2026-08-18 - Select Board

01:09Good evening. It being uh 6 o'clock here

01:12on Tuesday, August 18th, Memorial Hall,

01:15I bring this meeting of the Westboro

01:18Select Board to order.

01:21If you are so able, please join us in

01:23the pledge of

01:23>> allegiance.

01:27>> [clears throat]

01:27>> To the flag of the United States of

01:30America,

01:54go across. Go ahead.

01:55>> Yes. Go right ahead, sir.

02:00Just a second.

02:07Yeah, it's always a pleasure to come

02:08here because of the reminders of

02:11history, the great war.

02:13>> Sorry. Name and address, please.

02:14>> My name is Kieran O'Donnell. Thank you.

02:17>> My address is 293 Turnpike Road.

02:19>> Thank you very much.

02:20>> In West.

02:22>> Anyway, I'll skip the introduction. I'm

02:24here to talk about um uh the program in

02:28lie of Taches which uh Wendy the town

02:32assessors have been kind enough to send

02:33me a copy of the letter by Christy

02:36Williams. First of all, I really do not

02:38like this letter. Um why don't I like

02:41it? Because it's presented as an

02:45opportunity of finding out the great

02:47things that you're doing and why don't

02:50you could just come down and meet with

02:52us. Well, you know where they do that?

02:56So, I was talking to a guy at the YMCA.

02:59They do that in China. The police said,

03:02"Oh, I hear there's a Japanese woman

03:04staying at your brother's house. Can you

03:06come down and talk?" And then you

03:07explain this way. The second thing is

03:11it's not a meeting. It's a one-on-one

03:13meeting. The input information is

03:15flowing all one way and the town

03:17processes it. So, it disempowers people.

03:22Secondly, um it's a scandal given that

03:26the amount that you have increased the

03:28taxes this year that you'd be asking for

03:31money for people that are rendering

03:35services to the community. If you read

03:38um what the town of Southboro says about

03:40a pilot program, because they're in

03:42advance of you, they say, "Well, the

03:44nonprofits aren't paying their fair

03:45share." Oh, really? uh we've been doing

03:49it for um 400 years and now you're going

03:52to take taxes now uh from churches even

03:55why not? Um, so it's illegal for the

03:58government to give money uh to a church,

04:02but it's it's illegal to subsidize, but

04:04it's illegal to take a uh a negative

04:07subsidy to say find a um

04:11uh to say find something like the sex

04:14education program in Worcester, which is

04:16scandalous.

04:18Let's just face it, not everybody shares

04:21the same values and it is your job to

04:25run the finances of this town and it is

04:27being mismanaged and h the way you're

04:31going about this and like you know it's

04:35a voluntary contribution uh but of

04:38course um there's talk at the state

04:40level of making it mandery mandatory

04:43um I really find it very offensive and

04:47I'm very disappoint appointed in you and

04:49I'll say one final thing. I would rather

04:51not be here. Don't think do not think

04:56um that I am here for my pleasure

05:00because I've stopped coming here because

05:01it's a waste of time. Um but I had to

05:05speak out because you're attacking

05:07churches uh in a state where things are

05:10going to hell in a hand basket with

05:12abortions in nine weeks and god knows

05:14what else. Thank you very much.

05:17Thank you.

05:24[clears throat]

05:26>> Joanne Aramini, 7 Meadow Road. The board

05:29recently updated the open forum policy

05:32and distributed to all the boards and

05:33the committees. Um, at your June 23rd

05:36meeting, you all amended that policy to

05:38ensure it was clear to all boards and

05:42committees that they needed to include

05:44an open forum item on their agendas. Um,

05:48this was because of a town council

05:50opinion, which we paid for with our tax

05:53money due to the fact that the planning

05:55board would not give the public, an

05:57elected board, would not give the public

05:59a chance for open forum. At the 6th 23rd

06:03meeting, the chair asked the town

06:05manager to follow up to be sure that all

06:08agency um all agendas were included open

06:12form. At your last meeting on July 21st,

06:15town manager did not give you this

06:18follow-up. So, I checked the agendas

06:20myself. Took me all of 15 minutes and I

06:23used July 1st as the starting point. And

06:27I found that there are a number of

06:28committees that have not met since the

06:30revised policy was distributed. So more

06:33follow-up is needed there. I also found

06:36that there are some committees that have

06:37met in July and have not included open

06:40forum. Most noticeably the school

06:43committee and all of its subcommittees.

06:46The school committee is another elected

06:48board that greatly impacts our taxes.

06:51The public should have the opportunity

06:53to go there in open form and speak on

06:56any issue if they so choose. I

06:58understand not all boards report

07:00directly to the select board. I can read

07:02the organizational chart. However, the

07:05select board is responsible for the

07:08overall running of this town and that

07:10responsibility is delegated to the town

07:12manager. There there should be and I

07:15believe there are dotted lines between

07:16the select board and all those

07:18departments and boards that do not

07:20directly report to the select board.

07:22It's a copout and an excuse to look the

07:24other way and do nothing. I'm asking the

07:27chair to once again request the town

07:28manager to follow up on this issue and

07:31ensure that all boards and committees

07:33and town include open form on the

07:35agenda. There's only one thing worse

07:37than not having a policy and that's

07:39having a policy and not following it.

07:41you get into trouble that way. Thank

07:43you.

07:44>> Thank you.

07:53>> Good evening, members of the board.

07:54Kevin Barry, 8 Indian Pond Road.

07:57Um,

07:58sorry, I had a uh cup of coffee. I don't

08:00drink a lot of coffee and my chest is

08:02about to blow out of my the my heart is

08:04supposed to blow out of my chest right

08:05now. Too much caffeine. But I wanted to

08:07revisit my uh open forum comments that I

08:09made last uh July on July 21st. And in

08:12in specific I addressed um basically a

08:15fresh I am unbiased representative for

08:18the ATSC to be a member of the ATP the

08:21active transportation plan committee.

08:24What I after that presentation I

08:26submitted that to you the the documents.

08:27I also found some other things that were

08:29a little alarming that were in your

08:30packet that particular day. If you

08:32remember correctly, uh Chris Pant, the

08:34DPW director, gave a um update on East

08:37Main Street project and in it he

08:39presented a email chain that he was part

08:43of that pretty much hits home again some

08:46of the things that I discussed on that

08:47meeting. And I have a bunch of things to

08:49documentation to present to you and I'm

08:50going to go through it. But I want to go

08:51through quickly some highlights as far

08:53as this to to again reemphasize or or

08:56emphasize that this is a conflict of

08:58interest with Don Burn being a member of

09:00the ATSC being on that ATP committee.

09:03First, this was an email uh from him to

09:07the friends of Bwalt dated on June 29th,

09:092026. on it. He wrote, "I wanted people

09:12to know that Northboro got its grant

09:14from Mass Trails to do the feasibility

09:15study for Bewalt along Route 9.

09:17Currently, plan the plan is that I am

09:20author of the text of the plan and do

09:22the calculations for things like users,

09:24revenue, costs, and maintenance." First

09:26and foremost, there's no certification

09:28he has for this. He's got experience,

09:30fine, but I don't understand why people

09:31keep playing for this level. There was a

09:34response from friends of Bwalt. Um

09:38his response back to them was

09:41uh things are going well. I may ask for

09:43help this year since there should be

09:45public hearings on East Main Street and

09:47Fiser Street. Both of the projects are

09:49disasters that violate current standards

09:52including ADA various bicycle standards

09:55and tip requirements for shared use

09:57paths. They are getting away with it by

09:59calling the effort sidewalks.

10:00Unfortunately, ebikes will be blocked

10:02from sidewalks and there is some

10:04discussion in the Commonwealth of say

10:06you have the younger than 13 to ride

10:08bike on a sidewalk. This will basically

10:10mean the projects at DPW is selling as a

10:13bike projects won't allow bikes. He

10:15finishes, I hope friends of Bwalt can

10:17help get people out to demand the

10:19projects are fixed before they go

10:21forward, even though that will mean the

10:23town loses grant money. He's in effect

10:26sabotaging the efforts of DPW of the

10:28mass. tip program that's been approved.

10:30And this is this is continuing. This is

10:32ridiculous. So, Bill Lenain was part of

10:34this. He responded and forwarded this

10:35information to Chris Payant who wrote

10:38this and CCD Christy Williams, a town

10:40manager. He started by saying, "Bill,

10:42thanks for asking. I appreciate the

10:43opportunity to correct the misleading

10:45and inaccurate information in the below

10:47email. Feel free to share the facts

10:49below." He goes further. His closing

10:52comments are, "I don't have any comment

10:53on speculation about the possibility of

10:55future regulatory changes in the

10:56Commonwealth regarding ebike ebikes.

10:58However, I don't believe MASDOT would

11:00fund projects that violate current

11:01standards. Lastly, the DPW is not

11:03selling anything. Over multiple years,

11:05we proactively pursued 14 million of

11:07external funding to address the

11:08transport transportation priorities

11:10identified by the town. So, this in

11:12essence was from Chris Pay to to uh

11:15Christie and it was in your packet, I

11:17believe, last when I made this

11:18presentation. Yet, there's no agenda

11:20item. Um, I come to find out further

11:22investigation. He made a presentation to

11:24Shrewsbury Trails Committee on August

11:2512th. Uh, there's an agenda item. I'll

11:27include it there. They just had the

11:29meeting on the 12th. I They don't record

11:31the meetings. I don't have the meeting

11:32minute notes, but I will definitely

11:33follow up with that with you. Uh it it's

11:35just ridiculous. And then at yesterday's

11:37ATSC meeting, once again, he's not fully

11:39transparent. This is Don Burn about his

11:42current actions. First, during the BWALT

11:44update agenda item, he informed the

11:46informed the committee that Northboro

11:47did get awarded the grant for mass

11:49trails and they accepted it. He then

11:51went further that they are proceeding

11:52with the feasibility study. He'd never

11:54disclose to the committee, the people

11:56that he's members of this committee with

11:58that he's doing their feasibility study,

12:00right? He's telling everybody else but

12:01doesn't tell the committee and he's

12:02misrepresent misrepresenting himself to

12:04Shrewsbury as well as Northboro pushing

12:07his forward agenda. Then when he was

12:09asked for an update on the first ATP

12:11meetings because he hadn't been able to

12:12give that um he wasn't fully disclosed.

12:14He had no notes. There's meeting minute

12:16notes that BHB does. I have a copy of it

12:18that he could have gone through just

12:19quickly. He never did that in it. He

12:21also um basically during that meeting

12:25yesterday he presented a map that came

12:26out of nowhere. Brand new map. I'll

12:28submit it to you. It was a cross what is

12:30it called? A cross connector cross town

12:32connector map that he came up with. He

12:34described the map which is newly

12:36authored as a cross town connector bike

12:38path in which there are some

12:39never-before disclosed connections if

12:41you will. It's kind of a bewalt 2.0

12:43southern route if you will. In his

12:45presentation, he stated that VHB and

12:48someone else within the committee had

12:50requested that he create this. Yet, upon

12:52a reviewing the notes from VHB, nowhere

12:55is that mentioned. In fact, it says as

12:57far as VHB, they're basically saying the

13:00next steps were VHB will continue

13:02refining the existing condition

13:04conditions maps with the revised scale

13:06and orientation for the townwide map.

13:08Nowhere does it say it gave charge to

13:10Don Burn to do a brand new map to

13:11present it to ATSC and present it. Um,

13:14this needs to stop. And I'm, you know,

13:17I'll I'll sing it till the cows come

13:18home, but this is a complete conflict of

13:20interest. You're not doing anything.

13:22You're the oversight body, a governing

13:24body of this committee, and he's

13:26misrepresenting his position with other

13:28towns within VHB, what he's doing, and

13:31he's basically, why are we paying

13:32$130,000

13:34or for a grant study that he's re he's

13:36doing stuff on his own? That's why we

13:37contract VHB. U sorry a little

13:39longwinded but there's a lot of

13:40information here and I'll submit it to

13:42you kind of read through it but thank

13:43you for your time.

13:45>> Thank you.

13:46>> Sure.

13:54>> Okay. Item two uh on our agenda today is

13:58a charter review discussion. Um I'll

14:01hand it over to our town manager and I

14:02believe our town moderator is here as

14:05well.

14:08So [clears throat] this is just the

14:09first step in uh excuse me in the

14:12board's FY27 goal of review of town and

14:15charter and town meeting efficiencies

14:16and form. Um the action items uh under

14:20that memo that was approved was work

14:22with the town moderator to develop next

14:23steps including mission scope for

14:24charter review committee. Um my

14:26recommendation and what you have in your

14:28pocket is just a request to identify two

14:30members of your or board to work with

14:33myself and the town moderator to craft

14:36um sort of a plan uh to move this

14:38forward and then come back to the board

14:40for your ultimate approval. Um and I did

14:42mention it to the town moderator um I

14:44know he has some additional information

14:46which would be part of those subsequent

14:47meetings.

14:50>> Thank you. Thank you Christie. Um, and

14:52John, I don't know if you want to make

14:55any comments now or up to you.

15:01>> Hello, John. Arnold, 251 West Main

15:03Street, Town M. As I said, I'm not going

15:04to take up a lot of time. I just want to

15:06say I'm welcome uh and very uh welcoming

15:09to work with you, whoever you appoint to

15:11do it. Um, as I've said many times, I

15:13think there's no perfect

15:14self-government. Um, there are many

15:16things we can do with the form of

15:17government we have. There are things we

15:18could change to make it different. Um,

15:20and I think us working together to

15:23identify what the problems are before we

15:25jump to solutions is the way to go. And

15:26it sounds like the process you're

15:28setting up is a good way to do that. So,

15:29I won't say anything else because I know

15:31you got a long agenda other than to say

15:32I'm looking forward to working with you

15:34and Christie and figuring out what the

15:35best path for the voters is.

15:37>> Thank you.

15:37>> Thank you very much.

15:39>> Um, all right. I'll hand it to the

15:41board. So, we're looking for one or two

15:43select board members. Um, thoughts,

15:45interest?

15:47I I will say right out of the gate, I'm

15:49interested in participating. Um I'll

15:52also say that I think it's um such an

15:54important topic that I I think it's

15:56important that we have two members on

15:57the committee or on this discussion with

16:00John and Christie. So I think that it

16:02warrants that level of attention from

16:04us. Uh and I'm glad to see this get onto

16:06our agenda and thank you John for being

16:08here tonight. Um as we begin the

16:10discussion around this,

16:14>> uh I'm I'm happy to do it. Uh, I also

16:17will defer to someone else. Uh, you

16:20know, I don't want to monopolize all the

16:21appointments. So, do we know if Shelby

16:24has any interest there? She's pretty

16:26busy. I know.

16:27>> Yeah. And and I don't know how long.

16:30Well, I guess this is just an a a um

16:35sort of introductory committee and that

16:37it will be the basis for forming the

16:39permanent committee that so

16:44I I definitely would be interested in

16:46this um participated prior um I think I

16:51bring a lot of experience to it and I do

16:53have capacity just as of right now some

16:57of my liaison or appointment committees

16:59haven't met yet. I know we will

17:01hopefully get municipal building

17:02committee back meeting, but for right

17:04now I'd be um I'd be happy to do it and

17:07have the time to do it.

17:09>> Thank you both. Um All right. Yeah, I I

17:13would be more than happy to defer to to

17:15Patrick and Ian on this um

17:20and let them get started with with

17:22Christy and John on this exercise.

17:30That's Mark. You okay? You

17:31>> You need a motion?

17:32>> Uh, yes, please.

17:36>> Sorry. I move to ask select board

17:38members uh Welch and Johnson to work

17:41with the town manager and town moderator

17:43to develop a plan for achieving the

17:45charter review and town meeting

17:47efficiency goal.

17:48>> Second.

17:49>> I guess it's appropriate for second.

17:51Yes, I think so, too. Okay. All those in

17:53favor, four to zero. Thank you both.

17:56Thank you. Yeah. Yes. Thank you.

17:58>> Thank you all.

17:59Okay,

18:03I know there's a lot of interest, so

18:05yep.

18:07>> Um, next item number three, site plan

18:10review for Amazon Drone Delivery

18:12Service, 64 Otis Street. And we have

18:14folks from Amazon here this evening.

18:25The first test.

18:27Take your time.

18:31>> Screen's activated.

18:33Chrissy.

18:35>> Oh, there you go.

18:38>> Oh, look at that. [clears throat]

18:42>> Good evening, chair, members of the

18:44board. Thank you for having us this

18:45evening. My name is Jonathan Gley and I

18:47serve as Amazon's head of economic

18:49development here in New England based in

18:50Boston. My role is to help Amazon think

18:52about how we grow and operate,

18:53partnering with communities across the

18:54Commonwealth, including right here in

18:56Westboro. I want to start by uh sharing

18:58a little bit about Amazon's presence in

19:00Massachusetts before I turn before I

19:02turn things over to our primary team who

19:03will walk you through our plans for 64

19:05out of street. Amazon has been a part of

19:07Massachusetts since 2010. In that time,

19:09we've invested more than $ 35 billion in

19:11the Commonwealth, including

19:12infrastructure and employee

19:13compensation. That investment has

19:15contributed over $30 billion to the

19:17state's GDP. Today, Amazon directly

19:19employs more than 24,000 full-time uh

19:22part-time workers across the state,

19:23including more than 1500 here in

19:24Westboro. Uh beyond our own workforce,

19:27our operations support additional 20,000

19:29plus indirect jobs in industries like

19:30construction, uh logistics and

19:32professional services, the suppliers and

19:34partners that we rely on every single

19:36day. We operate across a range of

19:38facilities here in the state. Nine

19:40fulfillment centers and sortation

19:41centers, 16 delivery stations, 32 whole

19:43food markets, and many more. Westboro

19:46holds a special place in Amazon story

19:47here in this Commonwealth. Uh it's home

19:49to Amazon Robotics where our teams

19:51design, build, and test robots that help

19:53us deliver for our customers across the

19:55world. Over the past 12 years, more than

19:571 million robots have been produced here

19:58in North Reading um to fuel our

20:01logistics operations. Westboro is also

20:03home to SMA1, the logistics facility

20:05that we'll be discussing here tonight.

20:07In short, this is a community where

20:08Amazon has deep roots. Uh we're not just

20:10passing through, we're part of your

20:12neighbor. That brings me to tonight's

20:14presentation. We're excited to share

20:15with you the next chapter of Amazon's

20:16story in Westboro. I'd like to introduce

20:18the primary team. We'll take you through

20:19the details and we're happy to answer

20:20any questions you may have over the

20:22course of evening. Thank you very much.

20:23>> Thank you.

20:24>> It's Jonathan.

20:28>> Good evening, chairman, members of the

20:30board. Uh Tark Wii also with Amazon's

20:32economic development team and I cover

20:35and lead our efforts for our primary

20:37drone delivery program. Jonathan gave a

20:39great introduction. We are the most

20:41customer centric company in the world

20:44and as part of that we're constantly

20:46innovating and Westboro Mass has been

20:49exactly that type of beacon of

20:51innovation that we're looking for. We've

20:53been able to test, develop, deliver for

20:57our customers, scale those programs

20:58across the network and it's been really

21:00successful and quite fun to be quite

21:03frank. So I've got some folks from our

21:06Kimley Horn team here as well. We've got

21:08Bill and John Little both joining us. Um

21:11they were helping us with our our site

21:13plan documents, but I want to spend just

21:15some time walking you through the

21:17concept. This is fairly new to a lot of

21:19communities that we're operating in and

21:21so want to give you some of those highle

21:23details. Make sure we spend plenty of

21:25time answering any initial questions you

21:26might have.

21:28So our mission other than satisfying our

21:32demands of our customers and continuing

21:34to deliver and innovate for them is

21:36safety first. We do everything with

21:39safety and privacy in mind. That is at

21:42the epicenter of all of our different

21:44programs that we're operating across the

21:46entire company. And this is a really

21:48exciting one as we continue to increase

21:51the speed of delivery, which started at

21:54several days, then came down to a couple

21:57days, and then turned into next day. And

21:59now we've been doing same day delivery

22:01right here in Westboro uh for a long

22:03time. Now we can deliver in 60 minutes

22:06or less to those customers, oftentimes

22:09hitting that 30 minute or less mark u by

22:12way of primary drone. But we can't do

22:15that successfully if we're not doing

22:16that in a safe way. So this brainchild

22:19[clears throat]

22:20of Mr. Bezos himself in 2013,

22:23um it has taken that long for us to get

22:25this up and running. Why? Because we

22:27brought everything in house. We designed

22:29a system. We designed an aircraft. We

22:31made sure the right people, the right

22:33engineers were on board to make sure

22:35that we were the safest company out

22:36there doing commercial drone operations.

22:39And we're doing just that in several

22:40places across the country right now with

22:43many others uh to come before the end of

22:46this year. I'm not going to list all of

22:48them on the screen here, but that

22:50photograph is from our Talison, Arizona

22:52site that has been a very successful

22:54drone delivery program. Immediately

22:57abuing uh residential neighborhood, but

23:00we have found a way to integrate into

23:02that community. Our vertical takeoff and

23:04landing has been a very minimal

23:06disruption for them. and we are doing

23:08tens and thou tens of thousands of

23:10deliveries per month across our network.

23:16What does the drone look like and how

23:18does this work? We get a lot of these

23:20questions, so I'll I'll try to tee them

23:22up as as much as I I can here. Um, the

23:25drone is about 5 1/2 ft tall and about

23:285t wide. Why is that? It's a six blade

23:31system. It flies both vertically for

23:33ascent and landing, but also forward

23:36flight up to 74 miles per hour. So, this

23:39is a serious aircraft built with all of

23:41the um most up-to-date safety standards.

23:44With that, it can hold a payload of up

23:46to about 5 lbs, which happens to be

23:48about 60% of all of the products that we

23:51deliver out of our fulfillment centers

23:53today. So, if you look back into your

23:55order history, if you're a customer, um

23:57most of those items are likely under

23:59five pounds and could fit into a shoe

24:01box and thereby be eligible for this

24:04drone delivery program. Um our delivery

24:07service range, and I've got a map later

24:09on in this presentation that shows that,

24:11but essentially, we would be delivering

24:12to customers within 7 and a half miles

24:15from SMA1, our same day delivery station

24:18on Otis Street. We have figured out a

24:21lot of quirks along the way. This is our

24:24second iteration of the drone. It's the

24:26quietest, it's the safest, and it can

24:29operate at very low temperatures and

24:31very high temperatures. So, we're

24:33delivering, like I said, in Talison,

24:35Arizona, which right now um not the

24:38greatest place to be unless you really

24:39like a a dry heat. Um and then we can

24:42deliver in very cold temperatures down

24:44to 14 degrees. We can deliver in light

24:46rain and light wind. Um, so this has

24:49been a a major design uh to get to this

24:52Mark III drone for us to be be able to

24:54deliver for our customers in lots of

24:56different physical environments. It's

24:58100% autonomous and 100% electric. So,

25:02we use a lithium ion battery to power

25:04the drone in flight. We charge those

25:07batteries every time there's a flight to

25:09make sure each flight begins with a full

25:11battery charge. Um, and these are just

25:14really fun to interact with, really fun

25:16to watch them fly, and really fun to get

25:19a delivery from them. Some of the

25:22advanced features that are kind of

25:24setting us apart from some of the other

25:26commercial drone operators out there is

25:28that it's autonomous operations with

25:30local drone monitors. So, these flights

25:33are pre-programmed to deliver every

25:35flight path to each one of our uh,

25:38primary drone customers within that 7

25:40and 1/2 mile radius. It's an optional

25:42program but we have developed the system

25:45so that it flies automatically along a

25:47charted path with the ability to use the

25:51scanning tech uh technique that it it

25:53has built in our uh detect and avoid

25:56technology that we have developed that

25:58allow it midcourse to make adjustments

26:00as necessary. If it sees an unregistered

26:03aircraft in the sky, it is going to um

26:07create a system error that would tell it

26:10to u make a maneuver and avoid that

26:13collision. So really special technology

26:15that we've developed. Um and it does

26:19have the ability to detect anything on

26:21the ground as it's making that delivery.

26:24So, if a toddler runs out, and I'll show

26:26you a picture of what that looks like,

26:28um, as we're making a customer delivery,

26:31[clears throat]

26:31um, the FAA manages the airspace, as you

26:35well know. And so, everything I want to

26:38talk to you about tonight is about our

26:40entire program, but we have been very

26:42fortunate working with Fred and Laura

26:45and town manager Williams and uh, Amanda

26:48here to help us get to this point. I'm

26:50going to explain what's on the ground at

26:52our facility. Uh but also want to talk

26:54to you about the other regulatory piece

26:56which is what happens in the sky uh once

26:59one of our aircraft leaves the ground.

27:01And that is all managed through the FAA.

27:04Uh we are a part 135 air carrier

27:07certificate that is just like UPS,

27:10FedEx, ourselves, our Amazon air cargo

27:13system. We hold the same certification

27:15that those operators hold for their

27:17aircraft. Um, and so we're very proud of

27:19that. This drone met met a a rigorous

27:22design review concept through the FAA to

27:25get to that point. And because of that,

27:28um, we are approved to take off from a

27:31lot of these different facilities.

27:33There's still more review ahead to be

27:35done. Um, while we're going through

27:38local land use approvals, which we're

27:39doing tonight, um, and and more to come,

27:43we are also in the background working

27:45with other airspace users in the region.

27:48So, we've had our regulatory air air

27:51affairs team reaching out. We've talked

27:53to Chief Manardi. We've talked to the

27:55fire marshall. We've been working with a

27:57lot of emergency responders and helport

28:00operators and medical centers within

28:02this seven and a half mile delivery

28:04service area to make sure that we're

28:06deconlicting the airspace. That is

28:09important to us. What we don't want to

28:11do is start delivering too early before

28:13we've had those conversations and have

28:16the system grounded because we didn't do

28:17the due diligence. So, we flip that on

28:19its head. We never start operating until

28:22we have full clearance through the FAA

28:24until they've gone through their robust

28:25environmental analysis which they do for

28:28every site which is a public process

28:30that reviews are there sensitive

28:32receptors are there environmental

28:34conditions that exist within that

28:35delivery service radius that should be

28:39cared for in a different way and in all

28:42of our current operations it has come

28:44back to say um no significant impact in

28:47those areas. Why is that? It's because

28:50we're able to deconlict around those

28:52areas. Where an air airport exists, we

28:56establish a no-fly zone. Where wildlife

28:58corridors exist that are important to

29:00the community, we establish a nofly zone

29:02so that our drones are not interacting

29:04in the in those environments. But it's a

29:07robust process. It is still many, many

29:10weeks ahead um on the heels and somewhat

29:14concurrently with our land use approval

29:16process. But we're just excited to be um

29:19on the path uh for eventually um

29:22planning on delivering here in Westboro

29:25and your neighbors.

29:27What does this look like as a customer?

29:29So, if you're an Amazon customer now,

29:31most of you are ordering through the app

29:33on your phone or from your personal

29:35device or your laptop. When you pull up

29:37the app, you might notice if you click

29:40on a particular product, it will say

29:42this could be delivered today. It

29:44probably says within 2 to 3 hours for a

29:47small searchcharge. Well, this will be

29:50an addition to that. As a primary

29:51customer, if that item is eligible for

29:54drone delivery, less than 5 lbs, can fit

29:56in the shoe box, you're within the 7 12

29:58mile radius, it will alert you that

30:01you're eligible for drone delivery. This

30:03is an optional service. You don't have

30:05to be a primary drone customer. Um, but

30:07if you opt into it, uh, we work with you

30:10to establish those landing areas on your

30:13property to make sure that you've got

30:15basically a 100 foot tall, 18 ft wide

30:19cylinder that would allow us to safely

30:22descend vertically and drop the package

30:25for you. Um, there is a premium if

30:28you're a primary customer. It's $299. If

30:30you're not a primary customer, it's

30:32$4.99. But again, optional service. What

30:35happens is you would click on that item

30:37if you're already a primary customer. An

30:39employee in our warehouse would walk

30:41that item out to the primary drone

30:44delivery center and bring it into the

30:46restricted area where we store and

30:48charge our drones. And a different

30:51associate would load that package into

30:53the rear of the aircraft and then it

30:55would begin its descent once everything

30:58is cleared by our flight monitors and

31:00make its way to the customer's house.

31:02All of this happens in many cases in

31:05about 30 minutes time from you clicking

31:07order to it arriving in your yard. So

31:10pretty sensational stuff here. Um I

31:13mentioned that our our batteries are

31:14charged on site. We have um we're

31:17working with a vendor now that have uh

31:19built battery vaults for us to charge

31:21those batteries on site safely. Of

31:24course, this will be a big condition

31:26working with the fire department to make

31:28sure that they have all of the specs on

31:30those products to make sure that there

31:32are no incidents and when there are, we

31:33can take care of them immediately. Um, I

31:36want to show you just a little bit more

31:38about what this looks like because we

31:40get a lot of questions. Yes, the

31:42aircraft has the capability to do

31:44forward flight at very high speed, but

31:46at the beginning from our fulfillment

31:48center, it is vertically taking off to

31:51about 100 ft or more be before it begins

31:55its transition to forward flight. So,

31:58that has been the best way for us to be

32:00good neighbors both at um takeoff from

32:03the fulfillment center and at landing at

32:05the customer's house. Get as high as you

32:08can in the sky as quickly as possible

32:11before you begin forward flight. And

32:13then when it reaches cruising altitude,

32:15we're at an altitude of about 205 to 370

32:18ft on the way back and forth to the

32:22customer. And at that, it's almost

32:24imperceptible. If you're indoors at

32:26those cruising altitudes, you can hear

32:28it if you're within about 500 ft of the

32:31takeoff or landing. But it'd be about

32:33normal conversation. it would be about

32:36holding an electric toothbrush out at

32:39arms length. Um, and again, if you're

32:41indoors, you're likely not going to hear

32:43that. If you're out of doors, you would

32:45likely hear that delivery uh during

32:47about a 20 to 25 second time period as

32:50that customer is receiving that package.

32:54And I mentioned this already, but our

32:56drone is unique in that it does not

32:58disrupt what's happening on the ground.

33:00Instead, we hover it about 13 feet above

33:03the landing zone and drop the package

33:06there. You might think, how is that

33:09safe? How is that going to manage what's

33:12in the box? We have found most of our

33:15items to be able to be delivered by

33:17drone. If they're not, if if we are

33:19concerned about the items in that

33:21package, then it would not be eligible

33:23for drone delivery. We're delivering

33:25iPads, iPhones, AirPods, all of the

33:27electronics, um, glass bottles of salad

33:30dressing, lots of other things that you

33:32might wonder how do we do that by drone?

33:34It's the way we package our materials.

33:36This has been tested over a very long

33:38period of time. And because of our um

33:41avoid and detect detect and avoid

33:43technology, if we are descending from

33:46that 100 feet to the customer's yard

33:49where they have designated their landing

33:51zone and we see a toddler or a

33:54burnadoodle or whatever your favorite

33:56breed of animal is, um if we see that

33:59running into the space where we are

34:00attempting to make delivery, um it will

34:03cancel the mission and automatically

34:05return to the station. So, this will go

34:08right back to our our um same day

34:10delivery station on Otus and notify the

34:13customer. Sorry, we were unable to make

34:15delivery. We can attempt again by drone

34:17potentially depending on the time of day

34:19or we'll send a vehicle out like you're

34:21currently experiencing today for those

34:23same day deliveries.

34:25When the customer signs up, we have LAR

34:28imagery that's good to about 2 cm. So,

34:33it is very accurate LAR that we review

34:36on a constant basis to say, "Okay, if

34:39you want to be a customer, let's find a

34:41couple of landing zones, two or three on

34:44your property." Some of our customers

34:45only have one, but you can designate

34:47front yard, backyard, on the driveway,

34:50and that's what you see at the left here

34:52is those particular customer landing

34:54zones. When you order a package, you

34:56select which of those landing zones you

34:58want that particular delivery to come to

35:01and the drone already knows what to do

35:02at that point.

35:07I talked a little bit about the noise.

35:08So, this is just a graphic depicting

35:10that. Again, it's at its loudest point

35:12during takeoff. And most of our

35:15facilities, as you know, are located in

35:17highly industrial areas. If a truck was

35:20idling on a street nearby, you're not

35:23going to hear the drone. That is much

35:25louder than a drone. If a delivery van

35:27pulls up to your house and is idling as

35:29they're making that delivery to your

35:31home, that is also about the same level

35:33of noise that a drone would make for

35:35about 15 to 20 seconds as it's

35:37descending it to that delivery point for

35:40our customer before it returns to the

35:42station to do it all over again.

35:49Okay, so why are we here tonight? Let's

35:52talk about the land use component, but I

35:53I thought that might be helpful context

35:55for you all. Um, we call it the paddic.

35:58It's our prime air drone delivery

36:00center. And this consists of several

36:02things that I'll zoom in on in a couple

36:04of slides here. It's the launch pads

36:06where we are taking off with each drone.

36:08It's the battery charging and storage.

36:10How are we keeping those batteries safe

36:12when they're not being used? How are we

36:14charging them? usually in less than 45

36:17minutes to get back to full charge. Um,

36:19that takes a lot of power and so how do

36:21we do that on site? And then we have an

36:23entire team dedicated to flight

36:25monitoring and operations. These are

36:27folks that all have their part 107

36:29commercial drone operator certificate

36:31through the FAA. It's a special program.

36:34We love to train our current employees

36:36and elevate their current warehouse

36:38experience into a new certified

36:41technical role. So, we have great

36:43success at doing that. That doesn't

36:44always happen. We are taking a lot of um

36:47ex uh Boeing engineers. We have a lot of

36:51other commercial drone operators that

36:52have come to Amazon with with interest

36:54in being part of this really innovative

36:56program. And then the other component is

36:59how we're storing the drones. So when

37:01they're not in use, these are expensive

37:03vehicles. So we we need to make sure

37:05that we're keeping them safe when

37:06they're sitting out there on the site.

37:09So zooming out high level, this is the

37:11stars on our our 64 OD street facility,

37:14SMA1 we call it. Basically same day

37:17facility in Massachusetts, the first of

37:19its kind. That's where the the

37:20nomenclature comes from. And then as we

37:22zoom in, um this yellow box indicates

37:25the general area where we have located

37:28our proposed prime air drone delivery

37:31center. So this is closest to Otis Road

37:35here and then away from the forested

37:38area and the truckyard here. So near the

37:40front of the building. And as we zoom in

37:43onto the site plan, uh we can see that

37:45the folks if I come back here, a an

37:48employee will walk out of these doors

37:50here or sorry here and walk down the

37:54sidewalk.

37:57>> Oh, my mouse doesn't show up. Okay, well

37:59this is fine. Um, so an employee would

38:02walk out into the site using all of the

38:05existing crosswalks. We're going to add

38:06crosswalks, too, and speed bumps just to

38:09make sure we're reducing any potential

38:11pedestrian and vehicle conflicts in that

38:13that parking area. They would walk that

38:15package out to the secured primary drone

38:18delivery center. You see three trailers

38:20there. One is for our command center.

38:22So, we'll have a couple of flight

38:24monitors out there. Their job is not to

38:27monitor video or camera images. They're

38:30looking at it like you would if you were

38:32an FAA employee in a flight tower. So

38:34they see in real time plan view blips on

38:38the map that are showing radar of all

38:41aircraft in the area. Even though these

38:43are autonomous aircraft that are

38:45pre-programmed to deconlict with other

38:48airspace users, we do have the added

38:50safety feature of monitoring every

38:53single one of our flights so that if we

38:55need to make a judgment call um we can

38:57do that. And we often hear from a lot of

39:00communities that have drone as a first

39:01responder program um through police and

39:05fire and others uh they are using drones

39:08as well. Our communication system upon

39:11day one of operations allows them to

39:13have immediate contact with our team to

39:16ground our operations as needed. If

39:18there's criminal activity, if there's a

39:21big fire somewhere and we just need to

39:22avoid an area entirely, we can ground

39:24our fleet within seconds. So, it's a

39:27really good program that we have set up.

39:29Those are our flight monitors, making

39:30sure things go well. We're charging

39:32batteries um in other trailers. We are

39:36storing drones in the other trailer. And

39:38this is all to be very nimble on the

39:41site. If a major weather event were to

39:43happen, we can easily move some of those

39:46drones to the interior of the building.

39:48We have space to do that. But during

39:50operations, which are during daylight

39:53hours, um civil twilight hours,

39:55basically sunrise to sun down is when

39:57we're we're operating out of this this

39:59outdoor paddic. We have a dedicated

40:02launch circle that you see there on on

40:05the the left and then a dedicated

40:07landing circle which is on the right. So

40:10there's never conflicts between our

40:12drones that are taking off and our

40:14drones that are landing. If we encounter

40:16a problem in the sky for any reason, if

40:19if a drone sees a dog and has to come

40:22back to the station, it can normally

40:23come back to land. If we get a signal on

40:26our drone that um a propeller is running

40:30hot for some reason or or any type of

40:32issue on the aircraft itself, it will

40:34land on a divert pad outside of that

40:36general area so that we can run a full

40:39inspection of that aircraft and target

40:42exactly what the problem might be. Our

40:44aircraft are automatically trained to go

40:47back to station when something um is not

40:50right. And so it's just all of those

40:52added safety features. So, this whole

40:55system is about 6,800 square ft in total

41:00in our existing parking area. There's no

41:02additional um impervious area added to

41:05the site. We're doing this in our

41:06existing parking. Um we do lose 27

41:10parking spots out of this, but we have a

41:12major surplus of parking at this site.

41:15Um so, we are we are not concerned about

41:17that. Our main concern is to make sure

41:20that we're doing this safely for our

41:22employees. And so that's why the design

41:24here is close enough to our building,

41:27but far enough away to allow those to go

41:29vertically as quickly as possible and on

41:32their way to the customer's house.

41:36I promised I would show you the service

41:38area. Here it is. That's a blue ring

41:40that represents 7 and a half miles from

41:42our existing facility. Um, includes a

41:44lot of these different communities.

41:46Westboro, Northboro, Shrewdbury was

41:48mentioned earlier tonight, Worcester, I

41:50hope I said that right, and Grafton, a

41:53lot of those other communities that we

41:54are also talking to. If we haven't

41:57already talked to them, those meetings

41:59are taking place now and are in the

42:01works. We have a lot of stakeholder

42:03outreach to do and I want that to be the

42:05main message. Um, we're taking our time

42:07here. Yes, we need land use approvals

42:09first. And we're excited to meet with

42:11the planning board next month um and

42:14explain to them what we're we're trying

42:16to achieve here, but a lot of other

42:18meetings with policy makers, the

42:20community. And so we we have to have

42:23those in place before day one of

42:25operations so that we've um made sure

42:27that uh the community is aware of what's

42:29happening here. The last slide before I

42:33flip to our community engagement

42:35strategy is an example of how we have

42:38built this safe system. We have folks

42:40that used to fly Blackhawk helicopters.

42:43We have folks that used to be flight

42:45traffic operators, flight traffic

42:47controllers at major airports that are

42:49now on our team. They are doing this

42:52work in the background. They are

42:54highlighting in yellow where airports

42:56exist and meeting with each of those

42:58airports. This is another site, not

43:00Westboro. This is from our Arizona site,

43:03but we are deconlicting by establishing

43:05no flight zones over those areas. The

43:08green areas represent ADSB or advanced

43:13surveillance technology from digital

43:15responses that airplanes push out to

43:18radar systems and even unregistered

43:21vehicles that also push out ADSB

43:24technology. We track that over the

43:26course of a year and say, "All right,

43:28where is there just a lot of muck in the

43:31sky, we'll put a no-fly zone over that,

43:33too, just to make sure we're not going

43:35into areas with a lot of action." This

43:38purple, which is really interesting, is

43:40bald eagle habitat for nesting areas

43:43from December to March at this

43:45particular site. So December to March,

43:48you you can see that kind of cuts off

43:50the southern edge of our delivery

43:52service radius for those customers.

43:55They're welcome to come back in April,

43:57but we cannot fly through that area

43:59because of the the nesting balding

44:00eagles. All of those meetings have to

44:03take place. There's a lot of ground

44:04work, a lot of analysis. We work with

44:06the FAA to do that. And then those blue

44:08lines tell you from our station in the

44:11center of that map, here's what that

44:12flight path looks like to avoid all of

44:15those potential conflicts with other

44:17vehicles in the sky. That's what that

44:19particular flight path looks like. We're

44:22cleared now or at most of our sites for

44:25about a thousand flights per day. And

44:28that was a conservative estimate on our

44:30end to make sure that by 2031 or so that

44:33we might get close to that thousand

44:35flights per day. It's going to ramp up

44:37slowly. Customers have to get

44:39comfortable using it. Um, a lot of folks

44:41don't even know it exists in some of the

44:43communities where we've already

44:44launched. We are delivering tens of

44:46thousands of packages per month, but it

44:50takes a while to boost up that capacity,

44:52but we're cleared with this particular

44:53drone for a thousand flights per day. It

44:56takes a long time to get there. And

44:58again, this is civil twilight hours, so

45:00sunrise to sunset essentially. So, what

45:04do we do from here forward? Um, I

45:06mentioned uh we're currently scheduled

45:08on September 15th to meet uh with the

45:11planning board. Really excited about

45:13that. I've been working with Fred and

45:15and others um to make sure that we're

45:17answering any important questions that

45:18we can leading up to that meeting.

45:20Reaching out to communities to make sure

45:23that they are aware of our plans, not

45:26just in Westboro, but within that

45:28deliver delivery service radius. and

45:31also working with Mass DOT who has an

45:34aeronautics uh division that we have to

45:38get a permit from. So to have a private

45:40restricted landing area, we need a

45:42permit from MASOT. This is a novel uh

45:45novel license for them too. Um so

45:48they're going to work with us on what

45:50that looks like, but ultimately before

45:51we could begin operations, we need that

45:54permit and they have to inspect our

45:56paddic that you'll see on the ground. um

45:58should we be fortunate enough to be

46:01approved of this site plan. Um that's

46:04what we're going to be doing. It's

46:05really fun when we just invite the

46:07community in and meet them where they

46:09are and let them interact with us

46:12one-on-one. We have found that to be

46:14very successful. Some folks might have

46:16very technical questions and they can

46:19meet with our very technical team. Some

46:21folks might just want an overview of the

46:23program or how does this impact me if

46:26I'm not a customer or if I am a

46:27customer? how do I take advantage of

46:28this? So, we will be hosting at least

46:31one of those community meetings where

46:33we're out there with them um giving a

46:35presentation much like this, but also

46:38interacting one-on-one with them to

46:40address any potential concerns.

46:43That's all I say. That's all. I know it

46:45was a lot. Um but happy to spend some

46:48time with you all this evening. Thank

46:50you. I know you have a packed agenda.

46:52Thank you for your time. Um, chairman,

46:54turn it over to you for any questions

46:56that you might have for me.

46:58>> Yeah,

46:58>> thank you very much. Um, and I don't

47:00know if also we wanted to I don't know

47:02if there was a more detailed version of

47:05the site plan or folks wanted to see

47:08that. I think we may have some of that

47:10in our packet. But

47:12that'll also lead to questions.

47:17>> Whoever wants to start looked at. So

47:19>> there's two on this side, one on this

47:20side. [laughter]

47:22>> All three of you are looking this way.

47:23So, I'll give it a go. Sure. So, um uh

47:26thank you very much for coming on

47:27tonight and uh I certainly appreciate

47:29your public engagement that you talk

47:31about um and and the different topics.

47:34Uh definitely it sounds like Amazon has

47:36realized the level of communication and

47:38the topics that are be going to be of

47:39interest to the community. Um as when I

47:43joined the board 5 years ago, one of the

47:44first things I did was went for a tour

47:45of the Amazon facility and saw the

47:47robotics. So, I really appreciate that

47:49fantastic facility and I really

47:50appreciate the fact that you all are in

47:52our community. Um, first of all, just a

47:55point of order. Um, can you make sure

47:57that you provide this presentation to

47:59the town manager so that we have it as

48:01part of our um, you know, records uh, so

48:04the community can also have access to it

48:06if if if so desired.

48:07>> Absolutely.

48:08>> Thank you. Um, so in really no

48:11particular order, I guess the first

48:12topic that I' I'd like to try to talk

48:14about is I was a little surprised to see

48:16that this is um only going through a

48:19regular site plan review. Uh,

48:21understanding that the town actually has

48:23defined uh airports and an airport under

48:26the zoning for an I or IB zone, my

48:28understanding is for special permit. I

48:31am just curious you mentioned these are

48:33aircraft and defined in our zoning it is

48:36you know aircraft as it's it's a single

48:38sentence airport shall that this was

48:40should be considered an airport it shall

48:43mean any area or lot used for the

48:44landing or takeoff of aircraft or

48:46similar fixed wing aircraft or regular

48:48on a regular or intermittent basis. So

48:52is you've already had conversations with

48:55the planning board, it sounds like with

48:56our um our building department. Um what

49:00is your understanding of why you're

49:02going through a site plan review as

49:04opposed to a special permit review?

49:07>> Yeah, so great question and thank you

49:09for asking that um board member Welch.

49:11Um, we met very early on with the

49:14planning department and their team and

49:17determined that this would just be

49:18accessory to what we are already doing

49:21at the site. And so that has been the

49:23case for almost all of our entitlements

49:26across our entire network. Nobody has

49:29called us an airport or a helport.

49:31Although most of them do have

49:32definitions of those in their codes,

49:36they understand that this is a novel

49:38concept that really wasn't drafted in a

49:40way to treat a drone vertical takeoff

49:43with unmanned aircraft leaving that

49:46facility in a 64 to to 10,000 square

49:49foot paddic. And so our operations, what

49:52we do at that site today is fulfill

49:55customer orders and deliver to those

49:58customers. this is another vehicle that

50:00we are using to fulfill those orders,

50:03but the use of our property is really

50:05not changing. And so that was the

50:07premise for that decision. It's been the

50:09premise for the decision by many

50:11communities. Um, again, that that would

50:14be new for us to be treated as an

50:17airport, but I am aware of the

50:19definition and understand the concern. I

50:21I appreciate that. And as an Amazon

50:23customer, as I'm sure likely everybody

50:24in this room and certainly anybody who's

50:25listening likely is an Amazon customer,

50:27you know, I appreciate the creativity of

50:30of of you know, new delivery options and

50:33certainly can see the need for uh

50:35improving that as you look at your

50:37business model. Um I I disagree

50:41regardless of it being novel or not. You

50:43know, we you're in an industry that is

50:45constantly innovating, right? And and

50:47that's the nature of the beast. doesn't

50:48mean that we then um I'll say uh

50:53arbitrarily redefine airports as as

50:56because of a novel idea. So my request

50:59is because again we're submitting

51:00feedback to the planning board as part

51:02of our site plan process is that they

51:04reconsider the definition and therefore

51:06consider this under a special permit. Um

51:09I would also just oh Fred's to speak.

51:12So, hey,

51:13>> uh, Fred Nar, community development

51:15director for the town. Uh, we've

51:17actually, uh, Bill Hesllett, the

51:19building commissioner, zoning

51:20enforcement officer, has looked at this

51:22and ruled this not to be the level of an

51:24airport, and it is an accessory use to

51:26the warehouse and processing u operation

51:29that's already there. So, it's

51:31incidental and accessory to the primary

51:33use. We've uh consulted town council and

51:36they're in agreement with that

51:38determination. So it doesn't rise to the

51:40level of a special permit just site plan

51:42review.

51:42>> Interesting.

51:44>> It's already been again it's already

51:46been uh couched through town council.

51:49>> Yeah. No, I appreciate that Fred. I

51:50didn't have that insight. So I really do

51:51appreciate that. I I I guess I'm a

51:53little surprised again being a layman

51:54and as I read our zoning to me it's very

51:57clear even the applicant has actually

52:00define or comment on this as being

52:02aircraft. So to me that's what that

52:05particular zoning line is about. So, um,

52:09it sounds like it's water under the

52:10bridge, but my comments nonetheless, I

52:12think still, uh, hold a little bit of

52:14water. Um, so to continue on, um, you

52:18know, you mentioned, again, no

52:20particular order here. You mentioned the

52:21the way that the flight trajectory

52:23happens up, and that's good to hear that

52:24it's goes up 100 feet, then takes off

52:26because that is a major road. We're

52:28doing major renovations in that area to

52:31improve that intersection. So, I am I am

52:34appreciative of that. But it does, you

52:36kind of talked about the emergency

52:37response piece and be able to ground the

52:39force and what as I thought about those

52:41two issues as you were speaking, the

52:43thing that came to my mind is I live on

52:45the other side of Route 9, opposite side

52:47of the track, so to speak, right? And um

52:50uh you know, I see unfortunately

52:53probably at least once a week, if not

52:55more, I see Lifelight go from UMass

52:57Hospital straight down Route 9 out to

52:59495 in the Mass Pike area to service

53:02unfortunate needs.

53:04That is a very quick response. You know,

53:08in that scenario, you guys are taking

53:10off within a few hundred yards of the

53:12Route 9 corridor. Matter of fact, you

53:14are within the Route 9 corridor. In that

53:17scenario where this could happen in an

53:19instance, can your can you guys and by

53:22the way, I want to preface this by

53:23saying this is my only opportunity to

53:24ask questions and this is a really good

53:27opportunity for the community to hear

53:29hopefully the whole board as well as you

53:32know these types of things. This is a

53:33new technology, right? Y

53:34>> So, we want to make sure we use this.

53:36So, that's why I'm asking. I want to

53:37learn more. I want to understand this.

53:38So, talk to me about how that will

53:41actually are you guys going to be able

53:42to respond that quickly? Are you looking

53:44for a phone call from UMass? Are you

53:46looking for something from our police or

53:48fire, our emergency responders? How does

53:50that this I'm I'm really glad you asked

53:52the question. And I want to back up for

53:54a second and just talk about we've done

53:57this as administrative approvals in a

54:00lot of communities which don't even

54:02offer us the opportunity to come speak

54:04to you and to speak to the community. So

54:06even though this is an accessory use to

54:08our building, I did want to say that we

54:10are actually honored to be here taking

54:12part in a public process that allows us

54:15to be transparent, explain the program,

54:18answer these types of questions. So,

54:19please don't apologize for asking these

54:22questions. We love this. This is how we

54:24get the information out there broadly.

54:27To hit the point on how we interact with

54:29conflicted airspace, it is absolutely

54:32automatic. If a helicopter flight for

54:35life is taking off, we're going to know

54:37about it immediately through our RFID

54:40program. Our flight monitors will know,

54:42the station manager will know, and we

54:44have ways to make sure that there is

54:46redundancy built in there, too. If

54:48you're operating a drone as a first

54:50responder, that becomes a little

54:52trickier. It's not as simple to just

54:55register each flight in real time. And

54:58so, we do depend on phone calls for a

55:00lot of those things to say, "Please

55:02avoid the area." But flight for life,

55:04first of all, we fly only 400 ft and

55:07lower. We're not approved to go higher

55:09than 400 ft. Most of those flight for

55:11life are going to exceed that. Um, and

55:14so we we are deconlicting all of those

55:16airspaces, too. We're also not allowed

55:18to follow major corridors. We can't have

55:21our flight paths going along freeways

55:24and major roads. We can cross them on a

55:26direct path to get to a customer's

55:28house, but we're not following those

55:30same paths uh that a lot of other

55:32airspace users might.

55:33>> Okay. Thank you. Um, just to continue on

55:37a little bit, I one of the things you

55:38didn't talk about, are there cameras on

55:40these craft there? There's sensors and

55:44cameras on our aircraft.

55:45>> Okay.

55:46>> Now, no human being is monitoring those

55:50cameras in real time.

55:52>> Those cameras are actually being

55:53monitored by the drone itself

55:56>> who can use that data and make a

55:59maneuver if it needs to or avoid

56:02something on the ground as it's making

56:04its delivery.

56:05>> Is that data used for continuous

56:07improvement of the product, the delivery

56:09system?

56:09>> It's like you took the words right out

56:11of my mouth. That is the only way. Again

56:12I mentioned that at the beginning

56:14privacy is everything to our customers

56:16and how we use that data is very

56:18important. The data is stored in a vault

56:20where only authorized personnel could

56:22even access that data and it's not

56:25monitored in real time. Only if there

56:27were an incident would someone have

56:29access to that data to determine what

56:31went wrong. How do we fix it? How do we

56:34make it better?

56:35>> Does the technology allow and I'm glad

56:38really glad to see privacy on your on

56:40your slide. Right. Um, so I'm going to

56:43ask a very pointed scenario question to

56:45you. Does does the technology provide

56:49that a home is not videoed? So, what I'm

56:53imagining is this. You're coming in for

56:55your 100 foot drop. You're getting 13

56:57foot off the ground to make your your

56:59drop. And I'm just going to use the

57:01scenario that comes to mind. I don't

57:03have a 16-year-old daughter anymore, but

57:04if I had a 16-year-old daughter in her

57:06bedroom in the front of my house, she

57:07forgot to pull the blinds. She was

57:09getting changed. and your drone comes

57:11down and happens to film her,

57:13>> how do I know that that's not happening?

57:15How do I know that if it did happen that

57:17regardless if it's in a vault that that

57:19data is being scrubbed? Because that's a

57:22privacy issue, right? So, talk to me

57:24about kind of those types of scenarios,

57:25how how you're going to address that.

57:27>> Yeah, I I do have a 17-year-old

57:29daughter. Okay.

57:30>> So, um but I'm not eligible for drone

57:32delivery yet. Um so, we are not scanning

57:36the area when a package is being

57:38delivered. It treats that 100 foot 18

57:41foot wide cylinder as the area that it

57:43needs to make sure is totally safe to

57:46make a delivery. So that is the scan

57:48that our cameras and sensors are using.

57:51It is not peering forward as it's making

57:54that delivery. It is certainly just

57:56making sure that it can descend

57:58vertically onto the customer's property

58:01to make that delivery safe.

58:02>> It's looking straight down.

58:03>> Correct.

58:05>> Okay, that that helps. Thank you. Um

58:10you mentioned um a conservative I'm

58:12going to use your words conservative

58:14thousand deliveries a day in that circle

58:16right so that's a thousand takeoff and

58:17landing that's a thousand takeoffs and a

58:20thousand landings

58:22>> modestly what would the number be

58:25>> I use the term conservatively to mean

58:27we're not going to get close to there

58:29for a very long

58:30>> okay I was looking at the other way that

58:32you're low amount

58:33>> with the FAA to say what would it look

58:36like if we could get to a thousand

58:38flights per day so that they could use

58:40that number which we think is

58:42potentially possible by 2031 for us if

58:46we get the customer base there. Um what

58:48would it look like in terms of going

58:50through the environmental assessment

58:52based on a thousand flights per day and

58:55so that's why we're conservative upfront

58:57with that number even though it's going

58:58to take a very long time to ramp.

59:00>> Okay. And then um yeah there's another a

59:04number of com competitors quite close to

59:06where you are today who are very I'll

59:10call it affluent for lack of a better

59:11word who would also deploy this type of

59:13technology. What is your understanding

59:15in in regards to FAA rules in regards to

59:18proximity between these types of

59:20locations if a Walmart or a Target or

59:23one of these other uh businesses in that

59:25area decided to also deploy.

59:28Uh, one of the benefits of what we have

59:31with Amazon's program is that we have

59:33designed this system ourselves and we

59:36are completely controlling it inhouse.

59:38So there is one company to deal with.

59:40>> Yeah. No, no. I just mean proximity like

59:42you're if you're launching

59:44conservatively the maximum a thousand

59:46day thousand returns a day and target

59:48decides to do it which they're only a

59:49few hundred yards from where you are and

59:51they deploy the exact same scenario with

59:53the exact same volume. is that under

59:55your knowledge, if you are aware of it,

59:57what is FAA's expectation of having what

1:00:00I would define an airport on every uh

1:00:03retail vendor's parking lot is kind of

1:00:06where we're headed here. Yeah. So, it

1:00:08would fall into a similar

1:00:11um issue that we have here on the map,

1:00:14which shows there are several airports

1:00:16and several competitors, if we want to

1:00:18call them competitors in this case,

1:00:20several helports. The more helports, the

1:00:23more airports, the more activity you

1:00:25have in the sky, the more conflicted the

1:00:27airspace will be,

1:00:28>> but they don't have to be a certain

1:00:29distance from each other.

1:00:30>> Well,

1:00:31you have to manage, you have to manage

1:00:33the uncontrolled airspace. And that's

1:00:35why we have the systems

1:00:37>> in house that we have designed on our

1:00:40particular drone approved by the FAA to

1:00:44keep ourselves safe from other

1:00:45operators. Now, other operators would

1:00:48have to go through the same process. So

1:00:50they would have to have a company either

1:00:53their own or a contracted supplier that

1:00:56would go through a similar effort with

1:00:58the FAA to make sure that they can also

1:01:01safely operate in uncontrolled and

1:01:04controlled airspace. We took the time to

1:01:07build the system ourselves to be able to

1:01:09manage that traffic management which is

1:01:11how we got the FAA certification to do

1:01:13so.

1:01:15>> I appreciate Thank you for taking the

1:01:16questions and I look forward to hearing

1:01:17the other questions from the board. So,

1:01:19thank you very much for being

1:01:20presenting.

1:01:20>> Appreciate it.

1:01:22>> Thank you, Patrick. Mark,

1:01:23>> you want to go? I can go.

1:01:25>> Sure.

1:01:25>> I I just don't want to be redundant, so

1:01:27you go. Okay.

1:01:28>> Fine. Um, I'm going to go back more to

1:01:31kind of just the the straightforward

1:01:32planning and thank you board member

1:01:33Wells for some of your questions. Um,

1:01:35and just looking through the stuff, a

1:01:36couple things. Um,

1:01:39again, I don't know what the risk your

1:01:41battery storage, whatever. You talked

1:01:42about work with the fire department.

1:01:43when I looked from what we had, it was

1:01:45tough to read, but can you just explain

1:01:47about fire access

1:01:50uh to that property um how if I looked

1:01:54at some of the pictures? I know they

1:01:55were just drawn. It was almost like

1:01:57parking was you still have parking right

1:02:00around that facility. How would a

1:02:04>> fire truck, two fire trucks access that

1:02:07with

1:02:08>> that happening? I assume that's going to

1:02:10be part of what the planning

1:02:12>> board is looking for.

1:02:13>> Yeah. Yeah, and that that's that'll be

1:02:14ultimately part of our permitting

1:02:16process is to get final fire sign off.

1:02:19Right now, the same situation exists. If

1:02:21one vehicle in that parking lot were to

1:02:23catch fire, it's going to be surrounded

1:02:25by other vehicles. We have designed a

1:02:27site um that has fire access directly to

1:02:31it to protect the building mainly. If an

1:02:33incident happens outside the building,

1:02:36there's also plenty of access points

1:02:37around the site with your equipment.

1:02:39We've got a road just on the the upper

1:02:43um edge of the site plan there on the

1:02:45north side there. Fire truck could pull

1:02:48right in there to access have immediate

1:02:50access to our paddic if needed.

1:02:53>> Okay.

1:02:53>> But our battery vault, I hope you saw

1:02:55those in the plans.

1:02:56>> It's a really cool system. Fully

1:02:58self-contained trailers that can store

1:03:01about up to 12 batteries per vault. And

1:03:06if there's an incident that happens with

1:03:08a battery in that situation, it actually

1:03:11vents itself so that there's no harm to

1:03:14anyone near it, uh would vent those

1:03:16fumes upward and outward, but

1:03:18self-contain the actual fire component

1:03:21if that were to unfortunately take

1:03:22place. We haven't had an incident yet

1:03:24after tens of thousands of of flights um

1:03:27per month, but um it is possible, which

1:03:30is why we we are using a a protected

1:03:32system.

1:03:35Just want to offer one other thing just

1:03:36that we're in a unique situation here

1:03:38because next door is Amazon Robotics

1:03:40where we design and manufacture

1:03:43tons of robots and so we have a deep and

1:03:46lasting relationship with the fire

1:03:48department who are in there at least

1:03:50quarterly if not more frequently to kind

1:03:52of not just understand our processes

1:03:54inspect that we're doing things the

1:03:56right way bringing new team members in

1:03:58etc. And so I think one of the things

1:04:00that we're really comfortable with is

1:04:03there's the kind of the the the minimum

1:04:06requirements, but I think we every day

1:04:08go above and beyond in our interaction

1:04:10with Westboro Fire and the surrounding

1:04:12fire departments. And so I think we

1:04:13expect that we're going to piggyback on

1:04:16that approach. Um and it's already

1:04:17happening just because this is a really

1:04:19active building today. We've got between

1:04:21approximately 500 people working every

1:04:23single day. Lots of robots moving around

1:04:25that building as well. So there we're

1:04:27just we are adding additional lithium

1:04:30ion to the site, but it is actually on

1:04:33on a grand total of the kind of the

1:04:35percentage. It's actually a small

1:04:36percentage of lithium [clears throat]

1:04:37ion robotics that are already operating

1:04:39at the facility. And so hopefully that

1:04:41gives you some comfort that we've been

1:04:42operating this building since late 2023.

1:04:46Um and can we'll continue to maintain

1:04:48that high standard in partnership with

1:04:50you know public safety officials across

1:04:51the town.

1:04:51>> Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank

1:04:53you. I just want to know just I mean I

1:04:54know it'll be part of the planning piece

1:04:56but just I am

1:04:58>> interested in that. Um

1:05:00you explain as well um it was tough to

1:05:03see but what kind of secure I know it's

1:05:05a sounds like it's be a secure area but

1:05:07what kind of security fencing keeping

1:05:11>> Yeah. So there there's

1:05:13a small detail on your plan set that

1:05:15showed we use a jersey barrier system

1:05:17which keeps things from running into the

1:05:19paddic which would be a dangerous

1:05:21scenario and quite costly to a lot of

1:05:23the equipment that we have in there. On

1:05:25top of the jersey barrier we have a a

1:05:27mesh fence system that is applied

1:05:30directly on top of that. Should not

1:05:32exceed your current fencing requirements

1:05:34in terms of height. Uh but we're going

1:05:36to work with your building department to

1:05:38to get what's needed there. that

1:05:40satisfies our security requirements.

1:05:43Nobody has access to just walk into our

1:05:45primary drone delivery center. You have

1:05:47to have special access. So, even if you

1:05:49work at this facility, that does not

1:05:51give you special access into the primary

1:05:54drone delivery center. You have to have

1:05:56different badge access to to make it

1:05:58through those gates.

1:05:59>> Perfect. Thank you. Mhm.

1:06:01>> Um and the and the last piece, I think

1:06:03you talked about this already, but um I

1:06:05know we don't have it active now, but I

1:06:07do know that our police chief is talking

1:06:11about a and I think you said you met um

1:06:13with Chief Manardi, but the kind of a

1:06:15drone um potential drone piece. It

1:06:18sounds like that would be something that

1:06:20even with this approved that would be

1:06:22coordinated post

1:06:24this and to make sure that um that

1:06:27communication and all of that will

1:06:29happen. Um yes necessary.

1:06:31>> That's exactly right. And you do have

1:06:33other um departments within the region

1:06:36that are also exploring drone as first

1:06:38responder or already have them employed.

1:06:40And so as we learned from Chief Manardi,

1:06:42as they continue to explore that as an

1:06:44option here in Westboro, um we're going

1:06:47to be on their list of folks to work

1:06:48with immediately to make sure that we're

1:06:50deconlicting.

1:06:51>> Okay, perfect.

1:06:52>> Um I think that's all I have right now.

1:06:54Thank you.

1:06:55>> Thank you.

1:06:58>> Uh thank you so much for coming in. I

1:07:00appreciate all the information you gave

1:07:02us. Um, and just we're in a unique,

1:07:05well, not so unique for us, but probably

1:07:06unique for you in the sense that we're

1:07:08not really putting requirements on you.

1:07:11We're just putting uh recommendations

1:07:13over to the planning board, and they're

1:07:14the ones with authority on this,

1:07:17>> at least for now. Uh, and that really

1:07:19brings me back to Patrick's question,

1:07:20and I think it was answered,

1:07:22>> but um, you know,

1:07:26the definition in our zoning of aircraft

1:07:28of airport is pretty clear. refers to

1:07:31aircraft. The definition of FHA, FAA

1:07:36um makes it clear that these drones are

1:07:38aircraft. Um you refer to them as

1:07:42aircraft. I I'm just playing, you know,

1:07:47the worst case scenario if this passes

1:07:49and somebody appeals it. Um what

1:07:52happens? So again, it I I trust our

1:07:55council,

1:07:57but I'm nervous. So that um that being

1:08:00said, I'll move on. Uh you talked about

1:08:03the size of the drones. That was one of

1:08:04my question. They are pretty big. Um and

1:08:07that, you know, I know they're not

1:08:08heavy, but they're pretty good size. And

1:08:10my initial reaction was I I don't want

1:08:13really want these flying around my

1:08:14neighborhood. Um but I got to thinking

1:08:18about it and I said, well, if they don't

1:08:21take off from here, they're going to

1:08:23take off from another town and they'll

1:08:24still be flying around my neighborhood.

1:08:26So, um, so that really doesn't help me

1:08:28any. Um, and I also I appreciate the

1:08:31fact that they don't operate at night

1:08:33because I had a 4:00 Amazon 4:00 a.m.

1:08:37Amazon delivery the other day that woke

1:08:39up my dogs and therefore woke me up. And

1:08:42so, um, you know, I'm I think in that

1:08:46sense it might be better if they're just

1:08:47coming during the day and I might get

1:08:49fewer nighttime deliveries. I might also

1:08:53have less traffic on the roads uh which

1:08:56I think is always a good thing. Um so

1:08:59those are some benefits. Um I wanted to

1:09:02know how what is the value of each of

1:09:05these drones and how many are going to

1:09:07be on site and that leads me to the

1:09:09follow-up question of how much tax

1:09:12revenue are we talking about because

1:09:13that you know that could make a

1:09:16difference in my opinion although

1:09:20>> not always. Well, those are three

1:09:23questions of which I can answer one of

1:09:24them fully, which is we plan to start

1:09:27our operations with about 10 to 12

1:09:29drones on that particular property. I

1:09:32can't share how much each one of our

1:09:34drones are valued at because um that's

1:09:38proprietary information. We we make

1:09:41these ourselves. That's one thing that I

1:09:43love about this program is that we have

1:09:45our drone manufacturing facility right

1:09:47up by our headquarters in Seattle, just

1:09:49south of Seattle. And if you ever get

1:09:51the chance to tour that, it is fantastic

1:09:55to watch an Americanmade company bring

1:09:58this new program to life from soup to

1:10:01nuts. So that's really cool. In terms of

1:10:03tax revenue, what we have found is this

1:10:05is a really unique opportunity to serve

1:10:07our customers that we might not

1:10:09otherwise serve. Sometimes when you need

1:10:12something at 4:00 in the afternoon and

1:10:14it's 10:00 in the morning, you could

1:10:17maybe get it same day. You might get it

1:10:19at 4 in the morning and apologize for

1:10:21waking up the dogs, but a lot of those

1:10:23trips end up being other companies.

1:10:26People taking a single vehicle out onto

1:10:29the roads that are already congested,

1:10:31going to the corner store or a

1:10:33particular market, buying the single

1:10:36item that they really needed now, be it

1:10:38baby formula, diapers, children's

1:10:40Tylenol. I'm thinking of what you need

1:10:42in a pinch. You can tell where my head

1:10:44is right now.

1:10:45>> Um, getting that one item, coming back.

1:10:48So, you've got two road trips there. Um,

1:10:51you're getting a tax benefit there, but

1:10:53you're still getting tax benefit from

1:10:54the product coming from Amazon. Now,

1:10:57what's really great about our company is

1:10:59that 60% of everything that's sold on

1:11:03Amazon.com

1:11:05is coming from our small and

1:11:06medium-sized independent sellers. And

1:11:09so, that helps them achieve different

1:11:13results for their customers, too. Each

1:11:16time we deliver for our customers in an

1:11:17innovative way to get things at scale

1:11:20faster and to a broader audience that

1:11:23allows them to sell more product which

1:11:26in turn allows them to go out spend more

1:11:29money at restaurants, spend more money

1:11:31at at malls and in other ways and um so

1:11:34it it's cyclical. Do we have the exact

1:11:37data for how what this is going to look

1:11:39like um for specific tax revenue due to

1:11:42that? I don't have that answer tonight.

1:11:46Maybe what I'd suggest is maybe

1:11:47[clears throat] just reiterating the

1:11:48point earlier that we already have

1:11:50hundreds of robotics proprietary

1:11:52technology on the site today in

1:11:54partnership with your assessing

1:11:56department. We found a way to engage in

1:11:58the business personal property tax

1:12:00payments. And so I think I would expect

1:12:01that if we're so [clears throat]

1:12:03successful to deploy this etc that

1:12:05becomes a conversation where we kind of

1:12:07work in handinand with the town to

1:12:09figure out what that looks like. I think

1:12:11the summary is I don't think either one

1:12:12of us have the detail beyond that

1:12:14tonight would simply be this will be a

1:12:17revenue opportunity for the town right I

1:12:20I I the the magnitude of which I think

1:12:23we could try to get you a little more

1:12:24information on but I think would

1:12:25probably be subject to a negotiation

1:12:27with your tax team but I think to that

1:12:29point sorry just to jump in there please

1:12:31go ahead

1:12:31>> that it's considered personal and our

1:12:34finance director came in it is

1:12:35considered personal property similar to

1:12:36what you have today it will be assessed

1:12:38and we will get tax revenue off that as

1:12:40it's assessed by the assessor's office.

1:12:43>> Correct. Perfect. Thank you.

1:12:45>> So, um, how many, uh, I, again, I I

1:12:49think you talked a little bit about how

1:12:51many deliveries per day. I just uh in

1:12:54the long term

1:12:56I've heard, you know, I did some

1:12:58homework and I've read articles where

1:13:02Jeff Bezos said that 85% of the

1:13:04deliveries are under five pounds and

1:13:08this is designed to deliver packages

1:13:10under five pounds.

1:13:11If I look at 85% of all the deliveries

1:13:14out of this site,

1:13:16>> that's a

1:13:18whole lot of deliveries that I'm, you

1:13:21know, that's a lot more than you're

1:13:22projecting. So, I'm just concerned like

1:13:24what, you know, long-term, 20 years from

1:13:26now, 30 years from now, are we going to

1:13:29be looking at thousands of these drones

1:13:31taking off um just for this 7 mile

1:13:35radius or possibly a greater radius as

1:13:38the technology

1:13:40increases and you go further with the

1:13:41drones?

1:13:42>> Yeah, interesting question. So, I I want

1:13:45to capture those percentages a little

1:13:47bit different. So most of the product in

1:13:50our fulfillment centers now are eligible

1:13:53for drone delivery by size and weight

1:13:56being less than 5 pounds and can fit in

1:13:58a shoe box. That doesn't mean that most

1:14:00of those deliveries are going to be made

1:14:02by drone. We're not cancelling the other

1:14:04delivery mechanism which is by personal

1:14:06vehicle uh to our customers homes. This

1:14:09is in addition to this is an optin for

1:14:11the customer. We can kind of roughly

1:14:14guess that we're we'll see about 10

1:14:17deliveries per hour uh once we get

1:14:20underway with operations here. And so

1:14:22we're going to be nowhere near that

1:14:24thousand mark for many months and years

1:14:27to come. what that looks like longterm

1:14:30into the future as different uh drones

1:14:33are developed as the regulations might

1:14:36change from FAA which I would expect

1:14:38would happen as more commercial drone

1:14:40operators um are becoming active in the

1:14:43airspace um that's tough to predict but

1:14:46for now it's a slow ramp up to deliver

1:14:48for our customers as an option it is not

1:14:51automatic you have to tell the system

1:14:54that you would rather have this by drone

1:14:56than personal vehicle and you pay a

1:14:58premium to to have that service.

1:15:02>> Okay. Um I'm not sure that a All right.

1:15:07[laughter] So we're delivering thousands

1:15:09of deliveries per day today out of that

1:15:12facility. Thousands. And a lot of those

1:15:15deliveries if it's a different model in

1:15:17many ways. One is that one vehicle that

1:15:20pulls up to that site, and if you

1:15:22haven't toured that facility, I think

1:15:23that I'm gonna wink here at Jonathan in

1:15:26the background and and say we we might

1:15:28want to do that at some point. Um, one

1:15:31vehicle pulls up u from our delivery

1:15:34service partner and they might take 40

1:15:37to 50 packages out to our customers in

1:15:41the region. And that could be much

1:15:43farther than that 7 and a half mile

1:15:44delivery service radius also. And each

1:15:47one of those packages might have several

1:15:50different items in that package. And so

1:15:53one vehicle in that instance is taking

1:15:55care of many many many units. One drone

1:15:59takes one unit in one box to one single

1:16:03customer. So we'll never reach that 85%

1:16:06of our deliveries being made by drone.

1:16:09Um it's an addition to help complement

1:16:11our existing service. It is not a

1:16:13replacement.

1:16:16Um, okay.

1:16:18Next question. Um,

1:16:24you have uh this this I I can't I don't

1:16:28have a zoom out of this, but is that

1:16:29Hakamaka pond there in the

1:16:32>> No, it's not. It's further up, right? I

1:16:34mean, it's further north. This is the

1:16:36site that's closest to Cold Harbor and

1:16:39>> Yes. Next door. Yep. Yeah.

1:16:41>> So, u that being said, you do have some

1:16:44sensitive environmental areas, Hakamaka

1:16:47Pond being one of them. You have a

1:16:49fourtory apartment building very close

1:16:52to you in park, sevenstory apartment

1:16:54building very close to you and arrive.

1:16:56>> Yep.

1:16:57>> I'm concerned about the noise impact at

1:17:00a you particularly for the elevated

1:17:02apartments in those. Um, is there plans

1:17:06to do any kind of live demonstration so

1:17:09people can hear

1:17:12actually in person the the noise

1:17:15generated by these? I'll answer your

1:17:17second question first, which is no, we

1:17:20can't do live demonstrations, and that

1:17:22is simply the fact that we can't fly our

1:17:25drones in Westboroough until we're fully

1:17:27cleared by the FAA.

1:17:30So, we don't begin operations. We can't

1:17:33do a demonstration until we begin

1:17:34operations and have that full clearance

1:17:36from FAA. However, starting on day one,

1:17:39that's a great opportunity and we

1:17:41usually do um some sort of event to

1:17:43celebrate us just getting launched. I

1:17:45think if you live somewhat close to our

1:17:48facility, you might be able to spot with

1:17:50your binoculars and and start looking

1:17:52for drones in the sky. Um but certainly

1:17:55welcome to other ways after launch uh to

1:17:58be able to get community members

1:17:59involved to be able to see it up close

1:18:01and personal. Um

1:18:04we do have residential in the area. I

1:18:07will tell you that about 80% of our same

1:18:10day fulfillment centers like like this

1:18:12one are located adjacent to residential

1:18:15communities. And that's intentional.

1:18:17That is first of all the way that these

1:18:19towns were zoned. And so you've you've

1:18:21built commercial and industrial

1:18:23corridors. You've separated them on

1:18:25boundary lines from residential over

1:18:28time. And so we just end up fitting in

1:18:30those um parts of the community. As we

1:18:33look at nearby residential here, we've

1:18:35got the apartments to the west um which

1:18:38are about 1,600 ft from the west side of

1:18:41our building. Our drone operations are

1:18:42happening on the east side of the

1:18:44building. We've got the arrive

1:18:45apartments, which I uh was um at that

1:18:48intersection for a while tonight on the

1:18:50way over and uh saw those. Those are

1:18:53even farther away from our fulfillment

1:18:55center. Want to reiterate again, the

1:18:58best thing we do is get up very high

1:19:00into the air and quickly. And so, will

1:19:03you see it? If you're on the seventh

1:19:04floor, you might see drones coming up,

1:19:06but they're not following a constant

1:19:08path in one direction. It's really

1:19:10dependent on who has ordered the package

1:19:13for delivery. But either way, it's going

1:19:16up 100 ft and then cruising altitude at

1:19:19at least 205 ft to 370 ft on the way to

1:19:23the customer.

1:19:25>> Okay. Um, so I would recommend that uh

1:19:29at some point there be a live decom

1:19:31demonstration whether it be after the

1:19:33permits issued. And so that would be one

1:19:35of the things I would ask planning board

1:19:37to to follow up on.

1:19:38>> [clears throat]

1:19:39>> Uh I would also ask planning board um

1:19:44when the original special permit for

1:19:46this site was issued. Um one of the

1:19:49conditions was a a donation to the

1:19:51Westboro Little League which I believe

1:19:53was followed up on. Um but I would ask

1:19:55the planning board to verify that and

1:19:58also there was an ement requirement to

1:20:00the um part uh target fields to provide

1:20:04more parking and I'm not sure that that

1:20:07was followed up on. and I couldn't find

1:20:08an Eastman on record at the registry. Um

1:20:11so I would recommend that that be

1:20:12followed up on. Okay.

1:20:14>> Uh there was um you know again I I think

1:20:17those are

1:20:19very minimal impact on site but could

1:20:23have a beneficial impact on the little

1:20:25league and that's why they were

1:20:27requested and granted by the applicant

1:20:30at the time. I was on the planning board

1:20:32with it so I know.

1:20:33>> Oh excellent.

1:20:34>> Yeah. Yeah. Um, other than that, I can't

1:20:36think of any other recommendations.

1:20:39Um,

1:20:41I'll let the planning board do their

1:20:43thing from here. So,

1:20:45>> well, thank you for your service on both

1:20:47boards. Appreciate that.

1:20:49>> All right, Mark. Thank you, Amanda. You

1:20:51got that? Thank you very much. Um, yeah,

1:20:54a lot of questions. I I think in your

1:20:56presentation answered a lot of my

1:20:58questions. I think just a couple um

1:21:00additional. You talked about the FAA

1:21:03planning process. Sort of how long does

1:21:05that take and kind of how far along are

1:21:07you?

1:21:08>> Uh we're just getting underway with our

1:21:10FAA, I call them negotiations. It's

1:21:13really a planning process that we work

1:21:15in concert with them. And so we're

1:21:17having those outside community meetings

1:21:19now and arranging a lot of those with uh

1:21:22emergency responders and other airspace

1:21:24users in the region. Those are underway

1:21:27and we've already had several of those.

1:21:30Once we have their general assessment of

1:21:33the airspace, um we will paper paper

1:21:35paper an official file with the FAA

1:21:38asking for their full assessment. Um

1:21:41that process will take them about 30 to

1:21:4440 days. It's a public process, so we're

1:21:47still a ways out from there. Um I I

1:21:49think if we were to be able to make that

1:21:51formal request um shortly after our our

1:21:55meeting with the the planning board on

1:21:57the 15th, that would be ideal. and still

1:22:00might allow us to achieve great things

1:22:02here by the end of the year. That that's

1:22:04the plan, but we don't like to move

1:22:06forward without uh turning over every

1:22:09stone and and make sure we've covered

1:22:10the basis there. Got it. Thank you.

1:22:12Thank you. Um and I and I think in your

1:22:15presentation it mentioned this. I I just

1:22:18um bring it up for the community. I

1:22:19think did it state maximum decibb was

1:22:2268?

1:22:24>> Correct. So, at its loudest point, it's

1:22:26going to be at about 68 dB. As it's

1:22:29making a delivery to your backyard,

1:22:31it'll be at about 65 to 68 dB. If you're

1:22:34in the front yard, that turns down to

1:22:37much less than 50 in most cases. If

1:22:39you're inside, it's negligible.

1:22:42But 68 again about normal conversation

1:22:46or holding a toothbrush out at arms

1:22:48length. Electric toothbrush. Regular one

1:22:50of course is should be zero.

1:22:52>> Right. Great. Thank you.

1:22:54Um, and then you mentioned

1:22:57you made a a sort of what was an

1:22:59off-hand comment and and it a little

1:23:01light bulb. These are not additional

1:23:04trips. These are trips that would be

1:23:06made by car that are instead are going

1:23:09to be made by drones. And could you talk

1:23:10a little bit about the environmental

1:23:12impact of drones versus actual

1:23:14automotive delivery? Yeah, I appreciate

1:23:17that question because it's what I'm

1:23:19really excited about. As we continue to

1:23:21deliver for our customers using drones

1:23:24over the next several years, I think

1:23:26we'll have beyond anecdotal evidence

1:23:28that can help us um talk about the

1:23:31traffic impacts or the reduction of

1:23:33traffic. We don't have that today. We

1:23:35just haven't been doing this long enough

1:23:36to know how many trips did we really cut

1:23:39by delivering by drone. We think there's

1:23:42a novelty component to it where our

1:23:44customers obviously love the speed. They

1:23:47love the cool factor of seeing a drone

1:23:50come onto their property and delivering

1:23:51that object. A lot of those once they've

1:23:54gone beyond the cool factor, we're

1:23:57getting a lot of repeat customers of

1:23:59items that would typically be um running

1:24:02to the pharmacy or another store or

1:24:04ordering on Amazon for next day or same

1:24:06day delivery that are being replaced by

1:24:08drone. if they're replaced by drone by

1:24:13uh from our existing delivery mechanism,

1:24:16all of those also add up over time. Can

1:24:19we keep delivery vehicles off the roads

1:24:23by offering them other options? Um we

1:24:26just don't have that level of data

1:24:28today, but anecdotally, yes, people are

1:24:31not getting in their car when they've

1:24:33got two sick children at home to go get

1:24:35those items. They'd rather have them in

1:24:3730 minutes delivered into their

1:24:39backyard.

1:24:40>> But you're also not getting your drivers

1:24:42going to those. You're having a drone do

1:24:46that. So, it's keeping your drivers some

1:24:47drivers off the road as well.

1:24:49>> Correct. Yep. But I I again want to want

1:24:51to preface that with it's it's mostly

1:24:53anecdotal evidence at this point, but we

1:24:55know it's going to have an impact and I

1:24:57think that story is going to be really

1:24:58cool from our overall sustainability

1:25:00footprint.

1:25:01>> Got it. Right. Thank you very much. Any

1:25:03additional questions?

1:25:04>> Yeah, I did have one. First of all,

1:25:05that's great to hear. I represent this

1:25:07committee on our sustainable Westboro

1:25:08committee. So, it's great to hear just

1:25:11that uh you know that is a positive of

1:25:13this type of technology. Uh just a quick

1:25:15follow-up question. Uh I realize you

1:25:17can't share strategy, but I'm just

1:25:18curious. Are we the first in the state

1:25:21that you're or is this being rolled out

1:25:23in other communities at the same time?

1:25:26Um you're the first in the state. Should

1:25:29we be able to get this uh approved? Um,

1:25:31you would be the first primary drone

1:25:33delivery operations in the state in the

1:25:36Commonwealth.

1:25:37>> And if I saw your slide earlier, we

1:25:38might be in New England as well because

1:25:40your list was all like Midwest,

1:25:42Southwest.

1:25:44Yeah. New as well.

1:25:45>> We have a few underway, but um this is

1:25:47really exciting for us to be in this

1:25:49part of the country. Um, we have a lot

1:25:51out west and that's fun. Um, but looking

1:25:54for that that first project in New

1:25:56England will

1:25:57>> Yeah, New England certainly has its

1:25:58unique challenges being such a settled

1:26:00area with windy roads and hills and all

1:26:03that stuff. It's a little different than

1:26:04the West with planned communities. But

1:26:08um, yeah, thank you.

1:26:09>> Appreciate it.

1:26:10>> Final.

1:26:12>> No, I I Yes. Sorry.

1:26:14>> I said no and I started talking. That's

1:26:17um No, thank thank you for being here.

1:26:20Um,

1:26:21for me, I'm excited about it. I trust

1:26:23our planning board to take it through

1:26:24the proper processes. We put some

1:26:26comments in there, but to me this I mean

1:26:29this is this is happening in front of

1:26:31our eyes. It's um this is innovation.

1:26:35This is technology. Um you have been a

1:26:39great partner um as as was stated to us

1:26:42here in town through robotics and um you

1:26:45know giving back to the community. We

1:26:46appreciate that. We expect that to

1:26:48continue. We're personally I'm excited

1:26:50that this uh to board member Welsh just

1:26:53saying that we are SMA1. We're we're

1:26:55number one here in Massachusetts. That's

1:26:58a that's a cool thing. Um we like that

1:27:02here in Wester. I think so personally um

1:27:04excited this is happening and I trust my

1:27:07fellow elected other board uh members to

1:27:11do the right thing that they do well.

1:27:13But um for me there's some things here

1:27:15but I'm very supportive of this moving

1:27:16forward. So, um, good luck with it.

1:27:18Thank you for being here. Thank you for

1:27:20thoroughly explaining what this was

1:27:22versus just coming in and showing us a

1:27:24site plan. So, appreciate that.

1:27:26>> Thank you. Thanks for your comments

1:27:27tonight.

1:27:28>> Very good, gentlemen. Thank you very

1:27:31much. Well done. Obviously, not the

1:27:33first time you presented this, but uh

1:27:34very well done. Uh, thank you again and

1:27:37and look forward to watching you with

1:27:38the planning board.

1:27:39>> All right. Thank you, chair. Thank you,

1:27:40members of the board,

1:27:42>> and thanks again to your staff.

1:27:44>> Oh, great.

1:27:45>> Thank you. Thank you for that.

1:28:07Right.

1:28:13Item number four on our agenda is uh the

1:28:16payment in lie of taxes pilot program.

1:28:20I'll pass it over to our town manager.

1:28:23>> Thanks. Um so just as a reminder the

1:28:25select board in fiscal 26 did make the

1:28:28pilot program uh or pursuit of a pilot

1:28:30program one of your goals um for the

1:28:33fiscal year. So before the end of that

1:28:35fiscal year in May, we brought a letter

1:28:37to the board um and talked about which

1:28:40exempt entities it would go out to and

1:28:42it was ultimately decided it would go

1:28:43out to all um um exempt property owners.

1:28:47So we did send that letter. Um we've

1:28:50since just talked to several um

1:28:53different uh exempt property owners,

1:28:55some just over the phone to kind of talk

1:28:57more about what we were looking to do.

1:28:59Um some we've had meetings uh with

1:29:02select board members attending. Um and

1:29:05um we're at a point now where we have

1:29:07developed a program for your

1:29:09consideration. Um this is volunteer. It

1:29:13actually says it in the title. It's

1:29:15volunteer payment in lie of taxes

1:29:16program. Um so I'm just going to walk

1:29:19through it a little bit. It is based on

1:29:22um it is based on uh similar documents

1:29:27to what the city of Boston uses um other

1:29:30cities and also I think more

1:29:32specifically to Westboro. It's based on

1:29:34the pilot program that we have under

1:29:36agreement with Mass General Bighgam

1:29:38which again Mass General Brigham didn't

1:29:40end up coming but we were we did execute

1:29:42a pilot agreement with that property. Um

1:29:46so again completely voluntary. Uh, one

1:29:49of the things that I think speaks to

1:29:50some of the concerns you heard earlier

1:29:51is that um it it looks to have a pilot

1:29:57payment or contribution um equal to 25%

1:30:00of the um assessed value. So um not the

1:30:04entire value but the assessed value and

1:30:07then that can be um contributed in a

1:30:10monetary form or in a community benefit.

1:30:13Um and that again that's very similar to

1:30:14what they do in other communities that

1:30:17have established programs. Um we did

1:30:19also add in here that um while some

1:30:22other communities have programs where

1:30:24only a portion of that um pilot payment

1:30:27can be uh just a community benefit as

1:30:30opposed to monetary. We did add in here

1:30:32that for pilot contributions of $50,000

1:30:34or less the select board may at sole

1:30:36discretion approve up to 100% offset.

1:30:39Um, and we have one uh exempt property

1:30:41that exceeds $50,000 and it's not it's

1:30:44not a a faith-based organization. Um, so

1:30:47that would essentially allow um all of

1:30:49our pilot agreements the opportunity to

1:30:51talk about their community benefits as a

1:30:53contribution as opposed to a monetary

1:30:55payment. Um, I will say that just sort

1:30:58of anecdotally and some of the

1:30:59conversations that we've had um with

1:31:03exempt entities, um, you know, they've

1:31:05talked about things that they do with

1:31:07other communities that they're in. Um,

1:31:09we've also talked about ways that we can

1:31:11just sort of partner as a community. Um,

1:31:14so, you know, how can how can we work

1:31:16together with the recreation department,

1:31:18with the school, um, ways that we can

1:31:20get information out. um just working

1:31:22together and identifying that as a

1:31:24positive benefit um to the community. So

1:31:27um it it really is um you know I

1:31:30understand that there's a concern about

1:31:32the monetary piece um but the program is

1:31:36developed to really recognize um the

1:31:38contributions to the community that are

1:31:40non-monetary as well.

1:31:44>> Chrissy, thank you very much.

1:31:47>> That's a clarifying question. Sorry,

1:31:49Chris, just just to be clear, um, and I

1:31:52might have misheard it when you said

1:31:53it's 25% of assessed value. It's

1:31:56actually 25% of assessed value times the

1:31:58property tax rate. So, it's basically

1:32:0025% of the

1:32:01>> That's right. Sorry. Thank you.

1:32:03>> 25% of what the tax the tax amount would

1:32:06have been. Yes.

1:32:06>> So, if you're just for example, if

1:32:08you're it was $10,000 tax bill, it would

1:32:10be for this property, it would be 2500,

1:32:14right, for

1:32:14>> Yes. Thank you. Right. [snorts]

1:32:18Uh questions, comments

1:32:21on uh what we have in our the documents

1:32:25we have in our packet.

1:32:28>> Yes,

1:32:28>> sure. I'll go ahead. So, questions,

1:32:30comments, all good. So, um very

1:32:32supportive of this program as I stated

1:32:34in our uh you know, off-site in regards

1:32:36to establishing this. I think it at a

1:32:38minimum it really forms a good

1:32:40conversation between the nonprofit

1:32:42organizations in our community and the

1:32:44town. and it also brings more visibility

1:32:46in to a lot of the great work that they

1:32:48do in the community. So, I've certainly

1:32:49learned a lot uh in the one conversation

1:32:52I had with one of the entities that

1:32:53we've already talked to. Um

1:32:57so, I I I think this, you know, opt-in

1:33:00program, it's completely at the

1:33:02discretion of of these nonprofits as to

1:33:04whether or not they want to do it or

1:33:05not. Um it's just a logical question to

1:33:08to ask. Um my question for Christie is

1:33:11around section F and G in regards to

1:33:14that 25% and the and then subsequent

1:33:16section G the 50%. It in that scenario

1:33:20if I'm understanding the way that this

1:33:21is written right now

1:33:23the board would have the discretion if a

1:33:26nonprofit entity opted into this program

1:33:29and they submitted let's say five or six

1:33:31different ways that are qualifying

1:33:32benefits that they that they believe are

1:33:34applicable. If I understand the way that

1:33:36this is written, that would come to the

1:33:38board and we would have a conversation

1:33:39is to, hey, what percentage would we

1:33:43offer a credit to? Is that how this

1:33:45would work? Or because when I first saw

1:33:47this, I started thinking about like what

1:33:49the planning board did with credits for

1:33:51sustainable things when they were

1:33:52getting permits like green space and

1:33:55they at certain points as it went along,

1:33:57but I realized that probably doesn't

1:33:58make a lot of sense here. So, this is a

1:34:00conversation if I'm reading this. Well,

1:34:02it's really to again identify so 20 so

1:34:05that 25% of what the taxes would be is

1:34:07is the sort of total ideal amount that

1:34:10that a non-ex or that an exempt property

1:34:12would yeah

1:34:13>> um provide. The section G says that 50%

1:34:17of that amount could be a community

1:34:20benefit. Um and so that's where there

1:34:23would be negotiation in that agreement

1:34:25and the agreement would identify which

1:34:27percentage. That being said, I think the

1:34:30next portion of or the next um paragraph

1:34:32is really important where it says that

1:34:35there could be a full offset for smaller

1:34:37contributions. So, where the calculated

1:34:38P pilot contribution is 50,000 or less,

1:34:41which again is every exempt property

1:34:43owner except for one in in Westboro, the

1:34:45select board may um approve a total

1:34:48offset of community benefits. So, no

1:34:51monetary contribution but a commitment

1:34:53to um just community benefits.

1:34:55>> Right? So, using Ian's example, right,

1:34:57just using those numbers, they would uh

1:34:59no exemptions, they would be $2,500, but

1:35:03we as a board, hey, they provided some

1:35:05benefits to the community, we could

1:35:07offset that [snorts] by up to another

1:35:09$1,250,

1:35:10right? And then above and beyond that,

1:35:12if they're contributing um according to

1:35:15that next paragraph, we can actually

1:35:17offset the full $2,500 if they've

1:35:19contributed a lot of qualifying benefits

1:35:21to the community. So, very flexible in

1:35:24that regard. I like that answer. Thank

1:35:25you.

1:35:26>> So, this would essentially tell everyone

1:35:27that they could do 50% without board

1:35:29approval as long as the board identified

1:35:31whatever that community benefit is as

1:35:33directly serving residents.

1:35:35>> Yep. It's great. I I'm confused. So, the

1:35:39the full offset, a smaller entity under

1:35:42the 50,000 could get a 100% offset,

1:35:45right?

1:35:45>> Correct. Okay.

1:35:47>> So, that's all but one,

1:35:48>> right?

1:35:49>> Okay. So, a church, for example,

1:35:54where it's a small lot, you know, maybe

1:35:5710,000 in taxes,

1:36:00they could get a full offset if they

1:36:02could just demonstrate that the the

1:36:05>> Yes.

1:36:05>> Well, first of all, it's a voluntary

1:36:06>> if they chose to participate. That's one

1:36:08way that they could calculate their

1:36:09contribution. if they were letting

1:36:12people use their hall or whatever

1:36:15whatever it is, they would just have to

1:36:16demonstrate that the educational

1:36:18program, scholarships, etc., etc., adds

1:36:21up to over the 10,000.

1:36:22>> Yeah.

1:36:23>> And then we could highlight all the

1:36:25thing good things they do for the

1:36:26community and as a board vote to um wave

1:36:32their

1:36:33>> essentially you would it would be a part

1:36:35of your agreement,

1:36:36>> right? Um and and this is there's an

1:36:39annual reporting requirement, but I

1:36:41think the purpose of that in the other

1:36:43communities is again to just let the

1:36:45community know um that even though

1:36:47there's not a financial contribution,

1:36:48there's a there's a community benefit to

1:36:50having these organizations um those that

1:36:53choose to participate.

1:36:53>> Yeah, I think it's a good thing to

1:36:54standardize these. Uh, I think it's a

1:36:57good thing to demonstrate in public what

1:37:00some of these organizations do for the

1:37:02community because I don't know that they

1:37:04always get the credit they deserve

1:37:06outside of their own

1:37:08community or congregation or what have

1:37:10you. Um, I'm uh I'm aware of some of

1:37:16these nonprofits that do require a lot

1:37:20of town services. And I'm not talking

1:37:22about churches. Um, but you know, I

1:37:26again, I don't want to specifically name

1:37:28names. I feel uncomfortable doing that.

1:37:30But there are some of the larger

1:37:32nonprofits in town that do put a strain

1:37:35on town services. And I would hope

1:37:37they'd be willing to contribute

1:37:39something back to the town, whether it

1:37:42be through these qualifying benefits or

1:37:44through a monetary, but it's all

1:37:46voluntary, so it's not required. Um,

1:37:52you know, I I'm not sure what else to

1:37:54say about it. Um, the exceptional

1:37:55benefit piece,

1:37:58exceptional circumstances,

1:38:01you know,

1:38:04I'm I'm a little uncomfortable with how

1:38:05that's worded based on council's

1:38:07recommendation, but I can live with it.

1:38:10It's only one

1:38:13>> uh entity. Yeah. The only thing I don't

1:38:15like about that is, and it may apply

1:38:19somewhere, I think we need to review

1:38:20this periodically because as taxes go

1:38:24up, that $50,000 threshold may not be

1:38:27that high and we might want to change

1:38:29that 5 years from now to be a higher

1:38:33number. So, u [snorts] that's my only

1:38:37caveat on this is that we take a look

1:38:39back at those numbers. I don't know how

1:38:42else to

1:38:43define that, but um you know, let's just

1:38:47make a note to do that periodically.

1:38:51That's it for me.

1:38:54>> Thanks, Mark.

1:38:55>> Um I just want to say I'm fully

1:38:57supportive of this. It's been talked

1:38:58about for a long time. I was part of

1:39:00that negotiation with Mass General

1:39:02Brigham when they came in and one of the

1:39:04most difficult things we had there was

1:39:06this was a piece of property that we

1:39:08were generating taxes on. A nonprofit

1:39:11was coming in large um a big project and

1:39:15basically we were going to pass that

1:39:17burden now on to residents and other

1:39:20taxpayers because they were coming in

1:39:22taking a property that was paying taxes

1:39:24and not paying taxes on it anymore. Um

1:39:26but we had to try to develop something.

1:39:28So, we scrambled and did the work. We

1:39:30looked at Boston things, but I think

1:39:32since then we we've talked about this.

1:39:34What I love about um what town manager

1:39:37said is I I do view this as kind of a

1:39:39community partnership thing. A lot of a

1:39:41lot most of these nonprofits I expect

1:39:44are not going to if they agree to go in

1:39:47and I hope that they do, it's a great

1:39:49way for them to publicize, but us to

1:39:51publicize the benefits that they bring

1:39:52to our community because they are

1:39:55wonderful nonprofits.

1:39:58supporting folks in our communities and

1:39:59other communities. So, it's just a way

1:40:02for them as a almost we're going to give

1:40:04them free publicity too on this stuff to

1:40:06talk about the partnership, but it

1:40:07really is is a partnership here, but it

1:40:10does set something in place for us,

1:40:12which is we discussed with with Mass

1:40:13General. If just throw it out there, you

1:40:16have

1:40:18um a large university that may sit in

1:40:21Cambridge today and they find a piece of

1:40:23property here because we know the state

1:40:26is doing stuff and that says, "Okay,

1:40:28we're going to buy, you know, 5,000

1:40:31acres here in Westbrow and we're going

1:40:33to put a new

1:40:36university here and hey, West Bro,

1:40:38you're you're not getting any taxes on

1:40:40that now. That's being taken away." this

1:40:42puts at least something in place for us

1:40:45to kind of protect taxpayers in Westbrow

1:40:50from something uh like that. So again, I

1:40:54think it's it's a partnership. It's

1:40:55voluntary. So

1:40:58many and most in communities don't

1:41:00accept it, but I think what we're doing

1:41:01here is fair. Um, and uh, I think the

1:41:06the policy is very fair, allowing most,

1:41:09if not all of these to not pay anything,

1:41:11but really to to highlight the services

1:41:14they provide, and if they're not

1:41:15providing them, uh, to perhaps provide

1:41:17more services um, to residents of

1:41:19Westbrook. So, again, fully supportive

1:41:21of Thank you.

1:41:24>> Thank you, Ian.

1:41:25>> Yeah. Uh, I I'm in agreement. Uh,

1:41:28Chrissy, thank you for putting this

1:41:29together and everyone else involved. Um

1:41:32I think this is

1:41:35a a very good um launching point for

1:41:38this. I think as these um conversations

1:41:42progress there may be um we may receive

1:41:48uh comments or insight from some of

1:41:50these folks that that you know we're

1:41:52always [clears throat] reviewing and

1:41:53updating policies.

1:41:56um they are living breathing documents

1:41:58but uh I feel strongly that um this is a

1:42:02a very good uh starting point for this

1:42:06and and appreciate everybody's work on

1:42:08this. Um

1:42:11and I would take a motion unless there's

1:42:13further comments. I I just um just

1:42:16wanted to ask um does the board have one

1:42:21when we if you do were to approve this

1:42:23we would I guess the idea would be that

1:42:25we would send it out within another

1:42:26letter identifying that amount for the

1:42:28for the owner. Um and is the board do

1:42:32you are you continuing to support

1:42:33sending it to everyone every toxic

1:42:37property?

1:42:38>> Yeah.

1:42:38>> Okay.

1:42:39>> Yeah.

1:42:40Unless we already have one negotiated.

1:42:44>> I mean, you said you had met with some

1:42:45people, right?

1:42:46>> Yeah. So, I guess I just want to clarify

1:42:47that too when you say when you know

1:42:50you're thanking everyone for who

1:42:51participated. It really is the

1:42:53nonprofits that we were able to talk to

1:42:54as well because they were able to

1:42:56identify their concerns um things that

1:42:59they might do in another community again

1:43:01um and then just again opportunities for

1:43:04for um moving this [clears throat]

1:43:06forward. So that was really helpful in

1:43:08having those initial sort of an

1:43:09informational discussions.

1:43:11>> Okay.

1:43:12>> Yeah. And and and in in looking at the

1:43:16document here, the title includes the

1:43:19word voluntary.

1:43:20>> Yeah.

1:43:21>> Section A includes the word voluntary.

1:43:23Section B includes the word voluntary.

1:43:25Section it is stated multiple times

1:43:28through the document. So hopefully

1:43:32um you know folks

1:43:36um read this thoroughly and understand

1:43:38where we're coming from here.

1:43:40>> I would move that the select board adopt

1:43:42the town of Westboro voluntary payment

1:43:44in lie of taxes pilot program as

1:43:46presented and authorize the town

1:43:48management negotiate agreements with

1:43:50participating tax exempt property owners

1:43:52for the select board's consideration and

1:43:54approval.

1:43:55>> Seconded.

1:43:57>> Okay. Any other discussion? All those in

1:43:59favor? Four to zero. Four being present.

1:44:02>> Sean, I have my car lights on. I got to

1:44:04run out real quick. [laughter]

1:44:07>> We'll hold for a second.

1:44:25Did anyone notice on that uh

1:44:30Amazon

1:44:31the Fredman Island of Trees in Mil Pond?

1:44:36>> I think Jodie Fredman's been

1:44:40>> I don't want to throw her under.

1:44:43>> I've never heard of that.

1:44:44>> I've never seen that before.

1:44:47But then there used to be a bust of

1:44:48rhymes island in Alon too, wasn't there?

1:44:52>> I don't know about that.

1:44:53>> No, I swear to somebody on Google Maps

1:44:56you would see a Yeah, somebody labeled

1:44:58it. So I

1:44:59>> I think in Google Maps will fall for

1:45:01just about

1:45:05>> allows you to name it.

1:45:36>> [laughter]

1:45:38>> quite all right.

1:45:38>> Well, I have jumper tables in my car

1:45:41later. So,

1:45:42>> item number five, uh, school town

1:45:45efficiency study bid award. I'll hand it

1:45:48back over to our town manager. Um so

1:45:51pursuant to section four of the

1:45:53memorandum of agreement that you

1:45:54executed with the school committee um we

1:45:56had an evaluation team review all the

1:45:59proposals that were submitted for the

1:46:00school town efficiency study. Um that

1:46:02team consisted of two select board

1:46:04members um so member Johnson and chair

1:46:07Kio and then u myself um the two members

1:46:11of the school committee the

1:46:12superintendent and the finance director

1:46:15um who served as a procurement

1:46:16professional in the evaluation. Uh as

1:46:18the town received six proposals, five of

1:46:20which met the minimum qualifications.

1:46:22One bidder withdrew its proposal after

1:46:24the bid opening date. Uh another bidder

1:46:27was not available for an interview

1:46:28though we did score that um

1:46:31did score the submission. Um so we held

1:46:35interviews and ultimately the team is

1:46:38recommending matrix matrix consulting uh

1:46:41for award by the select board and the

1:46:42school committee. So again, pursuant to

1:46:44that memorandum agreement, you have to

1:46:47vote to award it and as does the school

1:46:49committee um included in your packet as

1:46:51matrix proposal uh that they put

1:46:54forward. And just as a note um part of

1:46:57the um motion is to authorize me to

1:47:01final to execute the contract finalize

1:47:03and execute the contract and that will

1:47:05also be signed by the superintendent

1:47:06once she receives approval from the

1:47:08school committee.

1:47:10>> Okay, Christie, thank you very much. um

1:47:13comments and Ian, you want to start?

1:47:15>> Sure. Um

1:47:17I appreciated uh being one of the two

1:47:20members of the select board on

1:47:23um the uh committee uh and reading

1:47:26through the proposals and um

1:47:28interviewing uh uh the proposers. Um,

1:47:33you know, in my view and and through the

1:47:35committee, this was the um top choice um

1:47:38that came out of the committee in terms

1:47:39of matrix, in terms of past experience,

1:47:42in terms of what they put in their

1:47:43package um and felt that they were the

1:47:46most prepared to come in and um really

1:47:49handle specifically what we were looking

1:47:51to um accomplish here. So um and I think

1:47:56that would be echoed by the rest of the

1:47:58committee members as well. So uh to me

1:48:01um thorough process um uh made sure we

1:48:05did it appropriately and and matrix is

1:48:07the was the uh the choice that came um

1:48:11unanimous unanimously from the

1:48:13committee. So, I'm presenting that

1:48:15tonight, but happy to answer any

1:48:16questions if folks have it. But I do

1:48:18think that uh and look to Sean to um say

1:48:23further. Um but uh again, thorough

1:48:27process and agree believe that matrix is

1:48:29the is the right ones to come in and do

1:48:32this for us.

1:48:33>> Yeah. Yeah. No, I would agree. They by

1:48:36far had the most direct experience.

1:48:39um visa the other uh firms. Um so that

1:48:44the choice was pretty clear.

1:48:50>> Yeah. I just wanted to I'm just glad we

1:48:52had choices, you know, like I I wasn't

1:48:55on that committee, but it's nice to see

1:48:57that we had, you know, five applicants,

1:49:01four

1:49:03um

1:49:04ratings, and three interviews. And you

1:49:08know, it's frustrating to me when we

1:49:09only I don't know how often we only get

1:49:11one bid, but it's nice to have choices

1:49:13because I think it benefits the town for

1:49:16us to look at um you know, these

1:49:18multiple options before we make a

1:49:20decision on this. And I appreciate the

1:49:22committee's time in evaluating it. And

1:49:26that's about all I have. So,

1:49:29>> yeah. So, um yeah, very appreciative of

1:49:32this. I I uh too am glad to hear that we

1:49:35had a number of different uh companies

1:49:37that were interested in reading through

1:49:38the packet that was provided by uh the

1:49:41recommended um consultants. Um a lot of

1:49:45great information um and very thorough.

1:49:48Um I did have just a I guess a comment

1:49:51on one of the things they talk about is

1:49:53that they will provide um I was trying

1:49:57to find the words again. I I can't

1:49:58locate it, but it talked about all the

1:50:00different options that they were going

1:50:02to provide a report that included all

1:50:03the options and suggestions for those

1:50:05options. Uh uh so this is going to go to

1:50:08a contract and I'm hoping in that

1:50:10contract that we we claim that that is

1:50:12clear in the contract that our

1:50:13expectation is that we're going to get

1:50:14back multiple different options across

1:50:17all of this and what the recommendations

1:50:18are for each of those options and those

1:50:20scenarios. I think that's really

1:50:21important when we when we look at

1:50:23contracts moving forward is that we have

1:50:25have those options that we can then

1:50:27select from. Um go ahead.

1:50:29>> Sorry. I just so I just wanted to say a

1:50:31lot of the questions that we got so

1:50:33ahead [clears throat] of um the bid

1:50:35opening there's always a deadline for

1:50:36folks to um send in questions and then

1:50:39we um write up the responses to those

1:50:42questions and send them out as an

1:50:43agenda. That's part of the procurement

1:50:44requirements. Um, I just will say that a

1:50:47lot of the questions that we got were

1:50:48around um the depth of um detail

1:50:54expected on on all of these options um

1:50:58and and what our budget is and whether

1:51:00or not we would be able to go for

1:51:03additional um funding if we were to have

1:51:07a um I guess if we were to have uh be

1:51:12requiring that a depth uh high depth or

1:51:15deep depth I guess um in the report for

1:51:18options. So my point of that is there

1:51:21there can be continue to be conversation

1:51:22about what the appropriate depth is for

1:51:25these options because um we don't want

1:51:28it to result in additional costs.

1:51:30>> Sure. Sure. Makes sense. Um one of the

1:51:34things that also just in the report it

1:51:35talked on page 16 on the bullet number

1:51:37three on page 16 of their submission is

1:51:40it talked about I'm just going to pull

1:51:41it up here.

1:51:43It talked about

1:51:46uh our projects are defined by extensive

1:51:48input and interaction between the

1:51:50consultants and staff, management,

1:51:52policy makers and other stakeholders.

1:51:54Chrissy, I just want to get a feel for

1:51:55and and I realize this, you know, we're

1:51:57we're only one half of the equation. Um

1:52:00you know, this is in my mind, this is a

1:52:02really good practice to be going through

1:52:04these types of conversations on a on a

1:52:05on a fairly regular basis. I don't

1:52:08anticipate, but certainly set for me. Do

1:52:10you anticipate any impact to our staff

1:52:13and and going through the rigors and

1:52:15that's just one part of it, right?

1:52:17They're going to go through it sounds

1:52:18like a number of iterations with staff

1:52:20to work through this process that

1:52:22they've outlined here. Are you

1:52:24comfortable with that?

1:52:25Yeah, I mean I do think it will take

1:52:27staff time to be able to provide them

1:52:29documentation to make sure that they're

1:52:31they have the availability to meet with

1:52:33the consultants, but um that actually

1:52:36was a question I think that we received

1:52:38was around the availability of the

1:52:40resources they need including the

1:52:41stakeholders. Um and this is certainly a

1:52:44priority for both town departments and

1:52:47schools. So I do think that um that

1:52:48we'll be able to manage it.

1:52:50>> Okay. And my next question is you I

1:52:51apologize if you might have already

1:52:53answered this. I was still coming off of

1:52:54coming up stairs. But um the process

1:52:57here, right, this is a joint board

1:52:59action. Is um have they has the school

1:53:02committee been presented to yet? If if

1:53:04not, when how does this work through the

1:53:07process between the two boards? Do we

1:53:09approve? They approve just us. How will

1:53:12that work?

1:53:13>> Um so school committee hasn't met since

1:53:16July 1st. The subcommittees have just

1:53:19>> um I looked that up earlier of the

1:53:21month.

1:53:22So they're they'll approve at their next

1:53:25meeting.

1:53:26>> Um they'll approve the award per the

1:53:28agreement. Um and then we would just

1:53:31move forward with the contract.

1:53:33>> Okay.

1:53:33>> Yeah.

1:53:35>> And that was it. Thank you.

1:53:37>> Yeah. And just a note for the public too

1:53:39is it's a what we put in I mean the RFP

1:53:42and what you see in here is

1:53:45we got similar responses from each

1:53:46because we were very detailed in the RFP

1:53:48in terms of the scenarios we were

1:53:50looking for and um time frames that they

1:53:52needed to meet. So our you know

1:53:54basically we gave them a six-month um

1:53:57window uh for completion of this. So,

1:53:59back to Patrick, your questions in terms

1:54:02of, you know, for them to meet that. One

1:54:04of the requirements is we're going to

1:54:05have to make, you know, folks available

1:54:07to provide information, talk to the

1:54:10consultants because that's going to be

1:54:11key to them.

1:54:12>> Keeping to the deadline that we've put

1:54:14on them, which is which would allow us

1:54:17to if anything needs to be brought to a

1:54:20March town meeting, this six-month

1:54:22window would provide us that opportunity

1:54:24to have any warrant articles or any of

1:54:26that prepared for that. That's really

1:54:27the goal that we had. Yeah, that's

1:54:29great. That is really good. Thank you.

1:54:31>> Yeah, and they did provide a high level

1:54:33schedule um on page 22.

1:54:36>> Yeah,

1:54:37>> we see that. Um but I mean it assumes,

1:54:40right, that they hit the ground running

1:54:42in September.

1:54:44>> So,

1:54:44>> yes.

1:54:46>> Yeah, that was great to see as well. I'm

1:54:48very excited about this. I've been

1:54:49looking for this for years. Wow.

1:54:51[laughter]

1:54:53Um, so it

1:54:55I can make a motion shot unless other.

1:54:57>> Absolutely.

1:54:59>> I'll move to award the bid for the

1:55:00school town efficiency study to Matrix

1:55:02Consulting and further to authorize the

1:55:04town manager to finalize and execute a

1:55:06contract. Second,

1:55:09>> other comments? All those in favor?

1:55:13Zero. Thank you very much.

1:55:16Okay. Item number six, job descriptions,

1:55:20finance department assistant, town

1:55:22accountant, and finance department

1:55:24finance assistant.

1:55:26Okay. Um, in your packet, you have two

1:55:29proposed job descriptions. These are

1:55:31revisions to existing positions that are

1:55:34currently vacant in the finance

1:55:36department, specifically in the

1:55:38accounting office. So, as we do with all

1:55:41vacancies, we took the opportunity to

1:55:43review them. Um, as a result, we have um

1:55:47proposing to change um one of the

1:55:51assistant town accountants because the

1:55:52two positions now are both titled

1:55:54assistant town accountant to change one

1:55:57of those to finance assistant and then

1:56:00retain the second as an assistant town

1:56:02accountant that performs a range of

1:56:04accounting, procurement, um financial

1:56:07reporting, account reconciliation,

1:56:10budget and audit support type duties

1:56:12with the finance assistant. providing

1:56:15more day-to-day accounting and

1:56:16administrative support in that office.

1:56:19Um, so you have both a track changes

1:56:22version as well as the clean copies. Um,

1:56:25I will note that the assistant town

1:56:28accountant does take on the town

1:56:30accountant um, duties of the town

1:56:32accountant in the absence of the town

1:56:33accountant. So that's an important note.

1:56:36Um, just under finance law, there are

1:56:38specific um, requirements in terms of

1:56:40sign off on things. So that is covered

1:56:43with the assistant town accountant. Um

1:56:45that retains its current pay grade six

1:56:48on the non-union schedule with changes

1:56:51to the other position. The finance

1:56:53assistant position would is proposed as

1:56:56a grade three um which is lower than

1:57:00what the prior role was at.

1:57:04Um,

1:57:06and we did use our um our rating

1:57:08[clears throat] system that we have for

1:57:10our non-union compensation plan.

1:57:12[snorts]

1:57:13>> Thank you very much.

1:57:15>> If there are any um specific questions,

1:57:20>> anybody? Yes.

1:57:21>> Yeah. Just real quick, it looks for the

1:57:24um the assistant town accountant um

1:57:27position that

1:57:30um a few things removed or tweaked but a

1:57:34lot of things added. Can you just

1:57:36highlight that? Was it just, you know,

1:57:37kind of looking at job responsibilities

1:57:40to be clearer or

1:57:42>> Yes, it was in part looking at things to

1:57:44be clearer, specifically things that

1:57:47fall um outside of the procurement

1:57:49bucket, if you will, and more in the

1:57:53accounting functions.

1:57:55>> It um in the prior job description,

1:57:59there was reference to performing

1:58:01accounting duties, but it wasn't as

1:58:03detailed. This is an effort to really

1:58:05detail what those duties are.

1:58:07>> Perfect. Thank you.

1:58:11>> So, both of these positions will

1:58:13continue to report to the town account,

1:58:15>> correct?

1:58:16>> Who reports to the finance director?

1:58:18>> Correct.

1:58:18>> Okay.

1:58:22And your question was basically the same

1:58:23as mine, just the volume of increase on

1:58:25that one position.

1:58:29>> I like when they clarify exactly what

1:58:31the role is, though, so I'm happy to

1:58:33hear that. Yeah, I mean

1:58:36we had two individuals leaves. Hopefully

1:58:37this makes this more clear as to what

1:58:39the position is so that uh there's,

1:58:43you know, better, you know, good

1:58:44expectations all around, I'll call it.

1:58:47>> So, thank you.

1:58:49>> Yes.

1:58:51>> So, as with most job descriptions, I I

1:58:55rely on you guys to to do these because

1:58:57I you know, I don't really know what a

1:58:59finance accountant assistant

1:59:03town manager does or any of that, but I

1:59:06do look at these um and you made a

1:59:08comment earlier that the assistant um

1:59:12town accountant would uh assume the

1:59:15responsibilities of the town accountant

1:59:17in their absence. I assume that means

1:59:19like vacations or

1:59:20>> yes,

1:59:21>> they quit or whatever.

1:59:23>> But in the job description under

1:59:26supervisory responsibilities, this job

1:59:28has no supervisory responsibilities.

1:59:31Would that like I don't see exactly

1:59:33where it says they would assume the

1:59:35right.

1:59:36>> Okay. Right. So

1:59:39>> the assume the responsibility

1:59:41>> the finance assistant or is that

1:59:42directly supervised by the finance um

1:59:45>> director or um

1:59:48>> the town accountant I think that

1:59:49performs the duties of town accountant

1:59:51really um allows them there are

1:59:55statutory.

1:59:56>> So we don't have to reiterate that under

1:59:58supervisor. It's their ability to sign.

2:00:01>> As long as you think we're covered in

2:00:03>> to sign warrants and things like

2:00:04>> I need to get paid more while the

2:00:06accountant's on vacation.

2:00:08>> Okay. Got it. All right.

2:00:11>> Okay. I would move to approve the

2:00:14proposed changes to the two vacant

2:00:15positions in the finance department,

2:00:17including maintaining one position as a

2:00:19assistant town accountant at grade six

2:00:21and establishing the second position as

2:00:23finance assistant at grade three and

2:00:25approve [snorts] the corresponding job

2:00:27descriptions as presented.

2:00:30>> Second.

2:00:31>> Further comment. All those in favor?

2:00:34Four to zero. Thank you.

2:00:36>> Thank you.

2:00:38>> Okay. Uh item number seven, request to

2:00:41approve policy updates, training

2:00:42requirements for liquor license holders

2:00:45and employees.

2:00:47And uh our administrative assistant,

2:00:49Amanda, has been reviewing this and is

2:00:51going to present to us this evening.

2:00:53>> Thank you. Um with last year's renewal

2:00:56season, we noticed that there was a few

2:00:58things that needed to be updated in the

2:01:00alcohol awareness training policy. Um,

2:01:03we reviewed policies from the city of

2:01:05Worcester because they have a licensing

2:01:06commission as well as our benchmark

2:01:08communities. We noticed that a few of

2:01:10the programs that we had listed on the

2:01:12policy were no longer available. Um, I

2:01:16reviewed the National Restaurant

2:01:18Association as well as the Massachusetts

2:01:20Restaurant Association, um, who both

2:01:22support the Serve Safe training, but it

2:01:24is also a requirement for liquor uh,

2:01:27liability insurance as well as, um, at

2:01:31the town level, we require it. So, the

2:01:34um, ABCC, which is the Alcoholic

2:01:37Beverage Control Commission, they do not

2:01:39mandate it at a state level. it is at a

2:01:41town level and for the liquor liability

2:01:43insurance. So we like to have it with

2:01:45our renewal policies. Um

2:01:49we have both serve safe we have tips

2:01:52alcohol intervention methods which is

2:01:53AIM and barcode listed on the new

2:01:56policy. There were a couple wording

2:01:58changes that we made. Um for example one

2:02:00that I wanted to point out was in the

2:02:02first sentence we specifically said that

2:02:05it was just for all alcohol and then

2:02:07beer and wine. I believe I changed it to

2:02:09any type because there are several

2:02:11categories of licensing that is um that

2:02:14somebody could get for a liquor license.

2:02:18Um the intent of the program is for um

2:02:22to prevent underage um sales, properly

2:02:25check identification, recognize

2:02:27intoxication, as well as approach

2:02:29appropriately intervene when there's an

2:02:31unsafe situation. We had Chief Manardi

2:02:33as well as the board of health review it

2:02:35and they had no suggestions or concerns.

2:02:38Um, and I believe town council is still

2:02:40reviewing it. Um, if approved by you,

2:02:43the updated policy would be put on the

2:02:45website under the select board policies

2:02:48as well as sent out with the license

2:02:50renewal packets this season.

2:02:54>> And thank you very much. Uh, any

2:02:57questions?

2:02:58>> No, this was great. Thank you for doing

2:03:00it. Yeah, I noted the last revision was

2:03:02in 2012, so I think it's overdue. Um, I

2:03:06am assuming our motion will be pending

2:03:09council's review.

2:03:10>> I don't know.

2:03:11>> Is that how it was worded?

2:03:14>> I don't think I worded it that way, but

2:03:16>> should you want us to add that?

2:03:18>> Yeah.

2:03:18>> Okay.

2:03:19>> Now, um, Amanda, I see in section D

2:03:22here, you list qualified on premises

2:03:25programs. So, would this have to

2:03:26occasionally be updated or reviewed in

2:03:29some way?

2:03:30>> So, we put it that the town manager's

2:03:32office would be able to update those

2:03:34programs as they come in and out or if

2:03:36they, you know, were no longer

2:03:37available. Um, but we did in person. I

2:03:40found that the majority of policies from

2:03:42our benchmark communities were in person

2:03:44and no longer um an online option. Um, I

2:03:48can change that if you wish. There are

2:03:49online options. Um, but I found that the

2:03:51majority were in person they wanted.

2:03:55Thank you very much.

2:03:55>> Yeah, I do have a question about that

2:03:56section. Um, so

2:04:00I appreciate what's trying to be

2:04:01>> I'm sorry. Could you just point out the

2:04:03section

2:04:03>> section D section D and the red red the

2:04:06uh the red line version?

2:04:10>> I believe there are some programs where

2:04:11you can hire somebody to come on site to

2:04:14your location and do it.

2:04:16>> The gist of the this though is to ensure

2:04:19that these vendors have certain types of

2:04:21certifications.

2:04:23these particular businesses that we've

2:04:25listed offer those. It's um tips

2:04:29program. Are they all tips

2:04:32ones uses AMIM training? I'm just

2:04:35wondering if it's more effective to just

2:04:36say here's the certifications that we'll

2:04:38accept and let them choose. We don't

2:04:40have to list the actual businesses here.

2:04:42Just let you know here's the three,

2:04:44five, whatever the appropriate

2:04:45certifications are that we're looking

2:04:47for and they can choose whatever vendor

2:04:49they they want to go do that. So, I went

2:04:52based off of the insurance um

2:04:55recommended

2:04:57um for the liquor liability insurance.

2:04:59That's where I found the majority of

2:05:00them.

2:05:01>> Sure.

2:05:01>> Every benchmark community that I found

2:05:03along with the city of Worcester who has

2:05:05their own licensing commission, they do

2:05:07list these specific ones. Um

2:05:11>> am I correct in understanding? Am I

2:05:13correct in assuming that for example tip

2:05:16certification if a company is offering

2:05:17that certification service that the

2:05:20state or the uh tip organization would

2:05:23make sure that they are qualified to

2:05:25offer that training.

2:05:27>> Correct. They have they have qualified

2:05:29trainers.

2:05:29>> So so in my mind I don't have a

2:05:32preference of who they go to because

2:05:34they are a qualified certified training

2:05:36facility for that certification. So

2:05:39again, I don't know. I'm just thinking

2:05:41of the administration of this of

2:05:42maintaining a list of preferred

2:05:45certifiers on an annual basis or however

2:05:47often it may happen that this board

2:05:49would have to review because this

2:05:51business went out of business or this

2:05:52business is no longer preferred or

2:05:54there's 10 new preferred ones. I don't I

2:05:57think it would be easier if we just

2:05:59listed simply here's the certifications

2:06:01that we require.

2:06:02>> Okay. So you definitely can do that.

2:06:05We've always listed it's sort of a it's

2:06:08helpful to

2:06:08>> FAQs to hand a sheet to them type of

2:06:11thing, you know.

2:06:11>> But the way that this is drafted is that

2:06:13the board wouldn't have to keep up keep

2:06:15that up. It would be the this office

2:06:17staff that would maintain the list. So,

2:06:20um your concern about that's coming back

2:06:22every time. Um it wouldn't the way that

2:06:24it's drafted, but you certainly don't

2:06:26have to list them. Um we just always

2:06:28have.

2:06:29>> My intention would to be probably review

2:06:31it before every renewal season. Yeah, I

2:06:33would I would just say I think it's

2:06:34useful information for an applicant for

2:06:37a license. I would say let's create an

2:06:39FAQ or a little cheat sheet with them.

2:06:40Here here's some here's some businesses

2:06:42that offer these that you may not be

2:06:44aware of because you're a new business

2:06:45in our community. Here you go. But it's

2:06:47not necessarily a policy thing.

2:06:49>> It's more of anformational thing.

2:06:51>> I will say that there was a couple this

2:06:53year where they did need to renew and

2:06:55they did ask us, you know, of programs.

2:06:58Yeah.

2:06:58>> And we pointed them to the policy. I

2:07:00think I just think it would be great

2:07:02simplification to just list the

2:07:03certifications that are required and

2:07:05then if you want to give them a handout

2:07:07with their application that says here's

2:07:09some

2:07:10>> businesses that offer these

2:07:11certifications that we're aware of. Here

2:07:13you go. Again, this is not policy

2:07:15information.

2:07:16>> Well, playing devil's advocate here,

2:07:18then every time somebody applies for a

2:07:21liquor license and they come forward,

2:07:23we're going to have to validate that the

2:07:25organization they used

2:07:27>> No, we won't. No, because they're going

2:07:29to a certified if they get a if they get

2:07:31tip certified, that means that their

2:07:33instructor was certified to give them

2:07:34the trip certification training and they

2:07:36now have that certificate. It's like

2:07:38saying, "I'm going to go to the

2:07:39registry." The registry is certified to

2:07:41give you a driver's license. So, I'm not

2:07:43going to go question whether or not the

2:07:45registry is valid or not because that is

2:07:48the certification. If they get it,

2:07:50they're getting it from a valid. That

2:07:52that's how I would

2:07:56I

2:07:58>> I'm just trying to simplify it. You this

2:07:59this information is not policy type

2:08:01information. It's not necessary in this

2:08:02document.

2:08:03>> What's necessary is what certification

2:08:05you're required.

2:08:05>> Those red line are coming out.

2:08:07>> No, these are added.

2:08:08>> No, they're added.

2:08:09>> These are the added added.

2:08:10>> Yeah, the strikethroughs would be the

2:08:12outs.

2:08:15I'm trying to make it easier for staff,

2:08:16too, because you guys in theory don't

2:08:18even have to offer that sheet, but you

2:08:20certainly wouldn't have to update this

2:08:22document um regardless of whether it had

2:08:25to come back to the board or not.

2:08:28>> So, we would take you're recommending we

2:08:29just take D out of here completely.

2:08:31>> No, what I'm suggesting is that you can

2:08:33certainly the following list of of I

2:08:35would just say the following list of

2:08:36certifications are acceptable and then

2:08:39list those certifications.

2:08:42for example, TIP training program, uh,

2:08:46AIM training program, uh, barcode

2:08:48training program. Those are the those

2:08:50are the certifications that are listed

2:08:51under these companies. If those are what

2:08:53we're looking for, just list them

2:08:57>> so that they know what they need to go

2:08:58do.

2:09:01>> Um, if you are going to change that

2:09:03wording, you should also consider

2:09:04whether or not you want them to do

2:09:06in-person training or if you're open to

2:09:08online training. Um, our policy was

2:09:11always in person. During COVID, we made

2:09:13an adjustment obviously for online

2:09:15training. [clears throat] Um, but as

2:09:17Amanda mentioned, majority do inerson

2:09:20training.

2:09:20>> I'd be supportive of in person. I think

2:09:22it's is super important.

2:09:23>> I think

2:09:25what I saw in the policy is that it

2:09:27doesn't allow for online and section B.

2:09:29It says online training is not an

2:09:31acceptable means of receiving

2:09:32certification.

2:09:32>> But you made it an exception during CO.

2:09:35That's all.

2:09:35>> Okay. So, I'm just I'm just saying that

2:09:37if you're going to change section D,

2:09:39then you should probably because it says

2:09:42inerson training, you you just need to

2:09:44consider whether or not you would allow

2:09:46online training.

2:09:47>> No.

2:09:48>> Okay.

2:09:49>> I I feel like D is worded in this in the

2:09:52way that it

2:09:54list of local in-person programs

2:09:56currently offered. This list may be

2:09:58updated or revised by the town manager's

2:10:00office at any time. So if somebody comes

2:10:02in with another provider that meets the

2:10:04requirements, they can be added to this

2:10:06list.

2:10:07>> Yeah, absolutely. I'm just saying no

2:10:09need like

2:10:12>> I don't understand why as somebody who's

2:10:15coming in with a business and I I need

2:10:16to know what I need to be certified.

2:10:19That's all. I just need to know what

2:10:21certification is required in the policy,

2:10:23where I get that certification. If the

2:10:25town's so kind enough to provide me a

2:10:27list of vendors of those certifications,

2:10:29great. But that's not required in this

2:10:31document to tell them here here are the

2:10:34places you can go. I think it's just a a

2:10:37nice service that we offer that we do

2:10:39offer that is like an FAQ type sheet to

2:10:41them to to to give them. But again, I I

2:10:44don't think it's necessary in this

2:10:45document. I'm just trying to make it

2:10:46cleaner and simpler just to list the

2:10:48certifications that we require. You

2:10:50would basically say that we have to

2:10:51change B.

2:10:53That basically says here it is, but if

2:10:55any of those change, then it would have

2:10:56to come back to the select board to

2:10:58update those.

2:10:59>> No, no, no, no. The certifications

2:11:01themselves. Yes. Right. If we said TIP

2:11:04certification is no longer required by

2:11:05us, we would remove that would be a

2:11:08future change on on

2:11:09>> Well, you're So, right now B, where we

2:11:10had that in there before, which is

2:11:12removed, we'd have to add in those three

2:11:15that we accept. Whatever the three are

2:11:17that we accept, list those under D. Say

2:11:19qualified on premise programs are right

2:11:22under B. Yeah. Yeah. Under B. Well,

2:11:25they've stricken that all out, right?

2:11:27So, the example here is all managers of

2:11:28record must be trained in qualified

2:11:30programs offered by certified trainers

2:11:32>> approved by the select board.

2:11:33>> And I would think you would list it

2:11:34there and you get rid of D alto

2:11:36together.

2:11:36>> You Yes, you could do that. Yep. And

2:11:38then we would also strike the language

2:11:40online training is not Oh, no. We'd

2:11:42leave that. Online training is not an

2:11:43acceptable means of certification. I

2:11:45would keep that.

2:11:47Yeah, Ian, I think that even further

2:11:48cleans it up. You don't need D at all.

2:11:50You're just given the the list of

2:11:52certifications under B. But you're

2:11:55saying that's what you found everyone

2:11:58other policies and other committees did

2:12:00that.

2:12:00>> They list them. Yeah.

2:12:03>> I don't have an issue with doing it

2:12:06either way, but um

2:12:08so

2:12:10fine. If we do the other one, then we

2:12:11should

2:12:12>> I'm not D for it. I just think it's

2:12:14cleaner. So,

2:12:16>> okay. And then we would maintain that

2:12:18list separately.

2:12:19>> Yeah.

2:12:22>> Well, I have a question though and I'm

2:12:24sorry I'm

2:12:27rereading this now and wondering

2:12:30if I read it right the first time.

2:12:31[laughter] So, um, so all man B says all

2:12:35managers of record must be trained in a

2:12:37qualified program offered by a certified

2:12:39trainer that is pre been pre-approved by

2:12:41the select board.

2:12:43And in D you have a list of trainers,

2:12:48right? Are we are you asking us to

2:12:50preapprove these lists?

2:12:52>> Well, she was sorry.

2:12:54>> Because it's in B it said pre-approved

2:12:56by the select board. So where when are

2:12:57we pre-approving that?

2:12:58>> It's in the it's in the policy that

2:13:00you're approving right now. What's in

2:13:02front of you? It's in the policy that

2:13:03you're approving.

2:13:04>> Okay. But it's not that list under D.

2:13:07>> It is.

2:13:08>> It is. It is.

2:13:08>> Okay. But the list in D it says the list

2:13:11may be updated or revised by the town

2:13:13manager's office. So, do we no longer

2:13:15preapprove after we preapprove these?

2:13:19>> Well, I don't know that they're even

2:13:21staying in the policy. So,

2:13:23>> okay, fair enough.

2:13:24>> But it raises a really good question

2:13:26because you're right. As I reread that,

2:13:27Mark, I I say to myself, are we in the

2:13:29business of preapproving

2:13:32certifiers?

2:13:34>> I read it. Yeah, I see what you're

2:13:35saying. I I read that section B as

2:13:37meaning that we were pre-approve that we

2:13:39were pre-approving the qualified

2:13:40program, but the way it reads in there

2:13:43right now is it almost sounds like we're

2:13:44preapproving

2:13:46>> the vendor

2:13:47>> the program offered by a cert that

2:13:49basically we're preapproving the

2:13:51certified trainer if I read that or be

2:13:54construed that way.

2:13:55>> I I think that that really makes it very

2:13:57complicated and I think it's

2:13:58overburdensome for the board. I would

2:14:00rely on the fact again if I if I'm

2:14:02understanding correctly,

2:14:04these certifications,

2:14:06the the centers that train these

2:14:08certifications are certified as

2:14:10trainers. So, as long as they go to a

2:14:12certified trainer and get their

2:14:14certification from that certified

2:14:15trainer, that's all we're concerned

2:14:16about. I don't care if it's ABC trainer

2:14:19or XYZ trainer, it's they are certified

2:14:22to provide it.

2:14:23>> Yeah. Yeah, I would just think if we do

2:14:25what you're suggesting and take out D

2:14:28that U piece in section B should be

2:14:31rewarded to say must be trained in a

2:14:34qualified program that has been

2:14:36pre-approved by the select board and

2:14:38offered by a certified trainer.

2:14:40>> So just change that word. So basically

2:14:41what it says is so I think that's what

2:14:43we're trying to say here right is that

2:14:45>> we we're basically saying those three

2:14:48are what we're pre-approving is uh serve

2:14:51safe tips and

2:14:54>> whatever the third one

2:14:56>> y

2:14:57>> aim

2:14:58>> now aim

2:14:59>> use barcode training

2:15:00>> barcode

2:15:03y so we're we are approving the programs

2:15:07not the trainers

2:15:08>> yes Okay.

2:15:11>> All right.

2:15:12>> So, it sounds like though, can we take

2:15:14that back and it

2:15:17>> give us an update for the next

2:15:19>> So, do you want me to remove the remove

2:15:22D?

2:15:24>> Yeah, I think I I I like I mean, if

2:15:26we're going to pull it out, I would like

2:15:27to still offer a separate, you know,

2:15:31here's a list of

2:15:32>> So, if we're maintaining a list, why not

2:15:34just keep it with the policy? So then

2:15:35it's al together

2:15:37>> because it implies again back to B,

2:15:40right? That we are approving the actual

2:15:42trainers.

2:15:43>> No, not if we change that language.

2:15:46>> We're just approving the programs,

2:15:48>> right? We That's what I'm saying. We

2:15:49need to just approve the programs,

2:15:50>> right? But then I So I don't have a

2:15:52problem with leaving D in there.

2:15:53>> If you put D as an appendix, that's

2:15:55fine. I just don't think it's part it's

2:15:56not policy information. It's not policy.

2:16:06>> So, we got to take that back and bring

2:16:09it.

2:16:10>> So, wait, I'm confused. So, are we

2:16:13>> we're updating B to just say in a

2:16:15qualified program approved by the select

2:16:18board that is offered by a certified

2:16:20trainer.

2:16:20>> Correct.

2:16:22And then D or wherever we put it would

2:16:24basically I I think it still stays

2:16:26because now it just says the here's

2:16:28we're giving you some qualified but it's

2:16:30not saying that it's covers everything

2:16:33and if something changes we'll update

2:16:35it.

2:16:35>> Can we make an appendix? Can we make it

2:16:37under an appendix because it's not

2:16:38policy.

2:16:42>> So

2:16:43>> sure it's not a policy. You're right.

2:16:45>> Sure.

2:16:46>> But if it's an appendix it's still part

2:16:47of the policy.

2:16:48>> Yes it is. So

2:16:49>> it's anformational piece appendix to the

2:16:51policy that just

2:16:52>> So then I would

2:16:53>> we're not saying well

2:16:55>> I'm all I'm saying is that I think

2:16:58exactly what you said Patrick which is

2:16:59that you don't want it to come back here

2:17:01every time the name changes or somebody

2:17:03goes out of business. So as long as

2:17:04there's still that acknowledgement that

2:17:06the that staff is

2:17:07>> Oh yeah absolutely that doesn't change.

2:17:09I think it's just let's move it to an

2:17:11appendix at the end and it still is in

2:17:14there still part of the policy. you

2:17:15still Tom Andrew's office still has the

2:17:17ability to update it. But I I think it's

2:17:21more customer friendly looking at these

2:17:25establishments as our customers to

2:17:26provide that to them. And

2:17:30if we have two different documents,

2:17:32we're going to lose track of the one

2:17:34that's the standalone with those

2:17:36programs. I like it in the policy. It

2:17:38sounds like it's what others are doing.

2:17:40So, a lot of these establishments

2:17:42operate in different jurisdictions. So,

2:17:44let's provide them what we're seeing

2:17:46others do, but I'm fine with putting it

2:17:48as an appendix and changing that

2:17:50language. And B, just to be more clear

2:17:52what our what we're preapproving.

2:17:55>> Yeah. No, I mean, I really appreciate

2:17:57the work you've done on this and I look

2:17:58forward to

2:17:59>> Well, we can tell you needed a lot of

2:18:00updating. So, thank you. Thanks for

2:18:02doing the research on it.

2:18:03>> Yeah.

2:18:06>> Great. So, so we've mentioned some

2:18:09recommendations. Those are going to come

2:18:11back at our next meeting for final

2:18:12approval. Amanda, thank you very much.

2:18:14>> Good job.

2:18:16>> Um, next

2:18:18item number eight on our agenda, request

2:18:21to approve intermunicipal agreement

2:18:23between the town of Walpole and various

2:18:25municipalities regarding solid waste

2:18:27contract negotiations.

2:18:30>> Um, so as the board's aware, uh, the

2:18:32town previously many many years ago

2:18:34entered into an agreement um for, um,

2:18:38our solid waste with other communities.

2:18:41Um that agreement is going to expire

2:18:42December 30th of 2027. Um so the town of

2:18:46Walpole has taken the lead in um in

2:18:50pulling communities back together um in

2:18:52order to do a similar contract in

2:18:54negotiations with uh Wind Waste, who is

2:18:56our current um solid waste um vendor. Um

2:19:01on May 13th of 25, we I brought this to

2:19:04you. You voted to um be a part of this

2:19:07negotiation.

2:19:09um this is sort of the the next step of

2:19:12that. You have to execute the agreement

2:19:14saying that the town has signed on to um

2:19:17being a part of the negotiations and

2:19:19also paying any legal fees associated.

2:19:21So I did put um I did put information in

2:19:24your packet about they are using KP law

2:19:27um and they have estimated they have

2:19:31language within the agreement that says

2:19:33when the costs exceed a certain amount

2:19:35that they would have to come back to all

2:19:36of the communities to let us know. Um,

2:19:39depending on how many communities sign

2:19:41this IMA will really inform what our

2:19:45percentage of the cost would be. Um, I'm

2:19:48just trying to get to the

2:19:50um, that being said, it um, I've

2:19:53included in your packet an email that

2:19:56just says that um, if 30 communities,

2:19:59right now we have 35 interested

2:20:00communities. If 30 communities

2:20:02participate, the estimated cost would be

2:20:04approximately $2,500 per community. um

2:20:07before we were to exceed that $75,000

2:20:09threshold that they've identified um

2:20:11which they believe we'll stay within um

2:20:14and uh

2:20:15>> it's a lot cheaper than us doing it on

2:20:17our own,

2:20:17>> right? And hopefully what we are hoping

2:20:20for is um some you know purchasing

2:20:22power. Certainly

2:20:24ultimately you're just agreeing to this

2:20:26process and paying for the negotiation

2:20:28process. You probably saw in there that

2:20:30at the end of the day you still sign we

2:20:32still sign our own agreement uh as a

2:20:34town of Westboro. doesn't commit you to

2:20:36executing. It does commit you to that

2:20:38financial commitment for negotiations.

2:20:44>> Quite a long list of communities that

2:20:46are participating in this.

2:20:49>> I imagine most will stay in this is the

2:20:51way these are done. I mean, it just

2:20:52makes the most sense.

2:20:53>> Yeah.

2:20:57>> Okay. Um so with that any questions or

2:21:02um

2:21:04>> I would move to authorize the town

2:21:05manager to execute the intermunicipal

2:21:07agreement between the town of Walpole

2:21:08and various municipalities regarding

2:21:10solid waste contract negotiations and

2:21:13further to designate the town manager as

2:21:15Westbro's representative to this

2:21:17process.

2:21:17>> Seconded.

2:21:19>> Okay. Any further comments? All those in

2:21:22favor

2:21:24to zero. Thank you.

2:21:30Um, next item number nine, the rotary

2:21:32crosswalk closure.

2:21:36>> Um, yeah. So, we're specifically talking

2:21:38about the crosswalk um that's by Brigham

2:21:42Street and the Rotary. Um, the this

2:21:45crosswalk was identified in the 2016 um

2:21:48audit as dangerous and so it, as you all

2:21:53know, has not been restriped. Um so it's

2:21:56there's still some striping by the um

2:21:59the curbing but largely it's it's not

2:22:02existing anymore. Um we did we've had

2:22:06you know with increased use of the

2:22:07rotary um we had a concern so we did put

2:22:10up those um sign the signage saying that

2:22:13the that crosswalk was closed that's

2:22:15came down over the winter with the snow.

2:22:18Um we had folks we've had folks um

2:22:21comment that they're concerned about the

2:22:23fact that it's not restriped against. we

2:22:24put the signs back up. Um, ultimately

2:22:26that's a temporary solution. Um, if the

2:22:29board agrees, what we would like to do

2:22:31is to just um create curbing um at the

2:22:35at the edge of the rotary um to give

2:22:38even more um instruction to folks that

2:22:41that's not a crosswalk to be used

2:22:43anymore. And then also at the sidewalk

2:22:45um remove the ramp and create that

2:22:47curbing there. we would maintain the

2:22:49crosswalk um that goes across Brighgam.

2:22:53Um so there would still be that ramp but

2:22:55just not the one that would would sort

2:22:57of push into the rotary. So, I did

2:22:59include in your packet the pages um from

2:23:02that audit that was done um that just

2:23:06said that this was a so this was done by

2:23:09MASDOT in January 2016

2:23:12um and they identified removal of that

2:23:14crosswalk as having um a high safety

2:23:17improvement impact.

2:23:21>> All right. Thank you very much.

2:23:23Comments, thoughts?

2:23:25>> Yes,

2:23:25>> I am fully supportive of this. I mean, I

2:23:27think this is is really dangerous if you

2:23:29think about it. You've got

2:23:31right now at least two lanes of

2:23:34traffic coming in from South Street. You

2:23:36got the ones coming on the road or you

2:23:37got people pulling out of Brigham and

2:23:39this is for people driving and knowing

2:23:41myself is you're looking this way.

2:23:43You're looking to people coming off

2:23:45Brighgam Street and you kind of come

2:23:47around the the turn there and then

2:23:48that's where the crosswalk is. blind um

2:23:51in many cases and uh um so I think it

2:23:56makes sense. I I don't know that just

2:23:59putting curbing is going to because it's

2:24:01still going to be a sidewalk leading up

2:24:02to that curbing. I don't know that it's

2:24:04it's perfect at this time, but I don't

2:24:06want to see that restriped. I don't

2:24:07think it should be a crosswalk. I think

2:24:10it's an easy thing for us to do at this

2:24:11point, but um you know, more to consider

2:24:15in the future. And I think it's a it

2:24:17does get rid of those ugly signs and

2:24:20eliminates what would make it accessible

2:24:24um or fully accessible. So I am

2:24:26supportive of removing that cross. I do

2:24:28think it's a very dangerous. I know

2:24:30we've had accidents there, pedestrians

2:24:32hit there. So

2:24:36>> yeah, I came to my senses on this one. I

2:24:37agree with you. For a while I was like a

2:24:39little reluctant. like it's the

2:24:40aesthetic of the crosswalk, you know,

2:24:41that going across the rotary and, you

2:24:44know, easier way to get across for

2:24:46people, but absolutely safety issue.

2:24:48It's it's a very dangerous spot when

2:24:49you've got three separate vehicles

2:24:52entering right there. I mean, literally

2:24:54right there. So, I agree. My my question

2:24:56is uh as a board, do we actually remove

2:24:59the crosswalk the the sidewalk between

2:25:01the monument and the edge of the rotary

2:25:04to really

2:25:05>> singing my song? But

2:25:06>> I I'm just curious, do we take it that

2:25:08far? Because you mean people are just

2:25:09going to walk there. I mean I I think

2:25:11people are just going to walk there

2:25:12anyway.

2:25:12>> Y

2:25:12>> So do you do just

2:25:14>> Well, I think that's a next step. I mean

2:25:16I said the same thing to Christie. I

2:25:18mean I

2:25:19>> I would like to see us do more. I also

2:25:21talked about do you put

2:25:24>> ballards there but that is an aesthetic

2:25:25thing too. But

2:25:26>> right

2:25:27>> um but at least for now I do think

2:25:30getting that shut off but then I think

2:25:31we should continue discussions. I I

2:25:33>> Yeah. Well, I think every time we put

2:25:35>> I like just put grass there and just

2:25:36>> I think every time we put ballards in

2:25:37the rotary, they get hit by

2:25:38>> they get anyways. Yeah, even the

2:25:40aesthetic ones. [laughter]

2:25:41>> So, um, good point.

2:25:44>> I'm sorry. Go ahead.

2:25:44>> No, no, no. I'm done. I'm done.

2:25:46>> Yeah. Um, I mean, I think it's a good

2:25:48move. We need to make it more permanent

2:25:52than it is. The I was going through

2:25:54there yesterday, today, and the one of

2:25:57the signs was down. probably the wind or

2:26:00>> some someone crossing the scrunk person.

2:26:03I don't know. But um

2:26:05>> you know, I think it's I think it's a

2:26:07good move to close that one. Um

2:26:10>> and just so folks are clear, we're not

2:26:11crow closing access to the rotary. You

2:26:13can still get there.

2:26:15>> Um

2:26:15>> you just can't get there from there.

2:26:17>> You can't get there from there. Yep.

2:26:19>> From the eye doctor,

2:26:20>> right?

2:26:21>> Yep.

2:26:23>> But you can still get there from the

2:26:25intersection by

2:26:26>> Okay.

2:26:26>> the liquor store. Do you want a motion?

2:26:29>> Yes, please.

2:26:31>> Uh, I uh move to authorize the permanent

2:26:34removal of the Brigham Street to the

2:26:36Rotary Crosswalk as presented.

2:26:39>> Seconded.

2:26:40>> Okay. Any further comments? All those in

2:26:42favor? Four to zero. Thank you.

2:26:47Um, next item number 10, the October

2:26:49town meeting draft warrant. Our first

2:26:52one. First draft.

2:26:54>> Yeah. You think we're going to be uh

2:26:56>> we'll be we'll be done in like an hour

2:26:57with that one.

2:26:58>> Six. [laughter]

2:26:59>> Don't Yeah.

2:27:00>> Six articles.

2:27:00>> Thanks. Um I can I'll just walk through

2:27:03the articles quickly. Um just for folks,

2:27:05this is available on the website. Um I

2:27:08will note that there was an error on the

2:27:10initial draft that was that went out. We

2:27:13fixed the one that was posted. It said

2:27:14it said Tuesday, but it's Monday because

2:27:16last year we met on a Tuesday. Um

2:27:19anyway, so the first article is one that

2:27:21we always keep, which is the prior year

2:27:23bills. Um,

2:27:26you just need to update the article.

2:27:27>> Can you just go back to that? So, what's

2:27:29in our packet has Tuesday, October?

2:27:31>> It's Monday.

2:27:31>> And is it October 19th or is it October

2:27:3318th?

2:27:35>> Still the 19th.

2:27:36>> I don't know what the calendar.

2:27:38>> Okay.

2:27:38>> Yeah, it is still the 19th.

2:27:40>> It's the 19th.

2:27:41>> Okay.

2:27:41>> Monday, October 19th.

2:27:43>> 19th.

2:27:44[clears throat]

2:27:44>> Um, we don't have any prior years bills

2:27:47at this time. So, we just need to update

2:27:48the article information. Um the second

2:27:51article is to add a revolving account.

2:27:53Um so this is related to the police

2:27:56firearms training facility. Um there's

2:27:58been lots of discussion as we talked

2:28:00about that facility about um having some

2:28:02sort of rental fee. Um and so this would

2:28:05be um a way to capture that in order to

2:28:08continue to maintain that facility. Um,

2:28:13article three, um, we do anticipate, uh,

2:28:16various departments having budget

2:28:17adjustments. Um, and so those would be

2:28:20listed here. They're not all here, um,

2:28:22at this point. Um, one, um, a couple of

2:28:27them would be reductions. So, um, so

2:28:30that's positive.

2:28:32>> Um, article four is the fire department

2:28:35union contract. As you know, we settled

2:28:36that after the annual town meeting. Um

2:28:38so we need to come back and adjust the

2:28:40budget uh as well uh to make up for

2:28:43obligations under the first year of that

2:28:44contract.

2:28:46Article five is the 250th American

2:28:48Revolution Anniversary Committee. So

2:28:50that is related to what we talked about

2:28:53uh earlier this summer which is that

2:28:54there's a remaining balance of about

2:28:57$33,100

2:28:59um that we would be looking to ask town

2:29:01meeting to transfer to the Fourth of

2:29:02July block party.

2:29:05Um, oops,

2:29:07just lost where I was. Um,

2:29:11then we have the

2:29:15uh affordable housing trust. Um, that's

2:29:17the transfer from that mitigation

2:29:18stabilization account. So, similar to

2:29:20what we've seen uh routinely while that

2:29:23mitigation is being transferred.

2:29:27Um, and then following that is a bunch

2:29:29of we're calling them placeholder

2:29:30articles. So again, trying to expand the

2:29:33capital plan. Um,

2:29:37we're doing capital planning earlier

2:29:39this year and we anticipate talking to

2:29:42the capital planning committee about

2:29:43these for the October. That's why I put

2:29:44for the October time meeting. That's why

2:29:46they're put as placeholders because we

2:29:47want the capital planning committee to

2:29:49have an opportunity to look at them. Um,

2:29:52so just quickly, um, one is the

2:29:55technology and equipment. It's

2:29:56permitting software. This was already on

2:29:58the capital plan. Um, but we're bringing

2:30:01it forward sooner because of its end of

2:30:03life is coming faster than we had

2:30:05expected. They've um they've sent us

2:30:07notice that they're no longer supporting

2:30:09that software.

2:30:11Um,

2:30:12the water distribution system

2:30:14improvements um is the next one. The EV

2:30:19charging infrastructure. Um, Laya came

2:30:22to you and talked about that. Um, this

2:30:24one would start with the Nelson Ball

2:30:26Nelson Ball pickle ball court. Um, this

2:30:30one is only a transfer of $14,000, but

2:30:33because we're trying to put everything

2:30:34onto the capital plan and the total cost

2:30:37is actually about $120,000.

2:30:40Um, though it would the town would only

2:30:43be responsible for that $14,000 match.

2:30:45Um, the reason that it's coming in

2:30:47October is based on um incentives and

2:30:50grants that we might be eligible for.

2:30:54And then the road acceptance um DPW

2:30:57would ask that we put that on as a

2:30:59placeholder. So that's obviously not

2:31:00capital, but something that they haven't

2:31:02determined yet. Um so

2:31:06um there might be a couple other warrant

2:31:08articles coming, but this is all that

2:31:10I'm specifically aware of now.

2:31:12>> That's great.

2:31:12>> Can I make a motion to close the

2:31:14warrant?

2:31:14>> Yeah. [laughter]

2:31:16>> Oh, actually, sorry. So the the other

2:31:18one that you need to speak about is this

2:31:21um amendment to the town charter. So um

2:31:25at the October town meeting last year,

2:31:27this was brought to the uh town meeting

2:31:30to amend the charter that would create a

2:31:33requirement of um related to

2:31:38um

2:31:40how many vote how many um articles on a

2:31:43petition? I'm sorry, how many signatures

2:31:45on a petition? Um when that went to the

2:31:48legislature, as you know, they flagged

2:31:51um some questions for that and

2:31:52ultimately um the final language

2:31:56made other changes to the um to the

2:31:58process um which if it had gone through

2:32:02the whole process would have required

2:32:03you to put all articles on the warrant

2:32:05from any um town, committee or board,

2:32:09which is not how it's currently uh

2:32:11listed in the charter. Um, so the board

2:32:14ultimately decided not to ask to make

2:32:16any changes at that point and rather to

2:32:19bring it back. So what you need to

2:32:20consider is how you if you want to put

2:32:23it on the October town meeting warn and

2:32:24if you do what you want that language to

2:32:26look like. So I included in here a memo

2:32:29of different options and certainly you

2:32:32know it doesn't have to be one of these

2:32:33options.

2:32:36>> So we're not making that decision

2:32:38tonight.

2:32:40>> You can but if you're not ready to

2:32:41that's fine. not a posted agenda item.

2:32:43>> It just needs

2:32:44>> Oh, it is.

2:32:44>> It is.

2:32:45>> It is.

2:32:45>> Y item 10.

2:32:49>> I don't I'm not ready to make it

2:32:51tonight, but I do want to

2:32:54>> I think we should bring it forward. We

2:32:55talked about that already and just get

2:32:57it

2:32:57>> right. So,

2:32:59>> okay. Um, so you would we would just

2:33:01need to put it on the next agenda as

2:33:03well so that you can continue to talk

2:33:05about it so that so it's ready for the

2:33:07closing of the warrant.

2:33:10Christie, um, just a small step back. I

2:33:13apologize if you said this already.

2:33:14Normally, you send out a schedule on

2:33:17when you expect feedback on our on the

2:33:19warrants.

2:33:20You send out an email to all the boards

2:33:22and things like that. When do you expect

2:33:24to communicate to folks on first ver

2:33:26like

2:33:27feedback and updated articles?

2:33:30>> Um, I already sent out the the version

2:33:33one of the warrant last week.

2:33:35>> Okay.

2:33:35>> To everybody. Yep.

2:33:38>> Okay. I missed that email. Okay, thank

2:33:40you.

2:33:47>> Okay,

2:33:48>> that's all I had. So, I can bring

2:33:50another version to the next meeting.

2:33:52>> Yeah, I want to follow I just have some

2:33:55questions. I just

2:33:56>> I know we went through it before, but as

2:33:58I read through it, I just couldn't

2:33:59remember.

2:34:00>> Oh, the charter.

2:34:01>> On the charter. Yeah. So, I just wanted

2:34:02to ask you some questions. I'm not ready

2:34:04to vote on it tonight. I feel like we

2:34:06should make that a separate separate

2:34:08agenda item.

2:34:09>> Yes.

2:34:10>> As opposed to just lumping it in.

2:34:12>> Makes sense.

2:34:14>> And maybe have Shelby here. So,

2:34:16>> great.

2:34:16>> Okay.

2:34:18>> Um item number 11, uh appointments. We

2:34:22have uh five potential appointments and

2:34:24a reappoint.

2:34:27Um we have one contested appointment, I

2:34:30guess. Do we want to do the other

2:34:31appointments first and then

2:34:35review the contested appointment?

2:34:37>> Yes.

2:34:37>> Okay. So, would somebody like to make a

2:34:40motion for the other appointments?

2:34:43>> Sure. I'll move to appoint Dan Klene to

2:34:46the Youth Commission for a term ending

2:34:48June 30th, 2029. Do you want to do these

2:34:51separately or

2:34:53>> and Jean Granfield to Council on Aging

2:34:56for a term ending June 30th, 2029

2:35:00and Carla Cook to the Affordable Housing

2:35:02Trust for a term ending June 30th, 2028

2:35:06and also to move to reappoint Bethe

2:35:10Schuman to the Cultural Council for a

2:35:12term ending June 30th, 2029.

2:35:16>> Can I get a second?

2:35:17>> Second.

2:35:18>> Thank you very much. Any comments?

2:35:24All those in favor?

2:35:26Four to zero.

2:35:28Okay. So, there are currently two non-

2:35:31voting members of the historical

2:35:33commission and there is one available

2:35:37voting position within the historical

2:35:39commission and both candidates have put

2:35:41themselves forward. Those two candidates

2:35:43are uh Tracy Cunningham and Ian

2:35:47Delahunty.

2:35:48And I believe both had letters

2:35:52um or information that have been added

2:35:55to our packet. If would be helpful, we

2:36:00could read both of those into

2:36:03the

2:36:04>> one letter did not get in our packet. I

2:36:06think

2:36:06>> yeah, I think one was provided

2:36:08separately and one was within the

2:36:10packet. So let me

2:36:13>> see too.

2:36:15>> Well, Mr. Delhanty wrote an additional

2:36:18letter.

2:36:21>> So let's see here. Here's

2:36:25uh the letter from uh Tracy Cunningham

2:36:28of 16 Oldham Road.

2:36:31Dear members of the Westboro Select

2:36:33Board, I am writing to express my

2:36:35sincere interest in the current vacancy

2:36:37on the historical commission. Please

2:36:39accept this letter and accompanying

2:36:41resume as my application to be submitted

2:36:43to the select board for consideration.

2:36:46As a resident who cares deeply about our

2:36:48community, I would be honored to be in

2:36:50service of preserving and celebrating

2:36:52our town's history.

2:36:54Professionally, I work in corporate

2:36:56learning and development where I create

2:36:58structured, meaningful experiences that

2:37:00help people understand complex ideas and

2:37:02learn how to apply this information to

2:37:04their work. My role requires research,

2:37:08analysis, stakeholder collaboration, and

2:37:10clear communication. All skills I

2:37:13believe will translate well to the

2:37:14responsibilities of the commission.

2:37:17Beyond my professional skills, I have a

2:37:19genuine interest in local history and

2:37:21the stories that shape a community. I'm

2:37:23an amateur genealogologist researching

2:37:26my family's history through Europe and

2:37:28Canada to their arrival in Massachusetts

2:37:30in the 1860s.

2:37:32As a commission member, I would value

2:37:34the opportunity to learn more about the

2:37:36organization indexing and archiving of

2:37:39historical records and materials as well

2:37:41as stewardship of cemeteries and other

2:37:44people centered historical sites. I

2:37:46would be happy to provide any additional

2:37:48information that would be helpful to the

2:37:50select board when reviewing my interest

2:37:52and experience. It says, "With

2:37:54appreciation, Tracy Cunningham."

2:37:59And then Ian Delahunty um provided us a

2:38:02letter um today or earlier this week.

2:38:08Um to the members of the Westboroough

2:38:09Select Board. First, I apologize for

2:38:12being unable to attend this meeting in

2:38:13person due to a previously scheduled

2:38:15family engagement. Thank you very much

2:38:18for considering my application to be

2:38:20appointed as a voting member of the

2:38:21Westboroough Historical Commission. I

2:38:24was appointed as a non-moting non-

2:38:26voting member of the commission at the

2:38:28March 10th, 2026 select board meeting

2:38:31and I previously served as the secretary

2:38:34of the Westboro Town Seal Review

2:38:36Committee. I am an academic historian

2:38:38with specialization in 19th century

2:38:41American history. And as a resident of

2:38:4461 South Street and a butter to Midland

2:38:46Cemetery, I am keenly interested in the

2:38:49commission's mandate to protect and

2:38:51serve historic structures, properties,

2:38:53cemeteries, and archaeological sites in

2:38:56Westboro.

2:38:57As a history faculty member at

2:38:59Springfield College, I developed a minor

2:39:02in public history and museum studies and

2:39:05I regularly teach an introduction to

2:39:07public history course that introduces

2:39:09students to the scholarly, ethical, and

2:39:11legal parameters of historic

2:39:13preservation.

2:39:15My research specialization in 19th

2:39:17century American history has equipped me

2:39:19with extensive experience in the type of

2:39:22archival research that the commission is

2:39:24required to perform at times. I believe

2:39:26this experience can be of service to

2:39:28fulfilling the commission's mandate. It

2:39:31has been a pleasure to serve on the

2:39:32commission in a non- voting capacity at

2:39:34this point, and I am eager for the

2:39:37opportunity to contribute more

2:39:38substantially to the commission's

2:39:40important work in the community. In

2:39:43addition to my service on the historical

2:39:45commission and town seal review

2:39:46committee, I'm a coach for Westboro

2:39:49Youth Soccer and a coach and board

2:39:50member for Westboro Little League. I

2:39:52believe strongly in the importance of

2:39:54community and civic involvement,

2:39:56especially as a parent of three children

2:39:58in the Westboro public school system.

2:40:01I submitted a curriculum vite with an

2:40:06initial letter of interest for this

2:40:07position and I would be happy to discuss

2:40:09my candidacy for this position further

2:40:12with you upon request. Thank you very

2:40:14much for considering my application.

2:40:17Sincerely, Ian Delahunty.

2:40:22Thoughts, comments?

2:40:25>> Uh, I just say I think it's great to

2:40:28have two good candidates. Um, both have

2:40:31experience as non- voting members. Um, I

2:40:35think Mr. Delahanti's experience as a a

2:40:39historian as a a instructor of history

2:40:43and um you know may he gives gives him a

2:40:47little bit of an advantage in my eyes.

2:40:49So I other than that um you know I wish

2:40:53we had more openings

2:40:55>> right

2:40:56>> I absolutely agree everything you said

2:40:57so I won't echo any further but that

2:40:59would be my um [snorts] preference as

2:41:02well. Yeah, I appreciate all the subi

2:41:04both submissions, but I would agree with

2:41:06that delineation in kind of the

2:41:09background and skills. So, I would

2:41:11encourage um

2:41:14Miss um Cunningham to continue her work

2:41:17with the with the committee if um if we

2:41:19so vote for the other applicant.

2:41:23>> Okay. Thank you. I think we're in

2:41:24agreement. Would somebody care to make a

2:41:26motion?

2:41:27>> Sure. I'll move to appoint Ian Delahanti

2:41:30to the historical commission for a term

2:41:32ending June 30th, 2029.

2:41:34>> Seconded. Any further comment?

2:41:37>> Thank you to everyone who applied for

2:41:40appointments and reappoints. Uh it's

2:41:42greatly appreciated the support of your

2:41:44town. Um and with that, all those in

2:41:47favor to zero.

2:41:54Next uh request to approve the meeting

2:41:57minutes of July 21st and August 11th.

2:42:00>> So moved. Second.

2:42:02>> Any comment?

2:42:04>> I just had one correction. Sorry. On the

2:42:06August the July 21st meeting minutes. Uh

2:42:10there was a name misspelled in the

2:42:13uh

2:42:15it's the paragraph that starts Kevin

2:42:16Barry Indian Pond Road and it talks

2:42:19about Mr. Burn and then it just goes on

2:42:21and says interest related to Burn's

2:42:23involvement with BEWalt and the second

2:42:25spelling of his name is incorrect.

2:42:27>> Okay,

2:42:28>> that's the only one I had.

2:42:29>> Okay, so as amended

2:42:31>> as amended

2:42:32>> I would

2:42:33accept that to my original motion.

2:42:36>> Okay and second to that

2:42:39>> resetted. Okay, second.

2:42:42>> All right, all those in favor to zero.

2:42:45Amanda, thank you very much.

2:42:49Amanda.

2:42:50>> Yeah. Item number 13, town manager

2:42:52report.

2:42:55>> Um,

2:42:55>> sure. So, the, as [clears throat]

2:42:57everyone knows, um, fire chief, uh,

2:43:00Patrickel retired, um, on August 7th, so

2:43:02there was a gathering at the fire

2:43:04station, which was very well attended.

2:43:06Um, the town's incredibly grateful for

2:43:07his years of service and leadership. Um,

2:43:10as you know, also, we uh, completed the

2:43:13fire chief search. So the fire chief

2:43:15committee met um fire chief search

2:43:16committee met on July 21st and conducted

2:43:18our interviews and then following um

2:43:21completion of that they select we

2:43:23selected um Captain Busha and Captain

2:43:27Hair to advance to the the final stage

2:43:29of the process um under which the select

2:43:32board appointed Captain

2:43:34>> Hair Buch

2:43:41is Captain Buché Captain

2:43:42>> Hair Okay. [laughter] Um the municipal

2:43:45building committee, we advertised uh for

2:43:47the opening that we had on the municipal

2:43:49building committee. Applications were

2:43:51due by the end of the day on August

2:43:5213th. We received one application from

2:43:55Steve Durant. Um so following review of

2:43:57that, um I appointed Mr. Dret to the

2:44:01committee. So as you know, he's worked

2:44:02on several building projects related to

2:44:04the school. Um so now he'll serve on the

2:44:07mal building committee.

2:44:09Um, in the economic development

2:44:11committee, we're looking for interested

2:44:13business leaders from companies located

2:44:15in Westboro to fill a vacancy on the

2:44:17EDC. Um, we've um we've advertised that

2:44:21with um asking folks to apply by

2:44:24September 3rd. And then the Civic

2:44:26Leadership Academy applications are due

2:44:28by noon on September 4th. Um, and then

2:44:31one thing that's not on here that I

2:44:33wanted to mention is that the town was

2:44:35notified

2:44:37um, earlier this week that we did

2:44:39receive the GFOA distinguished budget

2:44:42award for FY27 budget.

2:44:44>> Congratulations.

2:44:45>> Thanks. And thank you to everybody who

2:44:47helps with that. Kim and John, the whole

2:44:50finance team.

2:44:52Um,

2:44:55under the police department, the police

2:44:57department announced the appointment of

2:44:58their newest patrol officer, uh, Rio

2:45:00Ferguson, sworn in on July 13th. Officer

2:45:04Ferguson joined the department on

2:45:05January 12th and graduated from the

2:45:07Worester Police Academy on July 10th.

2:45:09During the graduation ceremony, he was

2:45:10recognized with all three of the

2:45:12academyy's top awards: highest academic

2:45:14achievement, highest firearms

2:45:15proficiency score, and highest physical

2:45:17fitness score.

2:45:20um at the senior center. Their final

2:45:22[snorts] summer Tuesday meal um is will

2:45:25be held on August 25th from 5 to 7 with

2:45:28the theme um square dancing dinner and

2:45:30will cost $5. The senior center

2:45:33continues to offer handyman services

2:45:35available one day a week. The handyman

2:45:37can assist with projects such as

2:45:38installing window air conditioners,

2:45:40replacing smoke detector batteries and

2:45:42light bulbs, pulling down storm windows,

2:45:44hanging pictures, setting up video or

2:45:46telephone equipment, installing bathroom

2:45:48grab bars, turning mattresses, and other

2:45:50minor household jobs. There's no charge

2:45:52for the service. Residents are

2:45:54responsible for the cost of any

2:45:55materials needed to complete the work.

2:45:57Um just contact the senior center to

2:46:00schedule um the handyman.

2:46:02And then in the recreation department,

2:46:05um they've [clears throat] been busy

2:46:05with summer programs with the most

2:46:07popular were teen adventures with 179

2:46:10registrations across four weeks.

2:46:11Basketball clinics 173 registrations

2:46:14across two weeks and a new program

2:46:16hosted at the community center which is

2:46:17maong lessons had 124 registrations and

2:46:21the summer volleyball clinic was very

2:46:23popular with 104 registrations. The

2:46:25community center had 363 scanins. Uh

2:46:29this number is down from the previous

2:46:31months as the community center was home

2:46:32for a lot of the summer programming

2:46:33which limited the amount of open play

2:46:36use

2:46:37and then their fall and winter programs

2:46:39are available on the website for the

2:46:41recreation department.

2:46:42That's it.

2:46:45>> Thank you very much. Um with that issues

2:46:49and correspondence of the select board.

2:46:54Anybody?

2:46:54>> Sure. I'll go first. So, uh, just wanted

2:46:57to remind the community that the, uh, EV

2:46:59car show is coming up, uh, on Sunday,

2:47:02September 20th, uh, with a rain date of

2:47:05September 27th. Uh, the time is 2 to

2:47:075:00 p.m. at the Amazonic Robotics

2:47:09parking lot of 50 Otis Street. Uh, the,

2:47:12uh, committee EV Club is, uh, looking

2:47:15for volunteers, and if you are so

2:47:17interested, you can find information on

2:47:19the town's website, on the sustainable

2:47:21um, uh, committee's website. Uh and then

2:47:24also I'd like just like to share with

2:47:26the community that uh last week uh there

2:47:29was a successful backpack drive where

2:47:31123 families were served and 240

2:47:34children and the youth and family

2:47:35services department will also drop

2:47:37supplies to schools uh to support when

2:47:40the school starts. So there thank you

2:47:42very much for that uh team effort uh to

2:47:45provide those and it was very

2:47:47successfully received in the new

2:47:49community center. So thank you.

2:47:55Thank you, Patrick. Yes, sure.

2:47:57>> Uh I'm not sure you had this what's new

2:47:59Westboro in and I'm not sure you

2:48:01mentioned it in yours, so I'll mention

2:48:02it in mine that next uh week, August

2:48:0524th at the senior center at 3:00 p.m.

2:48:09is a workshop to learn about the new uh

2:48:12about the community center project. Um

2:48:15that's an ongoing series of workshops

2:48:17and um hopefully if you're interested in

2:48:21what's going uh in there or having some

2:48:24input about what's going in there,

2:48:25please attend that workshop. Um

2:48:28>> can you have the other two as well? I

2:48:30think that just

2:48:30>> Sure. There's more get it out there for

2:48:32folks would be great.

2:48:33>> Well, yeah, we'll have another meeting

2:48:34before then and I'm sure I'll address it

2:48:36then. But September 14th, 6:30 p.m. at

2:48:39Forbes Great Hall and September 21st,

2:48:426:30 p.m. also at Forbes Great Hall

2:48:46>> so that people put on their calendars

2:48:47now.

2:48:48>> Yes. But don't worry, I'll remind

2:48:50everybody.

2:48:51>> I want them on there now so I don't poke

2:48:53something over it.

2:48:54>> Yeah. Well, I I and I'm not going to use

2:48:56the rest of my time for events because

2:48:58um I we did get a letter from a resident

2:49:00about um Lyman Street and I wanted to

2:49:05pontificate on that, I guess. Um, Lyman

2:49:08Street. I first became interested in

2:49:11that when uh that street when I was on

2:49:13planning board and they redid the Lyman

2:49:16Street intersection and I turned on the

2:49:18Lyman Street heading towards North and I

2:49:20saw a speed limit 40 sign and I was

2:49:24dismayed by that. So, I I did some

2:49:26research. Um, I know that um Christy

2:49:31will respond directly to that resident,

2:49:33but what I came to find out was that

2:49:36Lyman Street is not uh under the direct

2:49:39control of the select board or the town.

2:49:43Um it's the speed limit is set by the

2:49:46state and in order to change the speed

2:49:49limit um in fact the speed limit set by

2:49:53the state and there is a 30 mph speed

2:49:55limit sign that is not accurate on Lyman

2:49:58Street it's a uh if you get a ticket

2:49:59going 40 you can contest it successfully

2:50:04but you didn't hear that here. Um but

2:50:07more importantly um in order to get a

2:50:09change we would have to petition the

2:50:11state for a truck exclusion. We'd have

2:50:13to petition the state um and the state

2:50:17would put out speed limit monitor or

2:50:20speed monitors to see the average speed

2:50:23and if the average speed was actually

2:50:25higher than 40 the speed limit could

2:50:27theoretically go up. So there's a risk

2:50:29in petitioning the state. Um what we can

2:50:32do as a town is install some traffic

2:50:35calming measures and I would like to

2:50:37cons the board to consider putting that

2:50:39on a future agenda. Um my thought was we

2:50:43could start at the town beach.

2:50:44>> So we we sent the letter out to various

2:50:48departments as well as the ATSC and all

2:50:50of this will be an agenda item for you

2:50:53to consider.

2:50:53>> Oh, so you're way ahead of me. Good.

2:50:55>> That's great. Appreciate

2:50:57>> then I will stop there and let somebody

2:51:00else go.

2:51:01All right. Thank you very much.

2:51:03>> Um I said one f final thing um an event

2:51:07to put out there. We talked about the

2:51:09retirement of Chief PCEL in the event

2:51:12the fire station. The the fire

2:51:13foundation is also putting on a

2:51:15retirement party uh for the chief on

2:51:18September 27th uh from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

2:51:21Sunday, December Sunday, September 27th

2:51:25from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at our Turos. Um

2:51:27and tickets can be purchased at the fire

2:51:29foundation on the fire foundation

2:51:31website. Um and uh excited for anybody

2:51:36in the community to uh join that event

2:51:38uh recognizing

2:51:40uh again the retirement of Chief PCEL.

2:51:45>> Thank you. Um and then just one update.

2:51:48The library building committee met

2:51:50earlier today and um the project is

2:51:53nearing completion. The the expected um

2:51:55the targeted date of sub substantial

2:51:58completion is now September 24th. The

2:52:01committee is meeting every other week um

2:52:04to be able to sign off on any needed

2:52:07changes sort of as as quickly as

2:52:09possible as we look to get the library

2:52:12open um and out of the community center.

2:52:16So, um the pictures they have showed us

2:52:20uh inside are impressive and look

2:52:23forward to actually getting in there.

2:52:29And then can I get a motion?

2:52:33I uh will make a motion to enter

2:52:36executive session under Mass General Law

2:52:38Chapter 3A section 21A

2:52:42uh two to conduct strategy sessions in

2:52:45preparation for negotiations and

2:52:47contract negotiations with non-UN

2:52:50personnel Daniel Hair and Patrick

2:52:52Purcell and also under Mass General Law

2:52:54Chapter 3A uh section 21A7 to act under

2:52:59the authority of the select board to

2:53:01approve executive session minutes of

2:53:03July 21st and August 11th, 2026.

2:53:10>> Um, I do believe that um,

2:53:16uh, discussing this in open meeting

2:53:17would be detrimental to the town's

2:53:19negotiating position. We will not be

2:53:22returning to open session following

2:53:24executive session. Uh, can I get a

2:53:26second?

2:53:27>> Seconded.

2:53:28>> Uh, roll call vote.

2:53:29>> Johnson, yes.

2:53:31>> Silverberg, yes. Well, Chess

2:53:32>> and Kio. Yes. Thank you, Westboro TV.

2:53:36>> Good night.