relationship beyond that because they

18:45have been very you know great to work

18:46with. Um but I can see us getting an

18:49ambulance o over the next few years at

18:53each one of the stations as opposed to

18:55>> Oh yeah.

18:56>> Right. So that they'd be geographically

18:57spread out. Um, and I said at over 4,000

19:01incidents a year, EMS incidents, one

19:04ambulance is not

19:06>> right.

19:06>> Is certainly not.

19:07>> You got to start bake sales now in order

19:09to be able to buy those other

19:11ambulances. I mean, it's you got to

19:13plan. It's something that you plan and

19:16you roll it into the process. It's not

19:18something where,

19:20>> okay, we're going to, you know, just So,

19:22it's a plan,

19:22>> right? Because to to the manager's

19:24point, right? Every time we add one

19:25position, it's really four because we

19:27have four shifts,

19:28>> right?

19:28>> With an ambulance, you need to put two

19:31people per shift. So now that's the four

19:33just went to eight people that you have

19:35to hire at once. So it's not like you

19:37can't do that all in in one year, right?

19:39To be able to

19:41>> to

19:41>> And also, if you look at that in a

19:44futuristic way, the population is going

19:47to grow.

19:48>> So

19:49>> obviously, if the population grows, you

19:51have more calls. So you're at 4,000 now.

19:53If you think back 10, 20 years ago, you

19:56weren't anywhere near that. So 10 years

19:59from now, we can't even imagine. We'll

20:01we'll sit and say,

20:03>> right,

20:03>> how how did this happen? How did the

20:05town still grow, but it will. Um,

20:08>> in the instance of this first ambulance,

20:11you know, we're hiring the EMS

20:13coordinator, which we talked about,

20:15which is an increase in positions, and

20:17then nine firefighter paramedics or

20:20paramedics, depending on how fortunate

20:22we get. Um

20:24so you know it is a big endeavor and

20:28police and fire you know fire is unique

20:31in that multiplying factor when you're

20:33adding a position but police and fire

20:35you always have to remember that

20:39for the most part anytime someone's out

20:41on vacation sick or injury which happens

20:46at a higher rate in public

20:48>> you backfill that position. So, if the

20:51town manager is out on vacation or, you

20:54know, the HR director's out on vacation

20:56or, you know, a clerk in the clerk's

20:58office on vacation, you don't backfill

21:00that. Um, and you have a a steady normal

21:03cost. But in public safety, you backfill

21:06that because of all the things we just

21:08talked about. You're not going to take

21:09an, you know, a fire engine at station

21:12three and say, "Well, you know,

21:14someone's on vacation. We'll we'll be

21:15okay with two people today." That's, you

21:17know, that's we do work down one, but as

21:20the chief said, we, you know, sacrificed

21:22the one position at headquarters to to

21:25fill that vacancy out in the in the

21:28other companies.

21:29>> Of course, this is the fire department.

21:31How have have fires increased or how are

21:35we in town as far as fires go?

21:37>> So, the the number of fires has stayed

21:40pretty constant. Uh maybe a slight

21:42decrease.

21:43>> Why is that?

21:46Why would there be a slight decrease?

21:48>> Oh, [laughter]

21:49so one one thing that we did do we

21:52haven't mentioned yet relative to to

21:54staffing is this past year we were able

21:57to establish a uh fire inspector

22:00position. So we haven't filled it yet.

22:02We but the it was um established

22:05effective July 1st. So we're working to

22:07to get that settled now and and filled

22:10>> which increases safety.

22:11>> Correct.

22:12>> And it's it's preventative.

22:14>> Exactly. Right. the best way to

22:17save somebody from a fire, right,

22:19protect a life is to prevent the fire in

22:21the first place. So, um we we do a lot

22:23of public education and we do a lot of

22:25code compliance. The um we have what are

22:28called safe safe educators, so student

22:30awareness of fire education. They go

22:32through a um a week-long program with

22:35the department of fire services with the

22:37state to get trained and certified to do

22:39that. but they go out and they do fire

22:41safety lessons in all of our public

22:43schools as well as private schools. So,

22:46we've been doing that for years. Uh we

22:48go out and we try to get into every

22:50business every year to do an inspection,

22:52a safety inspection. and the the um

22:55firefighters go out now and do them even

22:57though they're not they're if if you see

23:00a a fire engine parked in front of a

23:02business and there's no lights on or

23:03anything, there's a good chance that

23:05they they're doing an inspection and and

23:07doing some um either pre-fire planning

23:10or like I said testing the systems to

23:11make sure that everything is going to

23:12work. So, there has been a little bit of

23:14a a decrease in the total number of

23:17fires. Um and certainly the severity of

23:19fires has has greatly gone down um due

23:22to modern building codes and um

23:26sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems,

23:29smoke detectors in in people's homes.

23:31Right? Anytime a house is sold in

23:33Massachusetts, the fire department has

23:35to go in and inspect it and sign off on

23:37it. And we make sure that they have

23:38current working smoke detectors and

23:40carbon monoxide detectors. So that early

23:43detection um allows us to either get

23:46there quick and and put it out or in

23:47sometime in some cases the resident or

23:49occupant is able to be alerted and and

23:51put it out before we even go.

23:53>> I just can I pick up on the fire

23:55prevention. Um as a chief said before

23:56that that's one of the p uh deputy

23:58chief's primary roles and just to paint

24:01the picture for everyone what that looks

24:03like. A lot of that is the code

24:05compliance, right? The building codes

24:07today are very complex. And then think

24:09of the projects that we've all most

24:11notably seen in town like the physique

24:14instrumente building on Route 20, the

24:17UPS facility off of Sent Boulevard, the

24:20multif family apartment complexes, and

24:23then think of the sprinkler systems and

24:24the fire um alarm systems and the fire

24:28blocking and you know the way the the

24:30structures are built. That's the fire

24:32prevention

24:34work that the deputy chief is doing,

24:36reviewing those plans, going to the

24:37field, doing those inspections. So, um,

24:41not just, you know, not downplaying safe

24:44and being in um, elementary schools and

24:46teaching children fire safety, but the

24:49level of technical competency and

24:51expertise that's needed

24:53>> is far beyond just education.

24:55>> Exactly. Yeah.

24:56>> Even though there's education even when

24:58you're doing an inspection.

25:00>> Right. All right. And that was one of

25:01the biggest needs for this inspector

25:03position is that the deputy that's his

25:06primary focus. Um tomorrow he's going to

25:08spend pretty much all afternoon over at

25:10the new UPS facility doing doing

25:13inspections and and testing on their

25:15sprinkler, their fire alarm, emergency

25:17lights, and all of that. Um and I

25:20mentioned that the the line line

25:22firefighters go out as well and and do

25:25do inspections. Um but it really is a

25:28specialty thing, right? the the fire

25:30code, the building code, all of these

25:32these codes. Um, and we really needed

25:35somebody else to work with the deputy

25:37that could get that specialized training

25:39and education to to be able to focus on

25:42that.

25:43>> Um, you've gotten $25,000 for turnout

25:50equipment, which is fire safety

25:52equipment. Explain what turnout

25:53equipment is.

25:54>> And this is a state grant.

25:57>> It is.

25:57>> Okay.

25:58>> Yes. So, we've received that um every

26:01year for the last five years through the

26:03Department of Fire Services with with

26:05the state. Um right now there's no

26:07funding mechanism for it this year. It

26:09was a 5-year grant. Um hopefully they're

26:13able to find money to to continue it. I

26:16know um Senator Moore has also been

26:19working to get legislation passed for uh

26:22a larger chunk of money because of the

26:25um our our turnout gear, our protective

26:28equipment, right? It's PPE, personal

26:30protective equipment. That's the the

26:32whole ensemble that they wear, the

26:33helmet, the coat, pants, gloves, all of

26:36that to protect them from the the heat

26:38and smoke. Um it actually contains the

26:41PAS chemicals. They intentionally put it

26:44into the

26:46um turnout gear well it's been

26:47manufactured for years and now they've

26:50discovered that um not only is it in

26:52there but they put it in at much greater

26:55levels than was really needed. So over

26:57the last couple years they've been all

26:59the turnout gear manufacturers have been

27:02working to um get it out of their get it

27:06out of their product. So um as a result

27:09though everybody across the state and

27:11and the country has this gear that has

27:14PAS in it. So, Senator Moore has

27:16actually been working to get funding for

27:19departments to be able to replace that

27:21that gear. Um,

27:23>> MPAST, for anyone who doesn't know by

27:25now, is a forever chemical. It's a

27:29cancer-causing chemical. And so, it's

27:31dangerous to the firefighter, but it's

27:33dangerous to the environment, which

27:34means it's dangerous to everyone.

27:37>> Correct. Yeah. And they also was also in

27:39firefighting foam that had been used for

27:42decades. And so there was there's a lot

27:44of contamination across the country in

27:47you know ground contamination in the

27:49water and everything.

27:50>> And it was enclosed too. Was it in

27:53infant wear when when something was

27:55flame retardant for an infant?

27:57>> Yeah. So it's used in all kinds of

27:59products. I mean a lot of the um uh

28:02non-stick

28:04>> teflon type pans.

28:05>> I was trying to not say teflon, right?

28:07Because that's a brand. Yeah,

28:08>> that's all I know.

28:08>> The non-stick pans, right? They they use

28:10there was there was PAS in that. Um even

28:13a lot of just raincoats that people

28:15would buy from

28:18>> you know from from various stores had

28:20had it in there. Um the the big thing

28:22with the the firefighting gear was that

28:24they put it in

28:26>> like if a little bit is good a lot's

28:27even better, right? So they really

28:28loaded it up

28:30>> and then they we wear hoods and it's all

28:32on your neck which is a place where your

28:34body really absorbs

28:36>> um

28:37>> you know the chemical through your skin

28:39that that's that's on there. That's a

28:40large place of absorption.

28:42>> And then you add in um when your body

28:45core temperature goes up that your

28:48absorption rate increases. So now you're

28:50in a fire, you're hot, you're sweating,

28:52and you're getting all this um chemicals

28:56from your turnout gear as well as from

28:58the smoke and and the products of

29:00combustion. Um

29:01>> and so now

29:03is the turnout gear safer that you have

29:06now or Senator Moore's working to get

29:10that?

29:10>> So he's working to get funding to to

29:13replace it. the um the five-year grant

29:16that it came out actually started before

29:19there was any PASF free gear available.

29:22So that was just regular replacement. So

29:26the the standard is to replace the gear

29:28within 10 years. So nobody should be

29:30using protective equipment that's over

29:3210 years old. So, um, when you put

29:35multiply that by 45 firefighters that we

29:38have and then everybody needs two sets

29:40of equipment because if you go to a

29:42shift a fire at the start of your shift

29:45and now it's all wet and dirty and you

29:48have to launder, we have big commercial

29:50extractors that we that we wash the

29:52gear. So, we we do it all in house, but

29:54you have to wash it after any exposure

29:56to to fire. Um, so they have to have a

29:59second set of gear because if they're

30:00washing their first set, their primary

30:03set, and they still have to make it for

30:05another 20 hours of their shift, they

30:07need another set of gear. So

30:08>> So you have more more firefighters,

30:11twice the amount of gear for more

30:13firefighters.

30:14>> Yeah. So now is very handy.

30:17>> Yeah. So you by the time all is said and

30:19done, you're at, you know, 90 sets of

30:21turnout gear for the department that

30:23have to be replaced. That's nine sets of

30:25gear a year. Um, and it's about $3,000

30:29per set of gear to re replace it. So,

30:32the grant has been very, very helpful to

30:35us. Y

30:36>> um, and I'm hopeful that they can find a

30:38funding mechanism to keep it going.

30:40>> And I'm not trying to be political here,

30:42but Governor Healey um, said that she

30:45wanted to make sure that firefighters

30:47have what they need to do the job

30:49safely. And to the credit of our

30:52previous governor who was Republican, he

30:56was the one in the beginning. So both

30:59both sides of the aisle support

31:02firefighters having safe gear.

31:04>> Yep. And and this just to be clear too,

31:06this this grant we've used it

31:08exclusively for the personal protective

31:10equipment for turnare. There are other

31:12items that are eligible. So it's it's

31:15actually the um firefighter equipment

31:18grant

31:19>> is what it's called. So there's other

31:20>> you can use it for other

31:21>> you can use it for other things. It it's

31:23a competitive grant. So not depending on

31:26what that piece of equipment is. Some

31:28rank higher higher priority than others.

31:30The protective equipment is the highest

31:32rated you know highest ranked and we we

31:35needed it. So we've always been

31:37successful with with getting that

31:39>> and $5 million went across the state. So

31:42and we got 25,000. So it's a stat.

31:46>> Yeah. We we got the highest we were

31:49awarded the highest amount. It's based

31:50on population is how much you're

31:52eligible for

31:53>> and we we received the highest eligible

31:56amount.

31:56>> You haven't talked about um work on the

32:01lake. Firefighters also have to do work

32:04on the lake. Tell us about that because

32:06you've been busy on the lake.

32:09>> We do. We have um it doesn't matter the

32:11time of year right in the summer. Um

32:14there's people swimming. There's boating

32:16accidents, jet ski accidents.

32:18>> Um and then in the winter we have ice

32:23>> ice fishers out there. Um not not that I

32:26want to think about that yet, but right

32:27people will be out ice fishing again.

32:29Jet skis. Uh not jet skiis. Jet skis are

32:32in the summer. Snowmobiles. Um

32:34snowmobiles out on

32:35>> Do they still try to

32:37>> drive snowmobiles on the lake?

32:38>> They do. They do. Yeah. Has it even like

32:42has the whole lake ever been frozen over

32:45in the last 5 10 years?

32:47>> A few winters ago there was

32:49>> this one or we had

32:51>> Y.

32:52>> Wow.

32:52>> Yeah.

32:53>> So which there's specific training for

32:57that too?

32:58>> There is and they're very different from

33:00if it's in the winter and we're dealing

33:02with ice or if it's in the summer and

33:03we're dealing with with water. But we

33:05have everybody gets um both water rescue

33:08training and fire

33:09>> and ice. Yes. Yep.

33:10>> So, it keeps them safe if they if

33:12they're trained to do it right.

33:14>> Yep. And we work handinhand with with

33:16the police department as well. Um, in

33:18fact, we've done

33:19>> we've done some training on on the

33:22different shifts where they go out to do

33:23the water rescue training and they've

33:25invited the police drone unit down.

33:27>> Oh, yeah.

33:28>> And that's a great way to um mark mark

33:31where our victim is. Right. If

33:33especially if somebody goes underwater.

33:35Yeah. The

33:35>> the biggest

33:37>> critical piece of information we need is

33:39their last scene point, right? Which

33:42their LSP, which is where they where

33:44they went underwater because that's

33:45where we're going to find them.

33:46>> LSP.

33:47>> Yep. Last last scene point.

33:50>> There you go.

33:50>> And we try to do that through through um

33:53if we don't see them go under, we'll try

33:56to do it from witness interviews. So, if

33:59you were on the shore somewhere and saw

34:01it, we'll go and say, "Okay, take us

34:03back to where you were standing when you

34:04saw this person go under and try to line

34:07up and then we get another witness from

34:09a different angle. We can triangulate

34:11>> and if we can get an accurate spot, then

34:13we can find them quick. If we don't know

34:16and have to do a a broad search, then

34:18it's much more timeconuming."

34:20>> And the last one, uh, I don't even know

34:22if it was the last one. The last one

34:24that I'm aware of was down in the

34:26direction of Old Faith Road and that

34:29took more than a day to find the person.

34:31>> It did. We had um you know,

34:33unfortunately it was um a tragedy that

34:37involved a boater and um yeah, we had

34:40the

34:42um Worcester Worcester fire dive team

34:45came to help and we also had our

34:47district 14 dive team came. So, we had

34:49divers from all over all over the area

34:51that came and um it was it was a very

34:55challenging uh scene. There was

34:58about four four or five ft of very thick

35:01weeds. So, there was essentially no

35:02visibility um on on the bottom. So, it

35:06was um it made for a difficult search.

35:09But um yeah, we had we ended up having

35:11to to go back the next morning because

35:14it we worked until about 10:00. And then

35:17once once we had lost all all light

35:19between the light and the weeds and um

35:22>> yeah we had to resume operations the

35:24next morning.

35:24>> And you mentioned you work closely with

35:26the police department. So you work

35:29closely with police departments, dive

35:32teams, other towns, the city because the

35:36lake is a very busy place too. So

35:39>> yep, it is. It's Yeah. Environmental

35:41police. Um Right. Yeah. It there's a

35:43whole

35:44>> Right.

35:44>> You have a whole bunch of people

35:45involved. Am I forgetting to ask him

35:47anything?

35:48>> I don't think about the lake.

35:50>> Not about the lake. You know how I like

35:51to talk about the lake?

35:53>> Yeah.

35:53>> But do you think that there's better

35:55control on the lake this past summer or

35:57is it still chaotic?

36:00>> Oh, I don't I don't know. Um

36:02>> that's the police department.

36:03>> That that would be a better that would

36:04be a better question for Chief Anderson,

36:06but um I feel like what I saw it's

36:08there's still

36:09>> a lot of chaos. It's a busy It's a busy

36:11place, especially on ice.

36:12>> Time to party and

36:14>> Yeah.

36:14>> They forget about being responsible

36:16adults.

36:17>> Yes.

36:18>> Okay. Um, is there anything that I

36:22should have asked you that I haven't

36:24asked you or that you'd like to bring

36:26out about your

36:28>> How about the How about the CPC project?

36:31>> You have a CPC project?

36:32>> We do.

36:33>> Tell us about it.

36:34>> We do. So, we have

36:35>> First of all, tell us what CPC is. So

36:37that's the community preservation,

36:39>> right? U well CPC community preservation

36:42committee, right? Right. Um

36:44>> so we got a

36:46>> it's probably been close to three years

36:48in the works now

36:50>> since this originally happened, but

36:52>> we have our uh it's a 1926 American

36:55France.

36:56>> How could I fire engine? Yeah.

36:57>> Right.

36:58>> And um yeah, so it it was um we got it

37:02back. I said it's been in the works for

37:05close close to three years. Um it was

37:08Mr. Treadway who had lived in Shbury,

37:12graduated from Shbury High and currently

37:15lives in Texas uh had reached out and

37:18and he's spoken. We we've kind of stayed

37:20in contact u previous chiefs and he have

37:23every now and then exchanged a letter or

37:26an email or or something. Um so we knew

37:29we knew we had it and uh he reached out

37:32and wanted to donate it back to the

37:34town. So u yeah about about 2 and a half

37:373 years ago he donated it back and we

37:39shipped it up from from Texas and um it

37:42was running when when we got it and it's

37:45it's I wish I had pictures to show you.

37:47Um but it's it's it's a beautiful

37:50>> Yeah, it was it was bought new by the

37:53town in in 2026. So, it just had its

37:56100th birthday.

37:57>> 1926.

37:57>> 19 I'm sorry, 1926. Yes. [laughter]

38:01>> Um,

38:03yeah. 1926. So, it just had its 100th

38:05birthday in 2026.

38:07And, uh, we've been restoring it. Joe

38:09Milos has been doing it in between

38:12working on all of the current fire

38:14apparatus that we use. Uh, took

38:16literally every nut and bolt out of it,

38:19took it apart, and it's been all uh,

38:21body work done. It's been all repainted.

38:24Uh he found somebody down in Bridgewater

38:27to hand paint all the the gold leaf on

38:30it. Um it's been one one of the biggest

38:32challenges Joe's run into is that you

38:35have a pretty pretty limited market of

38:37people that work on something that's 100

38:39years old.

38:40>> Yeah.

38:40>> Um like this is the

38:42>> hand gold leaf painting. Like nobody

38:44does that anymore. It's it looks like

38:46there's gold leaf but it's just vinyl,

38:48right? It's vinyl um stick on gold leaf.

38:50So, he's done a lot of research, but

38:52it's it's on its way to being put back

38:55together now. Kind of started at the

38:58back and worked forward because there

38:59was some engine work being done on it,

39:01so we couldn't put the front together,

39:03but the um the bed of the truck is back

39:05on. The fenders are on. The motor

39:07hopefully will get back in the next week

39:09or two. Uh we heard from them last week

39:11that the work is done on it, but they

39:13had a they replaced the pistons and

39:15>> so we can expect to see this in the

39:18300th year celebration. That's been the

39:20plan and that's we're on

39:22>> we're on track to do that. So,

39:24>> good. And one other thing, Joe still

39:27does a lot of the mechanic work for the

39:29fire trucks.

39:30>> He does.

39:30>> Okay.

39:32>> Yeah, he does.

39:33>> And we're not going to let him retire.

39:35>> That's

39:35>> Is that the plan?

39:36>> That is the plan. No retirement for Joe,

39:38but yeah, he does he does almost all of

39:40the work unless it's something that's

39:42covered under a warranty.

39:43>> Yeah.

39:44>> Uh he really does. I mean, he's replaced

39:46frame rails on trucks. He's

39:48>> he's very talented. He's done all kinds

39:50of stuff and he also maintains

39:52our radio system for us um townwide, not

39:55just for the fire department, but for

39:57police, fire, DPW, schools are on it.

40:00>> And he he maintains all of that.

40:02>> Good. Okay, your turn. Finally, let's

40:05go. Um I have a lot of questions. I know

40:08I'm not going to get through them, but

40:10we'll catch up at some point. But um has

40:14our deputy town manager started working?

40:17>> She has not. When will she? Uh

40:19>> November 2nd, her first day back with

40:21the town.

40:21>> All right. Tell us how you came about

40:23having a deputy town manager because

40:25everyone wants to know.

40:26>> Sure. So um

40:30for a while we had three assistant town

40:32managers and um we also have DPW

40:36directors position and when we looked at

40:39those positions, you know, they were

40:41along with the two chief's positions

40:43kind of the executive leadership team.

40:46So um those positions span the entire

40:50organization

40:52and every department head had a single

40:55direct supervisor. The two chiefs uh

40:59reported directly and still do report

41:01directly to the town manager

41:03[clears throat] and then every other

41:04department head reports into well used

41:07to report into assistant town manager.

41:10Um so we had some changes within the

41:13organization. we saw one a need and two

41:16an opportunity. So, uh we wanted to get

41:19back to that hierarchical model that

41:20every department had had a single um

41:23assistant manager for the most part to

41:26report to. Um and we are also looking

41:30for someone that had

41:33a substantial amount of local government

41:35experience that really could help manage

41:37the complexities of the whole

41:39organization.

41:40>> When you think that

41:41>> Yes. Well, when you think about most

41:44um decisions, big decisions that get

41:47made within the organization, there's a

41:50financial component, a legal component,

41:52and a political component or a policy

41:54component to it. So, that's the person

41:58that we are looking for that really can

42:00apply that and help our senior

42:01leadership team make decisions within

42:03those three contexts. So um we also

42:07looked at the skills of the two existing

42:09assistants and how we could best utilize

42:11them and then complement them. Um and we

42:14landed upon the deputy position one

42:16because we wanted someone with [cough]

42:19more experience or you know to recruit

42:21people with more experience. Um and we

42:25also focused that position on um the

42:28areas of the organization. So, human

42:30services and community development that

42:34um the other two assistants weren't

42:36necessarily strong in. So, those are all

42:39the factors that we put into in creating

42:41the deputy position. And then we put it

42:44out on the street and we had

42:48um nearly 100 applicants really

42:50>> from across the from across the country.

42:52Um

42:53>> how many were qualified? Um, strictly

42:56qualified, I would say probably between

42:5925 and 30.

43:00>> Oh, that's good.

43:01>> Um, I think we probably had

43:04six or seven sitting or former town

43:07managers um that applied. Many assistant

43:10managers

43:12>> um and then many um I'll call them

43:16functional leads like community

43:18development. So, they may be responsible

43:19for two or three department heads. Um,

43:22so we kind of narrowed that down and um,

43:26I think we screened nine candidates and

43:30then we went from nine to three

43:33finalists and then made our final

43:35decision with Kristen Lass.

43:39>> Good decision. So she starts in less

43:41than a month.

43:41>> She starts in less than a month. Um, you

43:43know, she had um, as is traditional I

43:46think a a termination clause within her

43:48agreement with the town of Westford for

43:5090 days. So that gives that community

43:54sufficient amount of time to get their

43:56search underway. Um but that means we

43:58have to wait longer.

44:00>> And so what is your structure in your

44:02office now? You have you'll have a town

44:04manager, deputy town manager,

44:06>> two assistant,

44:07>> two assistant town managers.

44:09>> Y

44:10>> and then do you have assistant to the

44:13town manager? We have one position

44:15assistant to the town manager that

44:16serves as um the executive assistant to

44:21the select board and the town manager.

44:22So managing

44:23>> used to be a secretary but now they have

44:26more responsibilities than just

44:27>> they do they handle all the licensing

44:29and appointment processes and uh in

44:32addition to all the traditional

44:34administrative uh responsibilities. And

44:36so the big question would be how did you

44:41form this structure in your it's good

44:44that you're able to say okay we have

44:46this opportunity we're going to change

44:48it we're going to regroup but how did

44:50you

44:52come up with formulate this structure

44:55and work it into your budget? Mhm.

44:58Well,

44:59a lot of that I mean once we kind of did

45:02that assessment and that assessment was

45:04done between myself and the select board

45:06and the two assistant managers. We

45:08talked through what we thought the needs

45:09were of the organization. What did we

45:12miss or weren't performing well during

45:14the last 12 months, 18 months, whatever

45:17you want to look back, you know, where

45:19could we improve? Um, and that's where

45:21we came up with the structure. Really

45:23again looking for someone with the

45:25particular experience in the human

45:27services and community development, but

45:28then that broader experience that could

45:30really serve as a true number two and

45:33help support the other two assistant uh,

45:35town managers as well. Uh, the funding

45:38comes through the opportunity that I

45:40talked about. So, we used to have three

45:41assistant managers and a DPW director.

45:45Um and moving forward we'll have one

45:47deputy town manager and two assistant

45:50town managers. So we one of the

45:53assistant town managers public works

45:55which is Keith and then the other is uh

45:57administration of finances which is

45:59Christina. So um we basically utilize

46:03the resources from those three positions

46:05and transformed them into the different

46:08titles um along with eliminating the

46:10public works director's position. So it

46:12was a reshuffleling of funds. So it's

46:14not like you're just saying, "Oh, I

46:17think I need another assistant." You you

46:20>> found creative ways of coming up with

46:22the funding.

46:23>> Yeah. It's a net um no additional

46:26positions were created. It was just what

46:29titles are we using, what roles are they

46:31playing, and how do we restructure it

46:33from that point?

46:37>> Flock cameras.

46:38>> Do we have them in Shrewsbury? Uh there

46:41is one Flock camera in Shrewsbury that

46:43I'm aware of, but that's not the Town of

46:45Shrewsbury. So, private entities um have

46:48the ability to contract with Flock just

46:50as well. Let me be really clear though.

46:52The Town of Shrewsbury does not have a

46:54contract with Flock, nor we never have.

46:57Uh we don't utilize that technology as

47:00part of our policing. Um, but you know,

47:04there's plenty of websites out there

47:05that identify where flock cameras are,

47:07and one has been identified um and

47:10verified uh within town within the Home

47:12Depot parking lot.

47:14>> It's on private property.

47:15>> It's on private property.

47:16>> It's not Yep.

47:17>> on public property.

47:19>> Correct. So, it faces their parking lot

47:21and they use it for loss control. So,

47:23it's my understanding if

47:25>> there's a significant theft within, you

47:29know, the Home Depot, they try to

47:31utilize that to determine who may be

47:33responsible for that theft.

47:36>> Interesting.

47:36>> Yeah.

47:37>> And Arowwood Park playground.

47:40>> Yeah.

47:40>> Um once again, CPC, Community

47:44Preservation Committee, came through

47:46with um money. town meeting voted to

47:50approve it and that park is open and

47:53running.

47:53>> It is. Yeah, it was it's a chief was

47:56there the night we cut the ribbon on it.

47:57It was it's a really great new community

48:00asset. Something that we haven't done in

48:02a very long time. And from my

48:04understanding, it's quite the regional

48:07draw. A lot of people coming in from out

48:09of town to use it. Oh, really?

48:10>> Yeah. But that's fine, you know. And the

48:12the neighborhood is using it as well,

48:14which is

48:15>> How do you find it so fast? Well, when

48:16you publish it on social media and

48:18people share it and like it like you

48:20want them to do, right? You want it to

48:22go viral, then word gets out and you

48:25know, it's good to have kids and

48:27families interacting, you know, and

48:30>> um it's all good.

48:31>> Yeah, it's a good thing.

48:33>> So, when is Oak Street going to get

48:36paved?

48:37>> Yep. So, I'll tell the paving story this

48:39year. It's not my favorite story to

48:41tell, but I think everyone

48:43needs to understand what happened. So,

48:46um, we

48:48went out to bid this spring like we

48:50always do in May, um, and awarded a

48:54contract. Everyone knows the low bidder

48:56and and public procurement. Um, you

48:59don't always have to take the low

49:00bidder. If you don't take the low

49:02bidder, you have to have a reason and a

49:03rationale. Um, so we didn't select the

49:06low bidder. Um and the low bidder um

49:09this year challenged us um at the

49:12attorney general's office and that tied

49:15the process up for quite some time.

49:18Really delayed uh us uh getting work

49:21underway by

49:25almost 10 weeks normally would have been

49:28>> because there was nothing logical about

49:30not getting it done while school before

49:32school.

49:33>> Exactly. So, we actually signed the

49:35original contract within the first week

49:37of June, which would have got us off and

49:38running and most of the paving project

49:40would have been done. Um, but that

49:42didn't happen. So, we actually just

49:44started uh work.

49:45>> So, what did the attorney general say?

49:47>> They didn't find in our favor. So, they

49:49did not. We ended up uh awarding it to

49:52the low bidder who's uh going to do the

49:55work. and we've had several meetings

49:56with them and um they've committed to

50:00improving on their work and proving us

50:03wrong so to speak uh in our decision and

50:06we're happy to be wrong and to get good

50:08outcomes, you know, and that's all we

50:10want. We we want that every dollar

50:13that's invested with Shrare Taxpayer

50:15dollar is to get the best outcome. So

50:16that's what we're looking for and

50:17they've committed to doing that and

50:19we've put extra resources in the field

50:21to help oversee that to make sure it

50:23happens to do our due diligence. Are

50:25they the same ones who damaged Gilab and

50:27haven't fixed it?

50:28>> Um,

50:29>> by parking all the heavy equipment there

50:31and damaging the pavement.

50:32>> That will be fixed, but no, not that

50:36wasn't this work. That was

50:37>> Will it be fixed by the town or by the

50:39company that did it?

50:40>> Oh, good.

50:40>> Yeah. Yeah.

50:41>> Good.

50:42>> Um, there's a truck restriction on Oldm

50:45Mill Road.

50:46>> This is how I fire questions to them

50:48because I try to fit as many in as I

50:50can. truck restriction on um Mill Road

50:54and all we see is more and more trucks

50:56on Mill Road.

50:58>> Um and so that coupled with the speeding

51:03coming down off of Maple A down road

51:07coupled with the fact that PE

51:09pedestrians are lucky if they can find

51:10the sidewalk through the weeds and then

51:13the sidewalk disappears. So you have

51:15students walking from the middle school

51:18and you we see them walking towards um

51:23when I say the intersection of Oldm Mill

51:25and Harrington A

51:26>> and there's no sidewalk

51:28>> for these kids to even walk on

51:30>> and I I wonder if that's a priority in

51:33the sidewalk people's domain.

51:36>> Um we I don't know when that's scheduled

51:40for. We are doing designs for next year.

51:42I can certainly make sure that it's high

51:44enough on the list that we can at least

51:45get a design in place for it. Um

51:50I I just don't know what the status of,

51:53you know, Old Mill Road is for

51:55sidewalks. I do know, did you hear about

51:57the three-way stop that's going

51:59>> That was my next question. Tell us about

52:01it. When when? Because that's getting to

52:04be a dangerous intersection.

52:05>> Yeah. So the intersection there at

52:07Harrington Avenue will turn into a

52:08three-way stop. So, if you're on Old

52:10Mill Road, you'll have to stop. Um, I'm

52:13not exactly sure on the time frame. It

52:15will be this fall.

52:16>> Oh, good.

52:17>> We It's in partnership with the state.

52:19So, they ordered the stop signs. I know

52:22how long does it take to get a stop

52:23sign, but it's one of the stop signs

52:25that has the red flashing um lights on

52:28it and has a solar panel to power that.

52:31>> So, there'll be one stop ahead and all

52:34that.

52:34>> Yeah. because that you you can't see as

52:37you're trying to drive navigate that.

52:40You have pedestrians who have nowhere to

52:42walk or jump in order to get out of the

52:45way of the cars. Um and and it's busier

52:48and busier and the cars I think what

52:49happens is they come off 290 and they're

52:52still going fast coming down road and so

52:55now they're coming through that

52:56intersection and they think that that

52:58it's just a speedway and they forget

53:00that cars are coming in, you know,

53:02multiple directions. So, that'll be a

53:04good job done. Um,

53:07we now have digital print versus how

53:10does that work? Um, the free notices

53:13versus paying to every time you have to

53:15publish public information.

53:18>> So, not yet. So, those two pieces of

53:20special legislation are still pending at

53:24the um

53:26um at the state in the legislature. They

53:30have progressed.

53:32um one of them is on third reading and

53:35that's the advertising. So that's the

53:38next to last step and then the the um

53:41tax relief program is engrossed in the

53:43house which means it's one step ahead.

53:46So I would expect I'm hoping uh before

53:50this legislative session ends at the end

53:52of November that um both of those will

53:55be passed and and good law and and be

53:58into effect. So

54:00>> we've made significant progress. I think

54:02a lot faster than I anticipated since

54:04they were just passed in May though.

54:05>> Good.

54:06>> Yeah.

54:06>> Now, I was watching I was watching a

54:10school committee meeting um with my leg

54:13up recovering and um so I got to see a

54:16few extra meetings. Uh John Hamilton

54:19came on who is the superintendent of

54:22public buildings and I just want to do

54:24this one quickly. Um he was really

54:28enthusiastic and I was very impressed

54:31and I I wondered he didn't say it but I

54:34wondered um are there enough custodians

54:38to meet the needs of all the contracted

54:43custodians and and the needs of of the

54:45um public buildings. Do you find that

54:48there are enough?

54:49Well, I know that public buildings has

54:52requested additional employees uh within

54:54the last few years and they weren't

54:56funded through the budget process. Um I

54:59know of one building in particular where

55:01we'd like to add another full-time um

55:04custodian and hopefully we get to do

55:05that either in FY28, which is the next

55:08fiscal year or beyond. Um I think the

55:12effectiveness of the

55:17um contracted

55:20custodial services has declined.

55:22>> Unfortunately, there's a very

55:24competitive marketplace. the margins in

55:26that the field are pretty low and it's

55:29led contractors to um do things like

55:33split shifts and not pay benefits and

55:36led to less desirable outcomes and maybe

55:39less than committed employees.

55:41>> Y

55:42>> um so that's a a really broad brush. Um,

55:45we've we have a lot of success still

55:46doing that, but we've definitely

55:48diminished our reliance on contracted

55:51increased.

55:52>> Will you review

55:54contract versus town?

55:57>> We do every time. Yeah, we we do every

55:59time that the contract is up.

56:01>> Okay. So, a lot of things he talked

56:04about the HVAC at um system at Spring

56:07Street has been replaced. He said that

56:10they're doing a lot of preventive

56:11preventable maintenance on HVAC systems

56:15on the public buildings. And he talked

56:17about um at the high school that they're

56:20painting. And I wondered how much work

56:23will be held back from being done at the

56:26high school if they're planning to put

56:28an addition and what can be scooped into

56:31the, you know, project and and and

56:35>> what do you want to tell? Yeah, I mean I

56:37think we're we're thinking about that

56:38every time we make a decision, but we

56:40have moved forward with plenty of

56:42projects that you would say maybe why

56:44are you going to do that? Like replacing

56:46lighting and things like that. Um we

56:49still have, you know, if if we're on the

56:52current time frame, we still have almost

56:54four years till construction would

56:55start.

56:56>> So you still have work that

56:57>> we still have, yeah, plenty of time. And

56:59we just wouldn't do any major systems

57:01that we know would be replaced. So,

57:02we're not going to replace an HVAC

57:04system

57:05>> if it's going to be replaced unless it

57:07dies right in in advance.

57:09>> Um, but you know, those major components

57:12in the core parts of the schools are

57:14really windows, roof, and HVAC. So,

57:17major systems. Anything else kind of

57:19within the rooms um or less

57:22consequential uh wouldn't be touched by

57:24the new project.

57:25>> Now, I don't know if this is a new

57:26invention or not a new invention. You

57:28guys can tell me. Um, there's a bottle

57:31filling station, which

57:33>> we used to have bubblers and now they

57:35have bottle filling stations. I thought

57:37that was pretty impressive. How long

57:38have they been around?

57:40>> I don't know, seven years. [laughter]

57:4210 years maybe. Y

57:45>> and um at the base of the high school, I

57:49call it the high school driveway, but

57:50it's Cypress A.

57:52>> At the base, there's a sign, Shrewsbury

57:53High School. That needs to be spruced

57:56up.

57:57>> Okay. So maybe you could find somebody

57:59to spruce up the

58:00>> I will

58:01>> make it more impressive than what it is.

58:04>> Chief, do you want to spruce that up?

58:05>> Could you?

58:06>> But there might be there might be an

58:08organization. It could be it could be a

58:10boy scout. Whatever the boy scouts,

58:12>> I'll take a look at it.

58:13>> Whatever. Um and we have drones coming

58:17into town now with um Amazon.

58:20>> Yeah, Amazon's proposing delivery drones

58:22um into really seven or eight

58:25surrounding communities. seven well six

58:28and a half miles from their Westboroough

58:30distribution facility. We don't have a

58:33we don't have a lot of say in that. The

58:35Federal Aviation uh administration

58:38controls the airspace. They fly between

58:41300 and 400 ft high. Uh we are

58:44considering some zoning bylaw changes

58:46for any facilities where they would take

58:48off and land in Shrewsbury. So not what

58:51Amazon would be delivering, but you know

58:53if any other delivery agent would test

58:56wanted to take it on, which we imagine

58:58they will.

58:59>> Um, unfortunately, I think it's the

59:01direction that some businesses are

59:03testing out. Whether they'll be

59:04successful, I don't know.

59:05>> Okay. Well, we're out of time and, um,

59:09we'll be back sooner than this last

59:11stretch. And thanks for watching and

59:13thanks for being here. We'll see you

59:15next time.

59:15>> Thank you.